Candy Galore!

Welcome to the PEEP show!  :)  This picture always cracks me up!  

I have never been the one to crave candy, in fact, I've always been quite the opposite.  At any time during the day I could easily eat something salty that is equally (if not more) unhealthy for me than something sugary.  Cheese fries, nachos, pizza, french fries - I have more of a chance of having high cholesterol instead of high blood sugar.  This is NOT the case with my husband.

My husband, if left to his own devices, would devour any piece of sugar that he could get his sticky little hands on.  Cookies?  Cakes?  Pies?  Candy?  Those are the keys to his 8-year-old heart.  Not only does he have an uncanny love for sugary sweets, but he also is the president of his very own candy club.  He has designated candy into 3 main "families": Chocolate, Fruity and Marshmallow.  Now, according to him, there are other branches that come out of these three main "families" which happen to be Marshmallow: candy corn, peeps, circus peanuts, tootsie rolls (no, they're not chocolate, I asked him myself....they're a hybrid, a crossover if you will) and obviously anything else of marshmallow substance.  

Chocolate: candy bars, chocolate candies, m&ms...you know.

Fruity: Skittles, starbursts, fruit slices (his fav from this "family") and then we could break it down even further with hard fruit candies and soft fruit candies. 

Now if you know my husband, you aren't a bit surprised by this at all.  This is the kid who used to keep little bags of various candies in his pockets so that at any time, he was ready to soothe the day with a gram (or 100) of sugar.  This is the kid who, when he was five, went knocking door to door on the cul-de-sac in his neighborhood asking his neighbors for candy because, supposedly, his mom didn't feed him.  True story.

You'd think that the 27 year-old man that I call my husband would be more grown up...not when it comes to his candy.  After every major candy holiday we head to every retail and grocery store we can think of (Krogers, Wal-mart, Target, Walgreens, YOU NAME IT) to see how cheap we can stock up on our candy.  I'm not kidding.  After Halloween, we went to Target and purchased 11 bags of candy corn. ELEVEN.  Easter is an especially joyous candy holiday because he has come off of a candy fast (for Lent) AND because "there's a drought of candy holidays between Easter and Halloween....WE HAVE TO STOCK UP!"  I wish I could say that the twin bed in the front room wasn't covered with bags of Easter candy that we got on sale at a couple of different stores.  I wish I could say that the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet in the office wasn't filled (and I mean filled) with candy which will hopefully last us 'til Halloween.  I really wish I could say that my husband's first response to me possibly getting a research assistantship that could pay for my gradschool (you heard me right) wasn't, "I should've bought more candy that was on sale!"

Oh what will we do when a miniature version of him comes along?!

Welcome to our newest dilemma

Let me tell you where this all started.  I have an old student whose miniature schnauzer just had puppies.  I saw pictures on Facebook and I immediately turned into a small girl who was "OoOoOoO"ing and "Ahhhhh"ing over them.  Ya see, I grew up with miniature schnauzers and I know that they are good dogs that are easy to train and that don't shed (or get too big at all).

So I messaged the mom of this girl that was in my class to find out more of the details regarding the pups.  They will be ready June 4th and they are $300 each.  I got carried away at the thought of actually getting a dog so I showed Stephen the picture of the puppies and he was instantly curious.  He wasn't a sucker for the price (who would be?) but the idea of being able to get a dog (our landlord might approve if it's a smaller dog) enticed both of us.  However, I wasn't 100% sold on this idea because, you see, deep down in my heart I'm still a sucker for a lab (mutt, mix, pure bred) of any kind.

That is when I went online to the Kentucky Humane Society and I found 2 little girl pups that melted my heart.  They were lab mixes and both already spayed and just needed a good home.  I can't resist a dog that needs help!  I showed Stephen - we were both GONERS.  He emailed our landlord...this was the test.  If she said, "no" then we were going to drop it right there.  If she said, "yes" then this was something we were going to prayerfully consider.  Having a dog is a big deal, we know this.  It's a huge responsibility both financially and physically.  But, one look at these cuties and you'll forget all sense of reality:

Now, we wouldn't get both, we'd just get one.  And we wouldn't go off just the picture either, we'd go and meet them and play with them and see.  Our landlord test?  She said yes.  She said YES.  SHE SAID YES.  And she knew it was going to be a lab mix.  Below you will see a list of my pros and cons, these are the things that we are weighing in our minds, please feel free to add to either side.  Also, as silly as this sounds, please pray for us that we make the right decision and we don't let our ten-year-old puppy love hearts take control :)

Cons:

-Money

-Time Commitment...a lot of time!

-Going out of town, what to do with the dog?

-Training a puppy

-Apartment living

Pros:

-I am home all day and Stephen gets home 2 hours after I leave.  If we wait to get a dog until we move back to KY we'll both be working full time.  This might be the most time I would ever have to devote to a dog.

-My friend, Amanda lives in Chicago and she is a dog trainer, groomer and boarder.  She would be utilized to help train our little girl, and to board her when we're going out of town.  You can visit her awesome blog here.

-My mom told me that when we come to Louisville, the dog can stay at their house (and I'm sure that Stephen's family would feel the same way).  The majority of our out-of-town trips are to Louisville so the dog could come with us.

-A reason to walk.  The dog needs to go on at least a 2-3 mile walk daily.  This would be a great reason to MAKE me exercise on a daily basis.

Any other thoughts to help us make this decision?

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 10

This blog is full of great decorating and DIY ideas!  Not only will you see pictures and ideas from Carolyn (the blog's creator) but she also showcases other blog's (MIY: Make it Yours Day) and great ideas that you can find there...a.k.a. a plethora of creativeness! 

Look at how cool this is!  You could copy the idea and change it up a bit to fit your home.

Wanting to hide all the mess under your bed?  She makes this look easy (and cheap)!

I freakin' LOVE these and never want to spend the outrageous amount asked for them...now I can make my own!

Okay, seriously I could continue to link tons and tons of links for fun projects that I want to mimic, but I encourage you to step on into the Backyard and see for yourself!

Happy Blogging!

The Biggest Loser

Do you watch it?  I never consecutively watched it until this year (go figure - the year of the television for me) and I have to admit that I really look forward to it every week.  I see it as a motivator - if these people can go through these grueling workouts, then I can get my butt to the gym for an hour!  The real motivator is that now, in week 13 of the season, these contestants are beginning to weigh-in really close to what I weigh-in as...SCARY!  I really need to RUN to the gym and work out more so that I can keep up with them!  

I don't know if you can see which guy from this picture but Mike (white shirt guy) from this season is the biggest person they've had in Biggest Loser history on the show.  He started the show at around 540-some-odd pounds and he's down to 372.  Let me tell you why I'm stuck on this - because he's been running 5 miles a day on the treadmill.  Did you catch that? 5 MILES A DAY AND HE WEIGHS 372 POUNDS!!!  

That is motivation at its finest!  If a 372 pound man can run for 5 miles, then you better believe that I can too!  I'll let you know my progress!

Lastly - who do I want to win?  I would love it if Sam or Koli won - they've both got determination and hard work.  Sunshine has it also but she annoys me because she's always crying and her and her dad's relationship kinda gets corny after awhile.  I dunno - I'm at the point where I hate seeing ANY of them leave the ranch because I enjoy seeing their progress so much!

I need to go be the biggest loser myself!

ABC - A tribute to Holz :)

My sweet friend Holly did this last week on her blog and I thought it was cute.  I am also lacking blog inspirations so I figured this could be a good post (and I'm procrastinating doing school work so this gives me a reason to wait longer) :)  So get ready to learn a little A-Z about me!

a. area code: Random question; I don't even know considering I use my cell phone and we have no land line.
b. bed size: Queen; me and the hubsters aren't tall people and we can sleep comfortably in a queen - good thing because our room in our apartment could NEVER accommodate a king!
c. chore you hate: I really hate to do laundry here in Chicago BECAUSE we don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment, otherwise I wouldn't mind it.  The chore I've always hated has been dusting - I feel like you have to redust days later and it's super annoying.
d. dogs name: My parent's dog (but I consider her my own) is Rosie.  I look forward to the day when we can get a dog of our own :)
e. essential "start of the day": It used to be a large diet coke from Chick-fil-a on my way to school or coffee but these days it's been tea.
f. favorite color: I really love orange and green (and I also have soft spots for browns and reds - really warm colors).
g. gold or silver: Platinum bab-bay!  Just kidding - either or...I wear more silver but I do always wear a gold ring on my right hand that my parents gave me for my 16th bday.
h. height: I'm short: 5'4.5 (that's right, I'm keeping that .5 on there and there's nothing you can do about it!)
i. instruments i play: I used to rock the cello - you heard right - the cello.  I took 8 years of private lessons and was 2nd chair in my school's orchestra...BE JEALOUS!
j. job: Full-time grad student and wife, although I really feel like I take more days "off" than I should :)
k. kids: in the future, but none for now (and I'm okay with it!)
l. living arrangements: I live in an apartment with the Mr. which we would love to stay in during our duration of calling Chicago our home.
m. moms name: I would tell you but then you would be prone to repeat it and say something about the Simpsons.
n. nickname: My mom used to always call me "Kare-Bear" and my YL girls call me by my maiden name. 
o. overnight hospital stay: Never had one; I know that will change when a baby comes along (not for awhile ANGIE!)
p. pet peeve: Rudeness of all shapes and sizes and for any reason.
q. quote from a movie: The only thing that comes to my mind is "Shampoo is better..."
r. righty or lefty: Right
s. siblings: 2 older sisters, Melissa and Laurel (and then a lot of in-laws from both sides)
t. time you wake up: here lately, 8:15-9ish...I know, I know, I'm lucky.
u. underwear: I really don't know where to go with this question so I'll put my own spin on it: I love Target undies - they're cheap and cute! :)
v. veggies you dislike: I don't really have one, I love my veggies...ask JB's dad.
w. ways or reasons you are late: These days it's because I've lost all ability to manage time and to have a realistic grasp of how long it takes to do anything. 
x. x- rays: Nope
y. yummy food you make: Stephen loves it when I make baked pasta or any sweet of any kind.  I made boxed cupcakes and you'd of thought I was Paula Deen to him.  He's an easy pleaser - no complaints!
z. zoo animals you like: Monkeys, especially Marcel from Friends.

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 9

A special thanks to Katie Howard for showing me this inspiring blog of the week!  (of course when you look at this you can totally see Katie in it and her love for a good beach cottage)  This woman shares her Australian beach cottage and all the amazing decorating that she has completed within.

The number one reason to love her, SHE LOVES IKEA TOO!

Be inspired by this beautiful room makeover in her cottage.

Need some motivation to put bead board up in your house? 

Head on over to the beach and see for yourself!

Happy Blogging!

Great Mother's Day Ideas from Martha

Once again, Martha has not left me disappointed!  I received my latest copy of Martha Stewart Living earlier this week and I found some really cute ideas for Mother's Day.
The ones that I'm going to share are the tote bag's that she shared on page 80 (for those of you who also get this lovely magazine)

Here's the first idea!  How cute is this?!  You use iron-on transfers and download the letter from Martha's site and then take some fake flower blooms and attach them to the bag next to the letter.  For a full tutorial, go here.

And how stinkin' cute are these:

Again, she used iron-on transfers and attached them to tote bags.  For a full tutorial, go here.

These two are the same ideas but iron-on different surfaces.  For the bag tutorial, go here.  For the journal tutorial, go here.

This isn't Martha, but it does involve Iron-On transfers and what I think would be neat ideas for a Mother's Day gift.  Do you know how to make pillows?  Or, do you know where to find some pillow covers that your mother would love?  Then you could do these awesome pillows that I found when I went to this amazing blog: Lemontree Creations (once you go here, forget I told you about it because I plan on featuring them on an upcoming Magnificent Monday post!)

I hope that these ideas helped spark the creative genius within yourselves and that you come up with (or use one of these) to show your mom love on Mother's Day!

Bon Appetit: Barbecue Chicken Pizza

(I got a little Cilantro happy - I chilled that out the next time I made it)

Pizza Ingredients:

*Your favorite barbecue sauce

*1 red onion

*2 small (or 1-1.5 larger) chicken breasts

*Shredded colby jack cheese

* Chopped Cilantro (I chop my smaller than you see in this picture - I was just really excited!)

Dough Ingredients:

*1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 F) 

*1 t sugar

*1 package active dry yeast

*1 T olive oil

*4 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 t salt

Weight Watchers Whole-Wheat Dough Directions:

***DOUGH TAKES ABOUT 1.5 HOURS TO MAKE (INCLUDING RISING TIME) SO MAKE SURE YOU MAKE TIME FOR THAT!  Also, this dough makes enough for 2 12 in pizzas; I froze half the dough and then when I needed it, I put in in the fridge the night before to thaw.

1. In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water and the sugar.  Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until foamy (about 5 min), stir in the oil

2. In a food processor (I used my stand mixer with a dough hook), combine the flour and salt.  With the machine running, scrape the yeast mixture into the bowl and stir until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute.  If necessary, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth and elastic (I didn't have to knead).

3. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray; put the dough in the bowl.  Cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

4. Punch down the dough, then cut in half.  Refrigerate or freeze in floured zip-close freezer bags at this point or use.

Rest of Pizza Directions

1. Rinse, dry, salt&pepper your chicken breasts and then cook them until they're cooked through in a skillet with a bit of olive oil.

3. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

2. Spread your dough out on a greased pizza pan.

3. Spread bbq sauce onto your dough

4. Chop your onion and spread it on top of the sauce on your dough.

5. When your chicken is finished, shred it (unsure of how to do that?  Go here to refresh yourself on how to do it from the White Chicken Chili recipe I shared).

6. In a small dough mix your chicken shreds with about 2 T bbq sauce.

7. Spread your chicken on your dough.

8. Sprinkle the amount of cheese that looks good to you on top of all your other toppings.

9. Bake in the oven on the bottom rack for about 15-20 minutes (until crust is lightly browned/cheese is melted).

10. Chop your cilantro (into smaller pieces that I did)

11. Sprinkle on your pizza as soon as you remove it from the oven.

12. Serve with a fresh salad of your choice!  

(We chose a spinach salad):

ENJOY!

I can't wait to bake!

I love me some BBQ Chicken Pizza, in fact, it's my favorite.  I know it's not technically a real pizza (I will never find it at Giradano's or Lou Malnati's) but it is DANG good!  I started trying to make my own BBQ chicken pizza in November when I read Andrea's blog and she included a fast and easy way to make it.  Her recipe was GOOD and fast and easy (redundant, don'tcha think?).  I got to thinking, I bet I could make my own pizza crust.....and so I did.  On Saturday night I made my own homemade BBQ pizza.  I wish I could say that it was FABULOUS but it needed some more BBQ sauce, so I fully intend on putting more on it when I make it again.  I will share that recipe and pictures from that endeavor either later today or tomorrow so be ready to see my FAVORITE thing to eat when eating pizza :).

"Okay Kari, so what gives?  You're gonna tell us all about this pizza and then not even share it with us?"  No, because the point of this post is to tell you that making the crust was SO easy that now I want to try to make other breads.  I had so much fun doing it!  I was like a kid - I made the dough (whole wheat - yum!) and then Stephen and I went on a walk and the whole time we were on the walk I was giddy with excitement to come back and see if my dough had risen properly (I had tried to make dough unsuccessfully in the past because I didn't have a thermometer so I couldn't get the temp of the water correct so the yeast didn't work and the dough didn't rise).  When we returned from our walk, there was my dough, all big and risen - YAY!

Back in February, my Martha Stewart Living Magazine featured a couple variation of bread recipes.  Now that I have been successful with my pizza dough, I'm planning on tackling Martha's multi grain recipe and I. CAN'T. WAIT!

Are you interested in making some sort of breads yourself?  Don't be defeated, it's super easy (well...ask me when I finish making my first loaf)!  Some things that you definitely need: A thermometer (yeast is a tricky thing and if your water is too hot it will kill it and if it's too cool it won't activate it) and some dry active yeast.  Lastly, a stand mixer with a dough hook is SUPER handy but it's not a must have.  Stay tuned for the dough and pizza recipe and be prepared to make it yourself because it is TOO DANG easy (and YUMMMY) to not make!

Runners Unite!

As you may already know, I've been trying to become a runner for the past couple of weeks.  I frequent the gym and keep track of my progress as I'm trying to prepare to run a 5k this June.  There are some things that I've noticed about myself:

1) I run best at night - I don't know why, but for some reason, when I go to the gym in the evening, I have more energy and end up having better runs.  The only problem with this is that I have night class 3 nights a week, leaving only Monday and Friday nights as my only options for a fulfilling run (I don't like going to the gym on the weekend).

2) I can't run too close to when I eat and yet I can't run too far away from when I last ate...talk about confusing!

3) I'm a sneak peeker...I like to check out the time and distance on the treadmill making my run feel all the more longer.

4) I get discouraged VERY easily.  If I have a bad run one day (this happens more often than not), I automatically think that I'm digressing and will never become a good runner.

5) I am very hesitant to run outside - I don't know why, I'm just certain that if I do, I'll have a bad run (refer to number 4).

From reading all your blogs, I've noticed that I'm not the only blogger who is trying to get her run on.  I'm wondering, if you've been trying to run, are running or have been running since you exited the womb, do you have any tips, suggestions, links, etc. to help us runners keep our heads up and continue to progress.  I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Breakdown a.k.a. Meltdown a.k.a. A Pity-Party

It's true; it happened to me on Sunday.  It seems like lately, every time we go to church here in Chicago, it causes me to get sad.  Ridiculous?  You're telling me!  This week it stemmed from the fact that we could actually go to Covenant (the married Sunday School class that meets after church) except for the fact that Stephen had a commitment which would require me to go alone until he could meet up with me.  This sounds all good except for the fact that we can RARELY attend Covenant because of different ways that Stephen volunteers around church.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset that my husband volunteers at church, it just makes it hard to commit to a class that meets after church.  On top of that, we tend to be out of town on the weekends when Stephen doesn't have a commitment, thus making our visits to Covenant sporadic and rare.
We walk into Covenant (I made him go with me so we could find a place to sit near friends and I wouldn't have to do it alone - pathetic, I know) and we knew (let me clarify, I knew) no one in the room.  He was going to leave me sitting at a table alone (which you'd think I'd be able to handle) until I told him that I didn't feel comfortable doing this (I'm a big baby).  We left the class and I sat, read and waited for him to finish.  Once he finished, we both walked into Covenant halfway through the class and I had a sour attitude the whole time.  "I know no one here..." "Studying God is so intimate, I miss my old church..."  "Boo-Hoo I'm a big baby..." - these are all thoughts conjuring in my mind.
We left, and I got sad.  I sat in the front passenger seat of the car while Stephen drove and I cried.  Like a big baby I sat there and allowed myself to think about all the things in Lexington that I miss and throw myself a pity-party.  I think what really got me was just the idea that this is going to be something that I'm going to have to work through for good.  As far as we know it, we're not moving back to Lexington, and even if we did, that wouldn't mean that all the things I miss would be the same or all the people I love would still live there.  When and if we leave Chicago and move back to Kentucky, it will be Louisville and I will have to work through these feelings again.
On top of a rough Sunday at church, I started a new Bible Study Sunday night.  This is the first time in my life that I've joined a Bible Study barely knowing (if I know them at all) the people in it.  I was sad all day (crazy?  I know!) because I missed my Thursday night Bible Study.  I missed Frankie and her snacks as well as her deep insight and willingness to lovingly nudge us along no matter how uncomfortable it made us feel.  I missed all the girls that I saw on a weekly basis that I felt so comfortable surrounded by while diving deep into Scripture.  I have to move on from this!
I love my life in Lexington and I need to embrace it, but I also need to be open to this new challenge and adventure that is quickly losing its newness and sparkle.  I need to accept the fact that my salvation is MY salvation and my walk with the Lord is MY walk with the Lord, no matter what Bible Study I'm in or which Sunday school class I attend.  I need to love my Lexington friends but not let myself sit in sorrow at the fact that that chapter of my life is over (not my friendships, just that chapter).  I need to memorize and worship in the words of David when he said,


"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; 
       my hope comes from him.
 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
       he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
       he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
 Trust in him at all times, O people;
       pour out your hearts to him,
       for God is our refuge."
                -Psalm 62:5-8
I also need to thank God for my amazing husband who wipes my tears and shares in my sadness whenever I get overwhelmed with the changes here.

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 8

This is a cute blog of a wife and mother who documents her feelings as well as the little (and big) weekend projects that she tackles in her everyday life.  She has a refreshing, yet traditional style and ambition that inspires me :)

For instance, check out this tackle!  Isn't it beautiful???

Look at this cute and functional creation that she was inspired to make.

Check out the really cool and rustic looking pillows that she made.

Go on ahead and see this Lemonade Makin' Mama for yourself!

Happy Blogging!

Review: The Vintage Pearl

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how I had ordered a necklace from this shop online.  I got it in the mail last week and was SO pleased with what I found when I opened it!

We got this necklace for our sister-in-law, Ashley as a very belated birthday/early Mother's day gift.  If you can't see what the charms say, they have her 2 kid's names on them and then have their birthstones next to them.  Also, I was so impressed with how shiney and beautiful the chain was.  When I saw it online, I was a little skeptical because of the look of it, however when I opened the package and saw it, I was pleasantly surprised!  

The order took awhile to get, although it was totally worth the wait!  I would definitely order from the vintage pearl again!

p.s. I did this review on my own without any prompting or requests from the vintage pearl.

Working to Accomplish A Goal

Do you remember my New Years Resolutions?  Let me remind you of 2 of my resolutions, learn to sew and to buy a new sewing machine.  Let me tell you, I am excitedly working towards this!  I got my sewing machine last week (YA-HOO!) and I can't wait to use it!  The only problem is that I don't know what I'm doing!  I sit in class at night and think about all the things that I want to make and do with my sewing machine...I must be proactive about this or else that machine will sit unused and I won't learn anything in class.  My sister, Melissa was here and she helped me research where I could take sewing lessons.  We found a few places but then she found gold!  Joann's offers sewing classes for $35 for a 2.5 hour session(which is cheap compared to other prices here) and if I register this Saturday during their "Open House" I save 50% on the class.  Let's do the math together...that's $17.50!  YESSSSSSSSS!
I really am excited to learn to use my machine so that I can continue to make things without having to have my mom help me :).  Over the Easter weekend, I had her help me make a birthday gift for my nephew, Jacob.  I was inspired by Meg at whatever to make an age t-shirt for him.  I purchased the fabric off etsy for super cheap and the t-shirt from walmart for (of course) super cheap.

The idea is that when this shirt is washed, the fabric will kinda curl and fringe up to where the stitch is which will (hopefully) add to the charm of the t-shirt.  Here's the back of the t-shirt:

I hope he likes it!  I cannot wait to make more! :)

Happy Belated Easter!

Sorry for my absence from blogland lately...we've had lots of visitors (FUN!) and a trip to Louisville for Easter which has really kept me from spending time doing something that I really enjoy doing (blogging, duh!)!  However, my sister just left this morning (after a fun few days, if I do say so myself) and so now I'm back to me, myself and I during the days :).  I have a lot to catch you up on, but for now we'll stick to this past Easter weekend.  This was Stephen and mine's first Easter together which basically means that we get to be together all the time, as opposed to only getting to see Stephen once a month before he ventures back to Chicago and me back to Lexington, so that is fun!

And might I add that the weather was beautiful!  Here is a picture of us on our first Easter - Stephen insisted we get a picture (which is funny to me).  It was a great weekend!  Stephen had off work on Friday so we headed to Louisville on Friday morning and arrived by 3:30 (nasty traffic on 65south - thanks Indiana!).  That night, we got to spend some time with our nephew Jacob and niece Halle while we babysat for Nathan and Ashley - we had a ton of fun!  We don't get to see these cuties that often so we really enjoyed being able to hang out with them just us and them.

Later that night we headed over to Stephen's parents house to dye Easter Eggs with Stephen's sister and her husband - all in all, a great day!

On Saturday we spent the day running errands and then went out to dinner with my parents and sister and her husband to celebrate her birthday - we enjoyed delicious Cuban cuisine - YUMMY!

Sunday was a wonderful day filled with church, family and great food!

Sunday afternoon was filled with relaxation and this:

Who doesn't love a great Sunday nap with your favorite canine companion?!

The weekend ended on Monday (Stephen took work off on Monday) and so we got to sleep in and peacefully head back to Chicago with my sister, Melissa.

I hated leaving Louisville, but at least I had Melissa to keep me company for a few days :)

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 7

Okay, I know that many of you have already been to this magnificent blog, but I couldn't help but include her in the role.  I found myself on her blog after visiting one of my favorite blogs (whatever - it was previously featured) and MAN did my taste buds start to tingle out of the longing to taste what my eyes were seeing.  You must go to her blog and try some of the recipes that she shares - and who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to purchase her cookbook!

Oh my stars - this is where I started to lose it!

My husband loves sweets and cinnamon, so of course you're seeing a repeat of this recipe that you previously saw me swoon over on Sunday Baker.

Who doesn't love this dish?  Simple, fancy, slow, quick, long, short I'll take it anyway I can get it (I'm talking about this recipe people, stay in the right frame of mind!) ;)

And last but not least: this; because I always struggle with good salad ideas.

Enough is enough - go plan out your weekly meals (only after visiting The Pioneer Woman first!)

Happy Blogging!