Jambalaya, Tornadoes, and all things Spring!

I love the weather here in Texas.  Its been warm and humid and DELIGHTFUL!  But then BAM!  We're in a down poor and the Tornado sirens are going off.  (If you dont know what I mean heres a picture of what they look like...)

Apparently a funnel cloud touched down in North Dallas and that caused all the action.  BUT the best part I haven't even gotten to!  The best part was while all the action is going on I'm at Target getting some groceries!  I was getting ready to walk out of the store when one of the Team Leads stopped me and said he couldn't let me leave the store.  At first I thought he was accusing me of something so I got all defensive.  Then he realized what I was thinking and was all No No its because theres a tornado warning and they want everyone to stay inside until the warning passes.  So for 15 minutes we hung around the back of target in the furniture area.  Once it passed we all joyfully left to go our separate ways.  

This is where the story gets funny... The reason I was at Target was because I was getting things to make Jambalaya.  You want to know why I want to make jambalaya?  Because two weeks ago we were talking about kielbasa sausage and I purchased some but it was a special kind and couldn't use it like I normally would because it had special flavors.  So I was sitting at work today BORED OUT OF MY MIND and thought I should Google easy jambalaya recipes.  Well I'm not one for sticking to recipes but here is a link to the one I based mine off of.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-cajun-jambalaya/

I didn't use chicken, doubled the amount of sausage, didn't use salt, and made this Payne's favorite thing in the world to eat.  Seriously.  

Mom, If you're reading this, MAKE IT!  Totally worth the try.  (And I put the link on here and made sure it went to the right place!)

Here's a picture of the finished product.

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Now what I really want to talk about...

I get asked a lot of times at work where I buy my clothes and why I get such great deals.  Well I am a bargain queen!  I love a good sale and pay attention to when stores are having specials.  So I decided to start posting outfits and where I get everything in the picture.  Remember: Things I buy are on sale and are on clearance.  Or they come from Ross and TJ Maxx.  Theres no guarantee that you can find them.  But you can definitely go searching for your own ideas!

So here is outfit number 1.  The one that started this mess!

I'll start by saying this.  Im a curvy girl and I have a modesty thing.  Like I am super modest.  Anyways...

The dress: Lane Bryant, Clearance for $45.99 (originally $68) but clearance was an additional 50% off taking it down to $23.00 but I also had 30% off my entire purchase so that brought my final total down to $16.00!  (The belt came with the dress!  SCORE!)

The boots: www.JustFab.com , if you sign up for their website your first purchase is $20.00 so these boots were only $20.00

The scarf: Dots. the store is closing so everything is 30% off.  The scarf was originally $7.99 but with 30% off I got it for $5.60!!!

The Leggings: Old Navy, If you are an Old Navy card holder the offer events called Stuff and Save.  Basically what it means is whatever you can "stuff" in a tote bag they will give you 30% off.  BUT ONLY if you are a card holder.  So the leggings were originally $10.  I got them for $7.

Sunglasses: Gap, Clearance for a $1.50.  

And my outfit comes to a total of $50.  How sweet is that?!?!?!

Heres a few tips for curvy girls.  

These are my go to stores

*Deb

*Lane Bryant

*Torrid

*Maurices

*Dots

*Ross

Next, everything eventually goes on sale.  Torrid and Lane Bryant always have some kind of sale going on.  Sign up for their emails because they send out their sales all the time.  AND ALWAYS check the store before you buy online.  Sometimes the stores will mark things down but on the website you will still pay full price.  Be vigilant.  It pays off!  Until my next outfit! 

XOXO,

Jordan

And finally a post about me!

So I did a transition as well.  I went from a natural blonde to lavender and then to platinum.  The pics are below!

Natural 

(7N + 6 Violet color shots + 10 Vol)

to Lavender 

(Pravana Lavender plus some conditioner)

to Platinum 

(2 scoops Blondor + 20 Vol from root to ends under a heat lamp for 25 minutes.  Deep condition as needed)

Also in that first picture I used this new makeup I am in love with.  You can find it on Sephora's website or in the store.  But heres what it looks like.

And heres a description:

SEPHORA COLLECTION

Perfection Mist Airbrush Foundation

ITEM # 1507367 SIZE 2.5 oz

And heres the link:

http://www.sephora.com/perfection-mist-airbrush-foundation-P381155?skuId=1507367

To get us caught up

So then we celebrated our anniversary!  This is a pic from the dinner we had at one of our favorite places called Razzoos.  Its a Cajun inspired restaurant.  

Then time fast forwarded and it was suddenly my birthday!  So I had a free meal at Benihana's and thats where we went.  Heres a picture of me on my 26th birthday with my sweet husband!  He got me the best present in the world.  A purse I have been dying to buy but hadnt bought!

This is a picture of the Dallas temple.  I love it!  Its tucked into this neat neighborhood and its so beautiful.

This is the Dr. Pepper Ball park in Frisco.  Its pretty amazing!

This is a picture of Payne and I on the day it snowed in Dallas.  Thats about how excited we were for the snow.  "...SHUT THE STATE DOWN if it snows in Texas..." -Bill Engval

And look!  Heres Payne and Jack being incredibly cute! 

This picture was taken at the Vivint Field Professional Dinner we went to with a lot of Payne's coworkers.  It was a really fun night and it was nice to meet some of the other "Vivint Wives" 

So last weekend we went to Houston.  It was my first time ever and I was so excited!  This pic is of us at Bubba Gump's and we got to eat dinner on the gulf on a patio off the boardwalk.  It was pretty awesome.  

These are a few pictures of Kemah Boardwalk.  Its a really neat place to go.  Theres a rollercoaster and a few other rides.  Theres neat places to eat and a lot of cool shops to visit as well.  It gets rebuilt quiet a lot because of where its located!  But Its beautiful.

The main reason we went to Houston was to visit my oldest best friend Mandy.  She lives down there and we needed our Mandy fix.  She showed us around town and cooked vegan food for us!  It was pretty cool to spend the weekend with her!  This is a pic of us together right after we got to Houston!

And lastly this is a collage of our NASA adventure.  We fulfilled Payne's life long dream of going to NASA.  He was incredibly excited and was bouncing the entire time we were there.  We took the tram tour and it was totally worth it.  We got to go to the historic Mission Control and see a rocket and see where they simulate living on the international space station.  If youre ever in Houston it is totally worth the visit.  

Our new place/Christmas/Payne and Jack

So we moved to Mesquite Texas.  Here is a pic of our apartment.  We're in the top right corner .

We moved in two days before Christmas.  That was intense but it was great!  We love it here in Texas.  So anyways after getting everything unpacked and settled we put up our Christmas tree.  

Christmas was a lot of fun because Mandy Allred came to visit from Houston.  She and I have been friends since we were 8 years old in Achievement Days.  How nuts is that?!  Oh and Mesquite is like a suburb of Dallas.  Here is a pic of down town Dallas.

Its a really neat place!  We have only ventured down town once but thats because we rarely have time to go.  Most of the stuff we do is around the city.  I also got a job in a salon called The Color Studio and Salon.  Right now I am working as a receptionist.  I will eventually move into a stylist position but its taking me some time to get my license here.  Also Jack moved with us!  He was great in the moving truck.  This is a picture of Jack and Payne reunited after almost a month of being without each other!

Being MIA

So we moved to Texas and we havent had internet and our cell phone service sucks here.  SO here I am world!  Get ready for a boat load of posts!  

I lost track of the days...

Then I realized that it just doesn't matter.  You know why?  Because I'm still here!  I'm still doing this blog.  I don't know who reads it and that DOESN'T matter.  

Lets review the last week. 
Last Saturday Payne left to drive to Texas.  I was emotionally distraught and SUPER sick.  You see I had this gross infection on the inside of my thigh that made me feel so sick.  
Last Sunday I went to church for the SECOND time since Payne and I started dating, then got engaged, then got married...  It was so weird but slightly liberating.  I went up to Salt Lake with my sister in laws to grandmas house and we had a lovely dinner and chat.  
Last Monday I went to work and only worked like 5 hours because we were so dead.  I went home, got into bed, and bawled because I missed my Honey Bear so much!  
Tuesday I went to Lehi to visit Adrienne and have a girls day... Can I just say how cold it was?!  YUCK!
Wednesday I worked until 11pm.  Surprise... My tire went flat on the freeway and I had the nicest Highway Patrolman change it for me.  It was freezing.  Counting my many blessings
Thursday I worked maybe 2 hours before I went home sick.  I was in bed by 6:30 and out cold for the night.  I don't remember the last time that happened.  With all the stress of Payne leaving and me trying to figure out life I haven't been sleeping well.  
Friday I awoke early to go run some errands and get the most delicious breakfast burrito in Utah.  BETOS!  Kid you not!  The next time your in Orem go!  Don't think about it!  JUST GO!  Then I went to work and worked 11 hours.  I was ready to go home!  
Today I woke up and took the black car into Firestone to get the alignment done.  It only took 2 hours to do so while I was bored I was texting Payne and we were discussing the ICE STORM IN DALLAS!  Apparently its really bad.  Then I went home and cleaned the bathroom.  Then I got into the care and drove to work (in Lindon) and it took me 45 hours to get there!  Do you want to know why?!  Because the roads were icy and snowy and people lack the patience to drive in the snow.  Ugh!  But I made it to work. And that's where I am right now.  Sitting at my desk writing this blog post instead of doing my job because its ridiculously slow and I have nothing to do.  

But heres the plan for next week...
Sunday: Go to church and then pack the kitchen
Monday: Clean the rest of our bedroom and start stacking boxes then go to work
Tuesday: Laundry and plan out clothes for the next 2 weeks.  Do more packing and getting rid of useless things.  This is also my day off so I can enjoy it for a little while too.
Wednesday:  Clean off bookshelves and pack them up.  Go to work.
Thursday:  Pack all the living room except for necessary objects.  Go to work
Friday: Laugh because none of this has actually been done.  Go to work.
Saturday: Go to work and then have a fun girls night!

Friday sounds like a blast!

XOXO ~ Jord