Homemade Pizza was a HIT!

Well, if you're Facebook friends with me you saw that I was going to cook an italian chicken pasta dish tonight but since I bought Cream of Mushroom soup instead of Cream of Chicken, I decided to change it up at the last minute! I couldn't believe how easy this was...how quick it was...and how yummy it was! Jared picked up some Boboli crust and pizza sauce, added some mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni, pop it in the oven at 350 for 8 minutes and there you have it! I meant to take a picture of the ingrediants but forgot! Here's a picture of me about to dig in at our "candlelight dinner!" It was delish! Even Jared loved it (which really isn't a hard thing to do), we're pretty plain people when it comes to food (hence the pepperoni and cheese)! By the way, the Boboli crust was wheat and was actually quite good! This was definitely a hit and something I'll be making more often! 

Happy Tuesday!!

Stop And Smell The Roses!

One of the blogs I read on a pretty consistent basis is Jessica over at Lovely Little Things ! Each week she has a "Smell the Roses" post where she asks people to link up. She gives a task for the week that you're to accomplish and then report back the following week. I always love reading her tasks but have never done it myself, so I thought I'd start this week! I actually went and looked at past tasks and combined them so that I have 3 tasks to accomplish this week!

Here are the tasks I have given myself for the week! Join me if you'd like or set out to accomplish the task she gave this week! 

1. Buy a stranger a cup of coffee (without them knowing)

2. Thank 3 people that consistently impact my life in a positive way (I plan on sending them a letter as seen in the picture below)!

3. Do something out of my comfort zone

There you have it. Three tasks I've given myself for the week! I added the word "stop" in front of the title because in order to smell the roses, you must first stop, and intentionally do it! So I am setting out to intentionally thank others, do for others, and do for myself (#3)! 

Better late than never!

As most of you know, I don't cook and there are a few reasons for why I don't cook much (ok, ever). The first is, I get distracted. I don't know how many times a friend has called and I've walked away from the stove or a show has come on that I've gotten wrapped up in. But the main reason is because I've always been a rule follower. I need step by step, specific instructions and because I've never really cooked, I don't know a lot of "common sense" things about cooking...i.e. substitutions, what specific terms mean, etc! But...its time for me to set aside the excuses and start cooking. I figured I'd start with an easy, slow cooker meal (seen below). It sounds super easy, as long as I measure everything correctly and don't turn the crockpot off halfway through it cooking like I did last time. Here's to my start at cooking (and hopefully my not giving up at cooking)! Wish me luck! 

Happy Monday!

High Five For Friday

This week was an unusual one as it was slow and I didn't really have anything going on (for a change)! Therefore, I didn't really have any "high fives" to take pictures of, so instead I thought I'd just name 5 things that I was particularly thankful for this week.

1. Family. My sister has moved closer to me so I get to see her and my nieces a WHOLE LOT more than I used to and I LOVE it! Not to mention, Jared's brother, SIL, and niece were here for a few days and the time we got to spend with them was nice!

2. A hardworking boyfriend-he worked all day yesterday and didn't get home til 9 and THEN asked if I wanted him to stop by with a McFlurry (be still my beating heart)...after working so hard, all he wanted was to stop by and see me and bring me a treat!

3. My job. Not just A job but MY job. The job I have can sometimes lead to the unknown since we work under contracts, but I'm thankful to have a great group of coworkers/friends that I work with every day and for that, I'm thankful!

4. My church. This past weekend was especially great...the music and the pastor just brought the word and its always so nice just to hear just.the.word.

5. Music. Music just fills my soul. Particular artists just seem to always sing exactly what my heart is feeling! 

Hope you guys had a great weekend! Of course I have to leave you with at least 1 picture!

Did You Say Christmas?!

The other day I was telling someone, "Christmas is right around the corner!" They looked at me as though I had fallen off the turnip truck but you know, it'll be here before you know it! In an effort to try and save some money (we'll see about that) and have more personal Christmas gifts, I thought about making some. Even if I buy some gifts I'd like to have at least 1 homemade gift per person. I have already been brainstorming and have come up with some great ideas (thanks to Pinterest) and will be trying to complete them here soon. I thought I'd show you a few of my ideas and eventually do one project a week (or maybe a month if we're being realistic) to show you my version of the Pinterest project! Whatcha' think?! Here are a few of my ideas! Watch out if you're a relative or close friend of mine! :)

What can I say...I'm kinda obsessed with coasters! 

How Pinteresting!

Jared and I have been looking at ideas for redoing his living room now that he has new furniture and the tv is mounted so I thought I'd share with you some living room inspiration that I've been in LOVE with lately!

This one is my FAVORITE (I think because its the most realistic for his furniture and layout)! 

I LOVE this color combo but it may be a little too modern for me, at least in the living room! 

I LOVE the table mainly in this picture and the art/map looking thing...maybe it is a map and I just can't tell?! 

This one I love because of the bright and airy, yet clean feeling it gives off! And I love the lamp :)

What are some of your favorites? 

DIY Laundry Detergent

Well hello Monday, nice of you to come and go...woo hoo! I don't know what it is but lately I've been reading more and more about using natural products, less expensive products, and homemade products and have wanted to try some out! My first DIY home product project is this recipe for Laundry Detergent. Different websites and pinterest inspired recipes say different things but I think I like the one the Duggars (and I'm sure millions of other people use) the best. I've known about this DIY Laundry detergent for quite some time but was somewhat reluctant. I'm one that LOVES to smell the detergent or fabric softener on my clothes when I go to wear them days later and the thought of it not smelling like flowers or apples (or something else sweet and delicious) just wasn't THAT appealing. However, (and even though she doesn't list it in her recipe) I have heard that you can add oil essentials or fabric softener to this detergent concoction to make your clothes smell fresh! I'm waiting for our detergent to run out before I do this but wanted to give you a heads up and see if you had any suggestions, comments, or recommendations. I'll be making the detergent this weekend and hope to find a cute jar like this one to use as a container! Any ideas on how I can paint, stencil, etc the words on my glass jar like this one below? I'm sure I could pinterest or google search it but I've had enough searching for one day!

I welcome all suggestions, comments, questions, and opinions...and any other form of blog love! Happy Monday!

Birthday Week has come to an end!

Well, its Sunday evening which means birthday week has come to an end. It was an exhausting week but well worth it! All the stress, running errands, thinking up crazy poems, and planning paid off. I have one happy 30 year old boyfriend! Friday evening we had a family celebration. His mom made a FEAST that was delicious and a yummy cake to go along with it, and then it was time for presents! His brother, SIL, and niece from Huntsville came in town so they got to celebrate with us too! Saturday I had planned to take J to Cinnabon and then to the Dark Knight movie; however Cinnabon didn't open until 10 and the movie started at 10:30...since it was opening weekend I figured we shouldn't risk it so we went on to the movie (which was AMAZING)! And then...we went to my dad's house. Jared thought we were picking up their car to take it to the airport for my parents but there was actually a surprise party waiting for him and man was he surprised! I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

I asked his mom for photos from when he was younger and made this "collage" out of them! 

Don't fall out of your chair, but this is the cake I made for him! Crazy, huh?! (Its a boom box in case you can't tell) ;)

The party was 80's themed! 

I splatter painted this sheet to use as a background for our photos...that we didn't take... :(

And these were the props for the photos we didn't take... :(

Jared at his parents Friday night!

Even baby Junie had fun at the party...just look at that little grin :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Day 3 of Birthday Week!

Well, yesterday was Day 3 of Jared's birthday week and I think he enjoyed yesterday the most! I had this whole plan in my head of how things would go, but it didn't turn out that way. I was going to run by my house and get my potholder that has kangaroos on it and give it to him as our first clue for going to Outback for dinner. He LOVES Outback…seriously, saying he loves it is probably a HUGE understatement and I've come to loath that place…the service is usually bad, food is mediocre, price is ehh, and it’s always a long wait, but I knew that he would love to go there, so off we went. After dinner I planned to go back to his house for our next surprise but that changed when I realized I left one of my bags at the house where I’m house sitting (finished staying there yesterday and the homeowners were supposed to be home any minute) so we rushed out there, (Jared, myself, and my bad attitude), ran in, got my bag, and off we went to his house. After calming down and cleaning up my attitude I decided to give him his next balloon and clues.

Now, I had to do some research because the thing we were about to do, I’d never done before (and I’ll be the first to admit the clues were AWFUL), but he was a good sport, and mildly confused. Can you guess what these clues are for? Think about movies…

Well, in case you didn’t guess, I’ll tell you. It’s clues for Back to the Future. Apparently (in the second movie) they talk about having pretied shoes, video conferencing, and tablets (I was going to have his iPad out but it was at his parents and i coudlnt' find his pretied shoes so I had to improvise, poor clues, I know)! Then there's a coupon for a back rub (he rubs my back every day, no lie and very rarely to I return the favor), and then a "Nap Card." He's always falling asleep and I give him a hard time about always napping but now with this card, he can use it whenever he wants!  Yes, I’ve never watched it and have managed to avoid watching it over the past 5 years especially but again, I knew he would love it and would love for me to watch it. So…instead of trying my hardest to fall asleep or come up with an excuse as to why I couldn’t watch it, I decided to be excited about it and go along with it and it wasn’t all that bad. I could tell he was ecstatic…he kept telling me things throughout the movie to look for, cool things that happened, etc. It was a hit to say the least! Hope you all had a wonderful Wednesday night!

Birthday Week: Day 2!

Yesterday was Day 2 of Jared's Birthday Week and with that came a small gift to say, "I was thinking about you." This past weekend we played the 100 questions game (which is a pretty regular event if you know me), so I thought I'd incorporate his answers into his gift for yesterday. It wasn't a big deal AT ALL but just something small (I actually left two of his gifts out of the basket by accident, but they'll come later this week). I wish I had taken a picture of the other side of his "card" but I forgot. It had a poem that said, "Today is day 2 and another reason to celebrate you. I hope you love what you see, and know what a blessing you are to me" or something cheesy like that. Can't quite remember it. Anyways, I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

His "card"

What does it say?!



His favorite candy and soda!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Birthday Week!

Sorry about not posting yesterday, the week definitely snuck up on me and before I knew it...it was Monday and I didn't have a post. Normally I'd be blogging about the Bachelorette but I didn't watch it last night (shocker I know, but don't worry...I dvr'd it and will watch it tonight). I went over to a friend's house and we had a girl's night that was much needed! I don't think I've laughed that hard, that consistently in a LONG time. Here's a pic of Ginny and I while we were waiting on A&A to get back from getting a Red Box movie!

I stayed up way too late and had to get up way too early but it was worth it! Now, on to my post! You might be wondering who's birthday week it is. Well, it's my man's 30th birthday THIS Saturday and seeing as how I'm always looking for a good reason to party, I thought I'd make it his Birthday Week! Birthday's were always a big deal growing up...my mom made sure to decorate (even if I was the only one that was going to see it), celebrate, have cake, the whole nine yards but she always made it a big deal and always made me feel special! So...each day this week I'm surprising Jared with something...either going somewhere he loves to go, doing something he loves to do, or giving him special gifts! I decided I'd write it on a homemade card/piece of paper, put it in the balloon, and then he'd have a balloon each day with a surprise in it!

                                      Yesterday was Day 1 and this is what his surprise was yesterday:

Here he is with his surprise!

The funny thing about this above is, I'm the one that's obsessed with it, not him! But he was a great sport and trust me, there was no complaining about having Menchies! 

Looks delish, huh?! (He always makes fun of me for going to a place like this and getting plain ol' chocolate toppings, but hey...I LOVE it)!!

Well, I'll be posting throughout the week and bring you along on my Birthday week celebrations but for now, adios until tomorrow!

High Five for Friday!

Well, its that time again. Time to link up with Lauren from My Grey Desk! Hope everyone else had a great week...mine was packed, but great! Bring on the weekend! Well, here we go!

1. Us "She Reads Truth" girls have started our new devotional and by the top picture can you guess what its about? That's right...prayer! It provides daily scripture about how to pray, why it's important, etc and today was Day 1!

2. Romans 4:20-21 really spoke to me this week in regards to something going on in my life and I've just clung to that verse this week!

3. Jared and I went over to my sister's for dinner Tuesday night and LOVED hanging out with them! (Note: this is a picture from the fourth of July but I didn't have one from the other night-shocker, I know)!

4. Saturday night is DATE NIGHT! I told Jared that I want to go on a date night every week and that I will pay for them (since he pays for EVERYTHING else for the two of us). I thought it'd be a nice, weekly reminder how grateful I am for him, so I'm excited!

5. Tonight Jared and I went to a local restaurant called Bayou Joe's with his parents! The picture is super blurry and even though I was starving and we were there over 2 hours, the scenery was beautiful, the weather was wonderful, and the company was even better!

5 1/2. Jared and I are going BACK to Menchies tomorrow night out at the beach. It's buy one, get one so you guessed it, we're a goin'! Maybe we'll see some of y'all there! Keep in mind its only buy one, get one from 8-10pm. SO. EXCITED!

Hope y'all have a great weekend! Be sure to link up with Lauren each week for your H54F!

Offering

First off, I'm SO sorry I didn't blog Monday or Tuesday night. I'm still house sitting and my schedule has just been crazy and I feel so scatter brained. What I'm about to share with you is something that has been on my heart for quite some time but I wanted to think about it and pray about it before I shared it. I'm still not even sure I'll be able to say what's on my heart and what God's been doing in my life, but I'll give it a shot. As you may or may not know, I came across a blog a while ago that is called She Reads Truth. It's a website that was started by young Christian women who wanted to encourage each other and other's to stay in the Word, to pray for each other, and to share things God's been doing in their lives.

Since "joining" this site and doing a daily devotional "with" these women, the Lord has really worked in me. There's so many things I want to say to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. To be honest, before running across this website, I wasn't doing as good with my quiet time as I should've been and I still often times struggle with it, but seeing this website, other women's comments, prayer requests, and encouragement, it has struck a cord with me. I feel it is a daily battle to maintain an attitude and love that is like Jesus. I've recently started listening to 2 particular songs every day; on my way to work and on my way home from work...EVERY DAY I say! These songs remind me to have a love for others, to not be luke warm, and to rest in Jesus and the love and comfort that only he can provide. Both songs are by a local artist, Nicole Dean. I recently went and searched iTunes for them, but ended up having to borrow steal Jared's cd of her's. The two songs that stick out to me the most are called "Offering" and "I Give You My Praise." I am in LOVE with these songs! Through these songs constantly being in my mind and on my tongue, encouragement from this website, my daily devotional (and journaling), I find life is so much better when I trust in Jesus and fill my thoughts with him and being like him. In addition to having a real quiet time now and filling my mind with songs of praise, I've really examined some of my close friendships (some of which weren't God centered) and stepped back from them. I've downloaded some podcasts of a pastor in B-ham and in Flower Mound whom I love listening to. I feel rejuvenated. Joyful. Complete. And full of love for him (and others). Don't get me wrong, its still a daily struggle and I know that I'm not only to penetrate my mind with his word, but to spread it and his love to others. I constantly fail, but I'm resting in him, trusting in him, and praising him. I encourage you to take a step toward loving him more, knowing him more, and trusting him more!

Here are some of the lyrics:

Offering
"I want to give you more! I want my life to be an offering, I want the songs I sing, to tell of your greatness! I want me thoughts to be the same for you, I want your spirit to guide me in everything I do, my God you're so amazing!"

"I Give You My Praise"
You're my best friend, Lord I know your goodness has no end...I Give You My Praise...my prayer is this song I sing to you, all I have is what I give to you."--I LOVE this song because it just keeps repeating "I Give You My Praise" which helps me not to focus on the earthly things and desires or my own selfish reasons for praying, but to remember to constantly praise him for who he is and what he's done for me!

Sorry for the novel, but I pray you feel encouraged and inspired to make your life an offering!

FINALLY!!

I'm sure this post isn't going to be about anything you had in mind, but trust me...I've been waiting for this day to come. Impatiently waiting! First let's recap the weekend. Friday night Jared and I went to a cute little restaurant downtown that I've been begging him for weeks to take me to. Maybe you remember me blogging about my friend Brooke and I going a while back, but I convinced Jared to take me to Trigo yet again. I can't help it...I just LOVE the atmosphere...service was much better this time and we happened to catch it when our town has First Friday (vendors come out, car lovers displaying their cars, all the fried food your heart could imagine and people-watching galore)! The picture below doesn't show the restaurant's character as much (only because there were people eating where I wanted to snap a photo but didn't want to look like a complete psycho-so this is what you get)!

The pizza was AMAZING!!! (and to be honest, the people-watching wasn't bad either)! :)

Afterwards we went over to his parents house to hang out with his family and Saturday he and I went to Shipwreck (a water park here in PCB---I know, we're SUPER cool) with my sister and her friend, Lisa and we had a BLAST! Ate fried food, huge ice cream cones, and went on the lazy river ride over and over! It was awesome!

Saturday evening I hung out with Katie and Lisa while Jared took our friend/his roommate out to a movie for his birthday (Happy Birthday Jacob)!!

This morning we decided to skip church as his family was leaving this morning to head back home so we went over there, hung out with them and after they left his parents, J, and I went to Red Elephant (another great restaurant here)! We then headed to Pier Park for a little perusing and then, yes then, is what happened that makes this post so great.....

We went to Menchies! It FINALLY opened. I'm not exaggerating when I say that every time Jared and I passed this place I would flail around in the truck as we passed to see if "IT" was open yet. Disappointed for weeks on end and then today...it was OPEN! Hooray!! Doesn't it just look SO CUTE?! The froyo wasn't bad either ;)

I think I'm in heaven...or at least my belly was! 

J trying out some of the flavors!

Think there's enough toppings? This didn't even include the fresh fruit or sauce toppings you could choose from!

And here's my masterpiece. DELICIOUSNESS!!!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend and will try out Menchies! I know I'll be going there more often now that they're open and I'm sure I'll become BFF with the employees in there! Yay for Menchies!

High Five for Friday!

Well, its that time again! Time to link up with Lauren for H54F! This week was full of high's....it was hard to pick just 5 but here they are!

1. My first Etsy purchase FINALLY came in! It's my macbook case! I'm in LOVE with it and love that it has a place for a notepad, phone, pens, etc on the outside!!

2. We celebrated our nation's independence day! And the fireworks this year and company while watching them were AWESOME!! No crowds or traffic, just a perfect view from our dock! 

3. I made my first venture to the beach for the year; hard to believe, I know...plus I had some GREAT company! 

4. I made pancakes and didn't burn them. A first for me and if you know me, you know that's an accomplishment!!

5. Notice I don't have an alarm set for tomorrow! My new schedule started at work this week which means I have every other Friday off...WOO HOO!!!! Can't wait to sleep in, get in when I FEEL like it, make some coffee, have my quiet time, and get dressed whenever I feel like it! :)

5. 

Happy 4th of JULY!!

This day was filled with celebrations, food, and time spent with family. We started off the day at my sister's house at 8AM (a little too early for me on my day off, but it was worth it)! I made pancakes, she made eggs, my dad came over and all of us ate, then laid around, ran to Walmart, back to the house to lay around, then cooked dinner, laid around some more, and then headed to Jared's parents for dinner! WE.WERE.STUFFED!! I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking though.

Started off with a YUMMY breakfast at my sister's house; Not only were we celebrating our country today but we were celebrating that I didn't burn the pancakes!!

AND I made this cute pinterest food idea :)

Then I got to hang out with this cutie...he insisted on taking a "crazy" photo so this is what you get...sorry! :)

And then went to the Scotts for dinner and sparklers!

And then we played with sparklers, although Hudson wasn't so sure!! 

Hope everyone had a great and safe 4th of July!!!