The Corkrans

Love!!

2012-02-14T10:00:00.005-06:00

Happy Valentines Day!!

I started off the day at the dentist - boo - but I have much better plans for the rest of the day!

I will be staying in our warm home, drinking some good wine, and cooking an amazing dinner with my hubby. Something amazing - like blue cheese stuffed filets and PW duchess potatoes are on the menu! Can't wait for tonight!!

I hope everyone has a great day celebrating love - even if it is with your spouse, children, family, friends, or even fur-babies!

Busy, Busy Weekend

2012-02-13T16:14:00.001-06:00

We had a super busy and it had taken me all day today to catch up.

Catherine and I ran errands all day on Friday but little was accomplished because Jeff called in the middle of the day and needed a ride. His truck was ready at the body shop - oh wait, totally forgot to mention on here that Jeff was in a wreck last week. He is fine, thank goodness! Just rear ended a cop. Yep, stuck in traffic and ran into a police cruiser. It's a really funny joke now!

Anyways, we picked up Jeff and the 3 of us decided to head over to the local middle school gym to watch our cousin Eric coach his 8th grade basketball team in the semi-finals. Who knew middle school b-ball could be so exciting!

After the game we had dinner at Firebirds and then Catherine and I met up with our girlfriends to see The Vow. The movie was not what I expected and was really quite the downer. I would recommend renting it and not seeing it in the theater. But I did love the cast!

Since we didn't get much accomplished on Friday with our errands, Catherine and I got up and finished up on Saturday morning. Afterwards we headed over to Kat's bridal shower. Loved spending the afternoon with my girlfriends.

Saturday night Jeff and I had plans with work friends. We spent the evening at Staxtacular - a charity event at the Stax museum. The Grizzly players hosted - needless to say we were pretty excited to meet the players. Here we are with our favs...

After Staxtacular we met up with our friends at Alchemy. I feel like we have been out of town a lot lately so a night out was so wonderful!

Sunday Catherine and I had a family baby shower to go to. Our new little second cousin should be here any day now. I love sweet little baby things - that shower didn't do much help for my baby fever, ha! But I love my cousins and always like spending time with them.

While I was there Jeff did ALL of our laundry - even the bed sheets. Great surprise to come home to, thank you me sweet husband!

After such a busy weekend we just got take out dinner and caught up on our DVR shows. Lovely weekend, but I am really looking forward to a low key week with nothing planned.

Our Super Bowl Menu

2012-02-13T15:42:00.000-06:00

We had a really great spread for the Super Bowl party we hosted last weekend. I just wanted easy finger foods that our guests could just grab and eat around the television.

Chocolate Cookies. The highlight dessert of our party were these amazing cookies from Muddy's. These double-chocolate-salted-something-or-others (can't remember the official name) are so, so good. They were even featured in Southern Living magazine.

Team Cupcakes. These not so special cupcakes came from Kroger - just so I could add some actual team colors. Nothing special here.

Beefy Cheese Ball. Catherine made this amazing cheese ball and the jalapeno poppers below - can't remember her recipes but I bet she has all of her items on Pinterest. These were big hits!

Jalapeno Poppers.

Garlic Chicken Poppers. I made these garlic chicken poppers - super easy, really good, and a great party recipe. I will definitely be making these again. I found the recipe on Pinterest. But here is the link to the website.

Hot Wings. We had some wings from Ching's. Which is a place that apparently all of the Memphis basketball players eat. The wings are so great. Thanks Eric for picking them up!!

Pepperoni Rolls. Loved these pepperoni rolls. Seriously, so good! And from, where else, Pinterest! The link to these beauties... LINK.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip. Not sure if this is a do-over. It was really simple and cute. I have read reviews to top this on potato skins. I think that might be a great idea. Found it on Pinterest and here is the recipe.

Catherine and I got most of - okay all of - our recipes off of Pinterest. You can find me here and Cat here.

Super Bowl Weekend

2012-02-08T16:41:00.001-06:00

We were super busy last weekend. We hosted at our house 2 nights in a row - which reminded me how much I love hosting and getting to use my favorite dishes and spending time with friends. But I am seriously paying for the busy-ness this week.. I am really tired.

Saturday night we had some friends over for "Carnivore Palooza" - which is a wild game feast that we came up with to help clean out our freezers from all of our husbands hunting prizes. It was so much fun, the food was so good and I didn't get a single picture :(

Sunday I woke up cooking and preparing for our Super Bowl party. We always end up having people over for the big game, but it always seems to get thrown together at the last minute. Next year I am going to plan in advance and do it big!

Of course we had a nice big squares game going at the party - unfortunately we didn't win, ha! But it is always fun to have a little competition and a some more interest to the game.

Patrick and Carrie always win, seriously ever year. They were the big winners this year and last. I told them they were still invited next year to the party, but they cannot play squares!

I loved seeing my sweet friends this weekend. I feel like Jeff and I started this year off traveling so much and I have missed my Memphis friends. Loved my time with these girls...

And the boys...

Cat and Alan...

Cousins...

And of me and my baby boy - he behaved so well at the game. This momma was impressed and thankful for some good behavior!

Loved our super bowl party this year. I know we all ended up eating WAY too much. I am going to post about the food tomorrow - because it was all Pinterest inspired :)

What's On My Mind

2012-01-30T13:27:00.000-06:00

I have a few things that are just circling my mind lately. Silly things (and, well, some that are not so silly to me), some exciting things, some that are pointless, etc... This is just what is going on with me right now. I am a worrier - I obsess over things - I drive my family crazy sometimes - and I try really hard not to take it all too seriously. Right now I am obsessing over:

1. A Pierce family vacation that is happening in approximately 3 months! It is super exciting because Ben, Lynette, Jeff, and I have a hard time coordinating schedules and planning a vaca together - this year it worked out!! We will be flying into Atlantis. Staying aboard this beauty...

And spending a week island hopping down to our favorite little spot in the Bahamas known as Green Turtle Cay.

2. I am dying to sell our home. We have several showings a week and it is wearing me out. Would someone just buy it already?!

3. On a similar note to #2, I am worrying about where we should move next. Suburb or city? I grew up in Collierville (a great suburb of Memphis) but I love East Memphis. I cannot decide. I feel like it is such a huge decision because we plan to stay in this next house for a long time, and this move will more than likely determine where we raise a family. East Memphis has adorable houses built in the 50's that are full of character. Collierville has lovely houses (with pools) and 2-3x the square footage as E. Memphis homes. Such a tough decision. Jeff's says we don't have to worry about it until our house is under contract. I guess he is right.

4. I have the greatest family ever. I love being from a large Italian family. How many times can I say that, right? But I really love them. We just had another cousin dinner and it was great! I love them all!

5. I don't want to have my appendix out. Period. Last month when I had appendicitis my doctor chose to treat with antibiotics and take the appendix out at a later date. This gave me the opportunity to have a laprascopic surgery instead of a huge abdominal surgery. Which I am grateful for. But now I feel fine and don't really want to go back to the hospital for surgery. And here are my reasons: financially, time off of work (that could interfere with my plans for that great vacation I talked about in #1), just having surgery and being in the hospital again, and most importantly it will postpone our fertility treatments (this is really my big reason). So, that is why I don't want the surgery. I'm going to discuss with my MD at my next appointment.

Okay, so that is about it. I am totally consumed with mostly #1, #2/3, and #5. I know I need to refocus and just roll with it. Trust me, I am trying!

And the birthday celebration continues...

2012-01-24T17:36:00.008-06:00

To continue on with my 26th birthday celebration Jeff and I flew down to Tampa last Thursday. We met up with our best friends Sarah and Dylan for a long weekend. (Sarah and Dylan live in NWA and we don't get to see them enough).

It didn't take long for the party to get started with this crowd. Right after dinner (which was my favorite, Pipo's cuban pork with yellow rice and black beans) we jumped into the hot tub! And even though the pool was freezing we ended up in there as well. We had a great night but headed to bed a tad early so we could get ready for our departure time in the AM.

Friday morning, my actual birthday, we headed over to the marina to jump aboard my dad and Ms. Chris' boat for a little cruise to Egmont Key. This was my first time on Mayone IV - and it was more fun than I even imagined.

After a 4 hour cruise to Egmont we anchored and jumped on the dingy to ride over to the island. Egmont is a beautiful island that exists as a bird sanctuary for a large part of the year. We played on the beach for a while and took advantage of a few pic ops.

The crew...

Here's the dingy and the boat in the background - I did not like riding in that little thing (especially with 6 people on board) but it got us safely to where we wanted to go.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over Egmont with appetizers and happy hour.

Our lovely hosts.

We ended the evening with a steak dinner under the stars and a little birthday party, for moi!

After spending the night on the hook, we headed off to St. Petersburg. I loved St. Pete. Seriously. We strolled around Saturday market and even hugged a few folks that were out celebrating some hug fest they were having, ha! We ended our afternoon walk with lunch at Parkshore Grille.

That night we had a tapas dinner with champagne sangria, so good! And made our way back to the boat for an after party. We left the Vinoy marina early enough on Sunday to get Jeff and I back to Tampa for our flight.

Like I said in my post yesterday, if the last two weekends are any reflection of how my 26th year will be then I am feeling very optimistic!

I definitely have some parents that love me quite a lot. Thanks Mom, Wesley, Dad, and Ms. Chris for 2 awesome birthday weekends that were way too much above and beyond. And thanks for all that came and celebrated with!

Hello 26

2012-01-23T22:33:00.000-06:00

I turned 26 last Friday. It isn't my favorite age (24 or 25 sounds a tad better to me), but my 26th year has started out so well that I guess I have high hopes. I seriously have had the best two weekends in the history of ever!

My bday celebration started off in Hot Springs, AR the weekend before my actual birthday. My mom, Wesley, Catherine, Alan, Alan's parents (who live in Hot Springs), and my in-laws all met up with us at the horse races. It has been a tradition ever since I turned 18 to spend my birthday at the horse track - it happens to be opening weekend as well which makes it even more fun.

This year my momma found a beautiful house on Lake Hamilton to rent that could hold us all. We had a great time!!

Here is our entire group...

I was so excited that Jeff's parents could make the trip - Hot Springs isn't too far of a trip for them so I thought it would be a perfect meeting spot.

My mom planned the entire thing. I thought it was funny how she was still planning my birthday party at 26. We started on Saturday at the races - no big winners for this group unfortunately. After dinner we continued the party at the house. Jeff and Mike grilled filets and boiled some cajun shrimp, potatoes, and corn. Dinner was amazing to say the least.

Poor Alan had to work the night before.... so he slept through the party, ha!!

Cindy brought me an authentic King Cake all the way from Louisiana. It was so good - pralines and cream cheese. Loved it! We finished the night with a lot of wine and a failed dance party (Cindy and I were the only participants).

Only a few of us stuck around for the Sunday races. We had a more relaxed day at the track with a smaller crowd. Jeff and I were the big winners that day with a combine win of over $200.

We really had the best time at the races this year!! I kind of thought of this party as the chance to celebrate my last week of 25, ha!

I will continue with the rest of the celebration tomorrow...

Apricot-Glazed Pork Chops

2012-01-13T12:27:00.001-06:00

I made a new recipe last night - I'm trying to get out of our oh-so-boring grilled chicken with 2 veggies routine. Unfortunately when I try to get creative with dinner I end up cooking something yummy but very fattening. At the request of my husband I have been on the hunt for some healthier recipes.

For example: instead of my extra cheesy shrimp and grits recipe (that calls for 8 oz of white cheddar cheese), I made a healthier version that only uses shrimp, grits, green onion, red peppers, and some hot sauce. Saved us many calories and still very good!

Last night I felt a little fancy cooking this new pork chop recipe I found, but it was so easy and really took only 30 min.

To start I microwaved 1/2 butter squash (cubed) in 1/4 c. of water - covered with vented plastic wrap for 8 min, stirring half way through. Watch out for the steam because it burns, trust me I am still feeling my burn today.

While that was cooking I seasoned 3 pork chops with thyme, salt, and pepper. Then I pulled out my brand new Canon Rebel T3i (yay!) and tried to go all Pioneer Women with pics of my progress.

After the squash had cooked I added 1 c. of couscous to the bowl and an extra 1 1/2 c. of water. Re-covered and microwaved again until the couscous had absorbed all the water and softened.

I heated olive oil on med-high heat in my skillet and cooked my pork chops about 3 min on each side. Once those where browned on each side I added 1 small sliced red onion on top and cooked until soft. Once the onion is soft add in 2 tbsp of dijon mustard and 2 tbsp of apricot jam. Cook for 6 min.

Serve the pork chops and onions over the butternut squash and couscous mixture. And enjoy!!

I love this recipe and it is now in my recipe book as a keeper.

By the way, I got this recipe and the healthier shrimp and grits recipe from Good Housekeeping (thank you Kelly for my subscription - I love it)!

De-Railed

2012-01-08T19:48:00.002-06:00

Wow, where have I been?? Seriously, my 6 day hospital stay got me out of my routine for a while. I hate that feeling - so unorganized and so unproductive. But today I have been working on getting back on track and it feels good!

I have been gone from the blog so long that I have been leaving out some serious events that have been happening here in Memphis. Like:

First thing first, at the beginning of December Alan proposed to Catherine!!

The Saturday that Alan proposed was the day of our Boldreghini family Christmas party. Catherine was so beyond angry at him for not being able to come to the party - he had lied to Catherine and told her he couldn't get off of work for the night. Little did she know that her future-in-laws had come in from out of town and were on their way with Alan to the party. We had some how gotten Catherine out on the back deck when Alan arrived and the family snuck him down to the basement. Alan climbed the spiral stairs to surprise Cat out on the back deck. She was shocked!! Alan proposed to Catherine while our entire family, including his parents, watched from the glass doors inside the house. So sweet!!

Now we are in complete wedding planning mode and it is so much fun, of course!

The weekend after the Boldreghini family Christmas party Jeff and I packed up and headed to Dallas for the Beede family Christmas. We stayed with our sweet friends Shane and Abby. We had a great time with the family and of course loved celebrating the holidays with our beautiful nieces.

Once we got back from Dallas my appendicitis started acting up and before I knew it we were chilling in my much hated hospital room. Jeff and I celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the hospital. (I know this picture is absolutely terrible, but this was us on Christmas Eve. I was miserable!)

I really missed my family so much this year. It was my first year ever to not spend Christmas in Pickwick, but I did skype in and get to see all of the Pierce's and my Grandpa, the Beer Bitch, (if you need to catch up on what the beer bitch is then read this post from a couple of years ago, it explains). Skype was so bitter sweet because I was so happy to see my family but it made me so sad that I was not there. Unfortunately Christmas just didn't seem like Christmas this year - but that means that next year can only be better, right?

I was so glad to be out of the hospital, be feeling better, and celebrating the new year with my sweet husband on New Years Eve. I cannot wait to see what 2012 brings us!!

So that's a little bit of what has been going on. Now I am just getting back into the working world, settling back into our normal routine at home, and preparing for a few planned trips this month to celebrate my upcoming birthday. So glad to be feeling healthy and back to normal!

A Non-Traditional Christmas

2011-12-24T14:12:00.001-06:00

This year Christmas is a little different for us, to say the least, ha! Instead of being at my momma's for Christmas Day or in Pickwick tonight on Christmas Eve with the Pierce family ... we are in the hospital. Sad, I know. I am in here for a ruptured appendix.

It all started early in the week. I was having bad abdominal pain - but being the health care worker that I am I just brushed it off for a few days. Finally on Wednesday afternoon the pain was so severe that I knew something was just not right. Jeff and my mom took me the ER that afternoon and we have been here ever since.

I was suffering from appendicitis and sometime before I came into the hospital my appendix ruptured. I have not had an appendectomy yet - we are going this newer route with antibiotic treatment for several days and the surgery in a few months. I am really glad that we are going to postpone surgery because if I had surgery now the surgery would be very invasive, difficult, and leave me with a large scar down my stomach. Waiting until all of this ruptured business is cleaned up gives the doctors the opportunity to go in and perform a quick and easy laparoscopic appendectomy (with just 3 tiny incisions).

So that's where we are... in the hospital... on Christmas Eve.

My family and friends and co-workers have been beyond amazing! I am so thankful for all of them. I feel like almost everyone I work with has come and seen me this week. After meeting them, my family keeps commenting how wonderful my unit is and how lucky I am to work with such great people (but I already knew that)! My family has come up and celebrated Christmas with me (Dad and Ms. Chris with Ben and Lynette yesterday and Mom and Wesley today).

And can I just say how thankful I am for my sweet, sweet husband. He has surprised with how over-and-beyond caring he has been for me this week. He has stayed with me every night (and practically all day too), he does just about anything I ask, he has been so thoughtful and has truly made this difficult week bearable. I just love him with all of my heart. I am officially nominating him for Best Husband While Wife is in the Hospital Award. Thank you so much, Jeffrey, you are too good to me.

Just because I am in the hospital doesn't mean I am lacking in any holiday decor. My family has really made sure that I still felt like it was Christmas!! Wesley brought me a Christmas tree and Catherine and Mom decorated with lights and girly decorations. I have lighted garland that sits on my window seal. And Christmas throws for my bed. I love it!

Plus, I have had many beautiful flowers deliveries. Several of the staff on this unit have come in just to see my room. It's just that pretty and Christmas-sy!

This is definitely not where I would choose to be today or tomorrow (or ever, really), but I am thankful for such wonderful nurses and doctors that are taking good care of me. I am thankful for recovering as well as I have been. I am praying for continued improvement and a discharge date very soon.

Merry Christmas!

My Grandmother

2011-12-15T12:59:00.000-06:00

My Grandma Pierce, my dad's mother, passed away several years ago (right after I turned 2). She has always held a special place in my heart and ever since I can remember I have always felt a close connection to her. She was a beautiful woman and I miss having her as a part of my life dearly.

I have never had many of her things - to have as a part of her memory - maybe a few pieces of costume jewelry that my grandfather gave me as a teenager. Well, a few years ago my dad gave me something to cherish. In 2008, just before my wedding, my dad gave me my grandmother's wedding ring as a gift. Talk about something to cherish!! I now wear her wedding band every day of my life. I love it. I knew that I didn't have much of hers but that ring was more than enough. It is precious to me.

Well, the other weekend I got another item of my Grandmother's... I was able to bring home her hope chest. Her chest was at the lake house (actually sitting outside in the storage room for years). It was kind of falling apart and really dirty, but I knew that it would be a very meaningful addition to my home.

It is home with me now and after several coats of furniture polish it is looking pretty good!

It is now sitting at the end of our bed. I will one day restore it completely. But for now I am loving it! It makes me happy to have just another piece of my Grandma Pierce close to me. Warms my heart!

St. Joseph's in Our Yard

2011-12-10T13:15:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it has taken me this long to bury a St. Joseph statue in our yard. You may have heard already, but St. Joseph has been know to bless the sale of homes. Jeff and I finally buried a St. Joseph statue in our front yard, up-side down, near our for sale sign. After we buried him we prayed a Novena and just finished it last Monday. Once our house sales, we will dig up our statue and display him in our new home.

This next move is going to be a big decision for us. We are planning a move for a home to live in for several years and this one will determine how our children will be raised, what church we will go to, and several other things. I feel really good about praying over our move with a Novena and putting this big step into God's hands.

I was telling some of our family the other day how much acts like this remind me why I love the Catholic faith. Having St. Joseph in our yard keeps our faith strong in our beliefs. I love that we have a traditional prayer that we have placed over our move. I also love the excitement that comes with knowing that God will take care of this move and I do not have to worry. I feel confident in our move and that our home will be purchased at the right time. Now we just wait and see when that right time is!

Oh, Christmas Tree

2011-12-08T09:33:00.002-06:00

Our Christmas tree is up! It's actually been up for about a week now and I am just loving it. I love being in the living room with all the house lights out and just sitting by the tree lights while we watch tv. It's just so warm and Christmas-y!

I always have a few favorite ornaments. They are always the first ones on the tree, you know, so they can get the primo spots.

One of my favorite traditions each year is getting my yearly Pottery Barn ornament. My stepmom always brings one as my "hostess" gift when they stay with us over the holidays. She fills it with a picture from a big event of the year - I love seeing which picture she chooses for us.

2008: Our first year. Obviously, our wedding was the biggest event of that year!

2009: We went to Green Turtle Cay for our summer vacation. This picture was also taken on Jeff's 24th Birthday.

2010: Our best friend's were married and we were a part of their wedding party.

Last year my mom got us an Italian ornament. It says "Buon Natale" which is "Merry Christmas" in Italian. I love being able to include our Italian heritage in other ways besides just our Christmas cooking.

And of course I love our Razorbacks. I like this ornament, from my step-sister, because it is Christmas-y and not too sport themed. We lucked out that our team color is red!

I always loved hanging my favorite ornaments as a child and cannot wait for my own favorite-ornament-collection to grow!

2011-12-07T12:55:00.002-06:00

Well, I have been missing from my blog this week because we have been in Marianna. Unfortunately, Jeff lost his Papa last week. I know Jeff is so grateful that he was able to take a long hunting trip with his grandfather just a couple of months ago. That trip will now be so much more meaningful to him. Wayne was a man that my husband looked up to in so many ways. What a great loss for the Corkran family.

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1

Thanksgiving at The Lake

2011-11-28T22:06:00.000-06:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Pickwick with my dad, Ms. Chris, grandpa, and Elaine. I loved spending the holiday weekend at my favorite place on Earth. What a comfort weekend it was.

My sweet daddy and grandpa carving our turkey!

Because there was only 6 of us this year I got to sit at the adult table. That never happens when celebrating holidays at the lake, ha!! Our Thanksgiving group this year...

Elaine and Ms. Chris at happy hour!

Jeff and I always have so much to be thankful for and every year our blessings seem to multiply!

Thanksgiving Baking

2011-11-22T16:27:00.000-06:00

I am baking for Thanksgiving this year - and since I am working tonight and tomorrow night I had to do my baking early and freeze my pie & cake until the big day.

I made a Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie, at my husband's request. I have never made it before but the filling tastes so good!! I got the recipe off of Pinterest, of course, from here.

And today I made a Pumpkin Cake. And by all of the scrap pieces that I tasted ... it is so good... but of course I could tell that it was going to be good with the list of the ingredients (which includes 3 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar)!! I got it off of Pinterest as well, here.

"A THANKFUL ATTITUDE opens windows of heaven."

-Jesus Calling

Hello My Name is Jenny... and I am an Addict

2011-11-19T18:40:00.004-06:00

I have noticed recently that I have an abnormal amount of "C's" displayed around my home...

1. My door mat.

2. Etched glass vase that holds my wedding bouquet.

3. A cutting board in the dining room.

4. Silver "C" on a shelf in the kitchen.

5. Hand towels in the guest bath.

6. Sign above the door to our bedroom.

7. New "C" on our fall wreath.

8. Decoration on my dresser.

9. Decoration on the wall, just as you walk in from the garage (you know, just in case you missed the two on the front door).

And I just got rid of one on my last blog header.

I noticed my "problem" while trying to de-personalize my home when preparing it for the market. An abnormal amount of monograms probably doesn't make too many people feel at home (unless, of course, their name starts with a C).

What can I say? I love a good monogram!

The first step is admitting the problem, right?

Good Ol' Pasta Recipe

2011-11-17T22:28:00.003-06:00

I made a really good pasta dish the other night - it was kind of like hamburger helper on crack. I got it from Paula Deen's magazine. As soon as I read the name of the recipe I knew it would be good... Cheesy 3-Meat Spaghetti Pie (but mine was more like the cheesy 2-meat spaghetti pie because I left out ham. I'm not a fan of ham). It was easy and so, so good!

Brown 1lb of ground chuck. Add 8 oz of diced ham, 1c of quartered pepperoni slices, and 1c of chopped onion. Cook over medium heat. Drain well and return to skillet.

Add 26 oz of pasta sauce, 14.5 oz of diced tomatoes (with added basil, garlic, and oregano), 1 tsp of Italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper, and 2c of shredded Italian blend cheese. Stir until cheese melts.

Combine beef mixture and 16 oz of cooked rigatoni. Bake on 350 for 30 min in a 13x9 inch baking dish (coated with non-stick spray). Sprinkle with 1c of cheese and bake for 10 more min.

It is pretty good!!

And, in case you were wondering, I re-made the Apple Cake from Wednesday. It just wasn't very good - something was wrong - and I needed to feel like an adequate baker. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. I trashed the 1st cake and, wa-la, attempt two turned out great!!

Midweek Randoms

2011-11-16T17:39:00.000-06:00

1. I absolutely cannot believe that Thanksgiving is next week. Seriously, where has this year gone?

But I am super excited about the holidays. The Christmas gifts that I have ordered are arriving almost daily - I love getting packages delivered... even if they aren't for me. I stocked up on my wrapping paper and ribbon today from Hobby Lobby. And left with Christmas songs stuck in my head.

2. I have started baking - in the spirit of the holidays. I love to bake and wish I was better at it. I have 3 new recipes that I am trying out over the next week. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, Pumpkin Cake, and Apple Cake. I made the Apple Cake today. It was a fail. Tastes fine but something is just not right. I'm thinking it was the flour that I used (I tried to go with whole wheat). I learned that I should just stick with what I know... and that is not wheat flour. Here's to hoping that my next two attempts turn out a little better.

3. I painted a little cheap-o table that we have in our bedroom. I used chalk paint.

[Which, since I never posted about the details as promised... it is a paint that does not require sanding prior to painting (a short cutter's dream). This paint is sold online for a lot of money, somewhere around $35 for a quart + shipping, and I will not be spending that much. Chalk paint is just unsanded grout mixed with flat paint. And I use a wax paste to finish. Love it!]

Now I can't decide if I want to continue with the black paint to re-vamp a few other pieces in our room. Like this one...

4. We are still sitting in our unsold house. I'm getting worried that we will be pulling it off of the market soon for the holidays. Ugh. Jeff and I kind of expected that, but the optimist in me wished we would of been wrong. Of well. Just more time to save.

5. And speaking of moving - one day - I am now torn between moving to East Memphis (our original plan) or moving to Collierville (where I grew up). Jeff is very against Collierville because of the commute. But I just love it out there.

Anways, I hope everyone is having a great week!!

PINTEREST: My Attempts

2011-11-12T21:48:00.001-06:00

Love Pinterest.

Here are a few of my Pinterest tries...

What I love.

From google.com

What I made.

What I love.

From nailstah.com

What I bought.

What I love.

From etsy.com

What I made (two for our twin nieces):

My tries are no where close to my pinterest finds, but I loved the attempt. How much do you love pinterest?!

Arkansas Homecoming

2011-11-11T10:24:00.000-06:00

Early in the year our college friends decided to designate one game of the Razorback season as a sort of mini-reunion. Last weekend was Homecoming in Fayetteville and also happened to be our reunion game. We had the best weekend with our friends - and the Razorbacks had a great win!

Tailgating with my fav...

Me and my travel partners...

I love getting to see our college friends. We had someone come from as far away as Denver, CO. We met up on Friday night on Dickson Street and caught up. On Saturday we all tailgated at the Party Pod (special thanks to my brother for hosting us). Here are some of our Pike boys at the tailgate...

Jeff and I have some really great friends in Memphis, but there is just something special about our college friends. I think we should all move back to the same city - it would make my day! Anyways, it was a great weekend and seeing some of my favorite people in the world did my heart good. I can't wait to see everyone again soon in April for a wedding.

Long Time Waiting

2011-11-10T10:09:00.002-06:00

Remember this post here. Well I have been wanting a baby long before that day, but that was kind of our start in the "for-real" of wanting a baby. It is crazy to me to think that I have been waiting for so long (that is a lot of months of disappointment). Unfortunately, Jeff and I have been faced with some difficulties when it comes to making this dream a reality - I don't really want to use the word infertility but that is kind of our struggle at this point.

I don't really want to be too detailed with our journey (Jeff is definitely more private when it comes to the subject than me and I want to respect that).

Tuesday of this week was our first step into "fixing" our problem and taking steps towards parenthood. I had surgery to make my uterus more welcoming to a little baby. I am still recovering, but luckily everything went really well and I have had very minimal pain.

My family and friends have been so sweet and supportive. I received several prayers, phone calls, and texts checking on me. My MIL & SIL sent me the sweetest care packages with magazines, puzzle books, drawings by Kate and Lily, and candy corn snack mix (which was gone way before the day of my procedure, ha). My momma came over and cooked me my childhood comfort food for lunch and left a frozen lasagna for dinner. My dad and stepmom came into town and are staying with me on Tuesday until tomorrow. And my husband has been nothing less than a saint. I am blessed to say the least. Thank you everyone for your thoughtfulness.

Hopefully this one step will be the difference that helps up with a little miracle, but if not we have some more plans in the future (probably around the first of next year). I am very optimistic and am so thankful we have a great doctor. I am excited to start moving forward in this area. Prayers are welcomed and appreciated!

diy Shutter Headboard

2011-11-09T10:40:00.003-06:00

I have been in desperate need of a new bed for a while now. I talked about this before here - well over a year ago. I have been searching for the perfect and affordable bed ever since but nothing I found ended up working out. A couple of months ago I was out at my Mom and Wesley's and saw some old shutters they had in storage. The idea hit me and I knew that these shutters would be our new headboard! After much help from Pinterest I found the look I wanted.

Bed Before:

Shutters Before:

I painted the shutters with some home-made chalk paint. If you haven't heard of chalk paint don't worry because I will be blogging about that later this week. I found the recipe on Pinterest and will credit that person during my chalk paint post. Pretty much the best thing ever when painting furniture (which is my new obsession). I used some paint that I already had - mixed black matte paint and a gray primer to create the color I was looking for (and to save some $$).

I built a frame to attach all of my shutters to. I did this to give the headboard an extra inch or so of depth and to make for easy hanging and moving. The wood was cheap and I went to Lowe's with my measurements and they cut the wood for me.

I connected the frame using metal brackets and some wood glue.

Once my frame was built, I attached each shutter by pre-drilling holes (to ensure that the wood didn't split) and drilled in wood screws. I covered the screw holes with wood filler.

I had my trusty helper by me the entire time... however, she wasn't much help... just kept me company :)

I attached 5 picture hanger brackets to the top of the headboard and then hung it with hercules hooks. For a more permanent hang you may want to use flush mounts (which we will use when our house sells and we re-hang our headboard in our new home).

The Finished Product:

A Puppy Party

2011-11-04T15:15:00.000-05:00

Last night we went to a party for Ginger - my cousin's dog. Ginger turned 1! Catherine and Alan invited us over for dinner (all of us - including Jade and Bogey). We had a great night. The adults ate tacos and the pups ate puppy cake.

All of the pups... do you know how hard it was to get all of them looking and sitting still at once.

Jadey enjoying her piece of birthday cake - and Bogey in the background being jealous that his was already finished.

Catherine and Jade at the party.

Halloween This Year

2011-11-03T14:28:00.001-05:00

Better late than never, I guess! Halloween this year was a little different around our house - it was my first "holiday" to work (I know Halloween is not really a holiday). Usually on Halloween we eat chili with grilled cheese and pass out candy to all of the neighborhood kids - but this year I was at the hospital that night and Jeff had the guys over for Monday night football.

But don't worry, we did get a change to celebrate Halloween. And we didn't miss out on the chili and grilled cheese tradition. Jeff cooked some chili last Saturday and we ate it for lunch while lounging on the couch all day watching college football. It was great! Later that night I worked a short 6-11 shift and Jeff went to a party with our friends.

I didn't miss out though because I headed to the party after work. I didn't dress up since I got there so late (kind of wish I did... everyone else looked so cute).

I did mess up one part of the day - Jeff and I decided he wouldn't pass out candy on Halloween night since I wouldn't be home to help control our crazy dogs every time the door bell rang. Before I left for work I made sure that the front porch light was out (isn't that universal for "don't come trick-or-treat here"? Well apparently not in our neighborhood and Jeff ended up having some little kiddos come by. He had to send them away without any candy. Poor things. I felt terrible. If I have to work next year then I will make sure that we have an emergency, just-in-case stash!!

Patience

2011-10-26T15:57:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time my momma used to tell me "patience is the truest virtue." She told me that like every other day... seriously, all the time. I'm just going to be honest, patience is not my best quality - never has been.

Waiting for our house to sell has been torture for me. And this week nobody even came to look at it (very sad). My pinterest is filled with new decorating plans for the new house we will buy - whenever that may be - and I'm just dying to get started.

Here are a few of my favorite pins for the home:

From houseofturquoise.com

From desdemventana.blogspot.com

From sunset.com

Someone please buy my house!!

Yes, I realize I need to work on my patience. After all, God's timing for my life has proven me wrong over and over again. In hindsight His timing has always been perfect, and I just need to give in and stop worrying about all of the waiting. But I am just so ready to start decorating a new home (plus, I am already in love with one and want to be able to buy it before someone else scoops it up, ha!).

Working for the Weekend

2011-10-24T09:49:00.000-05:00

Work, work, work. I worked 56 hours last week. Three 12 hour shifts at the hospital and 2 1/2 days at the OB/GYN office that I work for as a "fill-in". Holy work-a-holic! If you know me at all then you know that working is not my priority in life. In fact, if Jeff came home today and said "you never have to work again" I would be beyond elated. What can I say... I would rather spend my time else where, ha!

Anyways, I was asked to help out at Ruch Clinic last week and I was happy to. I love working with my friends there and it's great to keep my toes in Women's health. I knew the work week would be busy and I mentally prepared for a week full of nursing. And I survived!

After such a busy week it was no surprise how excited I was to see the weekend.

We had a great weekend. Jeff went to Oxford for the Ole Miss vs Arkansas game - give me a heart attack. That game was ridiculous and a little too close for my comfort. But I was happy that we got the W. While Jeff was at the game I met my mom and step-dad's granddaughter (catch that relation) out in Bolivar for a fall festival. We l.o.v.e. fall festivals, but who doesn't?

It was beautiful weather and we somehow spent 4 hours walking around the smallest festival I have ever been to. We had so much fun!

Mom and Megan at lunch on the Bolivar town square.

I picked up this lovely piece of pottery - such a great deal too!

Saturday night Jeff and I headed over to some friends' home to grill out and watch some football. They have the greatest back deck complete with a fire pit, comfy outdoor furniture, and satellite television. Perfect fall ending to a classically fall afternoon.

Shift Work and other details of this week

2011-10-17T16:57:00.000-05:00

Shift Work

I just moved to night shift this week. I knew that I was going to be working night shift when I was first hired, but I had to complete orientation during day shift. I was so nervous last night going into work. I had butterflies in my stomach so bad that you would have thought it was my first day of work all over again.

It went really well. I didn't have a problem staying up... and I don't think I'm going to have a problem napping during the day! Thanks to my favorite over-sized blanket and a sleep mask I have been sleeping just fine. The best part is - I don't have to hear my 5:15 AM alarm anymore. I think the pups like the fact that I'm home all day to cuddle, too.

New Present

I am getting the new iPhone this week... whenever I make my way over to the AT&T store. I have the iPhone 3 and it is so very s.l.o.w. As soon as the announcement was made that a new iPhone was coming out my loving husband told me that I should get it because "I deserve it" - sweet man. Can't wait!

House Update

Our house has been on the market for a little over 2 weeks. We have had 4 showings and I am just dying to sell. Who knows how long it will take, but I am glad that we have at least had some interest.

And the Rest of the Details

The Boldreghini Family reunion was this past weekend in Montgomery Bell State Park. The weather was beautiful and I loved the time with my family, as always. Too bad only 1/3 of the group could make it this year.

Jeff is in South Dakota for his annual hunting trip with his Dad and Grandad. I miss him way too much and can't wait until he gets home!

And last but not least, Happy Birthday to my Stepmom, Miss Chris (which was actually yesterday). Hope you have a great boat trip to celebrate!!

A Day in My Shoes

2011-10-11T22:01:00.000-05:00

These are the only shoes I wore today...

Yep, those would be my house shoes. My plan today was to enjoy a nice, easy-going, errand-free day at home. This morning I decided that I was not, for any reason, going to leave the house. I thought it would be nice. So today I stayed in my house shoes all day long.

As much as I enjoyed it... it's apparently not my style. I have been talking Jeff's ear off ever since he got home from work, I have worn out every possible website that I am interested in, and I am way too anxious about getting our house sold so I can buy all of the houses that I fell in love with on realtor.com today. Needless to say, a boring day at home just does not work for me. No matter how comfy my house shoes are.

I have a day filled with productive-ness planned for tomorrow, ha!!

Feed the Soul

2011-10-10T20:15:00.006-05:00

Last week we went to MIFA's Feed the Soul Event with some of our friend's from Jeff's work. It was fun but I am not going to lie, it was hard for me to stay out on a weeknight and go to work the next day. I admit it... I am a homebody.

Patrick and Carrie at our table.

There was a Michael Jackson cover band (which was a woman). I'm pretty sure she was lip-syncing... it was def MJ on the speakers. And can you believe I couldn't get my husband to dance with me?! But the weather was great and we enjoyed the night out. There was also an oxygen bar. You could pick whatever flavor you wanted and hook up to the oxygen for 10 minute. I didn't really notice any difference. Whatever, it was worth a try - ha!

It was fun doing something a little different than our normal, boring, weeknight routine! So glad we got the invite.

Hog Heaven

2011-10-09T20:08:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we were in Fayetteville for the Arkansas vs Auburn game. It was perfect! We stayed with our best friends, Sarah and Dylan. We tailgated at the Party Pod. Enjoyed the beautiful weather of Northwest Ar. Spent the day with some of our most favorite friends. Absolutely, in every way, perfect weekend - it did my heart good!

Sarah and Jeff playing bag-o...

... with Dylan and Orr.

Best Friends.

Lynette, my brother, me, and Jeff.

My love.

With Sarah - a.k.a. my BFF Jill!

Our seats for the game were pretty high up - but it would have been impossible to not enjoy that game (big win for the Hogs). Perk of the upper seats - this gorgeous view of the Ozarks. I love that place!

What I love Wednesday - Razorback Football Style

2011-10-05T20:52:00.038-05:00

It is no secret that I love the Razorbacks. In honor of our trip this weekend to Fayetteville [and my first game of the season] I thought I would do a "what I love" about all of my recent internet finds that have me obsessing.

I have been dying over this hat for a few months now - I first saw it on Pinterest and then found the Etsy site that is selling it. You better believe my baby will be in this hat for some newborn pictures - you know, one day when I have a kid and all. Anyways, I'm ob-sess-ed with this and it is taking every bit of me not to buy it right now (it's hard convincing the husband to buy a $30 hat for a baby that's not even on it's way yet... but I'm still working on it, ha!!)

You can find this hat on Etsy here.

Yum, Yum. Yes, please!

Loving this tote from Vineyard Vines.

And while I'm ordering that tote... I might just grab a tie for Jeff!

Me likey!

And just to add in some cuteness... sweet little baby hog with big plans to be the next Arkansas Razorback.

Now that it is October...

2011-10-04T20:39:00.000-05:00

... I guess I will catch up on all of the things that I did not take the time to blog about during September.

We celebrated my mom and stepdad's anniversary at a new favorite Mexican restaurant in Bolivar!

The happy couple - love these too!!

Jeff went to Montana for business, and I missed him while he was gone.

The next weekend, I went to Little Rock with my stepmom and brother's girlfriend. All of the Pierce men (Jeff included, even though he is not technically a Pierce) went to Tuscaloosa for the Arkansas vs Alabama game. They do this every year and this year we decided to take a girl's trip. It was a nice little mini vaca. We shopped, partied at the piano bar on the River Market, ate a lot of good food. We spent the day on Saturday at the farmer's market and then toured some local plantations. A highlight was the Gone with the Wind museum - loved!

We met Ms. Chris' best friend, Regina, at a local theater for dinner and a show.

And we put out house on the market...

Yep, it's for sale and I am excited. I don't know how long it will take to sell... but I hope not too too long. I'm not really good without a plan and this never knowing if someone is going to want to see it, or buy it, or if we'll be moving this year, or next year, or the next is going to drive me crazy - but I suppose I'll manage. We have big plans for a move to East Memphis next - more in town and closer to Jeff's work.

Hopefully I'll do a little bit better of keeping this blog updated this month. I have felt like a pretty big slacker lately, ha!

Dallas Weekend

2011-10-03T19:51:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we were in Dallas for the girls' birthday party. They had a bounce party. FYI, it's hard to get pictures of babies at a bounce party. This is the best I could get....

Taking a break, but not for long.

They were so cute at their party - in birthday tees and jeggings! So cute!

After the party we all went out to watch the Arkansas v A&M game (Kelly got a babysitter and the girls took a nap at home). Yay, for the big win!

When we got back to Kelly and Devin's the girls played with their presents and family came over. We enjoyed a great night out on the deck.

Here's Kate all dressed up!

At the end of the night on Saturday Jeff and I drove over to our friends'. Orr and Abby are some of our very best friends and it was great to hang out with them for the evening. Can't wait to see them again this weekend for the Ark v Aub game!

All in all it was a great weekend and totally worth the drive down to Texas. I just love our family!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Our Sweet Nieces

2011-09-30T09:20:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that it has been two years since we first laid eyes on these two beauties...

Happy Birthday Kate and Lily!! You two are the most precious ~~babies~~ two year olds we have ever seen - your Uncle and Aunt adore you! We cannot wait to love on you this weekend and celebrate!

l.o.v.e.

2011-09-18T19:36:00.002-05:00

Can I cheat and do a "what I love Sunday" a little early in the week (instead of "what I love Wednesday")?? I hope so, because I am.

First, I am loving this lazy Sunday. All members of this Corkran household have been bums today. Naps and pizza have been the highlights - and now the Emmy's. (You would think after 6 years of seeing Jade sleep I could resist taking a picture of such a sleeping beauty... but I can't!)

Just like the rest of the world... I'm addicted to Pinterest.

I'm loving my new laundry board hanger. No, I have not forgotten about my plan to redo my laundry room. I have been working on it - slowly but surely.

I love my new Swan Creek Candle - you can smell the scent even when it is not lit. Amazing! I have Roasted Espresso. I definitely recommend.

And last, but definitely not least, my Erin Condren planner! Yes, I joined in on all the hype and bought the life planner. And what can I say... I love it!

Oh, and obviously I love instagram... and can't seem to stop editing all of my iPhone pics with it.

Mia Familia

2011-09-16T10:25:00.002-05:00

I was making my way through my iPhoto's this AM... I accidentally deleted ALL, yes all, of my photos from my computer earlier this year and now I am working my way through all 4,196 photos and trying to recover everything - but that's another story...

Anyways, I was looking through my photos and started to miss my family! I have the best family in the world, but unfortunately we all live very far away from each other. Except me and my momma - every girl should live close to her momma and I feel lucky that I get to. Our distance means we go months without seeing each other and that made me sad this morning.

My dad and stepmom (Tampa), brother Ben and his gf Lynette (Fayetteville, AR). All too far apart but we manage to see each other quite a bit. I am really close to my dad and going so long without seeing him is the hardest part about the distance. When we were growing up my Dad always lived in another state, but we still saw him every 2-3 weekends. And even in college I saw him quite a bit. But now work schedules keep me and Jeff busy and our visits are too far apart if you ask me!

My in-laws (Shreveport, LA) and SIL and her family (Dallas). Same goes with the Corkrans, we are all too far apart. We still manage to get together pretty frequently, but the time that goes between seeing our nieces growing up and the distance that will be between our future children and their cousins makes me sad. Luckily we get to make it to Dallas this year for Kate and Lily's 2nd Birthday - can you believe they are going to be two already? The two prettiest 2 year olds!

My momma and stepdad (about an hour out of Memphis) and Ben and Lynette. We all get together less frequently. I mean, I see mom and Wesley all the time, but the six of us have a hard time getting together all at the same time. Lynette's parents live in Memphis too and so do a lot of Ben and Lynette's friends - so when they are in town we have to share them with a lot of folks. I think we have decided to plan an annual trip to Hot Springs - which I think is very important for us to stay close. I just love this family picture of all of us at the horse races earlier this year!

Of course I have other "family" as well. Like my El Nopal family. Actually all of the people below are actually my relatives (Uncle Mike and Aunt Sandy and Catherine). They are my closest extended family and I feel like they might as well be in my immediate family. Catherine is the sister I never had. We usually all get together for mexican food quite often - love them!

And of course our dear friends Sarah and Dylan (Fayetteville, AR). They are without a doubt part of our family. I love them so much. Not a day goes by that I don't miss them. Plus, Sarah and I have plans for our future children to be married one day so we can officially be family, ha!

Luckily our fall schedule is jam packed with weekends to see all of these folks and I couldn't be more happy about that. I just love spending time with my family!

Nothing Better To Do

2011-09-08T09:02:00.001-05:00

Today the back door is open and the pups are sitting outside in the beautiful weather, in the sunshine! We have been enjoying this weather all week, but who hasn't?

Today we are home ("we" being me and the dogs)... and we are enjoying it. My dogs l.o.v.e. the fact that I am home with them a lot during the week. There is nothing too major on the schedule for today except having Catherine and Alan over for dinner tonight.

On a day like today, a day with little on the schedule, there's is nothing better than a "to do list" to help organize my day. The best part about this list is that there is very little that absolutely has to be done. So I will work on my list at my discretion... maybe I'll cut out the gym, ha!

Hope everyone else is having a lovely week - and I hope you are able to enjoy beautiful weather like we have here in Memphis!

Procrastinate Much?

2011-09-02T17:10:00.002-05:00

Well, y'all, I have finally finished. I finished re-finishing my kitchen table! I started this project... um... too long ago for me to remember. I know that it was at least 2 years ago. I have made plans to finish this project several times but the problem was all of the sanding. FYI, sanding furniture is hard. A little bit ago I finally sanded and stained all of the chairs. My table has just been sitting in the kitchen all ugly and mismatched. Today I finished.

The table before (and the original color of the chairs)...

The chairs...

And the new look...

When I started painting this afternoon I had plans to paint the chairs black too, but after the table was painted I decided that I really like the color combo. What do you think?

And guess what... I cheated and didn't sand a thing today. I just bought some paint and primer. We'll see how it sticks. It definitely doesn't look perfect and you can see my brush strokes - but it'll do. I really love it and am so glad that this project is finally finished!

Happy Fall Y'all

2011-09-01T10:05:00.002-05:00

I know I am a tad early... but with kids back in school and Razorback football starting in a few days I am getting very excited about the upcoming change in seasons.

Plus, BHG told me that it is time to start thinking in a fall-frame-of-mind with their latest issue.

I am just absolutely thrilled that my calendar says September and that the Razorback football schedule has filled the empty pages of my Saturdays in myAgenda...

I cannot wait for cool weather, falls clothes - mostly sweaters and scarfs -, cookouts with friends, the sound of college football on the television, and burning my favorite candle...

What can I say, I am pretty excited about fall coming!

We're With the Band

2011-08-30T11:59:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday Jeff and I met up with some of our friends at a nearby country club to party with the band. Actually, my friend Amelia invited us to go - her uncles are members of the band. We had so much fun, the band played all the good songs and we danced for most of the night! Plus, I loved an excuse to get dressed up.

I still have no idea what the party was for... we were just there with the band, ha!

We danced...

And danced..

After the party was over we headed to a local bar and ended the evening on a patio listening to some good music - the weather was amazing! We had such a great night on Saturday. I love my friends!

My Momma's Birthday

2011-08-28T16:37:00.000-05:00

My mother's birthday was last week. Unfortunately her actual birthday was ruined by "meet the teacher" night at school - she's a school teacher. So we just went with it and postponed the celebration until Friday!

This was mom's 55th birthday and she could think of no better way to celebrate that fact than to head to Tunica and play the nickel slots. So Friday ~~morning~~ afternoon my mom, Uncle Mike, and I made our way over to the casinos. I cannot tell you how many times the words "come on fives" were hollered out while we played the slots and video poker.

That night we drove back to town and met up with our family for birthday dinner at El Nopal - one of our favs. Without fail you will get pied in the face if you go to El Nopal on your birthday. I have blogged about that before here and here. So of course the highlight of the evening was mom's pie in her face - oh, and the tequila shot they brought her... she took it like a champ!

I had so much fun celebrating my momma's day! She is such a wonderful, loving mother and friend to me. Momma, happy birthday - last Thursday. I hope your day was just as fun for you as it was for me... you definitely deserve it! Love you!

Orange Beach Vaca

2011-08-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

We just got back from the beach... well we got back last Sunday...

We went to Orange Beach with Jeff's family. This is a new annual thing that started last year - we even stayed in the same condo as last year. It is just a nice, laid back, beach vacation.

The routine is easy - drink coffee on the balcony, read on the beach, swim in the lazy river , read on the beach some more, have some cocktails, eat dinner... and then you do it all over again the next day.

Of course we made time for some family pictures on the beach!

The bonus of this vacation is all of the extra-overload-of-double-cuteness... I love these little girls.

Tell Me How Cute These Two Are

2011-08-19T22:04:00.003-05:00

Seriously, am I not the luckiest?

He Did It

2011-08-17T10:08:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey graduated with his Masters in Business on Sunday. I cannot tell you how proud I am... or maybe I have told you over and over again on this blog, ha!

Eric, my cousin/Jeff's best friend, also graduated with his MBA. If you ask me, the boys spent way too many hours studying for this degree. But honestly, I don't know if Jeff could have made it through the past 2 years of grad school without Eric. Needless to say, I'm glad to have them both back in the real world without busy school schedules.

Proudest wife ever. Yep, that would be me!

Proudest parents, too!

We had such a great day on Sunday, obviously not at the graduation - those are never fun, but at the after party. Jeff and I had a family graduation party for him and Eric. We all had a great night and the weather was perfect. There is nothing better than grilling out, eating good food, and enjoying family.

Congratulations Jeff and Eric!! Y'all definitely worked hard and deserve it! Love you both!

Slow Cooking

2011-08-15T08:11:00.001-05:00

Now that I am working later into the evening - usually not getting home until 7:30 or so - I have been in need of a new plan for dinner. So, I decided it was time to start relying on the crock-pot.

I have two problems though...

No one told me that I needed a crock-pot with a timer. Yes, when a 22 year old is getting married right out of college she needs some direction when registering. A timer would have been helpful. Since I am gone for 12-13 hours during the day and Jeff is gone for 9 or more I have a hard time not drying out our dinner. Or, if I put in more water/broth the meals get a tad mushy.
Why are all crock-pot recipes so bad for you? I don't want to add cream of anything, cheese of any form, heavy cream, etc. I need some healthier ideas. I guess I haven't looked too hard. I do have an Atkins book with some good slow cooking recipes that I need to use more often.

My crock-pot was used every day last week and it has been a life saver! I cooked one of our fav recipes that I usually cook on the skillet, lettuce wrap burritos, in the crock-pot. I did jambalaya and some chicken breasts to make chicken salad... it's been fun trying out new things.

I can't wait to start finding more recipes and possibly adding a timer.. are those things sold separately?

Life is Good Today

2011-08-13T09:40:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was Jeff's last day of graduate school. Even though he hasn't had his official graduation yet he turned in his last assignment Wednesday. So I guess the only other thing left to do is celebrate - which is happening tomorrow.

I woke up yesterday - on my day off - and while I was sitting in bed, drinking coffee, and watching Today I realized that we had finally reached a point in life that we have dreamed of for 2 years. It's an amazing feeling! Jeff started graduate school August of 2009 and I started nursing school just 2 months later in October. I can't tell you how many conversations we have had that started with "when we are done with school...". Once I soaked in the greatness of where we are in life right now I called Jeff and reminded him!

There are no terrible things on our schedule... no assignments due, no group projects, no 5-day work weeks for me... nada. We now get to enjoy our lives a little more and start making time for more fun things that had to be put on the back burner while working hard to reach this place.

And to top it all off we are taking a beach vacation soon with family, yay, I cannot wait!! Life is good!

The Grass is Greener

2011-08-04T16:18:00.003-05:00

Or not...

I have been working A TON lately. I've been working full time in the hospital and then filling in at the OB/GYN office on some of my days off. It's been ~~tyring~~ tiring working so much (and yes, I actually spelled tiring like that... see what I mean? I'm tired)! But I love getting to experience two extremes of nursing. It's easy, for me anyways, to have the "grass is always greener" attitude. Working at the hospital and in the clinic helps me see the pros and cons of both and realize there is no real perfect. This schedule has been keeping me in check about the fact that one job is not necessarily better than the other, it's just which one fits me the best.

I hate to say it, but I am that spoiled where I need a good reality check a little too frequently - luckily I can usually reality check myself without needing someone else to do it for me. My dad was making fun of me the other day for actually admitting the fact that I want the best of all the worlds. Apparently everyone wants all of the perfect parts of life but I am the only one that thinks that I may get it! A girl can dream, right?

Actually, I am very happy with life. I have been blessed with an amazing husband, great family and friends, semi-wonderful-but-very-adorbale puppies, amazing opportunities, a great home... the list goes on. I am so grateful. But I tend to get stuck in the idea that life would be better if (fill in the blank) .

Moral of the story - the grass isn't greener on either side... I'm sure everyone knows this moral already but the optimist in me keeps on believing that there is, in fact, one perfect side in life, ha!! I feel lucky to be in a situation that keeps reminding me what both sides look like... it keeps the pity parties few and far between. However, it doesn't offer much for relaxation.

Luckily, we are off to the lake for the weekend with my family and I am looking forward to unwinding... and getting a little sun on this white body of mine! Hope you have a great weekend!

Anniversary Celebration #3

2011-08-03T21:46:00.001-05:00

Last night Jeff and I had a date night for our anniversary. We had dinner at Restaurant Iris. We had heard amazing things about this place and it definitely didn't disappoint.

We had our own little table that was in a private area - "the lounge" - which was really nice because the restaurant is in an old home and the place is tiny. We enjoyed being in our own space where we could relax.

Here is my cute date cheesing it up at our table in the lounge... doesn't he look so cute smiling like a 7 year old at Christmas, ha!!

The dinner was amazing - highlight was the New York strip stuffed with stuffed oysters and bleu cheese (yep, the entree has the word 'stuffed' in it twice... got to love it). We also had our entire meal paired by the wine pairer which was such a great idea, not only were his choices great but it was interesting to learn about the different wines we were drinking. We loved this place and will be going back for sure!

What an amazing anniversary dinner we had. We are so blessed to be able to celebrate with such a wonderful night. Thanks baby!

I Love This Day

2011-08-02T08:00:00.047-05:00

Today happens to be my favorite day of the year... it's our anniversary!!

I love that there is a day to celebrate our love and our life together. Married life has been the best... probably because I married a really great man... and being married to him has made me a very proud and happy lady!

I'll spare you and won't be too mushy today. If you want the mush you can read my anniversary post from last year here because, just like last year, I am still very much in love with the cute guy in the picture below.

Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband! Being your wife has been the best part of my life, and I can't wait to see what the next year will bring. I love you, Jeffrey!

Rainy Sunday

2011-07-31T14:27:00.002-05:00

Today started out a little lazy... we even slept in and missed church. About an hour or so ago it started raining so we decided to just continue on with the laziness. Jeff and Jade are napping in the living room watching golf. I'm still in my pajamas, cozy in bed, and watching Nick & Vanessa's Dream Wedding on TLC.

I've got this big baby hanging out with me... can you tell he's pretty happy with our plans for the day, ha!

I'm sure there is something better that I should be doing but I'm just not going to worry about that right now!!

What I Love

2011-07-27T14:36:00.001-05:00

This Wednesday I am loving...

1. The fact that I am not working today! The beauty of my new job, among other things, is that I only work 3 days a week. This week I was scheduled off yesterday and today... (but yesterday I worked at the OB/GYN clinic PRN). For many nurses this is normal life but for me it is an all new perk of the career and I love it. Today I have already met my mom for breakfast, finished some laundry, and semi-cleaned the house. I think having the time off during the week is going to make my weekends much more relaxing!

2. America's Got Talent. I know this show isn't the best (it used to be better) but it is something that Jeff and I have always watched together. We like to try to pick who will make it through to the next round. And the talent actually gets pretty good in the semi-final and final rounds. Last night we kept rewinding the DVR to see if we could figure out how the magician did his trick - yep, we are really exciting around here on weeknights.

3. The re-arranging that Jeff and I have been doing around the house. Jeff's school has finally slowed down and we are very close to graduation... only 2 more weeks... and now Jeff finally has time to help me get some of our house plans taken care of. We always talk about what we want/need to do around the house but we rarely follow through - it's hard for me to do the big things on my own. Now that Jeff isn't so busy with school he asked me to create a To-Do list for the house. And we got started last weekend!

When my cousin moved out in May this year we ended up with half empty rooms... and after a few months we finally decided what we wanted our upstairs to look like. Saturday we got our new guest room arranged and combined the office and man room into one - which is a much smarter use of the space. Now we have one empty room... which we don't really want to furnish right now because who knows how it will be used within the next year or so and buying furniture right now seems pointless.

New Guest Room: We rearranged the furniture in here and moved in a new dresser that couldn't fit in the iphone picture - I love!

New Office/Game Room: Jeff uses this room the most - after all, it is where his xbox lives! We plan to paint soon and get a tv console and sofa table.

It makes me happy to change things up around our house. Plus, I love checking things off of our To-Do list... which happens to be quite long, ha!

The Rest of the Weekend

2011-07-18T20:21:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the downer post on Saturday... I'm sure you can tell I was a little less than enthused with that day, ha! Actually, after I re-read that post I realized that absolutely none of what I was complaining about was really that bad, but believe me at that moment just about everyone and everything was driving me crazy. Anyways, I am feeling much better about things today and my weekend ended up turning out just fine.

In fact it started out great! At church that morning there was a new priest and I thought he was really good. I actually thought to myself during the service, "I hope he is here to stay and not just visiting." And guess what, he is here to stay!! I am so excited because finding a church was one thing Jeff and I have struggled with (which I wrote about previously here). This new priest has completed my checklist. I am so excited that we finally found a church that we can really see ourselves in. What a great feeling!

After church we met my family for breakfast. My brother and his girlfriend, Lynette, were in town for their friend's wedding. I loved getting to see them - even if it was just for breakfast. I have always adored Ben... he is my big brother after all! We went to Cracker Barrel - and it would have been good if I didn't have to order off of the low carb menu. Here we all are after breakfast..

Sunday afternoon was "nap" time around our house. Jeff and Bogey napped/watched the Women's World Cup in the living room. Jade and I set up shop in our bed and I caught up on all my magazines.

My sweet baby girl lounging with me on Sunday afternoon...

Sunday night was completely un-eventful and we ended up going to bed early.

I am look forward to a better week this week... that is if we can all survive this heat. Don't melt!

Every Day Can't Always Be A Good Day

2011-07-16T21:57:00.004-05:00

Today has been rough... to say the least. Actually, this entire week has been pretty not-so-great. I did start my new job this week and let's just say that hospital orientation is pretty low on my favorite-things-in-life list. And unfortunately I still have 3 more days to go. I have been exhausted all week and the sad part is that I was just drained from all of the boredom. I can't wait to start working on the unit so I can enjoy work again.

Anyways, this week took FORRRR-EV-EEERRR and when the weekend finally came around I was thrilled. Friday started out wonderful. We had dinner with some of our good friends at Itta Bena downtown. Loved it!! I really wanted to try the duck confit and waffles, but Jeff and I are on a diet and carbs have been the enemy lately - so I went with the filet. We had a great night and I had high hopes for the rest of the weekend.

This morning Jeff and I woke up early [for us] to get some things done around the house. Those "things" turned into a massive yard overall and a ton of cleaning. Around noon we had to call it quits to go to my stepdad's grandson's -get that?- 4th birthday party. On the way there we ended up getting stuck in traffic for 40 minutes. Four lanes of one of the busiest six-lane roads in Memphis were closed. I was mad and even felt the need (in my anger) to call the City of Memphis and leave a voicemail complaint, ha! I know it was ridiculous and the person who gets my message on Monday will laugh I'm sure but I did feel better after the call.

We finally made it to the party and had a good time. Being that carbs are my current enemy I did not get any cake - ugh. Anyways, the real fun stuff happened when we were ready to leave... apparently my car ended up getting locked - with the keys in it. After 30 minutes pop-a-lock showed up and saved the day. Keys being locked in the car is a real mood killer and we both had a really hard time coming back from that. We were probably a bit too dramatic about the entire ordeal, in all honesty, but it definitely was the ~~highlight~~ lowlight of the day.

Once we got home I finished the house cleaning - minus the bathrooms, which I get the pleasure of cleaning tomorrow. And now I am finally done for the night and am already in bed.

I know that my life is nothing to complain about, but sometimes days are just not fun. Actually, in review of today it does not really seem that bad but it was just one of those days when everything was more difficult than it should have been. You know what I mean?

Today just confirmed my idea that Jeff and I need a cleaning lady and a yard boy - when you work all week I believe the weekends should be for relaxing. Anyways, sorry for the downer post but that's just how it's been around here lately, ha! Maybe tomorrow will be better!!

Wishful Thinking: Laundry Room Redo

2011-07-12T21:04:00.001-05:00

I want a new laundry room...

I realize this may seem like a ridiculous room to spend time/money on to some people- like my husband. But I love the pictures of gorgeous laundry room spaces like this one...

Unfortunately, this is what I have right now.

It's not too bad - at least I have a room with some storage. But I am ready to make it a little more organized and a tad bit cuter. Jeff thinks I am crazy for wanting to do anything to this room because, after all, we don't spend much time looking at it. But honestly, I'm ready for another project. We'll see how it goes!!

Weekend in Review

2011-07-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

This weekend we were pretty busy... which really wasn't the best thing because I've been fighting a pretty bad cold and could have used the rest. Oh well. it was worth it but I am exhausted tonight.

We started Saturday with a pool party with some friend's from Jeff's work. It was good to be out in the sun... Jeff and I are in desperate need of a tan, ha!

That night I met up with some girlfriends to celebrate Morgan's birthday. We had dinner at LeChardonnay. It was a-mazing... the birthday girl and I split the wedge salad and duck confit sliders. I definitely recommend it. We made our way out downtown to celebrate which is always a blast!

Today Jeff and I met our wonderful friend Abby for brunch. Abby was in town for a bachelorette party and we were thrilled to hear she was in Memphis. We missed her husband Shane, of course. They are some of our very best friends and I loved getting to catch up. Not to mention the amazing brunch at The Majestic. We were definitely not lacking in amazing food this weekend.

After brunch Jeff met up with some friends and the golf course and I met up with my momma for some shopping. Wonderful Sunday.

Oh yeah, we also bought a new car!! We traded in my Saab for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I L.O.V.E. it!! I have been day dreaming about this car since it first came out... and last weekend Jeff happened to find a great deal on one and we got it on Friday night. I am in love.

This weekend was really busy. I am exhausted and need to get some sleep because I start my new job in the morning - yay! Can't wait! Hope your weekend was just as great as ours!

Living With A Man

2011-07-08T20:02:00.002-05:00

I always have beer bottle caps on my counter - less than 2 ft from the trash...

I pick up shoes from the living room on a daily basis. And if I don't then multiple pairs will accumulate...

And I always seem to have a dry-cleaning tag sitting on the bathroom counter every morning.
They always end up conveniently on my side of the counter - again less than 2 ft from the trash, ha!

But as I was reminded in my young-married-women's-bible study last fall... I am grateful to have a sweet husband to pick up after. But with that said, one day when I have a little boy I will make sure and teach him to pick up his things and then remind him that his wife will one day appreciate it very much!

Girls Weekend in NWA

2011-07-07T19:58:00.001-05:00

Fourth of July weekend was going to be pretty boring here in Memphis - Jeff was busy studying - so Jade and I decided to drive up to Northwest Arkansas and visit my bff, Sarah. After work on Friday Jade and I loaded up the car and made our way across Arkansas for our girl's weekend. Jeff and Bogey stayed home.

I always love visiting Fayetteville and get so sad that I don't live there... but Fayetteville compared to Memphis is like a "grass is always greener" situation for me.

Saturday afternoon Sarah and I got manis/pedis thanks to my SIL, shopped for new shoes, did a little antiquing and even saw my brother driving down I-540 in his PODS truck (he runs the franchise up there). It was the best afternoon.

I only had one request while I was in town and that was for dinner at Hog Haus. So, Saturday night Sarah and I went out for dinner and then met some friends on Dickson St - just like old times!

My in-laws were all in town for a wedding - which worked out perfect so I could help keep up with the girls while everyone went to the wedding. The wedding was on Sunday so Sarah and I babysat Kate and Lily. They were adorable as always!!

After an afternoon of playing, snacking, and walking in 4 inch heels (which Kate could do without any help), we packed the girls up and went to the wedding reception. On the way back to Sarah's house Kate was exhausted...

But Lily was still ready to go, ha! Seriously, I didn't know if this little girl was ever going to be tired!

I really loved keeping our nieces. Not living in the same city as Jeff's family makes these occasions few and far between.

I packed up and headed home on Monday afternoon... Jade and I were ready to see Jeff and Bogey. However, I did get a little warning on the way home - Oops!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

2011-06-29T20:36:00.002-05:00

...try and try again.

Remember here, when I decided that yard work was not my forte? Well, look at my pretty yard today...

I got out there and cut the grass!

Unfortunately I am still not a pro... I touched the motor on the lawn mower and burned the heck out of my fingers. Ouch!!

Goodbye Dinner And The Rest of My Evening

2011-06-28T20:49:00.000-05:00

Tonight the nurses at Ruch Clinic put together a little farewell dinner for me. We all met up at Red Robin for some huge, amazing burgers. I love Red Robin but unfortunately Jeff hates it so we never go. I ate way too much!

Anyways, it was so sweet of them and I really enjoyed it. I know that I have only been working with them for 6 months but it was my very first place to work as an RN so it is special to me. I love these ladies and am sad to be leaving them.

After dinner I came home and started vegging out on the couch... but then realized that I should probably be a little more productive. I decided to work on my outdoor plants a little. It rained this morning so it wasn't super hot out - I probably wouldn't have done this if the temp didn't drop a little today. My flowers had been dying... not enough water I guess. So I thinned out how many plants were in each pot. I also cleaned up my back flower bed to make room for some new blooms. This was quite the dirty job.

After I worked in the yard the pups and I went on a little walk. I'm lucky that they behave well on walks so that I can take them both at the same time. I feel bad that they are cooped up all day - after one quick walk they come back exhausted and panting like crazy. Poor city dogs!

Now we are home... Jade and Bogey are already passed out asleep... and I'm looking forward to an early bedtime. Is it just me or is this week not creeping by? I could have sworn that tomorrow is Thursday.

PB Outlet

2011-06-27T21:33:00.000-05:00

So we have a lovely Pottery Barn Outlet store here in Memphis - which happens to be right next door to Williams-Sonoma Outlet as well. I love walking through these stores... I mean, I want everything. I adore Pottery Barn and when all of these items are discounted it just makes me want it all.

Catherine and I went over there tonight - she's hosting a wedding shower soon and we were seeing what entertainment items she might need for her party. They had all of the white dishes and serving pieces on sale tonight. If I had more storage room in my kitchen then I would love to have some fun dishes like this tiered tray...

We made our way around the entire store and in every section I was redecorating every room in my house. The bedding is what always gets me... I love the bedding. Of course my PB bedding is never at the outlet and sometimes I regret my online purchase. I definitely could have found something as equally as wonderful at the outlet for almost 1/2 the price. But, I do love my bedding and am still searching for the quilts and extra pillows to complete it.

And the reason that I like to go frequently is to keep an eye out on the beds. The furniture is usually pretty reasonably priced and we are in desperate need for a new bed. Tonight I loved the bed below, but it was only available in a queen.

I love visiting this outlet but usually leave empty handed - if not close to it. Unfortunately shopping there for me is just like flipping through the catalogue - lots of day dreaming and planning but I never follow through with the purchases. I guess I'm too cheap (even in an outlet). I really don't buy much there because the items are usually wants and not necessities.

I look forward to when we move and I need to redecorate an entire house. Or better yet, when we have kids - that have a pretty great PB Kids section too - and I know a little Pottery Barn nursery will be adorable!

And Yet Another Change

2011-06-22T08:38:00.006-05:00

Big changes are happening again around our house... I am pretty sure that I am a person that loves change. I think it's funny that I am now saying that because, if you remember, I used to be a self-proclaimed change-hater. Apparently that is no longer one of my characteristics... we change as we grow!

Anyways, the news is (and if you follow me on twitter you probably already know)...

I have turned in my notice at my current job (OB/GYN clinic) to accept a position at a large hospital in Memphis on the cardiopulmonary transplant unit. I am super nervous about the new job, but excited to start working 3 days a week - even though I will be on nights. I am so sad to be leaving women's health, but I know that this experience will be amazing and career changing!

This opportunity was a major blessing - a perfect timing type of thing. And I owe the opportunity for the interview to a girl that was practically an acquaintance (that I am now looking forward to calling a coworker). Her thoughtfulness really reminds me to be thoughtful and kind to others - even if I don't know them well. I really appreciate the thought and help!

I cannot tell you how relieved I am to ditch the 5 days a week, 9-5 thing. I know that nights will be hard and quite the adjustment, but I really look forward to the new schedule. Five days is just not for me. I tend to be more productive during the day when others are typically at work.

Anyways, in a few weeks I will be switching jobs and changing up our life once again. And I can't wait!

But I Was Just Trying To Help

2011-06-20T22:03:00.001-05:00

This week (and for the next 2 weeks) Jeff is crazy busy - to say the least. I know that I have said that before, but these days "busy" has taken on an entirely new meaning. Jeff is currently taking his big final class that everyone has to take at the end of this graduate program. There is a 60 page exit paper that he has to write - about what, I don't know, something business-y - and he has to do it in 5 weeks. Most people have an entire semester to do this, but he chose to take this class during the summer so he could graduate early. Like I said, he is busy!

Anyways, my poor husband is stressed to the max. Bless him because he never shows it. You would think he was a pro at running on 3 hours of sleep, working all day, and studying all night.

Since he is so busy and all, I have tried extra hard to be on top of things around the house lately. I try to have all lunches made, clothes washed, house clean, pantry/fridge stocked, dogs taken care of... etc. etc. That way when Jeff is home, even if it is for a few hours of sleep, he might have a moment to feel like he can just relax and not worry about a thing.

I have even been trying to take care of Jeff's "chores" so he doesn't have to worry. It just so happens that Jeff's major chore during the summer is the yard work. Of course the yard needs cutting, trimming, and watering, the bushes need cutting, and the sidewalks, patio, and driveway need blowing. I have never wanted to do this - like taking out the trash, this is a man's job in my home - and I have never even attempted the yard work (besides planting a few flowers). Well, yesterday I decided it was time to try it out. Our yard is small, how hard could it be?

Uh, let me tell you, it is terrible!! I mean terrible. Luckily, my sweet husband came to the rescue and mowed the yard for me. But I have tried all of the rest. I trimmed the bushes and they look terrible and crooked. I tried to blow off the patio and driveway and just ended up creating a tornado of grass and leaves (and blew all of our recently placed yard fertilizer into the garage). And the icing on the cake - the one thing I thought I was getting right - I am apparently watering our yard wrong.

I really didn't think watering the yard would be very difficult. I even bragged to Jeff yesterday about how good I was at this part of yard "work." I mean seriously, how can you mess up turning on a sprinkler? Well, I guess I can.

I was just watching tv with my dogs tonight (in my pajamas none the less) when my door bell rang. It was my neighbor that lives behind our house. He took a leisurely walk over to let me know that, "I must have forgotten that my sprinkler was on." He then proceeded to explain to me that he lives downhill from my house and that our water has soaked his yard and is running onto the sidewalk in the front. Ooopsie! Needless to say, I turned off my sprinkler immediately.

I think I may hand the yard work back over to my husband.

But honestly, I am pretty sure that man was overreacting. I mean, if someone offered to water my yard with their water bill I sure wouldn't complain!!

Best Dad in the World

2011-06-19T20:15:00.005-05:00

I don't know if everyone knows this or not but I happen to have the absolute best dad in the entire world. I simply adore him!

He always knows the right things to say. He is a problem solver (which comes in handy during the dramatic times in my life). He is smart, successful, and compassionate. He has been an amazing provider to me and my brother as we were growing up and throughout college... and even a little further! I could go on and on singing the praises of my dad.

My dad knows how to have fun and is always up for partying and loving life. I love his optimism and am grateful that I inherited his positive out look. He has shown me the world - we have been all over and experienced many once-in-a-life-time moments together. I love that we can enjoy care-free days but still are able to have deep, life-filled, meaningful conversations that continue to impact the ~~girl~~ woman that I am becoming.

But the most important thing of all is that my daddy loves me and my brother more than life itself - and we have never had to doubt that for a second.

I haven't lived in the same state as my dad since I was 6 years old, but that has never seemed to matter (all that much). Of course I would have loved to have him closer but he was just as much a part of my life as dads that live with their kids - if not more. And I am pretty sure we have a closer relationship than most!

It is without a doubt that Ben and I are incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful dad in our lives!

And if you really want to know how blessed I am, I have a great stepdad and father-in-law that deserve some appreciation on this day as well. I happen to have lucked out in that department! Wesley has been an amazing part of our family, he makes my mom happy, and loves us practically like his own - I could not have asked for a better stepdad. My father-in-law, Mike, is a wonderful example of a christian family man and I know that Jeff has learned from him in so many ways that I am thankful for. I definitely want to wish them a happy father's day as well!

Daddy, I hope that we - Ben, Jeff, and I - make you proud. You have taught us well and have set us up for incredibly successful lives. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your love and guidance - for you. I love you!!

And then life happened

2011-06-14T21:15:00.005-05:00

It is the middle of June, how did that happen?! I really can't believe how fast this year is going. We have a pretty casual summer lined up and I am so happy it is here!

Jeff is in his very last semester of graduate school and we could not be more thankful that school is coming to an end. My husband works very hard studying for school and it really takes a toll on our home life... meaning, we never get to see each other! This summer session is the worst yet but having an end in sight helps him/me get through. Thoughts and prayers are welcome and much appreciated for Jeff's strength and sanity as he works towards graduation. I really cannot even start to explain how many hours he puts into studying and how many hours of sleep he sacrifices. And he rarely, if ever, complains. He seriously amazes me... because let's be honest, I would be drowning myself in self-pity by this point,ha!

On another note, I have recently discovered the pool at our gym. I always knew it was there but it is pretty much a playground and I never tried it out. Not that I don't love kids, but it's almost like visiting a splash park as an adult with zero kids in tow. Actually it is a pool plus a splash park... but still. Anyways, I decided to meet up a friend that I work with (she was there with her child of course) and we got some sun. I loved being by the pool for the first time this summer - and I definitely ~~fried~~ got a little sun. I think I might be a frequent visitor. I will be the girl with no kids - just chilling reading my book (even though I may have crazy-baby-fever I can definitely appreciate these child free days every once in a while).

And really that's about it. That is all we have been doing... work, school, and one pool day. I am kind of loving the simplicity of it all. But I'm still looking forward to our plans for the summer - which include a family wedding in Alabama, visiting my sweet friends, family and nieces in NWA, girl's weekend with friends at my mom's, Jeff's graduation, a Corkran trip to Orange Beach, and a boat trip with my dad. Oh, sweet summer time!!

Doesn't this all sound like there is a lot of boring, easy, and wonderful living going on around here?

Arkansas Bride

2011-06-07T19:45:00.002-05:00

My amazingly beautiful best friend was recently featured in the Fall/Winter edition of the Arkansas Bride magazine. It does not surprise me at all because the wedding was breathtaking, as was the bride!!

Anyways, I just wanted to share the article.

MOLTI CUGINI

2011-06-06T22:16:00.003-05:00

This past weekend Jeff and I were super busy at Italian Fest. To be honest, Jeff is the only one of us that was super busy... he is a member of the team Holy Cannoli and, therefore, worked very hard. I, on the other hand, only showed up in time for dinner and the party every night, ha!

Anyways, there was a tent at Italian Fest named "Molti Cugini" or "many cousins" in Italian. The tent caught my attention because, like many Italian families, that is exactly how my family is. I have very many first cousins - 22 to be exact - and I have 24 second cousins (that would be the children of my first cousins). My Boldreghini cousins are such a huge and amazing part of my life! I grew up with them, they were my first friends, my best friends, and are still some of the closest people in my life.

I would be lying if I said I was bff with all of my cousins - the truth is we are divided into groups - the "older" cousins (and I use that term only to decipher between the two) and the younger cousins. We were born into 2 age groups - the first were born all within a close age and then quite a few years passed until the second group came along within really close age. I am part of the younger crowd. Here are a couple cute pictures of me and my age group of cousins...

From left to right: Eric, Megan in Kevin's lap, Matt, Catherine in Grandpa's lap, Ben, me in Grandma's lap, and Monica... Ashlee wasn't born yet - she is the youngest cousin).

Me, Ben, Matt, Monica, Catherine, Megan, Kevin, and Eric.
Recently my cousins Robin, Becky, Catherine, and I have organized quarterly Boldreghini cousin dinners. We had our first one not too long ago. It is so great keeping in touch with my cousins in our ever-expanding family. Luckily, the majority of us all still live in Memphis.

Here we are at our first Boldreghini Cousin Dinner back in April. Kevin and his wife Joy, me and Jeff, Robin and her husband David, Becky and her husband Jim, Eric, Mike and his fiance Genna, Catherine, Megan, and Ashlee.
I am really close with my cousins Catherine and Eric - Jeff and I see them all of the time. They were the Best Man and Maid of Honor in our wedding.

When Jeff moved to Memphis he started hanging out with Eric's high school friends and they nicknamed him "Cousin Jeff" - you know, because he was Eric's new cousin. We are all now referenced as Cousin Jeff, Cousin Jenny, Cousin Catherine, etc... and as a group we are The Cousins.

I love that my cousins are such a huge part of my life. They are a major reason that Jeff and I moved back to Memphis. I love being part of such a large family and am so glad that we are working hard at staying close. And I may be thinking a little too far ahead but... I know that when Jeff and I have children their first cousins will be out of state - that makes me very sad - but, I am happy to know that they will be surrounded by several second cousins and raised in a very close Italian family.

What can I say, big Italian families are the best!!

Great Start to Summer

2011-05-31T21:17:00.002-05:00

It finally feels like summer around here and we had a great weekend to kick it off! My bff came into town from Fayetteville and spent the long Memorial Day weekend here in Memphis. Unfortunately her husband couldn't make it... we missed you, Dylan!

We didn't do a ton this weekend, but definitely had a great time. Saturday morning we did a little car shopping for me - ugh, what a mess! So many decisions. It's frustrating, but shopping for cars is always fun!

My sweet husband brought home Redbirds tickets from work and that evening we went to the Redbirds game (luckily our seats were in the shade).

We ate too much food and had a lot of fun! Seriously, we ate a lot - hot dogs with grilled onions & peppers with chips, chocolate ice cream cones, and a Blue Moon. After the game we met up with friends on Beale Street.

On Sunday we headed out to my Mom and Wesley's for a little sipping and sitting, and that is practically all that we did. We spent the weekend sitting on the porch and drinking some wine! We also did a little Italian cooking.

On Monday we packed up and headed home... and so did my friend. I was so sad to see her go.

The summer is starting off on a great foot... America's Got Talent (only my very favorite summer show) premiered tonight and we have Italian Fest starting Thursday. This summer is going to be a good one!

Sarah, thank you so much for driving all the way to Memphis and leaving your husband so that we could spend the weekend with you. I love you so much and wish so badly we lived in the same town. I had the best weekend with you!

Life, as we know it...

2011-05-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

will never be the same over at our house. Yesterday, Jeff came home with an xbox.

Cons:
Ugh!!
I am married to a man that can play NBA 2K11 or NCAA Football for-ev-er! Seriously forever.
Just as I thought I was getting some Jeff-time back in my life with his quickly approaching graduation... it is now gone again, thanks to a video game.
At first I thought to myself, "How bad can this really be? I mean, his friends won't come over all the time to play with him." Well, I guess that I am way out of the loop because apparently he can play his friends online. He has been playing Eric for the past two evenings. And remember, this is only day 2, people!
While playing with Eric online, he wears a ridiculous headset so they can talk and play at the same time. Not too cute.

Pros:
To be fair, Jeff did call and check with me before the purchase to make sure that I wouldn't be too upset.
This gives him a reason to actually use his "man room," which is good because now I don't have to feel so bad about our rarely inhabited upstairs that we pay to air condition and heat year round.
I get to watch all of my "girl" tv that is piled up on the DVR.
We got to create this cute little "Jeff avatar" on the xbox... it's cute and looks freakishly like him. I had fun helping Jeff design the guy's face and pick out his outfit.
It puts Jeff in a good mood.
I guess an xbox doesn't really qualify as the end of the world. And if it's the worst thing that I can complain about then I guess life is pretty good!

And here is the current state of Jeff.. sitting in his old and broken recliner, playing Eric on xbox. And this, folks, is the new weekday night life around our house. Thrilling to say the least, ha!

Being Content... or working on it

2011-05-23T21:03:00.002-05:00

I have a problem with contentment. I am always, always, planning for the next step... next house, next car, next vacation, next etc, etc, and etc. I have a serious issue with counting down the days. For example: in 2008 it was a countdown until graduation from the U of A and then to my wedding, in 2009 it was a countdown until I quit my job for nursing school, in 2010 it was graduation from nursing school. Well, in 2011 I am not sure what to countdown to - I have nothing major planned. I even have a "countdown" app on my iPhone that is currently empty.

But what do I really need a countdown for? What I need is contentment. I want to be happy about today and where I am right now - not constantly waiting for the next huge life event that is coming my way.

Anyways, I am working on this... praying about it and reading a book titled, what else, Contentment. I am putting all of my crazy day dreaming on hold and trying to live in the moment.

Today I am thankful for my career and having a great job. I am thankful for Jeff's job. I am thankful for our health and our home. I am happy to be spending my evening eating dinner and watching television with my husband and our cute little pups.

Sometime it is hard to be like the Apostle Paul - being "content in every circumstance" (Philippians 4:11).

New York, NY

2011-05-18T19:51:00.002-05:00

We have made it back from New York... actually we did on Sunday, but catching up at home and catching up on sleep has been taking priority over this blog post. FYI, this is hardcore picture overload - just offering up a warning.

Jeff and I seriously had the best time. With Jeff's school schedule we don't really get a lot of time to spend together, so this trip was great just because were able to spend some good ol' quality time together. We were so exhausted the entire weekend because we did not stop during the day... there is way too much to see and do in that city!

We arrived in NYC on Thursday, which happened to be Jeff's 26th birthday! So that day was all about celebrating. Our first stop was at the Top of the Rock.

Afterwards we headed to Magnolia Bakery for some birthday cupcakes. We enjoyed the cupcakes and I sang "Happy Birthday" to Jeff on Avenue of the Americas.

That night we ended up with a surprise visit from room service - someone had delivered a bottle of wine for Jeff's birthday. The wine was from Karl... uh, too bad that we don't know a Karl. Plus, I was kind of worried that my husband was getting a bottle of wine from a man that signed the card "Love, Karl!" We decided that it must be from Jeff's sister, Kelly, and it was! Such a great surprise!

While in New York we ate some amazing food! We ate Jeff's birthday dinner at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain. We went to Balthazar for an amazing breakfast - we really missed out on not getting their fries, lesson learned. But these sour cream hazelnut waffles sufficed!! We also had another great breakfast at Pastis - a little French bistro in the meatpacking district.

We ate hot dogs at Yankee Stadium...

Enjoyed a giant steak at Gallagher's Steakhouse...

And ate the best pizza ever at some little pizza place we passed on 8th street as we walked to the hotel after a show...

Of course we did a lot of touristy things - after all this was Jeff's first visit and I was 13 or so when I last went to the tourist hot spots in NY. We went to the Today Show, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, Wall Street, 9/11 Memorial, Rockefeller Plaza, and Times Square.

While at Ellis Island we found my great-grandfather's name on the wall (I have seen it once before, and have this same picture framed in my home that has my brother pointing on the other side of the name).

We made it to the Yankees vs. Red Sox game on Friday night...

We saw The Lion King on Saturday night!! It was so amazing. Unfortunately I was sitting next to a lady that felt the need to sing along with every song, which is practically the entire show. We also had someone directly behind us that thought it was a good idea to bring her 3 year old along. With all of that considered, I still thought it was fantastic - I just left a little annoyed.

And we conquered the subway! Navigating the city was something that we really enjoyed but was also our most difficult part of the trip. You see, from what I have learned in the past 6 or so years that I have dated Jeff is that the Corkrans tend to have a little trouble with maps and directions. Jeff and I always get in "little" arguments when we have to take directions to a place - he always thinks he is right but let's be honest, it's just not his strong point!! (Okay, sometimes he is right). Anyways, we rode the subway everywhere in New York and it took both of us quite an effort to be polite to the other when we were getting from place to place. But we only started going in the wrong direction once! We really loved the subway though and strongly considered moving to New York just so we didn't have to drive anywhere, ever.

Well, I think that is about it. Now I am sad it is all over; I spent so long planning all of the places we should see and booking reservations... now I don't know what to do with myself, ha! We both cannot wait to go again!

Jeff's Birthday Surprise

2011-05-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey's birthday isn't actually until Thursday but we happen to be leaving for our New York trip that day... so I had to give him his present early! I am the world's worst at keeping presents a surprise. It has been killing me the last month or so that I have known what I was going to give him. So, to be honest, I wasn't too sad that I had to give Jeff his gift early.

Anyways, one day last week I made a stop on my way home and picked up a new charcoal grill! Jeff has been wanting one for a long time and I never really saw the need for it... after all, how many grills does one man really need? But Jeff loves to grill and is an amazing cook so I knew that this gift would not be a waste.

I came home and assembled the grill, slapped a bow on it, and waited for Jeff to get home from work. I just kept quiet until Jeff caught a peak of it sitting outside of the window. He was happy I think!

We have already enjoyed a couple amazing charcoal grilled meals!!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T11:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet Momma! I am so thankful for you!

I am so blessed to have so many to be thankful for today, not only my amazing mother, but my step-mom and mother-in-law that I love and appreciate so much. Jeff and I definitely got lucky in the mom category! Thank you all for all that you do for us.

And happy mother's day to my sister-in-law, Kelly! Want an amazing job you do raising Kate and Lily. I hope that today is wonderful and relaxing for you.

Being a Good Wife

2011-05-06T18:02:00.006-05:00

A Three Things Wife
Lysa TerKeurst
“Marriage should be honored by all…” Hebrews 13:4a (NIV)
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with expectations you perceive other people have of you?
When I first got married I was determined to figure out how to do this “wife” thing well. I wanted to truly honor my marriage like Hebrews 13:4 encourages. So, I made note of what I perceived other ‘good wives’ did.
• She cooks meatloaf.
• She vacuums every day so there are lines in the carpet indicating its cleanliness.
• She sticks love notes in her husband’s brief case.
• She buys and wears lingerie.
• She likes wearing lingerie and wears it three times a week.
• She gives her husband his space when he gets home.
• She hangs up the phone when he walks in the door.
• She learns facts about football and watches games with him.
• She prays for her husband every day.

And the list grew and grew.

Eventually, the list in my head of what a good wife does so completely overwhelmed me I cried. I felt inadequate. I started to shut down.
I assumed the list in my head was in my husband’s head too.
I grew bitter. And in a moment of complete exhaustion, I yelled, “Your expectations are ridiculous!”
To which he replied, “What expectations?”
“The list… the list of hundreds of things I need to do to be a good wife,” I sobbed.
His blank stare dumbfounded me. He had no such list.
I had so broadened my scope of things to do, I had diminished my vision of simply loving him.
Can you relate? I knew I needed to do less so I could be more. But, how do we figure out which things to keep and which to let go of? We ask.
“Honey,” I said feeling the entanglements of expectations loosening their grip on me, “I can’t do everything good wives seem to do. But I can do three things. So, tell me your top three things and I will do those well.”
After all, I could spend a whole marriage doing a hundred things half-way with a bitter attitude and an overwhelmed spirit.
Or, I could do three things whole-heartedly with a smile on my face and love in my heart.
His three things were simple… Be an emotionally and spiritually invested mom with our kids, take good care of my body and soul, and keep the house tidy. (Notice it says tidy — not perfectly clean.) That’s it.
He could care less about so many of the things I’d been running myself ragged doing. And he was more than happy to take care of some of those things I can’t stand doing like balancing the check book and getting the cars inspected. Whew… what a relief.
Of course, I do more than three things most days. But, if I don’t have time to cook or vacuum, I don’t feel like I’m letting him down. It’s not one of his top three.
Now, he didn’t say anything about lingerie. But, he could argue that’s a subplot of me taking good care of my body. However, that’s a topic for another day entirely.
For today, I’ve narrowed my scope to doing three main things really well which has broadened my vision for a great marriage.
I am a three things wife who really desires to honor her marriage. It’s simple. And simple is good.
This was my Proverbs 31 daily devotional the other day. A lot of times these devotionals don't always hit right on the head for what's going on in my life... a lot of times that are directed more towards mom's and women that have a lot more on their plates than I do. But this one really caught my attention. It was the kind of "perfect timing, I really needed that" devotional that reminded me how wonderfully God works. Just the other day I sent Jeff a little email that included something to the effect of "trying to be the wife you want me to be... or actually the kind of wife I want to be for you."

I typically get caught up in my own expectations for myself. It's hard trying to always be what I think I should be... not that I shouldn't work hard at things, but sometimes I just need to learn to go with the flow a little better. I try so hard to be a "good" wife and then, ironically, I end up wearing myself out and make the situation worse, ha!

I just really loved the reminder to take a little weight off of my own shoulders.. to stop putting such high expectations into my own life. God is good... and has great timing!

I love Cinco De Mayo

2011-05-05T18:14:00.002-05:00

To me this holiday means lots of Mexican food and a margarita... or two. Please tell me, who doesn't love that??

Today at work we had a fiesta with tons of food, decorations, and some Mexican music - la cucaracha, la cucaracha! I could eat Mexican food at practically every meal. I seriously love that stuff. So today has been one amazing day of eating for me, ha!

For the pot-luck lunch today I made The Pioneer Woman's Tres Leches Cake.

I loved baking this cake... it is completely homemade (I even made the whipped cream that goes into the icing). If you want to feel like a true baker then try out this recipe, it includes some old fashioned folding and whipping egg whites into peaks - wearing a cute little apron was definitely warranted or at least it was in my case.

Tonight we are heading to dinner with our old roomie, Catherine, and her boyfriend Alan at - where else but - a Mexican restaurant. Don't worry, I am definitely ready for round number 2 of tacos, beans, and rice.

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday as much as I am!

Once Again, It's Finals Week...

2011-05-02T20:18:00.000-05:00
And I am missing this cute husband of mine...

His last final is Wednesday and then he gets a much deserved 1 month off. I can't wait to spend some good ol' quality time with Jeffrey very soon. And on the bright side, he only has one more semester left. Graduation is so close!

believe memphis.

2011-05-01T21:22:00.001-05:00

Go

Grizzlies

Go

And the Grizz win!! Now on to round 2 against OKC Thunder

Jeff has been a Grizzlies fan since he moved to Memphis in 2008. He has been going to regular season games now for a while... and sometimes I go too. Jeff has made it to every single playoff game that has been here in Memphis. The games are always a lot of fun, even when the Forum is pretty empty. But now we are in the playoffs and the crowds have been huge. These games are amazing and I am so excited about the new found love that Memphis has for our NBA team!

We are drowning over here

2011-04-28T20:25:00.000-05:00

It is devastating and really unbelievable to see the pictures and videos of the tornadoes that made their way through AL and GA... and the rest of the country. Of course thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected.

As so many people suffer devastation from this week's storms, we are worrying about a little storm trouble of our own. Around here we are worrying about flooding. The Mississippi River is rising and will continue to do so for several more days. Wolf River is a little river that runs right by our home and into the Mississippi... and is severally overflowing. We will definitely be watching the flood levels to determine if/when we need to start moving all of our belongings to the 2nd story of our home. Jade and Bogey will be staying upstairs from now on starting tomorrow.

This is a field by the entrance to our neighborhood. The water is literally starting to circle our neighborhood. Good thing we have flood insurance.

Flood insurance was a last minute requirement for us to buy our home... I was so mad the day we found out that we were going to have to pay a surveyer to come out and even more mad when he zoned us in a flood zone. Then we started paying for a flood that I just knew would never happen. Well, today I am resting easy knowing that we are covered.

Tonight I am just shopping for new hardwood floors - just kidding... kind of!

Easter Time

2011-04-26T21:39:00.002-05:00

We had a great Easter around here. It was nice, relaxing, and filled with lots of food & sweets! Perfect!

We started off with Easter Mass out in Bolivar - teeny church (seriously, like 16 pews). It was only a 45 minute service, and if you know anything about a Catholic Easter Mass you know that it is typically not a short service.

After church Mom and I did a little cooking. I love being in the kitchen with her - that's where we spend most of our time when we are together. Anyways, Mom and I planned an amazing Easter lunch that was based on her traditional Easter lunch as a child - if you haven't noticed this about us yet, we are all about tradition around here. Lunch was amazing and definitely called for some naps afterwards - oh, a hard life we live.

My stepdad's daughter and her family came out that afternoon. They have 4 ~~not so~~ little ones, so they gave us an excuse to have an Easter egg hunt. But first we had to dye the eggs of course.

Here are all of our eggs. All of these eggs are from my mom's chickens. Most organic eggs are brown, but my mom happens to have 1 chicken, Victoria, that lays light green eggs... those are the 5 un-dyed eggs on top (prize eggs)!

We put the kids (who are self-proclaimed cheaters) in the storm closet so they couldn't peak, and then
we hid all of the eggs. My mom and stepdad's yard is perfect for an Easter egg hunt - it's huge. I wouldn't doubt it if the most advanced Easter egg hiding went on out there that day.

The hunt was on. Each egg was worth $1 and except for the 5 prize eggs which were worth $2 a piece. What happened to the good old days of just finding an egg for the heck of it? But the kids loved it and were very motivated!

I think the adults may have enjoyed the hunt just as much as the kids.

Afterwards, we were all exhausted from the early morning and the "busy" day's events. Jeff and I packed up the pups and headed home for an early bedtime. It was such a wonderful weekend.

And not to mention, I am thrilled that Lent is over and sweets are back in my diet - I may or may not have had cake for dinner the last two night.

Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of the dead.

For Christ, having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits for those who sleep.
to Him be glory and power forever and ever!
Amen. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!"

A Little Bit of Homemaking

2011-04-23T20:11:00.002-05:00

Today has been absolutely wonderful. All of my cleaning was done earlier this week to prepare for my dad and stepmom, who just left town this morning, and that left me with nothing on my (short term) to do list... so I got to do whatever I wanted to do!

My Saturday started in true Saturday tradition with coffee and cinnamon rolls while watching HGTV. That's what I do every Saturday morning that I am home and I love it. I saw Dad, Ms. Chris, and Jeff off for all of their Saturday events and then I headed out for some shopping. Old Navy and T.J. Maxx were on my list. I picked up some shorts and a dress and these two beauties for the house...

I love this glass vase. It's in the dining room right now, but who knows if that's were it will stay. I love it so much I think I would prefer it in a room that I spend more time in.

And the white pitcher has been on my wish list for several months now and I just haven't had any luck finding it... until today! I love how it looks. And the picture frame is a new gift from my stepmom. It's a New Orleans souvenir. I almost bought it for myself when we were down there but Ms. Chris "slyly" hinted that I should just pass on the purchase - good advice - she had already bought it for me as a hostess gift. It will soon hold a pic of my grandmother cooking in her kitchen.

I had to make a quick trip to the grocery so I could spend the rest of my day cooking and baking some treats for tomorrows Easter brunch at my mom's. My part of the menu includes green bean casserole, oatmeal raisin cookies, and chocolate chip pound cake. I spent a large part of the day listening to country music and baking, lovely!

Once my cake was done I realized I didn't have a traveling cake holder-thing. So, I headed out to grab one. It was just a plain, cheap one so I decided to copy a look I saw recently and make it a little cuter. I went to Hobby Lobby (of course) and picked up a few stickers for my cake holder. And wa-la it's now cute and personalized!

The only thing that would have made this day better was if Jeff was home to hang out with me, but I know he has had an equally amazing day playing golf and going to the Grizzlies playoff game... and the day apart makes our time together tomorrow that much better!

It's Jade's Day

2011-04-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

April 18th just happens to be my little one's birthday!

Today my precious baby turns six year old!! I cannot believe that we have had 6 wonderful years with our girl! Bitter sweet!

Life of a Working Girl...

2011-04-13T21:19:00.003-05:00

... is so boring!

All I do is wake up, go to work, go to the gym, come home, eat dinner, and watch television all night until bed. How boring is that? And add the fact that I usually do all of this alone since Jeff is at the library working on school stuff most nights - or like this week, he hasn't been home a single night yet - even more boring when you do all of this alone.

I would like to be productive, but I honestly don't feel like doing more work around the house when I get home from my long day. Call me lazy, but don't underestimate some good ol' down time and an early bedtime! I'm sure I will eventually adjust one day, right?

Unfortunately my lack of activity leaves me very little to blog about. So here's a little bit about what I wish that I had time to do...

Most importantly I want to fix this ugly little hole above my fireplace.

And I want to fix it up with something that looks a little like this...

Isn't that perfect?!? I have been wanting to do this for a long time now. Fingers crossed that this will happen sometime this summer.

I also have some painting/decorating/rearranging that needs to be done in the next few weeks because we have big news around our home that's causing some changes.... Catherine is moving out. She has rented a house close by and will be moving out of our guest bedroom in about 2 weeks. My mind has been going crazy with what I want to do with all the spaces upstairs. I have been hunting my fav magazines and blogs for some ideas. But all of this has to be on a tight budget, after all, we do have a trip to New York coming up!

And of course all of this beautiful weather has me excited to work in our yard, plant some flowers, and get our back patio looking cute. Hopefully that will be what Jeff and I do this weekend.

But sadly the reality is that I don't know when all of these things will get done. Like I said, I have just had no energy to be very productive around this place. Maybe next week!

Oh, and by "working girl" I don't mean hooker working the streets.

What a Weekend!!

2011-04-10T19:12:00.002-05:00

This weekend was beyond busy, to say the least. Jeff and I are exhausted and being lazy is the plan for the rest of the night.

It all really started on Thursday (even though we did work Friday), our friends' Kat and Jeff had a group of us over for a cook out. And this was not your typical cook out, Kat is practically a gourmet chef and the menu included rosemary chicken and grilled shrimp - so good! Sometimes it is just fun to stay out late and do something on a week night.

Friday night was Alan's birthday. A large group of us met downtown for dinner at the Rendezvous and headed to Beale Street for his party! We spent the evening listening to the band at Silky's out on the patio.

Catherine and the birthday boy.

The beautiful weather continued into Saturday so Jeff of course spent the morning on the golf course. Catherine and I had lunch, pedicures, and did a little furniture shopping. It was wonderful. Saturday also happened to be my friend Laurie's wedding day. Such a beautiful wedding (I hate I didn't get many pictures). Laurie was stunning!!

Jeff, me, Amelia, Morgan, Alan, and Cat at Laurie's reception.

After the wedding a large group of us went downtown to dance for the rest of the evening, which turned into a very late night!

Jeff and I about to head downtown.

Today my cousin Eric had his company's suite for the Redbird's game. It was so nice to watch the game in the comfort of air conditioning, catering, and a television so the guys could watch the Masters. Ah luxury, ha!

But seriously, I absolutely loved the day and I appreciate Eric inviting us to join him at the game.

Like I said, life has been a little crazy around here the last few days but sometimes I just really love having so much to do. And I really loved spending so much time with friends this weekend.

Lately I have been missing our Arkansas group so much. I hate how infrequently we get to see them all, but I have been especially sad about not having that group here in Memphis for our everyday. So it was such a blessing to have a jam-packed weekend with our wonderful friends here in town to ease my pity party!

Charlie's Shoe Shop

2011-04-04T21:10:00.006-05:00

Sometime last year my mom called me and mentioned that she was going to "re-open" my grandparent's shoe shop. Charlie's Shoe Shop is a very large part of my family's history going back generations, I have posted a little bit about this before here. I'm not going to lie, when my mom first mentioned opening the shop I thought she was crazy - sorry Mom! Not only does she not know how to work the machines (she used to work the cash register) but who in the world was going to use a shoe repair out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere Hickory Valley, TN.

Well, she definitely proved me wrong. And I must admit that I love having a shoe repair back in the family. All of my boots, coats, and purses can be fixed instead of replaced!

My Unlce Kit, who worked in shoe repair for years, has been coming into town once a month and teaching my mom all of his tricks. And she is doing really good!!

My Uncle Mike came out this past weekend and did a little shoe shining!

My mom has all of the old equipment set up in a building on her and my stepdad's property. She even has the old register!

Here's a little picture I drew for my grandparents when I was a little one that my mom has hanging on the new shoe shop wall...

I signed it #18... which I assume I meant the number grandchild that I am... but unfortunately, I am the 19th... just a little off.

And what is Charlie's Shoe Shop without some cute pups running around? My grandpa always had his old dog, Charlie (original name, huh?), on the counter.

Anyways, my mom has this shop up and running. If anyone in the Memphis area needs shoes, coats, purses, etc. repaired check out Charlie's Shoe Shop on facebook. There are a few drop off locations in town... check it out for details!

Here's a little idea of what they do:
My husband's 2 year old boots that once had holes all the way through the soles... now are practically brand new...

Humdrum

2011-03-29T21:49:00.001-05:00

That is basically what I think about my week days, nothing special. I don't really have anything going on. Jeff is super busy this week with work and school... he got home after I was asleep last night and left before I woke up today and is still not home.... so I am here just hanging out with Jade and Bogey. But, at least I have cute company!

I went to the gym this afternoon; the usual instructor for the class was out and the sub-instructor kicked my butt. I am already hurting, ouch!! But I probably needed that considering how much I ate in New Orleans - not to mention the fact that my office has had lunch catered in the last few days.

I am just excited about the fact that tomorrow is Wednesday, which means we are getting closer to Friday. It is opening weekend for turkey season this weekend, joy. My husband has been playing with his turkey calls for at least a month now and the other day I came home to a large package from Cabela's sitting by our front door. Needless to say, Jeff is thrilled for this weekend. It means we will be out at my mom's house all the time - which is fine with me! It also means that Jeff will be dressed in his camo all the time... I've always been a sucker for camo, and he just looks so cute!

Anyways, that's just a little update about what's going on around here. Hope your week is going great... and is a little more exciting than mine, ha!

New Orleans

2011-03-27T21:13:00.001-05:00

Jeff and I just got back from a quick weekend trip to New Orleans! We had a blast of course... and the majority of the trip was centered around eating a ton of food. In light of that fact, I am going to do a restaurant re-cap before sharing the details that filled in the time between feedings.

____________________________________

Mother's, amazing brunch spot. Don't let the line outside the door be a deterrent - it moves quick. We ordered the debris sandwich and ate every bit of it!

K-Paul's, by far the best meal of the weekend. Perfect atmosphere and truly amazing food. Whatever you do, make sure that the meal you order is blackened. Jeff says that his filet was the best steak he has ever had.

Bayona, it was good! Nothing compared to K-Paul's. We were told to try the garlic soup which was interesting.

The Camellia Grill, the cutest diner ever. We had breakfast here this morning and loved it. The omelettes are beyond huge. We had the greatest waiter, Will!

And of course we made it to, Cafe Du Monde, for beignets and cafe au leit!

____________________________________

The food definitely was a highlight of the weekend, but it is not all we did. We were in town for my dad's friends 60th birthday. On Friday night we did a little birthday celebration and walked Bourbon Street after dinner.

My dad with his friends... Hal (the birthday boy) and Rich.

We started off Saturday with brunch at Mother's. The line was long but worth the wait!

It didn't hurt that we had some Bloody Mary's to sip on in line!

After brunch we took a trolley ride down St. Charles Avenue through the Garden District, by far my most favorite event of the trip. I loved all of the historic homes.

And at the end of the trolley line we walked through an art festival before heading back to Canal Street.

We also fit in a little shopping down Royal Street and the French Market, but this girl didn't buy a thing the entire weekend (saving up for New York!). We also had a little history lesson by a famous bartender, Chris McMillian. He is a 4th generation bartender and listening to him was like walking through a museum. Definitely an interesting happy hour!

This morning we had breakfast, walked through Jackson Square, and then made our way down the river walk. We couldn't have asked for better weather for so much site seeing!

It was such a great trip and I am so glad we got to go. Believe it or not, this was my first trip to New Orleans and I was definitely not disappointed by the city. Loved it!

Planning a Big Trip

2011-03-21T22:13:00.002-05:00

Jeff and I are in the process of planning a big trip. It's definitely not the biggest trip we have ever gone on, but it is the first trip we have planned completely on our own and only the 2nd trip that we will be taking just the two of us... the other was our honeymoon. Needless to say, I am beyond excited.

Soon we will be in New York City!!

I have been to NYC a couple of times and loved it, but Jeff has never been. I can't wait to enjoy this amazing city with my love!

It's kind of a last minute trip, but that makes it even more exciting. We were just watching TV the other night when a New York City commercial came on and this is how the conversation went:
Jeff: "So when are you going to take me to New York?"
Me: "Uh, as soon as you want to go!!"
And the rest is history. We started planning and now I am just dying for our trip to get here.

Our schedule will be jam packed... so far we are planning an early morning trip to the Today Show (I am a huge Matt and Meredith fan), of course the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, etc., Friday night we will be going to a NY Yankees game, and look what I got in the mail today...

The highlight of the trip - for me at least - our Lion King tickets!!

I cannot wait to see The Lion King. I was a little too obsessed with this movie as a child and it was the first thing I asked Jeff to squeeze into our trip.

We still have quite a few details to plan, but I have been too excited to not mention it.

Spring Weekend

2011-03-20T19:37:00.001-05:00

You know it is spring time when....
The windows and back door are open non-stop... my dogs could not be happier.
I spend my Saturday spring cleaning.
Jeff is glued to the television watching March Madness and checking his bracket every 2 minutes. Only taking a break for a round of golf.
Dinner is spent on the patio at Cafe Ole.

Right now we are in the middle of cooking dinner, pork tenderloin and roasted sweet potatoes (yum)! And are planning to eat in front of the television to watch the Big Love series finale... in 30min.

I am so sad this weekend is coming to an end. It was wonderful. Spring is definitely welcome in my home!

Our Weekend at the Races

2011-03-16T19:40:00.001-05:00

Last weekend Jeff and I drove over to Hot Springs to meet my Momma, Wesley, my brother, and his girlfriend, Lynette, for the horse races. We love the races... but honestly, I am the absolute worse horse gambler in the world. The horse that I bet on came in last place in most races... you may think I am exaggerating, but I am not! I have always been terrible at this and haven't won a single race since my very first race on my 18th birthday (and I won $75) - I like to say that was a little thing called beginners luck. Even though I am so terrible, I still really love to bet the horses and the optimist in me keeps me believing that I am going to win big on the next race. Plus I love horses in general.

Here is our group...

I love getting to hang out with my brother. He is always so much fun!! He talked Jeff into a large bet (well, large for us) on the last race... they both put $50 on a horse... Jeff wouldn't tell me how much until after we won. And yes, I am claiming Jeff's win as "ours" because otherwise I would have just been a loser that day. Luckily Jeff won enough that day to cover all of my losses, ha!

We stayed at the Arlington Hotel, which is one of the few original bath houses and the most famous hotel in Hot Springs. I love staying in historic hotels, but it always creeps me out sleeping in a place that is so old.

We took a little photo shoot of all the couples by the front steps of the Arlington. Me with my love...

We had such a great time at the races and afterwards we went to dinner at a local place that our cab driver recommended. While we were waiting on a table, an older gentleman came outside where we were and sneezed... and then just stopped breathing. Lynette noticed he wasn't breathing and we ran over. Luckily, he came to pretty quickly. The paramedics came and took him away. It was quite the commotion!! Afterwards we all had an amazing dinner.

On Sunday morning, which was Lynette's birthday, we had breakfast at The Pancake Shop and then did a little shopping before we all headed home. We had such a great trip!!

Hasta La Vista... Sweets

2011-03-13T17:56:00.000-05:00

So last week started the Lenten Season. This year I gave up sweets/dessert. The last time I gave up something that I loved to eat/drink was in 2007, I gave up diet coke... and I have never looked back. I honestly don't even really like the taste of it anymore. So I am hoping the same thing happens for dessert. And no eating meat on Friday's of course.

With how difficult it is for me to stay away from my favorite food craving, it will be a great reminder of the love and sacrifice Jesus has for us. I love that I will be sacrificing for Him as well. I will also love celebrating Easter with enjoying something that I have been denying myself... this year I will be eating some cake I'm sure!

When I was in high school this was my most favorite time of the year. Every Friday night at church the Knights of Columbus would host a fish fry and my youth group would perform The Living Stations of the Cross.

We would perform behind a sheet that was backlit with a light. We would pose for each station - perfectly still for several minutes - while other members of the youth group would narrate the scene. Very amazing!! It looks like this...

Anyways, I love this time of year... and I am not eating sweets (besides breakfast foods, but excluding donuts) until Easter rolls around... we'll see how tough this is!