Precious Life

This was something I had originally decided not to share on my blog. But after a tragedy that occurred this weekend, I realized that maybe we all need a little life lesson. It can't hurt, right?

My not so talkative week last week was because I was busy spending time with family reminiscing and honoring my wonderful grandfather‎ who is now sailing the seas of heaven along with my grandmother. He was an amazing man with a big heart and possibly an even bigger sweet tooth. He had an infectious laugh, a love for boating, and was one of the best dressed guys I know.

We are all so thankful for this wonderful moment my mom was able to capture before he got sick. Because it sure does sum him up and is how I'll always remember him.

This past weekend I heard some of the saddest news I've heard in a while. A friend from high school, a girl with a heart of gold, died in a tragic car accident. In a split second life has changed for so many. My heart goes out to her family and close friends. My heart just aches. I don't think there is anyone who can say that their life wasn't positively affected by their interaction with Caitlin. She was our class president, an amazing dancer and cheerleader, prom queen and more. And she deserved every single accolade. Our high school class was unbelievably close. I cherish my memories of high school and wouldn't have had it any other way. We have lost one of the best. Someone who seemed to have been sent here to teach us all how to love, how to accept others for who they are, how to appreciate what we have, and work hard for what we want in life. Caitlin's life was cut short and it's hard to understand why.

She will be remembered for her bright smile and her positive energy that affected everyone around her. She will be remembered for her talent, her enthusiasm, and her kindness.

I saw this quote on facebook a few times this weekend as we all shared memories of Cait and I just loved it. If I knew who wrote it I would certainly give credit. But either way, please do me a favor and let those who matter to you know. During my grandfather's services I heard someone say he was under appreciated at times - which was so true. And now it's too late.

"I will never really understand life; whether it is fate, destiny, coincidence, chance, choice, or grand design, but something I do know is that what happens is not always right, and what's right does not always happen. We cannot control time, how fast it passes, or when it runs out. Use your time wisely, hug tight, laugh loud, live happy, because you can't buy it back."

Rest peacefully my angels. 

Photo Dump!

It has been quite a week over here. I am really ready for the weekend. And I am really ready for my new iphone! Yes, I am FINALLY joining the rest of civilization with an iphone. The iphone 5 is being delivered to me at work today.

And before I get too excited, switch over to my new phone, and loose everything on my old one - I spent last night saving all 300+ pictures from my phone. Oops. :)

Here are a few memories from the past 2 years -

 Baby Tucker (16 weeks)

The first bed we had for Tuck was given to us by J's parents who have a 20 lb dog. Tuck fit into it perfectly at first....but quickly outgrew it. He LOVED it though

 Ready for his first Winter in New England! He's about 8 months old here. And this is what his first winter looked like....ugh so much snow.

Celebrating my 25th birthday at Foxwoods

Occupy Boston interrupting my work day

Painting our bedroom Moonshine by Benjamin Moore, November 2011

Last day in public accounting, December 2011

Somebody found their wedding dress!! This was such a fun day. :)

I have the BEST parents and in-laws ever. Hands down. My children have some great genes coming their way thanks to these two lovely ladies.

Derby outfit for Meg's shower!

"What? Am I not allowed up here?" Spoiled boy!

J&A Bridal shower

Golf date with the ladies

This past weekend we saw Two Door Cinema Club at the House of Blues in Boston. And it was awesome. They put on a GREAT show.

I love looking through old pictures. They usually bring back some great memories.

Have a great weekend!

Color in the Kitchen

How do you feel about a little color in the kitchen? These colorful islands and grey cabinets have caught my eye and have me thinking, maybe a little color isn't so bad?

Plum island, butcher block

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Grey open cabinets, butcher block, subway tiles

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Grey cabinets, off white island (with built in dog bowls!)

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These grey cabinets are a real contender in our future home at the moment. That, and of course the farmhouse sink - but that one's a given.

Fall Style

Some fall styles I've been drooling over and would like to incorporate into my personal wardrobe/style this fall.

Navy, Kelly green, cute loafers / Camel, mint, & polka dots

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Some fun collars/blouses

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I don't know what it is about this hair style but I find myself going back to it time and again. Even pinned it twice without realizing it! (minus the blonde for me)

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Mmm boyfriend jeans. 

I snagged a pair of matchstick jeans at the J.Crew factory last weekend on sale, went up one side, cuffed the bottoms and there you have it.

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Two tone boots. Or a pair of cognac colored would do too.

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Loving these Essie colors.

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I recently snagged myself a gold Michael Kors watch, toothpick & matchstick jeans at the J.Crew outlet and a few new cardigans for fall. Now on to find new boots & loafers, some fun nail polish, and maybe a new haircut. Do I dare??

What's on your fall shopping list? 

Tid Bits

Things I appreciate this week - 

Beautiful flowers to cheer-up my day

My best batch of peanut-butter banana ice cream yet. 

Snuggling with this fella while J was away for work. 

PS - like the new mirror I finally hung up? I think I have had this sunburst mirror for a year already...whoops.

It's the little things really.

Fun Fact Friday

I don't really have much to say today. But boy am I glad it's Friday. Anyone else exhausted from this week? Let's recap shall we?

1. J & I refinanced our condo Monday (finally). Finally, is our fault too. Man is there a lot of paper work for a refi and between our recent vaca and just plain ole' being busy, it kind of took the back burner. Plus, I felt like I was re-buying our place at closing. Which, yes, technically we were but I did not expect to sign the same stack of papers we did at our original purchase. #handcrampage

2. And speaking of purchases, J&A closed on their first home this week (I shouldn't even say first, more like forever home)!! I am so excited for them. Their place is ah-mazing. Maybe when I get down to visit later this year I'll talk Jackie into a house crashing session a la Young House Love style. If you've never checked out that blog before sorry I'm not sorry you are now officially obsessed like the rest of us.

3. Tuesday night I had a group of friends over for dinner to catch up. We have friends in town for the week from Colorado and I figured, why go out to eat when I can cook and we can relax and catch up. The best part about this dinner? These are sets of friends who have truly become family. And every time we have the opportunity to see them I say the same thing to J, I really hope we can raise our children like they are raising theirs. I'm fairly certain that their 4 year old daughter has better manners than I do. And don't be fooled, raising a child with good manners takes hard work. I am in awe every.single.time.

4. This weekend I am heading home for my first big DIY project for our home. I have recruited my mom to help me on this one. I had a long conversation about home decor with my sister the other day and we both agreed that in hindsight, we now realize just how much my mom did for our home growing up.  She is so handy! And she certainly has a good eye for design too. I'm not revealing too much yet. Because if it fails miserably, I hope you forget about this measly little paragraph. And if it's a major success, you better believe it'll have its own post once it's done.

5. One of the best parts about going home now is letting Tucker run around like a mad man in the backyard. I really, really think he was depressed the last time we got back to the condo from being home. He has soo much freedom when we visit either sets of parents. And certainly acts like he's king of the yard every time (even if that includes digging a few holes...sorry mom). Maybe this is me justifying my obsession with real estate and my recent obsession with finding our next home. But maybe he really is depressed. Looks like I need to ramp up my house hunting.

6. Sunday I have some retail therapy with old roommates planned. I am in desperate need of this - shopping & girl time. I.can't.wait. I may or may not have made myself a little shopping list of what I wanted...at least we're hitting the outlets!

And I thought I didn't have much to say...whoops. Don't think I named this blog Talkative for nothing. Have a fun weekend!

Recent Eats

Nothing too crazy over here lately. Just trying to get back into eating healthy since getting back from our trip.

Some recent eats I would highly recommend...

Tried my first Kombucha finally. There's a great health food store we stop by from time to time when we're home visiting the families. A recent trip was a must. Gotta get our booties back into shape and eating right.

I ran in and stocked up on raw oats, About Time protein powder (it's the best!), almonds, pop chips, the list goes on. J wasn't feeling all that great so he asked me to grab him a coconut water. Well lo and behold, Kombucha was also in the fridge. As I'm reading the side of the bottle I see that one of the probiotics listed is the ONE probiotic we were trying to find in pill format after coming home from Morocco with a few stomach issues. Go figure!

I really did not know what to expect before trying the Kombucha. First mistake - do NOT shake it! oops. It is fermented tea and there for it is fizzy. Because of the fermentation J and I agreed it had a slight beer taste to it. And it was not nearly as sweet as I was afraid it would be. All in all, I will certainly try one again.


Like I mentioned above, we had a few issues after coming home from Morocco. Who knows how it happened but J ended up a lot sicker than I was, read antibiotics were a must. Just because J couldn't eat didn't mean I was going to starve.

Cajun swordfish and my new obsession - salad with grapes, blue cheese and walnuts.

And my best new find. All natural banana ice cream! Read that - 1 ingredient, bananas. Yup, that simple. The sweet craving hit hard the other night. But we had no sweet treats in the house. I must have seen this on pinterest or something, because I grabbed the computer googled banana ice cream and as they say, the rest is history.

Thank you The Nourishing Gourmet for an incredibly easy recipe. I threw 3 bananas in the freezer the minute I finished reading the recipe. 4 hours later (if that) the bananas were frozen and ready to go.

I used our blender, threw in a few splashes of almond milk to get things moving, a heaping spoonful of peanut butter and let it whirl. Annd, nothing happened. ha. Note to self, you're not making a smoothie Trace. I opened up the blender used a spoon to move the bananas around, cut them up, mash them a little bit, and then turned the blender back on, on a lower setting. I probably repeated this process twice more and after that it swirled into this beautiful design.

It was delicious! Seriously, so pleasantly surprised. J loved it too. You better believe I put a swirl of chocolate syrup on top of mine.

We've since made this again but used bananas that weren't as ripe and chocolate versus peanut butter. The ice cream will taste similar to the bananas you use. We liked the riper bananas much better.

Next I think I shall try peanut butter-banana-chocolate. Watch out! Things are getting wild over here.

Any new recipes you'd care to share? Help a girl out!