A Bit Fallish But Who Cares!

*I liked to take a moment and express my deepest sympathies to those victims in yesterdays horrific Boston Marathon events! Prayers are continuous and I hope that they can all find peace and comfort during this time! Boston, you will prevail and evil... evil will never win!*

A few weeks ago one of my favorite local go to lunch spots {Gourmet Gang} had this to-die-for salad as a special! Anything with pumpkin and goat cheese is a win in my book so I had to give it a try! Who knew I could fall deeply in love with a salad?! After devouring this goodness I knew I would have to recreate it at home and of course add a little meatiness {the shrimp} to it for the hubby!

What You Will Need:

1 pound of shrimp {I use frozen but you can use fresh if you'd like}
1 bag of Ready to Eat Leaf Spinach or Baby Spinach
Goat Cheese
Sunflower Seeds
Dried Cranberries
Roasted Sweet Potatoes

For the Dressing:
Pumpkin Butter
Apple Cider Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

{If you noticed I don't have any measurements so just eyeball how much you would prefer}

Pumpkin Butter-Shrimp-Goat Cheese-Sweet Potatoes- Spinach- Sunflower Seeds-Dried Cranberries

Directions:

Peel, Cut and Cube Sweet Potatoes {One Sweet Potato should be PLENTY}. Toss in Extra Virgin Olive Oil until fully coated.

Spread out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

While roasting sweet potatoes sauté shrimp until cooked thoroughly.

After shrimp and sweet potatoes are finished cooking, fill bowls with spinach, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries. Then top with goat cheese, shrimp and sweet potatoes.

To make your dressing combine equal parts pumpkin butter, apple cider vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl and mix together until blended. 

Drizzle over salad and ENJOY!!!

XoXo,

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Hey Hey Wednesday! So good to see you!! Only means Friday is that much closer!!! Curious to know what I'm loving today? Welp, you've come to the right place!

1. My dad's birthday today! Yep, the old man is another year older! 51 to be exact! Last year we had a little surprise party for him and from what my brother said last night, Dad has decided to take it easy and not do anything this year! Lord knows he needs some relaxation! I mean being the Captain for the Fire Department and in charge of training a bunch of young bucks has got to be exhausting! Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!!

My Stepmom, Sister, Dad and Brother with me during our Wedding Reception! 

2. The fact that I know of two people who I've gotten hooked on White Collar! Yes my dear loves, Kelly and Brandi have become addicted to the show! Brandi even texted me last night informing me that she almost freaked on her hubby because he almost deleted the taping of the summer finale!! I will say this... if she hadn't figured it out already, Mrs. Brandi is in for a shocking surprise when she watches it!! I'm just bummed I've got to wait to January to have my Tuesday night dates with Mr. Bomer!

3. Seeing the first drafts and workings of my new blog design!! Oh how excited I am! The title looks freaking fabulous and I can't wait to see what my designer has in store for the rest! Ashlyn and I are hoping to kick it off on Novemeber 1st! So be on the look out! Gaaaaah! I seriously can't wait to reveal it to all of you!

4. Going dark for Fall! Yep Yep Yep... I'm officially going dark, dark hair that is for the Fall and hopefully for eternity! I've decided the blonde/dirty blonde just isn't my thing anymore and I definitely prefer my brunette locks over bleached ones! It's easier to maintain, looks richer and healthier, and is honestly, my true natural hair color! I'm all about excepting myself, natural color and all!

5. Fall Candles! I've been burning them like crazy in the house and I love how our home smells! So very cozy and full of scents like, pumpkin, apple cider, cinnamon and spice, vanilla, and pecan pralines! I actually plan on stocking up on more scents tonight when I head to good ole Wally World to pick up a few items! Their large jar candles {think Yankee size} are actually fabulous smelling AND way cheaper than Yankee! I'm still trying to figure out why I only burn candles in the Fall and Winter though!! Not a huge candle burner in the warm months!

Hope y'all are having an awesome week so far and that if you were in the wake of those crazy storms on the East coast yesterday that you all are safe and sound! Happy Wednesday my loves!

Lastly, if you follow me on Instagram and happened to like my dinner last night, come back tomorrow as I'll be posting the easy peasy recipe!

XoXo,

Weekend Recap!

Howdy Hoooo! So yes I realize I did not post but only two days last week! Forgive me as I did not plan out my blog week, as I should have, and couldn't find the time or motivation to write! Ooops! I'll try to do better this week!

Be prepared for photo overload! We had a pretty productive and full weekend! Well kinda sorta. More like a full Saturday and a productive Sunday! Friday evening, I made the hubby's favorite meal {meatloaf, in case you didn't know or wanted to know}, we relaxed a bit and then headed to bed at a decent hour in preparation for Saturday!

My step-sister-in-law, her hubby, and my nephew and niece live in Northern VA. They actually live a stones throw from George Mason {which I find pretty cool since I went there for two years of my college career}. Anywho, my niece's 4th Birthday party was Saturday and considering we've never been able to make it to one of her birthdays, the hubby and I decided to go! To drive this in a day is possible but spending 6 hours in the car {if not more because you NEVER know how traffic will be} is not my cup of tea, nor the hubby's, and nor my in-laws... so we flew!

I may have also failed to tell y'all that my step-father-in-law {we will call him B} is a pilot. He pilots a personal jet for a doctor who travels constantly, between here, NOVA, NYC, and any other place he wants to go! "B" also has his own personal Comanche plane that used to belong to his father, it holds some serious sentimental value, and it comes in handy when "B" and "A" {my mother-in-law} take day, overnight, or weekend trips. Considering Saturday was a day trip and the plane sits 4, we were in luck!

The Birthday Party was at the Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon! What a unique place! It's home to the last working farm in Fairfax county AND has a public equestrian facility. There are animals everywhere, from sheep to pigs, to goats, to roosters, to peacocks, to cows and so on and so on! They also have an on site carousal for the kids to ride! My favorite part was the equestrian facility. As many of you know I used to ride horses and I miss it, a lot! Being in the barn and smelling the familiar smells of hay, leather, horses, and yes... poo... all brought back some amazing memories of my younger years! What I would give to get back in the saddle again. Why I ever stopped riding, I will never understand, I guess I just got "too cool" for it and thought boys and cheerleading were more important.

I'm pretty sure my niece had the best birthday ever, not to mention she got some pretty awesome gifts! Annnnnnd the one we gave her seemed to be one of her favorites! It was a Puppy Spa, a little furry stuffed dog {that she named, Maria} that came with brushes and combs, bows and jewels, a necklace and crown and a few other little things! She carried it around with her the majority of the day and I'm quite ticked I didn't get a picture of her with it!

After flying back home Saturday evening we literally spent a few hours cuddling with Baby Reef and then hit the sack! I'm pretty sure I turned out the light before 10:30! I mean we did get up at 6 a.m.... we were beat!

Yesterday, the hubs got up and went surfing while I slept in a few extra hours. Once I woke up though I was ready to roll! One of the most productive Sunday's I have had in some time! I did a TON of laundry, ironed, started AND completed a Pinterest craft, meal planned for this week, went to the grocery store, folded all of the laundry, picked up around the house, decorated a bit more for Fall, watched my Skins lose {Thanks Morgan... you need an attitude adjustment!} and finally worked on the blog! Listing it all out, doesn't seem to be that much, but I was on the move ALL day! SN: The hubby did vacuum for me... I wasn't doing ALL the work!

None the less, here is my photo dump of the weekend! Enjoy!!!! 

Our ride for the day! 

 Private Jets at Dulles! This wasn't even half of them! 

Kinda scary! 

The Birthday Princess!!!

Frying Pan Farm! 

Goats! 

Wilbur's Cousins! 

Our new little friend! 

If only I could have opened that stall! 

Nostalgic! A barn used to be my home away from home! 

My Pinterest Craft! A Book of all of our Wedding Day Cards! 

I'm kind of in love with it! 

Love my baby boy! 

Hope y'all had fabulous weekends as well!!! Wishing you lots of love for a great week ahead!!!

XoXo,

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy HUMP DAY {Nikki B. that's all for you}, actually it's for everyone but Nikki appreciates my capital letters and we enjoy inappropriate innuendos! I hope you all are having fabulous weeks so far! My week has been pretty darn stellar and I'm very much looking forward to our weekend coming up!!! What are y'all loving this week?! Well, here is what I'm loving!

1. The fall temperatures we have been experiencing this week in ole Hampton Roads! Today is supposed to be in the lower 80's but yesterday and Monday the temps were in the 70's and it was AMAZEBALLS! The mornings have actually been chilly and I had to use my seat warmers today in the ride!

It doesnt look like this yet.... but I cant wait till it does!

2. My blate last night with Ashlyn from Let it Be Beautiful! Love this girl to pieces! We enjoyed Starbucks, chatted about life, talked about design options for my new blog, and grabbed Chipotle for dinner! We may or may not have had to divert ourselves away from a drunken wacko too! Perfect little gals date night if I do say so myself minus that wack job though!

3. Reflecting on 9/11. I failed to write a post yesterday, because I just didn't know what to say. I wanted it to be a tribute to 9/11 but every time I went to write, I just couldn't form the words. So instead I spent the day reading everyone else's reflections, watching recaps of that tragic event that changed our history books, and reading news article after article. I still cry reading, watching and hearing about it. I still remember where I was when it happened. I still pray for all of those who were effected by this horrible insane event. I am an emotional person as it is and this literally can send me over the edge to the point that I had to turn off the Today show and take a break from reading every one's personal reflections. Every one's words for amazing and beautiful and beyond reflective and honoring to such a history changing event!

4. My current read, Amazing Gracie. I'm pretty sure this book will send me into tears at some point, as it kind of already has. It's another inspiring doggy story and I can't wait to read more! The first night I started I couldn't put it down! Gracie is a deaf, albino, Great Dane, and this is a story about how she inspired those around her! How could you not enjoy a read like that?

5. Baby Reef's first day of school! Yes, we enrolled Reef in doggie daycare last week and his first day was today! We only have him scheduled for once a week which I think will be good to start with. We are not sure if we will increase it or not... maybe later on in the coming months. Who knows?! He seemed really excited when we got there and they took him to the back so fast, I hardly had time to say goodbye! Probably a good thing as I got teary eyed {once again} when I got in the car! I hope he is having a blast and making new friends! I can't wait to pick him up after work and hear all about how he did!


On his way to his first day of school!



XoXo,

Weekend Recap!

Whew, what a weekend! It was a good one to say the least but as always, it went by too fast! It had a mix of fun and relaxation, which is much needed considering the rest of the month and basically the entire month of October are booked solid!

Friday night the hubby took me out for a random sushi date! I'm pretty sure he was treating me to dinner out since we actually cooked dinner every night last week AND to say "sorry" for the fact that Fall Ball has started and now my Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings are spent at home without him! Lucky for me, I added my other gym class on Thursdays AND I have a blate tomorrow night, so that leaves only Wednesday of being home a lone this week! The hubby knows not to apologize for his love of ball! It's his thing... believe it or not... I like a few hours to myself. Allows me to work on my bloggy here and just catch a breather or two... ALONE!

Finally after almost 3 weeks of being without it, I got my wedding sparkle all soldered and cleaned, back! I feel whole again! Or at least not naked! 

Anywho, after our scrumptious sushi date, we Redboxed... duhn duhn duhhhhhn... The Hunger Games! I actually really enjoyed it! It wasn't completely how I had envisioned in my imagination but it actually clarified a few things for me! The hubby ended up enjoying it too... once the "killings" started to occur! How morbid!? I definitely think I'll be buying it on DVD!

Saturday morning we went to watch my 9 year old Brother -in-laws... {yes I said it right.... I have a 9 year old Brother-in-law} first football game! Like Todd, he has been drilled with Baseball all 9 years of his life, and we can already tell he is going to like Football a heck of a lot better! They are beyond cute in all of their gear and resembles bobble heads while trying to hold up those helmets on their skinny little bodies! His team ended up winning which made it that much more worthy, considering it was hot as the dickens Saturday! I'm pretty sure I lost 15 pounds just standing their watching!

My Brother-in-laws football team! The MoHawks... and that ole man on the field happens to be my Father -in-law! He says he's the coach but Im pretty sure all I saw was him being the Water Boy! ha! 

After the game, we came home and cleaned out my little old Civic and then I drove it up to the car wash to have it cleaned inside and out as we were taking it to get appraised! It was probably the cleanest it has ever been since I bought it over seven years ago! We took it to Car Max first, where they appraised it in about 30 minutes! They gave us a decent deal considering the damage to my front and back bumpers {damn those trees that pop up out of nowhere!}. Once we received that offer we headed to a Volvo dealership where we had found the XC60 that we have been searching for for the last 3 months! They appraised my car, matched Car Max's offer, and before I knew it we were owners of a new car! Holy Crap right?! I still can't believe it and I've been driving it for two days! I'm really glad we took our time on finding what we wanted because in the end we got the best deal possible! Patience is a virtue, right? I'd like to think so! Non-the-less the vehicle is everything I hoped it would be and more and now that we've upgraded to a crossover SUV, the baby questions are coming! Well guess what folks.... the baby plans have not changed and we are not planning for one anytime soon! Plus, Baby Reef isn't ready to share his momma and daddy with someone else anyway. He told me that the other night!

Saying Peace Out to the Civic. Truth be told, I got teary eyed as I walked away. That car has been through A LOT with me! Lots of memories I'd like to remember and forget! 

Our new set of wheels!!! Technically my new set of wheels, but the hubby is allowed to drive it every now and again!

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day. The hubby had to work a few hours that morning and I was just starting to enjoy my morning cup of coffee when he got home! While out working, he noticed that Kroger was having a special on 6 packs of beer so he grabbed my Kroger card, my new car, and headed out to get some beverages, all before 11 am! I'm not a huge beer drinker but I am a huge pumpkin fan so he picked up Blue Moon's Pumpkin Beer and Wood Chuck's Pumpkin Cider for me and then two other "flavors" for him! I have had the Blue Moon Pumpkin before and it really does taste like a pumpkin pie, minus the sugar. The Wood Chuck on the other hand, I was kind of disappointed in! I was expecting pumpkin pie but instead got... well I don't really know... it tasted like wildflowers to me! ha! It's not bad, just not pumpkin! After our beer tasting, we watched my Redskins win, took the traditional Sunday afternoon naps and then grilled burgers for dinner after our weekly trip to the grocery store to pick up food for dinner this week! 

We are not raging alky's I promise!!! 

Baby Reef enjoying the perfect weather!!! 

Did y'all have stellar weekends?! I'm hoping to work on a few house things this upcoming Sunday, but I'm not holding my breath! I may just cruise around in my new set of wheels if the weather permits!

XoXo,

Three Day Weekend Recap!

Happy Tuesday - May the odds be ever in your favor! Ha Okay Okay I'll admit I finally read The Hunger Games trilogy and now I will never every forget the line! More on the books a little later in the post! How was everyones Labor Day weekend?! Ours was a mix of housework, fun, and relaxation! Honestly, quite a perfect 3 day weekend, if I do say so myself!!

Friday evening we went to dinner with my hubby, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece! Jen and Marin were visiting from NOVA since my brother-in-law and nephew were having a boys weekend in Baltimore at a car race! It gave us a chance to celebrate Jen's birthday a little early, as her birthday was actually yesterday! We had dinner at my old serving stomping grounds, California Pizza Kitchen, and were actually lucky enough to have Jonathan {a very close friend of ours} wait on us! I hadn't been there in so long and it was great to see old familiar faces! Dinner was great and the company was even better! Marin will be 4 in a few weeks and she is seriously one of the smartest children I know! She ordered her own drinks and dinner and made us color for a solid 10 minutes. If we stopped she informed us to keep going! She's too precious though and if a child like her asks you to color... well you do it, no questions asked, even if you're reaching across the table to do so!

My SIL and My precious Niece! 

Saturday, HELLO SEPTEMBER 1st, I slept in later than normal. I may or may not have been up late reading and finishing Catching Fire! Once we got up and moving I celebrated the first day of September with my very first Pumpkin Spice coffee! Ohhh the smell... Ohhh the flavor... ignites so much excitement for the arrival of fall! After being lazy for a bit, the hubs and I decided to do some yardwork! We cleaned off our patio, picked up debris from the roofers, cleaned out the shed, cut the grass, and pulled weeds! It was actually quite productive and we even threw away junk that was taking up room in the shed! After our hard work we ate a late lunch, lounged a bit, and then got ourselves together for our typical Saturday night date night!

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin! 

The Oceanfront was hosting their annual American Music Festival this weekend and since my uber awesome boss gave us a residential neighborhood parking pass we decided to check it out! We had dinner at Prime 103, which happens to be the restaurant of an old high school friend and then ventured out to the beach! We knew Carbon Leaf was playing a free concert and since I knew who they were, that's where we went! While we were out, my neighbor called asking if we would let out her dog, Aldo, who happens to be a chocolate lab, because she wasn't going to be home during the night. I told her we wouldn't just let him out, we would let him stay with us, so he and Baby Reef could have a pup sleepover!

Listening to Carbon Leaf

The pups watching TV before bedtime! Yes, Im aware we need a new TV in the bedroom, but I've had that one for 20 years!!!! And it still works! I can't get rid of it until it dies! 

Sleeping at the Sleepover! 

The pup sleepover was a hoot! They played and played or more like Baby Reef harassed and harassed and eventually we got them to calm down. They both jumped on the bed to watch TV with us, or more like Todd, as my nose was now stuck in Mockingjay! They did finally go to sleep, only to wake us up jumping on the bed at 8:00 in the morning! My future life flashed before my eyes as I knew this was what it would feel like to eventually have real children! Jumping in the bed, waking us up early on a Sunday! Ohhh Joy! We spent the rest of the day being pretty lazy, ordering pizza, and watching TV.

"Mom we want to play... NOW... it's daylight! "

Yesterday, the hubby had to work but was home by 9:30 a.m. so we had the whole day together, which really consisted of another lazy day, not that I have any arguments! I paid bills, worked on my blog, washed clothes, meal planned, went to the grocery store, snuggled with Baby Reef, watched the Virginia Tech game and finally finished Mockingjay! And can I just say, that I was kind of disappointed in how it ended! I don't want to spoil it for anyone, just in case you haven't read it, but I really was hoping for a sunnier ending! Regardless, the books are an emotional roller coaster and I couldn't help but feel protective over Katniss, much like some of the other characters in the book! The hubby has Fall baseball stuff going on this week, so I'm hoping to Red Box the movie and relive book one! I hope it meets my expectations as the first book was really awesome!

My Whole Life right there! 

Anywho, enough of my rambling on about my three day weekend! I hope all of you had stellar ones as well! Even though we didn't do a TON of stuff I really appreciate the days when we are able to relax. I know in a few years we won't have that luxury so I want to soak it up as much as I can!

XoXo,

September 2012 Mini Goals!

Happy Happy Happy Labor Day Loves!!! Hope you all are having a fabulous day off from work! It's a bit dreary here today so I've been paying bills, organizing our office desk, washing clothes, and obviously working on this blog post!! Nothing like an extra relaxing day in the week!

I'm not going to lie, I was pretty proud of what I accomplished last month as far as my goals were concerned! Now that I am really starting to cross things off, I'm running full steam ahead with lots of willingness and dedication! Here is what I have set my self up to achieve for the month of September!

1. Add a second gym class to my weekly gym routine and continue going to Zumba. You know last month I decided to attend one class a week so I would make myself stick to it! Since I did, I am now going to add a second class! I've really enjoyed Zumba and the work out it has given me. This second class is called Cardio and Dance which apparently is a "dancy dancy" type class like Zumba, BUT you also use equipment to help tone your body! A new friend in Zumba was telling me how much she enjoyed it! I am going this Thursday and have no doubt I'll report on it sometime after that!

2. Enroll Baby Reef in Doggie Daycare once a week. I've been looking at lots of Doggie Daycare's in our area here lately! Baby Reef loves other dogs and he loves to play and sometimes I feel really bad that we don't give him as much doggie interaction as he probably needs! There is a Daycare down from my office that I plan on visiting  this week! I think putting him in once a week will really help him to learn how to interact with other pups and it will be a way for him to get his energy and playfulness out!

3. Be sure to get to work on time EVERY morning. I don't know about all of y'all, but I am not a morning person. I can hit my snooze button for an hour! Actually I do hit it for an hour! I wait till the absolute last minute to get out of bed! I think half the time I look like a bum at work, because I literally have NO time to iron clothes, put half of my makeup on, or run a brush through my hair! Sad right? Because of this "can't get out of bed" disease, I am usually always five minutes late for work! Luckily I have a pretty awesome boss, but I think now it just shows her a lack of disregard when I walk in late. No I can't help the traffic, but I can help getting my butt out of bed and out the door on time.

4. Work on revamping/redecorating guest room #1 and complete it. Now that we have the King bed in our room I've been trying to figure out what to do with our Queen bed. I finally decided I want to put it into our first guest room, which means I will have to get a new bed set to fit it, which also means I may finally be able to finish redecorating the room and changing the look to something a bit more mature and elegant.

5. Start and Finish three Pinterest craft projects, both general and Holiday related. I have lots of fall decorating ideas that I have found on Pinterest and a few general crafts to do as well! I really want to deck our home out with pumpkins and apples and all things Fall, not to mention there are a couple of wedding related crafts I want to complete with photos and cards from our wedding! Hopefully I can make this happen!

6. Continue writing notes and sending them through "snail mail". I am sooooooo glad I was finally able to accomplish this last month and I want to keep it up, hence why it's on my list again. It's something that makes me feel good and I like that feeling!

7. Enter more Blog Contests and market myself more! "Get out and get social". I have really slacked off with marketing my blog and I need to get back into promoting it on social media! I also really need to work on my interaction with other bloggers! I comment, I email, and I tweet to other gals, but not as often as I would like to! I won't lie, working at a dual monitor computer all day really makes me not want to sit at my computer when I get home! I need to work on this though even if it's only for 30 minutes a day!

8. Complete one house project for the month. I have a LONG list of house projects that I would like to complete. I think starting with one a month is good! Not that we are selling our home anytime soon, but we know this isn't our forever home. If I can go on and do all these projects and updates now, at least we will have a little time to enjoy them all as ours before we put our home on the market!

9. Spend more time with family! I mean this is just important to me! Really Really important.

10. Two personal and private goals for myself. I'd like to think I'm pretty forward and honest in my posts, but I do believe there are somethings that don't need to be made totally public, as in posted on the internet for EVERYONE to read. I have two goals that have really been eating at me to try and achieve so I've decided to work on them this month! If you're curious to know what they are please feel free to email me in private! I'll be glad to share my struggles on achieving these goals on more private level!

I know some of you are starting Mini Goals of your own!! I could not be more excited that I have inspired others to partake in this! I think it's a great way to boost confidence in yourself and do "feel good things" for you and other people around you! Not to mention it's a great way to make sure things get accomplished and not pushed to the back burner! Please feel free to share your Mini Goals! I would looooove to hear them!!!

Have a fantastic Holiday!!! Yay for 4 day work weeks! Annnnnd good luck to all those teacher's going back to school tomorrow!!

XoXo,