wish list...

Here's just a little hint at my Christmas list on Amazon!! To see everything on my list... My Amazon wish list

Sew Retro

Nine West pumps

Lost: The Complete Collection

Drowning Girl poster by Lichtenstein

Dexter season 4

Audrey Hepburn Collection

Schwinn Cruiser

Ok so it's the most random list ever but I would love to own everything listed here!!

What do you want for xmas?

Halloween week...

I have had a fantastic week! (And this is the start of my new at-least-once-a-week postings.)

-saw my dad twice in Portland on layovers
-my bestie, Anneliese, from elementary-high school came here on vaca for 6 days
-good shopping at nordstrom rack (love my new Harajuku pants)
-Halloween party on Tuesday
-Project Runway watch party for Denver native and runner-up MONDO (who is way better than Gretchen, arrrgggghhhh)!
-went to boulder to see some waterfalls but the roads were blocked due to a forest fire which is why the sky was smoky and red

WOW! Busy, busy.

First off, the Halloween Party this year did not get snowed out and we had a huge turn out. We had about 25 people and every single person dressed up. Four of the guys dressed up as ladies. What are the odds?

Secondly, Thursday night was the season finale for project runway and since one of the finalists is from Denver there was a huge party to see if he won. The Beauty Bar was packed to capacity and basically standing room only for 4 hours. Sadly, Mondo didn't win but he was gracious for the opportunity and all his fans that showed up.

I enjoy weeks like this but I my laundry is piling up badly and I need to get cracking on those xmas gifts!

P.S. Visit my new movie review blog... Tothetheater.blogspot.com

birthday, easter, and los angeles...

We have had quite a busy week!

*Friday, April 2nd... Tony's Birthday!
He is now 29. Yikes! We are getting old. We had a really exciting day and he claims this to be his best birfday evah! He received an iPhone (from me!), new bowling ball, a Wii, GQ magazine subscription, and the series "the States" from the History Channel on DVD. I think he did pretty well! Of course Tony, Matt and I went bowling with his new ball and ate some great bar food while we were playing. For dinner, we decided to try something new with tapas. If you aren't familiar, tapas are spanish style appetizers and are FANTASTIC. We tried The 9th Door in LoDo and just happened to be there during happy hour! Basically $70 got all three of us drunk, stuffed and happy! If we went for normal dinner it would have been outrageous. All in all a fantastic day!!

*Saturday, April 3rd... Flying to Los Angeles
We decided to take a vacation just to get away and it was great timing with Tony's b-day. We have so much family in L.A. and thought it was a perfect opportunity to crash couches. I have an aunt, an uncle, six cousins, and many friends to see. We arrived at 8:30am and were ready to go...

-picked up by cousin Bo from LAX
-while leaving Bo and Hannah's house in Silverlake, saw January Jones at a restaurant
-to Chinatown, bought me a fantastic (cheap) oriental robe
-Olvera Street where it was "Bless Your Pet Day" and, yes, we saw dogs, birds, cats on leashes, iguanas, turtles in carts, and even a huge snake on a little girls shoulders
-attempted to layout by the pool at KK and Trudie's house (aunt and uncle), but it was too cold :(
-the Griffith Observatory for sunset with the most spectacular view of all of Los Angeles
-a late dinner at Malo with Bo, Hannah, and our good friends Elena and Shannan

*Sunday, April 4th... Easter
We have so many cousins here that it takes some serious planning to see everyone. We stayed with Bo and Hannah in their crazy house on Avocado St. But we needed to see the others. We decided on brunch for Easter.

-Gladstone's on Santa Monica Beach (very pricey seafood place) for brunch with the Kemm family cousins, Josh, Chiara, and Jessica. And we saw a dolphin!
-driving back from the beach along Sunset Boulevard, through Beverly Hills, detoured to Rodeo Drive, then the Sunset Strip
-an Easter cookout was in order with tons of roommates (from the Avocado house), more family (KK, Drake, Bo, Beata, Josh), Dodger Dogs, and kebabs
-not only did we have a great cookout there was also an Easter Earthquake! Tony's first!
-we met a friend of Bo's named Bill. Now Bill was super familiar to me. Turns out he was on How I Met Your Mother which of course we love and watch religiously and we knew his part very well (and of course we could quote his line back to him)
-apples to apples, a game of celebrity and talking late into the night rounded out the day

*Monday, April 5th... Lazy day
We didn't do much of anything and had no plans.

-got coffee at the Coffee Bean and had to run back to the house in the pouring rain
-had breakfast with Bo and Hannah at Fred 62 and happened to see the kid who played Elliott from ET. He is all grown up with a little girl and a wife. I think he knew we were talking about him. But apparently its his fault for being a child actor.
-the rent was due at the Avacado house and due to roommate drama we were hiding upstairs when I came up with our new names of Anne and Frank!
-to get away from the drama, we got a beer at the Cha Cha Lounge. A rediculously furnished, dank bar with the greatest vending machine items (jiffy cornbread mix, 21 Jump Street trading cards, naked lady greeting card...)
-to Elena and Shannan's for pizza and beer. My Tony got to meet their cat Tony!

*Tuesday, April 6th... To the beach!
-we took off at about noon and headed to Santa Monica Beach for a day in the sun!
-lunch at Hot Dog on a Stick, only my all time favorite corndog eatery!
-a stroll through the arcades and boardwalk
-off to Venice Beach to see the crazies and the drunkies
-dinner at Red Lion, a great German restaurant, with Hannah, Bo, Elena, and Shannan

*Wednesday, April 7th... home again
We had such a wonderful and relaxing trip and we got lots of great family time in. We did come home during the drama with the "Shoe bomber/smoker" on the tarmac at DIA. But luckily we landed fine and all was well!!!

Good Riddance 2009...

and Hello, 2010!

I can honestly say I have never been so happy for a new year to come about. I am ready for a great year. Do you hear me 2010? Seriously!

Yes, of course, there were some great things about 2009...
- 2 fantastic weddings between 4 great friends, Carly & Matt and Phil & Alicia, including an awesome road trip through the northern plains
- a Barrett family reunion in Breckenridge
- the newest addition to our little family, Kafka, our dog
- being able to spend the holidays with the entire Kemm family for the 1st time in 5 years
- 2 amazing babies joined our lives Daphne Bingham (Jan. 2nd, 2009) and Aiden Aerts(Dec. 31, 2008 @ 10:30pm, so basically 2009)
- my dad moved to Portland which is such a wonderful place to visit
- celebrating our first wedding anniversary!
- I finished 4 quilts this year! I also started cross-stitching which is smaller to travel with than a queen sized quilt!

I have decided to spare you our list of terrible 2009 happenings for the umpteenth time. Be grateful! There are even a few (very few) good things that came out of the bad...
- lower car insurance (from having only one car)
- new movies, comforter, cameras
- adding our doggie as an extra security measure
- life lessons, which we will never forget

In the first week alone, I have been in a splendid mood! I think I am making my self happy just thinking about the new year and all to come. There are still plenty of things that are going to happen which I am totally unsure about, but I will try to take it in stride from now on.

Not a whole lot has happened this year in the first 12 days, but so far so good. I did have horrible delays on a Puerto Vallarta turn (that's why I don't work Mexico). I also went hiking with my pops in Portland to 3 different waterfalls. I have seen Avatar (pretty good) and I'm seeing Nine today. We have deep-fried 3 meals with our new deep fryer, so we are starting out really healthy.

I want to thank everyone out there for your kindness and support in 2009. We have such wonderful friends and family and we may not have survived without you. Even just kind words meant the world to us. I apologize for being quite the sad-sack this year, but hopefully it's over and you will see a happier couple of Rodriguez's this year! And if you ever have any kind of troubles we will be there for you, because we know how important it is to have the support. Thanks again!

Here's to the best year ever...
Cheers!!!

holiday fever...

I am baking! Baking like a crazy fool. I am making gingerbread cookies, puppy chow (crispix covered in chocolate, peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar), peppermint bark, white and milk chocolate covered pretzels, pecan pralines, and peanut butter scotchies (corn flakes covered in butter scotch and peanut butter).

Carly came over to assist with the pretzel dipping and did a swell job!

The kitchen smells great and has a nice layer of treats on every surface. I am just beginning the gingerbread cookies which will take forever, but I am ready to get started. I truly love using cookie cutters, but the process is ridiculous.

I thought I would watch something festive for the holidays, and since I already watched White Christmas last night, I chose Die Hard for tonight! It's not the most conventional christmas movie, but it works. We also watched Scrooged with Bill Murray to really boost our spirits.

Off to make the gingerbread mens and ladies...

with hard times, come movies...

With my life being so stressful in the last year (just in case you havent been following thats 2 car break-ins, a burglary and a stolen car in 12 months), I am really finding it hard to be cheerful or even thankful this holiday season. I am usually the first to get xmas cards into the mail, but the thought hasnt even crossed my mind this season. I know it sounds cold and almost stupid to let "things" get me down this way, but it is a hard time right now and I am trying to get through it.

I have a very strong friend whose mother died 4 months ago and just today she told me that no matter the loss, great or small, it is still a loss and it requires grieving. I really needed that. She lost someone very close and special to her while we lost things that were sentimental and special (and some that were neither). Although both are vastly different, in a small way we are both dealing with it in the same way.

I have such wonderful and amazing family and friends who have been so supportive and helpful in any way they could. But truthfully I am most thankful for husband. We have truly been put to the test in our first year of marriage and we are nothing but stronger than we were before. Not a single thing has changed except we know we are there for each other through thick and thin and we know we can make it work.

So, I will do my hardest this holiday season to wish good tidings upon others and I will try to feel the joy, but so far I just feel blah, to say the least. The hardest part is to work very hard everyday to pay bills and eat and have a good life and then people keep ruining it for us by taking it all away. I hope this is the end and we can get back to enjoying small things instead of dreading opening the front door to find the house a wreck!

WOW! DONE! (thanks for letting me vent!)

On a much much MUCH lighter note... I have been passing time with crafts as usual and of course with movies. I have watched quite a few in the last few weeks. Some were great and others so-so. I will only let you in on my favorites!

Dirty Harry 1971. Clint Eastwood in a classic bad-ass cop movie. There are great one-liners "do you feel lucky, Punk?" and really fantastic 70's music. I really liked this movie for the clothes, music, feel, and great San Francisco scenery. I liked the plot since it was loosely based on the Zodiac killer from the 60's. I do like a good serial killer. My favorite part is when he eats a hot dog and then takes out a bank robbery while chewing his food. Awesome!

Up 2009. Man, this movie is very touching and pretty funny. I think kids would like it, but an adult would like it a lot more due to the beautiful relationship the whole movie is based on. I think I liked the beginning scenes the best, but the rest is very sweet. My favorite visually pleasing scene are the beautiful colors the balloons produce onto the ground below.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 1988-1999. Damn, this show is hilarious. If you have never heard of this show I highly recommend it. A guy and 2 robots are forced to watch terrible movies for science experiments... that's it! The greatest part is their hilarious comments on these terrible movies. Just rent it or check it out. Funny. Always.

Silkwood 1983. Not only does this movie have Meryl Streep, but its set in Oklahoma and made in 1983. Why would I NOT love this movie? This is the age old story about worker V. huge bad company. A kind of Erin Brockovich for the 70's. It is a true story about a woman working for a plutonium plant who becomes subsequently contaminated and then tries to make the company realize the plant needs safer work regulations. It is a great movie and of course Meryl is fantastic. I love anything the woman touches!

Star Trek 2009. Could they have cast this movie any better? Every single person was perfect for their role. I really enjoy learning about how characters in movies might have met and this was very entertaining. The action was great and the special effects/sound should definitely get an Oscar nomination, as least! This is how a good action movie should be.

Being There 1979. I saved this for the last, because it is one of my new favorite movies. First off... Shirley MacLaine and Peter Sellers. Enough said. This is such simple story about a simple gardener just telling the truth to the world as he sees it. It is funny, witty, touching, and brilliant all rolled into one. I honestly didnt know what it was about and there were so many great twists I never saw coming, it is impossible to explain all the crazy happenings if I wanted to! There arent very many movies that leave me smiling and totally happy at the end, but this did it. Get this movie if just for the hilarious outtake during the credits!

My last 2 suggestions of the post...
-Lost (the tv show) is sucking me in and is very exciting. Thanks to Hulu.com, I am watching from the first episode. Check it out.
-New Moon is WORSE than Twilight. Do not check it out or waste your time. (Unless you wanna see Edward and all his chiseled goodness. OMG!)


Go forth and watch great movies! Oh and Happy Holidays!

Friday the 13th dinner...

Well, since Tony and I are both working on Valentine's Day, we decided to have a super romantic Friday the 13th. We both love grilled steaks, roasted asparagus, and ceviche (a citrusy shrimp appetizer), so we bought all the ingredients. I also made Red Velvet cupcakes for my honey, since they are his fav. Would you like to make our dinner for yourselves?

Shrimp Ceviche "Cocktail"
1 qt. salted water
1/2 C. plus 2 Tbls freshly squeezed lime juice
1 generous lb unpeeled small shrimp
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1/3 chopped fresh cilantro, plus several sprigs for garnish
1/2 cup ketchup
1-2 Tbls vinegary Mexican bottled hot sauce
2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 small ripe avacado, peeled, pitted and cubed
salt
several lime slices for garnish
tortilla chips for serving

Shrimp...
Bring 1 qt salted water to a boil and add 2 Tbls of lime juice. Add shrimp, cover and return to boil. Immediately remove from heat, set pot lid askew and pour off all liquid. Replace lid and set aside, letting shrimp steam in closed pot for 10 minutes. spread out shrimp in large glass or stainless steel bowl to cool completely. Peel shrimp. Toss shrimp with remaining 1/2 C. lime juice, cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Flavorings...
In small strainer, rinse chopped onion under cold water, then shake off excess liquid. Add to shrimp bowl along with chopped cilantro, ketchup, hot sauce, olive oil, and avacado. Mix gently, taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 tsp. Cover and refrigerate up to a few hours or serve immediatly.
Serving...
Spoon ceviche into sundae glasses, martini glasses or small bowls. Garnish with cilantro and limes. Serve with tortilla chips.


Steaks
We will probably just put a rub or some spices on the steaks and cook them in our new cast iron pan.


Roasted Asparagus
1 or 2 bunches medium Asparagus
2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
S+P

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees.
Trim ends of asparagus. Spread shears in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with S+P and roll to coat throughly. Roast asparagus until lightly browned and tender, about 8-10 minutes. Give the pan a good shake about halfway though to turn the asparagus. Enjoy!!

Now, we are off to the library for some music, gardening books, and a movie for the night. We are also off to get some champagne!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

new year

Well, its a new year and a fresh start! 2008 was such a great year and I am just not sure 2009 can even compete. Although, we had a ridiculously busy year filled with firsts for Tony and I.

I am going to go ahead and copy Kirsten and Nic's blog idea about reporting the events of 2008 (be it good, or bad), so enjoy...

* The biggest and best event of the year was the wedding! Most of our wonderful family and friends came to see us get hitched. It was a bang up party and a packed weekend.

* even better than the wedding itself is the fact that I got to marry my best friend! It only took us 6 years, but tony is finally my HUSBAND! It is still strange to call him that, but I just love it.

* we closed on our very first house on July 22nd. It took a full year to come about, but OUR small, old, 800 sq ft home is just what we wanted.

* Greta the Jetta (I just named her!). My old whitey was going to die or need 2400 bucks worth of fixing, so we sold it for $1000 and bought my loverly VW.

* my birthday trip to Yellowstone National Park with Tony, Carly, and Matt. 4 days of hiking and beautiful scenery with 3 full nights in one hotel (that's a lot for me!)

* Tony and I moved in with his dad for 4 months, although it was rough, we saved enough money to pay off debt, but some in the bank and raise our credit enough to get the house!

* we bought a beautiful, new, HUGE flat screen tv. Thanks to anyone who gave us cash for the wedding, it went for a good cause.

* grown-up furniture. Our bedroom looks like a page out of the west elm catalog, and its just so beautiful. Not only did the bedroom get a make over, but Tony surprised me with new living room furniture last week! I love recession sales! New coffee table and media stand - 40% off! Wow! He did good!

* just two nights ago, on the 31st, the last day of the year, Tony's sister, Monica, went into labor and delivered a little boy, Aiden. He is super cute and tiny! It was quite a surprise to me since I was outta town. Yeah for another nephew (now there are 5!)

* Thanksgiving! Its always a favorite. We were all working on the actual day, so we had a huge dinner on Wednesday. Carly, Matt, Tony, Faith France, and I made a lovely feast. The next day Faith, Carly and I flew to Indy for a lay over and spent Thanksgiving watching Australia!

* Xmas eve was good fun at my aunt Sharon's house with the whole family plus Matt. Dinner, drinking and games. We met a few days later at the bowling alley for my cousin, David, going back to LA. Tony, as incredible as he is, scored a 243!

* Planning the wedding sure took over my entire year. It was sooo fun, but I think I am glad to be back to real life.

* Frontier Airlines filed for bankruptcy and we all lost wages. Our garage flooded, 2 car break-ins, and one dead car battery. Boy those kept us on our toes!

* I saw some really amazing movies this year; Dark Knight, Australia, Benjamin Button, Bond, Indiana Jones, Sex and the City, Twilight, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall!

* I know its 2009, but my great friend, Kirsten, and her husband are having their first child today. Her name is Daphne, and I can't wait to meet her. I have been following her process since I found out they were having the baby. Congrats!

* Being able to spend some time with so many wonderful friends and family the weekend of the wedding. They came from all over the States, Mexico, and Norway!

* How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Big Love, Law & Order: SVU, & Dexter kept me absolutely entertained.

* A special thanks to Obama, stock market, Katy Perry, Conan O'Brian, the Olympics, & the Election for keeping us all in conversation!

* Tony and I had great health throughout the whole year. We still have jobs, even if we aren't happy with them. We have a wonderful home and much love in our lives. Go 2008!

I hope you all had a wonderful year and the next one is even better! Happy new year!

merry xmas...

I honestly think our lives are getting back in order. We now have 2 new car windows (or newish from the junk yard) and one new car battery! My car's battery was low, then the stupid temperature was only 0 last sunday and the battery obviously didn't start. After 4 pilots, one ramper and I tried and tried to start the car for an hour, it was clear it wasn't going anywhere. Then the dang temperature set a record by dropping to -19 at the airport, that had nothing to do with anything except it was REDICULOUS!

After all the crud that has happened, I am finally getting into the holiday spirit, and yes, its slightly delayed. Tony and I got the tree and trimmings up two days ago. It is now full of gifts underneath thanks to our loverly family.

On the 23rd, we had some semi-celebs on the plane. Have you heard of Hall & Oates? I thought so. No, they weren't there, but John Oates' parents were! It was just funny to think they were on their way to see their son in Philly for xmas.

I am now going to seattle to brave the rare snow for xmas day. Tomorrow, like a total fool, I will go to the mall of america in Minneapolis, but I am planning on seeing Benjamin Button! I am very excited! I will give the official review after.

Happy christmas!!!

happy holidays and haircuts...

Yep, its the holidays again and of course I will have to work on xmas and new years. I have basically no time off from the 20th until the 2nd of January. It is sad, but I guess it's life. We have been trying to set up the house with xmas decorations, but so far there is one string of lights in the front window, barely visible from the outside. Hopefully I will be inspired in the next couple days to put up the rest.

I did start the holiday cheer by making some super delicious gingerbread people! I was a gingerbread virgin, but I am a total pro now. They turned out super yummy! They are especially wonderful dipped in cool whip, which has spawned an out break of talking like Family Guy and "coowhip". If you haven't seen the episode, then you just don't get it and that's too bad.



Onto the other subject in the title...

I am getting tired of my boring old, grown out dark hair. I am usually changing my hair so often that people at work don't even remember me, and yes, that's a fact. I have hardly changed my hair in the last two years. It is dark and growing, and that to me is just boring! I think I have decided on a new hair style!!! YAY!

Well, the style happens to be Katy Perry's haircut. I love her music, for some odd reason, and Tony just thinks she's super hottt!




But I am worried about the bangs. I usually wear my hair curly at work and most of the time striaght bangs with curly hair looks like crap! What to do!? I am also going back to my original color maybe with some random highlights!

Oh on a totally different note, I finally got a window for my car! I can now drive to work!!!

This is Halloween...

Yes, this is Halloween! Sadly, Tony and I are both working tomorrow and don't even have the chance to do anything festive. He is working until midnight, but wearing white and black make-up! I am leaving for hot-lanta tomorrow afternoon and don't return until the 2nd. Poo! I am just putting braids in my hair and I am going as Wednesday Addams! That's about all I can do for work. Good thing my uniform is black!

So we had ourselves quite the ghoul fest tonight, instead. First off, Sleepy Hollow, pizza, daffy apples, popcorn balls, then The Nightmare Before Christmas while carving pumpkins. We might watch Corpse Bride after that.

Here are our pumpkins...




It's Jack Jack the Pumpkin King


"Agent" Skully the Skeleton and Wink the Emoticon!!


Our front door, all halloweened out!