Thankful Thursday ~ October Week 1

It's Thankful Thursday, Girls! Week one for me since I haven't participated all month. Pay no attention to the numbers, people (I can say that to y'all, but in my profession, that would be kind of scary!). I wanted to mention that my blog friend, Shelly, wrote a great post last week about gratitude and thankfulness so be sure to check it out. Today I'm joining Rebecca Jo again for her weekly link up.

This is what I'm thankful for this week:

This man || Wayne had another checkup last week and four months post-heart attack, he is in great shape! His cholesterol and blood pressure levels are at an all time low and he's lost nearly 45 pounds! I am SO stinking proud of him! I've let him slide the last few weeks with not walking with me because he's been working on his deer stand, but he started back this week and that made his favorite walking partner very happy!

This girl || Baby Girl had all A's for the first nine weeks of eighth grade! She had nearly 100 averages in every class. Alise is beginning to do so much more studying on her own, so that gives me more "free" time in the evenings, but basketball games will begin in the next few weeks, so the Horton's will be spending a lot of time court side. I can't wait to see her play! She even made supper Monday night! Throwing a pork tenderloin in the oven counts as cooking in this Mama's book! 

Cooler temps || Y'all! I can't tell you how excited I am to finally see and feel some fall temps! We've opened the windows to allow the house to "breathe" in a little fall air itself and despite some rain, I could live with highs in the 50s for a while around here! Bring on the layers, boots, and soups (I think it's suppose to warm back up this weekend, though)!

Answered prayers || A very close friend of ours was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer. This friend received good news earlier in the week that the chemo is working. I am rejoicing in God's goodness and faithfulness.  

Royal Babies || Is it just me or does Megan seem to be upstaging Kate? Well, Kate DOES have three kids to raise, but we all know that ain't happening. And now, Harry and Megan will be having their own baby in the Spring. Glad it's them and not me!

Mini Blizzards || So I think I've told y'all every Wednesday night, Leigh and I go to Sonic for a small ice cream treat and to catch up. Our Sonic has been without ice cream since the week before I went to Nashville!!  What the what?? So, last Wednesday we said, "Forget you, Sonic!" and drove across town to Dairy Queen where Leigh introduced me to the MINI Blizzards!! Y'ALL! I had no idea!! The absolutely perfect portion size for a sweet craving. 

Have a fun weekend, Friends! 

Fashion Frenzy: Graphic Tees

My dear bestie, Andrea, gifted us with fall t-shirts in our swag bag at our recent meet up and we all decided right then and there that we had the perfect shirt for today's Graphic Tee prompt with The Blended Blog. I mean, really? How could you go wrong with a maroon tee that says, "flannels, leggings, and pumpkin spice"?? Just look how cute my friend is! This girlie loves her some pumpkin patches!!

One thing I forgot to mention - or did I? - on Monday's #nashbash recap, was the fact that we found the cutest pumpkin patch while we were there that was close to our rental. When in Nashville with Fall tees, one must go to the pumpkin patch and take a picture with your girlfriends! Even if it is 80 degrees outside! I just love this and plan to frame this picture soon!

AND GUESS WHAT FRIENDS!? The Etsy shop, BASH, that designed our shirts is offering our readers 20% OFF their orders by using CODE: PUMPKIN!! How cool is that? You have our permission to go shopping! Code ends on Sunday.

On another note, this Mama rested this weekend! The last two weeks of work, school, and being in two states within the same week (well, four states, actually!) had caught up with me. We canceled our tailgating plans with friends on Saturday evening, took Alise to her bonfire party with her friends, and watched the Alabama game on the big screens at Buffalo Wild Wings. Being so thankful for the cooler temps, this was my outfit on Saturday. Cool enough - to me, anyway - for a long sleeved layer - but still warm enough for an old pair of flip flops. This is fall in Louisiana, friends.

We covered our pool on Saturday morning and it seems like it was just in time! I sat outside Sunday afternoon to read and the leaves were slightly falling. The acorns are definitely falling. Bring on autumn! It's my favorite time of the year!

Be absolutely sure to visit my friends blogs to see just how they styled their fall graphic tees, too. I'll link them here: Kellyann, Shelly, Chrissy, Lisa, and Andrea.

Baby Girl and I were NOT seeing eye to eye on Sunday afternoon. She sprung a school project on me last minute and it made me question why God blessed me with a little procrastinator to raise. Wayne was in the woods working on his deer stand and I had promised my Fashionistas that I would do a graphic tee post. So I had to suck it up and ask Alise to take my pictures that afternoon. Y'all I just love this one! She said something so hilariously funny that I actually doubled over and she caught me in mid laugh. I just love my little procrastinator! She knows how to work her Mama, that's for sure! 

This is the tee that I bought at Draper James while we were in Nashville (Loved that store! Wish we would have run into Reese!). Keep It Pretty, Please! I just love that. What a wonderful reminder to keep it pretty in our relationships and friendships, the way we treat one another and in the words we speak. Have a PRETTY awesome day, Friends!

Tasty Tuesday: Fall Recipes To Try (Without Pumpkin)

To all my pumpkin fan friends, don't feel miffed by the title of this post. Although I know everything has turned to pumpkin spice since August 28th, today I wanted to share some fall recipes that are on our family menu to try soon that don't include that orange vegetable (It is a vegetable, right?). 

Salisbury Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes || We love meatballs. We love salisbury steak. And who doesn't love mashed potatoes? This dish has got all the check marks for fall comfort food. Meals such as this one require all my attention and Sunday afternoons are my favorite times to get in the kitchen to cook a great evening meal and prep for the week ahead.

Loaded Tater Tot Skewers || So looking forward to trying this recipe out on some  tailgaters very soon. I think these would go so well with some sliders with all the trimmings.

Update! Since beginning this post, we actually tried these tater tot skewers with Andrea's Party Sliders for one of our tailgating parties and they are the bomb dot com! The party sliders are the perfect dish to go with this amazing side! I highly recommend both for your next tailgate!

Emeril's Cajun Shrimp Stew || Being from Louisiana, I'm a fan of Emeril and if you ever get the chance to visit New Orleans, I highly recommend his restaurant, Nola. Be absolutely sure to get reservations, though. When I try this recipe, I will definitely have to leave out the word, "stew" for Wayne. He's not a soup or stew person, but I think because this recipe calls for shrimp, it will be a winner for us. 

Chocolate Bread Pudding || Confession: I'm not a fan of bread pudding. But I AM, however, a fan of chocolate and this is a dessert that I think I could truly sink my sweet tooth into and enjoy every. single. bite. Kristin suggests using Hawaiian rolls and we are huge fans of those sweet babies, so I think I may try using those in this recipe. I'm totally considering this for our upcoming tailgating party for the Bama v. LSWho game!

This weekend I made Amy Hannon's Chili with Cheese Grits and they. were. delish. girls. Simply da bomb dot com. I was a little wary about cheese grits and chili together, but Amy swore (well, not really. I mean, after all, her husband's a preacher, but you know what I mean!) by this recipe on a podcast that I listened to a few months ago. It's great even without all the beans! I will totally be making this recipe again, which is in her cookbook that you can purchase here. 

Do you have any new recipes on your meal planning list for Fall?


Linking up tomorrow with these sweet Girlies for a Fall recipe swap! Be sure to link up and stop by to find some yummy new Fall dishes.

#nashbash2018

My dear friend, Andrea, was driving me to the airport on our last day in Nashville when she asked me, "So what was your favorite part of Nash Bash?" Of course, I had already started crying about ten minutes earlier when we had to say good-bye to Shelly, Kellyann, and Lisa (We all kept our sunglasses on so we couldn't see each other's tears!). The truth is, there were SO many darn favorites and so today, I thought I would share some of mine with you!

Favorite Brunch Joint || We were some brunching fools! Breakfast food was definitely a fav, which worked out perfectly with our laid back and easy schedule. My favorite place for brunch was Biscuit Love. This southern girl had biscuits with sausage gravy and it was so, so yummy! Biscuit Love is supposedly known for their "Bonuts," and let me just say that they did not disappoint! Delish!

Favorite Celebrity Moment || I had my eyes peeled the whole time we were in Nashville for a celebrity sighting. Little did I know just how much WE would end up being the celebrities! Ha! While we were at the Grand Old Opry, Lisa had someone take our picture in front of one of the outside guitars and used the hashtag, "opry," During intermission, our picture showed up on the big screen/jumbo tron and we. went .nuts! Such a fabulous moment for us! Here's the picture that appeared. 

We saw some old and new singers at the Opry that night and Rascal Flats did not disappoint! They were great! I loved getting to sing "Jolene" and "Rose Garden" with the girls!

Favorite Store || If you're a Reese Witherspoon fan, then you can't go to Nashville and not go to Draper James. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip to me. I mean, we were offered sweet tea in the cutest plastic cups with swirly straws as soon as we walked in the door! I tried on a few dresses and loved them all, but they were just a little too fancy-shmancy, even for work, so I bought a graphic shirt instead that read, "Keep It Kind please." I wore it home with my camo jeans as a memento of our trip.

Favorite Mimosas || Our first place to eat once we arrived in Nashville was Blue Sky. And you guessed it! Brunch! Their pineapple mimosas were delicious and came complete with our own tiny bottle of bubbly! 

Favorite Tacos || We ate tacos TWICE while we were there. It kinda amazes me that I go to Nashville and have tacos two times, and then go to Texas and not have them at all! What is wrong with that picture? My favorite taco joint was Bar Tacos that Shelly picked out for us. Every sort of taco you can imagine AND they made their own tequila, so that means their margaritas were pretty much out of this world, too. My tacos arrived later than everyone else's, so the restaurant comped mine, which I thought was a very nice gesture, especially since they did it without me having to ask. 

Favorite Roof Top || LA Jackson had the best day time view of the Nashville skyline. One afternoon, we sat on the roof and ordered drinks and appetizers and just talked and laughed. Another personal favorite moment and the best bacon dip I have ever tasted! I've got to get that recipe! 

Favorite Mural || Did somebody say murals? We made it our mission to find all the fab ones in Nashville and that we did! Goal accomplished! But my favorite pic was this one because of the all the great laughs we had that afternoon taking these shots. Fun memories that day and we did not coordinate our outfits! I promise. It just happened.

Favorite Building || I've been to Nashville several times before and have always been enthralled with "The Batman Building." I took this picture the last night we were there on Music Row celebrating Shelly and Lisa's birthdays. Look at all the taxis! I had no idea so many country music mega stars have their own bars and restaurants on Music Row! We hung out at Luke Bryan's joint for a while, but it was so hot! The live music was pretty fun, though!

Have you ever met complete strangers before? "Met", "strangers." Doesn't that sound weird? It feels weird just typing it! We all had a great laugh about our friends and spouses (my mom!) that were checking up on us the first day to be sure that we hadn't been kidnapped by crazy people in Nashville! Ha! The truth is, I absolutely loved every. single. moment with these girls! We laughed, we loved, we shared, we made lots of memories, and I don't think anyone was surprised to find that we are exactly how we are on our blogs. I feel so blessed and fortunate to say that I now have best friends living in California, Florida, Indiana, and Texas! They are, and always will be, the real deal.

To check out more of our Nashvegas recaps, be sure to visit my friends' blogs below. Go see why I would TOTALLY meet up with these girls again any day, any place, any time! Love them all so much!

Shelly at The Queen In Between

Andrea at Living On Cloud Nine

Lisa at Coast to Coast

Kellyann at The Blonde's Shopping Bag

Chrissy at Granola & Grace (linking to her home page)

Life Lately

I SO owe my little scrap book place here on the internet a family life update! To say that we've been busy, would be an understatement. The last month has been so much dang fun, and we have definitely celebrated Fall with a BANG! 

We got to witness the baptism of one of our closest friends a few Sundays ago. This was the person that I had told you that I had been praying for for sixteen years. And how do I know that? Because I found my old prayer journal and the date was September 9, 2002, when I wrote down this person's name. So it was a special day for me, too, because I got to see with my own eyes God's goodness and faithfulness. It was such a wonderful day!

Homecoming 2018 is in the books! The entire student body dresses up for the pep rally that morning, so imagine my surprise when Alise found her dress and we both actually agreed on it! Shoes were a different story! Sister has the fattest flat foot I've ever seen! I thought she looked beautiful, though. I even found a picture of her at her very first homecoming at her school from 2009!

Wayne and his friends are in a new hunting club this year and he has spent most of his weekends working on the Taj Mahal of deer stands! He has built the entire thing, but when he mentioned carpet, I told him he was getting a little too carried away! How in the world they got that thing up in the air is beyond me, but I can tell you that they did it in the pouring down rain! But now that the deer stand is finally in the woods, I'm hoping he can get back to working on Alise's bedroom remodel.

Alise had an orthodontist appointment a few weeks ago and they told her that she might be getting her braces off sometime after Christmas! Wow! These past fifteen months have flown by! 

On the Friday nights that Alise has home football games, we've been dropping her off with her friends and then Wayne and I head to our favorite burger dive. It has become one of my favorite times of the week and we both look forward to spending some time together and having some adult conversation.  It's a new twist to date night during football season and fits perfect with our weekend schedules. Besides, the onion rings are amazing and the wine is not too shabby, either.

Wayne and I finished the Jack Ryan series a few weeks ago. We loved it! I highly recommend it from Amazon. As a matter of fact, we loved it so much that one Sunday evening, we watched Patriot Games, which starred a younger Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan.

One Sunday  night, I made these delicious nachos! It was a twist on our favorite steak bites recipe and they are so darn good! I hope to share the recipe with y'all soon!

I saw A Star Is Born with some friends this week and absolutely loved it! Bring tissue! It was so neat to see Bradley Cooper star in a role like this one. 

Taylor Swift. Last concert of her Reputation tour in Dallas. Need I say more? We have had these tickets for nearly a year and had planned to give them to Alise for her birthday while we were in Disney. That didn't happen and then Wayne had his heart attack this summer and the big news got postponed again. We ended up telling Alise about the concert over pizza one Friday night about a month ago (totally not what I had planned!), and she cried. Again. Just like last time. So our cousins from Alabama drove over on Friday and then Wayne, being the sweet Daddy that he is, drove us to Dallas for the concert on Saturday. It was Katie's first "real" concert, so it was fun to see all the amazement through her eyes. She and Alise did not miss a single word to a single lyric all night! Taylor never disappoints!

Work deadlines, eighth grade homework, and basketball practice have delayed my recap of our recent blogger meet up in Nashville. I had hoped to finish it in time for tomorrow's Friday Favorites, but I don't think I'm going to make it, y'all. Hopefully our quiet weekend will give me just the time I need. Alise was invited to a bonfire Saturday night and we'll be entertaining some friends for football and tailgating, but that's all we have planned, which is nice because this Mama so needs some rest. I hope you have a peaceful weekend as well.