Menu Monday {1st edition}

Ok I'm going to preface this post with a big MAYBE ... 

As in, this MAY  BE something that I can stick with ...

 I'm hoping that if I post it to my blog y'all will keep me honest. But this seems like  A LOT of planning ... And I'm so not good at sticking to a plan! 

But here goes ... 

Y'all remember the little budget cookbook I picked up yesterday? Well I'm going to try to use it and/or the $5 Dinner website {one of my girlfriends turned me onto it} AT LEAST once a week! 

This means I'll be trying new things AND be sticking to our food budget ... FOR ONCE! The hubs will be so happy! 

And hey, maybe if I'm sticking to the budget I can get that Cynthia Rowley handbag I am SO SO coveting?! Good behavior deserves rewarding, right? Right! :) 

Ok enough about bags ... Onto to FOOD! 

Menu for Jan 31- Feb 4: {but first, can y'all BELIEVE that it's ALREADY Feb?! geeeeees}

Monday: Veggie Soup & Grilled Cheeses {in hopes to heal the SICK hubs}

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken pizzas {using leftovers from Sat's Wii Party}

Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Creole Chicken {I'm going to use chicken breasts because I already have them}

Thursday: Tortellini with a Bolognese sauce {I'll be sure to post the recipe on Wed so if you want to join you sure can!}

Friday: Burritos & Spanish rice {hoping to use the leftovers from Creole Chicken to create them!}

Oh my gosh y'all! If I can pull this off, we may just have a new series on our hands! {cue HEAVY PRESSURE & deep breaths}

Ok ... gotta go check on hubs ... And by check, I mean serve him his soup & grilled cheese with a side of Nyquil ... Poor thing! 

XO! 

This Blog Rocks. {2 linky parties}

I'm SO excited for today's Linky Party ... Well, BOTH of today's linky parties! 

{or wait, am I doing 3? goodness.}

For my first ever link to This Blog Rocks, 

I'm excited to be featuring Michelle from Ten June! 

She's the cutest ... 

And a girl after my own heart, as we BOTH share a LOVE for all Charleston, SC, a love for finding furniture that needs a little love {ahem, paint}, all things DIY, and {a not-so-love for} Valentine's Day! 

Her blog is all about her fabulous efforts to reno her ADORABLE house ... And she has done SUCH  great job with all that she has done to it so far! 

Check out some of her pics ... 

What do you think? The cutest, right? 

The way that she writes is so honest, funny, and EASY-PEASY to read! I definitely check out her blog daily to see what her latest adventures in home renos, DIY, and latest inspirations are ... 

You should too! 

And tell her "this blog rocks!" ha! 

{I really need to stop showing my SUPER dorky side so often ;)}

I'm linking up to Mackey Madness "The Blog Rocks" today! Check it out! :) 

Also linking to DebbieDoo's Newbie Linky Party! 

And don't forget about the I love my online friends Monday party! 

Hope y'alls Monday is off to a great start! Hubs is sick today ... So I'm playing nurse while trying to get LOTS of other things done! 

XO! 

{my first ever} Blog Hop

I'm not sure if y'all read Michaela Noelle ... I heart her ... In BIG ways! {that sounds a LEETLE creepy, but really she's AWESOME} She always has the cutest posts and the BEST pics! 

She, Marie from The Things We Find Inside & Melanie from Welcome to My Side of Life are hosting a Blog Hop party today! And I'm joining up! What a great way to meet new friends! 

If you want to join too ... there's a few rules: (copied from The Things We Find Inside) 

1. Follow the host (Marie) and the guest hosts (Michaela Noelle & Melanie) on GFC. For this week, they are the number 1, 2 and 3 spots on the linky. (They will follow back.) Leave a comment to let them know.

2. Follow as many people as you can and be sure to let them know that you are from the 'I love my Online Friends Monday Hop'. 

3. You are not required to, but it will be great if you could grab our button and make a post about this hop. (At the bottom of the hop, you can get the code so that the same linky list will appear on your blog).

4. Every week Marie will pick one person to 'Guest Host' the hop with her. If you would like to be considered for the guest host position, all you need to do is grab the button, write a post about the hop and follow me on GFC. Leave a comment under this post to let me know if you are interested in guest hosting.

So come on ... you know you want to join! :) 

Happy Monday Y'all! 

{new & fabulous} cookbook!

So B & I are really trying to cut back on our food expenses ... I know that some people are good at coupon shopping {y'all remember I told you I was NOT one of those people} and I'm also not a very good menu planner. 

So one of our resolutions this year is to try to cut the grocery bill D-O-W-N! So far, hasn't been going well ... 

Until TODAY! 

I was at TJMaxx this afternoon just wandering around {desperate to get out of the house after feeling a little under the weather all week} and came across THIS

It was on clearance and was $3! You read that right ... THREE BUCKS! 

As I flipped through the pages, I got REALLY excited and REALLY hungry! {and of course realized I'd forgotten to eat lunch} 

So this little guy came home with me and I've been reading the recipes since getting home! 

They sound so good! 

{maybe I can get B to share my love for Indian food with this?}

{12 servings! SO great for a crowd!}

{sounds SO yummy for a summertime get together!}

So for now ... I'm menu planning and writing up a grocery list! 

Thinking of doing a new Menu Monday series ... Thoughts? Would y'all be interested? 

Hey! Maybe we can share menus for some of you who like me {until 2011} just aren't too good at it? 

Hope y'all had the GREATEST weekend! :) 

wii party {and some food}

So we got a FABULOUS black wii for Christmas and have absolutely been LOVING it ... {such kids at heart!}

So tonight we decided it'd be TOO MUCH fun to have some friends over for a low-key dinner and wii partay! 

And I am excited MORE than you could imagine! I love very few things more than cooking and hosting parties ... {ok, the hubs & the pup definitely rank pretty high up also!}

So for tonight I was trying to think of things that would be filling, but also fingerfoody {def just made that word up}

Here's what's on the menu: 

{I also need to apologize in advance for my lack of recipes ... I very RARELY use them!}

~ sliders: BBQ-pulled chicken & hamburgers

~ sweet potato fries: totally cheating and using Alexia's frozen ones {which are OH.SO.GOOD}

~ deviled eggs: probably one of my all time favs

~ fixins' for the sliders: sweet pickles, slaw, cheese, chili, and then your usual condiment line-up

~ blondie cupcakes: hello, yummy goodness {recipe here}

~ magic hat variety pack: easy for everyone to find something they like

So what do you think? I'm excited! And it'll be easy so I won't spend my day slaving away and I won't have to worry about being stuck in the kitchen once everyone gets here! 

The game line-up {in no particular order}: 

~ Dance Dance Revolution ... and yes, we have the mat & all ... hysterical to watch! 

~ Big Game Hunter ... the boys LOVE it {and I may have tried my hand a time or 2 at shooting the big buck}

~ MarioCart ... harder than you would think, but awfully fun steering a TINY wheel! :) 

So that's what I'm doing on this GORGEOUS NC Saturday! What are YOU doing? 

*** Also wanted to send a BIG THANKS to everyone who commented on my The Bold & The Beautiful post ... Your comments were so SWEET & so HELPFUL! XO! ***

The Bold and The Beautiful {a blog critique}

I have to admit when I first came across this linky party, I was NERVOUS to participate. 

What if people don't like me? What if what I post is silly? Does anyone REALLY want to read what I post? Are my pictures good enough? 

{geeeeeeeees.louise.} SO much anxiety. Especially for a generally relaxed person. :) 

But you see, my bloggie friends, what you think matters to me. And I decided that I NEED to hear it. I so much enjoy blogging, but I want for all of YOU to enjoy what I have to say ... Isn't that what it's all about?!

So bring it on ... I'm a big girl. {whew} I can take it. {deep breath} 

Ok but really ... MeganDVD says it much better than I do: 

"I am so excited to be part of a very unique blog hop. Gail @My Repurposed Life and MeganDVD @ Beauty in the Attempt are hosting “The Bold and the Beautiful-your blog reviewed”.

Please take a look around my blog, check out the layout, pages, buttons, sidebar and gadgets. I would love for you to gently critique my blog. I’m hoping you will leave me some positive feedback about my blog. It would be great if you could give me constructive criticism but be sure to tell me what you like about my blog too! Do you like my pictures? Does my blog load quickly for you? How about the font? All tips and tidbits welcome!" 

I linked up ... Do you want to? 

If so, go here or here. 

Motivation

I don't know about y'all but I've seen so many SUPER motivational posts out on blogland recently! 

Which is so great for me because I had decided that 2011 was going to be MY year to make a difference ... no, I'm not talking of trying to achieve world peace all by my lonesome (though that would be incredible). 

But I am talking about paying it forward ... trying to make a difference in someone's life in my LEEEEEETLE corner of the world. 

Little stuff ... 

~ holding a door open when it's not 'convenient' 

~ thanking a veteran for their service 

~ letting someone out in traffic even if I'm in a 'huge rush' 

~ making sure to call my great-grandfather every week AT LEAST once

 ~ sending cards to long-lost friends just to 'say hi' 

... 

you guys get it ... the list could go on & on ... 

it could be a kind hello to a stranger 

or 

catching up with an old friend who's going through a hard time. 

So I've been thinking about this  A LOT recently ... And then yesterday, I found Ashley's blog The Shine Project. It's awesome ... she's awesome ... she's motivating us all to be more AWESOME. 

Head over there and show Ashley some love ... And if you're up for it, jump on board The Shine Project! 

So what about you? Trying to make a difference in your little corner? What are your goals for 2011? 

Happy Thursday Y'all! Thanks for stopping by! 

***If you like what you see, follow me! I promise to keep the good stuff comin'!***

I'm Loving ... {link-up party}

I'm so excited to be linking up to Jamie at This Kind of Love's "I'm loving party"!

So today I'm loving ...

~ Loving that I found this great blog & linkup party! :) 

~ Pacific's Creamy Tomato soup on this rainy day. 

~ My sweet, snuggly puppy Tux & my even sweeter, hard-working hubs. 

~ My newest creation ... Subway Art. 

~ These nude pumps. 

~ The fact I have a dinner date with my BEST FRIEND on Friday!

~ These awesome jeans. 

via

~ And LOVING that today is the last day it's supposed to rain this week! 

Glad to be linking up ... Head over to Jamie's cute blog if you get a chance! 

XO!

{MY OWN} subway art!

Y'all remember yesterday I showed you all the subway art I'd been drooling over admiring?

Well yesterday was a RAINY day in Greenville and I have been on the verge on catching a cold ... Perfect combo for staying at home and crafting!

Look what I created!

I really like the way that it turned out! Though I still can't decide if I want to do a whitewash of sorts over the whole thing ... To make it not so harsh? What do you think?

And don't you think it's crazy HYSTERICAL that I said yesterday "black & white may not fit in my house"?! I do ... I'm so fickle.

So I started with an 8X10 canvas that I had painted last year in hopes of giving it to one of my expectant mama friends ... Only the perfectionist side of me decided that it was quite ... errrr, perfect enough. So alas, it stayed, hidden away ... UNTIL today! :) 

I painted to entire canvas black ... It took about 3 coats to cover the whole thing! 

While it was drying I cut out words on my new Cricut (or as I like to call it ... cricket, such a dork!). I just used white scrapbook paper because I didn't have any vinyl on hand. 

After the paint dried, I started arranging all the words. And y'all this turned out to be QUITE the task ... I had to re-cut several of the words to make the smaller. 

After that I mod-podged (LOVE that stuff) EACH.LETTER.DOWN. 

And then painted a layer of ModPodge over the entire canvas. Waited for it to dry and VOILA! 

So really ... tell me ... to whitewash or not to whitewash? That is the question.

Happy Humpday from NC! 

UPDATE: I LINKED UP TO TALENT TUESDAY'S ON VINTAGE WANNA BEE! CHECK IT OUT! :)

subway art

Have y'all seen all the Subway Art out on blogland? 

I'm obsessed but have yet to create my own ... Partly because I'm terrified skeptical of my new cricut and partly because I'm not sure exactly what kind of subway art I want and where I want it to go ... 

So for now ... I'm just drooling over all the great things that my fellow bloggie ladies have created ... {sigh}

Articles of Faith from {Lil Miss Momma}

Supersized Valentine's Subway Art by {tatertots & jello}

A tutorial by {Lil Blue Boo}

Subway Art for the Nest from {thecozygreencocoon}

A Cricut Tutorial from {Momma D and Da Boyz}

I'm really loving the blue & white one ... I like all the black & white ones too but for my house, just not sure it goes! 

Maybe I'll make one for the hubs for Vday? Not really a guy's present? hmmmm... maybe I'll make one for ME for Vday?! :) 

Happy Tuesday!