Have you guys ever heard of Lands End Canvas? I'm probably the only one who hadn't, up until recently. It's another line of Lands End that has a little younger and more casual approach, yet still carries those classic looks that will never go out of style. You guys should totally check it out. I scored some awesome black pants that I kind of want to wear every day and a fun swim suit for uber cheap a while back. 

When I got my package that I was so eagerly awaiting, I also received a separate letter, hand-addressed to me! Oh, how I love getting mail that isn't another credit card offer. When I opened the envelope, however, I was a little surprised to read that it was from the Lands End Canvas customer service department and not some friend from years past. After close inspection, I determined that Nick at Lands End really wrote me a hand-written "Thank You" note for shopping with them. What?!? That kind of stuff happens?

Now that's what I call customer service.

Call me a sucker, but I will for sure be buying from them again.

It's over. It's finally over.

This is how we're feeling right now. We are both jumping for joy (literally and figuratively) that this weekend has come. Before I go any further can I please talk about how funny this picture is? First of all, how freaky does my leg look? I didn't know I could/should bend like that? Is that normal? Also, Russ's face is very, very animated... almost creepy. Everything about it just kind of cracks me up.

Ok, moving on. Why are we jumping for joy? Let me tell you. This is the first Sunday where it isn't the "night before Russ leaves." Russ has been traveling with work for almost 3 months. Think back to New Years Day... yep, that's how long it's been. He spent 2 months working at Dell in North Austin, 2 weeks in Denver, and this last week he was in Dallas. He'd leave Monday mornings and come home Friday nights. This is one aspect of our lives that I haven't revealed to the world wide web, for obvious reasons. I have literally been living alone for nearly 3 months.

Luckily I have a job that keeps me busy during the day, but the nights have been rough. I hang out alone, come home to an empty house, go to bed alone, and wake up alone. I can honestly say this has been the hardest and loneliest 3 months of my life, and I am so, so, so glad it's over. I'm not usually that dramatic of a person, but even I knew it was bad when I would randomly cry on the way to work, sitting at work, or at home. Geez, just writing that sounds dramatic, but it's true. It has tested me in ways I didn't think possible -- it has tested my optimism, patience, our marriage, our communication, and more. It has also proven that I would be terrible in any long-distance relationship. It's been hard on both of us. For Russ, he has been on the road, living in hotel rooms and eating out for almost every meal (which gets old fast). I, on the other hand, have been living alone in a city with no husband or family. Yes, I have friends (and amazing ones at that), but they have husbands and families of their own that I didn't want to impose on.

But it's over. For now.

I'm sorry for airing out my dirty laundry, but it's my blog and writing this kind of stuff down every once and a while is therapeutic. Isn't it funny how you can look at someone's life (via blogs/facebook/etc.) and think their life is peachy-keen, only to find out they have been fighting the biggest battle up to that point in their life? Yep, that's been this here blog as of late.

Thanks for being there for me, my friends. You know who you are.

Play On!

Our neighborhood connects to a really large park. It's not your traditional park with lots of green grass (because San Antonio doesn't really have grass.. at least grass you want to sit in). But there is a huge network of trails for running, biking, walking, etc. The other night on my run I ran over some "graffiti." After thinking "ugh, those darn people that grafitti in this park... grumble grumble..." I looked a little closer to discover that it wasn't in fact graffiti, but a quote that brought a smile to my face:

As I ran on, that quote made me reflect on music and how influential it is in my life. I have always, always loved music. A lot of it I blame on my Dad (thanks Dad!). I am grateful for how one song can bring a complete change to your mood. This week has been a very "blah" week, mostly due to... you guessed it... work. So, I scouted out some new tunes that have successfully turned this frown upside down. Here are some of the new tunes (in no particular order) that I have been grooving to in my lovely corner in the "tax pit":

White Knuckles - OK Go

Kites - Geographer

Hummingbird - The Weepies

Normandie - Shout Out Louds

This Empty Northern Hemisphere - Gregory Alan Isakov

Don't Carry It All - The Decembrists

Only the Young - Brandon Flowers (loooooove this one)

 Normandie - Shout Out Louds

Off We Go - Trent Dabbs

Comes and Goes - Greg Laswell

The Ghost Inside - Broken Bells

Everything is Burning - Ivan & Alyosha

Giving Up the Gun - Vampire Weekend

Yellow Brick Road - Angus and Julia Stone

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Greg Laswell

Whew! Ok I'll stop there. I have a handful more, but I don't want to overload you. Go set up an account in Grooveshark and start groovin'! If you haven't heard of Grooveshark, you are missing out. It's like Pandora but BETTER. I put Pandora to rest a while ago. You can search for a specific song, listen to it, and make your own playlists. It will even do a random radio like Pandora, but I just like the fact that you can type in a song and get that song. What a thought, eh? Here's the best part... it's FREE! If you join, let me know and I can share this playlist with you so you don't have to search out each song. Or you can if you want to, cause that's also fun sometimes.

Anyway, one last song that has been in my head for a few days is brought on by the inevitable Jimmer-mania that has swept the country. I have always been proud to be a Cougar, but especially now as BYU is rockin' March Madness. What am I going to do when they play Gonzaga!?!? Conflicting loyalties... Spokane vs. BYU. Yikes. I think I'll have to go with BYU, especially since this song just rocks. Teach me how to Jimmer y'all.

Lunch Break Thoughts

My thoughts are all over the place right now. Let's just start out with a list shall we?

a) I'm loving that I can get in a 12 hour work day, drive home, and still have enough light to run for an HOUR outside. Not just a quick 20 minute run, I ran for a full hour before it got dark! This is a miracle. I can't wait to do it again tonight.

b) YAY for Emily!!! (You either do or do not know what I'm talking about, but I'll leave it at that).

c) How scary is all of this stuff in Japan? I think the fact that my little brother is over there makes me that much more aware. Thankfully, he is about 300 miles away from Sendai and is happy, healthy, and safe. His birthday was about a month ago, and I have still failed to get him something (what do you get a missionary who is about to come home?!?). I was about to take the title of "worst sister in the world," when I heard about this shirt where 100% of the proceeds go to the Salvation Army relief efforts in Japan. This is possible because a donor is covering the full production costs, allowing all of the profit ($20 per shirt) to be donated. Awesome! Happy Birthday, Jace. You are helping Japan.

.... and finally, the news I'm especially happy about ....

d) Fictionist made it to round two in the Rolling Stone competition! In case you missed this post, Fictionist is an amazingly talented and hip band that has been making quite the splash in the music scene lately. The front-man, Stuart Maxfield, also just happens to be my brother-in-law (and yes, I will always play the "I'm related to him" card). Anyway, they were one of the 16 bands selected to compete in a competition for Rolling Stone. The winner gets to be on the cover of the oh-so-popular magazine, a record deal with Atlantic Records, to play on Jimmy Kimmel live, and a bunch of other goodies. Because of people like you and me who rated them 5 stars, they were one of the 8 bands to advance to round 2. Well now it's even more serious, and we need you to vote some more (it's as easy as clicking the 5 stars below)! Help Fictionist get to round three, my friends. To find out more, go here.

Fabric Flower Headband Tutorial

I've concluded that Sundays are my very favorite days. I have an excuse to lay around and be lazy, not think about anything too serious or stressful, and re-charge for the week ahead. Sundays also provide a great opportunity to tap into my crafty side! In light of keeping true to my "busy season goals," I decided to make another tutorial for you guys! (I know you're thrilled, right??) This time I'm going to show you how to make some fabric poppy flowers. I think poppies are one of my favorite flowers. You can't be sad when looking at poppies. It's impossible.

 Ok, let's get started. This is what you'll need:

A few things to note before I show you what to do. These little squares of felt are literally $0.29 at Jo-Ann's and Michael's, so stock up and get crafting! Obviously you can choose any color of bead to secure the middle. You could even do something crazy and use a button or something. The sky is the limit here. This craft project even lets you tap into your inner-pyro! Now this is my type of craft project, people. However, I think a lighter is probably the best method to burn the edges; I tried using a candle once and it turned the fabric kind of black and charred. It may have just been a cheap candle, but that's my experience. Anyway, here's what you do:

Now that you have the felt ready, it's time to secure the three circles together!

At this point you can put your poppy flower on anything... a headband, bobby pin, hair clip, shirt, onesie, shoe clip, you name it! I experimented with making a stretchy headband by just attaching the flowers to one of those Scuunci brand headbands you can get at any drug store, but I will also show you how to put them on a structured headband.

Attaching the flowers to a structured or traditional headband is as easy as using your glue gun. For real. You can get these types of headbands at your grocery store, Target, Forever 21, etc. They are super cheap, and usually come in packs of 2 or 3. Glue the flower to your headband, and then paste a strip of felt underneath the headband to secure the flowers and add some padding. Obviously, I wasn't too careful on being neat... but I was experimenting, and no one sees that part anyway! Don't judge. :)

And no tutorial is complete without a shot of the finished project. These poppy flowers are perfect for spring, and really are pretty simple. And like I said, who doesn't love a craft project where pyrotechnics are involved?

Happy crafting, my friends!

Saturday Morning Diversions

It's a Saturday morning and I just got to work. Being here is not really what the doctor ordered after a really looooong, exhausting, and honestly, down-right stressful week. I feel like I'm on the verge of getting sick, and to top it off, Russ and I both woke up this morning at 4:30 restless and unable to sleep. Perfect.

Obviously the mere fact I am blogging and not working on taxes shows how I'm not quite ready to crack down and get to work. So why not dream of pretty things I can wear? I saw on this blog how Talbots has come out with their spring line. I've always known Talbots had nice stuff, but didn't think it was necessarily my cup of tea. That is, until I was drooling over much of their new line, especially these skirts:

Umm, yes please. I'm totally digging all of these looks. My birthday is coming up and all... hint hint. :)

In other news, I am now a step closer to achieving one of my New-Year's Resolutions by signing up for this:

In case you can't see it, I signed up for the Bear Lake Half Marathon in June. I'm trying to run at least one half marathon a year (see here and here) just for an extra ounce of motivation to stay in shape. My sister-in-law recruited a group of us girls to all run it together. She even promised we could go to McDonald's afterward. That was really what convinced me. ;) And plus, I figured the first step to achieving one of your goals is merely committing to it. I've paid, and being the cheap-wad I am, I now have to do it.  Well watch out, cause half marathon #3 is about to get OWNED!

Real Life "Up"

Have you guys seen this?? Someone actually made a house fly with balloons! This amazing house-mobile reached an altitude of 10,000 feet and was in the air for about an hour. Who'da thought? I just love the fact that someone thought of a way for such a magical movie to come to life. As you know, we're kind of big fans of "Up", so seeing this article this morning made me extra happy. The filming of this event will be part of a new series on the National Geographic Channel called How Hard Can It Be? that will air this fall. To learn more and see more amazing pictures, go here.

And people say cartoons aren't real....

Rays of Sunshine

Whew! What a week, right? Russell made the comment that he knew I was crazy busy when the blog is neglected. I've been preparing taxes like a mad woman and trying to stay sane in the meantime. I've realized this week that it's those tid-bits of happiness that are in a sense "rays of sunshine" that get you through busy and stressful times of life. Some of the rays of sunshine I've seen this week include:

Wearing my shoe clips. I don't know why they made me so happy, but spicing up some of my go-to shoes just put a little spring into my step. If you want to learn how to make them, go HERE.

Taking a long Sunday nap. I don't remember the last nap I took, maybe 6 months ago? It felt sooooo good.

Going for a beautiful run in the park near our house after working yesterday.

The lovely 70 degree weather San Antonio is blessing us with.

Making salmon and liking it! (Did you hear that Mom??? I'm a big girl now!) I've never been a big seafood person, but I am growing up. We made this Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon recipe, and it turned out perfect (and was incredibly easy! Bonus!) Pair it with some asparagus and brown rice and you've got yourself a meal.

Getting to play the piano at church. I haven't touched a piano for almost 3 months, and I have missed it. A lot.

And most of all, hanging out with this crazy guy.

Hope y'all have had a wonderful weekend and have been able to find some rays of sunshine in the craziness of life.

I Will Prevail

It's March.

March means busy season is here in full force. I don't know who I was kidding thinking I'd have all this time to re-do the nightstands right away. I still really want to get them done soon, but it just might not be as soon as I was hoping. Don't give up on me my friends.

Speaking of busy season, I'm already feeling exhausted. It's easy to get so caught up at work to the point where I don't step out of the office from sun up to sun down, not even for lunch, like I did on Monday. How depressing. Soooo... in hopes of making this a happier month and a half of my life, I've made some goals.

I hope you're not rolling your eyes at me. It just helps having some written down so I feel somewhat accountable to keep that life balance. Speaking of balance, my mind has been wandering to the day when I'll be able to see sights like this again:

Zions National Park, Utah - Angel's Landing Hike

Long Lake, Spokane, Washington

 Baptist Draw, San Rafael Swell, Southern Utah

Obviously I'm pining for a summer vacation that involves anything outdoors, in the mountains, a canyon, or a lake. There is a time for everything, and the time right now is tax season survival.

Wish me luck.

Little Acorns

My manager shared this song with me this morning. Thought it was fitting for many reasons. Plus, we've got about a million acorns in our yard.........

Puzzled

The mister came home to me last night. We had pizza at Florio's and did started a puzzle. I love these kind of Friday night dates.

It took us back to the days when I lived in an apartment with three of my good friends in Utah. Russ and I were dating, probably close to getting engaged. It seemed like us roommates always had a puzzle on the big table, and Russ would come over and help us finish them. It was over those puzzles where Russ bonded with my roommates and I got the official friend approval. Oh puzzles, such an unexpected source of fun.

Anyway, thank you so much for all the recommendations for the night stands. I now have so many good ideas floating through my head (thanks to you), that making a decision may be harder now than it was before! I guess you could say I'm puzzled! :)

What do YOU think?

A few months ago we showed you the current progress of our bedroom with the "Lewis Elm" shelf (go here for a reminder). I'm itching for another project to work on, and thought I should finally tackle the one I've been putting off for almost a year: re-painting our hand-me-down nightstands. I really love most of our bedroom, or I guess you could say the "middle section." The sides? Not so much. In fact, you could say I hate them. It's the clashing brown wood, the dated hardware, and the "blah" lamps. So I'm going to take this situation into my own hands.

This is where you guys come into play. I cannot for the life of me decide on a color to paint the nightstands. Perhaps this is why I have waited so long. But I know y'all have some really great taste out there, and I am in need of your opinions! Should I paint them...

Black, like all the rest of the furniture in the room...

Gray, to match the pillows/sheets

Yellow, to coordinate with the accent pillows and flower (and heck, we all know I love yellow furniture)

Another random pop of color, like a turquoise/blue, green, orange? 

Another shade of stained wood?

Polka dotted?

Really guys, I'm at a loss. I'm excited to get this project going, and these little old stands are in need of some T.L.C.

P.S. When I originally posted about the shelf, some of you had asked about the flowers. They are from World Market. Aren't they awesome? They add just the right element of "floral," without being, well, floral.

Radiohead, Birthdays, Pirates, & Shaving. All In One.

I bought the new Radiohead album this weekend. It's AWESOME. The last four tracks of the album are my favorite. I have to admit, however, it has not yet topped "In Rainbows," the band's last album. I feel like all new Radiohead is always "out there," and takes time to get used to. It took a few months when it first came out, but now "In Rainbows" is one of my top favorite albums of all time. Yes, I actually said that.

Today is my little brother's birthday. He's turning 21!! I haven't seen him for over a year and a half, as he's serving a mission for our church in Japan, so obviously I miss him like crazy. As of late we have been trying to help him figure out where he'll be living at BYU when he comes back. It's phrases like this that make me miss Jace-face even more: "Those spots all sound really good, though I honestly don't care too much, because I think pretty much every spot will be more fun than I can possibly imagine at this point." Oh the optimism.


{Hey mom, you might want to skip this next paragraph} 


Speaking of missionaries, did you guys hear about the Christian missionaries that were attacked by Somalian pirates off the east coast of Africa yesterday?!? Yes... pirates. It's actually quite sad, because the pirates killed four of the missionaries on the ship. Luckily the Navy stepped in and saved the day. You can read about it here.

Ok, enough rambling. I need to get back to preparing taxes. I cannot wait. I will leave you girls with a little something to help with one of life's toughest decisions:

A Wicked Date

Russ told me we were just going to spend the night "in" for Valentine's with a homemade meal and a movie from Netflix. Well, silly me, Russ always has something up his sleeve. At the end of the night he pulled out a poem he had written with a few other goodies...

I had sent Russ a not so subtle hint a while ago with some earrings from this shop that I had been eyeing. He then actually went shopping and found a dress that matched the earrings, a cute trench to wear for the cooler evening, and with some help from his sister, some shoes that tied it all together. I was FLOORED. The best part? He had a secret date planned for this Saturday to wear my new outfit to. Let's just say, it was a pretty "wicked date."

First we met our friends Scott and Andrea at La Focaccia, a really great Italian place downtown. Believe me, the wheels were spinning at this point. "...we're downtown... we're all dressed up... it might just be what I'm hoping it is." And sure enough...

...We saw Wicked! I felt like a giddy child sitting in those seats up in the back of the theater. I've been wanting to see this play for EVER, and it was finally happening. (Was that dramatic enough?) I have been listening to the soundtrack for a few years, but seeing the real thing blew the CD out of the water. Or should I say it defied gravity? {ha!} 

Thanks again husband. It was a fantastic night out on the town.

Newborns

There is something quite magical about holding a newborn. To think of where their little spirits were just hours before is breath-taking. They have such pure, precious little bodies, and one can only imagine what is in store for them on this earth. As far as I can remember, little Carter is probably the "newest" of newborns I've ever held. Our friends Morgan and Karen (mentioned in this post) had their baby, Carter Morgan Allen, on Wednesday afternoon. I went to visit them at the hospital last night. He's just about 24 hours old in this picture, and he's perfect.

I went with my other child-less friends, Brittany and her husband Dallin, and she told me we had to put our "baby-fever-guards up." But those darn babies really are pretty cute, aren't they??

{Please excuse the I-left-the-house-with-wet-hair-and-worked-all-day look. It's so charming.}

Fictionist & Rolling Stone Magazine

I'm so excited about this post. I've been seeing Fictionist all over blogland, and it makes me so happy.

I know you guys hear me talk about Fictionist like all the time. In addition to my family loyalty to Stuart, I sincerely think this band is one of the most talented group of musicians out there. Genuine talent. And not to mention a truly genuine group of guys. Before we moved to Texas I worked for the band and got to hang out with them a lot. Even though they look all tough below, honestly, all of these guys are ridiculously funny, sincere, and just down right good people.

On to the exciting news! If you're a Jimmy Fallon fan, you might have seen this Utah band's name read by Jimmy Fallon himself. (If you want to see the clip, click HERE)

Fictionist has been invited as 1 of 16 bands to compete in a national competition with Rolling Stone Magazine! Umm, hello! The winner of the competition would...

Be on the COVER of Rolling Stone magazine

Play live on the Jimmy Fallon show
Recording contract with Atlantic Records

It's all based on internet activity and buzz about the band. To help Fictionist make it to the next round, take a few seconds, GO HERE and rate the band "5 stars," like them on Facebook, or just promote them any way you would like. Go ahead and listen to a few of their songs below. "Before I'm Old" is one of my favorites. You can also come back and click on the 5 Stars in the little gadget below as much as your little heart desires.

Also, make sure to watch the new music video for "Treasure These Moments" (In the gadget above -- you can make it bigger by clicking on the diagonal arrows in the right hand corner of the video). A combination of Stuart in a monkey suit, Aaron's roller skates, Robbie using a guitar as a pinata, the local Sammie's burger joint I used to frequent quite often, and those amazing Utah mountains brings a big fat smile to my face.

14 Reasons

I told you Russ got clothes-lined. If you were confused, let me explain. Last year Russ thought of little surprises throughout the day for Valentines... and I got him a T-shirt. LAME-O. So this year I really wanted to do something a little more thoughtful, to make sure he knew just how much I loved that he was my Valentine. So, I crept out of bed early in the morning to set up a clothesline with 14 reasons why I am glad Russ is my Valentine.

The clothesline started right as Russ stepped out of our bedroom... it went down the hall... and through the living room. Don't worry, I hung the clothesline high enough wear Russ wouldn't really be clothes-lined, seeing as he was leaving for work in the wee hours of the morning, you know, the time of day when no one is really aware of hidden strings in the hallway.

There were 14 different cards, each containing another "reason." Believe me, there are more than 14.

The clothesline of love ended in the office on our little white chair with a handmade card and a little somethin' for the mister. Top gift? Just some new music for Russ's long drives to Austin (FYI - Iron & Wine's new album, which is appropriately named "Kiss Each Other Clean" is awesome).

 And the bigger one? Well, nothing says "I love you" like a 2 terabyte hard drive. At least Russ agrees.

PS. The reason why Russ is wearing a hand-written name tag that says "Ernesto Aguilar" is because we had watched "The Importance of Being Ernest" the night before... so Russ is channeling the Hispanic version of Ernest. Yeah, he's silly.

The Holiday of Love

It is February 15th, and I am thinking about the last few days feeling incredibly loved. Not just by my wonderful husband, but by friends and family around the world. Words really cannot express how grateful I am for my husband, friends in Texas and elsewhere, for my family, and for the amazing family I married in to. I definitely felt the love this year!

We got to spend time with lots of friends this weekend. Saturday night we went to the good ol' rodeo down here in Texas. We went with a huge group of friends, most of which were some of the first people we met here in Texas. We don't get to see each other that much since we moved to our new house, but when we do it's always a good time. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures with the group, but here we are at dinner with Brandon and Megan.

The next day we threw a little Valentine's shin-dig with a few friends. These are some of our "newest" friends here in Texas, and I am so grateful for them. Karen and Brittney have especially been "there for me" these last few months as Russ has been out of town every week. We've had some good times. You know you've got some good friends when they ditch their husbands to come watch the Bachelor with you... every week.

There was lots of good food, laughing, and extreme game times. (I forgot how fun Catch Phrase is! Holy moly). I think we were all a little enamored by the Valentine-themed Fruit Pizza I made. You guys, this thing was seriously amazing. It's all about the crust. Oh, and the frosting. And heck, it's also about the fruit. The only thing I'm sad about is that it didn't stick around longer. Needless to say, it got eaten. Really fast.

And isn't Karen (on the right) just the cutest? She also happens to be the most pleasant pregnant person I've ever been around. Here she is a week past her due date, and I still have not heard her "complain" once. I hope I can be half as nice as she is when I'm that big. Here's the best part... she's in the hospital delivering that little guy as I type!! Hooray!

{This is my Valentine. I love him}

By the end of the night I think we all got a little slap-happy. I blame it on the sugar rush. Those Valentine hearts I told you about a few days ago turned out to be excellent photo shoot props.

 
 

I hope everyone got a little lovin' this past Valentine's Day. Stay tuned to find out how Russ got clothes lined. Confused? Don't worry, you'll see..

Marrying Up

Last week my Dad told me I married up. 

He obviously meant it in a very nice way and nothing degrading to me at all. I'm glad my Dad likes my husband. It really means the world. The funny thing is I think I've known this fact all along, but to have your own father tell you is, well... it's honest. Hopefully everyone thinks his or her own spouse is "the best husband/wife in the world," so I'm not going to say that. All I know is that my husband is the best husband I could ever have for me.

You know those weeks that are a little sub par? And even though the weekend is meant for fun times and partying, you know those Fridays where you get off of a crappy day/week at work and all you want to do is literally hide under a blanket for a while? Yeah, I did that. I literally came home, ate dinner (that Russ had thrown together... again, I know, I married up), and then hid under a blanket on the couch for 15 minutes.

I know, you're thinking... "get a GRIP Camille! You sound ridiculously dramatic right now."

I was. I was being dramatic.

But this is when that whole "Russ is the perfect husband for me" thing comes into play. He knew that was all I needed. I needed a moment to hide from the responsibilities and hard facts of life (like, for example, finding out we owe $2,000 in taxes... ouch). Hiding under a blanket helps a bit.

Thanks for marrying me Russ. Here's to a happy Valentine's weekend. It's gonna be great.

Chicken Pesto Stromboli

I'd like to introduce you to a Russ & Camille staple. 

I originally got this recipe a few years ago from Just Cook Already, a really great source for some good family recipes. We've made it time and time again, and I'm telling you, it never disappoints. And the best part is, depending on how I roll it all together, sometimes it's short and fat (like above), and other times it's long and skinny. Either way, it's absolutely delicious.  It's great for entertaining, and even better for leftovers (if there is any). I mean, how can you go wrong with chicken, pesto, cheese, spinach, and bread? Oh yeah, you can't. Alright, let's just get to the important details:  

1 Rhodes Rolls Frozen bread Loaf

1/2 cup Pesto Sauce

2 cups Spinach

2 cups Cooked Shredded Chicken

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella

1/2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1 tsp. Garlic Salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

Thaw bread according to package.

On greased counter roll out to a rectangle about the size of a cookie sheet

Spread Pesto all over leaving a 1 inch space from edge

Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan on top of pesto. Sprinkle Mozzarella the layer of spinach, last your shredded Chicken.

Now roll, jelly roll style,  starting at the long end.

Roll it all the way so it makes a long tube.

Place on a greased cookie sheet, make sure seam is on the bottom.  Tuck ends under.

Brush with egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Garlic Salt.

Cut slits along the top to vent

Let Rise 30 minutes. Bake @350 until golden brown, 20-30 minutes.

This is essentially like a rolled up pizza, so, get creative! You can switch in or out any ingredient you'd like. Russ and I have also altered this recipe to use pineapple, ham, cheese, and BBQ sauce to make a "Hawaiian" rendition of the stromboli. The possibilities are endless! And if you're wondering what it looks like in the middle of this stromboli of goodness, I managed to snap a shot before it disappeared off the plate. Is it lunch-time yet??

Hue and Hum

You know when you have those friends who are incredibly talented in so many different ways that you kind of want to hate them? But then you can't, because they are some of the nicest, sweetest, most enjoyable people to be around? Yeah, I have a few of those friends, and they happen to be married. Please meet Caitlin and Robbie, otherwise known as Hue and Hum.

(Aren't they so cute? Don't you just want to be their friend? This is them with their adorable dog, Albus, of course)

He is Hum, because he is an amazing musician and the lead guitarist of a very talented band you may have heard me talk about before. 

She is Hue, because she creates some of the most inspiring and original art pieces I've ever seen. Mostly, I just can't wait to own one of her originals someday. This series is one of my personal favorites.

Well Caitlin's art is just what I'm here to talk about today. Caitlin had the fabulous idea of creating a few prints centered around Valentine's Day. Her art is already incredibly reasonably priced, but here's the kicker with these Valentine's prints: you pay what you want. Yes, that's right. You decide how much you would like to donate for the print. Again, you can pay as little or as much as you want. Genious, no? I wish every store had this option.

Both prints are mixed media. I just looooove the colors. They're beautiful, no? She has two prints available: a "lover-tine" and a "friend-tine," if you will. You know, just so you don't leave anyone out that you love for this "Valen-tine's" day :)

So hop on over to their blog and show 'em some love, become a follower, be their friend. Robbie is constantly putting up free music and Caitlin never stops making amazing original art and handmade crafts. Where can you go wrong?

Husbandless on a Snow Day

As I mentioned in the post before, San Antonio received a "winter blast," as they said on the news. The city practically shut down (freeways were literally closed most of Friday) and Russell was out of town... again. What does that leave a girl to do? Go crafting crazy, of course. One of the projects I did is the "have a heart" project, as found on this blog. Just take a book from Goodwill, some old scrapbook paper, a sewing machine needing some love, and...

... you've got some Valentine's decorations that will instantly bring a smile to your face. Trust me. I like these little hearts so much they might be up a little longer than February 14th. They just make me so darn happy.

I may have gotten a little carried away with the whole "heart theme" and made tons and tons and tons of sugar cookies. Holy moly, these babies are good. Remember Sheri? She is a fabulous baker, and this recipe is a Sheri special. As Lindsay calls them, they are the "Sheri Bird Cookies of Love."

And this next project was another result of a craft extravaganza my friend Megan and I had on Friday night. I've been wanting to attempt making some fabric flower poppies for a while, and I'm pretty sure I like the result. I may or may not have made them in multiple colors. I need to learn when to say "Camille... back away from the fabric flowers."

Anyway, as you can see in the picture, the snow is long, long gone. In fact, this afternoon Russ and I played a board game on the back deck and I think I may have even gotten a little sunburnt. Winter came and left in one week. But the snow was good while it lasted, and hey, it gave me an excuse to stay in, be lazy, and make crafts.