Goodbye World

Sorry guys but I will be mostly MIA for the next month. I just spent the last 8 hours in class and I really don't see myself having the energy or desire to post until its all over. Just stick with me and I promise I'll come back plus I'll still try to keep up with others' blogs.

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank a soldier! Home of the free, because of the brave!

Pink & Green Thursday: Weddings

I don't know about yall, but I daydream about my wedding all the time. I love thinking about anything wedding related and you better bet if I come across a wedding magazine I'm going to pick it up! So this week's installment will be all about weddings! Don't forget to link up with Trish over at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover for the weekly blog hop!

There is so much fun to be had decorating for a wedding. If yall need some ideas for your own pink and green wedding, I suggest heading over to theknot.com for some 2000 pages of inspiration!

Such a great idea for a beach wedding!

Monogrammed AND pink and green? I'm in heaven!

(Belated) Recipe Wednesday: Meatloaf and Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus

Finally something not stuffed! Well as much as I would love to share my meatloaf recipe, because let me tell yall, it is rather delicious, I have been sworn to secrecy. Sorry! I wouldn't usually cook something I'm not giving up the recipe to, but me and Beau were craving it.

Anyways, I can share a delicious and healthy side dish with yall.

Here's what you'll need:
3/4 lb of yukon gold potatoes, cubed
1 Tbsp of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 bunch of asparagus
pepper to taste

serves 3

So start by preheating your oven to 425. Then, on a foil covered baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil and seasonings. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.
Mix in asparagus and continue cooking 15 minutes.
Then increase the temperature to 450, remove foil and continue cooking an additional 5-10 minutes.
Season with pepper to taste.


Sorry for the complete lack of pictures. I promise I won't be as slack next week!
On another note, Beau and I have been making the effort to take walks after dinner lately and Tuesday we decided to go to the Riverwalk for the first time. It was awesome! So pretty and it just seemed crazy to me that this was a 10 minute walk from downtown Cola. Needless to say we will be frequenting it much more often!

AND for the first time in my life I won something! Yall don't understand, I am a frequent visitor to contestbee.com to enter sweepstakes. I enter anything and everything, even if I'm not that interested in the prize, but up until today I had never won. Today EAS over at Let the Tide Pull Your Dream Ashore informed me I had won her Sperry giveaway!

Here's my loot:

Perfect timing too, Beau is in dire need of a new pair of Sperrys! Thanks again EAS!

Haircut!

So let me start off by saying I am not a short hair kind of girl. The couple of times I have gotten a short haircut were a complete disaster and I cried for days (ridic I know). This time I found Laura on the internet by searching for DevaCurl trained hairstylists. If you are a curly girl you understand the importance of finding someone who knows how to cut CURLY hair because it is indeed not at all the same.

So up until today I have been sporting the same look give or take 2 inches since 8th grade. I am a junior in COLLEGE now. It was time for a change.

Anyways, I've been loathing the upkeep of having long hair and with summer right around the corner I thought it'd be the perfect time to try a new style. Plus my confidence was boosted by Laura's training. So at 11 hundred hours I took the plunge and told her I wanted it off.

Oh and side note: Beau loves long hair and would've liked if I kept growing what I had out. So before I leave he jokingly says "Hope it doesn't make you look ugly". Thanks babe, thanks.

Here's before and after:

Sorry for the sketchy mirror phone pictures.

So when I left I felt brave and powerful and was on a high from the big change. Now I kinda miss my long locks. I think I'm just having a case of the grass is always greener.

What do yall think of my new do?

But I never even learned how to Dougie!

Breaking news! "M-Bone" of Teach me how to dougie fame was killed in a drive by shooting.



How will humanity go on?!

In other news, I started orientation for my new job today and tomorrow I am getting a serious haircut. I'm thinking this:

I'll share before and after pictures tomorrow!

And Beau and I are having a midnight date to see Pirates 4 on Thursday night! So excited! I love me some Johnny! Who doesn't though?!

Here's the awesome trailer!


Also, my future little brother in law graduates high school this Friday! They grow up so fast! Go Eagles!

Current Obsession: Judith March

My new obsession I stumbled upon is Judith March. She has the most precious dresses! There are even a few that are gameday colors for football season! I'm in love with her feminine and whimsical designs. To make matters worse since I'm trying to save better there are two stores zero miles from my casa that sell her line. TWO! ZERO MILES! Oh these temptations are hard to resist. My visa may get a little lovin this month! Here's a few of my favorites:

Absolute favorite! How could you be gloomy in this?!

Some gameday goodies!

These were the faves that existed after THREE rounds of cuts. There was that much I loved! Hopefully some of these babies will find their way into my closet very very soon!

Last jab at Royal Wedding and new recipe box!

A friend recently posted this cartoon and I thought it was hilarious!

Also, my new recipe box from etsy came in today! So cute!

Dual Survival...sort of.

I'm back! Beau and I's camping trip was great, everything we needed. There were a few downs (rain!), but overall the trip was great. Friday we drove along the parkway to Crabtree Falls where we were staying and set up camp.

We saw turkeys! SIX times!

On Saturday, we spent the day at Mt. Mitchell. The fog was pretty heavy that morning when we climbed Mt. Mitchell the first time so we came back after lunch. We ate at Mt. Mitchell's very own restaurant, "the highest restaurant on the east coast". It had the most amazing views! And the food was delicious! Beau and I couldn't decide who's was better!

After Lunch we re-hiked Mt. Mitchell, which isn't really a hike, more like a ten minute walk up a steep pathway. Then we decided to hike to Mt. Craig, a real hike. Mt. Craig is only about 40 feet shorter than Mt. Mitchell! The hike was labeled strenuous, so we got a great workout and the payoff was so rewarding!

That peak is where we are going!

And we are here!

Beau and I can't wait for our next trip. We want to camp at Mt. Mitchell next time. Since its so high up it'll be perfect for summer camping!

Pink & Green Thursday: Great Outdoors

In light of Beau and I's camping trip this weekend I thought I'd share some beautiful pictures of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I'm linking up with Trish over at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover again this week for the blog hop. Head over and join and explore!

We are going to stay at Crabtree Meadows, which is home to Crabtree Falls. Its nothing gigantic, but its a nice hike and a beautiful waterfall.

Hope yall have a wonderful weekend! Go out and do something exciting!
Pictures to come :)

Recipe Wednesday: Broccoli Swiss Chicken and Parmesan Basil Rice

On tonight's menu was broccoli and swiss stuffed chicken (see the trend!) with parmesan basil rice, broccoli and yeast rolls. I borrowed the chicken recipe from the fabulous girls over at Heads in the Books, Still Time to Cook. Check them out!

For the chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
2 tsp of water
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
1 frozen steamable bag of broccoli (or 2 cups fresh), cooked
4 Tbsp (2 slices) swiss cheese
Salt and pepper to taste.

For the rice:

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 chicken broth
1/4 cup parmesan
1/8 cup fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

serves 2

So start by preheating your oven to 350. A quick little trick I used to get the swiss and broccoli further in the chicken was to cut a shallow canal down the middle of the breasts. Then just add the chicken and cooked broccoli to the chicken. Roll and secure with toothpicks.

Next, mix egg, water and salt in a small bowl. Dredge the chicken through the egg mix and then through the bread crumbs. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes

For the rice melt butter in a skillet. Brown rice in butter until lightly browned.

Next add the chicken broth and basil. Simmer on low, covered for 15-20 minutes. Add the parmesan and salt and pepper.

Voila! Fairly easy meal in less than an hour. I served with rolls and broccoli.

Let me know how yall's turns out!
Also on another note, how do yall like the new background?! I also added some additions to the sidebar. This summer I'm going to read and reread some classics that "everyone should read before they die". So let me know if you've read whatever I'm reading and if you liked it. Also feel free to suggest books for my list!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

I just got word that my little brother just won his first baseball game! 8-0! Here's his team after their sweet victory!

Don't they look just like the Bad News Bears?! Will is second from the left.

Random Musings

I haven't had anything substantial to post on lately so I'm just gonna let yall in on some of the things I've been thinking.

Saturday was Beau and I's 2 1/2 year anniversary, but we couldn't celebrate since we were home for mother's day. So we celebrated last night when we got back with a romantic dinner cooked together. :) It turned out quite nice. We originally planned to make crab cakes but it was going to be 3x as expensive to buy all the ingredients than it would've been to get them from Hennessey's so we just did steak instead. Also, I made risotto for the first time, granted it was a microwave version that can be found here. I added mushrooms and onions. Delicious! And look how nice Beau made the table.

Also, yesterday was the episode before the finale of Gossip Girl. I don't know how many of you watch it, but this season has been so exciting. I was browsing cakes on TheKnot.com and found this cake that instantly reminded me of B and her love of macaroons. Since she is engaged to the Prince she should definitely give this cake a look!

How adorbs is that?!

Today I was browsing on Etsy and found the cutest recipe box. I've been looking for a cute recipe box for years and finally found one for all my recipes! Now if I can just get any of these darling monogrammed recipe cards from Dabney Lee!

So cute!

Tanning Tequila and Tacos

That was the motto for the girls day I had today! We had such a fab time (even though I got a little burnt!). I'm such a bad blogger, I didn't take any pictures! I swear I'll get better. But I had such a nice time hanging out with a group of girls I don't see nearly enough, but I'm hoping to change that.

Here's some pictures of other people tanning, tequila(ing) and tacos!

We spent the day at the pool, but I would've much rather been tanning here!

Here's some yummy tacos!

The one picture I did take was of my jumbo margarita! YUM!

Sorry for the crappy BB quality!