7 years

This past Friday James and I celebrated 7 years of being together! We decided since we are high school sweethearts and dated so long before we got married that we will try to celebrate that date each year. We don't do presents or anything like that...just a date!

On Friday James made me a yummy dinner which consisted of salmon, couscous, and broccoli! Then we headed to La Duni for some delicious dessert and coffee. One of my favorite things to do is go get coffee and dessert with James. I feel like we have such wonderful conversations and just relax!

While we were enjoying our coffee we talked about all of the things that have happened in the 7 years we have been together....

started driving

went to homecomings and prom

graduated high school

went off to A&M

worked at sky ranch

graduated college

started our first real jobs

got MARRIED

got our precious pup, Jaxon

There are so many more wonderful blessing we have had in the 7 years we have been together. It is even more exciting to think about what will come. The Lord is using each of us to work on the other and teaching us how to refine each other everyday. We are both so grateful for the gift of marriage and the blessing of the time we have had together!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and I will be posting a yummy granola recipe this week!

Here is a pic from back in the day...

(let's all take a moment and thank God for the invention chis)

chicken pesto paninis

In an effort to cut the cooking time and still enjoy a yummy dinner, James and I made Chicken Pesto Paninis this week. They were super yummy and soooo easy!

Here is what you need:

4 slices of your choice of bread (we grabbed some Whole Foods Rosemary Sourdough)

1 breast of chicken

2 tbs. basil pesto

mozzarella cheese

A side of your choice!

We grilled the chicken breast with italian seasoning and cut it in half (longways) making it thin. Put a little butter on the bread and add the cooked chicken, mozzarella, and pesto. We cooked ours on the handy George Forman.

Enjoy!

Here is one recipe I am drooling over and cannot wait to bake...

It is on the cover of the October Cooking Light. I think it would be perfect with a cup of coffee and cold weather!

fall skirt

A couple of weeks ago I went to City Craft (a wonderful fabric store in Dallas!) I spent way too long picking out fabric for some different projects I am working on, but one of the best parts was I got a wonderful book! James actually talked me into getting the book. It has so many great projects and most of them are great for a beginner seamstress like me!

The book is called One Yard Wonders. And it IS wonderful! I got the idea and pattern for a really cute skirt from the book. With lots of patience I figured it out!

I wanted to get a fabric that would work for fall and my LOVE for boots! Here is a pic with me in the skirt (we had to take it outside because the lighting was being stubborn!)

can't wait for fall.....

here is an up close....

Since it was my first skirt (and I am currently teaching myself) I was pretty excited with how it turned out. I definitely learned a lot making it and they will hopefully get better each time! I can't wait to make some more towel aprons and kitchen towels for the fall holidays! I am also looking forward to trying the jewelry roll and a couple other projects in the book!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! My new skirt and I can't wait for fall!!!

oatmeal pancakes

I had to share this yummy recipe! James and I went running yesterday morning and when we got back I was craving pancakes (but didn't want to defeat the run we just did). We just got our September Cooking Light and there was a recipe for oatmeal pancakes! I personally LOVE oatmeal, so I thought they were wonderful!

(photo and recipe courtesy of Cooking Light)

Ingredients

• 1.1 ounces all-purpose flour (1/4 cup)
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

2. Combine buttermilk, butter, and egg in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

3. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons batter per pancake onto griddle. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles; cook until bottoms are lightly browned.

I also made a skirt today! I am really happy with how it turned out! Pictures will be coming soon...

creations

I have really enjoyed the extra time I had this summer to start working with my new sewing machine. As I have said earlier, I have not taken any classes yet. There are definitely loose threads and areas of improvement, but I have made some fun projects for the time being.

Project #1

Kitchen Towel Embellishment

I took a white kitchen towel that we already had and added some of the leftover fabric from covering our chairs.

Project #2

Towel Apron

I love towel aprons because you can wipe your hands while cooking! This project was fun to make and simple because of the straight lines. I also love the fabric!

folded in half...

ta-da...in my new apron

These are just a few fun projects I have been working on! I can't wait to take my lessons and start making more!

Can't believe school starts Monday! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

life.

James and I are so excited because the Lord is doing such wonderful things in our lives right now. I just headed back to school and will be teaching 2nd grade this year, and he just got a job with Saxon Mortgages. It will definitely be an adjustment because his schedule will be pretty different than mine, but we are looking forward to seeing what the Lord will teach us during this season of our lives.

I also can't believe summer is over (goodbye Good Morning America with a leisure cup of coffee)! This summer was wonderful! It was full of building relationships, relaxing, and fun times with friends and family! Although, I will miss summer... it is kind of nice to go back to a schedule!

I have also been working on some sewing projects (still have not taken my formal lessons). I think I am doing pretty good figuring this sewing thing out! I will be posting some things I have done on the blog later this week (when I get a picture and take time to post it).

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

kitchen table redesign

My inner shabby chic attraction mixed with our love for "do it yourself" projects resulted in this wonderful kitchen table redesign.

Back in October I found an adorable table with 2 chairs for $100 in Canton. I thought it was a great buy because it was exactly what I was looking for and exactly what I wanted to spend (although I hoped I could get more than 2 chairs!) A couple of months later our wonderful friends Kerry and Logan decided they did not want the chairs his mom had found at a garage sale (that were lime green). So we acquired 4 chairs to add to our table for FREE! With me being indecisive on what I wanted to do with the table and not having very many of the same days off this summer we had not gotten around to painting it...until this weekend!

We grabbed two buckets of paint AND a can of Kilz (to prime the lime green chairs) ALLLL in the "oops" section at Home Depot for a mere $11 (with lots of paint to spare for our next project!). We bought white for the table and a slight off white for the chairs. James does not see the different...but I assure you there is a difference! I also used an old table cloth to cover 2 of the chairs ( I even had some extra fabric that I sewed onto the end of a kitchen towel!)

Here are some pics from the redo...

Before-

half of the table before (we started painting

THEN remembered to take pics!)

the chairs before...

After-

The finished product!

Overall cost of the kitchen table-

Table with 2 chairs- $100

4 lime green chairs- FREE

2 buckets of "oops" paint- $10

1 can of Kilz (oops section)- $1

Tablecloth used to recover chairs- Already had (FREE)!

Total cost of Kitchen table- $111

I happen to think that is pretty good for a table and 6 chairs! It is definitely perfect for being in an apartment and still being able to have people over!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and getting those last few projects done before it is time for back to school!