Happy Fourth!

BE PATRIOTIC...........EAT A LOT........SWIM SOMEWHERE........HAVE A GREAT DAY! sorry for the crazy picture, but we both were having so much fun it cracks us up!

random pics

here a few things that we've been up to lately...these were from a while ago...

jalapeno poppers/swaddled peppers

usually when you go to family functions, everyone kinda is "assigned" certain things or you just know what someone is going to bring, like for instance, "aunt kim's beans" if you know about them you'll agree that they are the best baked beans in the land! for me, not so much, i'm a hit or miss on food. i married into a family of food lovers to the max. i think it's because grandma dee, john's grandma, whom i never had the privilege of meeting, was an awesome cook. i've heard she was the kinda woman that used an apron for a toolbelt, she was a woman that could do it all, and made it happen. ("make it happen" is kinda the vanderpool logo) she raised three boys, that loved food and the three boys married women that are also awesome cooks! the old sayings true in our family, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!" brian (john's dad) said he fell in love with mary after she made him a coconut cream pie, even though she had skinny legs and giant whohas! hahaha, still true, sorry mary! i finally figured out i will only bring 2 things to the vanderpool get together, (it's intimidating!! for me) chocolate chip cookies, and jalapeno poppers. brian loves my cookies, and uncle ken came up to me and said, "these are really good," referring to my poppers! those are two compliments that will stay with me forever! :) i was given this recipe awhile ago by a girl i used to work with. it's easy, but there are a lot of steps! here we go... 6oz of cream cheese (it says 4 but i like the peppers to be really full), 1tsp lime zest, 1T lime juice, 1T chopped fresh cilantro, 8 jalapeno poppers, crescent roll canister, parm cheese, 1/4 stick of butter, halve the peppers and take out seeds, if you like it hotter leave more in mix cream cheese, lime stuff, and cilantro in bowl, and fill peppers. roll out crescent rolls and make an extra line so it makes an X and swaddle the pepper with the rolls, melt butter and dip each pepper roll in the butter then the parm and bake until golden brown.

neon pink

i got these shorts last year on sale at jcrew, like someone brought them back and they were marked down hugely and then it was a day that it was extra 30% off. i think they have them again this year maybe a little different fit, the cardi was my last purchase with my discount at gap, and the dotted shirt is from madewell. these are the target sandals i got, i know everyone has them, but they are such a good "go to" sandal.

DM Arts Festival

my husband works so much and really hard during these non-winter months, and sometimes our quality time together gets put on the back burner. saturday night was really special, we got an amazing babysitter, and went to our cities arts festival! we met some really fun family/friends down there and had a blast! here are a few iphone pictures from our fun night! (yummy food/drinks/learning to unicycle/dancing/art/fireworks/jammed fingers doing a flip off a wall)

bumble bee

i love bold colors right now! here is an outfit i wore when i got my hair done! thanks dee! if your in the area pretty please go see my friend deana, a-MAZ-zing! deedas salon. this picture is what happens when i get brave and have my 5yr old take it, i couldn't find a great place to set the timer, and i think i'm just too scared still. aaaand in the picture you can see my bra! sorry! it's was really funny when i asked him to take a picture. he was so excited! i went to cover my face (the photogenic thing) and he zoomed in on my "shorts" area so i crouched and laughed and he took the pic...maybe in awhile i'll try again! he probably zoomed in on the area cause i told him to take a picture of my clothes and the shorts are like blinding! i also wore some really reliable target sandals! i will show you later.

Gold Rush

when i first brought taylor home, i had no idea what i was going to do with her room. i had saved a few things here and there hoping for a little pink in my life, but no plans at all. her room is really full of decor i already had except for a few things. we have to use lamps in our rooms because the light fixtures were controlled by the switch that went to a hanging old light, we have ceiling fans we will put in the rooms. (i know they aren't that cute, but i wanna save energy and clutter in the rooms) for taylor's room i found a lamp stand i used to have and an old lamp shade collecting dust down in the dungeon and joined the two in holy matrimony and made a lamp for her. however, it's been driving me crazy every time i see it! it's plain, and blends in with the furniture, bleck...it's laodecian--luke warm water you wanna spit outta your mouth! so i decided to spice it up just a little, here are a few before and after's, something so simple that took me 5 minutes at most, was free, and i think it turned out alright. i used a wooden handle round sponge. (key-first start at the back and work your way around)