Thursday, November 20, 2014

Girls Night Out

Today around lunch time my sister n law texted me to see if I would want to meet her downtown for sushi. Neither one of our husbands like sushi so I was totally down because we never get it.
 
 
So we met downtown after work ready to chow down.

 
We started out with a few things and I will worn you, you better grab a snack because this might make you a little hungry.
 
This was the tuna sunshine.

 
Now I can't remember what this is called but it was probably my favorite.

 
Mel had mussels, I'm allergic so I stayed away but don't they look tasty?

 
We then decided to share two rolls and oh my goodness they were delicious.
I have to say the one that Mel chose was the best and the prettiest. Can you guess which one? It made me think of Christmas.

 
Now to our favorite part of the night.

 
Poppington's Gourmet Popcorn is local store downtown and let's just say their popcorn is the best thing I have ever had and I don't even like popcorn that much. Plus the owners are so nice. I talked to them tonight and I am going to do an interview with them after the New Year to share. So get ready!

 
They literally have any flavor you could imagine.

 
The great thing is they have already decorated for Christmas. When you walk in it is just magical. I mean really.... Christmas lights and popcorn...what else do you need?

 
The smell is just insane and they will let you try any flavor you like. Now since I am on my 21 day challenge I only tried a kernel or two :)

 
What's a popcorn shop without your typical popcorn popper?

 
I clearly know what I am getting family and friends this year for Christmas.



We had a blast just looking around and checking out how many flavors they really do make. But I will wait till the interview to share all of that.


 
Let's just say "Girl's Night Out" was a complete success.
 
Now tomorrow I am going to be sharing my "design" post. The hubby and I are about to close on our first home and you know that I already have ideas. We are SO excited!!!
 
Happy Thursday Blogger Friends

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Being an Aunt

 
 
On Friday after work I headed home to visit one of my very best friend's so I that I could meet her beautiful daughter. She was my maid of honor and I just kept thinking to myself on the way home everything that we have experienced. As you can see I had plenty of time to think, the traffic was horrible.
 
 
I stayed the night at my parents house which as you can see is probably my favorite place in the world. Every time I go home it just brings back so many happy memories and it is just so cozy. My mom cooked an amazing "healthy" dinner just for me and then we just sat back, relaxed and watched Hallmark Christmas movies.

 
Now the next morning I woke up with so much excitement because I was finally getting to meet a new "niece".  I have been counting down the days for this sweet girl to get here and I just can't believe how perfect she is.
 
 
 Here I am telling her secrets about her momma because I know them all :) Just kidding, I better wait till she is older. So for now I will just spoil her rotten.



My momma thinks of Andria as one of her own so she of course had to come meet this bundle of joy.  
 
 

Seriously look at this precious child. Nothing gets more perfect then her.

 
And look at all that hair. Her momma and I of course had to play with a few hair clips.
 
 
It has been hard for me to decide who she looks like the most but one thing I do know she sleeps just like her momma....her mouth is wide open.
 
 There are moments in your life that really make you sit back and smile. Seeing my best friend with her first child really is probably one of the best things I have ever experienced. Can't wait to make many memories with them.
 
After I gave sweet kisses and hugs goodbye I headed back home because I had this one to babysit.
He get's pretty excited when Aunt Mel and Uncle Shaun babysit.

 
 
We started off the night just straight chillin. Seriously I am framing this picture. (and I know mom I don't need to be drinking diet mountain dew) :)


We literally played the entire night and when I say that, I mean I was down crawling around all night. My knees and elbows were so sore that next day.
 
He loves showing Uncle Shaun his toys.
 
 
 We had a blast and as you can see this little boy was exhausted. Bedtime has never been so easy :) He is probably thinking, really Aunt Mel another picture?


 
 As you can see I had a baby filled weekend and I wouldn't have changed a minute of it.
 
Being an aunt is basically the best feeling in the world and I am just so happy to become an aunt to another sweet, perfect little girl.

But with all this aunt talk I can't leave out this awesome little man :)

 

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Happy Veterans Day

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. “
—Joseph Campbell
 
In this day in age a lot of people, let's be honest, really just think about themselves and what they can do to better their own life. But today we honor those that thought about others and how they can better our lives. I feel like everyday should be Veteran's day because we have them to thank for our everyday life. We have them to thank for our freedom. What is freedom one might ask? Freedom is being able to act, speak and think what we want without having someone else telling us differently. Being an American I am thankful to be able to wake up in the morning, get ready to the music that I want to hear, drive to work in a car that I own, speak my opinion throughout the day and return home and spend time with my husband and do whatever we want to do. In some countries they don't have that luxury. Some countries they are told what to wear, what to say and what to believe. I believe that America has gotten a little spoiled, some of us whine and complain about problems that other's in different countries would dream about. We have options that many don't have and we have those options because of our heros that risk their lives every day.
 
This post is dedicated to all of those heros that have risked their lives and provided us with lives that we should all thank God for. So today I hope you thank those that make your life worth living because without them, who knows what America would become.
 
Thank you all for my freedom, your dedication, strength and courage makes you all heros in my eyes.
 
 



 

 
Now I do have soft spot for Veterans because my husband is one, he served as a Marine. I feel like when I met my now husband he really opened my eyes to what our armed forces really do. I felt like before him I took things for granted.  After I learned more and more of what they do for us my heart just went out to every individual that serves.
 
I thank God everyday for giving me a hero as a husband.
 
 
He brings so much happiness, joy & love to my life that sometimes I don't feel like I deserve it.
 
So tonight as soon as I got home I got in the kitchen and cooked him a yummy (hopefully) dinner. I will be sharing the recipes tomorrow so make sure you check them out,

 
So again. Remember to thank those today and every day for the life you have. We owe them so much more then we give them.
 
HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY 2014!!!
 

Monday, November 10, 2014

High Cotton

 
Since starting my current job I have been to many "fancy" restaurants and they all have their own different touches. But whether they are good or bad they all have the beautiful city to look at while you eat.
 
 
Another thing I love about this city is the art.... it can be breathtaking and sometimes it is just nice to walk around and take it all in.

 
Tonight our dinner was at High Cotton. Now for me, even though I was raised in a very "boondock" town, I am not a fan of southern food. I don't see what is so great about sweet tea, fried chicken and mac n cheese. Now what I do know about is basically anything Asian. I could eat Asian food all day every day. But back to dinner. I was a little skeptical about the menu when I checked it out because it was full of all of those southern foods that I am not in to. But I will say this place didn't have fried chicken.
 
 
When I walked through their swirling doors I fell in love with all of their light fixtures. They were all so different and to me a little magical.

 

 
After our entire group got there, the sweet hostess took us to our table. The place is two stories and I was just amazed with all of the beautiful art on the walls and how well kept everything was.


We all found our seats and started ordering our drinks and as we were doing so I started checking out the menu. I noticed something.... If you know me, you know what I am talking about. :)
 

 
We started with appetizers but the only thing I would change about this place is more appetizer options.
 
So I started with a salad but I wasn't disappointed. It was so fresh and tasty.
 
 
 Now to the main dish... I will probably be talking about this dish weeks from now. I am also going to try and recreate it because it was that amazing.
 
I had the sweet potato, eggplant "lasagna". Now I really do not like noodles, I am just not a fan of the texture. (not to mention the carbs).
 
But with this dish instead of noodles they used sweet potatoes and eggplant.

 
Even though this meal sounded absolutely amazing it was vegetarian. I have nothing against being a vegetarian but I have to have some sort of meat.
 
So I got the chef to fix me up a side of grilled shrimp.  

 
This meal was probably the best meal I have had in a while. The flavor and everything was on point and you could just tell everything was so fresh.
 
So to end this post.. don't ever judge a book by it's cover because you never know the greatest that it may bring you.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

An update on my 21 day challenge & Tex Mex Chili

Today is "Day 3" of my 21 day challenge so today I thought I would give you a little update on how it was going.
 
I have made sure to eat breakfast every morning. I mostly stick with scrambled eggs. Sometimes I like to spice it up and add hot sauce. I stay away from the fatty breakfast meats and toast.
 
 
For my lunches I have been eating leafy green salads with grilled chicken and dressing on the side.

 
Dinners have been veggies with lean meat.
This was teriyaki chicken with veggies.

 
This was lean sirloin tips with low fat gravy. (even though it is low fat it must still be good because the hubby loves it)
I also made my low carb squash casserole. It is just squash, low fat cheese, greek yogurt and eggs.

 
So as you can see I have been back in the kitchen which is not only healthier but better on the wallet as well.
 
Now to my Sunday. Sunday used to be my cooking & Lifetime movie day so when I woke up this morning I did just that.
 
I pulled out everything I would need to surprise my hubby with a delicious breakfast.
 
 
His breakfast consisted of cheesy eggs, bacon & hashbrown casserole.
 
My hashbrown casserole was not in the least bit healthy so I left it all for him.
 
Maybe I should attempt a healthy sweet potato hashbrown casserole?

 
For my breakfast I had scrambled eggs and vegetarian sausage.

 

 
After we stuffed our faces I cleaned up the breakfast mess and then pulled out everything I would need for my next cooking session.
 
Next up Tex Mex Chili
 
What you will need:
 
Tomato puree
Ground turkey
Turkey sausage
2 cans of low sodium black beans (drained
2 cups of water
low sodium tex mex chili seasoning

 
Start by cooking your ground turkey, then drain and add your turkey sausage and let cook.

 
Once cooked add the rest of your ingredients.
 
Cover and let cook on low/medium for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.

 
Then enjoy your healthy Tex Mex Chili. Perfect for these "chili" fall days

 
Hope everyone has a healthy, happy week!!