this & that

Desserts Made From Beans!

2012-01-30T09:16:00.012-06:00

Saturday night on pinterest I discovered a recipe for "healthy" Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. I clicked on it thinking it would be the same ol cookie dough made with fake butter and fake sugar and fake eggs which in fact isn't healthy. You are better off eating the full fat butter and real sugar and real eggs over the processed fake foods. But these cookie dough truffles had no butter or eggs or flour had a very interesting ingredient:

Chick Peas!! And people let me tell you these chocolate-chip cookie dough truffles are amazing. I was going to trick Eric but sometimes he gets mad when I add weird things to our food so I told him up front that they were made from beans. He tried and loved them.

I used peanut butter instead of nut butter and could have reduced the sugar and still been fine, next time I will use less sugar. The peanut butter made them taste less like chocolate chip cookies but more like no bake chocolate oatmeal drop cookies. To save on calories I didn't coat in chocolate. Oh and I don't have a food processor so I pulsed the chick peas in the blender first then added the rest of my ingredients. Click here for the recipe.

Next up I am going to try her Deep-Dish Cookie Pie, with over 500 comments it has to be good!

Besides making dessert out of beans I had a very productive weekend crossing some projects off my list. Yesterday as soon as we got home from church I started working on the pennant quilt. I love to make bias tape for quilts so I made it. I ran out of rick rack so as soon as I get more the bias tape is ready to go and I will be finished!

I also finished my breezeway curtains, ran, ironed all of my outfits for the week, went to the grocery store and finally sat down for the first time at 9:30 pm. I never have days that productive and I am so tired today.

While I was working away Eric and Claire were taking a nap. Claire lives the good life!

Have a great week!

On The Sewing Table

2012-01-25T09:19:00.004-06:00

I am giving into the cuteness and making a pennant/bunting quilt this week.
Question, do you think it would look better to have a navy blue band at the top of the flags or no band. I am leaning towards a band and thinking it would be pretty easy to just use bias tape. I thought about rick rack but this is for a boy so that may not work?

On the other side of the room sit my breezeway curtains. I've had the fabric since November but just got around to sewing them a couple of weeks ago. I was able to get my hands on some pleat tape so now I have no excuses. It will be my first time to pleat curtains so I'm a little nervous. But honestly the annoying part of handling all that fabric has already been done so how bad can the pleat tape be?

Hopefully pictures to come of COMPLETED projects soon!

Have a great Wednesday. It is going to be 75* here today and no chance of tornadoes! Woohoo!

C25k Graduate

2012-01-23T09:56:00.001-06:00

I wondered if I should write this post or not, another post about ME. But it is a slow day in the newsroom people and I enjoy reading other people's fitness experiences for encouragement. Plus tis the season where everyone is wanting to get into shape. Hope this helps!

For the past couple of years I've been trying keep up a steady exercise routine. I have started the Couch to 5k program several times alone and never finished. Most recently over the summer I started once again. I did a really good job and I think I got to week 7 then I went on vacation and I stopped. (I used this podcast. It was free and I could tolerate the music which I started to enjoy.) I still would jog up to the football stadium to see Eric several times a week .7 miles. I just could never break that mental block of 1.5 miles, I would get bored or it would rain or be hot.

Last summer when Big Dog Running Co opened in Auburn I was properly fitted and bought a new pair of running shoes hoping to get motivated. It worked. Then I saw on facebook they were offering a C25k class for only $25 and my friend Susan and I signed up. Everyone asks what is a running class. In our case we were paying someone just to tell us when to start and stop running. I know I got my $25 worth because I actually broke the 1.5 mile barrier. The store does teach a free 1 night technique running class so I may look into that in the future. I did figure out a breathing technique on my own that works for me. What a difference!! I use to hate running in the cold but now that I am not gasping for air I enjoy the cooler temps. I can't explain how I breathe, sort of small breaths and not very often?.

We started October 10th. By then I had not run in over a month so I had a little advantage but was still out of shape. We met 2x a week and then did a run by ourselves one more time each week. Susan and I were the only ones to finish the class, ok there were only 4 to start but still. We ran the whole session without stopping even if we were about to die. We knew that in 30 minutes we would be finished and not regret running but we would regret stopping. We have different paces and we each ran our own pace instead of straining to run with each other.

So all of that to say that 9 weeks after we started we ran our first 5k!!

The course ran by my house so Eric was able to stand outside to watch and take very unflattering pictures. I thought I was familiar with the roads since I drive them everyday. I was so wrong that whole thing was small hills. I tried to run the hills but had to walk a few of them. I tried not to walk over 20 seconds.

My time was 33.45. I was pretty happy with it being my first 5k. I came in 122 out of 220 runners that finished. I was happy with that time considering it was all hills and the longest we ran without stopping in the class was 20 minutes. I had a great time and can't wait to run another one.

ok can these pics be any more unflattering! I usually look like this:

Right now Eric and I are training for a 10k and loving getting to run through our beautiful city. When it is rainy or cold we run at AU's old basketball coliseum and are fortunate to have that option. No excuses! We have our eye on the Disney World half marathon next winter. Mainly because you run through the parks and all of the characters are cheering you on!

If you are thinking about getting into running give C25k another try. But this time no excuses! Don't try to run do it alone. There were times that I wanted to stop running but I didn't because Susan was running and I knew I could push myself a little bit more. But if you do have to take a walk break that is fine, you are still lapping those people that are sitting on the couch! Have a set time that you will run and stick to it. We ran with the class on M & W at 7 rain or shine. We were lucky to only have a couple of cold nights and no rain. I had to miss 2 of my favorite tv shows, but I didn't let that excuse work this time, I usually do.

The class had incentives for finishing and attendance, a tshirt and drawing for a pair of shoes. If you are doing this with a group of friends you could still do incentives. Maybe all put in $25 and whoever doesn't miss a class gets a chance to win the money, that sounds fun.

Wow anyone still reading, can you tell I am a details person? I hope this helps someone sitting on the fence wanting to do something. Whenever I didn't want to go to class I always told myself it will be over in 30 minutes and I won't regret running but will regret not running.

Next up:

Feb 25th Celebrate Life 5k that my friend Sissy is in charge of.

March 31 Mud Mania 5k. Oh this should be interesting.

EDIT: Found this blog today, so inspirational! This one too!

Doily Tablecloth

2012-01-17T08:45:00.001-06:00

Last winter I started to collect doilies with a table runner project in mind. At first it was sort of a slow go because I didn't want to spend over $1 on a doily. I hit the jack pot one day at Goodwill and got 2 bags full of doilies for $3! They were blue but bleached to white just fine. I finally got around to finishing the table runner this weekend.

I really wanted more variety in my doilies, but I got tired of waiting so I just went with what I had. I think the table runner turned out pretty cute and is perfect for the winter! Hopefully it isn't the only "snow" we see around here.

Original idea and directions HERE.

Friday 13th

2012-01-13T14:01:00.005-06:00

When we planed this weekend back in the fall, we were suppose to be in California. I was going to try out a surfing lesson and we were going to take a trip to Disneyland!

But after Claire's first surgery we decided we should cancel the vacay and use that money for her vet bill.

Then the back up plan was drive up to the mountains and rent a big cabin. All of our friends would come and we would shop and play in the snow all day then play games and eat fatty snacks all night.

But after Claire's second surgery we decided to cancel that little trip and use that money for her vet bill. (Boo adult decisions. I keep having to tell myself squirells don't have acorns because they make them, it is because they save them!)

Onto plan #3. We are going to watch Beauty & The Beast at the movies... with a gift card. Honestly I am really excited. Beauty & The Beast is the favorite Disney movie of the Holbrook sisters and I can't wait to see it again. I guess my parents had bought the soundtrack for us before we went to see it back in 1991 because I remember my sister sang every song really loud in the theater. Don't worry I've been practicing so there may be a repeat. Nothing beats a good Disney soundtrack.

I would say our plans have gone full circle. Starting with Disneyland and ending with a Disney movie. I probably didn't need to be swimming with sharks or sledding down an icy hill anyway on Friday 13th.

Anybody else going to see Beauty and The Beast?!

Cabbage & Kale Soup

2012-01-10T15:24:00.007-06:00

I am always trying to think of quick, easy low calorie lunches. For lunch this week, I whipped a pot of cabbage soup up Sunday night. Oh my it is yum and a great way to get in some veggies. I used this WW recipe for inspiration but didn't have everything it called for so I changed some things and came up with this.

1 can of beef broth
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of Italian stewed tomatoes

1 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups of chopped cabbage
2 cups of torn kale pieces
1 medium onion
1/2 cup of chopped carrots
1/2 cup of fresh green beans
1/2 cup of chopped zucchini

In a large pot saute garlic, onions, carrots and green beans in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add liquids and veggies. Simmer about 15 minutes.

I always think soup tastes better the next day but as you can see there isn't much liquid the next day after the veggies soak it up. So if you like more liquid in your soup add another can of broth to it.

This pot made 4 servings.

New Tree Skirt

2012-01-06T08:22:00.000-06:00

Well I did end up ordering something yesterday with my Christmas money. This Christmas tree "skirt" is on clearance for only $20 ($7 shipping) from Terrain! I gave my old tree skirt to my mom before Christmas so I was needing a new one. I love the look of Christmas trees in a basket or bucket. Can't wait to use it next year.

Wicker Tree Skirt

Eric preferred the Bell Skirt basket but it wouldn't work with our tree stand.

Terrain also had a few other things I want. Most of all this bird mirror.
Have a great weekend!

After Christmas Sales

2012-01-05T08:53:00.007-06:00

Bring on the After Christmas Sales, I love it!

Yesterday I was at Dillard's and I was going to buy a key chain off the 50% off table. I got to the cash register and the cashier asked me if the key chain was on sale. I said yes and she rudely yelled at me that the sale was over on Sunday. I asked her what day it was and she said Wednesday then I asked her what day the sale was over and she said Sunday. I mean I would understand if they hadn't taken the sign down on Monday morning, but 3 days later people. She very rudely told me that she would honor the 50% off like it was my fault. The box the key chain was in said $48.00 but there was a tag attached to the key chain that had a price of $28.00. She rang it up for $48 and I told her that it was only $28 she said they had to go by the price on the box not on the tag ATTACHED to the item. Needless to say I didn't buy the key chain but I stewed over that little convo all yesterday. Seriously so if I took a pair off $200 shoes and put them in a $25 box they would charge me only $25?!

Moving on to a happier store that has the BEST customer service ever, Lands End Canvas. They are having a great sale right now and I've got my eye on a few things...

Love this Striped Sailor Tunic

It is such a versitle shirt, look at all of these cute stripe shirt ideas.

all stripe shirt ideas via

Check shirts are so popular right now and this check shirt is only $17!

I think I like this orange big check shirt, it would be cute to wear to Auburn games!

Now changing gears but still talking about Christmas sales...

Yesterday morning I was on Rugs USA looking for an outdoor rug. They are having a really good sale right now with a lot of rugs 75% off!

I couldn't figure out how to copy and paste the pics so I had to do a screen shot. Which is interesting because yesterday when I copied this pic,the Trellis Rug was 75% off and now it has changed to 35% off. With 75% off you could have gotten the 7x9 size for only $113! Now it is $296 which is still a good deal.
There are several different colors so maybe one will work for you.

The Plymouth Ikat rug would look really good in my daughter's room. I wish the colors were just a little more muted but that is ok because I don't have a daughter so I will not dwell on the saturation of color. $335 for a 7x9 rug, it would pretty much cover her whole floor.

I love this Herringbone Jute 8x10 for only $315 for my living room.

So have you bought anything with your Christmas money? Seen any good deals I should know about?

After paying off Claire's vet bills last week I'm a little paralyzed on spending money so Land's End Canvas or Rugs USA if you are out there I will gladly accept a hand out!

2011 In Review

2012-01-01T13:42:00.001-06:00

Every year I forget how great of a year I've had and how blessed we really are. I seem to always dwell on the things that didn't happen as opposed to the things that did. We got to do all of this and that is awesome!

Here are 12 great things that happened to me in 2011!

JANUARY
Auburn won the National Championship and I was there to see it!!

FEBRUARY

Better Homes & Gardens came to my house for their "I Did It!" Story!!

MARCH

I met Cam Newton!!

APRIL - The May 2011 issue of Better Homes & Gardens came out in stores before my mailbox which called for a late night trip to purchase 1 or 20.

MAY - After 2 years of living with dirt and weeds, we finally sodded the backyard. (ok it was a slow month)

JUNE - I made it to year 29.

JULY - We took a fantabulous trip to New York City!

AUGUST

After 15 years of waiting I finally met my teenage dream: Ryan Klesko!

SEPTEMBER

I made it down to the beach for the second time, this time with my girlfriends.

OCTOBER

Finally made it to Graceland!

November
Possibly the last time to roll Toomer's Corner

DECEMBER
Claire had 2 major surgeries and we were so happy that she was able to celebrate Christmas with us!

I hope that your 2011 was a great year for you, if not I hope that 2012 brings you a bucket of rainbows and unicorns. I know that I am very fortunate to have mostly good things to remember about 2011 while so many are hurting from the past year. I am very blessed and God is so good and faithful in my life and yours too! I have a lot of HOPE and happiness planned for 2012. I pray the same for you!

Thanks for reading!

Vanessa

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T08:49:00.000-06:00

Well I'm signing off for Christmas (again if you've already seen this!).

I wish I could send all of you sweet people a Christmas card, but Tiny Prints only gave me 50 free ones. Maybe next year?

Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving me such nice comments. If I could give you all an awkward side hug I would, because those are the only hugs I give.

I haven't really been doing much blogging the past several months and it seems when I do blog it is something lame about me or sad about Claire. Hopefully 2012 will bring a huge stack of blog topics when it rolls in.
Have a great Christmas season.

VK

Christmas In Dixie

2011-12-22T08:07:00.000-06:00

December 22 and 77* outside. Looks like I will be needing one of these sweater tshirts instead of the real thing!

photos via Vardagen

Does Christmas In Dixie come on the radio where you live if you don't live in the south? I heard it several times yesterday and it has to be one of my favs. Hoping everyone can enjoy that great Christmas jam.

No Fail Fudge

2011-12-20T09:37:00.000-06:00

Do you only make fudge at Christmas?
Last night I made fudge and it is so good. I may have shared this recipe here before but here it is again. It is the only fudge recipe I can make that will actually set up and it doesn't involve milk. Hooray!

FUDGE
1 lb confectioners sugar (I sift mine)
1 cup melted butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tbs vanilla

Mix and pour into an 8x8 dish lined with wax paper. Put in fridge to cool and set up.

**********************
Claire is back! She seems to be very happy and we are happy to have her back. It hasn't been easy keeping her on a leash at all times when she is outside but that seems to be the way it will be from now on.

We are trying to come up with a way to close in part of the stick free yard to give her a little more room. Maybe we will work on that project next month since our January vacation to California got cancelled to save our dog. Thanks to Countryside Vet Clinic in Opelika, they were great to Claire!
Don't worry I wasn't kissing her on the mouth, I don't kiss dogs but we were happy to see each other!

Here is the piece of wood that was causing all the trouble. It had poked holes through her intestines and was pinning them together like a pin holds fabric together. Make sense?

We thought she would have to wear her e-collar again but hasn't touched her staples. Eric built her a new cave out of pvc pipe that would accommodate her e-collar. I made a slip cover for it and I was planning on painting something cute but she doesn't really even need the big cave so I think it will be disassembled before I can paint anything.

In Lights & Instagram

2011-12-16T09:03:00.005-06:00

Christmas at my house pretty much looks the same every year. Same decorations in the same spots. But this is the first year I've had the Instagram app on my iphone so the pics look different.

So happy our Christmas tree has the perfect spot for showing off!

I make wreaths for all the windows. They are all fake evergreen with real magnolia and holly berries added to the bottom. I always make a 100% real for the front door. Instead of berries I used some of our beautiful Camilla flowers for color. We've had temps in the high 70's so my live greenery is starting to look dead.

Can't beat the old school Christmas tree light bulbs + a real tree. We are crazy about Christmas ornaments and have several hundred. We always get one from a vacation and then one that reflects us from the year.

Our little smore's tree. My fav!

I've loved getting everyone's Christmas cards this year. We've been so busy with Claire that I have just piled them in the evergreen on top of the milk glass cabinet instead of hanging them up. I quiet like it.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Ours will be great if we get Claire back home tomorrow. She had another surgery to remove a stick that had poked 2 holes in her weak from surgery less than 3 weeks ago intestines and they were starting to grow together. The vet is trying to be very realistic about the risk of infection but she wagged her tail today so that is a great sign!

Claire Update & Supper Meal Plan

2011-12-12T11:22:00.007-06:00

Just another Monday, only 2 more of these bad boys until 2012! How crazy is that.

Some of you have asked for a Claire update so here is the latest. Thanks for all of your kind words, I read her all of the comments and emails!

This past Friday, 2 weeks after her surgery, she regained all of her freedom. The last step was letting her have access to outside 24/7 via her dog door. And where is she right now? Back at the vet. She started acting sick on Saturday and we took her to the vet first thing this morning. Her Xray show something that looks like a stick or bone. She hasn't had access to any bones so we are guessing a stick. Sticks are her cigarettes and she usually eats several a day.

I have NO idea how we will keep her from eating sticks unless we only let her out on a leash. The vet thinks she can get away without surgery. I am praying that is the case because Claire may not make it through surgery. We slept 6 hours all weekend and I am really thinking twin babies would be easier right now.

There isn't much else to blog about. It is clean out the pantry and freezer before Christmas time around here so this is what we will be eating this week:

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Bake - I add 2 tbsp of homemade taco seasoning and instead of the chilies I use a few jarred jalapenos and a little juice. If possible make this ahead in the morning, all of the spices can meld together and it will be so much more flavorful. Eric doesn't eat this so I have a lot of leftovers that are great for lunch or freezing.

Beef with Broccoli - I use Flank Steak. Listen to the girl when she says reduced sodium soy sauce. Ask me how I know.

Linguine with Shrimp - yummy and so easy!

Pioneer Woman Meatballs - I always start these the night before. That way I just have to pop them in the oven when I get home to finish cooking.

Apple Pie Cookies - I love Honey crisp apples and they taste so good in these cookies. I used prepared pie dough.

We have been on a big sweet potato fry kick lately. I just make thin fries out of sweet potatoes toss in olive oil and salt. Cook at 350* for about 10 minutes, flip and cook 10 more min. I like mine thin and crispy. I also made kale chips for the first time Saturday and they were pretty good. Tear off kale and toss with olive oil and a little salt. Bake 350* 10-15 minutes until the edges are brown. Watch carefully or they will burn.

What are you cooking up this week?

2011-12-06T14:32:00.013-06:00

I am always getting requests for outfit posts. It is awkward to take so many pictures of yourself but I have been trying to remember to snap a picture during the day for an outfit post. These are spaced out over the past several weeks but it is a start. Since I always remember a sale price I will post those too. I love to buy clothes on sale and any store is free game for me, I will shop pretty much anywhere.

dress - Gap $8

belt - Goodwill $1

boots - a catalogue that is no more they were $110 but I've had them for 5 years

This huge leaf is so cool I had to share!

corduroy blazer - Lands End vintage $2

shirt - Walmart $1

belt- Target via Goodwill $1

knit skinny pants - Old Navy $4

boots - Old Navy $12

cardigan - ANA JC Penny $9

shirt - Kmart $3, it is a granny style shirt but when you tuck it in you can't tell

pants - GAP $8

belt - Goodwill

shoes - Gianni Bini Dillard's $15

Eric doesn't like this outfit. He says the skirt with this shirt freaks him out. haha.

shirt - American Eagle

belt - Target via Goodwill $1

skirt - Goodwill $3 no brand or tags

boots - Old Navy $12

I received my necklace from Lemon Sweet yesterday and had to wear it today. I love it, it is so sweet and delicate!

Ok so I hope that wasn't too disappointing, I'm no Kendi. And yes my huge collection of belts deserves its own post.

Claire's Latest Adventure

2011-12-01T08:13:00.004-06:00

Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway. Congrats to Ellieileen! Email me, my address is under "Contact Me" so I can get your info. If I don't hear from you by Sunday I will draw another winner.

Our dog Claire has had a pretty rough week. I've had a lot of friends and family go out of their way to check on her and I wanted to post an update for them. Thanks to everyone who has checked on Claire Belle!

Last Wednesday morning Claire got into the trash. She never gets into anything but there was something in there that she couldn't resist. When she saw me leave the room without closing the door she just couldn't handle the temptation. By Wednesday evening she wasn't acting herself. She wanted to hide behind the couch and didn't want a treat. Very unusual for her. By 10:30 she threw up and we started to get really worried. With it being night and a holiday we knew the vet would be closed so we waited. We didn't go to sleep until 3:30 in the morning. Claire couldn't get comfortable and was crying a lot. It was so sad.

Thursday morning Eric had to work since the Iron Bowl was on Saturday. When he got off at 12 we took Claire to Auburn University's Vet School ER. We stayed until 4 when they told us they would need to keep her overnight based on xrays. We grabbed Thanksgiving lunch at the drive thru at Hardee's. Friday morning they called and said she would need surgery.

The Dr was pleased they only had to do one incision in her stomach instead of three. I thought that meant she would have a little cut on her belly. Not prepared to see this.

We wanted to visit her on Saturday after the football game, but we were afraid she would get excited and pop a stitch or think we were going to take her home. Sunday morning the vet called and asked us if we could come try to feed her because she wouldn't eat. I had one foot out the door before we even hung up. I was not expecting to see her shaved on the sides with an IV in her shaved leg.

What hair was left was really dingy. She looked like an orphan dog.

We got the call Monday that she could come home!!!!!! She was happy to see us and get out of the hospital. I had to make out her meds and food schedule because there is so much info to remember. I can't stand to smell the dog food so Eric has taken over that dept. Ok lets be honest he has taken over everything. He has stayed home from work with her, takes her out and give her all her meds. I'm just the petter.

When we got home she immediately headed for her cave but because of her halo she couldn't fit through the door. Eric rigged something up for her to make her feel cozy.

I added some Christmas garland and put her favorite squirrel, Rico on top. I am pretty sure she will be getting an Extreme Home Makeover this weekend seeing she has another 10 days in the halo and that box is ugly. I thinking a snow covered chalet since it is an A-frame style cave.

Look who is ready for Christmas! I decorated her e-collar with Christmas stickers, it toally made her feel better.

So while we may not have had a traditional Thanksgiving we spent the day thanking God that our girl was going to be ok and that he provided for us so we were able to give her the care she needed. It is worth it to see her pop up in the window when we get home, but lets just say she better be popping up in that window for many more years!

A couple of weeks ago Eric left his lunch plate on the table and went outside, guess who knocked the plate off to eat the chips! See without Claire the house would be so boring.

Here are some things I learned over the past few days to help keep your animal safe:

*When Claire started to get sick I started to regret not giving her peroxide to make her throw up the object. I asked the Vet if giving her hydrogen peroxide would have helped and saved her from surgery. He said NO. The object she swallowed was linear so it would have had trouble coming back up. If the esophagus gets damaged you open up a whole other can of worms. The esophagus is a very hard area to operate on and by damaging it you can cause irreversible damage or a very expensive surgery.

*They had a case where the dog swallowed a fish hook and the owner gave it peroxide for it to throw up. Needless to say the stomach was torn up as well as the esophagus and the fish hook didn't come out because it got hooked inside the dog. Ouch!

So if your pet swallows something they shouldn't please call your Vet before giving it hydrogen peroxide!!

*The Vet said Claire's intestines were rolling around the object sort of like your sleeves bunch up on your arms. This was what was causing her pain and the need for surgery. If you doggie starts to act different please take them to the Vet. They can't always pass what is in the digestive tract just because they are an "animal".

*We have a friend who's dog swallowed a toothpick. That toothpick worth less that 5 cents cost $2,000 to remove. Make sure you don't have toothpicks where a dog can eat one.

*Never give your doggie chicken bones! They splinter and cause choking or damage to the esophagus.

*Claire is such a good dog in regards of not getting into the trash or chewing things. No really she is! But one time in the garbage was all it took, it will never happen again. Make sure to shut the door or put your trash in a cabinet!!

*If you have kitties and dogs make sure they can't get into string or thread, watch out for the ribbons on Christmas packages. Strings can be fatal to animals.

*There was a dog on Monday's Pet Vet segment on the news that ate a razor. The 3 blades had separated and one passed. (eeek) The other 2 were still inside and they were going to try to get them out by making the dog swallow cotton balls and mineral oil. That sounds crazy, poor dog. I asked the Vet on Claire's case about it yesterday and he said the stomach is strong so it may not get cut up. But if your pet ingests the mineral oil it makes future surgeries a lot harder.

I hope this post was helpful and will prevent someone else's dog from having to go through what Claire did. I think the $2,400 surgery was karma because I make fun of someone I know because they have pet insurance. Look who's laughing now! If you have any pet safety tips post them in the comments so we can all learn.

Cyber Monday Giveaway!

2011-11-28T08:26:00.007-06:00

Giveaway closed. Check out Lemon Sweet on facebook & etsy

Several weeks ago I posted my wish list and featured the Gold Circle necklace by Lemon Sweet by Leslie.

Leslie was nice enough to reach out and offer me the necklace but she also wanted to host a giveaway for one of you to win a piece of jewelry of your choice(!)from her shop. There are a lot of things I love but these are some of my favs

Aquamarine Earrings

New Bloom necklace

Mint Julep necklace

I love that Lemon Sweet has unique and pretty jewelry for under $30. Great for all of the $25 limit Christmas gifts you need.

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is "like" Lemon Sweet by Leslie's facebook page. Click HERE to do that. Come back and leave me a comment letting me know you liked Lemon Sweet on facebook.

**For an extra entry become a follower of my blog. Just click the Join This Site button over there

Leave me a separate comment to let me know you are a follower. That is it yo! Oh and just by liking Lemon Sweet on facebook you will get a discount code. Sweet!

Good Luck! I will draw a winner Thursday 8am cst.

Auburn Weekend

2011-11-21T10:33:00.012-06:00

I've had several requests for an Auburn football post so here ya go. Auburn had their homecoming this weekend and we played Samford. Samford's coach is Pat Sullivan who happens to be Auburn's first Heisman Trophy winner. They honored him during the game it was pretty cool when players from both teams were on the field together.

We had a special guest for this game. Our niece (and her parents) came to the game. The whole time she was wanting to meet Aubie. Finally he came to our area and she got a high 5 from him. She was disappointed that she didn't get to go on the field like last year and meet him without other kids around. Haha. She also asked me why I had a rug made out of dog fur (my cowhide rug).

After Eric was finished mowing the field we headed up to Toomer's Corner. This could be the last time the trees are rolled. We do have one more home game against Alabama next weekend, so who knows how that might turn out. The trees are looking really dead right now as a result of being poisioned last year by an Alabama fan. I think everyone knew it might be their last chance to roll the trees because there was toilet paper all the way down to Samford Hall. So pretty.

CB was so excited to roll the trees. It is all she talked about after checking Aubie off her list. She kept asking if we were really allowed to throw toilet paper in the trees.

Eric was part of an interview for the news last Friday. He forgot to watch it and I was at a concert when it aired. Here is the video. I bet I've watched it 15 times because he sounds so country. Hilarious.

Weekend & Christmas Cards

2011-11-18T11:35:00.006-06:00

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments on our storm we had this week. Eric blew all of the leaves and sticks out of our yard yesterday and it looks good as new!

Anybody have cool plans this weekend going to see Breaking Dawn? We have company coming tomorrow for the football game. I'm hoping we win and get to roll Toomer's Corner. I'm afraid the trees' days are numbered so I want to get in one last roll. I've also got to finish touching up paint in our bathroom and take pics of it. Somehow somewhere in there I want to finsh a quilt and get started on another one. Oh and can't forget run (only 2 weeks until my 1st 5k) and take pics for Christmas cards. Hmm lets see how much actually gets finished on that list.

Speaking of Christmas cards, Tinyprints is offering 50 free Christmas Cards. Their only requirement for qualifying is to create a blog advertising, and Facebook or Twitter the offer.

Here are a few of my favs, so many cute choices!

So here are your instructions to receive your Christmas Cards......

1. Go here and fill out the form first.
2. You will get an email with instructions telling you what to do.

3. Then, blog about it and use Facebook or Twitter too.

Honestly I wasn't even going to send out Christmas cards this year. I mean does anyone really want another picture of me & E, we look the same every year. But I know that one day I will enjoy looking back at our cards and be sad that 2011 was missing a card. So cute tiny prints cards it is!

Just Another Lunch Hour: Tornado

2011-11-17T09:01:00.001-06:00

Yesterday when Eric and I were home for lunch a tornado passed through our neighborhood. I've done posts on here several times about "just another lunch hour" where we lay sod or pull up a tree or something like that during lunch. I've never done a just another lunch hour of waiting out a tornado post, but there is a first for everything.

I cleared out the closet when the storm was a few miles away and when we couldn't see anything outside and our ears started to pop we ran into the closet. We did hear the train sound but at the time didn't know it was a tornado and thought we were just hearing it in our heads since you are suppose to hear a train. We did hear the tornado sirens and we can also hear warnings from AU and took them seriously because of the April tornados..

via cbs42

After the storm was over we looked out the window and saw our cars safe. Amazing because 2 huge pecan trees' branches canopy the parking pad. You can sort of see a big limb from the neighbor's oak tree behind my car, it was about 3" from my bumper! Trees from the yard behind my car were in our courtyard on the other side of the house!

The persimmon tree that fell on our fence. Eric was wanting to cut it down anyway so now he doesn't have to, just fix the fence. haha.

A tree fell on the back part of our fence too. When we moved in a red oak limb fell and broke that part of the fence. Then when we were doing our yard renovation Eric hit that same spot with the bobcat bucket. Finally yesterday a tree took out that same part of the fence!

Eric would cut up the trees/limbs and my assistant and I helped remove them. If you know Claire you know how counterproductive she was, removing sticks from the pile to play with.

That was our damage. We may have some roof damage but can't tell without more rain. We are blessed!

This is the house that is behind our cars. It is vacant right now and used for "storage" but the owner is in the process of renovating. His regular house right beside this one has a tin roof and it was peeled up. We think that is the metal we heard bending while we were in the closet.

If you go to the end of the street this is the first house on the left. I think there were 3 fallen pines in this yard.

Right after the storm before the rain stopped people were already out clearing trees. Eric occasionally does work with this tree man so he helped him clear the tree off the road so all of the sight seeres could get by. Men and chainsaws.

I'm not sure where the tree came from I don't remember it growing in that yard. This is in our next door neighbor's back yard.

This is the house behind us. You can see all of the snapped trees behind the house and both driveways are covered. The big oak to the right of the house lost a huge limb a few months ago but it missed the house, as did all of the snapped trees this time around.

Just look at this stick, I left it in the ground because that is the weirdest thing to me about wind and it's power to stick a stick in the ground.

This amazing wisteria branch fell from our neighbor's tree. It looked like a huge braided rope, beautiful!

Other parts of Auburn were also hit. The Large Animal Clinic at the Vet School, the meat lab area, a residential neighborhood lost several roofs, the high school parking lot and baseball field and a student mobile home park. When I was in college my sister and I lived in this park. It is the largest mobile home park in Alabama. REPRESENT. (how many stereo types of the south were filled in that sentence). It was the most awesome place to live because we had a nice big trailer that we got to decorate however we wanted and had a yard with a garden. Part of the park got hit yesterday but I don't think anyone was injured.

This was yesterday after we finished cleaning up our yard and the small trees in the neighborhood. It was actually a fun afternoon spent outside together and meeting people we have never met that live in our area. We had a lot of people drive over to check on us and offer to clean up trees. See all of the huge trees that could have crushed our house. Love that Eric is smiling in this pic!

I feel a little silly writing about this tornado, it was only an EF2, compared to the EF5s that came through Alabama in April this was nothing. But I've had a lot of people email to check on us (thank you!) so I thought you would like to see what happened in my hood. No lives were lost in Auburn, just a lot of beautiful trees, cars and a few roofs. We are thankful for God's protection and grace he showed us yesterday!

Wish List

2011-11-10T12:19:00.001-06:00

I always celebrate Thanksgiving before Christmas. Always. But I am game all year for Christmas shopping. I cannot stand waiting until the last minute to do my shopping.

It always feels odd to me to make a Christmas list. I am so blessed and would honestly be happy with a $7 key fob. But when people are asking what I want, well what is a girl to do?
So here is my Christmas wish list...

click on the colored title to take you to the link:

A) Toms ballet flats
Awesome and terrible all in one. Awesome because they are so cool, but terrible because they don't actually come out until the spring. I guess they will roll over to be a birthday gift.
B) Boots
Awesome and terrible all in one. Awesome because they are only $50 and they can be casual or dressy. Terrible because they are out of stock in my size and I've been checking everyday since August.
C) Ray Ban Wayfarer
I think I am old enough to have a nice pair of sunglasses. I've been rocking the Target version for 2 years so I think that constitutes a nice pair. Or does it, should I just settle for the $12 version?
D) Reflective Running Bands
Needed since it gets dark at 5:00 and I don't want to get run over.
E) Cookware
I think I am jumping the non stick Teflon ship. I hate to because my grandmother gave me a really nice set of cookware when we got married, but I am getting more paranoid about the possible Teflon toxins I am putting into our bodies by cooking our food. Thinking of going with stainless steel and this set was recommended. Any other suggestions?
F) Clinique All About Eyes Rich
Sad when wrinkle cream is on your wish list.
G) Hammam Stripe Hand Towel
I think this would be perfect in my new bathroom. With a "K" of course!
H) Brass Bracelet
I love the texture of this and the price is only $20
I) Green Stone Bangle
So simple and under $10!
J) Leather Bracelet
This is totally cool
K) Key Fob in yellowgreen
I had this on my list last year, I am thinking maybe this is the year I get the key fob.
L) Necklace
Simple, cute and $20

What is on your list?!

Baja Pork Tacos

2011-11-07T11:37:00.012-06:00

Last month during my trip to Memphis, I was introduced to one of my favorite new meals: Baja Pork Tacos. I would have probably never made this meal on my own, especially not the cilantro sauce. But trust me, you should make these tomorrow night (it is too late to marinade the pork today).

Baja Pork Tacos with Cilantro Cream Sauce
Serves 4

Cilantro Cream (a.k.a. Green Dip)
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 bunch cilantro
1/2 jar jalapenos
Put all in food processor, blend until smooth. Taste. Refrigerate.

Pork Ingredients
1-lb pork tenderloin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
2 T. fresh lime juice
1.5 T. tequila
1 T. fresh orange juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder

Mix all the ingredients (except the pork) in a small mixing bowl.

Cut your pork tenderloins diagonally into 1-inch slices. Put into gallon ziplock bag and pour the marinade in; let pork marinate, turning occasionally. I marinated the pork for 6 hours, but longer would be fine too.

Grill the pork then cut each 1" slice into super thin strips, like you are making Fajitas.

Spread some cilantro sauce onto a heated tortilla;

we added shredded cabbage instead of lettuce, cheese, pork tenderloin.

The sauce is a little spicy with the jalapenos, so you could adjust it accordingly. Enjoy!

Friday Randoms

2011-11-04T09:53:00.000-05:00

Week in review:
My Halloween day was spent like this, luckily I was feeling good enough to see a few trick or treaters by the time the sun went down.

Really a sick pumpkin has never been more appropriate.

I was one of 7 of my friends to get sick Sunday night around the same time. They all think it was the stomach virus, but I think I got food poisoning Sunday night. We were all together on Saturday so who knows. Mystery unsolved.

Eric turned 36 and Awesome (but I already knew that)!

Two weeks ago I had 4" chopped off of my hair and bangs cut. This is the first week that my bangs aren't controlling my life. I was going for this look and my bangs have grown out to the length in the photo.

I am oddly mourning the 4" gone off of my hair considering I had this haircut below for years. Ok can we just observe this picture. So awesome. Eric was 28 with hair, younger than I am now and I was 22 and tan. I never thought I would be 28, it just seemed so old to that college girl. I think my life is just as I imagined it would be in that picture, minus the tan.

I decided which fabric to use for my breezeway curtains. The most votes went to Chipper Stone. Neither one of the Togos got a vote except from me & Eric. I ordered the Chipper Stone.

Hoping to make those curtains next weekend. Thanks so much for all of your suggestions and votes!

I am painting my bathroom this weekend.

Dark house, dark picture. I was going to go with Edgecomb Gray but it is reading a little pink in artificial light so I think Revere Pewter it will be.

After I paint the top half of the bathroom, Eric will be putting up horizontal planks below. Plans to tile the floor have been nixed for now, we will just continue on with the soapstonish floor we currently have.

Speaking of bathrooms while looking at this towel, I decided to click around the rest of West Elm and saw this wall hardware for only $1.99 each?!

I ordered one of each even though I have no use for the towel bars. I bought $109 worth of hardware for under $13 shipped. I sort of expected to get an email by now saying they meant $11.99 but haven't yet. I'll keep you posted.

Back in the spring I bought my orange tree at Lowes for $4. It already had oranges but they were green. Now they are ripe!

And taste so good!

Have a great weekend!

Breezeway Curtains

2011-10-27T13:58:00.011-05:00

Last year I won a $50 gift card from Warehouse Fabrics on their blog. I grew up going to Warehouse Fabrics, but back in the day it was just called "Betty's". Even though they have exploded in growth they are still the same great small town fabric store. I had my eye on 4 different fabrics that they didn't carry. I called and asked them if they would consider ordering a bolt of just 1 of the fabrics. They said sure and ordered all 4 of them!

So now I have the dilemma of which fabric to choose. I was planning on recovering my dining room chairs, but I decided to take advantage of the $50 of free fabric and make some curtains for my breezeway. I will have to add some money, but $50 is a great start!

Here are the "windows" that the panels will be going on. I did have burlap curtains when we first moved in but took those down a few months after they went up. I am ready for some more curtains to offer some privacy for the breezeway. It is hard to get a photo of the room since there are full windows on both sides. But you get the idea.

I have samples of three out of the four fabrics I am considering. The top one is very subtle. I am thinking I may want a little more contrast since the walls are almost the same color as the fabric background, but I do love it.

Besides the color I am trying to decide on the pattern. I love them both!

Here are the fabrics with pics from the website. Colors are very accurate.

Chipper Stone

Chipper Cloud

Togo Cloud - I don't have a sample of this one but it is very subtle

Togo Stone

Do you have a favorite? Help a sister out, I only have a few days to decide!

Warehouse Fabrics Inc didn't sponsor this post.

Weekend Finds

2011-10-25T10:39:00.000-05:00

Eric and I went to visit my sister and her husband this weekend to watch the game (war eagle anyway!) with them and to go junktique shopping.
Angie & I went to my favorite 3 story antique mall/flea market in her town and I somehow got talked into buying this rocking chair.

It was only $5 and in good shape. I have plans to reupholster in something like a drop cloth and then maybe do a slip cover that ties on. Something like this.
but not as fussy, I like the ties.

More like this but with more of the original chair showing through.

I like the tie on of the back of this chair but with the ties showing.

It is a smallish adult size rocker so I would really like to use it in a child's room. I don't want to redo it now then have to redo it again in a few years so I think it may make itself cozy in the attic in the mean time.

I also bought this mirror.

Do you see my little orange tree in the mirror? All of the oranges are turning orange, I can't wait to pick them!

It was only $19! A pretty good deal since I saw its smaller twin for $40. It weighs a million pounds so it is going in my bathroom, the only room in the house with drywall instead of plaster. My bathroom will hopefully get a makeover this winter.

p.s. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments on my new bedding. I laughed everytime someone wrote duvon't.
I had several requests for tutorials. I am no expert, so no one needs to learn to sew from me but these videos should teach you everything you need to know to get started. I watched them before I made my piped pillows.
I did learn to make sure your pattern runs the same way on all of your pillows. I had my pillows with the paisley vertical and the other running horizontal. Since I was sewing a square, it wasn't a big deal I just flipped them around.
For those that wanted to know more about my duvon't, it is basically a big pillow. I did the envelope backing on it. I used an old blanket for the backing.

New Bedding

2011-10-19T10:54:00.000-05:00

The fall sewing bug has bitten me. Last weekend I did a lot of sewing. I made some new euro shams, throw pillow and a fake duvet for our bedroom. I even made the quilt top that has been in my to do stack since April...2010!

The photos are dark, but you get the idea...

The start of me sewing new pillows began a few weeks ago when I picked up this Thomas O'Brien quilt for $25 at Target. Even though it is king and I have a queen bed I knew I could make it work in my bedroom.

Changing bedding is something I love to do. I LOVE fabrics and adding a set of new euro shams is a easy and inexpensive way to change up bedding and get to use some of the pretty fabrics I've been drooling over. If you try really hard you can get 2 euro sham fronts out of 1 yard of decorator fabric. So depending on your cost of fabric you could get 2 new euro shams for around $15 like I did.

Usually I make my euro shams with a flange and that is it. But this time I decided to branch out and add piping.

It wasn't as hard as I imagined. I just didn't realize I needed to move my needle over until I was finished, but you can't even notice on the front side of the pillow. I had originally planned on running the piping fabric on the bias but I didn't have enough fabric and didn't want to buy more. I think it worked out for the best because loose weave fabric on the bias moves a lot more than regular cut and with my first time making piping it could have ended in disaster.

Next time I may get brave enough to add an invisible zipper, but for now I am stuck with an envelope backing skill level. To save money I usually don't use the same fabric on the front and back of shams/duvets. In this case I used a $2 shower curtain I bought on clearance at Target last year.

The throw pillow is made with Premier Prints "Gotcha" in Summerland Yellow. I wanted to use a pillow I already had to stuff the case and I only bought 1/2 yard of fabric.

I just added a little panel in the euro sham fabric to close up my envelope since I was a few inches short of the yellow fabric. Lemonade out of lemons.

Now for the fake duvet cover, the duvon't (i just made up that word). I prefer the look of a quilt or blanket then something folded up at the bottom of the bed. I wasn't in the mood to make a full sized duvet cover but I still wanted that bulk at the bottom of the bed.

I had grand plans for this little duvon't. I was going to do the border in bias cut stripes and it was going to look awesome. The only problem is I'm not smart enough or patient enough or enough of a perfectionist to carry out that plan. I did get my bias cut stripes, but the corners don't match up like my original plan. Oh well it looks good enough for me and I'm sure this time next year I will have a new duvon't. I just stuffed our old duvet into the duvon't, again I used an envelope backing. I am hoping to find a cheapie but really fluffy comforter to stuff in there so I don't have to keep fluffing the down duvon't.

I spent only $44 on my euro shams, throw sham and duvon't. Pretty good!

Fabrics I used..

Euro Sham Fabric - Premier Prints: Henna Summerland/Natural

Rectangle Pillow Fabric - Premier Prints: Gotcha summerland/yellow natural

The piping fabric is also a Premier Prints fabric -I couldn't find it online so it may be discontinued.

I am still looking for a fabric for the little pillow between the euro shams, until then I just used a sham that matches the quilt.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2011-10-17T10:22:00.012-05:00

This past Saturday our tailgate group got together for the first time this football season to tailgate before the Auburn / Florida football game. (War Eagle!) I wanted to try a new recipe, and something with cheese. I turned to my friend pinterest to help me out.

I chose Jalapeno Popper dip and made a few tweeks of my own. Even though it required a whole cup of mayo (I'm not a fan of solo mayo) I decided to give it a try. Delicious once everything is mixed together you don't even taste the mayo. I left out the fresh jalapenos so it wasn't too hot, just right.

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese at room temp
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated fiesta blend cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 (7ish ounce) can sliced pickled jalapenos (the can I bought came with carrots & onions, I took those out and rechopped the peppers)
2 jalapeno peppers seeded & chopped (optional)
3 slices of bacon cooked & crumbled

Topping:
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan

Directions:
-Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, fiesta cheese, parmesan, bacon and jalapenos in a bowl. Pour into a baking dish.

-Mix the bread crumbs and parmesan and sprinkle over the dip.
- Bake at 375 until bubbly and golden. I left mine in for 15 minutes.

original recipe here

ps - several months ago I won the Pampered Chef baking dish I made the dip in from Kat. This was the first time using it and I love it! If you are looking for a great non stick stoneware dish I would recommend this one. Also if you are ever wondering what to buy at those Pampered Chef parties you must buy this spatula. Best thing in my kitchen, it cuts brownies so well.

Attention!

2011-10-11T10:30:00.003-05:00

Someone in the Auburnish / LaGrange area please go buy this sofa!!!!!!!!! Only $350 for this piece of awesomeness. Look at those lines and with some 20" feather down throw pillows in amazing fabric...

I gasped out loud when I opened the ad on Craigslist and saw the photo and I have still major butterflies. Gorgeous!!!!!!!!! If I only had a place for it or my sister still had a garage to store all of my extra furniture...

House Exterior Paint Color

2011-10-07T09:20:00.012-05:00

Along with the questions about interior paint colors I often get asked what our exterior brick is painted.

In the spring we had a knock at the door and it was a sweet couple that was wanting to know what color the exterior paint was. The first thing they said was "I know this is weird" and we told them that it was normal for us. I am always stalking people's houses for ideas. I drive by my favorite house in Auburn at least once a week and just drool.

Like with the interior paint color I'm not really sure what the exterior color is. It was painted by the previous owners and they didn't leave an extra can in the shed.

We did have to have some of the paint color matched and this is what the can looks like.

Not really helpful at all, I guess it was left outside in the rain. For the couple that showed up at our house I painted a note card for them to have color matched. I would be happy to mail one to you if you are really interested!

The brick paint color is closest to these colors, which in these pictures they don't look close at all, but they are similar.
All Benjamin Moore

Gettysburg Gray HC-107

Claire's favorite Squirrel Tail 1476

For more of a green undertone I would go with Sage Mountain 1488, it is a really pretty color.

Our trim was already painted and there wasn't a paint color to be found so I had to custom mix a color. Just like real couture. I brought some samples home that looked like a close match and just mixed those until I got the perfect color. It wasn't the most fun project but it worked.

picture from last fall

The top numbers are all 0. The bottom numbers l-r are 244 232 20.

Our front door is painted black (obvs) but I wanted to do something different on the back doors. I went with Spanish Olive by Glidden.

This photo is from 2010, before I painted the back of the house trim to match the front. It was stark white, now it is a soft cream to match the rest of the house. Much better!

I hope that helps the ones of you that have asked about our exterior paint colors.

Happy weekend & War Eagle!

Memphis

2011-10-03T14:04:00.012-05:00

This past weekend I headed up to Memphis to visit some college friends, Elizabeth and her husband and their 2 kiddos.

Amos you are too fast for my camera!

JD did such a good job planning Friday night to make sure I got the run down on Memphis. We started off at Rendezvous for supper. With JD's hookups we were able to get a great table, the best server and no wait in line. That is saying something for a restaurant that serves 4 tons of ribs a week and over 3,000 customers on a typical Saturday! The ribs did not disappoint and now I can mark Memphis BBQ off of my list.
We had to make the trip across the street to the Peabody Hotel. Unfortunately the ducks weren't swimming in the fountain, but thanks to JD I got the whole story minus the ducks. The hotel is so beautiful in that old hotel kind of way.

We left the hotel and walked down to Beale Street. There were about 354,876 people out that night. The weather was so nice and it turned out to be a perfect fall night. We also went by the Lorainne Motel/National Civil Rights Museum where Martin Luther King Jr was shot.

The next day Elvis was waiting for us at Graceland. I'm not really an Elvis fan but Graceland is something that everyone should go to if you have the chance. It is just crazy to wrap your head around how big Elvis was and still is today.

Talk about different. Graceland is perfectly preserved just as it was when Elvis lived there.

I guess the good thing to take away from this room is the sunburst mirror and I do like the lamps.

We had a guy on the tour that wanted to take our picture several times, we obliged in the dining room.

The jungle room may be the worst room, I'm not sure they were all pretty bad.

It was really disappointing because we couldn't go in Elvis' bedroom or anywhere upstairs. The house size was average by today's standards and tiny by today's celebrity standards.

Next stop my idea of graceland, a stop at the Premiere Prints fabric store. A whole store dedicated to Premiere Prints. I bought some fabric for some new euro shams in my bedroom, hope to get those sewn up this week.

Elizabeth and I were both in love with this grey/coral combo.

And just like that the weekend was over. The weekend was good for my soul, do you know how hard it is to find friends that want to drive around at 10 on a Saturday night looking for good junk on the curb? Thank you Elizabeth for being such a good hostess and for spending so much time with me even though you have 2 little chicken wings to tend to. I loved being around your family for the weekend and watching you teach Amos & Evie. And thank you for letting me put Amos to bed at night, it made me so happy! And thank you JD for making sure I had the best ribs Memphis could offer. I loved the tour around town and the history lesson on Memphis.

Until next time Memphis...

Thru The Lens Of A Phone Camera

2011-09-30T09:45:00.000-05:00

My new favorite snack

Back in the day there was a shop in my hometown called The Heritage House. My sisters and I loved to go there because of the vast array of Hello Kitty merchandise and Spumoni sweat shirts but they also had chocolate covered chips. I think of them often.

Fast foward 21 years:

I won a blog contest of Nikki's favorite things in which she sent me a box full of her favorite things, mostly involving chocolate. One of which was Nutella.

Out of that little jar of Nutella my favorite snack was born...

Nutella covered chips

********

Speaking of favorite things Bradley Jane has a fall promotion for 10% off your total order! Use the code Fall2011 when checking out. Order your cute fall outfits now before it is too late. Also it is never to early to think about Christmas outfits for your Christmas card photos! Let Bradley Jane make a custom outfit just for your cutie.

Interior Paint Color

2011-09-26T09:43:00.002-05:00

I get a lot of emails and questions about my wall color. Up until a few weeks ago I didn't really know the color, but that mystery has been solved!
The previous owners chose the color so I can't take credit. It is a great color sort of a putty, grey, greenish color.

The most recent question about the wall color was in regards to my guest room.
It is hard to get a great photo of the color but this one is still pretty accurate. This photo was taken at lunch with a lot of sun streaming in the room.

This is our living room in the same color. The photos were taken around 5. The color is pretty accurate for the room when there isn't a lot of sunlight streaming in.

claire was begging for a treat

Here is a shot of the breezeway which is painted brick. Two of the walls in this little room are glass so it gets a ton of natural light. This is a very accurate shot of the paint color in here.

Now for the actual paint info...

When we first moved in we had to do some work in Eric's closet and couldn't find a paint can left by the previous owners for the wall color. We had the paint color matched and this is the formula. It is very close to the original paint.

Then fast forward two years to the back yard renovation. We had to empty everything out of the shed to move it and I found a never before seen paint can. I thought it could be the interior walls (hence the ?) but wasn't sure. A few weeks ago I finally got around to stirring around the three year old paint and it is the interior paint used throughout the house. I'm not sure if Beringer is still a current Ace True Value color but they may be able to use the code to get the information or still have the info in their system.

Hopefully that little bit of info will be helpful to those of you that are curious about the color of my walls. If you have any other questions let me know.

Football Door Hanger

2011-09-12T08:28:00.010-05:00

I've seen these burlap football door hangers in several shops this fall and decided I needed an Auburn one. I whipped this up in about 10 minutes, the paint was still wet when I hung it on my front door!

It was super simple to make. I used chalk to draw a football on 2 pieces of burlap. Wrote War Eagle in chalk and painted over it. Trace with some puff paint and fill in the rest of the football with brown paint. Stuff with grocery sacks and staple the edges. Yep staple, I did it on a burlap table runner and 3 years later it is still stapled together.

Since I was in such a big hurry the lettering is pretty wonky so I may redo it on the other side, but for now it works. It would be really cute with a big bow or some curly wire instead of my sad excuse of a bow and hanger. Ok looking at this that lettering is terrible, I think I will be redoing it today and fraying the edges.

***

a few random thoughts i want to remember

*I still can't believe it is football season. Saturday during the game I said out loud numerous times that I can't believe we are already sitting at a football game. So much of my summer was wished away to get to the next month, hoping not to do that to the fall.

*At Auburn home games we have an eagle that flies around the stadium pre game. This week Spirit got a little confused and flew into the glass window of one of the suites. It was scary then she was even more confused and flew into the stands like she was going to land on someone. She finally came to the field and landed. It wasn't funny at the time, but now it is hard not to laugh when you watch the video.

*AU vs MSU nail bitter. Let's just say I am glad that my husband is the OCD straight line painter he is because if that line had been crooked one inch, dude would have scored.

*It is true, absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Have a great week!

CFA Nugget FAIL

2011-09-08T10:20:00.001-05:00

edit: I guess Pinterest can fail you. I assumed since the pinterest tag said these were just like Chick Fil A they were. But if I had read the recipe it never states CFA, just sweet nuggets. Carry on...

We love being "guests" at Chick-fil-A, it is always "our pleasure" to dine there. Eric has been on a big CFA kick lately so when I saw a recipe for CFA nuggets on Pinterest I was all over it. The only problem you have to fry them. I HATE to fry foods. I have only fried 1 thing since we have been married, and I am sure before that I had never fried anything.

I decided to suck it up for the sake of that awesome and sweet Chick-fil-A flavor and fry the nuggets instead of "oven fry". The nuggets were good...because chicken nuggets just are. But a knock off of the real CFA nuggets they were not. I'm not sure if I needed more confectioners sugar or what but I was disappointed.

Here is the recipe if you want to try. If they turn out right tell me where I went wrong.

Oh and a special shout out to Minnie from The Help. I am sure buried back in my brain I knew that you could fry with Crisco but had forgotten all about it. When I went to cook these chicken nuggets I didn't have enough oil so I did what I saw Minnie do in the movie and used Crisco!

Summer Send Off

2011-09-06T13:37:00.008-05:00

I hope everyone had a great long weekend! I could use another day off, this lady is a little too old to stay up until 4 am for a whole weekend. And since I am old, I automatically wake up before 7am even if I went to bed at 4am so I had to get a little nap in during my lunch break today.

beachside dining in the rain, sure why not?

My girls getaway was all that and a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. (Inside joke)
We had a great time, the only problem was if it wasn't looking like this

it was raining! Thank you Tropical Storm Lee. I have never seen such huge waves. They were breaking at least 6 times before they reached the shore. There were double red flags so no swimming. But I couldn't resist I took my trusty tube into the ocean.

Well since the waves were as tall as me I couldn't really jump them and one good one got me and cleaned out my sinus pretty well. Don't think I will ever try the double red flag thing again.

The closest we saw of the sun shining.

We only made it onto the beach once. The rest of the time we watched football, ate so much seafood and junk food, and went shopping. I guess my tan will have to wait until next year.

Our crew. It was fun and can't wait until next time- oh yes there will always be next time.

So sayonara summer. It is actually cold outside today, in the 70's. We are having taco soup for supper!

How did you spend your labor day?!

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-02T09:07:00.001-05:00

I'm loading up and ditching the first Auburn football game and headed down to the beach with some friends. It looks like our plans for some sun may be squashed by Lee and his 7 inches of rain he is bringing, but I am sure we will have fun anyway.

One last ode to summer. I am so excited for the trip with girls only that I even bought a 12 pack of Sunkist. But another reason for excitement, I left my pillow at the condo on the last beach trip and the office was nice enough to hold it for me until I made it back to the beach so I have been 27 nights without its feather awesomeness. I can't wait to wrap my arms around it.

Me just working on my honey do list:

ok ya got me, it is Raquel Welch. I was born in the wrong era.

all photos via

Hoping for sunny skies & an Auburn orange and blue sunset!

Mrs. Story's Chili Dog Knockoff

2011-08-31T10:20:00.002-05:00

I am not much of a food snob, I will eat pretty much anything. While we do try to eat pretty healthy at our house every now and then we will eat a pack of hot dogs in 2 days. And places like this are usually my favorite type of restaurants.

Mrs. Story's Dairy Bar via

One thing I am a snob about is chili. When Eric and I first got married he wanted chili dogs...with chili from a can. I about flipped and it was then I wondered what I got myself into, I am sure he was thinking the same thing.

Fast forward six years later to last week, my coworker asked what kind of canned chili I buy for chili dogs, um none. We started to talk about Mrs. Story's Dairy Bar in the neighboring town. They have the best chili slaw dogs around. Except for it isn't really chili in the sense of having beans, tomatoes, and onions but just like a chili seasoning and ground beef. We decided to try just that and to our amazement the chili dogs tasted almost just like Mrs. Story's minus the slaw and good chocolate soft serve ice cream.

This isn't really a recipe because all you do is
brown & drain 1 lb of hamburger meat
add a pack of chili seasoning, a little squirt of ketchup and 1/2 a cup water
cook until the water is gone

I froze the leftover chili for future dogs. Mrs. Story's boils their hot dogs, but we chose to grill because it was Sunday lunch after all. I am sure my Nana is so proud.

Don't worry I got my ice cream fix later that afternoon at Toomer's. I couldn't waste this rare moment on chocolate soft serve so I pulled out all the stops and ordered a hot fudge brownie. After 3 chili dogs, does it really matter?

I had to throw that last picture in for all the Auburn fans coming into town in the next few months for football season!! Make sure you stop by Toomer's & Mrs Story's!

What I Spent Money On In August...

2011-08-29T11:06:00.014-05:00

Oh besides a teeth cleaning for me, a dental & shots for Claire, 2 car tags, a $100 copay, Eric's hunting lease and then we have to feed the deer. Duh. Let's just say I will be glad to see August go, it is always our most expensive month.

Although we were living lean this month I was able to sneak in a few thrifty purchases.

I am going to the beach this weekend with some friends and needed to buy a new beach chair. We stopped in at Dick's sporting goods after church Sunday and picked up this awesome chair for only $14.99! They had already packed up the summer stuff but I asked and they still had some things they were willing to sell. This bad boy has carrying straps, a pillow, arm rests, and a pouch in the back where you can put a cooler or treats.

Get yo self one!

My dress was a weekend purchase. Friday after work I had a strong urge to go to Dillard's. I usually follow my gut when it comes to shopping since that is how I usually find the best deals at the thrift store. I am so glad I decided to go because all clearance was an additional 40% off! Only when I got home did I realize my $20 dress was actually a $100 dress. Great deal! It has a really cute waist that is screaming for a belt but we were running late for church so I couldn't decide which on a belt. Next time I'll add a belt.

I also bought this swim suit for my upcoming beach trip (did I mention I am going to the beach?). It is from my fav Lands End Canvas. I think it ended up being $13 since I had free shipping.

top bottom

Stamps

2011-08-19T13:26:00.004-05:00

We are in need of stamps at our house and I am in the mood for something other than the liberty bell forever stamp. While perusing stamps online to see if it was worth it to make a trip inside the post office I came across these jewels. Love the new love stamps, if only I was renewing my vows or I guess I could add to my stamp collection from my childhood years.

Have a great weekend!

Apple Crumble Pie

2011-08-16T10:14:00.005-05:00

I've been cooking up a storm off of my pinterest pins. Some have turned out really tasty and others were not as much of a success. So needless to say I'll be posting a lot of recipes in the near future, I've got nothing else going on.

Sunday I made Apple Crumble Pie. It was a total success and we have enjoyed it over the past few days. I like crumble topped pies better than crust topped, they just have so much more flavor especially when you add some vanilla ice cream on top and it melts all down the sides. yum!

What you need

Frozen pie crust
5 apples peeled and thinly sliced - I used Granny Smith

3/4 cup white sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs cornstarch
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss peeled and sliced apples with lemon juice.

Mix together white sugar, cornstarch, 3 tbs flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Sprinkle over apples and toss to coat.

Pour apple mixture into pie crust, spread evenly.

Use your hands to mix together 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar and the butter until evenly distributed and crumbly in texture.

Sprinkle over apples.

Bake until apples are tender and topping is golden brown, about an hour.

Teenage Dream Come True

2011-08-10T14:05:00.005-05:00

Circa 1996 or so I had a major obsession with Ryan Klesko who played for the Atlanta Braves at the time. Obsession may be an understatement but we don't have all day here to describe 1996-1998. I went to countless Braves games over those few years and saw him a lot during batting practice and he would throw me a baseball, but I never got to meet him.

Fast forward 15 years and BAM!

I've been waiting 15 years for this moment and I look like I just washed up on the beach and I was sweating so bad! I saw him then I called Eric and he talked me into going back inside for a picture. It took EVERY ounce of courage I had to go up to him after I was hiding out in the dog treat aisle. He was so nice and tried to make conversation with me but I was so nervous I pretty much ran off after this picture.

I wish I had some of my Klesko things with me but all 2 storage boxes are at my parents' house. I did have my tshirt jersey that I sleep in with me from the beach trip but that may be sort of scary if I busted it out and said I've been sleeping in this for 15 years.

He was so nice and give me this baseball and signed it for me(!) which is displayed in my dining room the former home of my Cam Newton poster (sorry Cam you are second string now).

When I first saw Klesko I thought wow he got old, then I realized I did too. He was a lot younger than I am now when I was such a "fan". I guess it happens. He told me he will be at the Braves game August 20th and then the same weekend at an event in Montgomery. I guess I know what we are doing next weekend...

Who was your teenage crush, ever met them?

Beach 2011

2011-08-08T13:46:00.007-05:00

I just got back from a few wonderful days at Panama City Beach, FL. The air was hot and so was the water temp- 91 degrees, perfect for me. I stayed in the ocean most of the time, only getting out when I got sick from riding the waves.

One night we went to the Shrimp Boat to eat because my dad use to eat there as a kid. In this picture he is recalling a childhood memory of what was once a cute little restaurant that has since been replaced by a big restaurant.

We ended up at Gracie Rae's Grill at the end of the Shrimp Boat where my sister and dad had a little too much fun putting raw oysters down the hatch.

Johnny requested I post this on my blog

My dad remembered the sunsets being amazing from this very spot many years ago so he insisted on a picture with my mom to remember them for years to come!

And that is it, I only took a few pictures. I didn't get my camera out since I was too busy floating in the ocean. But I did see this little gem. I hope when I have to walk with a walker someone will bring me to the beach and help me stand in the ocean.

Winner!

2011-08-04T12:48:00.007-05:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway! Tamara- FormerBamaGirl you won! Email me your address and I will get your book sent out to you. Hopefully you and your husband will enjoy discussing The Help!

I had a lot of no reply comments for the giveaway. If you ever wonder why I don't respond to your comments then read this and change your settings to where we can talk to each other. So many of you write the nicest words (ahem Hart Mom) but I don't have a way of saying thank you, so fix that!

Now excuse me while I finish off my week here

Oh and p.s. if you are a crazy internet stalker just waiting for the moment to break in and steal my fabric, don't even think about it. I left Eric behind at home to fend for himself, not to mention a dog that is as protective over her mama's fabric as she is over her stuffed squirrels!

The Help Giveaway

2011-08-02T09:20:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend I finished reading The Help.

The book was on my reading list for a while but the waiting list at the library would never go down. I finally broke down and bought the it knowing I would have to read it before I saw the movie.

I loved The Help and can't wait to see the movie! I wish there would be another book to update on the characters, I always get so attached and actually wonder about a character's life and how it turns out. I also loved seeing my maiden name so much in the book even though that character is a total witch.

I am passing a copy along to one of you. Just leave a comment on this post. I will choose someone at 12 cst on Thursday August 4th!

Side Yard

2011-07-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

First of all let me say thanks for all the deck suggestions. I think I have a game plan and I can't wait to execute it in...October or at least when it cools down. Until then I am going to stop being embarrassed about the deck and actually entertain more outside.

So onto today, I have the long story of our side yard and how fast shrubs grow...

talk about embarrassing- I actually had several parties with the yard like this

When we moved in our house 2 years ago our back yard was fenced in with chain link and we had a little deck off the kitchen that wasn't in the fence. We wanted it in the fence so Claire could spend time with us while we were outside. So we decided to fence in the side yard with a wood privacy fence.

You can see in the first picture (which was taken the first time we drove by the house July 2008) the left side of the house doesn't have the fence. In the second pic you can see the addition.

The side yard started out ~~weedy~~ grassy. We left it this way until we decided how to landscape.

We knew that the area wasn't big enough for grass, plants, and a purpose and since it wasn't covered I didn't want to waste the space with a table sitting in the hot sun. After looking out the kitchen window at ugliness for too long Eric cleared out all the weeds and we came up with a plan.

We wanted to have landscape around the perimeter and gravel in the middle with chairs and a fire pit. Eric put down the black lining to keep annoying weeds out of the gravel. We had some flagstone left over from our front walkway so he broke them up and used as a border,cementing the stones into place. We do wish we raised the flagstone a bit because it would be easier to sweep the pine straw off of it.

We filled it in with gravel instead of water-should have made it a little pool. We finally found gravel that I was happy with at Lowes. We learned if you buy the bags with a rip they are half off and still usually full of gravel since they place them in clear garbage bags. Score!

For the shrubs we kept it simple and used Niko hydrangeas, loropetalum, gardenias and double knockout roses. I really wanted to have some green out there even during the winter enter loropetalum & gardenia.

Ok sorry about that ridiculous picture which was taken as a joke but it is the only one we have of the plants right when they were planted. Last summer it was so hot and dry we had to cut back the hydrangeas to save them, but they all came back this year. Eric did end up irrigating the area which is great because we haven't lost any plants this summer. He just used a simple irrigation system bought at Lowes.

What a difference a year makes! Look how big our plants have grown. This was taken before we cut the knockout roses down to half the plant, they were taking over! The hydrangeas are getting too big for the space so they will be transplanted to the back yard.

We have since added day lilies, native grasses, cone flowers, lavender and some blackeyed suzies. I have an OBSESSION with clearance perennials at Lowes. Seriously it make me happier than anything in the summer when I see cone flowers for $1 so that is when we buy our perennials.

I stained our adirondak chairs with outdoor stain and love the way they look, although they did get a little banged up during a hail store. I love to sit in the chairs and read.

We were originally going to take down the chain link fence between the side/deck and main backyard. Once we moved in and spent time in the backyard we liked the barrier and being able to close it off to Claire.

While functional, the chain link fence was ugly and in bad shape. Much to Eric's dismay he and my dad took down the chain link and put up the picket fence. I wasn't aware of some issues with a gate and the wood fence so long story short we no longer have the gates to shut Claire out. That sort of defeaters the purpose of a fence but the landscaping was already set so we had to have some sort of border. And it looks so much better than the beat up chainlink.

Forget the gates, what we really need is a fence around my little garden. Claire likes to help herself to the veggies, squash is her favorite.

Unfortunately it is very hot during the summer and the skeeters are rampant so we don't get to use the space very much. Come fall we will use the space more.

We are almost finished with the backyard, we just have the shrubs in the back non-sodded part of the yard. Eric planted 20 hydrangeas! & 3 dogwood trees this week in the back part but hopefully by fall he will spec the rest of the shrubs and our backyard will be complete.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Football practice starts next week so it is pretty much ~~our~~ Eric's last free weekend until December :(

Deck Paint?

2011-07-27T09:21:00.001-05:00

Ugh to our deck why do you have to be so difficult?

I guess I should quit whining because I am grateful to have this space, even with worn out wood and peeling paint. When we moved in our deck was painted this red color and it was an ugly hot color, not like a good red.

Oh and you want to know something special. See those foot prints? They are mine from when the house was getting ready to go on the market and we would sneak over and look in the windows. The deck paint was wet and I got foot prints all over it. If I had only know that a year later we would buy the house I would have taken a hose to the wet paint.

Right when we moved in I painted it in stripes-only pic I can find.

But never got around to painting the red side boards.

2 years later and the paint has faded, worn and chipped off. We thought about sanding the paint off but paint that is in between the boards would show. It was decided we would start over with a fresh wood deck but keep the old supports. My dad came to town to help with the project but he and Eric couldn't pry the old boards off. The screws were stripped so only 1 board was replaced :(

This is how my sad little deck looks today

I have given up my dreams of a wood deck so now I am trying to decide what color to paint it. Any suggestions????????????

The colors in the back are grey house, green door, and orange fabric.

(photo taken last year, the door trim is now a creamy white)

I am thinking just match the house but that is sort of boring. Maybe a mix between the house and the door color? Please help a sister out!

BBQ pork

2011-07-22T11:21:00.009-05:00

Sooo did you have a good weekend? Ours was good I spent a little time at the pool, picked a ton of blueberries, cleaned out some closets while Eric finished up repiping the house, planting another flower bed, and mowing the grass-well I mowed the front yard. You know the usual.

Friday night we had a crock pot meal for the first time since winter, I've missed my crock pot.

I made a version of BBQ Pork and it was sooo good, we've been eating the leftovers for 3 days. Here is a quick 2 ingredient recipe my friend Brigitte introduced me to a couple of years ago.

All you need:

Apple Cider Vinegar

Pork Tenderloin (mine was about 1.25lbs, made 5 sandwiches)

Put pork in crock pot and add about an inch of the vinegar. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Shred and add sauce but it is still great without sauce. Enjoy!

Our Fav Quick Supper

2011-07-21T09:01:00.000-05:00

Ok so if you know how to cook real Cajun food you may want to avert your eyes. But if you don't then let me introduce you to our favorite meal.....

Vigo Red Beans & Rice. I am unusually not a fan of prepackaged cajun food but on a whim I threw this little jewel into my buggy. Since then we have eaten it at least once a week. Yes that implies that we have eaten it more than once a week on occasion. Add half of a pack of sausage and omit the butter. It is soooo hot when cooked so let it cool for about 10 minutes before eating.

The meal wouldn't be complete without the costar Jiffy Sweet Cornbead. I don't remember ever having this awesomeness growing up, we ate real made from scratch cornbread. But one of the perks of marriage is the blending of favorite foods and I have grown to love this little box. At only 40 cents you can't go wrong. I make ours in muffin cups so I can freeze a batch and thaw as needed.

Shoot em Liz, shoot em, shoot em!

Pinterest 3

2011-07-18T12:57:00.001-05:00

Ok so I am back today with the next to last of my Pinterest dumps. Once again I don't know the sources so if you do please comment so I can give credit.
From the amount of repins from these posts it looks like everyone is enjoying the pinterest cleanouts. If not it will soon be over (again)! To see all my boards CLICK HERE.

NYC review

2011-07-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

Ok I'll wrap up our New York City trip today with some answers to a few questions.

Hotel?
We stayed at the totally renovated in April Sanctuary Hotel , right off of Times Square. This is our view from the front steps of the hotel and you can see Times Square peeking through.

There were street view rooms but ours wasn't. This was the view from our room, a church and a sliver of Times Square. It was fine because we weren't in our room much. The church bells did ring at 7:30 every morning so if you like to sleep late that might not be a good thing. It was for us because we had so much to do we didn't have time to sleep late!

I had read being close to Times Square you wouldn't be able to sleep because of the noise. It was really quiet except for Saturday night we could hear Times Square noise.

I had several people tell me not to stay in the Times Square area but we got a great rate on this hotel, $199 a night. For the first time in NYC it was a great location because it was within walking distance to so much and the sub station was right around the corner. Next time we may stay in another area of the city but this location was great.

I was told the rooms in NYC would be tiny so I was prepared and actually thought our room would be smaller than it was. Sitting on the bed you were looking into the all glass shower which had a curtain to close off it and the sink. The toilet had a door.

Standing at the door. Our rooms were super clean and the bed was very comfy. If I was going to stay in the Times Square area again I would for sure stay at Sanctuary.

To get from the airport to our hotel we took a Taxi. I think it was $26.

The rest of the time we rode the subway. We used several iPhone apps to help navigate the subway:

NYSubView--this was good to have a quick map to look at.
NYC Subway--you can route out where you want to go and it will tell you which subway to take.

Even with these apps we did get turned around a few times but the apps helped a lot.

When Eric wasn't taking pictures of me from behind he was taking mid talk pictures on the subway.

Other than the subway we walked. We probably walked more than we should have but on a map everything looks so close. I liked to use a good ol paper map (remember those) to help me know where we were.

NYC Way app - it tells you where you are and you can pin different locations you want to go to. Pretty great way to figure things out.
I also printed out a map of each neighborhood with marks of things I wanted to see/do to keep in my purse. I ended up using it as reference more than the iPhone.

Shoes?
I bought a pair of Born Hilary Sandals for the trip and they are the only shoes I wore the whole time. They have a tiny bit of padding and arch support. My feet hurt but they would have no matter what I would shoes have worn. I don't wear shorts only dresses and skirts during the summer so comfortable shoes would have looked redonk. I do think I could have gotten away with some cute Keds or Toms so those may be an option if you want comfort but still look cute.

Was it super hot?
Not really it was hot standing in the sun but remember I live in Alabama where it was 145 degrees and 126% humidity at 9pm. When we got to NYC I was wearing a tissue cardigan and the hotel staff kept going on and on about how I was going to melt. I guess I should be thakful to live in a hot/humid climate so when I am in a normal summer temp I think it is cool.

It did rain a few days but nothing too bad. I would have loved to go during the spring or fall but with Eric's schedule this was the best time for a vacation. Althought it ended up being a super busy time with his work so I took a lot of pictures of him on the phone....

Fav place to eat:
Well that would be Shake Shack. Their burgers were just so good. We only ate there once made 2 other attempts but both times the line was out the door around the block. Why oh why did we not wait?

Other than that we really enjoyed Serendipity 3. We did make reservations, not sure how long we would have waited otherwise so you might as well make reservations.

Did you like Jersey Boys?
Oh yes I did, Jersey Boys has been on my list for a long time and what better stage to see it than Broadway?! The actor that played Frankie Valli sounded just like him and the other actors were great as well. It was just a smart play and I cried like I always do during plays. I think I was a Broadway star in my past life.

I didn't want to take a chance on not getting tickets so we bought ours online in advance. But they did have the at the TKTS booth for 30% off while we were there. The theater was tiny in the way of leg room. I think my 3 year old nephew would have been short on leg room. But it was worth it and you do get to get up during intermission.
Oh and an fyi there is a lot of cussing particularly the F word so you may not want to take your kid.

For you locals Jersey Boys is coming to Atlanta next spring! We are planning on going.

The other play we saw was The Addams Family. It was cute and the set design was smart. I love to see the sets get changed. It was good for kids and also adults with some adult humor thrown in. And Brooke Shields was great.

I think that is it. The only regret is not seeing a play every night! Let me know if you have any other q's.

NYC 2

2011-07-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

Friday we started off by walking to the Garment District. I loved the old buildings with rows of mannequins. I loved imagining all the creative minds creating away inside the buildings.

I really wanted to get my photo with the button and needle and was happy when we walked right up on it.

Of course a trip to Mood had to happen. Talk about overwhelming! Eric thought I should run around the store like they do on Project Runway. lol. I had to buy something so I walked away with a really subtle orange and blue pinstripe for a skirt. Again with Eric taking pics from behind.

We then walked over to Grand Central Station. It is a beautiful building.

So amazing! I would have loved to spend more time here but Eric and I were both feeling really sick so we didn't hang around for long. We took the subway back to the hotel and took 3 hour naps which was the best thing we could have done.

After we woke up we rode over to Chelsea. I loved this super charming little building!

Back to the hotel to get ready to see Jersey Boys!!!!!!!!!!! I've been wanting to see this play for about 5 years so I was so excited. And guess where we had our pre theater dinner? McDonalds! Eric thought the play started at 7 instead 8 and didn't understand why I was trying to find a restaurant when it was so close to 7. He thought we only had time to grab something quick. At McDonalds he ate his burger in 3 bites. I asked him why he was eating so fast and he asked why I was eating so slow since he thought we were already missing the play. I am sure this is only funny to us, I am laughing about it right now.

Saturday was our last day in NYC so we still had a lot to fit in. We started off by going to China Town and walked our way over to Little Italy. On Mulberry/Canal all the restaurants were getting set up for lunch with their tables on the sidewalk. It was so cute.

Look how tiny Eric looks next to the column.

From Little Italy we walked down to the World Trade Center site. It was hard to imagine being there on 9/11.

From there walked over to Wall St and Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty.

Oh Lady Liberty

We rode the subway up to a very crowded Soho. You couldn't really move around so we didn't hang around long.

Next stop was Washington Square. I loved this fountain and wish that Auburn would build one at the park down the street from our house.

Oh yeah we stopped by the Smithsonian Natural Museum of the American Indian and if you know Eric you know how happy he was to be there!

We were planning on going to the Natural Museum of History but we got on the express subway instead of the local subway and it took us like 400 streets past where we were suppose to be. Combine that with a totally packed out subway car full of people that thought they were on the local and we decided to change our plans. Eric went to the TKTS booth and bought our tickets to see The Addams Family.

It was a cute show and I am so happy we went. Why The Addam's Family you ask?

Brooke Shields was playing Morticia. See Eric in the background behind her. lol.

After the play we wanted to stop by Shake Shack for one last burger but the line was wrapped around the block. Boo hoo, I guess we will just have to make another trip!

Saturday we packed up and flew back to Alabama. Land of the trees and green grass and houses and no yellow cars and no crowds and no one honking horns and real heat and real humidity and restaurants that serve real portions of food and best of all SWEET TEA! We were also happy to see Claire who stayed home alone but thanks to her Uncle Joe Tater and fav neighbor Ms. Leigh she was one happy puppy.

I've got to run so tomorrow I will answer some details questions I've gotten.

New York Vacay

2011-07-11T10:18:00.016-05:00

Yesterday Eric and I rolled back into Auburn from our awesome vacation to New York City! We rank everything by percents and Eric was exicted 0% to go on the trip, and we both had a 100% great time!

We got to NYC on Wednesday afternoon. On the plane I had a little freak out when I realized my camera battery wasn't in my camera. I thought I had left it all the way in Auburn but thankfully it was still in the charger in my suitcase! Now we could enjoy our vacation.
Our hotel was right off of Times Square so we started there.

We walked around Times Square and finally found Shake Shack. The line was wrapped out the door but we waited and it was worth it. The best burger ever is from Shake Shack we tried to eat there 2 other times but both times the line was wrapped around the block. After lupper (lunch + supper)we walked over to Rockefeller Center and down or up (?) 5th Ave.

We were tired from traveling so we didn't do much Wednesday night. But I did make sure to enjoy a piece of cheesecake in Times Square.

Thursday we decide to walk the 10 or so blocks up to Central Park. When we were about 8 blocks in I realized that I left my camera battery in the room. After a quick trip back to the hotel via the subway (not our feet) we finally ended up at Central Park.

I finally got my hot dog from a street vendor! I had really high hopes but was a little disappointed.

Since we were in the area we had to stop at FAO Schwartz and visit the Lego statues

and Big piano

Next stop Dylan's Candy Bar. Not really anything special like I thought it would be just lots of good candy. Well I guess candy is always special.

I loved all the window displays around the city. Some creative stuff. This one at Dylan's Candy Bar was great. It was advertising for The Closer and the whole window was made of candy. Her dress is made from twizzlers!

We hoofed it back over to the Rockefeller Center to go to Top Of The Rock. I wanted to see the city at night but I am glad we went during the day for the first time since we had a better idea what we were looking at.

Eric took about 67 pictures of me from behind. I actually like this one since I was totally mesmerized by the buildings. I could sit all day and think about buildings, actually I guess I do.

For supper we ate at Serendipity 3. It was very delicious and a neat place to eat. I just wish our reservation was earlier so we could have gone to another Broadway show.

Yummy! Frozen Hot Chocolate
After supper we took the subway to Macy's on 34th. It was huge, a little too huge for me so we left!

We decided to walk home and take a different road than we had before. We walked by Bryant Park which was so nice and well lit. Oh how I love to sit outside at night.

Andddd this looks like a good stopping point. I was going to try and post the trip all in one post, but I have too many pictures to share so this may be a 3 parter.

Sorry if you don't care about NYC come back at the end of the week, I still have to clean out my laptop so I smell another Pinterest post coming up.

Friendship Braclets 2.0

2011-07-08T09:32:00.000-05:00

Was this picture was taken in 1998 or 2011?! If you guess 2011 you were right!!!!! did the watch give it away?

With all of the cute bracelets gracing everyone's arms I've been feeling crafty and making my own, which I am sure I was doing during the summer of 1998.

I used this tutorial found on pinterest (of course) to make the teal with gold beads. I didn't have a clip board to hold my strands so mine is a little wonky. Hopefully the next one will look better. I think I spent less than $3 on it.

via

If you don't want to make your own this etsy shop has some great braclets.

Back in the day I was pretty good at making friendship braclets. I still have all my embrodery floss, except now it is used for smocking. I've had fun playing with colors and I've even got a pinterest board dedicated to pretty colors for thread choice inspiration. One day I am going to splurge a whole $2 on some metalic thread.

This bracelet is next on my list

One way I've been keeping them clasped is with a simple S hook found near the picture hanging or chain section of the hardware store. This way they are easily removable since you don't have to knot them on your wrist.

So are you still laughing and making fun of me like Eric is? Well laugh on, the nurse that took my blood this week asked me to make her one.

Pinterest Part 2

2011-07-06T10:27:00.001-05:00

Ok so I am back today with part deux of my Pinterest dump. Part 1 here. Once again I don't know the sources so if you do please comment so I can give credit.
Sorry if I am clogging up your pinterest feed, it will soon be over! To see all my boards CLICK HERE.

before

after-wow!

country home

better homes & gardens

bhg

the lettered cottage

sherwin williams rivulet

style at home

serena & lily

olligraphics

two ellie

the polished pebble

sarah richardson

Pinterest Part 1

2011-07-05T09:10:00.002-05:00

Are you on Pinterest? I've been resisting for a long time but then I realized I was "pinning" anyway. I usually right click on several photos a day to save on my computer. Then I have to upload them to Shutterfly where I have different folders.

Now by pinning I simply pin and it saves the web address so I can always link back to that room, party or recipe. So many cool things to see even if you don't care about pretty house pictures. Seriously Pinterest is the best invention ever. Find my boards HERE. Want to learn how to use Pinterest click HERE for a great video.

I haven't transfered images in a few months so I am cleaning off my computer pictures and putting them on my blog so they can be pinned. I am having to break it up into several posts so bear with me. At least there are pretty pictures to look at! I don't usually save photo sources so if you know where the image came from let me know. Now if I could only transfer all those Shutterfly images to Pinterest.

Oh and I've never gotten that pin icon on my menu bar, I've just been saving from my favorites tab. How do I get that pin?

holly mathis interiors

the lettered cottage

pottery barn

the pleated poppy

the happy home

toby fairley?

in the fun lane

Another Day, Another Skirt

2011-06-30T09:41:00.002-05:00

It seems that this summer is shaping up to be like the past few where I get in a sewing mode. I usually make several dresses but this year I have been on a skirt kick. Oh and a baby blanket/quilt kick I've made 4 in the last 2 weeks!

Last summer I bought this skirt at Target. I think they were calling it the camp skirt, but anyway I love it. So comfy and cute pockets. I also think that JCrew has a version and I have the Lands End Canvas version.

Of course they don't have them again this summer. So sad. But I was able to find a pattern for almost the exact skirt! Simplicity 2258. Last week when Simplicity patterns were 99 cents at Hobby Lobby I added this one to my cart.

The "camp" skirt was super simple to make. Since it was my first one it took almost 2 hours but I think I can do the next one in an hour or less.

Some changes I will make the next time are:

*A bigger size. Patterns usually run different from your normal size but this one was WAY off. Per the measurements I made a size 14. My normal size is 4/6. It was a little more snug than I prefer so I will bump the size up to 16 next time. Also I like the fullness of the Target version, while I know this pattern is more A-line will it be more full with a bigger size?

*Cut the length longer. I had to do a tiny hem.

*I also think it would be so cute to do the pockets and belt in a contrasting fabric. They are hard to notice.

I am planning on using chambray for the next skirt. I may tackle that this weekend. I can't decide if I like or hate the fabric I used for the skirt. In a way it is 70's cool but then it is also 70's ugly. Oh well it was only $4.

Nephew Weekend

2011-06-27T09:38:00.013-05:00

Friday I took the day off of work to pick up my nephew for a weekend with his aunts & uncles down south.

Our first stop was DeSoto Caverns. It was the first time at DeSoto Caverns for both of us and the first time for Brooks to go to a cave or cavern.

There are also a lot of other things to do besides the caverns and they have some nice picnic areas. I am a sucker for cheesy gift shops and this one fit the bill. When we walked in and saw the set up of rocks & gems for sale, I knew it was going to be a special place. Surprisingly we made it out with 2 marbles and a toy cork gun.

My camera battery died after that first shot so everything else is taken from my little camera that dates back to the same time the caves were discovered.

After we had our fill of the caverns our next stop was the Blue Bell factory.
I love factories as much as tacky gift shops but we got to Blue Bell too late for a tour. They had big windows where you could watch production, we loved it.

We did make a stop in their gift shop and came out with a cow tattoo and a ice cream popper toy.

The best part a big scoop of ice cream is only 50 cents! Load me up. The best flavor we tried was the Birthday Cake, sooo good.

When we finally made it back to Auburn we went to visit Eric at work and he drove us up to the complex on his golf cart.

Where we had to get a picture with the National Championship trophy!

Brooks could choose anything he wanted to do for the night and he chose bowling. I haven't been bowling since 2001 so I forgot how much fun it was. Brooks won!

We finished the night with dinner at Five Guys and a trip to Hibbits. I think we did our job and wore him out, he slept almost 12 hours Friday night!

Saturday after many heated games of wiffle ball we took Brooks to my sister Angie's house. She and Joe took him to a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game. Before the game Brooks participated in a little clinic put on by the players. He was even interviewed for the news!

During one of the wiffle ball games a neighbor stopped by and invited us to visit his garden. When we got back into town we walked over to his house. I can't even describe how awesome his "garden" is. Right in the middle of town is his amazing space. Maybe one day I can get some pictures or better yet a magazine needs to get over there asap. Eric was on cloud nine because this guy also happens to be a "celebrity" in the tree grafting world (lol!) and propagates many of his own lillies and other plants.

Saturday was also mine & Eric's 6th Anniversary! Since we are going to NYC soon we celebrated in Auburn at our favorite restaurant Amsterdam Cafe.

I had this little cookie cake made for us, it is suppose to be a "6" but looks more like a "b". Oh well it still tasted great.

I had the very tasty shrimp & grits and Eric stuck to his usual steak sandwich.

When we got home we exchanged gifts. We always give a gift from the "traditional" anniversary gift list. 6 years was candy.
I wrote Eric a little poem with candy to match.

I told Eric I felt sorry for him because no matter what he did it wouldn't be as awesome as my candy poem. But he did get major points for "6" Reese Cups & my fav and elusive peanut butter M&Ms.

So wow that was long. If you are still reading you deserve a prize, how about some candy?!
Anything interesting happen during your weekend? Have you ever taken your nephew or niece for the weekend? If not do it soon, it was so fun and I hope that Brooks remembers it for as long as we do.

6 years

2011-06-24T08:52:00.003-05:00

Just when I thought I was getting over Cam guess what hit newsstands yesterday

Cam Newton in GQ? Yes please!

Did this have to come out the weekend I am celebrating my 6th wedding anniversary? It is ok, Cam wasn't named on of the 14 Important Figures to Auburn's Program. But guess who was, yeah my real husband?
Saturday is our wedding anniversary, oh I already mentioned it, well I am a little excited. Eric was originally suppose to get the sod for the new practice fields installed over the weekend you know of our wedding anniversary.

So instead of me being alone all weekend I decided to meet my sister halfway, pick up my nephew to spend Friday and Saturday morning with us. Then I will ship him off to my other sister's house for the rest of the weekend. "Auburn Aunts" Weekend 2k11. It should be fun times!

And since the sod was delayed I will get to celebrate my anniversary after all!

Happy Anniversary to my Boo, 6 years of loving youuuuuu!

Oh that pesky little bow tie, we had to stop the wedding so I could straighten it.

And to leave you all this weekend I pulled up this little gem. We totally had it on our wedding rehearsal video. Nobody rocks it like Uncle Jesse.

My New Fav Painting

2011-06-22T10:42:00.001-05:00

Have y'all seen the Townhouse Crackers commercial with Patrick Dempsy as the narrator?

I am obsessed with the art in one of the scenes. This wonky screen shot is the only photo I can rig up of the painting behind the sofa. The painting is amazing and reminds me of the rocks near our family lake house.

I have an amazingly talented friend that could whip that painting up in a few hours. Mary Kathryn are you listening???!!!! You could paint this for me in your spare time ya know. Pleaseeeee I'll even let you borrow my DeMarcus Ware jersey...

Don't you think that commercials or actually everything should have resource lists?

Lake Weekend

2011-06-20T13:44:00.009-05:00

We made a quick trip up to the lake over the weekend. It was a quiet and relaxing trip. Add in a couple of pretty scenic detours on the ride home and it was a perfect weekend.

the men built a dog water ramp out of the old deck, Claire loved it

and kids did too

fresh veggie summer lunches are the best: juicy tomato, green beans, fried okra, cabbage, field peas, fried squash, corn, vinegar cucumbers, cornbread muffin & sweet tea.

I think Claire had a good time, this is how she was sleeping in her cave when I woke up this morning!