insta-week

within the span of a week, just a few things happened.

on sunday returned from my snowboarding in Colorado with friends and family...

upon my return to the real world [aka work], i was greeted by a runaway puppy, who was having a little too much fun near some oncoming traffic. [you realize i am officially the dog lady, right? second rescue of the school year!]

pup's name was briefly sirius black, but his new owner has dubbed him "dexter" - quite suiting seeing that he enjoyed cutting up everyone's fingers with his little puppy teeth that first day.

valentine's day came and went. <3

wednesday&thursday included a quick roadtrip to austin, tx for a math conference.

any excuse to buy note-taking supplies! :)

and now it is the weekend again! how did that happen?
activities included a pajama-themed birthday party

where i hung out with my BFF from monday morning :)

and supporting some roller derby through the purchase of handmade goods :)

i spent some time with my dude. you'd think we'd see each other more often...

 if you are an in-the-know houstonian, you may have guessed where i brunched :)
and i eated it all of it! nomnomnom <3

all that is left is roller derby practice! hooray!
i hope your upcoming week is SWELL :)

p.s. have you noticed my cute and tiny fox favicon?;)

what i wore - blossom :)

*whoa*

 every time i wear any kind of hat, daniel makes a blossom reference. har har.

 hello derby calves ;)

romper: gift

cardy: nordstrom jrs

necklace: this creative life

hat: gift

tights: hue

shoes: shoemint

Valentine's Day

I'm not going to share what I did for Valentine's Day, because it wasn't anything special. [Not that I don't like reading/hearing about others' celebratinons :)] Daniel and I make sure to spend time together, and we exchange gifts - because really? That's the best part :)
Also - he makes very awesome handmade cards every year that I get a kick out of.

On the other end of things - I made these babies for work.

Vanilla frosting is much more Valentiney, but chocolate is so much yummier :)

Do you do anything unique on Valentine's Day? Got any traditions?

xoxo

Giveaway Winner Announced

Sorry it has taken me a few days to announce last week's giveaway winner - I was in Winter Park, CO on a snowboarding trip :)
 Photos to come of course.

Aida! Claim your prizes! Congratulations :)


Thank you to everyone who entered!
xoxo
roxy

Winter Park

If you follow me on Instagram, you are aware of my most recent trip to Colorado :)
Paula invited Daniel and I. Due to special circumstances, we were able to invite my cousin, Ely, and her husband, Javi. The trip was incredibly relaxing, fun, and tiring. Thank goodness nobody was hurt while boarding! We are all amateurs, and this was Ely and Javi's first time [1st time in snow, too!]. Practicing my toe side [so that I could carve properly] led to about 115.7 crash landings.
Other activities included: watching my cousins build a snowman, exploring the woods, binge eating, reading, and playing with neighborhood dogs. :D

until next time snowy landscapes!

bossy knockout

A few months ago, I moved up from playing roller derby recreationally into the fresh meat pool.
Soon after, I was drafted and became a Bayou City Boss. :)

And now? I am also part of the Knockouts!

Let me try to explain this as briefly as possible:

The All-Star team is our traveling team, made up of our best team players [who may or may not play for a home team]. The Knockouts are a "B" team of sorts...to our All-Star traveling team. I get to play in 3 away games and 1 home game with very talented ladies from my league's hometeams - such a great experience!

This season is going to be amazing because of all of the aforementioned AND we have a new team!

Houston Roller Derby is expanding and that is pretty exciting. :)

If you haven't already, please make your way on over to the houston roller derby blog [latest redesign by moi!] and hit "follow." We would greatly aprpeciate it!

Tickets are on sale now for Verizon Theater! Check the main site!

xoxo

fancy ice

fred and friends have the most fun gifts for the home :)

Add some orange food coloring to the water and your mini guitars will look more realistic.

thanks to sandy for the gift and very fun way to cool our drinks :)

what i wore to work...in the red

my friend renee asked if i'd contribute some what i wore posts to her blog. she provided me with the motivation to start dressing nice for work again. not that i was a slob, but i didn't put that extra effort in...until now!

see the rest at thiscreativelife :)


this is the last day to enter my giveaway!

SOUPER bowl...of soup

Last week I posted a vegetarian Tortilla Soup recipe. Did you happen to try it? Any yummy modifications you'd suggest?
Another simple recipe I tried recently is "No-Chicken Noodle Soup."

Notes: This recipe was meant to be vegan, but I modified it to vegetarian [really all that changed was the broth]. Too salty w/ 1.5 bullion cubes, would reduce to 1 in future. Add chili powder for a spicy kick. Parsely was in original recipe but I didn't have any...no big. Used fettuccini noodles...would prefer bow tie or something like it in the future.

Directions:

-Dissolve bullion cubes in 7.5 cups of boiling water and set aside. Heat oil in soup pot and saute onions and green onions. Add carrots and celery for 2 minutes. Add broth, bay leaves, onion power, oregano, salt, pepper, and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add "chicken" and noodles. Boil and stir. Reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.

Discard bay leaves and CONSUME. :)

If I am ever sick in the future, I want this soup! It seriously took less than 30 minutes. NOM. ;)

what i wore...stripes

dress: katastophic

tights: hue

shoes: shoemint

p.s. don't forget to enter the giveaway :)

shop my shoes

If you are interested in a pair [or two!] of very fashionable name brand shoes

[at very reasonable prices]

please visit the new addition to the feisty blog:

Shop My Shoes.

p.s. don't forget to ENTER :)

cooking with aliens

that is the face of an alien. i do not know this woman who finds herself in the kitchen 3-4 nights a week.

a co-worker of mine decided to start cooking more vegetarian friendly lately, and shared a delicious chili recipe with me. i thought, "aw that's nice...too bad i probably won't use it..." - but i did! and you know why? well, like i said, some 1950's housewife alien has taken over my body and planted my feet near the stove, and a smile on Daniel's face. :) i said that didn't i??

 click photo to enlarge 

Notes: The recipe actually says "4 white mushrooms," but my friend recommended portabello mushrooms. Daniel bought me a pre-sliced bagful, so I just added as much as I wanted...because I love mushrooms. :) He also bought me pre-diced bell peppers and onions. Lifesaver! You can add whatever veggies you want. I think next time I will try to butternut squash, too. Also, I added morning star meat crumbles...And it tasted great!

Directions:

Boil the 4 tomatoes until soft. While they are boiling, chop up your veggies [or just grab your pre-diced containers!]. Saute all veggies together in a little olive oil until almost soft. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a bit of olive oil, saute your morning star crumbles. I added the chili powder and Mrs. dash to the crumbles as I stirred.

When the tomatoes are ready, mash them up in a big pot. Add sauteed veggies plus your cans of black beans and kidney beans, PLUS your morning star meat crumbles. :)

Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until carrots are tender.

NOM!

does chili EVER photograph well??? >rrruff!<

p.s. don't forget to enter my giveaway :)

G I V E A W A Y Robo Roku and Reigruche Studio

Welcome to my February sponsors!
This sponsored giveaway is near and dear to my heart because these are products designed and made by my very dear friends. <3
One very lucky person will win both of these unique and crafty items!
as well as a little somethin' somethin' from me :)

Reigruche Studio

 Alejandra recently launched a beautiful new website - definitely go check it out.

She has donated an original, handmade, mustard tin clock she and her husband made. And what makes it even more unique is that there is still room inside for storing secret treasures. :)

 

Robo Roku

 My friends at Robo Roku have just revamped their super cute Cupster necklace. :)

They are always oh-so-sweet to me, and donated a Cupster Pendant Necklace.

Stop by their shop for even more unique illustrations and items by this very talented couple - who also run

This Creative Life!


zee nitty gritty:
[You must be a grrfeisty blog follower.]
Visit Reigruche Studio and Robo Roku and leave a comment listing your favorite item from each shop.

extra entries:
 [please leave a separate comment per numbered extra entry]
1. "Like" the following pages:

Grrfeisty on Facebook
Robo Roku on Facebook
2. Follow the these tweeters :)
Grrrfeisty
Robo Roku
Reigruche Studio

Thank you so much for participating! You have until late February 8th to enter.
Good luck! :)

bRAAAiinsss

My most recent creation was by request of a teammate. :) Isn't this fabric adorable? Eek!

I present to you: Zombie Zipper Pouches!

because scary is the new cute! :)