I can smell the holidays a'comin

I know I know...we are not the world's most steady bloggers. We blog sporadically and it needs to end. My aunt informed me a few weeks ago that I needed to update and I forgot again. I promise to do better! *fingers crossed* Mark and I have been ridiculously busy the past few months. Mark's store has slowly been improving, but it will soon be insanely busy since it's almost the holiday season. He spoke last month at a little conference called Ignite Memphis where people are chosen to speak for 5 min. about ways to improve Memphis. I've been working hard at Morgan Keegan and been enjoying married life so much. :) We both agree that being married is just getting better and better as times goes on.

Now I know my sister will understand and appreciate this, but we started decorating our apartment for Christmas last night. Yes I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet but I just can't help myself! I want to enjoy our Christmas decorations longer than 4 weeks, plus it's one less thing I have to worry about once it gets really busy near Christmas. This year I decorated the tree and bought the ornaments from the Dollar Tree because they're cheap and in case the kitties want to play with the tree, they don't break. I'm going to take pictures of everything once I finish. :) Christmas and Thanksgiving this year are more special than ever because it's our first Christmas as a married couple. I never imagined how much different the holidays become when you are married. Everything is more sentimental because you know you'll be starting traditions that'll last for a long time. I want to fill our home with the warm smells of cookies baking and soup simmering. Speaking of cookies--I'm baking some Earl Gray Tea cookies right now. I found them on www.realsimple.com. They are very low calorie (I think 44 calories a serving) and are not too sweet...and perfect with tea of course.

We also bought little holiday kitty collars for the cats and 10 min. after putting them on we took them off. It didn't go over to well. Mark and I have been eagerly anticipating the fall and winter weather--basically since September. We are both cold weather people and love to bundle up in the cold. We are planning on going to a bed and breakfast somewhere in Chattanooga sometime in November to get away for the weekend. Perhaps it will be our new pre-holiday tradition to get away before everything gets crazy. A tradition we started last year was to go to Waffle House on Christmas morning for breakfast. Surprisingly enough, it's really packed too! We decided that a tradition we want to start for Thanksgiving is to buy cards for each other and write down what we are most thankful for one in another and thank God for blessing up so much.  

Now that it's getting colder, it means that it's time for a few things:

1. Time to buy wood for the fireplace at Kroger.

2. Time to turn off the heat and pile on the blankets.

3. Because we keep it so cold, the kitties are usually on one of us trying to stay warm by the time we wake up in the morning .

4. Time to remember to put your robe by the shower or else the dreaded LEAP to the robe where every part of your body is wet and cold occurs and you are miserable for the rest of the morning.

5. Time for yummy drinks such as: mulled apple cider, hot chocolate, and latte's.

6. Time to plan out your holiday gift list (I even wrote out a whole list of everyone's names we needed to get gifts for at work..yes I am very productive). :)

7. Time to bring out scarves, gloves, boots, sweaters, sweatshirts, and jackets.

8. For girls, time to switch to a heavier moisturizer because the cold weather dries out your skin.

9. Time to lather on lotion more heavily than usual to prevent really dry skin.

10. Time to watch all the cheesy Christmasy movies (Peanuts movies are my favorite!!!).

11. Time to find Mark a stocking b/c as of now, both kitties have one and I have two all hanging up on the mantel...two Olivia's and 2 kitty stockings...I don't look selfish at all right? (One of my stockings is in place of his soon to be stocking so don't judge me haha).

12. Time to buy tins at the Dollar Tree to put all my Christmas baked goodies in.

13. Time to hit the gym harder and run longer outside to burn off those Christmas goodies.

That's all I have for now, but keep expecting more things soon. :)

Weekend Update

Sorry it has been so long since the last post. Life has been pretty hectic recently. This weekend I had some decorating adventures that even included me going to Walmart...somewhere I haven't been in years. Although I know that Target is more expensive , I would much rather spend the extra money than go to Walmart. I know it sounds snobby, but I really just don't like it. But I was needing some picture frames for a few projects that I'm working on, and for my diploma that finally got its own frame.

Here is the first project I did...it is a collection of Starbucks gift cards glued on to cardboard and put in a poster frame (which I originally got for something else, but it didn't fit). I apologize for the flash on ALL these pictures...I'm not a photographer by any means.

The next project I did involved a calendar my mom gave me last Christmas that has a bunch of old timey food posters. I bought some frames and here you go! I made three of 3, but this is just one.

Then I went fall crazy at Walmart and bought all these really fun fall decorations. By the way, they have really great smelling candles for $3-5. I got Carmel Apple Spice and Pumpkin. The table cloth I bought, well, it doesn't really fit right. I think it's supposed to be for an oblong table, but oh well. You can't tell in the picture anyways. :)

Oh and this tablecloth was only $9 too! What a bargain!

Hope you guys have a great week!

New Painting

I finally finished my painting! It was a picture I found online and decided to paint. I tweeked it a little to make it my own, but I really like it!

Weekend Update

Hello all! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far, minus the horrible heat outside. I'm sure all of Memphis is counting down the days until fall weather starts to creep in. That is probably one of my favorite seasonal feelings: you wake up one morning during early fall right before the temperatures have started to drop and walk outside to realize that you need a jacket! Then the nights are cooler and that wonderful fall smell comes. I'm not sure I'm able to capture that smell in words...maybe smokey, sweet, and crisp. Yankee Candle needs to bank on that idea and make a candle called "Fall" and it would be a hit seller. I've been so excited about fall coming that I've been purposefully been using up our summery scented candles so I can buy new fall and winter ones!  

Mark's Starbucks store's air conditioning unit broke this afternoon and the store is now at 95 degrees. I predicted the response of his district manager perfectly too. The correct response: you should close the store immediately. The actual response (predicted by me): you should just get some fans. Ugh...really? I feel badly for the baristas working there. When I worked at my old store that happened and amidst the heat were the awful customers complaining about it. Speaking of good ol' Starbucks, I have to go and work a 4 hour shift tomorrow morning which is odd considering I don't work there anymore. But hey, my manager worked very hard to get my shifts covered so I could start at Morgan Keegan so I suppose it's the least I could do right?

Speaking of Morgan Keegan, I'm still loving the job. I'm happy to say that I'm out of my first week of work. Now I'm a somewhat familiar face and know a little more what I'm supposed to do. Today Mark and I ran some errands and went to a Street Team Meeting for OBS. I was excited about be able to go to church tomorrow, but I can't because of that 4 hour shift I have to work. Oh well, such is life...and it's the last time too. Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Job Update

See the big brown building on the left? That's right! That's where I work now! Today I just finished my second day and my brain is in overload mode. I've already reached that 'I'm so lost' to 'I think I'm kind of getting this' to 'I can't even comprehend what I'm being told right now...words going in...out...' Tomorrow I'm going to try and do things on my own instead of observing so we'll see how well this goes. I've already missed the turn to leave my floor, gotten on the wrong elevator, and walked into the wrong department. So yes, I am ready for the whole first week "fun" to be over with. It's hard coming from a job where you are one of the people in charge and knows what to do to not knowing anything or anyone. It has been really wonderful to wake up around 6 and not have to wear nasty black or white polos and a green apron  anymore. The best part of my week by far (and yes, it's only day 2) is that I don't have to deal with customers or clients. I love it!

Mark has been enjoying his  new car. He keeps telling me that it's weird coming home and not seeing me taking a nap. Oh, and I have to thank my awesome brother-in-law Stephen for lending me his extra iBook G4 since my old laptop died. Does anyone want to buy a broken Macbook for its parts maybe??

The kitties have not yet adjusted to my new schedule. They in fact still want to be fed at 4am and will not leave me alone until I do. I'm ready for fall by the way!

Roasted Corn and Red Pepper Quesadillas

Usually during the summer I honestly don't like cooking that much. I'm not sure why exactly either. In the winter I'm much more prone to cook--maybe because the oven warms the apartment. The good thing about summer, however, is the abundance of fresh vegetables. As a vegetarian, I appreciate the fact that I can go to the grocery store and find a ton of fresh veggies on sale. One of my favorites right now is fresh corn (at Kroger it's usually 3 or 4 for $1). I was trying to decide what to make for dinner and awhile ago I made veggie enchiladas with fresh corn. This time I went on a different route...

So last night I cooked a really delicious meal for Mark and I thought it was "blogworthy." I wish I had taken a picture of it but we ate it up too quickly. Next time I'll take a picture! We were going to make enchiladas, but we decided last minute to make quesadillas instead. They had roasted fresh corn, red pepper, onions, and cheese. They were amazing! If you have a panini maker they make exactly quesadillas in a shorter time than on a griddle pan. I had leftover corn, pepper, and onion mixture but you can use it to make a ton of other stuff. Try using it in soup, on a panini, or in pasta.

Ingredients:

1) 3 husks of fresh corn (I used the bicolor)

2) 1 red pepper (any color would taste fine)

3) 1 medium yellow onion

4) minced garlic

5) olive oil

6) margarine

7) 1 & 1/2 tbsp. rosemary

8) 4 whole wheat tortillas

9) shredded cheese

       Directions:

Remove the corn from the husk by cutting it with a knife. Saute some garlic (however much you like really) in olive oil in a saute pan. Add the corn with a tablespoon of margarine and chopped rosemary (fresh rosemary tastes the best). Stir until the corn is tender, about 5 min.

In another saute pan add olive oil and saute the peppers and onions.

Put all your veggies in one bowl and let set for a few minutes to let the flavors blend together.

Assemble your quesadillas by adding your cheese (however much you'd like) and veggie mix. Cook on the panini pan until done and enjoy!

Sorry that I don't have the accurate measurements on a lot of the ingredients. I don't measure anything when I'm cooking, only baking, so it's really up to your how much of something you want. Mark gave them a thumbs up too!

Good Times :)

Things have definitely been looking up for the Hacketts this week! I'm happy to report that I no longer work at Starbucks anymore and I am officially employed by Morgan  Keegan! I will be working in the accounts department, though any other details or descriptions about my job is still unknown to me until I start on Monday. I'll tell you the story of how I got the job:

A few weeks ago my sister  Andrea submitted my resume to her superior because their was a job opening. I didn't get that job so I honestly just forget about Morgan Keegan. After around 4 more job openings/potentials that I was still waiting to hear back from, I get a call one morning when I was eating breakfast with a friend of mine. I had been waiting to hear back from a tutoring job so when I got a call from an unknown number, I assumed it was them. It turns out that it was a man who worked at Morgan Keegan asking me if I could come in THAT day for an interview. I "suited up" (if you watch How I Met Your Mother, you'll get the reference) in my best interview suit and drove downtown an hour early so I wouldn't get lost. I ended up getting to hang out with my sister and see where she works and meet so really nice people she works with. I interview--think it goes well, and don't hear back that week. I get really discouraged and simply assume that I didn't get it. Then I get a call and it turns out I got the job!

The best part of this job so far is that I've gotten to buy what I call "big girl clothes." I've shopped at Ann Taylor for the first time and a sweet girl who works there helped me put a few outfits together. Blazers, slacks, and heels are such a nice and refreshing change rather than black polos and pants. So goodbye Starbucks and hello to the corporate world of salaries, paid vacations (eventually), federal holidays off, weekends off, and the return to church on Sundays. :)

In other news, my parents bought a new car a few days ago and gave their old car to us. Typically my parents gave of the kids a financial gift after getting married. Instead of taking the money, Mark and I opted for the car once they bought a new one. So goodbye to Mark's old Pathfinder (aka "the failfinder") and hello to a 2003 Toyota Camry that won't fall apart!

Yay!!!