Goodbye September.

So there goes our government's functioning.

Days gone by, inspired by Bec's post this weekend: me and my dad when he dropped me off at college for the first time.

But in some positive news!

1. Yesterday's green chicken chili in the crockpot was so good. Recipe and link forthcoming.

2. Yesterday's green chicken chili in the crockpot is tonight's dinner!

3. There's an extra little dog here at our place this week while his mamacita is moving out of her apartment; yea for for more feet!

4. There are either some pumpkin bars or salted brown butter rice krispie treats on the horizon...to top off this past weekend's ice cream sandwiches. We're certainly loving our treats around here.

5. Tomorrow's October! The weather is gorgeous these days!

What's good for you today my friend?  
xoxo, natty ♥

Breaking it out and gearing up.

Today I brought out the crock pot for some green chili chicken verde {perhaps a forthcoming recipe to look forward to this week}.

THANK YOU to my in-laws, they gifted us with this beauty four years ago when Mike and I started co-habitating and it has done so much for us.

And I'm so glad I did.

The food was delicious and our apartment smelled great but we also get dinner for at least two more nights; I made rice and beans to beef it all up so there is quite a lot.

It's far too late for me to be up on a Sunday night but we watched the first half of the Patriot's game at my brother-in-law's place and now it's finally time for bed.

Here's to a good week!

xoxo, natty ❤

Chipwich.

I made these tonight.

And they were so tasty.

I hope that your Saturday also included something sweet!

xoxo, natty ❤

Too much fun.

It was taco night around these parts tonight and while things were being prepared I was LOVING on some late 1990s/early 2000s tunes.

 

I think we made this playlist when we got back from a wedding recently {you know you are!} because they had an awesome set of songs playing at their reception. AWESOME.

And there's a garage sale or two {or three} out there for me tomorrow so things are looking good and I hope they are for you too!

xoxo, natty ♥

Flavors.

Two weeks ago we were in Minnesota for Bec's wedding.

And we were also enjoying delicious food on the daily at the Global Marketplace across the parking lot from our hotel.

It's the old Sears building in Minneapolis and had been languishing for a while before this redevelopment took place - it's now many things, offices, etc, but it also includes an large indoor food/shop court and there's a strong ethnic twist on the food (think: Mexican, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, amongst others).

Mike and I had so much fun wandering around and taking in all of the sights and smells that first day.

I especially love those colorful labels up above. I would've bought all those wood chips for my dad to use in his smoker so he could make us delicious ribs, but we only had a carry on. 

This is kind of a random post. Life has been good lately and I'm fixing to keep it that way.

And here's to a good weekend ahead!
xoxo, natty ♥

Salvation in a bag for the working people at dinner time.

 

xoxo, natty ♥

Oodles.

Tonight was pasta night at our house. 

If only I were running.

Oh well, it was delicious.

I've got some fun real recipes/meals in the hopper, though, and I"m excited about them. Hopefully the crockpot will be involved!

And tomorrow's Wednesday, that went quickly, didn't it?

And, yeah, it's a slow night over there too, but that's a good thing.

¡Hasta luego!
xoxo, natty ♥

A new Monday.

Weekends go by so quickly.

But thankfully, so do Mondays.

In other mundane yet glorious news going on today.

1. We got our car back. I got rear-ended last month and since we were busy beavers for several weeks we didn't get the whole ball rolling on the repair process going until last Monday.

I'm glad to have old trusty back but it sure was nice driving an automatic in this city traffic and having a car that is a quiet drive; sometimes I swear the street sounds are in our car with us.

But, it's our car and we love it. All 125,000+ miles of it.

2. I finally plugged in my phone to my computer which meant I could also update the operating system.

 

I kind of love it!

3. I'm enjoying this cool weather. Summer wasn't the best here this year and fall is a good and welcomed change.

4. Possible apple picking/general autumnal outdoorsiness is on the horizon.

5. I'm glad to be here, truly I am, but since the weeks are flying by it means I get to soon go back to California and Arizona (soon = December). It's an entirely different season but a vacation I'm thoroughly looking forward to.

How YOU doing (cyber) neighbor? I hope that Monday treated/is treating you fair.

xoxo, natty ❤

Soup!

Yesterday afternoon was rainy and a perfect day for the first soup of the season.

The start of something good.

A lovely pumpkin- black bean courtesy of Becs. I posted it way back in January too.

And now we have dinner for another day or two.

Here's to an uneventful and productive work week!
xoxo, natty ❤

A whole Saturday.

I know that these weekends go by so.so.so quickly but it still feels so.so.so good to wake up on a Saturday morning.

And sniff out the window.

 

May your weekend not rush by too quickly! 

xoxo, natty ❤

Long week.

We left during the fourth quarter of a game that could've been better.

And now? Time for sleep without an alarm clock on the other side!

Happy weekend!
xoxo, natty ❤

More quality literature.

Ahhhh the weekend is so close I can taste it.

Between me and sleeping in lies a pep rally at school tomorrow and Friday night's homecoming football game; Friday night lights!

Have a fabulous Friday folks!

xoxo, natty ❤

A new read.

xoxo, natty ❤

A pair of parers.

Quite a while ago I explained the story of the lost knife (I still peek around in the dishwasher and around corners in the kitchen).

And earlier this month I mentioned that we had finally used some leftover wedding gift cards to snag a glorious cast iron skillet.

We also grabbed a replacement knife since the original has never appeared.

And it came in the mail yesterday!

Here's to slicing and dicing!
xoxo, natty ♥

Ahhhhh?

Oh what a wonderful weekend it was! Have I mentioned that?

Other good things?

Yes!

 

1. We're not traveling anywhere this weekend which is nice. It has been so much fun to be camping and visiting with friends but all this moving around in the first month of school has taken a toll on me and my grading so this will be a nice respite.

2. Last mention, I swear; I had an AMAZING time visiting with beloved friends this weekend. They are such special people and I feel undeserving sometimes because I just got so lucky to be their pal.

3. One of my mums from last night perked up; yippee! Now I'm just waiting on the yellow one.

4. My dear husband is taking care of the dishes. I love him so.

5. The weather is so pleasant this week; cool and autumn-like. I'm still a girl who loves to be warm but I'll be honest; DC summers are GROSS and this is refreshing.

I hope you're doing well this week Dear Reader, wherever you are!

xoxo, natty ❤

Not as hardy as their name suggests.

We safely arrived home, buoyed after a lovely weekend and happy to see out little dog.

But my poor mums!

Oh well, I'll nurse them back as best I can.

Here's to a good week to you all, newly wed or not!
xoxo, natty ❤ 

Rainy recovery.

After enjoying breakfast with the bride and groom {& a few others} we slept and watched football all day; it was pretty glorious.

The last official wedding activity of the weekend was a Minnesota Twins' game at the beautiful Target Field.

And it rained!

But it was beautiful and a really fun way to continue the festivities of a wonderful wedding.

Congratulations and best wishes to two amazing people; we love you!

xoxo, natty ❤

What a fabulous day!

Happy wedding to two amazing people.

Same picture as yesterday.

So much love today ❤❤❤❤.
xoxo, natty ❤ 

Such a wonderful weekend ahead of us!!!

There's so much love and happiness going on around here.

And tomorrow there's a wedding!!

xoxo, natty ❤

Dear country, we love you.

xoxo, natty ♥

Tomorrow's Friday.

Since we're heading to the mid-west on Thursday, tonight's my Thursday! And it sure feels good considering I was at work super late.

Here's to a WEDDING!
xoxo, natty ♥

Septiembre.

Tomorrow marks double digits in this 9th month of the year; time sure does fly!

A scene from our nuptials.

 What else...

1} Someone's getting married this week ♥♥♥!

2} There's a major re-friend-union in the works for Thursday-Sunday.

3} I just enjoyed a strawberry lemonade spritzer and nothing has ever tasted better.

4} We had a wonderful and successful camping weekend. It included seeing a bear.

5} I have to be at work late tomorrow and there's too much space {& traffic} between my job and home to make coming back and forth plausible BUT that means I get to eat dinner out at any place nearby that I want to! Yoo Hoo!

How you doing this week Reader? Are you getting married? Enjoying football season? Good things abound, I hope!
xoxo, natty ♥

Post delay.

My scheduled posts I had planned for Friday and yesterday didn't get published on those days, but now they're here.

Camping was a blast! I took zero picture because I didn't bring a camera and I left my phone in the glove compartment all weekend {so liberating!}.

After a long drive Friday evening we enjoyed beautiful weather, gorgeous views, lots of leafy trees, a solid hike that included water falls {& a cold dip for us all!}, a delicious dinner around the campfire, and some surprisingly good sleep, we're back home, showered, and grateful for our mattress.

Yippee for friends and not being under rood or surrounded by walls for a weekend; I hope that yours has been just as enjoyable!
xoxo, natty ♥

Greek Lemon.

There's a restaurant in San Jose that serves this soup. They add shredded chicken into theirs. And it.is.So.Good. Creamy, rich, tangy, lemony, and what hits the spot.

I got The Joy of Cooking for Christmas last year and noticed a recipe for Greek Lemon Soup and have it in my mind to maybe make it later this month.

And since I've been thinking about it, let's get the recipe down here!

Greek Lemon Soup (Avgolemono) taken from The Joy of Cooking.

3 cups Poultry stock/chicken broth
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or dry white wine)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

1. Bring the stock and rice to a rolling boil, reduce heat, and simmer until rice is cooked - about 20 minutes.

2. While stock/rice mixture is simmering, whisk together the eggs and 1/4 cup of lemon juice/wine until it's all the same color.

3. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid into the eggs (this warms up the egg mixture so it won't curdle up when you pour it into the simmering stock/rice mixture).

4. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the stock/rice mixture.
 
3. Season with salt & pepper and garnish with chopped parsley or dill.

5. Add in bits of shredded chicken for some added protein/flavor. 

Mmmmmmmmmm I love this soup and I'm curious to see if it'll taste like the restaurant version. Are you thinking about soup yet? 
xoxo, natty ♥

A-camping.

That's what we're doing this weekend; hope you're having a good one too!!!

xoxo, natty ♥

Oh happy.

This week has been getting me down & out {it's super busy} and next week will be exactly the same way up through Wednesday. I forget how busy the start of the school year can be and it's especially so when one's at a new school and using a new text book; it gives me a new found appreciation for all of those brand-new teachers out there - I had forgotten what this new stuff feels like!

So I was feeling sorry for myself this afternoon and really need to look on the bright side a bit so here's some Marvelous Thursday for me.

1. A delayed usage of wedding gift cards brought us this beauty in the mail this afternoon.

 

It's a cool aqua color called "Ocean" and I'm feeling warm and cozy just thinking about what can be whipped up with this thing.

2. I have amazing and loving family and friends.

3. I have a job!

4. There's a goofy little dog that lives with us.

5. Tomorrow's Friday.

I could go on with this list which is reflective of just how little I have to legitimately feel bummed about.

On that note, #6, Law & Order and couch time awaits.

xoxo, natty ❤

Portrait of a dog, 1.

xoxo, natty ❤

A little bit of work and a lot of love.

Today {& all days} I'm feeling very lucky and in love.

Two years' worth of that love and I'm just so happy.
xoxo, natty ♥

So pretty.

I guess I've been thinking about this past summer a lot this weekend...or maybe I just want to look at pretty cool blues - it's been downright sultry here the past few days.

Sugar Pine Point State Park, California.

In other news...

1. After three full weeks of alarms, sleeping in this {Monday} morning was soooooooooooooooo decadent.

2. Our anniversary is tomorrow ♥.

3. Someone else's WEDDING is next week!

4. We had a great day; cleaning was done {it feels so good after the fact}, a movie was seen {"The Spectacular Now" - very poignant and good}, and a fun pre-anniversary dinner was made.

5.  Is an early bedtime too pathetic of a thing to be happy about? Oh well, call me crazy; I'm getting to bed early tonight!

Are you celebrating anything special this time of year? Are you also loving having that extra day? Enjoy a lovely week whatever you're doing!
xoxo, natty ♥

Fun with friends.

We had a great night in with friends...and their dogs.

What are you doing with your it's-Sunday-but-I-can-sleep-in-tomorrow?!

xoxo, natty ❤