June filled Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Clarisse (on right)

Me and Cass

Me and Lorraine

Saturday I went to my friend Clarisse's Birthday party. Got to see lots of friends, enjoy the California breeze, and make ever lasting memories.. I was wearing a Aztec patterned mini dress I purchased from JC Penny's a few weeks back for my cousins wedding. Needless to say I adore it.

Pedi

I have been working so hard at my new job, Friday I decided I would treat myself to a pedicure. My lady Lily does the best designs! It's been challenging balancing my time and getting into a groove, hope it happens soon! I'm tired! Ha!

Freshly Picked

Green beans & garlic

New oranges are growing

Picked some green beans and garlic the other day. It's the most rewarding part of gardening, picking the fruit of your labor. Today it was 105 degrees where I live, so watering my garden today wasn't ideal but it had to be done. New oranges are growing for this winters harvest. Not going to have many, most have fallen off already, which is a bummer.

Packed lunch

PB&JJ (Jenna's Jams)

Sammies, fruit bars, and kettle chips

So I love my new job! It is super challenging and I really enjoy my new co-workers. Getting up at 5:45am isn't an easy task but I am adjusting. My commute is about thirty minutes each way, which isn't bad at all! Tonight I picked up a pizza for dinner and have a few things to do before bed. My only objection is I have to balance my garden and my work schedule now! I think I'm going to do more fun posts about the make up and products I use to see if that proves useful to anyone. Hope that will be more interesting then all my food posts! Ha!

Cherry for your thoughts

Tomorrow I start my first day of work at a new job. I am both excited and nervous about this new step in my future. It is a very nice company and I am looking forward to challenging  myself like I used to at my old job. My mother went cherry picking with my sister and generously gave me some of the "fruit of her labor" quite literally speaking. Tonight we have yet another party to attend, this time over at my in laws place. Spending my spare time making lists, laying out my clothes for tomorrow, getting all my materials together, packing a lunch. I will try and post pictures of my prep tonight or tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Celebrate

                                         Bleach (anime) inspired cupcakes

                                         Bleach (anime) inspired cake

                                         Husband and I goofing off

Terribly sorry for not posting in a while. This whole week has been insanely jam packed. Wednesday was my last day working at the school and now the students are on summer vacation. I was asked to come back on staff next year if I wanted to. I also had a few job interviews as well, And surprise surprise I found an awesome new job! Very similar to my old accounting position at the law firm I used to work at. Its full time Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm. I am so thrilled I found a full time position that suits my skill set. I start Monday and I hope it wont interfere with mu blog, it shouldn't though. Anyway, it was my husbands birthday yesterday so I was entertaining guests all weekend. I had a small get together of 10 people last night. Tonight we had a smaller group of 6 and I made chicken adobo, rice, potatoes, green beans, and egg rolls. Tomorrow we are going to his parents house for yet another celebration. I'm exhausted!

                               Chicken adobo, rice, potatoes, and green beans

Garden Update

                                         Zucchini blossoms

                                         Zucchini blossoms

                                         Tomatoes

                                         Tomatoes

                                         Pineapple guava flowers

                                         Green beans

                                         Green beans

                                         Strawberries

                                                   Blackberry vines

                                         My patio garden

Here's an update on how my garden is flourishing. My my how things can change in so little time. Only in a few weeks I've sprouted green beans and tomatoes. I'm excited to see what will pop up next! I will be picking some beans soon, I have already picked most of the oranges off my tree, now those were delicious.

Wedding Bells

                                         The cake and cupcakes

                                         Hanging decor

                                         The bride (my cousin) and he new hubby

                                        Reception kiss

Saturday's wedding was so beautiful, I didn't take enough pictures. The wedding was on a mountain side ranch a couple thousand feet in altitude. The drive up was windy but we make it obviously. Perfect weather, good people, lots of family, over all a nice day. Today on the other hand is much colder and it rained a bit. It's the last week of school where I work so the kids are extra anxious to be done.

Farmers Market Finds

                                         Fruit, pastries, and kettle corn

                             Picked out some white nectarines and some yellow peaches

                                         Raspberry and apricot pastries

                                         Kettle Corn and my kitty Blue

Yesterday my husband and I went out on a date to the farmers market. We enjoyed some live music, fresh fruit, and the yummy smells from the food tents. It's always nice to stroll round the park and stretch our legs. Afterward we stopped by the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner and dessert. The temperatures have been high the last couple days here. In the high nineties, even broke a hundred yesterday. I am hoping the outdoor wedding tomorrow has shade!

DIY Bottle Transformation

                                                   Empty water bottles

                                                   Peel labels off

                                                   Bottles without labels

                                         Measure out your new label space

                                         Cut them to size

                                 Attach in place with tape, glue, or any adhesive

                                                   Final product

Ever hang on to a bottle after you are done drinking whatever it was you were drinking? Just because it was pretty? Well all you have to do is remove the label and personalize it anyway you wish! Above I simply show you how I turned my old water bottles into potential flower holders. You can also reuse clean bottles and fill them with homemade drinks and have a pretty new serving bottle. You can personalize them with a name or a "drink me" note attached. The possibilities are limitless.

**Need help removing stubborn labels? Try this! You will need three bottles, 16 tablespoons of baking soda and 32 cups of water. Combine and soak for 30 minutes. Brush off excess with a sponge or steel wool.

I got this awesome tip from:  How to Remove a Bottle Label - Label Removal Lab Test - Popular Mechanics

Taco Tuesday

                                                Homemade macaroni and cheese

                                                  Veggie tacos

This weekend was full of food and family. Went over to my in laws home yesterday for BBQ. Made my special homemade mac'n cheese for everyone, they all loved it. Its a very secret recipe, everyone tries to get it out of me but I wont budge. Tonight I made veggie tacos, simple, yummy, and filling. As I mentioned a few days ago, this week of family time isn't over yet. Still have my cousins wedding coming up this Saturday, I will be sure to include pictures!

Graduation

                                         Teresa

                                         Nicole (sister)

                                                   Me and Cortnei

                                         Me and Matt

So tonight my sister Nicole and a bunch of friends of mine graduated from college tonight. Afterward we met up and went out to eat Mexican food. Its been a really busy day and I am ready to go to bed already! Well, congratulations everyone!

Cherry Berry

Today I made cherry berry jam. I have been playing with some flavor combinations for a while now and I've finally perfected it! I will try and work on new labels for them and post about that soon. My sister is graduating tomorrow so I will be very busy with my family all day. Have a great weekend!

Mischief

My little guy up to no good haha. But he's so gosh darn cute I don't mind the mess. It's been a family filled week so I apologize for not posting much. My sister is graduating from college, my grandma's coming to visit, and my cousins getting married soon. All in all should be a wonderful ushering into summer.

Spaghetti & Pepperoni

Tonight I put a nontraditional spin on a classic meal, spaghetti with pepperoni. And boy oh boy was it yummy. Regular spaghetti and meatballs can get boring after a while so I decided to spice it up. Pepperoni is great because I like my food to have a lot of spice and flavor. I used the leftovers in the package I had from pizza night.

My Niece

                                                     Rock star party for my nieces 19th birthday

Now today, my little sweet niece is 21 years old! I posted a picture of my niece Mourissa, my brother (her dad), and myself from a previous birthday of hers. My family likes to do themed parties and so that year we did a rock star theme, can you guess who we are? My brother is Run DMC and my niece is Lady Gaga. And well me... I don't know haha. I think I was going for a Madonna type look. Time flies. I have 10 nieces and nephews and one great nephew. My other niece Serina who is also 21 had a baby boy last August. My brother Mourice has four children, my sister Nicole has three, and my sister Sofia has three as well. And that leaves me with none. They all dived into the baby making business early in life, I've decided to take my time.