Sayonara Sofa

What a fantastic long weekend! Saturday morning we met Emily, David, Becca, and Matt for breakfast! We planned to go to Lillie Mae's but it was closed!! Booooo... so to Waffle House instead! The boys caught up at one table and us girls caught up at another. :) We were almost done eating when Becca spotted a cute dog running stray through the parking lot, so - being the animal lover that she is - she helped Happy get home!

Then they came to see our new kitchen(!!) and hung out for a bit. After saying our goodbyes, Jason and I went to look at new sofas! You guys, I have been dreaming of this day for over a year now... and we finally bought a new sectional for our living room!! WHOO HOO!!!

We ordered it from America's Home Showplace which is owned by Carpets of Dalton. The sad part is that we have to wait 6-8 weeks for it to get here... booooooooo. Anyway, here's a picture of what the floor model looked like and then you can see the brown fabric swatch hanging over the back which is the fabric we ordered.

Then at the last minute the salesperson asked if we wanted the two pillows that come with it to be in the same fabric - we get two pillows?! SA-WEET! Of course we don't want them in the same fabric, are you crazy? I want some color up in here!

So somehow I convinced my amazing husband to go with this beautiful and colorful paisley print. Mmmmm... so pretty...

Sayonara current sofa...

Don't worry, you're just moving to the basement. :)

Baked Spaghetti

Last night we had Baked Spaghetti - recipe (and image) courtesy of Eat at Home.

I made a couple changes to our meal (in green below) but it's very close to the original recipe. Her picture shows a double recipe but I actually split ours into 2 9x9 pans. I cooked one that we ate all of and have one in the fridge to give to a friend - I will probably do the same thing next time and freeze the 2nd one for later!

Baked Spaghetti

1 lb. ground beef

1 can Hunt’s spaghetti sauce with meat

1 can basic and garlic tomato sauce, 15 oz

1/4 c. of fiesta blend cheese

several pinches of "Italian herbs" from World Market

8 oz whole wheat spaghetti

Brown the meat; drain the fat and rinse under hot water. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain and stir it together with the meat, sauces and extra spices. Put it into a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or till hot and bubbly.

This was really simple and we will definitely have it again!

Independence Day Weekend

We celebrated the actual 4th at Jason's parents' neighborhood party
(cookout, homemade ice cream, and fireworks show):

...And the 5th at my parents' house

(swimming, burgers, monster cookies, and fireworks):

Both celebrations were so fun but we were POOPED after two nights of late night fireworks! (Okay, more like 9:30pm... don't judge us for being old people who like their sleep...)

Whoa!! Monster Cookies!

I still need to recap my wonderful long weekend, but I thought I would share an AWESOME cookie recipe that I tried yesterday. They are called Monster Cookies and they were FABulous - thumbs up from all who ate them.

source

I followed her recipe, but halved it, and that was a great amount to have for a small get together and still have a good number at home to munch on. Here's my "halved" recipe.

Monster Cookies

(makes 24 BIG cookies)

1 stick butter, softened
3/4 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 c. peanut butter
1 t. vanilla
1 t. lite corn syrup
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
4 1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used more! probably 1 c.)
12 oz. bag M&Ms (I just picked out the blue and red ones to put on top like in the picture)

*Cream butter and both sugars. Beat in eggs. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and corn syrup.
*Add soda and salt. Stir well.
*Stir in oatmeal 1-2 cups at a time. Batter will be thick!
*Stir in chocolate chips and M&Ms (I just put the M&Ms on top).
*Scoop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Squish a little so cookies will flatten while baking.
*Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

So this was the first time I used my new oven! (Haha, it's really true that I haven't cooked AT ALL in like 3 weeks!) And the oven we got has a convection oven option, so I decided to try that. I set the timer for 10 minutes because I had no idea how long it would take to bake them, and after 3.5 - 4 minutes, I happened to turn the light on inside the oven to see that they were already done perfectly and just starting to brown!! WHAT!? Craziness! So yes, people, I baked 24 cookies evenly in less than 4 minutes.
 
Boo. Yah. (Insert "the Ultimator's" voice here, aka CVP bad guy 2007)
 

MPM: July Week 1

Now that the kitchen is pretty much back to normal (and by normal, I mean - practically brand new), I'm actually going to have to start cooking again. Bummer.

Actually, it's not really a bummer, because I'm pretty sick of eating out. So here's to working my way back into normalcy!

Sunday: cookout at Jason's parent's neighborhood party (that's a mouthful!)

Monday: dinner at my parents house

Tuesday: Baked Spaghetti

Wednesday: Chicken and Cheesy Rice Casserole

Thursday: Pork Chops with Pineapple and Green Peppers

Friday/Saturday: probably out to eat.. hey, a girl can only last so long...

What are YOU having for dinner this week?

Happy BIRTHday KJ!

Our wonderful friends Keith and Becca had a baby boy on Friday, July 2nd! He is named after his daddy and they are calling him KJ! I got to go visit at lunch and see this precious baby boy.

And I got to hold him! Even though I was nervous... I'm always so cautious with brand new babies! I'm sure I will be a pro when it comes my time, but for now... still quite cautious. :)

CONGRATULATIONS KEITH, BECCA, & KATE!!!

We love you!!

July Goals

Let's see if July will be as productive as June! :)

Fun:

Read 2 books
Swim at my parent's house at least twice
Enjoy 4th of July holiday/festivities
Travel for trip #1 of 2 {it's a place I've never been before - which could really be anywhere.}

DIY/Crafting:
Pick out fabric for kitchen and living room curtains

Home:
Reveal our kitchen makeover! {this could also be in the "Fun" section}
Try not to kill the 2 living plants in my garden

Cooking:
Plan at least 3 scheduled meals each week {in my new kitchen!}
One new recipe {in my new kitchen!}

Wellness:
Continue working out on Tu./Th. {in my new- wait... no, not in the kitchen.}