Sushi, Please! (Easy, Home Dinner!)

Hello, Everyone!! I'm finally back in blogging action! It's been a whirlwind of two weeks, but I'm glad to say I've gotten everything back on track and I'm settled again! You see, Franklin and I joined my family on a 5 day vacation to Turks and Caicos--which was fabulous!!

 Snorkeling in the Caribbean!

 About to board a boat for a sunset cruise!

You can't see it here, but we're posing with an Iguana on a little island outside of Turks and Caicos called Iguana Island! So cool!

When we got home I caught a bad bug that lasted, more or less 5 days. Getting caught up after a trip is hard enough, but add feeling sick to it and I definitely needed an extra week to get caught up at work and at home!

When I started feeling a bit better, Franklin and I were already missing our amazing island getaway and really wanted sushi for dinner. I was still pretty fatigued and our budget was running thin, so we decided to try to have gourmet sushi at home! We hopped in the car and headed to Central Market, where we picked our two favorite rolls. (I love CM sushi because it's all natural (if you pick the rolls without imitation crab meat--no thanks, gluten!) and it's always fresh! Plus their sauces aren't as sugary as some sushi places' sauces are!) I wanted our dinner to feel like we had gone to a real sushi place, so I grabbed a bag of frozen edamame and we checked out.

At home I made the edamame. It's SUPER easy and SO healthy!

You take a bag of organic, frozen edamame and boil the beans in water for 10 minutes, drain them and eat them! THAT'S IT!

I sprinkled sea salt and garlic salt on top for some flavor and placed them in a bowl next the the sushi (I arranged the rolls to make them look pretty while the edamame was boiling.

Here's the finished product! Looks fancy, huh?

Overall, this meal took me 20 minutes to make (that includes the drive to Central Market and back!) Talk about EASY! And it felt so nice to have a sushi meal this nice

B's Dinner

I often call all of the shots in the kitchen and at the grocery store, I love being able to choose which vegetables and meats to use and often come up with each nights meal while peering into our refrigerator. But every now and then my sweet husband really has his eye and stomach set on a certain meal and tonight is one of those nights.
For weeks B has been seeing Kraft's latest commercial for their new Fresh Take's 'Mix-Coat-Bake" mixes and calls me into our living room each time, with out fail, so I can see "just how delicious" it looks, he's so fun! I eventually broke down and bought the darn mix and am giving it a try tonight. As a disclaimer I SO do not care for pre-packaged anything but I love my husband and maybe I just need to get over myself. Maybe not. Maybe just every now and then. I'll let you know what I decide.

I do have to say that this whole process is terribly easy though. 

Home Sweet First Home!

I promised a post all about our new home, so here it is! It's amazing to see the changes! It's definitely still a work in progress, though! (I'm spending a lot of time on Pinterest, trying to get inspired to landscape and install window treatments!) Nonetheless, here it is! Our little abode!

Here's what it looked like when we bought it!

We bought our house in August from a family whose grandparents designed it, built it and raised their parents in it. The grandchildren all lived in Oklahoma and, since their grandmother passed away 12 years ago, it just sat there vacant for over a decade. The home was originally built in 1953 and was filled with that 1950’s charm! Unfortunately, nothing had been updated since (except for a little redecorating in the late 70’s, early 80’s—we guessed because of the wood paneled rooms) so it needed A LOT of work! You could tell the home was loved, and was once filled with the happiness of raising a family there… I loved that about it.

Vanilla Honeycomb Cupcakes (and a little Bee-wisdom!)

Today, I was looking through my old iPhone pictures and found some cupcakes I had made a while ago. 

These cupcakes were for a poem project in college. We had to pick a poem and reenact it through some form of art. I chose the art of baking, of course, and my classmates seemed to like that idea too! The poem I picked was Emily Dickinson's Number 97:

                                    To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee—

                                    One clover, and a bee,

                                    And reverie

                                    The reverie alone will do

                                    If bees are few.

I like this poem because it reminds me of baking too--all you need are the right ingredients and PLENTY of patience. So, to test that patience, I made a beehive out of cupcakes. I made little vanilla, honey-soaked cupcakes with jelly bean and almond bumblebees and boy were they GOOD! I got an A... I really needed that A, too.

Sweet Potato Risotto

I love risotto. Everything about it is ridiculously delicious and comforting - It takes a little time and patience but the end result is well worth it. What better than risotto on a cozy Sunday evening? I say nothing. Here is my Sweet Potato version:

You see I had already eaten half of my bowl before I remembered to try and take a decent picture. It's that yummy.

Okay so you're going to need one whole sweet potato, a big whopping one, that is fully cooked and cubed before you start. You'll also need 1 cup of arborio rice, lots of garlic and fresh rosemary and 5 cups of vegetable or chicken broth - your choice.

Fun Felt Friday

Hello all you wonderful readers! It's Cassie Jo! This past week I've been so swamped at work and crafting it up for my nephew's birthday that I've barely had anytime to myself. Hallelujah it's Friday!

Hop on over to my sister's blog to see what I've been up to!

Jack's Felt Lunch!

Hope your weekend is wonderful and refreshing!

~Cassie Jo

Wedding Day.

Happy Friday, Everyone! I figured I’d make today’s post a little more focused since my last post was such a shmorgishborg of a gajillion different life-altering decisions jam-packed into a few paragraphs. So, today’s post is about 1 thing—1 BIG thing. My wedding day.

2011 for a Murphy

So I am writing to you all over a bowl of roasted balsamic brussel spouts – heavy on the shaved parmesan and cracked pepper – delicious right? They could easily be my guilty pleasure (recipe to follow). B is at the Baylor men’s basketball game so I’ll take advantage of this little slice of time to update you on the Murphy’s 2011.

December 2010 – January 2011 consisted of a graduation from Baylor (mine & Channy’s), Christmas with B’s family here in Waco and I landed my first job selling advertising space here at a local city magazine – I was thrilled and it was a great learning opportunity but I could only hack the cold-calling for about 8 months and have been at a local boutique ever since.

 Here I am with Jam and Dad – I miss them so much.

February 2011 - I welcomed my first niece, she’s adorable and thankfully lives within driving distance, which makes visits frequent - which makes me a happy Sassy (that’s what my 3 nephews call me).

Chandler's Year In Review

If you told me that your 2011 was crazier than mine, you’d probably be incorrect. Now, this doesn’t mean that your life isn’t crazy, because we all know it is… this just means that if I had taken on one more major life-changing load in 2011, I’d burst. I’d literally burst. You’ll see why:

First let’s start with Baylor graduation—December 18, 2011. I moved to Dallas right after (to be close to my boyfriend, Franklin) and got my first job. This job—as a recruiter at a public accounting firm—required that I travel 3 out of 5 days a week. Needless to say, I was all over the place. The deep freeze of February in Dallas mixed with taking two 10 year olds and an 8 year old to Disney World for a weekend (ultimate birth control!) left me and Franklin both exhausted! This gets us to March, and you’re probably thinking—“Wow. 

That’s not crazy at all, Chandler… That’s life.” Well…

On March 12^th, Franklin proposed. It took me no time to say yes! It was the most special, wonderful day of my life (to that point!) He surprised me with all of our closest family and friends—so of course Cassie Jo was there! From that moment on, I was whisked away into wedding planning bliss!

 Franklin and I at The Driskill Hotel--where he proposed!

 My reaction when I saw Cassie at the party afterwards!

We’re Back!!

Ladies and Ladies… Incredible news… TWO DOMESTIC DIVAS IS BACK!! I know we took a year-long hiatus, but now we’re back in the swing of things and better than ever. We have a new design, a year of semi-adulthood under our belts and plenty, we mean PLENTY of fun moments and milestones to share with you all!

This time, we’ll each be blogging twice a week. That way, there will be lots of ideas, recipes, moments, laughs and love to go around!

So spread the word! Chandler and Cassie Jo are blogging again!! (And we’ve got a lot to catch you up on!)

So let’s start…

Spicy Chicken Soup

One of the many qualities of a true domestic diva is resourcefulness - a quality that I am currently attempting to learn and appreciate.

As of today I have been a wife for a whopping 107 days and let me tell you that my biggest frustrations all stem from budgeting. Plain and simple it has been hard to go from just looking out for myself with the money I received from my parents to using the money my husband gives me and make the most of it at the grocery store. I have found that one of the easiest ways to combine left over ingredients of any variety is to make a soup out of them. The following is a recipe for one of the many versions I make - thankfully with the cold weather months approaching I'll be able to use this trick a lot!

Here's what you're going to need:

Birthday Gift--Kittens In A Box!

My baby sister, Cathlyn just turned 15, and for her big "Driver's Permit" birthday, I decided to make her some yummy birthday treats! Cathlyn and I are BOTH Gluten Free, so I had a really fun time baking for her (because I could nibble as I worked!) Cathlyn loves our cats Button and Sundae at home, so I decided to give her a box of kittens for her birthday!

Aren't they so cute?! I was checking out facebook when I came across this picture! I LOVE baking, especially cupcakes! And thanks to the books "Hello, Cupcake" and "What's New, Cupcake?" I am able to take my baking skills to the next level!!

Preparation time: 2.5 hours

Turn your "Sick Day" into a "Me Day"

Hello everyone, well, it's almost my bedtime--yes, it's 8:30--but I don't feel well... I have a BIG TIME sinus infection... antibiotics and all... I've been to the doctor, two different pharmacies and I've called everywhere in town asking if they serve a Gluten Free tomato-basil soup. (turns out, Jason's Deli's is GF!)

When I finally got home from my mix of appointments, one class and sick day errands, I was exhausted and in need of some serious me time, but I couldn't just jump in bed because I felt gross and "germy" from being at the doctor's office... PLUS, with the winter weather setting in, I decided that my body needed some extra moisture to help fight the dry-skin battle before it gets bad. So, I decided to make my stressful and sick afternoon into an in-home spa afternoon... It was SO wonderful, I decided I would share it with all of you! After all, what kind of a Domestic Diva doesn't know how to treat herself (she's domestic, DUH!) to a little me-time?!

Here's what I did:


In-Home Keratin Treatment:

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

Here in the good ole' state of Texas we rarely get to experience all four seasons - which is something that I really miss about the Northeast. So I find it best to celebrate those seasons by using fresh, seasonal and if possible local produce. Autumn is chock-full of vibrant and nutrient-rich varieties. 

We have squash - yellow squash, zucchini, spaghetti squash, butternut squash - Yummy and unique root vegetables - celery root, parsnips, rutabagas - All of which are wonderful roasted (just toss in olive oil, salt and fresh pepper and roast at 425 for about 30-40 minutes)

But this blog post is dedicated to the versatile Fall favorite - pumpkin. 

I'm borrowing this recipe from my sweet, older sister Ko (Kristin). She is the queen of baking and is always whipping up the yummiest things even with a 3 year old and 9 month old on her hands.

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins

Roommate Drama?

Thought this was cute! Figured I'd share it with you!! Enjoy!

That's Chandler's roommate, Shelly and Chandler's best friend, Pudge! How cute is he?!
Hope y'all are having a great day!
xoxo

How to Enjoy a Happier (and Healthier) Holiday Starbucks Drink...

Let's be real.

I. Love. Starbucks.

Cassie Jo and I both do. In fact, we are in there so much that we have grown to become friends with our local baristas at the Starbucks on Baylor campus. I laughingly joke (but I'm kind of serious) that I am closer friends with the Starbucks baristas than I am with many girls in my own sorority pledge class... My usual drink is a plain-jane iced coffee with some almond milk so that I can make my daily trips a little more "weight-friendly," but as the holiday season approaches, that's a little bit harder to do...

So, I took it upon myself to come up with and test out some alternative holiday drinking options! And now, I'm sharing them with you!! Please feel free to try them out and let me know if they spread the holiday cheer for you as well!!

THERE IS NO ONE LIKE MISS CHANDLER JONES...

Chandler burst into my life like a breath of fresh air—no! actually a GUST! Ever since we became friends not a day goes by when I am not thankful to God for sending her to me!!

Channy as I lovingly like to call her is one spit-fire of a girl and an expert at just about everything in her short 22 years on this Earth -- and she is certainly not afraid to let anyone she comes in contact with know it. She boldly confronts litterers, bullies, rude UT fans and in general anyone who has the nerve to be rude to someone she loves. I LOVE this about Chandler - I know this girl always has my back - SHE'S SUCH A BLESSING TO ME.

Chandler grew up in Austin, Texas and comes from an incredible and unique family - think Jones-Trapp (Von Trapp - yes I'm obsessed with The Sound of Music) they don't have seven children, but they do have five and are all talented and adorable individuals and Chandler is the eldest - making her Liesle who is by far my favorite - NO WONDER I ADORE CHAN.

All About Cassie Jo

Meet Cassie. She used to be Cassie Jo Anderson, now she's Cassie Jo Murphy, but you can call her Cass, Cass-a-frass, Cascicle, Cassparilla or C-JAM.

But enough with her nicnames.

Cassie Jo is from Pennsylvania. She comes from a WONDERFUL family in which she is the baby of three! Cassie Jo and I met during our sophomore year at Baylor, well actually, I knew who she was... You see, we lived about 10 doors down from one another... and even though we lived on the same hall in Collins dormitory freshman year... she didn't know who I was until a year later... way to pay attention, Cass! hahaha Our friendship grew as the years went on and I'm proud to say that she's one of my best friends, and I was honored to be a bridesmaid in her beautiful wedding this summer in Estes Park, Colorado.

What Are We Doing?

As we sit here listening to Frank Sinatra on vinyl and baking pumpkin doughnut muffins for Cassie Jo's life group tonight, we have now decided to actually go forward with this blog. Many people have told us that we should blog about all of our little adventures and mishaps as we are trying to figure out the secrets of life here in the wonderful Waco, Texas. So, here it is... our very own BLOG! I guess this first blog post is to show that it's actually beginning... So, to clear the air, here is an overview of what exactly our blog is about...

We are two best friends who are in this "limbo" in life. We're not students in college anymore, but we're not exactly adults either... With our semester-late graduation around the corner, we are trying to figure out how to enter into the "real world," and not only is it scary, it's hard... but it's so SO much fun. I guess the biggest reason we wanted to make this blog is because Cassie Jo and I (Chandler) are in interesting positions... Cassie is recently married to Brock, and I am seriously dating Franklin, two men who are nine years older than us! So, we have been placed on the fast-track to adulthood, yet, we are still VERY young!

Therefore, this blog exists... We want to help other young ladies who are in this same time in their lives as we are... trying to grow up, but not QUITE ready for it! Here on this blog, we will be dishing out our thoughts on everything from throwing showers to cooking dinner, to doing dishes, to surviving your first year of marriage, to dressing up for the holidays to applying to jobs to planning fun little events! Surely this will be fun to read, as we are just trying to figure out this little thing called life... oh yeah... and this other thing called being a woman... HAH!

So, hold on tight, because this is going to be a fun (and funny) ride!! Hopefully you'll enjoy reading about it as much as we enjoy living it!

-Love, Cassie Jo and Chandler

Chandler on the left and the beautiful bride, Cassie Jo on the right!