ABCs

Because everybody's doing it.

A. Age: 28

B. Bed size: full. I am a small person and don't need much room.

C. Chore you hate: taking out the trash. I loathe it. Always.

D. Dogs: meh. They're cute, but I prefer cats. I like the way cats ignore you.

E. Essential start to your day: Put in my contacts. It's the first thing I do once I get out of bed. Sight is important!

F. Favorite color: Pink! All shades.

G. Gold or silver: Silver. I own one pair of gold earrings and hardly ever wear them.

H. Height: 5’1.

I. Instruments you play: currently none. I've played clarinet, piano and handbells.

J. Job title: Attorney

K. Kids: maybe later? I nannied for a year and feel no urgent desire to have babies right now.

L. Live: Currently in Denver

M. Mom’s name: LuAnne (we're Southern girls with our double names)

N. Nicknames: Annie (what everyone calls me), Ree-Ree (Grandmere calls me this), the winks, twinkle toes, stinkerbellsky (last 3 are courtesy of my dad).

O. Overnight hospital stays: a week when I was 13 at summer camp. Stupid spiders + yellow jackets = hospital for Annie

P. Pet peeve: people who are chronically late.

Q. Quote from a movie: "They're not the lost boys of Peter Pan - they're the bloodsucking Brady Bunch!" I'm not sure why I love this quote so, but I do. :)

R. Right or left handed: right

S. Siblings: Karl, my older brother

T. Time you wake up: between 5:45-6:45

U. Underwear: I wear it

V. Vegetables you dislike: um... I honestly can't think of one I dislike.

W. What makes you run late: very little. I'm the girl who is awkwardly early.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: one at 14 to check for a broken arm - it wasn't.

Y. Yummy food you make: I'm known for my brownies

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Big cats and adorable otters (have you seen them hold hands? I die from cuteness).

There are my ABCs, what are yours?

Loot

Whew. I managed to be quite productive this morning. I got my shot, called my landlord re: broken disposal, and got my oil changed! I had a coupon for an oil change, so I ended up driving to the suburbs instead of my normal garage.

Afterward, I spied with my little eye something ULTA! I needed new eyeliner. Seriously, mine is over 2 years old and making my eyes itch. I was greeted by giant signs of "FREE GIFT!" Sweet. If you spend $17.50 on Ulta brand makeup, you get to pick one of three free gifts.

So, this is what I bought: black eyeline, brown eyeliner with smudger, and black mascara. Total cost $26.

And here is what I got as my FREE GIFT: makeup bag, four brushes, travel mirror, two eyeshadow quads, two double-sided eyeliners, mascara, lipstick, double-sided lip gloss, blush AND a nail polish.

Not too shabby, especially since I bought makeup I 'needed' anyway.

After Ulta, I ran into a Ross. Y'all, I need it to be spring so I can wear these treasures. Wedge sandals and a pair of colorful gladiators. Best part - each pair was $16.99. Reason #18 I love Ross, great prices on shoes.

So that's my loot for the day. Now I need to crank out some quick work.

Have an incredible weekend, my lovelies!

New friends

Meet Gatsby the Great.


Sadly, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew II passed on. Jake and I decided we wanted another Beta fish. We settled on this blue beauty.

Yes, he lives in a gin bottle. No, there is not gin in it. Yes, there is enough room for him. Most beta bowls are 1/3 the size of this bottle.

When we went to get him at Petco, they had two cats up for adoption. :( Neither of us has room for a cat in our current apartments. Maybe once we get married and move in together, we can get a kitty. I am allergic, but I really want one!

Valentine's Day

Hello lovelies! I hope y'all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I got home from work to find these on the table. Jake is not normally a flowers guy, so I was pleasantly surprised to see these beauties.

We were wavering back and forth on whether to go out or just stay in and cook together. We finally decided on Ototo's Wine Bar.


First we posed for a few pictures. :)

We decided on Ototo's because we'd walked by it several times and it never seemed full. We thought we had a shot at getting a table without a reservation. I am so glad we went! The food was amazing. Ototo does a variety of small plates, so we shared and got several things.

We started with two stone crab claws. My family is from Florida and stone crabs are an integral part of my memories of childhood Christmases. These were delicious. We also enjoyed a crispy tuna roll. Ototo is the third restaurant by the same two brothers. All three of the restaurants serve the crispy tuna roll - because it is amazing. The rice itself is fried, then covered with tuna, avocado, jalapeno and roe. So good. Our third starter was a selection of one meat and one cheese. We chose a smoked prosciutto and a tangy sheep's cheese. The plate came with pickles, olives, a few slices of apple, a crispy flatbread, some jam and the best honey I've ever tasted in my life. Jake and I truly enjoyed the dish. We were seated at the bar in front of the open kitchen and the chefs made sure we were enjoying everything.

Next up were scallops. Perfectly cooked, but they didn't make me as happy as the first three dishes.

Last, we tried Ototo's Egg in a Jar. The description sounded interesting, so we went for it. When it came, it looked so interesting I took a picture.

On top, there is an egg, with fish roe. Underneath is a layer of serrano ham and truffle whipped potatoes. You add some of the diced red onion and stir everything together. Then you serve it on the grilled bread. Amazing. This dish was so fun to eat and incredibly good.

Jake and I walked in to Ototo's with sort of low expectations. I was blown out of the water by how good everything was. It was a delicious and fun meal.

After dinner, I made Jake watch The Proposal. Excellent way to end the evening.

Super Bowl and a Night Out

So Saturday night, Jake and I actually went out! Like, out for drinks with friends. It has been awhile since we went out on a Saturday night. I decided to get fancy. I finally got to wear my new sweater and belt.

True story: we were meeting a couple we'd only met once before, at a mutual friend's party. It's very awkward to try and spot people you've met once, two months ago. There were several, "is that them?" looks before we finally spotted them. We went to El Diablo, a Mexican place on Broadway with phenomenal margaritas. I had two to celebrate that I wasn't driving. :) I told Jake if he drove Saturday night, I'd drive for Superbowl fun.


Speaking of the Superbowl, I made several treats to take to a party.

I made Averie's Special K Bars, because they looked and sounded delicious and I wanted to try something new. First, I made a gooey mixture. Then I poured it over Special K.


Easy peasy and totally yummy.




Jessica's Better than Crack Brownies were requested by the hosts. Once again, they were a huge success.


I managed to save a few to send to my folks for Valentine's Day. Now I just have to make it to the post office before I eat them all.

The Calm Before the Storm

This Saturday was gorgeous. Sunny and mid-60s. Jake and I took advantage of the weather and headed to the Botanical Gardens to catch the end of the Henry Moore exhibit. Mom got us memberships to the Garden as part of our Christmas gift. Typically, when an exhibit is at a garden, the pieces are woven so they co-exist with the plants. As it's winter, there aren't a ton of plants in bloom right now, so the sculptures really stood out.


Rolling hilltops


After the gorgeous Saturday, the weather took a down-turn. It kept getting colder and colder. My drive to work on Monday took 2 hours (instead of 1 hour 15 minutes). I actually had to pull off the interstate to de-ice my windshield wipers. Freezing rain turned to snow throughout the day. My boss sent me home early. I spent 5 hours at work and 3.3 getting there and back. Not the best time usage ever.

This morning I awoke to -7 degree weather. I rebelled by putting on my fleece leggings and staying inside ALL day. It's supposed to be colder tonight. :(