Monthly Archives: March 2011

Nora & Knight FAQs

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Ever since I met Knight and especially since I announced the move, I’ve been getting asked the same questions over and over via email, in conversations and etc., so I figured it’s time to address most of them on the blog! If there is something you are just dying to know that I didn’t address, let me know; if I get enough I’ll do a second installment. If not, I’ll just email you back.

How did you and Knight meet?
My best friend is married to his best friend; my best friend has a yearly party at her parents farm each year and it just so happens that this past October we were both there. If you want to know more about it you can read it in the three part series I did about it back in November. (Fun fact: we met two other times previously, one that Knight remembers, one that I remember. We were both otherwise “engaged” if you will but kind of fun that we have crossed paths before.)

When is the big move?
Memorial Day weekend. I thought about moving earlier but I have a lot of personal and family commitments in my current hometown until end of May and it wasn’t feasible for me to take off nearly every Friday to get back here. I’ll definitely be glad when the goodbyes are behind us and we can see each other daily.

Where are you moving?
To Knight’s house. Yes, that’s a smarty pants answer but just in case certain people find this blog, the actual state that I’m relocating too will remain under wraps for now. Suffice to say that I’ll be very close to Chicago.

What is your role in the girls’ lives?
I suppose the term is Bonus Mom as I am definitely involved in parenting and am in a motherly role. When I first started dating Knight, my role in their lives was the focus of an entire conversation we had because I wanted to know what was expected/hopef of me.  So we have talked parenting strategies and plans, how to raise the girls, what my involvement will be with the them and all things in regards to discipline. Since  has he has them 50% of the time, this was something I wanted us to definitely be on the same page with. I will definitely be a hands-on on Bonus Mom and am looking forwad to it and in many ways, I already am. I help with the daily care, discipline, hanging out, playing and etc., when I get to see them.  I may or may not be reading parenting books and may or  may not be sharing what I learn with Knight.

How do the girls see you?
They know that I’m Knight’s girlfriend and so far as I can tell they understand that their parents are no longer married/together. (Their mother is also in a relationship and they call him her boyfriend, so I think they more or less get it, considering their age.)They call me Nora in the cutest voices ever and I totally love it. There has only been one incident, if you want to call it that, where I was called Mommy, but I think that was more of a testing the waters/seeing if I’d react thing. I let the girls know that I’m not their Mommy and am not replacing their Mommy in anyway. I know I’m not their biological mom and I completely respect that/her in that regard and want to make sure they understand that as well, as much as possible. If they get hurt, need something, or just want comfort in the form of cuddles, they do come to me, sometimes even if Knight is in the room. It’s a special feeling to be wanted and needed by a child, that’s for sure.

What is your favorite thing to do with the girls?
Just one thing? Truth is, we have a lot of fun when we are together. Lots of laughs, play time, sweet moments. Probably my favorite thing is just before bedtime, when we read books, say goodnight and prayers, and getting hugs/cuddles from each girl. I also love it when I see them learn or try something new; you can see the light in their eyes that the *get* it, you know? And to know that I was there to witness it and maybe help them, it’s a pretty rocking feeling.

So Knight has an ex wife?
Yes, that he does. Yes, I have met her before. We’ll just leave it at that shall we.

What are your plans for the future with Knight?
To be happy. To make a home with him. To be there for him, to be there with him, to start (or continue) my life in a new city and see what happens next. To love him as much as I possibly can and then some. We have talked future stuff and are on the same page there which is lovely and amazing. I have a good feeling about the future and can’t wait to see what’s next for us!

Anything else you want to know about Nora & Knight, or the move, or anything else? If so, leave it in the comments and I’ll do a second installment next month!

Ten on Tuesday: Food Adventures

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Thanks to Chelsea for hosting!

1. What is a food that you never thought you would try, but then tried and liked?
Risotto. I know, I know, it sounds silly a)  since I’m Italian and b) cause it’s delicious but I was super unsure of it at first. I didn’t try it until I was out of college and a dude I was dating made it for me. I’ve been hooked on risotto ever since.

2. Do you subscribe to any foodie publications? If so, which ones?  
My gram gets me two subscriptions every year: Rachel Ray and Simple & Delicious. I love the Rachel Ray magazine so much; she manages to incorporate food, kitchen fashion, good deeds, dogs, and more amazing food into one magazine. Simple & Delicious has a bit more processed food in the recipes than I would like but I’ve used several of them as springboards for ideas and recipes that I’ve modified.

3. What ingredient do you find yourself reaching for the most when you cook?
Olive oil. Butter. Cheese. And a variety of spices. (Classic Italian, eh?)

4. Are there any foods that you hated as a child, but then learned to like as an adult?
Eggs. Spinach. Not necessarily together but they are certainly good together.

5. What do you like to eat that others may consider weird?
Cream Cheese on Ritz Crackers? Feta cheese straight from the container/block? Pretzels & Junior Mints in the same mouthful?  I don’t really know; I’m sure I have some weird food habits.

6. What is the weirdest ingredient you’ve ever cooked with?
Geez, I don’t know. Probably something I had to use to make  my five course French meal in high school for my honors project. Of course I can’t recall what it may have been now.

7. Do you have any major food allergies?
Lord, yes. Tree nuts (as in walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, etc.); fruits (all); vegetables (most, some I can have cooked, some raw); sesame seeds; soy.

8. Is there an ingredient that you would like to cook with, but are intimidated to try?
Quinoa

9. Do you bake?
Heck yes I do. More than I should probably. One of my favorite things ever; calms my mind, tastes delicious and makes others happy. Win all around.

10. If you could go on any “foodie” show to compete, which one would it be, and why?
Iron Chef.  Or anything with Paula Deen cause I think she’s totally awesome.

I Am…

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◊ Super behind on my blog reading. No real good excuse other than I don’t feel like sitting in front of my computer much after work lately. Please forgive me and know I’ll be back to normal on that soon. 

◊ Beyond excited for the upcoming Seattle trip thanks to Brand About Town and Nintendo and at the same time, I’m nervous: no idea what to expect, what to wear but I am glad I’ll get to meet some fabulous ladies I’ve been dying to meet for awhile! 

◊  Sleep deprived and tired of it. I’ll be teaching myself to go to bed at a normal time, put the book down, turn off the tv and count sheep if I have to.
◊ More in love with Knight than ever before.

◊ Getting the hang of this “Bonus Mom” thing (more on that in the future, I’m sure).

◊ Ready for spring. We totally had snow this past weekend and more is in the forecast. So over it.

◊ Loving my job lately; new challenges, new expectations, new job roles!

◊ Into getting organized, like super organized. Awesome feeling.

◊ Thankful for so much good in my life.

◊ Content. It’s a wonderful place to be.

◊ Tired of people messing with my friends and loved ones. I guess they forget that I’m Italian…

◊In love with this song, again:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpDNfwIrx1M[/youtube]

◊ Bursting at the seams with excitement about this weekend when I get back from Seattle; taking Knight to part of his Christmas present and have an extra day off to spend with him!

What are you today/latley?

{photo credit}

Friday Five (and giveaway winner!)

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It’s Friday.
When I woke up it was sleeting/wintery mix and just generally gross.
So it’s a Friday Five kind of day a la Amber and others.

1. Dress Giveaway Winner. Here’s how it worked: if you tweeted, liked and told me what your favorite dress was, you got one entry for each. You were assigned numbers based on that, and it totaled to 80 entried. Random.org did the rest of the work and the winner is… Becky from Love Everyday Life!

Didn’t win? Don’t despair, now through end of April you can click on the Shappy Apple button in my sidebar, shop for anything you like and enter coupon code: walkingwithnora10ff and get 10% off your total purchase! Go forth and shop, treat yourself to a dress, or jewelry or anything else that you fall in love with on their site. (Oh, and no, I was not compensated to do this giveaway or post the coupon code.)

2. Lent. So this year for Lent I gave up a bunch of things and added some things. Gave up: soda, fried food, ice cream. Were any of these food groups/drinks things I had on a daily basis? Not at all but I noticed they were creeping back into my diet. With spring around the corner, just easier to ditch them, and stick with it. (The last time I did this for Lent, I gave it up for close to one year which is huge for me.) Added: exercising. I know, sounds silly but lately things have been… hectic, to say the least and making time or finding motivation to really work out has been tough. I’ve been doing it for a few weeks now and I already see and feel a difference. Pants fit looser or are too big in some cases, I don’t feel all gross from soda. It’s been good. I hope to keep it up.

3. Running! Going along with #2 above, I’m signing up for a few races this weekend. One which will be run with Knight and Lisa (well, not with them, as I’m sure we won’t run the same pace, but we’ll all be there together) and another one back in the Lou in September for Cardinals Care. I’m super excited to have a 10k and 6k on the horizon. Training plans are printed, dates have been set and the running shoes are ready.

4. 65 days. That’s all that’s left between and now when I move in with Knight. On one hand it seems like it will be forever; on the other, time is dragging. I’m in that in between stage you know, where you’re ready to get on with the show but also know you have a ton of stuff to do. That’s me lately. I’m so excited, I can’t wait!

5. Booked. So I was looking at my calendar the other day and, um, I have one big event every month now through the end of the year, plus a bunch of not-so-big events. It’s amazing how quickly weekends and things book up, isn’t it? Makes me super glad I got my Masters done last year.

What are your Friday five (or one, or seven) today?

Wine and Love v3

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{Photo via}

The things that have me filling up my wine glass this week…

* Apparently I jinxed spring with yesterday’s post, because today? It’s cold, rainy and that’s the forecast for the next week.

* I’m not sleeping well lately. Not at all.

* That I’m really bad at getting up early enough to have enough time to get ready for the day without rushing. Must work on this.

* Time seems to be crawling lately. Dislike.

* Feeling helpless.

{photo via}

The things that I love this week…

* Getting my hair done for the first time since before Christmas; the grays are gone, my hair is healthy yet again and bonus: I got hand massages while my hair color was processing.

* One week until Seattle! Also one week until Opening Day Baseball. (Fun fact: The Cardinals ranked number one in most TV viewings and #4 for yearly attendance last year of 3.3 million people. That’s kind of cool if you ask me.)

* I finally caught the reading bug again (Thank you, J.K. Rowling for weaving such great stories.)

* Unexpected girl time with my mom.

* After some time apart, I finally get to see Knight tomorrow.

* My brother will be home for a whole week.

* Exchanging really awesome emails with some fabulous friends of mine.

 

So tell me, what’s filling up your wine glass this week? Filling up your heart?

 

Spring, You Make me Wanna…

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Spring has seemingly spung around the Lou, which makes me happy to no end. The sun has been shining, the breezes are blowing and of course the pollen is covering cars, windows and everything it can find. All the lovely weather and promises of future fun-in-the-sun has me thinking about all the things I wanna do…

Skipping work and instead hanging out on my favorite hill in, glass of wine in hand, amazing sandwich in the other. ♦ Taking a spin around the zoo to see the newest additions to the Zoo Family. ♦ Focusing on almost anything but work. ♦ Endlessly reading books, especially ones that I’m really into and can’t put down. ♦ Margaritas. Chips & Salsa. Under an umbrella somewhere. ♦ Craving a road trip, the really long kind, with no ultimate end goal in mind, full of crazy Americana along the way. ♦ Buying new clothes. Lots of them. ♦ Seeing the baby ducks and geese that will inevitably be part of our neighborhood and walking across the road daily. (I kind of love that.) ♦ Ice Cold Ice Cream from my favorite place ever. ♦ Hopping on a plane to a beach, any beach. ♦ Afternoons spent at wineries with good friends and good food. ♦ Naps with the windows open. ♦ Early morning runs. ♦ Outdoor festivals full of people watching, sinfully delicious food, and live music. ♦ Nights sitting by a firepit, donning one of my favorite sweatshirts, staring at the stars and staying up way too late.  ♦ New memories, endless laughter, and so much to look forward to. ♦

What does spring make you wanna do?

{Photo Credit}

Ten on Tuesday: Food!

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If you don’t know that Chelsea is the Ten on Tuesday host, you’re living under a rock. Check her out and join us every Tuesday!

1.  What condiments are always, always in your fridge?
Butter, ketchup, mayo, mustard, and while it’s not a normal condiment, I almost always have chocolate syrup so I can have chocolate milk and for use in baking.

2.   How do you like your steak cooked?  Your burgers?
Medium well for both; I used to be able to be medium rare but anymore the pink just doesn’t do it for me. I’m also not that big into red meat; it’s few and far between when I eat it. Just not my thing anymore.

3.  What’s your favorite use for fresh tomatoes?
Mozzarella and tomato salad; thick chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced tomatos, drizzled with olive oil and salt/pepper to taste. Best served with warm, crunchy bread. Delicious.  {Photo Credit}

4.  What’s your go-to dinner when you haven’t planned anything in advance and you don’t feel like going out?
Usually cereal, preferably Honey Nut Cheerios. Yes, I’m serious. Other dinner foods have been known to be turkey sandwiches or soup. Usually depends on what’s in the cupboard.

5.  What’s your favorite snack food lately?
A handful of crackers and a few slices of cheese.

6.  What’s your favorite weekend breakfast to make at home? 
Scrambled eggs with cheese, turkey bacon, sourdough toast. And if I’m super ambitious, cheesy potatoes. Yum. This breakfast assumes there are others in my house to eat it. If I’m alone, then chocolate milk and a poppy seed bagel. I’m pretty simple.

7.  What’s your favorite thing to grill?  How do you do it? 
I love grilled chicken, potatoes, hot dogs and occasionally steaks/burgers. I actually don’t grill. Thankfully my dad and Knight are amazing when it comes to the grill; I’ll marinate the meat if need be, but I let them do the actual food cooking.

8.  What’s your favorite wine for under $10? If you’re not a wine person, what brand of beer is your favorite?
Just one favorite!? Yellow Tail Chardonnay is great, Barefoot wine is alright, Cupcake Wine is pretty good and if you’re really in need of wine and have no cash? Try Two Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw). It’s known as Two Buck Chuck around here… anyone else heard of it? I’m told I’m crazy when I talk about it. It’s not too bad actually but if you drink too much, you’ll get a wicked headache the next day.

9.  Give us your most delicious cocktail recipe.
Vodka. Add Cranberry. I know, I’m so original. (Seriously though, I have a cocktail mixing book but it’s at Knights already, so not sure what I’d choose out of it. I’m not super adventurous when it comes to cocktails.)

10.  How do you like your eggs?
Scrambled, but not dry scrambled if that makes sense… and with cheese! Have to have my cheese.

So, since I’m not very adventurous drink wise, what cocktail should I try next time I’m out?

Friends, Fun, and a Brownie Recipe

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Remember the days of middle school and high school where you and friends would pile around the TV to watch some romantic comedy with the actor du jour? Junk food littered the room, music blared on the stereo, magazines strewn about. You know, like an old-school sleepover or girls night? Well Saturday night two of my friends and I got together for our more reformed, updated version of a girls night: Do-it-yourself pizza, a stack of movies, homemade brownies (the recipe follows since several have asked for it), big comfy couches, blankets, and plenty of girl talk. {Photo Credit}

One of the friends doesn’t live here anymore so when she’s in town we make it a point to get together once or twice. The things we talk about have shifted to celebrity crushes, the hopes and dreams of where we want to live and the latest fashions but instead talk of budgets, babies (theirs, not mine, though it’s fun to talk about my experiences with Knights’ girls), books we need to read, exercise, and a host of other seemingly boring topics. But you know what? It’s fun. It’s fun to hear about birth stories and their babies milestones. Fun to make fun of the movie while we watch it but then realize that we did kind of like it at the end. (Charlie St. Cloud, in case you were wondering. And yes, I’ll be reading the book to see how similar book/movie are. I’m just curious like that.) Fun to gather around in the kitchen to add tons of toppings to our pizzas, and eat a few brownies even if we aren’t really hungry or don’t think we need the calories. It’s fun to talk about moving (not only am I moving but my out of town friend is relocating again since her husband has new orders; he’s a Marine), to discuss how things “used to be” when we were 24 and could go out and drink like it was our jobs, laughing at the outfits we wore, remembering the people we encountered. Most of all it’s fun to just be with the girls, the old gang, yet again.

It may not look the same as it did five years ago, but there is something about friendship that resonates through time, distance, and over years. It’s pretty spectacular.

And now, for the brownie recipe that several people on Twitter asked for! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do; they are my absolute favorite recipe (found thanks to allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cup melted butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup chocolate syrup (such as Hershey’s®)
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I tend to add more, but that’s cause I love it. Also great with mint chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips if you want a variation)

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  2. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Whisk the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and chocolate syrup; mix until evenly incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture and chocolate chips; stir until just moistened and pour into the prepared baking dish.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 40 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

When’s the last time you had an old-school girls/friend night? Any favorite brownie recipes that I need to check out?

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway!

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(First, thanks to everyone for their sincere and heartfelt comments on yesterday’s post! I’m incredibly ecstatic about the upcoming move and I’m sure there will be more posts about it in the future!)

When Shabby Apple, an online boutique featuring a fabulous variety of women’s dresses approached me about doing a dress giveaway for my readers, the logical answer was of course yes! Who doesn’t like free dresses, and especially awesome ones at that? I had a variety of dresses to pick from but had to go with one from their latest dress line “Roman Holiday,” because I’m a huge Audrey Hepburn fan and couldn’t stop crying when I watched “Roman Holiday,” the movie (or Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and yes, even My Fair Lady. Anyway, I digress.) So today you have a chance to win the new Spanish Steps Dress which is flirty, fun, and perfect for the upcoming summer months:

This dress makes me want to hop on a Red Eye to Europe and makes me dream of wineries, picnics in the country, biking around Italy, and ice cold gelato and frankly, I can’t resist it!

Some baseline rules:

* Shabby Apple does not ship internationally, but Nora does! So international readers, enter away! If you win, I’ll get the dress shipped to me and then I’ll send it along to you :)
* The entries must be received by midnight next Thursday, March 24th.
* You must leave a valid email address at the time of commenting; winner will be contacted by email within 24 hours of the giveaway closing.
* Winner will be chosen at random by random.org.

How to Enter (you can leave all of this in one comment and you’ll get three entries, I promise!)

1. For one entry, hop on over to Facebook and “Like” Shappy Apple on Facebook; you’ll get special offers and discounts for being fans of their page!

2. Visit the Shabby Apple website, look at the women’s dresses and share your favorite!

3. Blog OR Tweet about this giveaway and leave the link to your blog/tweet here. (Easy Twitter/blog verbiage for you to use if you like: Check out the Spanish Steps Giveaway from @ShabbyApple on @WalkingwithNora’s blog http://bit.ly/gcrgqp)

It’s that simple! Good luck!

Tornado of Love

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For as long as I can remember my close friends have told me that once I met “the guy,” it would be nothing short of a whirlwind. They were right.

Everything with Knight has been a whirlwind; the best kind of whirlwind that I could imagine. It’s been a tornado of love ever since we met.

Nothing about our relationship has been ordinary or mediocre. Not the way we met, how we started dating, when we met each other’s families. Not how fast we started falling for one another, not how much we wanted to spend time with another. None of it has been ordinary.

So when Knight asked me to move in with him, in a city that is close to 400 miles away from where I live currently? I was over the moon. The right answer, the one that lept from my lips after he asked me was a resounding YES. I didn’t think about my job, or my family and friends that are here. All I could think about is how right it feels:  How I smile and laugh more than before. How I love harder, not just Knight but everyone around me. How I still get the butterflies every time I see him. How I can’t picture my life without him at all. And about 10,000 other things and reasons that I can’t articulate. So I said yes and worried about everything else later.

And of course, everything else is coming together. I’m going to be able to keep my job and will be joining the force of others who work remotely. My family (and Knights’) is beyond supportive (and I’m sure it helps that Knight took the time to talk to my parents about his plans and intentions with me moving up there), my friends have been nothing but thrilled and giddy for me.

I’ll be moving in less than 80 days (not that I’m counting… or maybe I am, because this long distance business is tough).
While I’ve been riding Cloud Twelve (I’m definitely higher than Cloud Nine these days), I have put my feet on the ground long enough to have big conversations with Knight about what’s ahead.

We have had lots of serious talks about the move: how I can acclimate to the digs and town (I plan to do some volunteering, get involved at the local library with book clubs and hopefully writing classes, join a gym, maybe time permitting snag a part-time job), how I’ll adjust to working remotely (I’ll be working from home a few days a week with trips to Starbucks & Caribou during the week, and occasionally going to work at Knight’s office as well). We’ve talked about what to expect when we have his girls and what my role will be in their lives. We’ve talked design, style, where my stuff will go, chores and all that jazz. I know there will be lots of surprises, changes and challenges as it all unfolds, but I love that we have these talks anyway.

In addition to being with Knight, I’ll also be closer to some of my most favorite bloggers turned friends and have plans for coffee dates, trips to baseball games, day trips into their big city, double dates with their men, wine nights and more. I’ll also be just a little over an hour away from my cousin in case I need a quick dose of family; I’ll be coming home every other month to see my parents and of course for most holidays too.

One thing I’ve learned from dating Knight, it’s that the quote above is so true. I’ve fallen and loved harder, learned, enjoyed and discovered more and lived my life for me and for what I want more since I’ve been dating Knight than I have in any other relationship. Life is more vibrant, exciting and rewarding with Knight in my life. I’m moving for love; I don’t know if it gets any better than this.