Easter Candy

I love Easter candy. Every year at this time, I become incredibly picky and selective preferring certain types of candy to others...and when I say certain types, trust me that I get verrrrry specific. It's my thing. The Easter Bunny typically knows this already but this year since I am not heading home for Easter, I realized yesterday I may be on my own for stocking up on my candy necessities. Thanks to a trip to Target I realized this thought and was immediately able to fix it.

Number 1:

Photo courtesy of Marshmallow Peeps

Peeps are the most polarizing candy in the world. I happen to fall on the side of the aisle that loves them. And I do mean loves them. Gregg doesn't even share my affinity and that's completely fine, more for me. Why do I love them?

• They are light and fluffy and after inhaling 4 of them, I do not feel like I just stuffed my face with candy
• Something about them is very nostalgic with my childhood. When else can a 30 year old get this excited about a marshmallow chick.
• I do believe the chicks are better than the bunnies or any other character they have come out with that year. Like I said above, I am very specific on my Easter candy preferences.
• They can cause people to roll their eyes in disgust or completely share in your love. There is no in between when it comes to people loving or hating Peeps.
• Here are 6 fun facts about marshmallow Peeps

Number 2:

Photo courtesy of Hersheys

• Now this candy has been known to start arguments between my Mom and me- to the point that she now refuses to buy it and tells me to buy my own. This is not the first time I have gotten into a family argument over something dessert related...
• They can't be individually wrapped. They have to be a bag full of candy coated milk chocolate eggs. They can't be another brand. They have to be Hershey's. It is what it is and it is what makes them delicious.
• Try one, I guarantee you will love them like I do. Be warned they are hard to find but they are there. They are always there, even when your Mom says she couldn't find them.... 

Number 3:

Photo courtesy of Candy Central

• There is only one other candy that overpowers my nostagia on Easter morning- Reese's peanut butter eggs. Kristina and I would open our Easter baskets and these eggs would be our breakfast when we were kids. It was the best. It still continues today.
• They are a giant Reese's cup but inside of a chocolate covered egg. It's delicious. It is peanut butter-chocolate deliciousness. 
• These are a staple every year in our family house. I think they started out as Dad's favorite but the tradition has continued on to the rest of us. 

Don't get me wrong, I will eat lots of other Easter candy this time of year. But there is one that I cannot get into and believe me I have tried-

Cadbury Eggs

• I have tried and tried with this candy. I don't enjoy it. But my real question is who does? Please tell me if you do and why because I really need to know what is good about this.

Do you like any of these types of Easter candy? Do you have any favorites? Have you ever been particular about a specific kind of candy preference? 

I'm Dreaming of a Dreamy Thanksgiving

Even though I am traveling and not hosting Thanksgiving this year, I imagine some day Kristina and I will dabble in this effort together. I envision a very chaotic day of sweat pants, wine and lots of food...and fighting.

For instance...here is a little glimpse into one of our Thanksgiving gatherings circa 2009:

Starting a live auction of items in the fridge in an attempt to get all the leftovers into the fridge. Kristina is on the phone with an anonymous bidder.

Who wants creamer?

The bidding starts getting competitive over a bottle of Grey Goose.

I am getting yelled at for my choice of Tupperware containers.

It all finally fits- Success!

Now if that doesn't scream a non-dreamy-unorganized-unPinterest-Thanksgiving I don't know what does.

However, right now we are in my dream world and there Thanksgiving looks like a Pinterest ad. Here are my dreamy Thanksgiving finds in case you too would like to dream of a festive-organized-Pinterest looking Thanksgiving or maybe actually can execute this...or maybe you are just looking for distractions to avoid talking to relatives...whatever the case may be, hopefully I can help!

1. Dreamy Decor: 
Thanksgiving Decor courtesy of Ivanka Trump's new website which I also love. I also love her shoes. I am a major fan.

2. Dreamy Food: 
Rachel Ray's essential Thanksgiving recipes courtesy of The Skimm which I also love. If you don't read The Skimm you are missing out. It's the only way I can figure out what is going on in the world.

3. Dreamy Apparel:
While everyone else is sitting around watching football or napping, I intend to be getting my pre-Black Friday pre-Cyber Monday online shopping game face on and figuring out what is on sale where. So far all I've got is JCrew Factory but that alone is enough to stock my closet. 50% off every.single.thing. Boom.

4. Dreamy Cocktails:
I usually have zero patience for mixing up a cocktail at home and stick to wine. Pop the cork, pour, done. However, in dream land I would mix up all kinds of cocktails and this list would be where I would start.

5. Dreamy Day Overall:
And to sum it all up, here is a Modern Guide to Thanksgiving Etiquette that I can only wish to achieve every aspect someday.

Wishing all my friends and family a Happy Thanksgiving! So thankful you are in my life!

From Enya to Pitbull- My Mother's Day Weekend

After my nice Saturday spent  hosting a baby shower for my expectant friend C2, Kristina and I headed home to San Antonio to celebrate Mother's Day. Allow me to explain the polar opposite worlds- this is like switching the radio station from Enya to Pitbull. It's amazing how many ridiculous moments can occur in pretty much less than 24 hours.

What kind of ridiculous moments might you ask? 

Moment 1 a few hours after we got home: Dad convinces Kristina to help him change the air filter. Allow me to explain the process that is Dad and Kristina changing an air filter together:

Step 1: Kristina attempts to get the air filter cover back on thinking she knows everything.  <Insert Dad and Kristina having heated exchanges at 10,000 feet on how the filter cover attaches>

Step 2: Dad starts yelling more and Kristina has to respond. Please note that yes she is that high off the ground.  But she is legit going to break the filter and Dad is having none of it. We may be 30 and 27 but we are still afraid of our Dad. 

Step 3: Dad wins. Dad climbs up. Dad puts filter back on. Kristina pouts. 

Step 4: Still screaming at each other and now the ladder has to somehow get out of the house and to the garage. 

Step 5: Trying to work together as a team. Kristina is doing her 'pout walk'

Moment 2 Sunday morning: I head to the grocery story Mother's Day morning to buy food to feed us for Mother's Day.  I know, it sounds so special. I am now vaguely remembering Dad had a work trip and had to leave early Sunday morning. I walked into HEB and had the genius idea of getting mom a balloon. What I did not fully think through was how I was going to have to walk throughout the entire store dealing with this balloon that was sitting in the cart constantly smacking me in the face:

Moment 3 Sunday afternoon: I am already late getting out of town and walking in to say good-bye to Mom and Kristina after loading my car. I walk into my parents bathroom to discover a panicked Kristina and pink nail polish spilled all over the ground. I momentarily flashed back to a 4 year old Kristina and Big Red spilled on the living room floor.  So yes I was behind schedule, yes I needed to get out the door but I could not violate the Golden Rule of sisterhood: Leave no sister behind.

So I got down on my hands and knees and I started scrubbing. And together we cleaned it up before Mom knew anything different.

It is for these and a number of other reasons that I am scared for any and all family get-togethers. This was only Mother's Day, what should arguably be the most zen holiday of the year. You seriously do not know what awaits you during a visit to "The land where time stands still." 

Throwback Thursday: Easter

I am very, very behind on a lot of really important moments I want to remember and I know you want to read- it seems that if work gets crazy then so does life until your head is spinning out of control. Feast or famine all the time with that stuff. That being said, I plan to spend the next couple of weeks slowly catching up and in true Analisa fashion I have even made a list to keep myself on track:

• Easter
• Washington DC with LC and JC (not the JC in the sky)
• Culture Thursdays with S
• My 30th Birthday weekend with Kristina in town 
• Friends and Fundraisers 
• Virginia weekend wedding vacation
• Baby Shower-ing
• Mother's Day Snippets
• Chloe discovers a ladder
• College besties reunion weekend   

Easter weekend April 18-20, 2014

Easter is like the mother ship of Catholicism. It's a 4 night/day event. If you are Catholic you go big or go home at Easter. But here's the thing, contrary to what you may believe...
 
Good Friday is not a Holy Day of Obligation I am not exactly the best at holy days of obligation but this fact kind of blows my mind because I really always thought it was on the list.

Regardless though, Kristina nor I made it to church Friday. What were we doing all day?

• We were dealing with a dog crisis.
• And we were eating pizza. We somehow managed to eat pizza for every meal and not on purpose:

Friday Reason: No meat and when you hate fish that leaves limited options every Good Friday.

Saturday: We pretty much stayed in our PJs all day and did a lot of nothing. Gregg did arrive around 2pm, he and Dad made their usual trek to have Manhattans and see some action movie and when they returned, Kristina, Gregg and I headed to the mall for one VERY intense hour because I had to find a dress for our upcoming luncheon. I am talking the kind of trip where you walk in, zero in on only the dresses, get cutthroat in the dressing room and get out....

When you are too busy doing this and not thinking about food until 9:30pm which is SERIOUS danger zone for feeding Kristina...

That leaves pizza pick up round 2.

Easter Sunday: Kristina, Gregg and I all met Papa at church, looking very dapper and saving us some seats in his pew. After church we dropped Papa off, headed to pick up our "Easter to go food" at Maggiano's and then went back to pick up Papa and take him to our house.

Well we sort of arrived at Maggiano's around 10:30 because we had all been to church way earlier than normal since we were going with Papa. Maggiano's doesn't open until 11 and said our food wouldn't be ready until 11:30. So what is there really to do to occupy the time except...

Easter Sunday Mimosas and Bloody Marys at Stonewerks

We came...

 We saw....

We left...

We were, are and continue to be people on a mission at all times when we are home. The bar staff was actually sad to see us go and honestly we were sad to leave too.

As always though, it just goes to show that the most unexpected moments in an otherwise planned out day can be the most fun. It's a lesson I am constantly learning and constantly trying to remember as I get nervous about plans and things falling into place. Embrace the unexpected.

But one thing that is not unexpected- my favorite Easter candies that are on my list every year. I take great joy in knowing every Easter, this is happening:

Hershey's candy coated eggs and Peeps....you either love them or hate them.

Cheers to learning to embrace the little surprises and unexpected moments with the people we love!

Valentine's Day Comic Relief At Your Service

I am dressed and ready for Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day is kind of a comical holiday in my mind because instead of lots of rosey chocolate covered memories, my Valentine's Day memories are all ridiculous. I am not anti-Valentine's day but if you are in need of a good Valentine's break from everyone's picture perfect days, then I invite you to take a trip down memory lane with me.

Disclaimer: Do not read these and feel sorry for me. I am a happily (sometimes) married lady now. But for some reason Valentine's Day and I have never mixed well and it gave me an appreciation for girlfriends, creating my own plans and laughing at my own misfortune which seemed to happen every time February 14th rolled around.

The younger years:

• My popular sister: The time Kristina came home with this bouquet of flowers from school and I came home empty handed. (Who am I kidding this was not just one time) But this particular year, I had to stare at these flowers for days sitting in our kitchen...and then she broke up with him. I realized she literally kept her boyfriend around so she could get flowers for Valentine's Day.
• One of the moments where I realized my sister is smarter than I gave her credit for and decided I would keep her around.

The college years:

• The Year of Taco C: The time in college where Hayley and I thought we'd just drive to Houston for Valentine's Day since we were both "not dating/dating/not dating" guys who had gone MIA. The problem is hers resurfaced right before the day and blew our plans. But then he disappeared again on February 14th only to resurface at 10:30pm while we were in the HEB check out lane. I can't even remember what we were buying or why were were there but I specifically remember standing in the check out lane as she was screaming about the fact that he was just now asking her on a date...and it was to Taco Cabana. 
• A Rose from my Chiropractor: Then there was the time I had a visit to my chiropractor on Valentine's Day and he was giving all of his patients a rose. At the time I was thinking surely this won't be the only rose I am going to get on Valentine's Day? And I'll let you guess what happened there. 
• Pizza Hut: Somehow one Valentine's Day I ended up at Pizza Hut with random girls from our sorority house that also didn't have dates. Yes Pizza Hut. The only time I ever went there in college. 
• College Pad Meets Bachelor Pad: When I was dating Gregg senior year, our first Valentine's Day we decided to bake cookies at his house. This problem with this is it exposed me to a lot of things about the house of my new "not-my boyfriend-yet" (yes, I was judging, go ahead and judge me for that)....the main one being the mason jar he offered me for water. 

The long distance boyfriend years: 

• The Plan: While I lived in Denver for grad school, Gregg and I celebrated by eating the same food and watching the same movie. (cheesy but come on you think it is sorta cute) The only fast food around me and also near him was Wendy's so that was the plan. 
• The Reality: I got out of class around 8pm only to discover it had snowed and was continuing to snow. So there I was on Valentine's Day scraping ice and snow off my car. Then I arrive at the drive-thru only to discover my window is frozen shut. It would not open. I cannot place my order because I can't get the window down. So I have to park my car and go into this oddly placed Wendy's on Valentine's Day..making this entire experience even worse because I am the only person in there. Meanwhile Gregg is texting me that he's hungry wondering what is taking me so long. 
• Needless to say we did not try this again.

The marriage years: 

• Operation Carpool: Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, I got to wake up at 4am and drive Gregg to the airport because he had to go on a consulting trip. My car was having issues and I needed to use his for the week. We were both so cold and miserable that I don't think we even said Happy Valentine's Day to each other in person that morning.
• Adventures in Baking: Which brings us to last night when I was making these cupcakes and nearly "mixed" my hand off. Here is a lesson to note: Do not plug in the handheld mixer and then decide to put those little silver mixer things inside. What will happen is you will accidentally turn on the mixer and before you know it your hand is getting a beating and you can't figure out how to make it stop.  

Luckily no one had to be taken to the hospital during the baking of these cupcakes.

There you go. If you are having a day where the guy you are dating has disappeared, do not be alarmed. If your plans are not working out the way you had hoped, don't think it is the end of your relationship. And if you don't have a significant other around then grab your best friends or just grab yourself, load up on chocolate candy and watch a movie. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mini Thoughts, Not Deep Thoughts

I don't have just one big thing to say today and instead have a list of all the random mini thoughts that came across my mind today. In case you are wondering how my mind works, here are my top ones: 

Thought #1:

Do you ever get on Pinterest and start to see annoying things? And then you start to wonder who the heck this person is you are following? And then you click on their name and still can't figure it out? But then you get anxiety thinking you may miss something if you don't follow them because clearly there was a reason one time you followed them? 

This just happened to me. 

Thought #2:

I was at a meeting tonight and as an ice breaker they asked people to get up and tell a story about their best/worst/anything Valentine's Day related. So I just sat there keeping my mouth shut and so did a lot of other people. Then slowly people started getting up and sharing their stories and they started giving them boxes of chocolates for sharing. And the more boxes of chocolates that were distributed the more I wanted one. So I got up and told the story of the year in college where the guy I liked totally didn't acknowledge the day but in my head we had pretend plans..yes, this made the situation even more annoying. I remember this story because I ended up at HEB with Hayley buying magazines and random food and then she ended up getting asked out on a Valentine's date to Taco Cabana while we were in the check out lane at 11pm. But the girls all just quasi-stared at me like they didn't know if they should laugh or feel sorry for me…and I am thinking I am a 29 year old happily (sometimes) married woman. I am just telling this story for the chocolate.

Give me the chocolate. 

Thought #3

NY Magazine put out The Top 25 Romantic Comedies Besides When Harry Met Sally and I just disagree with many of their selections. For #3 they selected the new movie Her. Ummm excuse me. You cannot pick a movie that is currently in theaters as one of the TOP 25 BEST. There are rules. And where is Pretty Woman??? 

I am irate and want to go watch Pretty Woman in protest. 

Thought #4

If you are last minute shopping for Valentine's cards or gifts or 50% off 2014 calendars tomorrow you need to head to Paper Source. I had time to kill before a meeting tonight and I literally could've bought out the whole store. In case you are in need of last minute gift ideas, I have a few. Due to the fact that my husband just got new ski clothes, he will not be receiving any presents this year. But in case you need some help, here are my clever ideas:

Buy this coffee mug and gift it along with a Starbucks gift card because at the end of the day he won't use the mug and you will, making it a win win for everyone.

Buy this card and set out some donuts for breakfast. I know. I am a genius.

And if your significant other happened to wear the wine and silver blue in college and was a Pi Phi, might I recommend any of these items: coffee mug, glasses, or tea towels. And if you happen to be my husband reading this, I will also accept any of these presents as well. 

Thought #5

I have been a day ahead all week and I felt like today was Thursday and it wasn't. It is a horrible feeling when that happens and I just had to share. 

Two more days to the weekend. Ugh.

Adios 2013. Bon Jour 2014.

I don't believe in New Years resolutions. There I said it. I don't. I believe if someone wants to make a change in their life then just make it. You don't have to wait to start until January 1. Want to start a diet October 12? Go ahead. Want to be more organized December 12? Go for it. With that being said though here I am...starting a blog as a kick-off to 2014. 

And how did I kick-off 2014? First by spending the evening with my parents and Gregg at a wedding for a friend of mine since kindergarten. After getting home at 11:30pm we counted down to 2014 with chips, queso and champagne in the kitchen with my parents. Since Gregg and I spent Christmas with Gregg's family, we kicked off 2014 with a belated Christmas celebration with my parents and headed to sleep around 2:30am. 

Looking back 2013 was a big year and I think I underestimate that: Gregg graduated with his MBA. We moved from Austin to Houston in June because of Gregg's new job. I started a new job as the public relations manager for a nonprofit organization. I was sad to leave Austin. When we moved there in the fall of 2011, I didn't think that phrase was possible but two years later here I am saying it. I made some amazing friends there who I know will be friends for life. People I can laugh with, people who care about me and people who I know I can count on no matter what the future holds. Even after moving, it is still amazing to me that in a place that was only meant to be temporary, I met some of the greatest people of my life. 

It has been a year of change, a year of transition, a year of saying good-bye and a year of saying hello. As we are settling into 2014, I am excited for what is in store with this guy by my side as we explore the many photo booths of our future together. 

Adios 2013.You were good to us.