Crab Boil!

This weekend, to celebrate the Gator Game and tailgate, we headed over to our friend's house to have a crab boil! This was the most delicious food I have ever eaten--absolutely incredible. Allan, my best friend's boyfriend, is from Louisiana and WOW does he make things hot...food...he makes food hot. He boiled blue crab, potatoes, sausage, mushrooms, corn, and onions! I can't wait to do it again...hint hint Allan :)

Here he is..the crab master himself!

And his beautiful girlfriend and my bestest :)

We finished the night with a huge GATOR WIN! We were so excited since LSU ...ahemLSWHO is just.not.nice. They roasted an alligator...a real alligator :( Well, they got what they deserved!

GATOR BAIT! Guess whose going to be Gator bait next week? ARKANSAS! BEAT THOSE HOGS!

Read more...

Friends and Foes

Here is the old mirror we had--very small and really just blended in on the wall. I loved it, but it just wasn't going to cut it.

So we returned it and got my new best friend-- I think it works so much better than the last one and is absolutely gorgeous...don't you think?

And now for my foe...this guy has been taunting my baby girl (Lola--the princess kitty) through the windows, sleeping on my husband's car, and obviously just making himself at home. Now, I am not a mean spirited person. But, when I can hear my baby girl crying and hitting our sliding glass doors with her entire body weight, I get a little annoyed. So, I have been spraying him with the hose. I know, NOT NICE, but you know what? He is not my cat! And, he is digging up my flowers and driving me and my baby girl crazy!

I am pretty sure he is not going to be back for a while. I found him earlier today in our carport and made a huge stink-- he ran his plump little self all the way home.

Read more...

Tasty Crab Dip

I am a huge follower/lover/admirer of Pioneer Woman. Anyone who doesn't already read her blog, should go and fall in love!

She started a website for bloggers to upload their favorite recipes called Tasty Kitchen. It's like a blog-world rendition of foodnetwork.com. LOVE IT. I found this recipe and thought I would share it for all you crab lovers to eat over the weekend while watching our favorite teams.

I am going to make it on Saturday--I'll post it then and show pictures!

Ingredients:

8 ounces, weight Crab Meat
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
1 Tablespoon Milk
½ cups Diced Onion
½ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients except for cheddar. Spread evenly into glass pie dish. Top with cheddar. Bake about 25 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve hot with cracker (Wheat Thins work best).

Read more...

Help Breast Cancer

Have you heard about the new PINK Swiffer? Proceeds from the Swiffer will go towards the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in coordination with Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October). This is now only available to Canadians...but hopefully they will bring one to the US. I am not huge on pink, but I really do think it would make cleaning so much more fun than my green one!

Read more...

Check, Check, Check, Check it Off!

What, what, what's it all about? Ha, sorry...I got carried away there.

OK, So I figured I would show you what my week looks like. I have been trying out the checklist idea since Monday and it is going GREAT. I love it! Yours may be different and probably will be, but here is mine:

Monday:

1. Clean all mirrors and doors and baseboards as needed

2. Empty trash cans in the house and take to the curb along with recycle (Tuesday is trash day)

3. Dust all furniture

4. Make lunches

5. Wipe down kitchen counters and sink

6. Set out outfit for Tuesday

7. Water plants

Tuesday:

1. Vacuum all rooms and rugs

2. Bathrooms-clean counters, toilets, showers, tubs

3. Change and launder sheets/towels

4. Make lunches

5. Run errands

6. Set outfit out for Wednesday

Wednesday:

1. School meetings (I don't schedule much for this day! Try and pick a day during the week where you don't schedule much either)

2. Make lunches

3. Wipe down kitchen counters and sink

4. Set outfit out for Thursday

5. Water plants

Thursday:

1. Laundry--all clothing

2. Mop laundry room/kitchen/baths

3. Empty all trash and take to curb

4. Run errands

5. Plan groceries (check for coupons and BOGO)

6. Make lunches

7. Set outfit out for Friday

Friday:

1. Grocery shopping

2. Wash bath rugs

3. Swifter wood/tile

4. Wipe down counters/sinks/appliances

5. Water Plants

Saturday:

1. Errands

2. Yard/Exterior

3. Relax :)

4. Plan something to do with the hubs

Sunday:

1. Church

2. Rest :)

What I love best about this is that my weekend is not taken over by chores AND I always know when something is going to be done and do not have to feel like it has to happen right away! Try it yourself, and let me know how it goes!

Read more...

Weekly Checklist

I work and so does my husband. We just bought a home and have been quickly overwhelmed by all the projects (daily, weekly, monthly...etc) that come along with it!

I was reading over at: Waiting on A Full House yesterday because Lyndsie had posted about a cleaning schedule on Monday.

Let me tell you...this was an epiphany!! I have had such a hard time "keeping house" lately. It seems all of a sudden I have this mountain of laundry and dirty bathrooms and floors that need to be vacuumed. Well, being the crazy person I am, if I notice it...IT HAS TO BE DONE RIGHT AWAY! Yes, I am that crazy. I know it, I deal with it...at least you are not my husband :)

So, I quickly formed my own chart for Monday-Sunday. I tailored it to our needs and spread out all the jobs so that when I see that the bathroom is dirty, I can think "I don't need to do that now, I will do it Thursday" (when I have planned to). This works great and really takes the stress out of all the jobs that come with owning a home.

I also planned in days that I will run errands (days where I have lots of free periods at school and can go during that time) and days to relax (Saturday and Sunday). I don't want to clean on the weekend, so I won't!

Here is the BEST part of the chart: My husband knows what needs to be done every day. He doesn't have to ask, I don't have to ask. If something isn't checked off it is visual reminder that there are things left to do! I LOVE IT.

Just thought I would share--thanks Lyndsie for sharing!

Read more...

Laundry Room Re-do!

We finally got around to having cabinets installed in our laundry room. Here is the laundry room right after we moved in. I wish I had before before pictures where the linoleum was ripping up and there was lizard poop all over the floor, yes lizard poop. They had infested the house. My friend Ryan still doesn't like walking into this room. The lizards are gone, I promise!

We had a ceiling installed because before this picture there were just rafters that led to our tiny roof (we have a low-pitched roof, so no attic space). That bookcase is now used as it should be, as a bookcase in our extra bedroom.

We don't have a pantry in our kitchen (yet) so we use one of the cabinets now as a pantry, but we plan on a huge redo of the kitchen in the next year. So, there will definitely be a pantry in it!

Here is the after! Sorry for the dark background. This is looking in from my kitchen.

Here is a close up. We got these at Lowes for an incredible price. At least I think it was. We couldn't have had cabinets made for this price ($94 each). That cabinet looks crooked (the one on the right) I promise it isn't!

We need to pick a different paint color. This was the color the entire house was before we moved in and painted every room, but this one. It isn't going to be easy to get around those cabinets and the washer/dyer! Any tips?

Here is our lovely window over the w/d. I need to get a pretty fabric to hang up there and add some color.

We are so happy to have more storage...I finally don't have a lawn mower box sitting in my kitchen with my blender/kitchenaid/ice cream maker/extra large pots in it!

Read more...