Brownie & Strawberry Shortcakes

I receive a ton of recipe e-mails every day, and this one happens to be from Betty Crocker. It is the perfect summertime dessert!

Here's what you need:

Here's what you do:

I took advantage of the time-saver tip and used Cool Whip instead of whipping up my own cream!

It turned out to be amazing! It is super easy, too!

Cordelia's Roast Beef

For my birthday, John T. gave me the cookbook home cooking with trisha yearwood. There are so many amazing recipes in it, and this was the first one I tried. It turned out so delicious, and it was fairly easy to make.

Here's what you do: Here's what you need:

I ended up buying chops of the eye of round instead of whole, and it turned out really well.

I love my Dutch oven! It is my nanny's, and she gave it to me to use in my kitchen. She has had it for so many years, and so many good things have been cooked in it!

I served the roast with mashed potaotes and yeast rolls (I love Fresh Market's yeast rolls!)

So delicious! Husband-approved, so I will definitely make it again.

Happy Birthday, Donna!

Tonight, we celebrated our family friend, Donna's, birthday. My mom & Donna starting working together many years ago, and we all have been great friends ever since. My mom & dad set Donna up with my dad's best friend, Clayton, they got married, had their son Clay, who was the ring bearer in our wedding. We love the Isham family so much, and we were so excited to celebrate Donna's birthday! (Donna & I also share a mad love for the VOLS & reality TV!)

Donna & Clay Donna & my mom with Donna's VB gift :o)

We hope you had a great day, Donna!

Sweet Summertime

We are so enjoying our time together this summer! We planted quite a few flowers that we have been taking care of, and my in-laws' neighbor gave us two tomato plants to grow this summer. They are actually doing really well, and I am excited about picking the first tomato in a few weeks. John T. is really babying them. :o) He loves tomatoes! Our flower bed is small, but we really try to take good care of it. John T.'s granny gave us the elephant ears, and they grow so big especially after a really good rain.

John T. & I hung this swing a few days ago, and it means so much to me. When my poppy died back in 2005, this is all I wanted from his house. We spent so many nights on his patio talking about so many things. He told me so many stories about him growing up, and he also gave me lots of advice about life. I miss him so incredibly much, and to have this swing, now on my front porch, means so much to me.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are!

Show Us Your Life: China Patterns

This week, Kelly's Korner is hosting Show Us Your Life: China Patterns. I opted to not register for fine china when we picked out items for our wedding registry. I wanted dishes that I would/could actually use on a daily basis, and I loved the Emma Dinnerware in White from Pottery Barn. It is simple, but classic. I love the little dots around the dinnerware, too! I have the dinner plates, salad plates, soup bowls, mugs, oval serving platters, serving bowl, cake stand, sugar bowl & creamer, and the salt and pepper shakers. In the future, I plan to buy (or request as gifts) the cereal bowls, too. I love everything about my dinnerware!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a pretty low key Memorial Day weekend. We are having a yard sale this coming weekend, so Saturday, we finished getting the rest of our stuff ready for it. We rode around that night and drove into the backwoods of Morgan County. We found lots of beautiful farmland and saw scenery we never had before. It's amazing how big this "small" county really is. :o) Sunday, we went to church, did some grocery shopping, then went to my in-law's for a cook-out that night. We had hamburgers & homemade ice cream. Everything was delicious, and we were entertained, as always, by this little 5 year old.

Jayden Taylor John T.'s great uncle Burnis & his mamaw Eva making ice cream

Jayden & John T.

Me & Jayden

Monday, mom & I headed to Knoxville for a pedi/mani & shopping. When John T. got off work, he came down to my mom & dad's, and we had another cook-out with them. We had a fabulous weekend!

I hope eveyone had a great Memorial Day! Summer is here!