New Beginnings

Well this past weekend we finally went in search of a new car! I had been looking for months and had narrowed down my favorite to the Chevy Equinox.  We knew we wanted an SUV, but not something huge or too small.  This seemed to be the perfect in between fit with size, plus I loved the inside look.  Last week I saw one come up online that I really liked look-wise and price-wise.. which is not very common.  Lance reluctantly agreed to go look at it, so on Saturday morning- off we went. Oh my word, car shopping is EXHAUSTING!!!!! We really liked the first one we saw, but he didn't want to settle before we looked at a few more, so we went to one more dealer and were POOPED! We then decided yes, the first one was it.  Long story short, our whole Saturday and Sunday was consumed with car shopping and finally around 4:00pm on Sunday we were driving away in our new fancy (as I like to say), Equinox.  I hope this car lasts me forever, because I do not want to go through that process again for a long, looooong time.  Here are a few pics I snapped on Sunday! :) I was exhausted when I took these, so I didn't get any of the backseat or very back, but you get the idea!

As weird as it sounds, I am definitely going to miss my little Sentra.  I got that car brand new my Senior year of high school (10 years this coming February!). We have been through a lot and it's been a good little car, unfortunately I just wanted something bigger and newer.  We are going to keep it a few weeks and then sell it on our own, so I will probably still drive it some to work to save a little on gas.  I have a pretty far commute and this V6 SUV is not going to be nice to me at the gas tank, yikes!

So here it is.. Our new beginning in our new car!! :) :)

Five on Friday

I don't know about yall, but Friday's are definitely the BEST.  You have almost survived a full work week, and the weekend is within arm's reach.  This weekend we actually do not have too much planned, just a few things we want to get done, but in no order or time.  So out of the norm for us and I am so glad to hopefully get some nice relaxation in!!!  I am linking up again today for my 5 on Friday and my 5 today are pretty random, but just a few of my fav's lately.

ONE

I am so excited that the Renaissance Festival is back in town! If you live in the Charlotte area, this is a MUST.  I went for the first time last year and it is SO. MUCH. FUN.  The food, crafts, little shops, shows, and just characters walking around.  It is such a neat event and I hope we will be able to go within the next few weeks.  Here is there website if you want to check it out---  http://www.royalfaires.com/carolina/

I love anything Zodiac, and got this awesome gem last year at the fest.  It is stone and VERY heavy.  I think I paid maybe $20 or $25 for this?  Sorry for the bad pic.. I was snapping them last night from my phone before heading to bed! :)

TWO

I have been wanting to throw this in for awhile.  I was never a big lip stick/lip gloss wearer and about a year or two ago I decided to go on the hunt for one.  I wanted something that lasted a long time, and also didnt leave that nasty line across your lips.  I found the PERFECT product.  Revlon ColorSay Lipglaze

This stuff is AWESOME.  It's around $9-$10, so a steal! My go to color is the one above, #530 Infinite Rose.  I sometimes will pair them up since this is a lighter shade and add #510 Forever Fig, underneath. 

THREE

Next is just a cute little must have.  Being a girl, I feel like always having Kleenex handy is a must.  Kleenex brand now makes these cute little travel pouches that have such a nifty layout.  They come 3 to a pack (each being a different design).  Here is the one my purse is currently holding:

and the inside..

FOUR

I am loving my new shower curtain I got a few weeks ago and had to share.  Again, I snapped this last night with my cell phone, so not the best quality.  With the lighting, the green isn't true to color, but in reality it's a nice dark olive green.  I picked this up at World Market and was so excited to get it home and put up.  I can not tell you how excited it made me when World Market came back to Charlotte. I LOVE this store!

FIVE

Of course I have to throw in our one year is 2 weeks from Sunday, and I am SOO excited for our trip to Gatlingburg.  I have, with the help of some wonderful friends' suggestions, picked out two AMAZING restaurants for our dinner plans while we are there and also a few attractions.  We are staying at a Bed & Breakfast, so that meal will for sure be wonderful.  I might not fit into my clothes when we get back! :)

I have always loved this look on his face in the picture.  It's like, "Yep, we did it- Let's go party!" haha

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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!!