Eat An Apple

As much as I love Spring, I hate cramming my butt back into shorts after a winter full of comfort foods.

I was not blessed with a naturally high metabolism, but very well blessed with a palette that loves all foods.

Therefore, seeing myself pounds heavier at the beginning of May just down-right sucks.  Worst is seeing my arms and legs, not toned and better yet, pasty white!  (Am I giving you any hint that I popped into Old Navy yesterday and tried on their shorts that were on sale for $15?  Ugh, what a sight.)

Anyway, I have to get a grip and get back on the bandwagon.  It is a must that I take off these lb's that have found their way around my waist in the past seven months.  It's make it or break it time.

A very wise person once told me, "If you think you're hungry but don't want to eat an apple, then you are not hungry enough."

It's my spring motto.  That, and to get my butt outside or to the gym.  Wish me luck!


And yes, I did buy some shorts yesterday despite the fact.  I am hoping these will get me through May and by the end of the month, they will be too big.  Fingers crossed.

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Man Cave At The Atkins House

We are in the process of creating Matt's "man cave" (a.k.a. a family room)  in our downstairs area.

Several months ago we ripped out all the wood paneling and put up new sheet rock walls with baseboards and crown molding.  We put in a new sliding door that leads to the backyard that allows for a lot more light and are currently hunting around for a contractor to finish off some built-ins around the fireplace.
 
We FINALLY received the couches that Matt wanted that we ordered FOREVER ago from Sofa Mart here in Charlotte (Let it be known..I will NEVER buy a piece of furniture from there again.  Ever.) and... I am getting a large area rug made from a carpet remnant I found at a large carpet warehouse.

Slowly but surely its coming along....

Matt getting comfortable on his new couch. (Please excuse the ugly rugs.  I did not want the couches to sit on the tile and our new rug is not ready yet!)

I still need to find a coffee table, and maybe an end table, so right now I have my eye on this little beauty from Ballard Design.  I really want something with some storage but at the same time, not toooo bulky.

Morgan Cocktail Table

Seeing as how the couches are really dark, I think it would look nice to go with this table in gray:

Ballard Design

This room seems like it is taking forever to come together but...everything is turning out exactly like I had envisioned.  Patience.

Crockpot Parmesan Ranch Mushrooms

I LOVE to entertain and have family and friends over but I feel like all to often I end up feeding them the same thing.  I am afriad they might stop coming back.

Therfore, one night we did the usual steaks and corn-on-the-cob on the grill but instead of a salad, I did these AMAZING Crockpot Parmesan Ranch Mushrooms that I found on the blog, Riches to Rags by Dori.

These mushrooms were heavenly.  I even made them again the next night, just for me and Matt, as an appetizer.

I promise.... If you even slightly like mushrooms, you will LOVE these.

Crockpot Parmesan Ranch Mushrooms

Ingredients

Two packages fresh mushrooms

1 stick of butter

1 package of Hidden Vallen Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Melt the butter in a bowl and add the Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Package.  Mix well and pour over Mushrooms in the Crockpot.  Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.  Cook in the Crockpot for 4 hours on low.  

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Patience

I turned 30 in February.  

February 6th at 4 o'clock-something (Momma, where ya at when I need you on this one!)

Honestly,

Where the h*ll has time gone?!

That's us in Key West.  Blain and Blair's 30th Birthday Bash!

We had an absolute fabulous time.  We spent 3 nights in Key West and 1 night in Miami.  It's going to be pretty hard to beat.

Turning 30 wasn't that hard.  Weird, but not hard.  It seemed like I was in my 20s FOREVER (not complaining). 

 My 20's were spent becoming ME.

I graduated college, started a career, went though some boyfriends, moved to Charlotte, went through a few more boyfriends ;), found the right boyfriend, bought a house, married the BEST boyfriend, met new friends while staying close with old ones, gained a niece and nephew and overall got in the groove of who I really am.  

I wouldn't trade a single part of it.  I am happy with the ME that I have built and everything that I have.

I still find myself getting itchy though...wanting more more more.  

I'm human, its in our instincts right?  Never FULLY complacent.

Matt gets so frustrated with me because I am CONSTANTLY walking around our house pointing out our next project.

Keeping my eye on the job board at work for my possible next step.

I told Matt yesterday I wanted to take a vacation next year to Budapest and Prague. 

I keep the poor guy on his toes :)

I get so frustrated sometimes when these "plans" I have for my life do not play out exactly like I had them in my book.

I want more more more.

I have to remind myself to be patient.

All the things I want now now now are out of my control.  Money does not grow on trees and the plan for my life is in His hands.  The right time will come and the opportunities will come.  I need to simply focus and just keep doing what I am doing and it will all work out in the end. 

And a little more fun from Key West....

Blair and Sam drove their Caddy from Walkertown all the way to Key West

A little boat cruise around the Keys

A little stop at picnic island.

It was a beautiful day.

Life One Day At A Time

As you can tell, I took a break from blogging.  Totally checked myself out.

It is easy to write about new recipes, vacations, days spent by the pool and new adventures in decorating our house.  The fun stuff is easy to put into words and pictures.  It's kind of why I needed a blogging break.

The past eight months, being very honest, have been difficult and challenging.

I do not think I have ever mentioned it on here before but...days after we were engaged, Matt was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. We spent most of 2012 in and out of doctor visits and riding the wave of different medications to treat his condition.  At the same time, we were still able to live our happy little life and look forward to our wedding on March 9, 2013.  They day came and went and we were truly blessed to have the wedding and honeymoon of our dreams.

About three months after our wedding, Matt's condition started to worsen and the medications prescribed for Ulcerative Colitis were no longer working.  The decision was made that Matt needed to have a colectomy before Ulcerative Colitis continued to cripple his life.  

On June 21, 2013, Matt had his first of three surgeries at UNC Memorial hospital to remove his colon.  Within this surgery the actual colon is removed and an ileostomy is created in the abdomen. (Google it if you want more details; medicine is truly amazing)  Matt spent several weeks in the hospital before returning home to recover before the next. 

Matt's second surgery was on August 16th, where they created a new ileostomy and a j-pouch; just not yet connected. (Again, Google if you want the details) He again spent several weeks at the hospital and several weeks at home. 

His final surgery was on October 3rd, where they did a take down of the ileostomy and reconnected all of his "plumbing" with the usual weeks recovery in the hospital.  All this time he was on short term leave from work and I was spending my days between the hospital and work, and driving back and forth from Chapel Hill and Charlotte.

Therefore, life wasn't "pretty"; I wasn't even the one physically going through this life altering experience and I thought it was hard.

  In my opinion, it wasn't bloggable....yet.

Emotionally, I wasn't ready to share my feelings and emotions. 

I started my blog so that I could look back and reflect on my day to day life. 

I think I am just now coming around to reflecting on it all and I finally want to share it on my blog. 

This was a huge part of our life, our first year of marriage, and I want to remember it because nothing could have brought Matt and I closer together as husband and wife.

I am excited to post again, if not for anyone else, for me.

In between each recipe, birthday party and happy moment deserving of documentation, I also want to document the past eight months, just in a new light.

Shutter Wall

I am STILL in the process of creating our home.  I promised Matt I would take my time, buy things that I LOVED and decorate in a way that we won't get tired of next week.  So far so good and I am getting there. 

But in the meantime I will live vicariously through others.  This includes Laura.  She is the masterpiece behind Olive and Love.  Check out her dining room.  I WISH I had the guts (and the space) to pull this off in my house.  Its genius and GORGEOUS!

Summer Dessert - Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Matt and I could not be more happy that our friends, Katie and Preston Browder have moved into the neighborhood! 

(I stole this pic from facebook! Thanks friends!)

Several Sundays ago they had a bunch of us over to grill out and see their new home. I offered to bring the dessert and, oh boy, did I find a new summer treat!!!

"Homemade" Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (or your favorite ice cream of choice)

Pepperidge Farm Shortbread Cookies

Pepperidge Farm Snickerdoodle Cookies

Plastic wrap/Cling Wrap/Saran Wrap...whatever you want to call it

Directions

Scoop around 2 Tbs of ice cream onto a cookie.

Top with the same kind second cookie

Wrap individually with cling wrap

Repeat as many times as you want and place individually wrapped cookies in freezer

Done

ITS THAT EASY!

I made our cookies ahead of time since I was in a time crunch that afternoon and they were fabulous even after 8 hours of hanging out in the freezer; they definitely could go longer or shorter depending on your schedule.

They were a huge hit and will definitely make an appearance again at the next cookout.

 

Its Been A Year

Our engagement session with Cyn, a year ago in June, was our first "real" step to our wedding.  We had already selected our venue and several of our vendors, but this session brought the entire reality to life.

This man was going to be my husband.

It was almost surreal.

He really did choose ME to be the one that stands by him throughout each of life's events; creating a story together from now until the end. 

Even as I type these sentences, I am breathless as to what kind of decision we made and commitment we made together because it is incredibly powerful and humbling at the same time.

Since I met Matt our slogan has always been "Team Of Two" because that is how we operate. 

Most newlyweds get to spend at least their first year of married life riding on a cloud and floating through the in's and out's of learning to adjust to sharing your decisions/space/time/commitments with your new spouse.

That puffy cloud of newlywedness kind of floated by Matt and I a little too fast before we were faced last month with real life.  To make a long story short, on June 21st Matt has his first of three surgeries to remove his colon and have reconstructive surgery.  Operations, procedures, hospital stays, pain and life altering adjustments have become our new normal.

But.....

I love OUR puffy cloud because it has taken us to a whole new place together as a couple and strengthened our marriage in ways that take most people decades to get to. 

This was God's plan for us.

As much as we wanted to point fingers and question why God was sending Matt through this so early in his life, there was no question in my mind that God knew Matt and I could handle this as a "Team Of Two."

I have looked at my husband in a whole new light and seen just how strong of a man he really is.

It is crazy what a difference only a year can make.....

Our Engagement Post From Cyn's Blog:  Blain and Matt Engagement

I love you Matthew Cole!

Reflection - Strength

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I am sharing this post from the blog of Holly Furtick.  I ran across it this morning and as always, she seems to know exactly what I need to hear at just the right time. 

Where Strength Comes From - by Holy Furtick
Have you ever thought about someone, “I don’t know where she finds the strength”? I often think that about my friend, Ferris. She has 3 girls and this past spring, all 3 of them had a different serious medical procedure. Yet I never hear her complain. It is funny how some people seem to face difficulty with such strength yet others crumble under the slightest pressure.  
I have been reading Kelle Hampton‘s book, Bloom, a memoir of her journey to finding unexpected beauty in her daughter’s Downs Syndrome diagnosis. I love this part…

“People often ask me how I found the strength to see the glass half full when I brought Nella home to begin the next chapter in our story. First let me tell you something about strength. You can’t buy it, and you most certainly cannot get it overnight. It is earned, like muscle sinews that grow and fortify over years of hard exercise.”

Strength builds on itself. There are things that I have experienced this past year that I would have crumbled under 5 years ago. And maybe the circumstances of this past year will enable me to withstand the pressure of something in 5 years that I could not handle today. Psalm 84:5-7 says

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

You can’t live your life in fear of what will happen to you. But you must to learn to draw your strength from the right place. When faced with a difficult circumstance, there is such a temptation to complain and to run to all the wrong people for advice. But strength does not come from drama. True strength comes from a power inside you that is activated there by the Holy Spirit. And when you see someone tapped into that strength, it is hard to understand it.

But when you tap into it, you realize that possibly your whole life you were training for this moment, for this obstacle. You can face your situation with the mindset that no matter what, I am a conquerer. I am empowered with the strength to face this.

The strength that gives you joy when life throws you a curveball.

The strength that enables you to forgive someone who deeply hurt you.

The strength that gives you peace when you are worried.

The strength that empowers you when you are weary.

I want to live it out the way Paul put it in Colossians 1:11, “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.”

Yard Project

You know you are getting old when you are excited that its raining outside because you are thinking about your grass. 

That's me. 

I could care less today that my hair turned frizzy walking into work.All I cared about was that the rain is feeding our yard and saving us some money from running our irrigation system; again, old people problems!

This was our yard in March.  A lovely sampling of MANY types of grass with overrun flower beds full of tree stumps and weeds.  I wish I had a better picture that shows further to the left of this shot...it was a hot mess!

We hired A to Z Farms to come in, rip it all out, and start brand new! 

 We also had them rip out our front flower beds, plant new bushes and lay down new pine needles....work in progress on this day.

 Zoysia Sod finding its new home.

Finished Product.  I LOVE our "new" backyard.  It looks so much bigger!

 I actually enjoy looking out our back windows.  Is it weird that I get so excited over grass and landscaping?!

 Our front flower beds look so much neater and clean!

I guess this is the stuff you get excited about when you get old!

LOVE the husband for taking on the Project Manager position with this project; it exceeded my expectations!!

We have owned our house a year to this month and I fall more and more in love with it everday.

It's Just About Me

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I am an OCD neat freak, inside the house as well as in the yard. I don’ drink/eat milk or dairy products out of glass. I love snail mail and I always send real birthday cards to friends and family; ecards are a disgrace. My dream job would be a photographer with National Geographic. I love reality TV and sitcoms and my birthday is February 6, 1984. The NC State Wolfpack will always be like my second family and nothing is better on a Saturday than tailgating at Carter Finely. I hate to sleep in and Friday is my favorite day of the week. I drink red wine over white and could never survive a day without cheese. I will always pass up a sweat treat for a salty snack and prefer to have my toes in the sand. I would rather cook than eat out and truly believe there is no place like home. I am happiest when I am with my husband and rolling the trash cans to the street on Tuesdays is the chore I refuse to do. My dream family would include three kids and I would raise them in our current house, our first as husband and wife. I hate neon nail polish and never drink soda (unless it has liquor!). I am a Power Trader at Duke Energy and am usually (always) behind on the latest fashion trends. I enjoy cycle and cardio exercise classes and just can’t seem to find the patience for yoga. The thing that melts my heart the most is helping my sister put my niece to bed; it reminds me how fast time flies when life is good and how amazing it is to have a twin who has turned into the world’s best mom. The only kind of car I have ever driven has been a Honda and I love going to the dentist; haven’t missed a six-month cleaning in years. I still have my stuffed “Doggie” that I carried around as a kid and still start off my nightly prayer the same way as my momma taught me:


“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep, may angels guard me through the night and wake me to the morning light. I am thankful for my mom, my dad, my sister, everyone in the whole wide world and especially Jesus.”

That was the version growing up and, as you can imagine, as I have passed several stages in life, my “thankful for” list has grown a little longer :)

HUGS AND KISSES FROM ME!

Our Wedding Trailer

Blain + Matthew [Wedding Trailer] from Merigo Films on Vimeo.

Best Day Of My Life!

Progress In Life

I know I am just preaching to a crowd but goodness gracious life has been crazy busy!  I have not been home in several weekends due to some fabulous activities with family and friends, one of them being this little girl below getting engaged!

Lori and Randy are a match made in heaven and I can't wait to celebrate all year long leading up their nuptials next spring!  Bring on the wedding festivities!  Lori and Randy, I could not be more excited for you and Randy, I could not have picked a better dude for my friend :)

Love.

Last week we also had our backyard ripped out and put back in brand new!  I will share some before and after pictures later but to give you a quick idea....Our "before" backyard was full off tree stumps, flower beds, dead plants and 1000000 different types of grass. 

 Matt and I are both simple people so we had A to Z Farms come in, tear everything out, lay down zoysia sod and new beds around the house.  During the process we also decided on an irrigation system as well as a total change in the front flower beds.  We ended up ripping those out too and starting over.  Our backyard and front flower beds are so much more open and "clean" now.

We obviously need to water now to green it up but it will get there!  One step at a time!

Huevos Rancheros

Husband and I got down and dirty in the kitchen last night and again, we tried something new!

Huevos Rancheros from Skinnytaste.

I was a little hesitant because it was no where close to a "meat and potato" meal for the man but...he really enjoyed it. I also got home a little late from spin class and this was SUPER easy and QUICK to whip up! 

Fined the recipe here:  Huevos Rancheros

Our Huevos Rancheros

Skinnytaste's Huevos Rancheros

Because we have so many leftover tortillas, tomorrow night we are going to give the Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken a shot! I will let you know how it goes!

Easiest Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken

A Mexican fiesta all week long!

Mudroom Wishes

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Dearest Husband,

THIS is what I would LOVE our mudroom project to turn out like....maybe just in an antique white or something to match the family room.  It is the PERFECT setup for our space with just the right amount of storage!

Thank You,

Me

via:  Playing Sublimely

We are currently in the process of a huge backyard project; pretty much tearing out everything we currently have and re-landscaping and sodding every inch. (before and after pictures to come!)  Our backyard looked awesome last May when we purchased the house but slowly as the flowery bushes started to die last fall and the pine needles started to disappear we realized it needed a little more TLC. It was also just not our style.  We are simple.  We like grass and low maintenance.  Therefore, let the games begin next week as A to Z landscapes takes over!
AFTER that we will move into the house and give our current family room and mudroom a little face lift.  Again, its the perfect space, just needs a little TLC and organization!  Can't wait!

Granada

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No, I am not lucky enough to have an upcoming trip planned to the city of Granada BUT, last night I did purchase the Granada Rug (blue) from Ballard Designs!!!

I previously purchased a chevron runner from Ballard for our upstairs hallway that was 2'6"x8'. I have really enjoyed it but, our upstairs hallway is 13 feet long and every time I walk over it, I feel like it is a TAD too short for the space.  I have also been shopping around for rugs for our downstairs hallway by our backdoor and laundry room and I feel that the chevron runner (with it being and indoor/outdoor rug) would go much better in this space. 

Therefore, when I saw a site wide 15%-off-sale yesterday at Ballard Designs, I jumped on a runner I have been eyeing for MONTHS now.  It is the perfect size, 2'8"x10'.  This will leave just enough room on either end to still show some of the hardwoods but, long enough to fit the space. 

This will be the third Ballard Designs rug living in my home...can you say obsession.  Everything at the store is just such good quality that I can't keep my finger off the ADD TO CART button!!!

(Ballard also had a 'free swatch' promotion so I ordered several samples of other rugs I have a crush on  and possibly want for our dinning area!)

GRANADA RUG - BALLARD DESIGNS

I love "playing house" and making our home OURS!

Another Wedding Sneak Peak

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Our FABULOUS wedding photographer, Mrs.Cynthia Kain posted a little sneak peak today on facebook and it has me DYING to see the rest!

Can't wait!

Thanks Cyn!  Words can't describe how much we enjoyed having you as part of our day!

Check out her website:  Cyn Kain Photography

and her Blog:  Cyn Kain Photography Blog: http://cynkainphotography.com/posts/

A Decision To Decide

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I read her blog every now and then and sometimes I stumble upon advice that I just NEED to hear, right now, in the moment, this very second, that I deeply absorb. 

It happened today.
I read this:

A Decision To Decide by Holly Furtick

1 Corinthians 7:4 says
The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. (NIV)

The Message version puts it this way…

The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality—the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out.

Yesterday there was a clip on my husband’s blog called, “the Power of a Pre decision.” It is one of my favorite teachings of his. The idea of pre deciding can change your situation and especially your marriage.
You can pre decide to forgive.
You can pre decide to love.
You can pre decide to serve.
Marriage is about decision. Not feeling. It is about deferring to the one you love, and seeking to satisfy them, not standing up for your rights.


Thank You Holly for this simple reminder; I needed it today.

Children and Sex

Sitting at dinner one night on our honeymoon Matt and I started talking about having kids.  We talked about how weird of a feeling it is to know that now that we are married we can start thinking about things like this.  When we (and God) decide that it is the appropriate time, we can try and have our own little family.

It then led me into the conversation about my sis, Blair, getting married and having kids.  Blair and Sam lived together before getting married so after their wedding it was like nothing had changed; instead of calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, it was now husband and wife.  That was it; my brain never left the box.

But then, one fine day, the phone rang.

She was on the other end of the line and had just uttered the words "I am pregnant." 

I laughed and then I cried.  I was so excited for them... and to become an Aunt... but then it hit me....HOLY S**T!!!!!

Dad knows now that Blair and Sam have really had SEX.  omg. omg. omg.  I freaked out.

I have no idea why this freaked me out so bad but it did.  Blair is old enough to have sex (and married) and now that Blair is pregnant, Dad knows that she and Sam have REALLY had sex.  I mean honestly it hit me like a brick wall (what am I 16?! Grow up Blain).  It just came so weird to me to "admit" having sex to your parents, even when you are married!

To this day it's still a little weird but I am slowly getting over it, and one day, when the time is right, I hope to tell Dad that yes, Matt and I have REALLY had sex as well but.....(still creeps me out just to type.)

until then, I will enjoy one of the best jobs in the world and that is being an aunt to two crazy little rug rats who light up my world everyday!

Olivia Claire playing on the playground.  Blair is trying to work with her on her 'instant' smile for the camera; still a little rusty :)

It's so cute to watch them play together. 

Jackson is getting some little alligator teeth! 

She honestly gets more beautiful everyday. 

On this day her Flower Girl dress came in the mail and even though she was dirty from the park, she just had to put it on over her clothes and pose.  Such a ham. 

Easter morning discovering his a wind up chick in his Easter basket! 

Why do kids grow up so fast??? 

Dying her Easter Eggs. 

Working on that smile again in her Easter Dress 

Old man on Easter, ready to go to church 

Sister sent me this picture via text and said Olivia was making up dances in her car seat.  Mimi will be proud to know we MIGHT have a cheerleader in the making! 

I love you little doodles.