My photo club's assignment this week is BLUE. Photos of anything and everything associated with the color. I never realized how few blue things there are (both artificial and in nature) until I was faced with a 5-day assignment! Thus far, I've photographed tiny blue flowers, blue tiles in the sidewalk, and the sky's reflection in the hood of my blue car. That's all I got.
It's amazing to me how interchangeable the relationships are on this show. After last night's episode, I'm convinced "Gossip Girl" should be renamed "boyfriend-girlfriend swap," or something to that effect. It goes something like this...
Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day in Seattle. After months (literally months) of cold, rain, ice, and snow (very uncharacteristic of March), we had a day of glorious sunshine. I made the most of the day, and spent the entire afternoon outside, and saw many pretty pink cherry blossoms. Hopefully we'll have many more lovely days to come...
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Excited for a much lower key weekend, report cards are in and mailed (contented sigh of relief), me and my boy are headed out to a belated birthday dinner and evening at the theater! Very excited! Have a lovely 2 days off!
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With Spring break just on the horizon, my excitement is mounting by the day for my summer adventure to Italy and Croatia with my family. I keep imagining the fabulous sights, smells, colors, sounds, and delicious food. Some days I catch myself day-dreaming about all the things I want to see, while making invisible "must-see, to-do" lists in my head. 3 months to go! image/maryruffle
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One of my good friends is currently on a journey of self-discovery in Northern Africa. He's spent the last 2 weeks exploring the highs and lows of Morocco culture, and only recently migrated to Egypt. As a tribute to my friend and his amazing adventure, I found this recipe for Moroccan-spiced chicken à la Martha, the mixture of the spices and the sweetness of cinnamon looks delicious! If you're interested in his travels, check out my friend's blog!
I'm having some serious vacation cravings...one of my good friends is headed for New Zealand on Wednesday, and I can't even begin to fathom the amazing adventures she is going to have! If you could click your red heels together right now (a la Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz), where would you go? I'm thinking I would go to...Costa Rica. ...or Spain ...or maybe Hawaii Where would you go right this minute? image/maryruffle
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Julia Robert's niece is blooming into a stunning starlet! Emma Roberts, star of many-a-Disney movie is gracing the cover of Teen Vogue, wearing a sassy little black and yellow number.
This weekend is going to be a busy one...dining out with friends, my boyfriend's official birthday celebration, writing report cards, hopefully getting in at least one good run, and ideally...relaxing (for at least 15 minutes...).
It's the first day of Spring - the birds are chirping, flowers beginning to bud and bloom, and hibernating souls are beginning to emerge. Today is my parents 27th anniversary, cheers to that!
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It's my boyfriend's birthday today. He's spending the majority of his special day in sheer and utter joy, cheering on his team at the NCAA tournament in Portland - every basketball fan's dream! He's scheduled to make it back just in time for a birthday dinner out with yours truly! 
Seattle is slowly defrosting, the sun is peeking out a little more by the day. After a chilly 30-degree February & March, spring is literally just around the corner, and I couldn't be happier!
I am dragging today. I did a stairs workout yesterday, part of my strength building on the road to my half marathon. This morning, I could hardly open my eyes...I was so tempted to call in sick, but the prospect of writing sub plans is just not appealing. Wish I was relaxing like these people right now...
I'm as Irish as they get. Hope you a celebratory St. Patrick's Day. Wishing you all the luck of the Irish! Hope you find a leprechaun!
This past weekend I spent a good chunk of my Saturday sitting at a Cupcake inspired cafe eating red velvet minis while writing report card comments.
In case you haven't noticed, Girl Scout cookie season is in full swing. I know I can't resist those pricy $4-a-box Samoas and Thin Mints. But for the budget Girl Scout enthusiast, try making your own Samoas bars at home. You might not be supporting a troop of 9-year olds in merit badges, but these sweet homemade treats look pretty good!
The other morning, I woke up late, exhausted, and promptly decided it was going to be a coffee-kind-of-day, and pulled into the Starbucks drive through, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. When I got to the window to pay the cashier informed me, "Your coffee is free! The car ahead of you gave us a gift card and asked us to pay for everyone behind her until it ran out." I immediately thought wow, that is so generous! Something as simple as a stranger's generosity truly put me in a great mood for the rest of the day. Now I have the urge to do something similar, and pass the random acts of kindness along to others. Have you ever done something like that? Or had someone do a random act of kindness for you? image/maryruffle
Who loves garlic bread? You've got to be crazy if you can say no. I came across this delectable recipe while blog cruising - although for the life of me I cannot remember the lovely blog that gave me the tip (which deserves all the credit for this tasty find)...
This one would be especially funny for that friend who likes to facebook stalk!
I think I've said this before, but I take back any previous claims, because this is my dream kitchen, or at least a corner of it. It's just so lovely, the blue cabinet, the old country-kitchen jars and kettles, the fresh flowers in the jug, and the shiny white tile...it's just so pretty.
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Who doesn't love cookie dough? Try a chocolate-chip cookie dough cupcake. You can't beat cookie dough that doubles as frosting. All I can say is...yum!
It's Friday (followed by a big, exhausted sigh)! This week crept by, and I'm looking forward to a weekend of not being sick! Hooray!
I'm very particular the cleaning products I use. I don't usually go with the bargain brand, and I've for sure never been a Mr. Clean kind of girl. One product I consistently go back too, and have admittedly fallen in love with is Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day.
It started with a tough day at school...followed by a migraine headache...followed by a sleepless night...no fun! Hoping today will be a better day! Be back in full force ASAP!
