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

mark.

i don't know about you, but i've never been one to buy makeup if they don't sell it in walgreens. i'm not always satisfied with the stuff at walgreens, be it maybelline, cover girl, or whatever, but at least i didn't have to pay $25 for a mascara that doesn't really do anything for me.

well i have changed my ways! for a few years now i have been intrigued by the brand of makeup called mark. lauren conrad is a spokesperson for it, and i think she always looks fresh and great. well, i was looking at it again a few weeks ago, and decided i should just go for it. i bought some. and i'm now a rep! the makeup is really great! i'm not just saying that so you'll be tempted to buy from me...it's seriously really good! it's light on your skin, but it really brightens your face and just makes you look fresh and wonderful. i just ordered more for myself last night! they're very inexpensive, and if you do order through me, you get free shipping if you spend $25, and it's totally worth it! the colors are perfect, and you don't have to worry about your shade. it's so easy to pick! see for yourself... http://afarley.mymarkstore.com/

enjoy looking around, and hey, you might even find something to buy!!

more bragging

so i've bragged about my wonderful and adoring husband before, but i must do it again. he has been working on a corner cabinet for me, and he finished!! here's the start of it...

he was not happy that i got him in the picture. but isn't the white on the boards just so cute? i think so.


well so i said he's finished...here it is...

AHHH!! it's just wonderful, although i am a little partial to the builder.

this is the latch on the bottom...and it couldn't be better

the bottom part

little shelf inside the doors




i've also been baking a bit, and our garden has been growing.

i made caramel for the first time, and it didn't go so well...

looks good huh?

well then i had to put gelatin in it, and pour it on top of homemade brownies...the gelatin was a big mistake.

oh well...at least it looks ok


look at how just stinkin' adorable my jalapenos are...have i shown you yet?

they're actually bigger now, and i'm anxiously awaiting the day when we can harvest them and eat them!!

wedded bliss

the husband's step-cousin is getting married this summer in montana. his fiance, anna, is from montana...anna montana. ha! well they are getting married, and they are just the sweetest couple ever. seriously. garrett is a minister, and anna is just cute and skinny and nice, and only about my little sister's age. well not even as old! she's a youngun, but they're wonderful together, and i know that God will bless their marriage and life together.
this weekend, the husband's step-mother, step-sister, and i threw a shower for the wonderful couple. we baked and cooked all morning, and decorated all night before. the shower was great, and all of anna and garrett's friends were delightfully kind, just like the couple! here are some pictures from the event...

sweet anna and garrett

anna, me, and kasey (garrett's brother's girlfriend)...love them both!

gifts galore

I'm Famous!

It's true...I've been discovered! well my picture has at least...p-dub, as you all know i love her, has a photo contest that i recently blogged about. well i was accepted into the finalist group! my picture of my sister and grandfather was posted just this morning...go look! it's the first one on there. i feel so special :)

i haven't updated on my little garden in a while. there are the cutest jalapenos growing, and we even had a bell pepper!! but that fell off...oh well. i do have pictures though, of course.

i was tempted to just pull them off, because they're just so darn cute, but i want them to grow, being the good farmerette that i am!

AHH! how adorable!? then it just fell off. such is life.