the giraffe life

We finally decorated our pumpkin for Halloween! Mr. G found the kit at Lowe's on clearance and couldn't resist, haha. linking up for Wordless Wednesday

our wedding cake topper Do you ever suddenly realize a week has gone by and all you've talked about with your significant other is what's for dinner and how much laundry needs to be done? Or he/she is out-of-sorts with some wretched sickness and not in the mood for jokes or chit chat and then you feel a little grumpy too? That was kinda last week for us. I worked late a few nights, then Mr. Giraffe left on a fishing trip and came home a few days later sick. But yesterday. Yesterday, Mr. Giraffe and I went for a long walk. The weather was pleasant (sunny with a cool breeze), moods were cheery, and the conversation was flowing. We talked about how this January will mark seven years of being together and how we want to celebrate. We talked about how freeing it will feel to have no debt. We talked about our ideas for vacation next summer. It was nothing special - just a walk and some chatting - but it was something special. Two people, holding hands and reconnecting.

The title says it all. I really enjoy board games. Growing up, we had a ton of board games that we would play with friends or siblings, and as a family. Of course, my tastes have changed over my twenty-ish years of playing board games, but these are some of my favorites. Apples to Apples : Very simple concept here - cards with a word on them and cards with a category or group of some kind on them. Everyone plays their card that will best match whatever the current category is and the judge selects the best one (not knowing who played which card). We laugh every time we play this one and there's plenty of trash talking about how certain you are that someone will pick your card. And the judge has so much freedom - I like to pick cards that are quirky or the opposite of what you'd expect, which the people who are playing "properly" don't always appreciate ;) Pay Day : I think this game illustrates how much I've always enjoyed thinking about money and finance

Finding gum in recyclable packaging is tough - I've been looking at my local stores with no luck. But on a recent out-of-the-way trip, I stopped at Whole Foods for some other things and stumbled upon this gum. It's packed loosely in cardboard, contains only vegetarian ingredients, costs $1 for 16 (albeit tiny) pieces and is nearly 100% natural (there are some synthetics in the gum base). Since I chew gum sparingly, I'll count it as a win. Do you know of any completely natural gums? linking up for Wordless Wednesday

I considered reading this book after reading Janssen's review  of the audiobook : Narrated by a powerful and snarky djinni who finds himself summoned by an apprenticed magician bent on revenge, we picked this one off the shelf at the library on a whim. This was the luckiest whim ever. After this book, we looked for everything Simon Jones narrated. He's that good. Who wouldn't want to listen to it after that description? But whether it was because I needed more convincing or because I wanted more plot spoilers, I headed over to goodreads to get more information. There, I discovered the story takes place in London and has an undercurrent of a fight for power between good magicians and bad magicians (sound familiar?). But even the 2-star raters said it was nothing like Harry Potter, so I decided to give it a try. (This is another reason that having the library as my sole source of reading materials works out in my favor: I'm willing to stop reading books/magazine

According to the Department of Labor, the average American makes $62,481 before taxes and this is how they spend it . . how do you compare? (Click to enlarge and be taken to the original source) I spend far less than this "average" person, but since I earn less as well, it's a little difficult to compare dollar-to-dollar. Of course, it's also tricky because I'm married. So I while I use and enjoy electricity, my husband pays for it (along with car payments and insurance, trash service, dinners out, and more). :) So I ran the numbers strictly for the things I pay for and I used percentages thinking that made the most sense. ~Taxes account for 26%. (This is an oddball number because it combines various state, federal, and local taxes as best I can figure.) I know the first pie chart didn't include taxes/government fees, but how can you not? No one escapes them completely (as far as I know) and they're usually a big chunk money gone! ~Paying half

Despite having access to a cushy cat bed, Dottie prefers to sleep on a shopping bag . .  Anyone else have a cat who sleeps in strange places?

This series, wherein I feature recipes from other blogs that I've made and enjoyed, is an idea that I completely ripped off from Kiersten at ohmyveggies .  She does one every Friday. I originally saw this over at cleaneatingveggiegirl . I didn't have bell pepper, so I used celery; I didn't have chili powder or cumin, so I used cayenne (whew - and I paid for that choice with a burning tongue!); I didn't have vegan sausage, so I added an egg at the very end and it turned out kinda like vegetable fried rice. All those changes - and it was still delicious! (Oh, and when I ate my second helping, I poured tomato sauce over the top, and that took the heat down a notch.) Uhh, tomato sauce and some vegetables? Okay, you caught me - this isn't really a recipe. But it was yummy and I figured this is as good as place as any to include it. These were leftovers - pasta, corn, carrots, green beans, and tomato sauce - but so good, and a great way to use up all those rand

Ahh fall. I love the crisp air and cooler nights, but it also means the end of the growing season. Usually about this time I'm itching for a break from the garden and yard work in general so it's perfect timing. And this year is no different - hubby mowed the lawn one last time last weekend, I trimmed the dead stuff hanging around and put the Halloween decorations out. But the garden's not ready to close up shop yet. Specifically, the tomatoes. We are still steady picking cherry tomatoes - about 30 - 40 a day. The plants are actually lifting their support cage out of the ground! (See how it's tipping to the left?) So I guess I won't get my break from gardening for another few weeks. But I can't complain. Free food is free food!  How's your garden look?

My husband took this shot coming home from a recent a trip - aren't the clouds lovely? linking up for wordless Wednesday

Since it's already October 7th, I'm a little late for an October challenge, but oh well. RA is hosting a 30x30 challenge this month and I'm in the mood to participate! Basically, you choose any combination of 30 clothing items and shoes to wear for the entire month of October. Head over to her post for the exact rules.  RA excludes some things from her count, like workout gear, socks, and underclothes, so I did too. However, she counts some accessories toward her 30 (like belts and necklaces). I rarely wear any jewelry besides my wedding and engagement rings and haven't worn a belt in years, so I decided to skip those and just pick out clothing and shoes. And since we had a slight laundry snafu this weekend, I'll be choosing a few more tops this week after I catch up on laundry. (As far as Halloween goes, I'm still undecided about whether or not I'll dress up, so I'll make a decision later.) Ready to see what I'll be wearing? 1 work shirt

I'm not a huge fan of zucchini. Sure, I'll eat it hidden in treats like zucchini bread, but I've never been one to enjoy a side of zucchini. This recipe changed my mind. I think the difference is that the seeds are removed (which vastly improved the texture over the watery zucchini dishes of yore) and that the zucchini is cooked separately from the filling.  This is also a really quick meal - about 30 minutes in all - so I'm a little biased. I liked it so much I may plant zucchini in my garden next year (although I've been warned it'll take over even worse than the cucumber vines). So basically, it's zucchini combined with all kinds of good stuff - basmati rice, corn, onions, tomatoes, black beans. Then I topped mine with cheese and cilantro, while Mr. Giraffe went the cheese and sour cream route. Customizable toppings make everyone happy!  But that's enough blabbing, check out the recipe for yourself (it's easier than all those steps make it lo

I've talked about it before , but it bears mentioning again because it's weird: I love a good breeze. So imagine my excitement when I found this wind map (click the photo for the interactive version). The map shows barely any breeze around my neck of the woods (East Coast), so I think this is proof that I need to visit the West sometime soon ;) Sadly, it only shows the US right now, but maybe they'll expand! linking up for Wordless Wednesday