Is it really dinner time again? This is how I feel most nights. Like I've completely run out of ideas no matter how many pins I have on Pinterest or cookbooks in my cupboard. And sometimes when I do find a recipe I like, I don't have all the ingredients.
Now that I'm staying at home with the kids (and we are on one income) I feel like its my job to help not only keep the family healthy by cooking meals at home but to save money by not always going out to eat.
The other day I was having one of those moments and then it came to me. My million dollar idea. What if there was something where you could enter the ingredients you have at home and it would search recipes with those same ingredients. Well......it already exists!! Its called Supercook. All you do is check off the ingredients you have and it searches recipes from all the top sites like www.food.com, www.allrecipes.com and more! I'm telling you, this has made my life so much easier when I'm in a crunch.
Along with the rest of the country I had not heard of shiplap before Chip and Jo came into the picture! Of course, I LOVED the look of it and always wanted to add it to our house. I'm no interior decorator or anything but I love the character it adds. I mean Chip and Jo can do no wrong...Am I right??
We have been in our house almost 3 years and I have loved decorating but it has been a SLOW process to say the least. By the rate we're going I'll have our house where I want in by the time I'm 50! There were 2 spots I wanted to add the shiplap. The first was an accent wall leading up to our stairwell and the second was our entry way nook that has a bench. We really do use this space so I knew I'd enjoy it here the most :)
Normally, we try to do our home projects ourselves but this was a pretty big project so we brought in the experts! I am so excited with the way it came out! Check out the before and after...
Before...
After..
Before...
After...even added in a shelf!
Now...onto decorating. Anybody have some good tips on how to decorate a ship lap wall?
Happy Monday morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Ours was filled with a birthday party & then the effects of Texas Ragweed. B has been a coughing, sneezing, scratchy throat, sore throat mess & he is actually home from work today. Me -- not as bad but still annoyed with a scratchy throat myself. We are going on week 2 of this. Blah.
Anyways, today I thought I'd share with y'all some thoughts I had over the weekend & have just been resonating in my head. Let me preface this with saying that I have zero background in ministry but have just gathered my thoughts all here. If you are friends with me on Facebook then you probably already saw this quote. I was reading a blog end of last week where a lady said:
Only open hands can receive from the Lord, not clenched ones.
Y'all, when I read that, that was God talking DIRECTLY to me. I promise you. How many times do we pray and we are so angry with the answer that God has given us or not given us for that matter? [Raising my hand right now.] It seems so simple right? For example: If someone wanted to share a piece of cookie with you, how do you receive it? You open your hand. So just as God wants to share with us certain things & even though we may not be happy with what He is trying to share, we should still open our hands to Him to receive.
Another branch off of this is, are we tolerating what God is "not giving us" or are we still thanking Him for what He has? Um, guilty as charged. I have certainly been tolerating what I have not yet received from God when I should be thanking Him EVERY. DAY. for what He has given and this season of life that I am in.
We rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Romans 5:3-4
And if not, He is still good. Daniel 3:18
And then God, like God always does, He drops, what B and I like to call, a "truth bomb." It's very similar to a mic drop if you will. I was in my bathroom getting ready for the day on Friday listening to the Hillsong United Pandora station, and the song 'Oceans' comes on. And just like that, God grabbed my attention right back. If you haven't listened to it, I am putting it below. It. is. awesome. And it all goes hand in hand with everything I blabbered about above. The song gives me chills & it has been in my head all weekend. It is a long song but I encourage you to listen to it when you have a chance.
Literally every night when we crawl into bed, we watch at least 1-2 episodes of whatever show we are currently going through. Right now, we have Frasier & The Office. These are shows we have started from the BEGINNING. The Office: we are in the final season and only have a handful of episodes left. We are delaying the end so to speak. Frasier we are in season 8 of 11. This show was always on in my house growing up. Brian was a bit skeptical at first, but he is SO hooked now. I mean the interaction between Daphne & Niles is enough to make you crazy.
So with that being said, we need some new shows in our queue. B likes Narcos and is almost through with Season 2. I just don't like reading subtitles the whole time & the incessant violence isn't my cup of tea. I personally have started on House of Cards but I rarely get a moment to myself to watch. B is on the fence about it. However, I love the corruption.
Stranger Things....I freaked out within the first few minutes of it & made B turn it off. Maybe that's because it was dark out, and I just don't do well with scary shows & night time? Is it really good? I have heard everyone LOVES it. Let me know your thoughts.
So what shows am I missing?? What are y'all watching? Hopefully this gives you a taste of what we like and you can suggest some good stuff. It doesn't have to be brand new. It can be old series' that we start from the beginning.
I love a man who is handy around the house. Patrick is an engineer so he definitely possesses those skills but he is so busy between work and the four of us that he is responsible for that he rarely has time to do home projects.
I did put him on a very small task this weekend. I located a cool mani/pedi shelf to put in our bathroom on Pinterest. He tweaked it and made it for $12 so cheaper than anything I could buy out there. I think it turned out great! I love to be organized and I'm always clearing out products I don't use because it makes me overwhelmed. There is that perfectionism sneaking in again.
I had the rare opportunity the other day to go on errands sans children. This doesn't get to happen too often so mama was excited! My straightener had just gone kaput so I decided to go to Ulta! Man...a girl can do some damage in that store! They literally have EVERYTHING!
Lately I had noticed the dark circles around my eyes had gotten rather noticeable and other than drinking more water and getting more sleep (year right...) I needed to find a good concealer to help hide them :)
Knowing me I found a very nice Ulta consultant to help me find the best concealer for these pesky dark circles. I can't tell you how much fun it was to talk about girly things! No pee, poop, trucks, football, wrestling...etc. We talked about makeup, hair, what was good, what was not...what was overpriced what wasn't...so much fun! She was great :)
I finally decided on the Smashbox Color Correcting Stick. For me, it gave the best all around coverage and wasn't as heavy as a liquid. I have LOVED it so far!
Did you know that your ring finger is the weakest finger and is the best finger to use when applying on your skin? If you blot too hard it could cause wrinkles so your ring finger is the best to use?? I know....awesome tip right? (sorry if you did know that Mom surrounded by boys here...)
Anyways...I did walk away with a new straightener (which is what I actually needed), the fabulous smashbox and a few other goodies! If you ever have a few minutes to yourself go to Ulta and just go girly...too much fun!
For my moms who have daughters and haven’t yet dared to visit the American
Doll store, please prepare yourself! Cecilia went with her friends after a delicious lunch at the
Cheesecake Factory. She was AMAZED and I imagine a bit overwhelmed by all the
many choices!!! She chose a red-haired, green eyed doll that resembled her and
got three outfits, a crown (of course), hair bows, a hairbrush, and a high
chair for her doll which she named Ariel. You can't tell her anything now and I
won't tell her that she won't be going back for awhile. That place is crazy
expensive but it was so crowded. I thought everyone was nuts in there buying
those dolls but there we were - HA HA!
I love having a girl...but I am glad I have ONE girl HA HA! Maybe because
she acts just like me! Hope everyone has a great weekend!! We are trying out a
different restaurant after church Sunday called Hobos in downtown Fort Mill
(SC).
I know I should probably limit the burger intake for after the pageant
but who you talkin to…this girl has very little self control!
I am not the most hip and trendy person out there and about a year ago I discovered dry shampoo what seems like 2 years after everyone else. I was getting my hair done for a wedding and the stylist put something in my hair for volume but wasn't crunchy like the normal hairspray or mouse...I was intrigued!
From this day forward started my obsession and hunt for the perfect dry shampoo! Any other ladies out there like me with very fine hair?!?! No matter what volumizing shampoo/conditioner, drying methods etc. I try its just not enough. I always felt like I had to wash my hair daily due to it looking thinner and greasy but knew deep down that wasn't good either. Forget ever holing a curl with just washed hair everyday too. I started adding dry shampoo not only into my daily routine for body but also that second and third day after washing it to avoid the daily lather and not to mention save a ton of time too.
I have tried Dove, Not your mother's, and most recently Batiste.
Batiste is by far my new favorite! If you have dark hair like me you do not enjoy looking like you are prematurely graying with that extra boost of volume so they offer a few types that are tinted for brown hair! Thank goodness! Now I can have some extra volume without looking like a gray haired lady. I got mine at target and have recently discovered many other types within this line too! I highly recommend checking them out for the other fine haired ladies out there!
Today was one of those days that I just didn't want to adult. I don't know if it was just coming off a long weekend or what...but it was a struggle.
Nothing like a huge workload to welcome you come back from a long weekend. What is it about long weekends? You almost need an extra day to recover from the holiday? Am I right?
Lately, I have been playing the phrase "It's always something..." continuously through my head. Because let's face...it really is always something. For us it has been sickness, a busted fridge, car issues, insurance changes, dr's appointments and not mention daily craziness of working full time and raising 2 very busy boys.
I'm not trying to whine or complain. I know that my family and I are extremely blessed and the Lord has been good to us. Today was just one of those days where I just wasn't ready to "adult". I think we should all be allowed one non-adult day...who's with me? In the meantime, guess a glass or 2 of wine will help me along the way :)
So excuse me while I go submit my online grocery shopping, empty diaper pails and make lunches!
Happy Monday everyone! How was everyone's long weekend? I feel like the weekend really started on Thursday with the Carolina game. At least it did in our house. We had friends over for apps, wings & beer. And our Gamecocks pulled out a win. PRAISE. THE. LORD. Are you with me?!
We had a fun weekend. I thought I'd share some pictures if you haven't already seen them. If you have, sorry in advance. You can scroll through.
We started of Saturday with a trip to the new Oskar Blues in Austin. We were the only ones there for a while. We took Gopher with us and he had a great time.
I got lots of compliments on this top. You can purchase here. It does run big so size down. Off the shoulder + ruffles is just flirty. Perfect for a day date.
We finished up at 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op...where puppies can come inside into the air conditioning. #winning for both pups & pup-parents.
I picked up this necklace while at another brewery where they were having a local market. It is handmade & so pretty. Her shop can be found on Etsy here. She had a bunch of stuff I wanted.
And today, B & I hit up two different coffee shops (Vintage Heart Coffee & Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors) over in the East Austin neighborhood. SO. GOOD. Each had qualities I liked. We'll be back for sure. Seriously, who doesn't love latte art??
Right across the street from Vintage Heart Coffee was the Texas State Cemetery. I had no idea that that is where Chris Kyle was buried. If you don't know who that is, watch American Sniper. The cemetery itself is STUNNING. His headstone was beautiful as you can see. Nothing mediocre for this American hero.
We finished off the weekend with Pumpkin Pecan cobbler. Yes, you read that right. I mean it is September so we must bake and drink all the pumpkin things right?? #basic
You can find the recipe on my Pinterest board here.
Anyways, sorry this is so late going up. I was in bed and realized, "Oh Crap! Today is MONDAY! I forgot to post." We are looking forward to the Morbitzers visiting this weekend. C'mon Friday!!
I realized that I really haven't shared much at all about my current title of Mrs.
Rock Hill-SC or the journey to the Mrs. South Carolina Pageant at the end of
September. It is so close and I'm very excited/nervous but confidence is key and
it isn’t about a crown…it is about my life journey!
My happiest moment so far has been going to visit the children at the Boys
and Girl's Club and a lesson that was aired on our little, local television
station. I read one of my favorite children's books that I use to read to my
classes as a teacher. I will visit them again in about two weeks with another
lesson I've been planning for them that I hope will teach some valuable lessons
on displaying good character. I was in contact with the author of the next book
I will share and as he agreed, we need a lesson on looking for similarities
with others instead of highlighting differences in our society right now. He also
was extremely kind to me and offered these words of wisdom. “As far
as the pageant goes- the way I see it, you already won! Getting past the doubts
and going for it is the stuff that makes champions. The results are just icing
on the cake.”
I have had a few photo shoots and that is probably my least favorite part. I
really want to make sure I submit the right head shot that looks JUST like me
and is also something that I feel shows my personality. Here are a few that I
have submitted for Mrs. Photogenic and on ad pages.
I've seen many pageant photos where girls just don't even look like
themselves. I don't want these judges to say who is the girl in the book
because that's not who I just interviewed, ha ha.
I am new to this whole world and it is a whole other world. It is a fabulous
world that does teach you a lot about yourself and about your true beliefs. It
makes you dig deep to represent yourself and to be a good role model to those
around you. I've had to seek out sponsors and I've had to do that in other
organizations I've been involved with in the past so it wasn't foreign to me
but always different.
I LOVE a local cookie/bakery we have in Rock Hill called Hey Sugar Shop.
Mary Kate is the owner and makes goodies for my kids' teachers and we just love
everything she makes and sells. She created two photo cookies of me and we
had a girl's night this past week to promote my cookies. It is not just the donation but the fun of
it all. Cecilia has been very
curious about it all and what I'm doing all the time. I definitely plan to
share this whole journey with her more when she is older and regardless of what
she pursues in her future, she needs to remember that you should always
challenge yourself and do things outside of your comfort zone. I see some scrapbooking happening in October.
It is interesting the contacts I've made throughout the past few months. I'm ready for the big weekend to meet the rest of the ladies. I've already made a great friend in one of the contestants from NC and she plans to join me in my next mission! But first lets get to this big weekend and hope I don't fall on stage!!! HA!
