How does she do it?

So my mom is amazing! Let me explain ... I just started working in a law firm (as you should know if you read my blog) and wear "business casual" attire everyday. Closed toe shoes are a part of that attire. Before starting work I didn't have very many dress shoes, but I did have my handy dandy pair of black Tory Burch shoes. I got them my senior year of HighSchool. So they were old and worn out ... but still great shoes. Much to my surprise they squeaked. This may not sound like a problem but trust me it was. With every step I would take everyone in the office would hear me. I called Tory Burch and they basically said sorry too bad.
soooooo... I told my mom this and she said Oh just give them to me and ill send them back and get you a new pair. I laughed at her and said there is NO WAY they will send you a brand new pair of shoes in place of this 5 year old ratty pair! I already tried! She said, "You just wait and see. I'll get you a new pair free of charge."
So I waited ...
and waited....
and yesterday she hand delivered a BRAND SPANKIN NEW PAIR OF SHOES! I can't believe it! How does she do it? She is amazing.

I have decided I need to be more assertive. She ALWAYS has this kind of thing happen. She always gets exactly what she wants, and can basically make people do what she wants. She is amazing.

1312 Bradford Lane

Well ... we went by the house yesterday to get an estimate on how much it would be to fix some of the things the inspector found. I made a mental note before we got there to take a picture, and somehow I remembered :). It isn't a great picture ... but it was the best I could do on my phone. You can't really see the left side of the house or the garage form this picture, but you can get a feel for what it is like.

Andy and I love the house! Why do we love it:

- It is old and charming. I LOVE old things. Andy says, "You love old things that are nice. That doesn't count as liking old things." But I think it does! I grew up in an old house, and I think it is how I developed a love for old houses. I don't like the new cookie-cutter phenomenon that has taken over with houses. Nothing wrong with them ... it just isn't me.
-It has hardwood and brick flooring. It is beautiful. I'm obsessed.
- It has a porch and a fenced in back yard :). A neat and secluded back yard. Colbie will like running around and playing in the grass.
-It has a fireplace! 2 actually. I love building fires.
-The master bath has 2 sinks. Thank goodness! I feel like Andy and I are always wanting to use the sink at the same time. This will be a really nice feature.

It is really fun to think about owning a home! This house is potentially where we will bring our first baby home ... weird. I am looking forward to decorating it and having people over. Yippee. I'll keep you updated on how everything turns out. That's all for now ...

September already?!?

Life is funny. Especially post-college life. Things are so different and a lot of change is happening, and time really does fly. But change is good! It has been hard for Andy and I to adjust to working ... and the time and demands that a job places on you. Working has made us appreciate time off, and time together a whole lot more. We have been keeping ourselves busy in our free time:)

Last Thursday Andy played on a church basketball team with his brother and some of his friends. It was fun watching him play. I miss watching him play baseball ... so it was fun to watch him in his "sport element" again.

Here they are praying before the game starts. Tender.

Friday night Andy worked and I went to a dollar (which is really $2.50... DUMB) movie with friends. We saw Spider Man. After the movie I felt like I had spidie powers ... it may have been because it was late and I haven't seen that hour in a long time ... but I came home and shot out my arm at Andy and pretended like I was spider mad. He laughed. I'm silly.

Saturday Colbie and I spent the morning together! She came with me on a bunch of errands and then visited with Uncle Brett while I walked with Aunt Calli. She loves going "bye bye." Everytime you ask her if she wants to go "bye bye" she gets SOOO excited. She wags her tail and runs all around the room. Then when I get her bag down from the closet she runs over to it and hops right into it and lays down on her own.



Andy and I supported the Vols in our orange shirts and sunglasses all day. GBO! I'm so glad it is football season ... and I can't wait for the Florida game on Saturday.

We had good intentions to go to the game Saturday ... but when it started pouring rain we opted out. We ended up going to the Condo with my fam and watching football on TV, and then we all went to dinner. We went to Chophouse (YUM) so I would say it was a good trade off.

Sunday after church Andy and I picked up Pizza and took it to our friend Chris's house. We watched golf and baseball ...and then played in the pool. It was very relaxing!

Sunday night we grilled out. It was the perfect way to end the weekend. Oh and we got our very first Tomato! So naturally we picked it and ate it with dinner.

In other news ... we might have purchased a house :):):):)! We started looking (kinda just for the heck of it) and ended up finding one we love. It is the cutest little house ... I just want to give the house a hug. We made an offer and had it inspected so as long as everything clears we will be homeowners ... yes HOMEOWNERS. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 1312 Bradford Lane 37919. If you live in Knoxville drive by and see it ... you will want to give it a hug too!

If you knew me you would know that ...

1. I LOVE oatmeal. The old fashioned kind.
2. I am a mini version of my dad
3. Laying in the sun is one of my favorite things to do
4. I go to Chick-fil-a atleast 3 times a week. Chargrilled Chicken Sandwhich with no pickle pleaseeeee
5. I like to run. I ran a marathon once. But now I only run a couple times a week.
6. I am oober organized and have a color coded calendar. Andy is red. I am purple. Birthdays/Events are Green. Things we do together are Orange :). Yup.
7. I am a morning person. I love mornings. There are few things better than sitting drinking a cup of coffee, having a quiet time, and then watching the Today Show. Ahhhhh
8. I started dating Andy when I was 13 years old. He knows me better than anyone on this earth, and I am so blessed to have him as my husband.
9. I was a cheerleader. Looking back I had fun but I wish I would have done a more athletic sport (no offense to anyone who was/is a cheerleader).
10. Runaway Bride is my all time FAV movie! I have watched it atleast 25 times. Maggie Carpenter: "I am profoundly and irreversibly screwed up."
11. I like to Scrapbook. I have a scrapbook for every year of my life. Starting with 9th grade.
12. One time I cut my hair for locks of love and I looked like a boy. It was bad.
13. Froyo is my guilty pleasure.
14. I am a dog lover. All kinds. Big. Medium. Small. Extra Small.
15. I could spend my entire pay check at Jcrew if my husband would let me.
16. I have lived in Knoxville all my life.
17. I want to go to Italy. (side note ... Andy is part Italian. Cool right?!)
18. When I get cold my legs develop purple splotches
19. I like to invest in people. I am a people person
20. I know every word to Zippity Do Da. My dad and I used to sing it every morning on the way to school.

It's the freakin weekend

Well our weekend started out with me working and Andy going to a braves game. Boo me working. Two good family friends offered us tickets to the game. I couldn't get off work so Andy and his Mom went. I wish I could have gone just to see Andy's face as he walked up to Turner field. He glows walking form the car to the stadium ... that is how much he loves Braves baseball. The braves lost but he still had a lot of fun!

I spend my Friday night cheering on the Vols. It was fun to watch them win. I am really looking forward to the home game this Saturday. T.E.NN.E.SS.EE!

My Saturday consisted of walking with my sister, laying in the sun :), driving around Knoxville, and most importantly catching up on housework. My weeks are so full I always get behind on keeping everything straight. Andy helps me out a lot during the week which is super great. Andy does laundry for us one week day and on Saturdays I always do laundry (because he usually works). The first thing I do when I wake up is take the sheets off the bed and start a load of whites. I've been told it is weird that I wash our sheets every Saturday ... but I'm a clean freak. Colbie helps me do laundry. Aka she sits on the clean clothes I have folded.

Saturday is one of the only days our bed gets made because I am always the last one out of it. Andy doens't see the point in making the bed ... he says, "We are just going to  get right back in it in a couple hours." But I like for the bed to be made, so when I'm the last one out I make it!

Saturday night one of our best family friends got engaged. We celebrated by all going to lunch on Sunday after church. I love people getting engaged. It is so much fun! Mom took videos instead of pictures ... so this is the best I could do on capturing the moment...

Sunday night Andy and I had shrimp pasta. It was delicious ... and super easy!

I spent Sunday afternoon preparing food for the week to come. I usually cook some meals ahead of time and freeze them. I cooked beans (beans beans they are good for your heart ... you konw the rest :). I had to soak them overnight and then simmer them for a couple hours the next day. I'm going to take them in my lunch this week. Yum.

We also went to a friends house on the lake to celebrate labor day. It was a beautiful house! The boys watched golf and hit golf balls into the lake. 

Like I mentioned earlier ... some of our weekend was spent driving around Knoxville. Andy and I are in the process of "house hunting." And oh my ... I didn't realize what a process it is. We had fun driving around and looking at different areas though. It is exciting to even be thinking about owning a home!

My Current Obsessions

I have come to terms with the fact that I go through periods of time where I get really obsessed with something :). Some of my obsessions last for a really long time (such as oatmeal) and others come and go. I thought I would share some of the things I looooove right now ...

1. The newspaper.

This is new for me. In the past I haven't really kept up with current events ... by haven't really I mean NEVER. Now because of my job I read the newspaper daily. Fox News is also constantly playing in the office I work in, so I am really "in the know" on what is going on around the world. Robin you would be really proud. 

2. Chick-fil-a diet lemonade.

YUM! I love this stuff. It is addictive. I crave it pretty much on the daily.

3. OPI "Minnie" Collection.
I have always loved red nailpolish. It is very classic and classy. I recently got my toes done and picked this Minnie Red color. It is a bright red with a hint of shimmer in it. If you like reds try it out.  

4. Bare Minerals.

Need I say more? The name says it all. I love how natural and fresh it looks. It isn't caked on like alot of makeups, and it stays on all day.

5. White Iodine.

You could be familiar with White Iodine ... but you if you aren't I am about to enlighten you! It is a toxic substance that is only sold in drug stores. My great-grandmother got my entire family hooked on this stuff. Put it on any bump/blemish/pimple and it will be gone in a matter of days! Warning: It smells really strong and it turns your skin yellow. I usually put it on at night and wash it off in the morning.

6. Tory Burch Shoes.

Obsessed with the shoe. Not the price.

7. Trader Joe's.

Or TJ's as I like to call it. Obsession doesn't do justice for how I feel about this new grocery store in Knoxville. They have great prices and really fresh produce.

8. Fondue.

I love Fondue! Andy and I do it atleast twice a month. It is just so great ... and easy. We usually do a red wine based broth and cook beef, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, potatoes, and broccoli.

9. Hair Ties.

If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet you should. These things are amazing. I can leave one in my hair all day and when I take my hair down it is perfectly straight.

10. Containers.

Yes containers. About a month ago I went to the container store in Nashville. This was very dangerous because I love to organize ... so I wanted to buy everything in the store. I got all different size containers to pack my lunch in. I have loved them. This picture is one of the smallest containers I got. Almost on the daily I pack it to the top full of nuts for my mid-morning snack.

Creamed Chicken

Last night Andy and I ate creamed chicken. Creamed Chicken and my Mimi go hand in hand. When Calli and I were younger and my parents would go out of town we would always stay with Mimi and Grandaddy (my moms parents). EVERY SINGLE TIME we stayed with her she would let us pick what she would make for dinner and EVERY SINGLE TIME we asked her to make creamed chicken. I don't know why we always picked it because Mimi could make just about anything. She is a fantastic cook.

Mimi's Creamed Chicken

The good stuff:

-Chicken (I use boneless skinless chicken tenders ... but anything will work)

-Hard Boiled Eggs

-Frozen Peas

-1 Jar Pimentos

-Cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and cream of celery soup (1 can each)

-Mushrooms and celery (optional)

-Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the chicken ahead of time. I usually boil it because it is easiest. Then combine cooked chicken with all the other ingredients in a saucepan. Heat on low until all the flavors mix.

Serve on rice or a piece of toast with cranberry sauce (yes like what you eat at Thanksgiving). What you serve it on is key. It is what makes it yummy!

The only hard part about this recipe is that Mimi doesn't measure anything. She just eyeballs everything. So you just have to guess/make do. No matter what it will turn out yummy. You can't mess up creamed chicken :)!