'tis the season...to pick up where you left off!

I am laughing hysterically at the fact that I apologized for not posting much in my last 3 posts, and now here we are 3 years later.

It's going to be a dreaded task to catch y'all up on all that's happened since 2013, but I'll take a swing at it. Here are the highlights:

2013: So first there was Graduation in May of 2013 that I completely glossed over in my previous posts. It was such an emotional milestone, being so grateful that my mom pushed me as hard as she did. Hearing her tell me how proud she was made all the anxiety, sleepless nights, and headaches worth it. The job hunt begin shortly after graduation and I am still grateful for the internships I took with the Redskins that really helped me build my resume and get a sense of what I was looking for in a career. Shortly after graduation Marco and I decided it was time to move in together! Then we decided to add a second fur baby into the mix, as I mentioned in my last post his name is Fitzgerald. Have him and Chloe gotten along better since? Let's just say they get along exactly like you would expect a brother and sister to. They are the perfect balance to our little family with Chloe as the spoiled daddy's girl and Fitz as the oh-so-adorable momma's boy.
I'm not going to lie - moving out of my mom's house for the first time ever was something that took a while getting used to, but it's also forced me to learn to cook more, clean more, and get into my own groove of home decor and all that. I promise this time around I'll post more recipes for daily meals, get-togethers with friends, and everything in between!

 

First Christmas in our new home! 

2014: Just when I was starting to get into the swing of things at our apartment, time flew and it was time for us to get a house. Fitz had outgrown the apartment and we decided we needed a backyard for the pups to run freely without pulling me along behind them, holding on to their leash for dear life. (At this point Fitz was over 100lbs and his bark terrified some of our neighbors, little did they know he was still afraid of thunder and couldn't sleep if he didn't have his stuffed piggy with him.) 2014 was the year that I really had to tap into my time management skills because I wasn't a 15 minute drive from my mom's house anymore. My circle of friends lived farther than I was used to. It was really hard for me to balance work, a relationship, the two puppies, friends, and family. I realized more than ever how important it was to make time for them. I had gotten so out of touch in 2013 that I didn't even realize how badly I needed that quality time to keep me sane. I'm thankful that even now we have family events, get-togethers, and traditions that we don't skip out on, especially so all the kids in the family can grow up knowing its importance. 

Family reunion

I'll post more on here about the annual Halloween bash, Gingerbread house making party, and of course I'm going to steal all the cool tips and tricks my mom and aunts have for throwing the coolest birthday parties ever. (they've been doing this ever since I can remember and are basically pros at it!) You guys won't believe some of the dessert set-ups, and themed decorations. Have I mentioned that they've never repeated a theme twice despite the outrageous amount of kids in the family?

Michelle's going away party

2015: January 2015 started out emotional enough with my not-so-little sister going away to Hyde Park, New York for school. Struggle city for me - I was barely getting used to having her in a different town, then I had to get used to her being in a different state!  We had a small get together at our new place and wished her the best on her new journey. 2015 was full of long workdays, lots of birthday celebrations, Marco's brother getting married and us trekking to St. Louis and back via the new truck. Then we ended the year on the best note ever, with Marco surprising me by popping the question! And on my mom and sister's birthday so I definitely did not see that coming! He surprised me at home after work with the most thoughtful speech and then showed me the GoPro (early Christmas present) he got me that captured the whole moment on video! Needless to say I cried my happy tears and said YES! Then began the facetiming with my mom, sisters, his mom, and our closest friends. We went out to dinner to celebrate and were anxiously awaiting all that we had in store. I'll be posting a lot of wedding planning advice/tips/reality checks because one thing that people don't tell you about being engaged is that there is a ton of stress that comes along with it! Pinterest was a lifesaver, but there are also a list of apps, websites, organizers, and checklists that I will definitely be sharing in the hopes of making someone's life easier. 

2016 Civil Ceremony

Baby Rea's 2nd sonogram

2016: Let's fast forward to 2016 and the even BIGGER highlights. We had a small civil ceremony in July where we celebrated with our close family and friends. We are still currently planning a religious ceremony with all of our loved ones included, I just have to complete my adult education Roman Catholic courses since yours truly has not had a first communion OR a confirmation. FUN. You may be wondering why we had the civil ceremony earlier instead of waiting to have it at the same time as the religious ceremony - that's another fun highlight! We are adding a 5th little monster the the family and he's due February 3rd! We were overjoyed (and surprised) when we found out the great news. So on top of wedding planning, we're also getting a nursery ready and reading up on how to be first time parents. A few other highlights of 2016 include: 

•  Michelle graduated from CIA with her Associate's Degree!
• My baby sister is now in 4th grade 
• Our great friends Astrid and Luis are now engaged! (Yay, someone to come to bridal expos with me!)
• We welcomed newborn Stephanie to the family on November 26th 

Michelle's Graduation

32 weeks pregnant

So with all of that you guys are going to get an overload of recipes, party ideas, wedding planning tips, pregnancy info, baby registry tips - because there isn't enough on the internet already, right? And tons more! This time I will do a better job of taking time to breathe and jot some of this stuff down, or document some of the crafts that went terribly wrong so you can learn from my mistakes. Those are always fun. Whew! Now wasn't all that worth the 3 year wait? 💕

So long Summer 2013

Can anyone tell that I've slacked off on blogging? Once things settle down, I should manage the time to get back on schedule. Quick update: we have a new addition to the family! His name is Fitz (Fitzgerald) Rea and he was born on 6/10/13. We brought him home August 2nd. In the month that he's been with us he's been adjusting slowly, but surely. It's been a little challenging because Chloe is a bit territorial, but she's starting to come around. Before you know it, they'll be best friends. 

Spring Has Sprung

My awesome coworkers decorated my desk on my birthday!

Sorry for the unscheduled hiatus! Every time I thought I was going to be able to post anything there was something else that popped up preventing me from doing so. The blogging gods were not in my favor. So here's a quick update to get everyone up to speed:

• I turned 22
• Global warming has now turned into global freezing
• Graduation is in May!
• I am also moving in with Marco in May!
• Two new cousins: 
• Michael Arispe was born on February 18th
• Dominic Salazar was born on March 26th
• Easter 2013 was a success!

Dessert Table 

There will definitely be more posts coming up now that school is starting to settle down. (rather, my senioritis is starting to act up).
You can expect posts about the nature walks that will be taking place once the weather starts to get a bit nicer.

Happy Spring!

Well, this is awkward.

My last post on here was in September. SEPTEMBER. That's pretty embarrassing and I'd like to apologize. Fall semester got the best of me; between school, a job, and an internship I was a complete mess, but somehow I survived without having a meltdown. Well sort of, but I won't get into all of that. Now Christmas time is here and I'm stuck wondering where the time went. Seriously, where did it go?! Over these past months I feel like nothing has changed, but when I look back everything is so different.

Michelle is now carrying a driver's license. It's hard to imagine, but she can drive legally now. Watch out everybody!

Giselle is at that stage where she can carry a full conversation and she questions me on everything. Her response to anything I say is, "why?"

There's a lot more, but I'm sure I'll write about it at a later date; now since the world didn't end as predicted I have to get all my Christmas shopping done. I was really counting on that whole Apocalypse thing..

Happy Holidays everybody!

So long summer! Hello Fall!

If we're friends on Facebook or if you happen to follow me on Twitter then you have somewhat of an idea as to how I've been handling this upcoming school year: badly. My baby sister, Giselle, has started kindergarten and my 16 year old sister, Michelle, is now a JUNIOR in high school! I've been so preoccupied with those two facts that I haven't even worried about the fact that I am now a senior in college. It's going to take a while for me to get used to saying that. It feels like just yesterday I was a senior in high school wondering where I would be today. The answer is: a nervous wreck who is wondering where she'll be another four years from now. Go figure.

Since things have been so busy I haven't really gotten the chance to do any neat crafts or try any cool recipes - but you better believe that I will once I get all my classes straightened out. 40 hours a week and 16 school credit hours are definitely starting to take its toll on me. I've been a zombie for the past week, but I keep telling myself it'll pay off in hopes that it will.

Good luck to all the kids starting their school year!

Cooking adventures

As you all know: I do not know my way around a kitchen. Yes, as shameful as that is to admit, it's true. My sister on the other hand, has an admirable knack for following recipes. Earlier in the year I made the mistake of promising her I'd try to learn to cook and now she's holding me to it. The nerve of her!
I know it will come in handy later, but I like to tell myself that I don't really need to learn because my boyfriend cooks better than I do anyway - but just in case I really need to... 
We started off with something that looked relatively easy. Walk before you run, right?
So for any beginners out there - this is the recipe for you!


Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers - seriously, you need to pulverize these!
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 pork chops, approximately 1/2-inch thick
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 
  
• Directions:
• In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, thyme, pepper and sage. Spread mustard on both sides of pork chops; coat with crumb mixture. In a large skillet, cook pork chops in oil over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and juices run clear.

We didn't alter the recipe at all since we're just beginners and it turned out great! Be careful when you put the pork chops in the oil, though - that is not fun at all. I still choose eating over cooking. 

Aloha & Mahalo!

The title sets the tone of our entire trip to Hawaii. In fact, those are the only two words that I learned: aloha (hi, bye, you're welcome, etc.) and mahalo (thank you). I wish I could have learned more, but the trip went by entirely too fast. We left early monday morning and of course, since it's us, we got the one taxi driver in the entire area who didn't have a GPS and couldn't find Marco's apartment. Fantastic start, right? Wrong. One very angry phone call later Marco and I went to the airport in his car and had to leave his Jeep in the garage for the duration of the trip. We were hoping this wasn't going to set the tone for the week and luckily it didn't. The rest of the trip was, for lack of a better word, perfection. A lot of things were crossed off of my imaginary bucket list! 

imaginary bucket list:



✓ actually going to Hawaii
✓ swimming with sea turtles
✓ snorkeling
✓ jet skiing
✓ watching the sunset and sunrise in one day!


It was definitely the experience of a lifetime and I'm so glad that my boyfriend asked me to go with him. I don't mean to brag, but I'm a very lucky gal. So since I've been missing that little piece of paradise ever since I got back I picked the recipe that reminded me of Hawaii the most. I recommend everybody give this drink a try and feel free to let me know what you think! 


Lavaflow:
 * 1 oz. light rum
 * 1 oz. Malibu® coconut rum
 * 2 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries
 * 1 small banana
 * 2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
 * 2 oz. coconut cream
Instructions: Blend the 2 rums and the strawberries in a blender. The pour it into a tall glass. Then blend the banana, the coconut cream, and the pineapple juice in blender with crushed ice until it's smooth. Pour this mixture into the glass with the rums very slowly. 
[You can see the strawberry mixture ooze it's way to the top along the sides of the glass: looks like lava!] 
Note: you can garnish it with a pineapple wedge and paper umbrella to make it look adorable.