Friday, February 28, 2014

5 on Friday!


I'm linking up with April, Natasha, Christina, and Darci again for 5 on Friday!

#1

This weekend I'm getting both alone time and girl time!  My husband is on a trip to Arizona with his grandpa so I'll be catching up on cleaning and reading at home AND enjoying some wine with my small group girlfriends and hanging out with my friend, Jennifer.  I'm pretty pumped!  Please pray for Kevin and Grandpa Bill - they're on a 17 hour roadtrip and then Kevin flies back on Monday.  I'm sure going to miss him!

 
 
#2
 
I recently found this amazing recipe for Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken!  Kevin and I LOVED it!  It kind of tastes like chinese food from the mall food court but waaaay better and you know what's in it!  No MSG, not fried, no extra hormones.  We served it with white rice.
 

(photo by Table for Two)


#3

This one is about food too!  Even better....DESSERT!  For Valentine's Day, I made stuffed chicken breasts, jalapeno cheddar mashed potatoes, asparagus AND red velvet molten lava cake for dessert.  It was delicious!

(photo by Chelsey's Messy Apron)


 
#4
 
I want to share a little about an organization that I love and support!  Crystal, the executive director, is one of the most compassionate, go-get-em, driven people I know.  She worked with the International Justice Mission in the Philippines before helping run My Refuge House, a ministry that helps provide a safe home to empower and restore survivors of commercial sexual expoitation and abuse.  Kim, my friend and fellow IBCer (Irving Bible Church) just became MRH's Director of Engagements as well!  Congrats Kim! 
 
Visit the website!  Pray for the work they are doing!  I will share more about this in another post someday!
 
 
 
#5
 
Just so you know...it's almost baseball season!!!!  Woo hoo!!!  Kevin gets to go to a Spring Training Rangers game this weekend and I'm jealous.  We're ready for the season to start!  GO RANGERS!!
 
 


Thursday, February 20, 2014

My Favorite Things (under $10)!!!

Today I'm linking up with Erika and Andrea for the Favorite Things Party!  So here are some of my favorite things that are all under $10:

#1
 
 
Victoria Secret's Beauty Rush Lip Gloss
 
I have LOVED this lip gloss for years!  They're $9 each (or 2 for $15) and they last me forever!!  This stuff seriously stays on my lips for a long time.  I love all of the different colors, but my favorite is the Mocktail Hour (second photo above).  It add just enough color and shimmer without being too much.
 
 
#2
 
As I mentioned in THIS post, I absolutely love tea!  I drink it every morning and some evenings.  My favorite is the Tazo Zen Tea because it's green tea so it has plenty of antioxidants that are great for you, it has spearmint in it so it calms your stomach and I just love the taste!  You can get a cup already made at Starbucks or buy a box of 20 bags at Starbucks for $6.95 or, for even cheaper, at your local grocery store.
 
 
#3
 
 
Can I just tell you how much I love this necklace?!  I kind of wear it a lot! I originally bought it for my rehearsal dinner back in October, but I've found so many outfits to wear it with.  It's $10 (ok so it's 1 cent away from being "under $10") and that includes the earrings too!
 
Well that was fun!  I hope you enjoyed it!
 




Friday, February 7, 2014

5 on Friday!

 
 
I get to share 5 random fun things!  Here we go!
 
ONE
 
It snowed in north Texas yesterday!!  Actual snow...not the normal ice that we get when precipitation falls from the sky.  You're probably making fun of it if you're from the north, but it was kind of fun.  Too bad it wasn't Christmas, because it totally fit the holiday feel.  I did watch some of the neighborhood kids throw snowballs at each other...well, the small amount they could gather off of the ground.
 
photo by Sydney Pham
 

 
TWO
 
Speaking of snow...last weekend, my husband and I went to Oklahoma to see his grandfather....the sweetest man on earth.  Here we are dancing at my wedding:
 
 
It's always a hoot going to visit Grandpa Bill.  He loves going to country dances at the senior centers around the area.  Normally we go to one on Saturday night, but this weekend we went to two!  One was an hour away on Friday night and one in town on Saturday night.  I was exhausted!  There are 86-year-olds not taking a single break when I have to sit down every chance I get...haha.  It's definitely motivation to stay active and healthy so I can do stuff like that when I'm that age.
 
So we heard there might be snow on our drive home that Sunday, but didn't expect it to be nearly as bad as it was.  Our 5 hour drive home turned into 7 hours in the car with 2 anxious doggies.  It was definitely icy.  We saw probably 30 wrecks, overturned cars and semis.  It was pretty scary. 
 
See that long extension of the ice/snow storm, yeah, that was our entire drive from Grove to Dallas!  It somehow knew exactly where we'd be driving!
 

 
It went from this:
 
 
To this:
 
 
To this:
 
 
Thankfully, we made it home safely!
 
THREE
 
My husband and I love hot chocolate!  We always use the little store-bought packets, but they aren't wonderful and you never know exactly what they're sweetened with.  I found this amazing recipe for Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa through Jen's blog at Whimsy At Heart that originally came from The Nourishing Gourmet.
 
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2013/12/double-chocolate-hot-cocoa-mix-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free.html

 
Since we are both lactose-intolerant, we don't drink normal milk so I made Kevin's with Lactaid and mine with unsweetened almond milk.  I also didn't have those sugar replacements so I used Stevia because I had some in my pantry.
 
FOUR
 
We pretty much finished our guest rooms and we're ready to have some guests stay with us!  Here is the big room where we've decorated mostly with items I've purchased while traveling and some bird-themed decor.  Once I've finished all of the walls, I'll post a photo from every angle.
 
 
And here is the other guest room:
 
 
And don't judge!  I don't have candles in the candle holders yet!  Thank you to the Guilbeau's for donating the bed decor.  I love it!  The framed 'B' and green clock were also gifts from our sweet friends, Wally/Monica and Tracy.  And bless my husband's heart...I initially wanted this room to be painted an olive green so we spent a whole day painting it.  Then, months later, I decided I wanted it to be grey so we re-painted it. 
 
FIVE
 
So my husband and I love watching shows like Treehouse Masters, Shark Tank and American Restoration, but we've started a new evening activity.  I especially like it because I get to interact with Kevin more and it challenges my brain.  We sit on the floor together and play Rummikub.  He ALWAYS beats me, but for the record, I beat him for the first time last night. ;-)