Spur-of-the-Moment Trip

This past Thursday, Ryan and I decided on a whim to drive down to Mobile for the weekend to hang out with our friends, Bernard and Jenny. We always have so much fun with them and this weekend was no exception! We drove down after I got finished with school on Friday and stopped along the way to have dinner with one of Ryan's coaching buddies, Kenny. We had a great time!

We ended up getting to Mobile a little later than we planned, but oh well! On Saturday morning, we were treated to crab omlets made by Bernard's precious mom, Mrs. Anna. She is such a great cook/host! We love going down to their house on the bay and getting our bellies full! After our brunch, we loaded up Bernard's boat and drove 45 minutes into Orange Beach. We got the boat launched and we may our way over to the Flora-Bama where they were having the annual Mullet Toss. Two years ago, Ryan, Bernard, Ryan's dad, and Jenny's dad all competed in the Mullet Man Triathlon there. We haven't been back since, so it was fun to make our way back to "the Bama."

Having the boat was a MAJOR bonus! There were thousands of people on the beach  and we got to hang out on our own and people watch. And let me be the first to say that there were some very interesting creatures lurking the beaches this weekend! Wow!

 When we did finally manage to make it in to the Flora Bama, I ran into some of my brother's good friends. Chip was supposed to be on the bachelor trip with them, but ended up having to stay and work on their house. Bummer. Anthony seemed to be having a great time on his bachelor trip, though! It was great to see them!

When we had enough of fighting the crowds, we headed back to the boat and rode over to Tacky Jacks for some dinner. We had a great dinner and headed back to Mobile after a long day in the sun.

 Sunday morning, Jenny made everyone some very yummy pancakes that we all devoured. They were awesome! Ryan and I loaded up and headed towards home, but not before making a pit stop in Long Beach, MS to eat lunch. I can't remember the exact name of the place, but it was in the harbor and was "Steve's something..." Our lunch was divine! We got the hot crab dip for an appetizer (which was even complete with a few shells.) So fresh! So yummy!

 Ryan got the soft shell crab poboy and it was huge!

 I ordered the blackened shrimp that came served over a pineapple rum sauce. I've never eaten blackened shrimp that good before!

We finished our Long Beach pit stop with a snow ball and headed out on our merry little way. We had a wonderful time and it was a much needed getaway for the both of us! We look forward to going back soon!
Thanks Jenny and Bernard for your hospitality!

A Week Behind...

Last weekend was super busy around our house! Ryan got a ton of housework/yardwork finished and I had two showers to attend. The first shower was on Saturday morning and was a wedding shower for my cousin, Carli. It was out on Lake Claiborne, which made for a beautiful setting! For her gift, I used my Silhouette (duh!) and made her a glass-etched bowl with her new initial on it. The picture is from my phone (surprise, surprise) and isn't very good but gives you an idea.

Sunday, we hosted a baby shower at Mom and Dad's house for my cousin's wife, Stephanie. I made the cake and cookies for the shower and was pretty pleased at how they came out. For her gift, I used my Silhouette again (I know, shocker!) and made an appliqued onesie. I also made her a blanket that I forgot to take a picture of.

On a side note, Jen sent me these pictures of Lindy wearing her new outfit last week! She looks so cute in it!

 

A Case of the Mondays

I've seriously been in a rut today. It was so very hard to get out of bed this morning and get ready for work. We had a big storm last night that made it pretty tough to get to sleep because of all of the lightning. It was crazy! So a lack of sleep played a big part in my Monday blues.

On top of that, this week we're continuing with our Stanford testing at school. Bummer. We test from 8-10, then have an abbreviated schedule for the rest of the day. It's really hard to get in a lesson with each of my classes because of the shortened time schedule, but we're making it!

What else? Oh, I finished Lindy's new outfit that I experimented on my Silhouette with. It's pretty much adorable.

 Little cupcake applique

 The back of the capris/long shorts

The whole outfit put together

I can't wait to see her in it!

Happy Monday, y'all! 

Week in Review

This week I headed back to school after being off for Spring Break. What a change a week can make! I was so used to staying up later and waking up later, that it was a challenge each morning to get out of bed! I made it though and enjoyed sleeping in this morning.

I got to have dinner with two of my best friends, Taryn and Molly, on Wednesday night. It was such a fun dinner and we got to catch up on so much! Baby Hutch even joined us and was a perfect gentleman the whole time! It's so crazy to think how much has happened in the last year with the 3 of us.

I've been using my Silhouette Cameo that Ryan got me for my birthday a TON! I love that thing! My first "project" on it was using the vinyl sticky stuff to decorate a travel coffee mug for my teacher friend, Paula. She's leaving me at the end of this school year to open up a formal dress shop with her sister. It's hard to see in the picture, but the mug says the name of their shop, Belle of the bal'.

Doesn't this look yummy? I found a recipe on Pinterest last week that was for homemade granola bars. I've been looking for something similar to this for a long time! Well, I had just about everything to make them, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Boy am I glad I did! We LOVED it! I doubled the recipe so it would last a while, but I ended up having to make more this morning! Also, my first batch never "hardened" so I just scooped it up and put it in an airtight container. We put it in yogurt in the mornings and even snacked on it at random times, too. It was delish!

Granola Bars
1/4 cup  butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups oats
1 cup Rice Krispies Cereal
2-3 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, heat up the butter, honey, and brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved. While it is heating, mix the oats and rice krispies together in a medium mixing bowl. Remove sugar mixture from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over the oats and krispies and mix well.

Using an edged baking sheet, lightly sprayed with Pam, empty the mixture onto the baking sheet spreading out evenly as you go. You probably won't fill up the entire baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and let it sit for at least an hour. So easy and so yummy!

Last, but certainly not least, I received my April Birchbox in the mail this week! Hooray! This is always such a fun little surprise to receive each month! I loved my Birchbox this month! It was loaded with fun stuff! Here's what was in this month's box:

• Marula The Leakey Collection- Omega Rich Pure Marula Oil. - fights premature signs of aging. Full size, $78.
• tarte- Lip Surgence lip tint- "Joy" Full size, $24.
• Wonderstruck Taylor Swift- I wasn't sure I would like this, but oh my! It smells sooo good! I just may invest in the full size bottle. Full size, $49.50-59.50
• Yu-Be- Moisturizing Skin Cream- supposedly this heals cracked hands, chapped lips, and all other forms of dryness. Full size, $16.
• MicrodermaMitt- Body Mitt- exfoliates dead skin cells and pore-clogging debris. Full size, $28.50.

Thanks, Birchbox! I'm gonna have fun testing out these products!

We had a great week and we're definitely looking forward to relaxing this weekend!

Making My Mama Proud

My mama is the best cook that I know. Really, it's true. Although she makes some amazing dishes, I was never able to learn to cook from her. I never really understood it before, but she doesn't measure or go by recipes.

I left the teachin' up to Paula. Paula Deen, that is. She taught me a whole lot about Southern cooking and about loving what you put on the table for your family. So when I was in college, I read every single one of Paula's cookbooks, subscribed to her quarterly magazine, and even went with my sweet mama to Savannah after graduation. After several years of "experimenting" with food, I'm comfortable in saying that I'm a pretty good cook myself. And would you believe that I don't even measure anymore?! Ha! It's true! It's all about tasting as you go and for me, smelling as you go.

With all that being said, every now and then I make a dish that I know would make my mama proud. Call me old fashioned, but it's one of those special things that makes me proud of who I've become. This week I made two of those dishes and I'm still grinning.



Crock-Pot Rotisserie Chicken:

1 whole chicken (around 4lbs.)
butter, melted
minced garlic
Cayenne pepper
paprika
Montreal chicken seasoning
salt and pepper
water

Remove insides from chicken and rinse well. Place the chicken in the crockpot. Using melted butter (or spray butter if you are like me), coat the chicken lightly. In a separate bowl, mix all spices together making a paste by adding water one teaspoon at a time. Coat the chicken inside and out with the paste. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Chicken Salad (with leftover rotisserie chicken) 

Approx. 3lbs. of chicken, deboned and chopped up
1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise (I'm not a mayo fan, but I'm a Southern girl that knows mayo just goes in some dishes)
1/4 cup sweet relish
1/2 purple onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 orange bell pepper
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can water chestnuts (rinsed, drained, and chopped)
dash of salt

Because you are using cold leftover chicken, debone the chicken and toss it for a few minutes in a skillet to warm it up. After it is warmed, dice the chicken into small pieces and put into a large bowl. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. I like to refridgerate mine for a couple hours before serving.

This chicken salad is really good served on crescent rolls or on wheat thins. It makes a yummy salad too!

So there you have it. Two dishes that will make your mama proud! Enjoy!

Sewing Projects

I've been a busy little sewing bee over Spring Break. Here are some of the things I've been working on.... All of these pictures are from camera phones, so please excuse the blurriness.

 

Lindy's crawfish boil dress

                                                          Karlee's Easter basket dress

                                                      She didn't want to take this one off!

Easter basket outfit.

Mom found those adorable shoes at Marshall's.

Easter 2012

Happy Easter from the Porters!

He is risen!