What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I am crazy excited that I finally decided on how I will be changing up my Wednesday posts {Remember I kind of chatted about it last week here?}. There are still a few things I need to do in order to get it finalized and ready for sharing, like creating a button and setting up the link-up for y'all to join! I think it will be a way for my readers to get to know me on a more personal level and hopefully relate to me even more than they may already. This probably won't get underway for a few more weeks so until then I will continue with the "What I'm Loving Wednesday" series!

1. I am in love with Daylight Savings Time!! Okay... maybe not in love with the fact that I lost an hour of sleep, I'm still trying to catch up,  or that it's still pitch black when I wake in the morning, buuuuuut I'd trade pitch black nights for longer sunshine evenings any day of the week! It's the first sign that warmer weather is around the corner and who doesn't love that?!

2.  Attending my first official Pilates class on Monday night! I'm actually pretty excited and proud of myself for going! I switched my gym schedule around to Tuesday and Thursdays, however because I had my monthly YAAA! meeting last night I decided to go to the gym Monday night and try out Pilates! Holy Moly, if you think it's easy, you are in for a rude awakening! I've done it with at home DVDs so I knew it wasn't a cake walk, but I didn't realize just how much it was really going to work me! I've been quite sore in areas I very rarely work, and it's a darn good feeling! I'm really thinking about adding Monday night to my gym schedule and upping my workouts to three days a week!

3.  Celebrating lots of Birthday's this month!! March seems to be a pretty huge month in our lives when it comes to celebrating birthdays! There is my mother-in-law, my stepfather-in-law, my stepbrother-in-law, our nephew, my close friend Tatiana, my awesome boss Jen, our dear friend Matt, and a slew of other friends of ours! Lots and lots of celebrating going on around these parts!! 

4. Having my first cup of coffee in almost a month! I'm not a coffee addict whatsoever. I've been a one cup a day drinker for forever and can function fine without it. I actually like the taste of coffee, however. about a month ago I noticed I wasn't enjoying the taste of it much anymore so I gave it up and started drinking tea! Lots of green tea, chai tea, and herbal teas and even using my Starbucks giftcard for Chai Tea Lattes instead of fancy coffee beverages! This weekend while at my girlfriend, Whitney's house, I had my first cup of coffee in almost a month and boy was it yummy! I don't think I'll be going back to drinking it every day but I think it would be a nice pick me up on an extra lagging day - say like this week when I'm trying to adjust to this Daylight Savings Time! 

I found this really interesting!!! 

5. Working on our taxes! To most this is probably a daunting task but this marks year number two that we have done our taxes ourselves with the help of TurboTax. Since we don't have a ton of "extras" to worry about like second properties, self employment, or rental income we are able to do them ourselves! It's usually a few day process as I like to, obviously, make sure they are 100% accurate before filing them! I won't lie though, I am always completely nervous when hitting that submit button! It's a great feeling seeing what we should be getting back from the government during the entire process! I'm quite satisfied with the figure we've been given! These suckers should be completely finalized by weeks end and we will be on our way to get our little check back and this will be another task I can cross off our "To Do" list! 

Happy Hump Day my darlings!!! Hope you all are having a wonderful week so far and didn't miss me too much yesterday!!! XoXo! 

Sorry I'm Not Home Right Now, I'm Walking into Spiderwebs!

... So leave a message and I'll call you back! Okay - Who is laughing with me that they just belted out some old school No Doubt?! Oh that Gwen Stefani! You have got to love her!!!

Anywho, as the title implies, I'm not here today! Why?! Well because I'm guest posting over at Horseshoes and Pearls with Ashley today! Head on over to see what I'm jabbering on about and if you are a soon to be bride or will be attending a wedding in the near future as a guest, you're going to want to read this post! Not that I'm a know it all by any means about wedding related adventures however, I've been there, done that, and bought the teeshirt so I can give y'all some of my own personal insight!

Check out Miss Ashley! A girl after my own heart for her love of Labs and Horses! 

Hope you loves are having a fantastic Tuesday! I'm definitely enjoying the daylight savings change, even if I am a wee bit on the sleep side! There is something just spectacular about leaving work and the sun is still shinning bright! See you darlings tomorrow! XoXo!

Divan, Divine, It's Really All the Same!

Remember last week when I told you here, that I finally decided to crack open the recipe box I received at one of my bridal showers {nearly 2 years ago} and give some of the recipes a go?! While meal planning last week and picking out the Honey Chili Salmon recipe in the box, I decided to try another one in the box as well! Sharon, who has been like a big sister to me practically my whole life, gave me this recipe for Asparagus Chicken Divan, in which now I am crazy excited over it, because it was a huge hit! While she mentioned that the leftovers weren't that great, I thought they tasted just as well for my work lunch the next day! None-the-less the recipe was easy and perfect, yet again, for a quick and easy week night dinner {y'all know I'm all for that}! You should definitely give this one a shot!

The Recipe Card

What You Will Need:

Nutmeg-Whipping Cream-Mayonaise-Asparagus-Chicken- Parmesan Cheese-Cream of Chicken Soup-Worcestershire Sauce

1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 

2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed {I only used a pound}

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

3/4 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

 

Broil chicken 4-6 inches from the heat for 6-8 minutes on both sides or until juices run clear. 

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, bring 1/2 inches of water to a boil. 

Add asparagus. 

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

 Drain and place in a greased shallow 2-1/2 qt. baking dish. 

Cut chicken into thin slices. 

In a small bowl, combine soup, Worcestershire sauce and nutmeg.

Spread half over asparagus. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Top with chicken. 

Spread remaining soup mixture over chicken; sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Fold whipped cream into mayonnaise; spread over top. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. 

Broil 4-6 inches. from the heat for about 2 minute or until golden brown. 

Serve alone or over brown rice {as I did}!

I really do enjoy cooking and finding recipes that work with our schedule and tastes! I know I sound like a broken record but I love recipes that don't require a lot of prep time or cook time for our work week! I also enjoy using our slow cooker, especially on gym nights! Are any of you fans of Chicken Divan?! This was the first time I had ever had it and had no idea it was actually a pretty popular "casserole" dish that is normally made with broccoli! Learn something new everyday right?! 

Have a glorious Monday my darlings!!! The weather seems to be improving this week and I am loving the warm temperatures and the shining sun! It's good for the soul! 

XoXo! 

Friday's Letters!

Friday is here! Hallelujah! I feel really repetitive when I say this has been the longest week ever, but really, this one has! Not so much long in time, just crazy emotionally draining days that make the week seem to last for forever!  I need this all girls slumber party I'm attending tonight and I have no doubt it will offer copious amounts of wine too, which is quite therapeutic in my humble opinion!

Via

Dear PMS, You are a Bitch. Plain and Simple. You make me behave in ways that are shameful. You would think by now I'd know how to handle you, but seriously, you are different every month and I can't keep up! You make me a horrible person and I hate you! Dear Memorial Service I Am Attending Today, Please know I will be an emotional wreck. Not only is this my boss's second family loss in two weeks but it's also her teenage daughters! I can remember, like it was yesterday, losing my grandparents in high school and I was around her age. It was difficult and I was sad for so long! I'm not sure I can bare to see either my boss or her daughter this afternoon, but I hope they know how much they are loved! Dear Harris Teeter, You really make my grocery shopping experience so much fun!!! Your produce section may be my favorite part of the entire store {next to the wine aisle, of course}. You carry the most vegetables I have ever seen and some I have never even heard of! I am always eager to browse what you are offering and try new things! Tonight I grabbed some brussel sprouts along with our normal veggie staples. The hubby and I have had them before but they are not a common vegetable in our home and I've never tried actually cooking them. I'm really excited to add a new vegetable to our meal plans... that is if they come out tasting well! Dear Ballard Designs, You make my life complete! I love everything in your catalog and wish I had an unlimited budget to buy EVERYTHING and fill my home with all your wonderful goodies! I definitely hope to revamp our outside patio this summer and include some items from your outdoor collection! Dear Dancing with the Stars Season 16, I'm going to be honest with you, the only reason I will be watching you, is to support my Brit Love, Lisa Vanderpump!  She really is breaking out from The Real Housewife franchise and making a name for herself outside of the wives! With Vanderpump Rules and now Dancing with the Stars under her belt, that woman really can do it all! I am always in complete awe of her {and her closet} and I am beyond excited to see her dance her booty off!!

Enjoy your weekends, darlings!!!! See you Monday! XoXo!

The DIYin', Honest, Unicorn Loving Momma - Meet Michelle!

I am very excited to introduce you to today's sponsor!! She's a mommy to two precious wee ones {seriously, they are darling children - check out her little man and his mohawk and bowtie below - i die!} and a wife to one sweet hubby! We met through a link up, which she hints on, and the coolest part is that we don't live far from each other at all! It's a shame we haven't arranged a blate yet, but being that she and her family are looking for a home in my area, it may happen a lot sooner than later! Y'all enjoy Michelle! She is one hilarious momma and I love and appreciate her sense of humor, it keeps me reading! 

Hi!  It's so nice to have the opportunity meet all of your lovely faces today.  

My name is Michelle and this is me.  I blog at Let It Shine.  It's pretty much about shenanigans.

The first thing you should know is my faith drives everything I do.  I'm sure that for some of you I might be eliciting an eye roll and some a high five, but it's simply the truth.  I might not talk about it all the time, but make no mistake, it's always there.  Behind the scenes I am always thanking Jesus for this beautiful life of mine.  I am happily married and we have two kids.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Hand me a chambray shirt and I'll be just about the standard blogger cliche.  :)  I like to sew, take pictures of my adorable, mouthy rugrats, and laugh.  I love to laugh.  Good thing I have an awkward sense of humor and a husband and kids who have no shortage of mishaps, giggles, and general silliness.

Like what, you may ask?  How about the time my daughter announced to Taco Bell that her brother was a Queen?  Or the time my one year old wrote me a letter.  Yeah, okay, I might have wrote that letter for him.  Or perhaps the time we road tipped it.  It doesn't end there people, my family is always doing something off the wall.

If you've read Lauran's blog for a hot second I'm sure you've seen her do the Friday's Letters link-up.  It's actually how she and I met.  I prefer to take a deviation from the usual and try to make my Friday's Letters a little more comical than the norm.  Sometimes on Fridays I skip the letters and do confessions.  People really seem to like it when I confess things, but honestly, there's only so many things a girl can confess without having to invoke the fifth amendment.  I might have to put them on hold for a while.  Not.

I also tend to work some of my sillier quirks into the blog.  I have a childish love for unicorns.  Really I don't know why more people don't love them, they are awesome.  Occasionally I also like to poke fun at dinosaurs for their short, short arms.  I know, it's easy to poke fun at extinct animals.  In my defense, I think they're extinct because all they had to fight with was their tails.  Their poor little arms were just so short.

My last love is tutorials and DIYs.  Frugal isn't just my middle name, it's a way of life.  Creating things on your own gives me sense of accomplishment that is just not attainable by watching an entire season of White Collar on Netflix in one day.  I have a DIY Stocking tutorial, a basic skirt tutorial, and a tutorial on how to turn an old pair of jeans into a skirt.  Sewing is so much fun.  I'm still a beginner but I love to learn new tricks.  I do other crafts too, like this Pinterest Challenge.  I also feature just about any DIY project you can do.  Just email me and I'll feature you (for free!) on my blog.

So yeah, that's pretty much me.  I'd love it if you'd come over and join me.  It's never a dull moment in my house.  Thank you Lauran for letting me invade your space today!

Seriously? Michelle must realize I am all thumbs when it comes to most DIY projects! I am definitely going to have to check out her basic skirt tutorial! I've had a sewing machine for almost a year and I should probably put it to use! I do have to argue that I feel pretty accomplished when I watch a full season of White Collar in one day!! At least I can't ruin anything while watching a full season! I could ruin a lot with a DIY challenge and I could even lose some fingers in the process, who knows?! Regardless of my DIYin skills, y'all should visit Michelle's blog and get your crafting on! She's pretty inspiring when it comes to DO IT YOURSELF! 

If you are interested in FREE Sponsorship with my blog, I am now booking for the month of April and May. Please email me at Lauran.Huffman@gmail.com if you would like to be a part of The Real Young Housewife family! XoXo!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm currently in the process of brainstorming a new regular post for Wednesdays! As much as I enjoy, "What I'm Loving Wednesday" I want to create something more my own. Something that could possibly turn into a link up and something a bit more substantial. Until I can come up with the perfect theme for my future Wednesdays, here is what I am LOVING this week! What are y'all loving??!

1. I am, hands down, totally in love with this Subaru commercial! If the hubby and I have a little girl when the time comes for us to extend our family, I know he is going to be this kind of daddy! He tries to be so manly and tough now, but throw a little girl in his life and she will have him wrapped around her little finger! This commercial makes me a tad bit eager to see my soul mate as a daddy! This commercial also makes me cry!



2. Last nights season finale episode of White Collar. HOLY CRAP! As always they leave you wanting more and now I have to wait until THE FALL for season 5! Really?!?! 6-7 months?!?! Oh well, looks as though GraceLand may become a great substitute this Summer! White Collar may be over for now, but that's what seasons on DVD are for, right?! And what's not to love about that?!

3. The YAAA! Black Tie Bowling event this past weekend! It was a pure blast!!! I learned that I am a HORRIBLE bowler, old ladies love my hubby, and we seriously have some pretty stellar friends!! The hubby and I can't thank the rest of our team enough for joining us in helping raise awareness for Alzheimer's! How cute were we all?! If you are at all interested in YAAA!, Please visit www.alz.org for more information on how to join and/or start a chapter in your area!

4. That I am reverting back to my twelve year old self and attending a slumber party this Friday night! My girlfriend, Whitney is hosting a little girl night at her home and I am super duper excited! This has been written in my schedule for over a month and I've been counting down the weeks and days! I need some girl time and this will be perfect! 

5. Winning Baby Reef a BarkBox!!! A friend sent me an email notifying me of a give away a blogger was hosting last week! Rebekah received two Bark Boxes {think Birchbox but for a dog} and decided she wanted to give one away! Baby Reef was chosen randomly which made this my first blogging contest win!! The BarkBox arrived yesterday and Baby Reef made out with some fantastic treats and a few new toys! I may just do a post on the whole box next week! 

Hope you all are surviving this week well! Unfortunately, due to uncontrollable circumstances, I'm a bit bogged down at work but the fun of this upcoming weekend is getting me through it! If you could, please say a small prayer for a dear friend and co worker of mine, I would greatly appreciate it! XoXo my Darlings! 

It's Gettin' Sweet, Spicy, and Fishy Up in Here!

For one of my Bridal Showers, almost two years ago, the hostess arranged for each guest to bring their favorite recipe to add to a new recipe box for our kitchen! I made out with quite a few yummy appetizers {including 3 separate recipes for Buffalo Chicken Dip hehe}, some scrumptious main dishes, and even a sweet dessert bread! In all my kitchen gloriousness, I've only made one dish out of the recipe box in the two years that I have had it! I keep adding recipes to the box, I just hadn't taken a chance on cooking a meal already in the box! All of that changed this past week!

While meal planning for the week and sifting through recipes I decided to give the recipe box a try! I have also been on a mission to get the hubby to eat and enjoy salmon! I love, love, love this fish and want to incorporate more of it in our dinners however, the hubby is not salmon's biggest fan! That's where this recipe comes into play! I felt there was enough sugar, spice and everything nice to appeal to his tastes buds and I was about 95% accurate! He ate all of it which was a huge win in my book!

The Recipe Card

What You Will Need:

Salmon - Cayenne Pepper - Brown Sugar - Honey - Chili Powder - Sea Salt

Fresh Salmon Filets or Flash Frozen Salmon Filets {I used Frozen}

Chili Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Sea Salt

Honey

Brown Sugar 

As you can see from my recipe card there were no measurements so you basically have to eyeball it to your liking! For instance it called for a "pinch" of brown sugar but I used about a tablespoon on each filet to ensure more of a glaze for the fish. I also cooked this in a skillet pan on top of the stove instead of in the oven which allowed for the juicy glaze as well. 

Directions:

Place Salmon in pan skin side down {my frozen filets didn't have skin so I just placed them in the pan}

Cover both salmon pieces entirely with Chili Powder {pretty vigorous amount}

Then follow behind with a light sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper

 Lightly dust with Sea Salt

Drizzle entire filet with Honey

Top with Brown Sugar

I then covered the pan and cooked the Salmon until it flaked.

Cooking in the pan. The honey, brown sugar and juices made a sweet glaze to offset the spicy Chili Powder and Cayenne Pepper.


Once the fish is cooked thoroughly to your liking, plate it and serve with sides of your choice! I whipped up white cheddar mashed potatoes and fresh green beans as our sides! 

Honey Chili Salmon!

This was a super easy peasy meal to make and would work perfectly on any weeknight!! I didn't time it but I'm certain it didn't take more than 20 minutes to prepare and cook! Easy, Yummy, and the Hubby ate it! Certainly a successful dinner in my house! I'll for sure be using this one again! If you end up trying it be sure to let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts!! 

XoXo!