At the risk of looking quite vain but at the benefit of promoting a great photographer I decided to post some pictures that were taken of myself. As a favor to one of my best friends, Carrie, I agreed to be her "model" at a practice photo session so she could try certain techniques for a contest she was entering. Her very talented friend, Bre, came with us to challenge Carrie to try different angles and techniques with her lenses. We had lots of fun but boy did those girls have to work to get some good poses out of me! (I am not a natural poser). Ha. I felt like I was taking my high school senior portraits all over again (but with wrinkles this time). Bre did a lovely job on the pictures (Carrie has two little boys and hasn't had time to edit yet) but be sure to check out her site, especially if you live in so cal, because I am only posting a few of my favorites!

 just me chillin' in the street :) top: free people, jeans: paige, necklace: ATL, shoes: target, bracelet: briana rene

 head shot (you have to say it in a "Call of Duty" voice)

 i like the brick building in the background

 of course i was getting my hair done the day after the photo shoot. sigh.

 a pretty field

i heard the girls talking about a "frame within a frame" on this shot. nailed it!

Are you hungry for more pictures of me? Probably not. :) But just in case you are visit http://brethurston.com/category/senior-portraits/ to see the rest and because she is very talented and takes many different kinds of photos (including boudoir!) Enjoy her site and thanks again Bre! 

And although Carrie hasn't had time to edit her photos yet she is an amazing photographer as well. I just can't get enough of the breath taking pictures she takes of new borns. This girl has mad skills. Check her out at http://carrieajohnsonphotography.blogspot.com/ Some of my favorite shots are under the tab "April," "February," and "January."

This year I had a big team of teachers I was teaching with. There were six of us all together! When thinking of what to get my fellow teachers for the end of the school year (I like to thank them for their hard work)  I had to get crafty since buying something was going to get expensive quickly. I remembered some stationary that a friend got Matt and me for an engagement gift. They were little personalized note cards. Some of them had his name, some had mine (with my new last name) and some had both. They were hand-made and adorable and I thought, “This is totally something I could make.” So make I did! Here is a step-by-step tutorial for this easy and personal gift. These cards are great because you could make them for anyone! Hopefully there is enough time in the school year for some of you to put these to good use! 

 Step 1: decide what you want the cards to say and print it out

 Step 2: choose a plain piece of scrapbooking paper and tape it on top of the print, centered.

 Step 3: feed it back into the printer

 Step 4: use double sided adhesives to attach the personalized strip onto the card

 Step 5: add some flair to the envelopes with a stamp (buy the envelopes at Michaels)

 Step 6: use some ribbon to tie all the cards together (i made 5 for each teacher)

ta da!

What are some DIY gift ideas that you do? Please share!

I did it. I caved in and bought a white watch! And I must admit I got a killer deal on it. “Good things come to those who wait.” I’m sure that quote was not intended for shopping but it works for me! All I have to say is that the watch was originally $255.00 bones and I bought it in the double digits! Nothing is as satisfying as finding a good sale (well, almost nothing…). Needless to say I will be rockin’ my white watch all summer long!

 i love my new watch! ;)

nail polish: stranger tides by OPI

watch: michael kors via the nordstrom rack

So I noticed that I claim to be this girl that is “not average” but so far everything looks fairly normal for a girl my age. Well this is where my killer gardening skills come into play. Below you will see the zucchini and squash that Matt and I grew in our garden recently. Your average girl does not grow squash that are longer than her finger tip to her elbow. These things are on steroids! On Tuesday night we grilled the veggies on the BBQ and then I also made some zucchini bread for us and the neighbors. I used a low calorie recipe that is posted below. Enjoy! 

 our zucchini and squash that grew out of control while we were in SLO

 ok so i know they aren't supposed to grow this big because they taste better smaller, but it's still an accomplishment!

 grillin'

 you would think we had a family to feed... nope! just the two of us! I took that extra sandwich to lunch with me the next day. yummy!

 two of the ingredients for my zucchini bread

does zucchini bread count as a vegetable? btw i suck...forgot to take a picture of the bread. tomorrow i will get on top of that. (and no, i haven't eaten all of it yet!)

 Zucchini Bread (Low Calorie Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup unbleached flour

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup zucchini, unpeeled, grated

¼ cup fat-free sour cream

1 egg white

Directions: Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Prepare pan 8x4x2 inch pan with cooking spray and flour; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and baking powder. In another mixing bowl, combine zucchini, sour cream, and egg white. Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 60 minutes.

Calories: 92

Fat< 1g

Protein: 2g

Carbs: 22 g

PS…do you have any other ways to prepare zucchini and squash? I’m going to need some help getting creative… recipes please!

So as you know last weekend Matt and I went to SLO. Usually somewhere on the way up we talk about what restaurants we are going to dominate while we are there (priorities). It takes some effort and hard work but we always manage to make it happen. Here is our line up (in no particular order). Drumroll please!

Yanagi's Sushi

 911 roll

 golden california

Yogurt Creations

rocky road yogurt, reeses, peanut butter sauce, and heath bar is what i got last time...yum!

Viena Vai

 these doors open so guests can enjoy fresh air while they dine

the furnace where your pizza gets baked before you! i had butternut squash and matt had a veggie alfredo pasta

Woodstock's Pizza

 pepperoni, pepperchini's, olives, onions, and sun dried tomatoes... delish

we have these pint glasses at home

Firestone Grill

 comfortable patio seating

 basket of fries

known for their tri tip sandwiches but honestly everything is good!

I should be a spokeswoman for SLO. :) If you have ever been there or are planning on going there in the future which restaurant is your fave? I can't pick one (obviously) because they are all so tasty!