as if you didn't know...

so let's pretend for a minute that you have no idea i'm OBSESSED with the pioneer woman. well, big surprise...I'M COMPLETELY OBSESSED. her website is my homepage, i constantly enter her giveaways (only to constantly lose), i make her recipes a whole lot, and most importantly...i can't wait until her book is released! i have read all of it that has been posted on her website, but an actual book is coming out soon! February 1 to be exact. It has so much more than what she's written online, and I am sooooo excited!! even more exciting than the book release is the book tour, and guess what? she's coming to denver! February 12 - what a perfect Valentine's gift! our dear friends hunter and lindsay will be here visiting, but i am sooooo going to meet PW. i'll keep you posted as the day grows near...i know you're on the edge of your seat now too :) in case you need to check on when she's coming to a location near you, here's the link...book tour a


one final thing...it's snowing again here in the springs! here's a small peak of what we've enjoyed today...

snow on the house!

down the street

wishing you all the best from our snow-covered home :)

Happy New Year!!

so it's been a little while since I've posted...and i have some BIG news...WE'RE IN COLORADO!! finally. i know, i think a lot of people began to lose faith in me, but we really are here now! we had a fabulous thanksgiving with family back in memphis, then we left the old ghetto for the mountains!


so there has been so much happening since i last posted, obviously. here's a VERY quick recap of everything.

i have to give a shout out to sweet Megan, who blogs at brewers in budapest, and right after Thanksgiving, the she and her husband had their first baby...I'm worried our kids won't live up to this cuteness...

we're sooooo happy for y'all, and can't wait to teach baby G how to ski!! 

right after Thanksgiving we moved...YAY!...

our moving truck...packed to the brim! 

my feathered driving friend...

ready to leave!!

sorry for the faces...we'd been a little teary saying goodbye to everyone!

we made it!!

so we got here, and quickly left 10 days later to go to key west to spend Christmas with my mom and sisters. sooooo fun...

a little Christmas picture for you.

i think that pretty much sums up the last few months, whether that's good or bad, but that's it! i'll try to be better, i promise. maybe that should be my resolution...along with making many many more of PW's cinnamon rolls. i made them at Christmas, and they were AMAZING...

i may have gone way overboard with the icing, but hey, it was totally worth it!

here's the link, in case you want to make them yourself...best things ever. well, that's about all i have for now. 

oh wait...pictures of the house! they're in a link because there are a lot of them!!

our house - enjoy!

80th birthdays...

the husband and i have already had the morbid death talks. i've made it clear that i don't want to be kept alive if my quality of life is gone. i will make sure my children understand that. if, however, i am as with-it and fun to be around as the husband's step-grandparents, then keep me alive!! they're adorable, and are such sweet people to be around. memaw, as we call her, had her 80th birthday yesterday, and we had a dinner for her at her daughter's (the husband's step-mom) house. here are some pictures from sweet memaw's 80th bday party!


the dinner table...

memaw's celebration table...

memaw and bebob...

i caught bebob being a party pooper and reading the newspaper...

birthday cards...

the celebratory clan...gotta love self-timers on cameras!

 lighting the candles...

80!!

sweet sweet memaw...

i got a picture of her with teeth!!

blowing out her candles...

it was such a wonderful night, and I'm so thankful that I get to call her my own!!

kids

mom, don't panic. i'm not pregnant. i'm not planning on kids anytime soon. one day though, i plan on having really cute children, even if they're so ugly that they're cute...i apologize in advance to my kids who may one day read this. as most readers know, i'm anxious to move far away from this awful city, memphis. the husband has had some very positive and encouraging news from a company in wyoming, and i can't begin to tell you what a dream come true that would be for us. ahhhh! wyoming! how wonderfully free, open, and non-ghetto! well, my idol, the pioneer woman, is currently holding another photo contest, and the theme is 'favorite pictures'. well someone posted this one, and it has made me warm inside. i have already warned the husband that no matter what our kids look like, i will take a picture of them just like this one day.

enjoy, and have a fantastic weekend.

once again, lust

so i may have mentioned that i'm obsesed with these boots...

well, i still am. size 8 please, in redwood. thankyouverymuch.



i have another obsession though...and i can't get it out of my head!
i really do need another purse. i don't have a good long-lasting year-round bag like this, so technically it's a necessity. i might not be able to live much longer if i don't have it. christmas is almost here, so come on people!
it's called sabine leather satchel, and the sienna color is to die for! here it is. i just can't justify spending this much on a purse, even though i'll use it forever and will be buried with it. it's totally worth it, at least in my book.



i mean really. why can't i have it?



yolo

so on saturday, john and i spent the afternoon together. i came up with this adorable plan to go to collierville, mosey through the antique mall that we love, walk around the town square, and get yogurt at this fancy new yogurt bar. cute, right? well, i thought so. of course the husband says that it's too hot to walk around the square, collierville is so far away, we can't eat yogurt in the middle of the afternoon because then we won't be hungry for dinner, yaddah yaddah yaddah...

well, we went. i won. but i wanted yogurt as soon as we got there, but he didn't. so we went and looked at cowboy boots on the square, we went to the antique mall, we went to dinner, and we didn't get yogurt. i pouted as we drove out to get wood for the husband to build things. finally, around 10 that night, the husband got us both back in the car and we made our way to the other location of yolo. that's the yogurt bar! yolo ... short for yogurt lovers.

so you go into yolo and grab a bowl. there's only one size, and i was grateful it was a big cup...i wanted yogurt! then you go and get your own yogurt...you choose from 8-10 different flavors. i picked california tart and pomegranate energy. YUM! then there's a whole counter covered in toppings. everything from local granola to animal crackers to refrigerated cookie dough and fresh fruit. it was so wonderful. so of course, i loaded it all on! then you take it to the register and they weigh your yogurt. it's only $.45 per ounce, so it's totally affordable. and wonderful :)

here's my yummy creation...

i have granola, chocolate chips, and cookie dough on top of my yogurt. even though the husband refused to go early in the day like i wanted, it was well worth the wait. we'll be going back again!!

hiatus

i've been on a hiatus. who knows why? i've been cooking, taking care of kiddos, cleaning, redecorating, and basically doing everything but this. oh well. we live on.



the cooking part...i made a WONDERFUL strawberry shortcake cake, thanks to my friend pdub. yummy i tell ya...it was perfect for our YL get together last weekend, and everyone loved it! here's the recipe in case you're feeling lucky...http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/strawberry-shortcakecake/

i've also been nannying all summer long, and the kids are adorable. they hate me sometimes, but you have to lay down the law. i'm not about to let a 4 year old tell me what to do, even if she refuses to be nice for the rest of the day.

the cleaning hasn't necessarily been extensive. i vacuum occasionally, and i clean what needs to be clean. i've never been a fan of cleaning...ask my family. i'm a rarity in the kostka household.

i'm slowly and inconspicuously trying to redecorate the living room. yes, the ducks are still on the walls, but we now have bright cheery green curtains, floral pillows, and a number of pictures around to make me happy. it's coming together quite nicely, and still remaining somewhat masculine. i'm proud.


we also made a trip to the cape this summer. that was our big adventure! kat and mamie were both there, and the husband has never been to cape cod, and doesn't see the sisters all that much, so it was a great trip for him. i'll leave you with pictures for now, until i return again, which hopefully won't be too long this time! much love.

lobstering!! 

the fam in front of mom's pond

at joe's

the sisters

cookout on the beach

sunset