Easter!

As we aren't religious folks, Mr. H and I don't celebrate Easter traditionally (we both usually spend the day at work, tryin' to get that time and a half y'all!), but we (I) do like to dye eggs. We do it every year and this year was no exception!

I know there are all kinds of fancy egg dying kits out there, but we stick to the food coloring, vinegar, and hot water method. Mostly because usually we do this last minute, late at night.

We drew all kinds of things on them with white crayon, only to pull them out of the dye and find our drawings/messages had disappeared! So sad, that's never happened before. Damn you crayola! You let us down! Such a bummer, it's always so fun to find out what each other wrote/drew. Oh well, we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless!

I sported some bunny ears for the occasion.

 Lot's of giggling, of course.

Sophie got in on the bunny ear action. Doesn't she look pleased?

Message-less eggs. Sad, sad, sad. We summed up our messages and drawings and relayed them verbally, but it just wasn't the same. At least they're pretty colors! Except for that greyish one... not sure what's going on there (I tried, and failed, to make purple). 

And as tradition, after a few minutes of enjoying our master pieces we busted them open,

and made deviled eggs!

Someone (I'll give you a hint, it wasn't me) forgot the mayo at work, so I had to improvise with the filling. Turns out olive oil is a good (and probably healthier) substitute! They were yummy and we ate them quickly. Good food never lasts long around us.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter doing Eastery things. And I hope the Easter bunny was good to you! He visited us this weekend via Brendon's momma and we scored a giant basket of candy and goodies. Our teeth will most likely fall out by the end of the week, but it will be worth it.

Skirt and shirt shenanigans

My most recent sewing creation is a shirt and skirt combo! Made from the same set of patterns I made my last dress from. I know I always say that whatever I happen to be talking about is my favorite thing I've made, but this really is! I love this skirt and shirt, they've got a retro 50's feel. And I love the fabric. That fabric I made the skirt with was $2 y'all, for 2 very wide yards of awesome fabric. On clearance. TWO DOLLARS!!! It is plaid and gold and shiny and perfect. And I have a bunch left over still. The fabric for the shirt was a little pricier, but it's good soft stuff that is super comfy. And pretty! It's lacy! And both of these things fit me perfectly. Which is a nice change from things always being a bit big (I suck at sizing myself).

This beautiful fabric came with an extra set of challenges however. It was pretty dang see through! No bueno for a skirt unless you're into showing off your panties (I am not). So I had to improvise and whip up a lining. It was a fun problem to solve. I basically made another shorter mirrored version of the skirt and sewed it into the waistband and around the zipper. It's kind of nice because not only is it no longer see through, but it hides all the seams and makes it look pretty from the inside as well! It also adds a little bulk to it to make it a little... fluffier?

Now here are some wonky pictures Brendon took of me wearing this little ensemble. I apologize for the flash. I know that's like a blogging (and photography?) no-no, but we ran out of daylight and I ran out of energy for creative pictures.

Ignore the creases on the skirt from where I sat on it. That fabric is super weird (it's acetate? I need to google it) and likes to hold creases and folds. Forever. I haven't figured out how I'm going to wash it.

I am very happy with how it all turned out. The skirt and shirt were both a lot of fun to make. It felt good to get my hands working on something constructive after a week of laziness. And I already have my pattern and fabric for my next project picked out! Purple linen y'all, get ready.

And just for the hell of it, I'll leave you with some borderline ridiculous pictures:

Sophie. Seriously. That cat is FAT.

And this is what 9pm after getting up at 4am looks like. Tired, tired, tired.

Breaking news in the Hogan world

Two posts in one day? What the heck? I know, I know, I out-do myself. This is just big news, and it has to be shared.

For Brendon's pharmacy program at UT, there is a decent chance that you complete your third and fourth, or just forth, year(s) in another city (such as San Antonio, DFW, Houston, El Paso, etc). There aren't enough places here in Austin for everyone to complete their rotations or something. To decide who goes where, they basically have a lottery set up where you rank your first four choices of cities and some computer system generates a ranking system randomly and they match you up with a city. They higher number you get, the better the odds of getting your first choice. So, kinda scary. I hear they do this kind of thing with med school too.

We picked (in order of preference), Austin, DFW, San Antonio, and then I think Houston. Usually most people get their first or second choice. Picking DFW over San Antonio as our second choice was a big decision. We love being close to family, but we also loved living up north. So for various reasons (it was an insanely stressful decision and I had anxiety for hours about it) we chose DFW as our second option.

But none of that matters because we got Austin! We got our first pick! I am so relieved. Since Brendon put in our choices a week or so ago (and really since I found out we might have to move again), I had been stressing out about it, it was always in the back of my mind nagging at me. It was like before Brendon got into pharmacy school and we had no idea where we were going to live in a few months time. But now we know we're here for good! Or at least 3 more years. Part of me is a little sad, moving back up north would have brought me closer to a lot of my friends and I truly loved living up there. But Austin is becoming more and more our home and being here near family is beyond wonderful. We are lucky ducks and I am grateful.

Boom goes the dynamite, there's that. One big weight lifted off my mind. Sorry Austin, you're stuck with us for a while!

Coconut Macaroons

Y'all, have you ever had a coconut macaroon? I had never tried one until yesterday. We used to sell them at work and they looked amazing, but somehow my will won over and I never tried one (which is saying something since I am a pastry fiend, seriously, I live on pastries and desserts).

WELL, after seeing this post on this lovely blog (someone needs to take the internet away from me), I decided I must make some. So of course, I did. The recipe is on the blog as well as the back of the Baker's flaked coconut bag. It is SO EASY. Make them, eat them, love them.

I will not divulge the unhealthy amount of these that I have eaten already. Let this be a warning, they are very yummy.

Insta-Sunday

Happy April y'all! Did you fool anyone good yesterday? I don't think we participated at all. I'm okay with that. 

Yesterday was a good day. Both Brendon and I had the day off, and even though he spent a good deal of it studying, we squeezed in some quality time. And because carrying your phone around is so much easier than carrying a camera around, I documented everything instagram-style.

We went on a little dinner date for happy hour sushi and some delish banana tempura at this little place called Umi we love. So good and such a good deal. I could eat sushi all day.

We also did some work with our plants and gained a few new flora members of our family! I feel like we've crossed into a weird early middle-aged-ness when a trip to Lowe's is fun and exciting.

My new basil plant! Fresh basil growing on my window sill? Yes please.

This little guy arrived this week all the way from California as a gift from Brendon's momma. It's a money tree (lets hope it brings us good fortune)! We named him Benjamin, I think it's appropriate.

We also planted some potatoes, not sure how successful that will be. We named our future potato plant Samwise just in case we're lucky and something sprouts up.

Puttin Brendon to work! 

We also planted some Lilly of the Valley bulbs.. seeds... roots? We named her Lily Potter, clever eh? You can also see Herbert back there, he got transferred to a big boy pot and is living outside now instead of on our window sill. Wish him luck.

The new window sill arrangement, it's quite crowded. Spike, Benjamin, some little forget-me-not seedlings (yet to be been named), my new basil plant (also not named yet), Teasley, and Norbert.

Yes, I realize we are crazy plant people. Whatever. 

I also baked some banana muffins! I used my banana bread recipe and just poured them into muffin cups instead of a bread pan. I sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar on top and hoped for the best. They turned out pretty dang good!

Pretty fabric I'm turning into clothes. Pretty fabric makes me so happy.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday off. A perfect mixture of relaxation, productivity, and lots of time with my husband. Even if he is glued to his computer, cramming for a test tomorrow. Send him lots of smarty pants vibes y'all!