Disney days...

Another fun day at Disney -- in the rain!  Todd is finally a season pass holder, so now I can drag him there whenever I want :)  We spent the day with friends, who celebrated their son's first haircut at a barbershop on mainstreet in Magic Kingdom.  ...and Todd and I celebrated our quickly arriving birthdays!!  After lunch, we were surprised with cupcakes! 

The Little Wifey!

Todd is on his way home from Miami.  I am have been so excited for him to get home!  So, I took a little inspiration from a post of mine on a newlywed site I guest blog for - you can see it here.  In a nutshell, I took a few notes from my grandmothers' generation, and decided to make our home a place Todd wants to come home to....and his wife someone he looks forward to seeing when he gets there!  Seeing that I am not a traditional housewife, and Todd does not have a traditional office job, this is not something I get to do in the most traditional way on a daily basis.  Todd should be home a little before five, so here is what I have done today in preparation for his arrival home (other than the other mundane things already on my to do list like go to UPS, get gas, etc)........

Took Breck to the groomer - so that he both looks, and smells good!

Not cooperating!

Did every last stitch of laundry - this is still in progress as some stuff is still in the dryer!

Did a quick vacuum of the carpets and rugs - I love how this always instantly freshens the house up!  Oh, and cleaned the bathroom!

Went to Whole Foods in preparation for dinner.  Here's some of the stuff I got that I will be using in tonight's dinner:

See the little champagne grapes in the back?  So cute!! ...all except the price!

Todd has announced that he will be starting a diet as of today (this was a surprise), so I am going to surprise him with a yummy, and low-fat honey mustard grilled chicken dinner with sauteed veggies, and a fruit wedge salad to kick off his diet.  I'm doing grilled pineapple for "dessert".  Here's my inspiration (I'm not sure where I got these recipes from, but I would assume Southern Living):

I put on a little black dress (I am sure it is a complete shock to see me in black! HA!), and decided to wear the apron Todd's mom gave me while we were in Kentucky last month...notice it matches my toes! 

I have not figured out the auto-timer on my new camera, if you can't tell!

Lit some candles, put on some music, touched up my make-up, assembled the chicken and have it marinading in the fridge, and now just to wait for Todd to get home......

Scrumdiliumptious!!!

All of the wonderful (and not so healthy) foods we have been enjoying lately! Brown sugar shortbread cookies, pizza, chocolate chip cookies (and of course the dough!!) .........see for yourself !!

Dresses, dresses, dresses!

Todd is in Miami for work....yes, gone again!  SoI decided to spend this time alone running around town taking care of things I had put off for the last few days!  In between my not-so-fun errands, I decided to stop in Old Navy to see if they had any cute summer dresses on sale.  My little "window shopping" stop, turned into this craziness! ...and yes, I realize I have a very serious problem staying away from black clothing!

Horrible picture - but, you get the idea!!

Old Navy trips are always hit or miss, but this one was definitely a hit!  I was so excited to get the following pieces -- 2 little black dresses (I know, I know!!  But really, I think I did well to wittle it down to two!), a pink strapless dress with eyelet details, a blue floral dress, and a black jersey knit skirt and black ruffle tank.

I had to continually move Breck off my clothes.  He thought I must have brought them home for his comfort!  As I write this, he has found most of the tags that were tucked inside of the dresses, and is chewing them off!  He doesn't know it yet, but he has his first grooming appointment since the hack job he had several months ago, tomorrow morning!  I hope he doesn't come home and use the laundry pile as his "I'll show you!" relief spot, again!  In fact, I hope he doesn't come home looking like that again, and then we won't have to worry about an emotional episode!  Here is Mr. Large not-so-large and in charge:

My software does not get rid of red eye, when it is really yellow eye - bummer!

While I was out on my little adventures without Todd today, I found a new Hobby Lobby going in only a few miles from our house!!!  I know this must sound so silly, but up until now the closest Hobby Lobby to Orlando was over 200 miles away -- yes, I checked!!  So, I am very excited for it to open so that I won't have to go every time we are in Atlanta!!  Now we just need a Trader Joes, Dreamland BBQ, and Nordstrom, etc, etc, etc!

Oh, and the grand total of my shopping trip for 4 dresses, a skirt, and a tank --- $85.68!!

Oh no! The Big 50 !!!

We celebrated birthdays for both of my parents in Atlanta recently!  My Dad turned 50 a few days ago, and my Mom follows closely behind with an early October birthday!  All of us "kids" planned a surprise dinner at Tam's backstage in Cumming to celebrate! 

We weren't sure how to surprise my Mom, as she is the schedule keeper at their house.   After some collaborating, we decided to make her think she was in on a surprise for my Dad!  She was very surprised to find out she was not as much a part of the plan as she originally thought! 

We had a wonderful time, and it was a great last meal of sorts for my family who has become even more scattered across the country since this trip! 

I was apparently horrible about documenting this night, and these are about the only pictures we got :'(  Sorry, but we have no proof my little brother, Todd, or I were there!

My sister, and brother-in-law

August Birthday Craziness!

We have so many Fall brithdays in my family, and since getting married they have only increased!  We recently took a trip to Atlanta, and I came well prepared to distribute the August birthday gifts!  Here is the pile of birthday loot ready to pack for the trip to Atlanta! 

The Real Housewives??

Showing off our new couture cleaning gloves thanks to Renee!!!

Dessert Date!

Baked Alaska at Park Plaza Gardens...with a pomegranate margarita!!  Wonderful Friday night with the hubby!!

Lemony Potato Salad

I was chatting with my Mom this morning about several recipes I wanted to try out of this month's Southern Living magazine.  All of them were great "summery" and light dishes that got me really inspired and ready to get in the kitchen after being out of town for several days!  Todd had already requested burgers for dinner tonight, so I decided to try a spin on potato salad that was in the magazine.  It was a great recipe because it was a lighter version of the original potato salad, and didn't include the "creamy" ingredients Todd can't stand in traditional recipes.  It also includes lemon juice, which is always a winner in Todd's book, and the dish is even a great alternative to roasted potatoes.  It got rave reviews from Todd (which was all that mattered - finally I can make some sort of potato salad!!), and was super easy to make! 

Start with 2 lbs diced red potatos - boil for 15 minutes and allowed to drain and cool for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.  Then, add 3 thinly sliced green onions, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.  Toss the cooled potatoes with the "dressing" and serve immediately at room temperature, or chilled.

August in Orlando

Todd warned me that Orlando summers meant heat and storms!  Of course, the heat has already hit, but I had only had a taste of the storms.  Almost daily we have a hot, sunny day, and then suddenly during the afternoon, dark clouds roll in, open up into a downpour, and roll out just as quickly.  The sun comes back out and clears all evidence of rain in half an hour, and it is back to miserable heat for the rest of the day.  This week, is clearly not going to be that way!  From what I understand, some hurricanes have moved out, while lower pressure areas are moving in...which create storms now, and can evolve into hurricanes.  Because of the rain we woke up to today, I was looking forward to a day of candles lit in the house, getting some organization projects tackled, and comfy clothes!  However, I think I am going to get an entire week (plus some!!) of stay-inside-the-house days!  Lots of rain, and only a tiny bit of relief from the heat!  Looks like I need to plan on rain at least through the 18th!!

2 years ago today....

Two years ago today, I met my husband!  There was actually lightning and horrible storms that night, so he can say he came in with a bang...or else I did!  Either way, I am so blessed to have him in my life, and feel so lucky for having spent the last two years with him.  I was sitting here at my computer this morning waiting for Todd to get home from a work trip in Tampa, and thinking that it might be two years since we met (even chatting with a friend about it online), when Todd opened the door and came in with flowers and a card!  He remembers everything!!  We have made so many wonderful memories in this short amount of time, and I look forward to many, many more years together!  I constantly thank God for my most perfect partner!

August means...my birthday!!!!

I love my birthday!  In fact, I love my entire birthday month!!!  I love that growing up, birthdays always meant it was your day!  We woke up to a decorated bedroom door, any breakfast cereal of our choice, a card and confetti in our lunch box if it was a school day, balloons and streamers hanging from the mantle, dinner of our choice, we got to eat off the "You are Special Today" plate, we got the most thoughtful gifts wrapped in fun paper, and of course our birthday cake was always homemade!  My parents always made birthdays a big deal, and such a fun day!  I look forward to doing the same thing for my kids!

For all of you who know Todd -- No worries, I have already dealt with the fact that I know Todd will most likely NOT purchase confetti and balloons to decorate the house, bake me a cake, and wrap my gifts in cute matching paper and ribbon!  However, I am sure he will make it a special day in his own way!

So, what is on my wish list, you ask?

*Emilie Sloan Seattle Stasha Carry All in Silver Stone ($68) -- these bags are my new obsession (as you can see from my previous post)!  I love their cute patterns, their durability, that they are a Seattle based company, and maybe the fact that they are a new company and I haven't seen one person carrying one of their bags yet!  Their website does not do these bags justice, you have to see them in person!  http://www.emiliesloan.com/

*Eclipse and Breaking Dawn in paperback -- I was given the first two books for my birthday last year, and I am just now finishing New Moon (yes, I know I am VERY behind the times on this)...which means I am almost out of reading material! 

*Brighton "E" charm in silver, on the matching Brighton thick 36" silver chain -- because I think it's cute, why not?

*Coach Sutton Signature Wristlet in Black ($48)-- to use as a camera case, but it also has a little strap and plenty of room to throw in a credit card, ID and cell for a night out! 

                                 

*Williams-Sonoma Commercial Quality Half Sheet Pan ($19) -- I am ready to make my mom's pumpkin roll recipe at Thanksgiving....except I don't have a jelly roll pan!  Considering I have a 16" round cake pan (a must-have for any kitchen - HA!!), 3 spring form pans, a cabinet with about 20 different shapes and sizes of pans, and countless other baking must-haves, I have no idea how this happened!! 

Well, that's it!  Other than more place settings of our china -- only so that they can sit in their box in our laundry room until we actually have a formal dining room!  Happy Birthday month to me!!!!  :o)