Cheese Muffins

I stumbled upon a recipe for cheese muffins last week and thought I would give it a try for today's office potluck. It was really easy to make and a big hit amongst everyone. My only recommendation is to serve them right from the oven, they are the best when they are hot.

My Weekend

Chocolate Peanut Butter. It is the best ice cream. Ever. Ben and I are now addicted. We can no longer walk down the frozen dessert section of the grocery store.

Funny Stuff

This has been all over the blogosphere, so I'm passing it on. Enjoy!Note - Click the link for the complete series. It's pretty funny!

The Yearly Card Revisited

This is exactly what I envisioned as our Christmas postcard!

Simple. Different. Fun.

I wonder if there is still time for a custom order? (See, I am very bad at planning ahead!)

via Etsy

Pretty Purse

So I need a new travel coin purse. The Coach imitation I purchased in Abu Dhabi last year for cheap is total crap (yeah I know - you get what you pay for). The zipper broke and became a huge hassle on this last trip, and I never really liked the style (total impulse buy). My plan is to replace it before my next big trip, which isn't too far away!

A quick Etsy search and I found this cute one from seller Field of Roses. I really like the style and do enjoy the fabric pattern, but I wish there were a few more fabric choices for the coin purses. I think I am going to be doing some lite searching this weekend since this idea is definitely going on the Christmas list!

30 Rock

Love this show! I do think it is the new Office and highly recommend all to watch. A quote from last night...

Liz: "No. I just wish I could start a relationship about 12 years in where you don’t really have to try anymore and you can just sit around together and goof on TV shows and go to bed without anybody trying any funny business."

Ben and I looked at each other and started laughing. We totally did this Tuesday night when we discussed various shows' "Jump The Shark" moment. Good times.

Back in Time

LIFE has teamed up with Google to make their photo archives from as far back as the 1750s accessible (the above photo is from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake). I definitely enjoyed searching through the images while I waited for an experiment to finish this afternoon. Check it out here.

via SwissMiss

Milk

I think a replica porcelain milk bottle would be perfect as a simple vase. It really fits me (I kinda work with the stuff), and I'm thinking it would go well on top of the wine cabinet. Now I just have to figure out what size to get!

via Etsy

The Yearly Card

I doubt we will do holiday photo cards. It just isn't our thing (read - I'm not organized enough to plan ahead). If we did, I think I would do these timeline cards. It is a great idea!


I am thinking we could easily do holiday postcards. Fun picture...personalized messages...definitely a nice twist!

Just Like New

After our Friday night out, the weekend was spent doing homeownership tasks. Ben was busy fixing the clogged and leaky kitchen sink we returned from vacation to. The reverse osmosis system was a huge pain, but it's great to have a working sink again and no more leaks!Our hard water created such a mess that we needed to get a new fixture. It's nothing special, but it will do until we remodel the kitchen next year.I also changed the look of the bathroom since the bathmat was destroyed in the mess. I already had the shower curtain and towels from my old place, so the new look was only $15 for the bathmat from Bed Bath and Beyond!A wonderful, productive weekend!

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

Bond. James Bond.

Emily and Scott convinced me to join them and their friends last night for the premier of the newest Bond film at the old Fremont theater (definitely the best spot). I called Ben and sent texts to some friends to join me, so we became a big group in the sold-out theater.

It was a lot of fun. The movie was good, but not great. I felt it wasn't as good as Casino Royal, tried to be too much like Bourne, and overall was flat. As much as it wasn't amazing, I am glad I saw it and especially on the big screen.

For the Dining Room?

I really like this art by Naomi Murrell and am thinking of possibly putting it above the wine cabinet in the dining room. But I'm not sure...

via {Frolic}

Cash Only is Cool

I read this article yesterday and totally agree with it.

My parents taught me an amazing skill of budgeting and living on cash only. When I came to college, I didn't have a checking account for a few years and never had a credit card. If I wanted something, I had to take money out of my savings account via the ATM and purchase it with cold, hard cash. It is true that it makes you second guess all of your purchases since you physically see the cash leaving. It also makes you save for emergencies and plan for the future since you know that you don't have credit to save you. Basically I learned to live within my means. Yes I use credit cards now (the rewards can be a great free benefit), but I pay them off every month to avoid carrying high interest debt.

There was some friendly teasing (including from my wonderful boyfriend, now husband, Ben), but I am happy that the skill so many desperately need is second nature to me (and becoming so to Ben). I hope the nature of Americans change to those of our parents/grandparents, and we teach the skill to future generations so they do not repeat current mistakes.

I Voted

But am a little disappointed there isn't a third option...
Vote for the new Presidential dog here.

Trip Kick

Trip Kick works for hotels in the same fashion Seat Guru does with planes. After some horrible room locations on this last trip, I do think I am going to check it out!

Pretty Cards

Summer is over.Fall is here.
by Winifred Studios

Politico 2008

I try not to have politics on the blog, and this will probably give away who I voted for (I'm sure this isn't a big surprise), but you can get a free Obama sticker here since the prints have sold out.

Another part of the very sophisticated and modern marketing campaign (remember the Hope Poster, by same designer Shepard Fairey).

Andrea: 2, Fear: 0

I just finished a BIG presentation (it had a microphone, *shudder*) and it went SO much better then last time! I was really freaked out since I totally bombed that last time, but here I spoke clearer, had a lot of great questions, and a lot of discussion/congratulations after the fact. I think I am going to wear this smile all day throughout my trip home!

Great Scot! (Part II)

Since Ben had the weekend free, but needed to be back in southern Scotland by Sunday night, we took a leisurely drive there via the west coast. Our first site was a ruined cathedral in Elgin. Ben was excited with this stop since he read a historical fiction book earlier this year about building a cathedral in 1200 AD.
We drove through Inverness and made our way to Loch Ness with the famous Urquhart Castle (and Nessie!) before sunset.
For some reason I was really reminded of Braveheart and Ben tried to bribe me to yell (in my best Scottish accent) “Freedom” from the top of the tower, but it just wasn’t going to happen.

Ok maybe it did.
On Sunday, we got to check out Edinburgh together during a free walking tour (New Europe). It was a lot of fun to learn about Edinburgh and Scottish history. Plus we saw some fun stuff to do if we ever return and if Ben has free time on this trip (a round at St. Andrews and a Whisky Tour are already on his list).
The job started which meant Ben had to stay on site (or very close), so we made Gretna our homebase. A quick search on the Historic Scotland website, and I decided to stay close too and started to explore the beautiful countryside in the Dumfries & Galloway and Borders areas.
I drove east on Monday to the Drybrugh Abbey in Saint Boswells.

And yesterday I headed west to Shearington where Caelaverock Castle was nearby.
An awesome trip! Now I need to go catch my flight back to the States!

Don't Forget...

...To VOTE!

It has been great to be across the pond during election time and see what they have to say about all of this. I am shocked that it has been the #1 news item on all TV and radio stations for the whole time we have been over here. There is even going to be up-to-the-minute coverage tonight!

I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and discover what path our country has decided.

It Finally Happened!

I almost passed out when I saw this at the local WHSmith. Cadbury heard my wish and created Creme Eggs in candy bar form to be sold all year! No more waiting for Easter. Now I just have to hope it makes its way to the US.

Greetings from Loch Ness

No trip to Scotland could be complete without a Nessie sighting!

Great Scot!

Tuesday morning had us up very early since Ben had an afternoon meeting in southern Scotland. They said a storm was coming to northern Scotland, and we were surprised to find snow when we awoke.I wished I snapped some pictures of the gorgeous countryside in a light dusting of snow, but in true fashion, we woke up late and so had no time to stop for pictures.

Southern Scotland didn't have the storm, but it still was very, very cold. During Ben's afternoon meeting, I walked the town of Langholm and enjoyed the picturesque fall colors (which was pretty much all the town had).
Wednesday I woke up with a nasty cold (it had been slowly building for a few days), but I did drag myself out of bed to enjoy the city of Edinburgh and toured the castle for the first time while Ben had another day of meetings.
I even took one of the famous "Underground and Ghost Tours" in the evening, especially fun being only two days before Halloween (Edinburgh is famous for its hauntings, graveyards, and history of killing witches).
Since Ben had a meeting in northern Scotland on Friday, we drove back up to Aberdeen on Thursday. While he was in the office, I drove down to Stonehaven and saw Dunnottar Castle. It was a stormy day on the coast, but when I arrived the rain had stopped and it was just overcast. Unfortunately when I got into the ruins it began to hail, very hard. I took cover in the ruins and just waited for it to finish. I figure I got to experience authentic Scotland weather!
Ben has the weekend free so I think we are going to make our way west and do some exploring together!