Love, Tina Marie

Run Forest, Run!

2012-03-08T00:52:00.000-05:00

Last week my friend Frank posted an article about the Zombie 5K obstacle course.

http://runforyourlives.com/

With every fiber of my being I wanted to run in it, but alas, it isn't coming to a city near me, yet.
But if you are in a participating city, and you're super cool, you should totally do it.

This is video from Atlanta. It looks so AWESOME.

Well, even though I can't run in the Zombie 5K Obstacle Course, I remembered that running a 5K, without walking, is a part of my 30 before 30 list. So, I looked up races, and I signed up for the "Run Forest, Run" 5K. It's sponsored by Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, and it's in the French Quarter. It's at the end of April, so that gives me 2 months. That should be plenty of time to train for it, and actually being signed up, and paying money means that I can't flake out.

The first part of my training is to get myself to the gym. I'm going to start taking step aerobic again, and with a little persistence I should be able to outrun any zombie.

Love,

Tina Marie

What's in it for you.

2012-03-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

So now that I'm writing twice a week, I suppose I should ask my reader what they want more of.
More crafty stuff/ home repair? More of my life in New Orleans? More recipes? More random stuff?

Also, I need/want more of ya'll to follow me! So if you are reading on google reader or you click my posts everytime I post in twitter or facebook, I need you to go to http://www.lovetinamarie.blogspot.com/ and click the "Follow" button on the right hand side.
So easy, so quick.

As added incentive for every three people who follow me this week I will add that many more posts during this month. So if I get 30 new followers I will add an extra 10 posts this month in addition to the 2 a week I'm already doing! That's SO much extra Tina, all for free! All you have to do is click a button.

For those of you who are already following me, kudos. You're totally part of the cool kids, and as a reward you get this picture of a baby giraffe.

Love,

Tina Marie

Crossing off the List/ Recipe Time

2012-03-01T22:59:00.010-05:00

I am finally (sort of) settled in New Orleans. I'm getting a lot accomplished on my 30 before 30 list, but there is one thing in particular that I need to start now, Number 22, blog twice a week for a year. Yep, as many times as I get too busy to blog, I no longer have an excuses. It's on my list, and I am determined to make it happen.

Today I'm going to share a recipe. It's no secret that I'm Catholic, and as a Catholic person I don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent. That being said, eating tuna sandwhiches and fried shrimp can get old really fast. I was on the phone with my mom last week and she reminded me of another dish that she made for me when I was younger. It's called Abondigas. Technically an abondiga is a meatball, I flatten mine and make them cakes. If you like crab cakes you will like this dish.

I start with a can of pink salmon.
The salmon has the bones in it, so you will need to pick out the bones.

After you have deboned your salmon you need to add about 8 saltine crackers crushed up. I just crush them in my hand before adding them to the mix. Next add one raw egg and half of a small onion, finely diced. Mix everything together and add a a pinch of salt (remember the saltimes have salt on them, so don't add to much) and a dash of pepper.

After mixing everything together form cakes, similar to crab cakes. Fry them until golden brown on each side. I used a little bit of olive oil in my pan, but you can use butter, any kind of oil, or the spray stuff. You just want to make sure they don't stick.

That's it! You're done! Your salmon cakes, or abonigas, are ready to eat. I like to eat mine with tortillas. But you can have yours on their own, or with bread or crackers. Enjoy!

Love,

Tina Marie

The Family You Make

2011-12-26T11:08:00.002-05:00

This Christmas Season I am especially thankful for my family. It has been three years since I have been able to spen a Chrismas with them. After traveling a total of 25 hours in a car I reached my brother's house for Christmas. Lots of things have changed since I was last here. My brother now lives with his girlfriend, who I had never met before. It was nice to finally meet her face to face. Also, this Christmas we opened presents at my brother's house, instead of my parents. So far it has been a great visit, but it also has me thinking, and missing my orphan's christmas back in DC. I know this must seem ridiculous, but it's true. A part of me wished that I could have spent the day cooking and drinking with friends. I started to wonder why I felt that way. I think it's because with the lack of biological family, I created a family I love.

We vacation together and take silly pictures at the beach.

Another vacation picture with my sisters, of the sorority variety.

Taking millions of posed pictures together. We could wallpaper a wall with the number of pics we have together.

These ladies always have my back.

I'm living with one of them in NOLA, till I find my own place, at least.

I have an entire group of people who would do anything for me, and who I would do anything for in turn. These people have nursed me in my sick times, and held me when I'm sad. They have invited me into their homes for holidays, and listened to me rant when I was upset. This is the family I have made. I'm extremely lucky, not everyone is as fortunate as I am. Now that I have moved to NOLA, I still have people in my life that have my back, but it's going to be hard to be away from my Virginia family. I know it won't be long till I see them again, but I miss them all the same. This holiday season I want all my friends to know that you all mean so much to me, without you all I wouldn't have made it in Virginia, or in NOLA. I can't wait to see you all again.

Love and happy holidays,

Tina Marie

The Oyster Shucking Lesson

2011-12-22T09:00:00.001-05:00

This story starts a few weeks ago when I set about to find the erfect jambalaya recipe. I took my request to facebook. I had a lot of people respond with ideas of where I could find a good recipe, but one in particular stood out. My friend Dave's dad (who lives in NOLA) sent me his recipe. I had his cooking before, so I knew it was sure to be a winner. I made it for my friends a few weeks later, and it was a HUGE hit. Not a single grain of rice was left by the night's end. I didn't manage to take any pictures, of course, which I'm very upset about, but that's besides the point. The point is that I realized that while the recipe called for fresh oysters, I had no idea how to shuck an oyster. When Dave and Dave's dad (John) found this out they promised me my first oyster shucking lesson when I moved to New Orleans. Today was my first full day in the city, so obviously it was a perfect day for my oyster shucking lesson, it also helped that it was 75 degrees today. Dave took some great pictures of the entire process for me to share anf blog about. Enjoy!

Me hard at work. The glove protectz my hand from the pointy parts.

Shucking oyster is hard work, so everyone helps out.

Dave made sure to get a pic of me with oyster in hand... and make note of my glitter manicure.

I'll cut you.

Avant garde oyster.

Oh we also had fresh red fish. Yum.

And after all the hard work these are oysters are cooked my favorite way: grilled, topped with butter, parmesean cheese, and bread crumbs. SO yummy!

Love, Tina Marie

Deboning a Chicken: 30B430

2011-12-21T09:03:00.004-05:00

I did it! I deboned the heck out of that chicken. It was awesome.

No bones... and it still looks like a chicken!

I have always wanted to debone a chicken. I especially wanted to try it after watching Julie and Julia (Seriously LOVED that movie). Part of my desire stems from wanting to learn more and more about cooking and skills in general. Because I'm not a trained chef I feel like I need to constantly strive to learn more and more about cooking. I've recently become enamoured with a few kitchen gadgets, and a new set of professional series knives, that I would have never known about had I not taken the time to talk to other foodie minded people. I know there is so much more to learn so this was just one step on that journey. I decided to use Jacques Pepin as my guide. He has a great youtube vide up. I watched it about 10 times before I made my first cut, and "rewinded" it about 5 times during the process. I made a few mistakes, but overall I would call it a success. I stuffed my chicken with spinach, monzerella, artichokes, and parmesean cheese. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. It was so yummy, and got rave reviews all around. I really want to try it again soon and see if I can eliminate all the mistakes I made along the way. In the mean time, enjoy the Pepin video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAekQ5fzfGM&noredirect=1

Love,

Tina Marie

Virginia Wine Tasting

2011-12-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

One of the best things about living in Virginia is that the great outdoors is just a short car ride away. I've been apple picking, and wine tasting a few times. There are lots of great orchards and vineyards nearby. This weekend Jena, Steve, and I decided to go wine tasting.

We got a late start (after a yummy Chick Fil A lunch) and decided that 2 wineries would be enough. The first one we hit was a recommendation from another friend. Linden makes a great wine. I've had their stuff before, but had never been out to the vineyards. I am awesome and forgot my camera, which sucks cause Linden totally had snow! The snow was a quaint touch to beautiful scenery. Steve took this picture of me and Jena:

We had a great time, but I was sort of disappointed with the tasting. None of the wines were as fabulous as what I had had from them before. It was a great time, but I left without buying a bottle.

The next place we hit up was Unicorn winery. Jena picked this one. I'm convinced that the name is what made her decision. There were 10 wines in this tasting, which was kinda awesome (Linden only had 5). Jena and I opted to only try two of the white wines. I'm not a white wine drinker, so I usually end up dumping out the whites. Their whites were decent, but their reds were amazing. I like every single thing we tried. The most notable part of the tasting was the final wine, which wasn't wine at all... it was wine slushee. They take a bottle of wine, and add it to this mix that they sell, and it makes wine slushee. It was amazing. Seriously. I bought a glass to enjoy out on the deck. Here is a picture overlooking the pond from their deck:

I would totally revisit this place.

I'm excited that I got to do this one last time before moving next week!

Love,

Tina Marie

Reverse Bucket List

2011-12-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

After writing down my Thirty Before Thirty bucket list this week I started thinking about all the amazing things I have done in my life. I've led a pretty phenomenal life thusfar. It was actually kind of difficult to get thirty things to do in one list that would be financially achievable in a 16 month time span. I ended up looking at a lot of other people's lists to see what was on them. There were a few popular things that stood out, that I'm proud to say I have already accomplished. So, here is the Reverse Bucket List, a list of things I've already accomplished:

Tina's Reverse Bucket List

1. Go on vacation with only your girlfriends. - I actually do this one yearly, it's just another benefit of being in a sorority.

2. Sew something and wear it- I think I accomplished this when I was 12. I have always loved to sew, and while I'm not a seamstress by any means, I've definitely made a few skirts in my day.

3. Jump off a cliff - ummm- you just have to read this story to see that not only did I do that, I did it in spectacular fashion

4. Visit another country - while I still haven't been to Europe, I have been to Mexico, twice, on vacation. It was grand.

5. See the Mayan ruins - I went to Chichen Itza lat year. It was completely amazing.

6. Throw a dinner party - It amazes me that people haven't cooked dinner for their friends.

7. Have a conversation in another language. - Everyone knows that my Spanish speaking skills are atrocious, but I still do it. It came in very handy while in Mexico.

8. Go to Mardi Gras - Yep, lived it for 4 years.

9. Go to Spring Break in a Spring Break location - South Padre Island 2005!

10. Take an art class - Art was nearly my minor in college, this is a total check.

11. Go on a road trip - I drove from New Orleans to South Bend Indiana when I was in college. Also Annie and I went to South Carolina on a whim one weekend when we lived together.

12. Go to Las Vegas - Thanks to my friend Becky for having her bachelorette party there this past August. I seriously LOVE Vegas and can't wait to go back.

13. Buy a homeless person a meal - My dad used to do this all the time when I was little, so I started doing it too. Of course, now I live in Arlington, and there aren't homeless people.

14. See a Broadway show - I saw Promises, Promises on Broadway last year with Theo and Tamsin. It was awesome...Plus, Kristin Chenowith is a Gamma Phi Beta.

15. See the Cherry Blossoms Bloom in DC - I was actually surprised that this was on so many people's lists. It honestly wouldn't have even crossed my mind. My favorite birthday ever was spent walking among the cherry blossoms though.

16. Read the Bible - I did this when I was much younger, I could probably stand to do it again now that I'm a bit older and wiser, but still, it counts.

17. Shoot a gun - I'm pretty sure I first shot a gun when I was like 10 years old.

18. Go vegetarian for a month- I did this when I was 16. I did it for lent. Yeah, I like meat, I have no desire to relive that experience.

19. Get a Tattoo- I have 2. I guess I can never be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

20. Attend a music festival - I lived in both Austin and New Orleans, so I have been to Jazzfest and SXSW.

21. Grow my fingernails out - Okay, this really wasn't on a lot of other people's lists, but I have finally accomplished this. I had been a nail biter for 27 years, and this past year I kicked the habit. Yay me!

22. Go on a cruise - Again thanks to my fabulous Gamma Phi Beta sisters, I accomplished this 2 years ago.

23. Karaoke - I've done it, and I've hated it. I can't sing. At. All.

24. Go speed dating- I have a friend who is a host fro speed dating events. He asked me to come to one where they needed more girls. I went, but it was a total bust. I'm glad I did it, cause I was curious, but had I paid for it, I would have been upset.

25. Learn CPR- I was certified by the Red Cross when I was like 12. Did no one else have to take that class? Bueller?

26. Be financially dependent on only myself - I feel like this is a goal an 19 year old would set, not a 29 year old. Still, it was on a lot of bucket lists.

27. Start my own business - I did this! I can't believe I haven't held a 9-5 job in over a year!

28. Watch the sun rise - Ever spend a Mardi Gras in New Orleans? I promise you will see the sun rise.

29. Purchase my own car - I didn't spend a million dollars on it, but my car is paid for my all my own money.

30. Go to dinner/a movie alone - I didn't even know this was a thing. Am I the only one who does this on a regular basis?

So those are just some of the awesome things I have accomplished in my 28+ years on this planet. I'm super proud of myself, but I also can't wait to get started on the things I haven't done.

Go me!

Love,

Tina Marie

Thirty Before Thirty

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yep, I know it's cliche, but with my impending move I have decided to take a look at what I really want to accomplish before I am 30. It was actually really hard to come up with 30 things. I'm attributing that to the fact that I have accomplished quite a lot already in my life, and also with the fact that I wanted to make the list accomplishable. Truly I want to visit all the continents, and swim with sharks, and do about a million other things that would quickly rack up my VISA bill. While there is some travel on the list, I think it's all stuff I'll be able to fit in the next 16 months. So without further ado...

Tina's 30 before 30 List

1. Get my catering business started in New Orleans.

2. Go skydiving.

3. Go to Disneyland/ Disneyworld.

4. Dip my toes in the pacific ocean.

5. Be a size 10 or smaller on my 30th birthday (unless I medically cant be).

6. Run a 5K, no walking allowed.

7. Visit another foreign country.

8. Write and illustrate a children's book.

9. See either the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade or watch the ball drop in Times Square.

10. See the Grand Canyon up close and personal.

11. Finally legally change my name on my driver's license and all official documents.

12. Read at least half of the "100 Classic Book Collection".

13. Attend a game at Cowboys Stadium.

14. Go to High tea at the Ritz or some other fancy hotel.

15. Learn to drive a stick.

16. Make a full size quilt.

17. Write down all my family recipes and make a book, with pictures. 18. Teach a class/seminar/ workshop.

19. Roth IRA (private goal)

20. Learn 10 new recipes by heart from different world cuisines (no southern/ Texan/ or Mexican food).

21. Do the polar bear plunge somewhere.

22. Blog twice a week for a year.

23. Take a class in something I have no idea how to do (non exercise).

24. Successfully debone a chicken (harder than it sounds).

25. Paint something and enter it in an art exhibit/ competition.

26. Get a concealed carry permit.

27. Save for and purchase a DSLR camera.

28. Get a family photo taken professionally.

29. Spend an entire day at a spa (mani-pedi-facial-massage).

30. Have a fabulous 30th Birthday party in Vegas (or someplace equally as fabulous).

What's That You Say?

2011-11-28T00:15:00.003-05:00

I haven't blogged since July?

Wow, well, color me embarrassed. I suppose I have let my blog fall to the wayside, bad Tina.

I suppose an update on my life is in order.

I'm still not in New Orleans, I have a move date though: December 19th. It's really coming up fast. I have so much more packing to do, but I have a good start. As for my bucket list I have accomplished quite a few items. There are a few on there that probably won't get done, which is sad, but it gives me reason to come back and visit. I promise to blog more in depth about what I have and haven't accomplished in detail. I've also been working on some life goals that I have decided I wanted to accomplish before I turn 30 (still more than a year away, but I figure I can get a jump on things).

It's late, so that's all for now.

Love,

Tina Marie

DC Bucket List

2011-07-08T09:08:00.003-04:00

As I prepare to leave DC I realize there are a number of things which I want to do but still haven't done.

To name a few:

Eat lunch in the Museum of Native American History - apparently the food court here is to die for, and extremely authentic. I'm definitely going to try this before I leave.

Go to the top of the Washington Monument. - Can you believe I haven't done this?! It's like the first thing you do when you get here, but I have never been. I must take in that view before I go.

Re-Visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History - This is my favorite Smithsonian museum, and the year after I got here it closed for renovations. It reopened a year after that but I haven't been back! I have to see Dorothy's shoes, and the Fonz's jacket one last time.

Visit Great Falls/ Old Rag - Living in Virginia means that I get all the awesomeness of DC, but I also get the beautiful scenery of rustic Virginia landscapes. I need to take advantage of that before I go.

The Newseum - I don't think I even need to explain this one, everyone who lives in DC knows that this museum is well worth the $20 admission.

Re-visit NYC one last time - I've been 3 times in the almost 6 years I have lived here, which makes me sad. I'm totally going again (and staying with Theo, even though she doesn't know it yet). I want to take in another Broadway show, and spend a night on the town.

Monticello - This is an easy day trip that I've never taken! I can't believe I have put it off for so long!

Arlington National Cemetery changing of the guard - it's really sad that I haven't seen this. I live less than 2 miles away.

Theodore Roosevelt Island - I must take a walk across the footbridge and visit this place.

Visit the National Archives - look at important papers... it's a must.

Whew! I think that's it for now, can ya'll think of anything that MUST make it onto the list?

Love, Tina Marie

Pillowfights, Partying, and Piers: A Wedding for the Ages

2011-07-07T10:05:00.009-04:00

I like aliteration.

Last week I was the Maid of Honor (MOH) in a fabulous beach wedding. My friend, and sorority sister Allie was marrying the love of her life... Dave.

They planned an amazing wedding on the beach, which all of her friends pitched in to help prepare for. It ended with a spectacular wedding day.

Beautiful beachfront ceremony.

The day started off with a pampering at the Aveda Salon. After manis and pedis the bridesmaids headed back to the beach house to get hair and makeup done.

Then we opened our bridesmaid gifts!

Wrap around towels with our names embroidered on them! So of course we had a staged pillowfight!

All the lovely ladies of Gamma Phi Beta... and Dave, photo-bombing us.

The reception was at her husband's family home (20 minutes away from the beach house). We danced all night.

The beautiful reception.

After the reception all us 20 somethings headed back to the beach house for an after party.

We proceeded to have tons of fun. About 4 am the bride fell asleep in her wedding dress... on the pier. I kid you not. It kills me that I don't have pictures of this.

I finally hit the hay around 5am central time... so 6am Tina time (EST).

The next day there was coffee... and donuts, and driving from Florida back to NOLA.

It was a freat wedding with wonderful people. I'm so happy for the bride and groom... plus, they are letting my crash in their guest room the first few weeks I'm in NOLA. Woo hoo for awesome friends!

Love, Tina Marie

PS- For those wondering, yes, I caught the bouquet. Again. :)

Big News for the Big Easy

2011-07-06T22:48:00.003-04:00

Last week I went to New Orleans for the second time this year. It seems as though I find myself there more often than any other place I visit. This time around, it was for a wedding, which I plan to blog about later. I had a fabulous time, which I always do. It was a few more points in the pro column... but perhaps I should back up and explain.

Over the past year I have really been feeling the need to change things up in my life. Last August I left my cushy 9-5 job and started searching for something I really wanted to do. I settled on the food service industry, and I've been catering for a few months now. I grew up with my mom owning restaurants, so while cooking for the masses is very different than "Support Contractor for the DHS", it wasn't all that unfamiliar. Still, I feel like I've been missing something. I knew what it was, no matter how much I tried to ignore it, I missed my family. The thought of moving back south entered my head. It's something I tried to ignore for a long time now. Spending time in NOLA last week put a few more points in the pro column, but still I wasn't convinced.

I like my life in DC, but, I don't love DC. I love the friends I have made here. My heart has been very torn. I kept adding the pro and con columns for staying/leaving and coming up with different results each time. Then I read an amazing book. "City of Refuge", completely made up my mind for me. It's a story about two families struggling during and after hurricane Katrina. I cried several times while reading it, and finished it in two days. I was convinced that there is no other place where I want to settle down. I know this might sound smug, but only a handful of people can really understand what it is to love a city. I think New Yorkers get it, and New Orleanians get it. There might be other cities that radiate personality, but I don't know of them. New Orleans is a hard city to live in, there is crime. Lots of crime. It's a poor city. There are few job opportunities. The list goes on and on. But there are also second lines, and mardi gras, and food, and friendly people, and the music, and the art, and the atmosphere. It's something you have to experience to understand.

Eventually I want to have a family, and I can't think of a better place to raise children. The city is filled with culture, and I want children who aren't afraid of anything. I want them to know that people are people, and whether you are black, white, young, old, poor, or rich, there are certain things that bring us all together as a people. The love of a great city is one of them.
So off I go. The moving date is still up in the air, but, for sure, I will be turning 29 in the big easy.

I'm totally going to miss DC, and the friends I've made here. Spending the majority of my 20's in this city really shaped who I am today. And I like who I am today. I owe a lot to the friends that I have made here, friends that are my family away from my family.

But, I'm not gone yet. I plan to make the most of these final few months. I'm going to play tourist in every way imaginable. I'm going to take walks at night by the capitol and soak in the scenery, and I'm going to say long tearful goodbyes to the ones I love.
For the next few months I'm going to use this blog to chronicle everything I do here, as I prepare to embark on the next stage of my life.

It should be fun.

Love, Tina Marie

Growing Up

2011-05-31T14:01:00.002-04:00

First order of business, I need everyone to re-subscribe to this blog. When I changed the location to lovetinamarie.blogspot.com I didn't automatically get all my followers. So to follow me again just click on the little follow button on the right hand of the screen.

Thanks.

Now for some introspection. I went to the beach this past weekend (pics and a post are forthcoming). I had lots of time to lay out on the beach, and take long walks with no real purpose in mind. I started thinking about all the amazing things that I have done in my life and how much I have grown since college. I think the start of adulthood for me began when I was 12 (hey, I said it was the start). When I was 12 I was accepted to a very good private school. I had such great grand ideas of how things would be. I considered myself so grown up. High school was nothing like I thought it would be. It was hard. I mean, really hard. I struggled coming from public school. Eventually I caught up. I graduated with honors. I was accepted to school in New Orleans, and I had new ideas about what being a "grown up" would entail.

I pictured myself living alone... well, living away from my parents at least. I thought about how I would spend my days running along the street car line, and laying out in the park.

In the four years I lived in New Orleans I never ran along the street car line. I did go to the park... usually to sip on daquiris after class. I ended up joining a sorority, something I never would have imagined myself doing. I loved it. College was nothing like I expected it to be, it was so much better, but like all foolish 22 year olds, I was anxious to REALLY be an adult. I wanted to start working, and really live on my own. Naive.

I did start working. I spontaneously moved to Austin after college with a friend. He decided to move back home after a few months. I was working four jobs to make it. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but it taught me that hard work is nothing to be ashamed of. After a few months I started applying for "grown up" jobs all over the country. I ended up taking an interview for a job in DC, and voila, 5 years later I'm still here. It was all so random, as I have learned life is.

I suppose the purpose of my rambling is that I have grown so much in these last years, and time flies by more and more quickly every year. I no longer am scared to get older though. I embrace it. I think my life has only gotten better with age. You learn how to take a punch, get up, dust yourself off, and keep going. You also go on so many adventures. Last year I got a scar on my face. 18 year old Tina would have been freaked out about going through life with something like that, 28 year old Tina loves it. It gives me the chance to tell a story about cliff diving into 100 foot waters in the Mexican jungle. I love all my markings, scars and stories. I have to say I am very blessed by the life I have led, and I look forward to what the future brings.

New Computer Means New Blogging

2011-05-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

I got a new computer!

Yay!

To be more precise I got a netbook.
I decided I could no longer live without blogging or updating pictures, or just plain old surfing the web, so I bit the bullet and invested in a new machine.
I'm so excited about my new purchase. I already have anti virus software installed, and of course, I've installed google chrome.
Are there any other programs or software I should install?

Expect lots more posts coming very soon! I'm on a blog writing roll!

Love,

Tina Marie

New Page, New Business

2011-03-30T18:50:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone, so as you can see there have been some changes around here!

WWW.LOVETINAMARIE.ORG is now my business website.

My blog can now be found at WWW.LOVETINAMARIE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Everyone remember to add me to your google readers at my new address, and to become a follower of my blog again!

Sorry for the disruption, but I think it will be for the best!

Love, Tina Marie

2011-03-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

Back to Crafting

2011-03-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

This post isn't really accurately titled. I have been crafting up a storm, I've just been super bad about posting tutorials on my crafts. This one is sort of simple, but lot's of fun.

I recently decided that I needed my dining room table back. I previously had done away with it, in favor of having a desk instead. I have now decided my table can serve as a desk, a sewing station, and a dining room table, all with a larger workspace. I needed something fabulous to hang over my dining room table. Enter new craft project.

Once upon a time I wanted a coffee table that was a door. Yep, you heard me right.
This is a bad picture, but you get the gist. It's a wooden door that's been sawed in half. I attached legs, and bada-bing, coffee table.

Again, sorry for the crappy picture.

But then I was left with what on earth to do with the rest of the door. It lived, unused, under my bed for awhile. Finally, I figured it out. When people come over, I always want to make cute little tags for the food I prepare. I never get around to it though, so I am left answering questions about ingredients, etc. while I never tire of talking about food, I knew that there had to be an easier way to do things. Voila! An idea was born. I transformed the rest of the table into...

A chalkboard!

I painted just the indented part of the door, so there is still a white border. I hung it over my dining room table. Now I can write down the menu on my chalkboard instead of making labels. I absolutely love it.

Also, chalkboard paint is super cheap. I only needed one coat of paint, it's about $8 for a quarter gallon. I only used about 1/4 of the can (so if you live in the area and want to chalkboard something, let me know, I have extra paint). I think chalkboards work really well in kitchens and kid's rooms. Also, now you can tint your paint for an extra $4. There are something like 10 colors to choose from, so your chalkboard can match your decor!

Happy chalkboarding!

Love, Tina Marie

A Very Lovely Baby Shower

2011-03-15T12:54:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I've posted 5 times in the past 3 months. I promise to start posting again. I feel like I've been living a crazy buys life lately. I literally don't have a free Saturday until May... the END of May. I really can't complain though. Most of the stuff I am doing is either fun stuff, or stuff that pays well.

That being said just a few weeks ago was Annie's Baby Shower. I was a co-hostess, along with her Aunt Susan. Susan's house is much bigger than mine, so we had the party there. It was as rocking of a good time as can be had when your guest of honor is more than 8 months pregnant.

Our friend Holly was kind enough to bring her fancy camera and take lots of pictures. I thought I would share a few.

This is Susan's living room. She set up lots of yummy finger foods.

Susan also had a champagne toast for the guest of honor!

I love the strawberries, I think they add a nice touch of color.

Of course, no party I co-hostess would be complete without a few crafts and homemade items.
The first I want to share are pinwheels. I made a few of these to decorate with, and I also made individual pinwheel drink stirrers for everyone at the party. I'll have a simple tutorial on these soon.

We laid out all the pinwheels near the food. I think they were a big hit.

Sarah and Tamsin playing with their pinwheels.

I also made small favors for all the guests. I sewed quick mini bags out of fabric I had on hand. I filled each bag with jordan almonds, that Susan was nice enough to pick up, and tied each bag with a white ribbon.

We put the favors in a basket lined with tissue paper, and sat them in the front entryway.

I was in charge of games. I had a few classics, but I decided I would be in charge of games AND activities.

I absolutely loved THIS tutorial from kojodesigns. Since I couldn't make a and entire booth, I decided to decorate a frame. I also had a bucket filled with props. It was a big hit.

I think I'll have it at all my parties from now on.

Annie and Frank, the mother and father to-be, took a picture before Frank was banished from the premises.

We had another mommy-to-be at our party. I got a picture of both of their bumps in the frame.

During present opening time Annie opened my gift. It was a handmade baby mat. I use lots of fabrics I had on hand, and the inside is lined with fleece. I tried to make it as ungirly as possible as we don't know if Baby Webb is a boy or a girl.

Finally, I had a new take on the classic "Write down advice/well wishes for the mommy-to-be". Instead of just getting note cards for people to write on, I decorated the front of plain white cards with the alphabet. Every letter got it's own card. I encouraged people to write well wishes and advice on the back of the cards. When Baby Webb is older s/he can use the cards as alphabet flashcards.

As closer look at my artistic skillz. Yeah, that's skillz, with a Z. I will say, it is ridiculously difficult to figure out a drawable item for every letter of the alphabet. I may have a tutorial on this one later too.

Whew! That's it!. Do you have any great party ideas that I didn't think of? I'm co-hostessing a bridal shower next month, so I'm open to lots of new things!

Love, Tina Marie

Reflecting --- it's a Jesus-y One.

2011-03-03T17:26:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that I'm Catholic. I think I've made it fairly well known.
That said, this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Lent is a time of reflection. We sacrifice something, just like Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Last year I gave up using gChat on my blackberry.
It might have been the most difficult thing I have ever given up during Lent, including the time I gave up meat for a whole 40 days. Most people give something up, like candy, or fried food. However, it is also completely acceptable to give something during Lent. A few years ago, for Lent, I decided to make my way back to Church. Even though I've always been Catholic, my church going was sparse to say the least, But ever since that Lent I've made mass a weekly ritual. This year, once again, I've decided to give something, rather than give something up. So, starting next week, every week until Easter, I am going to make a second trip to church. During this trip I'm going to say a rosary. I have always felt a special bond to the Blessed Mother, and I feel like it's time for me to acknowledge that. I know the Catholic views of the Virgin Mary are different from a lot of other religions. If you want to know more you can always do research in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It's basically a manual for what we believe and why.

Is anyone else giving up, or giving something for Lent?

Love, Tina Marie

Why I Love My Phone

2011-02-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

I'm totally a phone snob. I have no idea how I lived before I owned my android phone. I absolutely love it.
The only irritating thing about phones is how quickly they become outdated. Luckily android has system updates, so the phone adapts as technology adapts. So if you have a droid, here are 5 things that you might not know your phone does, that are awesome:

1. Widgets: did you know you can create shortcuts on your phones "desktop". I have shortcuts for people I frequently call. You can create an icon on your desktop that will call or text a person. You can also create shortcuts to frequently visited websites, or a song that you play on repeat. I absolutely love this feature.

2. Zip files: I use my phone as my primary music source. I buy all my music from Amazon, which, in my opinion, kicks iTunes ass. Amazon lets me have the music both on my desktop, and my phone, but it also lets me use any media format to carry my files. This means I can share my music files with other people. Furthermore I can buy a song on my phone, save it as a zip file on my phone and email it to someone else. No PC necessary. I love this feature.

3. TV: I don't have cable. This means I watch most of my TV either day of, or online. I recently discovered that thru sidereel.com I can watch pretty much any show out there on my phone. This is pretty awesome for me.

4. Radio: There are lots of free radio programs out there, but I use pandora. I know that they now have a 40 hour a month limit, but using a different account on my PC than I use on my phone I am able to double my monthly usage!

5. Navigation: I know that a lot of people have garmins and tom toms and swear by them. I swear by my google navigation. They are constantly updating the program, and I use it in place of other traditional navigation systems. I have a dock for my phone in my car specifically for when I use it as a navigation systems. I would be lost without it. (Get it? It's punny.)

Do ya'll have any other neat features that use use your android phone for?

Love, Tina Marie

Hair Cuts and Bingo

2011-02-04T10:56:00.000-05:00

I'm excited. For weeks I've been planning a hair cut, and the day for it is finally here. I'm heading over to my friend Erin's house today for my first haircut in about a year.

Last year I cut off all my hair and donated it to cancer kids. NEVER AGAIN.

I'm seriously never doing it again. It was way too traumatic. Now I've grown my hair out again and am ready to have a style to it. I'm going to have layers put in, and absolutely no length taken off.

Wish me luck!

Love,

Tina Marie

Long Time No Blog

2011-02-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

I've felt so displaced without my blogging!

I figured it was time for a post.

As many of you know, I love to read. I mean I absolutely love it. It's one of my favorite hobbies, and I'm always reading something. Sometimes (more times than I care to admit) I'm reading a chick lit book, but I try to alternate between that at classics/ Pulitzer prize winners. Most recently I tried a new genre of book: foodie.

When I say foodie, I don't mean a cookbook. I mean a book on the subject of food.

I like to tell people I'm a pretend foodie, because while I love a fine dinner, I'm just as happy having tacos from Jack in the Box. Also, I never demand that everything be fresh. I was raised in a not so wealthy household, so we definitely ate our share of canned vegetables. This particular book is called "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant". It's a collection of short essays by people who have some connection to the food industry. These people talk about eating for one, and preparing meals for one, versus preparing food for a crowd. The book really spoke to me.

Any and all of my friends can attest that I LOVE cooking for them. I'm always happy to spend time in the kitchen preparing food for the people in my life, but I rarely take the time to do it for myself. Sure, every once in awhile, I become decadent, but 99% of the time you can find me eating a random assortment of food for dinner. And on more than one occasion I've forgotten to eat altogether. This means many dinners consisting of cereal, or a microwave potato, a spoonful of peanut butter, or some other singular fulling item. An example: last night I had half an avocado, some carrots and hummus, and 2 slices of cheddar cheese. I didn't eat them all at the same time, I ate them in that order, one after the other, without ever using a plate, getting up and going to the kitchen for each new item. I eat by myself because I have to. I would much rather prepare huge meals for friends. Maybe that's why I like cooking so much. I enjoy the look on other people's faces, knowing that the food I just made them is blowing their minds. For me, food is the way I show love and appreciation. Anyway you look at it, I think I've found a new genre of book.

How about you. What/How do you eat when you're alone?

Love,

Tina Marie

An Update

2011-01-12T14:34:00.000-05:00

Hi All,

Sorry I haven't been posting lately, but my computer finally completely died. This means that updates will be few and far between until I get a new laptop. As I am very very poor right now, who knows when this will actually happen.

However, Annie wrote me an email yesterday. She said i had failed at blogging, and was a bad blogger. She also called me a whole bunch of names not suitable for use on this site.
I told her my predicament, only she would hear none of it. She demanded I go to her house, in the middle of a huge snowstorm, and update my blog. I told her I wasn't comfortable driving in the snow, so she said I should walk... 10 miles... uphill... barefoot.
Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. But, she did ask me to blog, and told me I could use her computer. So Annie, I'm at your house. I let the dogs out. I'm using your computer. i hope you're happy. :)

Since this post is extremely Annie heavy, I thought I would take a page out of her book and blog about things I am extremely excited for:

Weddings

One of my best friends (Allie) is getting married this summer, and I am her maid of honor! I'm so excited, as she is a super awesome person, and her fiance is just as cool. This means I get to plan her bridal shower and her bachelorette party... both taking place in New Orleans this spring. I'm most excited to plan the bridal shower... I just love me a good tea party. Her wedding is taking place in Florida at her fiance's family beach house. I'm pretty jacked about that too. I love the beach, and this wedding has "awesome time" written all over it.

"Beach" Retreat

While in college every year my sorority went on beach retreat. A whole weekend of hanging out with each other and soaking up the sun. It was always a good time. Well, a bunch of us alums have continued the tradition. Every year we vacation together someplace really neat. Florida, Atlantic city, and a cruise have been on the itinerary before, and it looks like this year everyone may be coming to DC! I am so excited to have my sisters see where I live, and to experience the awesomeness of this city. Sometimes I forget how awesome it is to live here, but how many people can say they can see the Washington monument from their house? I live in a pretty awesome place, and I know my sorority sisters will have an awesome time here.

Memorial Day Weekend

I know all of my things that I'm excited for aren't for a few months, but I can't help myself. Memorial Day is no different. every year I spearhead a group trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina (OBX), and this year is no different. I've already started to look at houses, and get numbers. While I won't book a place till March, it's nice to know this is on the books.

Update: Annie, H and R are asleep at my feet... by the heating vent.

Gym

This is one thing I am excited for that's happening right now. Some of ya'll know I go to Washington Sports Club. I love the gym because of one class: Step Aerobics. It's taught by an amazing teacher, and it's also taught at an extremely high intensity level. I've tried SO many other step classes, and none have other come close. In the past I've had free access to company gyms, but have continued to pay the (ridiculously high) membership fees at Washington Sports Club because of this one class. Well, now, it looks like one of my bi-weekly classes is being canceled. This means I only get step once a week. I decided I couldn't justify four classes for the high fees, so, as much as it pains me, i am switching gyms. I checked out other gyms in the area and have settled on Fitness First. Their gym is definitely smaller than WSC. They also don't offer towel service, but they DO offer three step classes a week, and $20 monthly membership fees plus free parking. I'm totally on board. I'll probably start in a month once my WSC membership is over.

Okay, I hope this satisfied you Annie.

Love, Tina Marie

Happy Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T20:02:00.000-05:00

Love, Tina Marie

Wordless Wednesday Days 17-20

2010-12-22T23:44:00.001-05:00

Love, Tina Marie

Wordless Wednesday Days 21-23

2010-12-22T23:44:00.000-05:00

Love, Tina Marie

Wordless Wednesday Days 13-16

2010-12-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

Love, Tina Marie

Getting Caught Up

2010-12-12T12:04:00.000-05:00

Getting a bit behind on the calendar postings. Here are days 10-12. Also you can see how/ where I've been hanging them. I just glue gunned the images to a piece of ribbon then tacked that ribbon up on my door.
Only 13 days left!

Love, Tina Marie

The Ninth Day of Advent ...

2010-12-09T18:51:00.000-05:00

Is really cold! I went with a few friends to the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the ellipse. We frooze our butts off! But it was really neat to see the President light the National tree. I'm really glad I did it, and even happier for the hot chocolate I had afterwards!

Today's image is a Christmas present! Cause, let's be honest, it's not Christmas without a beautifully wrapped present under the tree!

Love, Tina Marie

On the 8th day of Advent...

2010-12-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

I choose a holiday wreath. Also worth noting that today is the feast of the immaculate conception. Ummm, that's about it for today.

Love, Tina Marie

This is What Happens When I Get Bored...

2010-12-07T23:08:00.000-05:00

I make an Advent wreath!
Instead of fabric, I used pages of an old book. I added purple and pink ties and voila!

Love, Tina Marie

The Christmas Star

2010-12-07T16:21:00.000-05:00

Its the star that shone bright in the sky to lead the wise men to the baby Jesus.

Love,
Tina Marie

Oops!

2010-12-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

Oops! I missed yesterday. Remember making these kinds of snowflakes as a kid? You fold a Pierce of paper, or in my case felt, into fours. You cut out chunks with your scissors, and then unfold for a fun snowflake shape!

Love, Tina Marie

Up on the Rooftop the Reindeer Paws...

2010-12-05T19:52:00.000-05:00

Day 5 is a reindeer... anyone else automatically thinking of John Deere tractors?

Love, Tina Marie

The Fourth Day of Advent

2010-12-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

Today we have an ice skate for our Advent calendar. Not much to blog about on the weekend, but I wanted to make sure I kept everyone updated.

Love, Tina Marie

The Third Day of Advent

2010-12-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

The third day of advent is a Christmas tree!

I realized yesterday not everyone knows what Advent is. Advent is the period of waiting before Christmas. Many Christian religions celebrate the season of Advent. Catholics mark the weeks with the use of an advent wreath, but more about that later.

How do you prepare for Christmas?

Love, Tina Marie

The Second Day of Advent

2010-12-02T14:04:00.000-05:00

Today is the second day of advent. Next on the calendar is a Christmas candle. I cut all the shapes out of felt and hot glued them on felt squares. All the shapes are really simple, and this would be a great craft to do with kids.

Love, Tina Marie

Tis The Season

2010-12-01T23:52:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging lately but my laptop decided to finally give out on me (it's been a bad week). However, that hasn't stopped me from enjoying the holiday season. I decided I needed to make an Advent Calendar. Day one is snowmen, please forgive the poor picture quality, but I took It at night... with my camera phone.

Love, Tina Marie

Register

2010-12-01T23:42:00.000-05:00

Cancun, Part 2: How I Cut Open My Forehead

2010-11-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yep, I cut open my head.

Let's start at the beginning...

The one and only thing I desperately wanted to do in Mexico was go to Chichen Itza. I suppose it's the nerd in me, but I have always loved history, and especially the Mayan, Incan, and Atzec cultures. Unfortunately, the only days the hotel was running tours were days that I couldn't go because of the wedding activities. So, on day one, while in downtown Cancun, I stumbled upon a tour company that was offering a tour on Sunday to Chichen Itza. It was $40 for transportation, a buffet lunch, and admission. In addition to Chichen Itza they would be stopping at Ik Kil Cenote. A "Cenote" is a sinkhole. Ik Kil was only a few miles from Chichen Itza, we would stop, explore, and get to swim. When we got there I was amazed at how beautiful it was. The sinkhole was 175ft from the surface. You walked down a stone staircase to the base, where the water was.

This is a view from the "ground level" looking down into the Ik Kil Cenote.

There were beautiful waterfalls cascading into the cenote, as well as the ability to cliff dive.

This is from the bottom of the cenote, looking up to the ground level. Absolutely beautiful...

Well, when I found out we could cliff dive I was all for it. I have been cliff diving before, when I lived in Austin, and I loved it.The cliff in the cenote was 30 feet, tall enough to be "scary", but short enough to ensure that plenty of people would still jump.

You can see the place were people are jumping from...

So I jumped. I hit the water, and popped back up. Before I knew it people were pointing to my forehead. I looked at them questioningly... Did I have something on my face? I put my hand to my forehead and then I felt it... I took a look at my hand... my forehead was bleeding. I hadn't even felt anything. I climbed out of the cenote and held my hand to my head for awhile. It didn't hurt, and after a few minutes of pressure the bleeding seemed to stop.
I decided to jump again. I NEEDED a picture of me jumping for my new facebook profile pic.
I climbed back up the 30 feet, this time when I jumped I held my hand to my face. I hit the water again. I popped back up. My cut had started bleeding again, but it wasn't too bad.

Me popping up from my second jump...

I swam over to the spot in the cenote where the sun was shining thru. I wanted pics...

And I climbed back out again. I was happy that was over. The second jump is WAY scarier than the first, because you know what to expect. I but I had my picture... so I thought...
Turns out my cameraman didn't catch my jump. I was ticked, but I NEEDED that picture. So, I decided to jump again.

Standing at the top of the cliff for my third jump, I was kinda out of breath at this point but I was determined...

See the splash at the bottom? That's me. My cameraman missed the picture again. Also, this time when I hit the water I didn't cover my face, and my cut split open some more. This time, I felt it. I think I tore it open a bit more than it already was. I put my hand to my head, I was bleeding... a lot. I climbed out again, this time the lifeguard guy spotted me. I allowed him to bandage up my head.

Me with my hand to my forehead after my third jump...

And even though this is an AWFUL picture of me, I'll post it. My cameraman was "kind" enough to take pictures of me getting bandaged up, something to remember the trip by... other than the three inch long cut above my right eye.

All in all, I'd do it again. Yeah, I'm kind of a badass. I love cliff diving, and a gash on my forehead isn't going to stop me. Plus, it makes for kind of an awesome story.

Cancun, Part 3: Chichen Itza

2010-11-17T14:54:00.000-05:00

Cancun, Part 1

2010-11-17T13:07:00.000-05:00

Are ya'll still following me? I know I haven't blogged in sometime (2 weeks!) but I have my reasons. I was out of the country for part of that time. I was at a wedding in Cancun, Mexico!
Ya'll are about to be super jealous...

These are the huge sliding glass doors in my room. I stayed at a resort right on the beach.

This is my own private balcony. I ate breakfast (room service) out here in the mornings. The resort was all inclusive so all my food, drinks, and even room service was included!

What, what! Yep, that's the hot tub... IN MY ROOM! Every room had one. Ahhh...

These are the private cabana's in front of the pool. I actually spent more time at the pool that had the volleyball net tho.

During the day (Day 1) we went into town. We walked over to the beach to take pictures. The water was clear and beautiful. It was almost an aqua color.

It was the perfect temperature too... we didn't bring our bathing suits so we just walked in the sand and stuck our feet in the water...

Gratuitous picture of me and Mike... shorts in November, ahhh...

So I thought I would give you a taste of the vacation before I delved into the exciting parts. Stay tuned because cliff diving, and Chichen Itza are still to come!

Fall Crafts

2010-11-01T11:54:00.000-04:00

I've hit a crafting wall this fall. My house is finally completely decorated. I feel as all of my inspiration has flown out the door with the summer sun. I know this will pass after Thanksgiving when I can start decorating for Christmas. (I'm a firm believer that you cannot put up Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving.)

Until then, in order get get into the fall spirit I revisited a craft I have done before....

It involved cutting lots and lots of circles of fabric

And making pretty ruffles with them...

Then you add a well placed bow....

And you have a fall wreath!

You can find my tutorial for this here.
Oh, and because I said I would tell ya'll how much I spend on my crafts:

hanger: Free (from my closet)
Ribbon: $1 (I had this in my ribbon stash, but I think I got it for $1 at Michael's)
Fabric circles: Free (I used the fabric from a blouse and a dress I didn't want anymore. I'm always trying to re-purpose good fabric)

Fall Crafting

2010-11-01T11:11:00.000-04:00

I've been in a crafting rut lately. My apartment is completely decorated, so I have come to a screeching halt in the crafts department.

A few days ago I was browsing a few of

Arrr, Shiver Me Timbers

2010-10-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago my good friend Tamsin had a birthday. She had heard mention of a pirate boat cruise out of Baltimore, MD. It was intriguing, but Baltimore is sooooo far (like an hour-ish away). A few of us suggested that we make our own pirate cruise. So one fateful Saturday night we dressed up as pirates and boarded a Potomac boat cruise out of Georgetown. The cost was $14, plus drinks. It was totally awesome. Everyone stared and some people even posed for pictures with us.

The Anna's in their pirate finest on the boat.

After the boat trip was over we headed over to Adams Morgan to continue the party. We stopped off at Millie and Al's, Dan's Cafe, and Peyote. We of course had jumbo slice, and a fantastic time was had by all.

Me at Millie and Al's posing for the camera.

I suppose the point of my post, is that just because something isn't offered in your neighborhood doesn't mean you can't make it happen. Just grab a couple of your closest, most outlandish, friends and make fools of yourself. I guarantee a good time.

Camping, Part Deux

2010-10-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Did I spell "duex" right? Maybe I should have said part "dos"?

Anyways, A few weeks ago a few friends and I decided to go camping before the weather got too cold. If you remember I went camping over July 4th weekend in the Shenandoah Mountains. For this trip I returned to the Shenandoah Mountains, but a different camp site.
I learned one very important thing from this trip that I would like to share:

I NEED a sleeping bag for October camping!

I was so cold at night the first night that I couldn't sleep. To fix this problem for the second night Tamsin and I (we were sharing a tent and were equally as cold) put rocks in the fire.
We then took the hot rocks out of the fire and wrapped them in t-shirts and towels and put the rocks in bed with us.

This was what remained of the shirts and towels:

Yeah, not doing that again. We did stay warm though.
I think next year I'll just invest in that sleeping bag.

Exploring DC

2010-10-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

A few months ago my friend Tamsin had an idea. She thought that every month a group of us girls should go out and explore DC. We would have brunch, and plan activities in neighborhoods that we wouldn't normally visit. So far it's been a success.
We've been to Eastern Market, and U Street, and most recently Sarah led us on an excursion to paddle boat in the tidal basin and visit the DC fish market.
While I had done the paddle boats before (almost 5 years ago) I had never been tot he fish market.

I had a blast! The fish market actually has decent prices and the freshest fish you can get in the area. I'll defiantly be back for my future seafood needs and the boats were only $19 for an hour for 4 people!
I didn't manage to capture a pic of the market, but I got a few whilst we were boating:

Sarah enjoying the sunshine with the Jefferson memorial in the background.

Anna Pope is all smiles!

Follow Friday: Funny Stuff

2010-10-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

There are quite a few blogs I follow just because they crack me up.

Here is the latest list:
(possibly not appropriate for those without a keen sense of humor, such as myself)

www.dontevenreply.com (Emails from an asshole)

www.promtacular.com/ (stylin prom pics)

and because I love DIY stuff, and my crafts don't always turn out right either:

www.regretsy.com/

Hope you have a good weekend!

Harper's Ferry

2010-10-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

I know I spent the earlier part of the week bashing on West Virginia, but just so you know, there are redeeming factors. We decided to make the most of our trip and stop over in Harper's Ferry.
It's a charming historic town, and part of the Appalachian trail. I think this was the best part of the trip.

This was the view across the Shenandoah River. It was just gorgeous.

We walked across this old bridge along railroad tracks.
The train came by super slowly, and I had time to snap a picture.

We had "lunch" in town, which consisted of custard (for the other girls) and apple dumpling (for me). It was SO GOOD.

This was our view from our lunch spot. It's such a cute little town, totally worth a day trip.

This is the church in town, it dates back to 1896.

And finally, the gratuitous picture of us in front of the scenic background.

Final thought:
Harper's Ferry: yay!
Charles Town: nay!

Arr, Ye Matey

2010-10-12T14:40:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago my good friend Tamsin hada birthday. She had heard mention of a pirate boat cruise out of Baltimore, MD. It was intriuging, but Baltimore is sooooo far (like an hour-ish away). A few of us suggested that we make our own pirate cruise. So one fateful Saturday night we dressed up as pirates and boarded a Potomac boat cruise out of Georgetown. The cost was $14, plus drinks. It was totally awesome. Everyone stared and some people even posed for pictures with us.

The Anna's in their pirate finest on the boat.

Me at Millie and Al's posing for the camera.

Country Roads, Take Me Home

2010-10-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

To the place where I belong, West Virginia! Mountain Mama. Take me home, country roads.

John Denver had no clue what he was talking about. Recently a few girlfriends and I decided to make the foray into West Virgina. Why? Well, we obviously had a hankering to do some gambling at Charles Town, Races and Slots (Now with table games!). I hope their catchy jingle is now playing on repeat in your head. :)

I love to gamble, and when we realized that Charles Town was only an hour-ish away we crossed the state lines.

Charles Town Races and Slots is where dreams go to die.

It was the most depressing gambling establishment I have ever been to.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn. The casino offered a shuttle from our hotel to the casino. All the people on the shuttle were working class, middle age folks, who were alone. They were off to play the slots and gamble away their paychecks. The whole casino reeked of smoke and desperation.
It was just such a sad sight.

Also, getting a drink was near impossible. The tables all had a minimum $25 bet, which I am not a fan of. We found the one roulette table with a $15 minimum and played there. Between the 3 of us only $150 was lost, and I actually ended the night up $5. I still had a good time because I was with good friends, and we could poke fun at a lot of it, but I definitely will be saving my next gambling experience for Atlantic City.

I totally meant to take a picture of the 3 of us looking all hot and sexy, but never managed to do it. Instead here is a picture of Tamsin's press on zebra print nails. Hot.

My bad...

2010-09-30T12:41:00.000-04:00

I've been a bad blogger. Promising posts, then not coming thru.
Things have been busy around casa Cordova. I seriously have no idea how I managed to hold down a 9-5 job AND do all that I am doing now.

I don't have any great crafts posts, but next week I'm working on my Halloween costume, so I'll post about that. Also this weekend I'm getting one last camping trip in before it gets too cold.
Stay tuned for pics!

Love, Tina Marie

Designing on a Dime

2010-09-21T15:41:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I stole the title from the name of a show on HGTV...

Last week I was reading through the comments section of one of my posts and I came across this:

Becky said...: Since I haven't been into a craft store since 1992 (don't hate me, Tina!), can you tell me how much something like this costs? Just curious... not planning on making any window furnishing any time soon, but you have to know that your stuff always looks like a million bucks :)

First of all, thank you. Second of all, I'm not really sure which Becky made the comment (I know 2 of you!) but regardless, it got me thinking. I don't think I have stressed enough what a cheapskate I am. I really reuse things until they are falling apart. It's really hard for me to throw things away. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hoarder by any means, but I always like to make sure I have gotten as many uses out of a product as I can.

I am going to start posting how much projects cost me so that you all will know that you can be crafty without spending a million bucks.

Also, some easy ways to save money on crafts are to not wait till you have a project to do until you buy materials and supplies. For example I replace my crayons every year right during "back to school" time. I choose this time because Walmart sells crayola crayons (the only brand I'll use) for TWENTY CENTS! They have similar deals on markers, water colors, color pencils, etc etc etc. I end up spending $10 at Walmart where I would have spent $40 any other time of the year.
I also try to use coupons as much as possible. If you sign up online for the JoAnn Fabrics mailing list they will send you coupons in the mail. Lots of times these coupons are for 50% off of one item. Fabric, however much you buy, is considered one item. This means I can get more for my money. I always wait to reupholter things till I have one of these coupons in hand. Likewise everytime you shop at Michael's they print a coupon on your receipt for 40% off of any one item. These saving really add up, especially when you craft as much as I do. By slowly buying on sale items I have really built up my craft arsenal. Sure, I sometimes splurge on an expensive item, but for the most part I keep my costs low.

So stay tuned in for later on this week when I give a tutorial on re purposing sheets.

Tina's Favorite Things: Vintage Gloves

2010-09-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

I wish I lived in the 50's... only not really.

I want to walk around in lovely dresses, and heels, and pearls 24/7. Sure, I do that now, but I want it to be the norm. This is part of the reason I LOVE vintage gloves.

Vintage gloves completely class up my look with very little effort.
I bought these three pairs in a resale shop for less that $5 each!

I'm not normally a huge fan of fall, but I'm excited to break out my trench so I can wear these gloves!

This is the shortest pair I own. I love the detailing on the upperside.

This pink pair was too adorable to pass up. I especially love the bunching on the sides.

These are my most favorite. Long cream colored gloves. They just scream 1950. LOVE.

Thursday: A Rant

2010-09-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

I try to stay fairly upbeat on this blog. I really want it to be about crafts, and fun, and being awesome (which I am), however, every once in awhile I must rant.

It's no secret that I'm a small government person.
It's just my opinion, and respect those who disagree with me.

However, this week I have been completely anti-government.

Let me explain.

I am in the process of procuring a small business license.
There are about 10 million hoops to jump through.
I need three different licenses to start my business, and I need to pay a myriad of fees.
Not to mention that no one in government is capable of giving me straight answers when I ask them questions. It's absolutely the most frustrating process ever.

I'm really excited to get things up and running, but I would be a lot more excited if government wasn't trying to take an extra large bite of my apple. Did you know it cost $500 to get a small business license in Virginia?!
I find that reprehensible.
The government is making it HARDER to become self sufficient.

Sigh.

There is my rant for today.

And to end on a happy note, here is a picture of puppies:

Upcycling to a New Ottoman

2010-09-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

I try to reuse items as much as I possibly can. I live on a budget, so as much as I want expensive chic furniture, I have to make to due with cheaper items a lot of the time. I'm okay with this because it gives me a chance to make a standard item my own, with just a bit of paint, or some glue and give it a whole new look.

When I was living with Annie we "invested" in some cheap end tables for our living room. We purchased them from IKEA. The Lack table from IKEA is the most simple standard table you can get. I think they run less than $10 each, and come in a variety of colors. I had the one below in black.

This table has been through quite a bit. First it was a TV stand for me. Then I used it as a stepping stool while I was painting my apartment. Then, after I couldn't remove the paint stains I decided to modge podge over the top of it. I glued pictures of my friends on with the modge podge. When I moved it moved with me, and then when I moved again, it moved back with me.
By this time it was peeling badly, so I scraped off the modge podge and trust me when I say the table had seen far better days. I still didn't want to get rid of it, because I knew it was structurally sound. Then it hit me. I would make a small ottoman out of it!

The first thing I did was spray paint the table legs. They went from black to white.

It takes awhile to spray paint because you want the paint to fully dry before you turn the leg over to get the other side. Also I had to give the legs quite a few coats of paint.

This was the table top. Yeah, you see what I mean when I say it had seen better days...

When I decided I wanted to make the ottoman one of the first things I did was go to JoAnn's to buy for the top. This is when I realized foam is insanely expensive! I had no idea. A yard of 5inch thick foam runs about $35! And I needed 2 yards!
There was no way I was going to pay $70 to do a craft project (remember that budget I was talking about!). Instead I started trolling craigslist for someone who was getting rid of their sofa! Lots of times people post a sofa "curb alert". I just waited till I found one in my area and took all the sofa cushions in order to reuse the foam!

This is the foam from the sofa cushion not in its cover. I spray adhesived it to the top of the table (you can see it peeking out from underneath). Then I cut off the excess using an exacto knife.
After I made sure the glue dried I covered the entire thing the same way i reupholstered my chairs! Using just a staple gun and some staples I made this:

I just screwed the legs back in and I think it makes a fine ottoman.

I especially love it's new place as a side table! Do you recognize the other items on that table?
The silver platter is the same one from earlier this week, and the ladder where the quilts are hanging is the other half of this one!

The best part about this is that not only do I have a fun new side table, I can also pull it out of the corner and use it as extra seating!
I LOVE duel functionality!

If anyone in the DC area wants to try this craft themselves I have 3 more couch cushions that I don't know what to do with!

Let me know!

Follow Friday: Catalog Living

2010-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

If you're like me you love flipping through catalogs.
It pleases me to no end, it's where a lot of my inspiration come from.

However my inspiration is usually craft, decor, or cooking based.

This woman from England has very different, and very hysterical ideas when she flips through a catalog. She gives hysterical captions for all the pictures she posts.

I enjoy.

http://catalogliving.net/

Gary Jr. was getting a little tired of his parents none-too-subtle digs at his recent bed-wetting phase.

NYC Yeah You Know Me

2010-09-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend Tamsin and I trekked back up to see Theodora and do a little more NYC sightseeing. Unlike last time we opted for the train versus the bus. Our train out of Union Station left at 3am, it was worth it thought. The comforts of the train outweighed the comforts on the bus, even with the early start time. When we got to Theo's we both took 5 hour naps, so that also helped. By the time we hit the streets we decided to make it a day of shopping.
We walked in and out of upscale, funky, and retro shops, we stopped to look at Street vendors, and we had a great time. We called it an early night because Tamsin and Theo needed to be up early for their 5K!

I definitely didn't run in the race, I'm not a runner by any means. But the gals did wonderfully, all Tamsin set a new personal record! Yay Tamsin!

After the race we wandered around some more and I decided I really wanted to see the carosel in Central Park. Little did I know it was harder to find than Waldo.
We finally stumbled upon it (thanks to the Google) and I think I got some really neat action shots.

The next day Tamsin and I ventured out on our own. We desperately wanted to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to all the wonderful art on display in the museum the MET has a rooftop terrace. On the roof there is a new interactive art piece. It reminded me of a huge birds nest. You can actually walk under, up, in and through all the bamboo. Tamsin and I hung out on the roof for awhile.

The roof had great views of the city skyline...

Inside the MET I was a bit overwhelmed, so we decided to narrow our ventures to the Egyptian section, classical art, and the instruments room. The picture above is a temple that the museum transported from Egypt all the way to NYC! They have a ginormous room just for this one amazing piece. It was quite an experience.

My favorite classical artist is Degas, and more specifically his dancer series. I love the way he captured the movement both in paint and in sculpture.

Of course being the seasoned violin player that I am I had to take a picture of the Stradivariuses? Stradivari? What's the plural of "Stradivarius"?

And I'll leave you with this pic of Tamsin and Theo post run on Governor's Island. They are holding up the sign I so expertly crafted for them. It reads: "Run Tamsin and Theo, Run Like Someone is Chasing You!"

Tina's Favorite Things: Serving Dishes

2010-09-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Some of my favorite items are kitchen items. I especially love serving dishes. I'm a big fan of an eclectic grouping of dishes. None of my dishes match and I love it. I mostly find things at Marshall's or Ross, though sometimes I'll pick up an item in an antique shop, or at Goodwill.

This past Saturday I decided to go "antiquing" around the U street corridor of Eastern Market.
I was there a few weeks ago with some girlfriends and we stumbled across the most wonderful junk shop: Ruff and Ready. The place is a mess, piles and piles of just stuff. It's definitely not a place for someone who isn't ready to dig around and get dirty. If you're willing to put in the effort though it can me worth it. I found the two serving dishes below in a bow full of kitchen things.

As you can see they are more than diamonds in the rough. They were both filthy and disgusting.
I had a feeling they were silver though. I haggled with the shop keeper and got both pieces for $15. I took them home and gave them a good scrubbing with some silver polish, and now...

Just lovely!

I looked up the serial numbers of the plates online and I was only half right. One of the dishes is stainless steel, and resells for about $40. The other piece however is antique silver from 1949. It definitely made my money back on that investment! Not to mention it's my first piece of silver!
I'm really excited to add something so old to my serving collection. I intend to get a lot of use out of both of these items, and at $15 they were both quite the steal!

Stay tuned in tomorrow for another post!

Follow Friday: Twitter Edition

2010-09-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't done a follow Friday in awhile, but this is worth it.
As you can see in my sidebar I have a twitter account. I highly recommend you start by following me on twitter. After you follow me you must start following 50Cent. Yeah, you heard me 50Cent, and let me explain why. The third person you should follow is English50cent.

Someone out there has taken it upon him or herself to translate 50Cent's tweets into proper English.

Need more convincing? An example of the hilarity:

50cent: Soulja and fab kicked it they cool now aint no more beef you cock suckers have a nice day lol

English50cent: Soulja and Fab have reconciled their differences, but have run out of meat. Warm regards to my homosexual followers. *laughs*

Fabulous!

Curtains are Called "Window Treatments" When You're a Grown-up

2010-09-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have no idea why. But that's what I'll call this little project to make it seem more legit.
First thing I did was make a standard curtain from some fabric. My fabric was a heavy kind of canvas. I cut it to the specific dimensions of my window. I sewed a "tube" on top for the curtain rod to go through:

What I did different, was I also sewed "tubes" on the sides of the curtain. I pulled a thin piece of ribbon through the side tubes and scrunched up the fabric, seen here:

I tied the ends of the ribbon on the side tubes so that the fabric would stay bunched. Then I cut 2 pieces of ribbon from my ribbon stash, and used them to hold up the curtain. After a little fluffing and rearranging I think my curtain turned out rather well.

Simple, adorable, fun, decorative. Enjoy!

I Was Going to Write About Window Treatments...

2010-09-08T14:00:00.000-04:00

But then I realized the article I was interviewed for came out and I am totally quoted!
A few weeks ago a reporter from the AP contacted me because of something I tweeted.
I don't remember exactly what it was, but something about looking forward to Jersey Shore.

Now, I'm famous.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wirestory?id=11524699&page=1

Woo!

More on window treatments tomorrow.

I'm a Wiz with Paint

2010-09-02T14:08:00.000-04:00

No new craft to post today. Stay tuned next week though as I have something exciting coming up.
In the mean time please enjoy my new banner!
I figure I'll post a new banner every season, and in my mind September=football=fall.

I created my banner in plain old "Paint".

Yeah, I'm awesome, I know.

Search for the Perfect Rug

2010-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have this old rag rug in my kitchen. It completely clashes with every color scheme I have going. I think I've had it since college. It cost me $2.50 at Walmart, 7 years ago.

Instead of tossing it out, I decided to repurpose it. A few weeks ago I saw a rug tutorial on KoJo Designs.
I wanted to try it and this seemed like the perfect opportunity, though I didn't follow all of her instructions.
I had wanted a new rug for in the kitchen for awhile. I knew that I wanted to incorporate the orange I already had going, but I also wanted to bring in more yellows to soften up the orange.
I found the perfect fabric at JoAnn's, and I KNEW I had to use it for this project.

First thing I did was spray adhesive a thick black piece of fabric to the rug. I did this so that the pattern in the rug wouldn't show through my fabric, and also to make it that much sturdier.
After spray adhesiving the black fabric to the rug I spray adhesived my fabric that I wanted to show to the black fabric. It worked fairly well, though if I were doing it again I would try to find a canvas material that I liked. I just fell in love with my lemon design material, and no other would do.

The I sewed around the edges of the rug to make sure everything stayed right in place. After that you want to scotchguard your rug like scotchguarding is going out of style.

Ta-da! Finished rug!

Finished rug in the new kitchen! I think I may try this again with a bigger rug. Maybe something to go in my bedroom. Next time I'll definitely use canvas material or maybe duckcloth instead of plain cotton.

Let me know if any of you try this!

Fun Free Finds (I like alliteration )

2010-08-31T09:13:00.000-04:00

The other day I was walking down the street and I noticed that the duplex next to my apartment building was being remodeled. They had tons of stuff outside, including an old wooden ladder. I have been wanting an old ladder for some time now, I quickly rummaged through the debris on the sidewalk and uncovered my new treasure:

I brought it into my apartment and cleaned it off. After cleaning it I took out my saw, which you can see in this picture. I knew the ladder would be too big for my apartment in its current state so I cut it down to three rungs. After cutting it down I painted it an off white color. Originally I wanted it a brilliant white, but off white was all I had sitting around my apartment.

After painting the ladder I hung it on the wall on a couple of nails. I rather enjoy the new decorative shelving!

What do you think? I love it. Originally I was going to full it with books, but it looked too busy. I like this much more. I especially love that the books that did make it to the shelf are all Ayn Rand books! The picture frames are the same ones from this post (from my old blog). Instead of putting pictures in them I put fabric scraps in. I loved framed fabric. It can easily add some color to any room.

Also, on a side note, I have begun my funemployment time. So expect more posts, more crafting and more Tina in general!

Chutes and Ladders

2010-08-26T15:37:00.000-04:00

Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

2010-08-24T13:07:00.000-04:00

I have the tiniest kitchen ever. Seriously, it's small. There is enough room for the stove and the fridge along one wall. The other wall holds the sink and a few cabinets. Definitely leaves me wanting more.

I'm so in love with the rest of my apartment but I wanted something more for the kitchen. So I started googling some ideas for making use of my one empty wall. This is what I came up with:

Julia Child's kitchen. Seriously, who didn't love the movie "Julie and Julia"? I know I adored it. I also adored Julia's kitchen. While she and her husband were living in France her space was limited, so she made use of peg board walls all around her kitchen. It led to opening up a lot of space, and to easy access to all the items that she needed at an arm's length. Genius.

I'm also a huge fan of open air cabinets. I love seeing my dishes on display. I took a lot of time and effort to pick out everything I own, so I don't mind sharing that with the world. I will say you will never see me display food! I like to keep my food hidden away in cupboards.

This is what I started with. I put up 2 shelves the third wall, and hung a hand made painting. I also painted my backsplash orange along the wall with the sink. I haven't been happy with it though. I love the orange, but I wanted to incorporate the color onto the other walls without having to paint an entire wall.

This was "my" solution. I went to Home Depot and bough 2 pieces of pine wood. The pieces 8 feet long and about 2 inches wide. I cut each piece in half. Now I had 4 pieces. I mounted the pieces on the wall to make a frame for my peg boards.

Yep, I then screwed the pegboards to the frames. I made sure to anchor my frames to the wall, cause I knew they would be carrying a lot of weight.

Then I hung my Le Creuset set that my mom gave me. It's high end enamel cast iron cookware, and I LOVE it. If it were possible to marry a kitchen item I would marry this set.

Then I added a few more items...

And I filled the selves with all my glassware...

Now I LOVE my kitchen!

Seriously... LOVE it!

Vacation- Part Deux

2010-08-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know I said I was going to blog about my vacation "tomorrow" like a week ago. Ive been busy. I'm in the process of job hunting. It's really consuming all my time, but next week I will be job free, therefore able to partake in the finer things in life, like blogging.

For the time being enjoy this super long post about the rest of my vacation:

During recruitment we all had to stand the exact same way with our feet all pointed in the exact way directions. It became what is known as "pretty feet". To this day we all joke about it and now taking a picture of "pretty feet" is a sorority staple.

This is a gratuitous picture of myself. I just really like it. This was the night of the formal dinner on the cruise. We all got dressed in pretty dresses and had a fancy meal. I had prime rib AND lobster. Yeah, you heard me right, that's how I roll. We all had several dishes every night. Cruises are all about making you fat.

This is a picture of my pledge class (not all of us, obviously). From left to right: Elizabeth, Samantha, Britni, Me, Tamsin. Don't we look awesome? This was also taken on fancy formal night. I love these gals, and I'm sorry I only get to see them once a year!

On the third day of the cruise we went to port in Cozumel. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about the adventure. I just figured it would be a low key kinda day, no biggie. I was pleasantly surprised though. I had a freaking blast. Our group split up into girls who wanted to go to the beach and lay around all day sipping margaritas, and the girls who wanted to trek around all day looking at ruins and shopping. I was definitely in the latter group. I love sitting at the beach, but I'm already like 30 shades darker than my natural color and I wanted to take advantage of my time in Mexico. The first thing we did was go to the ruins of San Gervasio. These are much smaller ruins than those on the mainland, but we had the most amazing tour guide. We arrived at the ruins right before the wave of tourists hit so it was just us four being led on the tour. Our tour guide (Ignacio) was awesome. He let Britni run under these arches that were roped off, he encouraged me to pick wild flowers, and he knew a ton about the ruins and Mayan culture in general. This item he showed us above is a Mayan calendar. I bought one similar to it in the gift shop area.

These are some of the ruins of San Gervasio.

When we were done with the ruins our taxi driver took us to get lunch.

At the beginning of the day we hired one taxi driver to take us all over the island. It was the best money spent. He stayed with us the entire day and it was nice knowing we had a ride wherever we went, and that we could go anyplace we wanted. Also, since he lived on the Island he knew all the best spots.

This is the lunch spot our taxi driver choose for us. The food was AMAZING. You see the pretty flower in my hair? That was the wildflower our tour guide encouraged me to pick!

Also note the mariachi's they sang "De Colores" for us. It's a pretty staple Mexican folk song.

After lunch he took us shopping and to eat paletas!

This is the beach spot our driver took us to. It was pretty touristy, but the water was the most beautiful shade of blue. You could see right through to the bottom, definitely a long way from the gulf coast. He was a seriously awesome driver and guide.

Walking back to the ship we got a great pic of the Carnival Triumph sign.

After our foray to Cozumel, the next day was an "at sea" day. That evening we got all dressed up again and went to the big show. It was a tribute to New Orleans! They did a pretty decent job. While we were waiting for the show to start Allie snapped this picture of me and Sam. Don't I look lovely?

This was dinner our final night on the cruise. In the middle is our maitre'd. I have no idea if I spelled that correctly.

It was a fabulous cruise, and I'm sad to be away from all my sister's again. But never fear, we have decided that next year we will vacation in California! I'm so excited, as I've never been to Cali. But you'll have to stay tuned in for the next year to get that recap!

Did you miss me?

2010-08-18T10:10:00.000-04:00

Did you miss me? I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I was on VACATION!

It was a fabulous time with some fabulous ladies. Nine girls from my sorority, including myself went on a cruise together. We had a fantastic time. The rest of the week will detail the finer parts of the vacation and with any good story, I should start at the beginning.

Our cruise departed out of New Orleans. As we all flew in the day before I coordinated a cocktail hour, if you will, at one of our favorite old haunts: TJ Quills.

TJ Quills was the first bar I ever went to in college. It was located across the street from my favorite college bar (old) Brunos, which has since closed. On Wednesday night TJ's has a special. 32 ounce cups of beer for $5 and refills for $3. We call it swiller night. Oh, and the lovely ladies of Gamma Phi Beta swilled like swilling was going out of style.

At one point the bar had closed and become "the Raven". This was after my time. The Raven didn't last long. So glad we have our TJ's back.

Well with any good Gamma Phi function we have to have the DJ play "Come on Eileen" (it's our jam), and we have to "sing" "Drink a Beer" (our sorority chant). Once we started chanting the DJ turned off the music. There is no contending with 15 sorority girls chanting at the top of our lungs. We took classes on how to sing in union. We have this down.

Sam, Me, Allie, Swiller Cup

All the alumni that made it out. It was so amazing to see everyone!

Leave it to my sisters to make it out on a Wednesday night and make it rain.

Again, this was only night one. Stay tuned in tomorrow for Day 2: The Cruise.

It's Always Sunny...

2010-08-06T10:08:00.000-04:00

In Philadelphia.

Not only did I recently discover the awesomeness that is that show, I also realized that I haven't shared my pictures from my road trip to Philly... so here they are in montage format... cause everybody loves a montage:

looked at this pic and said "Looks like a Dali rip-off"... it's by Dali

picture that inspired the painting hanging in Bert Cooper's office in Mad men.

Skyline Museum of Art_____________________ Rocky steps

Rocky Statue_________________ Independence Hall

Room where the Declaration of Independence was signed and Liberty Bell

Me and the bell ______________________Constitution Hall

Creepy statues of the signers of the DOI in Constitution Hall

Random Rant

2010-08-05T12:31:00.000-04:00

Actually it's not really random, I just really like alliteration.

I can't believe there isn't a decent Mexican food restaurant anywhere in DC. Sure, there are a few places that can make tacos, but any idiot can make a taco. I'm talking about authentic MEXICAN food. Why did I put Mexican in all caps? Because lots of restaurants around here claim to be Mexican food, but they aren't. They are El Salvadorian. It isn't the same. Trust me.

The big myth to Mexican food is that it's the same 10 ungredients used in a myriad of ways to make new items. For example, the taco and the enchilada: Meat, tortilla, cheese... The same can be said for the tostada/chalupa, and the gordita. Though, my readers should know, if you ever find yourself in an authentic Mexican restaurant, and you order a gordita or a chalupa don't expect it to look like what you eat at taco bell...

There is so much more to Mexican food than the taco. I would love a restaurant where I can order Guiso. Guiso is the most delicious thing ever, just ask Annie about my beef pepper steak guiso. She doesn't like pepper, but she loves this dish. Also at the top of my list of wants is menudo, a spicy red stew. You don't want to know what's in it, trust me, but it's wonderful. The list of food I crave is endless, and DC has no place where I can eat any of these items. So, I will continue to search for the perfect Mexican restaurant, at least until the fall, when it isn't a million degrees outside, and I can turn my stove/oven back on.

Till then, I suffer.

Three Things Every Single Girl Should Own

2010-08-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

Many of you know I'm a single gal. I also live alone. I absolutely love my apartment, and my living situation and could not be happier (alright that's a lie, I totally want a house to decorate, but as that isn't in the cards right now so I'm really happy with where I am).

As evidenced in my blog I love crafting, and putting things together. I love the feeling of being self sufficient. It makes me happy to know that I don't need help to get things accomplished around the house, and that I can be safe living alone. Don't get me wrong, I have no desire to squish bugs, or mow lawns (not that I have one) but I know how, and that's a good feeling.

These are simple three things every single girl should own:

1. Tools

Every girl should have a basic tool set: hammer, flathead and Phillips screwdrivers, wrench.

I would even take it one step further and say every girl should have a drill. I love my drill, I'm pretty sure it's one of my favorite things ever. It allows me to hang things all around the house without worry. I like to change the look of my decor often enough that this is a real staple in my tool set. I also have a staple gun, a nail gun, a level, and my newest addition a saw. It's just a baby saw, but I love it all the same. I really want a circular saw, but I just can't justify the purchase right now. I just keep adding to my tool set one thing at a time. If you take this approach it won't be so overwhelming.

2. Protection

That's right. You're a girl, you live alone, you should have SOME sort of protection in your house and your room. Part of this includes a phone. I firmly believe every girl should have a phone in her room, whether a cordless phone, or a cell phone, you should be able to call out in an emergency. I also firmly believe you need to be able to protect yourself somewhat physically. I know that guns are definitely not for everyone. I absolutely love my gun, and I feel safer knowing I have it. However before I had my gun I always have owned a baseball bat. I know it may seem silly, but I always slept better at night knowing it was there.

3. Car Emergency Kit

If you have a car you should be prepared in the instance that that car breaks down. Always make sure you have jumper cables, a jack, a spare tire (or donut), a tire pressure gauge, flares, and water (in case the car overheats). I also have a blanket in my car, in case I break down in the dead of winter. Still, I am actually guilty of not following my own advice here. I still need a few items on this list, but when I had my old SUV I ALWAYS had all of these things. Sans the water and the blanket, you can buy a kit with all these items from Home Depot, or Sears. They will run you about $50 but it's peace of mine knowing that you are set in the event of a car emergency.

Hope you enjoyed the list :)

New Orleans Rock

2010-07-29T08:05:00.000-04:00

New Orleans is known for a lot of things, Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, the food, and the music. When I lived in New Orleans I never truly appreciated being so close to such great live shows. Every year there are 2 major music festivals in the city, Jazz Fest and Voodoo Fest, along with hundreds of lives shows and concerts.

Some of my favorite bands have come out of New Orleans, among them is Better Than Ezra.

I have seen them live only once before, at The House of Blues in the French Quarter. Imagine my delight when I found out they were playing in Baltimore! Imagine my further delight when I found out the concert was FREE!

Tamsin and I headed up to Baltimore on Friday night to enjoy the show.

The venue was really neat. It's called power plant live. It's an outdoor stage set up in the middle of a bunch of restaurants and bars. The whole thing is gated off, so it is very safe.

Pics of the band.

They put on a great live show.

We ended up meeting up with Dave and Rachel while we were out there. It was so insanely hot, but worth it. I'd definitely go again. I hope ya'll check out some of their music, it's really amazing.

Independence Day Camping

2010-07-28T08:42:00.000-04:00

A few of you know that I went camping over Independence Day. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post the pictures, but better late than never!

Also a thanks to Jeremy for actually taking the pictures. I conveniently left my camera at home.

This was our tent set up. We booked 3 camp sites so that we could be isolated. It worked out great as we had 4 tents!

Tamsin and I snacking after the successful contruction of our tent.

Sunset thru the overhead trees. These trees were a God send of shade.

Our death hike. 3 miles down the mountain, no big deal. 3 miles back up, I wanted to hit the easy button.

At the bottom of our hike was a swimming hole! The water was freezing!

Isn't this view beautiful?

Fireworks.

Our set up. Notice the bear box we put our food in. It was supposed to be enough for 3 sites worth of campers. We used every inch of it, and still had to store some things in our car.

This bunny got very brave and wandered closer and closer into our camp.

We named him Sir Hops-A-Lot.

Bye, Bye camp site!

Tina's Favorite Things: Beauty Products

2010-07-27T07:15:00.000-04:00

I'm a KISS (keep it simple sweetie) kinda girl. I don't wear a lot (or any) makeup for the most part. In the morning I don't eve blow dry my hair. I just never got into that whole makeup routine. It wasn't until recent years that I even knew HOW to put on makeup. However, I have come across a few products that I now love.

Evian Facial Spray

Have you tried this stuff? It's amazing. It's a light mist of water (with moisturizers) in a tiny spray bottle. It's perfect size to fit in my purse. I got it as part of my bridesmaid gift for a wedding I was in in Dallas. The wedding was outside in June, so I definitely needed this product. It was so hot and this kept me just a few degrees cooler.

Clinique Eyeliner

I've never paid a lot of money (more than $5) for eyeliner. I was so dumb. The eyeliner at Clinique is amazing. It's cream based to it goes on creamy and blends perfectly. I also bought it not in black, but in violet. If there is one thing I have learned, it's that brown people look amazing in purple. I run with that.

Burt's Bees Lip Balm

So I know this is nothing new for most of you out there, but I couldn't not give a shout out to Burt's Bees. This lip balm kicks Chapstick's butt. I'm not really sure what's in it (crack maybe?) but I'm addicted. It's gotten to the point that I don't ask people if they have Chapstick, or lip balm, I ask if they have Burt's.

It's a Texas Thang: The Hand Wave

2010-07-26T09:53:00.000-04:00

I know all of my readers know I am a Texas girl at heart. I may live in DC, but I truly miss all things Texas. My "It's a Texas Thang (Thing, for those without the Texas Twang accent)" will focus on something that I truly miss about Texas.

Today: The Hand Wave

I know we have all been in an experience where we are driving and we left someone cut in front of us. In Texas that is always followed by the hand wave. The hand wave comes from the person you just let in. It's a polite way to thank you for letting them in. I know you may get it on occasion in DC and other places, but in Texas we take the hand wave to new levels.

In Texas the hand wave occurs not only when you let someone cut in front of you, but also when you pass someone on the road. It's a friendly "Howdy". Sometimes you don't wave your whole hand, sometimes you just raise a few fingers off the steering wheel, but it's always there.

I miss the hand wave. This morning I let someone cut in front of me while driving to work and they rolled down their window and gave me a hand wave. It was so nice. It not only brightened my morning, but it sparked this post, and a whole new series in my blog. So I'd like to shout out the hand wavers. Thanks for making my day.

Follow Friday: Texas Bloggers

2010-07-23T09:15:00.000-04:00

I love following all sorts of blogs. My favorites are obviously crafts blogs. Not too long ago I stumbled across

P is for Party

It's a great blog all about party decor. I think it must be the sorority girl in me, but I love throwing, and decorating for, a nice party. I get all sorts of ideas for her blog, and as it turns out, she's from Texas! Double win!

____

Not all the blogs I follow are crafts oriented. My friend Annie turned me onto a great blog called

A Long Way From the Theta House

The woman has a few biological children, and a couple of adopted children. Her husband runs a youth center in a not so great neighborhood in Dallas. She is a stay at home mom, and supports her husband and the youth center. On top of all this, they decided to move to the not so great area of Dallas in order to better serve the community. I am from Dallas, and I know a lot of kids who grew up in the neighborhood she lives in. I can't believe all the good she is doing. It's great to see someone giving back to my hometown.

Sign the Petition to Restore the Gulf

2010-07-22T08:45:00.000-04:00

Sign the Petition to Restore the Gulf

Gulf Coast Restoration

2010-07-22T08:37:00.000-04:00

The other day I received this from the president of my alma mater:

To the Loyola University New Orleans community:

Restoring the Gulf Coast after the oil spill will require vast resources. A nationwide movement is underway to help gather those resources, and Loyola University New Orleans supports this effort.

I urge you to watch the video I have linked to below, and sign the petition that accompanies it. The video is produced by Women of the Storm, a New Orleans-based organization founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Their petition asks the federal government for financial assistance in restoring the Gulf Coast.

Please watch the video and consider signing the petition at RestoreTheGulf.com

For more on Loyola’s activities regarding the Gulf oil spill, visit our Crude Awakening website.

With prayers and best wishes,

Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D.
President

I ask that you please take a minute and visit the links and most importantly sign the petition.

Tina's Favorite Things: Fashion

2010-07-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm am hardly a fashionista, but there are certain items I have found in my travels that I could not live without.

Here are a few of my favorite fashion items:

HUGE Rings.

I have to attribute this newer obsession to my friend Tamsin. She totally turned me onto huge rings. It was completely her thing first, and I'm just a copycat. I can't help it though. I love them.

My favorite place to find big rings in DC is Eastern Market, and my favorite place in NOLA for all kinds of jewelery is Trendz (yes, with a Z, but don't let that turn you off to this place). Both have cheap one of a kind pieces that will add a lot of flair to your wardrobe.

Bumpits.

Shut up. I know what you're thinking. But I can't help myself I LOVE my bumpit. I bought it originally as sort of a joke. A "Haha, look at me being ridiculous", but it's turned into a love affair. I love adding some volume to my do, and I love taking my bumpit out when I'm with a group of people... especially guys. Men are totally fascinated with the bumpit. It's hilarious.

LL Bean Totes

My friend Annie bought me a mini LL Bean boat and tote for Christmas a few years ago. Now I am totally hooked on these tote bags. They have zipper tops, so things wont fall out of them. They have long handle, perfect for slinging over your shoulder, and most importantly (for me), they are indestructible. These things can take a beating. They are meant for boating, so you can leave em in the sun, get them sandy, get them wet, crumple them up, and they will continue to hold strong. They are completely color customizable and come in an array of sizes. I've asked for the x-large for Christmas.

Getting Organized

2010-07-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

As many of you know I live in a studio apartment. This living situation definitely has it's pros and cons. The biggest con is that I don't have a lot of storage space. I have one huge walk in closet, and while it may seem like a lot, this is my clothes closet, my linen closet, and my storage closet, all rolled into one. Since I moved in a few months ago I knew that I would eventually have to purchase storage bins. Everything was sort of haphazardly thrown into the closet. There was a semblance of organization, but just a small one. This weekend I made my way out to target and purchased about 10 canvas bins. I also went to Michaels to purchase their oversize shoe boxes. Over 2 days I got it all done.

The end result:

Because I got rid of the bookcase that was in there I managed to squeeze in a small table. I like this much more. It means I'm not holding onto unnecessary stuff. The table will become my makeup table.

I'm super excited about the reorganization. Now I have to tackle the clothes mountain that is in my bathroom...

I Won an Award!

2010-07-13T13:48:00.000-04:00

I won the Sugar Doll Award on The Wet Nose!

A big thanks to Lydia at The Wet Nose for my award.

Lydia is a wealth of knowledge for any dog owners out there. She is a true animal enthusiast. She gives great advice, tips, and is extremely knowledgeable in the area of show dogs as she is on her way to purchasing her first show dog puppy! I highly recommend her site to animal owners, enthusiasts, or anyone who enjoys learning!

As part of my award I have to pass along my award to other 10 other bloggers.

kojodesigns.blogspot.com

cuteable.blogspot.com

Tina's Favorite Things: Kitchenwares

2010-07-13T13:08:00.000-04:00

For a really long time, my friend Sarah told me about these awesome pancakes she made. I knew I had to have these pancakes. I finally did during my Memorial Day Beach Weekend in the OBX. Sarah was right, these pancakes were amazing.

Sarah also, for my birthday, bought me a cast iron skillet, so I could make the pancakes myself. I have come to LOVE this skillet, seriously, I have no idea how I lived my life without it.

The mine looks like this, no lip makes for an easier surface to cook on. Though, I do plan on purchasing one with a lip for easier boiling and broiling.

Also for my birthday my parents bought me every little girls dream... that's right, a kitchenaid standing mixer.

Isn't it pretty? I still haven't used it as it's soooo ridiculously hot in DC right now, nothing on earth makes me want to turn on my oven. Originally I was kinda sad that they didn't get me one that was a color, but now I like my white one. White goes with everything...

Finally, when I went home for my cousin's wedding, I managed to snag something from my mother's kitchen. My mom has long had 2 sets of cookware, a stainless steel set, and an enamel cast iron set. It was long ago decided (by the fates) that my little sister was to have the nicer, cast iron set. However, my little sister is in college right now. She has no need for enamel cast iron cookware... I on the other hand...

Yep, I stole her cookware. Well, I didn't really "steal" it, as she allowed me to take it.

This is kind of the same thing I have, just a different color. Now that I have this cookware, I can't believe I ever cooked on pans I bought at Target.

Although I love my new kitchen items, I feel like I've started myself on a downward spiral. Did you know that there are accessories for stand mixers? Things like, meat grinders, and ravioli makers, and ice cream makers, the list goes on and on. And I promise you, not one of those items is "cheap".

I suppose if this is my addiction it is one I could live with. I hope you all feel inspired to head to the kitchen this evening.

Follow Friday: College Friend Edition

2010-07-09T08:09:00.000-04:00

Today's follow Friday is a friend of mine from college... Meghan.

Meghan is one of the funniest people I know. She and I are both from Dallas, but didn't know each other until we went to school together in New Orleans. During college we would have hilarious road trips back home together. They included stops at Shoney's (and scarfing down a 3 course meal in about 15 minutes), dangerous driving situations (Meghan remember when we both noticed the drunk driver and 30 seconds later he turned his car the wrong way on the highway?), and copious amounts of Jack in the Box, (exit 108 to Gonzales).

Among Meghan's most notable moments/ shining accomplishments are:

1. Perfecting the art of the white drunk girl dance. You know the one where you grab the front of your hair and you sway back and forth. I often pull this move with my friends in jest (even though I'm not white). I learned everything I know from Meghan.

2. You know the scence in Drop Dead gorgeous that goes:

With one week to go before the pageant, I was finishing up my outfit, rehearsing my talent, brushing up on current events, and running 18 miles a day, on about 400 calories. I was ready.

Meghan quotes that line better than the girl in the movie.

3. Starting her own blog (with a kickass name):

www.momanddem.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Love, Tina Marie

From the Capitol: Hot as Texas

2010-07-08T10:13:00.000-04:00

That's what it feels like in DC right now. It's hot as Texas here.

I have been trying to think of a few ways to cool off. Here is what I have come up with:

From the Foodie in Me: No Bake Dinners

2010-07-07T20:04:00.000-04:00

Frito Pie:

It is too hot to even pretend like I want to cook. After awhile a girl gets tired of sandwiches. This is when I start getting creative with my microwave. One of my favorite microwave dishes is Frito Pie. I know some of you northerners have no earthly clue what I'm talking about. Well trust me, Frito Pie is a Texas/ Southern delicacy...

You'll need:

1 can of Chili

1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese

1 large bag of fritos

First put chili in a microwave safe bowl and microwave COVERED for 3 minutes.

The goal is to warm the chili up.

Next in a casserole dish put down a layer of fritos, enough to cover the bottom of the dish

Then put down a layer of the warmed chili

Then put down a layer of cheese

Repeat until you have 2-3 layers of each item

next put back in the microwave for 1 minutes, just enough to melt the cheese on the top layer...

Serve as you would a casserole dish, and enjoy!

You can top your frito pie with green or white diced onions, sour cream, or whatever else your heart desires!

A one layer frito pie.

Love, Tina Marie

Independence Day is My Favorite Holiday

2010-07-01T12:58:00.000-04:00

It really really is. It beats out Christmas, and Thanksgiving... even Kwanza... ;)

As a child I have fond memories of spending July 4th Weekend at the lake. We would boat, and grill out, and in true Texas fashion, when night came, we would blow things up... a lot of things.

fireworks over the Dallas skyline

I'm not really sure what the laws are in Texas, but we sure liked our firecrackers. There are no gifts exchanged on this day, just the acknowledgement that we live in a great country. That is something I have always loved.

These past couple of years I have spent in DC have been fun. The first year here was the best. I had to work on July 4th, but watched the fireworks from an air conditioned room in the Sheraton hotel. We had a perfect view of the monuments. Though I have had better views since then, it was the best because it was the first. I felt such a sense of pride and joy that day.

fireworks over the monuments

This year I'm going old school. I have a camping trip planned for this weekend. I'm really excited for it. Even though we wont be popping fireworks (against the law in the park) we will be spending the weekend outside with friends. I really can't wait to share pictures of the park with you all. Stay tuned in next week!

Love, Tina Marie

From the Foodie in Me: Popsicles and Paletas

2010-06-29T09:30:00.000-04:00

I grew up in Dallas, Texas. I lived in a predominately Hispanic (Mexican-American) neighborhood. One of the best things about my neighborhood were the Paleta Men. A paleta is a Popsicle made of fruit. They are so awesomely Delicious and refreshing on a hot summer's day. Paleta Men push carts around the neighborhood selling paletas. When I was about 12 they switched from carts to bicycles with carts.

This is a typical Paleta cart.

This is what a coconut paleta looks like.

My favorite flavor is cantaloupe, followed by watermelon.

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to my my own paletas. It's basically like making lemonade, but you can use all different kinds of fruit instead of just lemons. I used lemons for this recipe, because it's the only thing I had on hand.

The first thing I did was microwave my lemons for 30 seconds. I know it sounds weird but if you microwave any citrus fruit before you juice it you will get more juice out of it. Try it, I promise it works.

My microwaved lemon cut in half.

Next I fork my lemons.

This is another way to get as much juice from them as possible.

Now in a saucepan, over medium heat I combine my lemon juice, 1 cup of water, and 1/8 cup of sugar. I heat it all up until the sugar is dissolved.

Next I pour the mixture into my molds. I used 2 popsicle molds, but I also made some ice cube molds from the mixture. I can used these flavored ice cubes to jazz up my iced tea later on.

Frozen lemonade popsicle to enjoy!

Love, Tina Marie

Snowcones! (I found them!)

2010-06-25T11:17:00.000-04:00

I heart snow cones, like a lot. In Dallas there is a wonderful snow cone stand I grew up with called "Aunt Stelle's". It was only open in the summer and they have the most wonderful snow cones I have ever had (or maybe that's fond childhood memories talking?).

When I moved to New Orleans I learned they didn't call them snow cones, they called them snow balls. Crazy New Orleanians. But I had a place there, a tiny little shop called "Plum Street Snow Balls".

Now that I live in Virginia it is nearly impossible to find a snow cone. They sell the pre-made manufactured ones on the mall, but it isn't the same. I wanted a fresh snow cone.
A few weeks ago I was driving on Columbia Pike, and I saw someone with a snow cone! I almost stopped my car to ask them where they got it. I knew that in the parking lot of Food Star existed a lot of food carts. Yesterday I decided to check these carts out to see if one of them held the elusive snow cone...

IT DID!

I got banana and strawberry. The woman who ran the stand only spoke Spanish, but she was very nice and there is a nice little English to Spanish chart for the flavors. I wanted to take a picture of her cart, but she got very nervous about me taking pics, so I stopped.

Once I started eating my snow cone I got another surprise, all her syrups are homemade! You get actual pulp from the fruits you're eating! Cost was $3 but totally worth it.

The snow cone stand is on the corner of George Mason and Columbia Pike, in the Food Star parking lot.

Enjoy!

Love, Tina Marie

NYC in a Weekend

2010-06-23T13:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted the last couple of days. My mind and body have ganged up against me, putting me in a state of mental and physical exhaustion.

But I'm back!

This past weekend was the end of my monthly weekend travel. I was in NYC with Tamsin, we were visiting Theo. Day one started out in typical Theo fashion, we grabbed coffee and Starbucks. We took our breakfast to Battery Park.

The view of the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park.

After that we went to the Guggenheim. The whole thing is a spiral upwards. I wish I could have shot a better picture, but my camera is dead and I desperately need a new one. For now the camera phone will have to do.

After the Guggenheim we walked around Central Park for a bit. This is a pic from the Jackie Kennedy O'nasis Reservoir.... Whew! What a mouthful!

After meandering for a bit we went to the Met. We decided not to take a tour because we had to go get ready for our Broadway show!

We saw Promises, Promises! It was fantastic!

Did you know Kristen Chenowith is a Gamma Phi Beta?!

I am positive my friends get tired of me telling them that factoid. :)

This is the really cool chandelier inside the theater.

I have no idea why, but I really love blurry pictures of myself laughing.

I'm a weirdo...

After the show we went to a really awesome champagne bar called "Flute".

I wanted to take a pic of all our glasses clinking... Theodora decided to be a creeper...

It was a fabulous weekend! I definitely have to go back soon! Theo, how about Columbus day?

Love, Tina Marie

Random Funny

2010-06-18T10:26:00.000-04:00

This is my life:

Allie: his house is close to the levee
so I can run along the mississippi
I love it

me: it looks like there are too many "e's" in the word levee
but there arent

Allie: lol
leveeee

me: it's like you dont know when to stop
leveeeeeeee

Allie: lmao
like bananananas
shit
bana
nope

me: lmao
banannannana
bannana
yes!
nailed it

Follow Friday: Hyperbole and a Half

2010-06-18T07:24:00.000-04:00

Today's follow Friday is the funniest blog I have seen in a loooooong time.

www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com

Go there, now. Read it. Laugh till you wet yourself.

Enjoy!

Love, Tina Marie

From The Capitol: National Capitol BBQ Battle

2010-06-16T09:37:00.000-04:00

It's no secret that I am from Texas. This means certain things are instilled in my from birth: I love football, I know that the best parking spaces aren't determined by distance from your end location but by amount of shade given, and I LOVE BBQ.
There is an awesome place in Dallas that I go to for all my BBQ needs, Hardeman's BBQ. It's pretty much the best BBQ ever made. As a general rule of thumb I don't eat beef BBQ anyplace but Texas. I just know I'll be disappointed, so I stick to pork or chicken. BUT the National Capitol BBQ battle brings out people from all areas of our great nation. I know that I will be able to find some good Texas BBQ.

The BBQ Battle is a fundraiser for The Boys and Girls Club of Washington DC. Tickets are $10 and include free samples of BBQ. There are also many vendors there selling BBQ and other sundries.
For more information go to: http://www.bbqdc.com/

I hope to see you there!

Love, Tina Marie

Tina's Favorite Things: Spray Paint

2010-06-15T13:56:00.000-04:00

Can I just say I LOVE spray paint. No... really, it's the most awesome thing ever.

I first discovered it when I was refurbishing my headboard. It went from brass to a medium charcoal grey. This is where my obsession began. Now I have discovered all the wonderful things Krylon Spray paint can do for you.

Tina's Favorite Things: Books

2010-06-15T12:59:00.000-04:00

Oprah has a favorite things list and I think I am just as, if not more, entertaining than her. ;)
This is the start of my favorite things, today: Books.
I have written posts in the past about how much I love books, but I can't help but bring it up again. There is nothing more satisfying (to me) than finishing a truly great book.
These day's I've been reading a lot of chick lit, which isn't exactly mind motivating, but it's entertaining. I do however have my all time favorites:

Number 5
Fahrenheit 451

This book was so sadly beautiful it made me cry. It's about a world where books are forbidden, and banned. The book initially was meant to symbolize how television is ruining the literary world, but since its debut has become an anthem for all people who fight against censorship. I think this book really hits home because one of the worst nightmares I have ever had is about all my books being burned. (I know I'm a HUGE dork). This book sort of epitomizes all that books are to me.

Number 4
House of Leaves

I can't even begin to describe this book. I have never read anything else like it. It's a beautiful love story surrounded by a horror story. The book is written in an interesting style. There are two stories simultaneously being told. Other stories also enter the realm through footnotes that go on for pages and pages. There are references to books that don't exist. You almost get lost in trying to decipher what is "real" and what is "fiction". I have never been so entranced by a book. I wish I could do a better job explaining it, but it's one of those books that you just have to read to appreciate.

Number 3
To Kill a Mockingbird

I can't count the number of times I have read this book. I first read it in 8th grade and I have kept a copy on my bookshelf ever since. I think it's the first book I have ever truly LOVED. Whenever I'm feeling a little nostalgic I can pick this book up, flip to any section, and immediately become entranced in the world of Scout and Jem.

Number 2
The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead is the first book I ever read by Ayn Rand. I cannot explain in words how much I love this book. I want to meet Rand and be her friend, that's how much I admire her work. This book was my favorite at one point.

Number 1
Atlas Shrugged

Who is John Galt? This is the best book ever written hands down. I welcome people's opinions on other books that are better, and I would love to read them, but this is it for me. This is the bee's knees. The end all and be all of books. Galt's 50 page monologue is so beautifully written, it commands the reader to almost read aloud in order to fully capture all that is being said. I absolutely LOVE this book. I can't think of another literary work, except the Bible, that is so wonderfully written.

These of course are my favorite books today, but I reserve the right to change my mind at any time :)

What are your favorite books, and why?

Love, Tina Marie

Columbus Ain't so Bad

2010-06-14T08:33:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I "road tripped" to Columbus, Ohio to meet up with my friend Mike. We had a blast. We visited German Village, saw THE Ohio State University, grilled out, watched the US world cup game, went to a farmers market, and saw the replica of the Santa Maria. I learned 2 things.
1. I will NEVER drive west from DC again. It was the most BORING drive ever.
2. Columbus is a pretty cool place. There is a decent nightlife, and enough touristy things to do so that we kept busy for a weekend.

Droid Montage as my real camera died a watery death...

Pics aboard the Santa Maria:

Christopher Columbus... Hey, that's who the city is named after!

Bottom part of the ship...Galley? I'm so not a sailor...

The living quarters.

Me and Mike! You can't tell but we are totally on the ship...

Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492...

Hey! That's me!

Mike is a pirate! Arrrr...

Pics at THE Ohio State University:

We wandered up some random stairwell at the stadium and I snapped the shot above.

This is the main entrance to the stadium

All around the athletic fields/centers they had these egg/pod like sculptures. They were indentations of people doing various exercises. This is Mike doing a squat.

It was graduation weekend at THE Ohio State. They had an open house on the field and let us go up to the suites... UT's suites are better.

THE Ohio State University Football field.

Follow Friday

2010-06-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Moving away from my crafts blogs I recommend mint.com
Have you ever tried it?
You can keep track of your money and finances all in one place.
It's a great service that will allow you to stay on a budget.

Love, Tina Marie

From the Foodie in Me: Texans Eat Flour and Milk

2010-06-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

But we call it Biscuits and Gravy.

Have you ever had cream gravy? I know it's a southern thing, and not all people from the north have tried it. It will basically blow your mind. It's sooo delicious.

Here is a simple recipe for cream gravy:

3 tablespoons drippings (you can just use regular oil, but you'll get more flavor if you use drippings)
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Heat drippings in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk together until you form a rue. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until a light shade of brown. Gradually add milk and continue to whisk over medium heat until thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ate at "Kitchen's Restaurant" in Mineola, Texas.

I think they gave me enough gravy...

Love, Tina Marie

I Caught the Bouquet... Again.

2010-06-09T09:16:00.000-04:00

I went to a wedding this past weekend. My favorite cousin tied the knot in Dallas. It was a beautiful wedding. The ceremony was outside at the Dallas Arboretum. The reception was indoors at a restaurant. Of course we did the typical bouquet toss... now here is where it gets dicey.
In March of 2008 I was a bridesmaid in my friend Nicole's wedding. Nicole also did a bouquet toss. I stood in the back. Nicole tossed the bouquet... it hit me in the face. No joke. Her bouquet hit me square in the face. This is what we shall refer to as "Toss 1"

Again in March 2008 I was a bridesmaid. A few weeks after Nicole's wedding I was in Annie's wedding. Let's take a look at the montage:

I'm on the left. My hands are touching.

Look at all the other girls, they are ready to strike, hands up in the air...

The bouquet is tossed! Look at everyone leap for it... everyone expect me. My hands are still touching, in a clapping motion... A couple bounces and...

Yep. That's me with the bouquet. It bounced off 5 sets of hands and landed right in mine.

Let's call this "Toss 2"

So, now let's fast forward to Jackie's wedding this past weekend. We gathered on the dance floor... only this time my sister was there. My 19 year old sister. There was no way I was letting her catch that bouquet. I also knew she was my only competition. All the other girls were tiny Koreans (Jackie's husband is half Korean). I knew I could take them. Tiffany (my sister) and I battled for it... but, I have a good 6 inches on her. My jump was higher and voila. I caught the bouquet... again.

I think the wedding God's might be mocking me at this point, but that's okay. I have a nice little dried flowers collection going.

Love, Tina Marie