Simple Spa Bench: Part 2

It's been over a month since I've revisited my bench in the garage. This weekend we pulled it out and finished it up. After three coats of stain and lots of dry time it was ready for polyurethane. Today it's time for the reveal!

For this part I pulled out polyurethane, tack cloth, rubber gloves and a foam brush.

Here's the stain before the poly. It's a rich color, but rather flat. My husband picked out the color and I think he did a great job. I usually over think stuff like this, but he was quick and to the point and found a color almost identical to our wood flooring.

The poly looks like a thick gel, however it's quite thin. I found if the foam brush was loaded up too much with the poly it would cause bubbles and drips. It dries slow enough to have the ability to go back and fix any drips you find without needing to sand them out.

The poly makes a huge difference in the appearance of the color.

I allowed 4 hours of dry time between each coat, then 24 hours of dry time after the last coat before moving it in to the house.

*****

We are so happy with the results. It's fun to know that we've built this ourselves. It's exactly what we've been looking for to go next to the front door. The project was worth the cost and some of the supplies we invested in we'll be able to use again for future projects. We have end tables and bookshelves on our list for the summer.

Here's the cost breakdown for our project. We had some of the supplies at home which helped us with the overall cost.

2 - 6' 1x10's: $16.88

1 - 4' 1x12: $6.82

3 - 8' 1x3's: $15.30

Wood glue: $2.72

Stain: $14.98

Polyurethane: $9.97

Total: $66.67

I was rather surprised at our cost when I added it up. It was a little more than I had originally thought but it doesn't really bother me. Could I find something like this at the store for this price? Sure. But equal quality of stained solid wood? Most likely not. 

I'd like to visit local construction sites in my area for scrap wood to minimize cost for future projects. We also have old fence boards in our back yard we've been waiting to burn that we can use for reclaimed wood projects. Pride in ownership when it comes to this piece, and it was a really fun project to complete with my husband.

I can't say enough good things about Knock-Off Wood and encourage everyone to visit Ana's blog. She's got something for everyone!

The joys of online shopping

When you live 45 minutes away from a mall or Target... Or even a Fred Meyer (do those exist everywhere?), you start to live by online shopping.

Don't get me wrong, I love online shopping. I get to take as long as I want and I don't have to deal with sales staff asking if they can help me every 2 seconds. Nope, I think I know what I like. Definitely don't need someone picking clothes out for me. Thanks.

After recently talking with my cousin about living a healthier lifestyle, she's encouraged me to start looking in to the world of whole foods & organic products. She's modified her lifestyle and raises her 4 beautiful girls on all whole foods & organic products. If you're looking for a real live pioneer woman, she's it. I think she should blog actually. She's smart & funny. Boy, I love her.

Since I started wearing less makeup after changing my skin care routine, and I had a few products that were due to be replaced soon, I decided I'd look in to a few orgaic makeup products for my replacements.

I visited Drugstore.com for the first time and placed an order for a few things I wear on a daily basis.

Physicians Formula - Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara in Black

Physicians Formula - Organic Wear Eyeliner in Black Woods

Physicians Formula - Organic Wear Natural Bronzer in Natural Glow

I love the packaging of each piece. When you flip over the bronzer there is a mirror & brush hidden inside. It's quite cute.

I also ordered myself Nature Made Liquid Softgel Prenatal Vitamins.

At my most recent annual appointment my doctor encouraged me to look in to prenatal vitamins rather than a regular multi vitamin. Prenatals have folic acid in addition to a regular multi, and she feels that any adult woman who ever plans to have children should take a prenatal in place of a multi vitamin until she's done having children or has expereienced menopause. Of course, everyone should consult their own doctor on what may be best for them, as this particular approach may not work for everyone.

I figured internet shopping was the perftect time to pick these up. Then I don't have to get the skeptical eye from the cashier at the store when my 26 year old self - who perhaps looks 16 to everyone else - throws prenatals up on the belt. Yeah, that's exactly what goes through my head.

I'm looking forward to trying my new products and hope they work for me in the way my current ones are, if not better. I'll be sure to review how I like them! In the mean time, visit Drugstore.com and check out their prices. They're much lower than I found at my local Walmart and shipping was free with a purchase of $20 or more that day! I'm always a sucker for free shipping.

17. Smoked Salmon with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

I came home from work to find my husband watching the Versus channel. Sports, hunting, MMA, sports and more hunting. Not that my husband is a hunter, but aparently it's good tv. Smokee Joe was on cooking up some salmon on his barbecue and suddenly husband was craving it.

Smokee Joe had marinated the salmon in a cilantro yogurt sauce a couple of hours prior to grilling. We love cilantro and thought we'd incorporate the sauce in to our dinner. We took mental note of the ingredients and tweeked it to our taste.

Our meal that night included smoked salmon with cilantro yogurt sauce, grilled red onions, spicy smoked potatoes & steamed asparagus. And a meal it was.

Let's get started! I'll start with the salmon today.

You'll need 4 salmon steaks.

The steaks were put on the Traeger to smoke for an hour. The smoke setting doesn't usually reach a temperature higher than 100 degrees. After the smoke the barbecue will need to be turned up to cook the salmon.

We're lucky enough to live on an island in the Puget Sound with an abundance of fresh seafood.

For the sauce you'll need plain yogurt, olive oil, cumin, cilantro & a lemon.

I've taken a red onion and sliced it in to thick slices. He threw them on the grill with the salmon to smoke.

On to the sauce, you'll need to chop up your cilantro. Make sure to have at least 1/2 cup. I just chopped the top half of my bunch off and called it good. But I love cilantro.

Go ahead and pull out a mixing bowl and start with the yogurt. We picked up a small 6oz container of plain greek yogurt. You could also choose regular yogurt if you don't care for the bite greek has.

Throw in your chopped cilantro.

Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Be sure to avoid the seeds!

Husband likes to tweek everything to our specifications. We love things spicy, and he wanted a finely diced jalepeno thrown in with it.

 Last weekend I cooked up jalepeno poppers and had a few halved and seeded jalepenos left over in the fridge and I diced up half of one.

So I threw in the jalepeno. Surprisingly it gave it just a hint of spice. Nothing crazy. It was a nice touch.

Throw in about a teaspoon of cumin.

Also pretend I drizzled olive oil over the top of this, but I didn't.

Skip something in a recipe post. Check!

And you're ready to mix. Yummy, creamy, delicious.

Smoking is done and the salmon was pulled off for the sauce. Husband threw the potatoes on the grill to smoke for 30 minutes white the salmon sat with the sauce to "marinate".

Slather it on. Only use about half of it, you'll want a little left over for when the salmon is done. The flavor really changes then.

Oh, and here is where I added the olive oil. I drizzled it on the fish, then a little in to the rest of the sauce and stirred it again. Thank goodness for second chances, huh?

Look at that. I fell in love with my husband all over again when he bought this barbecue. One of the best investments we've made yet. We have enjoyed cooking together so much. Love the grill lines on the onions.

After an additional 15 minutes on the grill the salmon was cooked through and everything was done. The onions look fabulous. They're tender, yet have just enough crunch. They were sweet & smoky.

Here's our dinner in all it's glory. The fish was just incredible. Smoky & just faintly spicy. We topped it with the left over cilantro yogurt sauce. I've got steamed asparagus & spicy smoked potatoes on the side. There's no way I could have gone out tonight to any restaurant in town and had something that tasted this wonderful. Maybe I'm just biased.

I'll share the recipes to the asparagus & potatoes in an upcoming post. Get to making some salmon & enjoy!

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp. cumin

Juice of half a lemon

A drizzle of olive oil

In a bowl combine 1 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, 1 tsp. cumin, the juice of half a lemon, a drizzle of olive oil & mix.

My Mom's First Race

I can't begin to express the amount of emotion felt when I met my mom after crossing the finish line at her first race. My eyes welled up with tears and my heart felt like it was going to burst. The way her eyes lit up and the smile on her face were more than you could ever put in to words.

She grabbed my arm and said, "I want to do another one. Right now!"

On Saturday morning we ran in the Fun with the Fuzz 5k hosted by the Bellingham Police Department. All proceeds went to benefit the Behind the Badge Foundation, who support families of fallen officers. You can see my post from 9 weeks ago here.

10 weeks ago I convinced my mom to run a 5k race with me. I told her she'd succeed and it would be a great memory for us to have together. 9 weeks ago she started training with the Couch to 5k program, and succeed she did.

It was pouring down rain up until the moment they wanted us to line up at the start. Then the clouds parted, the rain stopped and the sun graced us with it's presence. What a beautiful day and place for a run.

Their goal was to have 500 runners & walkers participate, they exceeded that number by over 150 participants. Over $13,000 was raised for an incredible cause.

Our run started out great. We were so excited as we bounced down the road to be doing something so out of the ordinary for us. I couldn't say that 10 years ago I'd want to be a runner one day, or that I'd ever run a race with my mom. I couldn't be happier today. Our relationship continues to change and grow the older we get. A mother-daughter relationship is a beautiful thing.

About a mile in we got separated as the roads started to narrow. I got stuck behind a mass of people who all seemed to decide to take a walk break at the same time. I was sure she'd seen me behind her and I tried my best to catch up and just couldn't get through the crowd fast enough. I finally lost sight of her.

I was sure she'd finish before me, and she did! She thought I had made it ahead of her and she chased down a girl that she thought was me. Turned out, it wasn't. But that's ok! She made amazing time! She ran the whole thing start to finish and even made a few new friends along the way.

She finished with a time just over 31:00 and I couldn't be more excited for her. As much as I would have loved to run the whole thing with her, I just simply hate the fact I didn't get to be there when she crossed the finish line. She was there for me as I came through and we hugged and just enjoyed the moment.

Mom & I after the race.

Way to go Mom! I absolutely love you, and thank you so much for a really great memory. I can't wait for your races you have planned over the next couple of months. I'm looking forward to us becoming a running family!

Best part is that I've got my Dad convinced to run the Livestrong 5k in Seattle on Father's Day. Go Dad!

A Survey: Skincare & Makeup

I ran across this survey a couple of months ago, but didn't feel like I was makeup saavy enough to post it. But I came across it again this week so here it is (Why do I suddenly feel like I'm filling out a Myspace survey? Yeeesh).


42 Questions about Makeup
1) How many times do you wash your face daily? Twice on days I run, once on days I don't (bad, I know).

2) What skin type do you have? I would consider it oily. However my new & simple skincare routine has greatly improved that.

3) What is your current facial wash? Purpose by Johnson & Johnson

4) Do you exfoliate? Once weekly. I'm prone to redness, so anymore often is bananas.

(Umm, where did #5 disappear to?)

6) What moisturizer do you use? Purpose by Johnson & Johnson - On days I wash my face twice. I usually run after work, so I'll wash my face then moisturize before I go to bed.

7) Do you have freckles? Yes, but I wish they stood out more like my mom's do.

8) Do you use eye cream? Sure don't.

9) Do you or did you have acne prone skin? I get one pimple about once every three months. I know, I'm kind of lucky in that area.

10) Did you ever have to use Pro-Activ? Have never needed to.

11) What foundation do you use? None. I sometimes use Benefit's You Rebel tinted moisturizer as foundation if I feel like I need a little help or I have a special night out planned.

12) How about concealer? I do have a Smashbox concealer I use for the same reasons mentioned above.

13) Do you know your undertone color? I've been told they're yellow.

14) What do you think of fake eyelashes? Yeah, no. last time I tried them I looked like a hooker. Pass.

15) Did you know you were supposed to change your mascara every 3 months? Sure do, however I change it when I feel like it's dying. Different formulas and brands have different life spans. You know when it's not working all that well anymore.

16) What brand of mascara do you use? Benefit Bad Gal Lash, however I've ordered a new organic product I'm looking forward to trying!

17) Sephora or Mac? If this question is in regards to the product the brand produces itself, then Mac. If you're speaking in reference to the store, then Sephora.

18) Do you have a Mac Pro card? Nope, don't wear enough makeup to even consider it.

19) What makeup tools do you use in makeup application? My fingers, and a few brushes (for shadows & eyeliner).

20) Do you use makeup base/primer for the eyes? Nope. My skin was always too oily for that.

21) For the face? Again, no.

22) What is your favourite eyeshadow? Colour or shade? I enjoy anything in neutral colors. I have a Stila baked shadow combination that contains a light bone color, a dark copper color & a warm gold color. Love, love, love it.

23) Do you use pencil or liquid liner? Pencil liner. I have a Stila liquid I'm still practicing with.

24) How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil? Never.

25) What do you think of pigment eye shadows? I've never used them.

26) Do you use mineral makeup? I like it. I have Bare Escentuals I use on occassion. Mostly just their bronzer and a few of their shadows that fit the neutral category.

27) What is your favourite lipstick? Maybelline "Born With It" lipstick. Suggestion from another blog and it's the only lipstick I've ever worn.

28) How about lipgloss? I have a Smashbox lipgloss I totally love, it's just clear. I also have a vanilla mint & chocolate mint clear gloss from Old Navy (weird, I know) that I totally adore.

29) What is your favourite blush to use? I own no blush, can you believe it?

30) Do you buy your makeup on Ebay? I've gotten nail polish on Ebay.

31) Do you like drugstore makeup? Of course! I have a drugstore eyeliner & mascara in my bag right now.

32) Do you go to CCO's? Cosmetic Company Outlet? Nope.

33) Did you ever consider taking makeup classes? I've never really given it that much thought.

34) Are you clumsy in putting on makeup? I'm not great at it, but I don't think I've ever had bad looking makeup.

35) Name a makeup crime that you hate? Spider lashes. Please get new mascara!

36) Do you like colourful shades of makeup (lipstick or eyeshadow) or neutral ones? I prefer neutral, but love it when others can pull off beautiful colors.

37) Which celebrity always has great makeup? Kate Beckinsale

38) If you could leave the house using just ONE makeup item, what would you use? Mascara

39) Could you leave the house without any makeup on? I did today. Ran errands that included running to my work & Home Depot. I'm not shy. I've got good skin, my eyes just look a tad tired.

40) Do you think you look good even without any makeup on? I do. Like mentioned above, I look a little tired. However, I've always gotten compliments on how nice I look without makeup. I have a few friends who prefer me without it, they think I look more like myself.

41) In your opinion what is the BEST makeup line? Given I have the most experience with Benefit, I'd say they're a good candidate. I totally love them.

42) What do you think of makeup? I think makeup is a wonderful thing. It's a great bonus for me on a day where I'm just not feeling so hot. As long as I have a fresh, presentable face, I'm ok with going out with a pony tail. I think everyone could benefit from just the smallest amount of makeup. Staple items that every girl needs is an eye lash curler, mascara, blush or bronzer & lip gloss. These are my staples day to day and I just think they make you look fresh and polished.


What are your answers to these makeup questions? Please feel free to post this, I'm always interested in what my favorite ladies have to say!

I've got some lovely ladies in my (internet) life - Blog Awards

I feel lame and ungrateful that I've not acknowledged the blog awards I've received over the last month or so. Though my following is small, I have wonderful followers who I equally enjoy reading. I feel like I've met some of the nicest, sincere people through the channels of the interwebs.

So today I'm going to acknowledge, thank and promote those I've received in hopes that I can send them new readership. They're great! Promise!

The Stiletto Award

This was given to me by the lovely Care over at The Exposed Mom. She's beautiful, sweet and entertaining. She's a wonderful read. I've missed her in her seeming absence over the last week.

1. Display your Stiletto Badge of Honor, wear it with pride!

2. BRAG ABOUT IT! - Write a post about your award. Include the link to this page so everyone will understand what it’s all about! The Stiletto Award

3. SAY THANKS! - Include a link to the friend who nominated you for the award.

4. SHARE THE LOVE! - Nominate 5-10 blogs that you feel deserve the award. Include links to them in your post -and- leave them a comment to let them know they are nominated.

5. DO WHAT YOU DO! - Keep at it. Keep inspiring and encouraging and sharing your life! We love it and we thank you!

My nominations include:

Momma Confessions

How Sweet It Is

Fetching Fashions

Superficial Obsession

High Heels & Aprons

*******

The Beautiful Blogger Award

This is my second Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you so much to Ashley over at The Thing About Daisies. I can't tell you how fabulous this girl is. First of all, she has incredible style and a vintage collection that will make you drool. Second, she's absolutely to die for sweet. And third, totally talented in more ways than one. I think if we lived close, we might be best friends (stalkerish Ashley? maybe).

The rules for this one is:

1. List 7 random things about yourself.

2. Give this award to 7 people.

3. Let them know!

I ran 4.75 miles today and I'm dog tired. I've got a new "trainer" and she worked me hard today.

I hardly ever crave fast food. Ever. I'm more likely to crave cupcakes.

Right now I'm craving oatmeal. With a little brown sugar & almond milk. Yum.

I have a tiny chihuahua sleeping on my chest & a yorkie sleeping on my legs. These two tiny dogs put off an immense amount of heat. That's why they make awesome heaters under the covers!

I learned how to play backgammon this week. I love it. It makes me feel like I'm living in the 1940's.

I picked up my supplies to get the chalk board for my dining room all done up. Now to actually do it.

I still haven't finished my spa bench. Awesome, right? It's still waiting for a coat or two of poly.

My nominations include:

the Fick Family Blog

Dear Baby

Posh Pieces

*******

The Gorgeous Blogger Award

I received this award from Francis over at the Fick Family Blog. She's a beautiful mother to two beautiful children. Her son is one handsome little thing, while her daughter steals my heart. She's sweet and you can tell how much she loves her family. She's always positive and always has happy, encouraging things to say when she visits me.

Here are the rules:

Accept and thank the person who gave it to you!

List 10 things about yourself

List 5 additional things you DON'T like

Then pick ten people to give this lovely award to!

This might be easier if I was actually being asked questions. I have a hard time thinking of so many interesting things about myself.

1. I'm the oldest child in my family.

2. I have one sister & one brother.

3. I believe I'm still the tallest of my siblings at a whole 5'3".

4. I think my natural hair color is dark blonde.

5. I've colored my hair since the age of 11 (Sun-In the summer after 5th grade).

6. I was a cat person until I suddenly became allergic at the age of 17.

7. My last remaining cat still lives with my mom. She turns 9 years old next month.

8. My mom is only 16 years older than me. I could never imagine being a mother so young, not even right now at 26. But she was the most down to earth, level headed mother you could ever meet.

9. I absolutely love Top Ramen, even though the sodium content is through the roof!

10. I'm the worst softball player you'll ever meet, but I love playing.

1. I don't like people who don't use their blinkers.

2. I don't like people who can't seem to pull over for emergency vehicles. It's just as important to move over for a police officer as it is an ambulance or fire truck. Thanks.

3. I don't like Humane Society or ASPCA commercials, I choke up regardless of what's happening or where I am. It also hurts my heart when I have to take calls at work about deer hit by cars.

4. I hate animal cruelty period. Animals are innocent & in most cases helpless. It's our job to help protect them.

5. I don't like trimming the chihuahua's nails. I always think I'm going to hurt her.

My nominations include:

The Exposed Mom

The Thing About Daisies

Blonde Ambition

The Hutton House

*******

If you stuck it out through this long wordy post, thank you! For those of you who have nominated me for awards, thank you! I love the blogging community no matter how big or small it may be for some of us. I enjoy daily smiles and inspiration from you all.

15. & 16. Pulled Pork Tacos with Handmade Tortillas

The marriage between my life as I've known it & tacos has changed. Forever.

The most recent issue of Food & Wine Magazine featured tacos.

Mexican food happens to be my absolute favorite cuisine. I grew up in a small town known for it's farm land. As I got older the migrant population grew and they began opening restaurants serving their authentic Mexican food. Some of my absolute favorite Mexican restaurants are right in my hometown.

As my love for cooking has grown, so has my interst in making meals that are more authentic. We had chosen to make a Mexican feast for company this weekend that included pulled pork and handmade tortillas.

Simple toppings included tomato, cilantro, avocado & lime. I think these would have been just as good topped with diced onion, cilantro & lime.

The pork shoulder was smoked on the barbecue for about 12 hours. It was bathed in a delicious spicy rub and basted throughout the smoke period. A small pan of apple juice was placed inside the barbecue to keep the it moist. When it was finished, it was pulled off and wrapped in foil to rest.

What's Mexican food without good beer? Two peas in a pod here.

The tortillas were so simple to make. The taste couldn't compare to a store bought package. They weren't perfectly round, but I don't have a tortilla press. I didn't know those existed, but my rolling pin worked and I like the rustic look.

Handmade Tortillas

1 cup Maseca corn flour

1/8 tsp. salt

2/3 cup water

Combine 1 cup of Maseca, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 2/3 cup water. Mix thoroughly for about 2 minutes to form a soft dough. If dough feels dry, add more water (1 tbsp. at a time).

Divide dough into 8 equal balls. Cover with a damp cloth to keep dough moist. Line a tortilla press with two sheets of thick plastic wrap (I rolled out my dough with a rolling pin between two pieces of plastic wrap on the counter), and press until each tortilla measures 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap.

Preheat an ungreased griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Cook tortillas one at a time for 50 seconds on each side. Cover tortillas with towel to keep soft and warm.

Makes 8 tortillas

Pulled Pork

(via The Pioneer Woman)

4-7lb pork shoulder

4 pound (up To 7 Pounds) Pork Shoulder

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Salt

Pepper To Taste

3 cloves (to 4 Cloves) Garlic

1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons (to 3 Tablespoons) White Wine Vinegar

¼ cups Brown Sugar

1 whole Onion

Preparation Instructions

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder.

To begin, just throw the dried oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and brown sugar into a food processor or blender. (I happen to love brown sugar in my cooking, but you can decrease or omit it if you like.) Cut one onion into quarters and put it in the food processor with the spices. Blend mixture until totally combined and then pour it over the pork shoulder.

Now rub it into every nook and cranny of the meat, tucking it under folds an in crevices. Let no stone go unturned.

Cooking Instructions

(via Barbecue Web - 'cause that's more manly, you know)

The cooking instructions are a video so I'll try to sum it up the best I can based on what my husband explained to me.

After prepping the pork shoulder with the rub, it was placed on the barbecue to smoke. A small pan of apple juice was placed inside to keep the smoke moist. He didn't use the entire amount of the rub the first time around, and basted the shoulder every 4 hours throughout the 12 hour cook time.

After 12 hours the shoulder was removed and wrapped in tin foil to rest for 45 minutes. The foil was removed and the shoulder was easily shredded.

There's the oven version by PW, the smoked version by Barbecue Web & I'll add the link for a crockpot version by Kitchenbelle in case you're interested. You've got a variety of options here for this pork! Try it, you'll love it!

The other love of my life.

This post contains the following three things; my mom, sister & the other love of my life. Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. I'm still excited today, after the fact.

Yesterday was the Pioneer Woman cookbook signing in Seattle and there wasn't a chance I was going to miss it. I've loved Ree for over two years, from the moment I laid eyes on her blog. At that point, I didn't even know what a blog was. I was introduced to her enchilada recipe, and then realized she posted recipes on this thing on a regular basis. Slowly I ventured out to other areas of her site and fell more in love with her. She's funny, happy and personable online, and boy did she shine through in person!

It was also my mom's birthday. You know your mom loves you when she does what you want to do on her birthday. I drove thirty minutes to pick up my sister, then the last 30 minutes to grab my mom then we made the hour trip south to Seattle.

The book signing was held at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. What an awesome book store! It was huge, with a really great selection. It also had a commons area with a small food court of 5 different restaurants, a stage and plenty of seating.

We dined on Mexican food from El Oso.

We shared cake from the Honey Bear Bakery.

Happy Birthday Mom! I had so much fun spending the day with you!

We arrived at the book store around 4:30 to pick up our line tickets for the 5:00 signing. They had signing groups lettered A-Z that contained 50 people per letter group. We were H. They said they normally got through about 4 letters an hour with typical authors, but with the chatting and pictures Ree likes to take it would take just a tad longer than that. I didn't mind at all!

Around 7:00 a swing band set up on the stage in the commons. They started playing some great swing & jazz music and there were people dancing everywhere. From sweet older couples, to a swing club of younger kids, to obviously trained dancers. It was so fun to watch. The best part was when my mom was asked to dance. She blushed bright red and admitted she doesn't dance at all. He just wanted to make sure she didn't go the whole night without being asked. It was so sweet!

By 7:00 I had been up for over 24 hours with just a small nap, so I grabbed a heavenly soy cappuccino from the Honey Bear Bakery. It was so delightfully foamy. It was my first chance to be exicted and star struck when out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Ree's oldest daughter walking by to pick up something at the cafe. She was so cute! Really tall but oh so cute.

I'm so glad my sister decided to come with us. It was a great girls day and just wouldn't have been as fun without her.

By about 9:00 our letter was called to line up!

After about a 45 minute wait in line it was almost our turn. I became very excited and then very nervous. I was shaky and I thought I might sweat to death. We moved one more person up in line and there she was. I could see her head over the book case. She was all smiles. I couldn't believe I was seeing her in person!

My mom sent me up on my own to get in a minute to chat with her. I was so nervous! I sound like a total goober don't I? I didn't even know what to say! My mom decided I wasn't doing a good enough job so she came up to help me out. Ree was just so sweet. She's kind, gracious and just has the sweetest spirit. She seemed as though she truly loved talking with every single person that came through her line.

She called us the Breck Girls. My mom knew exactly what she was talking about. My sister and I on the other had did not. But the two of them got a good laugh out of it. Aparently the Breck Girls were models for shampoo they remember back from the 70's & 80's. My mom told me their ads always featured a blonde, brunette and red head. I guess the three of us cover that!

Checking the book store's twitter feed today, they had over 800 in attendace at the book signing last night! I never imagined it was that many people, but they really housed everyone well. I'd never been to a book signing before and I've never met anyone of the celebrity genre. It was definitely a fun experience!

The Pioneer Woman is great and I'll continue to love her for as long as she blogs. If you haven't checked out her cookbook, please do! I gifted one to my mom and sister just for the signing and they were so excited. Lots of fun recipes and step by step pictures. Perfect for the first time cook or anyone who just loves classic homemade recipes.

And last but not least, another thing to mark off the bucket list. Meet someone from the internet. Check!