A Week in My Life

I hope that your Spring has actually been..well, springlike, because it hasn't really been that way around my neck of the woods. Today is one of the first days where we've had consistent sun! Now, I'm just waiting for the weather to heat up!

We moved out of our apartment earlier in April. I became aware of how insane cats get around boxes. They. must. jump. in. all. of. them.

 

Enjoying the rare sunshine. April and early May are very rainy around here.

This, my dear friends, is comfort food at its finest. Ok maybe not, but it's pretty darn close. Behold, the roasted broccoli and cheddar baked potato (the potato skin has been rolled in salt before baking, which makes the skin nice and tasty).

Kitties exploring the back porch. They're also obsessed with the fact that we now have a basement.

 My hubby and I moved into a house in Wisconsin and I love that I see Lake Michigan when I walk to the end of the street we live on.

Some more scenes of where we live. Life is beautiful! Now all we need is a boat... Just kidding! 

Have a beautiful week!

Snow Day.

It's obvious that just about every state in the country is experiencing crazy weather these days. It's been a brutal January, hasn't it? It snowed in some areas of Texas, some Midwest states are experiencing sub-zero weather (like Illinois), and schools in the area are closed today.

Both my hubby and I are home from work today, so we got to sleep in, we made bonkers awesome chocolate pancakes, and caught up on some work. I mean, what else are you supposed to do on a day like today?

What are things like where you're at? Stay warm today!

Around Here

I was up early today (well, earlier than normal) and had to head off to work. I love being able to say that I honestly love my job.

After so many years of unfulfilling work,  it is such a relief to be part of an environment of challenges, opportunities, and joy, quite frankly. I know it can be a let-down to work on the weekends sometimes, but I'm thankful that I love where I'm at.

What brings you joy? Have a beautiful weekend!

What Do Queen Elizabeth II, Rosa Parks, and I Have in Common...?

Our personality type! Blogtember Day 5: Take this short personality test and respond to your results.

I am an ISFJ. It stands for Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging. I have always found personality tests to be extremely interesting! I love finding out the "why" about what I do and how and who I am. After googling the results, I think they are pretty right on the money. So here's a little bit about my personality type:

• Reliable, stable and down-to-earth
• Enjoys order and structure
• Dislikes conflict and confrontation
• Kind, warm-hearted and considerate
• Practical-minded
• Likes concrete information
• Very aware of other people’s feelings
• Has a great memory for detail

ISFJs have a rich inner world that is not usually obvious to observers. They constantly take in information about people and situations that is personally important to them, and store it away. This tremendous store of information is usually startlingly accurate, because the ISFJ has an exceptional memory about things that are important to their value systems. It would not be uncommon for the ISFJ to remember a particular facial expression or conversation in precise detail years after the event occurred, if the situation made an impression on the ISFJ.  

- This is so true! I always get crap about this from friends and family. I will bring something up from years ago and no one has any idea what I'm talking about, but for some reason, I can recall details down to the most minute thing. I always get the "you're crazy" look. ;-)

The ISFJ has an extremely well-developed sense of space, function, and aesthetic appeal. For that reason, they're likely to have beautifully furnished, functional homes. They make extremely good interior decorators. 

- I do agree with this statement, but this doesn't always manifest itself in interior design for me. My outlet for this is my outward appearance, things like my fashion sense, etc. 

More so than other types, ISFJs are extremely aware of their own internal feelings, as well as other people's feelings. They do not usually express their own feelings, keeping things inside. If they are negative feelings, they may build up inside the ISFJ until they turn into firm judgments against individuals which are difficult to unseed, once set. Many ISFJs learn to express themselves, and find outlets for their powerful emotions.  

- This is unbelievably true. This is one of my strengths and my weaknesses. I am very perceptive about what someone is feeling, even if I don't know them and even without asking how they feel. I am always extremely aware of my emotions and feelings on any given circumstance, subject, conversation, interaction, etc. However, I don't always feel free to express those feelings. This made me an easy target for bullies and people with more outspoken personalities when I was younger. I didn't know how to defend myself. And yes, when I receive the same negative feelings about an individual, it's very difficult for me to change my opinion about them, even years after that interaction may have occurred. 

The ISFJ is warm, generous, and dependable. They have many special gifts to offer, in their sensitivity to others, and their strong ability to keep things running smoothly. They need to remember to not be overly critical of themselves, and to give themselves some of the warmth and love which they freely dispense to others. 

- Very good advice!

I found it interesting that the Queen of England, Elizabeth II and Kate Middleton have ISFJ personalities! Mother Theresa, Louisa May Alcott, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Rosa Parks were also ISFJs. 

I'd love to hear your results! Share them with me or leave me a link to your post in the comment section below!

Around Here...

Things are good.

Last night, Luis and I went on a "date" to an incredible place called Lucille's Piano Bar and Grill in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's other name is "home of the dueling pianos." I don't think I had this much fun in a long time! There's something universally satisfying about the whole dinner-and-a-show concept. Another plus: they had gluten-free burgers. Score!

Sometimes my Martha Stewart side rears its head and comes out full force. This week has been one of those weeks. I'm finally getting a handle on gluten-free baking (it has taken me almost a full year and countless failed attempts) and I don't know if I got slap happy, but I've been churning out one baking project after another... One thing I always loved about Fall was the zucchini bread my mom would make. She would pull it from the oven, and out would waft the beautiful scent of warm cinnamon and nutmeg. Is there anything like it? I finally mastered a gluten-free version today.

I got really inspired by Merrick's post on re-vamping her closet and decided to tackle my own. I have a tiny closet so one of the things I've been struggling with was where to store all of my shoes. I have far too many than my little closet can contain, but I think I found a solution. Before, I didn't store any of my shoes inside the closet; they would be under the bed or under my husbands dresser (that stands off of the floor). So, I removed all of my boxes and random storage items off of the shelf and relocated them into another storage closet. When I organized my shoes on the shelf and on the desk I moved into the closet, our room looked so much less cluttered.

It's the little things that make life so special, no?

A Week in My Life: Week 26

Here's what the past week looked like:

We've had nothing but rain this week. It's become a running joke.

We started our week off with a mini cookout at my in-laws. I always love how it's an delicious mixture of classic American (potato salad) and class Puerto Rican (rice and beans and adobo chicken). Tasty!

Summer herbs basking in the sun.

Cotton candy clouds and rainbows after a rainstorm.

It's been such a weird summer with all the rain and the fact that it wasn't hot until about a week ago. We've been trying to spend as much time outside as we can now that it's gotten warm.

Ending the week sipping a cup of Chai tea, with a touch of coconut milk, in my new over-sized Target mugs. I've got the window open with the breeze moving through and giving our apartment a breath of fresh air. I love it.

Have a beautiful weekend!

A Week in My Life: Week 20

Here's what the past week looked like:

A week or so ago Luis and I went to Scoops Ice Cream with my brother, Andrew, and his girlfriend, Bailey, when we saw this sign. It made me really happy.

Daffodils have the ability to completely brighten my mood. 

One of my spring cleaning objectives was to donate all of the clothes that I haven't worn within the past year. I got rid of three bags!

I made some corn tortillas earlier this week. I really dislike the ones that are sold in the grocery stores. They are pretty cardboard-y in their texture. I realized that you can make them without a tortilla press- you just need a really thick, heavy book and plastic wrap.

This is a really weird statement, but there's something about fresh fish that makes me happy...

Ever since the weather improved, Luis and I have been walking everywhere we can. I got really sunburned the other day!

This here is one of my favorite meals to date. It's Pecan Crusted Chicken over a salad with homemade honey dijon dressing. I found the recipe in a magazine but if it sounds good, someone copied it to this message board. Trust me, it's incredible.

Another amazing dish are these Thai Style Green Beans. I always struggle with cooking beans because they are naturally bland, but these changed my mind about green beans.

 

Walking in downtown Kenosha. Signs like these make me happy... and also hungry.

Sorry for the blurriness of this picture. I had to whip out my telephoto lens and that can be shaky if you aren't using a tripod. Male cardinals are gorgeous; this little guy was making my cats freak out. It was pretty amusing.

 

Where the sidewalk ends. 

The prairie swamps and wetlands of Northeastern Illinois. 

During one of our walks, I encountered two snakes on the path. I hate hate hate snakes. They terrify me and I just can't be near them. Lucky for me, he offered to remove them from the path. I didn't realize he was going to just pick them up. I was cringing the whole time...

Have a lovely weekend!

A Week in My Life: Week 17

I don't have many pictures today... This week was incredibly busy for me and I wasn't able to really bring my camera. But I wanted to make sure I posted something at least. Here's what the past week looked like.

We've had a lot more sun than usual this week and we were all pretty excited about it. 

Morning breakfast smoothie: yogurt, spinach, coconut juice, raspberries, and a bit of honey. 

My cork collection is growing. They look pretty in a glass jar.

I made my own vegetable stock this week. The stuff sold in the grocery stores are so salty and I found a way around the salt without decreasing the flavor.

Growing herbs in an apartment that has no southern-facing window is difficult. So... I'm proud that I've been able to keep these alive and growing.

She likes to hide behind our chair on the window ledge. 

For Earth day earlier this week I made an orange-scented vinegar cleaner. It has to sit about two weeks so that the orange scent takes over the clinical-vinegar scent. I can't wait to use it!

I usually get all of my meals from Pinterest or new cookbooks I borrow, so the recipes in my recipe box tend to get neglected. I'd like to goal myself to make as much of the recipes in this box as I can by the end of the year.