Fourth of July Page - Memory Monday #10

By Vicky Nardone

Happy Fourth of July week!  I'm in full summer mode now.  How about you?  This year my dad is getting married in Chicago the day after the Fourth of July so Matt and I are flying into Chicago on the Fourth for the wedding.  We will be watching the fireworks on Navy Pier after the rehearsal dinner on Friday.  This will be the first Fourth of July since Matt and I met that we won't be watching the fireworks at the local park in Tonawanda NY where we used to live.  Matt's been going to that park for fireworks since he bought his house in Tonawanda back in 2007.  

Moscato Sangria - Smoothie Saturday #9

By Vicky Nardone

 

So you may have noticed that Smoothie Saturday isn't always about smoothies.  I have been sharing some of my other favorite drinks on here too.  But Smoothie Saturday has a nice ring to it so I think I'm going to keep it.  This week I'm sharing my Sangria Recipe.  When I drink alcohol during the summer, Sangria is always one of the top choices on my list.

Homemade Salsa - Whatever Wednesday #9

By Vicky Nardone

I love going out to authentic Mexican restaurants and most of the reason is the delicious chips and salsa they bring you as an appetizer. I usually eat enough chips and salsa to make me full and then I end up being super full by the time I finish the actual meal I've ordered. Does anyone else remember ChiChis or Don Pablos? Those were my favorite Mexican restaurants to go to as a kid. Nowadays my husband and I find ourselves at the hole in the wall type places when we're looking for authentic Mexican food.

Most of the salsa I find in the grocery store doesn't come close to being the same kind as you get from the Mexican restaurants. It's too chunky for me and it has something added that gives it a flavor I really don't care for (probably all the preservatives added so that I can sit on a store shelf for a long time). The brand I liked the best from the stores was Herdez salsa and I've had no luck finding that brand in mild lately.

The Girls Get Ready - Memory Monday #9

By Vicky Nardone

Matt and I had our wedding in Lake George, NY which is about 4.5 hours away from where we live in Buffalo.  Luckily we had a gorgeous house that my parents rented for us to stay in for the week and it had a gorgeous upstairs loft bedroom that the girls and I used to get ready with a private bathroom.  The lady that we rented the house from was a hairstylist and she agreed to come to the house on the morning of the wedding and do all the girls hair.  My sister-in-law Andrea is a whiz with makeup so she did the makeup of any of the girls who wanted it done, including me.

Greek Bowls - Whatever Wednesday #8

By Vicky Nardone

So I have a new restaurant that I might be slightly obsessed with.  It's called Rachel's Mediterranean.  Thus far I have only tried their rice bowls and their greek fries, but they have several really good looking items on their menu that I plan to order during future visits.

On The Town - Memory Mondays #8

By Vicky Nardone

When Matt and I first started dating, he was very excited for me to meet his sister Andrea.  She still lived at home back in South Glens Falls with his parents but she was thinking of going to college near us at Fredonia.  So one weekend, shortly after I had moved into Matt's house, Andrea came to visit us for the weekend.  While she was here, she wanted to experience a little bit of the Buffalo nightlife.  Matt and I are not big into the club scene - in fact I think this might be the one and only night we have ever been to a club together.  But Matt's friend Andy knows all the best places to go out in Buffalo.

Ashkers Restaurant - Smoothie Saturday #7

By Vicky Nardone

 

For today's Smoothie Saturday, I decided to share with you one of the spots we love to go in Buffalo for smoothies - Ashkers.  We recently discovered this spot with the help of our friend Lauren.  It's a very artsy cafe on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.  They have lots of juices, smoothies, coffee drinks and delicious salads, sandwiches and breakfast dishes.  We went for lunch last Saturday with Lauren.  I love the atmosphere of the place.  They have a cool old piano - there's an entire music room in fact, a conference room that people can rent out and lots of fun artwork hanging on the walls.  In the summer they have a beautiful patio for people to sit on.

Crochet Shawl - Whatever Wednesday #7

By Vicky Nardone

Oftentimes I find myself starting a knitting or crochet project and then getting bored halfway through and moving on to something else.  This shawl was a definite exception though.  The pattern was constantly new and changing the whole way through and it made me excited to keep going.  Also, it's hard to tell from the picture, but the yarn had shimmer sequins throughout and I just loved working with it so much that I was excited to have a finished product to wear made from it.

Maggie The Dog Page - Memory Mondays #7

By Vicky Nardone

Today's Memory Monday page is dedicated to my dog Maggie.  Matt and I got Maggie a few months after moving into our house.  Matt had grown up having dogs and I really hadn't (we had a dog when I was really young but I don't really have many memories of him).  We had talked about getting a dog pretty early on in our relationship but Matt wanted to wait until we had a nice backyard for the dog to run around in.  Our backyard at our house is completely fenced in so it gives Maggie lots of exercise.

Creamy Fruit Pops - Smoothie Saturdays #6

By Vicky Nardone

I work in a fairly large building downtown and every so often, the building brings vendors in during the lunch hour for people to shop at.  I think my favorite one so far was a discount book seller that they had in right around Easter time.  They had all these really great cookbooks for under $15!  I got at least five or six.  One of the books that I got was a popsicle recipe book and I'm so glad it's getting warm again so that I can eat these without freezing to death. 

Honeymoon to Jamaica - Whatever Wednesdays #6

By Vicky Nardone

In November of 2013, after already being married for a year and a half, Matt and I finally got around to taking our honeymoon to Jamaica.  We had decided to wait a little while after the wedding since we got married out of town and had already taken a week off of work for that.  Neither of us had ever been to an all inclusive resort and we heard Sandals was one of the best so we set aside some of the money we got for the wedding and booked a trip.  Both of us were really excited and ready for the honeymoon by the time November came - we had both been working really long hours in the months leading up to November and we needed a break.  So today I'll share with you a picture diary of our trip, just in case anyone is thinking of going to Jamaica or staying at a Sandals resort.  We stayed at the Sandals Grande Riviera in Ochos Rios.

There were two sides to the resort - a beach side and a pool side.  We chose to stay on the beach side and we got a room overlooking the ocean.  This was our room.  Note the cute little swan that the maid put on our bed everytime she made it.  Every room is stocked with a bar

Wedding Ceremony Page - Memory Mondays #6

By Vicky Nardone

This scrapbook layout was inspired by this layout I found on Pinterest.  I decided to go with a blue, purple and green color scheme for this page.  I found a gorgeous lilac paper with all the right colors in it.