My Favorite Things

i love it!

a wedding shower

for Esther!
We served her favorite foods.
It was an interesting mix…ha!
And since I had sugar overload last week and am still getting over the consequential cold I didn’t get to eat one single sugary snack.
It was torture!

I love peanut butter cups

 

and pound cake

 

and lemon coconut frosted cupcakes.
Feel sorry for me yet?

We played some bridal bingo.

And Esther opened lots of gifts!
My favorite was watching her open the Tastebook we all made for her!
I’m stealing those recipes by the way.

And I made her this Bride to Be banner.
I had to show you a picture of it hanging on my mantle because I hung it in a dumb way at the shower…making it less cute.
Then I realized on the way home the club house where we had the shower had a fireplace and mantle.
See how sugar messes with my brain!

I love you Esther!

sick

I ate too much candy corn last night.
I woke up with a swollen, sore throat and plugged head.
This has happen before…
chocolate chips cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, ice cream.
It’s my own fault.
I’m an adult…I must learn to control my sweet tooth. 
Especially since its fall and the flu is circulating and I spend plenty of time with germy children and I’m going on a missions trip soon.

So far I’ve taken wellness formula, goldenseal, and Echinacea tea.
But I think the laying in bed and watching six episodes of Torkelsons on YouTube is the most comforting.

Hope your having a good Friday night.
Watch out for that candy corn!

hi friends!

I’ve missed you!
I have some random things I want to talk about.
One…I’m crushing on this dress.
Do you think I could pull it off?
I’ve never done an animal print.

And…did you read Pioneer Woman’s blog post today?
She is going to be on the Bonnie Hunt Show!
I’m happy for her…but you know how I get possessive. 
Now the whole worlds gonna know about her.
She is mine!
I only share her with you guys!
I know…don't worry…God is helping me through my craziness ;)

While we are on the topic of Pioneer Woman…
let me share with you this recipe of hers.
Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes

I really liked it.
And was sad that I was leaving for the weekend and wouldn't get to enjoy the leftovers.
But soon got over it because I was leaving for the beach.

Here are a few more pics of our last day at Cannon Beach.

We found the sweetest little nail salon.
Where we got pedicures!
My toes are fuchsia pink!
The name of the OPI color was It’s All Greek To Me.
Love it!


Here is Tasha getting her toes all done up.

Check out the belly she’s got on her!
I’m not being mean…SHE IS PREGNANT!
We realized on the trip that I haven’t announced this on the blog yet!
And she is due in December…
and she got her toes painted pink because SHE IS HAVING A GIRL!

Glad I got that all cleared up!

Did I cover enough topics for ya?
Yeesh!

a day at the beach

We took our chances

and headed to the beach

 

It’s a little hard to see but it was really windy and the sand was blowing all around
It felt more like we were in the Sahara than at the beach

This is Haystack rock
Made famous by its leading role in The Goonies

Tasha and I were smart and brought our rain boots for walking on the beach

Then I wasn’t so smart and let the tide get the best of me.

 

And even worse…the wind blew the water I was pouring out of the boot onto a couple downwind of us.
Sorry.

We loved these beautiful starfish and big anemone

 

Kristel and I checkin out the marine life

The smaller anemone cluster together on the rocks.
I loved running my hand along them…although I’m not sure they appreciated it.

My partners in crime for the weekend

This sweet newlywed couple

got us thinking about our men

and I wanted to take a romantic pic of me against the sea grass.
It didn’t turn out as I planned.
But dont worry…Tasha was there to capture the moment for you all.
Thanks!

But I forgive her and Kristel for making fun of me

A fun day at the beach.
Don't you wish you could have one of those more often?

downtown

well we started it off with breakfast and some worship

Then we hit the town…and the local candy shop ;)

I had a really good crab cake from Cranky Sues…and a sparkling green tea root bear.
YUM.

Cannon Beach is such a cute little town.
Lots of little shops all nestled and tucked away.

Mom…this ones for you!

After exploring downtown we headed to the beach.
I’ll share those pics with you tomorrow…
make sure to come back tho cause we took some good ones…
including a picture of me being assaulted by the ocean!

Hope your having a great weekend!

women’s retreat

that’s where I am.
a women’s retreat at the beach none the less.
but…its the Pacific Northwest so it rained non-stop and was cloudy all day.
pictures of the beach will be taken tomorrow no matter what the weather does.
As for now…check out what we ate tonight…courtesy of Tasha because I was too much of a chicken to get up in front of everyone and take the pics.

yes…I'm stuffed!

Husb…I miss you a lot.
Lets kiss when I get home!
Love you!

and the winner is…

number 8…Kristel!
Nice bod!

haha…the best part about the winner being someone you actually know in person is that you can Photoshop their face to a pic.
Awesome.
Kristel…lets talk…and get you your prize!

I used a random number generator to do the picking…there is no way I would be able to pick.
I didn’t realize it would be so hard to only let one person win…if I was a millionaire I would buy you all a crock-pot and a Starbucks gift card!
But I want to say THANK YOU to all of you for reading my blog…it makes me feel very special!

Enough of this mushy stuff…check out my pumpkin!

 

Isn’t he cute?
Have you guys carved any pumpkins yet?

fried green tomatoes

A couple weeks ago Tasha gave me some green tomatoes to fry up.
Then I waited too long and they turned red.
So, as any good friend would do, she had pity on me and gave me a few more.
 

I got the recipe from my Joy of Cooking book.
Honestly, it’s not the best recipe.
I’ve made better.
I say that…but we emptied the plate within a few minutes ;)
They recommend cutting them into 1/2” slices.
I recommend thin slices…that way they really crisp up well when fried.
The batter could also use a little hot sauce.
I’ll try to dig out my other friend green tomato recipe and try again.
If you have a favorite recipe pass it along!

Last…make sure to get in on my giveaway if you haven’t already.
I’m naming the winner on Tuesday!

1 year blog anniversary

Did you guys catch NieNie on Oprah yesterday?
I was so proud of her!
When I read that she was going to be on the show I was excited but nervous for her.
But seriously, she looked great and was much more physically stronger than I had been imagining from just reading her blog.
You rocked the Oprah show NieNie!

Now that I got that out of my system…

Today is my 1 year blogging anniversary!!!
So, I’m having my first giveaway.
Here is the deal…husb and I have a difference of opinion on what the giveaway item should be.
So, we decided to let the winner pick.

Option #1

The Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 slow cooker with earth tone stoneware.

 

Option #2

A $50 Starbucks gift card.

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment telling me which item you would pick!
Mom, Dad, sisters, friends, fellow bloggers…your all welcome to enter.
I do have to restrict the giveaway to those who live in the United States.

I will announce the winner on Tuesday, Oct 13th.
Let the commenting begin!

it’s fall

In the pacific northwest.
It’s sunny, the air is crisp and the leaves are starting to turn.
And…pumpkins are everywhere.

Last week us farmers put on our rain boots and gathered together our pumpkins and gourds.

We had an awesome summer.
It reached over 100 degrees for goodness sake!
I had pretty much been ignoring the fact that it was over.
Wearing flip-flops even tho I knew my toes would freeze.
However, the garden snapped me back to reality…
I’m ready to enjoy fall and start bundling up for winter.

beef bourguignon

I’m officially in love with my crock-pot.

It deserves its picture on the blog again.
As you can see…its a 3-in-1 Hamilton Beach with three cute earth tone stoneware crocks.
2qt, 4qt and 6qt
I’ve only made two crock pot meals so far but both recipes called for a different size stoneware so I’m thinking I made a good pick.

My second crock pot meal was beef bourguignon and it was really good.

 

I highly suggest it.
It made me feel like an adult woman who knows her way around the kitchen.
In reality all I did was fill a pot with uncooked food and leave for 5 hours.
I’m okay with that.

the 30 days of no spending

money on eating out challenge is over!
Ya think I could have come up with a longer title?

Yep, Wednesday was the last day!
Husb celebrated yesterday by having lunch with a friend.
Isn’t he suppose to be celebrating with me ;)

So here are the results people…

July
groceries - $580
eating out - $350

August
groceries - $328
eating out - $724

September
groceries - $537 
eating out - $0

We saved an average of $454 compared to the previous two months.

Ok, so give me some props for posting those numbers cause that's embarrassing!
Although, I have to preface it with the fact that my husband is a very generous person and most always pays for dinner when we go out with friends.
This automatically makes eating out expensive.
Besides that…I have no excuses.
I confess to taking the easy route of eating out instead of eating in.

Overall, this was a good experience. I’m glad we saved some money and I was able to prove to myself that I could push through those unmotivated, I don't know what to make for dinner nights.
Husb and I want to be good steward of the money God gives us and this fast was a good reminder of how complacent we can become. 

Our next challenge?
Husb, I’m totally game for a give your wife a back rub daily challenge ;)

you cheapen this day

Do any of you guys watch Million Dollar Listing on Bravo?

I’m not sure I would recommend it…but we keep seeing previews for the new season.
One of the clips is of the guy on the far left saying in the most monotone voice ever, “you cheapen this day”.
It cracks us up.
Husb does the best impersonation and I about pee my pants each time.
Oh the things that entertain us.
Moving on…

 

Take a look at my new crock pot!

Yeah…I know I told you that it arrived broken in the mail.
Well it did.
But Husb had pity on me and we went to the local hardware store to pick up a new one.
I love it!
What I don’t love?
Crappy customer service where they tell you a new order has been processed even though you know there is NO WAY IN H#!! a company ships a product fifteen minutes after you get off the phone with them.

As a thank you I made husb a fresh peach pie.
His favorite thing ever.

My first crock pot meal was Esther and Becky’s White Chicken Chili.
Thanks Ladies!