Do Everything

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!