Jam-Packed Weekend!

This weekend our friends, Jay & Claire, got married! Joseph was a groomsman in the wedding so it was a fun weekend full of festivities! Jay and Joseph go way back and have known each other since their early school days. They also are fraternity brothers in Lambda Chi Alpha at UA. They have a long history and friendship, and he was in our wedding as well. 

The fun started Friday when we traveled to Gadsden for the rehearsal/dinner. Joseph did his thing at the church while I caught up with my friend Amanda (whose husband also served as a groomsman) in the pews. We all went to school together and haven't seen each other in years and it was great to see her. After that, was the dinner at The Gadsden Country Club. It was the most fun after-rehearsal dinner EVER! Food, drinks, friends, laughs, embarrassing pictures, and toasts. It was a great night and I had so much fun catching up with some sweet friends. 

 Me and Catherine (I bummed the pic from her FB)

And another, just 'cause I love her!

My handsome hubby! He gave a sweet toast. :)

We drove back home that night since my mom was staying with Hudson. She went home (even though we asked her to stay b/c it was LATE!) and came back the next day to stay with Hudson again. We like to keep him in his environment as much as possible. We're pretty protective of his routine and don't like to inconvenience him if we don't have to. It's just not fair to him. And he really can't sleep in a pack 'n play anywhere. He moves like CRAZY in his sleep and that thing is barely bigger than he is. ANYWAY.......I don't have to justify myself, but just felt the need to throw that in.

We went back to Gadsden Saturday afternoon for Joseph to get to the church for pictures. We decided to stay in a hotel since it would be another late night and we would need to get some sleep. After I dropped Joseph off at the church, I drove around a bit before heading back to the hotel to get ready. I went to see Rae Rae & Fatdaddy at the cemetery, which I hadn't been able to do since they passed. It was nice to be out there by myself, just spending a few minutes with them, especially since Father's Day was the next day.....emotional, but nice.

So I got myself all spiffy, which doesn't happen too often these days, and took myself to the church. It was beautiful, sweet, and perfect. I always get emotional at weddings, especially those of close friends, and even more especially when my husband is in them. I can't help it. I look at him and can remember, like it was yesterday, standing in a crowded church vowing to love him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. I'd do it again right now, no doubt about it!!

They had the choir from Galilee Baptist Church sing "Oh Happy Day" as they left. It. Was. AWESOME! We got to hear them at the rehearsal, but it was NOTHING like the real thing! AMAZING. That's really all I can say. The groomsmen, and Jay, came up to sing with them, and it was great! They brought the house down, for sure.

We headed to the reception for the PARTY!! Everything, once again, was beautiful and lovely. 

We met up with our sweet Baileys to chat, and for a photo-op! Love them SO much! Forrest began his first day as Dr. Forrest Bailey DDM yesterday! We're so proud of him! We went to school with them as well and Forrest is also Joseph's (and Jay's) fraternity brother, and they were both in our wedding ages ago. ;-)

I mean, is this a cake or what????!!! Gorgeous!

LOVE this man!

We partied the night away and actually made it all the way until the couple made their departure. We even went to an after-party but only lasted about 45 minutes or so. We were dead! HA! It was SUCH a good time and we so enjoyed getting to catch up with all of our friends! Somebody else get married so we can do it again!!! :-)

We woke up Sunday morning...a lil later than planned....and headed back home to Huntsville. We were so glad to see little man! He was glad to see us too, but he had a great time with his Sue-Sue. She took great care of him and they had a blast together. We took it easy and relaxed until it was time to head to Guntersville for dinner at Top 'O The River with Joseph's parents, brother and his NEW WIFE! It was our first time seeing them since their wedding 1 month ago today! We ate, caught up, walked to the water for some pics, then headed home. We were dead and Hudson was just NOT having it! (new teeth have been driving him crazy!)

We kept Father's Day simple, but we did get our SWEET daddy a few of his favorites SWEETS! I couldn't have a better daddy for my baby boy. He's amazing. He's the best husband too. We're so blessed, Hudson and I!

A little family pic by the water. The sun was very bright!

A pic with Kerrie....

And a pic with Adam.....

I didn't get to see my sweet daddy on Father's Day, but I did get to talk to him after he got off work. (come August 30th that will be over!! YAY!!) I'm blessed with the best daddy in the world and I mean that. He's better to me than I deserve, and he always has been. I have two of the best examples of parents in my life and I'm so thankful!

I hope you all had a great weekend. We're heading to the beach soon and I could not be more ready for a vacation!!! Whoop Whoop!! Have a great week, y'all!

Birchbox is HERE!!

And I'm so excited!!! It came today so I haven't really gotten to use any of the things in it, but I wanted to show you what came in it.

 This was my first Birchbox so I hadn't seen how they package them. They're really cute.

This month's lineup:

- Cynthia Rowley Dress Up Band-Aids - cute, fashionable ways to cover a boo-boo.

- The card behind those is about artspace.com, with a coupon for $25 off my first purchase. They have all kinds of art from all kinds of artists. I haven't checked it out yet, but I will.

- Scalisi Skincare Anti-Aging Moisturizer - It has an SPF 30 and helps fight wrinkles. I know, I know, I'm 28 years old, but it's never too soon to start using wrinkle cream, and I do have some lines around my eyes I need to work on. I'm actually really excited about this. I've been looking to start using a wrinkle cream and I'm anxious to try this out!

- theBalm cosmetics - Stainiac in Beauty Queen. It's a lip/cheek stain and I can't wait to see how it looks!

- Borghese Botanico Eye Compresses - These pads perk up jetlagged eyes with witch hazel and goldenseal extracts. Great for days when you're dragging a little bit. (I think this stay-at-home mom will like these!)

-  Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint - This tinted moisturizer has supposedly gotten great reviews, so I'm excited to try it too. I love new makeup!!

- John Varvatos Star USA Cologne - In honor of Father's Day, they threw in a Birchbox Man Extra. This cologne smells AMAZING!!! I seriously want to go buy the full-size version right now!! It smells a lot like Curve to me, which is my FAVORITE cologne ever. Joseph used to wear it all. the. time. (mostly because I bought it for him) and this smells so much like it, and even better in my opinion.

I am really diggin' the goodies in this box. Like I said before, they send you samples based on what you put in your profile. I addressed wrinkle concerns (for my eyes) and the fact that I love trying new makeup, for example. I will definitely be trying these products out and am pretty excited about it. Can't wait to see what next month's box has in store for me!!! I'll be enjoying these babies until then. :-)

Birthday Weekend

Sunday, I celebrated my 28th birthday, er I mean...my 8th 21st birthday!! It's hard to believe I'm 2 years away from 30, and 2.5 weeks from my 10 year HS reunion. It just seems to have flown by way too fast, and it can't possibly be time for my reunion. Funny how I used to think 30 was old. HA! Boy, what was I thinkin'?

Anyway, my birthday isn't really a big deal to me and it's usually just celebrated with family and maybe dinner out or something. Since it fell on a Sunday, I got to have a big birthday weekend and had so much fun!! The weekend started out great by having dinner at Bonefish with our friends, Craig & Wendy. We also went to see Prometheus...in 3D!!!! WOWZERS!! It was crazy! We had some great food, laughs, and a much needed night out with friends. My wonderful in-laws kept Hudson for us at our house so we could go out! Thank you both SO much! Saturday, my parents came up to take me out to lunch. We went to Connor's at Bridgestreet and it was so good. Joseph and I went there for our anniversary in December and loved it. We walked and shopped around the beautiful outdoor mall, had some frozen yogurt, then headed home for Hudson to nap (NOT!).  It was a great day and I'm glad my Dad was off so he could join the fun! (We won't have to worry about that anymore in just a few months....he's RETIRING at the end of August!!!)

Here are a few pics from Saturday.....

Digging into his lunch, evident from the food all over his face! And looks like my Dad right here, BTW

Silliness.

My boy loves to eat. And my hubby is handsome....well, Hudson is too, of course!

Face stuffed with bread. You're welcome, Dad! :)

HA, this just cracks me up....

Hudson and his "Sue-Sue".

 Sunday, it was rainy and gloomy all day. We kept it pretty low-key. We did, however, grill steaks and a couple chicken kabobs on the covered patio for lunch, along with the fixings. It was delish!!

Joseph went to get a few groceries we needed that morning, and came back with something that wasn't on the list.......

My first Edible Arrangement!!! It was SOOOOOOO GOOD!!!! It had chocolate, as well as peanut butter covered apples, chocolate covered strawberries, and chocolate/PB covered bananas (divine!!). DELICIOUS! Thanks boys!!

We also went to the mall and got me a couple of new dresses. Someone threatened to get a big cookie AND some donuts while we were out....I think the death stare I gave said "someone" saved my waist-line from those bad boys!! It was bad enough I had cake, ice cream, and more chocolate covered goodies waiting on me at home...which is exactly what I had for dinner! HEY, calories don't count on your birthday!! Right??  I'm happy to report that my birthday weekend did not adversely affect my weight loss, thankyouverymuch!!!

My boys and family made it a very special birthday for me and I'm so appreciative. 

Lastly, a few pics of me and my lil man on my 8th 21st birthday! :-)

Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches

So, turns out that BBQ chicken I had in the crockpot yesterday.....well, it is absolutely, positively DELICIOUS!!!! I told you I'd share the recipe if it was worthy, so here ya go!!

After a couple pictures to make you drool all over your keyboard........

Alright, here's the recipe:

Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches

Ingredients: (the original recipe called for 6 frozen breasts, but there's only 2 of us, and Hudson, who ate a tiny bit, so I halved it. I used fresh chicken, too.)

3 raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Half of a 12oz bottle barbecue sauce

1/4 cup Italian dressing

1/8 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Place chicken in crockpot. I realize that's a brand, and it's actually called a "slow-cooker", but I call them all crockpots. 

Mix last 4 ingredients together, then pour over chicken.

Let cook on low for about 4 hours, then shred chicken. Mine fell apart and shredded beautifully!!

Cook for another hour or so, then drop to warm for another hour or so. 

I started mine earlier in the morning, so I kept it on low for a couple hours, 'cause we weren't ready to eat it. It didn't get dry and was super moist, tender, and flavorful. I stirred it occasionally, to redistribute the juices and sauce.

We had sandwiches, but this could easily be put in a salad, or served alone. It had a ton of flavor and was very moist.  It was so easy, and I might just make it a weekly dinner!! Depending on what kind of BBQ sauce and dressing you use, you can make this even more healthy than it already is. I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce (my favorite), Fat-free Italian dressing, and low-sodium Worcestershire sauce.

YUM YUM!!! Hope you like it!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!

Shrimp Tacos with Culantro (yes, culantro)-Lime Sauce

Right now, my house(which I should be cleaning) is beginning to smell glorious. In about 6 hours, we will be having a delicious dinner of crockpot pulled BBQ chicken sammiches.....yes, I said sammiches. If it tastes as good as it's smelling, we're in for a treat! I'll share the recipe tomorrow. You won't believe how easy it is! I might tackle some potato salad to go with them....we'll see how brave I get. Potato salad is NOT my forte, believe me. I've tried. Repeatedly. Can't get it right. I'd say we'll just have potato chips, but since I don't allow those in my house from fear that I'll eat the whole bag.......

Oh, so the title says something about shrimp tacos! I've been in a cooking rut lately, and have been relying on frozen pizza, quick pasta dishes, skillet meals, or just some cold cereal for dinner the last couple weeks. I was tired of that mess and decided I wanted a fresh, light dinner. Also had to be quick and easy, 'cause let's face it.....if it takes longer than 20 minutes to prep and get cookin', I ain't doin' it. Otherwise, I'd have a toddler pulling on my pants, demanding my attention, pulling absolutely everything he can out of the cabinets, and all other distractions you can think up. It just ain't worth it some days. But yesterday we went to the store to pick up a few things and I got some ingredients for these tacos that I found on Pinterest. I've pinned ALL of these wonderful recipes thinking, "I'm going to cook a delicious new dish EVERY night!" HA! Pssshhhhhh. Yea, right. BUT, I tackled these bad boys and was so pleased with them. They are quick, easy, (relatively) healthy, and tasty! Lemme repeat that....QUICK, EASY, HEALTHY, TASTY!! 

Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom......

Mmmm, there's nothing better than a light, fresh shrimp taco!! The original recipe can be found here, but I did a couple things different. Next time, I may do things a little more different still.

Shrimp Tacos w/ Culantro-Lime Sauce

Ingredients:

- 1 lb frozen shrimp defrosted, peeled & deveined (I used frozen raw, deveined shrimp and had to peel them the rest of the way. It was pretty quick and easy, though. You could use fresh, of course.)

- 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt, any brand you like

- 1/4 cup fresh (gotta be fresh for this!) chopped Culantro. **Now, culantro....for some reason my store didn't have Cilantro...may have been out or something because they've had it before. I got this instead because it has basically the same taste but says it keeps a little longer. I'll use the real thing next time, just to see the difference. It can be strong, so start with a little, taste, and add more if you like.**

- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. Again, add a little and taste. Add more if you like it hot. I don't like things too spicy.

- Shredded lettuce - however much you'd like in your taco. Totally preference here.

- 5-7 tortillas, depending on how much you stuff yours. :-) (I used a low carb, high fiber whole wheat tortilla that has only 50, yes 50 calories per tortilla!!! Amazing, and they tasted good too!)

- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

- S&P to taste

Directions:

Heat tortillas in dry skillet until warm and starting to form small brown spots. Set aside on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm.

Mix yogurt, culantro(or cilantro), lime juice, cayenne, and a lil bit of salt in bowl. (adjust seasonings to taste)

Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in nonstick skillet.

  

Cut shrimp in half, or thirds if you got really big shrimp. Throw in skillet, season with s&p and a dash of cayenne, and cook over medium heat until cooked through. They cook up in a few minutes, so watch them closely!

Build your taco, adding a layer of sauce, lettuce, then shrimp. Enjoy!!

I hope you enjoy this like I did. Amounts of ingredients can be customized to your tastes. If you're not a Greek yogurt fan, try sour cream instead.

I'll have the recipe for the pulled BBQ chicken sammiches tomorrow, if I think it's worthy. Like I said earlier, though, if it tastes the way it smells, it's a winner!!! Y'all have a great Thursday!!

Wordless Wednesday

Dancing to the washing machine. Typical.

Adding a few things to the grocery list. ;-)

Birchbox

So, I've been hearing about this whole Birchbox thing for a while now and decided to see what it is all about. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can go here. It's basically this little box that's delivered to your door every month (for just $10/month...cancel anytime!!) and is filled with all these little beauty product goodies to try. They're samples of products they select for you based on a profile you create and you can try them out and see how you like them. If you love them, you can purchase the full-size products on their website. Some of them are high-end brands that you can't find everywhere. Anyway, I decided to give it a try and my first box will be on its way in a few days!! I'm so stinkin' excited! First of all, I LOVE getting packages...who DOESN'T!!??? Second of all, I LOOOOOOVEEEE beauty products. That may be hard to believe for some of you, ha, but I really do. I love trying new makeups, hair products, NAIL POLISHES!! (I am a nail polish hoarder!)

Exhibit A....

(I hate that my rings don't sit right, because they're too big. Good problem to have, though, I guess.)

I've had this color on for a few days and it's time for a touch-up. I'm usually a nude nail color person(they're always painted my fave nude color, and believe me, I've tried every nude color out there, and my favorite is Ballet Slippers by Essie), but every now and then I like to try out some fun colors. This is Sally Hansen, Barely Blue Bell. It's kind of a teal-ish Tiffany Blue color. Fun for Summer! Now, this will only last for about a week and then I'll get tired of the color and go back to the nude for a while. I like to change it up some, though. I have learned from experience that I HATE color on my toenails. I just like the way they look SO much better with a nude shade on them. I feel like nude is just more classy and sophisticated, too, so that's what I go for most of the time on my nails. It's timeless and appropriate for all occasions. Random, I know. This whole post is random, and I realize that. I just wanted to share the Birchbox with you, and I'll do a post when I get it and might do one each month when I receive the box in the mail. I can't wait to get my first one!! :) 

Hope y'all are having a Terrific Tuesday!! Yes, I am that corny person! ;-)

Oh, and if you decide you want to sign up for the box, go here and I'll get points for referring you! Thanks y'all!!