Wordless Wednesday...

Recipe: Granola Balls...

Hubs & I love these!!! During the week, he usually just has enough time to grab one of those pre-packaged granola bars on the way out the door... then I found this recipe on my Whole Foods app for my iPhone {where else- ha!} ... They are our new favorite!

They are super easy to make & so yummy!!... You can have a couple for breakfast on the go or I just like to have them as a snack :)

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut {I could only find sweetened & that works fine!}

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup of your favorite trail mix

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the oats & coconut on a baking sheet. Place in the oven & toast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, combine the peanut butter, honey, and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved, stirring continually so as to prevent scorching.


Add the toasted oats and coconut to the peanut butter mixture along with the trail mix and stir to combine. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. {I actually let mine cool for 15-20 minutes cause after 10 it was still too hot to handle}

This is the kind of trail mix I like... it has dried cranberries, chocolate chips, & nuts...

Working with dampened hands, shape into 12 one-inch balls and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. {As you can see below, I shape mine into smaller balls :)... This is a great time to get the kiddies to help!}

ENJOY!!! :)

Vuitton for Valentine's...

My oh my! What a day it has been!!... It's now 9:00pm and this has been the first time I've sat down to relax all day!!

It started out to be a normal Sunday... hard to get out of bed... had a mini-meltdown cause I couldn't find anything to wear... running late for church... hubs had my bagel & coffee ready and waiting for me when I came downstairs... all normal Sunday morning routines... except this Valentine's morning, he had the raspberry chocolate candies I had been hinting around about waiting for me on the kitchen table! :) {So sweet!}... Since we needed to walk out the door 5 minutes ago, I didn't have time to read my card before we left :(

After church, we all headed to the mall & that's where the day gets REALLY EXCITING!!!!!!!!! Hubs informed me that we are going to the mall because he wants to take me to LOUIS VUITTON TO PICK OUT A PURSE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!}

(For my blog friends that don't know me very well, to me Louis Vuitton is the Holy Land! LOL :) It's probably obvious from my blog title that I am a purse-addict!... I'm not too big of a shoe person or a jewelry person, but give me a designer handbag and I am your girl!!!)

Up until recently, I have been a loyal Coach shopper! (When I found out I was pregnant, the first thing I did was go out and get myself a FABULOUS Coach diaper bag!)

We got a Louis Vuitton store at our local mall a few years back & since then I have been obsessing over owning one! Every time I would walk by their window displays, it took everything I had not to lick the glass because I was in such lust! LOL ;) and hubs knew about my obsession!... He even took me while I was pregnant to go pick one out as my "push present" (i.e. a present a new father gives the mother when she gives birth) but when the baby actually arrived we had 2nd thoughts about spending that on a purse so I picked out a watch instead...

Anyhoo, so when hubs told me about my Valentine's surprise I almost pee'd my pants!!! I was SO EXCITED!! I was getting my very own Louis!!! {I have a small evening bag, the "Pochette", that was a hand-me-down from my aunt because it was old & she got a new one and I have a wallet that was my mom's... and I also have a couple "replicas"-which I do not condone! Those just sit in my closet & I haven't been able to bring myself to get rid of them!... but now that I have this new one, "she" probably won't want to be in the same room as those! I told hubs we needed to turn the office into "her" room & get her a lighted pedestal to "sleep" on! Ha ;) }

Of course I acted like a total tourist inside the store, but I didn't care!!! I was getting a brand new Louis dang it! Of course I'm gonna capture every moment on film!!...

I really wanted to get baby girl's picture inside since it was her first time at Louis Vuitton!! She was so enthralled by the bags that she couldn't take her eyes off them long enough to look at the camera! LOL {I was terrified that she was going to spit up in there, but she was a total lady!}...

Here I am leaving the store... I look like a complete goober in this picture! I've got my "Holy $*%T my husband just bought me a brand new Louis" face on! LOL... ;)

And here she is... the newest member of our family!...

I told my husband that I totally don't deserve him OR that purse!!!... but I'm taking it anyway! HA! {I have a feeling this will be my Easter gift, anniversary gift, birthday gift, & Christmas gift rolled into one!... and that's ok!}

The rest of the day was a continued whirlwind... my sister-in-law came over to finish taking baby girl's 6 month portraits, I finished doing laundry, cleaned the house a little, then I made a "romantic" dinner for me & hubs! We had been so busy the whole day that we didn't even have time to get anything special for dinner. So guess what we had... you guessed it... a BLT!! LOL :)

I made it "fancy" though and put it on a real plate instead of a paper plate & added corn on the cob & my husband's favorite fruit salad I make him in a martini glass! :)

It couldn't have been better & more perfect Valentine's Day! {sighs}

Shopping for Easter...er, I mean Valentine's Day...

Hi friends!

I had another enjoyable Saturday! Hubs let me off baby duty for the afternoon to go shopping! Yay!... I needed to go out to get some last minute Valentine's Day gifts for him & baby girl, but ended up finding more than I set out for!... {Don't worry, the things I bought we "somewhat needed"... I just didn't expect to find them today}

In the area we live, we don't have a huge mall real close (it's only about 30 minutes away) but we have a few stores up the road that suit me just fine when I want to get away and do some shopping... I went to JCPenny first to try to find these dress shirts my husband really likes, but of course they didn't have his size... but I went a few doors down to Ross & TJ Maxx and found a shirt & tie I liked so I got that for him...

Hopefully he will like what I picked out! He usually always likes the ties I give him but he is pretty particular about his shirts so we'll see...

Then whenever I'm at TJ Maxx, I just have to go over to the Home Goods section!... and that's where the unexpected purchases come in (as they normally do!)

Since we have a little one now, my goal is to do special things for all the major holidays & decorate the house accordingly. Up until recently, I would just decorate for Thanksgiving & Christmas, but this year I got some Valentine's stuff and today I found a few Easter things!

I found this Easter egg wreath!... and I got the matching garland and a couple boxes of coordinating vase fillers :) All for around $50!

I did refrain from buying up these oh so cute polka-dot dishes though! {I LOVE polka-dots!} so I was pretty proud of myself! My friend Beth probably went and cleaned them out after I sent her a picture mail of them! She has a polka-dot problem too! LOL ;)

Then of course I came home & made BLTs for me & hubs!... we seriously are gonna need to go to BLT rehab! We've made them every Saturday for lunch for more than I'd like to admit! We are ADDICTED!! It's that dang bacon with the brown sugar I talked about a few posts back that you cook in the oven!... Its like crack!! I mean who doesn't like "candy-coated" bacon?!

Then later in the evening, I sent hubs to Publix to get more bread and he came home with a couple steaks and made me a Valentine's Eve dinner! ;) So sweet!!....

We put crumbled goat cheese on top of the steaks & it was DEE-LICOUS!! :)

Tomorrow we don't have a whole lot planned for V-day. Hubs & I don't usually do an extravagant Valentine's celebration anymore... we're both just pretty happy to get take-out or cook a nice dinner and stay in. We're homebodies really- and perfectly happy that way!

After church we may run to the mall & later we are getting the rest of sweet baby girl's 6 month portraits done... Then I need to spend the rest of the day cleaning house & finishing the laundry because my mom is coming in town Monday to stay for a week!

I'm just hoping hubs comes through on the dark chocolate, raspberry candy I've been dropping hints for for the past week or two!... I'm still working on convincing him that we need to leave for church early so we can stop by a donut place to get some of these festive heart-shaped treats I saw a commercial for... :)

Anyhoo, I need to go upstairs and fold laundry & try to find something to fit into tomorrow!
Y'ALL HAVE A HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! ;)

Show Us Your Life: Valentine's...

This week on Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life", she wants us to talk about our favorite Valentine's gift or date... Well when I think of my past Valentine's, two occasions come to mind...

This first was a "date" I went on with my now husband... We had just started dating seriously and went to have lunch then get a couple's massage together. I can't even tell you where we went to eat because it was so many years ago... The thing that sticks out the most in my mind about this Valentine's celebration was my fear of accidentally letting a HUGE FART out in the middle of our relaxing & quiet massage! LOL ;)

I don't know what's wrong with me but every time I go to get a massage, in the back of my mind I have this anxiety that I'm going to be so relaxed that I might let a little toot slip! <:-[ ... Now, I've never done it before, but it would really be just my luck to happen to me!... I came DANGEROUSLY close one occasion when I was getting a prenatal massage {all you mommies out there know how uncontrollable THAT is when your pregnant!}

Anyhoo, back to my story... Since our relationship was still kind of new, I was trying to be on my best behavior! :) I thankfully didn't let one slip that day!... but a few months later when I made him do a Pilate's DVD with me I accidentally "let one" when I was trying to "keep my belly button towards my spine" as they like to say during Pilate's class! {Geez!}...after we both got done rolling on the floor laughing, hubs let one slip himself before our Pilate's workout was over! Haha :) Guess we were made for each other! LOL

The other Valentine's memory I have was maybe a year later (or it could've been later that evening when we exchanged gifts... I have a bad memory when it comes to time periods!)... We were living in our first apartment... Hubs did a "fake out" and used a small gift bag with a note inside to go look in the closet...

Of course I ran...

And hubs had hidden a BIG box with a fabulous purse inside that he even picked out himself!!...

This was the first of several he has given to me through the years and it is still ones of my favorite purses!... ;)

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!... and remember to try to keep your toot's to yourself! LOL :)

What's up with Ali?!... (Bachelor Recap)

So I just got done watching this week's episode of The Bachelor where Ali leaves the show to keep her job... WTF?!?!?!?!?!

Ugh, I'm starting to get a little frustrated here ABC!!! Besides the fact that Ali has been my favorite since episode one, I'm annoyed that you can't come up with a different story line to create drama!... It's Jillian and Ed all over again!
Don't these people get clearences from their jobs before they go on the show?!
What's up with dropping the "I have to choose between my career & my personal life" bomb right at the perfect TV moment?! Come on Chris Harrison!!... quit toying with my emotions & find a better writer! ;)
Seriously though, I think she will end up coming back before the season ends (probably at the very last episode, flying in on the wings of a unicorn- or at the very least a helicopter landing on top of Vienna at the final rose cerimony)... or better yet, Jake will end up not choosing any of the remaining women & fly a plane to wherever Ali is to "go get his lady back"... (something very "Pretty Woman-ish" when Richard Gere rides in a limo with a bouquet of red roses to get his ex-prostitute or something ala Top Gun where Maverick shoots in just as the sun sets)... And Jake gets down on one knee and asks Ali to marry him & that she should have never left because it was her all along... And then they ride off together into the sunset on Jake's motorcycle with the song "On the Wings of Love" playing as an airplane flys overhead flying a banner behind it reading "and they lived happily ever after..." {man I should be a producer on this show! Lol} ;)

But we'll see how it plays out... Hopefully he'll get rid of Vienna soon because she is annoying me!... Actually they all kinda annoy me... Gia's mouth freightens me on occasion & Tenly is a little to "bubble gum" for my taste... I think I can only take a few more episodes of Jake too!... I don't mind a guy who can show his emotions & cry but c'mon... every episode!! (If he cries over a balcony one more time, I'm going to shoot myself!)... Plus, I get the feeling every now & then that he just thinks he's too good... Or maybe he's just irritated by all the nonesense?! I know I probably would be!

Anyhoo... I still can't wait to see how all this plays out! :)


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By a thread & a prayer...

So here I am wearing a "pre-baby" skirt to church this morning!... HALLELUJAH!!

I felt more like myself today than I have in a long time!... I did have a few mini meltdowns while getting ready though!... Considering, besides the 2 pairs of jeans I bought yesterday & a few pairs of black yoga pants, I have nothing that fits! So like every Sunday getting ready for church, I scream in frustration to my husband 10 minutes before we need to be walking out the door that I have nothing to wear while I stand there in bra & panties with a pile of clothes that have been tried on & ripped off in frustration lying on the bed {Ugh!!! >=[ }...

But this morning after my weekly meltdown, I guess I was feeling somewhat optimistic & went into the office closet where my pre-mommy wardrobe is still packed away, grabbed this skirt & was actually able to get it over my rear! ;) It wasn't until we were in the car that I realized I had my "Team Saints" colors on!...

Like I said in my last post, it was held together by a thread and a prayer but I got it on!! My wide belt is kinda covering up the zipper on the side that couldn't quite make it to the top, but no one was the wiser! :)

I felt like I was gonna pass out in the car on the way to church because the circulation was being cut off at my waist! LOL... but I made it!

Then I just had to snap a picture of my sweet hubby because he's just so darn handsome...

And of course, it wouldn't be right if I didn't include sweet baby girl...

Then after we got home & got out of our church clothes, we had to keep the "Team Saints" theme going ;)

Anyhoo, I'm going to get off here so we can get ready to watch the Super Bowl... I gotta actually watch this year... and I have to do my nails too! ;)

GO SAINTS!!!!