Random updates

I recognize that I have not posted in forever... I will try to do better. I know update posts can be boring, but I decided to give you an update list before returning to "regularly scheduled programming" :)

(1) I was so stressed Friday night for tons of different reasons...and stress makes my rosecea worse and I was upset about that too which wasn't helping matters.  Dave kept craking annoying jokes and I was so annoyed...until I realized what he was doing -- trying to make me laugh and calm down. He wanted me to quit stressing out and was trying to help the only way he knew how to. I sure am crazy about him. What a good guy. 

(2) I really liked Safe Haven, surprisingly.  I wanted to see it but thought it would be one of those movies I wanted to see and then didn't like. I liked it.  Dave was a trooper and sat through it - and actually enjoyed it, I think. It kindof has a fun twist which makes it more entertaining.  Certainly not a top ten movie, but worth a cold rainy friday night for sure.

(3)Isn't it great how God sometimes knows exactly what you need? Dave and I were scheduled for a jam packed weekend - I worked all day Saturday, then we were going to the Charity Ball with my family and then spending the day in the country Sunday with his family.  Then we had car trouble and had to spend a few hours replacing a part (okay, I just held the flashlight) and missed the Ball and ended up staying in town all sunday....

........and it was glorious! literally, best weekend in awhile. We have been grumpy with eachother with the stress of his job hunt and the wedding and marriage and we both agreed that a day curled up watching tv and movie and doing laundry and grocery shopping and researching san fran and stopping by the bookstore and cooking ahead for the week was WONDERFUL.  A day not stressing was just what I needed and God reminded me how blessed I am to be marrying sweet Dave. He truly is my favorite person to do anything or nothing with....and it was nice to have a day just being us, not reading about marriage or planning a wedding or looking up jobs.

(4) Wedding planning can be stressful. I am about to the point where all the big decisions are made and I am going to hand the rest off to my wedding planner and say, have fun.  I know what I like and don't like, but as far as specifics, she can make it work right?? I don't want to stress out so much that I miss the fun times with family and friends. 

(5) ARGO- best picture. Totally agree. Daniel Day Lewis - best actor. 100 percent agree with that too.  Seriously, see argo if you haven't. LOVED it and I really liked Lincoln as well.

(6) I've been back on my diet (yuck) -- I took literally a week to ten days off with family and friends in town, Vday and Mardi Gras.  I like sticking to a routine though and planning our meals ahead (I say our meals because Dave comes over for dinner maybe 3 times a week  --- he says its to see me, but I know its for the free food :) haha)  This week's menu includes: low carb chicken tacos, spaghetti (I make mine with zuchinni instead of noodles), chicken and rice/cucumbers, breakfast for dinner with turkey sausage instead of real sausage, lowcarb pizza.

(7) Before going back on my diet, I made this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Casserole (Dave loves Buffalo Chicken so I thought it would be a good fit) I actually really liked it!

You need these ingrediants:

• 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1/3 c. hot sauce
• 5c. red potatoes, grated w/ box grater
• 1 c. light ranch dressing/ blue cheese
• 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 (10 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 c. panko

 Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Grate potatoes and lay out and pat with a paper towel to try to get some of the moisture out.

In medium bowl, stir together chicken strips and buffalo sauce. Spoon into baking dish in a single layer.

In the same bowl, stir together potatoes, dressing, cheese and soup. Spread over chicken. Sprinkle panko evenly over the top.

Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

(8) I also discovered another yummy low carb lunch a couple sundays ago.  Pizza quesadillas.  I used a lowcarb wheat tortilla (4 net carbs) and spread a little low fat butter spread on one side and filled it with turkey sausage, parmeson and mozzerella and tomato sauce. If you have any fresh vegguies or chicken, you can add those as well.  Fold over like you would a quesadilla and cook in the skillet.  So good.  Like a healthy calzone

(9) My showers/parties are starting in less than a month...and confession: I am super excited about new clothes for these parties.  I am almost more excited about a few new sundresses than I am about my wedding dress.  Lets be honest, I will wear a new Lilly dress far more often than my wedding dress. I fully recognize that money may be tight the first year of marriage if we move and I have to take another bar exam and find a job, so I am fully enjoying the fact that I get new dresses now !!!

(10) My pillows for my new bedroom came in this week. I am super excited. Here is what it looks like.  I still have a ton to do - I want a white desk ( I found one that is a knockoff of the west elm parson's desk) and I want to paint my dresser gray (when we move)  I also need to add some artwork and get a headboard and this rug I am ordering from urban outfitters today. BUT atleast we have a start. Maybe I can get the room decor 50 percent there before I get married and we can do the rest later!

Can you tell the male influence?? I would never have guessed I would have a deer pillow on my bed, but since it will be our bed, I wanted a Dave pillow. (I am also considering one of those white deer heads from urban or west elm)

A Charlie Brown Christmas...

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner to show you how young poor 20somethings do Christmas decorations.  I have a few nicer pieces (like some adorable ornaments and a fabulous wreath!) but a lot of hand me downs and cheap dollar tree/walmart/target decorations.  I think I am going to invest in some day after Christmas decorations for next year.... thats often times where I find a few nice pieces!

The thing is, I have already hosted two Christmas get togethers and my roomie is hosting one next week, people always tell us our Christmas decorations are so festive -- which goes to show you that you can make your home feel cheery without having a lot of money.  I can't wait til the day I can afford fancier Christmas decorations -- BUT until then, my tips are: (1) walmart, dollar tree, target are your friends; (2) buy a few cute pieces from nicer stores and mix them in with your cheaper decorations; and (3) accept all handmedowns.

If you can only invest in 3 decorations: decorate a tree, buy a wreath and decorate your mantle.  These are the most bang for your buck!

I do have a fairly big collection of trees, santas, and snowmen...a few are from cute giftshops and a few are cheap ones from walmart etc all mixed in together!

I love this little candle holder... (a half off Christmas Eve purchase from a local gift shop!)

My Auburn tree - I think the crooked star is fitting for this season!

Cheap Tinsel from Dollar Tree mixed with my Christmas Village!

My roomate bought these sparkly bells and we hung them from the (ugly) light fixture!

This is by far, my favorite part of our holiday decorations -- my friend painted me that picture and we combined our Christmas trinkets and some hand me down stockings with lights to make a fairly substantial mantle for our little rental house.  Aren't those tinsel trees adorable? You can buy fancy ones for 10-20 bucks a pieces but mine were $1 each at dollar tree!

Our tree....yes, it is Charlie Brown-ish but it was 15 dollars on sale prelit!  Next year I want to buy a real tree but I knew that having a real one this year was near impossible because I (and my roomies) am gone so much and didn't know if I would water it enough!

An old tree from my mom that she used to put on our porch, I topped it off with a bow and some old school big colored lights for a fun little tree in our living room!

SUYL: what my FRIEND makes

Today I am linking up with SHOW US YOUR LIFE: SHOW WHAT YOU MAKE OR SELL and Kelly's Korner Blog.

Haha, I don't make anything..well sometimes I do, but I don't make anything worth selling. However, my friend Kristen makes gorgeous prints, scarfs, stationary. Her company is Thimblepress and here is some of the gorgeous stuff she makes.  You should all check it out....gorgeous stuff!  I have listed some of her products, but check the website out for more prints, notecards, coasters, bags.  She is quote talented and goes to tons of craft shows. Not to mention, she is affordable. Many prints are in the 20-30 dollar range!

The above pictures are her Jackson Collection. I have the entire collection and LOVE IT

Brent's Drugs (from Jackson Collection) - you may recognize this Jackson Staple from the movie, The Help.

Square Books in Oxford, MS

My favorite Jackson restaurant, Walkers -- it used to be a drive thru when my parents were my age, but now its an upscale restaurant!

Some of her fun notepads

The Oxford, MS collection (note: she also has a MSU Starkville collection, but I would never put that on my blog haha )

Mayflower Cafe - also recognizable from The Help

"The Grove" - a piece of heaven in Oxford Mississippi where the best tailgating I've ever taken a part of occurs

Her State flower collection - can't wait to buy my Mississippi Magnolia print!

City Grocery - the Oxford Bar where I spent many weekend nights and several friday afternoon on the porch watching the football fans arriving on the "Square" and sipping a glass of wine. I also occasionally splurged for the ritzy restaurant downstairs.

She just started screenprinting scarfs, shirts, etc. I don't think she has listed these on her website yet (although if you like her facebook page, you can see them!!)She has scarfs, shirts, and bags, you should check back with the site to see them.  Rumor has it, the orange and blue scarf is named "Katy" after a certain Auburn obsessed friend of hers :)

She has an entire collection of prints inspired by "It's a small world" at Disney World. This is my favorite of those!

New Bedroom

I am beginning to plan how I will decorate my room (BTW I moved 9 mths ago, but the rest of the house and the rest of my life seemed like a priority. I was thinking navy but gray and yellow is so hot right now and I am loving it. I don't love yellow on its own but I like it with this neutral.

So.... I am thinking Gray Yellow and White.  Here are my must haves.  I will do some later posts with inspiration rooms and fabrics I like, but here are my basics.

Give advice and tell me what you think.

1. CHEVRON

I want to start out with this rug from urban outfitters. I love chevron.

2. fabric headboard

I think I want a gray headboard, what do y'all think? Would Yellow pop more? especially since I have a gray rug? I was thinking gray just because if I change my bedding, gray would go with more options....that being said, its only fabric, so all I have to do is rip it off and put a new fabric on!

3. White comfortor/Duvet

I really want a clean white fluffy bedspread with colors in the furniture, accessories, pillows, headboard, lamps, artwork, window treatments, and throw.

4. IKAT fabric

I want this Ikat fabric -- which is quite pricy and sold out at the store that sells it, but you can buy pillows made out of it/fabric on etsy and ebay. I am considering buying a couple pillows and splurging on enough to make a blanket/duvet (one side of a duvet), throw for end of bed-- IE, a pop at the top of the bed and a pop at the bottom.  After I order this fabric, I will match other fabrics to it.

Here's an example of the pillows



5. matching artwork that plays off the theme

6. Faux white deerhead

This is from Urban Outfitters. My friend has one above her mantle and he's so fun. I have a fireplace in my bedroom (not functioning) with a mantle and thought how fun would a white dearhead be?

7. Painted furniture

I probably want just one piece of painted furniture-- to pop...What do yall think? Gray or Yellow?  I think I want a gray headboard so some type of yellow piece of furniture would be great.

8. Fun lamps on end table