The Hilborn Haven

It Involves Boxes

2010-12-09T08:31:00.001-06:00

Lots and Lots of boxes.........and..........a UHaul.

The big news I mentioned yesterday: Aaron and I are moving! Aaron starts working in Central AR on Monday. Yes, you heard that correctly, MONDAY!

So, lately, we have been doing lots and lots of packing! Okay....so maybe we've actually been spending most of our time with friends! We are trying to fit in as much time with them as possible!!

I'm not going to lie, I've broken down into tears several times in the last 2 weeks. The friends that we have made and grown close to in NWA are so precious to us. We would do anything to be able to pack them up and take them down to Central AR with us!!! Since we can't, we are still holding out hope that we can talk them all into moving down in the near future :)

But, in the midst of all of that, we couldn't be more excited to be living closer to both of our families! Getting to see them more often will be such a blessing and we are looking forward to it!

God has greatly provided for us and we are overwhelmed by his provisions. We look forward to what lies aead!

Happy Birthday Babe!!!

2010-12-08T07:00:00.004-06:00

What better reason to come back from over a month long blog drought than to celebrate this sweet guy's birthday!!! Lots has been going on in our lives, but we have been loving every minute of it! More on that later :) Most of you probably already know!

Today he turns 27! Wowzers! This picture was taken at the spot where he proposed to me a little over 2 years ago :)

Happy Birthday sweet husband! I love you so much and hope you have the BEST birthday! So happy that I am the lucky girl who gets to spend it with you! (And many, many more!)

I love you!

Sweet Family

2010-11-02T11:50:00.002-05:00

I am still just itching to decorate for Christmas! I'll be doing good to wait until the weekend before Thanksgiving, like Aaron and I agreed to do! This time of year is my favorite because of all the family time. Last weekend we had a small taste of what's to come, when my family came up for the Razorback game.

As usual, I took entirely too many pictures and have had such a hard time narrowing them down!

I already told you about our fun time carving pumpkins and watching scary movies all weekend. The rest of the time was spent enjoying the game day festivities! Before the game, we had lunch at Catfish Hole where we had a mini pep rally for 2 football recruits.

Gracie sporting her fancy hat! She was so sassy with this thing on!

Ashley enjoying her lunch!

Gracie and Grandpa Eddie.

The girls sporting the hog snouts Aaron bought them!

Ashley with her Auntie and Uncle!

Gracie loving on her parents. She is such a goose!

Ashley was feeling pretty prissy with that snout on!

Such a sweet, sweet family! Don't forget to vote today! XOXO

Halloween Weekend!

2010-11-01T19:24:00.008-05:00

Is it really, already November?!?!?! How did this happen?? Not that I'm complaining because I've BEEN ready to decorate for Christmas! But first things first!

Halloween weekend was a blast for us this year! We had a jam packed weekend full of lots of fun things to do!

My parents and sister's family came up for the weekend for the Razorback game. Since it was Halloween weekend we HAD to carve pumpkins and watch LOTS of scary movies! It was great!

Gracie was disgusted every time Dad pulled the top off a pumpkin!

Ashley and Gracie working hard on their pumpkins! For a little while at least....then they passed them off to me and Dad to finish! Ha!

Dad was speedy with his pumpkin carving! Very focused!

The girls showing off their creations, with a little help of course!

The front door sporting the newly carved pumpkins!

Our designs! This is mine (left) and Gracie's (right).

Ashley's skull and crossbones!

Dad's free-hand traditional face!

We had a great time with them this weekend and are already looking forward to them coming back! Now bring on the holidays! I'm ready to decorate for Christmas!!!

XOXO

If You Love To Cook...

2010-10-14T17:20:00.003-05:00

...then you'll loves this!!!! Check out this blog!

Lindseys Giveaway at A Work In Progress

My friend Lindsey is hosting a giveaway over on her blog that I would LOVE to win! The chances are slim and, frankly, I never win anything! But you might so go to her blog and register! Or don't....and maybe I'll have a better chance :) Kidding!

And just because he's so incredibly adorable.....

Our sweet boy Casper watching a bird through the window! If you look closely you can see the bird on top of the table on our back patio!

XOXO

Peppered Chicken Alfredo

2010-10-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

This is another new recipe that I just couldn't wait to try! It comes from the All Recipes website and we were so pleased with it! The actual recipe calls for shrimp as the meat instead of chicken, but most of you know of my feelings toward shrimp.....disgusting! So here's my version of their Peppered Shrimp Alfredo!

PEPPERED CHICKEN ALFREDO

Source

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. penne paste (cooked according to the package instructions)
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced (we used onion flakes)
2 cloves garlic, minced (we used 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 red bell pepper, diced (we used roasted red bell peppers from a jar)
1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, diced (we omitted these)
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 (15 oz) jar Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
salt
pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dene, then drain.
2. Heat 2 tbsp canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces or strips.
4. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Cook chicken in skillet until the juices run clear and the chicken is no longer pink in the center.
6. Melt butter together with olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat
7. Stir in onion and cook until softened and translucent. (We just let the onion flakes cook for about a minute, stirring constantly)
8. Stir in garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and mushroom; cook over medium-heat until soft, about 2 minutes.
9. Stir in the cooked chicken, mixing well.
10. Pour in the Alfredo sauce, Romano chese, and cream; bring to a simmer stirring constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes.
11. Season to taste with cayenne, salt, and pepper.
12. Serve over freshly cooked pasta.
13. Top with Romano cheese and parsley.

Aaron and I really enjoyed this dish! The roasted red bell peppers are delicious! Using a jar of alfredo sauce as the sauce base makes the sauce really easy, but then adding the other ingredients definetly steps up the flavor a few notches! Enjoy!

XOXO

Wordless Wednesday: Our Mailbox Meets A Stranger's Bumper

2010-10-13T12:58:00.001-05:00

Oops! Feel bad for the man :(

XOXO

A Sick Husband Equals Baked Potato Soup!

2010-10-12T20:10:00.003-05:00

Sweet Aaron has been feeling a little under the weather. He doesn't feel completely ill, just seems to feel really tired. So what's his number one request when he's not feeling 100% and Fall weather is upon us? Baked potato soup! So that's what I made him for dinner tonight! This recipe comes out of the Sharon Missionary Baptist cookbook from Mrs. Sheila Nalley. My first time to ever try it was years ago on a ski trip. Its been love ever since!

BAKED POTATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup flour

7 cups milk

4 large baking potatoes (baked, cooled, peeled, and cubed)

4 green onions, sliced (we leave these out!)

12 bacon strips (cooked and crumbled)

1 and 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz. sour cream

salt

pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in large pot.

2. Stir in flour until smooth.

3. Gradually add milk in small amoutns, stirring constantly until thickened.

4. Add potatoes and onions, bringing pot to a boil and stirring constantly.

5. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until cheese is melted

7. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I love to serve this soup with warm, homemade cornbread. Its perfect for a cold day or, in this case, when your husband is sick and the weather is starting to cool off! Its also great served as left overs, though you may want to add milk when you reheat it to help thin it out to your desired consistency. We like it thick though!

XOXO

Razorbacks, Dallas, and Tusk

2010-10-10T19:15:00.012-05:00

Last weekend we traveled to Dallas with our great friends Ben and Maggie to watch the Razorbacks take on Texas A&M. We had a great time and are so blessed to have such great friends that we have so much in common with. Plus, they are some of the funnest people to be around!

Aaron and I had never been to Cowboys Stadium, but it did not disappoint! Everything was huge and extravagant!

These pictures were taken after the Razorbacks won, as they received the Southwest Classic trophy. Yay!

We had one more tag-a-long join us on our weekend adventure to Dallas! Tusk is Ben and Maggie's little baby and we just adore him! He got to play with Maggie's family's dogs while we enjoyed Dallas!

Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!?! Such a sweet, well-behaved dog! And its so apparent how much he adores his parents!

Have a great weekend!

XOXO

Celebrating Another One!

2010-10-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

October is such a fun month with lots of things to celebrate and do! Last Thursday we celebrated my sister's birthday, but today we are celebrating my amazing mother-in-laws birthday! This picture was taken last weekend at the Sharin' Sharon get together.

We are so sad that we aren't with you today to celebrate, but we hope you know how very special you are to us! You have been more than an amazing mother-in-law to me and I appreciate you so much! Thank you for always being there for us and for always being open, honest, and real. We love you so much! Happy Birthday!!!

Today we are in the Big D watching the Hogs play with some great friends of ours! Hope you are having a great weekend!

XOXO

Another Year Older!

2010-10-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday to my sweet, sweet sister today!!! Last weekend, we celebrated her birthday with a surprise party and family at a local hibachi grill restuarant in our home town. Everything came together for her and I think she had a great time!

Her birthday cake from Rick's Bakery, of course! Though next year, I will remember to get her chocolate! Oops!!!

My sister and her husband. Leah was such a good sport!

We all just adore these two girls so much!

Mom and Dad

The grandparents had a great time!

What my sister walked in to, plus everyone yelling surprise and the entire room of the restaurant singing "Happy Birthday" to her!

Enjoying the hibachi show! They did their usual tricks with the onion volcano, egg toss into their hat, etc. Our chef offered Leah several attempts at catching tossed food into her mouth. No success though!

Opening her gifts and VERY excited about them! Love her expression in this one!

Sweet, sweet dad with his daughter. Melts my heart!
These two girls never cease to crack me up! It is so difficult to get a good picture of them together lately! (Mainly Ashely!) When you ask them if you can snap a picture they either strike a pose or give you the most forced, uncomfortable smile you've ever seen! Its hilarious!The birthday girl got together with some of us for some quick pictures outside! It was cold and windy that night when we came out of the restaurant! Finally, Fall weather is here!

We all had such a great night, but most importantly, the birthday girl had a fabulous time. We were all so happy to get together to celebrate my sweet sister! Happy Birthday, Leah! We just love you to pieces!

XOXO

What I'm Loving Wednesday and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

2010-10-06T17:14:00.011-05:00

I'm loving lots of things right now, mainly because the seasons are changing and it gets me all excited for the holidays! Here's a list of the things that I am especially loving today!

1. My sweet, sweet husband. This is true EVERYDAY, but he went out of his way to make me feel ridiculously special yesterday. For no reason at all, might I add, which is just out of this world thoughtful! I just love him!

I came home from work to find "the perfect pumpkin" (which we had picked out the night before at our local grocery store) sitting on our front porch with our mums. Why didn't we buy it then? Because we forgot! We unfortunately forgot to run outside the store to grab it while we were checking out. So we left it sitting outside the store with all the other pumpkins :( But when I got home, it was waiting for me! Sweet of him!

2. Also, waiting on me when I got inside the house was a little gift for us on the coffee table! Yesterday, Disney re-released Beauty and the Beast. This is my all time favorite Disney movie. I just love it! We even went to see the play twice! But the second time was an accident although we loved it just as much! We are watching it tonight :)

When I got in last night after my womens' bible study, this is what I walked into...

3. Ridiculous right??? Tons of candles lit, a fresh vase of flowers, my most recent copies of Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens, and a bubble bath.Aaron and Casper watched tv in the living room, so that I could enjoy a very relaxing hour by myself with my magazines! The bible study I am in has given me lots to think about, so it was perfect timing for me to sit and reflect on what God has been showing me.

4. Sitting on the ledge of the bath tub was also this Autumn Harvest Woodwick candle with the acorn top and all! It smells divine and the topper couldn't be any more precious! I'm definetly loving it right now!

5. And lastly, I'm seriously loving the Pioneer Woman's recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. They are out of this world delicious and perfect for this time of year! I made a simple glaze to drizzle over top which made it even better! Its been a while since I've shared a recipe, right? There's more to come!

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

4 whole eggs

2 cups sugar

16 ounces canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups oil

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

12 ounces milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together the first 4 ingredients.

2. Mix together the remaining dry ingredients, except the chocolate chips.

3. When both are mixed well, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

4. Add half of the chocolate chips to the batter.

5. Fill well-greased muffin tins 2/3 full of batter.

6. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of the batter, allowing the chocolate to be spread throughout the muffin.

7. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

I cooked mine for 20 minutes as determined by the handy, dandy toothpick test! For the glaze, I just combined powdered sugar with milk and cinnamon until I liked how it tasted. Its especially good if you drizzle it over a warm muffin or even heat the glaze in the microwave. Yum!!

So these are all the things I'm loving right now! I really HOPE you try out these delicious muffins. You will not be disappointed!!!

XOXO

Arkansas vs. Alabama Weekend Recap

2010-10-01T07:07:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was SUCH a fun weekend! It didn't end as we had hoped it would, but everything else was a blast! We had a great time hanging out with friends and enjoyed the maddness that came with 2 top 10 teams playing each other in Fayetteville!

Since the Razorbacks have this weekend off, I thought I'd post several pictures from last weekend to fill the void! There are pictures of the student line, which was insane! Can you believe that they started getting in line the Monday before the game?!?!?! There are also pictures from the pep rally at the greek theatre, tailgating, the walk through, and the game. Enjoy!

Happy Weekend!

XOXO

Caleb Wahl at Bobby Petrino Live!

2010-09-24T07:40:00.001-05:00

I mentioned in yesterday's post that Caleb Wahl was at Bobby Petrino Live last night. I cannot begin to describe how sweet and polite this boy is. You may or may not have heard about him, so here's a brief synopsis of his story.

He is a 9 year old from Alabama who LOVES the Razorbacks. He was diagnosed with Tracheomalacia, which has to do with constricting airways and includeds lots of visits to the hospital. You can read more about the disease here. The Make A Wish Foundation has chosen him twice and he has turned them down both times so that children who are sicker than him can experience one of their dreams. Local fundraisers have been set up for the family to get them to Arkansas so Caleb can see the Razorbacks play Alabama. The goal was reached early, so the organizations continued to raise money for the family to help pay for some of Caleb's medical bills.

Caleb and his family arrived in Fayetteville around 5:45 Wednesday evening. One of their first stops was to the Catfish Hole. Definetly a great first stop because Caleb was able to see lots of fans gathered who are all so excited about the Hogs! He was also able to chat with Coach Petrino and a couple of Razorback football players during commercial breaks. It just melted my heart to see his sweet face so excited about everything!

I got to chat with him for a little bit and got to see the mohawk he had! It was even colored red! I told him how happy we all were that he was here and asked him how excited he was to run through the 'A' on the field with the Razorbacks. He was so excited he couldn't hardly put it into words!!! So sweet!

Look for him on the news this week and listen for him on the radio if you live in the NW Arkansas area. Such a sweet story and such a great boy! I'm so glad I got the opportunity to meet him! I hope this story touched your heart like it did mine! Happy Friday!

XOXO

Last Night at Bobby Petrino Live!

2010-09-23T07:15:00.000-05:00

Last night we went with some friends to Catfish Hole for Bobby Petrino Live. If you've never heard of this, its where they host a radio show with Coach Petrino, live from Catfish Hole, and they serve a buffet of shrimp, catfish, chicken, fries, hushpuppies, slaw, etc. The works! Its sooooo much fun and oh so good!

Aaron made a reservation for our group several weeks ago. We heard on Saturday that there was a waiting list of around 250 people just trying to get a seat at the event. WOW!!! We knew that there was no doubt about it when we saw the number of people crammed into the restaurant. It was such a blast and we were soooooo full when we left! Here are several pictures from the evening!

The table decorations.Aaron and Ben. They weren't super excited to have to take a picture just yet...they hadn't even eaten! You can tell that Aaron's a little more used to my crazy need to take pictures. Poor Ben, he just had no idea!

Me and sweet Aaron! He has been so excited for the game on Saturday ALL week!

Maggie and Lauren. Pretty girls!

The rest of the group! Maggie, Lauren, Luke, Lawson, and one of the guys friends!

Delicious food! Minus the shrimp (I've never been a fan!).

Greg Childs and Damario Ambrose were the players who came on the show tonight. Greg Childs is soooo polite and they were both so funny! They even got Damario to sing for us. He was amazing!

The place was packed!

Coach Bobby Petrino!

What was the highlight of the evening??? Getting my picture taken with Coach Petrino and Maggie! Please notice Maggie's arm around him! Hah! What a hoot! They're BFF now, don't you know?!?!

Lawson, Lauren's brother, got in on the action too! Caleb Wahl made an appearance last night at Bobby Petrino Live too! If you've never heard of him, you MUST go read more about him here. He's a sweet 9 year old boy who was diagnosed with Tracheomalacia. I've been hearing his story for a couple of months now and have even heard him on some of the radio shows up here a couple of times. I got the chance to chat with him for a few minutes last night and took his sweet picture. More on that tomorrow!
XOXO

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

2010-09-22T08:05:00.001-05:00

Themed blogging days are really good for me lately. Sometimes I need a little direction in my life to be a faithful blogger! So today, and the future Wednesdays (when I remember!) will be dedicated to what I (or we) are loving right now: What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Right now, I'm loving 3 things in particular:

1. The Razorbacks!

They are performing great and Saturday's game against Alabama is such a huge game! I'm so excited and sooooo nervous! I'm also loving the fact that we are going to Bobby Petrino Live tonight at the Catfish Hole....O.M.G. Sooooo fun and soooo delicious!

2. Bible study carpools!

Such sweet and fun girls! Hayley, Lauren, and Maggie from Saturday's watch party. Such a blessing and always a good time!

3. This sweet boy!

He is such a doll. He's so affectionate and can always tell when someone is upset or sick. I've been dealing with some serious sinus garbage and he's been taking good care of me (snuggling good!). Aaron is too, of course!

So that's what I'm loving this Wednesday! Have a happy one! We are halfway to the weekend! Hooray!

XOXO

Top 2 Tuesday: Hair Products!

2010-09-21T07:50:00.000-05:00

I love hair products and could probably spend a fortune on them! The same goes for any beauty product: make-up, fingernail polish, lotions, face products, etc. But there are two products that don't break the bank that I just love, and always have on hand, which is why I was so excited about this weeks....

1. Freeze-It Hair Spray, Mega Freeze

I always have an extra bottle of this stuff in the cabinet, on the off chance that I run out. (Which I've done before and it was horrible.) I have pretty fine, straight hair that has little, to no volume. Zero, nada, zilch! So, I have to do everything I can to add a little va-va-voom!!! This stuff holds so good. I tease my hair and then spray the underside with this stuff, flip, and then comb smooth. Aaron always gets a kick out of the flip because my hair is usually standing straight up! That would be an interesting picture to show you, but that's never going to happen! When Aaron saw it for the first time, I wasn't sure if he was going to run away or stick around! In all honesty, its rather frightening!

2. Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

I love this stuff so much, although the idea of it isn't that pleasant. Since my hair is so fine, it tends to get stringy due to oil before the days out. Especially in the summer when its hotter than Hades outside. When that happens, I just spray some of this along the hair line, at the crown, and then some underneath. Shake it out with your hands. Then rebrush, or comb to insure that no more white powder can be seen. And voila!!! No more oily hair. It works miracles! I have dark brown hair and have never had any trouble hiding the powder, even though its white.

Hop on over to the Undomestic Momma's blog so see other people's favorite hair products. There's lots of good stuff out there!

XOXO

More Weekend Fun!

2010-09-20T16:45:00.005-05:00

Last weekend, some really great friends of ours came up from Central Arkansas to stay with us. This sweet little family made our weekend so much fun and we were so glad to spend some good quality time with them!

Jason and Jessica have the sweetest little boy. Balin is all smiles, all the time! Even when he has a double ear infection!!! Bless his sweet heart. He was such a doll! Casper thought he was pretty sweet too and would just rub all over his legs and let Balin "pet" him! Don't you just want to pinch his sweet little cheeks?!?!?

Aaron enjoyed Balin a little more at this age (6 months), than he did when he was just a few weeks old! He wasn't nearly as nervous to hold him :)

We were so happy Jason and Jess were able to be up for such a big Razorback game and to be apart of our watch party! Jess made a De-licious layered taco dip. So, so good!

Jason and Jess, we were sooooo glad you guys were able to come up! We had the best time catching up with y'all and getting to spend some good quality time with your lil' man!

XOXO

Watch Party and Razorback Victory!

2010-09-18T15:58:00.008-05:00

The Razorbacks traveled to Athens, GA this weekend to take on the Bulldogs. So what did we do???? Got together with a bunch of friends, cooked a lot of food, and had a watch party at our house!

On the menu: taco dip, cheese dip, corn dip, fall harvest chex mix, brauts, chicken wings, mini party sandwiches, meatballs, baked beans, hashbrown casserole, green bean bundles, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and ice cream sandwich layered dessert! YUM-O!

To stay that we were all stuffed to complete misery is an understatement!

The guests: 12 adults, a baby, a cat, and a dog! It was a full house to say the least, but we had the best time!!!

I have never seen grown boys so excited and jump so high in all my days! Their reaction after the winning touchdown was priceless! But minutes before, this is how they looked....

Saddest faces ever!!! Bless their sweet hearts!

Me and Hayley. Sweetest girl ever!

Lauren and Mags!

The girls, minus Jessica. She was tending to sweet Balin who has been sick this weekend :(

Have a great rest of the weekend! On our agenda for the rest of the day??? More football and food! And tonight? Poker night for the boys and movie night for the girls! Yay!

XOXO

Top 2 Tuesday...Things you want to accomplish

2010-09-13T17:15:00.002-05:00

I have never been good at setting New Year's resolutions. To be honest, I haven't set goals like that in years, simply because it drives me crazy to not finish something! But... I'm going to try again! I think it has more to do with the stigma of a new years resolution that makes me feel queasy and defeated!

It's now September, and I decided to hop on bored with the Undomestic Momma and set some goals to achieve by the end of the year. My procrastination tends to not be nearly as bad when the time table is a little shorter, with an end in sight! Ha!

# 1. Try more new recipes!
Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. But, since the beginning of summer, I have definetly cooked less and haven't tried nearly as many new dishes. Summertime is a very fun, busy, and chaotic time for us and I haven't made the time to try new stuff. But it's nearly Fall now and I'm ready to start back up! The house is already decorated for Fall, so it's time to gdt busy in the kitchen again!

Source

Don't you love this cookbook? I think it would be amazing to have something like this in my collection. I big heart love cookbooks (which is a lot) and want to own every single one I see!

# 2. Be more consistent with my personal quiet times.

I tend to be in a pretty continuous conversation with God most days. But, I really need to set apart more time to study His word. I'm pretty sporadic when it comes to this area, and I'm ready for that to change! I'm starting a new bible study, The Significant Woman, and I'm very excited about it! I think the weekly lessons will give me some guidance and structure that will help me get more focused in my personal quiet times.

Source
Feel free to ask me in a month, or so, how I'm doing! There's really no telling, but I'd like to think I'd be able to say that I'm right on track. We'll see!!!

Is there anything you'd like to accomplish by 2011???

XOXO

We Love Football Season!!!

2010-09-10T14:21:00.004-05:00

Last weekend was the first Razorback game of the 2010 season. We were so excited we couldn't hardly stand it!

We started tailgating with Aaron's parents and a large group of friends from Benton around 12:00. We had the best time and the weather was fantastic! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

The Razorbacks won the season opener against Tennessee Tech and we had the best evening watching them!

This weekend is the first Little Rock game, and you know we'll be there! Funny story: Aaron won us tickets to this game on The Ugly Uncle radioshow up here in NWA! To hear Aaron tell the story of it is quite hilarious, but the jist is that he was the first one to show up on their location that day and tell "The Ugly Uncle" that he was a handsome man! Ha! Hilarious!!!

There will be lots more tailgating this weekend plus lots of time with family! Yay!!!

XOXO

Happy Birthday!

2010-08-26T18:18:00.003-05:00

Lots of reasons to celebrate today! One of which is simply because its Thursday and the week is almost over! Yay for weekends!!!

The other, much bigger and more important, reason we are celebrating today is because it is my Granny's birthday! Hooray!!! (far left)

Happy Birthday, Granny! I know I already told you this morning over the phone, but I wish so bad we were there to celebrate with you in person! I hope your day has been relaxing and full of joy! We love you so much!

XOXO

Ashley's 9th Birthday!

2010-08-25T17:40:00.004-05:00

I can't hardly believe my little Ash Tash is already 9!!! She celebrated her birthday almost 2 weeks ago and we were so happy to get to celebrate with her!

Ashley and Gracie had been staying with us in Fayetteville since Wednesday. We brought them back home on Friday where Ashley was surprised with a slumber party by a bunch of friends! Fun, right?!?!! Rumor has it they stayed up until 2 a.m. that night! Poor Leah! On Saturday all of the girls hung out in the pool until party time!

The only birthday gift Ashley really asked for in advance was an iPod touch. Well, guess what??? She got it!!! Its a sad day when the gifts little ones ask for change from toys and stuffed animals, to electronics, perfume, and jewelry!!!
XOXO

Much Needed Weekend Getaway Part 2

2010-08-11T07:09:00.002-05:00

Our weekend getaway was perfect and was exactly what we needed after an eventful week. We met my parents, sister, BIL, and nieces in St. Joe, AR for a weekend cabin stay and buffalo river float trip. Everything about it was wonderful.

My sister booked the cabin through the Buffalo River Outfitters. I definetly recommend this place. The cabin exceeded our expectations and was just the right size for the 8 of us. Not to mention that scheduling our canoe rental and shuttle service was beyond easy.

Friday afternoon we all arrived, unpacked and began our fabulous weekend. Aaron and I cooked dinner and we all played games both inside (cards) and outside (hillbilly golf and washers). Its always a great time being around my family.

We woke up early Saturday morning to my dad cooking us breakfast and then left to begin our floating adventure. The day started off pretty foggy, but quickly cleared up to a fantastic day. We floated most of the day making several stops to fish, swim, visit, and eat a delicious picnic lunch prepared by my sister and BIL. Funny side note: Dad, Mom, and Gracie flipped their canoe after only being in it for 2, maybe 5 minutes! Hilarious! At one spot on the river, lots of canoes backed up due to a fallen tree that made it tough to continue down the river. Jimmy and Aaron were great and helped lots of other canoes get through, including all of the Boy Scouts who floated that day.

Once we arrived back at the cabin, we cleaned up and went out for dinner at a local mexican restaurant. It was delicious. When we got back from dinner, we had a Hillbilly Golf tournament. The championship game was me and Aaron versus Ashley and Leah. Sad to say, but Aaron and I lost. For the rest of the evening we played cards and Taboo. We played Taboo for hours! It was hilarious and such a great time. Ashley was the buzzer and Gracie was the time keeper. They loved their jobs, to say the least!

Sunday morning we all got up and around pretty early. Aaron and I went to eat breakfast with my parents at a place called Ferguson's, while my BIL, sister, and nieces made their way to Branson, MO.

There's a truckload of pictures, so just be prepared :) I always have the hardest time picking out my favorites!

I've also been nominated for a blog award! I'll talk more about that tomorrow :)

XOXO

Much Needed Weekend Getaway

2010-08-10T07:18:00.001-05:00

Wow. Last week was a whirlwind for us, so a weekend getaway with family was just what the doctor ordered. The timing could not have been more perfect.

I have lots of fun pictures of our trip to share with you, but for now I'll leave you with just one. More to come tomorrow when I'm not quite so sleepy :)

I just cannot get enough of these people. Two days with them only left me wanting more! I love them :)

XOXO

Our Anniversary Gift

2010-07-30T07:15:00.002-05:00

There's the old saying that 'great minds think alike'. Well, there's no description more fitting when it comes to describing the situation Aaron and I found ourselves in the week before our anniversary! Seriously, it was the most hilarious, and slightly ridiculous thing we've ever done.

So here's the background information. The "traditional" First Anniversary gift is paper. Aaron and I love traditions, although we may or may not always give the "traditional" anniversary gifts in our future. However, for our First Anniversary I loved the idea of sticking to tradition. (Apparently Aaron was thinking the same thing!) We decided we didn't want to do extravagant gifts, so this meant using a little creativity.

Its no secret that I love pictures, love them. I'm also really big into starting annual traditions for us and our future family. Well guess what? So is Aaron!

The weekend before our anniversary, Aaron sent me out of the house for a few hours so he could get "some things done," meaning I need to work on your anniversary gift! Ha! When I returned home Aaron had a very strange look on his face and was acting different. He sat me down and told me he needed to talk to me about something. Hm, okay... not the neatest feeling. So, we sat done and he spilled his guts. He was on the computer trying to work on his gift for me when my gift for him came up on the screen (I'll explain more later!). Well, rats! So we both divulged our plans to each other and had a few good laughs.

Now to tell you what you don't know! The gift we had both (INDIVIDUALLY) decided on, planned out, and worked on was the exact same. Exactly the same! We had the same idea, identical! It was so bazaar!

So what was the gift???

The gift was a professional photo album filled with pictures from our first year of marriage. We even BOTH had plans to make this an annual tradition by creating a new album every year! Is that not wild???

So once we discovered that we had plans to give each other the same gift, we began talking about all of our different ideas and using all of the best ones to create an awesome album! So here's how it turned out!

WE LOVE IT!!! It has 50 pages filled with at least 200 pictures! We used MPix to create the album and could not be happier. Their software was very easy to use and there were several different options.

This is the beginning of our album.

The first two pages of pictures.

At the back of the album we decided to include an index. The index has a description of every single picture in the entire album. We thought this would be a great idea for when we are 80 years old with very limited memories! Ha! We also wanted to do this for our future children and grandchildren so they would know why each picture in the album was so special to us.

We think its insane that we had the same amazing idea, but are so happy to have our first album! We are already taking lots of pictures in preparation for next years album!

XOXO

First Anniversary Getaway!

2010-07-27T07:30:00.002-05:00

Aaron and I are pretty frugal, to say the least. So when he whisked us away to Dallas for the weekend, its safe to assume that I was in shock! We had basically decided that we didn't want to go on a trip. But, you only celebrate your First Anniversary once, and that is exactly what Aaron thought :)

We arrived in Dallas at our destination, The Rosewood Crescent Hotel, late Friday night. The Crescent is absolutely amazing. Its huge, has several restaurants and shops, lots of gardens, and gorgeous architecture. The only two restaurants at the hotel that we had time to eat at were the Palomino and The Capitol Grille. Palomino was delicious. Its a little bistro that serves paninis, pizzas, and salads. We both ordered a panini and were beyond pleased (mine was tomato,basil, mozzarella....O.M.G). They also had the best fries.

The Capitol Grille was the restaurant we chose to eat at for our Anniversary Dinner. It was very upscale and nice, and the waitstaff was very tentative and friendly. After our meal, Aaron told our waitress that he really appreciated her for making our anniversary dinner so enjoyable. He was just trying to tell her she did a "good job," but she then went even more above and beyond. She scurried off and before we knew it came back with a camera, took our picture, and then hurried off again. Then, the House Manager came over to our table to visit with us. He handed us an envelope with a handwritten note from him, our printed picture, and a gift of $50 dollars to the restaurant. What??? Seriously???

This place was beyond amazing and we had the best time. We will definetly be returning there during football season later in the Fall to use our gift. Besides, the gift amount is enough to buy a steak. That's one steak my friends. No sides. No drinks. Nada. But the steaks are sooooooooooo worth it. Just ask Aaron! And the hollandaise sauce for the asparagus was p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Here is the picture the waitresss took of us. The quality is kind of poor. It looks like she may have touched it before it was dry by the looks of all the fingerprints! And you can see the huge wine cellar behind us. Gorgeous. Over the weekend we also spent some time at the pool, but not nearly enough! It was on the second floor so you had the skyline view and a view down below. We were both very relaxed out there and wished we could have spent an entire day by the pool. But, when your visit is less than 48 hours, you're pretty limited! Ha! Aaron also bought tickets to the broadway play Beauty and the Beast at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. I had already seen it several years earlier, and he knew how much I loved it! Its my favorite Disney movie and I was beyond thrilled to get to see the play again!It was just as good this time, if not better! He loved it too, and kept humming the song "Gaston" the rest of the evening! Ha! Inside was the most gorgeous chandelier you have ever seen. Ever. As the lights began to dim, the chandelier retracted itself into the ceiling, layer by layer. So neat! I didn't even think to bring my camera for this and I was so sad!

Source

Saturday night we went to The Ballpark in Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers play the Angels. It was beyond hot and there was a ton of people crammed inside! It was standing room only, too! Ha! Too much body heat. And the Rangers unfortunately lost.

We also brought our wedding cake topper (which was surprisingly very good) and enjoyed some oh so good chocolate covered strawberries. We had such a good weekend and I'm so glad that Aaron decided to do this! The weather was perfect for us all weekend and the drive wasn't bad at all! It was the perfect way to spend our First Wedding Anniversary!

More on the gift we gave each other later with some pictures of how it turned out!

XOXO

One Year Ago

2010-07-26T07:00:00.002-05:00

One year ago, last Saturday, we were doing this:

One year ago, yesterday, we were arriving here:

One day ago we had the time of our lives all over again! More on that tomorrow!

First Anniversary: Today's the day!!!

2010-07-24T07:45:00.003-05:00

I've tried to write this post several times now. I'm having the hardest time putting everything into words. This post has gone from being super long to short and sweet. For me to explain how much this past year has meant to me would be a failed effort. there's no way you will ever fully understand. So I'm going to give you the basics.

To say that Aaron means the world to me is an understatement. He is better than the husband I could have ever created in my wildest dreams. I love him so, so dearly. And he loves me in return in a way that's deeper than I could have ever imagined. There is literally not enough seconds in the day for us to get to spend together. We always want more. And that's just how we want it.

I never dreamed that this milestone would have such an effect on me as emotionally as it has. I tear up at the thought of any wedding memory. At that time, in the moments of our wedding, I knew how big of a deal everything was. But now that we are living the life we only dreamed of living then, everything means so much more. Like the day we got our marriage license. I was emotional that day, but looking back at pictures, I find myself even more emotional now. It has an even deeper meaning to me.

One year ago today, I became the happiest girl I've ever been. I love my marriage, my husband, my life, my bigger family, and all the possibilities our future holds. Here's to all the years to come :)

***sorry for no pictures! More to come this week. I was actually taken to Dallas before I created this post at home! Also more on our gift later!!!

Cornflake Chicken Strips

2010-07-23T08:30:00.003-05:00

***52 weeks ago today, I married my very best friend. While this is not the actual date of or wedding, it is the weekday we were married on. That Friday was an Amazing day. This morning Aaron and I talked about how we both felt this time last year: nervous, excited, and so happy! We stayed up entirely too late the night before the wedding talking on the phone. Neither of us could sleep! We double checked or packing list for the honeymoon and made sure we had everything we needed to leave the country. What a fabulous time in our lives. And it just keeps getting better!!! ( Tomorrow we will get to celebrate the actual date! July 24th! Yay!)***

Yummm. Lots of people make these...I think. I've heard of it a few times anyway. Especially from my sister! So, I decided to find a recipe for them that sounded good. And I succeeded! (I've racked my brain trying to remember where it came from, but failed. Sorry!)

I cooked these little strips of deliciousness last night for dinner. They were scrumptious. Easy. Full of flavor. And very crispy.

Here's a picture I found that looks almost exactly like what I made. We were so hungry that I didn't even pause to take a picture! I sprayed a cooling rack with cooking spray and then placed the rack on a cookie sheet. This prevented the chicken strips from losing their crispiness on the bottom. I chose to purchase chicken tenderloins for this dish, but you could easily purchase chicken breasts and cook them the same way. There are lots of variations on this dish, one of which includes using paprika, but here's how I did it!

Picture Source

CORNFLAKE CHICKEN STRIPS

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used chicken tenderloins)
1 1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups crushed cornflakes (about 4 cups whole)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons Lawry's Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a cooling rack and place on cookie sheet.
3. Rinse and trim fat from chicken, pat dry.
4. Place cornflakes in a gallon size freezer bag and crush using a rolling pin.
5. In a medium bowl mix cornflake crumbs, garlic powder, Lawry's, salt, and pepper.
6. Brush chicken with sour cream, coating all sides well.
7. Place each piece of coated chicken into the cornflake mixture, coating well.
8. Place chicken strip on the rack.
9. Repeat with the remaining chicken strips.
10. Bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.
11. Broil for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.

Aaron and I just loved these. These chicken strips are already pretty healthy, but you could make them even healthier by using light sour cream. This would definetly be a great protein for kids. No grease or fat like the chicken strips from fast food restaurants or the freezer section! Mom's can feel good about giving this to their little ones, and kids will be sure to love them! I will definetly be adding these to our game day watch party menu this year! Can't wait to eat them again!

XOXO

Almost There!!!

2010-07-22T17:49:00.006-05:00

I am so giddy today!!!!!! Elated, overjoyed, and excited are not grand enough words to describe how blissful I am right now!

Today, I got a very special visit, from a very special Man, with a very special gift, for a VERY special reason! The reason???? Our First Anniversary!!! Not today, and not tomorrow...but Saturday. On Saturday we will celebrate our first year of wedded bliss! So this was a fabulous surprise!

This year has been beyond amazing, but more on that on Saturday! By now I'm sure you've guessed who my special visitor was, right? It was Aaron! My sweet, sweet Husband of almost one year! So what was the surprise??? These!!!
Sorry for the low quality picture. It was taken with my iPhone! But aren't they gorgeous??? I miss them already! I left them at work so I can enjoy them all day tomorrow while I'm there :)

I can't wait for July 24th!
XOXO

We Have The Best Nieces!

2010-07-16T07:07:00.002-05:00

Last weekend our sweet, sweet nieces came to visit us. We love our nieces. Seriously, we ADORE them. They are the sweetest, funnest kids to be around. Ever. Period.

My sweet sister and B.I.L know how much their girls mean to us and never hesitate to drive them to Russellville for us to kidnapp for the weekend. We always rendezvous at a Mexican restaurant there for the pick-up and drop-off. I so look forward to these weekends. We make them ALL about the girls and soak up as much of them as we can in the short 48 hours!

Friday night (and pretty much any time we had free time!) the girls played the wii and then we had movie night.

Saturday morning we ate breakfast at Rick's and then went to the Farmers' Market. I love going there so, so much and the girls loved it too! Aaron was super sweet and basically followed us around with the camera. He is such a great Uncle to our sweet girls! We bought loads of fresh produce and let both of the girls design their own bouquet of fresh flowers. They loved doing this!

After the Farmer's Market we came home for a little Slip'n'Slide time! The girls had a ball.....and so did we! Yes, I admit, Aaron and I slid down that slide like the best of 'em!

Then we cleaned up for bowling and dinner at Red Robin, one of Ashley and Gracie's faves! For dessert we knew we just had to take the girls to Orange Mango, one of our faves! They thought it was too cool! We ended the evening with one more round of Slip'n'Slid time and then another movie night.

We had such a ball with Ashley and Gracie. Every single minute with them is such a blast and so entertaining! We just can't wait for them to come stay with us again! We love you girls!

XOXO

Balsamic-Garlic Chicken with Easy Pesto Orzo

2010-07-14T20:37:00.010-05:00

Last night I tried out a recipe I found in my July issue of Southern Living magazine. (Which, by the way, if you don't have a subscription to this magazine, you MUST GET IT! Aaron got me my own subscription for a stocking stuffer our first Christmas....so sweet!)

Back to the recipe. It is delicious and super easy! The flavor of the orzo is of course divine and the balsamic-garlic sauce is sooooooo good. Here's the recipe as found in the Southern Living magazine and and on the website.

BALSAMIC-GARLIC CHICKEN

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, chopped (or 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 1/2 tsp honey

Directions:
1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken and cook 6 to 7 minutes on each side or until done.
4. Remove chicken and keep warm.
5. Add chicken broth and next 4 ingredients to skillet, and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet
6. Serve chicken with sauce.(Here's how our meal looked. It just so happened that we had some broccoli in our freezer, so we made the EXACT same meal as in the magazine! Ha! Delicious!)

EASY PESTO ORZO

Ingredients:
1. 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2. 1/4 cup refrigerated pesto
freshly grated parmesean cheese

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
2. Combine pesto with cooked pasta, mixing well.
3. Top with grated parmesean cheese.

I hope you try this recipe. And I definetly hope you read this magazine! There's all kinds of good stuff in there!

XOXO

July Fourth!

2010-07-07T20:39:00.012-05:00

You know its been too long since your last post when your loving husband asks when you're going to blog again! Ha! Sweet Aaron got to where he checked the blog everyday. I guess he needed an update on what was going on in our life ;) It has been very busy around here. The funniest thing is that I'm not sure what we've been so busy doing! Everything, I guess! Unfortunately there's not much to blog about other than our Fourth of July weekend, which was a BLAST! We left NWA Thursday night and drove straight through to Mississippi to stay with Aaron's aunt and uncle at their lake house. Here's our trip to Eagle Lake through pictures!

The boat parade is an annual event they do that is fun and hilarious! The boats and the people are dressed up, decked out, and loaded with loot to throw to those watching! (Notice the doll figure standing on top of one of the boats....CREEPY!)
Aaron and his dad caught some miniature waterguns and couldn't resist refilling them over and over again!

My sweet bunny ears are compliments of my always wonderful father-in-law! Ha!

Some of the crew on the pier waving to the boat parade participants.

Reed, Alan, myself, and Aaron.

Margaret, Memaw, Amy, Mrs. Hilborn, and Sheila.

Aaron and Pa :) So sweet!

Pete and Mrs. Hilborn.

Ashley, Aaron, and myself.

Some of the fireworks we shot off later in the weekend thanks to Amy and Alan, the firework maniacs! Ha!

And, since it was Fourth of July weekend, here's a shot of one of our fireworks!

Hope you have a great rest of the week! Our weekends are pretty much packed from now until next summer, so maybe I'll have lots to blog about!

XOXO

Flat Friday, Just The Beginning

2010-06-22T12:00:00.004-05:00

My father's day post was late on the account of exhaustion. Pure, utter exhaustion. Aaron and I had the most eventful weekend of our lives. I wish I could say it was full to the brim of fun, exciting, and positive thing. But, what fun would that be, right? Ha! (This post is mainly to journal the experience Aaron and I shared over the weekend. Some day we'll look back and laugh about it, I'm sure! Just give us some time!)

Friday Morning: My car's display panel states, "Low Tire." Neat. No problem. I'll just call Aaron. Wrong. When I left the house for work, he was on the couch watching ESPN with The Cat. His cell phone was inevitably on silent and in the bedroom. Ring. Ring. Ring. No answer. So, what did I do? Drove to work and decided to just tell him about it later.

Friday Afternoon: Text from Aaron, "You have a nail in your tire. Can I come in and get your keys?" He, sweetly, came to my work and searched the parking deck for my car. Awwww! He comes up to my office, gets my keys, and takes my car in to get the tire fixed. Problem solved. Fantastic.

Friday Evening: We frantically pack like mad people after working late, so we can get down to Central Arkansas at a good time. We load up the car and are on our way. Oops. We forgot one of the father's day gifts. So we drive back home, retrieve the gift, and then start the trip over. This time, we make it to Alma. But, its there that we get a flat tire. Different tire than the one that had the nail in it earlier in the day. Neat. Aaron changes the tire and decides we shouldn't risk driving the other 2.5 hrs to Benton without a spare. Especialy since the tires need replacing pretty bad. The drive back to Fayetteville was at the blistering speed of 55 mph on the interstate, hazaards flashing all the while! The good thing? We averaged 40 mpg on the way back to Fayetteville! (By the way, how goodlookin' is my husband? I just love him! He was so nice to let me take pictures during such a stressful time! Thanks, babe!)

Saturday Morning: We wake up early (6:30) to take care of the tire issue and order some new ones. Nobody opens until 8:30. Bummer. We sit around and wait till the shops open. Once the shops open, it doesn't take us long to realize that NO ONE keeps my size tires in stock. Faaaabulous. So...we decide to use Aaron's Pathfinder for the drive back to Benton. We get 10 miles down the interstate when we realized we forgot the SAME father's day gift that we forgot the DAY before. Dumb. We just couldn't get it together. So, we go back home, pick up the gift, and start the journey over...again!

Saturday Afternoon: Traffic, 6 miles before we get to Morrilton. Not a problem, except Aaron's alternator is having some issues and the A/C doesn't exactly enjoy being ran while the car is idol. What does this mean? It means 45 minutes sitting still in traffic. In the middle of cornfields. At 1:30 pm on a 95 degree weather day. Sweeeeet. Finally arrive in Benton at 2:30 pm. We have a seat on my parents' couch and immediately pass out. For 2 hours! Ha!

Can you seriously believe all of this? It was insane! We had no idea if we would ever, actually make it to Benton. Luckily we did and got to spend Father's Day with our wonderful Dad's. It was all so worth it. The good news? The drive back to NWA was WAY less eventful! And I was SO proud of how Aaron and I handled ourselves through it all. We laughed and joked about everything. Even when we were frustrated beyond imagination. We never let it show and kept the other one's spirit up. Thanks for everything, Babe! I love you.

XOXO

Father's Day!

2010-06-21T19:30:00.003-05:00

One of my most favorite people to celebrate is my dad, James "Eddie" Langley. I'm a daddy's girl. Everyone knows this. He is so special to me, its almost too hard to put into words. EVERYTHING about him is admirable and honorable. The man has the patience of Job. Literally, the patience of Job. There is never a point when my dad has had enough. He is funny. Caring. And a great listener. If you ask him what he wants most, it would be for his entire family to have everything that they need and for him to get to spend all of his time enjoying them. He's always positive. Always encouraging. Always puts others before himself. He loves and protects, and guides each of us in the right direction. He is the hardest worker I know. He provides for his family unceasingly and without groaning. He is confident and strong.

Its because of him that I never settled for less than I deserved in a husband. The man that my dad is, is the model image of what I expected and found in a life partner. From his example, I learned what a man should be to his wife, his children, family, friends, and even strangers. For that I am so thankful. Today, I am blessed to be married to someone with qualities like the ones my dad exemplified every day. Thank you, Dad, for all you have done for me. Thank you for each and every lesson. And thank you for all of the qualities, morals, and standards you instilled in me. I love you! And there is no way I can celebrate Father's Day without telling you how much I appreciate my Father-In-Law, Alan Hilborn. Its because of his influence that my husband is the man that he is today. There are so many things that Alan has taught Aaron. The obvious would be about fishing and duck hunting, which they both enjoy doing togther. But, there's so much more. Aaron's dad taught him what it means to be a man, a head of household, and a provider for the family. Alan's work ethic and drive are almost incomparable, and I'm thankful that Aaron inherited that, too. Thank you, Alan, for everything you've done for Aaron over the years. And thank you for all that you continue to do. We appreciate you so much!

We, also, want to celebrate and to say thank you to our grandfathers. All four of them have influenced our parent's, who have in-turn, influenced us. The foundation for each of our families is as strong as it is because of their hardwork, guidance, and love. Thank you for all you have done for each and every one of us. Thank you Jack Ramsey, Harvey Langley, and Stanley Hilborn. And thank you to my grandma for carrying on the memory, strength, and love of my late grandpa, Nyle Fullington.

We are beyond blessed with strong, courageous, honorable men in our families and for that we are so thankful. We love each of you so much! Happy Father's Day!

Patio Friend

2010-06-17T07:30:00.001-05:00

Since the beginning of spring, we have had a few permanent friends join us on the back patio. When we moved into our house last summer, their house was already established. We never had the heart to get rid of it. So, what has happend over the last few months? And who are these patio tennants?

A pair of lovely doves! And what did they do??? Had a baby! Its very normal for us to look out the window or step outside and check on Baby Bird. Just to make sure he's okay :) One day we were outside, me on Aaron's shoulders to get a good shot, when our sweet boy Casper made a loud noise with the heavy blinds on our back door. Baby Bird got scared and immediately flew away. To make matters worse, it appeared that this was Baby Bird's first flight! We felt terrible and didn't see him for a couple of days. Then, one day, we saw Momma Bird and Baby Bird in the midst of flying lessons! Baby Bird stood on the patio as Momma Bird went back and forth from our fence, back to the nest. Over and over and over she did this. The next day, guess who was back in the nest? Baby Bird! Love it.

XOXO

Shipwreck Casserole

2010-06-16T07:30:00.003-05:00

This casserole requires you to be very open minded :) Honestly. And if you read the ingredients list and then see a picture of what it looks like, you may think, "What in the world is she thinking!" Well, I was there too. I have no idea what spurred me to try this out. Whatever the reason, I tried it and it was pretty good. Good enough to use as a standby for busy nights or nights when your brain can't think of a single new thing to try! Its easy, fast, and the chances of you having the ingredients on hand are very high. The exception may be the tator tots, but if you have frozen hashbrowns, that will work too! Here's the recipe as found at Southern Plate.
SHIPWRECK CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs. ground beef

2 lbs. frozen tator tots (or frozen hashbrowns)

1 onion, diced (onion flakes or minced onions are great!)

2 cups frozen sliced carrots

1-11 oz. can tomato soup (I will use 2 cans next time)

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Brown beef and onion until done. Drain off onion.

2. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

3. Place all of the tator tots in one layer in the bottom of the dish.

4. Salt and pepper the tator tots.

5. Add the ground beef on top of the tator tots.

6. Lightly salt and pepper this layer as well.

7. Spread carrots evenly over the top.

8. Sprinkle Italian seasoning mix over the carrots.

9. Mix tomato soup with one can of water and pour over all.

10. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

I definetly recommend adding more tomato soup. The tator tots soaked up most of the sauce, and we like sauce! This dish is, also, great as leftovers which is even better. In fact, Aaron thought it was better the next day, than it was the night it was cooked! Ha! Enjoy!

XOXO

Tomato Pie

2010-06-15T12:00:00.001-05:00

I am not what one would call a "lover of tomatoes". Surely you know this by now. But, if they are cooked, I will eat them any day, any way! On pizzas (thanks babe!), with pasta, or on bruschetta. You name it, I'll eat it! They were the perfect addition to our summertime dinner menu last week. Here's our version of delicious Tomato Pie.

TOMATO PIE

Ingredients:

1 refridgerated pie crust

4 tomatoes

12 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (approx.)

fresh basil, chopped

dried oregano

salt

pepper

1 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

1. Bake pie crust according to instructions on the package in glass pie dish.

2. Drop oven temperature down to 350 degrees.

3. Rinse tomatoes and slice into 1/4 inch thickness.

4. Remove any core that may remain in the slices.

5. Place tomato slices in a strainer over the sink or a bowl.

6. Sprinkle with salt ad allow to drain for about 10 minutes. (Toss occasionally.)

7. Sprinkle cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, about enough to cover the bottom.

8. Lay 1 layer of tomato slices on top of cheese. (Squeeze slices and pat dry with towel to remove excess moisture.)

9. Follow with layers o salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and mozzarella cheese. (Use as much of each as you would prefer.)

10. Repeat layering process until you have slightly mounded over the height of the pie crust.

11. Mix mayonnaise and 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese.

12. Spread evenly over the top layer of the pie.

13. Place dish on a baking sheet to prevent bubbling over during baking.

14. Cover pie loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the edges of the crust from burning.

15. Bake at 350 degreees for 25 minutes.

16. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until top layer is golden and bubbley.

17. Allow to set for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Look at those yummy layers! Aaron's aunt Amy makes this dish every summer when we go down to visit her in Mississippi and its so good. I'm not sure her exact recipe, but I think it is similar to this. She was my inspiration for making it!

Also, its very important to remove excess moisture from the tomatoes. This will help prevent the crust from getting soggy. We tried eating this as leftovers and it was just fine. The crust wasn't significantly soggy to us and the flavors tasted even better! Enjoy!

XOXO

Better Luck Next Time

2010-06-14T18:00:00.001-05:00

Our beloved Razorbacks did not make it to the College World Series. Sad day. Aaron and I are pretty bummed, but so proud of them! They played two 12 inning games aginst the #1 team in the country, Arizona St. Amazing, right? Granted, we didn't win, but it isn't anything to be ashamed of. Good job, Hogs!

Here's a radom picture Aaron took of our regional tickets. Neat, huh?

We had friends over both Saturday and Sunday night to watch the baseball games. I haven't stayed up as late as we did this weekend in a long time. I'm talking 3 a.m one night and 2 a.m. the next. There was lots of eating involved (of course!) and plenty of card playing! Needless to say, Monday morning was not very kind to me! Ha!

Now, off to watch the Bachelorette :)

XOXO

The Razorback's Road to Omaha!

2010-06-11T07:30:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow our beloved Razorbacks will be playing against Arizona St. for a spot in Omaha at the College World Series. Unfortunately, the three game series will be played in Arizona and we will have to settle with cheering from our couch at home. We had a great time at the Fayetteville Regional last weekend, cheering them on while they were still within reach.
.

We were so lucky to get to spend the weekend with some friends of ours, Ben and Maggie. We have such a great time! Aaron and Ben could talk about sports for DAYS. This works out great for me and Maggie. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure we both love to talk to our husbands about sports for hours. However, its always super nice to talk about girly stuff every so often! I mean, come on, the latest Bachelorette and So You Think You Can Dance episodes are SERIOUS conversation! Am I right?!?!?Ben and Aaron were killing me with their cameras. They kept pointing their cameras at me and saying my name, trying to get dumb pictures of me. Well it worked! I fell for it almost every time! This is me telling Ben to shutup! Ha!

You may recognize the guy who took our group picture....

If not, then you can't be from Arkansas! Ha!

Aaron and I both love our new camera, but have pretty much decided that we NEED a new lens. Ben has a serious telescope lens that Aaron drooled over pretty much the whole weekend. The lens fever is raging right now, but here are some great pictures Aaron took this weekend.

Best of luck to the Razorbacks this weekend! They play on Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 9 pm, and Monday at 6 if necessary. Its a best out of three game series, so here's to hoping we win the first two nights and don't even need to play on Monday! Woo Pig Sooie!

XOXO

Mexican S'Mores

2010-06-10T07:30:00.002-05:00

I told y'all yesterday about those delicious Roasted Corn and Chicken Quesadillas we tried. Well, what I didn't tell y'all was that we also tried out a new dessert with them! You guys, it was delicious and SO easy! You absolutely have to try these. When we cooked our quesadillas, we used 4-10 inch quesadillas. The package had 8 tortillas in there, so it worked out perfectly to use the other 4 for a dessert. Plus I had the other ingredients on hand, which made it even better! Here's how we did it, as adapted from a recipe found at Southern Plate.

MEXICAN S'MORES

(Makes 4)

Ingredients:

4 flour tortillas

Creamy Peanut Butter
Mini-Marshmallows
Mini-Chocolate Chips
Confectioner's Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread peanut butter on flour tortilla.
3. Make a thin line of marshmallows down the middle of the tortilla.
4. Make a thin line of chocolate chips right next to the marshmallows.
5. Fold over about 1 inch of the top and bottom of the tortilla.
6. Finish rolling the tortilla like you would a burrito.
7. Wrap the S'Mores tightly in aluminum foil and twist the ends to fully seal.
8. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
9. Allow to cool for a few minutes before unwrapping.
10. Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

Sounds scrumptious, I know! These s'mores are so ooey-gooey and so delicious. Aaron and I could, each, only eat one. They are pretty rich. Word to the wise: I thought I would up the amount of chocolate chips and marshmallows. Not my best idea. A little of each definetly goes a long way. Especially when it comes to marshmallows. I think, you can almost never have too much chocolate. But too much marshmallow can definetly make you feel a little sick. Just use your own judgement and try it out a couple different ways to find out how you like it best. All I know is that these are just to easy NOT to try. Enjoy!

XOXO

Roasted Corn and Chicken Quesadillas

2010-06-09T07:30:00.003-05:00

One of my most recent cooking adventures included goat cheese in the ingredients list. Uh....excuse me? Goat cheese? Let's rethink this please.

Now the recipe isn't that difficult. I mean its only quesadillas, afterall. But, when you throw roasted corn, yummy salsa, and.....goat cheese into the mix, it livens it up. Plus we cooked these in a skillet on the stove, old school style, and it was fun! I can definetly tell that Aaron and I are becoming more and more open to trying new things and branching out a little bit with our food. I mean, hello.....we ate goat cheese for goodness sakes! Here's how we did it:

ROASTED CORN AND CHICKEN QUESADILLAS

Adapted from a recipe found on the blog "Keeping Up With The Joneses" found under the Food category on the right margin of my blog! Please visit! They have great recipes.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh corn kernels (1 ear)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2/ cup (5 oz) goat cheese, softened
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Mild Cheddar cheese, shredded
10 tbsp salsa verda (or your favorite salsa)
2 chicken breasts, chopped and cooked
flour tortillas (4-10 in. or 8-6 in.)

Directions:

1. Cut the corn off the cobb.
2. In a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, roast the corn until the kernels start to brown. About 2 minutes.
3. Add the corn to the softened goat cheese and mix thorougly.
4. Spread the cheese and corn mixture on the flour tortilla.
5. Add some chicken.
6. Add the green onions, salsa, and shredded cheese. Use your judgement on how much of each ingredient you want on your quesadilla.
7. Top with another flour tortilla.
8. Coat a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and add the quesadilla.
9. Cook over medium heat until tortilla is browned on both sides and the cheeses are melted.

Sounds delicious, right? That's because they are! However, we will most definetly leave out the goat cheese next time. At least we tried it though, right??? I can see how someone would like the creaminess of the goat cheese inside the quesadilla, but the texture and flavor was just a little too much for us. We still ate every bite though, ha!

The mozzarella and cheddar cheese mixture would be plenty of cheese for us. Here's the trick: To get the roasted corn to stay inside the quesadilla and not roll all over the place, I think it would be a good idea to lay down some shredded cheese, then the corn, and then some more shredded cheese.

Next time we will probably leave out the green onions, too. I don't know what it is, but we are just NOT onion people! If the onion is cooked, we do okay. But, if it has a crunch to it at all...forget about it!

We LOVED the roasted corn and salsa verda additions to these quesadillas. Very tastey! I guess if I had anymore advice to give about these little delites, it would be to watch them very closely as they cook. The flour tortillas brown very quickly, so keep flipping them until they are the pefect golden brown that you are looking for. Enjoy!

XOXO

The Friendliest Cat

2010-06-08T12:00:00.001-05:00

I feel like I have been neglecting poor Casper (The Cat) on the blog, lately. And if you've been missing him too, then this is the post for you! Aaron and I talk all the time about how sweet he is to us. We honestly feel like he is our little child. He loves to cuddle in bed....only with me though :) He walks over to my side of the bed, on the edge, and curls up inside my arm with his head resting on my shoulder. Adorable, right? I just love him. He LOVES to lay around with us on the couch and will make sure to let us know when he's ready to! He loves for Aaron to give him fresh filter water with ice every morning. Spoiled, we know. He loves to lay on his side on the bathroom floor early in the morning, waiting for us to run one of our feet down his spine, steadily scooting him across the floor! Ha! Its the funniest thing you've ever seen, I promise! And here he is, in all his spoiled glory!
We love our sweet boy so, so much!
XOXO

Grandpa and Granny's 50th Wedding Anniversary!

2010-06-07T17:45:00.001-05:00

My sweet grandparents on my dad's side, Harvey and Lenora Langley, celebrated their Golden Anniversary on June 4th, 2010. They are so sweet to everyone around them and we were all excited to share this landmark day with them! Aaron and I hope that we can look back on as much accomplishment when we reach our 50th Wedding Anniversary, as they do now. Can you even imagine??? 50 years worth of a lifetime of shared experiences with your very best friend. They have 2 sons, 5 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren. Aren't they sweet? Years ago and still today.

The beautiful table that my mother put together. She did a great job! Everything was perfect.

The neat picture board my mom used to showcase the years my grandparents have spent together.

Aaron and I brought the cake, from Rick's Bakery, down with us.

Lots of familiy were present to share this special day with them.

My Grandpa gave a very sweet speech after dinner in honor of my Granny. He did a great job and you could tell it meant the world to my Granny.

The night turned out perfect. Everyone had a great time helping my grandparents celebrate such an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations, again, Grandpa and Granny! We love you!

Beloved Hydrangeas

2010-06-06T08:00:00.002-05:00

Its no surprise that hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers. Everyone loves them. Its almost impossible not to. One thing I learned about hydrangeas when planning our wedding is that they are very delicate. Once you cut them from the plant, they are a little high maintenance. But man are they worth it!

We used white hydrangeas in our centerpieces at our reception. They were, also, a large part of my bouquet, along with white roses and green berries. I loved them and thought they were so elegant. When we moved into our house, the previous residents left us a gorgeous section in the flower bed full of blue hydrangeas (with a little touch of purple, too). Its been so much fun to watch them grow and bloom this spring. The sun sets on that side of the house and they tend to get pretty pitiful and wilted around that time. I haven't had the heart to cut them! They are just too pretty! Here are some pictures from when they started to bloom to present day. Just gorgeous!

I'll be sad to see them go, when they do! Have a great Sunday! We will be watching lots of baseball after church. More on that later!

XOXO

One More Concert

2010-06-05T08:00:00.003-05:00

Aaron and I have attended some serious concerts here lately and we are loving it! We both love classic rock and have been very lucky to see some really great concerts in the past few weeks. As you know we saw Georgia Satellites and Blue Oyster Cult one night a couple of weeks ago. Then we saw Steve Miller Band at Riverest Memorial Day Weekend.

Well, this time we had the fantastic pleasure of seeing REO Speedwagon. I mean, seriously??? How did we get so lucky? I kid you not that REO Speedwagon did an amazing job of putting on a great show. They had really neat images on the huge screen behind them. It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. The concert was held at Bud Walton Arena as part of the Wal-Mart Shareholders Meeting. (By the way, Tim McGraw totally performed the night before REO Speedwagon, and we had NO idea. Depression.) Here's a few pictures of our evening that we got to spend with some sweet friends, Rusty and Rachel. They are the one's that look like smurfs :) We are the ones where you can see every pore on our faces! Ha!

Aaron and I had so much adding to our list of summer concerts! Too bad we missed my Tim...maybe next time! Ha! Last night we celebrated my Granny and Grandpa's 50th Wedding Anniversary. Congratulations to them! They are so sweet! Pictures to come next week.

XOXO

Tomato-Basil Pizza

2010-06-04T07:30:00.002-05:00

Cooking has become a pretty big deal in our house. Aaron has definetly caught the cooking fever that I've been ailing. Let's just say that we used to be the people who would go out to eat a lot or get take-out. Now, don't get me wrong, we still enjoy doing that some on the weekends, but its so much more fun to cook for the one you love or cook with the one you love! Right?!?! We love it.

Our latest attempt at a recipe turned out marvelous! Technically, it was Aaron's attempt. He found the recipe, secretly bought all of the ingredients, and came home to prepare it. It became our recipe attempt, mainly because I just couldn't help myself and had to help! (With his culinary guidance of course!) So here is what we tried a couple of nights ago and absolutely LOVED:

TOMATO-BASIL PIZZA

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, seeded and sliced (or chopped if you prefer)

1 tsp salt

8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 red onion corsely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh basily, plus more for garnish

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/2 cup pizza sauce (Aaron used Classico Tomato & Basil Spaghetti Sauce)

2-12 inch refridgerated pizza crusts (Aaron used Mama Mary's Thin & Crispy)

8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese (in addition to the first 8 oz)

1/4 cup parmesean cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix tomatoes and salt in mesh strainer. Let sit 15 minutes.

3. Combine tomatoes, 8 oz mozzarella cheese, onion, basil, pepper, olive oil, and olives in a medium bowl.

4. Brush pizza crusts with olive oil.

5. Spread pizza sauce on crust. (We used more sauce than the 1/2 cup the recipe calls for.)

6. Spread mixture on pizza crust.

7. Sprinkle parmesean cheese over mixture, evenly.

8. Top with second 8 oz of mozzarella cheese.

9. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

10. Garnish with fresh, chopped basil and serve immediately.

This recipe is pretty easy, but there's enough chopping going on to make you feel like your really doing something special. And this pizza was definetly special! Aaron chose to use a refrigerated pizza crust and I totally agree. If the crust is the correct thickness for the pizza you are creating and for your taste, then why wouldn't you take the easy route? I do the same with pie crusts. Its a no brainer. And this crust was scrumptious, thin-ish, and was strong enough to support the heavey load of tomatoes and ooey, gooey, goodness.

While the recipe makes two pizzas, I would definety recommend only preparing half of the ingredients and only making one pizza if there is just going to be two of you. Also, this recipe calls for some serious onion action. We are just not that kind of family. The only onions we use in, just about, anything is minced onion flakes :) It works though, right? The taste without the icky crunch. Unfortunately, we tried to overcome this onion dilemma and added it to our pizza. Big mistake. We even used fewer onions than the recipe calls for. It was still to much for us to handle. The second pizza was reeking of onion as it cooled off in the kitchen. In the end, we just threw it away. I know.....kids in Africa. I feel terrible about it.

We both really enjoyed this recipe and will definetly make it again! Happy Weekend!
XOXO

Chocolate-Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

2010-06-03T07:30:00.001-05:00

Yummmm. I may be just a little partial since I baked these cookies, but these little treats are delicious. I made them last Thursday night before we traveled back to our hometown. Oh. You just have no idea how good these are. I can't remember now which food and recipe blog I found these little delights on, but whoever posted about it.....Thanks!

I love cookies that have chunks of yummy stuff in them, but sometimes that means they are either too chunky (if there is such a thing) or too sweet. These are neither. They are divine. Most oatmeal cookies I've ever tasted or tried to cook usually tend to flatten out and become more dense on the inside as they cool. Not these. If cooked for the right amount of time, the inside texture is almost similar to cake. A little more dense, but close. They retain their height and don't settle as they cool. Here's the recipe with my adaptations.

CHOCOLATE-PECAN OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups uncooked regular oats
1/2 of an 11.5 oz package milk chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat well.

4. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir well.

5. Add oats and mix well.

6. Add flour and oats mixture to butter mixture. Stir until well blended.

7. Gently stir in chocolate chips and pecans.

8. Drop by spoonfulls onto greased baking sheet. (About 2 inches apart. 12 per baking sheet)

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until brown arounded edges.

10.Cool on pan for 2-3 minutes or until slightly firm.

11.Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool on wire racks lined with wax paper.

My cookies were ready at 15 minutes exactly. Make sure the edges and a small portion of the top of the cookie are lightly browned. Once the top has browned, they are ready to come out of the oven. Trust me, I tried this a different way to make sure I knew which way was best. Allowing the top of the cookie to brown insures that it has cooked throughout the middle. Otherwise your cookie will collapse and settle as it cools, losing its cake-like inner consistency.

Also, to be honest, I combined steps 2 and 3 and just did it all at once. Not on purpose, necessarily. It was kind of more like I just missed the idea of doing it in stages :) If this makes a difference, I must say that I like the way I did it better!

And, if you want to, you can always add more chocolate chips to the mix. The recipe calls for the entire 11.5 oz bag, but I only had half of one. For me it couldn't have worked out better. There was just enough chocolate to get a taste every once in a while, but not too much to where you couldn't taste the oatmeal. Enjoy!

XOXO

Peaches!

2010-06-02T12:00:00.002-05:00

In yesterday's post I recapped our super busy/fun holiday weekend and also introduced you to this sweet girl.

Isn't she a doll? My BIL gladly claimed her after her mother ran away, never to be seen again. She is the funniest little creature I have ever seen running around a house. EVER! Ha! When my sister's family first brought her home, she was still pretty wobbly on her long, skinny legs. She had the hardest time walking on the kitchen floor.

Now, she does a lot better walkign around. BUT, when she gets excited and starts galloping around the house, there is no telling whats going to happen! While we were there I witnessed her running at full sprint from the living room to the kitchen. As she transitioned from one floor surface to another, her hooves gave way and she slid aross the floor into the trash can. Ha! It was crazy!

She is still drinking from a bottle, but is in the process of transitioning from just milk to milk with bananas blended in it. My neices just love her and think its the neatest thing having such a wild creature run around their house!

XOXO

Memorial Day Festivities

2010-06-01T19:57:00.008-05:00

What did we do on such a wonderfully warm, three day holiday weekend? A LOT!!! Ha! Every second was so enjoyable and we never wanted it to end. And by the way, can you believe that its June? Seriously...June?!?!?!?!?! Next month we will celebrate our First Wedding Anniversary. WOW! Time has flown by so fast.....it has been beyond amazing. But that's another post!

We drove in on Friday evening after enjoying a warm afternoon outside enjoying the sunshine. Words can't express how fantastic the warm sun feels on your skin after waiting anxiously for it throughout the winter!

Lots of y'all already know about the new addition to my sister's family. For those of you who don't know....let me stop you before you get too excited! The new addition is a fawn! Yes, you heard me right: A baby deer!!! Peaches! She is precious and we had the pleasure of meeting her on Saturday. The girls swam while the adults doted on the spotted beauty. More pictures of the sweet baby girl will come later!

That night, Aaron and I went down to the old airport to see KRIS ALLEN perform. I promise you read that correctly! Kris Allen performed in Benton, Arkansas Saturday night! When I heard that he was performing in our hometown, I honestly couldn't believe it! How great is he for staying true to his Arkansas roots? Love it. bbb

Afterward, I went to a LATE movie with 2 of my BFFs and my sweet MIL. We had a fabulous time seeing SATC2. I was never into the show when it was on television (we didn't even have HBO), but caught a few episodes on USA. To me, its one of those movies that you JUST have to see. The first and second SATC are both so girly, glittery, and glamorous! Very fun. Let me state, however, that I don't, agree with certain things that are included in the movie, or implied, but I'm not so uptight that I let it ruin my evening.

Sunday morning we went to church, ate at Mamaw's and then to my Uncle Joe and Aunt Carla's. All the little one's decided to swim in the gorgeous pool, while the adults cooked, visited, and ate! Ha!

Riverfest is always a 3 day event, but this year we only went on Sunday night to see Steve Miller Band. Every year on the final night they have a great fireworks show. This year, they did things a little differently. For example, they did the fireworks show before the final concerts on each stage. Weird. Definetly did not like this change. Also, they changed the location of one of the stages and I hated it. You couldn't see the entire fireworks show and there wasn't NEAR enough room. I vote we go back to how things used to be! Anyone else agree?

On Monday, we got up early to go eat breakfast with my parents, came back to pack, and then met Memaw, Pa, and MIL for lunch. As soon as we finished lunch we made the fabulous drive back to our home that we missed so much. It was nice to be back in time to relax and enjoy the evening.

Memorial Day Weekend Plans

2010-05-28T07:00:00.002-05:00

Friday, how I love you / anxiously await you and whine the entire week until you get here! No, but really, I'm super glad its Friday. All week I could just feel the 3 day holiday weekend approaching. It was creeping along soooo slow, I almost couldn't stand it. But, its finally here. Hooray! I absolutely love having time off, just like everyone. Time to spend however my little heart desires. Its pure bliss...

Not only is it Memorial Day Weekend (Thank you veterans for all you've done for our great, but struggling country. We appreciate each of you and your families.), but the weather man tells me its going to be pretty fabulous weather, too. I've been so anxious for time outside this weekend that I finally just walked out into the front yard and just looked around. Ha! (Which, by the way, our hydrangeas are blooming quite nicely right now and are just down right beautiful. My faves. Pictues later.) Aaron finally came outside to see what in the world I was doing and we decided to take a walk. It was heavenly...

So, what do we have in store for this weekend? I'm pretty sure we have cook-out plans with both families. No confirmed days or times, yet, which is completely normal for the Langley and Hilborns crews! Ha! And, we are also going to be doing a little bit of this...

Source

We have gone every year since we started dating. Its kind of like a tradition. We even still have all of the buttons from years past! We both love to go out there in the evening when its cooled off, just to sit back, relax, and watch the shows. Riverfest usually has some pretty good artists on their line-up and this year appears to be no different.

Central Arkansas.....here we come! Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

XOXO

Cashew Chicken Stirfry

2010-05-27T07:00:00.004-05:00

I am a huge lover of Chinese/Asian/Japanese food. Huge. When Aaron and I started dating, he hated even the thought of it. Unfortunately for him, my family frequently got take out from a local Chinese restaurant, so he pretty much had to try it. Well, guess what??? He loves it almost more than I do now!

On Monday, I finally tried my hand at stirfry. What did I find out? I found out that its pretty easy and lots of fun to cook! Just watch out for the hot oil that leaps out of the pan frequently :) We don't have a wok, so I used our Calphalon Deep Fry Pan and it work just fine.

Here is the recipe I tried with my adaptations:

CASHEW CHICKEN STIR-FRY

Ingredients for marinade:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 egg white

1 cup vegetable oil for cooking chicken

Ingredients for vegetables:
2 tbsp fresh, minced ginger root
3 green onions, chopped
1 green pepper julianned
4 cups fresh broccoli florets
8 oz water chestnuts sliced
2 cups roasted, salted cashews

Ingrediets for sauce:
3 tbsp white vinegar
6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar

Directions:
Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Place in medium bowl. Combine marinade ingredients and mix well. Pour marinade over chicken and toss to coat. Refridgerate for 3o minutes.

In a wok or large, deep skillet, heat 1 cup of vegetable oil over high heat for 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook until golden brown. Remove chicken from oil and place on paper towel lined plate to help remove excess oil.

Discard all but 2 tbsp of the oil the chicken was cooked in. Reheat wok to medium heat. Toss in vegetables and cashews. Cook until the vegetables are slightly tender, yet still slightly crisp.

Combine ingredients for the sauce and pour into the wok. Toss to coat vegetables and cashews. Continue cooking until the sauce comes to a boil. ***The vegetables tend to soak up some of the sauce (and we like sauce!), so I decided to triple the sauce ingredients. It worked out really well and there was plenty of sauce leftover to pour extra over the rice.***

Once boiling, add in the chicken and toss to coat. Serve over white or brown steamed rice. This dish easily serves 4 large helpings.

We absolutely LOVED this dish. My sweet husband even mentioned he thought it tasted like something that could be served in a restaurat. Awwww! Ha! He must have just been hungry ;)

XOXO

Fruit Tart

2010-05-26T07:00:00.002-05:00

I know I've said this a few times before, but I can not express how much I am loving cooking right now! I've always enjoyed cooking, but not too long ago, I began reading lots of Foodie Blogs. Ever since then, I have been obsessed with trying out fun, new recipes. If you haven't read many Foodie Blogs (blogs where people try a recipe, tell about it, maybe show it step by step in pictures, and then give there criticism) then check out some of the ones I have links for over to the right. There are lots of great ones, but those are some of my favorites.

A week or so ago, I finally got around to making a Fruit Tart. Lots of the Foodie Bloggers that I follow had been making them. They looked absolutely divine and sounded so easy! So, I gave it a whirl. And guess what??? They ARE divine and easy! Here's how I made mine:

FRUIT TART

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 tbsp sugar

1 box cook and serve lemon pudding/pie filling

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 egg yolks

2 cups water

fruit of choice (I used strawberries, kiwis, blue berries, and raspberries)

3 tbsp Apricot preserves

1 tbsp water

Directions:

Prepare pie crust in a tart pan with a removable bottom. The pie crust usually comes with 2 in a pack. Use the second pie crust to cover the areas of the tart pan that the first one could not reach. Be careful not to stretch the pie crusts (this will cause them to tear during baking). Simply press the seam between the two pie crusts to insure it does not seperate during cooking. Sprinkle the 1 tbsp sugar over the dough. Using a fork, poke several holes in the dough to prevent it from changing shape during cooking.

To prepare the filling, combine the pudding mix, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and egg yolks in a medium sauce pan. Blend well. Stir in 2 cups of water and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture boils. Make sure to stir constantly. Once the fillig begins to boil, remove from heat and allow to cool fo 5 minutes. After filling has cooled pour it into the tart shell and refrigerate until set. Once the filling has set, arrange the sliced fruit on top.

For the glaze, combine the apricot preserves and 1 tbsp of water. Brush glaze over the top of the fruit. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (The glaze helps protect the fruit and also gives it a nice shiny appearance.)

(I would highly recommend serving this tart the day you prepare it. The tart crust seemed to get soggy over time, even after basting it with apricot preserves before pouring in the filling, as suggested by several Foodie Bloggers.)

This tart is perfect for summer time! It is light, refreshing, and absolutely gorgeous. Aaron and I highly recommend it! You can try any of your favorite fruits, just make sure to think about the texture. Generally apples aren't a great idea for this tart because of the crunchiness. If you do use them, make sure you brush the apples with lime juice or lime soda to prevent browning.

XOXO

Weekend Recap

2010-05-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

{sigh}.....We are winding down a super fabulous weekend and I can't help but to be a little sad to see it go. What did we do?

FRIDAY:

We took a short nap after work on Friday, which by the way we are HUGE fans of naps! When we finally got around we went to dinner and then to see the movie Iron Man 2. By the way, have you seen all of the Iron Man gear out in stores right now? Aaron and I were in Target on Sunday and were amazed at the amount of Iron Man garb filling the ends of isles and all the shelves inbetween. Its mad!

SATURDAY:

Our neighborhood had a a "neighborhood wide" yard sale event. We knew the day was supposed to be gorgeous, so we got up early to go walk around and see who all was out and who had a sale. Much to my surprise, I made a purchase! Ha! A sweet little family was selling tons of little girls clothing and toys. But, in the middle of one of their tables were 3 crystal candle holders. They were pretty dusty, but I assumed that after a good scrub and washing they would look sparkley again. Well, I was right! I got all 3 for only $6. Now I'm not a yard sale person, so I have no idea if that's actually a deal. But, it sure felt like a steal! I scrubbed them up on Sunday and they are perfect!

When we finished walking around the neighborhood we decided to head over to the Farmer's Market at our town's square. We had never been to this Farmer's Market until then, but I loved it! Aaron's not exactly a morning person, so generally we don't do much on Saturday until lunchtime. But, knowing the weather was going to be perfect after having so much rain, I HAD to be out and about! So, he sweetly gave in to my requests :) I was hoping the vendors would have lots of fresh strawberries, but I guess its still too early. Mid-summer is always my favorite because of all the fresh fruits and vegetables like peaches, strawberries, blackberries, squash, and okra. I can't wait! The vendors did, however, have TONS of fresh flowers. They were gorgeous, especially the peonies (my favorite!). Unfortunately, I have no pictures. For once, I decided to enjoy most of the day without looking through a camera lens :) I'm still wishing I had pictures though....

Next we drove over to Rick's Bakery for a late breakfast. It of course was to die for! If you haven't tried one of their strawberry cake doughnuts, you are truly missing out! Ha!

We, then, made our way home to freshen up for the next activity. The Benton Panther's softball team was in the State Finals. They were playing Mountain Home for the 6A State Championship. Unfortunately, the Panther's couldn't quite pull it off. They played a great game and the seniors should be proud! Even though Benton didn't win, it was great getting to see friends from our home town and to enjoy more time outside. It was, however,hotter than Hades! Turns out there was really no since in freshening up before the game after all.

After the game, we came home and took a quick nap (of course!) and then got all gussied up for Date Night! Aaron bought us tickets to go see Blue Oyster Cult in concert at the AMP (Arkansas Music Pavillion). We had the BEST time. Georgia Satellites opened for them and did fantastic! Blue Oyster Cult did soooooo good and interacted with crowd a lot which made it even better!Now, if you've ever seen the Saturday Night Live skit where Will Ferrell yells for "more cowbell" in relation to Blue Oyster Cult's song "Don't Fear The Reaper" you would have absolutely died last night! This hilarious couple infront of us brought their cowbells and shook them ALL night long, even during the opening acts! They were having the best time the whole night, and then when the band finally played that song, they went ballistic! I was dying! They hit their cowbells with a drumstick, IN SINK, for the ENTIRE length of the song. Too cute and sooooo funny! The base player who played with them last night apparently, also, played with Quiet Riot, White Snake, and Ozzy. He had the best old school rocker hair ever! He was pretty good on the base too! Ha! SUNDAY:

Sunday morning Aaron and I visited another church. To be honest, finding a church up here has been very difficult for us and I think it is really starting to take its toll. Don't get me wrong, the churches up here are fantastic and the church families are beyond kind. But, if you've ever moved and were faced with the task of finding the perfect church for your family, I'm sure you know how we feel.

When you visit a church, there are soooo many factors that go into whether or not its a church that fits you and your family. There is a certain feeling that we have been waiting for and just haven't found. Its kind of like a feeling of "just knowing." You know, like a little nudge from God to put you in the right direction :) Another thing that makes it hard, is that we tend to travel back to Benton to visit our families quite often. When we do, we always go with our family to church and, of course, experience "that feeling" while we are there. Then, when we come back up here, "that feeling" is still with us and its more obvious to notice when a church either has it, or doesn't. And let me make it clear, we KNOW that part of "that feeling" comes with being a part of a church family. It still just seems like something is missing.

The church we visited this morning gave us some of "that feeling." We only visited their morning service, but have plans to return to visit their Sunday School, Sunday Evening, and Wednesday Night Worship Services. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to try and find the church home God has planned for us. It has definetly taken us longer than either of us EVER imagined and that can definetly take a toll on one's spirit. We know that God knows where we will end up and that provides us with the peace we need.

Happy Monday :)

XOXO

Another Family Weekend!

2010-05-19T19:24:00.006-05:00

It is always SUPER nice when family comes up to visit us. Its not very easy to live 3 hours away from them, but we survive on the few visits that we get! Its even better when we have two family weekends in a row! It has been great. As you know, two weekends ago Aaron's family came up and we had the best time. Well, last weekend my family came up! It was perfect! We had so much fun both weekends.

Last weekend was mainly a baseball weekend for us and my family. The weather forecast was calling for rain all weekend, but some how we lucked out and got to go to all three baseball games. After the game on Friday night, they turned off the stadium lights for a firework show. It was so much fun and the music was great! If only the Razorbacks had won :( On Saturday, we of course had Rick's Bakery for breakfast followed by grilled burgers and baked beans that Aaron prepared. Delicious! After lunch, we went to the game and unfortunately lost it too, but still had a great time! After the game, we did some shopping and then went to one of my family's favorite restaurants up here, Catfish Hole. SOOOO delicious.

Next up, lots of pictures of our weekend indoors! Since there was a threat of rain and storms all weekend, I never took the rebel cam to the games. So, I only have pictures of us inside!

A nice game of Saturday night Scrabble with Aaron, Daddy-o and Ashely.

Gracie helped Aaron when he needed it, but mainly played her Nintendo DS ;)

These were some of my letters...any wonder why I didn't win??? Ha!

In the other room, there were some serious puzzle skills going down.

The puzzle was called "100 Cats and a Fish." Very intense! We finished it sometime on Sunday!

A little puppy chow (also call reindeer food) to hold us over for the weekend! Soooo good.

Sad news, we also lost on Sunday. Who knows what the deal was, but we all still had a great time! After the game, the players had an autographing session. Ashley and Gracie got there gloves and a baseball signed by the whole team. They were soooo excited!

That's our weekend wrap-up! I've tried a few new recipes lately and will be sharing those soon! Happy Hump Day!

XOXO

SIL's Graduation!

2010-05-12T16:30:00.001-05:00

This post will mainly be intense picture overload.....My Favorite!!!

Ashley graduated from the U of A. Her study of focus is Speech Pathology and she will begin her graduate studies in the Fall. We are all so proud of her and had such a great time celebrating her great accomplishments!

To start off the weekend, we went to dinner Friday night at Bone Fish and had a great time! Saturday afternoon, Aaron and I hosted a Pre-Graduation Luncheon for Ashley. It was so nice to have time to sit down and visit with everyone. Usually when family comes up, we are all hustling and bustling around, but with this lunch, we had a few hours to just sit and talk. A very nice change!

Ashley's graduation was held at 4:00 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena. Luckily, the College of Health and Education's graduating class wasn't HUGE, so it didn't last as long as some of the others. After graduation, we stopped by Ashley's sorority house for a little photo-op!

To end the day, we all went out to dinner and had a great time! The weekend was so much fun, but went by entirely too fast!

Congratulations Ashley! We are all so proud of you and will continue to pray for you as you begin graduate school. Keep up the hard work!

XOXO

Funny Mom's

2010-05-11T22:21:00.002-05:00

As I was going through our wedding pictures, searching for special pictures of me and Aaron with our mothers, I ran across two that were HILARIOUS. I thought about posting the two funny pictures for Mother's Day, but thought better of it, since the day is meant to be so special.

Now.....two days later.....that's another story! The following two pictures were taken at our reception. I had no idea these two pictures even existed until two days ago! Seriously, aren't our moms hilarious?

Crack me up that Benfield Photography was hired to catch all the special moments, yet our mother's can't put down their cameras! Bless their hearts! They are just too sweet. I just love them both so much.

Tomorrow, I'm going to share more festivities from last weekend. Aaron's sister, Ashley, graduated from the U of A on Saturday. We are all so proud of her! We had lots of family up and had the best time. Can't wait to share!

XOXO

For Our Mom's

2010-05-09T17:33:00.003-05:00

Today is such a sweet day. A day when we can tell and show our mom's that what they do for us means the world. No, its not their birthday that we are celebrating. We are celebrating them, today, for simply loving us without ceasing. The continuous love, encouragement, support, hard work, and praise from our mom's is more meaningful to us than words can describe. We are so thankful for them both, as our mom's, our mother-in-laws, and our friends. We are blessed. (Pictures taken by the best wedding photogs around from Benfield Photography.)

Janet Langley

Karen Hilborn

We love you both so much. Thanks for all that y'all do for us. We love you!

Happy Mother's Day!

XOXO

Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-05T21:37:00.002-05:00

Cinco de Mayo is a perfect excuse to eat LOTS of Mexican food! And eat a lot of Mexican food we did!

I had larger plans for this week, but they didn't quite pan out like I had imagined. Here was the plan: Aaron and I split up cooking nights. I cook on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. He cooks on Thursday and Sunday. Then, on Friday and Saturday, we generally go out to eat. I had plans for all 3 of my cooking days, but only 2 of them panned out. One of them didn't even require me to cook!

Monday night I cooked Beef Empanadas. They are delicious! The recipe is one Sunshine learned from a friend and then on her blog, Make Life Delicious. (By the way, if you haven't visited her, you MUST! The meal consisted of beef empanadas, mexican rice, refried beans, chips, and white cheese dip. Y'all it was SO good! Aaron and I were both miserable after eating entirely TOO much food. Totally worth it though!

Beef Empanadas

Ingredients:

1 package refridgerated pie crust
1 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese (four cheese)
1 egg (beaten)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out both pie crusts. Use a 4 inch round cookie cutter, floured, to cut out 10-12 empanada rounds.

Brown ground beef and drain well. Follow the instructions on the back of the taco seasoning mix package to prepare the meat. Add in the shredded cheese and mix well.
Spoon taco meat onto one side of the empanade round.

Lightly brush the beaten egg on one half of the edge of the empanada round. Fold the other half of the empanade round over the taco meat filling to make a .

Sounds tastey, right? I still have some in my refridgerator....maybe a late night snack :) Thalf circle. Using a fork, crimp the edges of the empanade. Repeat for the remaining empanada rounds.

Place empanadas on a cookie sheet. Evenly brush the beaten egg on the top surface of the empanada. Place in preheated oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sounds tastey, right? These empanadas are, also, great for dipping into cheese dip or salsa. Yummmm!

Tuesday night, we went to eat with one of our good friends at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. The three of us eat there most Tuesday nights. For Wednesday's meal, the actually Cinco de Mayo, I planned on trying out the Taco Ring that I keep hearing so much about on LOTS of food blogs. Unfortunately, we are very busy around the Hilborn house. This of course equals limited time for me to spend trying out new dishes! I am definetly still going to try it. Maybe Thursday night. When I fit it into our rotation, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

XOXO

Asparagus!

2010-05-03T09:10:00.001-05:00

There are no words to express how deeply I am loving asparagus right now. Seriously, its pathetic how often I crave it! Aaron likes it too, but its pretty obvious that he doesn't get as excited about it as I do. When we discuss what sides we are going to have with our dinner, I immediately think asparagus! By the end of spring he will totally be burnt out on those delicious green sticks! Ha!

A week or so ago, Aaron grilled some steaks for dinner. To go with it, I prepared garlic mashed red potatoes and, of course, asparagus! It turned out great! I found the recipe at this Food and Recipe Blog along with several other great ones! Here is the recipe I used.

Asparagus With Hollandaise Sauce

1 bunch of asparagus

1/4 cup water

1 packae McCormick Hollandaise Sauce mix

1. Wash asparagus spears and remove tough ends.

2. Place spears in a microwaveable-safe, rectangular shape dish. (You can, also, use an electric steamer or stove-top steamer.

3. Add water to dish.

4. Microwave on high for 6-9 minutes.

5. Prepare hollandaise sauce according to package instructions.

6. Drain water from dish or transfer asparagus to a serving platter.

7. Pour sauce over asparagus spears and serve.

This dish is SUPER easy and very delicious! What isn't delicious with hollandaise sauce! I'll share another asparagus recipe with you, soon, but in the meantime, enjoy!

XOXO

Sticky Buns (Sweet Rolls)

2010-04-30T10:00:00.002-05:00

A super sweet member of our family has a recipe blog that you HAVE to go visit. I have spent hours pouring through Sunshine's recipes. She is one of the sweetest women in the world, and guess what else? Her and her husband, Keith, are expecting their first child! Yay! She's a busy woman with lots going on (obviously!), but still manages to update her blog frequently with new, delicious recipes. A lot of the recipes are classics that someone in our family has cooked before. Here's the link to her blog, Make Life Delicious.

I tell you all of this, because her blog is where I found the delicious recipe for the sticky buns I cooked for my dad's birthday. They are soooooooo delicious. Its totally worth breaking your diet for a day, just to eat one of these!

I have cooked a couple of her recipes and let me tell you, not a single one of them will disappoint you! I'll continue to share more of her wonderful recipes, as well as recipes I've found from other food blogs. Reading food blogs and trying out new recipes has become one of my favorite things! Aaron likes it, too, because most nights there is always something new and exciting to try for dinner! Here is the sticky bun recipe. I added extra pecans because my dad LOVES them! Enjoy!

Overnight Sticky Buns

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 package frozen dinner roll dough

1 (5 ounce) package Jello pudding mix, butterscotch flavor

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1. Sprinkle pecans in the bottom of a greased bundt pan.

2. Place frozen roll dough on top of pecans, evenly spaced.

3. Distribute the dry pudding mix, evenly, over the frozen roll dough.

4. Sprinkle brown sugar on top.

5. Pour melted butter over all.

6. Lay a damp paper towel over the pan and place in a cold oven overnight. (This allows the dough to thaw and rise.)

7. The next morning, remove the pan from the oven and discard the paper towel.

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

9. Bake for 25 minutes.

10. After baking, allow sticky buns to cool for 5 minutes.

11. Flip sticky buns out on to seriving platter.

I had a difficult time finding the large, 5 oz. box of pudding mix. So, I just got 2 of the 3.5 ounce boxes. I probably used more than 5 ounces, but it made for more ooey gooey-ness on top of the sticky buns. I, also, bought a large bag of frozen roll dough (couldn't find a smaller one). I think the bag had around 36 rolls in it. For this sticky bun recipe, I used 10 rolls, evenly spaced in the pan.

Don't forget to visit Sunshine's blog to check out all of her delicious recipes! Happy Breakfast!

XOXO

Baseball and Family Visit

2010-04-29T19:10:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago Aaron's uncle and his family came up to NW Arkansas to see some Razorback baseball games. We were so glad to get to spend some time with all 4 of them!

When they first arrived we all met up at Foghorns across the street from the baseball field to grab a quick bite to eat. Aaron and I absolutely love that place, especially their Gold sauce, yummmm!

Debbie and Kelsey did some shopping while Kent and Taylor joined us at the game. We had a blast and ended up with some really great seats!

This is Aaron's favorite picture. Kent is vey in the zone!
Aaron got several good shots of Ashley doing her Diamond Doll gig!

The next day we met all 4 of them at the field to watch the 2nd game of the series. The weather unfortunately was rainy that day, so I left the Rebel (my camera, ha!) at home. After the game we all went back to our house, so the gang could have a look at our house. We decided to grab a bite to eat at the delicious Catfish hole and them head back to watch the basketball NCAA National Championship game.

We had such a great time visiting with them and can't wait until they come back! We love you guys!

XOXO

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-04-28T07:55:00.004-05:00

Today is my sweet Dad's birthday! Yay! I have always just LOVED birthdays because it's so much fun to make someone feel uber special and my dad is very special to me!

Last weekend Aaron and I had the opportunity to visit home and we had the best time! We celebrated my dad's birthday early since we wouldn't be back to central Arkansas for several weeks. To start off the weekend we all met up at Larry's Pizza in Bryant for dinner on Friday. My sister had meetings in Rogers late last week and made the trip back to Central Arkansas with us, so we met the rest of the family at the restaurant. We all just LOVE Larry's and the "pizza parade"! When we got home we, of course, had movie night and watched The Lovely Bones, which was pretty wild. Movie nights will always be my favorite!

On Saturday Aaron and I had brunch with my mom and dad and then ran a few errands. We were invited to a couples shower for some friends of ours, but sadly had to miss. (A girl just can't miss her dad's birthday celebration!) We are so excited for this sweet couple and hated having to miss out on the celebration of their upcoming wedding. We hope you guys liked the tools we sent in our place! For dad's birthday dinner we all met at Denton's for some delicious catfish and crab legs, yummmm!

The whole gang getting ready to eat.

Silly girls.

My sweet grandparents.

Dad and Mom.

A group shot outside. Thanks hubby!

Me and Mawmaws.

Ashley, my oldest niece. I just love this girl! She is the biggest mess!

Us and our parents.

Saturday night I prepared our breakfast for Sunday morning. A special breakfast just for my dad's birthday! When my family comes to NW Arkansas, we always have Rick's for breakfast at least once. My dad's favorite thing to get from there are the sticky buns. I found a recipe to make them and they turned out great! Here is a picture of what was left. (More on the recipe and where I found it later!)Happy Birthday to the greatest Dad in the entire world! In all honesty, this statement could not be more true. You are the epitomy of role models and I hope some day to be as wise, caring, encouraging, and supportive as you are. I hope your birthday continues to be fabulous! I love you!

XOXO

Fishing Trip and Cookout!

2010-04-26T22:42:00.003-05:00

This post is way over due, as I'm sure you already knew since my last post was almost 3 weeks ago! Here's what I wonder...if I already feel like I have no "free" time, what on Earth will it feel like when we have children??? Ha! I will need about 3 of me to get everything I want done!

Speaking of free time, a few weekends ago, Aaron and I decided to use a Saturday to go on a trip to the lake. Mainly for fishing, at least on Aaron's part.

I spent 80% of the time we were on the lake, laying out :) The other 20% of my time was split between fishing and taking pictures of Aaron and the fish he caught! This was our first official fishing trip as a married couple! Just had to throw that out there since I LOVE remembering all of our "Firsts". Unfortunately, I am in ZERO pictures to prove to myself when I'm 80 that it was our first trip. (Assuming I live to be 80 years old!) Although its probably for the best since it was sweltering hot out there that day!

When we got home, we began preparing dinner for ourselves and some friends of ours. My bestie from work and her husband came over to grill burgers and brauts. They brought their two sweet kids and we had the BEST time! Here's their oldest, Lexi, with her mom in the background!
And sweet Blaine with his gorgeous eyelashes!

It was such a perfect day but very tiring. We were all wiped out and VERY sunburned. The next morning it took me about 45 minutes to get these two out of bed! Ha!

XOXO

Easter!

2010-04-05T19:50:00.002-05:00

We were lucky enough this weekend to celebrate Easter with all of our families! It was such a busy couple of days, but so much fun! Easter is the perfect reason to celebrate, and celebrate we did!

Saturday evening, we had dinner at Aaron's Memaw and Pa's house. It was great to see everyone and the food was delicious! Memaw's Italian Creme Cake is to die for! I could have eaten at least a second piece, but I held back because I'm definetly not getting any smaller these days!

Aunt Jerry, Uncle Jimmy, and Memaw. (It was impossible to get them to all look at the same camera, ha! This was the best out of the 4 takes Aaron got. Someone's eyes were closed in all of them except this one!)

Memaw and Pa, they are too sweet!

Dad and Mom-in-law. Can't wait to live close to them again someday!

Sunday morning we went to church with my family. It was a little dreary and humid that day, but at least it was warm.

Me and the mister after church.

The whole clan! Jimmy, Leah, Gracie, Mamaws, Ashley, Mom, Dad, me and the hubs.

After church we went over to Aaron's Mamaw and Papa's house for lunch. The spread she cooked was amazing and I was well past miserable after I finished eating! When everyone was finished eating the boys went outside with Papa to throw some horseshoes! They all loved it!

Aaron trying to keep up with Papa! Ha!

The neat score board.

The boys!

For dinner Sunday night, we met up with my family at my Grandpa and Granny's house. My Grandpa made some melt in your mouth BBQ and ribs. We were in heaven!

Me, Grandpa, and Granny. Not sure why this one is black and white...Aaron was probably experimenting with the camera.

Some of the gang!

After dinner, we unfortunately had to make the drive back to NW Arkansas. I wonder how many times I have made that drive in the past 6 years! Whew, I would hate to even know. At least now that we are married, we have good company and aren't driving solo!

Now, I'm off to watch the National Championship game. Aaron ordered us some Papa John's pizza...yummm. Goodnight!

Softball Extravaganza

2010-03-25T21:02:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, when husband and I went back home to visit family, the girlies (a.k.a. my sweet, adorable, perfect nieces) were both playing in a softball tournament. Ashley plays 8 & under (pitching machine) and Gracie plays 6 & under (coach pitch). However, Gracie always goes to Ashley's teams practice and is almost just as good as any player out there. The girl is a baller! Now, her big sister seriously knows how to work it out at first base and is one strong hitter, too! It is seriously a blast to watch them get better and better every year! Ashley's team was missing a player or two, so Gracie kindly filled in for a couple of games since her team had PLENTY. She even hit a home run on the older girls team! Unfortunately, Husband was not able to go, and the girls missed him terribly, but I took plenty of pictures to make him feel like he was there instead of fishing!

What a Goose!

And a Ham!

Seriously, I just adore them! They are so much fun!

Awwww, sisterly love! Ha! Sometimes:)

Scoping out the other teams.

Ash really enjoyed swinging on tree branches between her games!

And Gracie really enjoyed catching her breath after homeruns!

Jimmy, my BIL, feeding the pitching maching for Ash's team. One word: Skills.

Love her messy curls!

Lounging out after her last game. Cute glasses, huh?

My BIL bringing in the team huddle.

Gooooo Hot Shots!

The moment Grace found out she was getting a medal! Ha!

Trying to control her self and wait patiently!

Ash and Grandpa. Love them.

Ashley.

Gracie.

Lil' Slugger!

Sis pitching for Gracie's team! And yes, she's still got it!

Gracie getting her participation medal...FINALLY!!! We thought she was never going to make it!

Sis and Gracie with some of her teammates.

Rockin' the new hardwear! Ha!

Like mother, like daughter. Too sweet!

Can you tell how much I loooooooove my new camera??? It is my new best friend! Sorry to bombard you with the picture post of ALL picture posts! Hope you still enjoyed it, that is...if you made it this far down! Ha! Happy weekend!

xoxo

Meow?

2010-03-23T18:16:00.002-05:00

I have come to the conclusion that all of The Cat's "meows" come out as questions.

"Meow?" (Why haven't you given me some ice water, yet?)

"Meow?" (Why won't you let me outside so I can chase those birds?)

"Meow?" (Could you please hurry up and sit down so I can crawl in your lap?)

"Meow?" (Why did stop petting me?)

"Meow?" (Are you listening to me?)

Husband and I just think he is a hoot! Most days when one of us comes in from work, he will follow us all around the house, meowing, until we sit down and he gets to sit in our lap! He is such a little booger! Here's some of our favorite shots The Cat has actually allowed us to get. He usually tries to move or look away just as you are taking the picture!

This is how he and I generally start out our evenings. But it doesn't last long. Just when he thinks I've forgotten he is there, he lunges forward onto the computer and starts stomping around! Ha!

The he gets in my face and makes him self comfy!

So, I take a break from blogging or whatever it is I'm doing at the moment, so he can get the attention he thinks he doesn't get enough of!Then he gets really comfortable and decides to flop out all over me. And then I try, TRY, to continue working on whatever he interrupted. And he falls asleep! This same thing happens just about every night! Its hilarious! Then there are nights when the boys get in the floor to play with a string or something, wear themselves out, and decide to sprawl out and rest for a while.

This was hime earlier this week napping on the top of the couch. His favorite place to lay is wherever the sun shines in.

During March Madness, Husband has been a little distracted and this is Casper's attempt at getting his attention. Either he got it or gave up and just layed down! Ha!

And here's a trip down memory lane with The Cat!

With my sweet neice 3 years ago. She was 5! Wow, that is hard to believe since now she's 8! I miss those pajamas!

Happy Weekend!

xoxo

Dear Spring, I miss You.

2010-03-21T20:27:00.002-05:00

We just made it back home from a trip to our hometown to visit both our families. We love these weekends so, so much. Its always so nice to see everyone that we don't get to see all too often! When we left on Friday, we knew they were forecasting for 4-8 inches of snow on Saturday and Sunday. Little did we know that it would actually happen! Afterall, it is OFFICIALLY Spring! This is definetly not normal.

This is what we saw when we got home!

Lots of craziness going on around here. So much for global warming, huh??? That was always a crock anyway! And please don't bring global warming up around Husband, unless you plan to have a rather lengthy conversation about how ridiculous the idea is and why its untrue!

Husband measured the snow in our yard and 8 inches. WOW! He said in some places it was at least 10 inches! Some people measure 13 inches! More than likely our snow had already started melting by the time we made it back up here, but its still insane!

P.S. Please come back soon, Spring!

xoxo

Shopping in Nashville

2010-03-20T08:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I told you about our ticket selling success with the oh so lovely, scalpers. For the record, I despise Scalpers. The ones who actually call themselves scalpers and who make their living off of it. Most of them aren't the kindest people around, but forgive me if you are one of them and have a heart of gold :)

These are some of the great finds I found and loved! There are some really great styles, colors, and patterns out there in all of the Spring Collections. I can't wait for the weather to respond to my needs for warmer weather and sunshine! Maybe we won't have to wait much longer.

First off, we found this super cute stone slab from Blacklion. We put it on an easle and its so great! We just love it.

Source

I think this dress with the blue and white bottom is super cute and fun!

Source

I got this dress in black and a royal blue. I loved the ruffled v-neck and its versatile enough to be classy or casual.

Source

This strapless dress also came in a mainly burnt orange color, which at the moment I am loving!

Source

I got this American Apparel Deep-V T-Shirt in 3 colors! Ha! Light aqua, baby blue, and mint. My SIL and one of Husband's friends always rave on and on about how these are the best t-shirts on the planet. We obviously don't have one around here, so when I ran into one of the stores in Nashville I just had to give it a try! I'm one of those people who prefers to try something on before I buy it. Especially plain t-shirts like these. You never know if they are cut long and skinny, or wide, etc. I'm glad I waited! I would have totally ordered a size too big in this shirt. But just so you know, they truly ARE the best t-shirts. And just so you know, this style shirt comes in 23 colors! I could have easily bought one of every color in there!

A lot of the dresses and several of the tops that I got weren't on the stores websites or I'd show you them to! Happy Spring!

xoxo

Nashville "The Tournament"

2010-03-18T19:04:00.002-05:00

This will be my last post on Nashville :( We had such a great time and I cannot wait to go back. Actually...now that I think about it, I may share with you some of the things we bought while we were there. We found some great deals and some great finds!

Back to today...We had a great time at the tournament. While we were there that is! More on that in a minute! Enjoy a few pictures first.

Me and Carie at Fan Fare. Notice anything different about me??? I got my hair chopped off a few weeks ago!

The boys waiting to play their coveted game.

Nice form!

A sweet couple who walked into the arena before us. I just couldn't help myself. The matching jackets were too perfect!

Aaron's beloved PEZ dispenser he won at Fan Fare. If you haven't noticed, Chic-fil-a is a huge sponsor of the tournament!

Hilarious message from my SIL to Husband. She took care of The Cat while we were away...and ate our food! Ha! Thanks for taking care of him Ash!

The Hog's about to enter onto the court to warm up.

The Chic-Fil-A blimp that floated around the arena dropping parachutes with cows on them. Hilarious!

The tournament was a blast, however, we sold our tickets the first night of it after the Razorbacks lost. Boo. Although, we did make a pretty penny! Scalpers and Kentucky fans swarmed our Razorback "section" as soon as the game was over asking if anyone had any tickets to sale. As soon as Husband and his friend made it known they were entertaining the idea, it became absolute maddness! The scalpers started trying to out bid one another (scalping is legal in Nashville by the way!) and the Kentucky fans were desperately trying to get our attention! I'm pretty sure we ended up selling to a scalper...but hey, our trip was completely payed for and we even made some extra! Ha! It was one of the wildest, most intense things I've ever been apart of! Who ever sales tickets for triple their worth, before ever leaving the arena? Sold at their seat as a matter of fact!

P.S. Is everyone enjoying March Madness as much as we are?!?! It truly is madness!

xoxo

Nashville "The Food"

2010-03-17T22:09:00.002-05:00

First off, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you wore green! Husband tried to get me, but I was prepared! Secondly...Okay, so I know the blog has been changing rather frequently, but I just can't help myself! I love these new summery colors. And for some reason I am currently obsessed with orange! Ha!

Anyways, now to the point! When we go on a trip the main thing we think about is finding restaurants that are different, unique, or not near where we live! Husband and I both love food, so of course we had to take pictures, with the new family member (the camera, ha!), to help us remember all the deliciousness we feasted on!

Feast your eyes on some of these delicious plates we devoured!

One of our first meals in Nashville was at a breakfast place called The Pancake Pantry. We heard it was a place where you can occasionally see celebrities. Unfortunately we had no such luck, but the food was delicous!

Me playing around with my camera. The object: my coffee! Ha!

My sweet Husband reading his paper.

And, again. I thought his red hat looked great in this picture!

After shopping one day, we ate dinner at the Aquarium. The restaurant is a chain, but we had never eaten at one. It looked pretty inside, so we decided to give it a try! This is the Entrance.

The view from our table.

Husband's food. I despise shrimp!

My food. Yummmmmm.

Of course we ate at The Cheesecake factory. The lighting was pretty low for pictures, but here is our plate of delicious fried maccaroni and cheese. It was so cheesey and gooey!

My bowl of pasta.

Husband's cheesecake of choice: Chocolate Coconut Creme

My cheese cake of choice: Tiramisu! My favorite desserts combined, plus a cappuccino!

One morning we found a place called Mad Donna's that served brunch. The crab cakes benedict there were possibly the best I've ever had!

We had such a great time finding these fun places to eat at. I loved Nashville and can't wait to go back! Sometime this week I'll share pictures from the tournament and Fan Fare. I've also had a request to share more pictures of the cat. Ha! I would love to! We have so many and he is just a doll! Here's one to tie y'all over until then!XOXO

Nashville "The City"

2010-03-16T22:16:00.004-05:00

We enjoyed our trip to Nashville very much. There are lots of pictures to show for it! Husband gave me my camera as soon as we got in to the car to start the drive to the great city. Literally...he gave it to me after we pulled out of the garage, but were still sitting in the driveway! Ha! Pretty smart if you ask me, since I had no idea how to use the thing! I didn't even want to touch it for fear of breaking it or messing something up!

So, what did I do? I pulled out the manual and read the silly thing for about 5-6 hours! Luckily, Husband got me a book written by a photographer on how to specifically use the exact camera that I got. It was way easier to understand. Which, by the way, the camera is a Canon Rebel EOS T1i. It is phenomenal. The lens came with the camera as a "kit" and it is a 18-55mm lens. The camera even has HD video capabilities.....seriously??? And its mine to keep forever??? Wow :)

Here are a couple of the pictures I took in the car on the drive to Nashville. Mostly I was just playing around with stuff and trying things out the whole time! (Which I'm still currently doing! The possibilities are endless with this thing!

The rest of these picture are going to be ones of the city/arena. There were plenty of opportunities to play around with my new toy! Ha!

The "screen cluster" at Bridgestone Arena.

Wide shot of the arena before the first game. Not many people there yet, but that would definetly change!

Visitor center attached to Bridgestone Arena. Very tall!The lovely Bridgestone Arena before the night session on the first tournament day

Delicious Rippey's. This place was always crowded, but the food was so worth it!

Corner shot of Broadway nightlife, taken from the front of the Arena.

And again, Bridgestone Arena, except during the day.

LP Field where the Tennessee Titans play. We parked here one day to ride the shuttle over to the arena. Pretty convenient to be dropped off at the front door! Actually, the driver let us out at the back door, but its the same difference! Ha!

Tomorrow, I hope to show you Nashville "The Food".....because lets be honest....eating good on trips is a must and we definetly ate good! Which is why we both hit the gym pretty hard today :)

XOXO

Trip, Birthday, Gift, Home

2010-03-14T22:23:00.002-05:00

We are finally home from our Nashville trip. The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament was a blast, but I'll get more into that later this week!

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Today I celebrated my 25th birthday, and although spending 8 hours in a car isn't an ideal celebration, the company made it super! We celebrated enough in Nashville to make up for it, though! However, I am definetly glad to be home! And, although its silly, I feel old. I will be clinging onto the remaining 5 years of my 20's VERY tightly!

And later this week, after I catch up on some rest, I will show you lots of fun pictures I took with my new love....

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This was one of the gifts from my sweet husband. Isn't it amazimg??? I'll tell you more about it later, too! Plus he got me the super handy and fancy Krumpler 3 million camera bag! Its black with a lime green inner linning and olive tones on the outside. Love it!

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He was way too good to me you guys! Along with the camera and bag were several other gifts from the sweet man including a lens filter, an 8GB super fancy memory card, a book teaching me how to use this specific camera (which I intend on reading cover to cover several times!), a new car charger for my iPhone (its been MIA for a while!), and an OtterBox since I've been known to drop my iPhone a few times :) Not to mention the all day shopping adventure we went on in Nashville!

I have so much to tell you guys, but I need rest first! Big day tomorrow!

XOXO

The Best Gifts Are Late!

2010-03-03T20:11:00.004-06:00

This is not to say that I prefer all gifts to be late, but this was such a nice treat!

Here's the story: One night earlier this week, my MIL called to chat and catch up. The first thing she said after "hi" was that we had a wedding gift waiting for us at her house. What??? What!!! How exciting!

Now think back to your wedding showers or coming home from your honeymoon with gifts still to be opened from the reception. Was that not a blast! I mean seriously, what girl doesn't love gifts? Especially when they are from the sweetest, kindest people in the world who genuinely wish your new marriage all the happiness in the world! I was thrilled! Now, if you aren't married yet, or haven't had any wedding showers yet, just try to imagine!

Well, the next day when I came home from work, I noticed a package on our door step. Of course I immediately went to stress out mode: Should I look at it? Is it a birthday gift that Husband had sent to the house that I'm not supposed to see? Instead of waiting for him to get home, I walked on over to have a look! I just couldn't help myself! Luckily, it was a package for both of us :) Where was it from??? Pottery Barn! Yeah! Another late wedding gift!

So, of course, I had to wait for Husband to get in from work to open it. It sat on our coffee table, infront of my face for what seemed like forever! Finally he got home and we opened it to find this:

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Gorgeous right?!

I have, like most other people, sent a gift or two late and always felt terrible. Seriously, I always felt SO terrible and embarassed for forgetting or getting too busy. Well, now I know that is absolutely NOT what the recipient thinks! I couldn't be more thrilled to be receiving these late gifts! It is so nice to know that these sweet people are still thinking about us! Even 7 months later!

Have you ever sent a gift late? Or received a gift late? Isn't it the greatest little surprise! I can't wait to find out what little treasure awaits us at my MIL's house!

XOXO

March!

2010-03-01T17:55:00.003-06:00

Why does March 1st always get me so excited???

1.) Spring is ever so close! I can't wait until everything turns green again!
2.) Baseball is up and going!
3.) The SEC basketball tournament gets closer and it is always in a fun city! This year its in Nashville and we can't wait to go! Husband has been, but not me!
4.) It's the start of my Birthday Month :) March babies are the best! I will soon be a quarter of a century old!
5.) The Big Dance gets up and going! Husband and I loooove to fill out our brackets!

This is why I heart March!

XOXO

First Valentine's Day...Married!

2010-02-14T20:02:00.006-06:00

Husband and I have had a perfect Valentines Weekend. Its so much fun to spend the most lovey dovey day of the year with your best friend!

Friday, Husband sent me flowers to work. Unfortunately, due to a slow surgery day, I was given the day off. When Husband found out Thursday night that I wouldn't be going in on Friday, he was a little devastated. I could tell he was stressed out and was finally able to convince him to tell me. He told me I had a delivery coming, but not what it was.

Luckily, I already had planned to make a quick stop by work, so it worked out. I looooved the pink and red roses together. They are even prettier today, now that they opened up more!

That night we went out for dinner and bowling with my bff from work and her hubby. We had soooo much fun that I completely forgot to take a SINGLE picture!

Saturday, we slept in a little, hung out around the house, and then watched the Razorbacks play ball. Alabama, unfortunately, beat us. Boo.

Afterwards, we began our date night! We went to dinner at Bonefish which is one of our faves. We, of course, stuffed our selves miserably with crabcakes, yummy bread, salad/chowder, meat, and creme brulee. Yummmmmmmmmmm! My favorite dessert ever, matched perfectly with a cappuccino!

After dinner, we came back by the house to exchange some gifts to each other :) My husband is so sweet and so funny! I just loved everything!

Next, we went to see Valentine's Day. I was so excited to finally see it and it did not disappoint! We laughed our heads off!Source

Today has been very relaxing. Its been pretty normal for us, except this afternoon, instead of running around, we relaxed and watched a lot of the olympics. Days of relaxation are few and far between for us, so we soaked it up! We have watched the Valentines episode of Charlie brown and are about to watch the first episode of this season's Amazing Race, our favorite show!

Happy Valentine's Day, all!

XOXO

Lesson #3: Do, Do Sweet Things

2010-02-12T14:46:00.003-06:00

Definetly, always, do sweet things for your lovey.

Even when they tell you not to. No, especially when they tell you not to. Its sometimes a hard lesson to learn, but sometimes its actually smarter to not listen to your lovey.

For example, flowers. They are, most definetly, a waste of money. At least, in regards to the amount of time they last.

However, the short amount of time they are around is fantastic. The way they will make your lovey feel can be a huge score.

Sure, sure. Your lovey may tell you not to buy flowers. That they are too expensive. That they don't live long enough to get their money's worth. Blah, blah, blah.

I, too, believe all of these comments and have said them many, many times.

...But, I still love these...

I love them, oh, so much. And much more, I adore the man who sent them.

And I love the fact that he refused to listen to me. That he did exactly what he wanted to, because he wanted to make me feel special.

And no, you don't have to spend money to make your lovey feel special. We all know that.

But today, just for today, he went out of his way simply because he wanted to. He made me feel like a million bucks.

And yes, I'll admit it. Its embarassingly enjoyable to experience a sweet gesture from your lovey when others are watching. You feel uber special. And don't snicker because all of you out there know its true!

So, DO do sweet things for your lovey. Even if they tell you not to.

{Husband: Thank you for being too sweet. I'm, oh, so excited to celebrate our first heart day together, with many more to come. XOXO}

2nd Round of Snow Fun!

2010-01-30T19:08:00.001-06:00

Husband and I have reeeeally tried to enjoy the snow as much as possible. Its not very often that we see snow like this!

So, what have we done today?

We started off the morning letting The Cat explore outside...he finally came to terms with the snow and decided to have a look around! We couldn't believe he actually stepped into some of the deep snow!

Afterward, we headed to our neighborhoods big hill for some sledding action. By the end of our morning, we were sledding with about 10 little 8 year olds! It was such a fun time. They were all so sweet :)

Then we came in for some lunch and watched a movie. The Cat seemed exhausted!

After the movie we went outside to build a snowman :)

He's, of course, a huge Razorback fan!

Just like us, of course! (I'm sure y'all already know how much I had to beg Husband to actually take this picture! ha!)

Now we are sitting down about to watch some of the Miss America Pageant. Normally, I don't watch all of the pageants, but tonight I was supposed to go to a Miss America Watch Party. Unfortunately, due to the weather, most people (including myself) aren't able to get there.

Sad day that we can't all make the watch party, but I'll still cheer for Miss Arkansas!

Late Night Sledding!

2010-01-29T22:53:00.006-06:00

Husband and I have had a fabulous time enjoying each other. We slept in a little late (8:30), sat around watching the snow pour from the sky, played some two player Super Mario Bros. on the Wii, went for a walk, took an adventurous drive to the store, went sledding in the dark, and made baked potato soup. As we speak, I am watching Husband play his one player saved game of Super Mario Bros. and we are about to watch a movie.

I mean seriously, could a day get much better? Our only wish is that our family could be up here to enjoy the snow with us!

So far, the accumulation has been 3/4 inch of ice and 6-8 inches of snow. I can't tell you the last time I remember it ever snowing that much! I certainly can't remember the last time it snowed enough to sled :)

Pictures from our adventure to the store!

Our late night sledding extravaganza! (The grainy-ness in some of these pictures is due to the snow falling.)

This street lamp in our neighborhood made us immediately think of Narnia!

And in case you were wondering...The Cat is officially bored with the snow :)

Snow Day So Far...In Pictures!

2010-01-29T14:42:00.005-06:00

We loooove snow days! Take a look :)

The Cat doesn't quite know what to think about the white stuff falling from the sky!

#2 Your Lovey's Cooking is ALWAYS Good

2010-01-26T15:46:00.005-06:00

Yes, your lovey's cooking is always good, even when it isn't.

Everyone, yes everyone loves for their lovey to cook them dinner. Even if your lovey is not the best cook, the thought behind it is what means the most.

Now, after preparing a meal especially for you, your lovey may ask you what you think. This may be in regards to what the meal is, what it looks like, or how it tastes. You can only hope that your lovey asks you a more specific question because they are a lot easier to answer. Either way, your response to any of these questions is crucial, so get your game face on.

Some see such questions as traps. The possibility of your lovey trying to trap you is slim to none, right? After all, you and your lovey are madly in love and would never trap one another. At least not on purpose...

But, on the off chance that you do feel trapped by a question, please refrain yourself from stating that the two of you just "cook things different" or that the meal is "different". Just don't, people. I promise it won't be pretty if you do.

Even if this is true, the word different should never leave your lips when describing a meal prepared by your lovey. If this word does slip out of your mouth, you will get the unwelcomed pleasure of watching your lovey's heart shatter and fall to pieces on the floor. I can't speak for each of you, but to the majority of the world's population, this does not sound like such a fun idea!

So, what should you say, then?

I'm always one for honesty, but brutal honesty is another issue. Sure, you can try to tell them that it needs more salt or could cook a little longer. But why would you? Your lovey, believe it or not, usually already knows if it needs more salt or could stand a few more minutes in the oven. (If they don't, I hate to break it to you, but you need more help than I can give you!)

Plus, they just spent their time and energy trying to impress you. Critiquing their cooking is not a way to show your appreciation, let me assure you.

So, what could you say that will improve your chance of survival in such a situation? The key is using as few words as possible.

In regards to what the meal is say this: "I love this meal!" or "I've been wanting to try this meal!"

In regards to what the meal looks like say this: "That looks delicious!" or "That looks great!"

In regards to what the meal tastes like say this: "Mmmmmmm!" Yes, "Mmmmmmmm!" Every time say, "Mmmmmmmm!" Say it with me people, "Mmmmmmm!"

Every once in a while you may get lucky and your lovey may ask you a more direct question such as, "Do you think it should cook a little longer?" or "Does it need more salt?"

At this point, 98% of the time you are safe to answer the question, but ONLY if it is a specific question. Only answer the question asked and, as before, use as few words as possible. This should help keep you out of trouble.

Now, run to the kitchen and start cooking dinner for YOUR lovey, before you get put into a situation just like this one! Or maybe your lovey, truly is a terrible cook! If this is true, run faster! Run, people, run!

Found the picture at this random website: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/aprons/dontmess.jpg