Fill in the Blank Friday

Again, here I am doing my Fill in the Blank a day late.  Well, this time it wasn't really my fault...the internet at my house wasn't working yesterday, so I was forced to forego my blogging for the day.  That's okay, it's never too late, right?

1. My Halloween plans this year will include going to a Halloween party at a friend of Patrick's house!  This is the first year Patrick and I have celebrated Halloween together because he is usually on his out-of-the-country trip at this time, so I'm pretty pumped about it!

2. My most memorable Halloween costume was probably a few years ago when a few girlfriends and I were the Deal or No Deal girls and one of the girl's boyfriend was Howie Mandell.  Here's a pic just for fun:

3. For Halloween this year I'm going to be well...that's going to be a secret until the Weekend Update.  =)

4. I've always wanted to dress up as the costume that wins the costume contest...that has NEVER happened to me and isn't likely to with my uncreative self in charge of the costume.  =(

5. Halloween free association! one word:  CANDY!!!!!

6. The worst thing about Halloween is that I never feel like my costume is good enough and I never feel comfortable.  =(

7. The best thing about Halloween is seeing kids in cute little Halloween costumes.  I like to hand out candy, but unfortunately, I doubt I'll have many Trick-or-Treaters. 

Well, that's it guys!  If you aren't embarrassed to be posting your Fill in the Blank late like me, then head on over to the little things we do and link up!

Random Thought Thursday

So...I have several things I've thought about blogging about today, so I decided, heck, why not just mention them all...here goes:

1.  I VOTED today!!!!!  Luckily, I found out this morning that it was my last day to early vote so a girl that I work with and I headed out to the polls at lunch.  It feels good to have done my civic duty and have that out of the way.  In Tennessee, we are voting for Governor, and I was actually really torn on who to vote for this time (usually, I vote straight down party lines...although, I won't divulge WHICH party).  =)  Therefore, it was pretty surprising to me, that I had a hard time deciding on who to vote for.  I think in the end that I made the right decision for me!

2.  I have almost decided that it's FINALLY time to purchase a new camera.  I mean, the camera I have now has been through a lot:  from tagging along with me every where I've gone for the last 2 and a half years to jumping out of my hands about 1,000 times to being dropped in a cup of coffee by my beau while he was watching a video.  It's been a good camera, but I've noticed in the last couple of months that it's having some issues; plus, I really want one that's more up to date.  That's where you come in...I need some help.  All of the camera choices are overwhelming and I'm having a hard time determining what I want.  I know that I want a point and shoot (I take a camera way too many places to have to worry with something that won't fit in my purse), I also know that I want a really good zoom and really good mega-pixels.  However, other than that, I'm just not sure what I am looking for.  Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

3.  Not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I am in a Dinner Club.  So far, we have met twice, and tonight we decided to check out Ethiopian food.  Let me just say that I loved it!  I had a great time hanging out with some great ladies, and the food was also really good.  If you are interested in checking out Ethiopian food in Nashville, head over to Gojo on Thompson Lane.  I'll definitely be making a trip back there soon!

4.  We are hosting a yard sale this Saturday at Patrick's house and I think we both feel VERY busy right now.  I never knew how much work was involved in having a yard sale.  I'm sure it will be totally worth it in the end, but I would love for it to already be Saturday morning!!!!!  =)

Well, that's all from me!  Hope you all had a wonderful Thursday!  =)

Pudding Shot Recipe

Okay, so please take a minute to ignore the fact that this post makes me sound like the biggest drinker/partier alive.  I promise, I'm not THAT big of a partier, but I discovered this recipe from this girl (yes, it was wayyyyy before she was pregnant), and now, all of my friends are HOOKED!!!!!  My Knoxville friends insist that I bring them with me every time I head East, and now that I've made it a few times, I must say I'm getting pretty good at it.  I made them for our tailgate on Saturday, and surprisingly, all 100 were eaten by the end of the day!  Below is the recipe:

1 regular sized package Jell-O pudding, any flavor (I used French Vanilla and Chocolate this weekend)
2 cups milk
3/4 cup Kahlua
1/4 cup vodka
16 oz. container Cool Whip

Make the Jell-O pudding by combining the pudding mix with the milk and stir for 1-2 minutes.  Add in the Kahlua and vodka.  Stir in the Cool Whip until mixed well.  Fill 50 3 oz. plastic cups 1/2 full and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pure deliciousness!  Enjoy!  P.S.  The chocolate one tastes just like a Wendy's Frosty!!!!!  =)

Top Two Tuesday!

Top 2 Halloween or Fall crafts/decor/party ideas

1.  Mums

Mums are my favorite fall plant.  I had the great idea to buy 2 of them to put on my front porch this year.  I have seen every time I have gone to the grocerty store and have just passed them up for one reason or another.  However, tonight I decided to head out to finally buy my mums.  It was such a sad sight when I drove around to every grocery store or home improvement store near my house only to find that the only mums left were the ugly, sick looking ones...oh, well, maybe next year!

2.  Corn Stalk and Hay Bale Decorations

A lot of people love decorating pumpkins for Halloween.  While I enjoy that, I like fall decorations that can carry on in to Thanksgiving better.  I love set-ups similar to the one above.  I don't think there is anything nicer than hay bales, corn stalks, a few pumpkins and maybe a scarecrow.  These also make a great set-up for the perfect picture!  =)

Head on over the The Undomestic Momma and tell us what your favorite fall decorations are!

Weekend Update!

Do you ever have one of those weekends that you wish just wouldn't end?  Well, let's face, I wish every weekend wouldn't end.  However, this one was particularly wonderful!  It all started on Thursday night after my Continuing Professional Education (CPE) class in Pigeon Forge ended.  I headed to Knoxville to stay the night with Elaine and Ken who are pictured here:

Elaine and I used to work together when I did an internship in college and she and her husband, Ken, have been WONDERFUL friends to me!  We always have so much fun together, and they are always so nice to help me out when necessary!  On this particular night, Ken's boss had a fundraising BBQ and wine tasting dinner at his house, and they asked if I would like to tag along.  It was an amazing event with 5 courses of food AND wine at the biggest house I've been to in Knoxville.  I have to go ahead and apologize in advance for my lack of pictures this weekend.  Apparently, I REALLY need to work on my picture taking because it has really lacked lately...Regardless of my lack of pictures, it was a super fun evening.  Thanks Elaine and Ken for letting me crash your party AND your spare bedroom.  =) 
After sleeping in a little bit on Friday, I headed to Soccer Taco (a Knoxville fav of mine) for some good Mexican food with the girls I used to work with when I lived there.  It was GREAT to see all of them!  So much has changed in all of our lives in the last 4 and a half years, but everyone looks great, and we had a great time hanging out and catching up!

After lunch I headed to Victor Ashe Park for my long walk of the week.  For those of you who live in Knoxville (or visit there frequently), you should definitely check this park out!  I had to walk 6 miles, and even though that takes awhile, the park is so beautiful that it went by very quickly!  Definitely head out there!

That evening my beau headed to Knoxville to meet up with me.  It was so good to see him, especially since we both had pretty busy/stressful ends to our weeks last week.  We spent the evening hanging out with these two and a couple of their other friends.  Thanks Andi and Rob for opening your home to us and letting us spend the night. 

Saturday morning was another day of sleeping late, and boy did I need it!  I was soooooooo freakin' tired, and it felt so good to get some needed R&R.  We got all packed up and dressed in our orange (except Rob who was our lone Alabama fan) and headed to meet up with some other friends for a day full of tailgating.  Here are a few pics of the day:

My Beau and Me!!!!  =)

Andi, Melissa, me and Ginger getting the tailgating started!

Another pic of Patrick and Me

Us with Rob and Andi

Group Tailgating Shot (notice the mixture of Vols and Bama fans -- we CAN comingle!)

Kat and Mickey came to our tailgate!!!!!  Look how similar mine and Kat's outfits were.  Love it!!!!!  I also love that I was standing up-hill from Kat, so for once it looks like I'm taller than her.  =)

Patrick enjoying his drink of choice...

...and me enjoying mine (recipe for the Pudding Shots pictured here coming in a later post).

It was a great tailgate despite the fact that it felt like a HOT summer day...instead of a nice blustery fall day...after that, it was time to head to the game...once again, my Vols let me down.  However, I, for one, still have to say that I was so proud of them.  No, we didn't play well AT ALL in the second half, and no, we haven't managed to pull out an SEC win all season, but I still love them, and I don't think there was a person in the stadium who thought we would only be down by 3 at half-time.  Also, let's face it, we were playing the #8 team in the country...It would have been a miracle if we won that game.  Even though we didn't even come close to winning, I still got a good shot of kickoff from our seats.

Sunday, after my mom made us a yummy breakfast of biscuits, gravy, bacon, and eggs, it was time to head to church.  Then, it was time for Patrick and me to make a mad dash all over the city of Knoxville putting on the final touches for my Mom's Surprise 60th Birthday Party.  At precisely 2:30, she arrived and this was how surprised she was.

Her birthday isn't actually until Tuesday, but since my sister, Laura and I both live out of town, we decided that having it the Sunday before was the best time.  She seemed to have a wonderful time, and got a chance to see "all of her favorite people."  Yes, these were her exact words.  =)  It was so great to see someone so happy who has spent her entire life making her children happy.  I'm glad she had a great birthday.  I'm sure I speak for my entire family (Dad, Brother and Sister) when I send a special thanks to EVERYONE who helped us pull off this day!  Here are a few pics:

Her Birthday Cake

All of my mom's church friends who also turned 60 this year.  BTW, my mom is the one on the left side...doesn't she look great for 60??????  Sure do hope I look that good at her age!

My mom with everyone in her Sunday School Class

And a nice family shot to finish the day!  (L to R:  Daniel - my brother; Laura - my sister; Patrick; Me; my Dad; my Mom - aka the Birthday Girl; Carole - my aunt; Stephanie - my 2nd cousin; Tim - my cousin's husband; Kelley - my cousin; Rhonda - my other cousin)

Happy Birthday Mama!  I am the luckiest girl to have a wonderful mom like you; not only are you a wonderful mother, but also a wonderful best friend!  I love you very much!

Well, kids, that's it from me...I am exhausted!  All this havin' fun can really take a toll on you.  Hope you all have a great week, and I'll see you soon in the blog world!

A Blog Award!

Yea!  I just found out that I got my second blog award.  Special thanks to Morgan at When Irish Eyes are Smiling!  I recently discovered her blog!  She tells super funny stories about her teaching experiences.  And...to make things even more interesting, she lives in a town close to Nashville!  Go check her out when you have a second!

To accept the Versatile Blogger Award the rules are:
Thank and link back to who gave you the award.
Share 7 things about yourself.
Pass it along to 15 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy.

7 Things About Me:

1.  I am in DESPERATE need of a vacation...and no, I don't mean one of those "go somewhere cool and stay busy checking everything out" vacations.  I mean one of those "grab a book, some sunscreen, and my boyfriend and find somewhere secluded so I can do nothing but relax" vacations.  However, I don't see one of those in my future any time soon, so I guess I just need to enjoy the few relaxing evenings I have at home.
2.  I MAY have responded to one of my Facebook friends' posts that says she is trying to find a good home for a 5 year old pug.  =)  Yes, I know that I need a dog like I need a hole in the head.  However, I have really been wanting a dog for quite sometime, and figure that since this one is free, I might as well look into it.
3.  I have learned as I get older that I like the smell when I walk into my parents' house.  Weird, I know!  Not sure what that smell is, but it definitely reminds me of my childhood.
4.  I am currently looking forward to this weekend a lot!  I get to hang out with Andi (who I talked about here, here and here) on Friday night, tailgate on Saturday, and then head to the UT/AL game Saturday night with my beau (thanks mom and dad for finding us tickets).  Here's hoping that Tennessee can at least play a good game!  I still love my Vols no matter what though!
5.  As an adult, I have lived in 5 different zip codes, but only 1 state.
6.  While I think that traveling overseas would be wonderful, my #1 travel goal is to visit every state in the US.  I am almost half way there, but still have a long way to go.  Hopefully, I can knock a few more out in the next few years.
7.  Ever since I bought a house, I have become addicted to HGTV!  I love watching all the "how to buy a house" type shows, and pretty much always have it on if I'm at home.

Here are the blogs I am tagging (I think I am only tagging 5 though...15 is soooo many):
1.  What's Going on With Ms. Jones
2.  The Survival Guide for the Young Fabulous and Newlywed
3.  My Heart Shaped Life
4.  Simply Smithwick
5.  Overwhelmed by Grace

Thanks again for the blog award, Morgan!  Well, friends, this may be all from me for a few days...lots of busy things coming up.  I'll try to check in, but if not, I'll be back early next week with a Weekend Update!

One final thing...here's hoping my beau feels better soon...he's been a little under the weather this week, and I'm REALLY hoping his cold runs its course...it's so sad when he's sick, because he's usually in SUCH a good mood and happy and outgoing!  I'm sure he'll be as good as new in no time!  =)

Top Two Tuesday!

Top 2 Favorite Old Pictures

Anyone who knows me knows that I take pictures ALL THE TIME!  Therefore, it's REEEEAAALLLY hard for me to pic just 2 pictures that are my all time favorite.  Therefore, I'm going to change this post a little bit and call it my Top 2 Favorite Pictures RIGHT now!

1.  Patrick and Me at This Year's Junior Chamber Gala

I love this picture for many reasons, but mainly because we were both dressed up and that night was so fun...oh, and it's not everyday I get to wear a hot pink dress!  =)

2.  Family Picture on Mother's Day

Number 2 is a tie...my family does not have a tripod...therefore, it's impossible for all of us to get in the picture at one time.  Therefore, I like both of these pictures...the first is my dad, brother Daniel, sister Laura, and my parents' dog Peppermint.  The second picture is of the same people but switch out my dad with my mom.  =)

If you'd like to play along, head over to Taylor's blog and link up!

If you'd like to play along, head over to Taylor's blog and link up!

#21 -- DONE!!!!!

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I completed something on my 101 Things list.  However, this weekend, while celebrating Alysia's birthday, I was able to complete another task, and we had such a wonderful time.

Last year about this time, everyone was talking about going to this place called Arrington Vineyards.  Well, I didn't know what all the fuss was about, but after heading there to celebrate Kat's birthday (yes, this is a VERY popular celebration location), I totally understood why everyone was heading out there.  First-of-all, it's out in the country and sits up on top of a hill.  Therefore, it's absolutely beautiful with all the fall leaves.  Secondly, it's the closest thing us Nashvillians have to tailgating.  Everyone brings a picnic blanket, camping chairs, food, and wine and just hangs out with their friends the entire night laughing and having a great time.  Third, they have live music AND a campfire for making smores.  And finally, they have delicious WINE...nuff said.  =)  Here are a few pics from our adventurous evening:

Patrick and I as we are walking in...

Another shot of us...with the sunset behind us.

Group Shot!  Happy Birthday Alysia!



Me with Kat and the Birthday Girl



Alysia and Patrick proudly displaying the sticks they found for roasting marshmellows!

Alysia's niece, Jayla -- I'd like to think she likes me, but I'm pretty sure she's just this friendly to everyone...She's pretty fabulous either way.  =)

Well, there you have it...all-in-all, it was a great night!  The only way it could have been better is if it just lasted longer.  =)

Where in the World is Nashville's Melrose?????

Do you ever have those weeks where it seems you don't have time for anything?  Where you are so busy that you don't seem to be able to give 100% to any task and everything seems to only get half way done?  Where even when you are doing fun things you feel guilty because you know that you REALLY should be catching up on everything that's stacked up on your To Do List?  Well, this would be the last week and a half for me...BOO!  That's all I can say...I hate it when my life gets like this because I find it very hard to enjoy life's simple pleasures, and as you have probably noticed, something has to give, and this last week it was my Blog...sorry blog friends!  I've decided that it's time to catch all of you up on what's been going on for the last little bit...and I promise to make a more regular appearance in this little blog of mine going forward.  =)  I guess the best place to start is where I left off last week...so, sit back and enjoy my crazy hectic life lately.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

After having a YUMMY breakfast hosted by Kathleen and Mickey, we decided to head down to Germantown for the annual Oktoberfest and Germantown Street Festival.  This event is fun every year, and there is something to offer the whole family -- tons of street vendors, yummy food and drinks, LOTS of beer, pooch parades, 5K runs, live music, and even a play area for the kids.  It was a good time, as usual, but Nashville was RIDICULOUSLY hot last weekend, so that kinda took some of the fun away.

Because of the heat, we decided to cut out early, and headed back home to take a quick nap before heading to Cookeville for the evening.  See, my beau went to Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN, and still has tons of friends there...several of his friends were in a band back in college, and they were playing a reunion show that evening.  We ended up going to dinner with SEVERAL people (I lost count after about 20 something) at this great restaurant called Crawdaddy's.  If you are ever in downtown Cookeville, I HIGHLY recommend it!  It was delicious!  After dinner we headed to the smokiest bar ever (seriously, my hair stilled smelled like smoke 2 days later...after having been washed TWICE) to listen to Robbing Reality play a great show.  Here are a few pics of the event...if you didn't notice, fun was had by all.  =)

For some reason, this is the only picture that Blogger will let me upload...at least it's a good one.  =)

Sunday, October 10, 2010

After waking up feeling a little rough on Sunday morning (yes, Mom, if you are reading this, we may have consumed too much alcohol the night before...please forgive me), we hung out for a little while and decided to have a late lunch at Cheddar's. It's one of my favorites, and since there isn't one close to my house, I like to take advantage of it every time I get the opportunity. After visiting several other folks, we finally got back to Nashville at 5:00, and I still had to do a 7 mile walk that evening. Let me just say, it was not easy...however, I was very glad I did it and didn't skip like I was tempted to do.

Monday, October 11, 2010 and Tuesday, October 12, 2010

These 2 days were fairly typical as far as my personal life goes...pretty much just spending time trying to play catch up from such a busy weekend. However, work wise, they were somewhat CRAZY! October 15 is the filing date for all the returns that were extended on April 15, and as you can imagine, it's a little bit crazy around my office...these were 2 days that when I came home, I just felt like crashing!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

After working another long day on Wednesday, I did finally get to have some fun. My friend, Casey, from the Junior Chamber, was able to hook us up with some SWEET tickets to the Carrie Underwood concert. We even got to hang out in the First Tennessee Suite, which was stocked full of free food and drinks. It was AH-mazing! We had a great time, and even though the concert wasn't quite as good as I expected, I still sang my heart out to every Carrie song I knew the words to. =)  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics that night (again, some things get put on the back burner when I'm stressed, and I guess picture taking is one of those things), but we still had a great time!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Pretty much all I can say about this day is...I WORKED! LATE! I know, I know, it could be a lot worse, and I am very lucky to have a job, but it was a rough day, to say the least.

Friday, October 15, 2010
 
This was the day that my co-workers and I had been waiting for...the last day to file all of the tax returns...no matter what happened, it HAD to be done by that day!  After working hard all day, some of my co-workers and I decided to have a Girls' Night.  We headed to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens to check out the Chihuly exhibit (a really cool art exhibit made of colorful blown glass).  It was pretty cool...honestly, though, I think I'd rather see it during daylight...even though night time is supposed to be the prime time to see it.  It is definitely worth checking out before it ends on October 31.
 
Saturday, October 16, 2010
 
This day started with me walking 8 miles, which was no easy feat, especially since exercising is apparently something else that falls by the wayside when I am stressed out!  I only walked once during the week this week, but I was still able to do my 8 miles.  Saturday evening, we headed to Arrington Vineyards to celebrate this girl's birthday (full post regarding this to come later in the week). 
 
Sunday, October 17, 2010
 
Finally...a relaxing day...as you can see, Saturday (with the exception of walking 8 miles) was a very nice, relaxing day.  However, I was ready for a nice, relaxing day that did not involve exercising, and this was THE day!  After sleeping in a little bit, I just kinda piddled around the house until time to head to the baby shower of this lady and her little baby girl, Abby.  She got TONS of good stuff and we had a great time!  Stacy, Stacy's mom, and Lauren did a great job; the food was delicious.
 
I guess putting this last week into words makes it seem not so bad afterall.  I still managed to work in lots of fun, but I just don't like it when my life feels unorganized!  Here's to not letting that happen for the next 3 months...
 
P.S.  Sorry for the lack of pics in this post...not sure if it's blogger, my computer, or my internet connection, but I was having serious issues with the pics feature...hopefully, it's up and running okay tomorrow!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Yummy, Oh, how I love coffee!  It keeps me awake when I am simply to exhausted to go on, it keeps me warm when my office is FREEZING, and it reminds me of Fall...well, Pumpkin Lattes remind me of fall and that's what I am choosing to pretend this picture is:

1. The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is hit the snooze button and pray that it's really Saturday!  =)

2. Today I wish I was already in bed because I have to get up early tomorrow!

3. If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd buy both the black AND brown boots I found at Macy's tonight...oh, decisions, decisions...

4. Tomorrow will be a busy, busy day!  First, breakfast at Mickey's, then the Germantown Street Festival, THEN, it's off to Cookeville to watch Robbing Reality play what may be their final show.

5. Two things that don't go together are busyness and relaxation...somehow I have too much of the first and not enough of the latter.  =(

6. Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is diet soda...yes, I definitely have an addiction!

7. The last time I tried something new was tonight...we had Papa Murphy's pizza and it was DELICIOUS!!!!!  Highly recommended!

If you'd like to participate in Fill in the Blank Friday, head on over to the little things we do and link up!

Strawberry Cake Recipe

Being the kind of person who LOVES to bake, I hardly ever turn down an opportunity.  A friend at work turned 40 this past weekend, and us CPA's are always looking for a way to celebrate with food.  We always have a really big celebration for birthdays ending in zero, and everyone brings in all kinds of goodies.  I had never made a Strawberry Cake before, but I decided that I wanted to try something different.  It ended up being a pretty big hit in my office (and with my beau who I MAY have saved a piece for).  =)  I think I'll definitely be making it again!  One thing I want to work on is putting icing on the cake...mine always ends up looking a little bit messy.  I would love it if my cake looked as beautiful as this one:

Strawberry Cake from Scratch

2 cups white sugar
1 (3 oz.) package strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs (room temperature)
2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 strawberry puree made from frozen sweetened strawberries

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. 
2.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. 
3.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely.

I made homemade cream cheese icing and it went with the cake perfectly!  One tip that I learned in this process is how important it is to bring the butter, eggs, and milk to room temperature.  I have no idea what the difference is, but the cake was so good, and I'm convinced that it's because I followed ALL the rules!  

If anyone has any tips for how to ice a cake, I am all ears!  My poor cake may taste well, but it's definitely not beautiful.  =)

#67 - DONE!!!!!

I mentioned in this post that I spent Saturday evening hanging out with my BFFs from Grad School!  We always have a GREAT time together, and this night was no different.  When trying to decide what we were going to do while visiting Fayetteville, AC suggested that we head over to the local Mexican restaurant.  She tells us the food is excellent and that if we get there by 7:00 we can join in the nightly trivia.  I was ecstatic over the fact that not only do I LOVE Mexican food, but also because I was going to be able to mark something else off my 101 Things list.  While I had originally posted that I wanted to play TUESDAY night trivia, I decided this still counted because the only reason I had said Tuesday night in the first place is because the bar in Nashville that I thought I would attend only hosts Trivia on a Tuesday night. 

We had a great time playing and eating dinner.  And surprising enough, we weren't bad...now, we didn't win or anything, but thanks to some creative calculating by the lady who was keeping score (we think she may have miscounted, but we also may not have called her on it), we came in 3rd or 4th place.  Not bad!

Like I said earlier, I always have fun with these girls and this is just another memory to add to that list!

Top Two Tuesday!

Top 2 Dream Kitchens

1.  A House in Hendersonville, TN

I really can't find anything NOT to love about this kitchen!  I love the cabinets, I love the 2 ovens, I love the 2 ginormous islands, and I love the decor.  If I had this kitchen I would cook every single night.

2.  Home from Southern Living Magazine

I picked this kitchen for one reason...I love benches at kitchen tables.  I think it's so functional, yet also so cool!  I hope to have a kitchen with a bench at the kitchen table one day...although the house I live in now is not nearly large enough for such a thing.  Oh, well, this gives me something to work for, right?

 

If you'd like to participate, head over to The Undomestic Momma and tell us what YOUR favorite kitchens look like!

Weekly To Do List

Does anyone else feel the need to find some accountability?  I felt so scattered this weekend, and since I have a fairly unbusy week (a VERY rare occurance for me), I've decided I have quite a few things I need to get done.  Therefore, I thought I would share my list with you in hopes that it actually keeps me from procrastinating so much...here goes nothing!  I'll report back next week on my progress!

1.  Fix the toilet in my master bathroom.  (No this is definitely not glamourous, but unfortunately, it broke right before I left for Vegas and I need to get it fixed.)
2.  Help Patrick wrap up his business tax return.  (Clearly I have failed in the girlfriend category if I am just now doing this in early October.)
3.  Buy the rest of this girl's baby shower gift. (Her shower isn't actually until October 17, but I'm pretty excited about it, so I want to go ahead and do it.)  =)
4.  Clear out 2 rooms of my house in preparation of my upcoming yard sale at the end of the month.
5.  Change my closet over from summer clothes to fall clothes.
6.  Blog every weekday this week!

Hope you all have a great week.  Here's to Melissa NOT procrastinating!!!!!

Weekend Update!

What beautiful weather we had in Nashville this weekend!  And I'm sure that most of you are VERY happy for the cooler weather (heck, today, it was down right CHILLY).  I, for one, think that the cold weather is a little bittersweet.  My logic behind this is actually quite silly...I have a hard time with the fall because for me, fall means cold weather, cold weather means winter, and winter means tax season...yes, it's possible that I've been dreading next year's tax season since April 15, but I'm not going to wish my life away...I'm going to make the best of my next 3 months of work freedom, and I'm going to actually ENJOY the fall weather this year!  =)

My weekend was lots of fun and somewhat relaxing...why is it though that even the "relaxing" weekends never seem to be relaxing enough?!?!?!?!  Anyway, Friday night my beau and I had a little date night.  We went and ate some of this:

and then after dinner we went to see this:

The Social Network

It was opening weekend for this movie and I really enjoyed it.  Patrick didn't like it as much as me (which kinda sucks since he wanted to see it sooooo bad), but all-in-all, it was a fun night.

Saturday morning started with my long walk of the week (only 4 miles this week...the last of the "easy" weeks).  During my walk, I was once again startled by the long term effects that the May Floods had on this city...I decided to do my walk at one of the many greenways throughout Nashville.  I had heard that this particular greenway had been damaged by the floods, but since that was 5 months ago, I just assumed things were back to normal.  WRONG!  About half way through the loop, the path was closed because a bridge had not been rebuilt and I had to turn around.  This made me realize that it will probably be MANY years before we are back to normal and there are no longer any effects of this disastourous event.  I know that I am very lucky that I was not very effected by these floods...however, I also think that yesterday I realized that all Nashvillians have been effected and none of our lives will ever be the same.

Now on to brighter topics...Saturday evening, Kathleen and I headed down to Fayetteville, TN to visit our good friend Anna Catherine (AC, as we call her).  She bought a house down there several years ago, but because of all the renovations, was just able to move in earlier this year.  We wanted to see the finished product, and it was soooooooo pretty!  I LOVE her kitchen!!!!!  Like UBER jealous of it!  While we were down there, we grabbed dinner, and just chatted and caught up for HOURS!  The three of us all became good friends in Grad School, and we have such a great time when we all get together!

Sunday was time for the Titans to play, and I had a few friends over to watch the game...it was a lot of fun, but not so much fun for the Titans since they lost...I guess there's always next week, right?  After everyone left, I made a strawberry cake with cream cheese icing for my friend Sandy's 40th B-Day celebration at work tomorrow.  If it's good, I'll do a post about it later this week.  =)  I will say that if the cake tastes as good as the batter that there will definitely be an upcoming post.  =)

Well, that's all for my weekend...I do just have one more thing to say though before I head out for the evening...I HATE LSU!!!!!  For those who watched the Tennessee/LSU game yesterday know what I'm talking about.  Such an unhappy ending to such a GREAT effort from my Tennessee Vols!  Good game boys!  Keep your heads up and don't let this get you down!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Yes, yes, yes...I am a day late doing my Fill in the Blank Friday, AGAIN...oh, well, better late than never.

1. True happiness is being content with the moment I am in and the way my life is RIGHT NOW.

2. The most surreal moment of my life was probably when I moved to Nashville.  It all happened so fast, and I really never thought I would leave my home town, so when the dust settled and I realized I had really made a life here, it seemed too good to be true.  Still, the best decision I have ever made.

3. My favorite texture is I'm not really sure on this one...as far as clothing, I like all textures (except wool...not a fan of being itchy), but for something to feel or cover up with, I like very soft velvety textures.

4. My signature color is definitely BLACK!  I love wearing all things black.

5. My signature style is traditional, popular looks with a little bit of an edge.  I like to look normal all while looking just a little bit different (in a good way) at the same time.

6. If I could choose one store to spend my life savings at, it would be The Limited!  I freakin' LOVE this store!  There aren't many times that I go in here and don't find the perfect outfit!  If only my pockets were currently deep enough for me to buy everything I want in there!

7. My best thing about autumn is everything pumpkin flavor!  I love pumpkin cookies (I have the perfect recipe, BTW), pumpkin pie, pumpkin spiced lattes, and pumpkin muffins.  I LOVE that flavor and unfortunately, you can only find it between October - November.

Well, friends, I hope your weekend is good.  I'll be back soon with a weekend update!