30 before Thirty

{make the perfect pot of chili} √

 

Chili is one of my **F A V O R I T E** foods! I'm pretty basic when it comes to what I like. Beans. Meat. Tomatoes. Spice. & No Sugar. When I was on the hunt for a good chili recipe, I didn't want something with 25+ ingredients. The fewer the better. I like quick & easy! There's so many different kinds you can make... white chili (yum), spicy chili, veggie chili... I was on the lookout for something hearty & spicy (and we already discussed easy). I found a simple recipe that we tweaked a little until we finally came up with the perfect pot. That's the great thing about chili, you can add things, leave ingredients out, make substitutions... for a beginner cook it's almost impossible to screw up! So don't laugh at the simpleness of our recipe, time after time we've made it, I've loved it!

 

Spicy Slow Cooked Chili

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 pounds sirloin tips
• 2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 onion, chopped diced (per Joe's request)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped diced (again, per Joe)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• crushed red pepper

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook meat in large skillet over medium-high heat until ground beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease.
2. In crock pot, combine meat, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 10 hours, or High for 4 hours.
3. If you want to add a little kick, add crushed red pepper to your liking about 2 hours into cooking.
4. Garnish with your favorite toppings. Mine = cheddar cheese & sour cream, with a side of soda crackers. 

 

visit a state I've never been to

run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours

cut hair (short or straight across bangs) 3/4/11
get Joe to organize his mail
take a cooking class

open up an etsy shop

get married ;)

refinish our dining room table fall 2011

camp out in Yellowstone for a week

go fishing for a day

go skiing or snowboarding
make it to the coast 5/26/11

find the perfect pair of black boots 12/17/11

purchase a digital SLR 2/26/11

read a book

run a marathon

learn how to swim tread water

get Joe to try cream cheese

host a girls night

make a scrapbook for myself

learn how to sew... and sew something

take an exercise class with a friend

learn how to knit

s k y d i v e

put together a book of inspiration

make the perfect pot of chili

volunteer

create a piece of jewelry
find the perfect letter E
throw myself a kickin' 30th birthday party

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Five years ago today...
I made my first trip to Spokane, Washington.
Before that I had never traveled west of Ohio.
I came here to see a boy I was falling in love with.
A boy I had many conversations with, but had only met once.
He was handsome, funny, smart & adventurous.
I couldn't get enough of him!

Five years ago today...
It never crossed my mind that I was visiting my new home state.
I didn't realize how much my life was about to change.
I came to Spokane single and left with a boyfriend.
The only thing that would have made me happier was having Joe live closer!

Joe eventually moved closer, but moved back to Spokane six months later. We continued to stay together 2100 miles apart for a good year before I moved here in Jan 2010.

I don't know what's crazier, that Joe & I have been together for 5 years, or that I've lived here for three!

30 before Thirty

{find the perfect pair of black boots} √

original price   $139.95

**manager discount (40% off)     -55.98

coupon     -10.00

store credit     -30.39

tax     + 6.44

 

total out of pocket    $50.02

For the longest time I was on the lookout for a pair of black boots. And when I say long time, I'm talking a few years. I didn't really think my "must haves" were all that difficult, but apparently they were. I was looking for 1) a pair of riding boots 2) with a worn/vintage look to them and 3) I really didn't want to spend a whole lot of $$$. Oh, and of course 4) they needed to be comfortable!

After many trips to DSW (and many other stores) I happened to finally find what I was looking for. But of course they were just put out, not on sale, and a little over my budget. **On a side note, I recently bought a pair of grey boots from DSW and the zipper broke within a year. I decided to ask the manager if there was anything she could do since they no longer had that particular boot in style. She offered to pay part of my bill to get the zipper fixed or give me a discount toward a new pair of shoes. Hmmmm. I walked over to Saads Shoe Repair to see how much a zipper replacement would cost. I was informed that if I would want them to last I would need to replace both zippers with plastic ones. --Apparently metal zippers break all the time. Who would've known?!-- So instead of paying Mr. Saad $40 to fix my mediocre grey boots, I decided to take the discount from DSW and apply it to the black boots I had my eye on. With an additional coupon and store credit, I was pretty excited about my purchase. I don't wear them all that often, my brown boots are still my staple, but it's nice to have the option now!
 

 

visit a state I've never been to

run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours

cut hair (short or straight across bangs) 3/4/11
get Joe to organize his mail
take a cooking class

open up an etsy shop

get married ;)

refinish our dining room table fall 2011

camp out in Yellowstone for a week

go fishing for a day

go skiing or snowboarding
make it to the coast 5/26/11

find the perfect pair of black boots 12/17/11

purchase a digital SLR 2/26/11

read a book

run a marathon

learn how to swim tread water

get Joe to try cream cheese

host a girls night

make a scrapbook for myself

learn how to sew... and sew something

take an exercise class with a friend

learn how to knit

s k y d i v e

put together a book of inspiration

make the perfect pot of chili

volunteer

create a piece of jewelry
find the perfect letter E
throw myself a kickin' 30th birthday party

30 before Thirty

{refinish our dining room table} √

When I moved out to Spokane into an apartment with Joe, his sister gave us their dining room table & chairs. Which was perfect, because all I had prior was a little Target bistro table with two high chairs, perfect for one when I lived on my own and sometimes a little too small for two! The table Kelli gave us is such a solid piece of furniture and I love that it has two extra leaves for when we have company over. It's a great puzzle table and makeshift desk for when Joe needs to spread his work out. I love decorating it with vintage tablecloths and have always loved to set the table, even if it is just for two. I'm not sure how many years this table belonged to Kelli and her family, but really it was in great shape, solid wood! The only wear and tear was from wiping with Clorox wipes over time, which caused the varnish to wear off and caused the surface to be slightly tacky. I desperately wanted to sand it down and bring it back to its beautiful state. The original color (table top, bottom, and four chairs) almost had an orange tint to it, which I was eager to change. I thought about painting the chairs a fun color, but opted for black. I figured it was the safe route and once I move into a house and become more settled, I can always change them if I want. I painted the base black as well and although it's hard to tell in the bottom picture, I stained the tabletop a slightly darker color then the original.

Since I hadn't worked on it here, Joe hadn't seen any part of the transformation. The funny part was when I finally brought it home (after many many weekends of working on it) he told me that it looked the same! BAH!!! I of course started to cry. I laugh now, but if you only knew how many hours I put into that darn table and sanding all those grooves in the chairs. I bawled. And then to top it off when I ran my hand over the tabletop I could feel tiny bubbles that I missed with the sponge from when I put the clear coat on. The only solution was to sand them out and put another clear coat on. At this point THAT WAS NOT AN OPTION. What I did next, well, Joe probably thought I was a mad woman! I took a coarse piece of sandpaper and started "distressing" the table (in a very dramatic way I might add), while still crying of course. Even though you couldn't see the bubbles, you sure could feel them, and I knew they were there and I wanted them GONE! I sanded out the bubbles... and the edges... and random areas where I sanded down to the wood taking the stain off. I don't think Joe knew what to do! To be honest he might have been slightly scared. HeHe. Looking back at it, it makes me laugh and I'm glad I took sandpaper to it because now it has little imperfections, giving it that "worn" look. :)

 

 

 

visit a state I've never been to

run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours

cut hair (short or straight across bangs) 3/4/11
get Joe to organize his mail
take a cooking class

open up an etsy shop

get married ;)

refinish our dining room table fall 2011

camp out in Yellowstone for a week

go fishing for a day

go skiing or snowboarding
make it to the coast 5/26/11

find the perfect pair of black boots

purchase a digital SLR 2/26/11

read a book

run a marathon

learn how to swim tread water

get Joe to try cream cheese

host a girls night

make a scrapbook for myself

learn how to sew... and sew something

take an exercise class with a friend

learn how to knit

s k y d i v e

put together a book of inspiration

make the perfect pot of chili

volunteer

create a piece of jewelry
find the perfect letter E
throw myself a kickin' 30th birthday party

30 before Thirty

Ahhh! I recently turned thirty, late last month! But before I post some festive birthday pictures, I feel as though I need to update my "30 before Thirty". I'm so far behind on blogging that before I can move forward I have a few more to cross off, the rest I guess will continue on, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready for a "40 before Forty" (that sounds so scary right now!) Gosh, looking at my list, I really didn't accomplish that many! But in my own defense I created my list with only two years time to finish, so I'm ok with that. Besides, it's always nice to have goals and things to work towards, especially once you start getting older and start to feel a little less adventurous. When sometimes the comfort of your own home takes over. It's so easy to get into that rut of comfort and routine and before you know it another year has passed. And then another. And then another. So my list will continue to grow and get checked off and I will force myself to do things out of my comfort zone, like learn to tread water (which I did attempt this pass summer with the help of Joe & Ashley!) So bare with me, just a few more checks before I share my birthday with you! ......


{find the perfect E} √

The reason I was on the hunt for the perfect 'E' was because for quite some time I wanted to spell out the word C-R-E-A-T-E in my craft room. I wanted the letters to be vintage signage and all different. I started collecting the letters here and there and the letter 'E' was the last I needed. However, it couldn't be red, because my 'T' was red... and it couldn't be yellow, because I had a yellow 'R'... blue was out... and so was orange... and it needed to be just the right size, not too big, not too small. I just couldn't find the perfect one! Then one day I finally spotted it! The letter 'E' from an old highway sign with the reflectors still intact. The funny thing is, I was so excited to hang up my new artwork {C-R-E-A-T-E} that once I hung it up I hated it! (I think I didn't like where I hung it more than anything.) So I took it down and the letters sat in a pile for quite some time. Then I got an idea to spell T-R-A-V-E-L, and hang that up in our living area, near our maps/globes. It seemed easy enough, I already had most of the letters, I just needed an 'L' & 'V'. So the hunt started again! Well, I found the perfect letters, but ended up spelling C-R-E-A-T-E (on a different wall in my craft room). Long story short, I never used my perfect 'E', because I'm saving it to spell T-R-A-V-E-L. Now I just need to find the perfect 'R'  :)

 

 

visit a state I've never been to

run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours

cut hair (short or straight across bangs) 3/4/11
get Joe to organize his mail
take a cooking class

open up an etsy shop

get married ;)

refinish our dining room table

camp out in Yellowstone for a week

go fishing for a day

go skiing or snowboarding
make it to the coast 5/26/11

find the perfect pair of black boots

purchase a digital SLR 2/26/11

read a book

run a marathon

learn how to swim tread water

get Joe to try cream cheese

host a girls night

make a scrapbook for myself

learn how to sew... and sew something

take an exercise class with a friend

learn how to knit

s k y d i v e

put together a book of inspiration

make the perfect pot of chili

volunteer

create a piece of jewelry
find the perfect letter E
throw myself a kickin' 30th birthday party