A little inspiration.....

"Believe with all your heart that you will do what you were made to do"

-Orison Swett Marden-

"If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes"

-St. Clement of Alexandra

"Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times"

-Unknown

"For every minute you are angry, you waste 60 minutes of happiness"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new"

-Albert Einstein

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence"

-Helen Keller

                                                                                                   Source
xo,


Kara

It's Almost Here

I just have to get through work today and then my fun filled weekend begins! My sisters are coming home!!

I get to spend all weekend with the people I love most in this world.  Doing all of my favorite things.  Drinking wine, shopping, eating and hanging out with my family.

And U2!

                                                                          Source: beatcrave.com via Kara on Pinterest

We bought tickets to the U2 concert in Denver about a year and a half ago, and the show was supposed to be last summer.  Then Bono hurt his back (wimp!) and the show was postponed to this weekend.  We are so excited to finally go! I was trying to decide this week what my favorite U2 song is but there are too many to pick just one.  What is your favorite U2 song?

Cheers to the weekend!

xo,

Kara

Positively Perfect Pasta

So nothing has changed weather wise since yesterday.  Still cloudy, rainy, dreary and the temperature is in the 40's.  Just in case you were wondering..... it's ok, I know you were spending much of your day thinking about our weather ;).   Anyway, I decided to take advantage of the cooler temps and make an easy, healthy, delicious pasta dinner.  This dish is perfect for a week night because it takes thirty minutes or less to get from the beginning stages to my table, where the hungry husband is awaiting my masterpiece-ha!

Ingredients

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Chicken Sausage (any and all types of sausage work for this one-my grocery store had a special this week!)

2 TBS of Olive Oil

2 cloves of Garlic-chopped

1 small Shallot-chopped

1 can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes with liquid

1 jar of Artichoke Hearts-drained

1 handful of Sundried Tomatoes

1/4 to 1/2 Cup of White Wine (pinot gris was tonight's open bottle) 

 Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

Pinch of Salt 

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

1/2 box of Whole Wheat Pasta-any shape will do (I had rotini on hand)

1. Heat olive oil in pan over medium-high heat (start water for pasta at this step as well)

2. Saute garlic and shallots until tender

3. Add sliced chicken sausage to skillet (it's already cooked so this step is just to warm it up)

4. Add tomatoes, artichoke hearts, white wine, red pepper flakes and salt-bring to a slight boil then turn heat down to simmer. 

5. While mixture is simmering put pasta in to boil- I am a firm believer in al dente pasta. I always boil the least amount of time they suggest.  There is nothing worse that mushy over cooked pasta.  This is ingrained in my brain from many family weekends spent making our sunday gravy.  DON'T over cook your pasta!

6. Drain pasta noodles, spoon your "sauce" over your pasta and sprinkle with a little parm. 

This dish is so good you would think it was bad for you.  Just a little side note- I really just kind of eyeball most of the ingredients.  You can easily adjust amounts and what sausage/veggies you add.  I think next time I will be adding basil for a little more depth.  Enjoy~


xo,

The girl floating away in rainy Colorado

Oh P.S- My sister Kate introduced me to Pinterest.  If you don't know what it is, you are missing out.  Bigtime.  I. Am. Obsessed. :)

May Showers bring June Flowers???

So it has been raining for days here in Denver.  For any of you familiar with our fabulous city, we typically pride ourselves on like at least 300 sunny days a year.  So when it is cloudy and rainy for more than a day, we get antsy.  If we wanted to live in Seattle we would move there my friends.  So while I am waiting for the rain to go bye-bye, I have been spending some drizzly evenings on the internet.  My husband is glued to playoff hockey, and I am glued to all your lovely blogs.  I came across this picture and well, it is my new source of inspiration.

                                                          Source: laurenconrad.com




This is pulling me out of my rainy day blues!  How wonderful will it be to hope on my retro bicycle, ride down to the farmers' market, and fill my basket with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Ok, we can be real for a minute.....I don't own a bike like this and my preferred mode of transportation is my SUV.  But I am thinking it's time for a change.  It's time for me to get outside (after the rain ends!) and enjoy our beautiful spring.  On my bike.  With a basket.  Filled with flowers.  Anybody with me?


xo

Taco Tuesday

Is it bad when it's only Tuesday and the week already seems long??

Quick updates:

1.  The Condo is UNDER CONTRACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2.  The Condo had its inspection on Saturday, and there are some things that need to be fixed.  Cue the phone call to the plumber, electrician and HVAC specialist.  Oh and cue my checkbook.  $$$$ heading straight out the door.  Don't you just love fixing things up just before you are about to leave?

3.  Arizona was lovely. Hot weather, fabulous pool, and a few visits with old college friends (oh and J had to work a little too).

4.  The house hunt is ON-still in disbelief at the state of some of these homes we walk through-yeesh! Wish us luck.

5.  Heading out to meet a friend tonight for taco tuesday at Lime Mexican Cantina.  There is nothing  a few tacos, a maragarita and a good girlfriend can't fix.

Happy Tuesday!

xo

Sunshine Please!

I am heading to sunny Arizona with the hubby tomorrow, and I cannot wait. Jason is going down for work/play and I get to tag along-all expenses paid!! Throw in a cooking class on Thursday and it's the perfect mini-vacay.

My bag is almost packed, filled bathing suits (loving this Michael Kors's Tankini),

nordstrom.com

A few pairs of these (who doesn't love these chic Tori Burch flip flops?),

image Tori Burch

And a couple of fabulous Juicy cover-ups (mine are turquoise and black).

nordstrom.com

I guess that's all for now. If you need me, you can find me lounging poolside at the Biltmore, reading the latest issue of InStyle Magazine, with a fruity beverage in hand. :-)

Biltmore, Arizona photo

xo,

The girl who cannot wait for a few days of relaxation.

Sometimes you just gotta shop!

Yesterday was a loooooooong day.  The hubby and I spent the day house hunting.  What was the outcome you ask?

0 for 8.

Yes my friends, we struck out.  The houses we chose to look at were narrowed down from a list of about 75 viable candidates. I guess I shouldn't say that all 75 homes were in the running, because of the 75 gems our realtor sent us, we only walked through 8.

We loved the first one we walked through, but the location wasn't ideal.  It was a corner lot (which can be nice), but diagonally across the street was this big, white parking structure.  Uh.....no thanks.  So we moved on from there and that's where things got ugly.  Now, I know because we are in the process of selling our condo, that it can be a bit tedious at times to have your home ready to show at all times.  But come on people!! If you have a showing scheduled, can you please pick up your dirty, stained clothes from the floor of your laundry room??  Maybe put them in your laundry basket? Is that too much to ask? Apparently it is.

The fourth house we entered looked like the young woman who lived there never came home from the night before.  Empty wine decanter, with half a glass of wine on the counter with a big ol' fire engine red lipstick stain on the glass.  I know you are thinking that isn't all that bad, and you're right it's not.  However, we continued on around the corner, down the stairs to the basement and that is where we ran into our next surprise.  The owner has a dog (disclaimer-I love dogs!), who decided to run through the mud, and then come inside. There were HUGE muddy paw prints ALL OVER the entire basement. Did I mention the carpet was white? It was terrible.

Oh and one more thing-pictures are extremely misleading. That's all I have to say on that one.

We know that we have a long road ahead of us, but if yesterday is glimpse of what's to come, it's gonna be a long, long journey to find our new home. :)

So what did I do today to cheer myself up, after yesterday's not so glorious afternoon of house hunting? I went shopping! The mall was calling my name.  I browsed through rack after rack of spring and summer clothing, and think I came away with a pretty good little start to my summer wardrobe.

I have been looking all over for a pair of wedges and found a fabulous pair at Nordstrom.

I put together some cute little ensembles that will hopefully get me through spring and into the beginning of summer.

 I am loving all the nautical stripes this season. 

 Black and white striped shirt from Nordstrom. Black tunic from White House Black Market.

 I am planning on pairing this fab (striped!) cardie from Nordy's with my white capri's for a light, summery look. 

 Skirt and top from Banana Republic.  Striped shirt from The Loft.  And black capri's from BHWM.

 I fell in love with this BR skirt the moment I tried it on.  It has a little bit of stretch and those flirty tiers are fantastic.  The best part-----40% off!! Gotta love a deal :)

Oh and I almost forgot.....

No shopping day is complete without new makeup to make me feel pretty. :)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.  Happy May Day!

xo,

 The Shopaholic (for today at least)