happy easter!

happy easter everyone!

i had a lot of fun this week celebrating easter in a few ways. we put together some easter baskets for our nieces and nephew and it was so fun to watch them go through them! it's amazing how little toys and some candy can thrill kids...we need to take advantage of this time in their lives before they want ipads and designer jeans :)

we also had our annual easter egg hunt at work! i hide eggs throughout the labs in my department and everyone else finds them. the fun part isn't the day itself; it's 4 months down the road when we find a random egg hidden somewhere weird.

i really enjoy the commercial/easter bunny/candy part of easter, and i think there is a time and a place for a commercial celebration of any holiday. on the flip side, it can get to be as out of hand as Christmas as far as spending money on gifts and celebrating the easter bunny.

(by the way, the easter bunny is sort of creepy. there's a picture of me as a kid on santa's lap screaming my head off, and i imagine if there was a similar picture with the easter bunny i would probably refuse to sit on his lap. grown men in bunny costumes are weird!)

this year i'm so thankful that i'm spending easter with my husband and spending the weekend at both campuses of our church celebrating the fact that, simply put, God loved us enough to sacrifice His son to save us.  that first easter weekend changed the course of history and the nature of our relationship with God.

surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. but He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
isaiah 53:4-5

my best friend's wedding-part 2

courtney is officially a ligon!

this past weekend we were in playa mujeres, mexico to celebrate courtney and harris's wedding. it was so much fun and we are already missing the resort and everyone we spent time with!

here's a little photo recap of our 4 days in paradise...

the room: we had a swim-up suite and it was perfection. not bad waking up to this view every morning

the pool: we spent all day every day outside and took lots of self-photos like this one...i'll spare you and only post one :)

the bff: i had so much fun relaxing and laughing with courtney!

the rehearsal dinner: was amazing! such good food and great company. and the bride and groom looking all beachy in matching whites

the big day: we showed up in full force seersucker. i love this picture!

the dress: beautiful! that's all i can say or i'll probably cry (again)

the bromance: see below. michael is my social butterfly and the best friend-maker i've ever known

the reception: we did a harlem shake video. courtney was pole dancing with a bamboo stick and i was somehow responsible for holding up half of the cake. it is going to be epic! and the cake was awesome and we all shagged and salsa'd so much that i was sore for 2 days. and there was a mariachi band. and breakfast food. i could go on for days.

courtney and harris, we are so so happy for you and love you so much! thank you for getting married in such a cool place and inviting us to be part of it.

now can we start planning 1-year vow renewals??

recent recipes

i've been doing lots of cooking lately and there have been so many favorite recipes that it's almost impossible to devote a blog post to each one.

so here's a summary of a few recent favorites with links to the original recipes, along with any notes that i made about possible changes or substitutions.

enjoy!!

chicken parmesan meatballs from daydream kitchen

daydream kitchen

mushroom and spinach smothered chicken from bacon, butter, cheese & garlic
*just one note on these...the cream cheese was a little heavy for my taste, so i would recommend starting with a small amount (1-2 oz) and adding from there if needed.

bacon, butter, cheese & garlic

roasted parmesan sweet potatoes from teenie cakes
*the recipe says to cook for 40 minutes or until tender, then broil for 8-10 minutes. i cooked mine for the full 40 minutes but only 2 minutes of broiling made them start to burn. i think 40-45 minutes of baking is sufficient.

teenie cakes

parmesan quinoa bites from make it & love it
*i would replace minced garlic with garlic powder or salt in this recipe. they came out really well and i liked them a lot, but the minced garlic didn't really help flavor the whole thing; it just gave you a crunch of garlic every once in awhile. garlic powder or salt would help with the overall flavor.

make it & love it

pecan crusted tilapia from faithful provisions

faithful provisions

backyard upgrade

check out our new picnic table yall!!!

this is the table that my grandpa built for us, and we were finally able to bring it home this weekend. it is so pretty and smells like fresh wood every time i walk out the back door. i love it!

we used to have a small patio set out there but we moved that to the front porch and replaced it with the table.

in the middle of the table you can remove the lid (you can see the handle if you look closely) and there's a metal bucket underneath to use as a cooler!

i originally sent a picture to my grandparents to use as inspiration. you can see a similar post here: outdoor diy cooler

it's perfect and i can't wait to start using it more as the weather warms up!

happy first day of spring :)

weekend recap

happy monday everybody!

i hope you all had a great weekend, especially with the awesome weather we had on saturday.

we spent the weekend being outside, celebrating st. patty's day, going to church, going shopping, and eating a lot as usual! :)

me & hubby at the galway hooker st patty's day celebration...
so fun and so warm!

ran up to this guy and asked him if i could take a picture...
love it! 

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we also dropped loki off with my parents on saturday for them to keep him until we get back from mexico. it's been a little sad in the house this weekend without our furry child, but we know he's having fun and getting lots of attention. :) shout-out to mama and daddy for being awesome dog-sitters and doggie grandparents!

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i made a couple of new recipes friday night that turned out really well! they were both a departure from my usual cooking style, so they were really fun to make!

coconut-lime chicken recipe: taste of home
baked avocado recipe: mele cotte

*one note on the baked avocado...make sure you use coarse bread crumbs, not fine, and i'd go a little lighter on the crumbs than the recipe recommends. they're really really good though!

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this week will be a quiet one from me, because we're finally heading to mexico on thursday! i can't wait to see my best friend as a beautiful bride...cue tears. we can't wait to be in the sun on our mini vacation! recap to come next week :)

march birchbox is here!

my march birchbox arrived yesterday!!

even loki was excited about it.

proof:

he's smiling.

this month's box had a march madness theme, which of course i love, even though i don't have super high hopes for my team's chances this year. (still...go heels!!) the card in the box said they chose these products for this theme because they are "worth a spot on your team - from fresh-faced newbies to veteran all-stars." see what they did there? :)

i am actually excited about everything in the box this month and can't wait to use it! here's the lineup:

• madewell for birchbox floral nail file (so pretty..and kinda matches my iphone case which is awesome)
• make silk cream lipstick in maraschino cherry (a really good red and it's so tiny and cute)
• make dual-phase eye makeup remover
• sage + fasten common sense rollerball fragrance
• macadamia natural oil deep repair hair masque (dying to use this!)
• macadamia natural oil healing oil treatment

happy kickoff to march madness!

cake batter chocolate chip cookies

i'm going to go ahead and say that yall have got to try this recipe. these cookies are so. good.

i love anything with "cake batter" in the name so as soon as i saw them on sally's baking addiction i knew i had to make them. according to michael, they're even better than my usual chocolate chip cookies, which is saying a lot coming from him.

i don't usually eat things that i bake because i much prefer a little bit of the batter to the actual finished product. since these were practically screaming "eat my batter" i kept a little bit in a small tupperware to munch on later and it was so worth any extra calories i added on to my day. i'm not trying to promote eating raw eggs, but it is seriously so good.

recipe:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup yellow cake mix
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1.5 tsp vanilla (i used a little more than that)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sprinkles

1. in a large bowl, sift together flour, cake mix and baking soda.

2. in a separate bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars on medium speed. mix in egg and vanilla and mix until uniform.

action shot!

3. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. do not overmix!

4. fold in chocolate chips and sprinkles. [side note: i think chocolate chips and sprinkles are so pretty! that's why there's so many pictures on this step hahaha. i also love this pink egg measuring cup. my mamoo gave it to me as part of a set and they're one of my favorite things in my kitchen!]

5. cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

so colorful :)

6. preheat oven to 350.

7. scoop rounded tablespoons of the cold dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. (i always line my baking sheets with parchment just to make clean-up easier). shape dough to be tall rather than round. this helps keep them from spreading out too much.

8. bake for 10-12 minutes.

so fun!!

michael posing for a blog picture. i went a little crazy editing this one
but i think he looks super handsome in sepia  :)

enjoy!!!

it's a sunshine day

name that movie!! i don't know how many times i've watched the brady bunch movies but the sunshine day song and dance is forever burned in my brain. so, my title today is dedicated to the weird brady bunch movies. (so weird, by the way. i watched part of one the other day and realized how many strange jokes i missed when i was younger.)

anyway, the point being it's sunny! and this weekend is supposed to be nice and springy and i can't wait to spend some of it outside. we also spring forward on sunday which leaves us with an hour less sleep but finally it'll stay light outside later!

i know i already posted my spring wishlist but here is my official ode to spring, in photo form.

nothing says spring like lavender nails and blue pants!

new spring wreath that my mamaw made me...so bright and a little hippie-ish...looks so precious on the inside of our front door! 

everybody needs a bunny on their porch. come on now.

froyo to go

humans arent the only ones happy about warmer weather...this dog has been waiting  on  an open car window for months

proof! yes it was cold this morning but look at those 60s yall!

my best friend's wedding-part 1

this past weekend my mom and i had the honor of hosting my best friend's bridal shower! i am so so happy for her and i am thrilled to be her matron of honor (especially since her wedding is at an all-inclusive resort in mexico in less than 3 weeks...yessssss)

the shower was at a beach house on holden beach, which is close to where both courtney and i grew up. about 25 people came, including lots of old friends and family. my mom and i had so much fun decorating and cooking. courtney got a ton of amazing gifts...she had quite an impressive trash pile! it was such a great time!

love you courtney and can't wait to see you become mrs. ligon soon! be on the lookout for "my best friend's wedding-part 2" in a few weeks!

centerpieces

not a bad view to see all day :)

courtney, her mom, and sisters. beautiful!

food spread

friends since elementary school!

my mama & me

bffs!

had to have a chalkboard somewhere

check out her face on the right hahaha

sequin love

meal planning madness

[warning: lots of words and no pictures ahead]

i get asked a lot, especially  now that i put recipes on my blog, how i plan my meals. i cook dinner every night of the week (with a few exceptions, of course) and take saturday and sunday off. to keep my  mind sane and avoid the grocery store as much as possible, i plan all of the week's meals and shopping list the week before.

for example, last week i planned out this week's menu and had my grocery list ready to go by friday. i shopped for groceries on saturday and haven't had to go to the store for anything this week!

the steps in the process...

1. my meal inspirations come from 2 places: my cookbooks and pinterest. [follow my food board here!] if you follow me on pinterest, you already know that i pin quite a lot of recipes. i try not to pin anything that i don't actually plan on making, so normally if i pin something, i go ahead and write the name of the meal down on my calendar to schedule it for a particular day. right now i've got all of our dinners planned for about 3 weeks. i also make some of my own cookbook recipes that are old favorites.
2. when a week starts winding down, i look on my calendar at the next week's schedule, go back to the pin or my cookbook, and make my grocery list, which i type up as a note in my iphone. i always separate the list by departments: produce first, then meats, then boxed/dry/room temp "middle of the store" food, then frozen. that way i never have to run back to a department because i forgot something.
3. i generally grocery shop on saturdays when i'm home or mondays after work when we're gone for the weekend. if any vegetables look like they're on the verge of death, i might move the meal that uses that vegetable to monday or tuesday and switch something else to later in the week.

notes:

• i am a tad bit ocd about my meal planning process but i can't tell you how much time, energy, and aggravation it saves me. i hate leaving work at 5:00 and not knowing what i'm going to cook for dinner! planning meals this way has saved us a ton of money and calories, since we eat out much less when i have a plan for the week.
• i'm also trying to start planning new dessert recipes. we don't eat dessert at home very often, but i love baking and taking sweets to work. we have lots of dessert-lovers, so i think they enjoy it! i don't bake on a regular schedule, but i'd like to start trying new recipes more often. to do that, i started putting new dessert recipes on my calendar on monday of each week. that way i'll see it and plan to buy the ingredients, then have all week to give it a try. i'm starting that in 2 weeks, so we'll see how it goes!
• side dishes are not my strong point. i'm always trying new main course recipes, but my side dishes are fairly standard. i usually try to have a carb and a veggie if i'm just serving meat as the main course. my old standbys are sauteed green beans or asparagus and cous cous or pasta salad. i have been trying lately to get a little more creative with my side dishes, but in case i'm lacking that week, i always make sure i have a good selection of frozen or canned vegetables on hand that can be cooked quickly.
• i tried making freezer meals a few months ago. i know that's a pretty popular meal planning process, but it didn't work out for me. while i can spare an hour to grocery shop every weekend and a few minutes during the week to find new recipes, i rarely have a weekend afternoon with nothing to do when i can do some mass grocery shopping and make a ton of recipes to freeze. we also have a fairly small freezer. finally, i found that lots of freezer recipes left the food tasting a little too watery and borderline cold. i never figured out the right balance of temperature, cooking time, and sauce so i gave that up awhile back. i think it's a great option if it works for you though!
• a great side benefit of meal planning is that the husband is always impressed :)

i hope you give meal planning a chance if you don't do it already! it's so worth the time you put into it!

february birchbox!

who gets birchboxes?? if you don't and you're a fan of beauty products i highly recommend it!

i ran across the website (www.birchbox.com) on a blog that i follow a few months ago and i decided to give it a try late last year. it's only $10 a month and every month birchbox mails you the cutest little box of samples.

(side note: there is a waiting list to get started but it only took me about a month to receive a notification email that my first box was ready).

the box itself is pretty precious:

here's what i got in february's box a few weeks back. each month has a theme; february's was "red carpet ready" due to all of the awards shows going on. 

-let's be honest, my favorite thing in this box was the chocolate: ghirardelli chocolate with caramel. don't mind if i do.

-color club nail polish (in an interesting green color that i thought was weird but i have used since then!)

-skin & co. moisturizing bath gel

-lancome bi-facil eye makeup remover (love!)

-the thing i've used most out of this box is the twistband hair tie which is one of the nice wide soft elastic ones that doesn't leave dents in your hair. i use it almost every day now when i'm cooking or cleaning.

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in the december box, i got a full-sized modelco fibre lashxtend mascara that i am in love with. its regular price is $24 so what a good deal! i've also gotten several small samples of new perfumes, which are really handy for traveling. most of the time you get travel-sized things, but even then it's usually pretty upscale brands that charge a pretty penny.

a really cool thing about birchbox is that you can log into your account online and see what each of your past boxes had in it. each product has a link to where you can purchase more of that item. so handy if you want to easily order something you love!

i've gotten 3 boxes so far, and there have been one or two items that were not my style and i didn't use. but for $10 a month, it's totally worth it! i love getting things in the mail so it's something that i look forward a lot now.

can't wait to see what march brings!