Chicken Fried

Today I have been reflecting on one of my favorite weekends, Town and Country Days. Even though I am exhausted from the preparations and the actual day, it really is one of the Greatest days of the year! These words of "Chicken Fried" have been replaying in my head all day.

And its funny how it`s the little things in life that mean the most

Not where you live, what you drive or the price tag on your clothes

There`s no dollar sign on a piece of mind; this I`ve come to know

and

To a little bit of chicken fried

Cold beer on a Friday night

A pair of jeans that fit just right

And the radio up

The band played this song last night and it just personifies Small-Town America, which I love, which got me thinking of the other "little things in life" that I love. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the list of to-do's or focusing on the negatives of the day, that I overlook all the small joys. So my goal to create a list of little things in life that mean the most to me, and help to instantly put a smile on my face. Who knows how many little joys I will find, so I start with 1-10.

1. Hearing Chicken Fried in a packed street dance, dancing with my friends

2. A warm Grande Nonfat Chai Tea on a chilly morning

3. My super comfy couch

4. The insane amount of body heat my Husband has to warm my ice-cold feet

5. The smell and taste of banana walnut bread

6. My joyfully, happy yellow purse.

7. The tall basil plants that are growing in my herb box

8. Listening to my niece sing her heart out to Praise songs

9. Watching my nephew play football (ps. Can't wait for this season)

10. Kittens Inspired by Kittens-- youtube it!

Fresh start

Upon a fantastic weekend in my hometown, I am feeling very rejuvenated. Did I just hear myself correctly rejuvenated after a 6 hour car ride one way to spend the weekend with family? :) Yes rejuvenated. It was an awesome weekend! We went home to celebrate my nephew Jordan making Profession of Faith (How awesome it was to see him take that all important step in his Faith), but found myself rediscovering some of my favorite things.

We went home on Friday and I ate a delicious Bootlegger Burger. A fantastic burger that is a cheeseburger with 1000 Island dressing all warm and gooey under the cheese and the first bite punctures the cheese and the dressing oozes out! It really is pure Deliciousness.

Saturday was filled with a trip to Sioux Falls (as is customary and much needed), but we did things that are not in our usual repertoire... but they should be. We went one of my favorite stores- Zanbroz Variety and a variety it is! Where else can you go to get books, unique jewelry, interesting kitchen/decor items, but yet find this---

www.thinkgeek.com picture

or

www.cardboardsafari.com pic

Yes... That really is a Samurai Sword umbrella... the Only Umbrella I think Eric would ever willingly carry. Must satisfy his inner ninja..... And yes a cardboard buffalo head mount... Part of the Cardboard Safari. Yes it is an actual thing. Google it.

We also visited Ten Thousand Villages and a super cool Art Gallery. We ate some coconut shrimp, spent some much needed time with my sister and family, watched Eric and Jordan battle each other at MarioKart (what can I say... I married a big kid), listened to Kaylie read about the Good Samaritan (yes she read Samaritan) and play her piano recital songs, and spent the evening adventuring at Falls Park. Falls Park is a rock climbing adventure. The River flows right over the rocks, creating spectacular waterfalls around the park. It is so serene to walk out to the edge of the rocks, sit on the edge of a cliff, and watch the water and the Falls.

Yet it is also a little terrifying for myself, as someone with no balance and a bunch of uneven surfaces prime for causing me to fall... especially when I decide to wear flip flops. I did manage to escape unscathed... this time!

Which brings us to Sunday- the reason for our entire visit. Watching Jordan so calm and collected on ,as the Pastor put it , the most Important Decision he will ever make. Oh how I wish I had his courage and passion at that age. I kept thinking all through church how lucky I am and how Blessed I am. It doesn't get much better than being at church, holding my 5 year old Niece, and both singing I am Free! Perfect weekend.

Name that PLANT!

The joys of being a homeowner are wonderful, but it also mean that you inherit a yard, a vast space full of growing green things that are sprouting that may or may not turn into something beautiful. Not to mention things sprouting where they aren't supposed to, or so you think! :)

Some things you LOVE--


Some things you HATE---


Some things just cause you stress, since you can't tell what is what...

Some things are very pretty and blossom overnight, but you still have no IDEA what it is!

Some things you dislike, because you had to sit next to the stinky potted version of these in 4th grade for extended periods of time .... but your horticulturalist friend says it will be nice so you trust his judgement.

So anyone with a green thumb or even a semigreen thumb wanting to give a girl a hand is more than welcome.. Until then, I will be staring at these in my yard, since they seem to be growing with no problem! :)

Enjoying the tasty bits of life...

I know I know... I have been bad. Not only for not sharing, but for also not sharing pictures of the house. My camera cord is still MIA and the laptop crashed, and my Geek Squad husband still hasn't fixed it! :)

Eric and I are still (yes, still) digging through boxes and deciding where things should go. Most of our stuff is still waiting to be gone through in the garage. I am refusing to have needless boxes inside, because if we do we will look like we should be on Hoarders. So maybe that is the problem-- the boxes are out of sight, out of mind. Eh.. its a catch 22. Hopefully this weekend, we will make loads of progress. :)

Even though life has been hectic and busy, we are still managing to spend some time in the kitchen. The other night we spent making one of our favorites-- Skillet Lasagna Alla Vodka. I came across the recipe in a magazine I think. So, I thought I'd share.

Skillet Lasagna Alla Vodka

12 oz lasagna noodles
1/4 t. black pepper

16 oz cottage cheese
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 t. basil
1/2 c. Vodka
25 oz Marinara sauce
1/2 c heavy cream
2 c shredded mozzerella


Cook noodles according to package directions. Mix cottage cheese, spinaceh, basil, and pepper. In a sauce pan simmer marinara sauce and vodka for 5 min. Stir in Cream. Spread 3/4 c of sauce over bottom of large skillet (12 in). Drain noodles and cut into 2 in pieces. Arrange 1/3 of noodles over sauce. Spoon half of the sauce over the noodles. Top with another 1/3 of noodles. Spread the cheese mixture. Then sprinkle 1 cup of mozzerella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Cover and simmer 10 min. Sprinkle last 1 c. of mozz. cheese. Cover and simmer for 2 min or until cheese is melted.


It is very delish, and it is easy to make modifications if you so choose, We have added sausage and mushrooms before, but most of the time we just like it simple and good. You can also buy the vodka sauce too, but what fun is that and it is super easy to make!

ENJOY!


**** We also tried Sicilian Supper last night from Taste of Home. You can find that here!

Anything but Generic!

Where has the time gone? Life has sure been crazy lately. It is hard to believe that we are now entering November! I'd like to say things are going to slow down but unfortunately I am sure that won't happen until January! EEK!

August brought about school again, and put a quick end to sleeping in! I was ready to go back and get back into a routine again. I know it is silly but I am one who is ready to back after the first month off. :) September zoomed by. I am not really where I spent that month other than school or Hyvee! :) Sad when that happens.

At the end of the month, Eric and I (with the rest of his family) made the trek to Nashville, TN for Zach and Kate's wedding. It was a good trip, filled with lots of fun. :) It was a quick trip, but it was good to get back to the south for a weekend and get to some of the restaurants/stores I had been missing!

A week later, Eric and I went on our OFFICIAL honeymoon! :) We went to the Riviera Maya for a week. We had a fabulous time. The weather was perfect.... 90 degrees, hot, sunshine all day, gorgeous! Much better than the cold, rainy, sunless days we had been having before we left. Our day consisted of breakfast, pool, beach, lunch, pool, nap, supper, show entertainment, sleep. We were definitely living the hard life. We only went on one excursion to Chichen Itza, the Mayan pyramids. It was definitely amazing, and well worth it. It was just breathtaking. Unfortunately, living the dream life had to come to an end and we had to head back to reality. Reality I had prepared for, the 50 degree temperature change in a day, I was not ready for! ICK!

So now we are back, things are still crazy and hectic. And if we weren't busy enough as it was, we decided to buy a house!! Eric had been doing the initial look and had looked at this one a while back, but recently they dropped the price, and after checking it out we put an offer in and it was accepted! It is a cute little house, 2 bedrooms, 2 story house. It has a big backyard (hopefully for an addition later) and is landscaped and has gardens planted. It is about 15-20 minutes outside of Dubuque. We hope to close in the middle of November. YAY!

So lots of changes around here... but they are all good ones. Now if the snow would just hold off until we get moved!

PS. I will add pics later! :)

I am one lucky girl.....

and very thankful for parents who love me!

What causes this outburst of appreciation? Eric and I have really been wanting Taverns (sloppy joes) ,but they just aren't the same without Casey's Bakery Buns. There really aren't any buns that compare. I made a call to my mom Tuesday to see if she could send some our way.... and what shows up on my doorstep today?


I was so excited to see them sitting at my door. I anxiously peeled back the tape, and as soon as that tape was off the lovely waft of bakery goodness oozed out the box! YUMMY!

I see taverns in our future, and burgers, and even dried beef cheese spread! Who knows what else we will come up with!

So THANKS Mom and Dad!!

Who says I can't cook?

Up until two years ago, I had serious doubts about my cooking abilities. Nothing ever seemed to turn out right. The extent of my cooking was throwing something in the microwave or my super easy sausage casserole my friend Cindy taught me which has all of 3 ingredients. So when I moved to Dubuque, I realized that something had to change. Eric and I could not go out to eat every meal, nor did we want to. We started with breakfast (nothing too challenging) and worked our way up the scale. Soon my confidence started growing. And I must say, we come up with some pretty tasty dishes. Eric's ability is not quite as good as mine * ahem tatertotless casserole ahem* but he is an EXPERT when it comes to cutting onions and all the other chopping skills. My coordination fails me here.

So here are a few pictures for proof! And no...... there aren't any hidden takeout boxes, Mom! :)


Chicken Pesto Pizza. One of our favorites. It is not delivery or DiGiorno.... and yes, that crust is HOMEMADE! Not a Betty Crocker envelope either.... good old yeast and flour.


Tonight's supper--- Ribs! Eric had really been craving ribs, and I'm not too wild about meat still on the bone. ( I find too many gross things about it.) However, I am a sucker for some good barbecue sauce, so we tried it anyhow. They turned out great, although I think they would be better boneless. :)



The sauce was fantastic, and as you can see it made a lot---- 3 bowls worth. So you can slather it on!


And for Dessert--- Puff Pastries filled with Banana, Nutella, and walnuts.-- AKA Angry Man.

But how can he be so angry when he is filled with delicious goodness???