Hungry Lady: One Last Summer Fling

So, I know I was just talking typing last week about how we're going all "fall" in our household, but I couldn't resist breaking out my absolute favorite summer recipe over the weekend for one last "summer fling."

I ate this growing up and it's still one of my favorite recipes ever (not quite spicy pretzel level, but it's pretty darn close), so I thought I'd share.

Shrimp Pasta Salad
1 box tri-color macaroni
1 1/2 lb shrimp
crab boil
zesty italian dressing (1 bottle)
parmesan cheese
1/2 purple onion (chopped)
1 can black olive (optional)

Boil shrimp in crab boil as directed on crab boil package; drain, cool, and peel. Boil noodles and run through cold water afterward. In large bowl, mix noodles, shrimp, chopped onion, olives and italian dressing (I use about 2/3 bottle). Top with parmesan cheese. Refrigerate for 2 hours prior to eating.

Note: I'm a fatty and I top my bowl with extra italian dressing. Also, you can remove the shrimp or sub it for chicken, but I absolutely love shrimp, so would never do it any other way.

As soon as it's warm again next spring, I'll be breaking this recipe out once again. But for now, we'll be channeling all things college football and crock pots.

Yum!

Until next time...

Fall-ing Again

Where have I been?! Why haven't I blogged lately? Well, to be honest, I haven't had a ton to talk about. I'm in the camp of, if you don't have something of substance to say, don't say anything at all. But I'm back this week!

It's no secret that I love summer. L-O-V-E it. Despite the disgustingly hot temps, I love Summer Fridays, maxi dresses, pool days and essentially everything wonderful about this beloved season. But, I'm over it. This week, we got our first drop in temps (still in the high eighties, mind you) and I've decided I'm all about fall.

So, on my to-do list for the coming week - get the house ready for fall!

First thing's first - the hubby has reminded me that OK State football kicks off in less than two weeks, so I've got to get our football wreath up!

The second big thing is changing the house smell. So, I've got to pull all the fruity/light summer scents from my Scentsy and add in my fall scents.

Finally, break out the old crockpot. We always put the crockpot on-hold for the summer as it just doesn't seem summer-y. But we can't wait to bring on the pot roast, chili and other fun crockpot recipes! Too early?

And I'm excited to share step two of our living room refresh soon. I'm just finalizing fabrics!

Happy Almost-End-of-Summer!

Lauren

Craigslist Creeping. Again.

So I always see all these bloggers I follow posting about their fantastic Craigslist finds, yet all I find on Craigslist are creepers. Now, I admit I don't do a ton of Craigslist shopping, but I have sold a couple of items.

So about a month back, we felt the need to get rid of a few random items that we just don't use anymore. The first item is an old TV - got rid of that one, no issue. The second item is a weight bench. Ahhh, the weight bench. I remember when the hubby brought that one home a few months after we moved into the house. Well, that was fun while it lasted, but he hasn't used it in forever (read: maybe 4 times ever) so it got the boot.

So I got an email from this gem of a guy:

Yes, his email is KillingIsFunny at hotmail dot com. Um, really dude? Do you think I'm going to let you buy my weight bench, potentially murder me and help bulk up your muscles so you can go kill a bunch of other people?

The irony is also not lost upon me that I blurred out his name in the above email to protect his identity. Crazy effing dude.

Well, maybe better luck next time on Craigslist?!

Living Room Refresh: Phase 1

How many times have I mentioned that I can't wait to make a few updates to my living room? Um, several. My hubby would argue more than "several." But here I am... Ready to get my hands on her. Her = my living room. So I've outlined a game plan that I feel is doable in four easy-to-follow steps. But for now, let's just start with step one!

Step #1: Rug to pull the room together
I already talked about my favorite rugs, but I finally pulled the trigger. Well, like, a month ago. It was on back-order, but I waited very patiently and today, it finally arrived!

I originally found this fancy-schmancy rug that I was going to buy for my living room, but it was going to cost around $450-500. Then, RugsUSA had their 4th of July sale and I just couldn't turn it down. This 5x7 rug cost me $115 total. Crazy!

If you're wondering if it looks/feels cheap, I would say... ummmmm, not really. The hubby thinks it's perfectly fine, but we actually have a pretty nice rug in our bedroom, and it's definitely not quite as high quality, but honestly, it looks good. So I'm happy with it.

I feel like it automatically makes the living room feel more pulled together, but let's face it - this room needs some help.

The other three steps in this room re-do? Oh, I'll get to that another day...

Happy Thursday!