Spice Up Your Kitchen

Bored with your kitchen, but don’t want to completely redo everything? Well you don’t have to!

source - arteriors.com

An easy and simple way to spice up a boring kitchen is to get new accessories. A few cute, colorful canisters or some decorative plates is a great way to add some fun to the room.

source - creativecoop.com

Just pick out items that you like and that coordinates well with what you already have. If you are looking for things to go on you kitchen counters, make sure that they are not only great looking, but are functional for you and your family as well. This will ensure that the item isn’t just taking up space, and that you didn’t waste your money on something that you will end up putting in a cabinet.

source - cyandesign.biz

Decorative plates for your wall are also a great way to add some pizzazz to your space. This will look especially good if you have a long area of back splash in your kitchen that doesn’t have anything in front of it. There are even plate hangers now that stick to the wall and the plate, kind of like the Command Strips, that way you just see the plate and not the hanger.

Erika's Project

 - Erin

Washington DC Marathon - March 2012

This is a long one... but a good one!

This past March, my brother Travis ran his first marathon in Washington D.C. As soon as he told me he was going to do this run, I bought a plane ticket, found a hotel room, and was so ready to be there to cheer him on! While living in Michigan, I was able to watch several of his races; not being able to go to his races was one of the most heartbreaking aspects of moving to Texas.

Travis and I stopping in front of the Capitol Building the day before the race.

Me and Lindsey

 One of my old roommates from Wayne State just happened to be visiting DC the same weekend and we were able to hook up for lunch. 

_____________________________________________________________

Washington DC 

Rock and Roll Marathon

March 20, 2012

6:15am
On the metro heading towards the marathon start with thousands of other people. 

7:40 am
Putting his shoes on. 

 It took much longer to get to the race start than we anticipated. So Travis got ready on the sidewalk and ran his way to the start for a mini warm up. 

7:40am - Ready to start!

7:55am
At the start - if you look really closely, you can see a sliver of Travis's face between the guy in the blue shirt and the guy in the black tank top!

8am
Here we go!

 As soon as the race started, I had an overwhelming wave of emotion come over me and immediately start crying. I missed a good picture of Travis running by me because I couldn't hold my camera steady.

8:15am
Getting back on the metro as thousands of people are still  pouring off to get to the start.  Heading to mile marker 10.

But, no time to ponder! I had one hour to get myself to mile marker 10 to give Travis is Goo energy. I had signed up to get text message updates throughout the race that would tell me when Travis had passed certain mile marker points.

9:15am
Travis coming up on Mile 10. From my perspective, he was in about 7th or 8th place and about 1 minute ahead of his pace time.

 I'm going to admit, I was super nervous and completely charged during the entire race. I couldn't sit still, I was sweating and constantly checking my watch to his split times. Looking over my maps and twitching.

From mile marker 10, I had to run about a mile to mile 16 to give Travis another Goo energy. (I should have been working out prior to this!)  At this point in the race, the half-marathon runners are running along side the marathon runners. So, on one side of the street are hundreds of spectators (for the half marathoners) and on the marathon side, there are only a few of us supporters.

9:30am

I was pacing back and forth. My text message updates stopped working and Travis was supposed to pass by me at any minute.  Had I missed him? Is he doing alright? Has he hit the "wall?"

A guy walking on the sidewalk came up to me and was utterly confused about what was going on. He was asking me all sorts of questions and I tried to give him short answers- I had business to take care of!

Suddenly, the lead car comes over the hill... there's the leader in a white top and hat....

AND THERE IS TRAVIS!

Approx. 9:35am
Travis in second place! Right behind the leader!

I wigged out! And by "wigged out," I mean I threw my pile of maps and papers into the stranger's hands and start jumping up and down screaming incoherently! Travis was in 2nd place and I was so incredibly proud of him!

9:36 am

But no time to waste! I had 20 minutes to get to my last mile marker before the finish and 1 more Goo packet to give Trav. I apologize to the man, thank him, grab my things and take off down the street towards the Metro station.

10am
I was back on and off the Metro then running down a completely deserted street. 

But! I couldn't find the marathon!  Confused, I started pacing back and forth on a street bridge. I looked down below in frustration.... and saw the runners! I was on an overpass and they were running on the street underneath me!

But I couldn't see Travis and after waiting 5 minutes, decided I must have missed him!

Well! Back to the Metro to hit the finish. As I got on the platform, I cried in disbelief. The next train to the finish was 12 minutes away. I was going to miss the finish. I stood there in a sea of people and cried. A man obviously noticed me and started chatting with me about what was going on. We finally got on the train, got off and he said, "Erika! Hang on to my backpack." The man was large and built and he plowed through the crowd towards the finish with me hanging on for dear life to his backpack. 

10:35am

I couldn't thank this man enough... but also couldn't find Travis. I had missed the finish and he was nowhere to be found. Wandering back and forth between the stage and our designated meeting area, my mind was going crazy! Where's Travis? Is he OK? Did he finish? Did he win? My text message updates had completely stopped working and that cycle of questions continued viciously for about 15 minutes.

11am

Standing at our meeting point, I glanced back at the stage, tears in my eyes.... and there was Travis! Hobbling onto the stage to receive his 2nd place plaque!  Completely ecstatic, I ran to the stage, leaping over the people sitting in the grass, screaming as loudly as possible. 

The people on stage pointed and laughed... but I didn't care! I couldn't believe it! Travis had just placed 2nd out of tens of thousands of runners in his very first marathon!

Travis and the 1st and 3rd place finishers.

Travis hanging out with the 3rd place finisher.

Travis and all of his loot!

 Travis and I hobbled around the race finish for about an hour, soaking it all in. There were people everywhere, live bands playing music, excitement, sweat, and pride.

Travis and I at the end of the race!

Click here to read the news article about the results!

Why we love bunching cocktail tables

Okay, so there is a growing trend… well maybe not growing. It’s here! I for one certainly hope it sticks around for a long while. The bunching cocktail table! This concept is so great for so many reasons.

source - kalalou.com

Bunching cocktail tables provide versatility. If you have three or four little, and lightweight tables verses one big, heavy table you can move them around in different arrangements to fit your needs. I’m no he-man so where ever we put one large cocktail table it would be stuck there.

source - uttermost.com

Bunching tables are great for kids who what to color or do homework. They can have their own little table to work on. Or if it’s family game night you can just put the tables altogether and make one big table for everyone to gather around.

source - lorts.wordpress.com

And for a more eclectic look you can just mix a few different, coordinating tables. This will add more interest to your space, and still give you the flexibility and versatility of the bunching tables.

source - orientalexpress.com

Also, honestly they are super cute! I mean why would you not want these. 

 - Erin

Passino Annual Crawfish Boil 2012

For over 20 years, Evan's Houston family, the Passinos have had a summer crawfish boil. While the party has moved around from place to place, there are always the same 3 ingredients...

1. Hot, spicy, and scrumptious crawfish,

2. Wonderful people to hang out with,

3. Hot weather and plenty of cold beer!

Vincent holding one of the crawfish;
we were lucky to have such large crawfish for this
late in the summer season!

This year, I invited my good friends, Susan and Vincent to the bash. It was Vincent's first boil, the crawfish were huge, and we were all hungry!

Susan and Vincent messing around with the crawfish.

Evan has been coming to this boil for over 5 years now and has been promoted to head Passino Crawfish Boil Chef! A title he does not take lightly; he slaves over the hot pots for hours making some of the best crawfish I've ever had!

First you boil the veggies in water and boil seasoning for about 30 minutes. 

Remove the veggies and add the crawfish to the boil.
After 5 minutes, turn the heat off and let sit for about 20 minutes.

The crawfish and veggies get mixed together with some added seasoning.

This isn't the Passino's first rodeo;
they have a specially constructed table with a
convenient hole in the middle for trash. Don't worry,
someone thought to cover the hole before the food was dumped on the table!

The fresh and steaming hot food is dumped on the table and it's chow time!

Shhh.....Surprise for Evan!

It's a secret.....

Evan doesn't know it yet, but I've sent three of our panoramic photos from our Canadian adventure off to be printed on large canvases.  Each will measure 16x32 and will be some long awaited wall decor for Evan's room. 

Lake Moraine in Banff National Park, Alberta Canada.

Stopping off of the side of the road in Banff National Park, Alberta Canada.

Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta Canada.

The photographs were taken on my iPhone with a free app called "Photosynth;" an app I highly recommend you download....right now! I use this app almost daily whether it's to capture panoramic scenery or to photograph a space for a project. You've probably tried to photograph a small space, it's nearly impossible to do unless you have a professional camera with an amazing wide angle lens. 

Here's how it works:

You open the Photosynth app on your phone and take multiple photos of a space moving only the camera (not your body). The program will 'stitch' the photos together almost seamlessly.  I edited the photos in Photoshop to clean up the edges and convert to black and white, but the same can be done with Paint.

Click here to check out Photosynth!

Banff - tastic!

After the Petrolium Show, Evan and I headed up to the Canadian Rockies for a nice weekend getaway.  In Calgary, you can see the mountains off in the distance and as you drive through scenic pastures, the mountains get more and more beautiful! 

While winding our way through the mountains, neither one of us could stop exclaiming our awe. Every five minutes, one of us would stop and point, "look!!!"

We spent our first day at Lake Louise which was a small little town and not much to do but eat, sit and marvel at the mountains all around.  With a loaf of French bread, some cheese and prosciutto, we were a happy couple!

Apparently, some pretty amazing chefs work their way up to Banff and Lake Louise. From several friends we heard we were about to have quite a gastronomic experience in the mountains. We were never disappointed and had some of the most fantastic food!  The Deer Creek Lodge on our first night had an amazing cheese and wild game meet plate. 

So many people recommended restaurants to us that it simply wasn't possible to eat at all of them. Of course we tried. On our last night we set out earlier than normal for dinner. Our first stop was a little hole-in-the-wall Greek restaurant, Barpa Bills, to get a Doner; a Doner is similar to a gyro.....but somehow better. 

Our second stop was the Sage Bistro, a highly praised place in the nearby town of Canmore. This was by far our favorite. The upstairs was a tapas style restaurant with an excellent drink and food menu. We split 2 drinks and 3 plates and could have easily stayed through closing! 

Our last stop was an English bar back in Banff where we enjoyed a fish and chips plate. I didn't have to eat for a week after this night!

Stopping at some waterfalls near Banff on
our way to Lake Louise.

Lake Louise
A fine sediment is created as the glaciers slowly slide down the mountains.
This fine dust is what makes the water appear a vivid but milky light teal color. 

Lake Moraine
This smaller lake is 5km higher in elevation than Lake Louise but no less beautiful.
A forest fire has left a huge pile of trees at the beach, a fun playground to explore.

Evan and I decided to visit a tea house at the  end of  a "nice walk."
The "walk" turned out to be a  2.5 mile vertical hike that we were not prepared for...
me in my white coat and ballerina flats and Evan in his cowboy boots. 

We were stopped several times by fully equipped hikers asking us
"what the hell are you doing climbing in that?"

Call us what you want, but we made it to the tea house...
uphill, through the snow (and ice and mud), against the wind, in our ridiculous outfits!
The view was spectacular and completely worth the strenuous trek!

Not a bad romantic getaway!

Exploration: Calgary

In early June, Evan had to travel Calgary, Alberta Canada to participate in a Petroleum conference. "Why not make a long weekend out of it with Erika? Ehh?" his boss asked him back in February. 

I'm not really sure he said "eh" but knowing how often he says "eh".....

 it wouldn't surprise me!

If you know me, you know I love to travel. I'm pretty sure my response went something like this.... 

"What?!? Hell ya!"

   

So I packed my bags and met Evan in Calgary on a stormy Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, Evan had to work at the conference all day. So, I put on my walking ballerina flats and headed out to see downtown Calgary. 

Downtown Calgary from Stephen Ave.

After finding Stephen Ave. - the hip part of down town - lunch quickly became my first priority. I spotted a small food truck with a long line.... always a great sign! I hopped in line and proceeded to order the messiest thing I could find on the menu....

Poutine!  It looks like worms crawling over soggy french fries but contrary to what you're thinking.... it was so delicious! Homemade french fries covered in gravy with melted cheese over the top.  I literally felt my heart punch me in the chest a few times after consuming this!  Not your everyday lunch!

After a full belly, off to explore!

Calgary Tower. it used to be the tallest structure in Calgary but has since been out built by a new beautiful office building.

The Glenbow Museum was a nice way to spend a few hours; the museum has an eclectic collection of artwork, native Canadian artifacts, gems and geodes, and interestingly enough, an exhibit on West Africa.

The Charles Russell gallery was by far my favorite- read about this artist here!

Charles Russell's paintings depicted the Wild West and his images leave you at the most pivotal moment of a story where you're dying to know what happens next!

"Herd Quit" by Charles Russell.

 I don't think it's possible to fully experience a country's culture without doing some local shopping!  I discovered a few malls, some fun shops, and an overly apparent sense of Canadian pride.

Brendan, Voytek, Evan, Matt

Finally, it was time to head back to the conference and celebrate the end of very successful show for Evan and his colleagues. Here are a few them celebrating!

Stay tuned to see more of my Canadian Adventure!  Part 2 - Banff-tastic!