Total Woman Tuesday

Brittany over at The High-Heeled Housewife is BACK!!! wahoooo! If you're as excited as I am, join me in the return of her Total Woman Tuesdays series!  

{Brittany is one of my motivations to start and keep up with this blog. She's so truely inspiring, and I can't wait for her to come back in full force in a few months once she becomes a SAHW!} Brittany says: 'What's your hubby's favorite dinner?  Make it for him tonight or sometime soon...and remember to tell him how much you adore him!' I can't wait to do this challenge when hubbs-to-be gets home! Yes, he is still in West Virginia! He's had a HORRIBLE few weeks up there. Not so much with the state, but with the people he works with... I've been trying to figure out what to cook for him when he gets home Friday! {*squeal*, he's coming home in 3 days ♥ } Here are his top 10 favorite meals that I've cooked:Beef BourguignonVenison ChiliManicottiChicken Fried Venison SteaksGooey BurgersPork Chops or TenderloinHawaiian Chicken with my famous Hawaiian RiceCarne GuisadaGrilled Sirloin or RibeyesTaco Casserole  Here's the low-down on these:It's too warm and springy now to make Chili.I'm out of deer meat, unfortunately :( I can't stand Taco Casserole, but HE loves it! {bleh} {a large dose of Chocolate Lava Cakes will be made while he is home. its the one item he has begged for since being gone, not that I have a problem with it} WHAT DO YOU THINK I SHOULD MAKE HIM???{leave a comment below about your fave on the list, or give me a new idea} { *i love comments* , come on, make my day, please?}{i'll be sharing whichever recipe, if new, after i make it, if that doesn't entice you to comment}{ok, now i'm begging ♥ }  

Do you MISS me yet?!?!

Nope, didn't think so...Just Kidding! I have been unbelievably busy, let me update.I'm still in JC at my parents house, and will be until this coming Monday or Tuesday...lots of stuff going on. 1. Wedding Planning...things are slowly starting to fall in place. People don't seem so interested in having us as a client...I've had countless vendors tell me that they couldn't meet with me this week, because they were training new designers, only open a few days this week or at certain times...I'm a customer who likes to be catered to, and I love it when people appreciate and respect me. Today mom and I are meeting our florist for the first time...pray for us. 2. I've been working out EVERY DAY for the past 4 days. Wii Just Dance 2 has kicked my butt. I danced for 3 hours straight on Sunday {I was enjoying dancing again for once}. Monday-Today we did one hour each...I've been exercising with my mom. On Tuesday we each bought the Wii Fit Plus {board and game}. Yesterday we each worked out for 1 hour.  3. SWEET P BOUTIQUE shop is NOW OPEN on ETSY! Visit us here...we are slowly putting things up to see how things flow...check us out!  

  4. Hubbs-to-be is extremely unhappy...which puts me in a HORRIBLE mood. Things aren't going well in West Virginia. He's dealing with men who seem to be moody and childish. A few nights ago, Brian was working because he's on nightshift, and the other guys that are on dayshift went out drinking{while on the clock}, got wasted, came back to location and slept it off. Brian got off of his shift at 6am, and walked to his soiled bed from a co-worker who peed his own bed, and then decided to sleep on Brian's bed. HOW DISGUSTING. This is just one, out of the overbearing things going on in WV. They are treating Brian like a child, and he can't handle it any more. He's either coming home Monday or Friday of next week. Please pray that things start to get better for him. He's so far from home, he's homesick, and he's in the company of people that don't deserve to be around him.  5. I've been having an awesome time with my mommy. My dad as been out of town for his job for a few days. So we've had a few girls days/nights with each other, filled with chocolate, laughter, and chick flicks...amazing time {which makes me feel even more guilty about what Brian is going through}.  

Yes, I promise I'm alive!

I have ALOT of stuff I'll be posting in the next few days, so prepare yourself, lol!

I have won another award, which I'll explain later.

I'm at my parents house in Johnson City, enjoying my R&R! Get ready for picture overload soon, and we're getting closer and closer to my 100th post! More about that later too!

I hope you are all doing well my lovely readers! For now I'll leave you with a pic of myself, an old pic of myself and Brian, and some candid face-time pics of Brian and I. I downloaded an awesome new app on my iPhone. Instagram. I have so many more pics to share! the only one I'm sharing from the app is the one of myself!

Thanks for reading!

Hubbs-To-Be at Home with Me!

We went to Dr.'s Office this morning at the butt-crack of dawn, literally. Hubbs-to-be has an upper respiratory infection. It seems to be going around. He's on some antibiotics now that will hopefully kick this infection to the curb.

Hubbs-to-be has been home for 4 wonderful days. He will be home all day until Monday. He leaves to go work in West Virginia on Monday. I have the next 3 days with him as well. All in all, it will be a total of 7 days of him being home. Which is pretty darn amazing considering the fact that I haven't spent an entire week with him in entirety in over 2 years. He started this current job/career in December of 2008. Our relationship has gone through alot in these past 2 years, and we are so much stronger and our love has grown deeper and deeper.

Since he is home, I don't have much time to blog, which is bad for me and my readers, but great for me and my love...So I want you to know that I'm thinking about ya'll and actually discussing blogging with B alot. He's proud of my small successes, and I'm going to rack his brain later to get his opinion on post ideas. I love getting new ideas. I have a few that I plan on scheduling for this weekend so that I don't completely lose my readers. So bare with me these next few days, and understand that my personal life is so important when the love is home with me. {no, its really not that important when he's gone, lol}

He's actually begging me for attention right now. He's driving me nuts. He's bored, restless, and running a muck around my house. He has now claimed himself as dog warden. He has put each pup in prison {kennel} once today. So I hope ya'll have a wonderful evening, and tomorrow I will have a more interesting post...I think it will be a new recipe...you'll just have to wait and see!

Before I leave you, here is something I designed today just to play around with. Enjoy! Just something inspirational, if you want to put it in use, go for it. If you sport it on your blog, make sure to either link it to my blog, or let your readers know that I designed it. Whichever way you sport it, just don't claim it as your own, please. Super simple, just like the design. Quiet, yet loud at the same time! Hubbs-to-be actually helped me design it too, so props to him.

   



Mini Spinach Dip Bowls {Recipe}...oh and some ranting

So, I had some awesome plans to make some yummy superbowl food. Plans changed, big time. Congrats to the Packers! I was rooting for them!

Hubbs-to-be was sent on a job Sunday morning at 5:30am. He thought he would be home in time to have our lil party, which ended up being a pity party instead. Needless to say neither one of us were in good moods, and things just got worse.

We originally planned, since the beginning of the week, to have friends/family over. I was amidst making oreo balls, when I got a text from them saying that they would rather go over to someone else's house than come to ours. R.U.D.E....

{ Not only was this just some other friend's house, but this friend of theirs, is selfish, conceited, and well I don't understand her. I have avoided this woman so many times because I become an evil person whenever her name is brought up or when I see her. {literally, a fire lights up inside of me whenever I hear her name} She lives a lifestyle that I don't agree with, and I'd rather not be around people like that. Being around those kind of people rubs off on others, and I'm not about to let myself become anyone like her. I pray about this almost daily because my family/friends act oblivious to her lifestyle, and gossip about her. I don't want to be one of those people, I want to keep walking with our Lord, and in His word. I hate that I am judgemental and have a hard time forgiving people, but I'm seriously working on it. }

My feelings were severely hurt by my friends/family. I prayed amidst my extreme anger, when I realized that I was being that evil person again. I finally listened to God. Forgiveness is in the making. The man upstairs controls it all, and somewhere in all of this, there is a life lesson. I'm taking the following scripture to heart this evening as I'm writing this:

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

As I'm writing this, it is now 3:00am on Monday morning. Brian is still on the job, and not expected to come home for hours. I plan on staying up. {yes, I'm crazy like that} I need some major time with God. I plan on doing my GMG James Bible Study for the week ahead tonight while I'm waiting on him to come home.

I had my pity party, and made some food, and now that I've ranted {gosh, I feel so much better}, it's on to the recipes I wanted to share.

I made Mini Spinach Dip Bowls, Oreo Balls, Mint Oreo Balls, Mexican 3-layer dip, and Chili. {I'll share the oreo ball recipes this week}. I ate everything but the Chili. Of course I only had a few of each, lol...I have ALOT of leftovers for whenever it is that hubbs-to-be comes home. The chili will be frozen for hubbs-to-be so he has food when he goes on jobs.

Mini Spinach Dip Bowls

this recipe is the modified version of Picky-Palate's Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls

my modifications are in red, and I took a few things completely out to make things a little simpler, go see PP's version too!

13.2 oz roll of refrigerated french bread loaf,

1, 10oz box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

3 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 Cup light sour cream

2 Tablespoons fresh shredded parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

salt & pepper

1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese-use 1/2 for sprinkling, and other 1/2 in the mixture

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 12 muffin cups with non stick cooking spray. Unroll package of french bread loaf and slice into 12 equal size slices, about 1 inch thick. Press each slice into about a 3 inch round, I did this by pressing in between my hands. Press into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup. Set aside.

2. Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, Chili Powder, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. Mix until well combined. With a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop dip into each of the centers of bread bowls. Top evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 15-17 minutes until just turning brown on edges. Remove and let cool for 3-5 minutes before removing from pan.

Makes 12 mini spinach dip bread bowls.

fresh out of the oven

ooey gooey, cheesy, and blissful mini bread bowls

*sneak peek of a new recipe*

Stay tuned! Off to go wash my eye out now, I touched it after washing my hands 10 times because I chopped jalapenos for the Chili.   God Bless,   Link Parties I'm participating in:

Read this when you're hungry...

Because, let me tell you, these recipes are most certainly yummy, and I want you to try them!

So, as you all read on my post about our 7 year anniversary, I had some awesome plans for that night and this past weekend.

I decided to make Beef Bourguignon and Molten Lava Cakes for our anniversary. As a homemaker, who most of the time, doesn't get an opportunity to dress up fancy for her hubby-to-be, I wanted to look like the future-wife he really wanted. I wanted to impress him with my homemaking, cooking, and style...hehe...So I cooked all afternoon to my heart's desire, got all prettyfied and was anxiously awaiting his arrival.

I had watched the movie Julie & Julia this past week and was really curious to try out this recipe. The beef bourguignon was quite simple {if you follow directions appropriately, unlike me} and only required a tedious preparation. Once the prepwork is done, it basically sits and cooks in the oven...alot like a stew. I have to say it was ALOT yummyier than a regular stew. The basic stew I'm used to is a beef soup with LOTS of veggies and eaten with cornbread or yeast rolls. Beef Bourguignon was creamy, beefy, and full of flavor and didn't need much to accompany the amazing tastes it provided.

The beginning of the stew

{I cheated and didn't feel like seperating the cooking up, so I cooked the meat and veggies at the same time, just seperated.}

The end of the stew

Over noodles, this stew was so yummy

Here is the recipe for Beef Bourguignon I used from HowSweetEats.com:

3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1-2 inch chunks
6 slices bacon, fried, drained, and cut into chunks
2 yellow onions, diced
2 carrots, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups sliced white button mushrooms
2 cups assorted pearl onions, peeled (I used very little of these, and they really didn't do much, you could probably exclude these if you want)
1/4 cup Cognac or brandy (I excluded this because I didn't have any, and it still tasted awesome)
3 cups full-bodied, burgundy wine (I used sweet red and it made the stew a little sweet, it was a delish flavor)
2 cups beef stock
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
fresh parsley to garnish
salt & pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Pat meat dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven on medium-high heat. Brown beef in batches, setting it all off to the side once it is finished.
• Turn heat down to medium, and saute chopped yellow onions and carrots until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle flour and stir until incorporated. Add in beef and bacon.
• Add in brandy, red wine, 1 1/2 cups beef stock, garlic, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and cover. Braise in the oven for 2 hours.
• In a skillet on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Carmelize the mushrooms, removing when finished. In the same skillet, add the pearl onions and let brown. Add in 1/2 cup beef stock and cover, letting the onions soften. Set aside with the mushrooms.
• When the beef bourguignon is finished, taste and season if needed. Stir in the pearl onions and mushrooms. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Serve with potatoes or noodles.

Brian LOVED this! I will be making this again! I have plenty of leftovers too that will be going with him on his jobs in the future. {I freeze alot of our leftovers for him to take}.

While I was boiling the noodles and baking some rolls that flopped big time, and were hard as a rock, I started to make our Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes. They were extremely simple, and you MUST try them! {I got this recipe from Raising Homemakers}

{my pretty lava cakes untouched for your viewing pleasure ♥}

Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes

4 tablespoons unsalted butter,
room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted
{Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting and/or Fresh Whipped Cream, for serving, optional}

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin.
• Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined.
• Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
• Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when
• the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, top or bottom sides up.
• Dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.
• Note: These cakes will rise beautifully as they bake (like a souffle), but once they are removed from the oven they will slowly deflate.

lava cakes right out of the oven

{2 out of the 6 turned out perfect, these are what the other 4 looked like. Brian snuck one in his mouth before I could take a pic, hence only 3 on the pan}

ooooooey gooooey yummmyness

we.couldn't.resist. so we ate them off the pan. {I flipped mine onto a cutting sheet so my pan wouldn't get filthy.}

Here are some more pics from our 7 year anniversary celebration!

I folded our napkins into hearts ♥

me all purtied up for the night. {I quickly learned that I need to clean the house in heels...my legs were so sore and tired after wearing them}

the wine I used in the beef bourguignon, I had a few sips before it went in :)

our sweet white sparkling wine, some of the best I've EVER had

waffles on Friday morning

my new kitchen stand ^ for my kitchen aid in our gap next to our stove

Brian built it...what a great handyman

So if, you've stayed with me through this entire post, THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as Brian and I have...let me know if you've tried them out! Feel free to use my pictures too, just tell everyone where you got them please, or else I'll be marking them soon with copyright labels!

Now I'm off to make some luscious lemon bars and grill some sirloins with Brian...yep, there will be recipes posted soon, no worries! Happy Sunday Funday ya'll!

God Bless,
 

♥ 7 years of unconditional LOVE ♥

Today, January 27th, is Brian and I's 7 year anniversary!

7 years ago, today, Brian asked me to "go out" with him and be his girlfriend. It was our junior year in high school. I was 16, about to turn 17 in April. Brian had just turned 18, five days before on January 22nd. (He just turned 25, 5 days ago from today! He's now a quarter century old!)

On August 13th, 2003, Brian walked into the subway in our hometown. He was a new, hot boy in my life. The new kid in school. He happened to walk in with my ex-boyfriend, to grab a sandwich in between his two-a-day football practice. I was working there over the summer, wearing my korny subway uniform with the smell of food lingering (I was making his food before he even knew it). He was sweaty, stinky, dirty, and so beyond steamy. I can still remember exactly how he looked. I was in love. Immediately my heart started racing, my body got all hot and bothered, and then I started sweating too. I wanted to have him all to myself. I wanted dibs...lol.

I quickly asked my ex who this stud was, and Brian replied quickly with "I'm Brian Lee". I melted right then and there. I had always wanted to date a Brian and he had a last name that was easy and smooth, and went really well with my first name. I was already planning out our future from the moment I met him.

We quickly flirted and then he was off to eat. A couple of visits of lunch later, I asked for his number, and he had no problem giving it to me. From then on we were inseperable, until high school drama got stirred up, and he didn't like the fact that everyone thought we were together and going out.

Long story short, he called me annoying to my friends and I overheard the conversation, I ignored him, dated 2 other guys, he went out with a friend of mine for a few months while I ignored him, they broke up, he stalked me, and called me daily, for the entire month of December {while I was still ignoring him}, his birthday came around and all of a sudden my mom made me answer his 5th phone call for the night. He just wanted to hang out, so we did.

Days later, my best friend and maid of honor, dared me to go out with him if he asked, for revenge. Days later, he asked, and I was ready to stab him in the back for hurting me. 2 weeks later, he whispered 'I love you' into my ear during the halftime of the superbowl {the year the Janet Jackson fiasco happened}. I was shocked. I wasn't ready. I had just gotten out of a horrible, abusive relationship with a 21 year old guy and was scared.

I told him that I needed time, and within a matter of days, I realized how much I loved him. I told him right away, and the rest of the story is history.

I'm amazed at how fast 7 years has gone by. Way too fast. Alot of the time, I admit, I took our relationship for granted. He's dealt with my being pushy, over-controlling, emotional, moody, depressed, sick, unfaithful, etc. Everything that I could have thrown at him possible, and he stuck with me through it all.

I can't explain how much I love this man. He is everything I could have ever asked for from God and more. I am truely blessed to be marrying this man in less than 9 months. I am blessed to be spending the rest of my life with him. I am blessed that this man loves me more than anything else in this world. I am so blessed he wants to grow old together, and have a family with me.
So, To Brian, if you're reading this:

I love you with all of my heart and soul.
I love the life that we've built and the moments and memories we share.
I love your laugh, and that one look you give me.
I love the way you call me woman, and say 'there she is' when I call you or answer your phone calls.
I love the way you love me with all of your heart and you sometimes can't resist me.
I love how you rub your eyes when you're sleepy, like a baby.
I love how you roll your clothes when you pack.
I love how you spend the majority of your days working so that I can have a life at home.
I love how you trust me unconditionally, and never underestimate me.
I love how you lick my dinner plates clean, and burp after a meal, and say 'compliments to the chef' instead of 'excuse me'. {sorry for telling the world your tacky manners, lol.}
I love how you open the door, EVERY TIME, for me, and let the world know that chivalry still exists.
I love how you have so much love for your brother, who lives halfway around the world and how much you love your nephew that you've never met.

You are an amazing man, and I LOVE YOU! I look forward to growing old with you!

In lue of our anniversary, I have started the valentine challenge going on over at Women Livng Well Blog. The 'Be My Valentine Challenge'. Even though I'm not married, I still wanted to join the challenge.

Week 1: Look for ways to praise your husband verbally. Praise him in front of the kids, friends, family, co-workers, on facebook, tweet it - get praise out anyway you can!
♥ I praised him verbally and on facebook on his birthday, and just bombarded facebook and told him on the phone. ♥

Week 2: Get creative with your selflessness!
♥ I have planned some really exciting things for today once Brian gets home from his job! I will update once our anniversary is over, most likely after the weekend {Brian is probably reading this so I can't tell ya'll!} :) ♥

This is us nearly 3 months after we started dating. {Junior Prom 2004}

♥

God Bless,

Hello 2011!

Good Morning!

What a beautiful first day of 2011 it is in Texas today! The sun is sparkling, the weather is nice and cool. Everyone is in a great mood for the new year ahead.

I know its been a while since I've posted. The holiday season took over my life for the past 2 weeks.

I'm starting the year fresh with confidence and faith, why should I start it any different? I'm getting MARRIED this year!

If you would like to join me for the Good Morning Girls Winter Session of faith accountability, read my post on the session here.

Brian spent the NYE in Pecos, TX on a job. We got to ring in the new year via cell phones. I counted down on the phone along with my family and we all rang out "Happy New Year"! It's sad that we didnt get to ring in the new year with a kiss, but it is what it is, and God has a reason. I just have to be confident in God's plan for us.

Here are some recent pics from the holidays...see you soon!

Our sad Christmas tree...but I loved it

Tori girl and Brian on a road trip the day after Christmas

Brian @ McBrides in Austin...this was his Christmas present...a Weatherby Vanguard .270 Sub MOA...another one for his collection of rifles

Me and my mom on NYE! Happy 2011

Tori and Brian again

On the road trip to JC before NYE

On NYE! serious this time

Christmas tree in JC at the PEC lights

More lights from PEC

God Bless,