more on fall break + high five for friday

This week I'm going to be linking up with Lauren Elizabeth at High Five for Friday!  It's been a long time since I've participated in this one, but I'm excited to start doing it again!

1. Fall break was very busy.  I got a lot done!  I desperately needed a break from the 106 moody teenagers I deal with daily.  I was able to get a lot of household things done that I have been putting off and visit family!  I had a great passenger for all of my travels...

2. Our first stop was to see my grandma.  We were able to spend the entire afternoon with her!  My aunt came over, and we helped her put a pumpkin together.  It was really cute!  That night, my dad took my grandma and I to see the Barefoot Contessa!  It was a really neat show.  I enjoyed listening to her talk about her love for cooking and tips.

3. Hazel has had quite the exhausting week.  She has played hard.  She plays especially hard with my sister's dog Margo.  We went over late one night and let the two puppies play around.  It was really fun.  When I got back to Athens, David and I went to a beautiful wedding at the Melting Point!  We had such a great time!

4. The next morning, David ran in a half marathon!  It was a great morning for it!  I drank some Dunkin' coffee while he trotted along.  Hazel got to go as well, and again, wore her out!  However, we managed to get a family photo!

She smiled, don't you think?  These few days back have been stressful reminders of why I needed this break in the first place!  But my little bulldawg is getting me through!  Can't wait to snuggle with her all weekend!

5. And best for last!  Today is my beautiful mama's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to an amazing woman!  I love you so much mama!

strong women and onions

Grandmas are awesome right?

I've been very fortunate to have two awesome grandmothers in my life.  Both demonstrated what strong women do when faced with tough times.  I've watched both of them live without the loves of their lives at different points, and both of them handled it with much grace.  And in my eyes, they both "can do" anything.  Seriously, anything.  Especially cook!  Maybe that's where I got my love for it?  

Now my mama's mother is the only grandparent I still have living.  Since my grandfather passed away in February 2011, I have gotten to know a whole new side of her.  Living without my grandfather has been hard, and its created challenges for her.  But she has handled it far better than anyone could have imagined.  

My Grandma and I on my wedding day!

Every time I'm with her, I learn something new.  One day, I learned that she was the first baton twirler Arizona State University, and another day, how to sew a button on.  I enjoyed my summer vacations, because I get to spend more time with her.  During the school year I live an hour and a half away from her, so we have to settle for phone calls.  She always makes a point to call and tell me when watermelons are on sale, because she knows David loves them.  She loves her family well.

This past summer, she taught me to make a few simple recipes.  We went through a cookbook that came with her first microwave oven!  One night, she took my mama and I to a huge dinner.  When we got back to her place, she said she wanted to show me how to cook an onion.  We were stuffed but also intrigued.

She took a small dish and put a whole sweet onion in it.  She sliced it down all of the sides like a blooming onion.  Then, smeared butter over it and covered it in lemon pepper.  Lastly, she covered it in saran wrap and stuck in the microwave for 5 minutes.

When it came out, I couldn't believe my eyes!  It smelled amazing.  It just fell apart!  The butter had soaked in and the onion was so tender!  When mama and I tasted it, we were impressed.  The lemon pepper flavor was not strong.  It was just perfect--melt in your mouth perfect.

Since then I have made David a couple of what we call fake "blooming onions."  And each one takes me back to that night, sitting in her kitchen.

Fake Blooming Onion

Serving 2

1 sweet onion

1 tbsp butter (or spray it down with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!)

Lemon pepper

Place onion in small microwave safe dish.  Make slices down the sides of the onion to create a petal effect.  Smear butter all over the onion.  Cover in lemon pepper (to your liking).

Microwave for 5 minutes or until onion is fall apart tender.

ENJOY the sweet goodness!

Hazel has two places she loves to lay while I'm in the kitchen.  I couldn't help but capture her latest spot on camera!

see ya starbucks

Today, Hazel and I went to spend some time with Grandma!  And boy did she wear Hazel out!  My little pup has been happily sleeping ever since.  We went to lunch and came home to play with Hazel for a few hours.  Can't wait to do it some more tomorrow!  Hazel and Grandma bonded and snuggled today!

But more about that in a few, first, I NEED to tell you about how I've been starting my days!

That's right, I don't need you anymore Starbucks!

One of my doctors recommended that I get serious about drinking coffee every morning.

So what have I done?

Started drinking coffee every morning!

I've been drawn to two different coffee brands recently, Caribou and Seattle's Best. While they are both so good, I have honestly fallen in love with Caribou coffee. Yummmmmy.  My mama and I were trying to decide what the best way to inhale lots of coffee in the morning would be in the summertime.  Immediately, I knew I wanted iced coffee.  I would get too hot drinking hot coffee all the time!  So one afternoon we brewed a pot of coffee to experiment with.  And we quickly fell in love with our concoction.

We brew 12 cups of coffee at a time and chill it over night, so that it is ready to go in the morning!  

Iced Coffee

(As shown above)

16 ounces brewed coffee chilled

Splash of unsweetened almond milk to your liking

1 packet of Splenda/Truvia/Etc.

Crushed ice

Stir together and enjoy :)

This new and very easy drink has been kicking my days off in the best way!  Giving me lots of energy!  And I'm glad I had it today, because Grandma and Hazel kept me busy!  Grandma played ball with Hazel and then they snuggled! Now I have one tired puppy!

Happy Tuesday!

vacay!

Last week my school went on intercession.

Woohoo a week off!

We have our tennis region tournament during spring break this year, so I knew I had to take advantage of it.  My mama and grandma very generously took me to the beach for the week!  Boy, am I thankful for all the sun and my tan!

Welcome to Hollywood Beach, Florida! So beautiful!

 The first night, we went to Taverna Opa!  We had a very good experience!  It was so entertaining and fun!  Here are grandma and I!  At the beginning of our meal they brought out garbanzo beans that had been marinated in olive oil and mixed with garlic in a mortar bowl.  The waitress showed us how to make our own hummus with the pestle!  It was so neat and yummy!

 Here are three generations standing outside the restaurant!!

It was really windy at night!

 On another evening, we ventured over to Le Tub.  Their burger was rated one of the best in the US by GQ Magazine and Oprah!  So of course we had to go try it!!  

The burger lived up to all burger hopes and dreams.  It was exceptional!

The atmosphere was awesome.  We were sitting waterside enjoying our dinner!

Now that I'm back, I promise to be a better blogger!  I'm looking forward to make my own hummus recipe and trying some other new recipes I will post soon!

Hope you are having a great week!

skinny taco soup

I went home with Hazel for my 4 day weekend to give the hubs some serious study space, visit my parents and visit the doctor.  Full weekend some might say!

We (me and Hazel) jammed to my 90s playlist on Spotify on the way.

No lie... she loves it.

I got the chance to see my whole family, including two of my precious cousins.

Hazel enjoyed everyone's company (maybe too much!)  She was tuckered out when we got home! We celebrated my sister being halfway done with medical school at the Marietta Diner with my Grandma!

I had chicken souvlaki and a salad.  My sister got a piece of California Cake (partially cake and partially cheesecake...yum!)

When I got back I was on a mission.  I wanted to get all of our dinners prepared for the week.

I whipped up some Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken for tomorrow.  But for tonight, we are having Skinny Taco Soup!

I'm always trying to think of hearty and healthy meals for my hubby to take to school for lunch.  It's even better if its a one dish/grab-and-go situation for him!

So here you have it! Coming in at less than 300 calories a serving!

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey

2 cans Bush's black beans

1 can Bush's dark kidney beans drained

1 can Bush's pinto beans drained

1 cans fire-roasted Hunt's diced tomatoes

1 can Campbell's tomato soup

1 medium sized can (or two small cans) of sliced black olives drained

1 small can diced green chiles drained

1 packets Old El Paso Mild Taco Seasoning

(Optional: 1 can of drained corn)

Directions:

Brown the meat and drain grease.

Dump everything into a soup pot.

Bring to boil for a few minutes.  Then simmer for 20 minutes.

ENJOY and Happy Monday!

oooo christmas tree

Two weeks ago, David and I decided to go pick out our Christmas tree after his second final.  Only, we couldn't wait that long!  Full of excitement for the SEC Championship yesterday, it made studying Friday night very difficult.  SO we went on a much needed study break for David, and picked out the perfect tree!

First, I got a fresh wreath at Trader Joes!  It was a great deal and is so pretty on our porch!

Then we went over Home Depot to start our little adventure.  We searched and searched before heading across the street to Lowe's.  We untied trees and spun several of them around before we found our little angel.  And she's perfect.

I asked the man who was going to trim her up for us if he could saw just a half inch of the trunk off for me.  He looked at me like I was crazy!  Little did he know I was going to make an ornament out of it!  I had seen the idea on Pinterest and was determined.  And now, David and I have a little reminder of our first Christmas tree!

David tied her to our roof and off we went!

That's when the decorating fun began for me :)

I watched Christmas in Rockefeller Center, strung the lights, hung ornaments, and drank hot chocolate.

And lastly, put a bow on top!

What was really fun about the process was looking through all of the ornaments David and I have, which is not many!  From visiting the Alamo with my Dad a couple summers ago, to an ornament made entirely with buttons from my Gramma's collection, and our honeymoon, the memories were good.

 Lastly, my Grandmother had given me her tree skirt.  She quilted it herself and I love it.  It added the perfect touch to our little tree.

I hope you are having a Merry little Christmas so far :)

fall break

i've been on fall break this week and it has been fantastic!

the weekend was so amazing. we had friends over for the game and david and i spent sunday relaxing.

so perfect.

i finally got my house in order to have our first overnight guests!  heres a preview!

i also got all of our fall decor out.  and purchased some mini pumpkins :)

on monday i traveled to marietta for a doctor's appointment and stayed with my grandma two days!

we had a great time!

the first night, my sister and i took her to get a real italian (extremely delicious) pizza at antico.

only the best pizza you'll ever eat. EVER.

the next morning my sweet cousins (twins), also on fall break meet us for a j. christophers brunch and bingo at grandmas!  we had such a good time playing bingo! they told me all about their jump roping demo team and school. and they are super precious 5th graders.

grandma and i celebrated our time together at the marietta diner.

amazing food (greek, italian, american and breakfast)!

even prettier cakes.

we had TONS of leftovers.

i loved my time with grandma.

and the best for last.

my husband is going to be an AMAZING lawyer.

he dominated this tournament at school and made the mock trial team.

it was so fun getting to see him in action.

he. was. awesome.

words can't describe it.

you'll want to hire him one day, that's for sure.

i hope you have a happy weekend!

ours will be filled with weddings and fall leaves.