I Like Big Books And I Can Not Lie

Happy Leap Year .... Day...Awkward lol...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE to read! I have read for entertainment purposes for as long as I can remember. When I was in grade school, my friend Megan and I use to swap The Baby Sitters Club books. Then I got into Goosebumps which led me to the Fear Street series. Once I entered high school, my mom started letting me read 'adult' books and since then, we have always swapped books.  I am so obsessed with reading that one time in college, I bought my mom a book for her birthday but I read it before I gave it to her. She would have never known except I thought it was a little funny so I told her. Note: it takes me about 2 days to read a book when I had lots of time between classes and was on duty as an RA.

I have been following a series since my sophomore year of high school by author Iris Johansen. It is the Eve Duncan series. Her first book in the series was written in 1998 - I didn't get my hands on it until probably 2000/2001 - ish. My mom and I have been borderline obsessed with this series since then. Every time the next book in the series comes out, we buy it and then one of us reads it and passes it to the other. She FINALLY wrote the last book in the series and I just started it yesterday on my lunch break. I am about half way through already. I can hardly put it down. This month I read the previous two books in the series: Eve and Joe.  I am glad the story will finally be resolved but I am sad that the series is ending - it is definitely bittersweet!

If you want something a little more light-hearted, I definitely recommend The Little Lady Agency series by Hester Brown. I love her style of writing - I would love for her to write something new (btw after that series she wrote Finishing Touches which I also recommend =) ).

My next reading on my list is The Hunger Games. I didn't know much about them but I knew a lot of people who really enjoyed the books. well I hate to even say what has spurred me to rad them....I saw a movie trailer and thought it looked different from a lot of other things I have read.

Where do you get your book recommendations?
What are you currently reading?

I would LOVE to get your recommendations for a book =) I'm open to all sorts of genres!

GFC Is Leaving

Hey Y'all -- just poppin' in for a sec! Super busy at work today and, let's be honest, my life isn't SO exciting that there is something to tell you about EVERY. DAY. I would really hate to bore you!

So as you (may or may not) know - Google Friend Connect is going away for non-blogger followers and non-blogger blogs.  =( booo!!! Because of this, I have been researching different ways to keep up with blogs and allow you to keep up with me!

Here are some ways you can follow:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Subscribe to my Feed
Or you can set up to get email updates

I've considered getting on the Twitter Train but haven't just yet....maybe soon since GFC is going away.

Alright y'all! Here is a little something to make you laugh --

ahahahahaha!!

Now - go forth and share ;)

Happy Tuesday!

I Love the Fishes 'Cuz They're So Delicious

Hi! have y'all seen all the goldfish foods that are out now?! (note this is NOT the point of the post lol) They have 100 calorie packs...and they are pretty full pouches! They are delicious but the fish in there are a little small and aren't as air-puffed. I think they are so yummy =) Just in case you were wondering!

So I married a fisher/hunter man...this means that we do outdoor things fairly often. I fished when I was in jr. high but we used bread and cheap-o fishing poles. The husband uses high quality items and real bait or fancy lures. I have learned a ton from hanging out with him.  I could skip out on these adventures BUT I love the learning aspect of it and I like seeing personal progress. Plus he tells me he's proud of me when I remember some technique he taught me. Or like this weekend when I hooked and caught this fish ALL. BY. MYSELF!

 

 

That's what we did on Friday night after work. We met at the house with my dad and a friend and his brother and left our house to go fishing an hour away at 6:30! We were out on the water by 8. It was so much fun! we got home right around 1:30AM and we FINALLY got to bed at 3AM!  I was exhausted on Saturday because I woke up at 7:15AM! oh well =) My internal clock has a hard time staying quiet past 8AM lol!

Oh and for the record - I wish I could say I was ultra excited in the picture of me holding the fish by myself...sadly, that isn't what was happening. You have to hold those fish in their gill plate which sticks your hand in to the mouth...well they are REALLY strong! so the fish flailed a little and crushed my fingers =( that is why J is holding the fish for me lol

PS: we didn't keep this fish - it is considered oversize and we threw it back. =)

Do you learn from your significant other?
Do you fish or hunt?
Would you be willing to try if your man wanted you to?

Wedding Cake Link Up!

Happy Friday one and all!!! Ugh I am so relieved it is Friday! I am ready for a little relaxation and time with family:

 

(Good friends - plus a couple girls not pictured; including everyone's significant other -- and the parental unit)
oh and SHOUT OUT to Jess J ;)

I am linking up with The Magnolia Pair today for Wedding Cake Link up.  I wanted to link with Friday Confessions, but I have none this week.

My very incredibly talented mother made the cakes for our wedding and my sister's wedding. She is incredible. AND we knew the cakes would be delicious.

 

The four tier cake was almond flavor with traditional buttercream icing that was homemade. It was incredible...well the one bite I had haha! We didn't get to have much cake at the wedding =( BUT because mom made it - we can have it any time we want...or I can make it =)

  

  

She also made the groom's cake - italian creme cake from scratch. SO DELICIOUS! I can't believe how much cake was eaten by the 90 guests!

Check out The Magnolia Pair - there are TONS of blogs linking up and Her and her husband are just TOO ADORABLE!

Happy Friday!

Some Backsplash Action

Hi y'all!!! How are ya?! I'm doing alright - it is awfully dreary out today =( We need the rain 'round these here parts though so it isn't SO bad.

This past weekend, The Husband and I installed a tile backsplash in our kitchen.  It is something we wanted to do before we officially moved in but the funds weren't there. Like other home non-necessities, it was placed on hold. That was until last weekend! I am so happy we were able to get it done.

First things first - we had to pick out what we wanted. This was going to be difficult. I have been wanting to at least pick a design but couldn't settle on anything. My sister did hers a couple months ago and it kicked my desire for a backsplash into high gear.

I met The Husband at Home Depot after work on Friday and wandered around trying to figure out what we wanted. We were trying to stay away from doing anything on a 45 because our floor tiles are set at 45 degrees. He wanted rectangular tiles and I just wasn't seeing anything I loved. I found a display that was set on 45 degrees but I LOVED the layout and tiles together. So we strolled over to the tile section to look at all our options. We sat on the floor in Home Depot together for about an hour before making a decision.

We purchased 100 four inch square tiles, 6 bronze accent tiles, and 5 sheets of small glass tiles. We picked out the grout we thought would like nice and went to rent a tile saw from the rental department. By now, it is 7 PM and the store closes at 9PM. The nice lady at the rental center told us that if we have the saw back before 9AM the next morning, we would only be charged the 4 hour rate install of the full day rate! Unfortunately, that meant we would have to work as long as it took to get the tiles all cut and on the wall. We agreed we would do that and use Sunday as our relax day.

We got home and started around 9:30 after prepping everything. We worked hard and really well together - I started making cuts for the additional half row we would have right underneath the cabinets. That's right - I used the wet saw all by myself! That is the ONLY way would were going to get finished at a decent hour. The Husband did the rest of the tiling and I followed behind with the half tiles. We put in the next to last tile at 12:30!! Three hours to do a little more than 15 square feet...Now here is the really important lesson you can learn from us -- MAKE SURE YOU MEASURE THE DAY OR SO BEFORE BUYING MATERIAL! Seriously -- we were one HALF of ONE tile short....

So at 12:30, we went to bed. When we got to Home Depot Saturday morning to return the saw, we bought 1 tile and used a scratch cutter in the rental center to make our cut.

Sunday we grouted the tiles. On Tuesday night - we changed out all the outlets to brown because it looks SO much better than the white, and we siliconed the bottom of the tiles; between the last tile and the counter top. 

I am so happy with it! Here is the thing about me - I always feel whatever we decide to be a great idea. Then we start the project and I become very unsure of our decision. Looking at the before pictures - I absolutely adore the outcome!

 

Can you and your significant other work together on big projects?

{Recipe} Strawberry Cupcake-Brownies

Many of you have probably seen this amazing looking treat floating around on Pinterest. I saw them and wanted to make these for Valentine's Day. Well we ended up being super busy last weekend and then all week last week that these yummies had to be put on hold. I found time last night while The Husband made dinner! YAY!

The ORIGINAL recipe can be found at Allrecipes.com. Jen at I heart 2 stamp made the strawberry cake modification.

{Ingredients}

1 box brownies

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1 box Strawberry cake mix

3 egg whites

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/3 cup water

frosting!!

{Directions}

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper liners - or in my case, wipe butter on the inside of all the cups...seriously though - if you remember cup liners, those would be the better option =)

Whisk together the brownie mix, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl. stir just until fully incorporated; set aside.

Mix the cake mix, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 1/3 cup water, and 3 egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Spoon the brownie batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 1/3 full (or in my case - it is a half and half mix! oops haha!)

Spoon the cake batter over the brownie batter, until muffin cups are 2/3 full each (or completely full if you are me haha)

Bake in preheated over until 'golden' -- about 20 minutes.

We opted for cream cheese frosting - which was definitely the optimal choice =)

they were so so delicious. I am so happy that I decided to make these cupcake-brownie things. Seriously - they are so good. The house smelled wonderful; we couldn't decide if we smelled the strawberry cake or the brownies! For real - go make these, like NOW! =)

Do you like cake or cupcakes better?
Do you like trying new cupcakes?

I Confess I Have Relapsed

I confess...

I have relapsed.
It is so so sad - I have been doing so well.
Ugh!
I'm thinking if I blog about it - I will feel like I am being held more accountable....

I have fallen off my healthy eating train! I KNOW! "The Who-Manity!"
Today already I have had a pack of Fun-Dip - yes I hate. It isn't my fault someone brought in a bunch for Valentine's Day and I have no self-control today! AND I have had a kit-kat mini...I guess the saving grace so far is that they were both the individual candies.
I'm so ashamed!
Haha - OK it isn't THAT serious but now I feel bad because I have been eating a lot better over the past three weeks. I didn't think I would feel this bad but now I am sucking down water hoping to flush it out of my system and help settle my tummy! Ugh - stupid lack of self-control!

I confess...

I'm not an English teacher.
Incorrect grammar only mild annoys me but I don't judge
Misspelling only annoys me because there IS such thing as spell check - especially in electronic media.
The thing that really gets me is made up words that people use and think are ACTUAL words. Or even worse made up contractions! "I's" isn't a a word. that one probably grates on me the most. I'm sorry if you use it and we can still be friends - I'm not judging =) I love you! *smooch*

I confess...

I love Christmas trees
I love the lights and the decorations. I love the smell.
We didn't take down our Christmas tree until January 28th... *hang head in shame*
I know it was dead and pitiful but it was pretty when it was all lit up.

I confess...

John Mayer is one of the most annoying artists for me. That song "Say What you Need to Say" drives me bananas! Seriously - it's like, John - sweetie - just effing say it already hahaha =) The song feels like he just ran out of words and couldn't add to the song so it just repeats itself for an hour. so annoying!

I confess...

I am thrilled beyond belief that it is Friday! hooray!
and this is one of the funniest things I have ever seen....
 
Happy Friday!

What are you confessing?

Dating My Husband

Alright people - we are getting into the homestretch for the weekend! YAY!! This week has been so long for me - the days have flown by but the week is creepy crawling by.

The Husband and I have been together about 4.5 years...I know it is not that long in the grand scheme of things but it is my longest relationship.  Anyway - we have been so busy with the house and moving and then holidays and birthdays. Life is finally starting to slow down for us a little bit.  This means more time for us to be a couple again.

We have started dating again which includes a lot of laughter and flirting. I love it and I miss this aspect of our relationship - the dating.  I think dating your spouse is very important to the growth and nuturing of a marriage -- all dating; going out with friends, other couples, family. It is all so important, especially because you don't want to isolate yourselves from those that have been supporting your relationship and your growth, from family to friends who helped introduce you to one another to all the people who support you as a couple and as an individual.

So we went on a movie date on Saturday with my family. Tuesday we went out for Valentine's Day - nothing fancy. We had gift cards for Red Lobster so we went there and I had a really yummy meal: pecan crusted wood-grilled shrimp with a cherry glaze. DELICIOUS! I love spending one on one time with The Husband - and dates are always so much fun!

Last night we went on another date. We met after work and went to my favorite Mexican restaurant. I devoured that food - it was so delicious! Afterwards, we dropped off my car at his parent's house and went to the Magic game. We had pretty good seats - THANKS AERON! - and really enjoyed one another's company. We had so much fun.

    

As we walked back to our truck, J asked if I had fun. I told him I did. But I told him it wasn't necessarily fun because the game was awesome or anything. It was fun because we laughed a lot and goofed off and interacted on a friend level. This is an imperative part to my relationships. You have to stay friends; they should be your best friend.

The Husband is 100% my best friend - the person I want to talk to when anything happens, who I want to know things first.

Do you still date your significant other?
Do you flirt with them still?

WILW

Happy Day After Valentine's! Don't worry I won't do that every day haha! Today I am linking up with Jamie for

I'm Lovin these cute little heart measuring spoons that a vendor brought into The Husband's work.

He snatched them up and thought they would be perfect for me. He was right! I adore them! They are seriously SO SO adorable!

I'm Loving several different watches:

    

This weekend I decided I wanted a bigger watch - something a little chunkier. I have three pretty dainty watches. I love them - I feel like they are classy and sophisticated. I want something that is fun and a little more casual =)

I'm Loving that after nearly TWO YEARS, we finally took my wedding present from a dear friend and got it fitted. It is a beautiful watch and I just haven't remembered to take it up to our jeweler.

The guy who gave us the watches, had them engraved with our names and wedding date. So so sweet!

I'm Loving that when I asked The Husband to model his new jeans for me, this is what I got:

Yes - the Captain Morgan pose with a little booty shaking haha!

I'm Loving that The Hubs special ordered a cake for us to enjoy last night!

I'm Loving that he got me some Skittles - I LOVE skittles!!!

I can't wait to take them to the movies =) Yes - I'm the person who smuggles in snacks and goodies.

I'm Loving my amazing, super sweet husband. He makes me laugh and smile and we always have such an amazing time together -no matter what we are doing.

oh and BTW - to get this really nice smile out of him on the fourth try last night, I stood next to him and said "BBOOOOBBBIIIEEESSSS" - yes ladies, it is that simple hahaha =)

What are you loving?

Happy halfway through the week!

{Tutorial} Earring Display

Hello!! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

This past week The Husband and I worked on a project together. It was a lot of fun working with him and completing a project together. We have done a lot of projects together but it is like painting, installing floors, etc. We haven't done anything like this together - where it is 100% me telling him what I want/need and him trying to execute it. I was really pleased with the way it turned out =) You have seen this around Pinterest I am sure - if you are addicted like me lol - and I thought it looked really simple.

Hanging Earring Display

First I went to Home Depot and bought a 7' piece of moulding. It was $4.98 =)
Then, I went home and figured out where I would want to hang it. I thought I wanted to hang it right by the mirror in the master but turns out, I decided to hang it to the left of the bathroom door. We did the math and determined how much waste we would have and what was the biggest we could make it. I believe we decided that each side would be 20".
J measured the pieces, marked, and cut them.

  

It is a really good thing he did this because I would have wasted more than necessary. I didn't think about having to cut off the edge flat and making a new angle. Ladies - if you haven't cut wood for a project, maybe look up a tutorial or have your man do it. I don't mean to sound like a girl who can't handle a power tool - I can, I promise. I just didn't think about that tiny little detail of creating a new edge to make the correct angle =)

After he cut them, we laid them out on the floor to make sure all the cuts/angles lined up properly =)

The Husband used his nail gun to put it together and siliconed the joints so that when I painted it, there wouldn't be gaps =)

After the silicon dried, I took it outside and spray painted it with Rustoleum Satin Lagoon.

While it was drying, I unrolled some chicken wire and put some weight on each end, so it would flatten out some. Once the frame was completely dry, I cut chicken wire to fit and stapled it to the back of the frame.

 

The last thing I did was add a picture bracket so that I could hang it =)

I would do one of two things here - if you have a small hammer, USE IT. The EASIER option is to buy the brackets with the nails already secured to the bracket =) It is about $0.50 more than the one I bought.  It totally would have been worth it - however, at the time, I didn't think it would be a very big deal.

Last but not least - HANG it and add earrings =) WOO!

This project took probably 2 hours with the dry time. I sprayed a couple coats to make sure it was even and no white was showing through.

I made a thing for my necklaces that I will be sharing later this week AND I plan on making another for sunnies and other miscellaneous accessories =)

I hope y'all have a wonderful day today! =)