candlesticks

1. buy some ugly candlesticks from the thrift store

2. hurry up and paint them FAST!

(b/c they are soooo ugly)

i painted them dark burnt umber and victorian blue

3. i tried to use the crackle paint and then painted a lighter color

on top, but that didnt really work out so well...

4. get kick ass candlestick centerpieces

what the....

from 9new.com
it's snowing!

yippee su su

sus and chris updated their blog... WITH PICTURES!

i love sus and chris and miss them so much!
but i get to go see them in may!!!!!

pics of sus and chris

i stole these pics from one of sus's facebook friends from the Peace Corps

so i don't know what they all are, but they are swazi pics.

a boy that i just want to squeeze his cheeks!
oh shoot, better leave my catapult at home.

oh little sus and chris

do they match on purpose?

about to get sworn in :)

my little bro and sis, they are so cute

what their huts look like in swaziland.

sus's has a tin roof though

a monkey!
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that's all i know :)

you're gonna be popular

Friday night I got to do something awesome!

I went with 2 gals to see Wicked

we made it a date and ate dinner first!

we ate dinner at cuba cuba
isn't it the cutest?

they are known for their mojitos...

and just after 1/2 of one we were feeling it!

right before the show

Liz, Shellie, & Kim

it was so much fun!!!!

today

today:

first off, people, it snowed last night.
what?
yes. i know. snow. oct 8th.

i will plant my bulbs today like a little old lady.

happy 30th birthday cousin lauren! you are awesome!

tonight i go see Wicked with the girls!!!

yippee!!!!

i'm backkkkkkk...

i just haven't had anything to blog about lately, but i guess i could have just bored you to death with the boring stuff i've been doing. also i was un-motivated to type.

so i'm back :)

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cam's watermelon... the size of a lemon.

it fell off this morning.

i'm not sure if they will produce anything edible before it snows.

which butternut is from my garden???

the one on the right.

you can't tell can you??

i am making a recipe (at bottom) from rachael ray tonight using mine :)

i've been studying for this

i don't even remember how to study.

needless to say, the past several weeks have been peppered with these tools.

picked these all from the garden just before a frost.

aren't they pretty?

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been talking to sus about visiting in MAY!!!

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going to see Wicked Friday with some gals!

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will post more later!

Autumn Harvest Chili
Serves 4
Butternut squash make the "bowls" for this chili!
· 2 small butternut squash, cut in half and seeded
· 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 1 medium onion, chopped
· 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
· 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
· 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
· 1/2 pound button mushrooms, quartered
· 2 small zucchini, diced
· 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
· 3 tablespoons chili powder
· 1 box frozen corn (10 ounces)
· 1 can black beans (14 ounces), drained
· 1/4 cup tomato paste
· 1 cup apple cider (the cloudy kind), as needed
· 2 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF.Place the butternut squash cut side up on a baking sheet and drizzle it with about 2 tablespoons EVOO and some salt and pepper. Roast the squash in the oven until tender, about 45 minutes. When the squash has finished roasting, turn off the oven and turn on the broiler.While the squash is in the oven, place a medium size saucepan over medium-high heat with the remaining two turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion, garlic, red bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, mushrooms and zucchini to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the veggies are tender, about 7 minutes.Add the spices, corn, black beans and tomato paste to the pan and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the apple cider to the pan (start with about 1/2 cup and add more as needed – you want a thicker chili) and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Scoop the finished chili over the butternut squash halves and sprinkle with the cheese. Place the squash under the broiler to melt the cheese, then serve.

earring holder that's awesome

supplies

1. 3'x4' piece of sheet metal

2. metal shears

3. drill with drill bits made for metal

4. nails

5. hammer

6. ruler

7. pencil/marker

8. pic frame

9. ribbon

10. staple gun & staples or more nails

trace paper insert inside frame onto sheet metal

and cut to size

be careful it can be sharp

get frame and take out glass and the back thingy off

so it's just the wood

make sure the metal can fit in like the exiting glass did

drill holes into metal

remember to think about which way you will have the frame hanging

landscape or portrait.

drill holes according to how you feel, i was just random

but remember to drill 2 holes next to each other for the pair of earrings.

nail the metal into place

can you see the 4 nails (1 on each side) holding the metal into place?

how it looks from the front view

hang awesome earrings on it

staple (with staple gun) some ribbon (or wire or whatever)

to be used as the hanger

hang in bathroom (or somewhere else cool)

you can totally paint the frame, and i was going to do a light blue, but i decided i loved the wood. so i kept it how i bought it.

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i got the frame at Tuesday Morning

i got the sheet metal at Home Depot and it was $18 for the huge piece,

so now i can make more for future gifts :)

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yippee!

steve came steve came!

last week, cameron's bff, steve, came to visit from ft. worth.

-erin and katie had the great idea to have a little party for him.

so we emailed some people and had a little cookout last friday.

when i was taking this pic i couldnt really see, and shellie knew i was taking it, and she made this crazy face... zoom in on the pic to see :)

steve and his brat

we were really checking to see if there was anything in each others teeth,

but hmmmm it doesn't really look that way....

bethany, shellie, liz

patrick and katie (this was the 3rd or 4th attempt at a good pic)

gangsta steve and erin

normal steve and erin
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the next day cam and steve went mountain biking on the colorado trail (where we went hike a couple weeks back and camped out) and they rode 24 miles! They were so tired when they got home, but they had so much fun! then we ate mexican food!

cam and steve

look at the pretty leaves changing!!!!

steve in a not-so-good mood after climbing FOREVER!

cam pretending to be in a good mood.

pretty again

steve in a better mood after going downhill for a bit

cheesy little cam :)

the trail

us eating mexican with steve, bethany, and stephen.

this is my new shirt (on sale) from anthro!!!

it is super cute and has a little tie around the waist.
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then sunday i was supposed to work; but was on call.

before church cam and steve were playing with cam's last years christmas present from alec...

the helicopter

they were trying to get it to land on someone's head...

(cam is wearing protective eye gear)

that's the best they could do :)

then after church we ate at cam and steve's fav place

Spicy Basil.

they both ALWAYS get the same thing.

they are kind of a cute little couple.

weirdos.

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then steve hung out with some other peeps and headed back to ft. worth.

steve, we had so much fun, please come back soon!!!