My Weekend in Snapshots

Happy (early) Memorial Day! How are you spending the holiday? I was able to take some time off from work this upcoming week, so I'm looking forward to finally having some time to myself! (I'm an obvious introvert...). Here is my weekend in snapshots:

Luis and I hit up one of our favorite garden shops this week. I got two tomato plants (Roma and Cherry), a sizable rosemary bush, three Marigolds, and a basil plant.

Luis and I moved about a month and a half ago but I still have piles of stuff around (mostly books). This is only a fraction of the total amount of books I own. I'm a book hoarder...

My cats love looking out our windows. I love their silhouettes in the setting sun.

I love that my husband reads. 

This is random but I learned how to froth milk to add to tea/coffee without a frother. I'm now obsessed with adding it to my tea. I'm probably do a mini-post on it.

I made this poblano crema enchilada dish this week. Delicious! Although, I didn't make mine vegan. I used dairy crema.

Rosemary is one of the best scents in the world. 

 I walked into the kitchen and saw this.... I laughed harder than I probably should have!

By the way, I revived my book review blog, Required Reading, this week! If you want to read my reviews and blogging on all things library related, literacy, and YA lit, feel free to follow along!

Have a beautiful Memorial Day weekend! 

A Week in My Life: Week 14

I will never understand lawn deer... also note that the deer to the left is missing it's ears. Poor thing. 

 Still no budding leaves. Hopefully we'll see some within the next few weeks.

 Setting up my new printer! A wonderful surprise from my mom-in-law.

 My favorite breakfast meal: a strawberry parfait.

 I made rose petal bath salts this week!

 Velma and Porzia enjoying the warm breeze.

Things I'm digging: Burt's Bees all natural deodorant. This stuff is great; lasts all day and is aluminum free. 

Luis and I took advantage of a warmer day this week and headed to Independence Grove, a mini state park nearby. 

 Luis exercising.

 The park has bike trails and little lakes all over the park. It's a beautiful valley-like park. It's the perfect location for an impromptu picnic. I can't wait for things to warm up!

Have a lovely weekend!

Changes! How to add Disqus Commenting System to Your Blog Through Blogger

I'm sorry to bombard you with changes and requests lately, but it seemed necessary to notify my readers about a change I have made to the commenting system on this blog. I was chatting with Gillian over on the Glad Blog (who recently added the Disqus commenting system to her blog), and we pretty much decided that it is a far superior way to comment on the blogs you love and follow. That being said, I have also added the Disqus commenting system to my blog instead of the old Blogger system. It's very easy to use! Simply create an account and you're good to comment!

 Bloggers love feedback; enough said. In the short amount of time that I've been using Disqus, I have come to prefer it over Blogger's comment system. Disqus provides you with more real-time updates, enabling you to be far more interactive with the readers who leave comment. The notification and reply system lets you know when someone has left a response, and you can even respond straight from the email instead of having to go back into the comment section of each post to reply. 

Disqus also allows you to add media from YouTube, Flickr, etc., and it provides a far more mobile-friendly interface for mobile readers to comment and interact. Disqus also provides great social media interaction, making it easier for you to share on Twitter, Facebook, etc. 

These are just a few advantages that Disqus offers (did I also mention that it helps you with SEO by offering plugins that ensure your compatibility with search engines?? A blogger's dream!). As I mentioned before, you only need to set up an account to be able to comment, but if you're interested in adding it to your blog, here is a really easy tutorial. 

Head over to the Disqus website. Upon arrival, you will see an orange tab that says "Get This on My Site." When you click the tab, it will lead you to this page below. Simply enter the information it requires and click "continue".

Now it will prompt you to select your blogging platform. Since I am hosted on Blogger, this is what I selected and will be using for this tutorial.

Now you can see the setup instructions for Blogger. Click the link that said "Add Test Blog to my Blogger Website". When you reach this step, it won't say "Test Blog" but will instead read the name of your blog. This was simply for tutorial purposes.

Since Blogger and Google are linked, you're going to see a notification asking for permission to give Disqus access to import itself into your blog. Simply click the blue tab that says "Add Widget".

You're going to be redirected to your layout tab in Blogger. The Disqus widget is going to show up on the right-hand side of the page under the "Add a Gadget" section. You can see where it shows up in the second photo. It will say "Disqus for (Blog Name)". Save the arrangement at the top of the page.

Your blog will now be connected with Disqus and you will see this orange notification at the top of the page. Now what you need to do is Import all of your previous comments into Disqus. Simply click the "Import comments from Blogger" tab. You might also want to enable the syncing of new comments so as to create a seamless transition. Don't worry if all of your comments still aren't showing publicly on your blog. It may take up to 24 hours for this to be completed.

And you're done! Wasn't that easy? Somewhere along the process you may have to verify an email address, but that's no biggie! Hope this helps!

Meandering Monday: Around Here

I finally get to sit down and relax. I worked all last week, including the weekend, so since today and tomorrow are my days off, I get to catch up on things I would have done otherwise. I have lots of cleaning to do...

 Here's what's on the docket for this week!

On my reading pile: Still reading Pride and Prejudice. I downloaded a cookbook on iTunes, courtesy of Starbucks, so I'm perusing that today. It's called Tasting Table: Chef's Recipes.

On my tv: Office re-runs as always, Drop Dead Diva, and hopefully going to see The Dark Knight Rises sometime this week! I also want to watch the second installment of BBC's The Hollow Crown.

On the menu this week: 

Monday: Spaghetti with cheesy broiled tomatoes and basil

Tuesday: Caprese panini's (we really loved them...)

Wednesday: I work an evening shift so... leftovers.

Thursday: Twice baked potato casserole and chicken.

Friday: I work into the evening so we'll probably just have pizza.

Saturday: Slow cooker apple bacon-wrapped chicken with creamed corn.

On my to-do list: Cleaning our bedroom, do the dishes/empty dishwasher, wash, go to the gym, straighten my work table, and clean the bathroom floor... Lot's to do. I found this "cleaning calender" on Pinterest that I'm going to stick to. It helped make it not as overwhelming. 'Coz who likes cleaning??

What I am creating: I don't have any projects planned this week, just finishing an etsy job.

Tips and Tricks: I've been putting lemon juice on a cotton ball and using it as a morning toner/astringent. Apparently lemons are a skin brightener and they even out your skin tone. I have been doing it about a week and I've noticed some scar fading! Definitely going to keep it up.

Looking around my house: Dishes are piled high in the sink... confession.

From the camera: It's extremely hot outside, so my plan is to stay hydrated and cool. Thank God I have air conditioning in my apartment!

A Week in My Life: Week 11

Here's what my past week looked like!

Things started out on a high note this week. I went thifting and planted some new herbs with my mother-in-law, Elsie.

We planted Marjoram, Lavender, Rosemary, Mint, Chives, and other plants. I loved getting my hands dirty! 

We also found some amazing stuff at a vintage shop down the street from where we live.  I bought two crates, originally listed as $8 each, but since I got two, she gave them to me at $5 each. Elsie helped me get the dust and random crud off of them. 

I ended up during them into shoe racks. I hated that I just had all these random shoes in our tiny hallway. I added a basket for keys, lip balm, and anything else I just wanna throw in there. I also have a jar for loose change and a plant. Gotta have some greenery! 

After our hard work prodding and planting outside, Elsie made us some seasoned steak and vegetables. It was amazing. 

This is how our grass looks right now... It's brown and crackly... The lack of rain has made everything so dry. 

 

Luis received a phone call from one of his best friends who got engaged this past week! We're both really excited for Nick and his fiancee!

Behold, a random view of our apartment and the Cancer Treatment Centers of America that we live across the street from. Oddly enough, I like living close to this hospital. It's always busy and there are always people relaxing on the sidewalks and such. It's a like little community that hangs around...

Classic blogger reflection photo! Also spotted, looming storm clouds.

Look at that gorgeous tomato. That red is a perfect pigmented color! I love it. That basil's lookin' pretty good too. 

I used both to make a Caprese panini! It was summer perfection.

I seriously cannot understand why my cat INSISTS on drinking water from the toilet when I pour her a FRESH bowl of FILTERED water EVERY morning... 

It finally stormed and gave us some rain that we desperately needed! The thunder and lightening were so consistent that I barely slept that night. 

My hubby made me breakfast this morning... He's precious and I love him. 

Happy weekend!

A Week in My Life: Week 10

I can't believe that it's already been ten weeks since I started this blog "series". I had seen a few bloggers do it, and I decided to try my hand at it as well. I recently had someone tell me that they wouldn't have anything to write about if they started a blog, and I thought about how I didn't really think I had much to say either. It's funny how you start realizing all of the simple things that happen during the week that might have otherwise gone unnoticed and been forgotten. Blogging is funny that way; it's an extremely personalized way of documenting your life and things you love and before you know it, you find yourself wanted to photograph every little thing you do!

Here's what my week looked like this week!

 

One thing I love about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit and raspberry lemonade (in a Mason jar!). 

 

Yes. These are my feet. I went over to my parent's house to make dinner for them. My mom and I sat on their deck and chatted while the chicken cooked. 

Got to use my parent's fancy new oven/stove. I was pretty jealous ;-) 

The finished products. I made Garlic Parmesan crusted chicken with honey roasted red potatoes. My mom also threw some of their fresh garden vegetables in! Read more about that here.

Some pictures of my old stomping grounds. My parents own a few acres of land so my childhood was full of backyard exploration adventures, tree climbing, and berry picking. You can see how much we need rain- the grass is brown!

My cat did some pretty cute things this week. Or at least, Luis and I thought they were cute. Here she's chilling underneath our bookcase, half sun-bathing. Not sure what she was going for there. 

I had my favorite blanket (also Kiki's favorite) hung on the back of a chair. She took her chance and wrapped herself in the blanket. What a goof. 

All in all, Kiki likes warmth, and where warmth goes, she goes. Here she's got her paws pushed under my laptop. I love her...

More sunbathing... 

My grandma sent me this photo earlier this week. It's somewhat of a Tjader/Johnson family tradition to photograph the grandkids (of which I am one of) in my grandma's daisy field each summer. Here I am (at 22...) posing in the field. The thing you do for loved ones ;-) On a side note, I'm in my favorite blazer! Haven't been able to wear it much 'cause of the hot weather.

Slowly but surely, I'm trying to replace my current forks and assorted cutlery with vintage counterparts. I've been finding beautiful stuff at the antique shop right down the street. I've got my eye on a vintage glass juicer that I might go purchase...

I made rice crispy treats for Luis and I... We ate the whole thing... Then I made more the next afternoon.

Um, clearly I love sweets. I went and got myself a BIG box of chocolates (two levels!) and had the time of my life. 

My workspace...aka the kitchen table. Luis hates this. Fortunately it doesn't stay that way for long. 

Finally got my July Birchbox! Starting from top going clockwise: Stila eyeshadow palette (love!), eau Flirt perfume sample, Dirt salt scrub, blinc mascara, earbuds, and there was also a snack bar, but I ate it... 

I bought some white canvas boards because I'm going to make myself a makeshift photography studio. The only thing I need is a painter clamp light which will look great when diffused by the white canvas. All of my windows face west, which means I only get about three hours of direct sunlight into my apartment. The lighting isn't the best situation for photography (in my opinion). 

I'm plant sitting for my best friend while she's away in Michigan. Look at her basil plant! Massive! I introduced them to my other plants. They seem to be getting alone fine. ;-)

I took a leaf cutting from Kelsey's large basil plant, treated it with root growth plant hormones, and planted it. I'm really hoping that I can get a plant from this. I used Schultz's Take Root. You can find it at pretty much any major store. 

Bought some mint on clearance today! Pretty excited to have that around.