sistema + granola

this year for christmas, i bought mz the weirdest present ever...tupperware.  now granted it was just a small portion of his christmas presents, but i was REALLY excited about this purchase...so much so that i had to buy some for myself too!

can you think of anything nerdier?!

i was passing through macy's on my way out of the mall, with zero intention of even focusing my eyes on any of the stuff they have in there, when a martha stewart display caught my eye.  i had a plan to start bringing lunch in 2012 and martha was giving me just the extra push of motivation i needed!!  she brought this great system (Sistema) from new zealand, slapped her brand on it and i'm sure both companies are making a pretty penny right now.

here are the pieces that i purchased...and have been seriously obsessed with since the very first time i used them.  chances are if you comment on my sistema ware in the cafeteria i'll go into infomercial mode and tell you how phenomenal they are...you've been warned.  they really make me excited to make/eat lunch every day!

sandwich container: this bad boy has a spot for your sandwich and two smaller compartments for treats or other snacks...and there's a divider between both halves to keep everything nice and tidy.

salad container: the fork and knife are in 2 pieces each and they SNAP IN to the bottom of the tray that's in the container!! how great is that!?  there's also a cup for dressing.  i also have found myself using this container on occasion to tote leftover quesadillas...'dillas on the bottom, tomatoes, guac and beans on the top tray and a little sour cream in the dressing cup.

breakfast or soup: again, the spoon snaps in just like the salad container.  my favorite use for this is some outta this world barefoot contessa granola (with better dried fruits than cherries, ick) and either milk or yogurt...the tray ensures that your granola doesn't get soggy before you get a chance to devour it!

okay, who's hungry now!?

return of the blog + aston's 1st birthday

yeah buddy, i'm back in action.  i'm sure my return to blogging is as sensational as the prospect of allen iverson returning to the nba...but the good news is that i'm back and hopefully my brain space won't get too jumbled with non-bloggable things in the next few weeks so i'll have plenty of room to keep the posts flowing!

nearly a month ago, sheesh, such a slacker, we went to celebrate our friends' little guy turning one.  Seems like just yesterday we were stuffing him in a basket for pictures (flashbacks available here & here!):

Aston's still super tiny, I think he just really wants to stay a baby forever! :)  But he has grown some killer hair in the past year...really shiny, auburn and curly!  Too cute!!

I think it took him a while to warm up to the whole birthday party idea, but once that giant cupcake cake was plopped in front of him he didn't seem to have another care in the world...even the party hat was ignored!

All in all, it was a great party with delicious food and lots of chocolate!!

For more party pics, click here.

See ya back here soon...there's more in store...

breaking bad + valentine's day

valentine's day is just around the corner...that day that everyone either loves or dreads.  filled with clashing pinks and reds and all sorts of mushy things that would make people vom on any normal day.  i'm not a huge fan, i think it's kinda ridiculous and overrated...BUT...these valentine's day cards are down right PERFECTION!!  makes me wish it was acceptable for (almost) 30 year olds to hand out valentine's day cards to everyone i see!

if you don't watch breaking bad, you won't understand how wonderful these little cards are.  then again, if you don't watch breaking bad i don't know if we should be friends anymore.

(found here, created by her)

on another note, the website where i found these cards is my new found obsession (thanks K!).  it makes me chuckle just about every single time that i check out the new finds...or maybe it's just the website's name and my love for bacon that makes me smile, either way it makes me happy!

borrowed notes

i'm sitting here listening to some free (& legal) music on spotify and pondering where i stand on the whole  internet/copyright infringement crackdown debate so i figured i'd highlight some musical magic that i 'found' on some of the other blogs that i frequent...

who knew that flute could be so intense?! apparently part of the national high school championship includes a beatbox requirement.  i've watched a few versions on youtube, but like the one that j* had up on her blog the best.  to see some 'flutebox' songs from the master, check this site out.



although i didn't pay too much attention to the lyrics or singing prowess of the guy in the next video, his wife's reaction shows makes his seem like a rockstar.  and with valentine's day right around the corner, i figured i'd share.  you've got to go over to style me pretty's site to read the full story, so sweet!

light up the sky - nye 2011

for me, new year's eve normally ends up being extremely underwhelming.  i'm not so interested in paying a ridiculous amount of money to go to a hotel party with a bunch of strangers...or standing out in the freezing cold being herded like cattle (again with a bunch of strangers) just to see a sparkly ball fall from the sky.  just not my thing and i'm perfectly happy going to be at 9:30 most nights so the last night of the year isn't usually much different!

this year, we decided (the sister included in the 'we') that we were going to shake things up a bit!  we were going to plan something that would be fun and memorable.  it was way easier than i thought...just pick a place for dinner, invite some wonderful family members and friends, crank up the tunes and wham-bam-thank you ma'am, you've got yourself a great NYE!  donning mom's fur coats and coming home to dad dancing on a chair only added to the entertainment for the evening.  i was pretty darn pleased that we managed to have a non-boring night.

but then kara went and did something extra special...she ordered WISH LANTERNS!!  oh my gosh, i've seen these on youtube and on wedding websites (which i still stalk even though i was married 4.5 years ago) and i think they are just so fascinating!!  i'm so so happy she bought them (from some super sketchy website) for us all to enjoy.  i want them for all events and even the non-events...like 'woo-hoo, it's a 3 day weekend, let's send off some wish lanterns' kinda thing.  they definitely made our NYE magical.  just so glad no one caught on fire! ;-)

the fab sis also surprised me & mz with a super cute HD video camera which helped create this mashup of our wish lantern extravaganza at the uri bay campus.  make a wish!