If You Want to Add a Degree of Difficulty to Getting Laid, Just Wear Crocs!

So you guys already know about my affair with Crocs. In May I did a write up on my favorite worst offenders of Crocs which you can read about HERE. Since then, Crocs unfortunately has come out with some more "stylish" examples which I am here to give two cents on today.

In Boston in November, I came across one of the biggest Crocs stores I had ever seen. I started melting like the Wicked Witch.

Crocs, unless you are gardening and using that traditional first style - or you are over 10 years old, make no sense. Like my title says, if you want to add a degree of difficulty to getting laid, just wear Crocs!

There are so many other options out there. I just don't understand them. Plus whatever material they are made out of. It looks and feels squishy like textured vegetable protein. Did you know that you can boil your Crocs and eat them in a pinch? They are made out of edible materials.

This one is the newest one the hit the market for spring. Get ready for it...A FLAT PEEP TOE. Are you kidding me with that color? And the little breather holes for the toes? Ugh.

 Unless you are a POWER RANGER, these examples have no place on your feet.

 There's no getting around the simple fact that Crocs are ugly. It is a truth universally acknowledged. In fact,  crocodiles have petitioned to have their names changed to Sandal Lizards.

Guys! If you wear these men's flip flops and she still goes out with you...she loves you. Put a diamond on it. I am serious.

 Sometimes I think of what my bulldog Audry would look like if she wore Crocs. It's kind of how the rest of the world looks!

This might be the world’s ugliest shoe, mixing, as it does, three of the ugliest types of footwear to hit the market in the past decade: UGGS plus CROCS PLUS TOE SOCKS?? If I had to wear shoes in hell, this would probably be one of my choices. I don't understand the toe sock thing either. I mean rllly...who the fuck thinks it's comfortable to NOT be able to wiggle your toes? LOOK AT THIS!! It looks like it's about to ATTACK someone!

 

I think LITERAL Crocs are much more becoming than Crocs. Check these out. I would wear these before I would wear traditional Crocs.

Here is a tip...if a turtle confuses your shoes with his wife, it's probably not a good choice for you. #JustSayin'.

 Happy Wednesday Folks!

XO, 

Rachel

Latest Food Obsession: Spaghetti Squash!

So I go on food tangents and my last one was PB2 which is the most amazing peanut butter around. You can read that blog post HERE!

My latest food obsession is spaghetti squash. Have you ever tried it? It's delicious, healthy, versatile, and easy to make! My cousin Britney can vouch for my obsession as our last three meals that we have had together where I cooked, we had spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti squash are at all the grocery stores and look like this: 

Some people like to cut them in half at this point and scoop out the seeds. If you have a decent knife, do this  but be careful! It looks like this. Scoop out the seeds (you can toast the seeds later!)

I don't even bother doing this because you can stick the whole thing in the oven and then slice it later which is WAY easier. Put the whole thing in the oven at 375 for 45-50 minutes. Take it out (be careful, it's HOT!) and slice it in half, take out the seeds and then with a fork, shred out the squash. It will come out in strings and look like spaghetti. 

Here is what it looks like scooped out! 

On it's own, it's sweet and delicious. I have just been doing salt and pepper! You can add butter though or even brown sugar for a dessert like taste. 

I like it with spaghetti sauce and other veggies mixed in like fresh tomatoes and basil and fresh cheese. 

There are so many versatile recipes for this vegetable...like lasagna, or casseroles, or use it as a bed for grilled chicken. 

How YUM does this look?

 

I like serving it in the shell with meatballs and sauce. 

Try a Mexican version with yummy grilled meats, cilantro, and avocado!

Try using black beans and make tacos! 

Does it look like spaghetti? YES! Does it taste like spaghetti? NO. Not even close. If you eat this vegetable as a wonderful vegetarian meal or lovely veggie side dish, you will love it. If you eat it and try to tell yourself it's flour noodles, you won't love it as much. 

It's so yummy to eat during cold weather. I suggest you try it and come up with your own favorite versions! You really can't go wrong. Have fun!!

XO, 

Rachel

Hellllloooooo 2013!

Hey All! Well I know it's been awhile and believe me, I think about my blog ALL THE TIME because there are so many things I want to write about. I am glad to be through the wonderful chaos if the last few months and back into some routine and back to blogging!! I compiled my running list of notes/lessons/thoughts of 2012. Here's to a great 2013. I am glad to be sharing it with all of you.

• It's not generally a great idea to get engaged on a third date at the big game.
• Let yourself do what you feel - just keep in mind the feelings of others.
• Sometimes in life, you gotta just have that "what the hell" experience because you might not have it again. Live your life for you and worry about the details later.
• One detail that is a non negotiable - when your boyfriend tells you that tonight you're going to "take the Pain Train to Pound Town" run like hell girl. I'll come pick you up!
• Putting every single detail of your life on Facebook gets a fantastical response but WILL bite you in the butt. If you do it, prepare to reap the consequences.
• Thrift stores in Pasadena Texas are some of the best in the world.
• The Ritz Carlton in Vail is nice but I'd rather be with my cousin in a tent.
• Follow your instincts. Don't do something that feels wrong - no matter how deep you've already gotten. Stop and take a second - and turn around. Those who matter won't mind.
• I was born for a career in television.
• Filming the TV pilot in March was one of the most fun, exhilarating, and exciting experiences of my life!
• It's great to have a ton of friends that want to ride with you in the limo but cherish the friends that will still go on the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
• More soda, less vodka!
• Hitting the gym and cleaning up my diet did wonders for my body and mind.
• Essie makes the best nail polish!
• Everything is ok in moderation - except married men.
• Write thank you notes - even for a small gesture. They often times mean the most.
• If you are reading this and you're a virgin, save it girl. It's not worth it and the right man will wait.
• Do the extra work that comes along, even if you have to sacrifice - especially if it will build your skill set for the future.
• When dating, be upfront and honest about how you are feeling. People appreciate and deserve that.
• I still love throwing down in New Orleans. What a blast!
• Hold yourself accountable for your actions but learn to forgive yourself with the same commitment. The ladder is hardest for me.
• Animals are one of God's greatest gifts. Treat them with dignity if you hunt and always greet your pets when you come in the room.
• Get several opinions before making a decision you are unsure about.
• Witnessing your best friend getting engaged is one of the greatest thrills! Plus getting to be a MOH for the 2nd time. Congratulations Andy and Vicky!
• Blogging is a fantastic outlet for expression.
• I love my Facebook family. They make my life a lot more fun.
• I've learned to be kinder than necessary - especially at work with strangers. You never know what they are battling.
• Moroccan Oil is crucial for my hair. I freaking love it.
• I'll never delete the numbers in my phone of people I love that passed away. 
• Blackberry girl for life! Don't judge me!
• Doritos Locos Tacos are sex. Try them!
• Hot Tools makes an amazing curling iron.
• I rejoined the John Atencio team and he still makes the most well made and beautiful jewelry around!! Also I love my co-workers! 
• I'm happy for my friends victories.
• There are very few people that I can stand 24/7 for days and days (and few people that can stand me!!!) but my BFF cousin Britney and I always seem to manage. We took the most amazing vacation to Boston in November and had a wonderful time. Boston in November is perfect. You can read about that madness here!!
• Crawl spaces aren't the most IDEAL place to sleep but good in a pinch at your cousin's house warming party. 
• It's ok to pay for a date - but only if it benefits the Children's Hospital 
• I make a pretty hot Playboy Bunny if I say so myself. 
• RESET if you want to lose a few lbs before Christmas!
• Beautiful people come from unexpected places. 
• I need my friends. 
• FIREBALL shots. That's all I need to say. 
• Girls only birthday brunches are good for the soul.  
• Always keep your promises - even if it's hard. 
• Hair Extensions are AMAZEBALLS.  
• NUTELLA. 
• Jamie Bagley is the SPRAY TAN ORACLE! Get your SPRAY TAN OOOOON! I found out that I love spray tans. They take off like 30 lbs at least. OBSESSED. Jamie also has several other amazing businesses like a super cool photo booth for your parties (it made my Winter Festival SO much more fun), is a USANA distributor, and also updates my WEBSITE!! This girl is on the up and up.
• Vegas is an amazing place to spend for New Year - especially with a sweet boy.
• Rao's Restaurant in Ceasar's Palace has the BEST marinara EVER and you can buy it at Whole Foods! (Great on spaghetti squash!)
• I decided to put what I "should have" on the shelf and be happy with what I do have. I've never felt so free!
• 27 will be a great year!  

<3 Always,
Rach

Around Here...

Can you guys believe that tomorrow is the first day of December? When I look back at my post around halfway through the year of the lessons I had learned so far, it was hard to imagine the year getting any more full but it has. I look forward in January of listing the second half of the year's lessons/fun stuff/memories.

December is one of my most feared and favorite months of the year. It's Christmas of course, my big 27, several friend's birthdays, my Dad's birthday and the biggest month of the year for retail shopping. I am looking forward to hitting it hard and squeezing every dollar and moment of fun out of it.

This last week flew by. In no particular order, here are a few highlights. My High Five For Friday!

1) I am SUPER excited to do the RESET cleanse with my girlfriends next week. I did it last September and loved it. I have been eating like a wolverine lately so this will be awesome. If you want to learn more, hit up my duder Jamie!!  Here is her awesome blog.

2) There has been some MAJOR MOTHER FUCKING GIRL POWER surrounding me and I am so proud! I want to give a shout out to Lindsay for rocking her new job and making positive and necessary steps in her life, my friend Michelle for putting her resume out there for a job she really wants, Karen for making the best bow dress I have ever seen for her Santa Pub Crawl, Jamie for continuing to expand her Empire and rocking her blog, Sara for getting four wisdom teeth pulled this week, Vicky for flying to Chicago and owning her residency, and for my Mom for getting the store organized and flying to Maryland for a doll show this weekend.

3) I had some personal growth this week and I am thankful when that happens.

4) The excitement surrounding the Holiday Open House at my antique store this weekend. The invite is on my Facebook. Please come out - it's a great day to see Antique Row!!

5) Several home cooked meals this last week from my cousin Joy who was in town from Nashville. We also hit up the ARC several times and got some amazing deals.


This weekend, I want you guys to think positive. Stop and look around at all that you have - I have done this several times in the last couple days and seriously, gratitude will change your life. When you run into a Grinch in the next couple weeks, cheer them up. There is so much to be happy about...but I will admit I am still not ready for Christmas music.

XO,
Rachel

Giving Thanks For Those Present and Past

Hey All! As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself super thankful for the people in my life. I truly believe people come in and out of your life for a reason. I have been thinking also of those not with me anymore. I have thought of my Grandpa a lot.

William Ross Wallace once said: "Every man dies - Not every man really lives." I am glad I can say that for my Grandpa, he was a man that really lived. He was always happy. Grandpa never complained. Everything always tasted good, every woman was beautiful and everyday was a great day. He always saw what was good.
There was never a time that I didn't walk into a room Grandpa was in without being greeted with a beaming smile and a loud, "Hi Sweetheart!". I remember when I was a little girl, having sleepovers at grandpa’s house. That little house nestled in Englewood was a little slice of paradise. All the grandchildren loved going to Grandpa's because he let us stay up as long as we wanted and had cable which was a real treat. His basement had games and there were always so many adventures to be had. He always taped our favorite shows when we weren't there - to watch the next time we came over. I think all my cousins remember all the "Earnest P Worrel" movies. We watched those until we wore out the VHS tapes. 

He made the best grilled cheese sandwiches and we always played exciting games of UNO. 

I remember one time I hijacked his motorized wheelchair and drove it down the alley and crashed it into a dumpster. My parents never knew because even when I misbehaved, Grandpa would tell my Dad that I was "good as gold" when he came to pick me up.

Grandpa was always on the go and taking the grandchildren places. We took many camping trips during the summers when we were young and Tiny Town was a favorite spot too. I remember his camper was always fully stocked with Sour Cream and Onion Pringles. As I grew older, I remember having conversations with my Grandpa about money and real estate - even at the age of 10. He used to tell me I would retire when I was 30. Well that is certainly not going to happen but his faith in me always felt really good. After I bought my first home several years ago, the first letter of congratulations I got in the mail was from him and I have carried it in my wallet since the day I opened it. He always had so much faith in me and came to every school event and graduation. He did for every grandchild and person in his life. Grandpa showed he cared. I loved that when I was in high school and college, Grandpa had a more festive social life than I did. He was always doing something fun. He danced, sang, and he never passed a roller coaster that he didn't take a ride on.

I think that Grandpa was always young at heart and savored every moment in life. That makes me feel good inside. I can see that my Mother got her fun loving spirit from Grandpa. He was a great teacher to have, not only for my Mom and her brothers and sisters, but also for everybody.  He was selfless and kind.  He loved being a parent and grandparent. 

While brainstorming this, one of my favorite Cherokee proverbs came to mind: "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice." 

So I leave this being thankful. I am thankful for my mistakes, my victories, and my opportunities. I am thankful for those that have come into and out of my life. Those present and yet to come. 

Happy Thanksgiving Friends. 

XO, 

Rachel    

Around Here...

 

Hey Friends! It's hard to believe another week has come and gone. Working so much makes my days just fly by. So in no particular order, here are 5 top 5's! 

1) THIS. Karen posted a picture on my wall last night - and this morning, it resulted in 69 HILAR comments. Check em' out. We rehashed years of fun! Thanks for the fun today Karen!

2) My amazing brother Darrel was supposed to be my Santa for my upcoming open house but the outfit didn't fit. I was hanging out at his chrome shop for about 45 minutes though - and he wore the beard and dead panned helped the customers that came in like nothing was different. It was THE BEST. Trying not to pee my pants from laughter is my favorite thing.

3) Jamie and I did a Coors promo at Snarf's - a sub shop near DU. Nobody was there and it was from 11-1AM and we HAD THE BEST TIME! We played Jenga and Corn Hole and rapped old school! It was fantastic.

4) Sunday I had my first big sale since coming back to John Atencio - I LOVE this ring. Euphoria. No really, that's what it's called! I want.

5) It hasn't happened yet but in a couple hours, I will be eating sashimi with Vicky. I can't wait to catch up with her - it's been a few months because she's been so busy with med school and I have been CRAVING sashimi for about the same amount of time. NOM.

Have a great weekend friends! XO

Rachel

Seeing 'Murika

Hey Guys! So as you know, I recently went to Boston with my sister-cousin, Britney. We had a great time. The last several years we choose somewhere to go and take a trip - except until now we have always chosen Vegas...

 

So this time we decided to see America and go somewhere smart - and here comes Boston. College and learnun' town USA!

We took the red eye out at 11:30 at night which just added to the adventure. This was the last raw vegetable we were going to have for the next 5 days. 

We landed there at 5AM Boston time (3AM Denver) and went straight to our hotel. I don't know how I screwed up the reservations but I thought I had gotten a room for the night before allowing us to check in at 5 AM but it was a no go. They wouldn't let us check in till 3 in the AFTERNOON and it was 5 AM and we were up all night! I even tried to buy us a room which would have been totally fine except the hotel was completely SOLD OUT. Crap. What do we do?

We took to the streets. We walked through China Town at 6 AM and watched the sun rise. We sat in Panera for three hours before we could board our river cruise at 9:30. 

Setting sail!

We had fun on the cruise! We got off on one stop where we posed for some fun pictures - obviously sleep deprived, we got a little out of hand. 

 Britney saved me from this - after I begged and below this picture is just too amazing for words.

 We got some Boston fried food after our big trek. 

 We had a blast. When we finally got to our room, we were pleasantly surprised with the view.

 Over the next several days, we basically ran the town. Here are a couple favorite moments. 

 Room service!

 This.

 

 Rosemary fries in Common Park

 Random Aerosmith concert!

 

 The first day! We really saw the city and took in some amazing sights!

 Random pizza party at UGrill in the college area. We had wings too.

At The Melting Pot. Date night!

We ate her a few times - 150 years young! Best clam chowder ever!

I really do love it.

This was the stereo we rigged out of a bucket and Britney's cell phone and it worked AMAZINGLY!

All in all, these two cousins had an amazing time. Until next time Brit!