Nick and I made Fajitas for dinner tonight. We experimented a little with the chicken seasoning and it turned out really good (Nick was surprised!)…they were delicious! I can’t wait to make them again.

Have I mentioned how much I love Crate & Barrel? Well…I DO!! Not only do I just love everything in their store/website/catalog, but their prices are great too.

I ordered a few Christmas gifts on Wednesday (and maybe something for myself!) and this afternoon I was surprised to see my order waiting for me on my doorstep!

I’ll add service to the list of things I love about you Crate & Barrel.

The Hawk’s made the cover of Sports Illustrated for the week! Congrats!!

I made these carrots tonight with pork roast. I’d never made them before, but happened to have a bag of carrots in the fridge, so I thought I’d give them a shot. The recipe is from The Williams Sonoma Cookbook, Essentials Recipes. I actually halved the recipe because I didn’t want to cut up that much carrot!

• 3-4T unsalted butter
• 1 1/2-2lb carrots, peeled & cut into 3″ long, 1/4″ think slices (julienned)
• 2-3T sugar
• 1/8t ground ginger
• salt & pepper
• 1T chopped fresh parsley

In a large, deep pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the carrots and sugar, ginger, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir together and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add water to just cover the carrots, raise the heat to high, cover, and cook until the water boils and the carrots turn bright orange, about 5 minutes. (do not add too much water, as it will take longer to evaporate and the carrots will become mushy.)

Uncover and continue to cook the carrots over medium-high heat until the water evaporates, 5-7 minutes longer. Continue to cook for a few mintues longer, allowing the carrots to caramelize a bit in the butter-sugar mixture. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Serving Size: 4

Today I was told I’m a very loyal person and when someone messes with a person I care about it really bothers me. I thought about that all the way home…it’s true! I think at times it could be to a fault.

I do remember one instance where someone was not nice to one of my co-workers, I got really fired up, and I think I was bothered by it most of the day. Looking back on it, I feel bad because I let it affect me so much that it changed my whole demeanor for the day and ultimately affected my interactions with other co-workers.

I think I need to work on how I let outside forces affect my behavior and if it bothers me that much, then I just need to politely confront that person.

Basically, the moral of the story is, don’t mess with my friends/family because it won’t make me happy and it will take a while for me to forgive you.

Have you been? It’s only the coolest store (outside of Ikea, Crate and Barrel, and the Von Maur shoe room) I’ve ever been that doesn’t have a location in Iowa. Mom and I made a trip while in Atlanta and just had to ship a few items back with us.

It’s a little difficult to explain exactly what Trader Joe’s really is, but it’s like an organic grocery store, but they have their own brand of products and a great wine selection. For those that have been to one, feel free to expand on my horrid description!

Mom and I are smitten with the shaving lotion, the cat cookies (just shaped like cats, not actually cat food), and I was able to find larger bags of raw sunflower seeds and pine nuts two key ingredients for a salad I make that I have a hard time finding at Hy-Vee (and not costing an arm and a leg). My newest discovery was the instant pudding. I haven’t actually tried it, but I just LOVED the packaging.

I received a most exciting email today…there’s a font named after me! Well, I doubt that it was specifically named after me, but hey, a girl can dream.

Who wouldn’t want to have a font named after them! You can get it for yourself too at www.dafont.com, and it’s cute too. So, here it is, the ‘Jayne’ font.

My brother, Nick, and Zoey bonding over Saturday night football. She loves having someone else at the house to pay attention to her.

Holy cow…this game was filled with every emotion. There were more ups and downs in this game than my marriage!  

I can’t believe that the same person who threw five interceptions, was able to lead the team to victory with 28 points in the fourth quarter.

It was quiet in Kinnick at times, but just like the team, we hung in there with them until the very end.

There’s still three games left, but I’m hoping for a trip to Pasadena with Josh and a few of our friends!

Not only is it Halloween tomorrow, but my good friend Cynthia’s birthday!

Happy birthday, Cynthia!