The Case of the Huge Avocado

I LOVE avocados.  If you know me, you probably already knew that.  They are definitely on my top five favorite foods list, possibly even topping macaroni and cheese for #1.  :)  I put diced avocado in salads, guacamole on sandwiches, and of course I just love guacamole with chips {and a margarita on the rocks if I'm being honest}.  Yum!  This post has a great guacamole recipe {Bar Abilene's} . 

The problem with this favorite food is that they are so expensive. So when I was grocery shopping the other day and saw these huge avocados, Dominican Gold, it had me wondering.  Are they any good?  They were $2 each, as opposed to $1.50 each for the Hass avocados, which were super small this time. 



Have you ever seen these?  They are huge!  Here's a picture with a coin so you can get the full effect of it's size.



I was determined to take the test.  If they are just as good, it could mean a lot of money saved on grocery purchases...

{speaking of money spent on groceries, have you ever used mint.com? We just started using this website to budget...Kyle LOVES it, he's a finance guy, and it is super easy and is helping me STICK to the budget}.

...if they are bad, that would mean I would only be out $2. 

So, the true test...



They're not bad.  Not quite the same...a little sweeter, not quite as buttery.  But very similar.  Not exactly as good as Hass...but you probably couldn't tell much of a difference unless you were eating it plain, like I just did.

On another note, I made corn dip last weekend {there's no avocado in it}. But it's pretty good if you are looking for a different dip recipe.  



A new discovery for me is iced green chilies.  They make things taste better, but aren't too spicy.



Gotta go - it's BATH TIME!

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Bathroom Reveal {on a budget}

As promised, our bathroom makeover!  First...the before:

 

I must draw your attention to the super cool wooden towel bar (photo above, on far left).  This house was built in the 90's...was that kind of towel bar even popular that decade???  And of course there's the plastic towel bar and toilet paper holder (photo below, far right).  And the walls had this sandy texture in the paint that made it feel like wallpaper.  Pretty stylin'!

And before I show the "after" photo, I must share our inspiration.  Can't go wrong with Pottery Barn, right?  I love the glossy black cabinets and the light blue walls. 

Image credit:  potterbarn.com

One more "before:"

And now, the after:

The final look may not be a big surprise to those that have been to our house lately.  But you may (or may not?) be surprised to learn that the oval bathroom mirror I found at a thrift store a few years ago for $12.  

The small white wooden lamp w/ black shade?  Thrift store.  I think it set me back about $2.  

Antique soap dish {you can't really see it's detail in the picture}?  Thrift store, $.99.  

Metal toilet paper holder?  Thrift store {I spray painted it with this and am not sure what it originally was used for}. 

And the magazine rack (photo below)?  You guessed it!  I think it was $1.61.  It was red and scratched up, but we gave it a new life with a little black paint and Conde Nast Traveler.

Our splurge?  The faucet and light fixture {both from Home Depot}.  I think this faucet is my favorite thing in my whole house (minus my baby and hubby).  :) 

And, just for the sake of keeping it real (this happens about every day):

By this little munchkin.

One room down, about 10+ to go!

 

What we did:

Painted the cabinets "black suede," semi-gloss

Removed old mirror and hung a new one (also painted it black)

Painted wood work a white semi-gloss

Painted walls 

Added hardware to cabinets

Replaced light fixture, towel bar, toilet paper holder, and faucet

Added accessories

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Day Two: How to Post LARGE Pictures On Your Blog

We're back with the second day of 10 Ways To Beautify Your Blog. Today I will explain how to post pictures to your blog that are larger than what blogger will allow. I love LARGE pictures; it is fun to see the details in photos.

Here's a picture that I've uploaded using blogger's format (I've chosen the options "large" and "center").


And here's the same picture, made as large as the width of my column.

Ready to learn how to do it? It's actually pretty simple! There's quite a few different ways you can approach it, but I will explain one of the simplest {in my opinion}.

1. Resize the image you want to upload so that it will be not wider than your blog's main column (you can use any photo editing program). For example, my main column is 550 pixels, so I resized my image to be 550 pixels wide.

2. Go to your favorite image hosting site: Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, etc. Upload your new resized photo there.

3. Copy the url/direct link for your photo {it will start with http and end with jpg}

4. Start a new post and click the "edit html" tab. Then you want to paste the following code, with your photo's url where is says http://www.yourimageurl.com, exactly like you see it here.

<img src="http://www.yourimageurl.com" />

5. You can now view your large picture when you go exit "Edit Html" and go back to the "compose" mode on blogger.

That's it! That wasn't too difficult!

Now if you are wanting something a little more challenging, I will explain how to post an image from another website without having to upload it to a server, and also how to easily adjust the image's size.

1. Right-click on the photo you want to use and click "Copy Image Location."

2. On your "Edit Html" tab in blogger, type the following code

<img src="http://www.yourimageurl.com" width="550" />

3. Replace http://www.yourimageurl.com by pasting what you just copied over it. Your image will now show up in compose mode, without having to upload anything!

4. The width can be adjusted by changing the number 550 to whatever you prefer.

For instance, I just made these puff pastry cheese twists for Callie's party from a recipe I found on a blog. So, I am going to right click and copy the image's location. Then I will paste it as described in step #2 above in my "Edit Html" tab. And wallah! There it is. I doubt she will be erasing images on her blog anytime soon, so I think I'll be safe without uploading it to my server.

Image credit: HomecookinginMontana.blogspot.com

Now a few things about this...

• Some websites will not keep their images on their server forever, so you may want to only do this with websites you think will not be changing their images very often.
• Always site your sources when they're not your photos (I haven't always done this but try to remember to do it now)
• You can also do this to reuse pictures on your own blog you don't want to upload twice.
  

Have fun and share! Feel free to ask me if you have any questions and I will try to help.

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La Petit Boulangerie...

We celebrated Callie's first birthday with la petit boulangerie {mini french bakery}.



You're invited to come and see the fun!


A little girl turned one...


Just open the door.


She will greet you (either crawling or walking) on the floor...





And she was eager to greet her guests at the door. Do you see what I see? Lots of presents, just waiting to be opened!

Here's our little french bakery.





On the menu at La Petit Boulangerie?


Assorted Mini Quiches & Ham and Swiss Baguettes



Chicken Salad Croissants



Salad on a Stick & French Cheese Twists



Iced Eiffel Tower Cookies



Assorted Drinks {water, mini cans of pop - thanks Aunt Ki, & Orangina}




After lunch, we watched the birthday girl take off!



And took lots {and lots} of pictures. She did not want to wear her birthday hat.



And was starting to get a little tired.



But she did want to open presents! Lots and lots of fun presents for the birthday girl.



She got to see both of her Grandmas...at the same time! What a lucky lady!



And then it was time for Cake!



We got two cakes. A Kowalski's chocolate cake. And a Byerly's vanilla cake.

A friend told me that Byerly's gives free birthday cakes for first birthdays {just show birth certificate when making the order}. And Kowlaski's does the same...so we got two, a chocolate and a vanilla! I thought Kowalski's was the prettiest, but the Byerly's tasted the best. Toss up!



Bon Anniversarie is Happy Birthday {in French}.



Cake time.


Ready?


Set?


Go!



{this is before}



{this is after...first sugar high and ready for a nap}



Thank you so much to everyone {Grandma & Grandpa L, Grandma & Grandpa R, Nana & Boompa, Aunt Kiley & Uncle Matt, Aunt Elyse} for coming to the birthday party! You all came a long way, and it means so much that you all traveled so far...



...to see this special girl turn one.



Thanks so much to Jessica for the fun idea of having a french bakery theme. It was perfect!

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Easy Peasy Dinner

Don't feel like cooking tonight? Like me? Here's a little secret.


Voila! frozen family-size meals. Easy (10 minutes). Cheap ($4.49 per bag). And even healthy (lots of veggies, grilled chicken). Callie even likes it! It sounds too good to be true!

I like to add sliced yellow summer squash (or zucchini) and some fresh spinach on top. And maybe a little mozzarella cheese.

How's that for semi-homemade? :) Or, barely-homemade?

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