All I really want for Christmas is a .....

I hear ringing in my ears? Or perhaps it's seeing rings in my eyes... Now, I love gemstones. More than any other stone actually (diamonds included). Diamonds are definitely not this girl's best friend. I consider myself more of a princess, or royalty actually.. and like the great princesses of the past (Jackie O, America's dahling, Princess Diana, and Princess Fergie) I salivate when thinking of gemstone engagement rings. Now here's to hoping that Santa brings me what I really want for Christmas...

M knows my obsession and has actually been quite warned not to fall into the sales person's sales pitch of oh a diamond is wonderful and rare blah blah blah.. for me diamonds are bleh unless in a halo of course, lol I gotta cave in to a teeny bit of tradition lol!!

I want something with pizazz, something with sexiness... Here are my top three favorites.. Can you guess which is the splurge and which is the steal?

1.




2.


3.

And the list goes on!!

I'm so very excited and half proud.. I have finished the mountain of laundry that has taken over my condo AND folded most of it (only 2 loads left to fold!) Here's what's next on my list (because when I do lists I have a strange satisfaction that only comes with crossing it off, it's quite insane and probably has to do a lot with my planning tendencies) LOL you should see the lists I give my assistant when it's time to do an event and the list for the client lol!!

• Fold and put up the laundry
  
• Clean the living room
• organize the mountain of PAPERS in the living room
• Hang those snazzy letters that I made a few entries back
• Clean the kitchen (this is already mostly done but I really need to do a cleaning of appliances, put things in order, etc
• Clean the counters in the guest bathroom/kids' bathroom
• Organize the clothes in our master bath
• Lastly, help my son straighten his room up (grandmas just don't understand that there is NO ROOM for new toys!!)
• Take out our Christmas Decorations!!! Begin figuring out the PERFECT place for our Christmas tree!!!

On another note I received the sweetest letter this week from the mother of one of my client's!! She mailed and emailed me the letter to make sure that I received it. When you are doing the right thing, it's amazing how rewarding it is. I truly love my job.

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Cleaning, the final frontier!

So I think that I'm a pretty decent girlfriend. I cook, I've never said no to the shoulder tap (wink wink), I am supportive; however, cleaning is something that eludes me... I don't have the desire to clean although I love walking into a clean house!! What do you all do to get a routine into keeping your house clean? I feel like one of those people from Clean House.... I need Niecy Nash to come whip me into shape!! Sigh... I will channel my inner Martha Stewart, unpack these boxes from my move and make my house a home... Who's with me? Someone has to hold me accountable because I'd much rather have a friggin' V-8!!

Christmas, Christmas Time is Near Time for Toys and Times for Cheer

I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!!! I am currently brainstorming about how my tablescape will be this year for Christmas. I got the cutest little Christmas plates from Kohl's a few years ago, but now I am definitely brainstorming for the centerpieces. I usually don't do anything or do something really simple like a star bowl. This year I'm thinking large and extravagant, but of course on a frugalista's budget ;). I am planning on using the apothecary jars (that I use for candy buffets) for double duty this Christmas. I will arrange them with the ornaments that we purchased last year during Christmas time. And then purchase more for this year's tree, but shhhh don't tell M :P he's the grinch and I am like little Suzie Who, sneaking Christmas cheer into his heart

This is what I am thinking of doing, and it's a brilliant idea for those brides out there thinking about what to use their candy buffet jars for after the wedding is over!!

And if you have received three billion four hundred eighty six million two candle sticks as wedding gifts, why not think keep a few and make these eclectic and sophisticated centerpieces?! The same look can easily be achieved by hunting (or stalking like me) the Dollar Tree, Goodwill, or thrift stores in your area! Happy Hunting!

Now, I will be allowed to begin Christmas decorations the week of Thanksgiving! So I'll definitely take pictures of my tablescape! I will be using a gorgeous red organza runner that my mom gave me a few years ago to complete my look. I think M will be forced to love Christmas, too!! And I'm sure that baking him cookies will definitely help ;)

Mad Cat's Taco Lasagna

Yummy!!! This is a recipe that I borrowed from one of my bee's!! Check it out, it was DELICIOUS!!

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 packs of taco seasoning

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (I used a teaspoon because I like it haute :P)

1 tablespoon of chili pepper

1/2 cup water

18 corn tortillas

1 - 24 oz salsa (I used a 36 oz jar)

1 cup sliced green onions

1 16 oz container of sour cream

1 1/2 cups shredded sour cream

1 1/2 cups shredded monterrey jack

(I used the fiesta mix of cheese that is prepackaged in the store, 4 cups total)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

2. Place ground beef in a skillet, brown beef. Drain.

3. Season with taco seasoning, garlic, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and water.

4. Simmer for 10 minutes

5. Place 6 tortillas in the prepared dish. Spread 1/3 of the salsa on top of the tortillas. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture evenly over the salsa, sprinkle with 1/2 of the green onions. Drop 1/2 of the sour cream randomly over the green onions. Top with 1/3 of the cheese mixture (a few handfuls to cover the mixture). Repeat the layers. Top with 6 tortillas spread with the remaining salsa and cheese on top and pop it into the oven for 30-45 minutes.