Christmas Recap

  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. I have loved this Christmas break, it has been one of the best. Relaxing, hanging out with family, baking, delicious food, and lots of laughs it was just what I needed.

   I started my vacation on Monday of Christmas week since schools are out. This being our first Christmas in our own house we decided that we wanted to exchange gifts there, so we needed to do them early. So Monday night we sat down after dinner, put on the fireplace on Netflix which had its own music to go with it and opened presents. I gave Hubby top of the line web cam from logitech. A quad camera drone, The 5th Wave book for him to read before we see the movie. A soft plush robe and Mad Max Fury Road. Plus some fun stocking stuffers that we waited and opened on Christmas. He gave me something that I had been wanting for ever, a Cannon EOS Rebel T5. With all the necessary attachments 2 lenses, 3 batteries, a memory card, and camera bag. I am in love with it and have taken so many pictures already. The pictures on here are about to improve so much and that makes me very excited.

Merry Christmas

   From my family to yours I wish you a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have a day filled with family, fun, great food and lots of love.

   Take a minute and remember why we even have a reason to celebrate. I talked about the story of Christmas last year. Jesus was born so that he could die for you and me and all of us. He is the Hope and Joy that we have and He LOVES us all. I'm so thankful, amazed and glad that he is my Savior. The gifts don't matter becasue the greatest gift of all has already been given, don't forget about him.

Have a blessed day and I will be back to regular schedule next week.

Healthy Options at McDonald's

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

   When you think McDonald's your first thought is probably not healthy, mine is typically fries and McDoubles. McDonald's has made huge strides in their offerings over the last few years and their menu is not lacking nutritious options. These are some of the great options you can pick breakfast or lunch. 
   
   If you have been following me long it is pretty obvious that chicken is one of my favorite foods, I could eat it for every meal. McDonald's has some of the greatest fast food chicken around. Their Artisan Grilled Chicken is my absolute favorite to have on a sandwich. The Chef Crafted Sandwiches give you the option to pick your protein, the grilled chicken on an artisan bun with the any of the toppings and you have a great healthier option.

Married Monday: Fun Christmas Ideas for Couples

  4 days until Christmas! I can't believe that it is time and the year is almost over, it seems like last Christmas was just the other day. We have all our gifts wrapped and sitting under our shiny tree just waiting to be opened. We are excited to be headed home in just a couple days to spend time with our families. I love Christmas time.

   With the bustle these last few days before Christmas it is easy to forget to spend a little extra time with your spouse and have a one on one moment. These are a couple ideas that are fun for the days leading up to Christmas, Christmas Eve and even Christmas day.

Reddit Secret Santa Recap

Hubby has been a Redditer for many years now and has participated in a few gift exchanges within the community. This year I decided  I would join in the fun as well. If you have no idea what Reddit is then I encourage you to take a visit to their site. I don't go on very often, but it has a lot of fun things to look at from any topic you can imagine.

  I didn't have huge expectations but was excited to give someone a cool gift, and hope to receive one too. There are instances where a Santa may not send anything or send something really sucky..I was hoping to not be on the receiving end of this. Thankfully I had a great Santa and got something from my Amazon wishlist. It was a random item I added on to it but it is awesome!

M&M Pudding Cookies- Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

   This is my second year participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and I loved it. The proceeds from this swap go to Cookies for Kids Cancer. I enjoy being a part of this and raising money and awareness for a great cause.

Guest Post on ARWB, Sharing the Magic

I love Christmas and all that it includes. I especially love getting to give to others.

   Today I have a guest post on Arkansas Women Bloggers about sharing the magic of Christmas. My absolute favorite this year has been participating with the angle tree. We are so blessed that we are able to give to a child who is in need.

Take a look and see some other great ideas for sharing the magic. (click on the image below)

  Have any other ideas to spread the magic around? I would love to hear them.

Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars

   I made these to take for Thanksgiving so that I would have a desert that would be on our Trim Healthy Mama Plan and not make me have a sugar crash after lunch. They were a big hit, I didn't mention that there wasn't any sugar or regular flour in it, and no one seemed to miss it. It was also really easy to make.

Married Monday: Winter Date Ideas

   I love going on dates with my hubby and the cold weather doesn't slow that down. There are many great ideas that you can do in the colder months, especially with the holidays. This is a season where it easy to get so busy and wrapped up in activities and to do list that date nights can slip right out of your mind. They are still important and good for your marriage though so heres a list of my favorite ideas.

DIY Garland Tutorial

   I showed my Christmas decorations earlier this week and it included this lovely garland. I am so happy with it and it was amazing how easy it was. I also made one to go around the post by the front door. Here is how I made them.

Christmas Decorations

   Thanksgiving was wonderful for hubby and I. We went home and got to spend almost a full three days hanging out with everyone. We are lucky that both our families gather in the same town and that on holidays we get to see everyone. We ate lots of delicious food, went out for Black Friday and spent time with our parents.

But now that Thanksgiving is over it is full blown Christmas time and our house reflects it! Our tree is up and lovely, it is probably one of my favorites I've ever had. There are of course many Star Wars ornaments, some Christmas Story, the normal bulbs, and our special ones that we pick out each year. I still haven't found the right ones for us this year.

The TV has a rope light around it bringing in some extra colors to the living room. There is also a cute lit present sitting by the TV.

Trim Healthy Mama Update and Cheeseburger Pie Recipe

 PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR TO GET TO THIS POST ON MY NEW SITE. IF SPOONS COULD TALK, IT HAS A FUEL CYCLE REVIEW AND MANY MORE THM RECIPES AND TIPS. 

Thanksgiving Dessert- Apple Pie

   When you think of Thanksgiving, of course, you think turkey and stuffing, but right after that most people think pie. There are three that are almost always at our gatherings, pumpkin, apple and pecan. What would Thanksgiving be without them?  

McTeacher's Night

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

I'm Thankful For....

   For 3 years each November I decided to write what I was Thankful for every day and post it on Facebook. It was a trendy thing that people were doing, I haven't done it the last two years because when I stopped I decided it was time to find something to be thankful for every day no matter the month. This month as I checked my TimeHop every day it was fun to see what I had said I was thankful for each day. Some of them were funny and some of them that are still true to this day.      
   Today I am going to write another list of things I am thankful for, so next year I can come back and see what was going on in my life.

20 Reasons to be Thankful for Your Husband

    I am glad to be back with Married Mondays, I have some great things happening in the coming weeks here.  

   Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and I have been thinking what I am thankful for. My amazing hubby always comes to mind first. We fit together and complement each other so well I just know that God, designed us for each other and brought us together.  

Cookbook Review: Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees By Kian Lam Kho

I received this book from blogging for books in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

   This cookbook is right up my ally. I love books that don't only give you recipes but share a history and insight into a culture. I have loved Chinese food for as long as I can remember, it just plain makes me happy. I like to think of myself as a decent Chinese food chef. This book shows great recipes with traditional flavors from each region. 

Thanksgiving Side Dishes: Vegetables

   Last week we talked about turkey, aka the main character on the Thanksgiving table. This week and next week I want to talk about the other dishes on the table, that are just as important, sides. Side dishes are what I typically remember most about holiday meals and are what bring happy thoughts to my mind. I love corn, stuffing, green beans, and rolls, I look for them every year.

A meal would not be complete without the veggies. Some traditional and maybe not so traditional ideas would be.

Creamed Corn- One of my all time favorites, It can be the kind that is cooked down from fresh corn that gets mushy add some butter, sugar, salt and pepper and you have a wonderful dish. Or it can be the kind with frozen corn cooked in cream with salt pepper and butter. Either way will work for me I love it any way I can get it, and look forward to it at all my family gatherings.

Corn Pudding is also a popular way to make corn for the Thanksgiving table. Here is a good recipe from Food Network

Brussels Sprouts- not often found with my family but many people like them. They can be wonderful tossed in butter or roasted.

Broccoli and Cauliflower- Both of these when roasted and sauced have the potential of great flavor, if you don't like them  on their own, Many times they are baked into a casserole and served right next to the green beans. Cauliflower recipe from Ann Burrell and Alton Browns Broccoli casserole  both look delicious.

Green Beans- and finally we have my all time favorite green! I love green beans cooked in just about any way. My favorite lately has been roasted with garlic sometimes called green fries. But I will eat french style warmed up from a can if I'm in the mood. If you google green bean recipes you will find oh so many different kinds. Let us not forget the famous green bean casserole. That is one traditional item that not many leave off and with so many variations why would you want to.

Served here with Creamy Herb Chicken from THM

Book Review: Trim Healthy Mama Plan Book by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison

 I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

   This is the companion book that goes with the cookbook that I reviewed a couple weeks ago. The tagline of the book is "Keep it Simple. Keep it Sane." And the book shares a great not much fuss eating plan. I had gotten the cookbook because I had seen my cousin pinning THM recipes and thought it would be interesting to go through and see what it was all about. About an hour after I had it I knew that I needed the plan book so I could figure out how to make these recipes work for weight loss. I went and got the book while visiting home, loved it so much when I found it on Blogging for Books I knew I needed to get it to share my review and gave that copy to my mom.  

Harry Potter Party: Pt 2

   Our Harry Potter party was a hit. We watched 3 movies and had some delicious treats. We made our own grand table complete with Buckbeak.

Turkey Talk

   It is November and I can officially start thinking about the holidays. Thanksgiving will be here soon and with that some wonderful foods. This month I will be sharing recipes for Thanksgiving lunch or dinner. Today I want to talk turkey. There are many ways to cook your turkey and all can turn out wonderful. Here are some tips when choosing and cooking your turkey for the big day.

Harry Potter Party: Pt 1: Planning

  This Halloween Hubby and I are throwing our first party. It is of course Harry Potter theme, because what else would we pick. I am so excited for this and have been planning for a few weeks.

 Today I am going to share our menu, games, and plan for the party. 

   Our menu is mostly based off of foods in the books and traditional London foods. For snacks we have dips and pretzel wands, and guest are bringing others. We will have a little tea bar with teas, cream, sugar and rock cakes. These cakes are some that Hagrid offered in his hutch, during tea time. For our main meal we will be having meat pies. One is a chicken and mushroom pie, they are traditional pub food. The other is a beef pie. The pies and rock cakes are from a Harry Potter Cook Book. Desserts will be apple pies from the great hall, roach clusters, and peppermint pasties. Of course there will be some candy eaten too it is Halloween.

Baked Chicken Wings

   Baking instead of frying chicken is not a new idea. These though you can get to the same crispness as a fried wing and I think they taste even better. We are following the Trim Healthy Mama plan and these are on plan and great for a date night or when watching a football game. These alone would be a FP but served with a side of sweet potato fries would make an E.

Married Monday: Update

   I have been a bit behind in my Married Monday posts, I have been having a hard time thinking of great topics that you all want to read about. I am going to take a little break just from my Marriage posts until mid November so that I will be able to give yall great information that is helpful and useful for you.

Chef Crafted Bundles

 I am required by the FTC to let you know that I am being compensated for these posts. I am not writing about McDonald’s for the compensation but because I love what the company is doing and want to share it with all of you. I'm Lovin' It!

   McDonald’s is testing out its newest burger creations in three locations across the country and Central Arkansas is one of them. These new sandwiches have bold, fresh flavors that you get to pair with your choice of meat and bun.

Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese

   This recipe was found by my dear Hubby and I am so glad he did. I have only made a couple of homemade baked mac and cheeses so I was a bit nervous on getting it just right. This turned out amazing though and this sauce before adding the cheese will be my base for all cheese type sauces. It came out ooey and gooey and didn’t set up so hard that you couldn’t enjoy it. Then after baking it is a gooey and stringy cheese sauce you think of and the crunch of the panko on top. It is perfect.

I am trying a new thing with my recipes and adding an easy printable recipe at the end that you can click on and print.

Outlets of Little Rock

   Yes you read that right, Arkansas has its very own outlet mall now and it is in Little Rock. They celebrated their grand opening this weekend. A few weeks ago I got to do a hard hat tour and see how the mall would be laid out and some of the stores as they were being worked on. Last Thursday they hosted a charity event, Open Doors, Open Hearts. Ticket sells went to 20 different charities and customers got to choose where their money went when purchasing. This event was a preview shopping event with great coupons, discounts, and the chance to be one of the first people to shop in these stores.

Weekend Recap- Craft Fair Weekend

    Friday night I headed up to Springdale or home as I call it. It was time for the annual Craft Fair weekend. This was one of my top trips over the last few years.  

   I spent the day Saturday hanging out with my mom hitting up two of the closer ones to the house. We sampled lots of dips, of course, I love dip mix taste samples at these types of events. We even bought a couple and we each got this adorable little serving dish.

Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook Review

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

   This is a companion book to the Trim Healthy Mama Plan (review coming soon). These books are Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett’s second and third book, an update to their original self-published book that was over 600 pages long and included the plan overview and recipes. Their first book was a best seller and many ‘mamas’ were requesting a simpler version of the plan that was easy to understand and a separate cookbook that wasn’t so large. And boy did these ladies come through, both books are wonderful and have great information.

Weekend Recap

   This weekend has been a busy one, but great. Friday evening after a nap we went to the Arkansas State Fair with our friends and had a blast. Saturday morning we slept in and then decided a trip back home for the night would be fun. We came back Sunday afternoon and I set out to make our first week of a new meal plan.

   We went opening night to the fair and it was a blast. We watched the Cycle Wall of Death show, a set of three brothers rode motorcycles and a go-cart around and up a wall. I tried to catch a few pictures but they went too fast so I decided to take a video. This is when he was collecting money out of people's hands as he went around. It was pretty impressive. They also had two go at the same time and one was above the other on the wall.

A Recap of Bill Nye "The Science Guy" Lecture at UCA

   Tuesday night Hubby and I had a date night, not one common for us though. We went and of our own free will went and listened to a lecture at the UCA campus. I say that because this is the first time I have voluntarily gone to any type of educational event. But this one was an exception because it was Bill Nye, yes the science guy! I bought tickets forever ago and didn't even know what he was going to be doing, a small part of me did hope it would be experiments though, fast forward to Tuesday dinner time, we still didn't know the topic of his talk. Honestly we didn't care, Bill is someone we learned from during a lot of our schooling and he is a wonderful brilliant scientist, so just to get to see him in real life was enough to get us there.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

   I typically don’t make chicken in the crock pot, I tried when we first got married and it turned out dry and one time burnt. I thought it was the crock pot, but it made everything else perfectly, so I decided no more chicken in there. But when I saw this recipe and the blogger said that hers is normally dry as well and this one was moist and perfect, I decided to go for it. I am so glad I did because it is amazing and on our list to make often.

Married Monday: Fall Bucket List 2015

   Last year I wrote this post and made a cute little image with a bucket list of things I wanted to do with Hubby during the season. This year I am making a new one. Some things the same and a few new dates added.

Post on ARWB: Preparing your Calendar

   How do you organize your calendar? I am over on Arkansas Women Bloggers talking about preparing your calendar. I go through my planning process for the year, month, and each week. I would love if you would go over and give me some love! Click here or on the picture to visit the post. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

   I love summer so much, but it has a lack of some foods that I love. Soups, stews and chilis are some that I miss the most in those hot months. Thankfully it is just about the right temperature to eat them again. Fall started last week so even though it's a bit warm still I am jumping in with decorations and this Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.

Married Monday Review: 9 Thoughts That Can Change Your Marriage by Sheila Wray Gregoire

I received this book in return for a review from Blog for Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

   About once a month I go and choose a book from the Blog for Books website, the last few that I have gotten have been cookbooks because I can never stay away from them. This time, though I was looking for a book based on Christian marriage and for the first time, since I started, saw one that looked good. I didn’t pay much attention to the authors name and did not realize that it was Sheila who blogs over at To Love, Honor and Vacuum. I have been following her since we got engaged and love the advice she gives.

McDonald's New Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own. 

   I've always enjoyed McDonald's chicken sandwiches; crispy, grilled, and of course, the McChicken. And now, there's the Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich...delicious.

Married Monday: Five Tips to Make Him feel Appreciated

   Our husbands are great, if, for no other reason than they put up with us, they should be reminded of their awesomeness on a regular basis.  With the holidays right around the corner, life is about to get busier than normal and letting him know how great he is will get pushed to the back of our minds. That’s why today I am going to share some simple ways to show him how much he is appreciated.

Buying-Moving-Done!

   As you know we bought a house recently. Well, this week we got to move in! It has been a crazy, tiring week but so wonderful. Today I want to take you on a photo journey recap of the moving day.

   Monday morning started early with us rolling out of bed at 6:30 and getting sheets in the washer and getting the very last things packed up. Then by 8:30 we were at the title company ready for signing.

Tips for Eating Healthy while Eating Out

   The end of this week we are moving so the majority of our house is packed. That includes the kitchen, which means we can cook limited things. We decided to have hamburgers a couple of nights but the rest of the time we plan to eat out. We are attempting to stay healthy during the moving process so we have to stay alert when eating out to make good choices. Below are 10 tips when eating out.

Married Monday Review: A Woman After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George

   I have read this book a couple of times and I love it. It is just a great insight into what a woman’s heart should look like. The book is broken up into 4 parts: The Pursuit of God, The Pursuit of God’s Priorities, The Practice of God’s Priorities, and In Praise of God’s Priorities.  It is organized and laid out very well.

Building the Ultimate Sandwhich

   Hubby loves sandwiches, he thinks that everything can be made better by turning it into one. While I was gone last weekend at AWBU he decided to make him a special one. He began thinking that he wanted to make a muffuletta but decided he didn't want to mess with the olives at the time, so he just made a great sub.

Friends, Fun and Learning- AWBU Recap

   This last weekend I attended Arkansas Women Blogger University, if you follow me on Instagram I’m sure you got the flood of pictures, in Hot Springs. It was my first conference and I wasn’t sure what all to expect and was a bit nervous going in. The ladies in this community are so kind, friendly and generous that they made me feel right at home and like I knew them all. It was great to finally meet in real life my favorite people that I follow and talk to online.

Friday Favorites

   This month has been full of great things so I thought I would take a moment and reflect on my favorites. It is easy to get caught in a hard moment and forget all of the wonderful things that are going on in your life. This month has had some ups and downs for sure. A down is that my great grandma died (she was 97), while that was sad it also made me remember my grandma and my aunt who have died and that made me sadder because I did not get to spend nearly enough time with them. My great grandma though had not seen her husband in twenty years, 2 daughters in many years, as well as her siblings and parents, she got to see them again in the most glorious of places and I know she is happy there and it was her time to go, so I am glad she has gone home. 

Zoodles- Zucchini Noodles

   

   I’m sure you have heard of zoodles, Pinterest has had them for quite some time now. I have been wanting to try them for a while but just wasn’t sure if they would be very good. I needed lunch for the week and had a bunch of zucchinis that I was going to cut up to put into my stir fry but decided to use my spiralizer to make some noodles!

Cookbook Review: Grill It, Braise It, Broil It- By American Heart Association

This book was sent to me by blog for books in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

   First things I love the layout of this book. As someone who loves to cook and at some point wants to write a cookbook of some sort it is fun to see how different books are organized. This one is split into the 12 different cooking methods that they are featuring. The goal of the American Heart 

Association with this book is to show how to make heart-healthy meals with these methods.

Celebrate with Dessert at McDonald's

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

   Life has many reasons for celebration, sometimes just surviving the day is one.  Whether it’s a hard day at work, a test day at school or celebrating big news or accomplishments, I like to celebrate with dessert. McDonald’s is a great place to get a dessert to celebrate any occasion.

Buying a House!

   Hubby and I have been looking for a house on and off these last few months since he was told that for work he would be staying here for the foreseeable future. We would get excited then freak out and worry that we weren’t ready, didn’t think we would be able to pay the down payment and still have money in the bank. Well, last week we decided we were ready and could do it financially, we had three houses that we really wanted to see so we called a loan company got pre-approved and went and found a realtor.  That was Monday of last week, we saw 3 houses that night and 5 the next day, none of which were the three that had started this whole thing. The last house scheduled Tuesday was laid out differently than the majority of the others that we saw. It was perfect. And we hadn’t been there 10 minutes and I said I was home. You know that feeling when you just know something is right, it’s pretty much the same feeling I had about my Hubby after only 4 months of dating, when you know you know and that is the end of it. Luckily he loved it too.

Chocolate Chip Cookies without Butter

   Everyone has been there, you want to make a batch of cookies and you realize you don’t have butter, or in my case you forget to buy the butter when getting the chocolate chips. I had to hit the ever-faithful Google to find what could take its place. I ended up using oil, and they turned out delicious.

Arkansas Women Bloggers Guest Post

   I love the community in the Arkansas Women Bloggers, they are all great people. The owner Stephine (The Park Wife) works so hard for us, connecting the members to clients that want to pay bloggers to help with their brands. It is because of her that I am able to write my McDonald posts and share the great things they are doing. The whole group though is full of ladies who want to help others and grow. If you follow me on social media (click the buttons to the right) then you have heard me talk about Arkansas Women Bloggers University or AWBU. This is their yearly conference where we get to spend 3 days together learning, growing and making new connections. There are workshops and speakers all there to help us members improve our blogs and businesses. It's only a couple weeks away and I am so excited, and I can not wait to come back implement and share what I learned there!

Back to School: As a Substitute

   We are approaching back to school time, for Conway they kids start back Monday and college kids start back Thursday. I am one of the few that has generally always enjoyed the start of the school year, I got new supplies, a new schedule and getting to see everyone again. As a sub, I am getting ready to start my second year of teaching. I probably though won’t start for a couple weeks, I don’t expect teachers to be out at the very start of the year.

Behind the Counter: I got to cook at McDonald's

   Last week McDonald’s in Conway let the brand ambassadors come and work behind the counter. Now I have never worked fast food before so I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I was excited to go try it out. I ended up having a blast and learning a lot.

Married Monday:Marriage Bible Verses, Gen 2:22-24 and Mat 19:4-6

   Last month I talked about a couple verses in Proverbs that dealt with favor and character in marriage. This month the two verses I want to talk about are very similar to each other, they show that God views a husband and wife as one flesh.

Cook Book Review: Infuse

I received a copy of Infuse for free to review and write this post. All opinions and thoughts are my own. 

Infuse: Oil, Spirit, Water by Eric Prum & Josh Williams is a book all about infusions what they are and how to make them.