MO

Here are some pictures of our trip to Missouri. It was swell.

what we make.

A couple weeks ago, Chad and I tried to make something we never have before:Sweet Potato Fries. (This isn't the recipe that we used, but it's pretty close.) We also found some dip to use in order to give the fries a little bit extra.

*Our recipe. (The first half is what we put on the actual fries before they baked and the second half is what we used to make the topping.)


*The fries look like that because we don't have access to a peeler so that was all done by hand, courtesy of me.


*Since it would not taste good to have ketchup on sweet potato fries, we used a mixture of mayo, crushed red pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice. We didn't follow any recipe as far as how much to put in, so if you decide to make this, just go by how it looks. Chad was in charge of making the topping and I know he would've used more cayenne, though I don't like it.


*With the fries, we made cod filets that we bought the day of. We used some fish fry to bread them and put them on the skillet until the breading was browned. Again, Chad made this part so I'm not sure how long he put them on for.


*The finished product consisted of the cod filet, sweet potato fries, topping, and a lemon for the fish. We both really enjoyed this meal and found that the topping also tastes good is used with the fish.

miss you.

A couple weeks ago, my best friend came into the Cities to visit her dad. It was on a weekend that I was already busy, and I wasn't able to see her since she was in town for less than 72 hours. I bummed around pretty much the whole week until Friday when my friend Dani was in town and I thought that I'd be able to see her too. Turns out that didn't happen so I have been in a girlfriend slump ever since then.

I absolutely love my friends that I see on a regular basis. I think that after graduating high school (been four years for me) the relationships with your friends change dramatically. Not only do you have to be in class with each other anymore, in my case, I wasn't able to be in the same town (or time zone) as them. I went to school that provided room and board and I made friends with people who lived in totally different parts of the country. This makes meeting back up awkward since it's often a year or two and you have different priorities and ideals since the last time you saw them. It's also hard to have phone conversations with people since you usually have to have majorly epic talks since it's been so long.

I know that this post is all over the place and hard to follow which I do apologize for. I think that it's hard for me to organize it since I don't know how to organize these thoughts. Simply put-I miss my friends both far away and close. That is all. Does this happen to anyone else out there?

image credit:
1.absolutely beautiful things
2.k is for katie via lovely little tihngs
3. personal photo (best friend and I-2008)

frame it.

Both sets of my grandparents have one section of their houses that are covered in pictures of their kids and grandkids. For my mom's parents it's one wall that is arranged by oldest to youngest. My mom is the second youngest out of seven, so there wasn't a lot of room when it got to the end. My grandparents would feature their daughters' graduation pictures, wedding pictures and their kids pictures. With 19+ grandkids it gets a little crowded. But I still love it. Whenever we go to their house, I like to go down the hall and see which pictures they've changed out and which ones they've kept since the last time I was there.

My dad's parents have their living room as the main picture display area. In their old house though, they had all sorts of pictures hanging leading down to their basement. Now they have their living room walls arranged by sections. On one wall it's great-grandkids, or grandkids' wedding pictures, grandkids' families, and children families.

I think I've developed a love for framed pictures ever since my childhood simply because when I was younger that's what I was exposed to when I would go over to their houses. If you ever need to get me a present, a picture frame is always foul-proof. I just love putting my life on display for people to see when they come over to my house. When I have my own house with Chad, and you come over, you'll see our lives through pictures.

Here's some pictures that inspired me-

*apartment therapy


*all things lovely


*mary ruffle


*apartment therapy


*apartment therapy

my future must have.

Even if it's just on a cabinet or part of the wall, I need to have a chalkboard incorporated in my house. Especially the kitchen. How I love.

{1} city sage
{2} decorno
{3} frolic
{4} city sage
{5} poppy talk
{6} you are my fave
{7} ohdeedoh
and {here} and {here}

muddled.

A few things are on my mind-

1. I have been at my job for a year. Yay! And nay, since I don't get to have vacation pay. My vacation pay is "Hey Amanda, you get a day off, even though you already had that day off."

2. Summer school starts on Monday. One step closer to graduating one out of the two schools.

3. Our vacation to California is a bit of a headache. We have a lot of choices as far as lodging and interest points are concerned and it's tough to narrow them down. And, I'm super excited that Eli, Laura, and Uriah will be coming with us!! They will make the vacation much more enjoyable since we'll be able to snuggle with four-month-old (by then) U. We're still looking for tips/advice for the best places to eat and visit so if you are in or have visited this area please give some tips:)

4. I had a perfect afternoon with Love. We laid on the hammock under the trees, in a blanket and read our Twilight books. Bliss...

5. I really have to do laundry.

6. I miss Dani and Rachel. Heart-breaking miss them. They have both been in the Midwest over the past few weeks and I didn't see either of them. I've been in a friend funk ever since I came home from Missouri.

7. I love watching Lee Pace (star of Pushing Daisies which I'm watching right now.) He's so swell.

8. I love Chad. Without question.

still a kid.

Sometimes I find things online that are geared towards the younger crowd (you know, those under the age of 5) and I can't help lovin' them for myself. I can't wait until I'm a teacher and a mommy:

*How many of you read the Baby-sitter's club when you were younger? I read every. single. book. I remember that every book usually in the very first or second chapter, the author would explain the BB Club and describe each girl. My favorite part was when she would describe what Claudia was wearing, which thankfully this blogger has brought into the limelight. (Found at heartthrobs.)

*This picture reminds me of the wonderfully lovable scene in Beauty and the Beast when Belle is singing 'Belle' (...I want so much more then they've got planned..) and she picks the dandelion and the seeds float through the air. You know-this one:




*Anyone else think these are adorable? Almost too adorable to eat? Here.


*Oh man. And these discovered by the kitchn (becoming one of my favorite websites) I will try my hardest to make something like this when I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my kiddies.


*I love the expression on this little lady's face-she looks like she's having so much fun. And why wouldn't she since she's playing with sidewalk chalk paint.


*How could you not want to be a kid when you had the opportunity to play with this furniture. I mean, does it get any better!?


*I have never slid down the stairs at my house before so I don't know that joy that it entails, but judging by this picture, I would sure like to try.

*I am so using this idea when I become a teacher. Not only will it get my kids to like nature, it will allow them to discover things on their own.

Baby U(pdate)

Trying to link U (as in Uriah) with update. Let me know if it was confusing:)

The little guy is doing wonderfully and I can't wait to see him and the mama and papa next weekend.







{Isn't he swell?}

*All these photos were picnik'd courtesy of creature comforts

reminiscing day

I have had this in my files for quite a while wondering what I was going to do with it. I was considering a Mother's Day gift idea, but was just feeling uninspired. (And apparently today is the day that I think back to my past and dig up and share with all of you.)

Then I noticed that it was lyrics to the song 'Scarborough Fair' by none other than Simon and Garfunkel. I have probably heard this song hundreds of times since my mother has let S&G become one of the main soundtracks to my life. They were the accompaniment to ice-skating sessions on the living room carpet (L-was it them, or just Barbara Streisand?). They relaxed everyone when playing dominoes late into the night. My mom had (and still has somewhere) a tape of S&G that would always be my answer when she asked what I wanted to listen to. She'd play in when doing puzzles on rainy days, getting presents wrapped on our dining room table, or simply just cleaning the house. And I would be perfectly content lying on our living room rug with my head right next to the player listening to song after song.

So mom, thanks for loving Paul and Art. That love has spread to me.

{Are there any bands or artists that your parents would play that make you think fondly back to your childhood?}


*the two musical geniuses

See how things are made.

Ever since I was a little kid I remember watching the 'how-things-are-made' type clips and being utterly fascinated with the whole concept. While I myself could never work in a factory, I do like watching products being made. I really would love to take my kindergarten class to factories so that they can experience the wonder like I did when I was their age.

When I started this post, I wanted to include some of my favorite Youtube clips about factories and making items. I realized when doing research that this was too daunting of a task since, when typing in 'shows' and 'factories' there were about 70+ clips (I watched about half). Some of the most interesting products were-butter, bubble gum, toilet paper, erasers, toothpicks, highlighters, potato chips, and cheese.

When I was watching shows like 'Sesame Street' I loved to sit back and love it. Now that I'm older, thankfully, television networks have heard my five-year-old plea for more. The two shows that I've found are "How it's Made" and "Unwrapped". I'm open to suggestions for more factory-type shows:)

Movie Review: Made of Honor and Bride Wars

Wow. Over the past few months, I've watched two wedding movies. And, let me just tell you-they weren't that great.

I do believe that Made of Honor takes the honor (no pun intended) away from My Super Ex-Girlfriend as being the Worst Movie of All Time (and by all time, I mean the ones that I've seen). Let me just tell you that according to IMDB the Spanish translates into "I want to steal the bride". Yeah, what does that tell you.



These people definitely seem to agree with me. I do have to say that I don't think that it's exactly like My Best Friend's Wedding. That movie stars Julia as the lovely leading lady and happens to be one of my favorite chick flicks. This storyline would absolutely never happen. The bride meets the groom in Scotland and he's a lord or duke or something and she is going to marry him two weeks after meeting him. Pat Demp decides that he's in love with his best friend and in the end he rushes to the chapel (in Scotland, of course) and breaks up the wedding and the two of them end up getting married. And, the drunk grandma like thunder beads-I'm not even sure what those are.

Sorry about spoiling the ending...but I'm not sorry because I just saved you.


(puh-leeze-like any self-respecting man would ever assemble bridal shower baskets. All the guys I know don't even know what goes on at a bridal shower.)




The next one is Bride Wars which is also an attempt to create an unrealistic story line centered on two best friends who end up getting their receptions planned on the same day which of course they can't work through and are then mortal enemies. Bride Wars is a total chick flick and one of those movies that would never happen, but I did like Hathaway's wardrobe. This review sums up everything I ever wanted to say about this movie. Let's just look at some of the stills:


(Hathaway is so pretty in this picture-I love her hair aka my dream hair.)


(Too much poof-she looks like a snow globe.)


(I did like this scene, it was a very sweet proposal.)


(This is so unrealistic-absolutely no single woman over 20 would ever partake in the humiliating experience of catching the bouquet.)

*What are your best or worst wedding movies?

project '09 (and possibly '10)

"There's a world that we know nothing about, that we can only imagine. And that is the world of books" --Jack Handeey

A couple weeks ago, I got the idea that I would read books that had been turned into movies. I think it all started when I started reading the Twilight books and then watched the movie. I discovered that they took out parts of the book. I have a lot of down time at work which I'm thankful for and feel that I could tackle this list of books that have been turned into movies this summer. It's a very widespread list covering romantic books to comedic books to dramatic books. The bold-faced are the ones I'm currently reading. Take a look:

*To Kill a Mockingbird by: Harper Lee
*Out of Africa by: Karen Blixen
*The Princess Bride by: Willian Goldmen
*The Father of The Bride by: Edward Streeter
*Pride and Prejudice by: Jane Austen
*The Secret Garden by: Frances Hodgson Burnett
*Little Women by: Louisa May Alcott
*Sex and the City by: Candice Bushnell
*For the Love of the Game by: Michael Shaara
*Chocolat by: Joanne Harris
*High Fidelity by: Nick Hornby
*Bridget Jones' Diary by: Helen Fielding
*A Beautiful Mind by: Sylvia Nasar
*Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by: Daniel Wallace
*Cheaper by the Dozen by: Frank Gilbreth Jr.
*Under the Tuscan Sun by: Frances Mayes
*Memoirs of a Geisha by: Arthur Golden
*Marley and Me by: John Grogan
*Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by: Winifred Watson
*Julie and Julia by: Julie Powell
*In Her Shoes by: Jennifer Weiner
*P.S. I Love You by: Cecelia Ahren
*Angels and Demons by: Dan Brown

What are your must-reads?

yum-o

My boyfriend makes, in my opinion, the best hamburgers in the country. He knows exactly how long to make them and knows the thickness of a good burger and also puts in a secret ingredient that I'm not sure he wants me to reveal (is it okay, babe?).
We have tried many different toppings for our burgers; the pictures above show our murshroom, onion and swiss burgers. We have also tried bacon, tomato and avocado; as well as the popular cheese, lettuce, and tomato. My hope is that our burgers will be so different and delicious that our children will hate burgers from McDonald's.

In your opinion-what is your idea of a delicious burger?

destination.

I just wanted to fill you all in on where my family and I are planning on going for our annual vacation in August (drumroll...):



The Sacramento area of California! We have been everywhere in the country pretty much (Grand Canyon, Florida, Niagara Falls, Seattle, Washington D.C., Boston), but the one state that we've never tackled in CA. In the early ideas, we thought about going down to Florida again since we hadn't been there in about 7 years and tour Busch Gardens and Sea World, but my mom vetoed that idea since she and my dad used to live there. So we've decided on this area of California since it has just about everything we want to see-


*Yosemite National Park (According to my Uncle Brett it's a must-see. He should know-he used to live in this area.)


*The Golden Gate Bridge and maybe even Alcatraz. We probably wouldn't spend a lot of time in San Francisco since Chad is coming with us and he just went four years ago, but he does want to see GG Bridge again and said Alcatraz was a very cool spot.


*The Redwood National Park is a little too far away for us to drive to in our rental car and my mom really wants to see a redwood on this trip. Uncle Brett said that if we drive along the coast we should be able to see some.


*Napa Valley is also one of the interesting spots that we want to see and since 4 out of the 5 going on this trip will be of drinking age, we might even sample some wine. The bonus about this is that the sightseeing is free and the only thing that costs any money is the sampling.


*We also would most likely drive to the coast and take a walk on the beaches and cliffs.

We're all pretty excited especially me and my younger sister since we've never been on an airplane before! So-calling all people who have ever lived in/visited this area: What are, in your opinion, the must-see sights in this area? If you were going back, what would you tour again? We are going in early to mid-August if that helps any? Also, we are trying to figure out if it's cheaper to fly into San Francisco or Sacramento-would anyone out there know? Thanks readers!

*I also wanted to say how truly touched I was by all the comments on the 'control' post. It's nice to know that I'm not the only person who inwardly struggles with this. If you are ever uncomfortable with posting on the actual blog but still would like to talk to me about any matters I put on this blog, please email me: amanda.hulke@gmail.com. Have a good day!