Pre-Holiday Catch-up

Since our engagement, it seems life has picked up its pace on zooming by!! LOL We began wedding preparations almost immediately because we want to enjoy our engagement with as little stress as possible!! We have selected our venue, DJ, photographer, and most importantly, have secured THE DRESS!!! Wish I could post a sneak peak but can't risk the soon-to-be hubby snagging a peak!! 

Venue Shopping

We have also taken our engagement pictures as well and could not be happier with the results!! Jackie Ray did our friend's wedding back in April and I was so in love with her work!! She captured every moment so exquisitely and even if one did not attend the wedding, one could feel the emotion in each snapshot as if present. We met with Jackie and when we discovered, she was available for our big day, we were beyond stoked!!

Since we are having a fall wedding, we fell in love with the idea of having fall engagement pictures as well (we are funny that way lol). Initially,we had wanted our engagement shoot at Dewberry Farm however, Mother Nature had different plans for that day. Rain and an overcast sky was in store for us instead. We, of course, rescheduled for another day. On October 24, 2012, we ventured towards a park out in The Woodlands. Jackie knew this little secret area for us to shoot in Cattail Park. We found a perfect little clearing and had one of the most fun experiences ever!! It was a little nerve wrecking initially for neither Artie and I had done this before but Jackie eased us into it and made it so memorable. Here is a sneak peak of some of our favorites:

Isn't my handsome gorgeous?! ;-)

Ok Ok!! Enough wedding jibber jabber for the moment :-)

On the weekend of October 27th, Artie's sister and hubby threw a Halloween bash at their house. She went above and beyond decorating for this party!! It was so creepy and spooky!! Absolutely perfect for the event. Artie came up with the idea of us being Wall-e and Eve for Halloween. Now let me preface this project by stating that my creativity level, when it comes to this sort of stuff, is close to nonexistent. I can follow a pattern or do something if told, but for my brain to conjure this up alone...well, not going to happen. Never fear, Artie to the rescue!! When I say he did an amazing job, well, see for yourself!!

Isn't he awesome?! <3

Wall-e and his Eve

Another awesome event that occurred in October, was that we scratched something off of Artie's bucket list. We went and saw The Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert!!! Easily, the most amazing concert attended to date EVER!!! Those guys still have so much energy that frankly, I think, it puts me to shame!! I can barely keep up with 80/90 minutes of soccer!! LOL

RHCP at the Toyota Center 10-20-12

For those wanting a food update: I am a HUGE fan of Chinese take out!! I mean, who isn't?! However, sometimes health wise, it probably, isn't the best choice to eat out period. I always say cooking at home, beats any kind of cooking because you know EXACTLY what is going into your body. You can cut down on sodium content and tweak it to fit your lifestyle. With that being said, beef and broccoli, is my all time favorite. So when I stumbled upon this recipe on Rainy Day Gal's website, you can only imagine my happy dance!! Here is my picture of the finished product that I served with steamed rice. You can click on her website and she has phenomenal step by step photos with the recipe to follow!! It is super easy so novice chefs, like myself, have no fear!! 

For the last few years, the Rojas Family has gotten together in Galveston the first weekend of November for the Lone Star Rally. This year marked my second year in attendance. Artie and I are both very family oriented and any chance to see our family is a blessing for us. I keep telling Artie, how did I get so lucky!! Not only did I snag the best man ever, but I am blessed to be joining such a great family. I guess I lied about wedding jabber huh?! lol During the rally, Artie asked his brother to be his best man and he said YES!! Mikey, you better take care of him for me during the bachelor party!! LOL 

Last but not least, the Dynamo are going after another MLS cup this Saturday!! This was us at their game a couple weeks ago. Ever since we started playing with some dear friends in a co-ed league, soccer has become so exciting to me. I enjoyed it before just during FIFA time but I can now appreciate the games a lot more. Wishing some of those skillful moves would transfer on to myself when I take the field but hey, one step at a time ;-)

FOREVER ORANGE!!

My Texans will also battle against the Titans this Sunday to become 11-1!! With a win, we secure our playoff spot!!  This is going to be one hell of a sports weekend!! I can not wait!! :-) And with that, I bid everyone a good night <3

Taco Night with a Twist

So, I have never been one to be the "stay at home" kind, however, with the introduction of Pinterest a couple of months ago, that is quickly changing. All I want is to own a sewing machine, do arts and crafts, and cook ALL DAY LONG!!!! The cooking is very much appreciated by my honey so on that part he is all on board! :-) I love finding recipes amongst all kinds of treasures. I stumbled upon a recipe called Taco Ring on a fantastic website http://kendallandkeith.blogspot.com/ and I was ecstatic to try this recipe. Her website is so much fun so definitely check it out if you have a chance. I have to invest in a battery charger so bear with me. These pictures come from my phone but you can go over to Kendall's website. My results look identical to hers just pictures are bad. Artie and I devoured it and it made awesome leftovers. 

Taco Ring

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls

1 egg white, lightly whisked

1-1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I always keep Mexican in the fridge so I used that)

2 Tbsp water

optional: refried beans of your choice

Taco toppings of your choosing

        -lettuce

        -sour cream

        -guacamole

        -salsa

        -you get the picture :-)

The grocery shopping is the hard part!! Trust me...

First preheat your over to 375 degrees. Brown your meat while the oven preheats. 

While the meat browns away, pull your crescent rolls apart and fan them out on a sprayed cookie sheet or sprayed pizza pan. 

Depending on the type of ground beef, once it is done, drain it. I bought 93/7 so I had almost nothing to drain. I am going to use turkey next time I decide to make this. Mix in your taco seasoning with your ground beef. 

Add about 1 & 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese. I just took handfuls until it looks like it was cheesy enough for our liking. 

Also add about 2 tbsp of water to the meat and mix up everything well. 

I added refried beans to the recipe. Next time, I may use refried black beans instead. I spread about a little less than half around making sure to leave a little bit of the dough visible on the inside for when you have to seal it later. 

Then spread the meat mixture on top of the beans. 

Bring the dough over the meat and press down to seal on the inside. 

Brush the outside of the dough with the egg whites. It will give it a delicious golden color. 

Spread the rest of the cheese along the top of the ring. YUM!!! 

  

Bake for 25 minutes :-)

Some parts look dark but it was such a beautiful golden color. Top with the taco toppings of your choice. I decided to cut them up and leave them on the side so my honey could top his with whatever he wanted. This was my plate. The corn salsa was an amazing addition as a side dish. 

ENJOY!!!

Corn Salsa

(courtesy of: http://mcconkiemenu.blogspot.com/2011/09/corn-salsa.html#links)

6 large tomatoes, diced
3 cans corn, drained
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
1 can black beans, drained
3 large avacados, diced
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro
1 large bottle fat free Zesty Italian dressing

I cut this recipe in half and still made A HUGE BATCH!! 

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss. That is it!!! Easy isn't it?!?!? AND SOOOO YUMMY!!