ch-ch-ch-changes!

Yes, you read that correctly. The blog has been moved to a new url. We are still using the Blogger platform, but after almost three years here, we felt that it was time for a new name -or a new identity- for this little blog. Pictures and Paragraphs is just something I said out of the blue one day and Shawn said it sounded like a good name for a blog. The wheels in my head started turning and I couldn't get the thought out of my mind, so after a few weeks of pondering it, I went ahead and made the change. But don't worry! It's just the name and the look of the blog that have changed - the content will remain the same. It's been mostly me posting the last year or so anyway, so although Shawn will still be on the forefront of the blog content, he won't be writing any posts (unless he wants to!). Thank you so much for following us here, and I really hope you follow us over to our new home on the interwebs!

Psst. You'll find a gift guide/wishlist over at Pictures & Paragraphs, if you're looking for it.

Time for a New Look!

I'm not the only one changing my appearance around here. As you may or may not have noticed, over the weekend iveseensomethings.com got a whole new design! Gone are the days of grey and yellow with double sidebar action - it was time for a change... we had the old theme up for far too many months in a row. (Especially compared to how often we used to go through new themes!) So here's another simple design with some more exciting colors and a couple of new features.


First things first, we have a new tag line! Recollections of daily life: things we've seen, made, & done. When Shawn originally purchased iveseensomethings.com a few years ago it was a little spot for him to post his photography. When we decided to use it as the domain for our blog in 2009 I struggled to find a tag line that properly encompassed what the blog was about while still tying in the name. It took me over a year but I think I finally accomplished that.

But back to the new look!

Up at the very top you'll find our menu for all the useful things: our about us page, the recipes page, the walk log, and a link back to the home page. There's more fun stuff in our sidebar - just click the tabs at the top of that first box for tags, archives, and the walk log.

Below all of that are links to various other places you can find us on the web, and links to our respective individual pursuits (comics and dog treats!). I also implemented a search feature if you're looking for something more specific than what you can find in the tags.

Also, since my birthday is coming up... I conveniently put a wishlist in the sidebar too :) But you know, no pressure or anything. I'll probably leave it up there even after my birthday passes since, you know, Christmas is right on our heels...

The only thing this layout is missing is a more recent photo of the two of us; we haven't taken any since the last one was taken months ago. It's about time for a new photo! Funny enough, for a blog that's all about us, there aren't a whole lot of photos of the two of us on here. Hey Shawn, lets get on that!

July Happenings

Hey-o! It's been quiet on my end round these parts... so far July has been a fairly boring month for us, for sure. We both had to work on the 4th (opposite schedules, of course) but where I was lucky enough to only have to work until 1pm, Shawn was stuck at the deli until 9pm... lame!
My co-workers and I got together for a small after-hours pot-luck at the cafe - there was homemade pulled pork, colorful cabbage salad with roasted peanuts and lime, creamy potato salad, blackberry shortcake with lime-zested whipped cream, strawberry brioche bread pudding, and shoofly pie. Unfortunately, Shawn missed the feast, but at least I brought him home a heaping plate of leftovers! Then we watched the fireworks from our living room television set; they were quite un-impressive this year, might I add.

So instead of a hearty post full of pictures and recanting of daily activities, I thought I'd introduce you all to a couple of new features I recently added to the blog!

We started a Walk Log so that you can keep up with our daily mileage, if you care to. The permanent link to it is at the bottom of the left sidebar. I've been logging our daily walks around the neighborhood for a few months now, and we finally decided it was time to do something with all that -otherwise useless- information, so do with it what you wish!

The other change can be found in the menu tabs, also in the left sidebar. We used to have a tab for Videos and a tab for Lists. I decided to move all of our lists over to Listography, and the Videos tab was futile because it was just a link that sent you over to our you-tube page. So I simplified everything and made a page with links to all of the other spaces we occupy on the internet.

In particular, keep your eye(s) on our flickr over the next few days/weeks... Shawn is going through all of his photographs taken over the last couple of years and posting them to flickr for a permanent spot on the interweb.... there are a bunch even I've never seen!

And I lied earlier... I can't have a post with no photos in it!
Here are a couple of dinners we've made lately:


pasta with baked tomatoes


potato and green bean salad


homemade wholewheat crust with zucchini, spring onion & mozzarella pizza

Happy July!

It's already 5 days into 2011?!

First of all, Happy New Year, faithful readers! Albeit already being a few days into it, but a happy start none the less.



Since we like to change the blog's look fairly often, I figured it was time for a new layout - the winter theme was nice, but the santa hats and mistletoe were no longer in season, so our first layout of the new year pays tribute to the 70's. Shawn wanted a 60s/70s couch type of look, and I think that has been achieved.



We brought in the new year with some tasty spicy tilapia and season 3 of 30 Rock (which we've really been into as of late). A nice relaxing New Years eve at home on the couch was an enjoyable contrast to my last two new years eves spent working in a pastry kitchen. Shawn and I actually got to kiss at midnight! Cliche, but enjoyable regardless. Once midnight hit and our neighbors finished setting off sparklers in the courtyard, we called it a night. (Geez, we're like an old couple already!) I had work at 8am though so a late night was not in the cards.



Neither one of us is really into making resolutions, but I definitely have a few goals I'd like to focus on this year... new habits I'd like to form, if anything.

In terms of the blog, I'd really like to start posting at least one recipe a week. We make so many tasty things that I hardly have time to keep up with it all! Recipes I keep intending to post get lost in a shuffle of other pages of recipes... and thus our blog is left fairly devoid of recipes, despite our 9 month trek into the blog-o-sphere. If I can kick it into gear, we could have 52+ recipes on here by the end of the year!

Another thing I'd like to do is start bringing lunch with me to work. I work in a coffee shop and although we do sell bagels and panini sandwiches, those aren't the types of foods that are going to keep me alert and energized throughout my 8-hour work day. Shawn and I eat a lot of bread and cheese throughout the week already, and I'd really like to bring more fruits and veggies and 'whole' foods to snack on when I'm not at home. Just because Shawn doesn't enjoy munching on leafy greens and root vegetables, doesn't mean I can't prepare a salad of them for myself to bring to work!

I'd also like to play around with more bread-making! I'm not quite sure what 2011 has in store for us, but I'm excited to see what I can do with it.

(30 Rock image courtesy of Yahoo TV)