A little Update

Well we are having a great time. We made it to Positano yesterday and were absolutely beat. We slept until 11 this morning.The picture I posted earlier was from our balcony. I don't know how good they are because I have to use Brandon's phone but don't worry I have taken plenty...like 700 plenty so far.

Florence was great but the Tuscany region was my favorite and we had a great tour guide Alessandro. Leigh Anne I took a picture for you :) Today we are spending some time at the beach and then Brandon and I are going to explore some of the shops. Girls you would not believe the shoes and purses. There is a bag I have my eye on but am trying to get the best deal without getting fake leather. Ok well I guess that is it for now. Tomorrow we will head to Capri. Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. Ciao!

Good Morning from the Amalfi Coast

Lunch in Tuscany

Scenes from Italy

Bon Voyage!

Well we're off! We will be heading to Nashville tonight to meet up with my sister and her husband before getting on a plane Tuesday to head to Italy. I am so excited I feel like I am about to crawl out of my skin. Our bags are packed, and as you can see I have packed ONLY the essentials. Can you imagine a Chihuahua in Italy? I can't that is why I took him out of my suitcase after this picture and told him it would only be 10 days and his uncle Alan would take good care of him and his sisters.

I'm not sure about my blogging capabilities Internationally and to be quite honest...I don't really care all that much {I'm Sorry}. I have my journal packed and will be taking precise notes...well at least as precise as I am capable of. I hope you will all be ready for about a month long recap of EVERY aspect of Italy...because that is exactly what I plan on doing when I return. Nothing in my life will be exciting enough to trump that kind of material for a while.

So I hope everyone has a wonderful next 10 days and I will be back sometime after May 29th...Don't miss me too much!

Crunch Time

Please excuse the lack of posting in the coming days. We are really getting into crunch time and I feel like I have a list a mile long running through my brain of all the things I need to get done. Thanks to Holly I was able to steal her washer/dryer to get a couple loads of laundry done. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I'm sure my room will probably look like this later this weekend.



This is not my room I can assure you. I have never built-a-bear {sad but true} or been to TopShop for that matter...however I do enjoy a Toblerone and some sour straws every once in awhile...maybe I can just get Brandon to pack for me....

Silly husband....he would try to stuff all those clothes in a tiny suitcase.

Anyway, we will be running around like crazy people this weekend trying to tie up loose ends in between a wedding, wedding shower, and other various planned activities...should make for an exciting weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will leave you with this:

If I happen across this place and it is for sale for around $100 I will not be coming back. Just so you know.

Travel 101 For Dummies Version

It is very important when traveling to be prepared, especially when you are traveling internationally. Most normal people would first make sure that their passports are in order. I like to consider myself normal so check and check.

Ok, so maybe I am not so normal because check and...Oh NO ! That's right folks there I was Monday night almost a week out from our trip to Italy when I just happened to go in search of our passports. Of course I knew where mine was, right where I had put it after our honeymoon. I was a little more concerned about Brandon's. He has had it for a really long time and I was afraid we would pull it out and it would be expired, or worse yet that we couldn't find it because it was not with mine. However, the joke was on me when I pulled out my passport, flipped it open and saw my MAIDEN name printed across the page...yep... Oh Crap... I immediately got on the phone with my sister to discuss. This issue had never NEVER crossed my mind....probably because the last time I had used it I was married...at least legally... but all of my tickets were obviously in my maiden name...doh. So after an hour making phone calls and discussing the options we really had only one choice to guarentee I was able to get a passport in time...we were taking a road trip!



We literally threw clothes in a bag...my house looks like a tornado came through....put the dogs in their crates and headed to Kinko's {FedEx office...whatever} to get my passport pictures. It was about 9:45pm at this point so as you can imagine I have the BEST passport photo ever. You know it is bad when a young guy is taking the picture and he keeps saying he is going to take one more. Finally, I said you know what I don't care it just needs to get stuck on a passport to get me to Italy. By 10pm we were on our way to Mobile for the first leg of our journey.

I have no pictures of any of this so I will fast forward. The next morning we woke up got back in the car and continued our trip. I will take a few moments to say Brandon was really great through this whole ordeal. I can laugh at it now because it is over, but I was so mad at myself that night for being so dumb to not even check my passport a little before now. He never once twice got irritated with me, dropped everything to go with me {he has a final TODAY} , and even drove the whole way there and back...so thank you babe...I love you.

So we continued on our trip. We left with plenty of time to get there...I was anxiously watching the arrival time on the Garmin...we were 15 miles away when things came to a screeching halt. We were on a bridge to what seemed like nowhere over a vast expanse of water when traffic stopped....just stopped....as in not moving an inch stopped. It was at this moment that I had had all I thought I could take and I was looking at Brandon seeing he had had all he could take and then I heard Brandon having all he could take...so I just stared into the peaceful water hoping that if I wasn't going to make it on time, maybe I would just sink to the bottom of whatever body of water we happened to be suspended over, but they were tightening the bolts on the bridge so that wouldn't happen, hence the stopping.

We finally made it...on time...and I have to hand it to the government this was not anything like the local DMV where I had to go back 4 times to get a stinking license {I had been envisioning this scenario the entire way there}. Everyone was smiling...laughing.... telling jokes. We walked right up to the window handed them my paperwork...and they said come back in 3 hours to pick up my passport....I promise...cross my heart hope to die stick a needle in my eye....that is how it happened. I know, I couldn't believe it either.

Since we had three hours to kill, we had a nice little mini vacation in the French Quarter trying to make lemonade with our lemons. How about some pictures?








So we walked around, I took pictures, Brandon typed away on his blackberry, I took pictures, then we grabbed some lunch somewhere we just wandered into....and I took pictures.



Then we walked around some more and took pictures



I wanted to move into this beauty even though it was a Pizza shop...but hey that could work out nicely too.




I wanted to steal this patio set....LOVED it....I wish I had a picture of the name of the restaurant because I would call and tell them if they ever want to get rid of them to call me....they'd be perfect in a cheery shade of yellow...on my patio.



How cute are these? If they hadn't been a little out of my budget I probably would have brought a couple of cows home with me.

By now our blood sugar was getting a little low with all the walking so we headed to Cafe du Monde for some beignets...their specialty.....I had never had them before....YUM!


This picture was taken post me digging in and shortly after I took this Brandon finished off the rest. We walked some more for good measure after gorging ourselves and then headed to get my passport.



All in all, it was a good day considering the circumstances that brought us to New Orleans. I had never been so I got to see it, spend some QT with Brandon, and most importantly I walked away with a passport. I am sure Brandon might tell a different story, but this is my blog. Oh and I did get a couple extra souvenirs while I was there.

A Recipe So Easy Even I Can Do It

Disclaimer : I am not a cook by any stretch of the imagination. Now that we have that all cleared up and your expectations are low let's proceed.

I thought I would share this gem of a recipe since, as the title states, it is so easy even I can make it and it is so yummy. It's my mother in laws recipe {if it's your grandmother's I am sorry this is just the first person I heard it from} for green bean bundles and I made it Saturday night when we went to their house to grill out.{a BIG risk I know...and no they were not as good as hers}. Ok, enough with the small talk let's get cooking.

Here is what you will need:

You will need more than one can of green beans...at least two...I had just already thrown the other cans away.

Oh and silly me this....I forgot to take it out of the refrigerator when I was taking pictures..I'm really on a roll...do you see now why it needs to be easy?



Open your cans of green beans and drain them....not bone dry just give them a few extra shakes after you pour out the liquid and then dump them in a casserole dish...Pyrex...Corning Ware ....whatever you happened to register for when you got married.



You need pay close attention b/c this can get confusing {not really I just like to think of this as a bigger accomplishment than it was}. Proportions: for every TWO cans of green beans you will use 3/4 of a cup brown sugar and 2 tsp mustard powder.



{Here comes the confusing part} This can get really sweet really fast so if you are using more than two cans start with 3/4 cup brown sugar and go from there {I do double the mustard powder proportionally because I like the kick...its all about personal taste here...so taste as you go}. I used three cans of green beans because I really like to confuse myself and make things harder. There were going to be 6 of us at dinner and I usually estimate 2-3 bundles per person and this was just the right amount.

Mix this all up...don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. It works great to make the bean mixture the night before so it really has time to marinate. I didn't think that far ahead so I just stuck it in the refrigerator for a couple hours....or you don't even have to do that if you don't feel like it.



Next is the really strenuous part. Take your pack of bacon and cut it in half so you have short strips of bacon {I used about an entire pack of bacon for my 3 cans}. Then grab a handful of beans and drop them in the middle of a half strip of bacon and wrap...it's not an exact science...at least not in my house...but I have never been confused for being type A.

{those were for you type A people}

Line your bundles up in your pan as you go. I had to use two pans b/c my three cans made 18 bundles and I could only get 12 in my 9x12 Pyrex.



Bake on 350 for about 30 min or until the bacon is crisp. I broiled mine for just a couple minutes at the end to really crisp it up....{just watch the syrupy mixture in the bottom b/c I almost smoked everyone out of the kitchen}. I had taken these to my in-laws house to bake them so that was awesome. That is also why I have no pictures of the finished product...and there were none left over....so sorry....you'll have to use your imagination. If you are going to bake and then transport I would suggest just tenting the foil over the pan otherwise your bacon will get soggy {so I have heard} and who likes soggy bacon? These really are great and not hard...so please try them!


Ending Disclaimer: I realize after looking over this post that some of these pictures are horrible and I apologize...my kitchen is Terribly {with a capital T} lit which does not make for a great portrait studio....that and I am still figuring out how to use my camera.

Friday Fun

Here's a little something to get your brain working on a Friday morning. I saw this on Pioneer Woman's site...and then proceeded to stare at it for about 10 minutes trying to figure it out. I haven't had my coffee yet so it is no surprise that I had to Google it to get the answer {I'm still trying to figure it out}. I still thought it was fun in a I like to make myself feel stupid kind of way... Enjoy and Happy Friday!

A man was looking at a portrait. Someone asked him, "Whose picture are you looking at?" He replied: "Brothers and sisters have I none, but this man's father is my father's son."

Whose picture was the man looking at?

Solution

Backyard News

Since I don't want to leave a message of hate at the top of my blog, I'll come back with a brief post and a couple more pictures from our weekend. It's really not exciting at all and you can probably skip this post entirely, but it was a big transformation to us and our white trash backyard.

I have mentioned before that our builder chose to build our house on the biggest lump of clay/rock that he could find. So now, as a family tradition, we gather around on a Saturday morning in the spring to throw sand on our yard {It's kind of like those barn raising parties way back when... minus the barn...much to my dismay}. If only it would turn our backyard into a beach and an ocean would show up to the party I would probably be more ok with the manual labor.



Here is our yard post sand and pre mulch....I didn't get a before picture because the in laws pulled up with the sand and we started shoveling and spreading. This is also after my mother in-law so graciously weeded the bed that I have let grow wild the past few months. I have been blessed with great in-laws who are always willing to help out, and it made the work go much faster. My brother in-law is also the one with the truck so without him this wouldn't have been possible...thanks Al!



Ahhh....yes here is a picture taken not too long ago of the weedy/rocky mess that is our backyard. Don't worry Max is not dead...I have not killed them yet for destroying my honeysuckle....he is just worthless {but cute}.



And here is the after...I know HUGE transformation...If something would actually bloom back there it might make more of a statement, but for now it looks 1,000 times better to us and I will not be so embarrassed to have people see our backyard.

In other backyard news, here are a couple pictures of some things that are blooming.

{ Zucchini}

{Tomatoes}

And finally, I figured out what to do with one of my $1 Michael's spur of the moment purchases.

Stamp = $1

20 pack of blank tags = $1.99
Paint = already had
Handwriting = Terrible with a capital T

My Dryer Hates Me...

....and the feeling is mutual

One Man's Trash...

I have taken a little grief here and there over my trash loving ways. I will admit that I have made my husband pull over while I grab something that somebody has set out with their trash. {They were perfectly good planters and I made sure they were not marked for charity} I think it embarrasses him and probably his family too, but that's ok I have no shame...or money to be spending on new planters.

Anyway, I have had the itch recently to hit up some of the local yard/estate sales to see what I could find. When we first moved into our house two years ago I was all inspired to decorate and get settled in. I made a little progress and then ran out of steam/money/decision making capabilities. Since I had Saturday morning free, and I would have been staring at Brandon waiting for him to wake up anyway, I was up and out and on my way.

I bought a plate at the first yard sale {I have a dish problem} and then headed to the second estate sale...as soon as I pulled up I wished we had a bigger car. There was a china cabinet to die for two club type chairs that needed recovering but at $15 that was a pretty darn good deal, and various other things like old books that I didn't need. I managed to gain my composure and remind myself that I didn't have a dining room for the china cabinet or a place for two chairs...not to mention I have one sitting in our upstairs bedroom waiting to be upholstered. {I don't have any pictures because I was too busy guarding the pile of things I needed really really wanted} I will probably be kicking myself over those chairs for the next 5 years because if I had gone back on Sunday and they were there they would have been $7.50...how can you beat that...but oh well...I am sure there will be plenty of estate sales between now and the time I have a place to put them.

Moving on...I did manage to score a few other items and I only spent about $20...I know...this could be a problem.





so I did end up with two chairs...but I thought they would be a little more practical and easily stored than the other two. The green one needs some sanding and a serious coat of paint, but the yellow one is pretty much good to go...until I decide it should be another color. The little table I was thinking is the perfect size to put a cute cushion on the top and turn it into a bench to sit at the end of our guest bed....{the big table in the background belongs to my mother in law who, lucky for me, needed somewhere to store it}. The footstool I just thought was cute and who doesn't need a footstool? Let's take a closer look at some of my favorite finds...





How great is the large fork and spoon set? They need a coat of paint...but that is no big deal and I love them. I think Pottery Barn used to have some that I liked, but they cost an arm, a leg, and maybe a firstborn so these were a much better deal at $5. In the background is the plate I bought at the first stop and I can hear my sister gagging now because she HATES that kind of stuff...cause her house looks like this...



and it's also for sale in case anyone is looking for a house in Nashville. I bet you are glad you sent me those pictures now aren't you sis?

Now, back to the Pièce{s} de résistance....the teacups

Oh the teacups are my favorite {I told you I had a dish problem}. They are the perfect shade of Robbin's egg blue...they were $0.70 apiece and they will look perfect in this...

photo from countryliving.com

OK OK... so I don't have this...yet...it's one of those things that I rip out to put in my idea binder for that house I'll have one day...but I thought I should go ahead and be proactive and start buying the dishes.

I'll be back with part two of our weekend at some point...but my dryer burned up {again} this weekend and I need to try to find another motor on ebay...so I can at least have clean laundry to take on our trip, and then I will deal with the fact that our dryer hates me later.