Let's Feast

We have a saying around our house (thanks to a Fall Retreat/RYM friend) "let's feast".

Three steps to good feasting....

1. Good Friends

2. Good Food

3. Good Conversation

Rarely do these nights happen but I would say that tonight was one of those nights. I think these nights are a little glimpse of what it will be like in heaven....where you get to drink in the glory of God through taste, smell, and sight. Sweet, sweet moments.

Meet Aww Suki Suki

I have always been a Labrador girl. I had a black lab, Sammy Joe, in my life for 13 years. All my family members own labs. So when I got married....we got a lab. Our little lab, Lucy, got out of her fence while we were away and we no longer own a lab....after 8 months of mourning we were ready to be pet owners again. Suki is a full-blooded Siberian Husky(the hubs has always wanted a Husky)...her registered name is Aww Suki Suki. We have had her for 1 and a 1/2 years now and have loved it! We feel like she is a little human. She is very intelligent.......she talks to us (in husky language), she sings along to Andrew playing the harmonica (mostly hymns), and knows at least 10 words. We are like those parents who spell out I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M in front of their children, so they don't go nuts. We think she is pretty special! She is not perfect though....she has difficulty walking on hardwood floors. We lived in a small apartment for her first year and she would never go into the kitchen because of the tile flooring. So we found a new house with a great backyard.....but the house has hardwood floors in EVERY room. SCARY right? She has adjusted well and has her safety zones on the scattered rugs.
I love watching her run around freely in the backyard!

Yes, I realize I just wrote a BLOG about my dog but she is pretty extraordinary.

The Scarf Lady

That's right guys....I am known as "The Scarf Lady" at school. This winter I went crazy with the scarves. Question: What should I get you for Christmas? Answer: Scarf. Don't think that I was trying to be trendy by no means. I just know how to tie a scarf perfectly to hide my "food baby". It even has a name...I call it Helga. What will I do when the winter is over? I know some people wear them in the summer but I don't like neck sweat. No ma'am. I guess I will have to tell Helga goodbye. Two things I don't like are exercising and watching what I eat. I will keep you posted on how that goes.

Thrifty Things

When I was visiting Savannah, GA a couple of years ago, I went shopping with my sister, mom, and some friends at some top notch thrift stores and I was hooked. I love going to thrift stores and finding interesting things.

This is one of my favorite hats I own....I think we should bring these hats back!!



My little obsession with hats possibly could have influenced my purchasing these pictures. I know one of them takes place in Canada at Niagara Falls because of the railing. I have a little art project planned out for these pictures.


VINYL RECORDS! My mom gave me some of my first records and I was hooked. I love searching through all the records at a thrift store! You cannot get any better than painting and listening to a vinyl record.



I think it is an adventure going to thrift stores. You never know who you will meet. I met a lady at one store I visited and I told her I was interested in some of the hats. She then told me a story about each one of the hats. She wore most of them to church and thinks that ladies and gentlemen should start wearing them again.

I have a Rod Stewart album that I absolutely love. The song Maggie May is on the record. When I play that record it takes me to the Neshoba County Fair dancing with my daddy on the front porch. I think it seems to be more about the story as to why I enjoy getting these things than the actual item.

Project Runway Here I Come.....

I secretly want to be a contestant on Project Runway....granted I am a beginner and need to re-evaluate after I officially sew something on my own. My momma, who is a whiz at sewing, brought her sewing machine and taught me how to put a zipper in, how to hem a skirt, how to cut out the fabric pieces, what fabrics to use, how to make ruffles...etc. I made tons of mistakes, like sewing the skirt in backwards and making the bodice too small....but like Tim Gunn says "make it work". I plan on wearing a cute cardigan and belt with it in the spring! This was such a fun project to do with my momma!

Book Reviews

I love reading! I wanted to share 4 books that I have read within the past couple of months....three of my favorites and one not so much.


1. Sold by Patricia McCormick
It is about a young girl, who is unknowingly sold into prostitution by her stepfather. The author is not too graphic but does get the point across of how horrendous the brothels are in the red-light district of Calcutta.
LOVE THIS BOOK!! It made me want to move to India and fight for the women and children in Calcutta.

2. All Over but the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
Rick Bragg writes a memoir about his childhood struggles as a "dirt-poor" boy in northeast Alabama. He becomes a reporter for The New York Times and gives all the credit of his success to his mother.
I fell in love with his momma! He is a great writer and I enjoyed this book very much. Thanks Aunt Debbie!

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
LOVED IT! It is 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi where you meet 3 southern women Abilene, Skeeter, and Minny. I seriously laughed out loud. READ IT!

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
It is about an army dude falling in love with a chick while he was on leave for two weeks. He goes back to Iraq and 9/11 happens which makes him re-enlist. Girl gets impatient and falls for another dude. Army guy ends up doing a selfless act towards the end. I am just sort of done with these stories from ole' Nicholas....A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe....same kind of stuff over and over again! Sorry Mr. Sparks.

Let me know of any books you think I should read!

Aunt Casie and Uncle Drew

We had my niece and nephew (Hannah and Will) over for a "spend the night par-tay" because they were out of school for President's Day. We usually watch a movie but since the Winter Olympics is a happening thing (insert sarcasm here) we watched that instead....the nephew is a bit obsessed. After being asked a million questions about the winter games, (Aunt Casie is suppose to be all knowing)it was time for bed. We prayed for snow. I think I love these two kiddos more and more! They are pretty adorable sleeping with four stuffed animals a piece and their "gockeys"(a made up word for some sort of soothing sleepy time object). We were all awakened by little footsteps running around on the hardwood floor. Will sees snow! So we got all bundled up and headed outside for some snow angel making, snow ball throwing, and snow eating....ewww....after FWEEZING (Will language) our fingers off we came in for some warm doughnuts and milk. I love being Aunt Casie.

V-Day

Our first Valentine's consisted of Andrew playing video games with my brother while I read a book. We don't have high expectations for this day and usually end up cooking something on the grill and maybe watching a movie. I would have to say that 2010's Valentine's Day was unexpectedly awesome. We got some tickets to see Howie Day and Serena Ryder in Birmingham back in January and it happened to fall on Valentine's Day weekend....whatever we were going to the concert anyway....so we headed to B'ham with some tips on where to eat, we shopped a little, and got a hotel (no one likes to drive back that late). While parking at the restaurant on an incline, Andrew got into a fight with the car's emergency break and we thought the car had died. After we took care of that we ate at Surin West, which is a delicious Thai restaurant in the 5 points area. Then we went directly to the WorkPlay Theater and got front row seats for the concert. We could practically see Howie Day's nose hairs....unfortunately Serena Ryder was a no show but Howie pulled through for us. Howie Day is a million times better LIVE. FYI: Don't judge him on the radio version of the Collide song. So this V-Day was a big step up from our first one, but I think this weekend would have been totally rad anyway...it just happened to fall on V-Day weekend.

The Old GE

My husband and I just moved into a house where there is a vintage (1950's) GE stove. I was pretty stoked! What's the first thing you do when you got a sweet looking vintage stove? You go to Anthropologie of course and get a cute oven mit and spoon rest to put on the old GE.
After receiving a housewarming gift from my mother-in-law consisting of shiny new pots and pans, I thought that this is a great opportunity to step it up. New house, new pots and pans, and an old stove as inspiration I set off to the grocery store.

Well my first meal to cook was Hot Taco Rice!

Hot Taco Rice:

1 lb. Ground Beef
1 onion chopped
1 1/2 cups of medium salsa
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 1/2 cups original minute rice

Garnishes: chopped tomato, sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sliced black olives

Brown beef and onion in skillet. Add salsa, tomato sauce, and bouillon cube. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare rice as directed on package. Serve beef mixture over rice; top with garnishes.

Enjoy!


Also, the Anthropologie spoon rest was the inspiration for the colors in the house. So my Mom came for a visit and we went to Lowe's with the spoon rest in tow and found the colors for our living room, kitchen, dining room, and foyer. We were at Lowe's for maybe thirty minutes! Just a tip to take your inspiration with you when picking out colors!