pasta e fagioli soup

Okay friends, I HAVE to share my new favorite recipe. I just made it for the second time tonight after some serious cravings for the awesome soup. Ben is all about saving soups for "soup weather". I don't know if we are quite in soup weather yet, but I couldn't resist.

I thought I would share this recipe for any of you that need some new recipes in your life. Enjoy!

Pasta e Fagioli Soup
1 lb. ground beef
1 T olive oil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can white beans (rinsed & drained)
4 cups beef broth
1 t marjoram leaves, crumbled
1/2 cup dry elbow macaroni (I used more)
2 T chopped parsley
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
2 T Tabasco sauce


Saute the beef in olive oil in a large saucepan over moderately high heat; remove beef with slotted spoon & set aside. Saute onion, carrot, & celery in the drippings for about 3-4 min or until onion is transparent. Add the tomatoes and their liquid. Cover & simmer 12 min. Bring the mixture to a boil & add the pasta. Boil 6-7 min or until pasta is barely tender. Stir in parsley, lemon juice & Tabasco. Serve Immediately & enjoy.

St. Louis Weekend pt.2

 The next morning we woke up and ate breakfast at the coolest restaurant, Rooster. It was a great placed to eat for breakfast and we all really enjoyed the crepes they are famous for.

 Then we packed our bags, and headed to the main event of the weekend. On our walk we enjoyed an up close view of the Court House. I really love the green faded copper that decorated so many of the buildings.

 The main event of the weekend was going to the St. Louis Cardinals game, aka the Seiler's all-time favorite baseball team, hands down. :) I had been to a few other games before by other teams in other states, but this was by far the best baseball game I have ever been to. The Cards played their hated rival, the Chicago Cubs which was a blast to see. We had great seats & I really enjoyed watching the game.

Side Note: if there are any other newly married wives who struggle finding the same love for watching sports as their husbands do, invest in a scorecard! :) It was really fun to learn all the codes (and make my own that Ben laughed at like "broken bat" or "fake pitch to first base") & it really helped me to focus on the game.

We ended up arriving early to watch the batting practice & Ben caught a fly ball. Here is the birthday boy and Ben

Here is the picture after the Cardinals won! Don't you just love the hands cheering? :)

We had such a great weekend! I am so thankful for such a great in-law family. They have accepted me with open arms & I already feel so at home with them. It was such a memorable weekend, & I feel privileged to have gone to St. Louis with the Seilers!

St. Louis Weekend pt.1

This past weekend, the Ben & I joined the Seilers (Jake, Sue, & Daniel) for a birthday celebration weekend! We left Friday after work, and drove to Branson for a football game & a brief hangout with good, good friends. Then Saturday we all woke up real early and drove to St. Louis. The whole weekend was for the birthday boy, so everything we did was Bens Dad, Jake's, choice.

 First stop was eating at White Castle. It was my first time eating there!

 Here are the real White Castle fans...

Here is our view off the balcony of our hotel room. We were so blessed to have such a fun room, and in the heart of downtown! This was my first real trip to St. Louis, and it turned to be a really cool city. It's so interesting to think that it used to be one of largest cities in America because of all the travelling people passing through.

 After we nested in our hotel room, we decided to see the famous arch up close. It was glorious. It almost gave me a headache from looking up so much. We really wanted to go up in the shuttle, but it was closed.

 Here we are under the Arch with the capital building in the background.

 Later that evening we travelled to The Hill in St. Louis, where Italians immigrated to back in the day. It was such a fun area full of culture & of course... great food! I loved the uniqueness of all the houses being so close to each other. It seemed like a great community to live in, especially if you only spoke Italian.

 Below are two pictures of pretty things that I admired at The Hill.

Saturday was a great day full of great food, walking, sightseeing, and enjoying my first day in St. Louis! More to come on our Sunday adventures.

my job and wish list

Can I tell you about my job?

I recently started working for a company called Acumen Brands, which has been the greatest full time job I have ever had (and only!). I seriously feel so blessed to have such a great boss and co-workers who I respect so much. I have never been treated so well, or been so content with a job before.

So, what do I do all day? I get to email, talk to customers, and put together my Christmas list. Ben asked me a few days ago if I could start working on my Christmas wish list... little does he know what he is in for!!

Want to peek at my Christmas list?

1. I LOVE this Mountain Hardware Monkey Phur Jacket. A good friend of mine had one made by another brand, but this one looks extra comfy.

 2. Le Creuset Dutch Oven, yes please! I am still loving using all of our wedding gifts, but this little wonder and I could accomplish great things in the kitchen together. I'm still trying to decide which size would be the best for me, any thoughts?

3. These custom-made boots by Lucchese, Olive Burnished Wax Comanche Boots, would be such a fun addition to my closet too. Every pair is unique and uniquely made.

 

Well, there were a few things that I have my eye on. Ben, if you are reading this, no pressure :) 

In summation, I love my job and life is going really well for us Seilers. Looking forward to my first trip to St. Louis this weekend. Go Cards!

Go Razorbacks!

This past weekend, the Ben & I and the Allens went to our first U of A football game since moving here. We had been looking forward to the Razorbacks game ever since Ben found the tickets a few weekends ago. We had such a blast at the game, even in our sky-high seats and freezing in the post-rainy weather, really!

It is so fun to go to games with Ben. He is my all-American, football-loving husband. I still don't fully understand the game of football, but I have a great teacher. He really enjoyed the game, and I think it meant a lot to him that I stayed the whole game even though I got real cold and sleepy in the fourth quarter.

Well, here a few pictures of our fun night:

On a side note, I am so thrilled we won. Even though the game got a little rough towards the end, the Razorbacks pulled through and still are undefeated this season. If we had lost, I don't know how excited I would have been to stay the whole game.I'm not that dedicated, yet.

I am thankful to be in a such a fun town where we can go to SEC Football games on weekends!

hiking at devil's den

Last, LAST (this post is so two weekends ago) weekend, Bethany, Marisa & I decided at our sisters lunch that it would be fun to go hiking Saturday afternoon. We did, and had the greatest time. Us Seilers got to hike the paths with the Allens and had a great time. It was so nice to have a change of scenery and get some walkin' exercise. Here are some pictures from our afternoon :)

 

Ready for our super intense hike in our Chacos. :)

The "hiking" group. Picture Perfect :)

This little cutie LOVES snacks. Aunt Jenn knows how to keep her nieces and nephews happy:  snacks, snacks, snacks!

We are just loving being so close to the Allen's & Foltz's here in Fayetteville. We feel so blessed to be in such a great location with Ben's parents two hours away, and here with two of my three sisters here in Fayetteville. It almost feels like I am a normal American. Just missing my sister Lori in California, and my Mom & Dad half-way around the world.

Snapshots of Apartment 7

 Welcome to a small tour of our apartment! 

It has been a BLAST decorating and making a space that is so... me (& Ben). It has also been great reliving our wedding through decorating our apartment with wedding decorations. Best decision ever was banking on Thai decorations: cheap, unique, and so pretty.

So, let's start.

First we have our apartment entrance. Homemade wreath, fun door mat, and the latest addition: a milk pail! I have been searching for one for FOREVER and finally found this little guy at a junk yard.

 I still need to get a sweet flower for her, cuz right now it kind of looks like an ash tray. Gross.

Our apartment has two bedrooms, so we made the second bedroom into a guest room, office (Ben), and sewing room. It is so nice to be able to have all my craft supplies out in the open, rather than in a storage bin. Ben's Grandma Ellison gave me so many adorable wooden spools. As of now they are just in a mason jar, but I am still brainstorming a fun way to display them.

 

We found the coolest bed frame at a thrift store for our spare bed. Not only was it super cheap, I love how much character is has. I would love to paint it mustard someday.

 

Here are some things in our hallway.

 At our wedding one of the ways we did our guest book was having our friends sign these antique plates. These are up in our kitchen and I still love reading the messages on them.

 Here are some wall hangings in our living room. I love these bargain shelves from Target for $5. And those blue vases from our wedding. And those insulators...

 One night my sisters came over and we arranged our plant shelves. The big baskets displayed our pies at our wedding. I wish my camera did these shelves justice...

Well, that is all for now. Our first home together has been such a joy to piece together. Even though we aren't living in a grand ol' house, I still love my little apartment 7 on West Crockett Place. Well, at least for the next 12 months of our lives...