Day 4 - Favorite Book: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I have posted about this book before but it bares mentioning again. I'm currently half way through reading it for the third time. If i am every in between books, i will pick this one up and start it again.

Now for my favorite series: Even though I was on the verge of scarily obbsessed with the twilight series, Harry Potter is still by far my favorite. The new movie has come out and we have not had a chance to go watch, but maybe this weekend! And as a side note, I will be visiting Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in December!

Day 5 - Favorite Quote: So I've been pretty excited about posting this one

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward in the same direction." - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

I found this in a magazine and ripped it out. It stays on my frig and makes me smile everytime i see it.

Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things:

1. Justin

2. My Fam

3. My friends

4. traveling anywhere

5. Purple

6. flip flops

7. working on my new house

8. reading

9. working out

10. cross stitching

11. watching food network

12. cooking for friends and family

13. the Fall

14. Auburn football

15. Andy High Sports

16. Maps/Globes

17. Antiques

18. Fresh Market

19. Eating at nice restaurants

20. The Macy's Thanksgiving day Parade

21. Family Traditions

22. Fresh flowers

23. Candles

24. History

20 is not enough! I could go on and on. I am such an easy to please person. So much makes me happy, and it is usually the little things!

I'm Back!! So I am going to use Angie's '30 Days of Blogging' as an inspiration to start back. Its not that nothing worth blogging about has happened since my last post, its just that i have been lazy! Thinking back, lots has happen since February. Mine and justins life was consumed with working on the new house, Meg's wedding, Ashley's Wedding, our anniversary, random trips, pregnancies (by others), engagements, the birth of Rowland, then football season! It has flown by!! in the near future, Justin and I will be going to Gatlinburg at the end of Month, my birthday, family trip to Universal Studios, and the holidays!

Ok, here is my start to the 30 Days of blogging:
( i think i will combine some)

Day 1 - Favorite Song: hmmm, i don't thing i have an all time favorite song; it's more like 'my favorite song right now' and it would be Magic by B.O.B. I get pretty crunck every time i hear it!!

Day 2 - Favorite Movie: By Far Gladiator. Best. Movie. Ever. I could watch it over and over and still get all emotional!!

Day 3 - Favorite TV Show: So I'm a little weird when it comes to TV. Me and Justin both watch very little of it on a regular basis. probably the one show i watch the most consistently is Ghost Hunters on the SyFy channel and usually anything on the History Channel. (i must confess though, I've started watching Teem Mom and i might be hooked) Speaking of Ghost Hunters, their live Halloween special is coming on the 31st and I'm pretty excited! I'll have to Tivo it though, I'll be in the Mountains.

Perfect Day for Blogging

Well, January and February are usually pretty boring months for me and Justin, but not this year! To start things off, we finally bought a house! We should have the keys to our new home by this upcoming Friday.  The house is decorated straight 1970s, so we will be spending the next month or so redecorating.  I plan on doing lots of before and afters, so keep a look out for them.  As for the last week, as most of you know, Sid (our dog/child) was hit by a truck and had to have his front left leg removed.  It has been an adventure, but he is doing SO good.  Last weekend Justin and I got a creative itch and decided to build some furniture!  We quickly realized that all the furniture that we currently own could fit in the living room of the new house, so we have been trying to figure out ways to furnish the house and spend as little as possible.  We built two end tables and a coffee table.  We still have to stain them.  Justin has also been working on a bed for the guest room this week.  Once it is compete, I will post some pictures.  I've been very impressed with him!  As for today, Justin and I have been enjoying the snow! We made a snowman, had a snowball fight, and even got pulled over by a cop this afternoon because apparently they have closed all the roads in town! Good thing the opening ceremonies of the Olympics are on tonight!! (I am a huge olympics fan!!!) Maybe tomorrow we will be allowed out of the house so I can get some things accomplished!!  Enjoy the pics!

Blog Explosion!

Get ready, I'm about to post two month's worth of life all in one blog!Much has happened since my last post! In November we went to Destin for Emily's B Party and had a great time!  Thanksgiving kicked off a great Christmas season!  We started with the 2nd Annual Tacky Christmas Party.  Justin and I bought our Christmas present early and got a mattress (yea, I know, not very exciting) but we really needed one and I love it!  The next weekend we went to Emily and Sonny's Wedding in Bham and had a great time!

 

Christmas week was full of activity.  The week started off great;  Tuesday I checked the mail and found out I passed the FE Test!!!

 Wed. night we has Christmas with Justin's parents and Christmas Eve we went to church with his family and had Christma

s with his extended family.  Christmas day we went to my Grandparents house and the rest of the weekend we hung out in Eufaula with my family! Whew! I was glad to get home.  

I had a couple of days off and on the 30th Justin and I left for New Orleans!  Here is a recap of all we did:

1.  We stayed in a bed and break

fast right on the edge of the French Quarter that was run by two awesome gay guys (David and Skyler)!  It was our first time staying at a B&B and it was really neat.  Kinda like having your 

own home in NO.   

2. We ate Wed. night at this really good restaurant called Bayona.

3. Thursday we went and ate at Commander's Place and then went on a cocktail tour.  We went to several cool bars and sampled way too many different drinks.  After that we went to Snug Harbor, which is a Jazz Bar on Frenchmen Street.  Then it was time for dinner.  By the time we got done eating, it was only 10 o'clock!  So we decided to go back to our room for a little while before we went to Jackson Square for the Fireworks,  Bad Idea! Not 

surprisingly we both feel asleep before 12!! Eitherway, we had a great time on New Year's Eve! 

4. We spent Friday morning watching the ridiculous Auburn Game! Then we ventured out and watch several of the other games at a bar.  We met up with Neal Patterson (who lives in NO now)

and some others that afternoon.  finally we left for the Super Dome to watch the Sugar Bowl.  It was a lot of fun!! After

 the game was over, Justin finally got the urge to go to Harrah's.  After Quickly losing money at the craps table, we decided we would whether go eat beignets and drink coffee at Cafe du Monde than hang out at Harrah's!  So we found ourselves at the Cafe at 1:00 am stuffing our faces and realized we had stayed out later on new year's day than new years eve, it works for us! (it also was not near as crowded!) 

5. Saturday we got up and went and had a couple massage and of course it was wonderful!  We left and went straight to The Court of Two sisters for lunch.  We spent the afternoon wandering the French Quarter.

6. And last but Definitely not least, we finished our trip with the best meal I have Ever Had!! No Lie!! We ate at August Friday night.  I am no writer and cannot possibly type out all I have to say about this restaurant! First off, is was beautiful. Justin and I decided to go all out since it was our last night and order the seven course tasting menu.  Next time you see me, just ask and I will bore you with all the details!  

So in conclusion, we had a great time and on the way home discussed all the things we plan on doing the next time we go!

But, on arriving back in A-Town, the realization that not only must I go back to work, but that January has arrive (possibly the most boring month ever) finally sunk in.  At least I have bunco to look forward to!  Oh, and Justin's birthday, I almost forgot! (he will be 27!!!! I guess that shouldn't be too weird, I turn 27 this year too!)

Done! 

New Recipe

I've decided to add a new dimension to my blog.....recipes! As I come across new recipes that Justin and I cook that meet our 5 star approval, I will post. Last night I made Minestrone for the first time and it was SO good. It is now at the top of my favorite soups list. It was actually very easy and didn't take long. If you make the full recipe, it makes ALOT of soup. I plan on freezing half of it. ENJOY!

Minestrone

Ingredients
2 quarts chicken stock
1 head garlic, halved
1/2 pound small rigatoni
Extra-virgin olive oil
8 fresh sage leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 pound pork sausage
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed plum tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 (28-ounce) cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch fresh parsley leaves, finely minced
Coarsely ground black pepper
12 slices baguette
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions
Combine the stock and halved garlic head in a big saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes to give the stock a nice, garlicky taste; strain out the garlic. Keep warm.
Bring a pot of salted water to boil for the rigatoni.
Pour 1/4 cup olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the sage, rosemary and thyme and warm the oil over medium heat to infuse it with the flavor of the herbs, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage with the side of a big spoon until well browned. Chop the carrots, celery, and onion in a food processor. Add to the saucepan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned.
To the pan with the sausage stir in the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, cannelloni beans, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Cook the rigatoni in the boiling water for 6 minutes; it should be slightly underdone. Drain and stir into the simmering soup. Add the parsley, and salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste. Discard the bay leaf and herb sprigs.
To serve, preheat the broiler. Put the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the Parmigiano and broil until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and float a couple of the baguette slices on top.

Halloween 2009 plus some

Halloween 2009 was great! Friday night we had a party for Meg and Nutt with an Orange and Black theme and Saturday night we had a costume party for Emily and Sonny. Both parties were so much fun! I was so impressed with everyone's costume. I will try and be a little more creative next year; a witch is not very original. On the other hand, Justin was very creative and went as Tim Tebow. I made him a cape and halo, but we forgot the eye black! Oh well, I thought it looked good. It was a great way to end the month.

The start of November has been good. We went to the Peanut Festival Friday night. We had not been in a long time (since early high school) so it was fun to go back. I have decided though that next year a group of us should go on arm band night and actually ride some rides! It is SO expensive to just by tickets. Now it is count down until Thanksgiving break! (sorry, no pics from the fair)

My Birthday!!!!!

I had a WONDERFUL birthday this year! I knew Justin was up to something, but I wasn't sure what. Since my birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, I wasn't expecting anything over the top. Boy was I wrong! Justin surprised me with a limo ride to Stinky's Fish Camp in Destin!!! Me Justin, Meg, Nutt, Mitch, Lesley, Ray, and Mary all rode down and ate dinner. We had a great time. I can not express my appreciation for having such a wonderful husband and great friends!! They all sacrificed their Wednesday morning for me, such troopers!!

It was really just the beginning of a great week. We are carving pumpkins a Lynseys tonight in preparation for Meg and Nutts party, then Party/Shower on Friday night and Costume Party/Shower Saturday night for Sonny and Emily, not to mention hanging out at Opp Fest for a little while Saturday morning, crossing my fingers for an Auburn win and still trying to figure out my costume!! I told yall October was a great month!!