All About The Armes'

Super Bowl Sunday {better late than never}

2012-02-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday night, our friends Tim & Amber had us over to their house for a Super Bowl party. We are huge Colts fans, and well, we all know how their season went this year, so we pulled for the next best player & team, Eli & the Giants!

We had the best time, with lots of food, catching up & playing with Brayden & Addy!

We had so much yummy food!

{Giants inspired cupcakes by Carly Harrison}

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

2012-01-27T18:03:00.002-05:00

Last night, I made one of John T.'s favorite meals. I'm pretty sure it would make anyone happy!

The first time I made this was on new year's eve after I found the recipe on Pinterest. It is very rich, so I can't have too often, but once in a while never hurts. :o)

My absolute favorite thing to order at Chili's (besides their chips & salsa) is the Cajun Chicken Pasta. This recipe is strikingly similar (minus the chives & tomatoes)!

{I tweaked the Pinterest recipe for those of you have it pinned like me!}

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

What you need:

2 bags of refrigerated chicken breast strips (LOVE these)

1/2 box linguine, cooked according to package instructions (more or less depending on how many you are cooking for)

2 teaspoons cajun seasoning

{I like this brand}

2 tablespoons butter

3/4-1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes

{I ~~like~~ love this brand}

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

{side note: when it comes to spices, I rarely measure...I typically just throw in a pinch here & there until it "looks right" to me}

How you make it:

Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl & toss to coat. (In the meantime, boil your water & cook your pasta.)

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter until chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat, add heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, black pepper & heat through.

Pour over hot linguine and toss with Parmesan cheese.

I served ours with garlic toast.

YUM-O!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

John T.'s 26th Birthday

2012-01-15T16:09:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my hubby's 26th b-day! I had our families over for a little party last night, and it was really fun!

The theme was orange white for the Vols!

We had chicken nuggets from Chick Fil-A

Cheese and Bacon Potato Rounds, via Pinterest

and, of course, cake!

{Cake by Carly Harrison}

It was so fun to have all of our families there together.

After we ate, John T. opened his presents, & we played the Wii for a little while.

It's hard to believe we both turn 26 this year! :o)

This morning, we went to church, did some grocery shopping at Target & had lunch at Salsaritas. I love, love, love our Sundays together!

Have a great week, everyone, & for those of you who are off tomorrow for the MLK holiday, enjoy it!

Loving it

2012-01-13T06:22:00.001-05:00

I have come across some of the cutest things lately, starting with this orange & white chevron platter I got with one of my Christmas gift cards to Alumni Hall

I am so excited to use it this weekend for John T.'s 26th birthday party!

I am in love with chevron right now, so I had to pick this up when I saw it at Target last week

{Valentine's Day}

I am also loving my KitchenAid that my mom & dad got me for Christmas. I have used it twice already, to make this & this and I love it!

I picked this frame out as a Christmas present from John T.'s granny, and I am loving it! I think our picture from the Arkansas game fits it perfectly!

{ella minnow pea}

Football & Taco Dip

2012-01-11T06:16:00.000-05:00

I always seem to be looking for a good excuse to make taco dip & Monday's national championship seemed like the perfect occasion.

I made chicken fajitas, & we had chips & taco dip. It was so good!

My good friend, Jessica, gave me the recipe when we were in college, and it is always a big hit when I make it.

Here's what you need:

1 block cream cheese

1 small container of sour cream

1 packet taco seasoning

1 jar of your favorite salsa (my fav is below)

lots of shredded cheese

How you make it:

Combine cream cheese, sour cream & taco seasoning in a mixer or bowl. Transfer mixture to the bowl you will use for the dip. Pour salsa over mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top & heat in microwave for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

My favorite salsa from Target. It is the best!

It doesn't look perfect, but it sure is yummy! :o)

The Best Homemade BBQ

2012-01-10T19:07:00.000-05:00

I am not one to try to make my own BBQ. I would much rather just go to Buddy's & buy some! However, there is a recipe in January's Southern Living that I thought I had to try. Oh my...this was delicious, if I do say so myself! Perfect for winter & super easy!

The recipe is under the food section of the mag called "fix it and forget it," & that's exactly what I did.

{Slow-cooked Barbecued Chicken}

What you need:

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 (3-to 3 1/2-lb.) cut-up whole chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they were on sale at Target)

1/2 cup cola soft drink

1/3 cup ketchup

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. bourbon (I left this out)

1 lemon, sliced

How you make it:

1. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over chicken. Place chicken in a single layer in a lightly greased 6-qt. slow cooker.

2. Whisk together cola soft drink and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Slowly pour mixture between chicken pieces (to avoid removing spices from chicken). Place lemon slices in a single layer on top of chicken.

3. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours (or LOW 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours<

4. Transfer chicken pieces to a serving platter; discard lemon slices. Skim fat from pan juices in slow cooker. Pour pan juices over chicken; serve immediately.

I also served ours with this side (wish I would have taken a pic...must get better at that):

{Sweet Potato Cornbread}

What you need:

2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

5 large eggs

2 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes (about 4 sweet potatoes)

1 8-oz. container sour cream

1/2 cup butter, melted

How you make it:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together fiist 3 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until moistened. Spoon batter in a lightly greased 9-inch square pan.

2. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Both recipes from Southern Living.

Applesauce Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

2012-01-06T18:48:00.000-05:00

I made these before we worked New Year's weekend, and they were so yummy! I normally never eat a good breakfast during the week (shame on me, I know), but there is something about the weekend that makes me want breakfast. These were perfect.

{Southern Living}

Applesauce Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

{Applesauce Muffins}

What you need:

4 cups all-purpose baking mix (I used Bisquick Original Pancake and Baking Mix)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2/3 cup chunky applesauce (I used regular because I couldn't find chunky at Target)

1/2 milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

How you make them:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together baking mix, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

2. Whisk together applesauce and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl; add to sugar mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into a lightly greased 12-cup muffin pan, filling almost completely full. Sprinkle Cinnamon Streusel Topping over batter.

3. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and tops are golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack.

{Cinnamon Streusel Topping}

What you need:

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3 Tbsp. all-purpose baking mix

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

How you make it:

Whisk together first 4 ingredients until blended. Stir melted butter into sugar mixture until well blended and crumbly.

{don't} Let it Snow!

2012-01-05T18:14:00.000-05:00

Monday night around 6:00, it started snowing & kept snowing! It was super freezing cold outside, and it all came on so fast! One minute I looked outside, and there was nothing...

Then, the next minute this...

And it kept snowing through the night. Schools were closed, but I had to go to work on Tuesday. Thankfully, I made it just fine, but I am not a fan of snow like I used to be! I only like it on my off days!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T18:12:00.000-05:00

I feel like all I talk about on this blog is working, ha!, but John T. & I both worked New Year's Eve/Day, so we didn't have much excitement at our house. :o)

I did pick up some cupcakes & sparkling grape juice to celebrate on New Year's Eve, and then we were in bed by 9:30!

After we got off work on New Year's Day, we headed to Minnie's for our traditional NY's Day meal: hog jowl, black eyed peas, cabbage, fried potatoes & cornbread. I always look forward to this meal!

{notice my one black eyed pea...that's all I can stomach!}

Afterwards, John T.'s little sister, Jayden spent the night with us. We played for a little while & then went to bed.

{Jayden got this Justin Bieber game for Christmas, & it was super hard! We had to answer all sorts of questions about his songs to get to meet him backstage :o) }

I definitely had my first experience with motherhood during the night...Jayden had an awful cough & kept us both up for a few hours during the night. She was so pitiful. :o( I gave her cough medicine, tablespoons of honey, oranges, lozenges (scared to death she would choke because she was coughing so much, but John T. suggested it, & it helped the most, I think!). After waking up at 1a.m. & again from 5-6 a.m., she finally fell asleep, and we all ended up sleeping until around 10 a.m.!

After we got up, we headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast & then went to Wal-Mart to pick out some nail polish & coloring book/crayons. :o)

I am really looking forward to what 2012 is going to bring! So many exciting possibilities!

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T18:05:00.000-05:00

This year, Christmas started on Saturday, December 17, when we exchanged gifts with John T.'s granny.

We had yummy snacks, and she spoiled us with lots of gifts!

I made these cuties, and they were so good! A little time consuming...but fun!

Here's what you need:

Melt candiquik. Dip Oreos in candiquik. Decorate.

I melted my chocolate chips & poured them into a plastic bag, cut a small hole in the corner & piped the eyes & mouth on.

When we left Minnie's, we headed to John T.'s mom & dad's to exchange presents with them. We did it a little earlier than normal this year because of John T.'s work schedule, but it worked out great!

Jayden got some Justice outfits from us & the game Operation

Taleah...the Kentucky fan of the family with her Tervis Tumbler :o)

{The picture of John T.'s kindergarten graduation on the wall cracks me up!}

Christmas Eve morning, John T. & I exchanged presents with each other when he got home from work. My favorite gift was my new Pandora bracelet & charm to add to my collection!

Later, we went to my aunt & uncle's house to celebrate with my family. My aunt Sharon always buys the best gifts, and I got my first pair of Toms! I love them!

This yule log is one of my favorite things about Christmas at Sharon's! It is so good!

We had burgers & baked potatoes...

and salads

Me, mom, Sharon & Ashley

The whole gang: Dad, Mom, Antione, Ashley, Daryl, Sharon, me & John T.

John T. had to work on Christmas Eve, so I spent the night with my mom & dad. When he got off work Christmas morning, he came to my mom & dad's, & we had breakfast & exchanged presents with them. This was the first time we have done this, and it was so fun!

The yummy breakfast my mom fixed!

John T. was excited about his bike from my mom & dad!

We had a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

Card design by Leslie Duffield

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Week of Parties

2011-12-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

This past week/weekend has been full of Christmas parties/get-togethers! On Wednesday night, my crew from work met at Brazeiros in Knoxville for dinner. Their food was amazing! It is a Brazillian steakhouse, and they have all different kinds of meat from chicken to lamb. Their salad bar, sides & desserts were great, too!

On Thursday, we met with a few of my high school girlfriends and ate at Texas Roadhouse. I'm sad that I didn't take one picture! It was fun to see everyone & play with Brayden & love on Addy. :o)

Then, finally on Saturday, we went the hospital Christmas party at the Tellico Village Yacht club. I was super excited to get to wear this dress from Riffraff!

{back of dress}

I saw it when we went to Fayetteville last month and couldn't decided whether I needed it or not, but I ended up ordering it through their facebook page when we got home, and I am so glad I did. It was perfect!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-11-29T21:15:00.000-05:00

In keeping with tradition, I started decorating and put up our Christmas tree this past Saturday (we always start decorating the Saturday after Thanksgiving).

I bought a little tree a couple of years ago at an after Christmas sale & last year, I gave it a Colts theme. This year, I did an SEC theme, since the SEC rocked this past football season. I found the idea for the fabric scrap lights from, you guessed it, Pinterest! It was so fun to make, but by the end, I was ready to be done tying fabric on a string of lights! I got the football ornament at Target & John T. had the idea of printing the SEC logo from Google & attaching it to the top. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

SEC Tree

Our big tree

Love this chevron ornament from ella minnow pea!

Fabric scrap wreath...another idea from Pinterest

I bought this sign last year from etsy {You're That Girl Designs}

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T19:15:00.000-05:00

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with John T.'s mom's side of the family. We had lunch, & afterwards, the girls went for a little hike. It was a very low key day with lots of yummy food!

Me & the sis-in-law, Taleah

I made these cupcakes, and they were yummy! I got the recipe from Pinterest.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

John T. had to work Thanksgiving night, so I spent the night with my mom & dad and worked today. No black Friday shopping for us this year, but I didn't really miss it. Most of our shopping is done, and my goal is to finish everything by December 1st!

Meeting Addy

2011-11-18T18:23:00.000-05:00

Last night, Whittney, Ashley & I took dinner to the Knobloch's & met Miss Addyson Paige, who was born on November 10.

I brought baked spaghetti & drinks, Ashley brought bread & dessert and Whittney brought stuff for salads. This was so fun to do with friends, and I hope they enjoyed it!

We also got to play with Addy's big brother, Brayden, which was fun, too! Addy is so tiny & cuddly...she slept the whole time we were there!

Love this little family!

Fayetteville

2011-11-16T18:08:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we headed west (10.5 hours) to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the Vols/Hogs football game!

We left on Thursday morning after John T. got home from work. I drove most of the way since he had worked all night, and it felt like the longest drive ever! We drove through Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Little Rock & finally we made it to Fayetteville around 6:00 p.m. The drive through the Ozarks was so pretty!

After checking in to our awesome hotel, we drove around to look for food! : ) We were craving pizza, & the first pizza place we saw was Pizza Hut, so we pulled in. I think it is so funny to drive 10.5 hours and eat at a place that we have just down the road, but it was delicious!

Friday morning, we slept in & headed down to breakfast. Then, we drove to the Fayetteville square & went to Riffraff. John T. kept joking that we drove 10.5 hours just to go to this store because it is all I talked about on the way there...oh, and Rick's Bakery (more on that later). I got some cute, cute things at Riffraff & have ordered a couple of things via facebook since then! : ) Santa (aka mom) also received a wishlist from there!

After shopping at Riffraff, we headed to the mall for a while & did some more shopping! Then, we drove to Bentonville, which was just about 25 minutes away, to see the home of Wal-Mart! They had a cute little town square, too, but we didn't get out because they were having a Veteran's Day program on the square and there was lots of traffic & no parking.

We then drove through the Duggar's hometown of Tonnitown & then to Springdale to see one of Josh's car lots. This was so stalkerish, but fun! Hey, if you drive all the way to Arkansas, you might as well!

We were starting to get hungry by this time, so we started looking for a place to eat. We decided on Sassy's Red House BBQ, but before we ate, we stopped at Rick's Bakery for a treat for afterwards! I have seen so many cakes/petit fours from lots of NWA girl's blogs, so I had to stop. I ended up getting a petit four & John T. got a cream horn.

A little bite of deliciousness!

Finally, we made it to Sassy's. This was by far the best BBQ I have ever had! I loved trying all of the sauces, and everything I got was just amazing!

Saturday was gameday! The game wasn't until that night, so Saturday morning after breakfast, we got out and did a little more shopping (big shocker!). The weather turned really cold, so I needed to go to Old Navy and get a black turtleneck to wear under my jersey. We drove through the UofA campus on our way back to get a few pics. We spent the rest of the day relaxing & then headed to the game around 5:00.

I loved seeing all of the tailgaters on our walk to the stadium. There is nothing like gameday in the SEC!

The game turned out to be horrible for our VOLS, but we still had a really great time. Our goal is to go to all of the SEC stadiums within the next few years, so we can mark Razorback Stadium off the list! I would love to go back to Fayetteville. It seemed like such a small town, but they had everything, every store you could possibly ever need. I loved that Target & Chick Fil-A were everywhere you looked!

Traveling back through East Arkansas/West Tennessee, we saw lots of cotton & I thought it was so pretty!

I heart the South! There is nothing like it!

Scarecrow Crunch

2011-11-14T20:32:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, I made this little mix for us to munch on throughout the week. It's a perfect fall snack & lasts for a long time!

I found the original idea on Pinterest, but you can add whatever you like to make it your own! I may try chocolate Teddy Grahams instead of the Goldfish when I make it again.

Put it in a big jar or make individual treat bags, and there you go!

October...Where did you go?

2011-11-07T22:13:00.000-05:00

October is probably my favorite month of the year. It is filled with lots & lots of stuff to do, fun decorations, football & the list goes on! We had something going on every week & weekend during the month, so I thought I would do a post dedicated to the entire month!

I already blogged about our anniversary on the 4th, so I will start after that.

On October 5th, we celebrated my SIL Taleah's 21st birthday with cherry cheescake & presents at John T.'s mom & dad's.

On October 14th, I met Taleah & the rest of her bridesmaids at David's Bridal in Knoxville to try on dresses for her wedding coming up in May. We found the perfect one (it will be in a color called "malibu"...kind of like an auqa blue).

I look like a Gator fan with my orange watch on! ha!

On October 15, John T. & I went to the UT/LSU game. The definite highlight of the game was getting Peyton Manning's autograph before the game! My friend Tim ushers in a section really close to the field, and we were just talking to him, when all of a sudden, I looked up & saw Peyton walking off the field! We all went crazy!! I ended up having to climb over chairs (in my boots & dress, may I add) to get the autograph. We were so close to him, and I kept telling John T. to say something to him (he has looked up to him since he was a little kid, if you know us, you know what I mean), but he didn't even know what to say! It was definitely something we both will never forget!

The next day on the 16th, we celebrated Jayden's 7th birthday at Frozen Head State Park. Her theme was Lalaloopsy, and I thought her cake was so cute! She had a great time with all of her friends.

Getting candy after the pinata busted!

Before we went to the party, we went to a little greenhouse in Harriman (Brown's, the best!) to get mums & pumpkins. I love decorating for fall, & I love for both of us to go & pick everything out!

After the party, we decided to take a trip, as we say. :o) All it means it driving around the "country, outdoorsy parts" of Wartburg. We drove for a couple of hours & took pictures at Nemo & in a field that had a beautiful view.

When we got home from our drive, we carved a pumpkin. We have been married for 3 years, but this is the first year we carved a pumpkin. I found a cute idea on Pinterest, using a drill to make holes in the pumpkin. It looked so pretty when we lit the candle inside of it! It was super hard to get a picture that did it justice, though.

On the 20th, after I got off work, I met my best friend Brittany & her little boy Easton at her mom's. Britt lives in middle Tennessee, so I only get to see her every once in a while now. I absolutely LOVE spending time with her (& now Easton!). We had the best afternoon just catching up & playing. I love these two more than anything!

On the 21st, I met my aunt Sharon at my mom & dad's, and we made 150 treat bags to hand out on Halloween at their house. They always get so many trick-or-treaters, so I look forward to it every year! We spent almost 3 hours making these! I thought they turned out super cute though (great idea, mom!).

On the 23rd, after church & lunch, we met up with John T.'s family & rode the rangers. We always have so much fun & the fall scenery was perfect. It made for a great Sunday afternoon!

The coal mine in New River

On the 29th, I had to take a test for work that I had been studying for all week, so I decided to treat myself & get a Mummy cupcake from The Cup when I finished! It was perfection!

I want to do a separate post about Halloween as soon as my mom sends me her pictures, but for now, here is a sneak peek. :o)

Big, huge army man with my dad! This guy was hilarious!

Happy Fall, & please don't forget Thanksgiving! I feel like the world goes straight from Halloween to Christmas, without remembering Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays, & I am so excited that it is only a couple of weeks away!

EGG-IN-THE-HOLE

2011-10-16T20:22:00.001-04:00

Here is the recipe for the egg-in-the-holes I made for our anniversary breakfast.

What You Need

sliced bread (such as white, whole wheat, sourdough)

butter

large eggs

salt

black pepper

How You Make Them

1. Begin with a piece of bread. With a biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut a hole in the center of the bread.

2. Heat 2-3 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, then place the bread in the skillet and allow it to soak up the butter.

3. After 1 minute, crack a large egg in the hole. Hence the name "egg-in-the-hole."

4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for another munute. Throw another tablespoon of butter into the pan.

5. With a spatula, flip to the other side. Move the bread around in the skillet a bit, allowing it to soak in the butter.

6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook on the second side until the egg is desired doneness.

This recipe came straight from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond.

3 Year Anniversary

2011-10-11T05:15:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday (10/4/11), we celebrated our 3 year anniversary! It is seriously amazing how fast these last 3 years have flown by.

That morning, I fixed us some breakfast. I tried Pioneer Woman's egg-in-the-holes for the first time {recipe, coming soon}, and John T. loved them! We had those, cinnamon rolls & bacon. It was yummy!

After breakfast, we got ready & headed to Turkey Creek for some shopping & to see Courageous {a must see}.

After the movies, we went to dinner at Altruda's. This was a first for both of us, and we really liked it. They have delicious salad & garlic bread.

After dinner, we ended our date night at Menchie's. We have developed a strong love for frozen yogurt this year! :o)

10/4/11 also marks the day that we have been together for 9 years & 7 months! I am so blessed & thankful to be married to John T. I love him more & more every single day!

I thought it would be fun to add a few pictures from our wedding day. It was such a perfect day!

Allardt Pumpkin Festival

2011-10-10T17:00:00.000-04:00

The first weekend of October, my mom, dad & I drove to Allardt, TN, for the Pumkin Festival. This was my second year to go, but this was mom & dad's first.

The tiny city of Allardt gets flooded with crowds during this weekend. I heard some people say they thought it was going to cave in because of all the people! It was super cold, too!

The park, which is pretty much in the center of town, fills up with tons of craft & food vendors. They had everything from hairbows to funnel cakes to twisted potatoes to pumpkins rolls...lots of pumpkin rolls! My college roommate grew up in Allardt, and I was so glad to see her!

Buying John T. a pumpkin & raisin loaf

We walked around the park & then headed to the volunteer fire dept. for BBQ. While we ate, we watched the costume contest for the kiddos. The winners were a bro+sis who were dressed as a confederate soldier & southern belle. They were adorable! {should have got a picture}

After we ate, we walked to the car show, which my dad loved. On the way, I bought a mini pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and it was so good! We also checked out the huge pumpkins, watermelons, etc. that people brought to enter in the contests. These were amazing!

It made for a great start to October! Hopefully next year, John T. will be off & will be able to go with us!

Do Everything

2011-09-20T18:32:00.000-04:00

I heard this song on K LOVE a few times in the past month, but I never really listened to it until today. It spoke so close to my heart, mostly because since I graduated college, I have been up & down about what God had/has planned for me job wise. I am so incredibly happy to say that where I am now is right where I know I should be for this season of life. I am so blessed to have a job, number one, but I also have a job that I love & that I don't mind going back to every day.

Hearing this song just reinstated the fact that no matter where I am, whatever I am doing, I should do everything to God's glory...that's all that truly matters!

I hope it brightens your day :o)

Chocolate Chip Poundcake

2011-09-19T21:16:00.002-04:00

We went to John T.'s family's church homecoming on Sunday, and I made this chocolate chip poundcake to take to it. I normally don't like any kind of poundcake, especially with no icing, but I wanted to make something that wasn't too indulgent, since I just finished teaching Made to Crave at the church!

I first saw this recipe from Jennifer and then saw it again on Jessica's blog, so I had been wanting to try it for a while.

photo courtsey of love from texas

I thought it turned out so delicious! It was so moist & wasn't too rich. I will definitely make it again!

Here's what you need:

box of yellow cake mix

box of instant chocolate pudding mix (3.9 oz)

4 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup water

1 cup of vegatable oil

1 cup of sour cream (you can use the less fat version)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Here's how you make it:

Beat together all ingredients, except chocolate chips. Stir those in by hand. Bake in a bundt pan (greased with baking spray) for 50-60 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Christina & Addy's Shower

2011-09-18T17:17:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning, I got up bright & early & headed to Harriman to get ready for Christina's baby shower.

First, I picked up the cutest baby shower cake ever from Carly Harrison and then headed to Trenton Street Baptist Church, where we had the shower.

We decorated everything the night before, so the only things we had to do that morning were blow up balloons & get the food & punch ready.

My gifts for Christina & Addy: my first attempt at a diaper cake, and I thought it turned out pretty cute. The pail came from ella minnow pea, and the pink bag was full of hairbows!

The water bottles I made. This was such a fun project!

Everyone loved the cake! It was perfect!

The drink table. Thanks to my mom for letting me borrow the drink dispensers! We had raspberry sherbet punch & lime sherbet punch...both recipes from Pinterest.

The big brother, sweet Brayden :o)

Mommy Christina

The high school girls...Whittney, Brittany, Chasity, Christina, Ashley, Cassi & me

Me & Christina

Ashley & me

Me & Cassi

Whittney & me

Me & mom

We had a great turn out, and Christina got lots of pink goodies for Addyson Paige! She is due in November, and I cannot wait to meet Addy!

2011-09-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

Today was chilly outside, so after work, I stopped by the Starbuck's inside our Kroger for this...

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

This was actually my first time trying it, and it was perfection!

Football Weekends

2011-09-14T20:35:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about fall is obviously football! Last weekend, I had to work, but Friday night, I made sausage balls & white chocolate covered pretzels (with orange sprinkles, of course) for us to eat when I got home during the Vols/Cincinnati game.

We won 45-23, which made for a great Saturday!

Chicken Taco Chili

2011-09-07T05:10:00.000-04:00

This recipe that I found through Pinterest is perfect for a rainy day. It was super easy to make, (even John T. helped!) & it was delicious.

Chicken Taco Chili

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

16-oz. can black beans

16-oz. can kidney beans

#2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce

10-oz. package frozen corn kernals

#2 14.5-oz. cans of Rotel

packet of taco seasoning

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine were frozen)

How It's Made

Combine onion, black/kidney beans, tomato sauce, corn, Rotel & seasonings in a Crock-Pot. Place chicken on top & cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours (I did mine high for 6). Half-hour before serving, shred chicken (I just left mine in the crock-pot & shredded).

We topped ours with shredded cheese & Fritos. Yummy!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T12:48:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness, what a glorious weekend we had! It didn't go by too fast, and we just had so much fun!

Friday night, we took Jayden to the mall to do some shopping, and she spent the night with us. :o) We woke up Saturday morning, took her back to John T.'s parents' house & then got ready to go to the game!

It was about 100 degrees when we got to Neyland stadium!

I really wanted to dress cute, but I knew it would probably be pointless, and oh my, I was right! Right before the band started to form the power T for the players to run through, they announced that a severe storm was blowing through, and we all had to take cover. We headed to the concourse, underneath the stadium. Once we got there, I literally felt like a sardine stuffed in a can! We couldn't move at all. I just held on to John T. It was kind of scary at times because some people were fighting back & forth & everyone kept pushing! It was SO hot & we had to stay there for about 45 minutes.

Finally, we decided that it would be ok if we went back out...we didn't really care at this point because we were so miserable! By this time, it was pouring down rain, and it actually felt so good just to sit & let the rain drench us! Once we got back to our seats, we were ready to go & were actually more excited than before because the crowd was really starting to get fired up!

I was loving Coach Dooley's pants!!

We really enjoyed the game, especially since it was one we will never forget! The Vols beat Montana 42-16! Go Big Orange!

I took this picture of the outside of the stadium as we were leaving. I thought it looked so pretty!

Sunday, we went to church & then relaxed most of the afternoon. We didn't go to bed until around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, so I took a long nap, and it felt great! Sunday night, we had a cook-out at John T.'s parents' house, & afterwards, we came home and organized our closets! I love the feeling of knowing we have clean, organized closets. I know I am weird, but at the start of every new season, I get in a nesting mood, where I want to clean & organize everything! Yesterday, I organized the freezer & pantry!

Our Labor Day was definitely relaxed. It consisted of grocery shopping, laundry, Pinterest & chicken taco chili (I will post the recipe tomorrow). It was one of the best days we have had in a while! It rained all day long, and it was just perfect!

August in Phone Pics

2011-08-28T16:38:00.000-04:00

August has definitely went by very fast! We have worked, played & worked some more. :o)

On August 7, I went with Taleah to the Knoxville Pink Bridal Show. It was pretty fun, and she got some good ideas for her wedding in May 2012.

I found out during the 2nd week of August that I have Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever from a crazy tick bite that I didn't even know about! I had been having body aches, fever, nausea for a few weeks & finally went to the dr. about it. He put me on antibiotics that I will finish this Tuesday, and they have really helped! I am feeling much better...I had follow-up blood work done last Friday, & if everything comes back good, I am in the clear! :o)

August 13, we celebrated Brayden's 2nd birthday! His mom, my friend Christina, did a great job organizing/decorating for the party. It was a perfect Toy Story party! :o)

We went to see Final Destination 5 in IMAX 3D. It was pretty corny but definitely what I expected...

Since the beginning of August, I have been teaching Made to Crave at Elizabeth Baptist Church. Going through the study again has really helped keep me motivated about exercising & watching what I eat.

I treated myself this week after work to a Diet Cherry Limeade during Sonic's happy hour! My favorite!

And...my Erin Condren Life Planner came yesterday!!! I was beyond excited, & I plan to start writing in it tonight after supper! I <3 planners!

Supper tonight: spaghetti w/ homemade tomato sauce (thank you Paula Deen!)

Have a wonderful week!

FOOTBALL STARTS next weekend!! GO VOLS!!

This article above is from this month's Southern Living. It is packed with all things football in the south!! Love it!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-08-05T21:32:00.002-04:00

Low-cal caramel popcorn. Yum!

Last Weekend of July

2011-07-31T23:01:00.001-04:00

Our weekend started after I got off work on Friday. We ate supper with John T.'s parents & sister Jayden. We had hamburger steak, corn on the cob & salad. It was all so good!

After eating, we took a long drive around Morgan Co. One of our stops was Lilly Bluff Overlook. It is part of the National Park system, and we had not been in years. It was so pretty, and we have already planned to come back in the fall to see all of the beautiful colors when the leaves change.

My hair was definitely a little windblown!

Jayden had the best time! She told me she wanted to come there with us every Friday night!

Saturday morning, I went to ella minnow pea to pick up invitations for my friend Christina's baby shower coming up in September. They turned out perfect! I am really looking forward to her shower & meeting Addyson in November.

I met some of John T.'s family for a girl's day lunch at Applebee's. John T.'s mamaw, Eva turns 69 next Friday, so we were out for her birthday!

Our Saturday afternoon was pretty relaxed. We didn't too much except watch a little TV, and we had Subway for supper. :o)

Today has been beautiful. We went to church this morning & have just hung out this afternoon, catching up on laundry & I am getting everything organized for the Made to Crave class I will be assiting with starting on Tuesday. It is going to be at my mother-in-law's church in Lancing, and I am really looking forward to it. I hope that the study will open minds & change lives!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-07-29T05:58:00.001-04:00

I actually bought this razor on accident...that's usually how I find the best stuff! :o)

I went into CVS with extra bucks & a coupon for any Venus razor. I usually use the Venus Embrace and really love it. Unforunately at the time, CVS was sold out of the Embrace. I really wanted/needed a razor that day because of the coupon/ongoing sale/and the fact that my Embrace was broken, so I decided to give the Venus Breeze a try.

It is a razor + shave gel bars, and I am loving it! I especially love the fact that I don't have to use shaving cream anymore. It smells great too!

It's never too early to start planning...

2011-07-28T19:56:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I was catching up on my blog reading, and I came across Hillary's blog about this life planner. Let me just say first & foremost, I love planners! I love getting a new one & sitting down with my mom on new year's day & writing out birthdays, anniversaries, plans, etc. in it.

I am super, super excited to receive this one in the mail in August!

It was originally $50, but I got it for $26.63 with a couple of discount codes I used. One is already expired, but if you use the code Welcome10, you will receive $10 off (I don't think this one has expired yet, but it's worth a try!).

The planner is from erincondren.com

Go here for the life planner page, where you can check out all of the different ones she has to offer.

She is so talented, and her entire site is full of cuteness!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-07-22T08:19:00.001-04:00

I found this new snack at Wal-Mart last week, and I love it!

I always get excited when I find something with a lot less calories to replace my M&M, cupcake, Oreo Blast craving!

Last Week Recap

2011-07-19T20:17:00.000-04:00

Last week was so fun, but it went by so fast!!

Here is a recap:

Monday

I worked, and when I got home, my SIL, Taleah came over & watched The Bachelorette with me and John T. We had a fun time rooting for our favorite, Ames. :o) He just seemed so sweet, but unfortunately, Ashley sent him home last night. Taleah spent the night with us, too, so it was kind of like a little slumber party!

Tuesday

We woke up bright & early, and John T. & I headed to Splash Country for the day. We usually try to go once during the summer, each year, and this week was perfect because we were both off for 3 days!

It rained on us the whole way there, but once we reached Pigeon Forge, it stopped. We were supposed to have a crazy hot heat index, but it ended up being pretty cloudy & nice. We had a really great time!

When we left, we were hungry, so after checking in to our hotel, we headed to our favorite place in PF, Mama's Farmhouse!

We did a little shopping afterwards, and then went to the movies & had frozen yogurt that night at a cute little place right behind our hotel!

Wednesday

We came back home early Wednesday morning & caught up on laundry & the usual...

Thursday

We promised Jayden that we would spend the entire day with her on Thursday, so that's exactly what we did. John T. picked her up around 10:00 a.m., and we headed to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Afterwards, we went to Wal-Mart to get groceries. Jayden is such a spoiled little girl...her bubba carried her through Wal-Mart for a good part of the trip! We then came back to her house, swam & took a walk to Frozen Head State Park. I was glad to give Lorrie a little break with peace & quiet for the day!

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, both of us worked, so there is not much excitement to share from those days!

Summer is flying by, and while I am excited for fall, I still feel like summer just started! I really don't want it to end! Jayden starts school Aug. 4, and that is hard to believe!

I hope everyone had a great Tuesday!

SheShe Made Giveaway

2011-07-09T21:47:00.000-04:00

Want a chance to win a super cute monogrammed beach towel like this one for the kiddo in your life?

or this one?

Check out The Francis Family Giveaway Blog for a great giveaway from SheShe Made!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-07-08T06:14:00.001-04:00

This week's find was an oops :o)

John T. & I both have used St. Ives Apircot Scrub & really love it.

But...while at the beach, they were out of it at CVS, so we bought St. Ives Green Tea Scrub instead.

We ended up loving it! It is a lot less thick than the apricot scrub, and it just makes our skin feel great. I usually use it twice a week, so it doesn't dry my skin out.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-04T23:53:00.002-04:00

We had a pretty great 4th of July weekend!

John T. & I were both off work on Friday. He & his dad rode their Rangers in Gobey during the morning/afternoon, and I laid out in the sun just about all day! I started out at our house, & then I went to my in-laws to float around in their pool until the boys got back.

I was so excited for Friday night! We met our friends Tim & Amber for supper at O'Charley's, and then we went to the movies. I'm sad I forgot to take any pictures, but we had a great time! It was so good to catch up because it had been a while since we had seen them.

Saturday morning, I woke up & got ready to meet one of my best friends & college roommate Katie for lunch in Rugby. We ate at the Harrow Road Cafe, which I had never been to before. I got the grilled chicken salad, and it was so good! They had the best spoon rolls...ever! After lunch, Katie & I walked around Rugby & caught up on everything...the last time I saw here was at our wedding, almost 3 years ago!

Saturday night, we had a cook-out at my in-laws. Hamburgers, hot dogs, brats & I made dessert....a gluten free brownie pizza. I had never made anything gluten free before, and everyone really seemed to like it.

Sunday, we went to church (we had a wonderful service!) & ate lunch at Panera afterwards. We hung out at home for a little while and then headed back to the in-laws for some pool time.

Today, I had to go in to work around 6:30 a.m., but I got off around 11:30 a.m. :o) I took a nap when I got home & afterwards, we took a walk at one of our local parks. We then headed back to the in-laws for some homemade ice cream & fireworks! We LOVE 4th of July weekend!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Enjoy your week!

Squash Casserole

2011-06-29T21:27:00.007-04:00

One of John T.'s favorite summertime dishes is squash casserole. I am not a fan of it at all, but I love making it for him because he likes it so much! A guy he works with, brought him some homegrown squash from his garden, so I thought tonight would be a perfect time to make the dish.

His favorite recipe that I have tried is from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook: home cooking with trisha yearwood

Squash Casserole

2 pounds yellow summer squash, trimmed & sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 small Vidalia onion, peeled & diced

1 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup grated Chedder cheese

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup Ritz crackers, crushed (about 15 crackers)

Step by Step

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.

Place the sliced squash and the onion in a medium saucepan with about a cup of water & 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cover and cook over medium until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain & cool. **It is very important to drain the squash mixture thoroughly before combining it with the other ingredients.

Put the squash into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer; the mixture should remain kind of chunky. Add the egg, mayonnaise, cheese, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper and mix until combined. Pour the squash mixture into the prepared dish, top with the crumbs, and bake for 30 minutes.

Summertime Snack

2011-06-26T19:45:00.001-04:00

Seeing & eating these yummy fruits just reminds me of summer! LOVE <3

Strawberries, blueberries, grapes & blackberries, sprinkled with a little Truvia!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-06-17T07:14:00.001-04:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these two products!

Both can be purchased at Victoria's Secret.

I bought the lip gloss before we went to beach because it has SPF 15. I have always liked the beauty RUSH lip glosses from VS, and this was no different! I chose the Mega Melon flavor.

I bought the lotion when we were at the beach. My skin started to get really dry after being in the sun so long, and this lotion really helped it. It also has a little tint to it & it shimmers, which I love.

25th Birthday

2011-06-16T19:38:00.000-04:00

I know I am super late on my birthday post, but here it is!

I celebrated my 25th birthday on May 26th by eating lunch with my love at Olive Garden. It was so good! :o)

That night, my mom & dad had a little party for me at their house. The theme was "strawberries." Everything looked so cute thanks to my mom! I loved it all!

The night before my birthday, John T.'s family had me a party at their house. Oh my word, the cake Lorrie got me was SO good! :o)

I had a great birthday! I can't believe I'm 25!

Vacation-Day 9

2011-06-04T19:14:00.002-04:00

SATURDAY

Sadly, today was our last day at the beach. I think we are both ready to be back at home, we are just not ready to go back to the "real world" :o)

We headed out to the beach around 9:15 & then made it to the pool around 1:00. We decided to skip lunch today. 1, because we were so stuffed still from Chili's last night & 2, because we wanted to savor every second of our last day in the sun!

We came in around 1:30 from the pool, showered & headed to Chick Fil-A for an early supper. We wanted something small & it was perfect. <3 <3 <3 CFA!

We then went to Target & just took our time looking around. I ended up getting a chips & salsa dish & a candle that reminded me of the beach, so I thought it would be perfect for home.

Last night, I downloaded a new (to me) app on my phone called Checkpoints. Leslie @ Lamberts Lately has been blogging/tweeting about it, & I finally decided to download it & give it a try. I definitely became an addict after scanning my items at Target today! If you are interested, click on the Checkpoints link & for a $1 gift card, enter jkarmes as your bonus code when you register! It is pretty awesome. Obviously, I am pretty new to it, but I know that the more items you scan, the more points you earn, which allows you to redeem gift cards at various places, such as Home Depot, CVS, & Amazon. Check it out!

We are just relaxing now...we are all packed up & ready to head back to Tennessee bright & early tomorrow morning!

Vacation-Day 8

2011-06-03T21:58:00.002-04:00

FRIDAY

Our wonderful time at Ft. Walton Beach/Destin is slowing dwindling down...

This morning, looked a lot like the others:

wake up.beach.pool.lunch.pool.head across the bridge to Destin!

We had supper at Chili's tonight. I was craving the Cajun Chicken Pasta, and it was so good!

After eating, we went to Barnes & Noble & then headed to Twirl for the 2nd time this week! I got a mix of German chocolate & Tahitian vanilla with strawberries tonight & loved it! We have got to make a visit to Menchies and/or Sweet CeCe's when we go back home!

After fro yo, we drove down Hwy. 98 & ended up in Sandestin at the Blvd. Town Center, a beautiful outside shopping place right past the Sandestin resort. We walked around for a while and then headed back to Ft. Walton. We made a quick stop at CVS, and when we made it back to our condo the skies opened & it started storming for a bit.

We have just been hanging out tonight, & we are looking forward to soaking up the sun one more day tomorrow!

Vacation-Day 7

2011-06-02T22:07:00.001-04:00

THURSDAY

Today, we started out early at the beach & stayed for a few hours. I have been reading Decision Points, by President Bush, and it is really good. I have enjoyed reading it on the beach, but I'm not sure when I will ever finish it because it's like 500 pages long! I am in the 100s right now...

After the beach, we went to the pool just to cool off for a bit & then headed to downtown Ft. Walton Beach for a snow cone! I got blue raspberry & JT got pina coloda. It hit the spot!

We came back to the condo for lunch & then took a walk on the beach. John T. went to the pool for a little while, and I came in to take a shower.

After we got ready, we went to the Back Porch, my favorite, for supper! I love that you can eat & have a beach view at the same time. I got a yummy grilled chicken salad & JT got a huge seafood platter!

After supper, we went to Destin Commons to shop a little & go to the movies. We came back to the condo afterwards & took beach pictures. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Vacation-Day 6

2011-06-01T21:57:00.000-04:00

WEDNESDAY

John T. & I both woke up today feeling very burned, so we decided to stay out of the sun for a bit this morning & do some shopping instead. We needed to pick up a few souvenirs for the fam back home, so we thought today would be a good day to finish that.

We started out at Sunsations. When I was little, my best friend, Whittney & I would stay in these surf shops forever! As I have got older, I realize that most of what they have is junk, but I still love their t-shirts!

After getting a few things there, we headed to Best Buy to pick up a camera tripod. We saw a huge family on the beach a couple of nights ago taking beach pictures using a tripod, so I got the idea that we could do this, too! Last year at Hilton Head, we had our pictures professionally done, and I really felt like I could take the pictures myself & they would look just as good.

After leaving BB, we found a cute little store in the same shopping center called Design Avenue. The lady that owned the store was super sweet, and she had tons of cute things! (Lots of SEC stuff!) We ended up getting a new hook board for the house that said "It's Football Time in Tennessee" with Smokey on it. <3 it!

Now, for my favorite part of the day...we got a snack at Twirl Frozen Yogurt! YUMMY!! We LOVED this place. I got a Tahitian Vanilla yogurt with Reece's cups & John T. got a strawberry yogurt with strawberries! I'm hoping he will take me back before we leave! :o)

After shopping, we headed back to the condo & went to the beach for a little while. Today, we sat right next to the ocean, in the water & it was so relaxing! After a few hours at the beach, we went to the pool for a while & then went to Jersey Mikes for subs!

When we got back to the condo, we took a walk on the beach & then crashed!

We only have a few days left...

Vacation-Day 5

2011-05-31T20:45:00.001-04:00

TUESDAY

We woke up pretty early today & headed out for the beach. The crowds have definitely died down, compared to the weekend, so it was really nice to have a huge spot all to ourselves on the beach. The waves were huge again this morning, and we got to watch a couple of surfers while we laid out this morning.

We headed to the pool around 11:30 for a little while & then came in for some yummy sandwiches! After lunch, it was back to the pool for about an hour, and then we decided we were getting crispy, so we came in, hung out for a little while, and then got ready to head across the bridge to Destin!

We ate supper at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.! It was the first time either of us had eaten at one of these before, and it was really good! The restaurant had such a fun atmosphere. While we were waiting on our food, our waitress asked us some trivia about the movie Forrest Gump. The service was great & the food was fabulous, too! I got a salad & a popcorn shrimp/roasted red pepper appetizer & John T. got a huge portion of 4 different kinds of shrimp & sauces.

After supper, we went to Dippin' Dots & did a little more shopping before coming back to the condo & taking a walk on the beach.

Vacation-Day 4

2011-05-30T21:40:00.001-04:00

MONDAY

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

I am so very thankful for all of the men & women who have fought for our country, so that we all may have freedom. Each and every one of you are heroes!

Today, we decided to change it up a little. We woke up pretty early, hung out for a bit & then headed to Silver Sands & Destin Commons again for some more shopping. I found some great deals at Forever 21 (LOVE that store!), & I also got a new Pandora charm...a little sunshine. I was excited to add some yellow color to my bracelet!

After shopping, we headed back to the condo & went straight to the beach. It was super breezy today on the beach & the waves were huge! We could have stayed out there forever! After a few hours, we headed to the pool for a bit & then went back to the room to get ready to grill out. We were fortunate enough to have a full-sized propane grill on out little patio (thank you, condo owner!), so we grilled burgers & ate outside. It was so nice! It made for a great end to a fabulous Memorial Day.

Today was by far the best day yet!

Vacation-Day 3

2011-05-29T21:10:00.001-04:00

SUNDAY

This morning was an exact copy of yesterday morning: wake-up, beach, pool, lunch, pool again, shower, head to Destin!

Today was extra hot! It was much hotter than Saturday! There was a lot less seaweed today than yesterday, so that was great! After we came in from a day in the sun, we got ready and headed to eat supper at Fudpucker's. It is one of my favorite restaurants in Destin, mostly because they give you a free cup! :o) We got an appetizer of hushpuppies, which were so good! I <3 hushpuppies, but I don't have them that often.

The aligators at Fudpucker's

After eating, we had to make a Target run for some cook-out supplies, and then we hit up a couple of "surf shops" to buy a few souviners for our family.

We came back to our condo afterwards, hung out for a bit and then took a walk on the beach at sunset. There were tons of people still out on the beach, trying to take advantage of every second of the weekend possible. We walked down to the boardwalk and then headed back to hang out on our little patio for a while. I love our condo! It is a great place for families, and it just seems like a little community!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow! We're grilling hamburgers! :o)

Vacation-Day 2

2011-05-28T22:14:00.001-04:00

SATURDAY

This morning, we woke up around 8:45, ate breakfast, & we were out on the beach by 9:15! Since it was a Saturday & Memorial Day weekend, the beach was packed! I have been coming to this same beach for a few years, and this is the most crowded I had ever seen it! There was also a ton of seaweed in the ocean! Wow...I mean A LOT!

We stayed on the beach for about an hour & a half, and then we headed to the pool for the rest of the morning. It was so relaxing! We came in around noon & ate lunch...bologna sandwich & baked Cheetos for me & black forest ham, tomato & mayo sandwich for John T. Like I said in the previous post, sandwiches taste so much better at the beach! :o)

We went back to the pool until 2:00, and then we came in, showered, & checked out each other's sunburns! Oh my! My legs & chest were crispy, but the only place John T. burned was his knees!...also, my face & chest decided to randomly break out. It is probably because neither has seen so much sun since last summer! After we got ready, we headed out for some shopping at Destin Commons & the Silver Sands Outlet Mall. It was so hot, so I got an Icee at the outlet mall, and it literally melted in like 2 minutes, but it was so good!

There were so many boats out on the ocean for Memorial Day weekend.

After shopping, we went to pick up some pizza from Little Caesar's! We had already decided to do this because we knew all of the restuarants we wanted to eat at would be super crowded. I had not eaten LC's in a very long time, and I was pretty excited about it! YuM yUm, so good!! It definitely hit the spot!

After eating, we just chilled out for the rest of the night & watched a Lifetime movie & went to bed!

Vacation-Day 1

2011-05-27T21:46:00.001-04:00

FRIDAY

Today, at 6:24 a.m. (Eastern time) exactly, we left Wartburg & headed south, through Georgia & Alabama to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida! I love road trips with John T. They are actually pretty fun, and we enjoy passing the time with singing lots & lots of country songs. :o)

We made a couple of stops to get out & walk around, but we ended up making it to our condo around 2:30 p.m. Central time. We checked in & brought in all of our luggage to our condo.

After settling in, we headed out to eat at Chick Fil-A (we did not stop at all to eat on the way down, so we were SO hungry!). After CFA, we drove to Wal-Mart & picked up our groceries for the week...Chewy bars, Diet Dr. Pepper, bread, sandwich meat, cereal, milk, OJ, etc. I know it's weird, but I love grocery shopping for a week at the beach! Sandwiches always taste so much better at the beach! We also made a quick trip to Krispy Kreme for John T.!

We came back to our room & relaxed! I was so tired from the day of traveling, and I took like a 3 hour nap! John T. drove the whole way down, but he wasn't sleepy at all. He watched TV while I slept, and after I woke up, we took a walk on the beach, right before sunset. It was so pretty! We walked a really long way down the beach & by the time we got back, our heels/feet/back were killing us because the sand was so thick! It was a good work-out though!

I'm excited about our first beach/pool day tomorrow! I am so ready for a tan!

I also had to share my new flip-flops I bought before we left...go VOLS!

Friday's Fabulous Find (Giveaway)

2011-05-20T20:07:00.002-04:00

Brittany, over at Brittany's Blessings is hosting a Scentsy Blog Party & is offering an awesome giveaway of the option of purchasing a Scentsy warmer half-price or a free plug-in!

I have been wanting to try out a product from Scentsy for a while now, and I think I just might buy something if I can narrow down my selection!

These are some of the scents I want to try:

I also love these two warmers:

I would like to pair the Tennessee one with a warm fall scent!

Maybe I will be able to buy one half-price! :o)

Go to Brittany's post to enter the giveaway or shop at her blog party!

Kindergarten

2011-05-19T20:54:00.002-04:00

This morning, we went to see Jayden's kindergarten program. They do not have a graduation, which kind of makes me sad, but they did have a short program, where they sang some songs they learned throughout the year.

Jayden was like a different kid. She acted so shy & calm, which is the complete opposite of who she is!

I thought they did a great job! I can't believe Jayden is already finished with kindergarten! It really seems like she was just born!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-05-13T06:15:00.001-04:00

This week's fabulous find is The Couponizer.

My mom got one for me a while ago, and I love it! I love coupons, but I am not a fanatic. I don't need a huge binder to carry in the store with me, so this suits me perfectly. It is small, I can carry it in my purse, and it keeps me organized.

Go here to read more about The Couponizer!

Our Weekend

2011-05-10T13:46:00.000-04:00

On Saturday morning, John T. & I met our friends, Brittany, Daniel & Easton Smiley for breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Brittany & Daniel live in Pleasant View, TN, so we don't get to see them a lot. The last time I saw Easton, he was 2 weeks old, and now he is almonst 4 months old!

He was such a little ball of love, and we really enjoyed spending time with them!

Easton, me & Brittany

Getting ready to leave :o(

Sunday was a very busy Mother's Day! John T. & I went to church, then ate lunch at his granny's house. After leaving there, we went to see his mamaw & then to my nanny & poppy's. We then headed to my mom & dad's to spend time with them. Sunday night, we had a cook-out at my in-laws and then it was time for bed! The day went by so fast!

My mom is the best mom in the whole wide world! I love her beyond words, and I am so very thankful God chose her as my mom. <3

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-05-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

I bought these two CDs last weekend at the Extraordinary Women Conference, and I could listen to them over & over! I usually do not like every song on a CD, but I literally love every song on both of these!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T08:00:00.002-04:00

Extraordinary Women, Johnson City, TN

2011-05-01T18:43:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I, along with my mom & two other friends, drove to Johnson City, TN, for the 2011 Extraordinary Women Conference.

This was the first time Mom & I had ever been to one of these conferences. We were most excited to hear Lysa TerKeurst, the author of Made to Crave speak on Saturday, especially since we just finished her Bible study!

On Friday night, we listened to one speaker, & then there was a concert with Francesca Battistelli! I <3 her! She is so cute & I love her love for God & her music!

Saturday was my mom's 52nd birthday! We arrived bright & early to Freedom Hall! We had a full day of amazing speakers, and one of them was our favorite...Lysa!

After Lysa spoke, we got the opportunity to get a picture with her, & I had my book autographed. I was super nervous meeting her for some reason! All I could say was "Thank you for writing this book...it has changed my life!" I did tell her it was my mom's birthday, and she told her Happy Birthday after we were done talking with her. :o) Mom is the one who introduced her blog, books, etc. to me in the first place, and I am just so glad she did!

We had a wonderful Friday & Saturday!

I love these ladies! :o)

To replace Friday's Fabulous Find...

2011-04-29T08:15:00.002-04:00

My heart has been so heavy for the people of Tuscaloosa. I have been looking for ways to help, and Leslie, who just redesigned my blog is from Tuscaloosa & she has offered some great ways you can help here & here. Please check out her blog for updates & please continue to pray every day for the people here and all over the southeast.

New Look

2011-04-27T19:21:00.000-04:00

Thank you to Leslie at Sweetie Baby's custom blog design! I absolutely LOVE my new blog look!

Easter Sunday Afternoon

2011-04-25T21:57:00.001-04:00

We had such a wonderful Easter Sunday yesterday.

Great church service (I hate JT missed it because of work). great lunch at mom & dad's. egg hunt & a sweet snack at JT's granny Minnie's.

I know when we have kids of our own, I am going to love making their Easter baskets! I had such a fun time making my SIL, Jayden's! I have created an UNO monster, by the way. She was over here one day after school & there wasn't much to do, so I brought out the UNO cards, and she has been hooked ever since, so I thought she needed a deck of her own. :o)

Giving her bubba love <3

Hubby & I

The family

Me & my BFF

John T. & his sisters

These were the eggs with our names on them that we found. Each had a clue to where a present would be somewhere around Minnie's house!

After we were all done hunting eggs, everyone tried my Rice Krispie pizza!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Rice Krispie Pizza for Easter

2011-04-24T19:54:00.001-04:00

First of all, I have to give credit for this recipe to cookies and cups...my new favorite blog!

I tweaked it a little, but it was only because I bought 1 bag of marshmallows, by accident, & her recipe calls for 2.

Ingredients

4 cups of Rice Krispies cereal

2 cups of Fruity Pebbles

1 stick of salted butter

1 bag of mini marshmallows

Step 1: Prepare 16" round pizza pan by spraying lightly with nonstick spray

Step 2: Over low heat, melt butter in a large sauce pan. I love using my nanny's dutch oven when I make rice krispie treats. I think it is so pretty!

Step 3: When the butter is melted, add marshmallows, stirring until melted.

Step 4: When the marshmallows are melted, remove from heat. Stir in both cereals until combined.

Step 5: When combined, transer mixture to pizza pan.

Step 6: Press evenly overe pizza pan. (I used a sheet of wax paper to help me.)

Now, time for frosting!

Ingredients

1 7 oz. container of Marshmallow creme

1 stick of room temperature butter (very important for it to be room temp.)

1 1/2 cups of sifted powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Your favorite Easter candies to decorate, I used Peeps & M&Ms!

Step 1: Beat together the marshmallow cream & butter until smooth. Slowly add in vanilla & powdered sugar and continue mixing on medium speed until combined & smooth.

Step 2: Spread the frosting!

Step 3: Top with your favorite candies!

I took this to John T.'s granny's this afternoon after our egg hunt, and everyone seemed to like it! It was very rich, but oh so good!

Easter

2011-04-24T14:43:00.002-04:00

Why

Nicole Nordeman

We rode into town the other day
Just me and my daddy

He said I'd finally reached that age

And I could ride next to him on a horse

That of course was not quite as wide

We heard a crowd of people shouting
And so we stopped to find out why

And there was that man that my dad said he loved

But today there was fear in his eyes

So I said daddy why are they screaming

Why are the faces of some of them beaming?

Why is he dressed in that bright purple robe?

I'll bet that crown hurts him more then he shows
Daddy please can't you do something?

He looks as though he's gonna cry

You said he was stronger than all of those guys

Daddy please tell me why?

Why does everyone want him to die?

Later that day the sky grew cloudy

And daddy said I should go inside

Somehow he knew things would get stormy

Boy was he right

But I could not keep from wondering

If there was something he had to hide

So after he left I had to find out

I was not afraid of getting lost

So I followed the crowds

To a hill where I knew men had been killed

And I heard a voice come from the cross

And it said father why are they screaming?

Why are the faces of some of them beaming?

Why are they casting their lots for my clothes?

This crown of thorns hurts me more then it shows

Father please can't you do something?

I know that you must hear my cries

I thought I could handle a cross of this size

Father remind me why?

Why does everyone want me to die?

When will I understand why?

My precious son

I hear them screaming

I'm watching the face of the enemy beaming

But soon I will clothe you in robes of my own

Jesus this hurts me much more then you know

But this dark hour

I must do nothing

Though I've heard your unbearable cries

The power in your blood

Destroys all of the lies

Soon you'll see past their unmerciful lies

Look there below

See the child

Trembling by her father's side

Now I can tell you why

She is why you must die

I had never heard this song until this morning at church. The pastor at the church we have been attending & his little girl did a skit to the song this morning. It was so incredibly moving.

"I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance." John 10:10

Thank you, JESUS!

Easter Cupcakes & Egg Hunt #1

2011-04-23T20:25:00.001-04:00

Last night, my MIL Lorrie & SIL, Jayden came over & helped me cut out lots of cute decor for cupcakes I made for the nurses at work.

I got all of my cut-outs from Gwynn Wasson Designs on facebook. She was very gracious & sent everyone who liked her page, a free file of Easter cut-outs! She also donated to Japan's diaster relief for everyone who liked her page!

The finished product! I made a simple carrot cake recipe from Kraft & added the cut-outs for a special touch! The nurses at work loved them! :o)

When I got home from work today, I headed to my in-laws' house to dye eggs & have an egg hunt with Jayden & her friend/neighbor Emma.

I saw a cute idea for dying eggs with food items you may already have in your house, such as blueberries, Jell-O, Now & Later candies, Red Hots, etc. in Food Network magazine. We tried blueberries & a mix of strawberry & orange jello. They took a very LONG time to dye, but I thought they turned out pretty!

I was so afraid we were going to dye Lorrie's countertops with blueberry juice, so I made our dying station in the sink! :o) It worked pretty well!

Jayden with one of the blueberry dyed eggs.

All we did was boil 2 cups of water, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar & our ingredient. We mashed the blueberries to let all of the juices drain out & then we strained the mixture to just have juice. I added more vineger once the mixtures were off the stove to make the dying process go a little faster.

We had lots of fun!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-04-22T18:20:00.001-04:00

LOVE this drink! It's my new favorite!

The past few days...

2011-04-20T21:52:00.001-04:00

We have been on a project kick for the past few days, ~~months~~, in our house!

Two things about our house, when we bought it, that we didn't necessarily like, but could live with, was the fact that neither bathroom had doors. It wasn't that big of a deal because each bathroom is in each bedroom (that do have doors), but it was still something that we wanted to fix. Well, 3 years later, we now have bathroom doors!

Another thing that we kind of just thought of on a whim was that the bed we had in our guest bedroom was taking over the room! So...we decided to buy a daybed, and I am loving it! The room has so much more space now! We got a pretty good deal, I thought, from hayneedle.com. We have ordered another piece in the past from there, and I have been very satisfied with their service & prices.

I don't know about anyone else, but I HATE buying pillows! I love how they turn out in the end, but I just think they are way overpriced for something that is only used for decoration. However, I bit the bullet & searched for deals at Wal-Mart, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Burkes Outlet & Big Lots, and this is what the finished product looks like. I am pretty satisfied, but I will be even happier when we figure out what to do with our treadmill (see bottom left corner). We I still use it, but I just think that it is an eye sore! Someday in the hopefully near future, we will build a garage/man cave & store it in there! One day, this room will be used for a nursery, so it will definitely have to be out of there by then! ;o)

Another project I tackled this weekend was organzing our medicine/office supply/cookbook cabinet in our kitchen. I only took a before picture of the mess of medicine because that was the only thing I planned on organizing, but then I went into overdrive & ended up organizing the entire cabinet!

BEFORE: This is a pic of the meds...they were on the bottom shelf on the left side of the cabinet.

AFTER: I found these cute storage bins at Wal-Mart for $7.47 for two. I really love how it turned out! SO.MUCH.NEATER!

I hope everyone is having a good week!

John T. & I are both off tomorrow, and we are planning a date day & using gift cards/certificates we have had for a long time! I am excited! :o)

Show Us Your Life

2011-04-15T20:47:00.002-04:00

What is on your book list?

I have never really been a huge lover of reading. I would always read because I had to for school, and that was about it. Since I have graduated, I still am not a big book person, but if I find a good one, I could probably sit and finish it in one day. I either love a book or hate it!

My short list of favorites include:

Made to Crave has changed my life. I just finished the 6 week Bible study that my mom taught, and it has completely transformed how I look at food. I have learned that everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Most importantly, I have learned to crave GOD, not FOOD!

In a couple of weeks, I will have the opportunity to meet the author, Lysa, at an Extraordinary Women's conference, and I couldn't be more excited!

Books I plan to read this summer, i.e. beach/pool reads:

And...one book I am so looking forward to reading when it comes out in August:

Go to Kelly's Korner to link up & read other blogger's book lists!

Friday's Fabulous Find

2011-04-15T19:57:00.002-04:00

I am bringing a fun event back to the blog that I used to do every Friday (& I changed the name a little bit):

Friday's Fabulous Find

Each week, I will blog about something fabulous I found during the week...a beauty product, food/drink item, new store/shop/blog, etc.

This week's fabulous find comes from Thirty-One Gifts.

I first heard about Thirty-One through some girls at my church back in 2009. Since then, this business has exploded. Last weekend, when we went to the Women of Joy conference, we saw so many women with 31 purses/bags/etc. I told my mom that it was like we were at a 31 convention!

My friend Ashley (AEPerkins18@aol.com) is a consultant for Thirty-One, and I recently placed an order with her for the products below.

I got the Retro Metro Bag in Taupe (@ 1/2 price with the March special!), Cosmetic Bag (that I use as my Bible cover), Shirred Front Wallet & the Mini Zipper Pouch (all of these in the Free Spirit Floral pattern).

I love, love, love everything I ordered! The Spring colors just put me in a good mood & I love how functional each piece is.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

**Ashley wanted me to inform everyone about the May Customer Special & Hostess Special:
Customers: For every $31 you spend, you can buy the Mini Zipper Pouch (like mine above, regular price $10) for only $2.31!
Hostesses: Step up to the next level of rewards! Go HERE to find out more!

Women of Joy Weekend

2011-04-13T20:36:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I went to the Women of Joy conference in Sevierville with my mom, & some other great ladies! The conference was held at the Wilderness at the Smokies Resort. We actually stayed down the road at a Hampton Inn, which was really nice, but I definitely want to go back & stay at the Wilderness some time this summer.

This was the first Women of Joy conference I had been to, and we will definitely be back next year! The whole weekend was such a blessing. For any of you who may be familiar with Women of Joy or other women's conferences, some of our speakers included Donna Gaines, Liz Curtis Higgs, Becky Tirabassi & Thelma Wells. They were all wonderful!

Mom & I on Friday night before worship began

Charles Billingsley was our worship leader for the weekend. He was amazing!

Mom & I on Saturday night before the Casting Crowns concert!

Our group of ladies: Mom, Mrs. Kincaid (she was my 2nd grade teacher, and I will never be able to call her Nancy..lol), Cathy, me & Mona

Casting Crowns performed for us on Saturday night. It was so awesome! They are probably my favorite Christian group. I just love all of their music...especially this song, "Who Am I."

I am already looking forward to next year!

Giveaway

2011-04-02T21:30:00.001-04:00

Have a blog? Want a new design? I know that I have been wanting one for a while now! and...as soon as I come up with a new blog name (any suggestions are welcome, please!), I will be contacting Leslie at Sweetie Baby's Custom Blog Design to give my blog a makeover!

She is offering an awesome giveaway right now for a free set of socil media buttons for your blog.

Check it out HERE!

Happy 45th Birthday, Lorrie!

2011-04-01T21:18:00.001-04:00

Today is my mother-in-law, Lorrie's, 45th Birthday!

We celebrated by going out for dinner at Wasabi, and then we went to John T.'s granny's for her famous strawberry dessert!

We played a little April Fool's joke on her for fun, too! :o)

I hope you had a wonderful day!

Nashville Weekend

2011-03-23T10:35:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I met up with some of my classmates from nuclear medicine school for the NMTT (Nuclear Medicine Technologists of Tennessee) annual meeting, held at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville.

I stayed with Jessica & her husbad Troy in Goodlettsville/Ridgetop for the weekend, and we had the best time! Jessica fixed lasagna, salad & garlic bread for us on Friday night, and it was so good. Their new house is absolutely goreous!

Our time was packed in all weekend with presentations from different nuc. med. professionals. Saturday night, we did get to go out & eat with our other classmate, Alan & his new girlfriend, Stephanie, which was lots of fun!

I miss my Nashville friends so very much, and I always love a change to get to hang out with them any time I can!

Giveaway from "In this wonderful life"

2011-03-20T16:44:00.000-04:00

Please check out Megan's blog here for a chance to win a $50 credit from SheShe Made! Pure cuteness!! She has lots of ideas for baby shower gifts or just cute outfits, etc. for your little one!

Orange & White Evening

2011-03-01T11:28:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I got to live every Vol fan's dream! My friend Donna invited me to go with her to Neyland Stadium for an "Orange & White Evening." It was too much fun! I felt like we were apart of the "important people" crowd all night!

First of all, we were allowed to park right beside Neyland Stadium. This is unheard of to me. Since I was a little kid, we have always parked at the Methodist church that is a forever long walk from the stadium, so that was very exciting!

We started out in the Wolf-Kaplan Center for registration, and then we immediately went to tour the locker room, or should I say, the Peyton Manning Locker Complex!

It was really neat to have the opportunity to tour the locker room. It was so nice!

Love this sign! We wanted to get a picture of each of us slapping it as we walked out, but we were way too short! :o)

Donna in front of the Maxims...a Tennessee tradition!

This is the end zone where the players run out

We were so excited about getting to stand on the field!

The checkerboard!

In Stokley Media Center: I just had to have my picture made in front of the backdrop we always see on TV!

After the tour, we got free tickets to the Tennessee vs. Mississippi State b-ball game!

We ended up losing by 1 point. :o( It was a very sad game, but we had a wonderful time! It is definitely an experience I will never forget!

GO VOLS!

Show Us Your Life--Alma Maters

2011-02-18T15:25:00.000-05:00

Today, Kelly's Korner is hosting Show Us Your Life--Alma Maters

I went to Belmont Univeristy in Nashville, TN, starting in 2004, & I graduated in August 2008.

Some of our famous alumni include, Brad Paisley, Trisha Yearwood, Josh Turner, Julie Roberts & Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith, just to name a few. I'm sure there are many students there now who will soon be famous. The majority of students major in Music Business. When I went on my visit, I was the only student in my group not having that major!

I decided on Belmont because it was one of the only colleges in Tennessee that offered my major, Medical Imaging Technology. I also wanted to "go away" for college, but I didn't want to go to a big school. Belmont, at the time, was a Southern Baptist school, which I loved, and it was small. I really missed home though, especially when I first started. It took me a while (the entire first semester), but I learned to love Nashville. I LOVED the four years that I spent there, and I love going back to visit.

My freshman year, I met my friend for life, Katie, who actually lived about an hour away from my hometown. We hit it off immediately, and lived together on campus in an apartment for 3 years. We did lots of shopping, eating & concert-going during our 3 years together. She still lives in Nashville, but we still keep in touch, and I know we always will.

We also loved celebrating holidays & were so much alike, yet so different!

My senior year, I only had one class at Belmont, and the rest of my classes/training were at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. This is where I definitely met some friends for life! There were 8 of us in my nuclear medicine tech. class, and we were all so close!

We traveled to Memphis together...

and to St. Louis...

I also met another best friend out of this group, Jessica Riley-Pearson. I don't know what I would done without her that year. We are like sisters, and I love her to death!

My 2 best friends, during all 4 years were these two, Emily & Adam. We studied together, ate countless lunches/suppers together, and laughed together so many nights. We were definitely the 3 Musketeers!

Belmont is such a great school. My classes never had more than 25 people, and we all became so close with each other and our professors. I am so blessed to have been able to go there.

GO BRUINS!!

Valentine's Day Weekend 2011

2011-02-16T19:25:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday afternoon, I got off work early, and we headed to Pigeon Forge for the weekend. We planned the trip in January, and we were so looking forward to getting away for a few days, especially since it was Valentine's Day weekend. <3

It snowed a few inches on Wednesday night, and while most of the snow had melted at home, PF still had quite a bit. As we were driving to find the road to our cabin, I looked over to my right and said, "oh my, that road is still covered with snow!" Well, it just so happened that that road was the road to our cabin! We were a little scared at first, but we made it through the backwoods to our little hideaway on top of the mountain. The cabin was called "Serenity," and it was just that...

I loved the kitchen, especially the dishwasher, since we do not have one at home!

The living room

I loved the view of the snow covered mountains

I did not take very many pictures because to be honest, sometimes I get so caught up in taking pictures that I forget about the real reason we came on this trip...to relax & have fun!

Thursday night, after we checked in to the cabin, we headed back out to PF to eat at Huck Finn's. It is one of our favorite restaurants in PF. We stopped at a bookstore, rented The Bounty Hunter, and went to Kroger to pick up some groceries for breakfast for the next two mornings. We were so surprised that there weren't a lot of people in town. It was so nice not to be driving in bumper to bumper traffic!

Friday, we woke up & I fixed pancakes & bacon, and John T. made eggs (I cannot cook eggs for the life of me). We then headed to do some shopping. We stopped at a little roadside shop called Moonshine Ridge and bought some homemade salsa, pickles & watermelon taffy (random, I know). We then made our way to the the outlet mall. We hit up Timberland (where we met Bruce Pearl's father-in-law), Adidas, Champion, Old Navy, and a few other stores. One of my V-day gifts from JT was an ON gift card, so I took advantage of that...got lots of new spring clothes & shoes! After shopping at the outlet mall, we went to a new little shopping center in the middle of PF & decided to come back and go to the movies there after supper. We then headed down the parkway & ate at Mama's Farmhouse. Oh my...it was amazing! It is a restaurant that serves you family style. There are no menus, they just bring you 3 meats, lots of sides & biscuits + cornbread! My kind of restaurant!

After eating at Mama's, we went to see Just Go With It. It was hilarious...probably the funniest movie I have seen in a while! We then made another quick trip to Kroger for some chips (to go with the salsa we bought that morning) & rented another movie, Takers. We headed back to the cabin to settle in for the night.

Saturday morning, we woke up & I made cinnamon rolls & bacon. It was so good! We stayed in for a little while to watch Takers because we fell asleep watching it Friday night! We headed out a little later to go to the Gap at the outlet mall because I had a BOGO free coupon! Sweet! :o) I got two sweaters & John T. bought a few things from Adidas. The mall was packed on Saturday, so we didn't stay very long. I was so glad we got most of our shopping done on Friday.

We then ate "lupper" at Longhorn Streakhouse. We had a gift card that JT's granny gave us for V-day, so we used it. I got a steak & baked potato, and it was so good! We did lots of good eating the whole weekend! Afterwards, we went to our favorite candy store, Smoky Mountain Candy Makers to get some fudge (my absolute favorite fudge place), rocky road bark & more watermelon taffy for John T.

After getting our sweet fix, we rented yet another movie, Buried & then we drove into Townsend & drove the scenic loop around Cades Cove. This was John T.'s first time in CC, but I had been there many, many times growing up. We saw lots of deer & a few coyotes. The moutains were beautiful! I love the old cabins & churches that pop up all over Cades Cove.

We came back home on Sunday morning. It was a fabulous, long, weekend...one that I know I will never forget! I worked late on Monday, and we just did not want to fight the crowds in Knoxville, so we came to my mom & dad's and had supper with them. My mom made roast, mashed potatoes, corn & cornbread. It was all delicious! We had a great night with them. :o)

The rest of our week has been pretty quiet. We are watching the VOLS vs. GAMECOCKS game tonight at my mom & dad's. Go BiG oRaNgE!!

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

Fabulous Weekend

2011-02-06T20:01:00.000-05:00

This past week, nothing too excited happened. We both worked all week, but I did have Thursday off, so we went to Wal-Mart & ate at Cracker Barrel.

Friday night, after I got off work, we went back to Wal-Mart to get some groceries, picked up a pizza and came home to watch Conviction. It was a really good movie!

This week's highlight: Saturday morning, we left the house around 9:30 and headed west to Pleasant View to visit my best friend, Brittany, her husband, Daniel, & their new baby boy, Easton. He was born on January 21st, and I have been dying to meet him!

I got to feed him a bottle, and afterwards, he fell asleep. He is so so so precious!

John T. holding baby Easton

Me, my BFF & Easton

We stayed with them for a few hours, and then we headed back home. We stopped in Cookeville on the way back and ate at Red Lobster (I <3 gift cards!). It was so good!

We went to church this morning and just hung out this afternoon. Now, we are watching the Super Bowl, and I am about to have a bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream. :o)

We have another busy week of work ahead of us. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Organization

2011-01-26T10:45:00.000-05:00

With every new year, I always want to improve my organization skills. I found this really cool blog called iheart organizing, and I have learned some very helpful tips from reading.

I don't wear a lot of jewelry, but I have a few pieces that I wear every day. I always find myself just putting my jewelry on my dresser or leaving it on the coffee table, and I have wanted to find a good, cute way to organize what I have.

Jen, from iheart organizing, had a picture of this egg crate with her jewelry in it, and I just knew I had to have it! I ordered it here from Anthropologie. It comes in white & this robin egg blue. The blue matches our master bathroom perfectly. I am super excited that my jewelry now has a home! :o)

Another thing I have been struggling with is my filing system. For two years now, I have been using an accordion file for most paperwork & a file box for random things. While I love the file box, the accordion file was not big enough for all of our paperwork! I found the idea for this kind of file box & folders from iheart organizing as well. Oh.my.goodness, I LOVE it! I can fit twice as much in the box as I could the accordion file, and it is so much easier to find something when I need it. The file box came from Wal-Mart, as well as the hanging folders & regular folders.