MIA

So as you can see, we kind of fell off of this blog thing.
Was anyone regularly reading? Miss us? Ha.

We both have some life changes coming that might be interesting to blog about.
Comment if you actually read this thing. Maybe we can find our motivation again!

PS: GO GREEN!

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Monsoon season

Jenny is all too familiar with monsoon season in Arizona, but I feel like Michigan is having one of it's own this summer. It will be a nice, sunny day, then start raining sideways out of nowhere. After a hard pour, the rain stops as quickly as it starts. It's been crazy. We had a little mishap on Tuesday night when Mat offered to go for a walk with me. 

Now note, this is a rare occasion. It just doesn't happen. I was really happy, especially because it was around 89 degrees out. We walked to 7-11 in the hot sun, and on the way back noticed that it was looking really, really dark. It wasn't supposed to rain until much later, so I hoped it would just blow past. Nope. It started pouring, I mean really hammering down. We both couldn't see, I briefly lost my left contact somewhere in my eye, and we were instantly soaked. Luckily, we found some shelter with a few other unfortunate people who were out (some were even in a paddle boat on the lake!). One lady decided the rain was better than the rat that scuttled past us, so she booked it.

It's supposed to be sunny all weekend, and we are planning on being outside a lot at the DCFC playoffs, so hopefully that holds true.

Anyway. I'm in a very rambly mood, so bear with me. I feel like I've made some tasty meals lately, so I thought I'd share. 

The other night, I made these spicy black bean cakes from A Cozy Kitchen. 

The picture is hers -- it looks much more appetizing than mine. These turned out awesome! We had really great black beans cakes at a restaurant in Traverse City once. I've tried a couple other recipes, but this one was the best. I love her blog -- visit the site to get the recipe!

On the side, I halved and hollowed out some jalapenos and filled them with a cream cheese/feta mix. I roasted them in the oven for about 15 minutes. These also turned out so delicious -- the perfect side.

Tonight I made an epic burrito with chicken, black beans, roasted squash, guacamole, cheese, and sour cream. Not the best photo, but it tasted delicious. 

Check out the shirt and shoes I got from Goodwill last week! The Nikes are practically brand new and cost $5. They also happened to me in my giant size. I don't know what happened but I went up a size in the past year.

Also, I don't know about y'all, but I am dying to see Pacific Rim. I hate paying full price for movies, so we usually go to matinees, but I'm pretty tempted to go tomorrow night. Anyone else going? What's the best movie you've seen so far this summer?

That's a lot of words, so I'll leave you with this funny -- albeit blurry -- picture of Wednesday with whipped cream on her nose.... and yes, we've just been hanging out on a sheet on the floor all summer.

Recommendations

If I ever became president, I would insist that weekends be changed from 2 days to 4. It is amazing what you can accomplish with some good quality time off.

My husband and I finally got to go see World War Z this weekend, I have been dying to see it! Man o man it did not disappoint! I thought it was a fantastic movie, I felt like my heart was racing throughout the whole movie because it leaves you in such suspense. I also like how different the zombies in this movie were portrayed, as opposed to the slow and dull moving ones you see in shows like The Walking Dead. I definately need to read the book now.

Magna Carta Holy Grail

Thanks to Samsung, I was also able to download the new Jay-Z album for free. Samsung bought 1 million copies of his CD and released those copies early to whoever downloaded the Magna Carta Holy Grail app. I have always been a big Jay-Z fan and I think that MCHG is a great CD. My favorite song as of right now is "Holy Grail" with Justin Timberlake. Jay-Z is definitely a great lyricist, one of the greats, along with Nas, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Eminem, Tupac, the list could go on. I started reading his autobiography Decoded awhile back, and in it he goes into detail about the meaning behind a lot of his lyrics. It is pretty amazing how much thought and symbolism he puts into each song. I think the depth behind his songs often gets overlooked or misinterpreted.

On another note, I was NOT a fan of Kanye's new album AT ALL. I'm sorry but he needs to fire his producer. I am a big Kanye fan in general, and I get that he likes to experiment with his music and try out new sounds, but I wish the old Kanye would come back. That is just my opinion though.

Those are just a few of my reviews for now, now I am le tired.

Good night all :)

- Jenny

Jay Roeder

I don't recall how I came across the work of Jay Roeder, but I'm so glad I did.

Jay is a pretty established graphic designer, but he also posts daily drawings of famous quotes, Biggie lyrics, Lebowski lines, and the like.

Here are some of my recent favorites:

Get Cake

What We Want

First Bite

No Age

All Mad Here

Happy & Naked

99 Donuts

Jiggy

So far his online shop is listed as being under construction, but I so hope it opens soon! In the meantime, find more of Jay's drawings here.

Happy Friday!

Woohoo, Friday is here! Happy (hopefully) long weekend!

I am definitely going to try the recipe Jenny posted yesterday -- that sounds delicious!

My feast on the 4th came courtesy of my parents:

Country ribs, tomato basil salad, grilled squash, baked beans, and cornbread! As well as a really tasty dessert ... yum yum.

I decked myself out in the most patriotic gear I could find:

I also had flag shoes and earrings, ha.

Since yesterday was 4th of July and all, I thought I'd do a little wishlist featuring some of the USA-themed stuff I've been lusting over lately.

From Forever21 but no longer available, darn!

From PacSun, and on sale !!!

Also from PacSun

Haha ... from Fab.com

Cute headband from Eindre on Etsy

Looove this suit! Wanelo.com

I am in LOVE with this dress, from Urban Outfitters

Haha... from Skreened

Okay, so that was not exactly a little list ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you are all having a fantastic and festive holiday! If I were in Michigan right now I would love to be up north hanging out by a lake and a campfire, I miss those days. In Arizona it has been too hot to even breathe outside, let alone to do something fun outside. But I am looking forward to going to the fireworks on base in a little while. It isn't 4th of July without fireworks!

For our 4th of July meal, we just got done eating Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Burgers, from the blog What's Gaby Cooking. O-M-G they are delicious! The burger is topped with guacamole and it creates such a great blend of flavors. My husband absolutely loves jalapenos, and anything spicy really, so this meal got 5 stars from him! I highly recommend this recipe, and since we don't have an outdoor grill I used my George Foreman instead and it works just as good.

I apologize for my poor food photography skills, I was way too hungry to get a better picture :)

I am feeling very thankful today. Not only for the freedom and great opportunities this country brings, and the courageous men and women that have fought for it throughout history, but also for all of the innovative, ambitious, and genuinely good people that continue to fight for what they believe in and make this country a better place to live in. Whether it be the kindness of a stranger when you are in need, or the help of local non-profits and organizations that are driven solely by making a positive impact in their community. Those are the people that make this country a great place to live in, and they provide hope for the future.

I am also thankful that I didn't wake up and post this on the internet today for everyone to see:

haha, ohh boy

Happy 4th, and have an amazing holiday weekend!

- Jenny

Monthly recap: June

Okay, I know that I say this every month, but seriously ... where is the time going!? I can't believe it's already July. 

Some of my favorite moments of June were having my sister and brother-in-law home, going wedding dress shopping, and of course, my birthday!

My birthday wasn't really that exciting but it included a lot of good food, and I am pretty easy to please in that regard. 

Birthday dinner - I love ribs!

Unfortunately, in the morning, for some reason we both felt kind of sick. Mat's passed quicker than mine. We went out for breakfast at Toast where I ordered some amazing bourbon french toast, but I couldn't really eat or enjoy it. 

We tried to walk around after but had to retreat home to take a nap. Sleeping wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my day, but at least it did make me feel better... after all, I had ribs and cake to eat.

Cutest funfetti cake that my Mom got me!

The next morning my mom and I went out for breakfast and I treated myself to my all-time favorite coffee drink, Biggby's peanut butter cup chill. Do people know about this? It used to be a seasonal drink but then thankfully they decided to make it a permanent staple. However, it's not on the menu. If you haven't had one ... it's basically a caffeinated peanut butter cup.

I also tried on a few more wedding dresses on my birthday, but I think i have decided on my dress (eep).

In July, I'm looking forward to hopefully making it to a beach one day and also for Detroit City FC playoffs! The team is currently undefeated and #1 in the league. The playoffs are going to be a good time, for sure. If you're curious but haven't been to a game, now is the time! Tickets are for sale here: http://www.detcityfc.com/great-lakes-txts/

You will get to experience this craziness:

stolen from Northern Guard's instagram... and that is me in the center

What were your highlights? What are you looking forward to this month? I'd love to know!

Hope everyone has a fun, long 4th of July weekend!

Manifesto

My birthday was yesterday, and I wanted to share something I put together for me to focus on as I enter my late twenties. A "manifesto," if you will, for my 27th year. Here it goes:

Guess who's back...

Back to reality I go! It has been an exhausting week trying to get back in the swing of things, I still feel like my mind is in vacay mode, but really when isn't it. Sleeping in for 2 weeks and relaxing with my great friends and family was wonderful! I definitely did not want it to end. But I did miss my pups very much, 2 weeks is too long to be away from them! I am also thankful that I made it through another plane ride without completely freaking out, I have a huge fear of flying that my husband finds hilarious...men.

Being back in Michigan always makes me feel as though I never left. Luckily I feel like I am always able to pick up where I left off. It also makes me realize just how much I miss it. Once I start feeling comfortable with being away from home and content with our life here, our trips back home always throw me through a loop and make me miss Michigan again. I cannot wait to move back. Plus, this whole Arizona being 112 degrees thing is not working for me.

I am just thankful that we got to spend some much needed time with friends and family (although I feel guilty that I wasn't able to spend time with everyone I wanted). As my sister mentioned before, I got to go wedding dress shopping with her (so exciting!) and she looked absolutely gorgeous in everything she tried on. 1 more year to go until the big day! Time for me to start planning her bridal show and bachelorette party... it is never too soon :)

We also made a trip to Greenfield Village with our parents (Alex's mom was taking the picture). I haven't been there since I was a little girl, and it is amazing how differently you remember and perceive things when you are younger. I felt like I had deja vu the whole time, yet it all seemed so different from what I remembered. All in all it was a great trip. I felt like I spent most of my time eating, and mainly eating out (not that I am complaining), so for once I am actually looking forward to cooking meals for us. This girl needs to start saving her money.

If you are a Channing Tatum fan and haven't seen this video yet, I'm going to share it with you. My husband showed it to me and it is pretty hilarious.

Happy early birthday to my sista, love you!!

Have a great weekend!

- Jenny

Happy Early Birthday to Me

Treated myself to a birthday gift yesterday ...

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Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on tour!!

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Cannot even wait !!

Whew

Whew! Again, sorry for the lack of posts these past couple of weeks. Jenny was on vacation, and I was just busy. Time is flyyyyying by! It's hard to even remember what I've been doing. Here are some highlights:

• Went wedding dress shopping for the first time (more on that later)
• Chose our cake flavors (also more on that later)
• Saw This is the End (high-larious)
• Played Cards Against Humanity (the best)
• Ate lots of food (including a cheesy gordita crunch with a Doritos Cool Ranch taco, oh yes)
• Took my mom to a Detroit Citiy FC game
• Went to Mat's nephew's kindergarten graduation, he is growing up so quickly!

I'm sure there's more. It's the summer though and I love being busy! It's finally been getting nice and hot here, just how I like it. 

Anyway. It's getting late. More on the aforementioned wedding stuff to come. In the mean time, here's a story Fox 2 News did on Detroit City FC. You can catch me gettin' down in the background shortly after 0:48.

Fox 2 News Headlines

Sorry!

So sorry for the lack of posts this week! We've just been having too much fun. We will be back to regular posting soon, but in the meantime I thought I'd do my latest Sonic shake review: Peanut Butter and Jelly.

This was my favorite shake yet! The sweet + salty combo is just perfect. The "jelly" favor is strawberry, and you can tell that they use real strawberries, as opposed to a strawberry syrup. It was delicious. I slurped it right up.

It's officially summer! Yay!

Father's Day!

Just wanted to pop in and say Happy Father's Day to all of the dad's out there!

I have definitely been enjoying my vacation, 1 more week to go! I am very lucky to get to spend today at home with my dad! He is an amazing father and I am so blessed to have him in my life.

Love you dad!

- Jenny

Dick Party

Whether you are a Ryan Hansen fan, a Veronica Mars fan, both, or neither, just watch this video.

*p.s. i wonder how much traffic that title is going to generate, huh? haha.

Nothing Better

The Postal Service and Give Up are definitely in both my top five favorite artists and favorite albums lists, respectively. I love them so much and having the chance to finally see them was amazing. The night didn't go quite like I planned but they put on an incredible show all the same. 

First up was Ra Ra Riot, who were great. 

And then the main event!

I can't think of many other bands that I would be as excited to see live. And I have a new obsession now with Jenny Lewis.

I'll leave you with a couple of songs.

Weekend recap

Food-filled weekends usually equal fun-filled weekends (and vice versa). This weekend was no exception, except I was too busy shoving food in my face to remember to take pictures.

On Friday, after work I headed with my mom and Jenny's mother-in-law to the airport to pick them up! Afterward we had dinner at Cracker Barrel and then I came home to watch the US beat Jamaica whilst in a food coma.

Saturday, Jenny and I went for a walk and out for crepes -- I went all out with peanut butter, banana, and nutella and an iced french toast latte. Then later on we went to a cousin's graduation party, and later in the evening I went out to celebrate a friend's birthday. 

This morning, we woke up bright and early(ish) to go to the Detroit City FC game.

We also got some delicious mac 'n' cheese from the Mac Shack at the game. Mat got "Cheech's Trip" (chorizo, jalapenos, cilantro) and I got the City FC Chicken (chicken, habanero sauce, shredded cheese). 

Now I am eating a bowl of ice cream and mentally preparing for the Game of Thrones finale. Tomorrow we are going to see the Postal Service (!!!), and then the rest of the week I will hopefully get in more sister time!

Since Jenny and I forgot to get a picture of us together this weekend, here's one from her bridal shower:

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Rando

This post is going to be a long stream of consciousness, so hopefully you can all bear with me :)

This stuff is a lifesaver. I didn't have a chance to wash my hair last night (after also not washing it on Monday night) and my hair looked better than ever today. With other dry shampoos that I've tried, my hair would still look greasy. There is no grease and it adds so much texture. It also makes my hair look a little bit lighter. I am obsessed -- and it's cheap! I kind of never want to wash my hair again.

I'm still reeling over Game of Thrones (and still laughing at @RedWeddingTears - click only if you've seen/read it!), but I am getting so excited for True Blood!

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God bless HBO.

I tried a Sonic Peanut Butter and Banana shake last night and it was delicious. I love bananas but hate banana flavoring -- they use real bananas and there were chunks of banana in it. Sonic also has the best whipped cream! Our cat loves it too, ha .... she gets very excited when she sees Sonic cups.

Awwww

And perhaps most importantly ... we found a DJ for our wedding!! That was the last big thing really, so it feels like a relief! Although we do still need someone to do the ceremony. It's funny, I'm the least worried about that, but it's probably the most important detail, ha. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I cannot wait to see Jenny (and to eat at Cracker Barrel .... family tradition, ha!). 

What's new with you?