What's that you said?

Today is the first day of fall!!!

This has turned my day from ho hum to amazing.  Fall is by far my very favorite time of year and the last couple years it seems we have been skipping it as longer summers ran straight into cold winters.  However, this year already has promise.  I woke up this morning to take my little babies outside only to find it not cool, but a little chilly and I just stood on my patio and smiled like an idiot (in nothing but an oversized t-shirt mind you).

Last weekend I had grand plans to get fall started early but let's be honest, it didn't happen. Instead we went to hang out on Tiger Lane and tailgate for the U of M football game that the Tigers actually won, they're not so good...

I did make the Whiskey Sour Slushies to share and let's just say the gallon pitcher was empty, I highly recommend them. Of course I added a little more whiskey than the recipe called for.

I also made what I believe will become a new favorite found on Pinterest.  It was cheesy bacon ranch pull apart bread and it was phenomenal, seriously so so so so good, easy and adaptable to as many different flavors as you can dream up.

Here's the method: 

• Buy large round loaf of UNSLICED bread.  You can use sourdough, country bread, whatever you like.
• Slice about 1 in thick slices almost through, but leave about 1/2 to 1 inch unsliced at the base.  Rotate 90 degrees and repeat so that you now have little cube looking pieces.

Here's some filler ideas:

• Chicken, bacon, ranch: Melt 1 stick butter and dissolve 1 packet dry ranch seasoning. Pour over sliced loaf, top with crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese, making sure to push down into the slices.
• Pizza: Melt 1 stick butter and dissolve 1 packet Italian seasoning mix (light version use Italian dressing) pour over sliced loaf, top with mozzarella and chopped pepperoni. Side of marinara for dipping.
• Buffalo Chicken: Mix 1/2 stick melted butter and 1/2 c Frank Buffalo Sauce.  Pour over sliced loaf, top with shredded chicken and cheese of your choice.  Serve with Bleu Cheese or Ranch dipping sauce.
• Cinnamon Bun: Mix 1 stick melted butter with cinnamon and sugar, chopped pecans optional.  Pour over sliced loaf. Top with frosting drizzle. Serve with extra frosting for dipping.
• Anything that would be good on a sandwich.  Hot ham and cheese with Dijon, taco, etc.

Baking Instruction: Preheat oven to 375, bake uncovered until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.

Best "Bring Whatever" ever.

I was not very productive last weekend but RJ doesn't work much this weekend so hopefully it will be a fun-filled, perfect weather, couple of days!

What are your plans?

Handy little household helpers

I would HAPPILY spend my entire day keeping house, cooking meals, and raising children; however, that is not my current reality. So to keep me sane and save me precious time and energy I employ a few little tricks to make me seem like a domestic goddess even if it is not a full-time occupation. Maybe they can help others of you that are in my same boat!

Probably my very favorite multitasker is the laundry basket.  So much in fact that they were on my Christmas list last year and my brother bought me three.  Laundry baskets are great for their intended purpose of gathering, sorting and carrying clothes; but they also have become household helpers in numerous other ways.

I keep a laundry basket in my car at all times.  This may sounds crazy but you have no idea how fabulous an idea this is.  Instead of making multiple trips from car to house with armfuls of groceries, I instead load the bags into the basket and make one, safe and stable trip from car to kitchen to fridge. No more dropping things along the way or getting injured from overloading your arms in the attempt to get them all inside at once. You have all done it, don't lie.

I also use my laundry basket as a weekend travel bag.  I know I'm not alone on this one because a weekend visitor I had, not too long ago, showed up not with a duffel bag, but a basket.  This is smart if you are traveling to a friends house, in your own car, where you will not be judged.  A basket allows for more space to pack without any shoving or squishing and also makes it a whole lot easier to find stuff once you have reached your destination.

I love my laundry baskets. They are amazingly useful things. Enough on that.

I also go through a ridiculous amount of Swiffers. Seriously, I buy them in bulk at Sam's. I love them and I use them for everything and not always on the actual broom thingy. The pick up everything, including the carpet of dog hair that tends to cover everything in my home. I dust counter tops, electronics, car dashboards, obviously floors, you name it and I swiffer it.  Attached to handle they are also amazing at getting cobwebs out of corners and dusting the tops of fan blades. If you want to pick up dust and dirt from a surface use a swiffer in conjunction with pledge.

Another little multi-tasker are dryer sheets. Fabulous for laundry to keep static from taking over your wardrobe but also fabulous for inconspicuously masking odors or freshen spaces.

I tuck dryer sheets on the under side of my vents so that all the air flowing through takes on the wonderful fresh laundry scent.  I also throw a few in all of my drawers so my lesser worn clothes never get musky. If you are like me and have a few pairs of shoes you have worn to death and that don;t smell their freshest...pop a dryer sheet in each one while you aren't wearing them to help deodorize. 

Confession: The strangest thing I have used dryer sheets for is freshening my pet.  Yep, you heard me, sweet little Gus got rubbed with a dryer sheet when I didn't have time to give him a bath before company came over...AND  IT WORKED.  Not as well as a bath, but in a pinch it took away the puppy smell for a little while.

Judge if you will, we all do what we have to do in the time we have.  Using some of these things save me time and hassle, however crazy they may sound. Try them and you'll be converted.

Happy Wednesday and here's to the housewives!

Weekend Wants

Well kiddos, another week has come and gone here is Memphis and thankgoodnesstosay it has been a quiet one.

I don't know about everywhere else in the south, but we have FINALLY gotten some cooler weather and I am absolutely loving it. FALL is the BEST season after all.

This weekend my wants are stemming from the weather, even if it is 75 not 50 degrees I am still ecstatic to be out of the 100's and 90's.

1. I want to pull my down comforter out of storage and have it dry cleaned.  If you do not have a down comforter you are missing out in two separate arenas.  First, you are missing out on the extreme cuddle factor a down comforter can bring to your bed.  When the mornings are cool and you are cuddled up in a down comforter's squishy, cocoony glory the snooze button gets a whole lot of action.  Secondly, you are missing out on the nightmare that it is to clean them... They are HUGE, you can't fit them in a normal washing machine and then if you do take them to an industrial size washer at the laundromat, you CANNOT, under any circumstances, put them in a dryer.  You have to find somewhere to drape it to dry for literally days and every 5 hours or so you have to rotate it so that your blanket retains it fluffy feathers.  Therefore, I will pay the money to miss the hassle.

And then, I will wash my softest sheets with extra fabric softener put on my fresh comforter and hole up in bed for an afternoon nap, read, or some trashy reality TV. Heaven.

2. I want a fire.  We bought a fire pit back in the dog days of summer, but have not actually used it. Standing next to a roaring flame when it is still over 100 degrees at 10:00 pm is not my idea of fun.

This weekend nights will be cool enough to where a fire would feel nice along with some yummy drinks and good company to share an evening with.  Bringing me to 3.

3.  What would be better for the in-between season than these. A big pitcher of whiskey sour slushies.  Cooling and warming all at the same time.  FYI...if you are not the biggest fan of whiskey, you can use amaretto.

Whiskey Sour Slush

• 1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, undiluted
• 1 (16 oz.) frozen orange juice, undiluted
• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 c. bourbon
• 2 liter bottle Seven Up

Mix well. Freeze. Then serve.

4. I want to Fall-ize my house.  On the list: fall scented candles, some little pumpkins or gourds to decorate around the house, some potted plants for the front porch, wreath making materials, and this throw from Ikea.

Oh, and God to make the weather stay cool and even get a little cooler.  That would be awesome.



Weekend Wants

So...Last weekend didn't work out.

Let's try this again.

1-5. I want every single person reading this to say a quick prayer and send all your love to 2 of my very very very best friends. Austin and Rikki.  They are hanging out in Nashville at Vanderbilt waiting to get better.

That is it.

I just want my friends to be happy and healthy.

Making time for me, Making time for us, and Making time for dinner

Every now and then something happens in life that makes you take a step back and prioritize. What is important? Who is important? Am I actually making time for these people and things amid the crazy clutter that runs my life?

Although I try, sometimes I allow the clutter to take precedence while pushing all of the things that matter to the back burner and it takes something drastic to snap me back to where I need to be.  This weekend I got a wake-up call and my Pollyanna complex found the silver lining in what otherwise was a pretty horrible weekend.  What did I learn you ask? MAKE TIME.

Lesson number one that I have to learn over and over again: Put myself first every now and then.  This is difficult since I am the 2nd of 4 kids and also a habitual people pleaser.  I take care of anyone and everyone, then I feel guilty when someone puts me first and even guiltier asking for what I want.  I am learning that my indecisiveness not the inability to decide, but rather it is complacency and agreeableness.  I know what I would prefer in any given situation(for the most part), I would just rather give in or not speak up than hurt someone's feelings. 

So... I am making myself a priority. What I want, What I think, What I need.  I need rest. I need to listen to my body more. I want to be waited on hand and foot and feel special every once and awhile.  I am lucky, I have someone in my life who wants to do these things for me, I just get in my own way and won't allow it. This is going to be a slow transition, but hopefully one that will make me healthier, happier, and a better person.

The second thing that I have come to understand is that relationships, of all kinds, are not magically perfect; they require real time, effort, and work to make them what you want them to be.  This is true with family, friendships, and romantic relationships; the more you put in, the more you get out. 

As much as I can say that there is always something more pressing going on in my life, until I take the time to nurture these relationships they are not going to grow.  Phone calls, text messages, and emails are all I have to communicate with my loved ones now that we're far apart, but these can be powerful things when used properly.  Little things make big impacts and are how you can show people you truly care.  My relationships are what make me who I am and they are worth fighting to keep.

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed couples counselor, this is solely my perspective. As for romantic relationships the biggest hurdle that we are overcoming is getting over the notion that every day is a walk in the park full of rainbows and butterflies.  We have amazing days, mundane days, and we have not so great days, but this is what having a life together is and a LIFETIME is what I'm planning for. However, making time to focus solely on each other is key to getting us through the rough patches. Bringing me to the third topic in the title line...

Making time for dinner.  The dinner table used to be the meeting spot, the time when you put aside all other distractions and focused completely on those around you. The TV, cell phone, computer, even school work took a back seat once the food hit the table. All your problems seem magically lighter after you share them with someone else and talk through everything you have been thinking and holding in all day. 

For RJ and me dinner is the one constant in our increasingly crazy lives.  Even if we have to wait until 10:15 at night when he gets home, we have dinner, together, at the table, no distractions.  It is the time when we can really talk.  Talk about our days, our frustrations, our accomplishments, everything. The dinners aren't always fancy but they are normally home cooked and shared with just the two of us. Even when we are not so happy with each other, 30-45 minutes of uninterrupted time will usually heal all hurts.

I encourage you all to institute "Dinner Time" back into your everyday.  It could be as simple as a sandwich, but taking the time to invest in your personal life will yield amazing returns.  Tonight we are taking advantage of the weather and having dinner on the porch with a bottle of wine.

There will always be laundry to do, re-runs to watch, and errands to run, that I can guarantee.  What is not guaranteed is the time you have to make yourself truly happy.

Weekend Wants

So, here is my first attempt at starting a regular Friday post.

My Weekend Wants will hopefully chronicle 4 things I want to do, wear, buy, or make over the course of my weekend. Lucky for me, the first post falls on the eve of a three day weekend giving me ample time to complete my list.

1.  I am ecstatic to wear some of my favorite white dresses before it turns to autumn and they are no longer relevant.
 

How cute would this be paired with my tan cowboy boots.

Or this...I will need to find a colorful blazer.

2. I WILL be making some Oreo Truffles, Peanut butter truffles, and spinach and artichoke dip in order to satisfy the requests of my weekend visitors.

Spinach & Artichoke dip:

1 box frozen CHOPPED(not cut-leaf) spinach, thawed and drained

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

1 block cream cheese, softened

1 C crumbled feta, more if you love feta like we do

1 C shredded mozzarella

8oz sour cream

salt, pepper, garlic to taste.

Combine spinach, cream cheese, cheeses, and sour cream in large mixing bowl. Once well combined mix in artichoke hearts, salt, pepper, garlic.  If you prefer a thinner dippier consistency you may want to add more sour cream. Transfer to a baking dish and bake in the oven at 400 for at least 20 min or until it is bubbly and hot throughout.

In a pinch, you can microwave until the dip is hot and smooth.

Serve with chips and enjoy!

3. My nails have been through hell the past week or 2 with the moving of furniture and cleaning of my house, etc. Therefore, I think that they and I need a little TLC.  While I normally prefer subtle and semi-neutral colors on my nails, I feel this falls into the realm of work appropriate fabulous.  Manicures this weekend are a must.

4. The last and most important thing that I want to do this weekend is enjoy my time with our very best friends and actually show them around my new city.

No tourists spots if I can help it, just the things that I have actually come to love about Memphis that you cannot find anywhere else.

Woo. Friday!