Favorite Fall Coffee

Now, I sure do love a good pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks, but let's be real- those can get expensive and are quite fattening. What's even better? Making your own at home for way cheaper and less cal's, win win!  Here are my two favorite mixtures for the season.




     +  

((Archer Farms' pumpkin spice coffee mixed with Amaretto creamer))


 and...



     +   

((Donut Shop's Coconut Mocha mixed with Coffee-mate Pumpkin Spice creamer))



These are definitely the best pairs in my book.  What are your at home fall favorites?  *Side note- The Archer Farms coffee also comes in a bag for those of you who don't have a Keurig machine!*

Weekend Recap

Even though it's still Sunday, the remainder of my day will be spent lounging around and painting my nails, so I figured I would go ahead and write about the weekend.

First off, my wonderful husband has been installing new windows, and this weekend he put in the last two in the living room.  It is amazing how much new windows excite me.  The ones we had were the originals from when the house was built.. in 1979.  Let's just say this was a much needed project.  Thank goodness for handy husbands! :)

Apparently I am able to shop anywhere, so Friday night when we went to Lowe's to get some supplies for the windows, I wandered around and somehow filled up a cart of my own. Among these items I got a cute new fall doormat, and also some mums for the front porch.  I am hoping this is not something I will kill within a week, but will last me for a few months, fingers crossed.

Oh, and I also got Lance to finally get in the attic and pull out my fall decor. Finally got to hang up my wreath I made last year! :)

To add to the fall fun, Lance and I stopped by our local pumpkin patch/farm this morning. To our surprise, the pumpkins there are priced outrageous.  We then decided just to walk around and see all the animals and events they had going on, then we left and went to Harris Teeter to get our pumpkins! haha  We did have a fun morning while we were there, and everything was free except the pumpkins.  Our favorite part were definitely the sweet little pigs, who sure did enjoy eating the pumpkins!!

Once we got home, I was able to finish our front porch decor.  Luckily I was able to buy a white pumpkin (am I the only one who have never seen these??), but still want to paint one or two of the small ones gold.  I got some spray paint Friday at Lowe's, so now I just need to get busy!

You can see Lance there still working on finishing up the windows. :)

I would like to throw in I made my first pumpkin recipe last night, and it turned out delicious! Pumpkin Banana Greek Yogurt Bread.  Not only is it yummy, it is actually pretty healthy.  If anyone wants the recipe, just comment and I will make a separate post for it! :)

Now I think I will take after this little guy and enjoy the rest of my weekend relaxing. xoxo

Five on Friday- Fall Edition

TGIF! Almost through with another work week and happily entering the weekend.  I don't know about yall, but Fall is definitely the best time of the year. I'm sure everyone is sick of the million facebook, instagram, blog Fall posts buttttttt.. here's another one!  I follow a few different blogs and thought I would link up to some with their Five on Friday! :)  Here is my Five on Friday Fall Edition.

1. Weather-  It has been so nice here in NC and I am loving every minute of it. Not too hot, and definitely not too cold.  I am hoping these temperatures stay in place for at least a few more weeks.  It's so nice to be able to sit outside after work or on the weekends and soak in some fresh air.  Also the leaves are starting to change a tiny bit, which makes it all that much better.


2. Decor-  I am ashamed to say I have been slacking on getting my fall decor out of the attic.  I can actually blame this one on Lance since he is the attic man. I have asked a few times if he would like to get in the attic to get my stuff and I am sure you can guess his answer.  I think this weekend I will nicely shove his little butt up there and get my stuff! haha  I have this wreath I made last year that I am dying to put back up.  We also have a new (and greatly improved) front door that I know it is going to look great on!

We are also planning on going to the pumpkin patch this weekend (can't wait!!) and I have some plans to try and paint some of the pumpkins for decor this year.  Here are some ideas I like.. what do you think?

3. Candles/Wallflowers-  I think fall smells (with Christmas in a close second) have got to be the best of the whole year.  Any form of pumpkin, harvest, leaves, autumn, etc is amazing.  My B&BW shopping goes into overdrive this time of year.. thank goodness for their sales and coupons or I would be in big trouble! :)

4. Fall fashion- Scarves, boots, skinny jeans/tights, oversized shirts and sweaters.  Bring it on.  These also work great when you want to camo all those yummy holiday treats you've been eating! haha Cute, but comfy.  This past weekend the weather was perfect for me to pull out a fall outfit.  Ignore the fact that Lance is dressed like it's summer (and later changed into jeans because he was chilly! ha). I will also throw in I am loving my curling wand for my fall look.  Now that I  have short hair (almost a year now of keeping it this length- a record I think!) it is much easier for my thick hair to hold a curl. I love it even though I tend to burn myself (ear,face, fingers.. you get the picture) just about every time I use it. I love the soft curls it gives me, and they last all day long! Plus the fact it's so easy and a pretty quick process.  You can see the general look in this picture.

5. Pumpkin flavored ANTYHING- Coffee being the best.  I found at Target a Pumpkin Spiced coffee for my Keurig and it is amazing. I believe it is Archor Farms (the Target brand) and delicious.  I normally pair it with Hazelnut creamer, but I recently tried it with Amaretto and YUM! So good.  I have pinned a few pumpkin desserts recently I am dying to try.  Unfortunately Lance doesn't like pumpkin flavor (what?!?) so I will definitely be bringing a lot to work to save my waist line.  Anyone have any good pumpkin recipes they've tried??

Hope you enjoyed my Five on Friday and please do share yours!!! :)

North Carolina

Next Wednesday, October 2, I will have lived in the great state of North Carolina for TWO years.  It's crazy to think it has already been that long.  It's such a gorgeous state and I am so thankful to live here.  It's a nice mixture of country, but still enough city for me.  In my opinion, I feel like we live in the country, but Lance would like to seclude ourselves times about 100! haha   I used to think I would hate not living within 5-10 minutes of everything, but now I can't imagine ever living in a neighborhood again.  It's so nice to be spread out and have our own space. The only thing I really don't like about our road is the fact that the speed limit is 45 and most people go about 60.  I honestly get scared to get the mail if cars are coming because they fly by so fast.  Our road is also on the bicycle trail and I do not see how this people aren't scared out of their minds. Let me tell you, there are no sidewalks or streetlights where are live..these people are brave!

I absolutely love our little town we live in, Concord, NC- even though technically it's not so litte.  It's got the old historic downtown, but also spreads out pretty far with all of the "city" areas.  We live outside the city limits (see, country!) right on the edge of town. We are about 15 minutes from entering Charlotte, so the perfect spot to have the best of both worlds.  It's pretty much the same as Southaven is to Memphis.

Our favorite restaurant in downtown Concord.

Downtown Concord, NC

It's so nice to live near so many great attractions. We have TONS of vacation spots within 2-4 hours- Mountains or Beaches.  We have a HUGE mall, Concord Mills, that I rarely go to (sadly- but we do have a smaller one that's actually closer to my house anyways!) because the traffic is so insane. The Carolina Panthers play right in the heart of downtown Charlotte. The Charlotte Motor Speedway is also here in Concord (huge NASCAR people here.. not for me, but they do other fun races there to go watch).  There are SO many things here, that I don't even know the half of them.  It's definitely a great city/area to live in.. or to visit (come on friends!!)

Bank of America Stadium, downtown Charlotte, NC

 Not only have I lived here almost two years, but a month from tomorrow will be our big ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! In a way I feel like we have been married forever (of course in a good way!), but then again I feel like I was just planning.  It's crazy to think how fast this year has gone by.  They say the first year is the hardest, well considering I don't feel like it was hard at all.. I am super excited for the next 100! haha  I have been blessed beyond words and am so thankful each and every day.  I am over joyed with this amazing journey Lance brought my life to, and am so excited for all that's to come in the future! :)

Happy Thursday to everyone! xoxo

Crockpot Cookin'

So as I search for new recipes my key things are: minimal time and ingredients! haha I have given in a few times and made recipes that took forever and used a 100 different ingredients. To me it just wasn't worth it.  They were very good, but so are other, easy recipes. (Not enough time after work to spend half my evening cooking unfortunately.)

Lately I have made 2 new crock pot recipes that were very easy, and tasted great (all thanks to Pinterest!).  One of them is not the healthiest, but sometimes you can cheat a bit and enjoy a nice fatty meal. As I may have mentioned before, Lance believes the house will burn down if we leave it on while not home, so I  have not used ours much.  The past two Sundays I  have used it and was very pleased with both outcomes. First I will start with the chicken tater tot creation.



This recipe only has 5 ingredients.. awesome!

Ingredients:

1 lb of boneless, skinless breasts (diced)
32 oz bag of frozen tater tots
3 oz bag of bacon bits
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup of milk.

All you have to do is the following- Spray the crockpot with cooking spray, add half the tater tots, half the cheese, half the bacon, all the chicken, rest of the cheese, rest of the bacon, and pour all of the milk over the top. Ta-da! Put the lid on and cook on Low for 4-6 hours. (did closer to the full 6).


This makes a lot, and I think lasted us maybe 3 meals each.  I added hot sauce to mine (I pretty much could put it on everything!) and I think Lance put a bit of ranch on his.  This is something that still tastes just as good after being refrigerated and reheated!

My second recipe I just made yesterday and it was FANTASTIC.  This is a much healthier option than above.  Skinny Spaghetti.  Now we have been using ground chicken in the past for a lot of things, so I knew this would taste fine. I know a lot of people have switched to ground turkey, but if you check the nutrition, ground chicken is even about 50%  better for you than the turkey.  In things like tacos, spaghetti, and even chili where the seasoning is the main taste, you can not tell the difference at all.  I'm sure more textured things like meatloaf, meatballs, ex, would not work as well.  We did use it to try and make "burgers" one time and it had the texture of a burger, but taste of a chicken sandwich.. very odd! ha  This ingredients list is a bit longer, but most are seasonings you just sprinkle in.  My husband has about every season known to man, so luckily I only had to buy very little to make this.  I also added a few things, so I will just list exactly how I made it.

There are 2 steps to this recipe. 

Step one you will cook the ground meat fully with the following:

1 lb lean ground turkey or chicken (I used chicken)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp dried sage

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp dried oregano
• (Now on seasoning I don't really measure it, but kind of sprinkle in what I think looks about right! lol)

Step two you will mix the cooked meat in with all the other ingredients:

• 1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce (no sugar added)
• 8 ounces (uncooked) 100% whole wheat spaghetti, about 2/3 of a 13.25 oz box, break into small pieces before adding to meat mixture
• 1 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1 cup skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp chopped (fresh) basil
• 1/2 container of sliced mushrooms
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix it all together in the crockpot and cook on Low about 2 hours.   We had for dinner last night, I packed it for our lunch today, and will also get one more meal for each of us out of it.

I'm sure I will make some more in the future, and will definitely post any ones worth sharing! :)

Happy Monday!!

Whatever Wednesday

So I don't really have one specific topic to talk about, but since I haven't written in awhile I thought I would just write about whatever random things going on!

First off- VMA's.  I know the Miley business has been well talked about, but- Oh my. That was probably the most awkward, gross thing I have ever seen.  I think maybe she was going for the "I'm young and sexy look" and really looked like an overly awkward, too skinny girl bouncing around on stage trying to do the most sexual things she could in the small amount of time she had.  It was very.. odd.  I'm almost positive all this attention is exactly what she wanted, which makes me sad.  She needs to grow her hair back out, put on a bit of weight, and lay off the crazy train.  I am very curious what her on again/off again fiance thinks about this because he is wayyyyy too cute and (seems) normal to put up with that. 

I will say, the only reason I was even watching the VMA's is to wait for, you guessed it..... JUSTIN TIMEBERLAKE and NSYNC! Oh my, it was amazing.  I was definitely overly joyed for this part and loooooved it! It also made me very sad that I will be missing his tour for the first time ever this year! :( Unfortunately he is not coming to Charlotte and when we tried to get Memphis tickets, Ticketmaster froze when I was completing my payment and lost my tickets!!!! Since they sold out so fast, by the time I went back to search, the only tickets coming up were nosebleed for around $250.  I just couldn't pay that much, plus a $350+ plane ticket to get there, for seats where you can't even see him.  I am still hoping he might magically add Charlotte to his tour.  I was also sad my lovely NSYNC guys only got about 3 minutes. I wish they would have at least done a full song. Oh well.  It still made my inner 13 year old self jump for joy!

Next thought.. I will be home in 2 DAYS!!!!!!  On one hand I am SO excited to be there and see everyone, but I'm not going to lie, when I looked at the temperatures I got really sad! haha  We have been so lucky here in NC and I don't think even reached 90 this whole summer.  When I look at the numbers reaching 98, knowing the heat index will be way more, it makes me want to cry. I have NOT missed the MS heat or humidity. Hopefully I won't melt this weekend! :)  I am so so soooooo excited to see all my little babies when I get there.  I hate being away from all my little people! Luckily I will get some time in with Canion, Harber, and Abram- My best friends' little boys. :)  I am especially excited to see Harber as this will be our FIRST meeting. I can not wait to hold and love all over that sweet little baby!!!! (along with my other 2 little men!)  I also can't wait to see my sweet doggies and love all over them. I hate they can't talk to me while I am here!! haha  Then of course, everyone else! :)  Friday at 2:30 can not come fast enough.  I will be off work, heading home to drop our doggies here off at the kennel, and then headed to the airport.  See ya soon Memphis!!!!

Happy Hump Day! :)

Beauty Review - Clarisonic Mia & New Lotion

I have seen and heard about this product for awhile now and was always curious how good it REALLY worked.  I had been debating back and forth whether to get this since the price tag was so hefty.  There are actually a few different versions, with the Mia being the cheapest.  This version is $119 plus tax.  With my birthday approaching and not really sure what to ask Lance for, I thought I would investigate this little gadget a bit more.  I read tons and tons of reviews, which 99% of them raved of this product. I finally caved and told him this is one of the things I would like.  I have now been using the Mia for about 3 weeks and I must say, I am impressed.  I am not sure if I would go as crazy as some of those reviews that claimed life changing results, but it's definitely a great product.  This product claims to clean skin up to 6 times better than your hands or a rag and I must say, I have to agree here.  My skin has never been softer and feels super clean and free of any oil/dirt after I use this product.  You can use up to twice a day, but I stick to one since I do have sensitive skin.  As you can see in the picture, it does include a sample of their face wash, but I stick to my Philosophy products.  I actually fully wash my face once to get the majority of my makeup off, then go back and reapply soap and use this product.  The first time I used this product after doing the first wash of my face I was very surprised to see makeup come off on the brush.  That just shows you really aren't getting your face as clean as you think!   I don't really notice a huge change in the oiliness (which is what I was really hoping for!), but it has helped some.  I would definitely recommend this product to anyone that is debating whether or not to spend the money.  Like I said before, I don't think it does magic and gives you a new face as some reviews say, but it definitely is very good on your skin.  My skin already feels smoother and healthier after just a few weeks, and I feel like the older I get I really need to be taking care of my skin the best I can.

This Mia (and Mia2) comes in many different colors- mine is the purple shown above.  The Mia2 is $149 and the only differences I found were there are 2 speeds instead of 1 (which the lady at Sephora told me they were so similar, it doesn't make a difference), it beeps when you are supposed to move it to a different area on your face, and the warranty is 2 years instead of 1.   You are supposed to use it on your whole face in 60 seconds but I normally run it twice.  I don't mind not having it beep to tell me when to move because I would still have to go back over it again.  I like to concentrate on certain areas longer than others, so I follow my own pattern of moving it around anyways.  Depending on if those factors are important to you will help you decide on the 1 or 2.  I don't think for those 3 things $30 is bad, but I didn't want to push my luck with Lance since I did still get a few other gifts! haha :)



I have also recently switched my lotion to another version within Philosophy.  I found a new product they use that is similar to Hope in a Jar, but oil free and better for us oily chicks in the summer.  'Take a Deep Breath' is my new go to lotion.  This jar is the same size as my $40 Hope, but for some reason it is only $32.. which makes me love it even more! haha  It has more of a "gel" feel to it, but goes on just as smooth.  I use the TINIEST bit, so this 2oz jar lasts me about a year.  I have used this about a week and so far.. so good! :)




Happy Tuesday!! :)