Pain and Pinups

Last week was not that great for me. I hadn't been feeling well at all and that combined with cold, rainy weather didn't really help at all. I was in worlds of pain and just in an all-around bad mood. Blech.

But.... The sun came out and I was feeling WORLDS better on Saturday and I'm SO happy I was! I went out to the Des Moines Marina to an amazing car show for a photoshoot with Poisoned Apple Photography. The fabulous Melanie Lacy of Golightly's : Deluxe Coiffure did my hair and makeup and we had a fantastc time! It was so wonderful to be out in the sun around beautiful vintage cars with really nice, awesome and supportive people. LOVE it!! Here's one of the preview images from yesterday's shoot... What do you think?

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap!

Just a quick "Hooray" for Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap!

I first found out about Dr. Bronner's when I got my first piercing in Arizona. A very giant man named Spike told me about how it's awesome for everything... and it is!

It's all-natural, organic, fair-trade and all that goodness. I LOVE the peppermint one, it's my very favorite. It's super good stuff! You can use it as soap (of course) AND shampoo, shave cream, pet shampoo, cleaning house, laundry and even TOOTHPASTE!

Love it!!

Creamy Lemon Bars

Yesterday, I tried out a new recipe using Splenda instead of sugar, and TheHubby approved!!

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated

⅛ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into ½ inch pieces

4 large eggs

½ cup half-and-half

1¼ cups SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon grated fresh lemon peel

½ cup fresh lemon juice

Crust Directions: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray an 8-x-8-inch baking pan with vegetable cooking spray; set aside.

Combine flour, SPLENDA^® Granulated Sweetener, and salt in food processor bowl; pulse 2 to 3 times. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture into prepared pan; bake 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

Filling Directions: whisk together eggs and half-and-half in a medium bowl; gradually whisk in SPLENDA^® Granulated Sweetener and flour. Whisk in lemon peel and lemon juice; pour over hot crust. Bake 15 minutes or until center is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack; dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut into 2-inch squares.

I love being a wife!

So, I just wanted to say how much I love being a woman and especially being a wife.

The hubby and I have a somewhat "traditional" marriage in that he is the man of the house and I am the woman of the house. I love taking care of him and I do almost all of the cooking and cleaning. I love that I can make The Hubby happy by being a happy and helpful wife.

I think this is one of the reasons I enjoyed being a housewife. I was able to focus all of my time and energy into keeping house, meal planning, grocery shopping, and all around domestic goodness!

I know that not every relationship works this way, but I grew up with a Mom that took really good care of my Dad and I'm happy that I'm able to try my best at being the best wife ever!

Happy Independance Day!

Hope you have an awesome and safe 4th!
Let's have an amazing summer, y'all!!

Back in the saddle again...

Well, I don't know if I was ready to get back to work, but I can assure you I was definitely ready for the long weekend after my first week back!

I had a great first day back and was welcomed with lots of hugs and smiling faces. I love my team and it feels so good to be back. It was a long, intense and overwhelming week and by the time Friday rolled around I was ready to just cut loose. I got all dolled up and headed out into the city!

A bunch of my friends went out to R Place in Capitol Hill and we danced and danced and danced. It felt so good to be with some of my favorite people and dance my heart out. Sometimes I wish I lived downtown so I could go out and dance more often!

The hubby wasn't feeling well on Saturday so I decided to just mow the lawn and take care of some grocery shopping and other household stuff. Our sweet puppy Lucky has been completely freaked out all weekend because of all the people shooting off fireworks in our neighborhood. Because she's so afraid, we decided to just stay home all weekend to comfort her whenever she gets to worried and scared. I just feel so bad since she gets so worried about it. Poor baby.

Oh! And as I type this, one of our neighbors came by and brought some flowers over- So sweet!!!

Well, hope y'all have a great 4th of July and I hope you enjoy the sun that is promised to happen this week!