hootenanny

for a good laugh

2012-02-10T13:50:00.000-06:00

T-man has recently downloaded an app. It is used constantly. It makes you look "old" and last night he did the two of us.

For a good Friday laugh... True love.

fontina dip & bread (but not together)

2012-02-06T12:41:00.002-06:00

Back in December during the holidays, I found this dip via Pinterest (where everything comes from these days) that looked sinful. We were headed to a Christmas party and need to bring an appetizer, so this was the perfect occasion for this dip. Fontina dip.

T headed to the grocery for me for the supplies. 1.5 lb fontina cheese and the herbs is all we needed. I get a call from him a few minutes later saying this dip would be VERY expensive (who knew fontina was so pricey? not I), so he was just going to get a pound of it (and it would still be pretty expensive). But boy was this the best cheese dip/appetizer thing ever. Recipe from here. We made it again last night for our super bowl feast. Yum!

Pre broil....

Post broil... YUM.

Friday I also had my first adventure at homemade bread. I used my stand mixer with dough hook, and it look quite a bit longer than this recipe said for it to form a ball. I wasn't discouraged though and just continued the recipe and it turned out very very delicious.

And for some cheesy February cheer, I hung these little hearts on the mantle yesterday!

fabruary

2012-02-01T15:59:00.001-06:00

Normally February is so blah, but with the weather we've had in Mempho lately, it might just be great! It feels like spring outside and the daffodils are tricked and already blooming in my backyard.

I need to start on my projects this month... been putting them off for a few weeks because T hasn't been swamped just yet.

We do have a new faucet on the sink in the kitchen (been wanting to switch out since we moved in) thanks to Gary Lemmons. Love it and love that it's clean.

How cute is this little girl in her tiny toms and jeggings? She's a sweet little niece, that Juliette.

Laura (over in Italy) asked if she could do a monthly desktop, so shout out to her for such a cute February! I loved that little girl she painted, and she jazzed up the colors for the desktop! Thanks fren!

Find February desktop here.

more soup

2012-01-27T10:54:00.000-06:00

I posted about some good soup recipes back in the fall, and here is another recent favorite I made for a soup swap. Saw it on good ol' pinterest (where all recipes come from these days) and had to try it.

Spinach & Lemon Orzo Soup (love spinach, lemon, and orzo) from here. I made a lemon orzo soup last year for this same swap, so why not make a different variety of it this year?

Spinach & Lemon Orzo Soup

2 T olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed or minced
1 large onion
1 t red pepper flakes
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed & drained of excess water
1 1/2 c orzo
8 c chicken or vegetable broth
4 eggs
Juice of 3 lemons
Fresh parsley & parmesan, to serve

1. Heat olive oil in large pot or dutch oven. Add in onion and garlic and cook until translucent.
2. Turn heat to medium high and add red pepper flakes, spinach & orzo. Cook about a minute, then add broth.
3. Bring to light simmer, then turn down heat and simmer about 15 minutes, or until orzo is just barely tender.
4. Take soup off heat and let it cool for a moment.
5. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and then whisk in the lemon juice. Time to temper the eggs! Add a ladle of the soup into the egg bowl with continuous whisking. You don't want to have scrambled eggs in your soup, so keep whisking. Add a couple more ladles of soup, whisking very well.
6. Add egg mixture to pot and again, whisk continuously. Turn heat to low and stir continuously until the soup has slightly thickened. Garnish with parsley and parmesan!

on days like today....

2012-01-26T14:19:00.001-06:00

I'm thankful and happy I can do my little job from my house. It's gloomy, rainy, and cold out there, and I've stayed warm in my comfy clothes and slippers, and Gibson has been snuggled up on the couch. I think he might love it a little more than I.... What do you think?

hey there, cookie

2012-01-23T16:28:00.001-06:00

T-man and I have done a bunch of cooking and baking in 2012 so far--it's been so fun! He's loving being in the kitchen and figuring out different recipes. His "thing" in 2012 is to be more familiar with cooking and so far he's off to a great start!

A few weeks ago I was really wanting some cookies, but didn't really want to go to the hassle of measuring a bunch of ingredients, so there is this recipe in our church cookbook called "Easy Cookies" made with a box of cake mix, 2 eggs, oil and chocolate chips. I made some with a yellow cake mix, T LOVED them, took them to work, and now he wants these cookies only. He says they are by far the best. He made up his own rendition this weekend, while I whipped up the best chocolate chip cookie ever. I really think this is my favorite right now.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies {Egg-free} via here

6 oz cream cheese, softened
12 T butter, melted and cooled
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
2 t vanilla
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 c plus 3 T flour
1 c or so of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (the recipe says 325, but I thought my oven worked better cooking them for 15 minutes on 350).

In your mixer, cream together the cream cheese, butter, & sugars until light and fluffy.

Mix in the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until mostly incorporated, then dump in chocolate chips and continue until all the way mixed.

Roll into dough balls and place on baking sheet (use parchment or silpat) about 2 in apart. Flatten each with the palm of your hand.

Bake the cookies 12-15 mins, or until the edges are golden. Let cool on cooling racks.

Easy Cookies (version by t dud)

1 box chocolate cake mix
1/2 c oil
2 eggs
peanut butter chips
chocolate chips

Mix it all up and drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes.

too much tv?

2012-01-19T10:51:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the book suggestions! I'm definitely going to read the titles mentioned some time this year, but my friend Ellison mentioned "A Praying Life" [by Paul Miller] while we were getting coffee over Christmas. Said it was awesome. It's been on my list ever since, so I think I'll start with that one.

So T and I have a list of TV shows that we enjoy watching together (probably too many, but we have narrowed it down quite a bit)... Downton Abbey, Hawaii 5-O, Parenthood, Modern Family, SVU, and occasionally the Pioneer Woman when she comes on Food Network.

Modern Family is hands down the funniest on the list. I can't help but laugh every time Cam is on screen, and even Phil. And T even laughs out loud at the show, which he normally doesn't do. The episode last night (if you haven't already seen it, spoiler alert!) with Phil's autotune was hysterical. T rewound it a few times and laughed every time. I think the funniest part is that it would actually happen in real life. Someone out there would auto-tune that in a second if that event had occurred. If you don't already watch Modern Family, you should start with season 1--it's on Netflix!

busy season projects : 2012

2012-01-12T12:47:00.002-06:00

I've been trying to come up with my projects to occupy my time during busy season this year, and there isn't really one big project to do, just a few smaller ones.

You can read about what I did [during busy season] last year here, which is funny to look at now... My mom needed to borrow our duvet last summer (we weren't using it because our bedroom is a FURNACE in the summer so we have a light coverlet), and then she ended up loving it in her house and asked if she could keep it! I was happy for her to have it and she so kindly got us a new duvet.

So this year here's my list:

1. Finish painting trim on stairs
2. Organize pots and pans cabinet, and figure how to affix a "shield" under the drawer above to prevent wood shavings from getting into my pots and pans. Yes, our cabinets are old and sliding the drawers open and close causes wood pieces to fall into the space below.

proof of wood shavings (don't worry we rinse everything before we use)

Jumbled mess of pots and pans-- going to see what Lowe's has available for an organization drawer or something of that nature

see the wood shaving remnants in the bottom? fun!

3. "Re-do" our laundry closet to utilize the space in there better.

Some things I want to incorporate into this laundry closet...

long shelf above the machines

via Pinterest

Two wall cabinets (to store paper towels, shout spray, floor cleaner, light bulbs, all that stuff on shelf)

And a bar for hanging and a drying rack to pull down when needed

via Pinterest

We also need a good spot to store the unused laundry baskets, so maybe a top shelf? And better hooks for brooms, swiffer, mop, etc.

I'll also paint it a fun color! Stay tuned on what we come up with. I'm obviously going to get T's opinions and some help here when it comes to hanging cabinets and measuring. He's very precise and we always do bigger house projects like this together.

We'll draw up a little plan and then I'll work on the other two projects on my own and tackle this one last. Here goes!

reader

2012-01-10T09:24:00.002-06:00

I've never really been a reader. I love the idea of being an avid reader, but I can never seem to really get into it. I also love the look of books. Now I will say, I've read plenty of books and all of the classics (thanks to St. Mary's), but reading for pleasure has never really been my thing.

When T and I went to Italy last May, I asked my mom if I could borrow her Kindle because I was in the middle of reading the help, but didn't want to lug that huge book all over Italy. I loved reading on the kindle. To me, it went by so quick. Maybe it's because I don't see the amount of the book that's remaining? It's more of a mystery (percentage) how much is left and not as daunting? Maybe the visual person I am just likes the unknown of how long a book really is?

Over the holidays I acquired my own Kindle and I read 3 books on it in a week! That's some kind of record for me. It was the Hunger Game series (quick read), but I also think the Kindle itself attributed to my finishing so quickly.

This year (as kind of a new years resolution) I've set a goal for myself on number of books to read. At first I was going to do 20, but decided to start small at 12. One book per month. Seems doable for me. Technically I read all 3 Hunger Games book in 2012, so I'm already at 3!

I have a couple books on the list to read next, but has anyone read a quick and really good book lately? I'm open for suggestions--fiction or non-fiction!

catch up to the new year

2012-01-03T15:57:00.000-06:00

We had a very blessed and special holiday this year. Many of you probably heard our sweet niece, Juliette, was at Le Bonheur PICU with RSV. You can read in more detail over at Leslie's blog. She has written some beautiful words about their 2 week experience patiently waiting for sweet Juliette to recover. We all needed that reminder that we are NOT in control and God's timing is His, and there is nothing we can do to change it. Ever.

Little Jules is now recouping at home and I know Leslie and Jonathan are, too. Le Bonheur has a special place in our hearts after spending two weeks and our Christmas there. Thank you to the staff for making our family feel so special and loved.

Tradition. We Guinns love it. T-man and I decided the first year we were married that we would do Thanksgiving with his fam, and Christmas at our home in Memphis where my fam lives. Every Christmas eve morning Leslie holds a yummy brunch, and then we head to our parents that evening for pimiento cheese sandwiches in the shape of Christmas trees and gift-opening with our Granny and my dad's brother's fam. It's always a good time and last year I believe we played Beatles rockband. Christmas morning mom makes the same delicious breakfast and we enjoy a lazy day opening presents and watching Christmas movies, usually Home Alone. Leslie, Scott and I know all the words to the movie. It's our favorite. Scott used to be so tricky like ol' Kevin McAllister. With all this said, we love our Christmas traditions. It was obviously very different this year, but we tried to still make it just as special for Leslie, Jonathan and Juliette. We took the usual breakfast down to the hospital and all ate together with our fam and Jonathan's fam too. I loved this. I loved not getting so wrapped up in "our" Christmas and remembering there are families in sad/different situations... say, in a hospital. We went back down there for a chili & tamale dinner and took some more gifts for Leslie and Jonathan to open. And an answered prayer... Juliette got off the ventilator on Christmas day. It was a great day.

I'll just share some photos from the rest of our holiday. T-man and I enjoyed last week off together before he gets busy busy in the next few months. I'm still deciding what my busy season project will be this year. Happy new year everyone!

We opened our gifts and annual pj's Christmas Eve night with lil Gibson. We are so very blessed.

My parents gave us a new mailbox!

Awesome new fire pit from T's parents!

Christmas morning at Le Bonheur

Loving the Kindle (and the Hunger Games)

Meal made by my sweet guy

Me and T made New Year's Eve/Day Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls. MMM.

Time of year for the coral bark Japanese Maple to actually be coral. Pretty.

Already loving 2012!

January 2012 desktop can be found here.

cookies and other

2011-12-19T14:30:00.002-06:00

It was another successful sugary night at the cookie exchange a week ago. I got to host it at our home and there were cookies everywhere, but it was so much fun... SO many cookies..

Everyone really "brought it" this year with their cookies and packaging. I have such creative friends! Here are the results from this years cookie exchange/party/competition.

WINNER: Sara Midyett with her Lemon Cookie

The Runner-up this year for overall winner (Anne Nowlin asked for runner-up to be announced for each category): Jamie Jerkins with her Momo's Molasses Cookies.

The Most Unique Cookie : Leslie Poe with her Cheese Date Tarts

The runner up for Most Unique : Leslie Jerkins with her Clementine Chip Cutie

The Best Packaging/Presentation : Leslie Jerkins with her Clementine Chip Cutie Box (this category was VERY close as there were so many great packages)

The Runner-up on Best Packaging/Presentation : Sara Midyett with her Lemon Cookies

Such a fun night, but so many cookies to taste. It's so fun to take them all home so you can actually taste each cookie again by itself.

I loved all these winners, but my personal favorite was Mandi's Mocha Rounds... Chocolate cookie with coffee/kahlua flavored icing. :) I've already made them (so easy) to give to neighbors for a little holiday treat.

Last week T and I enjoyed Monday off together getting our Christmas shopping done. First year we started and finished on the same day. We even squeezed in a nice lunch date at one of our favorite spots.. Las Delicias. I tried something different this time, the torta, and it was delicious. I highly recommend it!

This weekend we came to Oxford to spend time with his fam before Christmas. He, of course, spent most of the time in the woods while I shopped with my MIL and enjoyed time with her. Since their tree [unfortunately] fell over two times in a week, we helped put all the ornaments back up and it's now secured with a thick rope. They also pulled out their life-size dancing Santa, and the dogs went crazy. Gibson just looked at him very confused, but Weezy (Katy's dog) went nuts barking at him non-stop. Gib finally just looked at her like, "chill out, girl, it's just good ol' St. Nick."

He's never phased when we come visit Oxford.. Makes himself right at home...

I snuck up to the square on my lunch break today and it was such a pretty day. I'm so thankful for days like these... I hope everyone is having a relaxing and memory-filled holiday season!

new (and old) holiday additions

2011-12-08T12:58:00.000-06:00

Every year I love pulling out our Christmas boxes and remember all the special things that make our house festive during December. We are building up our collection as the Carters and it's been so fun.

I've added a few new little things this year, and T man put his touch on the outside...

So much fun! Something else he added this year is just so funny to me. When he was a little guy he loved teddy bears, so we have lots of little bear christmas ornaments and lots of non-Christmas bear items, too. Well there are these little stuffed animal bears dressed in Christmas costumes and we normally stick em under the tree... This year he has displayed them for all to see. Hopefully little Gib won't think they are his toys.

One of my most favorite things about decorating for Christmas is getting out the nativity. My sweet MIL has given me a piece of this nativity every year since we've been married. This year, the ox and goat join us, offering warmth and protection. I can only imagine how special it'll be to show future kiddos the meaning of this special piece of Christmas (the meaning of it all) when we get this out year after year. I remember my mom doing that with us and of course remember playing with my childhood nativity figurines.

While rummaging around in our back garage for items used in the antler project, I came across some old shutters among the old cabinet doors. I remembered seeing this from pinterest... so now we have our very own...

I love Christmas card season and checking the mail daily awaiting the next one. While we're on the topic, this year in honor of our big adventure to Italia, we say "Buon Natale" in bike helmets! My sweet friend Laura drew the little designs for it. Love.

Buon Natale everyone!

hallway update

2011-12-05T09:19:00.001-06:00

After collecting and purchasing a big number of frames (and having some Italian art professionally framed) T and I hung up the hallway wall gallery. I was going to do the whole cut out scrap paper and tape it up, but we didn't want to go into that much work... So we started and found the center of the gallery and worked our way out. It wasn't too bad. Hardest part was hanging that C because there are two holes to make it hang straight.

We love how it turned out!

Here was the hallway before (mentioned in this post):

And here it is now!

It will be so easy to change out our little instagram photos, the other photos, and even add to the gallery as life goes on... That empty frame you see is a place holder for a sweet photo of his granny ree and pawpaw, and when he finds a good photo of his dad's parents, we'll switch out something for them to be in our collection. The two black and whites are my grandparents (two ladies I was named after), and that double matted center piece is a note from George W congratulating us on our marriage!

Love having these memories displayed in our home. Maybe we'll just eventually add to the other side?

merry happy

2011-12-01T14:22:00.001-06:00

Our favorite season has arrived. And it has arrived quickly. It is St. Jude marathon weekend here in Memphis, and it seems like just yesterday I was finishing up the marathon. I can't believe it's been a year. This year I'll be having some fun with Leslie doing the 5K. Whoop whoop! Good luck to all half-marathon and marathoners!

I love this season for many reasons, but mostly for the celebration of the coming of Christ. Celebrating the truth, love, and the hope of eternal life. It just so happens that we give presents, bake & eat delicious cookies, build roaring fires, and smell a nice fluffy green tree.

We're still in the process of putting out all our fun Christmas decorations, but I finished up with the mantle last night and it's so cheerful!

I hope everyone is enjoying this busy season of celebrating. We Carters have a bunch of fun things happening this month, and Gibson is so pumped his Santa toy is back. He'll be busy carrying him around the house for the next month. :)

December desktop calendar for ya --->

thankful & rested

2011-11-29T07:59:00.000-06:00

We have finally recouped from the travels over Thanksgiving, and are still in the process of decking the house with all our Christmas fun. T man has always enjoyed the whole week of Thanksgiving off, so we enjoyed Monday and Tuesday of last week staying in our pajamas as long as possible (while I worked), and then I was off Wednesday to enjoy the day with him, too. The sleeping in that occurred on Wednesday was much needed.

We headed to Oxford first for him to do some hunting before we headed to Columbus, MS for the Thanksgiving holidays with the whole Carter side of the family. It is JUST NOW turning into perfect hunting weather, which is perfect Martha-stay-at-home weather. :)

Thursday we arrived in Columbus and were greeted by his sweet sweet Aunt Diann & Uncle Mike. They hosted this HUGE gathering and we are so thankful for their hospitality and making our time there so wonderful and relaxed. See what I mean, huge?? Look at all these cars...

In our 3 years of marriage (and ALL of T man's life), Thanksgiving was spent with the Dudley side of the family in Scooba, MS with the same [delicious] Granny Ree food and biscuits and pie and weenie roast. T mentioned in the car how he wondered what food we will have. It was kind of like an unknown, but boy was it ever another delicious Mississippi feast.

Turkey, ham, ribs, potato salad, broccoli salad, sweet potato casserole, dressing, cranberry, purple hull peas (that were AMAZING), and rolls. That you see is T's plate, so not everything pictured. Heavier on the meat, lighter on the sides... that's my guy!

We enjoyed the chatter and laughter all day Thursday, and I had so much fun laughing at the little girl cousins (his cousins kids). They are just hilarious! We braided hair, shook our booties, and did the walk-up-the-legs-flip trick. Over. And over. And over. Loved it.

Friday was another amazing day of sleeping-in and I got to finally experience Aunt Diann's "white 'lasses" also known as white molasses also known as cooked sugar and water. But it IS delicious on her biscuits, let me tell you.

T man had craving for fried pickles while we were sitting around Friday, so we whipped up a little batch and everyone raved about them.. Thanks T and Pioneer Woman!

T's mom brought the weenie roast to Columbus since it is one of their favorite traditions, and I think all the Columbus folks enjoyed it too. Uncle Mike started a fire without a match and called the "fire spirits" (still trying to figure that one out) and we sat around it for hours roasted hot dogs and making s'mores while the girls ran around and drove around their barbie jeep.

The wonderful and restful weekend came to a close with one last Saturday afternoon hunt in Oxford. We grabbed up the little Gibby from the kennel (yes, we boarded the spoiled guy) and headed home.

This little guy was exhausted from his Thanksgiving trip

As I sit and reflect on the year, it's hard for me to even remember everything I'm thankful for, but I am so thankful for family and friends and the joy they bring to our lives. I'm thankful for the abounding amount of blessings we have as a family. I'm thankful for new life this year and what a joy that brings. I'm mostly thankful for my salvation and that I can live freely knowing Jesus and what he did for me on the cross. Thankful. Thankful. Thankful.

happy happy 3 years

2011-11-15T08:16:00.001-06:00

Today, T man and I celebrate 3 years of marriage. I can't believe how fast the years go by, as it seems we were here just yesterday.... oh what fun we had on this day in 2008!

T and I dated for 5 years before getting married, so we knew each other very well. We are still continuing to get to know each other daily, and we are having so much fun living life and spoiling our dog-child. We treasure this time being a couple because we know it will never be the same again (once little human-children come into the picture). We celebrated year 3 together in Italy back in May (you can read about our trip here, here, and here), and tonight we're celebrating at this fancy restaurant here in Memphis (we've been hearing rave reviews)!

We also like to give simple "yearly" gifts (paper, cotton, this year leather), and I can't wait to see how T likes what I came up with for leather.

Here we are celebrating year 1.....

Celebrating year 2....

T man, I love you. I can't wait to see what happiness and challenge our 3rd year will bring.... whatever it is, you are the best teammate this girl could ever dream of.... love to you now and always!

antlers in the house

2011-11-11T11:58:00.001-06:00

To continue along with the deer theme we have going, I recently added some deer antlers to a wall in our house. Big step for me, but I love how it looks.

I'll start by saying that T man has a nice sized 8pt mounted deer head that he has been wanting to hang in our house. It is currently up in our "storage room" which will be the future man-room/play-room/computer/etc. I did not grow up with taxidermy in our house, but I do feel lately taxidermy is acceptable when done correctly. Aka, antler sheds with no animal marble eyes staring at you. Maybe one day I'll feel differently and his prized trophy will hang down stairs, but until that day, he will live upstairs with his friend the bobcat (the other trophy he wants to hang).

The first thing relating to deer (and T's hobby) I ever put in our house was an antler lamp. We had just purchased our benches to stack for a sideboard/shelf in the den... Did you ever see these stacked benches?

Anyway, we needed a skinny base lamp, but wanted it to be neat looking. Leslie suggested an antler lamp, and T (of course) loved the idea. So we found a handmade antler lamp on etsy, which I ended up loving. It has since moved (I love moving lamps around for some reason) next to the couch.

T brought home a big box of antlers from his granny's house last winter, and they've been sitting out in our storage garage since. I was rummaging around out there looking for some shutters (for another project) and I started rifling through the box of antlers. Sidenote: there is a nice supply of old shutters (as mentioned), cabinet doors, doors, and wood all from the previous owner. I looked over to find this cool looking cabinet door with some rusty hardware and thought it might make a perfect background for some antlers. See?

After some paint and sanding T and I came up with this for our living room/future library/sitting room...

I like it! And it satisfies his need for some deer around the house (for now). I also put some other antlers around the house. These here on our mantel are from a deer killed by me... it's true. First time I ever shot a gun was at this 6 pt buck. :)

Anyone else have a significant other who likes taxidermy or deer/wildlife art and wants it in the house?

guest post: a word from my deer hunter

2011-11-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

T man sent me a message the other day that said, "I'm working on a guest post for your blog." I said, "Oh are you? What is the subject?" He said, "Mississippi Primitive Weapon Season." I thought to myself, is he kidding? Why would anyone who visits hootenanny want to read about primitive weapons? Well the nice wife that I am said "fine" and a few moments later I received this in my inbox. Think he's excited about primitive weapons? You guessed right.

Without further adieu, here's a word from my main man:

To those who don’t participate in deer huntin’ (you’re missing out), deer season is deer season. For those who do, deer season is the time of year we look forward to as soon as the previous year’s season closes. It’s a block of time divided into several distinct time periods with unique legal requirements related to acceptable weapons, bag limits, and type of deer taken. It’s not as simple as “alright fellers, (spit tobacco juice) load your guns and lay ‘em down.” It’s a refined, dignified, and quite complex event where variables such as wind direction, temperature, moon phase, barometric pressure, weather fronts, mast production, feeding/bedding patterns, and other crucial factors must be considered in order to be successful. The most recent block of time to open was the primitive weapon season. As my hunting activities primarily occur down in the ‘sip, the rest of this post relates to Mississippi regulations.

Primitive Weapon:

Nowadays, primitive weapons, for the most part, are not as ‘primitive’ as they once were. Back when
Chief Rocking Horse sharpened a rock and tied it to a twig using the whiskers of a rabbit or when ol’
Rupert Williamson had to pour the powder down the barrel of his 1700’s model musket and use his
ramrod to load in the pellets. Nope. Now most come equipped with multi-power scopes, the capability to quickly reload, and provide the opportunity to effectively take game at distances of 200+ yards. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) defines a primitive weapon as follows:

"Primitive firearms" for the purpose of hunting deer, are defined as single or double barreled muzzle-
loading rifles of at least .38 caliber; single shot, breech loading, cartridge rifles (.35 caliber or larger) and replicas, reproductions or reintroductions of those type rifles; and single or double-barreled muzzle-loading, shotguns with single ball or slug. All muzzle-loading Primitive Firearms must use black powder or a black powder substitute with either percussion caps or #209 shotgun primers or flintlock ignition. Breech loading single shot rifles must have exposed hammers and use metallic cartridges. Cartridges may be loaded either with black powder or modern smokeless powder. Scopes of any magnification are allowed on primitive weapons.My choice of primitive weapon you ask? The Harrington & Richardson Superlite Handi-Rifle .45-70 Gov’t.

Harrington & Richardson describe this model as:

“… super-tough, high-density polymer stocks and fore-ends will persevere and help you make a deadly accurate shot through it all. And their smooth, simple break actions require very little maintenance and have minimal moving parts for the utmost in reliable function. For added versatility, these rifles can be factory fitted with your choice of accessory rifle and shotgun barrels. All models are equipped with our Transfer Bar System that makes ours one of the safest single-shot rifle platforms in the world today.

We're proud to offer a broad selection of hard-hitting calibers from the flat-shooting 223 Remington all the way up to two crushing big bores, the 45-70 Gov't. and 444 Marlin. Rough handling, wicked weather and any game animal in North America. The Synthetic Handi-Rifle® can handle it all.”

I have one of the two crushing big bores… and it kicks like a mule.

My choice of load? The Winchester Super-X 300 Grain JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point)

This load is hot and creates a crater for an exit wound. This kind of knock down power will eat that ol' shoulder up. Ballistics for this particular load when zeroed @ 100 yards puts you +1 at 50 yds and -12.2 @ 200 yds. At 200 yds, you’ll have to put the cross-hairs on the top of the back and let it drop on in the kill zone.

The reason I bring up this topic and you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to read it (thanks to the beautiful MGC for letting me) is because of section 49-7-37(2), (3), & (4) from the Mississippi Code of 1972 which led to the public notice of rule number W163434. This referenced section states (paraphrased):

‘There’s too many dadgum deer down here in Missippi and were about open up a special primitive
weapon season two weeks earlier than usual so you bunch of rednecks can get all dressed up in that
tacky camo and paint your face and what not and put a dent in this here overpopulated deer herd.’

Translated: too many deer. This special season actually opened on Monday, November 7, but because I had to grow up and get a big boy job, I won’t be able to participate until this Saturday. So, to all the deer down there on the McCluskey Ranch, I’d recommend you sleeping in a little late come Saturday or you might just find out what a ‘primitive weapon’ feels like when it hits slams into the ol’ front shoulder.

...T Dudley signing off.

Aren't you so glad you got to hear all about primitive weapons? You're welcome!

Happy deer season, T man!

fall soups

2011-11-08T12:13:00.001-06:00

I love soup. We even served it at our fall wedding (3 yrs ago!), and that reminds me, I need to try and get that butternut squash soup recipe from our caterer. It was delicious when we tried it, and everyone said it was sooo yummy (I didn't have any the day of).

This fall I've tried a few new soup recipes that T and I have loved. The first one was crock pot Jambalaya. I had some shrimp and chicken in the freezer that I wanted to use, so I just googled "crock pot jambalaya" and found this winner. See recipe ---> here.

Of course tweaking needs to take place when cooking for T, so this is what I did:

Crock Pot Jambalaya

Chicken
Turkey Sausage
Diced tomatoes
Onion
Chicken Broth
All the spices listed in the recipe
Frozen Shrimp

Threw all these in the crock pot and cooked on high for 3 hours. I threw in the shrimp after 3 hours and cooked for 30 more minutes. Served it with some wild rice and it was delicious!

The next one was my favorite I think, and I saw it on pinterest. Well I went back today to find the recipe and I can't exactly find the one I used online, so good thing I wrote it in my recipe book.

Lasagna Soup

2 T olive oil
1 lb turkey sausage
(1 green bell pepper) left this out because we don't like green peppers
1 onion, chopped
32 oz chicken broth
3 cloves garlic
15 oz can tomato sauce
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 t salt
1/4 t crushed red pepper
4 oz broken whole wheat lasagna (about 4 noodles)
1/2 c chopped basil
3 T parmesan cheese
1/2 c grated mozzarella cheese

Heat oil over medium-high heat in dutch oven. Add sausage, onion, garlic and cook until sausage is browned and crumbled.

Add broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt & crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat & simmer for 20 minutes.

Add noodles and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until noodles are tender, about 15 minutes. (Whole wheat noodles cook longer, so if using non-whole wheat, then about 10-12 mins.)

Remove from heat and stir in mozzarella, basil and parmesan.

Serve with your favorite bread!

[photo courtesy T man]

T absolutely LOVED this recipe and talked about it for the next few days. We froze the leftovers, so I'll get to bring that out when we get some chilly temps again!

We had our church class over on Sunday and again, I wanted some soup to go along with the fire we had out on the patio. I pulled out our church cook book and made a taco soup recipe that everyone raved about, so I wanted to share this one, too.

Taco Soup

1 1/2 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans black or chili hot beans (I used one can of black)
11 oz corn
1 can rotel
1 pkg. dry taco seasoning
1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix
8 oz tomato sauce
1 can hominy, drained

Brown beef (turkey) until done. Drain well. Add beans, corn, ro-tel, dry seasonings, tomato sauce, and hominy to meat mixture. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over corn chips and top with grated cheese, sour cream and cilantro!

Gibson thinks soups are delicious too

don't we have the cutest dog you've ever seen? I hope he looks like a puppy forever....

a guest is with us

2011-11-07T08:51:00.000-06:00

I know the desktop calendar is a little tardy (it's already November 7th!), but I had the idea this month to see about getting a friend of ours to share her awesome designs with everyone.

Jennifer Ferguson, who lives in Oklahoma, is one of T's dear friends from Oxford. Jennifer is a graphic designer and I've always loved everything she creates. First thing I ever got to see were her wedding invites (which were amazing), and everything since then is just so fun and so different! She has an etsy shop where she makes the cutest greeting cards, so I urge you to check it out here ---> squirrelintheattic.

Here is what she created for us!

I hope everyone enjoys Jennifer's cute November desktop! Go visit her etsy shop and leave some comments below!

Thanks Jennifer!

photos

2011-10-21T15:37:00.000-05:00

I love photos... I love old photos... and I want more of them in our home. I just feel like a home with lots of photos and memorabilia is so very cozy.

I want to do a gallery wall in our hallway, but I have questions before pulling the trigger and nailing everything up...

1. If you do a gallery wall in a hallway, does it need to be on every wall in said hallway?
2. It's ok to mix all textures and colors and shapes of frames and sizes, right?
3. It's ok to mix art and photos and other items in said gallery, right?

Here is our hallway now (with awesome doorbell and alarm)...

And I'm picturing gallery on the left empty wall. So to expand on my first question, if I do it on this one wall, will the right wall (which is actually a shorter open space than the left) look off-balance?

Here are some images I've seen that I like...

via here

via pottery barn

I've also seen some floor to ceiling ones that are awesome. We will use the ole-cut-out-paper-the-size-of-your-stuff trick and tape it up to see the best layout.

Anyone have any thoughts?

on the go + craft + pouf

2011-10-19T15:57:00.000-05:00

Since the beginning of October we have been in Oxford every weekend, and while we do love it, we are glad to finally enjoy a weekend at home (this weekend). The weather has finally turned chilly in Memphis, and while I was ready for it now that it's here I'm freeezzinggg.... And Gibson is shivering too. But I love sweaters and scarves and boots and wool socks and fires, so here we go!

I've done a few crafty projects around the ole house lately, and I never want to feel all braggy on this here blog, but one of them T absolutely loves, so I thought I'd share. My inspiration for this came from pinterest... this yarn wreath below:

via here

Leslie had just made a yarn wreath for Juliette's door, and I guess I hadn't remembered how she told me that it takes SO LONG to make a yarn wreath... Well it does. And I only did 2 layers (you're "supposed" to do 3). I just loved the colors of this so I found some pumpkin colored yarn at Hobby Lobby on sale and already had the off-white felt. My MIL had just given me this huge bunch of decorative sticks, so I new I could use those for the accent brown. I hung it on our bedroom door...

Another new item I've been enjoying is our new pouf! I spotted it while we were in Oxford shopping around the square with Margie, and I just had to go back to get it. In our den we have 2 chairs, an ottoman, couch and coffee table, but there actually isn't room to have the ottoman in front of the chair. Plus, Gibson would be depressed if we took away his perch...

So I this awesome kilim pouf and T and I went back to grab it up--good thing too because it was the very last one. He mocked me for a little while that we bought a "pouf" but then he realized how awesome it actually is. A sturdy stool that is just the right size and easily mobile. Here it is on the way back...

Future possibilities for this little pouf are endless.

--> UPDATE of pouf in our den (per request):

opening day

2011-10-03T15:44:00.002-05:00

October 1 brought opening day for a few things around our house...

Most importantly fall and fall weather! We woke up on Saturday morning to low temps, and then enjoyed a beautiful sunny fall afternoon.

Secondly it was opening day of bow season for T. He washed his gear in no scent detergent and loaded up his pack with the necessities. I didn't venture down to Oxford with him this time as Gibson had a morning at the "spa" and I was going to frame our Italian prints at the frame corner. I did receive a few photos of T in his element.

He his a "real hunter" and using face paint this year for the first time... eye black included. Watch out deer, he's hiding from y'all!

When he returned from his weekend in the woods, we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins this year. Twas a fun time. We did have to find a new pumpkin patch this year because our usual one at Schnucks (now Kroger) was no longer. We found this patch at an Ike's (thanks Audrey for the affirmative here). I grabbed up an awesome green one for our mantel plus some others for elsewhere.

I put out some fall decoration around the house and made a new wreath for the front door this year. The inspiration is via pinterest.

While working on October desktop today, I received a little message from the cutest baby on the block. Look at this smiley little owl... She's ready for fall, too!

Juliette (my perfect and precious niece) is growing so much and she is smiling all the time. I love snuggling her and usually can't go a day without visiting.

(remember, just click this to open in a new window.. then right click to set as desktop background)

Has everyone decorated for fall? Have you gotten a pumpkin spiced latte yet?

labor day

2011-09-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

We love long weekends around the Carter house and this one was perfect in so many ways. We got to eat lots of delicious food, enjoy cool weather, spend time with family, snuggle with our niece, and watch football! Today the temperature outside is 70 degrees and it feels so amazing--I can taste fall and it makes me so happy.

Our weekend in photos:

Saturday night we went out to see T's brother, Austin, do his running thing at the Memphis twilight classic. Let me just say he's the man, running a good 6ish min mile. Way to go Austin!

We came home to watch the [recorded] Ole Miss game since we'd been gone with T's family all day. This is how my boys watched the football game.

Sunday night my parents had us over for this delicious Emeril shrimp dish. My mouth is still watering thinking about it. Oh, and mom made a chocolate cake! yummy.

Here is our little weasel pup Sunday after church enjoying our couch blankets (he loves when we pull those back out from being up in the summer). I decided to just sit on top of him where I was sitting and he didn't budge.

Yesterday was the perfect weather. We got to sleep in and enjoy a lazy morning with coffee and bottletree blueberry muffins (blueberries from our trip to Shreveport). We did some yard work and then headed out to ride bikes on the Greenline with my parents. T likes to be artsy with [my] iPhone camera and apps.

We closed out our Monday evening with our good friends, Ross and Audrey, watching the tube and enjoying chatter among the 4 of us with some killer ice cream sandwiches! See, weekend of deliciousness all around.

This weekend made me so happy to my favorite season coming around the corner. Looking forward to more weekend football, bike rides, and yummy fall food!

here we are

2011-09-01T12:37:00.001-05:00

Well it's been a month and a lot has happened around these parts... I am officially an aunt to the sweetest little nugget baby -- see Leslie's blog for some great updates on the little beauty. I've gotten some great time in with her and I just love her. She's the sweetest. Here she is on her birthday, August 10, 2011.

[one of our favorites taken by Uncle T]

We finished up some outdoor projects in the front of the house and have some green green grass now!

We saw Laura and Ryan here in Memphis and had some great times.

We played some wii with the Hursts.

We snuggled with our niece.

We had our first guests under the age of 5 stay with us, and it was so so much fun (their parents were here too).

[Sam didn't want his photo taken...]

We joined the zoo.

We celebrated my Granny's 91st birthday.

[all of the Memphis Guinn ladies on Granny's birthday... Aunt Gwynne, Leslie, Granny, Juliette, Me, Mae, my mom/Pam/Grammy]

We spoiled our puppy some more.

We've just been enjoying life together with great friends and our sweet family.

Each morning I get up and while I'm drinking coffee on the couch, I look out the window in the den and feel like I can just taste the fall weather. I can't wait for the weather to even be in the 80's! I love everything that fall brings--cardigans, pants, scarves etc (I've said it here probably every fall).

As successful as the marathon was last year, I won't be doing another one. This fall I'll be training for the half-marathon and I'm so happy about that. Love those 6 mile runs as opposed to 13+.

Pumped about the upcoming 3-day weekend to enjoy time outside, running, and snuggling that little niece.

[all you have to do is click on this desktop. it will open in a new window, then just right click to set as desktop background]

the carters are chillin'

2011-08-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

Dudley and I have enjoyed the last month being at home, working around our house, and continuing to spoil our dog child. Here he is for a little reminder just how spoiled he is...

"I do whatever I want to."

This month (August) I will become an aunt and t.dud will become an uncle for the very first time. It's going to be so much fun and we are all dying to meet little Jules. Brother (scottie) is coming back to Memphis tonight and he's just as excited about being an uncle. I've never seen him hold a baby, much less a child, so I can't wait for all these firsts.

We also have some visitors this month visiting from Italy--yes, Laura and Ryan are here and we had an airport reunion that was a blast. I then took her to chop all her hair off--literally--and she looks amazing. So glad for some quality time with them for a few weeks. She'll even get to meet my niece!

It's over 100 degrees here today and will continue to be for a few weeks I'm sure. We are doing anything we can inside, but at least our new sod is loving and flourishing in the heat.

I loved the desktop for July that Laura painted and was sad to see it go, but I do love this one too. I'm not sure how this is working for everyone, but I think you can just click this image and then download it to desktop. Let me know if anyone is having issues and it's blurry or something.

socks

2011-07-19T14:21:00.000-05:00

I've always loved a good pair or fun pair of socks, but never knew how important a good pair was until I trained for the marathon last year. Sure, when I ran the half-marathon I had some good running socks, but my go-to pair now are on a whole new level.

These are the ones. The ones that make my feet feel so great... the smartwool ultra-light running socks.

Wool in the summer? Well, you just don't know how magical these socks are. I had to get a new pair yesterday as my old green ones got a hole from my big toe during the marathon. Can't wear those running anymore, but you better believe I'll still wear them for yard work or just around the house. I love these socks. Plus, it's probably all mental that I think these socks make me run "better" right?

july comin' at ya

2011-07-05T15:07:00.001-05:00

We had a fun & splendid weekend celebrating our family's 2nd christmas-like holiday of the year--4th of July! The Long Leaf/Pidgeon Estates parade was a success and our annual kickball/fireworks show was super fun over at Tarbet Cove. Team Watermelons won the kickball match and I'm so glad my brother was able to come this year to join in on the fun. He had a good time laughing at all those cute kids and their funny shenanigans.

My man made some awesome baked beans all by himself and he did a superb job. They were SO very delicious! See how well he did (pre-oven)?!

So, I'm about to be an aunt pretty soon and I can't wait! Little Juliette is closer to arrival and we are all patiently (and eagerly) awaiting to see her precious face. I helped my sis clean up the nursery and put away all her tiny little clothes. Some people sure make some hilarious baby clothes, and I think this is silly and she will never wear it (although what it says is a true statement). I'll just show her the picture and we can laugh at it together. :)

I've also helped my sister with some burp cloths for little Juliette, and they have turned out super cute. She found the tutorial via Sabbespot. This is my favorite one we've done so far...

It's funny most of the photos taken lately have me in them because Leslie doesn't want any photos taken of her.... normally I don't post only solo shots. Oops.

And I hope you all have been waiting for this because the July desktop is special. My bff Laura who lives in Italy right now has taught herself to paint and she does some awesome things. She painted this and I wanted to use it here. I think it's so cheery and love it! Thanks Laura! You can read about her adventures here.

Things within blogger have changed for some reason so I no longer post separate links. I think if you just click on the picture you should then be able to right click and save as desktop image. Hope it works for everyone! Stay cool in this hot summer weather!

italia: firenze

2011-06-09T16:24:00.001-05:00

Bear with me... this will be a long post because we spent the bulk of our italian days in firenze, and boy was it amazing.

As you saw in the arrival photo on the previous post, Laura and I were super stoked to see each other, and the boys, I guess they were excited, too. :) We got to experience their daily bus ride to their cute little apartment, and she fixed us some delicious pasta (her famous pancetta & panna pasta) when we arrived. We caught up for hours and just enjoyed being back with our buddies. Oh, and we played this monopoly card game that is lots of fun, and I'm not sure if Dudley and I ever won the whole 5 days we were there?

On Wednesday of the trip, Laura planned for us to do a bike tour with Tuscany Bike Tours. She had seen an ad about it and thought it looked like fun, so she reserved four spots on their Wednesday tour. Best. Decision. She. Ever. Made!!! It was by far the best day we had in Italy, and it was even more fun that neither of them had done it either. So you go into the city to meet at their office, then they drive you out to a castle in Poppiano -- Castello di Poppiano. They make wine and olive oil, so right when you arrive, you are taken on a tour of the winery, and they also show you how the olive oil is made. It is the most beautiful, green olive oil you've ever seen. So you get to tour all around the castle, and go to the top and see the most beautiful view of tuscany you'll ever experience.

After the tour is over, you of course get to sample their amazing wine and olive oil. We definitely came home with both. You then load up on bikes (every bike has a name), and bike 13 miles through tuscany stopping for lunch at a cute little ristorante. There are stops along the way to take some photos, and there was this RIDICULOUS hill that you can opt out of doing. T was the smart one and opted out in the beginning, but Laura, Ryan and I had to at least give it a shot. Laura and I backed out after oh 100 yards of it, and Ryan did the WHOLE thing. He's a beast. There was no room in the van to ride up the hill, so at least we walked it, right?

We ended back at the castle, and then rode back into the city on the van. The four of us asked to be dropped off at the Piazzale Michelangelo to show Dudley the best view of the city. We snapped the typical photos, and Laura and I explored the Iris garden, which was beautiful!

It was time to make our way back into the city for our dinner at Sostanza. Best. Chicken. I've. Ever. Had. Period. It was a jam packed first day, but the rest of the time we'd get to leisurely follow them around and explore.

The rest of our days in Firenze were spent enjoying the following things:
San Lorenzo Market shopping
Academia
Zaza's for dinner
Fiesole
Cooking School
Laughing
Auto-stitching everything
Artisan man
Santo Spirito
Alessandro
Duomo -- Dudley and Ryan climbed to the top of the bell tower
Gelato
Church
Espresso
Wine
Monopoly
Pizza Man
Bus rides
More gelato
Seeing Dudley's hair twin
.. and more things I'm sure. :)

Now you can enjoy our days in Firenze by photos... Starting with our Tuscany Bike Tour.

courtyard of the castle

wine

view from the top

clint eastwood & james bond

minnie mouse & batman

that's castello di poppiano

besties in elmos

such a beautiful scene (the whole day looked like this)

cute little lunch spot

the leaders - loved dudley and his hair. they are naming one of their vespas after him.

bikes - hence the names above

here's a very short clip Ryan got as we biked down the hill at the very end:

the end.

perfect day.

iris garden was beautiful, and she didn't think I was serious when I said, "smile!"

Is that a mirror behind us? No, it's dudley's italian hair twin. he walked on the bus and we all looked at him, and then looked at dudley, and he said, "that guy has hair like mine!" hahahahah. we laughed the rest of the bus ride.

zaza's

this is the kind of thing the artisan man makes

santo spirito

oops!

that's the view of florence from fiesole -- loved it there!

duomo

helping out at their american cooking school for their italian students

laura and I went to see this band and had fun! yes, that's ace of base they're playing... :)

dudley climbed up 400 something stairs to see this view...

it tasted as good as it looks, i promise.

crossword puzzles on ryan's gadget

several attempts to get this shot.... best trip ever, tdud!

nightly monopoly game and tdud's new style

we got to attend their church Sunday morning, and I'm so glad. the sermon was wonderful and was actually in english translated into italian! I loved getting to meet some of their church family.

We went back to Rome to fly out the next day, and enjoyed just the two of us wandering through Roman streets at night finding a yummy restaurant and gelato. No such luck on the gelato, but just enjoyed walking around aimlessly on our last night.

It truly was a trip of a lifetime, and I'm so glad we got to enjoy some time off together in a beautiful country. Oh, and an added bonus of seeing some of our best friends in their interim home. Here so ends the story of our italian adventures. Thanks for hanging in through the end (for those who did)!

Ciao!

summa time ...

2011-06-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

June is here and it's already hot hot hot! We enjoyed a nice kick-off to the summer for our annual Memorial Day weekend with the Lotts. Pool-time was thoroughly enjoyed in their awesome pool, and we might have even done some photo shoots? T and I love this tradition because we know for sure we will see them every year (and hope it's not the only time)! Love you two!

I spy 2 cutie dogs in this one... and maybe even the gib twice?

They both loved the auto-stitch and we might have done this for hours....

Margie and I also picked some blueberries on Saturday morning, which was a blast. We came back with lots of good berry loot. 4.5 lbs to be exact!

Gibson and Biscotti continued to love each other and played and followed each other around all weekend...

Margie called us once we were home and said Biscotti kept going to our room looking for us/Gibson. Come visit us soon, Scotti!

Aaron and T did some night swimming, and we critiqued their strokes from the side. T actually had some good form, and we asked him where that came from... his response was, "I do watch Michael Phelps."

We love their pool so much and talked about how it'd be so nice to have.... instead, I think I'll go buy myself an inflatable kids pool to sit in this year. Yep, you betta believe it.

Gib also got some good practice for riding in the car... I think he's coming around to being more ok with it.... He looks cute (and ready to get out of the car).

And, because I had a few people say how they would be sad when May was over and they had a different desktop, I decided to be completely crazy (joking) and change the colors of May for June desktop. Enjoy!

June 2011 1600 x 1200
June 2011 1024 x 768
June 2011 1680 x 1050

italia: cinque terre + pisa + arrival in firenze

2011-05-31T10:42:00.001-05:00

We arrive in Riomaggiore (first of the 5 towns) on Monday of our trip, and this was our immediate view:

We looked at each other in awe thinking, "is this place for real?" It's so quaint, and quiet, and colorful and we just loved it. After we climbed up the STEEPEST hill I've ever walked in my life (with all our luggage) to get to our hotel, we spent the rest of the night and watched the sunset at this little wine bar overlooking the water. They had free wi-fi and delicious local wine!

The next day we were exploring all the towns, and enjoyed a nice breakfast at our hotel. Loved the coffee there. We walked the Via Dell'Amore aka "lovers hike" between Riomaggiore and Manarola. Lovers have a chance to sign their names on the wall and place a padlock in between the two towns sealing their eternal love (oops, we forgot to get a lock!). I absolutely loved this little walk between the towns, it was just so beautiful!

We went to the rest of the towns and explored each one (I won't bore you with a long explanation of each town), and then ate a late lunch on the beach in Monterosso (the last town). It was a wonderful/relaxing/beautiful time in the five towns!

so colorful!

T loves waiting on trains

T called this Cinque Terre Wal-Mart

Vernazza

We liked this guy's huge boom mic

the beach in Monterosso

where we ate lunch

After lunch we meandered back to Riomaggiore, and walked through a few of the little shops on the way up the STEEP hill. Cinque Terre was so beautiful and colorful and we loved the chill factor that came with it.

The train schedule showed us that any train we took from La Spezia to Firenze would stop in Pisa, so we decided to head there a little earlier to leave time to see the leaning tower. And that tower is for SURE leaning. I think it looks more leaning in person than in these photos we took of it. Crazy! We finally figured out the bus situation with getting to the tower, and with our bags in tow, we found it.

baptistry, church, bell tower (leaning)

there she is

typical tourists...

you can see all the people down the street doing the typical pose with the leaning tower :)

Finally time to train to Firenze to see our friends!!! Waiting in Pisa Centrale....

Reunited! Some of the best days we've all spent together are ahead!

We were so excited to see our friends and to explore their home. The bus to their apartment was right down from the train station, so we hopped on, and arrived at their cute, homey apartment! Laura has become Giada since moving to Firenze, so she whipped up some peas and panchetta pasta for dinner that night, and we spent hours catching up and laughing. Next up, our days in Firenze....

italia: travel day + rome

2011-05-24T12:21:00.000-05:00

Tdud and I left Memphis on a Saturday morning (not too early) headed to Charlotte to catch our flight to Rome. We got to Charlotte around lunch with about 4 hours to kill. Lunch was overpriced airport food, then we walked around stretching our legs before the 9 hour flight we were about to board. We enjoyed people watching from rocking chairs, and were almost tempted to get free flight vouchers to re-route our flight to Paris, then Rome (and would have arrived at the same time), but we didn't end up doing it.... we should have. :)

T was keeping his fingers crossed for TV's in the back of the headrests, and sure enough we had them! He of course forgot his headphones, so he had to buy overpriced cheap headphones courtesy of our airlines... but $5 well worth it for 9 hours of entertainment!

We arrived in Rome on Sunday morning, exhausted, and knew we had to stay awake alllllll day. Well it ended up taking until about 1:30 to get to our hotel (trains, buses, etc), and we wanted to hit up the sights! The grizzlies were in the midst of round 2 when we left, and T wanted to snap a photo in his grit grind shirt for Chris Vernon at the "original grindhouse" (what T referred to it as.. aka, the Colosseum). :)

In preparation of this trip, he kept saying, "I can look at a photo of the Colosseum and appreciate it for the rest of my life." I think he ate his words when he was actually standing inside it. I knew it!

We walked around the Roman Forum, too, and then through the big capital building to make our way towards the Trevi Fountain (my favorite spot).

It was PACKED over there, and we had to fight through stubborn tourists to make our way down to the front to throw in our lucky coin...

Traveling just the two of us means we have a lot of photos of each other... but I always tried to scope out the crowd to find someone who might not mind taking a photo of us. I wasn't as successful in front of Trevi, but you can't always expect the best.

At this point we had been wandering around Rome taking in the sights, but we were getting to be very tired so we walked back towards our hotel, which was close to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. When I went to Italy in college, the Pantheon wasn't open, so I got to see inside this time. Very cool! T thought so too.

It was time to eat food and gelato, so we found a little restaurant in Piazza Navona, and I'm sure the waiter was curious about the zombie-like people that sat down at his table... pure exhaustion. We somehow managed to stay awake until 8:00pm, but of course I woke up wide awake at 6 am.

Monday we were headed to Cinque Terre in the afternoon, so we wanted to do Vatican on Monday morning... well unfortunately we missed all the early morning tours to see the Sistine Chapel. Another visit to Rome and I still haven't seen that beautiful thing with my own two eyes. Some of our exploration of Vatican City...

T took this photo to tweet A. Snow "the Pope picks the Grizz in 6." Wish it had been true....

We headed back to our hotel to grab our bags so we could head to the train station to catch a train to Cinque Terre. By the time we got there, we had missed the earlier train, so we had about an hour and a half before our train would leave... So we found a pizza place to grab a late lunch (huge backpacks in tow). And then we had to wait for them to post our bin number.... See how cute T is with his travel gear?!

On the train to La Spezia (a nice 4-hr ride), we sat near some very interesting characters... One pod of Italian men were playing poker, and another pod was listening to their music (with headphones) blaring and chatting very loud in Italian, Portuguese and maybe some Spanish?? I [tried to] read The Help on my mom's kindle....

While T played Angry Birds. We got to La Spezia just in time to catch our next train to Riomaggiore, the first town of Cinque Terre.... which I will go into detail about later! We loved our time in Rome, but were glad to get out of the hustle and bustle of the big city!

we're back

2011-05-18T09:20:00.000-05:00

and we had the best time!! Dudley loved experiencing Europe, and we both loved getting to make some awesome memories with our best buds, Laura & Ryan. I do want to share more detail about what fun we had, but I'll leave you with my favorite photo, well my favorite photo today...

we're floating here

2011-05-03T14:04:00.001-05:00

I have never seen this much rain in my life in this city. It has been going non-stop. April showers bring May flowers, and I hope the April showers are done so we can enjoy the beautiful flowers and all the colors of spring. Until then, we will be floating here in Memphis. All joking aside, it is very serious for the city and many people are having to evacuate their homes. Let's keep these families in our thoughts and hope for the least amount of flood damage.

Longing for a break from the rain, T and I will be traveling in Italia starting this Saturday! Here's the forecast for next week in Florence. Looks like absolute perfection.

Wednesday of next week, we will be bike riding through the Tuscan hillside. And I'm holding on to hope that T will be wearing a non-camo hat. Regardless, he will be wearing a hat. Wind and his hair (apparently) don't mix. I've seen him with a wind-blown look, and I personally think he looks awesome.... Oh look, here's a photo of it!

See! Lookin' good with the wind-blown look! We will see what happens... It's a mystery when it comes to T and his curls. But I do love his curls.

Oh yeah, I bet you might be looking for a May desktop calendar. I didn't forget... just got side-tracked with my husbands curls.

Anyone else have big plans during May?

May 1024 x 768
May 1600 x 1200
May 1680 x 1050

food lover

2011-04-28T15:57:00.001-05:00

We love food around here, and love to eat good food. Lately we've really been trying to eat more "natural" things. I've been making homemade items instead of store bought, i.e. biscuits (thanks Leslie P!), cookies, waffles, and I've found recipes to make my own tortillas (haven't tried yet)! I am now more cautious of ingredients listed on the label, and find myself putting items back when there are too many or I don't even know what half of them are. High fructose corn syrup also goes back on the shelf.

My good pal Audrey showed me this blog and there are so many great/easy recipes on there. The other day I made some homemade goldfish, which T loved, and then today I wanted something sweet so I made this delicious smoothie!

Why buy pre-made/processed items when you can make them and know the ingredients that are in there?

italia!

2011-04-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

Tdud and I will be in this very spot in May, and by golly I can hardly wait!

me in Rome [March of 2007]

We get to see some of our favorite people--the Stephens who currently live in Florence, Italy.

sadly, this is the only photo I could find with the 4 of us.. it was either, me and laura, ryan and dudley, or me laura and ryan... but we do look so young and newly married :)

They'll get to show us their home and all their favorite spots, and we'll eat lots of delicious food.

Don't worry everyone, I'll be keeping a quote book of things that I hear Tdud say while in Italy. It'll be a good time. :)

preview

2011-04-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share with everyone how the giveaway winner's (Erin) drawing turned out. That little Felicity is just precious!

Email me if you're interested - MCillustrations [at] gmail [dot] com

and....

2011-04-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

it's april. The month of rain, blooms, bunnies, green, etc.

the fiesta house has been busy this month, and I've been flying solo... I now have T back at home and life is grand!

we will be spending this month relaxing, running, playing, eating, enjoying life together again. reflecting on what the easter season means to us. also, we will be gearing up for our Italian adventure at the beginning of May to visit these two. can't wait!!

we planted a dogwood in the front this month, and I can't wait to see the blooms peek out. we love a dogwood, and I tried imitating them for the april desktop (with some cute little bunnies).

april 1024 x 768
april 1600 x 1200
april 1680 x 1050

ohh, gibson

2011-03-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

This little pup is very funny. When I say he loves us I really mean it. Dudley says he has separation anxiety, which (hilariously) is probably the case. Every morning I sleep a little longer than T, he lets the Gib out of his bed and outside, and has to make sure to shut our bedroom door or he would come bounding on top of me on the bed. This wouldn't be an issue if he didn't shed so terribly.

So when I finally get up and go in the bathroom, he comes prancing in there and the look on his face is SO pitiful. He has tears running down his face and has been sobbing the whole time he's been out of his bed (looking for me). Poor little guy! I can't help it that he's the cutest dog in the world and I snuggle him up and pet him and he's the happiest pup. I guess we spoil him too much.

Anyone else out there have a pup with a little bit (a lot) of separation anxiety??

niece!

2011-03-16T11:38:00.000-05:00

We are having a little baby girl Jerkins!! It was so fun at the announcement get together at their house last night. You can read about the excitement over on her blog-- Leslie Jerkins.

Now I need to buy something for my little Juliette.... maybe this?!

found via etsy here

and the winner is...

2011-03-14T09:50:00.000-05:00

Erin!

Erin said...
oooh i want one!!! you are so talented!

fave spring activity is yard sale-ing!!

March 10, 2011 7:09 PM

Thanks everyone for participating in this little giveaway! I hope you all had a lovely spring weekend in the beautiful weather. Anyone interested in having an illustration done, see the tab at the top for instructions.

Congrats Erin! Please email me to claim your prize! MCillustrations [at] gmail [dot] com.

digital illustrations

2011-03-10T17:36:00.000-06:00

I have shared these on this blog before, but wanted to share an update for all! Since I posted this post, I have done around 10 digital illustrations for different people. I even did a couple for some folks in London! Here are a couple of my favorites that turned out awesome once printed and framed:

Beth Jansen's cute little family -

Aaron Snow's adorable family -

After some thought and tedious [fun] work on these I have a pricing update for all, and I would love to do one for you, too.

MC digital illustrations
$50 gets you a digital drawing of two people (or one person and one animal)
This includes the hi-resolution file (pdf & jpeg) and 2 proofs if changes* need to be made

$20 for each additional human
$10 for an additional animal
$5 for additional proofs if more changes necessary

*A proof is a minor change to the artwork, such as clothing color, hair color, facial feature. If clothing style or face/body structure needs adjustment and it doesn't require a total revamp, that is included as a change as well.

How it works:
You send me photos of the faces for the people in the illustration. If an animal, send one of him/her sitting. You can send some notes about specific clothing desired for the people. I've done wedding dresses & tuxes, sports team attire, a London police officer uniform, and am open for any other creative ideas! You will contact me via email to inquire, and then send the photos by email as well. MCillustrations [at] gmail [dot] com.

I will be updating the blog with a section on this information and how to submit photos, etc. for future inquiries.

In honor of the new update, I'll be doing a giveaway through Sunday, March 13 for one free digital illustration! Post a comment below stating your favorite spring activity to enter for a chance to win. It will close at midnight on Sunday and the winner will be randomly selected and announced on Monday, March 14.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend!

i like march...

2011-03-01T08:30:00.002-06:00

...for many different reasons. End of busy season, birthday month (for the both of us), spring weather, daffodils, running outside and not freezing, cake, candles, blooms around the city, etc. etc. etc. Gibson is ready for March too. He likes to frolic outside. One other special thing about THIS March is that we find out if baby jerkins is boy or girl! :)

These little guys have popped up again, and I'm always so delighted.

Which inspired....

What's your favorite thing about March?

March desktop 1024 x 768

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busy season projects: done

2011-02-23T12:29:00.001-06:00

During busy season this year, I came up with a few projects to keep me occupied while T crunched away at all hours of the night. The projects were as follows....

1. New duvet cover and pillows -- see below
2. Cafe curtains -- check!
3. Change all doorknobs in the house -- see below

All are now complete! Here is how the duvet cover turned out. Someone named T. Dudley REALLY likes it. Seriously.

I sewed the top together, and then my good friend Amy, whom I met at BSF, helped me put it all together with button holes and the whole deal.

The doorknob project was including changing the hinges, but that's a two person job. New doorknobs make things feel so fresh and clean (well maybe if you'd experienced the old ones). They all look like this:

Even the guest bath looks so much cleaner (with our beautiful yellow tile).

The sliding closet doors were a little more tricky because they don't make the exact size of the old ones...

[nice, eh?]

But my dad's dremel tool came in handy, and I proved to T that these new handles wouldn't be rigged (right, buddy?).

[sorry for all iPhone photos.. one day I'll try to use a real camera again]

3rd busy season down. Now time to veg out with the man and pup and enjoy each other!

lemon orzo soup

2011-02-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago, Audrey invited me to attend a soup swap her sister was hosting. I didn't want to make a taco soup or chili or anything that someone else might make. One time, Leslie made this Lemon Orzo soup that was delicious, so I went with that idea.

Got the recipe from my good friend Jesse, and she had a couple different recipes for it. One from Rachael Ray, and one that she had figured out that tasted like Cafe Eclectic's Lemon Greek Soup [mmm].

I kind of meshed together the two different recipes--I wanted to use orzo, and she used rice, I wanted to use the whole egg instead of just yolks... etc. So here is what I ended up doing (of course tripled for soup swap).... and it was a delicious!

Lemon Orzo Soup
2 (32 oz) containers of chicken broth
1 cup orzo pasta
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large egg

1. Boil broth.
2. [In the meantime] beat eggs together with lemon juice in a bowl.
3. Add orzo to boiling broth and cook to directions on box (8-9 minutes).
4. Temper the egg-- pour 1-2 c of hot broth into bowl and whisk in the egg.
5. Pour back into pot and stir.
6. Add some fresh ground pepper.

one busy season project done

2011-02-08T11:35:00.000-06:00

I find it's good to have projects to occupy my time after 5pm while T is still crunching away for a few more hours. I mean of course I could sit in front of the TV waiting for him to come home, but trust me, that gets old after the first week. So, I've come up with a few projects [as previously mentioned], and last night I finished the first!

Cute little cafe curtains for the window over my kitchen sink!

And here is a peak at one of my other busy season projects....

[sorry for all iPhone photos...]

it's girly, of course

2011-02-01T13:55:00.000-06:00

Everyone thinks of Valentine's Day when they think of February, right? Valentine's day = pink, red, hearts, love, etc. I'm not usually a pink or frilly person, but I secretly love when February comes around because I'm forced to be a tad more girly.

Last year I hung these cute strings of hearts in our kitchen window, and they are back up! Bring a little extra love to ol' fiesta.

February also equals halfway through with busy season, which means I need to get going on my projects if I want them completed by the middle of March....

February desktop comin' at ya!

February 2011 desktop: 1024 x 768

February 2011 desktop: 1600 x 1200

February 2011 desktop: 1680 x 1050

Raise your hand if you've already found the cutest card for your valentine? [hand raised]

nothing like comfort food

2011-01-25T11:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was craving chicken and dumplings, but didn't have too much time to spend on making it homemade (plus I probably wouldn't ever want to try that). So I googled "slow cooker chicken and dumplings" and bingo, I found an easy recipe that I had all the ingredients for, and also got some great reviews.

I cut it in half for just the 2 of us, and took advice from the first review about adding some spices. It was delicious and a hit with Dudley, too (no veggies = winner in his book).

Crock-pot Chicken & Dumplings (for 2)

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thawed (I put mine in frozen and it worked just fine)
1 T butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken, but the mushroom-y flavor was nice)
1 onion, chopped or diced
Chicken broth
Cumin
Poultry seasoning
Seasoned salt
Pepper
1 package refrigerated biscuit dough (I used the small can with 5 biscuits and it was perfect)

1. Put the chicken, butter, soup and onion in a crock-pot. Fill with just enough chicken broth to cover.
2. Add some dashes of the spices and stir it up.
3. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Check to see if chicken is cooked and shred it up. If not all the way cooked, cover for another hour or so. Cut up the biscuit dough into bite-size pieces and place them on top of the chicken mixture. Kind of push them just barely underneath the surface. Cook for another hour or until it's golden brown on top and the biscuits are done.
4. Serve with your favorite veggie and salad!

Here is what mine looked like after I added the biscuits!

Enjoy! Recipe found here.

snow!

2011-01-10T14:23:00.000-06:00

We went to sleep to a blizzard of beautiful snow, and woke up to a beautiful white backyard! Gibson has been bouncing around in the yard and is very curious about this fluffy white stuff. January started off very busy for our household, but I know this is going to be a great year!

Busy season has begun, and I have a few projects that I'll be working on while t.dud works lots of hours. Painting all the doors in the house and changing out the doorknobs so they all match. I want to change out the hinges (rusted and painted), but that will be a slower process because it requires help from the t.dud. The other project is sewing new bedding for our room! New duvet, shams & throw pillows.

Sorry the January desktop is so late, but I'll continue doing these this year if everyone is still enjoying them! Happy snow day!

January 2011 : 1024 x 768
January 2011 : 1600 x 1200
January 2011 : 1680 x 1050

cuute

2011-01-07T21:07:00.000-06:00

Around our house, we love [stovetop] popcorn. Mmmm delcious. And I think my phone would love this little accessory, too.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T09:03:00.001-06:00

26.2

2010-12-09T14:07:00.000-06:00

I did it. I ran 26.2 miles inexactly 4 hours & 50 minutes. The goal in my head was 4:45, so only 5 minutes longer! The weather ended up being perfect, and Margie was a lifesaver on the 2nd half. Couldn't have done it without you! I was going to post this once the race photos were posted, but that's just taking way too long.

Here's a recap of the race:

Dudley drops me off at the starting line at 7:40am. I try to find Jesse and some other friends, but I am short and can't see anyone in this huge crowd, so I just make my way to the corral and take it all in. People watching is one of my favorite things, so I look around at people getting ready and chatting and some Elvis tunes are playing on the loudspeaker. They released each corral 2 minutes apart, so I crossed the starting line as the official clock said 19 something minutes. Off I went. I had some foot problems the last couple of weeks, so I was anxious to see how it would hold up with the biofreeze I put on it. Doing/feeling great! I had one headphone in so I could hear all the excitement, bands, yelling, etc. I tried not to let my adrenaline allow me to run faster than a 10min pace so I could keep steady for more than 4 hours.

First people I saw cheering for me around mile 4-5 that I knew was T's dad, sister (Katy--St. Jude Survivor!), and brother, Austin. Thanks guys, I was so happy to see your faces! They were right at the entrance to the St. Jude Campus. Running through the campus was the best part of the day. Seeing the parents of those kids thanking you and cheering for you made it (pain) all worth it. Saw Jesse's hubby Nick on his bike right outside the St. Jude campus.

Next we get on N. Pkway, and my next people should be around mile 7. T, Margie, Audrey & Ross. Still feeling great and excited! I spotted them, so happy to see them and Audrey had made the best sign ever, which I actually didn't read until I saw them at mile 10ish. Thanks for supporting me and cheering for me--I loved seeing all of you! Along N. Pkway I saw some other familiar faces-- Leslie Poe and her cute family, and the Davis'! Thanks for being there guys!

best sign ever.

hey guys! I'm running a marathon!

The next turn was into Overton Park, which was my LEAST favorite part when I ran the half in '08. This time, it wasn't so bad! There were people cheering and I used Jesse's technique and sang all the words to ice ice baby (in my head). Next thing I knew I was at the Brooks museum and stopped for some water and gu (mmmm). It was now time to truck it up Poplar on the nice rolling hills that comes with that. Saw Ross & Audrey & T's fam again along the stretch, and this point the inside of my ankle started aggravating me. Of course this was not the part of my foot I was worried about that I had biofreezed. Hmph. Awesome. Kept up a steady pace and got to the UT Med School area and looked for my big bro Johnny--there he was! He ran a little ways with me (then he went back to studying).

It was time for the split off--the half-marathoners run to finish, and the marathoners keep straight. I kept straight and was ready to see Margie! There was T and Margie (she was stretching) waiting and off we went.

I need biofreeze.

off we went!

Margie had another pack of biofreeze to put on the aggravating ankle, but it never really kicked in... oh well. She was loving the sights and got to see Beale, pretty midtown houses, cooper young area, Rhodes, St. Jude & AutoZone. I was so glad to have a buddy at this point, I got to see T again at mile 15, and I was still on the look-out for Mom, Dad & Leslie. I'm telling you, the support from family & friends was AMAZING!

hi hubby.

I finally saw the three stooges on their bikes, and Uncle Gary was along with them! They came running towards us yelling and screaming and so excited! "The green vest, the green vest!!!!" Leslie ran a little bit and said, "see you down at Grace St. Lukes. After that point, not as many hills." Still feeling great (not loving the hills), but still feeling great! It was amazing that there was water/powerade at every mile. (wish I had a pic of the 3 stooges with their bikes & helmets on!)

We kept on trucking up Peabody (away from the finish line might I add), and saw the three stooges & uncle gary again yelling and cheering, among lots of others! The excitement that the bystanders brought was just so great and I don't think we went more than half a mile without bystanders. Finally got to Cooper Young area and saw Grant & Mandi & Ms Cindi (on her bike), thanks guys! Got some water and kept on going to make the turn to E Pkway. I was getting hungry, but knew I would see T at 19 with my granola bar. There he was with the Turmans cheering and I stopped for a brief second to get the granola bar and they all asked me how I was doing. I still felt great! The rest of E Pkway we had to run on the slant of the road (which I STRONGLY dislike), and very close to cars. We made a few friends, and then saw Ross & Audrey again! I'm telling you people, if you ever run a marathon, you will want your friends to come cheer you on--it was amazing!

Ok, this is just added in because it was one of the best parts of the day, and happened throughout the run--not at a particular time on the timeline. There was a man (or 5) wearing a green t-shirt with the grinch's face on it. We saw him AT LEAST 10 times on the 2nd half, and I saw him a couple on the first, too. I promise we saw the same man everytime, but he was everywhere! Probably every few miles we would see him again. Best part is we saw him as I was sprinting to the finish and Margie said, "you're everywhere and it's been amazing!" Well it was. Gave us a high-five every time, and then we even saw him at the finish line! I wish I had a photo of the grinch-man (as we called him)...

Finally mile 20 on N Pkway and headed back downtown!!! I could start to feel my pace was slowing down, so I stopped for my 3rd gu and water. Mile 21 hit, and from here on is further than all my training. I saw the 3 stooges again, and Leslie comes running out and starts sobbing--she's so proud, I look so great, and I'm doing so well. Of course tears well up in my eyes, but we kept on going and Leslie said, "see you down in a few miles, sorry I cried!" Thanks sister. We saw Ross again along the stretch, maybe mile 23, and I was saying in my head, "only 3 more miles," but that seemed like forever. There we were at 24 by St. Jude, saw the 3 stooges again and dad said, "just around this corner and then you'll be done!" 2 more miles! I can do this (I told myself), and Margie said, "yes, you can do this!" Those last 2 miles felt SO long and I couldn't tell how fast my legs were moving anymore. I was just ready to be done. I had to grab Margie's hand at one point so I could make myself run.

We FINALLY got to Union, could hear the excitement in the stadium, and had to run up this nice ramp to see the 26 mile sign (BAHHHH, a ramp, really?????). Margie said, "go Martha, run ahead of me to the finish line." I tried to make myself sprint it out at the end, but I can't remember any of that, only crossing the finish line with my hands up and SO EXCITED THAT I FINISHED 26.2 MILES!!!!! I ran the marathon. I did it, and I was so happy & proud of myself. Margie was right behind me, we embraced (I'm starting to get emotional as I type this), and I told her I couldn't have done it without her. I couldn't have. Thank you friend, I will remember this moment forever. It was awesome! I saw T and my parents and Leslie (the three stooges) & J and Meredith in the stands all cheering.

couldn't have done it without you!

T-- I couldn't have done any of this without your support. You were there for me in all the training runs and the best encourager. Thank you for making this journey with me! I did it, and couldn't have without you right there. Love!

Running a half marathon is one thing, running a marathon is a totally different beast, and I didn't understand that until I was there doing it. It was a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, and I'm so thankful for all my friends & family who came to support me--I couldn't have done it without you!

december brings glad tidings

2010-12-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited about this month, a lot is happening, and I'm ready/excited for it --

1. marathon
2. cookie exchange
3. holiday parties
4. friends & family time
5. fires
6. giving gifts
7. bundling up
8. remembering the importance of christmas
9. the end to a great 2010
10. the start to a new year

Wish me luck as I take on the marathon this weekend--I'm ready for it! I hope you are all still wanting/enjoying these desktops... happy December!

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november is a whirlwind

2010-11-29T22:04:00.002-06:00

I feel like just yesterday I posted our little wedding montage, but it's already the end of November. In one day, it'll be December 1. Wow.

Lot's has happened these last few weeks-- T and I headed to the mountains to celebrate our 2-yr anni. It was a wonderful relaxing long weekend, and we enjoyed all the cheesiness that g-burg has to offer. At Cades Cove we got up close and personal with some bucks [one charged at us] and T was just in heaven. I made him pose with the deer. The whole trip all I did was look in the woods for bears. I just wanted to see one bear. Well I saw 3!

We enjoyed a big ol' pancake breakfast at the infamous Pancake Pantry. T had choco chip, I had sweet potato and they were divine. We also got some airbursh tshirts and our names "Dudley & Martha 4ever" carved in a wooden plaque. [I'm joking, but there is an option for either of those in every other store]

My sweet fren Audrey suggested we have dinner one night at the Buckberry Lodge, and dummy me forgot about it until we got there. We drove past it on the way up the mountain to our condo, and I remembered! It was the best meal I've eaten in I don't know how long. We started with the [best] fried calamari, even T ate it. Then we had a delicious shrimp "compliments of the chef," and homemade bread with sweet butter or goat butter. I went out on a limb and tried the goat butter and I couldn't get enough of that stuff. MMM. T enjoyed a juicy filet, and I licked my plate of halibut, veggies & rice. We ended this deliciousness [because we weren't full yet] with homemade peach cobbler & ice cream. I'm telling you, best meal I've had in awhile. If you're ever in the G-burg area, I highly suggest you make a reservation at this place. You won't regret it!

For Thanksgiving, we headed on down to Scooba to visit with T's Granny and made some precious memories I'll always remember. We slept on our air mattress and every night we ended up smooshed together in a canyon. Air mattress is now in the trash, and Audrey & Ross tried to warn us there might be a leak. Should have listened to you guys! I learned a fun new card game, we fished, and ate, and ate, and ate, and ate funnel cakes. I had enough food last weekend to tide me over for the marathon this weekend (too bad it doesn't really work like that).

When we got home we celebrated my [little] brother's birthday with my grandma and aunt & uncle who were in town for thanksgiving. We stuffed our faces at the best mexican in town [Las Delicias], and then enjoyed Scottie's request for a "boston cream pie cake." Mom and grandma made it and it was very delish! Happy birthday little Scottie! [I know you're not so little anymore]

We closed out our wonderful holiday weekend by trimming our tree. T absolutely loves Christmas [as do I], and couldn't wait to put the tree up! Now we can enjoy this beaut for all of December.

Gibson found his Santa toy and can't get enough of him...carries him around everywhere, and I found this little part alone in the den = Santa's mustache.

This week I'm gearing up for the ol' marathon! It's finally here, and I'm ready. Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for my health, family, puppy, friends, and most importantly, my hubby who takes care of me everyday. I'm thankful for the sweet memories I'll have from Thanksgiving twenty ten.

It's been 2 years!

2010-11-15T12:32:00.000-06:00

Happy anniversary to my sweet T.Dud! Like everyone says, I can't believe it's already been two years, but I really can't. Looking back through the photos it feels like it was just yesterday, and it was the perfect day. We became a family together, forever. So I was looking through photos, and then started feeling sappy, but realized I never really shared a lot of the wedding photos with cyberspace. So I'm going to today... Enjoy that perfect day through photos.... all photos courtesy aaron snow photography.

This is what we were doing 2 years ago -

Happy anniversary sweet Dudley, I love you more now than I did 2 years ago. And so does our dog-child, Gibson!

11.15.10

foliage

2010-11-02T23:00:00.001-05:00

It is November, and just 4 more Saturdays until the marathon. I can't believe it, and I also can't believe that I ran 18 miles this past Sunday, what in the heck? I'm crazy.

While I train/run all week I listen to my tunes and just try to get in the zone, and I look at a lot of foliage as I go [I think I've talked about this before]. I notice grass types, flowers, trees, and lately I've been noticing even more types of leaves because they are all on the ground (where I usually look). I've been trying to learn how to determine the different types, oak leaves, maples leaves, dogwood leaves, magnolia leaves, and mostly ginkgo leaves. I don't think there is a prettier tree than a ginkgo. The leaves are a perfect and unusual shape, and the most beautiful yellow you've ever seen. I know you all probably know what it looks like, but these are just beautiful, and I think I've convinced the t.dud that we need one in our backyard.

November is the time to see the pretty yellow and the cute little leaves on the ground. Our November is booked solid with long runs consuming our weekends, plus a little anniversary getaway, plus thanksgiving holidays in Scooba, but this weekend I'm headed to one of the best places on earth [but will be missing one part of that].

miss you, fren.

Heading with Leslie & Cindi to visit the lake and enjoy the fall colors/foliage and some antiquing, and of course, 'Grandmother & Granddad.' Leslie can hardly contain herself to see this beautiful place, and visit these two. Enjoy November everyone, and savor every moment.

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tidbit

2010-10-18T16:39:00.000-05:00

First of all, my 16-miler this past weekend was great! I planned and prepared [mentally], and I got it done on a beautiful fall day. The furthest I've ever run in my life [up to this point]. I had a great course, started at Leslie's ran through High Point, back to my parents house for my first water stop, where I saw little brother Scottie waiting for me with ice cold water. Thanks buddy!

This was about mile 5.5, and I took/ate my first Gu of the day. Jesse told me about the Gu Roctane and that it "rocked" her run [ha!], so I tried it out and it was awesome. Really.

What was not awesome was the flavor, texture, chewing of this gel substance, but Scottie had ice cold water waiting for me to wash it down. Sidenote: he was curious about this stuff, so I made him try a dabble, he gagged.

So now I'm just truckin' along, feelin' great, the knees are great, the body is great, and I'm just enjoying my tunes and the weather. Next stop, Leslie's house for water before I hit the Greenline for the long-haul. Got to her house around mile 8.5, and she had ice cold water and my Luna bar waiting for me. I also grabbed my chews, which are also great to give you a little energy boost [not like roctane though].

Now onto the Greenline for the remaining 7 miles. The Greenline is awesome, people are riding bikes, walking dogs, strolling children, running, and it definitely kept me entertained the whole time, and I knew I was getting to see T at mile 10.5. Go to Leslie's blog to read about her post from the Greenline Opening Party. I was still feeling great (from roctane and luna bar I had eaten), and I was loving the weather and the atmosphere.

Hi T! I was so happy to see him because I was very ready for some Gatorade and water, along with the 2nd Gu (just regular this time). He made sure my knees were doing ok, and that I was feeling good. It had already been almost 2 hours at this point, and the next time I would see him I would be done and at Shelby Farms.

Ran past some more happy people enjoying their Saturday, still listening to some good tunes, and then around mile 13, I reached Shelby Farms! It is cool how they connected the Greenline into Shelby Farms, so I enjoyed the mystery of how I would be getting to Patriot Lake. Got to the lake around mile 14.5, so just 1.5 mile left!! I can do this! No I can't. Wall=hit. It got harder this last mile and a half. I was definitely getting sore, but it hurt to walk. I was ready to finish.

I made my way around the lake and I did it. I ran a full 16 miles. Yipee! T was waiting for me with the rest of my Gatorade and water, and I sat and talked to him about my run. It really was a great experience and made me not as nervous for the marathon [even though I would have 10 MORE MILES TO GO].

I know I can do this, I'm doing it for a great memory and for a great cause.

Last thing, one of the [many] reasons I love my job... I get to see flowers open up in one day. Look how pretty!

recent running thoughts

2010-10-14T16:31:00.000-05:00

During my runs, I like to look at people's grass and plants and trees. It's awesome to see trees that are so old/so enormous, and then running by them often, you'll notice when things change. There are a few trees I pass that have developed these white mushroom-y looking things? Not sure what those are.

Once I saw a house re-sod their front yard, and then they pumped the water to it all summer because it would have died in less than a week with the weather we have had here. So then hundreds of tiny little mushrooms started sprouting up all over it. Interesting?

Nature is very cool, and I like to observe the goings-on of what God made for us to enjoy. I love running outside for this very reason.

Another thought, that has nothing to do with nature, but something I do see while running, is I'm curious when people started decorating their houses for Halloween? And I don't mean a carved pumpkin and a hay-bale on the front stoop. I mean goblins, coffins, spider webs, axes, cat skeletons, people coming out of the ground, and so on and so on. I mean, I'm all for celebrating holidays to the max, but I just wonder why? Maybe their having an awesome Halloween party/haunted house sort of deal. I sure hope so, because they'd be rockin'.

Last thought, when do you become a for real runner? When you have to buy a 2nd pair of shoes while training for a marathon????

Because there is #2 (exactly the same as #1, pink AGAIN...ahh). My 15 miler on Sunday was cut short because my knees started killing me, and the smart side of me (aka T) said to stop so I didn't hurt myself. So I went over to the local running store and asked him if the shoes are really getting worn down. Lo and behold, marathon shoes #2 were purchased and I'm headed out for an 8-miler for their debut.

tuesday morning

2010-10-12T10:26:00.000-05:00

We had such a fun weekend this past weekend with the Lott's in town celebrating Aaron's platinum birthday. Head over to Margie's blog to see a great recap, and Gib's new girlfriend/soulmate.

The Carters are loving this time of year, but really ready to get into the cooler temps, but this morning was a perfect temperature outside. Here is what I'm enjoying this tuesday morning...

Pretty orange mums, little violets, and the Gib enjoying the weather outside. He's a real cutie. I think it's time for a pumpkin spice latte, but I need to find out how to make my own.

cheery little things

2010-10-05T10:26:00.001-05:00

October brings happy to my days. My parents went on a nice vacation this summer, and mom brought me back the most beautiful place mats (with coordinating napkins), but I haven't been able to use them. October means I finally do.

Told you, beautiful, right? I think she got them somewhere in France or Italy and are hand-painted (she went to too many places in one trip for me to keep track).

Chilly mornings like these are a reason for me to wear these festive cozy socks that T got for me at Target the other day. Gibson loves them too, and wishes they made them in his size. :)

Time to pull out the sweaters, scarves & boots!

hello there october

2010-10-03T22:20:00.001-05:00

I have already been able to do a few of the things on the list below, which makes me very excited. Pumpkin cookies are on the list for this week. T and I found the perfect pumpkin that is sitting on our stoop, and we accomplished something awesome that we've been wanting to do for over a year, and I got some beautiful yellow mums for the front urns. I don't want to sound all braggy, but I reveal phase 1 of our front landscaping! That's right, we actually did it.

Feels pretty nice to drive up to a home with some bushes in the front beds. Thanks for the help, Pam and Steve, we wouldn't have made the jump without a little push from the two of you!

Oh, and here is the perfect pumpkin I was telling you about. The cute couple selling them called them harry potter pumpkins.

And thanks to the Commercial Appeal blog for the shout out about my fall post! And as usual the beginning of every month, I give you all a nice monthly desktop wallpaper, hope y'all are all still enjoying them! This was an easy one for me, as I love pumpkins and fall.

Now time for another pumpkin spice latte.

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come on... fall

2010-09-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

My favorite season is SLOWLY creeping in.

We had a little taste of it a few weeks ago, but the 100+ heat index has come back... and it's killing my marathon training. I was an adult and got up early yesterday to do my run before church, and I'm so glad I did as the heat index yesterday, [note Sept 19] was probably 110.

T was standing outside the house clapping for me as I finished up the hill on Fiesta. Thanks hubby, oh and he had a nice glass of ice water ready for me.

And this guy was cheering for me from inside. :)

Here is what I'm most looking forward to in the upcoming season [in no particular order]:

1 - anything pumpkin flavored and pumpkin/fall decor. decor might have to start asap to cheer me up in this extended heat!
2 - scarves
3 - boots
4 - sweaters & turtlenecks
5 - running during a brisk afternoon
6 - the lotts coming to visit
7 - gibson's "birthday" to our little family
8 - holiday festivities
9 - listening to the hubby in all his hunting excitement talk [that has already begun]
10 - [hopefully] planting some bushes in the front of our house!
11 - riding bikes around the neighborhood and the new greenway trail
12 - pumpkin run 5k

What are your fall favorites?

oops!

2010-09-09T10:01:00.002-05:00

Well my mom was the first to say something about the mistake on the September desktop...

30 days has September, April, June & November...

Thanks for letting me know, mom! Now you can all just know that September 31=October 1.

I'm tardy.. but it's September

2010-09-07T09:24:00.001-05:00

This week [aka, tomorrow] our good buddies, the Stephens, are leaving for 2 years to go to Italy. I'll probably write another post to them, but last night T bid his farewells and it was bittersweet. He and Ryan have become such great friends, and it was very sweet to see them say bye. Some tears built up in my eyes.

With that being said, I know it's September because this is the month they have been planning to leave. And it's finally here. And I can't believe it.

I know it's September because marathon training is getting tougher.

Football season began.

The weather is cooling down a bit.

Fall is right around the corner and I can hardly wait. It's my favorite time of the year.

I hope everyone is enjoying their September, and had a nice Labor Day weekend. I had a good ol' time helping Les around her house, running, spending time at Long Leaf, and of course with T. Here's to September everyone, Laura requested some cheery sunflowers!

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where's waldo?

2010-08-17T08:05:00.000-05:00

A new friend has joined us here at Fiesta. It's Waldo.

Gibson's Auntie Leslie brought him a new toy, Waldo! He just loves him, maybe because he tastes like french fries? (he was in her wendy's kids meal) But anyway, he loves this guy. He was just playing and playing, and then T and I decided to play a game with him--Where's Waldo?

At first, Gib didn't understand, but eventually he caught on and knew what he was looking for. See if you can find Waldo in the hiding spots, Gibson did! Remember, they have to be at Gib level [aka, the ground].

blegh

2010-08-15T21:30:00.001-05:00

I know anyone who blogs from Memphis talks about how ridiculously hot it is, but it's true. And I'm going to say it again.

It is MISERABLE.

Today, I went to water my clematis at my mailbox (I have 2 blooms now, but I snagged this photo last week when the first one bloomed) :

And I was out there for about 10 minutes or so, and I was (literally) dripping in sweat, and my hair was all of a sudden sweaty. I really don't think that I have ever experienced this much heat for such a long period of time. Historical event here.

Thus, marathon training is a bit tricky in this amount of heat. It's hard to breathe, making it hard to run for a long period of time. I will say that I have been getting up early in the mornings, and it's kind of enlightening. I turn up my music, and get to running. Once I'm in the zone I don't realize how miserably hot it is, but it's only like this before 7 am. After that, all you can think about is the heat radiating off your body. All I have to say is, bring on the fall weather, I'll be ready for it and be able to run much better.

That's what we're up to here in Memphis. Hot. Hot. Hot.

Oh and by the way, we found a frog egg in one of our planters. Here is the proof. Right before I spotted this little thing, a toad jumped out of my penta as I was flooding it with water.

that time again, really?

2010-08-02T11:16:00.000-05:00

the summer has flown by, and I can't believe we are already in August. this month brings us lots of changes and other fun happenings...

- OFFICIAL marathon training begins this week. I'm taking on this 100 degree plus weather and doing this thing.
- mom's birthday :)
- granny's 90th BIRTHDAY, yes, you saw that, she's going to be 90!
- some fun visits to oxford
- the stephens prepare to leave for italia! bittersweet I tell ya.

- elise & ellen leave for school, which gives me fun new places to visit. again, bittersweet.
- lots of bike riding with the hubs (he got a new bike over the weekend, and I'm babysitting laura's during her italia adventure)

I hope august brings us many other exciting happenings. in lieu of t's new purchase, and our new hobby together, I bring you the august desktop. [leslie also thought it'd be a cute idea.]

Good luck to those of you headed back to school, and enjoy life. take it one day at a time.

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our good buddy asnow

2010-07-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

There is this photographer from OKC that is awesome. His name is Aaron Snow, here he is!

photo from ASnow

He took our wedding photos that were beautiful and perfect and I'm sure you've seen a plethora of them here on this place. We came to know Aaron well the weekend of our wedding, back in 2008, and also when he came for my bridals. We had a great time during all these festivities and became friends with him. He was already good buddies with my bro-in-law, JonnyJ.

Over the last year and a half I have sent him a few brides, and a couple of them are from Memphis, so he got to come back to visit us! We were unfortunate to not ever get to have engagements [during our engagement] with him because tdud had braces at the time, and didn't want any photos taken.

This past weekend he was here for a wedding, and came early on Friday to take some photos of us... aka our "engagements." He pretty much styled the whole shoot from clothes to flowers to location, and [even though we were all sweating] it was so much fun!

He posted a long, lengthy post with some of the [awesome] photos, so go check it out, but here is a little preview....

all photos belong to Aaron Snow Photography of Oklahoma City, OK

life as I know it.

2010-07-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

Adopting little Gibson has been one of the best things that's happened to us (besides marriage of course). I look at that cute little face and know that he really loves us. He is my little shadow and while I think it's silly, I secretly love it. Gibson lives in the moment, and ever since he has come to live with us, I've changed my way of thinking.

I used to hope for the next thing to come... getting married, buying a house, traveling, having a baby [in the future], but there is no need for that. I was missing out on what was happening around me, and I wasn't appreciating life as it was [which was great]!

This sweet lil man has taught me so much. If I'm having a rough day, he doesn't care, he'll just snuggle up in my lap and remind me that it doesn't really matter, it'll work out, just sit here and pet me and enjoy life as it is.

I'm just livin' life with my 2 boys and I love it.

happy july everyone & a quick june recap

2010-07-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

It seems the summer has flown by, and so much has happened in the past month.

Dudley traveled to New Jersey... twice. On one of the trips he got to hop over to the big apple, but didn't get to see much in the couple hours he was there. We will go back one day.

Gibson discovered this new sleeping position that he loves and it makes me smile. T liked to see it while he was gone.

While he was on one of his Jersey trips, I made a big clock to hang in a montage over our couch. Here is a little glimpse into what it looks like.

I went to our church's summer camp : Camp Highland- and had an awesome week. God was present among all the kids and teens, and they were rejoicing. It was so great to be around them and see how the Lord has been working in their lives.

Gibson spent a week in Oxford with T's parents [while we were both gone], and had a blast! I think Mr. Tim found a new best buddy [besides Duna, of course], and was sad to see him go. At least he was on his best behavior and invited back!

And then I came home to poison ivy/oak. BOO. I haven't been able to run because hot and sweat cause it to be irritated. Marathon is still on though people, don't you worry. I'll catch back up!

And then it is July and tomorrow is our annual Pidgeon Estates Parade [in my parents neighborhood]. The new addition for the parade this year is a uni-cyclist. Should be awesome.

And then it was time to share yet another desktop wallpaper, and it might be my favorite one so far!

I wish you all a Happy 4th Weekend, eat lots of watermelon and ice cream and enjoy being with friends and family!

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pretty 'new' filing cabinet

2010-06-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

T and I have been wanting to get a filing cabinet since we got settled in our house last year to store all our important bills, house things, bills, Gibson stuff, bills, etc. When we bought the new desk last fall at the PB outlet [for a great deal, I might add], I saw a cute little filing cabinet that was the same color and a [pretty] good deal, but there was a huge nick in the drawer and T was not cool with that. So we decided to keep looking.

It's now the end of May and we still haven't found anything worth it. Office Depot had one, but it was way to expensive to be so cheap looking, and the PB ones are just way to much moolah. We checked out Craigslist to see if there were any potential-looking ones, and we got very lucky! We picked it up a few weeks ago, and actually finished painting and re-doing the hardware all in one day! Pretty good for us (we usually start a project, and then finish it months later, see evidence of this here).

I just love how it turned out, and now I have a little more space to store things, now that I'm working from home in my new job!

Here are the befores.....

[sorry for the blurriness... it's hard to take photos at night with a carport light.]

And the afters!

We are very pleased with how it turned out! We got our cute knobs from anthropologie, and spray painted the card holders that were already on it, and then just moved the placement around. T had the great idea of putting the word for 'files' in different languages, so the top drawer is French, and the bottom Italian.

Stay tuned for our office revamp in the next few weeks [or so].

it's really already summer

2010-06-03T00:08:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it... really. I apologize for the tardiness of this post, but we were kickin' it with the Lott's down in Shreveport for Memorial weekend, so I didn't get to work on June desktop over the weekend. I hope y'all are all still enjoying these! Sister asks for it on the 1st of every month. :)

You can read about our fun weekend over at Margie's blog, but I thought I'd share a few from the weekend as well.

Saturday, Aaron and T had a cannonball fest. This is how it went down.

Nice splash boys!!

T was not happy that he wasn't as high or higher than Aaron, so they did round 2.

Well, you still didn't get it, T... :(
At this point he was convinced that he was jumping BEFORE Aaron, making him fall quicker. So they discussed and counted and jumped on the same count.

Fair chance.... And????????

Sorry,T! He was done, Aaron just has bigger ups, and T was ok with it [I guess].

Margie and I just chilled on the side [snapping photos]

and admired this beauty [and missed sweet Gib].

And as you might have read on her blog, we attended a fake football match played by the AFL Battlewings that was highly entertaining. Margie was encouraged to try out for the Fly Girls. The moment of the night was when the Fly Girls came out and threw t-shirts into the stands... well they made it down to our end, Dudley stood up, and BOOM, right into his hands. It was destiny, but he gave it to the boy in front of us who was jumping up and down wanting that shirt so bad. I bet he is wearing it at this very moment. You made his whole life T, I'm so proud.

I also wanted to share that they took us to Bistro Byronz and I ate the most delicious burger I've ever had in my life. It was a turkey burger stuff with gruyere cheese [and topped with other delicious condiments], and served with some awesome sweet potato fries.

I hope you stuck with me through that long post because now you can see the June desktop!

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let's do this

2010-05-26T21:23:00.002-05:00

Well this week is the beginning of my marathon training for the Memphis Marathon in December. The December after we were married in 2008, I ran my first half marathon and loved it! I was going to do it again last year, but come September when it was time to start training, it had already filled up! So I have been off and on in the running department since then.

So 2010 rolls around and I feel the need to run a full marathon. My friend Linnae had completed the Chicago Marathon, and she just talked about how much she enjoyed it. Then Margie ran one in Dallas in December, and felt the same way! And then Elise trained for the Nashville one earlier this year [you can read about her adventures on her blog]. I was just hearing about them all around me and it fired me up! I want to do this!

Welcome to the Marathon training journey. It's going to be a long process, but I hope to actually try to enjoy it [even in the humid hot Memphis summer].

I got my new marathon running shoes, and you know what's funny about it? I'm not a pink person, don't like it, never really have, but guess what color my running shoes are. PINK! Ironic, eh? But you can't buy running shoes based on color, duh.

T also got me that fancy Garmin you spy, yes, it's amazing. With help from some friends [Katie M, Margie L, & Linnae H] I told T the Garmin I wished for for my birthday. He's very sweet like that and the Garmin is very sweet. This will be my best training buddy.

If there was one thing I learned during half marathon training, it's to have good socks. I bought bolagas when I trained then and [have] loved them. It makes a big difference having good socks. I treated myself to a new pair, and I'm going to try out these smart wool ones. The guy over at Fleet Feet says these are the only ones he runs in. Hopefully I'll feel the same way.

I got pumped up to make a new running playlist for the beginning of this. It's entitled running 4 twenty ten. It includes Lady Gaga, bad romance, the best song to do any form of exercise to. I grew to love it in spin class, and still do [I hope everyone saw it on Glee, if not, go watch it here, you won't be sorry].

Here we go, let's do this!

a completed project...finally

2010-05-19T10:54:00.002-05:00

This project has been in the works for 2 months now, and last night it was finally complete! It all started with me finding this blog where a girl draws up plans to build "pottery barn-like furniture" that she has drawn up herself.

We had this blank wall in our kitchen by the kitchen table that I couldn't decide [for months] what we would put there. I have always loved mudrooms, but will never truly have one at good ol Fiesta. Well then this girl popped up and voila! A "mudroom" for us!

Pottery barn makes this bench and shelf combo that I love. And by golly girl had plans for it on her blog. My oh so handy super sweet and nice hubby agreed to take on such project (with the help of good pal Ryan and Gary). T and I procured the wood, got it cut by the "great wood-cutters at Home Depot," and they knocked out the building of it in about 2 days. Yes!

While they worked on the building, Laura and I searched for fabric and sewed up the bench cushion (complete with fabric covered buttons)!

Laura and I got the bench and shelf painted in a day, and it was ready to go! (so I thought...)

Now let's go ahead and say, you can for sure knock out this simple little project if your hubs isn't an accountant during busy season, and if your hubs can make quick decisions. I love him.

The cute little bench sat in place (with cushion and baskets) starting the middle of March, but sat all alone. The pretty shelf sat in the dining room, then was moved to the living room/library, then was moved upstairs... until this past Saturday. That's 2 months people. It took sweet ol T a good 2 months to "decide how he wanted to hang it on the wall." Well I was over that excuse. It was time for it to go up [passed time actually]. He called on another good pal, Russ, to help with the decision. They got their plans together and it took them less than 45 minutes to get that sucker up on the wall. So I reveal our 2 month long project in all its glory. It's a beauty, if I do say so myself. [and there's a cutie on the top shelf]

And again for good measure...

If wood work and paint and patience with your spouse is up your alley, I encourage you to take a look at this girls website. She has plans for so many great pieces [we are even starting another project from her site]. We found it was much cheaper to build, paint, and sew up our own shelf and bench and it have personalized character, rather than buy from good ol over-priced PB at a whopping $500 bones.

...bring may flowers

2010-05-05T11:45:00.001-05:00

Sorry I'm a little tardy with the May desktop, I was enjoying myself on Thunderbird lake. We had a grand time. Some people have had issues with the sizing of the desktop, so I added another size (1680x1150) to see if that works for anyone. It worked for me on my iMac, so maybe that's the size everyone else is looking for, too.

These little yellow balls aren't necessarily "flowers" but they are some of my favorites. Billy buttons. I love them and enjoy a little vase of them on my desk.

So, I created the May desktop with these little guys as inspiration.

I hope you all enjoy the month of May! I can't believe summer is almost here, but I'm so excited about enjoying it in our home this year!

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tidbits & happy weekend!

2010-04-29T09:55:00.000-05:00

It's been a great, fun, busy, exciting [etc] week, and I can't wait to share more about what's going on around Fiesta, but it will be next week because of this great new exciting awesome thing, tonight we're headed back to this wonderful place....

And get to spend some time with this lil fella, until Gibson stole my heart, Trusty was the best/cutest/sweetest dog I'd ever met.

This time he won't have a cast on his leg! :)

This is the first time T and I have ever left Gibson for more than 1 night. It's funny how I never thought I would miss an animal as much, but I'm really going to miss him! Ellen and Elise are going to play and sleep with eem, so I know he'll be in great hands. Maybe they'll even blog about how much fun Gib and Loonie are having together so I can see his sweet face. Give him kisses for me!!!

And just because I can't post without his face...

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

garage sale-o-2010

2010-04-19T09:24:00.003-05:00

Well we actually did it. We had a garage sale. I don't think I'll ever have another for the next 10-15 years. It was a success, but we wish more people had come. We had so much shtuff to sell and it was good shtuff.

Dad cleaned out his storage building, here are just 2 of the loads in his and T's trucks... Hillbillies.

My parents cleaned out their entire attic, storage, house, etc, and as we were pricing everything on Saturday night my mom said, "this is my whole house/life. Ahh!" I guess she couldn't believe that they were actually selling all their shtuff, but she was so ready to get rid of it. Don't worry, we made her keep sentimental things, such as our cabbage patch dolls, Scottie's first teddy bear, my 101 dalmation stuffed dog - Patch, Cabbage Patch cradle, ya know, things of that nature. Here is what everything looked like on Friday night. It really was insane, things kept coming from every direction... luggage, satellite dish, tivo boxes, clothes (and more clothes), stuffed animals, pots, pans, crystal vases, poker game, TVs, furniture, rugs, and so on and so on.....

Friday night we set as much as we could up on tables in the back yard, so on Saturday morning all we had to do was carry the tables to the front. Here is what it all looked like on Friday night...

Looking into our garage storage building in our backyard...

Looking out of the garage into the backyard...

[sorry for all the phone photos... we've gotten bad at actually getting out a real camera...]

Shtuff, shtuff, shtuff everywhere... We wanted to protect all the shtuff from the dew, so my genius dad had a big ole tarp, and I mean big ole. HUGE [just like our garage sale].

It worked just perfectly. It actually covered every table (all 6) we had set up in the back. Dad, you're a genius.

(Is this really happening?)

Now here are some real camera photos. The whole spread before 7am with the earlybird customers... One of them scavenging for "costume jewelry."

Gibson found a new best buddy amongst the stuffed animal bag. He hung out with him while the sale was going on...

It was a huge success, but next time we will put up more street signs to get more people from different areas to buy the shtuff. Garage sales are long and exhausting and lots of work, even for this little pooch.

See Leslie's post for some other good fun from our sale!

Note: I forgot to add... We got so lucky with "getting rid of the leftovers." Our neighbor told us about a girl who is raising money to go on a mission trip to Uganda this summer. She is having a yard sale next weekend and taking all donations, and she and her parents came and picked up 4 truckloads and took it from our house. It was awesome! So, if you missed out on our stuff and really wanted to see it, you have a second chance to hit up her sale [and it's for a good cause]. It's this coming weekend and they live on Quince close to Estate.

makeshift hammock/loungechair

2010-04-14T13:44:00.000-05:00

Our backyard will be a work in progress for years, which is fine! But I really love sitting or napping outside in the shade and I wish I had a hammock or loungechair to do so. I had come to grips with maybe just buying a hammock that goes on a stand instead of between trees (because there are no trees). Last week I was saying how I would just go to Garden Ridge and find a cheap lounge chair I could sit and relax in the back yard.

Well... there was a turn of events. My parents brought over their stuff to sell in our garage sale, and lo and behold I have found my makeshift lounge chair until I have a real one. I spotted this beauty.

What is it you ask? Well, it's a folded up cot. It's been in my parents attic for years, apparently. I brought that sucker out of the pile and decided this is what I could lounge on in the backyard. It was such a pretty day last Sunday, and while T was watching the Masters (go Phil, T's work buddy), I wanted to take a nap, but wanted to be outside.

It unfolded so nicely, who cares that it doesn't recline!

[I think I have the cutest dog]

[He wanted to join me up on the comfy cot. :)]

It will work for the time being. Nice pale feet, eh? At least some pretty azaleas bloomed that I can look at from my new spot.

Hilarious, no?

this girl has a birthday today

2010-04-08T11:29:00.000-05:00

photo Aaron Snow Photography

This is my sweet sissy, if you didn't already know. It's her birthday today. She's awesome and my bestest (girl)pal. Good job Leanne, knowing her palindrome birthday. It's pretty cool, maybe that's where she gets her 'cools' from....right sissy? :)

Love you!

april showers....

2010-04-01T11:06:00.004-05:00

Bring what? An April desktop wallpaper! I'm so glad that y'all are loving these, I've already had 2 people this morning say, where is my April desktop? Of course it's coming all you followers.

This one was pretty simple to come up with and I didn't borrow any of it from any other person. First time all with my own stuff. I'm learning and it was fun. Enjoy the month of April everyone, I know I have a good one planned. Do you?

April desktop 1024 x 768
April desktop 1600 x 1200

I heard the previous links were too large, try these. It's still a little large on my screen, but I can see all the numbers.

Oh, and April is the month of my sissy's bday. And she's so cool that her birthday is a palindrome, see if you can guess what it is!

shower for baby davis

2010-03-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Leslie, Mandi, Stacey and I hosted a baby shower for our fellow Bridgebuilder, Hayley Davis. She and her husband Kelby aren't finding out the gender of the baby, so everything was neutral, which I loved. This shindig was at the ole Fiesta house, and it was a grand ol' time. I'll show you things through these photos.

Sis took these for me as I was trying to finish up last minute things and put on makeup, so thanks for that, and then we weren't very good at take photos with actual people in them, or even Hayley. [Oh well, we are trying to get better.]

All the food was delicious, Leslie and Mandi did a great job preparing the edibles. Stacey and I supplied the beverages. You can read about Leslie's food adventures here.

My first time to use that awesome wood tiered server. Thanks to Whole Foods for those nice flowers, and I got lucky and forsythia bloomed in my backyard so I just snipped a few sprigs to add to the flowers.

We wanted to have decor that Hayley could take home and use. Laura made that cute Baby Davis banner using fabric that Hayley used in the nursery. I hope she finds a good spot for it!

Good eats...

Good sweets...

Some drinks...

I made her a sweet little onesie with a 'd' on it for baby Davis using her nursery fabric. Hung that on the door and then she got to take it with her.

More forsythia!

Sitting on the coffee table were some little bottles and canisters filled with cotton balls and baby qtips for her to enjoy as well.

We really did have a swell time meeting Hayley's family and chatting with fellow friends. It was a beautiful day outside and I hope to host more fun showers in the future!

it's t's birthday

2010-03-26T09:35:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday to the sweetest man - T Dudley Carter. He's nice, I like eem [love eem], and he likes [loves] me.

He is now 25 years old, and last night as we were going to sleep he said, "I don't want to be 25." Hehe, my sister and I had this same conversation last year when she turned 25. I told eem it'd be a great year for us, and then next year I'd turn 25 for him so he wouldn't be alone.

Just wanted to share some things I found this morning looking through some old photos of this guy. What a guy he is.

His usual face when dancing...

Well isn't that sweet...

He studied like this in college.... And made all A's.

This was fun. A sweet serenade from my new husband of a couple hours.

He really does like me.

His good buddies... and Aaron Snow. Thanks for this, Ellen.

Ladies first.

Pensive.

Right before we got married. I never saw this until today. Were you looking for me outside?

More of the sweet serenade joined by Aaron Lott.

I couldn't leave this one out, could I?

Or this one...

T. Diddy.

A little birthday tribute to you, bub/schnookums/boo/t/tdud etc etc. I love you.