Thing I Love

Here is a confession. I love Target. I love it so much, I get a little sad if I can't have my get-a-coffee-wander-around-Target-day at least once a week. Go ahead, mock me. But they know what's up. I am endlessly THRILLED when I see a new display of housewares or a new clearance rack or even more so when a World Bazaar section comes out... like, it is in my dreams and I talk about it often thrilled. So needless to say, I am a bit of a product whore. I love finding new products, I love drooling over new packaging, I love merchandise displays and I am a sucker for anything with the Dwell Studio name attached to it. Let's be honest, TOTAL product whore.

This brings me to my next Good One, a little gem I found on a Target trip- a new lip gloss that is bright, cheap and completely relevant: 

Image borrowed from...

BABY LIPS. By Maybelline. In 6 perfect colors. It's chapstick, meets lip tint, meets Bonne Bell. A girl of the 80s dream come true. Honestly, though, let's break this down. Each one of these pretties cost  $3.99 and they KILL IT. Dry lips? Sure. They help. Need a touch of color? Absolutely. These deliver. Want to taste good when Mr. Of The Moment kisses you? Yes. Baby Lips nails it.

My personal faves are Grape Vine (first one on the left) which is the perfect morning-after color. Don't act like you don't know what I mean. Every girl needs a lipstick like this handy to make it look like there's an ounce of style in there with the day-old hair and party pumps. I also love the Pink Punch (second from the right) which is a total Jem and The Holograms throw-back. It is PINK. I'm obsessed. 

As proof that Baby Lips REALLY are amazing, Court sent me this text on Tuesday:

And we all know she is sets trends. I suggest you all get on board.

Good Eats

I love cooking. Honestly, my favorite time of the day is when I come home*, put on my give-ups, open a bottle of wine and get cookin'. In a totally PERFECT world, I could spend hours pouring over complex recipes and go grocery shopping everyday at Zupan's. BUT when I have a full day, this is what I need:

- Quick
- Healthy
- Ingredients in my pantry
- Easy

I really want to stock up on recipes that I can cook by heart and do it fast, to ensure we can eat healthy meals even when we are knee-deep in life. I want to be a good housewife for Joe, even if I'm not home all day. I mean, come on. Target trips and manicures sometimes get in the way.

SO- We had a ton of leftover vegetables from dinners last week and some chicken... which seems to be a standard around here. I know Joe has a major crush on Panda Express, so I thought I could find something similar to the sweet and sour chicken they have, just minus the 2,000 calories. I found a basic recipe here and made a few changes to throw this together:

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons sugar substitute
2 tablespoon champagne vinegar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 head of broccoli
1 package of fresh snow peas
1 package of frozen peas
2 cups-ish of carrots (I bought pre-cut carrots for a salad and just used those)
1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
Salt, pepper, chili flakes to taste
3 cups cooked rice

Cook the chicken over medium heat in a wok, with a few drizzles of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper and a few sprinkles of chili flakes. While the chicken is cooking, mix the first 6 ingredients listed in a small bowl. Once the chicken is cooked, add the veggies (except the peas!) and let it all sizzle up, stirring occasionally. If you notice the wok getting dry, add a few splashes of chicken broth or olive oil. After about 3-5 minutes test the carrots for crispness and if they are soft enough for your liking, add the peas and pineapples along with the fancy sauce. Stir it up, make sure all the vegetables and chicken are coated in the sauce, turn it down to simmer and put the lid on. Let it get hot and a little more cooked then BAM. Ready. Dish up rice first, a nice heap of stir-fry and top it with a few green onions.

Welcome to the Fastest Stir-Fry in the West. Enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I work at home most days and am usually in yoga pants... so now the first step is just opening the wine. For safety purposes, I have set a rule of NO EARLIER than 6 pm. Unless it's Friday. Or Joe is home earlier than that. Or if I just want it. Eh- loose rule, I guess.

Oh. Hi.

image found here

I am admittedly obsessed with blogs. I read about 20 a day on average, not to even mention the amount of time I spend perusing Pinterest... ugh. My husband calls it the Worm Hole. He will call from work and say "how long have you been in the Worm Hole today?" Nine times out of ten, it will be noon and I will be on my fourth cup of coffee, still in PJs, with a hot laptop on my lap. Translation- waaaaaay too long. Luckily, he is the best ever and thinks it's a cute addiction. We all know the truth. It is thiiiisssssclooooseeee to mirroring a crack addiction.

I just got way off track.

What I was going to say is that I read A LOT of blogs and I have always, always wanted one that I could design and pour over and love and look forward to posting in every day. However, it has been hard for me to feel super inspired to do so. I mean, I have a million boards on Pinterest, which I've heard referred to as "the poor man's blog", so is it really necessary to have a blog? Then I saw the image above posted on my feed and I was like "whoa, here it is." I found my inspiration! I freaking LOVE this quote and the cameo and the colors... but mostly the words and the way they struck me.

For the first time in my adult life, I am knee-deep in significant changes. In October, we moved from Seattle to Portland for my now-husband's job. I quit the company where I had been for 6 years to follow the love of my life and to plan our New Year's Eve wedding. Now here we are, married, loving the new city and my husband loving his job. But I am not working, which is something I have not experienced since 16. Literally, I have been working for 15 years (which makes me feel old and a little freaked out, but that is a whole other blog entry). So now, I am jobless in a new city, away from friends and family, in a new house with a new role as WIFE (which I so love to say) but all the while wondering what the hell I am supposed to do now. Truthfully, I feel a little bit lost. My husband is the most tremendous supporter and is always telling me that I have the talent and experience to do a lot of things- I toyed around with starting a wedding planning business or opening a boutique or a cafe or even returning to the corporate world. The great part about it all, is that options are super fun to play around with when money isn't the driving force. But in the meantime, I am struggling a little bit with motivation and the tangible next step. What should I do next? How am I going to define myself aside from stay-at-home wife? What now?

Which is why when I saw good ol' Abe's quote, I nearly wept. That is my answer. Just be a good one. Whatever it is I am doing, just be good at it. I am finding a tremendous amount of encouragement and joy in this simple concept. Be a good wife. Be a good friend. Be a good cook. Learn to be good at cleaning the toilets. Let's be honest, that one sucks. But I will be good at it!! BE A GOOD ONE.

And so a blog was born. I want to share examples I come across everyday of people that have become a good one in whatever it is they do- fashion, cooking, design, photography, writing... whatever inspires me, I plan to share.

Remember, you are a good one too.

xo Carly