fab.

Baby Dodson: 13 weeks

2011-11-17T19:39:00.002-05:00

Profile shot of baby at 13 weeks. And baby is waving to everyone! :)

We're Expecting!

2011-10-17T16:07:00.003-04:00

BABY DOSON

May 23, 2012

We are so excited!!!
I've been journaling throughout the last few months and will share those posts over the coming weeks. Right now, I'm battling "morning" sickness that comes and goes all day and night. I'm exhausted all the time. And I think I'm still in shock that there's a little baby growing inside of me! But I'm super excited!!

Hot Hot Hot

2011-08-27T23:42:00.002-04:00

I just took Layla on her midnight walk and it is so hot outside. There is no breeze and it feels like 100 degrees. Did I mention that it's midnight? Seriously!

"Need a little wind here."

Can you name that movie? It's the same movie that this quote comes from:

"Fat guy in a little coat."

Did you get it?

Layla and {Boy}Friends

2011-06-24T22:08:00.005-04:00

Some fun pictures of an impromptu doggy photo shoot in our friend's backyard. These pics came out so good, I just had to share.

Anniversary Trip 2011

2011-06-24T21:35:00.012-04:00

May 24, 2011. John and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. It was fantastic! We decided to hit up Daytona Beach and spent 3 days relaxing in the sun. The view from our balcony:

Our sweet suite:

During our trip, we headed down the peninsula and visited Ponce de Leon, which has a magnificent lighthouse.

Here we are enjoying lunch at a nearby park.

We paid a few bucks to climb to the very top (in our flip flops).

Once we got up there, the view was absolutely fabulous!

Safely back on the ground, our few bucks also granted us admission into the museums surrounding the lighthouse itself. We learned about the caretakers and the history of the lights used in the lighthouse.

There was some other interesting artifacts around the lighthouse that were pretty cool. So we got creative and took some photos.

During our trip, we also ate...

Drank...

And laughed.

Our little jaunt to the sea was perfect for our second anniversary. Fun, adventure, relaxation = memories that will last forever.

Homemade Potstickers

2011-05-06T17:36:00.004-04:00

Wonton wrappers

Pork filling

You must make these and eat them until you're so full that the only way to get to bed is to have your husband roll you down the hall. They are that good! And that filling. They fill you right up.

Eat them with soy sauce. They are best with soy sauce. I'm a sucker for sauce. Any type of sauce, really. Dipping my food in sauce is like the best thing in the world, when it comes to eating stuff. Serve a meal with dipping sauce and I'll be your best friend. Heck, just serve me some dipping sauce and I'll be your best friend.

Gallery Wall

2011-04-30T11:03:00.003-04:00

For the 2 years that we've lived in this condo, we've always had trouble with the wall above the couch. We really like our couch, it's soooo soft. And the only place it can go is against this wall in our living room. But the wall that it's against is huge! It slants up to at least 12 feet at it's highest point because we have vaulted ceilings. Which I also love, I just have had trouble figuring out what to put on it. Everything we've tried just seems so small on such a huge wall. But putting something HUGE would look totally weird because it would probably look bigger than the couch.

So we've tried art, different art, two pieces of art, single pieces of art. Pretty much, I wasn't happy with any of it. Then, last November, we cleared out John's man cave to make room for Joanna and I had this pile of frames and art and stuff sitting on the floor of our bedroom. It was a light-bulb moment, for sure. What was cool, was that there were some pictures that were more John and some that were more me, but they all looked kinda neat together. Crazy!

It only took 6 months, but I finally put all the stuff up on the wall above the couch and made a gallery wall. I love it!!!

Funny thing, I read tons of blogs and websites that shared tips on how to create a gallery wall. So I started out by laying everything out on the ground, arranging and rearranging until I found a layout that I liked. Then I took a picture of the layout to reference during the process. Then I picked up all the frames and set them aside because we couldn't even walk through the living room. Of course, I did this part at 11:00pm and couldn't actually start hammering nails into the wall because I want our neighbors to like us and not call the HOA and complain about us.

So the next day, instead of doing the normal thing, which would have to been to actually put the frames up on the wall....I took a trip to Target and grabbed more frames for some art that John brought back from England in March. Then I came home, framed the additional art, and started hanging things on the wall in a completely different layout than originally planned. I know, I spent all that time planning and then in the end just randomly hung the stuff on the wall.

Well, it ended up working out. And because I really like things symmetrical and balanced (I'm an accountant!) the final product is very much my style! I had to bring in things from different parts of the house that I wasn't originally planning on using because of how the arrangement was flowing, but I think it looks 10 times better than my original plan. See, I can be spontaneous!

Here are a few close up's:

I had this canvas made for John back in January. I saw a coupon for a canvas wrapped "photo" and I couldn't pass it up. The canvas was free and I paid $5.99 for shipping. Pretty good deal! I created the "photo" in Microsoft Publisher because it provided more flexibility of placement than Word, but it also had all the different fonts to choose from. I saved it as a .jpeg and then uploaded it to Winkflash.com. It was really easy. I could view the final placement and make sure that the photo was centered on the canvas the way I wanted it to be. Then I just hit submit and paid for the shipping. It came a few weeks later. Actually, it took longer than anticipated because they were so backed up with orders from the promotion that they were running. But a representative called me to tell me that personally and told me the date it could be expected by. The delay didn't bother me at all because I wasn't in a hurry for it. This was just a surprise gift that I ordered for John so I wasn't up against a deadline for a special occasion.

The canvas has dates and places that are meaningful to John and I from when we first started dating, up until our honeymoon. I actually started creating that just after we got married, but wasn't sure what it was actually going to become. I really loved how it turned out!

I found this "D" at Hobby Lobby last weekend and I thought it would make a fun addition to our gallery wall...you know, because our last name is Dodson! :)

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T21:24:00.002-04:00

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.

He has risen!

He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Mark 16:1-7

Spring Is In The Air

2011-04-20T22:32:00.001-04:00

Spring, a photo by hereyezsobeautiful on Flickr.

Or in our case, spring is in the sink. I spotted this super cute scrubber at Bed, Bath & Beyond and gave John the puppy dog eyes until he said "Yes, we can get it." Score! It's the only hint of spring you'll find around our house. I don't usually have time to change our decor for each season, but I just couldn't pass up such cuteness. It just puts a smile on my face. And that's a huge accomplishment since I only enjoy this little scrubber while I'm doing my least favorite chore - washing dishes.

Does Your Dog Have a Curfew?

2011-04-19T22:44:00.005-04:00

Because ours apparently does....now. Last night Layla (our sweet, feisty, full-of-personality boston terrier mix) didn't get home until 2:30am. 2:30 AM! Her aunts took her for a ride in the car, probably ending up at John's parent's house and they didn't bring her home until 2:30am. I think that's a bit late for our pup. So tonight we asked that she be home by 10:30pm. I think that's reasonable, right?

P.S. It's now 11:00pm and there's no sign of our pup. Hmmm.

I Am A...

2011-04-19T21:39:00.008-04:00

Don't get confused...that's not me in that picture above. But I would like to find out where I can get that shirt. It's very appropriate.

Today is April 19th and tax season is officially over. I feel like I can actually breathe again. And plan things, like cooking dinner after work and going shopping on the weekends. When we only have 1 day off per week, it's hard to make time for leisure. During tax season, my "free" time is usually consumed with dishes, grocery shopping and laundry. Doesn't feel very "free." But now it's over. Just in time for Easter.

Tonight I left work at 5pm and it felt great to leave while it was still light outside. On my way home, it started pouring rain. It was the really loud, big, rain drops and the closer I got to our house, the harder it poured. I got soaked as I ran into the house after parking my truck. John had dinner with the guys tonight so I got some time to myself. I talked with my wonderful friend on the phone and it was so encouraging and refreshing to catch up with each other. Then I went into the bathroom and before I even did anything, I flushed the toilet and the water just kept rising and rising, right over the top. Seriously! I grabbed 5 full size towels and covered the entire bathroom floor to soak up the water. Thankfully it didn't reach the carpet. But John wasn't home and I'm not an expert with overflowing toilets. So besides soaking up the water, there wasn't much else I could think of to do. John came home and we took a trip to Lowe's to pick up a heavy duty plunger and some Drain-O.

Since neither of us were anxious to get back to our clogged toilet, we decided to stroll through the ceiling fans and bathroom light fixtures. Those are both things that I'm thinking about replacing in the near future, so it seemed logical to take a peek.

We came home and John plunged the toilet for a good 5 minutes. I'm not sure it was entirely successful, but hopefully it helped. While John plunged, I googled. I looked up how to unclog a toilet and came up with a few options. Since we had already done the "wait until it unclogs itself" thing, and the "plunge" thing, we decided to try the "pour hot water and dishwasher detergent down the toilet and wait" thing. If none of this works, then John is going to use the Drain-O and may even go back to Lowe's and get a snake. I'm just hoping that we don't have to call a plumber. That would be a major bummer.

On a brighter note, I'm taking tomorrow off from work and I'm really looking forward to it!

from here

I might go get a pedicure. Or I might go stroll around Target. Or I might just do both! :) Watch out Ferris, I might give you a run for your money.

Today while I was on the phone with my friend I was reminded of the feelings of excitement and giddy-ness of a new relationship. The joy that just seems to come out of all your pores when you speak his name and talk about holding his hand. It's just the sweetest thing. And it's amazing how God brings people into our lives who care for us even better than what we can imagine for ourselves. I'm constantly reminded that God knows what I need much better than I do. And He freely gives these blessings and fulfills the needs of His children. And I'm truly thankful for that. It's relieving that I can trust Him to provide. Even with things as small and seemingly insignificant as clogged toilets.

Three Little Letters.....CPA

2011-02-12T19:35:00.004-05:00

It’s finally here! I finally received my CPA certificate from the California Board of Accountancy. I am officially a Certified Public Accountant and can now put those three little letters after my name.

Jackie Dodson, CPA

I thought I would feel different, you know, when it finally became official. But to be honest, I don’t really feel much. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy. It's a great accomplishment that I'm very proud of. I guess I just thought the moment would feel unbelievable. Like a mountain top high. But it's more mellow than that. Maybe I've just already gone through all the emotions and there's not much left to feel. Relief came each time I walked out of a test. Anxiety existed each time I awaited the test results. And excitement came each time I found out I passed. Now, I just feel…thankful. Thankful that it’s all over. The entire process took 1 year and 3 months. That's 15 months of craziness. But 6 master level accounting classes, 4 cpa review classes, and 4 cpa exams later - I’m finally done. Done with the late nights, done with the lectures, done with the memorizing. And it feels good to be done. John is especially grateful. He says he finally has his wife back. I’m definitely glad to be back. And I think that makes me feel the best! :)

A Day in the Life

2011-01-26T22:18:00.005-05:00

Me: "What is it, Layla? What do you see?"

Layla: "Squirrel, Mom, Squirrel! I'm sure of it."

Sunday Thoughts

2011-01-23T14:18:00.004-05:00

"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:10-11

"Let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:18-19

Virtual Garage Sale

2011-01-23T10:29:00.005-05:00

**All these items have been sold.**

If you're interested in any of these items, please contact me at jackiedodson24@gmail.com or message me on Facebook. Thanks!

FOR SALE: Coffee table ("Ramvik" from Ikea) - $50 obo - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10103719

Coffee table also has drawers on each side for extra storage.

FOR SALE: Side table ("Expedit" from Ikea) - $20 obo - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40147731

FOR SALE: Light fixture (from Lowe's) - $30 obo

Happy Birthday, Husband!

2011-01-18T20:53:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, my husband turned the big 2-6. We celebrated with friends at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse. It's a hibachi grill where they cook right in front of you at your table. Such great food that made fantastic leftovers! Thank you, everyone, for making John's birthday extra special :)

John, I love you so much and I can't imagine life with out you.
Happy Birthday, babe!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2010-12-26T14:50:00.002-05:00

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Love,
John & Jackie

What a Week!

2010-12-23T22:53:00.003-05:00

This week turned out nothing like I had planned. For those that know me well, you're probably laughing since I really prefer things to go as planned. But God had other plans for me this week -- REST. Saturday night I worked the service at church, covered for another guy that couldn't make it. It was a pretty normal evening working the graphics and chatting on the headset. I went home to an empty house. John was out at the movies with his friends and I wasn't that interested in seeing Tron, so home I went. As I sat on the couch watching tv, I started getting really warm and achy. Uh oh, I thought. I just need some sleep and I'll be fine. I went to bed and awoke Sunday morning in misery.

I was sweating and I had a sore throat. Uh oh. This was not in the plan. I dragged myself out onto the couch and fell asleep for a few more hours. By then, John was on his way home from church and offering to stop by the store to get medicine and Ginger Ale. By noon I was filled with Day-quil and throat lozenges. The worst part was the fever - one minute I'm sweating and the next minute I'm shivering cold. Sunday night I wasn't feeling any better, so I loaded up on Ny-quil and advil and fell asleep, hoping to be well enough to go to work the next morning.

Monday morning came all too quick. I got up with my alarm and went in to take a shower. Just as I was about to get out, the room started spinning and I felt lightheaded. Then things started going black. I knew I didn't want to be in the shower if I passed out, so I quickly turned off the water, got out and fell onto the bed next to John. I was so scared and it was obvious I wasn't in any condition to drive. So I called work and told them the grim news. Monday went pretty similar to Sunday. I made my way to the couch and didn't move the entire day. Hot, cold, sweating, shivering, Day-quil, advil. Repeat & repeat.

Then came Tuesday. Tuesday morning I woke up even more miserable than the days before. My throat was on fire and I could barely swallow. The pain was unbearable. I woke up John and declared it was time to go see a doctor. This was more than Ny-quil and Advil could handle. We visited our nearest Urgent Care center and saw a very nice Dr. Lopez. He took one look in my mouth and said "It's Strep Throat." He didn't even order the test because it was so obvious. So this is what strep throat feels like. It's awful! It's also my first time. Dr. Lopez prescribed antibiotics and steroids (the good kind, not the illegal kind). The antibiotics to fight the infection and the steroids to reduce the swelling in my throat and reduce pain. Let's just say things started going a bit better after I got the "good stuff." By dinner I was able to get down a bowl of soup and some crackers - progress! And by Wednesday I was feeling much more like myself.

Now it's Thursday night, the night before Christmas Eve. All the cookies are made...

and all the presents are wrapped.

Things are good. And Christmas is almost here, just as planned. :)

Christmas DIY Wreath

2010-11-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

John and I had a great Thanksgiving at John's parents house with lots of family and friends. There was so much wonderful food and of course I ate 'til my tummy was full. After the feast we had a ton of fun playing Kinect. That's that new game for Xbox where your body is the controller. We bowled, threw a javelin, and hit volleyballs with our head, feet and hands. Kinect is so fun and quite a workout. Some of the boys were really sore the next day. I'm tellin' you, it'll get your heart pumpin', that's for sure!

The day after Thanksgiving, I convinced John to help me get the Christmas decorations out of the attic. I just love putting up the tree and decorating the mantle. We had some garland in the box that I used last year on the tree. I wasn't feeling the gold on the tree this year, so instead I wrapped the garland around the clock that hangs above the mantle and created a do-it-yourself wreath. I really like the way it came out.

Have you started decorating yet?

Dining Room Update

2010-11-26T21:25:00.003-05:00

After giving away our dining set, I was super anxious to find a new table and chairs for our dining room. So I started scouring Craigslist and on Tuesday I found a great deal. The set came with 6 chairs! 6 chairs! The table even expands to seat 8. I am thrilled! And I think it looks great :)

Whole Wheat Bread / Rolls

2010-11-15T12:00:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I found this recipe for whole wheat bread on allrecipes.com. What drew me to this particular recipe was that it substituted honey for sugar, something I had been wanting to try for a while. The original recipe yielded 3 loaves of bread. Well, that's just too much for John and I all at one time so I decided to cut the recipe in half. The great thing about using allrecipes.com is that the website will do the calculations for you! You can reduce the number of servings in the recipe and the website will recalculate the amounts. It's genious, I tell ya.

Since I cut the recipe in half, I essentially had enough dough for 1 and a half loaves. So I filled my bread pan with enough dough to make one loaf. Then I broke apart the rest of the dough into small balls to make rolls. I read about doing this in one of the reviews for this recipe and I thought it was a great idea. I baked the loaf of bread as the recipe said. But for the rolls, I reduced the bake time to 15 minutes.

THIS RECIPE MADE THE BEST ROLLS!!

I would have never thought I'd find a great roll recipe using bread dough. Absolutely incredible! I'm making a batch of these rolls for Thanksgiving and I'm so excited!!!

Whole Wheat Bread

(yields 1 1/2 loaves)

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)

1 package (or 2 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast

2 tablespoons + 2 tsp honey

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 tsp butter, melted

2 tablespoons + 2 tsp honey

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

All-Purpose Flour, enough to flour surface

1 tablespoon butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast and 2 Tb + 2 tsp honey. (Let stand for 5 minutes.)

Add bread flour, stir to combine. (I use my kitchen aid mixer for this part.) Let stand for 30 minutes until big and bubbly.

Mix in 1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp melted butter, 2 Tbs + 2 tsp honey and salt. Stir in whole wheat flour. (Again, I use my kitchen aid mixer for this. Mix until dough is not sticking to sides of bowl. This took about 7-10 minutes on speed 2 using the dough hook.)

Turn dough out onto surface lightly sprinkled with all-purpose flour. Roll into a ball and place in a well greased bowl. Turn the dough once to coat the surface. (I use oilve oil or Pam to grease my bowl. Both work fine.)

Cover with a dish towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (I place my bowl on top of the stove and turn the oven on to 200 degrees. This heats the stove top just enough to help the dough rise. It takes about 1 and a half hours for my dough to rise.)

Punch down dough and divide. Place about 3/4 of the dough in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Break apart the remaining dough into 9-12 small sized balls and place in a greased 8 inch round cake pan. Allow the dough to rise again until the the dough has topped the pans by one inch. (It is ok if the rolls are touching after they have risen. This won't affect the baking process and they will be very easy to pull apart once they are done.)

Bake the bread loaf at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake. (The bread should be firm to the touch.)

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. (The rolls should not be as firm as the bread.)

Lightly brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. This helps prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely on a wire rack. (Or eat the rolls right out of the pan while still warm. They are delicious!!!)

**Note: The picture above was taken from the allrecipes.com website. I didn't snap a picture of my bread or rolls when I made them because my camera was out of battery. But I'll take a picture of the rolls when I make them for Thanksgiving. Also, I didn't sprinkle oats on top of my bread as shown in the picture above. I only brushed melted butter on top after baking.

Good Bye Dining Set

2010-11-12T21:00:00.009-05:00

Our dining set is getting ready to go to it's new home. I wish we had many dining sets to give away because apparently there are quite a few of you in need of tables and chairs. But alas we only had one set and we're pleased that it's going to a good home.

Now that the old dining set is on it's way out, I get to focus on what's coming in to take it's place. My main desire in a new dining table is that it be regular height, not counter height. I'm not that tall and I've learned that counter height chairs are not that comfortable for me, so moving to a regular height table is a must. Also, I would like the table to seat at least 6 people, more if needed. This means I'd like a rectangular table and it would be ideal if it had a leaf to expand the table. But that's not a necessity. With a regular height table we can always pull up more chairs and squeeze another guest at the table. We couldn't do that with our counter height table because our extra chairs were regular height and they weren't tall enough to pull up to the table.

So the search is on for a new dining table and some chairs. I'm scouring Craigslist and thrift stores to find a table with good bones that we can sand down and paint or refinish. That's my first priority - to find a good, cheap table that we can makeover and will fit our needs. Then I'll be on the hunt for some chairs. John and I are thinking that getting a bench for one side of the table would be a fun addition too. So maybe 4 chairs and a bench...or 6 chairs...or 2 head chairs and 4 side chairs. There are so many different ways we can go with the chairs that I still haven't made up my mind yet.

Here are some tables that I'm admiring right now. I'd love to find one of these at my local thrift store :) Which one do you like?

Crate and Barrel - Basque Honey

Pier One - Carmichael

World Market - Sourav

Another Fabulous Freebie

2010-11-03T11:25:00.004-04:00

Are you in need of a dining table and chairs? Do you know someone who needs a dining table and chairs? Then this is the post for you!

John and I were so blessed when our friends gave us this counter-height dining set as a wedding gift. They were upgrading their dining room and excitedly passed this set along to us. And we were just as excited to receive it. The table has a black finish and a frosted glass insert for visual interest. And the neutral fabric on the chairs gives this set a really modern feel.

As much as we've enjoyed this dining set for the past year and a half, it's time for us to move on to something different. Which could be good news for you, if you need a dining table. :)

John and I are giving this dining set away for free. We were blessed when it was given to us and now it's time to pass the blessing on to someone else.

If you are interested in the dining table and chairs, please contact me at jackiedodson24@gmail.com or leave me a comment here or on facebook.

October Madness

2010-11-01T10:00:00.001-04:00

I just realized that my last post was way back on October 8th! I can't believe it's been that long. You might say that life has been a little crazy lately....madness!

For the past 12 months I've been engrossed in the journey towards obtaining my CPA license. This journey included lots of grad classes as well as taking the CPA exam. The CPA exam is now 4 separate tests, each of which must be passed with a grade of at least 75. I took my first test in November 2009, my second test in May 2010 (after tax season), and my third test in August 2010. And I've passed each of these sections. I took my last test on October 11, 2010, just a few weeks ago. I think it went ok, but I'm nervous. I'm nervous because this is the final test and I really don't want to have to take it over. It takes approximately 6-8 weeks from the day I took my test to receive the score. So I'm hoping to find out my score by the end of November. Oh the anxiety!!

The weekend after I took my final test was a fantastic weekend for us to get out and play! :) We went with John's entire family, plus some cousins, to a Corn Maze in Zellwood. It was pretty awesome. We had to wait over an hour in line in the hot, hot sun, but it was worth it. When we finally made it to the entrance of the maze, they gave us a flag in case we got lost and needed help finding our way out. John was in charge of our flag. We broke up into 3 teams and headed in. Our team was me, John, Daniel, Joanna, Amy, Kaleigh, and Kelli. And we dominated that corn maze.

The next weekend in October was the perfect time for us to take a vacation. John and I originally planned a weekend getaway to Tennessee, but unfortunately an unexpected meeting came up that John had to attend and our plans had to change. Instead, I took 2 days off from work and John and I had a "stay-cation." John's parents took Layla for those 2 nights and John and I just relaxed. It was absolutely marvelous....just what the doctor ordered.

In the next few weeks, John and I will be posting more recipes that we've successfully made and loved and want to share with you. Also, we will be starting our first blog series called "Eat Around Orlando." Every other week, John and I are going to try a new-to-us restaurant in Orlando and blog about the food. We've started compiling our list and I'm super excited to try some local, hole-in-the-wall restaurants around our house. Stay tuned for our reviews and recommendations. And if you'd like to join us for dinner, we'd love to have you! Let us know and we'll keep you posted about dates, times and locations.

How was your October?

Alfredo Sauce To Die For

2010-10-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

My favorite place to order fettuccine alfredo is Olive Garden. Well actually, I just really like dipping the breadsticks into my alfredo sauce...oh that's a little slice of heaven! But back to the point. I scoured the internet for an alfredo sauce worthy of my Olive Garden standards and came across this quick alfredo recipe on allrecipes.com. It's creamy and flavorful and delicious! And dare I say...better than Olive Garden?! Well, you'll have to try it to find out :)

Alfredo Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp garlic garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups half & half
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the flour and garlic salt into the melted butter until mixture is smooth. Slowly beat the half & half into the sauce until completely incorporated. I pour a 1/4 cup of half & half into the saucepan at a time, stirring completely before pouring the next 1/4 cup in. Stir the garlic, parsley and parmesan cheese into the sauce, whisking continually. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Cook, stirring regularly, until the sauce has thickened (4-5 minutes). Use immediately or refrigerate. [This sauce reheats in the microwave very well! It's just as good the next day!]

Sausage Stuffed Stromboli

2010-10-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

John and I have been enjoying home-made pizza about once a week since I found this pizza dough recipe. I wrote about our Chicken Alfredo Pizza a few weeks ago. This week I wanted to try something similar but different. So I went with Stromboli.

I realize that the above picture does not show you all the yummy, goodness inside. And for that I am extremely sorry. It was so delicious I didn't even spare one second to take a picture! Inside, I spread a very minimal amount of pasta sauce on the dough, then piled ground sausage, deli ham, onions and mozzarella cheese on top. It wasn't super fancy and I just used stuff that we had in the fridge. Then I rolled up the dough and tucked in the ends. I placed on my Pampered Chef pizza stone and baked for about 20 minutes. John dipped his in pasta sauce and I dipped mine in ranch dressing. Yum!!

I love making pizza at home. It's so much more versatile and we love being able to personalize our pizza with our favorite toppings. Ham and pineapple, BBQ chicken, chicken alfredo, sausage and onions...whatever your hearts desire!

What do you like on your pizza?

Pizza Dough
1 package (2 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 cups bread flour (I use 1 cup white & 1 cup wheat)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt

In a large electric mixer bowl, mix yeast, water and sugar. Let stand until creamy (about 10 minutes). Mix in oil, salt and bread flour using dough hook. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. You may have to add more or less flour based on the consistency of the dough. You don't want it to be sticky. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl while mixing. I usually mix it 95% of the way with the mixer and then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the last 5% by hand. Place dough in a well oiled bowl. Cover and rise until doubled in volume. This takes about an hour in our condo. I place to bowl on top of the oven and set the oven on warm (about 150 degrees). Turn dough out onto floured surface again. Form dough into a pizza crust shape. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees without any toppings. This allows the dough to set and it doesn't become soggy in the middle. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

For Stromboli - You don't need to bake dough without any toppings for 10 minutes. Instead, cover with sauce and toppings directly onto uncooked dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Broccoli-Cheese Soup in a Breadbowl

2010-10-04T12:00:00.001-04:00

It isn't exactly fall weather quite yet, but John and I were craving soup so we said "Heck with it! Who cares if it's not fall!" John found this recipe for Broccoli-Cheese soup in the Martha Stewart Cookbook that we got as a wedding gift. This is actually the first recipe of Martha's that I have tried. And I would have been extremely disappointed if it had turned out anything but amazing...this is Martha Stewart we're talking about. John and I give this soup 2 thumbs up! But my favorite part was the breadbowl. :)

The bread recipe is from a cooking class that John took years ago. I found the packet of recipes when I was cleaning out a box of John's "really important stuff" that sat in our closet, untouched, for more than a year. It's called Peasant Bread and it's actually surprisingly easy to make. I've made it two times in the past few weeks, because it's that good! I can't wait to fill these breadbowls with all types of soup as the weather turns cooler.

Peasant Bread
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons active yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups bread flour (extra for kneading)

In a large bowl of the electric mixer, combine water, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir until yeast dissolves. Slowly add bread flour and mix with dough hook until thoroughly combined. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until thumb punched in center rises back immediately. (This won't take long. Don't over knead.) Place dough in well oiled bowl and allow to double in size.

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. If making bread bowls, divide risen dough into 4 loaves and place on covered baking sheet. If not, dividing the dough into 2 makes good sized loaves.

Place the bread in an oven set at 135 degrees and allow to rise for a second time for 10 minutes. Take bread out and turn up the oven to 425 degrees. Bake bread at 425 for 10 minutes. Keep bread in the oven and turn down to 375 degrees. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Remove bread from oven. While still hot, brush the top with melted butter. Allow to cool slightly before slicing. [John and I prefer to spread butter on the slice of bread rather than brushing melted butter on top.] Eat and enjoy!!

Broccoli-Cheese Soup
2 1/2 cups fat-free chicken broth
6 ounces chopped fresh broccoli -or- 10 ounce package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 medium carrot, chopped (optional)
1 medium rib of celery, chopped (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup fat-free half & half
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 slices low-fat cheddar cheese -or- 1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, stir together the broth, broccoli, carrot, celery, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 6-8 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. In a small bowl, whisk together the half & half and flour. Stir into the saucepan. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Add the cheese. Remove from the heat. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Before & After: Thrift Store Chairs

2010-10-02T12:00:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, I got these

at a local thrift store,

for this much

I used some white paint leftover from another project
("Swiss Coffee" by Behr) and went to town.

Then used some random fabric from the closet,

along with our new staple gun,
to get this

They're nice and simple. I don't have a picture of the second one,

but it looks identical to the one above.

I imagine them around my new dining table (that I don't have, yet).

Looking splendid and fabulous.

Overall, my first chair makeover gets an A.

Yeast Rolls #1

2010-09-30T12:00:00.003-04:00

I've been on a cooking quest recently. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there's been a lot more "homemade" cookin' going on in the Dodson house. It started a few months ago when I was realized how much money we were spending on bread, biscuits, rolls, buns, tortillas, and frozen pizza. I thought, "how hard can it be to make these things at home and save some moo-lah at the same time?" So I started researching and learning through online cooking websites and blogs. I was so excited to get started!

John and I headed to the store and purchased three different types of flour, sugar, and butter. I think it cost us less than 1 frozen pizza. I was so pumped for the potential savings in our future! My first experiment was homemade bread loaves...which turned out fantastic! Then I tried homemade biscuits and they turned out even better! That's when things started heating up. I tackled flour tortillas, naan (Indian bread), pizza dough and peasant bread (Italian bread). And everything has turned out delicious...way better than store-bought! Yes, it takes a little bit more time, but it's totally worth it!

Next on our list was yeast rolls. John asked if I could try and master a recipe for rolls by Thanksgiving so we could wow everyone :) I decided to give it a go this past weekend. I found this recipe by typing "yeast rolls" into the Google search engine. Then I scoured the internet for the best looking rolls I could find. Because let's be honest, why would I want to make something that doesn't look divine? I came across this recipe on a blog called A Hens Nest. The rolls looked absolutely amazing and the recipe seemed simple enough. In fact, she said that this was her go-to recipe when she's short on time, which sounded awesome to me! She also gave some helpful instructions on how to freeze some of the rolls if you don't want to make a whole batch.

The recipe yielded 24 rolls and I ended up making 15 and freezing 9 (that's just how it worked out with the pans). I didn't use my Kitchenaid for these rolls, I did the old fashioned way...with elbow grease. The dough was easy to work with and only needed about 5-8 minutes of kneading. When the balls are placed in the cake pans, it's ok if they end up touching after they rise for the second time. This won't affect them in the oven and they are easy to pull apart once they are done. I was able to fit about 7-8 rolls in each of my round cake pans, and 9 rolls in my square pan. I baked the rolls for 13 minutes in my 350 degree, preheated oven, and they came out golden brown, light and fluffy. They were just as I imagined....fabulous!

I'm planning on trying another yeast roll recipe in the next few weeks...one without eggs. This was the first time making bread dough with eggs and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. These rolls kept really well in a ziploc bag on the counter for a few days. And they actually got sweeter as time passed. They started to taste more like Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, which was great for John and not-so-great for me. I'm not a huge fan of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. And I think that taste may have come from the eggs, although I'm not entriely sure. I'm not an expert chef or anything, I'm just learning as I go. So the next batch will be a yeast roll recipe, san (without) eggs. And we will compare roll to roll.

Yeast Rolls
1/3 c canola or olive oil
1 c hot water
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar
1 pkg (or 2 1/2 tsp) yeast
2 eggs
3 1/2 – 4 c all purpose flour

Mix oil, hot water, salt, sugar, yeast and eggs well. Stir in flour 1 cup at a time until a kneadable dough forms. Dump dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour, or until double in size. Punch down dough and dump onto lightly floured surface. Cut dough in half, form each half into 12 rolls. Place in 2 greased round cake pans or on 1 greased cookie sheet, spacing evenly. Cover let rise again for 20-30 minutes, until about double. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 10-18 minutes until golden. Brush tops with real butter hot from the oven and serve!

You can serve one cake pan for dinner and freeze the second one. To do this, place the formed dough into the greased pan, spray tops lightly with cooking spray and cover tightly with plastic wrap then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to a week. To bake, thaw at room temp for several hours until doubled then bake as usual.

Laundry Made Easier

2010-09-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

And all we did was add a simple, wire shelf. We needed a quick fix in the laundry room and the answer was a shelf. We already had this wire shelf, except that it was three times longer than what we needed. So John just used wire cutters and cut it to out desired length. I added one of the baskets that we recently bought from Ikea to hold the detergent and dryer sheets. And now there's also a place for the iron and some hand towels. Perfect!

Molly & Scott's Wedding

2010-09-26T10:43:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a wedding! And we were so excited to be celebrating with Molly and Scott as they exchanged vows and committed their lives to each other. It was really a special day and the weather was absolutely gorgeous...just like the bride! :) Since pictures speak a thousand words (and I'm too tired to write even 10 more words), enjoy these snapshots!

Lovely to Look At On Friday

2010-09-10T16:19:00.002-04:00

Source: Shoebox Decor

FREE Malm Dresser

2010-09-09T09:00:00.001-04:00

Anyone in need of a dresser?

It's FREE!

Since we recently bought an Expedit shelving unit for our closet,
we are no longer in need of this 4 drawer Malm dresser, originally from Ikea.

We inherited this dresser from a friend of ours about a year ago.
It has been such a blessing to us and we hope to pass the blessing on to someone else.

Email me at jackiedodson24@gmail.com if you're interested.

If you're in Orlando,
John and I would be happy to deliver this dresser straight to your front door.

Please don't be shy! We'd like to find this dresser a new home soon!

Closet Addition

2010-09-06T20:51:00.000-04:00

Do you remember last week when I blogged about Google Sketch Up? Well it really worked! During this past Labor Day weekend, John and I made a trip to Ikea to buy an Expedit shelf. Originally, we thought that using multiple shelving units hung together would be a better option for us just in case we wanted to move things around later. But when we started thinking about hanging the shelves on the wall, we realized that it would be much easier if we were only working with one solid piece, instead of separate pieces. To be honest, the thought of getting the shelves to hang exactly level was too overwhelming. So instead we picked out a 2 x 4 shelving unit and hauled it home. This was probably one of the easiest Ikea pieces that we have put together (and by we, I mean John). It only took him about 30 minutes and the whole thing was together and in the closet!

I love white against our gray walls. And I haven't regretted our gray wall color for even a moment since it went up! It's perfect! I also love the substantial-ness of this Expedit shelving unit. It's weighty and strong and has presence. And I love that it's going to live in our closet. Our closet needed a little bit of sass, and this shelf is the perfect amount of sass.

Anyway, as you can see, we haven't hung it yet. Baby steps, people. But I have started using it since before this my clothes were piled up on the floor along with the shoes.

Since I took this picture, John has moved his clothes out of the dresser and into the empty boxes above. We only purchased one Expedit shelf this weekend because that was all we could afford this month. Although, I did manage to pick up a few baskets while we were at Ikea as well. I picked out a set of 4 baskets for $9.99. They were all different sizes but the price was better than the alternatives. The basket in the photo is being used to hold my undies :) No one needs to see those all strewn about. I'll show you what we did with the other 3 baskets over the next few weeks.

I'm really happy that we took some time to think outside of the "box" and found a non-traditional way to make our closet more functional. Using Google Sketch Up was one of the best things we did. We knew that the shelf would fit inside our closet and we knew that we would love the way it looked, all before actually purchasing the unit. Now that's fabulous!

Google Sketch Up

2010-08-30T10:00:00.001-04:00

Last week we were hanging out with our friend Damien and he told us about this super neat program called Google Sketch Up. Since John and I are big Google fans, we went right home and started playing around. Let me tell you, this program is pretty dang cool. It's pretty user friendly, although it does take a little getting used to. For our first sketch....our master closet.

For months now, we have been living with half a closet. Our master closet is a pretty substantial walk in. We took down the wire shelves when we moved in so I could paint. Then we hung two of the shelves back up on the left wall and it turned out that all of our hanging clothes fit on those two shelves. But we still have the whole right side with nothing. No place for shoes, no mirror, no hooks, no nothing.

One of the hardest things for John and I is trying to figure out what will be most useful in the closet and then picturing what it's going to look like. That's where Google Sketch Up comes in. We took some quick measurements of the walls on the right side of the closet and started sketching. Then we started brainstorming different options. We don't need any more hanging space, so we started thinking about shelves. I didn't want to use dressers and I really wanted to utilize the vertical space in the closet. That led me to Expedit from Ikea. Now here's the cool part...Google Sketch Up allows you to search for an item and then import in into your sketch. It was so easy! We imported different Expedit shelves into our sketch and started playing around. Since the Expedit shelves were imported to size, we could move them around the space and see what fit and what we liked.

After many different scenarios, we decided upon 4 Expedit shelves with four boxes each. We are going to mount them to the wall so we can utilize the space underneath for our shoes. Some of the shelves will hold baskets and some will hold folded shirts and pants. We are going to hang a mirror on the wall to the left of the shelves and hooks on the small wall to the right. It turned out pretty simple but I think it will be just what we need. We decided to go with 4, 2x2 shelves instead of 2, 2x4 shelves because we think they will be more versatile in the future. If we ever move, we could use them in other rooms for other functions.

Now we just need to go get the shelves, put them together and hang them on the wall :)

Coming Soon to Orlando...

2010-08-27T20:40:00.004-04:00

It opens September 10th! Woo Hoo! So exciting!

Anyone want to come check it out with me?

Banana Bread Muffins

2010-08-20T12:00:00.001-04:00

This is the perfect solution for those mushy, ripe bananas sitting on the counter. Delicious!

Banana Bread Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 mashed, overripe bananas (5-6 large bananas)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the muffins comes out clean. Let muffins cool for a few minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack. Yields 12 large muffins.

John and I added a bit of sweetness to the top of the muffins after we took them out of the oven. Mix 1 tablespoon water and 3 tablespoons brown sugar in a small bowl. Brush on top of the muffins for a sweet crunch!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

2010-08-14T21:50:00.006-04:00

Last week, John and I took on home-made chicken alfredo pizza. We were craving the creamy alfredo sauce but wanted to make something new and fresh. This pizza absolutely satisfied our craving! I made the dough with wheat flour and it turned out good. However it was a little too much wheat for my taste, so next time I'm going to do half wheat flour and half white flour. We added red peppers and green onions to the chicken and it gave this pizza just the right amount of color and flavor. We hope you enjoy this pizza just as much as we did!

Pizza Dough
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
1 cup warm water
2 tsp white sugar
2 cups bread flour (or 2 cups wheat flour, or 1 cup bread flour and 1 cup wheat flour)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt

Alfredo Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 dash ground black pepper
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Romano (or parmesan or Mozarella) cheese

Toppings
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped

1. To make pizza dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and white sugar in warm water. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until creamy. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, olive oil, salt and yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough is formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume (about 30 min - 1 hour). Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Roll out into a pizza crust shape. (Dough will make 1 extra large pizza or 2 medium pizzas if split in half.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pizza dough only for 6-8 minutes to help set crust.

2. To make alfredo: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Blend salt, pepper and flour, then stir in the milk and the cheese. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, cover and set aside. (Note: This sauce should be thicker than regular alfredo sauce. If you'd prefer your sauce to be a bit thinner, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time.)

3. To make topping: Shred cooked chicken into small bite sized pieces. Mix chicken, chopped pepper and green onions and spices in a small bowl.

4. Spread alfredo sauce onto the pizza crust. Sprinkle chicken mixture on top of the sauce. Optional: Sprinkle additional cheese on top of chicken mixture.

5. Bake pizza until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Snug as a Bug

2010-08-11T11:31:00.001-04:00

Much Needed Wall Decor

2010-08-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Ribba frames from Ikea + pictures taken on our 1 year anniversary trips = fabulous decor in our bedroom!

San Diego, CA

Atlanta, GA

Hilton Head, SC

Ball Ground, GA

Orange County Friends

2010-08-04T22:20:00.007-04:00

The last stop on our week-long, California excursion was Irvine and boy, was I excited!! You may remember that before we made it to Irvine, we threw my sister a graduation party, we watched my rock- star sister graduate from high school, we were tourists in Hollywood for 3 hours, and we went sight-seeing in San Diego with my mom and my aunt. But we weren't quite done with So Cal yet.

I hadn't visited Irvine (all my lovely friends) since 2007. Granted, a few of these lovelies travelled to Orlando for our wedding, but that's not the same as getting to spend quality time with them and their significant others in the place where we all met. I was stoked, pumped, thrilled, jumping-for-joy happy to be back with my Orange County friends!

I moved to Orange County in 2005, after joining staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. After a few short jaunts in random places, I settled into an apartment in Costa Mesa with this girl (minus the boys)...

Of course when Rachael and I moved in together we didn't have those handsome men at our sides. We were single and ready to mingle. Or something like that. Living with Rachael was an abosulte blast...when we saw each other. We both had crazy work schedules and they constantly seemed to be completely opposite. I was home for a month while she was in San Fransico, then I was gone and she was home. It was like this a lot, but nonetheless we built a great friendship.

We both attended Rock Harbor Church and loved it! It was through Rock Harbor that I met the lovely Jenni....

and the lovely Angela....

We hung out in this thing called a Life Group for about 2 years with lots of other cool people. It was probably the best small group that I've been a part of in my whole life. We were young and single and seriously laughed until our faces hurt, all the time. There was the occassional drama (as there always is when boys and girls are friends) but somehow we all made it through. It was awesome!

I was really sad to be leaving these lovely friends when I decided to move to Orlando. I secretly wished that I could shove them all into my suitcase and force them to move with me. But I live in reality, most of the time.

So when John and I found out that we would be down in Southern California, I was elated to be able to visit my friends in Irvine. Remember how I said we were all single back in 2007, well thas since changed. Such good looking people aren't going to stay single for very long. Anglea met Jason and they got married in January 2010. Rachael met Noah and they got married in October 2009. Brad married Ashley, Dan married Jen, Katie's engaged to Ben, Jenni's dating Steve, Ryan's dating Hillary...it was so fun to see all the couples while we were there. (Except for Brad and Ryan who are lame because they were out of town. You were totally missed, guys!)

Those two days in Irvine were probably my two favorite of the whole trip! I had so much fun catching up with everyone, and getting to know all the significant others better. I hope we get to see you guys more often. Once every 3 years just isn't enough for me.

Ang and Jason, thanks for letting us crash at your place. Jenni, Steve, Rachael, Noah, Ashley, Katie, Ben....thanks for coming by and spending time with us. It was such a blast and I'm so glad we got to see all of you! Hopefully we'll be out that way again soon. And if any of you happen to wind up in Florida, give us a call. :)

(bear hug with the boys)

Weekend News

2010-08-02T18:26:00.007-04:00

Friday night at about 11pm, we became proud owners of a 2008 Nissan Sentra. We were thrilled, exhausted but thrilled! Here's how it went down.

John and I have been looking for a replacement car for him for the past few weeks. His car was pretty old and quickly running out of life. We had been saving our pennies for about a year and the time finally came when we were able to begin seriously searching for John's new car. John started scouring the internet, calling dealers and researching vehicles. We looked at so many different cars and it was difficult to narrow down our search criteria. We eventually decided on our must-haves:

4 door sedan
under 50k miles
2007 or newer
A/C
CD player
under $10,000

We didn't need a lot of frills or a luxury package, but because we live in Orlando, A/C was probably our highest priority. We quickly narrowed down our search to Hyundai's and Nissan's. I know there are other vehicles that fit our criteria but for a variety of reasons, we couldn't agree on any of those, so we stuck with Hyundai's and Nissan's. Our search was looking bleak as everything we looked at was out of our price range.

But all that changed on Friday night. I got home from work and John asked if we could look for cars on the internet again. I said yes and we started going through all the dealerships in town, looking for Hyundai's and Nissan's. On the third or fourth website we spotted a gray 2008 Nissan in our price range. I couldn't believe it! I immediately grabbed the phone and called the dealership to see if it was still on the lot. The salesman that I talked to actually thought that it had already been sold, so he told me that he was going to see if he could find it and touch it before he gave me a definite yes or no. We were on pins and needles as we waited for him to call us back. Had it been sold?? Was that the real price?? Could this be the car?? And just when I thought I was going to die of anticipation, the phone rang. The salesman told me that the car was still on the lot!! And the price had just been reduced the night before! That's why the salesman thought the car had been sold. But it hadn't!

John and I were originally planning on going around to dealerships the next day, but with the deal of the year at our fingertips, I couldn't wait until the next day. I told John to grab the keys and we told the salesman we were on our way. It was 8:30pm and the dealership closed at 9pm but I didn't care. We raced across town (driving safely and within posted speed limits) and arrived at the dealership at 9:05pm. The salesman showed us the car with all it's features, told John all about the engine, and even let us test drive it...all afterhours. We talked it over and decided that this was a deal we just couldn't pass up!

After another hour of signing paperwork, the Nissan was ours! And it even met all our criteria. It has 45,000 miles, blows very cold A/C and sports a CD player. It also has an auxiliary jack so we can plug our ipods directly into the car stereo system, which was a major plus! :) And it came in at $9900.

You may be wondering, as I did, why it was marked down by the dealership. The reason was not because it was damaged in any way, it was because it had been sitting on the lot for 30 days. Apparently this dealership has a policy that if a car sits on their lot for 30 days, they mark it down to the wholesale price just to move the car off the lot. If the car doesn't sell after a few days at the wholesale price, they send it back to the auction and sell it for whatever they can get for it.

We feel so blessed to have found this car. It's so beautiful and exactly what we were looking for.

Bye-bye Cavalier...

Hello Nissan :)

Homemade Bread

2010-07-27T19:15:00.004-04:00

I found this fabulous recipe on Allrecipes.com. The original recipe from the website makes 6 loaves. Since my electric mixer isn't big enough to make that much dough, I cut the recipe in half and make 3 loaves.

In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together:

1/4 cup warm water
1/2 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast
1/8 cup bread flour

Let it grow for about 5 minutes. It will bubble almost immediately.

Next, combine the following ingredients with the yeast mixture from above:

1 cup quick cooking oats
2 1/4 cups warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tbs salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Increase speed slightly and begin adding:

4 1/2 - 5 cups bread flour (white or wheat)

Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. (Humidity will determine the amount of flour that's needed. I only needed 4 1/2 cups.) It is normal for the dough to be sticky.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Divide dough into 3 pieces. Shape loaves and place in greased 8 x 4 inch pans. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above the rim of the pans, about 1 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Slice and enjoy!

Homemade Biscuits

2010-07-21T17:00:00.000-04:00

These biscuits turned out fantastic! The recipe came from a blog called Homesick Texan. Apparently these are Texas biscuits. I'm not sure what the difference is, but all I can say is "Yum!"

Ingredients:
Two cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sugar (can add more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 stick of butter, cold (8 tablespoons)
3/4 cup of buttermilk, cream or half-and-half (I use buttermilk)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Cut the stick of butter into pieces, and work into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
Add the liquid, mixing until a bit loose and sticky.
Pour dough out on a floured surface, and knead for a minute. Dough should be smooth and no longer wet. You can sprinkle more flour on the surface if you find it’s sticking.
Take dough into a ball, and hit it with a rolling pin, turning it and folding it in half every few whacks. Do this for a couple of minutes.
Roll out dough until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick, and then fold it in half.
Using a round cutter (can use a glass or a cup if don’t have a biscuit cutter) cut out your biscuits from folded dough.
Place on a greased baking sheet close together (so they rise up not out), and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Makes 10-12 biscuits.

If you don’t want to roll and cut them out, after kneading and beating the dough you can drop the dough onto the baking sheet with a spoon.

This weekend I used these homemade biscuits to make breakfast sandwiches. They were delicious!

Sight-Seeing in San Diego

2010-07-19T21:22:00.000-04:00

After 16 hours, 550 miles and a short detour to Hollywood, we arrived at my aunt's house in San Diego. A fold out couch never looked so good. We were asleep the minute our heads hit the pillow and we awoke rested and ready for an adventure. Since this was John's first visit to San Diego, we decided to go on a sight-seeing tour led by non other than my mom and her sister. So we piled into my aunt's convertible Mercedes and hit the road.

Point of Interest #1: Downtown San Diego

Point of Interest #2: USS Midway

Point of Interest #3: Veteran's Memorial, complete with panoramic view of the city and the Pacific Ocean

San Diego Wildlife

San Diego Art

We also visited Balboa Park, which was a major part of my childhood. I would go visit my aunt and grandparents in San Diego and they would take me to Balboa Park to ride the Carousel. I loved that Carousel.

For lunch, we ate a fabulous Mexican restaurant in La Jolla. My mom and my aunt told us stories of their childhood when they spent summers with their grandma in La Jolla. It was so fun that John got to experience so many places that are so meaningful to my family. And my aunt was so sweet to be our tour guide.

Thanks Auntie!

3 Hours in Hollywood

2010-07-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

The day after my sister's high school graduation, we piled into this...

...and made the 7 hour trek to Southern California. Mom and John in the front; me and Tanner in the back. (Tanner is one of my sister's best friends. He hitched a ride with us so he could spend some time hanging out with my sister in Hollywood.) My sister had to catch an early flight because she had to get back for a class. The 7 hour drive down the middle of California is....well, pretty uneventful. Lots of crops and cows. But once we made it over the Grapevine, it was only a few more miles to....

We dropped Tanner off at my sister's apartment, said hi to my sister, and then went to explore the town. Here's some snapshots of the 3 hours we spent on Hollywood Blvd.

Furry Friends

2010-07-14T20:55:00.003-04:00

We spent last week house-sitting and dog-sitting for our friends. Layla was so excited to spend a whole week with her best friends, Nigel and Griffin....she loved every minute of it!

I Have Sprouts!

2010-07-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Day 7

Day 9

Our Porch Garden

2010-07-03T20:00:00.001-04:00

I love plants. However, in our family, John definitely has the green thumb. I don't know what it is, but I just have a hard time keeping plants alive. After our vacation to Ball Ground, GA and Chatanooga, TN we decided to start a garden, and I'm going to try extra hard to remember to water. :) We've started slow, but just wait until all our plans come together. There will be large, custom built planter boxes filled with flowers, herbs and vegetables lining our porch.

This is the newest addition to our garden....sweet peas. I just planted them this week so it'll be a while before they start showing off. We snagged this sweet pea kit at Target.

And it was on clearance. Only $3.24 for the pot, the soil and the seeds!

This interesting looking plant is called a flap-jack. John's aunt and uncle gave us this plant when we stayed with them during our vacation. I love it! It's so unique. The best part about flap-jacks is that they can survive with minimal water. Now that's my kind of plant!

This palm actually has a name....David. David is our second palm. Our first palm, Palmer, met an untimely death a few months after it came to live with me. So now we have David. Is our obsession with 24 obvious?

What's in your garden?

Beautiful Blossoms

2010-07-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

I was so excited when Camila from High-Heeled Foot in the Door blogged about the Boston Public Library flickr account. The library has hundreds, maybe thousands, of prints that can be downloaded for free. I found these gorgeous blossoms that I think would add just the right touch of chic-ness to my bathroom. I'll probably put them in white frames to make them look seamless against the wall.

It's My Lucky Day

2010-06-29T19:56:00.000-04:00

John and I walked into Target and found this beauty in the Bath section.

It's going to look fantastic in my bathroom above the toilet. Woo Hoo!

Bathroom Inspiration

2010-06-25T17:05:00.037-04:00

There are 2 rooms in our house that have not been touched since we moved in over a year ago....the guest bathroom and the master bathroom. At the time we moved in, we had no idea what we wanted to do in the bathrooms so we just left them as-is. And it was probably for the better. We've had a lot of time to think about what we want and shop around. And of course John and I want different things. So here it comes, the compromise. Shocker, I know. John gets to design the guest bathroom and I get to design the master bathroom. You might be thinking that I'm nuts, letting my husband pick out the decor for the guest bathroom, but let me tell you, he has a great eye. I'm so excited to see how they both turn out.

Because John and I don't plan on living in our condo for the rest of our lives, we are choosing to make easy and cheap upgrades that will give us the most bang for our buck. I'll fill you in on the details as we go, but we're not doing any huge renovations (that I know of).

I've been doing a lot of web-surfing, searching for inspiration for my part of the compromise - the master bathroom. I really want a relaxing, spa-like feel in our bathroom. Pale color on the wall, crisp, clean and white. Here are a few that I really like...

Decorpad

In the above bathroom, I like the sunburst mirror, the gorgeous tile and the large trough-like sink. But I really love the crystal knobs on the vanity. Note to self: start looking for cheap crystal-like knobs. Up next...

Southern Living

The tub would be a wonderful addition, but no major renovations, remember? I love the ledge lined with candles. Candles definitely make a bathroom feel like a spa. Note to self: incorporate candles into the final design. Next...

Good Housekeeping

The countertops in the above picture look a lot like our existing countertops. And don't they go great with the white vanity. I love the towel shelf/rack above the toilet. Does anyone know where to get something like that? It makes me think of a hotel room, which always feels relaxing, like I'm on vacation in my own house. Movin' on...

House and Home

Here it is! This light gray color will go perfectly with the dark gray in our master bedroom. The white vanity with gray marble countertops and gorgeous crystal knobs are exactly what I want. The tile part way up the wall has a bead board appeal, which I love and want to try in the master bathroom! And I also love the thick moulding and the fresh flowers on the counter. Perfection.

So let the fun begin. My task list looks something like this (although it will probably change a million times before I'm done):

- find a light gray paint color

- find new flooring

- look for crystal knobs for the vanity

- look for a new towel rack

- cut mirror down and frame with moulding

- find new bath rug

- find new faucet to match towel rack

- find new light fixture for above mirror

- learn how to install beadboard & moulding

- look for ways to organize the stuff in the drawers & cabinets under the vanity

I'll post "before" pictures as soon as I take some. Promise.

In the meantime, what do you like about these bathrooms? Anything you don't like and think I should stay away from? Any suggestions on paint, flooring or accessories?

A Little Present Just For Us

2010-06-24T18:27:00.001-04:00

This little gem was left to us by the previous owners of our condo. Just open the blinds and there it is. Looks easy enough to remove, except that this little gem was placed on the window before the window tint was applied. John's got his work cut out!

Graduation Videos

2010-06-23T20:00:00.003-04:00

Are coming soon.

I promise.

And they're good.

Definitely worth the wait.

Organized and Happy

2010-06-23T18:11:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago I had the urge to organize. Do you ever get the feeling that something is just chaos and organizing it is the only way to keep your sanity? I happen to get that feeling more than I'd like to admit. And John usually complies with my urges. So off to Target we went. We grabbed a few of those cheap plastic tubs and a 5 drawer roll-y thing-y. I think the total was about $20. Then I emptied everything out of the hall closet and John and I went to work sorting, condensing and organizing. And Voila!

New Condo Pictures

2010-06-22T18:07:00.000-04:00

On "Our Condo" tab at the top of the page.

Go check it out.

http://thisisthefabulouslife.blogspot.com/p/our-house.html

Leave comments.

I like comments.

Rock Star Graduate

2010-06-19T11:25:00.003-04:00

I still can't believe my younger sister just graduated from high school. I remember when she was born and I held her for the first time.....how time flies. 17 years. The real kicker is that her high school graduation also marked the 10th year since I graduated high school. Now that I really can't believe. 10 years ago (very close to the day) I walked across the same stage, shook hands with some of the same people, and tossed my hat in the air. Being back at my high school 10 years later was a bit nostalgic. I saw one of my math teachers and the ceremony was MC'd by photography teacher. The seniors talked about the same events, rallies, dances and football games that I used to go to. It almos felt surreal, like I had been transported back 10 years and was reliving my high school graduation. It's amazing how much things don't really change in 10 years. So many memories, good and bad, are wrapped up on that high school campus. So many laughs and tears that shaped who we are as people today. I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

Enough about me...are you ready for the action?! This first video is Moni's entrance onto the field. She's second from the right in her group of 4.

Next up, walking up to the stage to get her diploma, and posing for pictures along the way.

The oh-so-glorious walk across the stage (she goes right after her friend Tanner - but you'll hear the screaming!)

Announcing the graduates and hats flying everywhere!

Other pictures from that day....

Congratulations Class of 2010!

Let The Good Times Roll

2010-06-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

Here she is! My beautiful sister....the 2010 high school graduate!

Graduation isn't complete without a P-A-R-T-Y! My dad hosted a great backyard fiesta with tons of Mexican food and even a pinata. The whole family came out to celebrate the new graduate!

Congratulations Moni!

Our Sweet Pup

2010-06-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Keeping watch.....

Chillin' with dad.....

Giving kisses.....

Ready to pounce.....

Waiting for a treat.....

Dreaming of a Cooler Place

2010-06-15T17:00:00.001-04:00

because it's too dang hot outside

Whoa!

2010-06-15T12:45:00.000-04:00

Before:

During:

After:

Who goes 9 months without getting a hair cut because their stylist moved 3000 miles away and they are paralyzed with fear about finding a new one? Oh yeah, that's me. I still haven't found a new stylist in Orlando. My sister did the color and I went to a stylist in California for an emergency hair cut right before my sister's graduation party. Who does that? Well anyway, it will buy me some time while I keep searching. If you've got a lead on a hair stylist, drop me a line.

Anniversary Vacation - Day 6

2010-06-11T12:32:00.000-04:00

Day 6: The final day! We managed to pull ourselves out of bed around 9am. Patti and Jonathan made us breakfast and I tried hash for the first time. Definitely edible :) The bags were packed and the car was ready for the ride home by 11am. John and I were sad to leave Chattanooga. We enjoyed our time with Patti and Jonathan so much.

For the next 9 hours, this is all we saw....

Cars, cars and more cars. We headed down through Atlanta and hit some heavy traffic around the Turner Field exit. Good thing the Braves won against Philadelphia 9-3 that day, or else we would have been upset.

The ride home was fairly uneventful. We ate Chic-fil-A for lunch and I had an Oreo cookie blizzard from DQ for an afternoon snack. Yum! Those are my favorite. We made it home about 8:30pm and I think we were just as excited to see Layla as she was to see us. She was jumping and running around so fast! We missed her so much. Next road trip, Layla will definitely be coming with us.

Overall, our Anniversary Vacation was awesome! We had so much fun driving around the Southeast, visiting new places and hanging out with family. Thank you so much Danny and Angie, and Patti and Jonathan for hosting us. We can't wait to see all of you again.

Anniversary Vacation - Day 5

2010-06-06T10:59:00.000-04:00

Day 5: Back on the road again, we headed for Chattanooga, TN to visit John's cousin Patti and her husband, Jonathan. It was only a 2 hour drive north across the border of Georgia into Tennessee. We arrived tired and hungry and Patti and Jonathan graciously cooked dinner for us while I took a shower and got into comfortable clothes. We had a chance to talk and catch up and play with their boxer, Babe, while they cooked. After dinner we stayed up playing card games (girls v. boys, of course). The girls were ahead when we finally called it quits, but we planned on finishing the next night.

The next morning, Patti and Jonathan took us to their church which was held in a huge, old, traditional church building. It was really fun to experience the church that they are a part of. After the worship service, they took us to the Farmer's Market that happens every Sunday afternoon. Patti's mom and dad (John's aunt and uncle), Debbie and Barney Joe, came up and met us at the Market, along with Patti's brother, Robbie. It was so fun to see all of them and get a chance to hang out. I ate Mexican food, quesadillas, and John ate BBQ, pulled pork. Then we walked around looking at all the different craft and vegetable vendors while live music played from the stage. The best thing about the Farmer's Market was the plant vendor that was selling different types of fruit trees. They were selling a "Fruit Cocktail Tree" which grew 4 different kinds of fruit on the same tree! I think it grew nectarine, peaches, plums and pears. It was seriously the coolest thing we had seen. In the future, when John and I have a backyard, we are going to get a Fruit Cocktail Tree...along with a garden and many different kinds of flowers. :)

The Market was so much fun and great way to spend part of the afternoon. We headed back to Patti and Jonathan's house and ended up hanging out inside because of a huge thunderstorm. John learned about Jonathan's job as an engineer and Patti and I talked about a million things (the way that girls always do when they get together). We had another great meal at their house, jumbalaya with sausage, and we ended the night finishing our card game. Us girls were able to squeak out a win, but only after the boys gave us a run for our money. :)

The time we spent in Chattanooga was so refreshing and relaxing. We had a great time hanging out with Patti and Jonathan and can't wait to go back and visit again. And we can't wait to meet their son when he arrives! :)

Anniversary Vacation - Day 4

2010-06-05T13:33:00.000-04:00

Day 4: After dinner in Atlanta, we drove a hour and a half north to John's aunt and uncle's house in Ball Ground, GA. Their house is set on about 10 acres (I think) of land, most of which is woods. It is absolutely goregous up there. John's family has talked about this place for so long, I was so excited to experience it myself. John's cousin, Kyle, and his girlfriend, Sarah, also came up to hang out with us. We spent the night chatting away and before we knew it, it was after midnight and we were exhausted.

The next day we woke up and ate a good 'ol fashion, Southern breakfast. Stewed tomatoes and biscuits with bacon. I wasn't quite sure about it at first, but it turned out to be pretty good. :) After breakfast, Kyle, Sarah, John and I went on a little hike in the backyard down to the creek.

Kyle and Sarah had to leave after the hike (they weren't on vacation, like John and I). We said goodbye to them, but we weren't quite done learning about Danny and Angie's property. They showed us their garden, their trees and plants, the coy pond and told us all about the plans they have for a new deck and a new workshop. It was so peaceful and relaxing as we walked around enjoying their property.

Danny and Angie also took us to the cabin that Danny was hired to restore. They ended up tearing it down completely and building it from scratch. Danny does most of the work himself after he gets off of work. He's been working on it for about a year and has come along way! It looks so great! We can't wait to see it when it is finished.

We left Danny and Angie that afternoon and headed north once again. Next stop, Chattanooga, TN. We had such a good time with Danny and Angie at their house. It was so fun to get to know them better and see where they live. We can't wait to go back and visit again...hopefully the hot tub will be installed by then. :)

Anniversary Vacation - Day 3

2010-06-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

Day 3: We had to say good bye to Hilton Head, South Carolina on day 3. Hilton Head, we will miss your relaxing swings, beautiful beaches and lovely weather. We hope to see you again soon!

Our next stop was Atlanta, Georgia. It took us about 5 1/2 hours to drive from Hilton Head, SC to Atlanta, GA. We hit some unexpected traffic out in the middle of interstate 16 and also some heavy thunderstorms. These thunderstorms were pretty vicious. In fact, most people pulled over to the side of the road to wait it out. John and I chose to drive cautiously through the rain. Both of us are used to driving in heavy rain - we live in central Florida!

Our destination that evening was Ray's in the City, an upscale restaurant that my sweet husband found and made reservations for. This was our "anniversary dinner" and our present to each other. Ray's in the City is known for their seafood and everything is made fresh by the chef himself. I had crab cakes with a delicious mustardy sauce served with green beans and mashed potatoes. John had corn crusted Georgia mountain trout - the best fish meal he's ever had, he says. It was pretty spectacular! We had so much fun getting dressed up and eating at a fancy restaurant. Thanks darling, for making that such a special evening!

Anniversary Vacation - Day 2

2010-06-02T22:30:00.001-04:00

Day 2: My internal alarm went off around 8am and I couldn't fall back asleep. What's the deal with that? I'm supposed to be on vacation and I'm wide awake by 8am. So much for sleeping in. I tried to lay quiet and still to give John some additional sleep time, but after a few minutes I just couldn't resist waking him up :) I opened the patio doors and let the warm breeze into our room.

John and I decided to go back to the beach again. We love walking along the shoreline, watching all the people and enjoying the water. It was a beautiful day and the water was so refreshing! Even the jellyfish came out to play :)

Since we were on vacation, we actually left the hotel room carrying only enough cash to get us through the day. Can you believe it!? We went the entire day not knowing what time it was, not checking our email, and not checking up on Layla. I felt so free! We went to look for a place to eat lunch when our tummy's were hungry and ended up at the Bamboo Cafe. It was up on the second floor of the shopping center and it felt like we were dining in a tree house. The roof was made to look like a grass hut and there was wood on all the walls. An older gentleman serenaded us thoughout our meal and they served a bowl of popcorn with the menus. That's my kind of place! The food was decent, John's rib eye wrap was better than my friend shrimp wrap, but the $4.95 lunch special made it worth it.

After a few hours in the sun and a full belly, we were pooped! We spent the afternoon napping and watching a movie in our hotel room. Not very exciting, but oh so relaxing.

Dinner was slighty less exotic since we decided to save some dough and hit up Taco Bell. Those new tortadas are surprising delicious :)

Anniversary Vacation - Day 1

2010-06-01T22:29:00.000-04:00

John and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on May 24th. I can't believe it's been one whole year since we said "I do." It honestly doesn't feel like we've been married for a whole year. I think that's a good thing :) For our one year anniversary we planned a road trip which included 4 states and 1300 miles in 6 days. We had a blast!

Day 1: We hit the road about 10am and headed straight to Hilton Head, South Carolina. My mom and step dad hooked us up with a free hotel room for 2 nights. Thanks Mom and Alan! We arrived in Hilton Head about 4pm.

After dropping our bags in the room, we walked across the street to a shopping center to look around. We did some window shopping and also scouted out all the restaurants. A local cafe called The Frosty Frog caught our eye. It turned out to have a daiquiri bar inside! Daiquiri's are my favorite! You could even mix and match to create the perfect daiquiri blend. I mixed strawberry and pina colada. John mixed "Hurricane" and "Jump Start." Interesting how the flavors in John's daiquiri were secret flavors. We're still not sure what exactly was in his drink - but it sure tasted good! The food was really good too. I enjoyed a turkey wrap while John scarfed down a talapia sandwich.

After dinner we walked over to the beach. The sun had already set but it was still light outside. We walked along the shoreline, enjoying the peacefulness of the ocean and the sand between our toes.

Aren't these swings the cutest! We took full advantage of these public swings while we were on Hilton Head island. It was so relaxing to sit and swing with my husband. It made me realize how much I enjoy swinging. Maybe John and I can get one sometime. :)

Blog Revamp

2010-03-30T23:01:00.000-04:00

I decided it was time for a revamp of my blog. New layout, new background, new tabs, and more pictures and recipes are coming soon.

This blog somewhat reflects my decorating style.....revamps to keep things interesting, always involved in some sort of project, having trouble finishing said project, wishing someone would do it for me, actually finding much satisfaction after completing it myself.

Side Table Splurg

2010-03-28T14:07:00.004-04:00

John and I splurged on new side tables yesterday. We found them at this little shop near our church that sells awesome antique pieces, including solid wood furniture. The shop has been there since 1975 and is filled to the max with old, interesting things. We spotted these tables underneath a wicker coffee table and behind an old children's desk (that was totally awesome too). They are in great condition and they have hand-carved details on the front.

Here's a close up of the detailing.

We love our new tables! John loves that they have a drawer. I love that they match our bedroom perfectly and that they look really cool with their antique character.

Next up...curtains in the bedroom. The curtain saga seems like it will never be finished....

I Need Your Help!

2010-03-25T11:48:00.003-04:00

I need help figuring out what curtains I should hang in our living room. We have dark bamboo blinds, which I'd like to keep, but I also want curtains. Please help! Leave me a comment with your suggestions. I'd love to get your feedback. And if there's anything else you want to suggest about our living room/dining room, please feel free! :)

Updated Man Room

2010-03-07T12:31:00.001-05:00

Has It Really Been 2 Months?

2010-02-24T11:54:00.004-05:00

My last post was 2 months ago! I can't believe it's been that long. I guess I've been busy :) John started his first semester at the University of Central Florida. He's pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and wants to get certified in Criminal Profiling. His classes are going well and he's really excited about being a student at UCF now.

His birthday was in January and I surprised him by finishing his man room. Do you remember his man room? It has a built in bar and an Xbox, but other than that it was in a pretty sad state. I used Christmas gift cards and lots of help from his family to pull off the surprise. His dad and grandpa invited him to lunch on Saturday before his birthday. They had strict instructions to make sure it was at least a 3-4 hour lunch. They did great! John had no idea that while he was at lunch, his siblings and I were decorating his man room. When he came home, I couldn't wait to spill the beans...and he was in complete shock! Speechless, really. I was just exstatic that it all worked out.

I've kept busy with my normal routine of grad school and working full time. I was able to take a much needed 2 week stay-cation from work over the holidays. But when January hit, I was back in more-than-full swing. Tax season is upon us and my work week just extended to 6 days. I'm finishing up finals in my two classes, but start another two next week.

The next 2 months will be much like the last two months...busy. We hope to be able to break up all the work and school by spending time with some friends and watching our new flat screen TV. Yes, we just entered the 21st century and I'm loving every second of it! The Olympics look so much better on a 42" flat panel, what can I say. John found this amazing deal that we just couldn't pass up. And the fact that we had been saving for a television and this came in way under budget made it even sweeter!

I'll leave you with one final thought. As I was reading one of my favorite blogs today, I came across a mood board (mock up) of a living room that is very close to the look I'm trying to achieve in our living room. What I love about it is that it mixes red and turquoise accents - exactly what I've been wanting to try! We have so many similar pieces, including the chocolate L-couch, the brown curtains, and the symetrical paintings. I can't wait to start incorporating a few more elements into our living room to bring the whole thing together! I'm definitely on the look out for an armchair, a rug and turquoise vases. Love it!

courtesy of Young House Love

Dreams

2009-12-16T14:50:00.005-05:00

Have you ever not dreamed because you didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't come true? I didn't think this was true of myself until recently.

When I was little I dreamed of what I would be when I grew up, and I wasn't afraid to dream BIG. I remember dreaming of being an Actuary. An Actuary, of all things. You probably don't even know what that is. For fear of boring you I will just say that they work with statistics. And I didn't just want to be any Actuary. I wanted to be an Actuary for DISNEY! You see, my brain concluded that since Disney was a huge company they surely would employee Actuaries. I have no idea if that's true or not, but I dreamed it.

Wondering where or why I came up with this dream? Simple, someone told me that there are very few Actuaries in the world and therefore they make LOTS of money. Well that was a cinch...I wanted to do something that very few people did and makes lots of money doing it...and possibly get to know Cinderella while I was at it.

Since then I've had other dreams too. I've dreamed of meeting the man of my dreams, falling in love with him and having a spectacularly beautiful wedding. I dreamed that for a while. And then it happened. My dream came true. But what happens after your dream comes true? Do you stop dreaming? I guess I did.

Besides the man-of-my-dreams dream, I can't remember the last time I dreamed something wonderfully fantastic. I was thinking about this the other night and I just couldn't remember. Then I wondered, why not? Why haven't I been dreaming? And I think it's because I was afraid they wouldn't come true. Let's see - my dream came true and then I concluded that I shouldn't dream anymore because they wouldn't come true. Like, I used up my one dream ticket. Maybe I don't want to get my hopes up, or have people think I'm unrealistic, or looney, or whatever. Just let things happen and if it's meant to be then it will be. I don't know if that's totally bad, but something in my soul has started stirring.

What if I started dreaming BIG again? And yeah they may not come true, but what if they do? What if by dreaming I open myself up to opportunities that may not have been possible otherwise? What if I dare to tell God what my BIG dreams are? Would he think I'm nuts? Tell me that those types of dreams only happen to other people? I don't think He will. You know why? Because he knows the desires of my heart, even if I never speak them. I think that many times He's waiting for us to open our hearts up and dream. To not be ashamed of the desires of our hearts but proclaiming them and then waiting with anxious anticipation for Him to make our dreams come true!

Because of this, I'm going to proclaim one of my BIG dreams right here on this blog. I dream of one day raising a family in a large, gorgeous stone house. There I said it. Whew. That wasn't so bad. Dreaming about a stone house led me to Google (because let's face it, almost everything leads me to Google nowadays) where I found some amazing homes that I wanted to share with you.

Are you scared to dream BIG?

Christmas Tour 2009

2009-12-14T06:00:00.008-05:00

Welcome to our home! I'm so excited about participating in the 2009 Christmas Home Tour hosted by The Nester. This is our first Christmas as a married couple and I was thrilled to decorate our house for the holidays. We got a great deal on our tree from Lowe's and most of the decorations came from Old Time Pottery or Target. You can check out the story here and here.

All of the shopping is done and the presents are wrapped! The only thing left to do is send the Christmas cards.

The stockings are hung on the mantle with care....we made sure our little pup has her own stocking as well.

My sweet friend brought me a Rosemary tree for my birthday last week. John and I are so excited to make rosemary chicken with the fresh rosemary. And the best part is that the tree fits right in with the Christmas decor.

Thanks for dropping by our home! May you and your family be abundantly blessed this Christmas season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Wrap Up

2009-12-12T09:54:00.005-05:00

The shopping is done! I bought a few things online but the majority of the shopping was done last weekend. I wrote out my list, planned my route, and set out to fight the crowds. Of course I can't divulge all my stops, for fear that someone might figure out their present before Christmas. I will say that having a plan was the best plan I could have had. My entire shopping trip took about 2 1/2 hours and that included a stop for a Big Gulp.

Once at home, I got to work on wrapping. I had the time and it allowed me to feel completely accomplished at the end of the day. My big helper sat close and supervised the whole time!

My Birthday Week

2009-12-11T12:00:00.001-05:00

On Monday, December 7th, I turned 27. I still can't believe it. I'm not quite sure where 25 and 26 went, but alas, 27 is upon me. Monday was a really low key day for me - spent the day at work, went home and heated up left overs and watched shows saved on the DVR. John got home around 9pm, I beat him at our new favorite card game, and then we headed to bed.

Don't feel sorry for me though...this girl did her fair share of celebrating.

The Friday before my birthday, John took me out to dinner at Houlihan's. I had some really great fish tacos (for free!) and John had meatloaf and mashed potatoes. We were both in food heaven.

The Sunday before my birthday was a full day of celebrating. After church, my brother and sister in-law took me out to lunch at Chili's. They are so sweet and I feel so loved by my in-laws. While they took me to lunch, John was able to shop for my birthday present. :) After lunch, we went back to John's parent's house for more birthday celebration - burritos & ice cream cake! That's my kind of dinner! John's mom fries the tortillas and they are marvelous! This year, his brother, Luke, helped with the ice cream cake, and I must say it came our fabulous. Oreo crust, vanilla ice cream with a layer of oreos in the middle...with no hint of real cake any where in sight....yummmm!

The day after my birthday, we invited some friends over for pizza and you guessed it...more ice cream cake! (Can you guess what makes my mouth water?) It was a great time of hanging out with people who are near and dear to my heart.

Four days after my birthday, we celebrated the December birthday's at work and guess what we ate....yep....ice cream cake! This 27 year old girl was in ice cream heaven.

Summary of my 27th birthday.................food, food, ice cream cake, food, ice cream cake, ice cream cake.

It was a fabulous birthday!

(Unfortunately, John and I didn't take one picture the whole week, so there are no pretty pictures to accompany this post. Stay tuned though, I'm going to post a tour of our home all spiffed up for Christmas on Monday, December 14th.)

December 7th

2009-12-10T16:14:00.006-05:00

You might be asking yourself...."Why does December 7th sound familiar? Did something significant happen on that date?" Well, I'm so glad you asked.

December 7, 1941 was the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese aircrafts. They bombed the US Naval base in Hawaii, and as a result, the US entered World War II. The US lost 2,402 people that morning when the Japanese attacked unsuspecting battleships, cruisers and destroyers. Interestingly enough, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor before they officially declared war. President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed it "a date which will live in infamy."

No, that's not what you were thinking about?

Hmm, well it's also the day of my birth, 27 years ago.

Not that either? Maybe you're thinking about one of these monumental occassions:
December 7, 43 B.C. - Marcus Tullius Cicero was assassinated

December 7, 1732 - The Royal Opera House opens in London

December 7, 1787 - Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution (way to go Delaware!)

December 7, 1900 - Max Planck discovers the law of black body emission (I hope it wasn't based on personal experience)

December 7, 1946 - A fire in an Atlanta hotel kills 119 people

December 7, 1963 - Instant replay is used for the first time in a football game (Army vs. Navy)

December 7, 1982 (my actual day of birth) - Charles Brooks, Jr. becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the U.S. (that's pretty morbid)

I share a birthday (not the year, but the day) with Jamiel Chagra (an American drug trafficker), Mark Hofmann (an American forger and bomber), Larry Bird, Damien Rice, Terrell Owens, Sarah Bareilles, Aaron Carter, and my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Loutzenheizer (not pictured). Of course there are many others, but those were the interesting ones.

Did you know that December 7th is also National Cotton Candy Day? Seems that one is somewhat overshadowed by the rememberance of the thousands that gave their lives for our country.

The #1 song on December 7th, 1982 was Maneater by Hall & Oates. Hmm. That's somethin'.

Had enough? Ok, ok. I'll stop :)

Her New Favorite Toy

2009-12-05T09:28:00.004-05:00

Layla can't get enough of "Mr. Snuggles." She just loves that little guy.

But after a long day of playing with Mr. Snuggles, she's one tired pup.

Time for bed. Don't worry, she made sure Mr. Snuggles came with her to bed. Absolutely adorable!

Layla & Mr. Snuggles

2009-12-05T09:02:00.002-05:00

Last night Layla's boyfriend, Nigel, gave her a few gifts. Her favorite is a green oversized mouse who we've named Mr. Snuggles. We haven't seen Layla this excited since she discovered her first squirrel!

The Fireplace

2009-12-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend, John and I were able to make a quick run to Target to pick up the rest of the Christmas decorations. We got stockings and stocking holders for the mantle. The red one on the right is Layla's...could you tell by the paw prints? :)

Our First Tree - Part 2

2009-12-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

The tree is up....

and decorated...

John and Jackie are happy.

Layla would rather eat treats then take pictures, but she likes the tree too.

Our First Tree - Part 1

2009-12-02T09:00:00.001-05:00

John and I celebrated 6 months of marriage on November 24th. We kept it low key since it was right before Thanksgiving and we had other things going on. Now, I don't normally wake up in the wee hours of the morning and go fight the mobs on Black Friday. Only a really really good deal will get me up before the sun rises. And this year, I found a FABULOUS deal at Lowe's. With this being our first Christmas, John and I needed to get a tree! Since John's allergic to real Christmas trees, and I hate cleaning up the mess they make, we went artificial. We had been pricing trees for a few weeks and actually found a reasonably priced tree at Lowe's that we were planning on getting. So when I saw that Lowe's was running a sale on Christmas trees, I decided it was worth getting up early and fighting the cold. This pre-lit tree was originally $98, on sale for $38! And on top of that, my mom gave me a $25 Lowe's gift card as an early birthday present.....that means I paid $15.47 (including tax)!! Deal of the year for sure!

John and I spent the day putting up our $15 tree. We played Christmas music, moved our entry table out of the way and started getting all the decorations out.

Layla stayed next to John the entire time he was putting up the tree. She didn't really know what to think about it all.

Part 1 down, 3 to go

2009-12-01T18:49:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, November 17th I took the Audit section of the CPA exam. It went really well. I'll get the results in about 4 weeks. Since tax season is starting soon, I'm going to wait until July to take the next section of the exam. Wish me luck!

To recap, there are 4 sections to the exam and I have to pass all of them in an 18 month window. Here's my timeline:

Section 1 - November 2009

Section 2 - July 2010

Section 3 - Aug 2010

Section 4 - September or October 2010

The Goat & The Burns....Follow Up

2009-11-23T18:46:00.002-05:00

They're both gone. Just thought you'd want to know.

The Goat & The Burns

2009-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

How long will this last? Your guess is as good as mine. But that's one good looking guy! :)

Layla, got me on my knees, Layla

2009-11-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Layla sported a tin foil cape for Halloween. This lasted approximately 30 seconds :)

How can I resist her sweet face looking up at me?

One tired girl with one tired pup.

Margaret & Matt's Wedding

2009-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

So beautiful! Congratulations Matt & Margaret!

Fabulous Weekend

2009-11-08T18:29:00.002-05:00

We had a great weekend! It started out with our friends bringing over their dog, Nigel, for a playdate with Layla (and we got to enjoy good food and good company while the dogs chewed on their bones). The next day we had yummy Tiajuana Flats with family and went to a beautiful wedding with friends. Today, we went to the bank, went grocery shopping for the week, cancelled John's gym membership that he doesn't use, got lunch, fixed the garbage disposal, did laundry and took a nap! Today was fabulous!

Just a usual night

2009-11-02T09:00:00.003-05:00

Lemon Chicken

Heat olive oil, garlic and lemon juice in a pot on the stove. Place chicken in a baking dish and pour sauce over chicken once it starts boiling. Sprinkle lemon zest on top of chicken. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Serve with whatever else you want to eat it with. Enjoy with your wonderful husband and your precious pup!

Spook Fest 2009

2009-10-31T09:00:00.000-04:00

Are you ready for some candy? We are! Before the sun sets and the goblins come out, I wanted to show you what's prowling around our house.

I decided only to decorate the front entryway for Halloween this year, mainly because John and I didn't want to be freaked out everytime we walked around our house. This way we only get a little spook when we first walk in the door :)

I grabbed this white skull at the Dollar Store and I'm loving it! His head is hollow and perfect for some candy. John especially liked that part. I put him on top of a stand I already had and found some black books from the bookshelf to elevate him just right. The candlesticks I grabbed at Goodwill for $1.00 each. I love it when it works out perfectly like that.

The bottom display is like a spooky graveyard. The headstones and the cobwebs are from the Dollar Store and I think they add a frightful flare.

For the pictures on the wall, I picked up some old wood frames from Goodwill and then printed out some spooky pictures. When I went to print the pictures, I found out that the printer was running low of black ink. But that didn't stop me! I went ahead and printed out the pictures anyway and I think it turned out fun. This one is of a ghostly figure in the fog.

This one is a cartoon of a spooky house.

And this one is a little more traditional haunted house.

Hope you have a spook-tastic Halloween!

View from the window

2009-10-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it's just nice to gaze upon a beautiful sunset while you're driving down the road.

Drink it, Feel it, Share it

2009-10-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

John and I recently discovered Monavie....a great juice that improves your health and your wealth. Since we both started drinking Monavie, we have experienced more energy throughout the day, we sleep better at night and just feel better all around. Monavie is a blend of 19 different fruits, including the acai berry. Just 4 oz everyday provides your body with antioxidants and vitamins that it needs to stay healthy.

In addition to helping improve your health, Monavie can also improve your wealth. Monavie is only available through independent distributors and YOU could be one of them, just like us. For more information on how Monavie can help you feel better and put a little cash in your wallet, visit http://www.drinkitwithme.com/.

Monavie started the M.O.R.E. project which helps provide shelter, food, clothing and education to orphans in Brazil and Mexico. It is really amazing to be part of an organization that makes it a priority to help underprivileged children with the necessities of life. A percentage of each Monavie bottle sold helps fund the M.O.R.E. project. Join with us to help the orphans of Brazil and Mexico.

Email me at jackiedodson24@gmail.com if you're interested in joining together with John and I to help others experience better health and better wealth. We really believe that Monavie will make a difference in people's lives.

One Year Ago

2009-10-24T22:20:00.001-04:00

John proposed and I said YES!

We celebrated by eating Chipotle :)

...22 days until CPA Exam Part 1 of 4

Today

2009-10-20T16:22:00.004-04:00

Today is the day that I start my first CPA review course! I'm anxious and excited to start this journey where I will be totally consumed with studying and exam-taking for the next 12 months of my life. Oh, what have I gotten myself into?

Wish me luck!

28 days until CPA Exam Part 1 out of 4

Is it Halloween Yet?

2009-10-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

We're almost ready...just need to print the spooky pictures and hang them on the wall.

muhahahahahah

It's Official!

2009-10-03T15:17:00.004-04:00

Layla is ours! We signed the adoption papers yesterday. Even though Layla doesn't know the difference, she's here to stay.

Do you see a theme? Yep, Layla loves pillows. Hard, soft, doesn't matter, she loves it and wants to claim it as her own.

But just look at this face...

She has won our hearts!

Halloween Decor

2009-10-01T11:51:00.003-04:00

This year I decided to decorate our entryway for Halloween. John is being such a sport about it...thank you darling! I found some old frames at Goodwill and have been scouring for pictures to put in them. I wanted spooky but not "AH I'm going to pee my pants every time I walk in the door" scary. Here's what we found. I'm printing them in black/white & gray to keep it more monochrome and thus more spooky. Oooooo can't wait to hang them up!

Criminal Minds is taking over our lives

2009-09-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

We just can't get enough of this show!
Wednesday's @ 9 pm on CBS

What I'm dreaming about from Ikea

2009-09-28T10:43:00.000-04:00

Two of these for the guest bedroom windows...

Lots of these for around the house...

One of these for next to the guest bed...

One (or maybe two) of these for above the desk...

One of these for the guest bed...

One of these for the laundry room...

One of these for the entryway (or maybe the kitchen)...

Lots of these for the many windows in the living room...

Two of these for the kitchen (painted black)...

Lots of these for the dining room (DIY project!)...

Lots of these for the hallway...

We Found It

2009-09-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

This print will hang above our bed right after I make the trip to Ikea to get a frame for it. Woo Hoo! You can find these free downloadable prints at Feed Your Soul.