{The Stud Muffin} Eat Mor Meat

 I like chicken. Micah likes cow. 

Since I refuse to eat anything that once had eyelashes, every once in a while, he cooks a non chicken meal to prevent him from growing feathers and beak. If you ask him, too much chicken could be disfiguring and every man needs a good steak and beer once in a while.

Rib-eye steak

1 Tsp Coarse sea salt

1/2 Tsp Cracked pepper

3 Springs fresh rosemary

3 Cloves garlic

Pat of butter

EVOO

1/2 Lb brussel sprouts

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

3/4 Tbsp coarse mustard

1 lemon

1/2 Can light beer

 2 Tbsp Parmesan

{Steak}

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees

2. Heat cast iron pan on stove until 'screamin' hot with EVOO

3. Season steak with salt and pepper to taste

4. Brown garlic cloves in hot oil until browned on both sides and remove

5. Sear steak until carmelized on both sides ~1.5 minutes each side

6. Place garlic and rosemary on steak with pat of butter

7. Place in oven 

Medium Rare: 5 minutes

Medium: 7 minutes

Medium Well: That's just wrong.

Well Done: You wasteful showboat.

8. Remove from oven and plate

{Brussel Sprouts}

When steak is on stove, combine all veggie ingredients (minus parmesan and lemon) into pan and simmer until beer reduces down and sprouts are carmelized. Finish with squirt of lemon and parmesan to taste.

Liebster Blog Award

 I haven't prepared anything, and my beauty queen wave needs some tweaking, but I have my faux 'pretty cry' down pat. Here it goes.

Bonnie of Mini Me Style recently awarded me the Liebster Blog award! The German word "Liebster" translates to English as "beloved" or "favorite", and this award is given to new, up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers. I was so excited to get the award and can't wait to pass it on!

 Meghan at The Magpie

 Kym at Bitty and Bunny

 
  Becca at Love Always

Kelly at Enter Kelly

Candace at Mint Blush

In order to accept the award:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

Stately Design

Shirt: Old Navy (2012)  Skirt: Gap Outlet (2012)  Belt: Forever 21 (2012)
Wedges: Payless (2012)  Necklace: Forever 21 (2009)  Bangles: Forever 21 (2012)

I saw this wall while heading to my neighborhood Goodwill a few weeks ago, and decided I needed to make it mine. 

So I headed over to the Texas Department of Public Safety and took these photos. Yes, behind this wall, tickets are processed, ideas for snazzy new street signs are composed and a cop mannequin stands in all his glory, scaring the living daylights out of innocent photo takers. Like Micah. 

To cut costs, it seems that the DPS has employed a dummy cop (no pun intended) to stand guard at the front, scaring off the baddies who have come for justice in the off hours. Or girls in skirts wanting to take a pretty picture. I think even in wedges I can outrun that guy.

{Beauty Mark} Tree Hut Sugar Scrub

I think I can speak for most everyone when I say spa treatments are heavenly.

They're also expensive.

As much as I've begged, pleaded and cajoled Micah into being my personal masseuse and spa boy for the day, I still haven't got my wish. I find myself alone in my homebound spa adventures, so I have had to get creative with my product use. My rules are:

They have to smell good.

They have to actually work.

They can't cost more than $10.

Well I have been poking around Target, Walmart and my local drugstores and have come up with quite an array of products that are just as heavenly at home, and  get the job done without actually costing us the visit of a spa day.

One of my favorites is a sugar scrub. It can be used in the shower and gently exfoliates, which lays the foundation for lotion to do its job, as well as leave your skin glowing. Tree Hut Sugar Scrub is a great way to clear off the dead skin left behind by winter and kick start your adventures in the sun. It smells insanely good, and I may have experienced some mouth watering during my shower. It makes me crave dessert every time I open the container, and it leaves my skin incredibly soft and smooth.

Win, win. 

They can be found at retailers nationwide, as well as online retailers such as CVS, Amazon and Drugstore.com.

The website lists the scrubs, the ingredients and what each scrub is made to do.

They are all great quality products, so the decision is up to you!

Disclaimer: This product was not given to me nor was I compensated for this review in any way. This product was purchased by myself with my money because I felt like it. That's how I roll.

{Giveaway} Everyone Gets a Humpback Whale!

Well, not quite.

That'd be pretty inhumane, dontcha think?

But I have something better. Much better. My friend Angie has a gift. And that gift, is the gift of design. Web design to be more specific.

And she wants to share that gift with one of you.

So, in celebration of my little blog having over 100 followers, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading along, leaving sweet comments and Tweets and spreading the word!

I collaborated with Angie from Angie Makes to give away a free blog design! Satisfied with your current design? Well, she can assist in adding buttons, links, blog tweaks, etc! Your wish is her command.

Angie just transitioned into full time design work and I always believe in helping out an ambitious small business owner! She helped redesign my blog header, photo and link buttons this past week, and with such a quick turnaround time! I gave her some ideas and colors that I wanted to see used, and she made this beauty for me! Oh what? There's more? Yup.

She also has offered to design your personal or blog Facebook page! Yeah, she's awesome. I know.

This is a great opportunity for newbie and seasoned bloggers alike. I was hesitant to change my design, but once she got me started on new ideas/colors/things to change, I was like a boulder rolling down a hill. Unstoppable.

To enter, you must be a follower on either GFC or Bloglovin, and leave a comment here for each of the following that you do:

• Follow me on GFC (+1 entry)
• Follow Angie on Facebook (+2 entries)
• Follow Angie on Twitter (+2 entries)
• Follow me on Twitter (+1 entry)
• Follow me on Facebook (+1 entry)
• Follow me on Bloglovin (+1 entry)
• Mention the giveaway and link back to this post at the end of one of your posts this week (+2 entries)
• Tweet about the giveaway (+2 entries) *For this, you must include both @secondhandmagpi and @angiemakes in the tweet, the link to the post, as well as include the link to the specific tweet in the comment*
  
  That's a total of 12 entries!

Angie Makes

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Bloglovin

The giveaway will stay open until April 30 and the winner will be announced May 1!

A New Chapter

So I got me a job. 

It's been seven weeks since I passed my boards, and the job hunt has been more than a little grueling. Austin is a great place to live and work, so competition for a job is tough, especially for a new grad! I'm excited to be starting this new chapter in my life. 

This week will be orientation overload, so bear with me as I learn to balance 10 hour days with blogging. I may have a bit of scheduling whiplash, seeing as how I have a completely open schedule now and I will have around 3 hours a day once I finish work. 

Yeesh.

So, if things are spotty or I misspell every third word, hang in there. My brain may just be filled with the screams of children, concerned parents and billing codes.

In other news, notice anything different?? Stay tuned for the mega-giveaway I'm doing to celebrate 100+ followers!! It starts tomorrow :)

Also:

I just ordered the cutest little bag from Lulu*s for my new camera case!

I also just ordered this fantastic camera bag insert from Darby Mack's Etsy shop to go in said purse. It's a great alternative to buying a designated camera bag, as this can double as a purse, and I can switch this out to any other bag of my choosing!

Plus, the mint and coral go so well together, no?

Instagram Pics of the Week

What a fun week! Some big changes are coming to my life and to the blog this coming week, so get excited! Here are some of the things I manage to capture on the fly!

Clockwise from top left: Shape Diva Dash race gear | New glasses! | Celebration flowers | It's back! My favorite magazine of all time! | We had Zilker Park all to ourselves | Race morning | Amazing sunset (no filter used) on the drive home |