brought to you by the letter a

i want wednesday

andie — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:32:02 +0000

This tshirt from Down East Basics..i love the lace on the bottom…makes it all girly. I ordered my 1st shirt from them the other day..I can’t wait or it to get here.

For some reason I love this robe. the colors are great..it would be great to wear while i edit during the summer.

I love the simplicity of this watch. I want a watch...I hate always having to check my phone for the time.

I dont know why i love these shoes so much! they would look cute with a skirt, or capris this summer.

i need new capris and i love the simply vera brand at Kohl’s.

LOVE this swimsuit…and I need a new one

Book Review: Celia’s Puppies - Denver Cereal vol 2

andie — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:09:02 +0000

I admit, my freshman year in college I became addicted to soap operas… at 1:00 you could find me watching Days of Our Lives. I found myself scheduling my classes around the show…I couldn’t help it…I had to know what would happen next. Celia’s Puppies is the same way…I read it in the bath until I turned into a prune because I didn’t want to put it down. Like any good story the characters are all connected through family, marriage, friends. Some of them love each other….okay a lot of them are in love…and some of them hate each other. but before I get ahead of myself…

Claudia Hall Christian has taken a que from Charles Dickens and wrote the Denver Cereal series as serial fiction (or in this case cereal fiction?) The story is written and published one chapter at a time…very much like our daily soaps.

So who is Celia and who are her puppies? Celia, the deceased matriarch of the Marlowe family of Denver, CO. Celia was married to Sam Lipson who owns Lipson Construction. Sam is now dating Celia’s best friend Delphie (hello…doesn’t that make you want to read more?!?!)…and Delphie is a psychic…. and so is Jacob and Katy. The story involves their friends and families.

I really enjoyed the book…and was sad when I hit the last page….thankfully I can hop over to Denver Cereal for the daily installment. I feel invested in these characters. Thank you Claudia for keeping us hooked on the characters and what is happening in their lives!

Instead of doing a giveaway of Celia’s Puppies with this review, I chose to donate my giveaway copy to Operation Shoebox as a small Thank You to our troops for all they do to keep us safe in this country.

If you would like to purchase a copy, you can do so on the Denver Cereal website, and Claudia Hall Christian has offered a 20% discount on all of her books to my readers. All you have to do is use the coupon code “BLOGTOUR” when you check out. I would go pick it up…it is the perfect book to read by the pool!

Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this review. I was provided with a copy of the book so that I could read and review it. All of the opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced by the author in any way.

my top 10

andie — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:54:45 +0000

things i’m loving right now:

love the age rewind make up…love!

and the gel eye liner…. i got the eggplant color….it’s purty!!!

Timothy’s Sugar Bush Maple K-Cups

My Keurig…long live my coffee addiction

bluebonnets

my ipad. i am in love!

the canon 100mm macro I rented over the weekend… drool

okay i ran out of top 10 things before I hit 10!

go big red

andie — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:40:10 +0000

Most of you know I’ve been shooting sports the last year… I shoot a lot of Marcus High School sports…in full disclosure this is where I went to high school….what? I like the fight song… i never went to a volleyball game, basketball game, softball game, or soccer game in the 4 years I went there (went to football out of default..I was in band). I can now say I’ve been to more Marcus sporting event as an adult than when I was a student there…. sad.

Testing

andie — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:06:25 +0000

Testing posting from my phone…then I can post from basketball courts
and the theater

I want Wednesdy

andie — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:46:03 +0000

there really isn’t a lot i want that are not big ticket items (1dMkIV, 85mm 1.2) but through out the week sometimes I run into things and think that is cute! i want that but I need to be saving for those other items I want!

Love this scarf from Old Navy

I love these Guess Shoes…they have the cool triangles from the 80’s. Remember when the cool kids had the guess triangles on their pockets??

and these combat boots from Steve Madden..in brown.

As Promised: Andrea’s Simple Tomato Sauce

andie — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:59:52 +0000

Yesterday I posted a picture of 5 containers of homemade spaghetti sauce on facebook…and was informed of the unwritten rule “If you post food images, you must also include the recipe”…well here is the recipe. it is my step-mom’s recipe. (Andrea….yes we have the same name…well kinda….I’m An-drea and she is On-drea…but on paper it is the same)….

You Need the following;

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped (i use pre-chopped roasted garlic)

1 stalk of celery, chopped (i don’t use any because my opinion of celery is yuck)

1 carrot chopped (i grate mine…like with the cheese grater)

1 red pepper, chopped (i don’t use one because Jason’s opinion of red pepper is yuck)

sea salt & ground pepper

2 (32oz) cans crushed tomatoes

4-6 basil leaves

2 dried bay leaves

4 T unsalted butter

1 1/5 lbs of meat of your choice…we usually combine different meats (this is not in the recipe since my step mom is a vegetarian)

Follow these directions;

In a large casserole pot heat oil over medium heat. Add onion & garlic. Saute until soft & translucent (about 2 mins)

Add celery & carrots and season with salt and pepper,

Saute until all veggies are soft (about 5 mins)

Add tomatoes, basil & bay leaves. (and meat!)

Simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick.

Remove bay leaves & check seasoning.

If sauce tastes acidic add butter 1 Tablespoon at a time (I also add a tablespoon of sugar)

Add half the sauce into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. (I don’t do this) repeat with remaining sauce. (be careful it is hot and will blow out the top of the blender…thanks Mom!)

Will freeze for 6 months

Thoughts from An-drea (aka Andie)

Like in life…i only use the recipe as a guideline….trust me if you knew our relationship, you would be surprised I follow it as much as I do…. who ever thought a recipe could be used as a metaphor for my step-mom and I’s realztionship??? mmmm

I double the recipe every time I make it so I have lots and lots to freeze, because after 7 years of marriage Jason informed me he doesn’t like the sauce i was buying from the store…

I want Wednesday

andie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:39:20 +0000

- The In-Motion Clock from Anthropology would look awesome in my office!

I REALLY REALLY REALLY want the vintage rotary phone in every color! (once again anthropologie) but would love have a collection of them for my one day studio.

And 2 of these for my living room (the next room I want to paint and makeover)

And i NEED this for my one day studio…. i’d hang images off of it.. wouldn’t that be rad????

Gee it looks like I’m nesting or somehting!

I want clothes too!

this hat from Rugby is awesome… love the little bow

These boots from Ralph Lauren

Happy Hallmark Conspiracy Day

andie — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:17:17 +0000

I am a huge sap… I love love…but Valentine’s day just isn’t my favorite holiday…. why not treat your loved ones with sweetness year round? but if you insist on doing something for me….you could make me Lola B’s Mac and Cheese.… Boys and Girls this isn’t just any mac and cheese this is White Truffle Mac and Cheese!

Actually at this point..I’d be happy with breakfast….

yes… I am a dork

andie — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:28:48 +0000

My closest friends call me a dork, or goober…all the time. I’m okay with this. Why? I’m happy when my friends are happy and laughing… if they are laughing with me (or at me). So i think being a dork or goober is one of my charming qualities!