Foodie Friday: BLT & Butter Basted Potatoes

 It's FRIDAY! Which means it is time for Foodie Friday! I was planning to cook a great meal last night, but I wasn't home in time to cook, so that will have to wait until next week!  So, today's feature meal is something that is super easy - and it was so yum!  We had BLTs and Butter Basted Potatoes.  Brad cooked the bacon (we use Center Cut bacon - it is on the healthier side and tastes so good!) and I sliced the tomatoes (got those at the Farmer's Market last weekend).  We toasted some bread, threw on some low fat mayo, and then assembled the ingredients.  Brad was living on the wild side and even added cheese to his!

 And I know I've already listed Butter Basted Potatoes HERE, but they were so good that I thought I'd make them again!  And they did not dissappoint. 

 It was such a simple meal, but it was great!  I wanted to show a picture of Brad helping out in the kitchen - here is Bacon Cook Extraordinaire!

 And the finished product:

 And our yummy homegrown tomatoes! ...

Hopefully next week I will be able to list a great new recipe!  I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Birthday Boy Celebrations

When we got back from the beach, it was time to get together with our families to celebrate Brad getting old.  He said he really didn't care where we went, as long as he got a birthday cake from his favorite local place.  I surely had no problem with that because the cakes truly are AMAZING!  Here is a picture of the yummy goodness - a UT cake!

 We got together with my mom and brother and Brad's mom - so much fun!  It wasn't too crowded and loud so we actually all got to visit!  And the food was yummy - Longhorn's so a nice change for sure!  And of course the cake was delicious - here is Brad about to blow out the candles!

 And success! I decided not to embarass him and put the full number of candles on the cake - it would have been a fire hazard! hahaha...

 And he had some cards and little goodies to open!  What a fun birthday!

 And we had to take some other pictures too.  In this one, I told Katie I was going to take a picture of her with Grandma...she leaned right over and had the cutest smile.  Didn't it turn out great?!  I just love it!

 And then this picture of me and the hubs - so cute! I think I may just have to put it in a frame!

 And Katie was being a goofball with the tissue paper that Brad had in a gift - she was making a necklace (after playing peek a boo, of course)!

 And Katie with Cee Cee! So sweet.  They sat next to eachother at dinner - it was nice to be able to visit with my brother and not have to be "hands on" with the little lady!

 And then me, Katie, and Cee Cee - not too shabby of a 3 generation picture!

It was so fun celebrating Brad's birthday - he is welcome to get old as often as he'd like if it means that yummy cake!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm super excited about today's WILW!  I hope you are too! I think I am rejuvenated after the great beach trip while also trying to get back into the routine of our life!  If you want to link up with Jamie, go {hErE}!

 I'm LOVING this AWESOME door hanger that I bought from Minebydesign Powell on Facebook!  I love it because we are clearly a House Divided with Auburn and UT - and it has DOTS! My favorite!

 Doesn't it make the door just awesome? And super cute for football season.

 I'm LOVING getting everything out for Fall!  I pulled out some of my fall decor this past weekend and I love it!  I still need to buy some mums, put the hand towels out, and we still need to go to the pumpkin patch - I love that tradition!

 I'm LOVING how our flowers just exploded while we were out of town!  They are clearly loving the cooler temperatures and all the rain we had while we were gone.  They are huge and all bloomy (is that a word??) and I love seeing it when I get home!

 And of course a few artsy-fartsy pictures playing with the settings on my camera....

 I think I may like this one better because of the lighting....

 I'm LOVING knitting!! When we got home, I showed my mom what I was doing and she said I was trying to teach myself the wrong way (that would explain all the frustration for sure)!  So she showed me how to cast on and knit the rows - I still need to learn how to cast off though.  I am working on a little scarf for Katie has my first project - it's definitely not perfect, but it looks like something real!  This was a picture of what I did Sunday morning - again, a work in progress!

 I'm LOVING this guy!  We hadn't had a good picture together in quite some time, but we got one the other night while out celebrating his birthday - and don't you worry...a separate post about that celebration is coming!  I also think another side item that I'm LOVING in this picture is how tan I am :) This has to last the whole winter!

What are YOU loving today??

Fun Afternoon

This afternoon was just one of those really good, fun afternoons where everything just works.  I love it when that happens!  I was so productive while Katie was at Mother's Day out, and then I picked her up.  She, of course, did not sleep while she was there, so I had thought about just taking her home and letting her sleep.  But as I was driving, I changed my mind -  I decided we should enjoy the gorgeous afternoon.  So instead of going home, we went to the local animal adoption place.  We have gone one time before to visit the doggies and kitties - Katie loves it!  They, of course, are all in their cages/runs, but Katie likes to visit them.  This picture was taken outside of there before we left!  Not the best quality because it was on my phone, but it will do.

After we left there, I had to go get a renewal sticker for my car tags, so we headed to do that - and Katie was just perfect!  Of course, since it is near the end of the month, there was definitely a line, but Katie did great.  I had a Groupon that expired the end of this week for Ben & Jerry's so we headed there next for some ice cream - what a treat!  I love taking Katie for ice cream...especially when it is just the two of us.  It is amazing how "grown up" she is acting these days - I dropped the paper from my cone and she got up and walked around the table to pick it up for me.  And then when she was finished, she got up and looked for the trash can to throw away her things.  Amazing!  After that, we headed home and went on a walk with my friend Ashley and her little lady.  Pushing Katie in the jog stroller up hills is definitely work! Whew!  When we got back from that, we headed next door for dinner with our neighbors - so fun!  Brad had a softball game tonight, so it was just us girls headed over there.  The menu was pork tenderloin on the grill, mashed potatoes, and cheesy broccoli - YUM!  Katie and Stella just love playing together ... I love it! 

Beach Trip!

First of all, let me say this: this is a long post.  So be warned.  Grab some coffee/water/tea/wine and sit back and relax! I took almost 300 pics, so narrowing it down to this many was a big accomplishment (I think)!  Plus, I love being able to "relive" our trip through pics...I think I can hear the ocean now!  Anyways, here we go with the LONG post of pics and comments....enjoy!

 {loaded up and ready to hit the road!  we drove down there through the night - left home at 8:30 PM hoping Katie would snooze...she did great! she slept about half the drive and was so good!}

 {we arrived! here is miss priss at our first meal out while we were there - I think it was dinner}

 {and we took a walk on the beach - we found lots of jellyfish!  we didn't see any actually in the water, but saw quite a few washed up on the beach!}

 {katie loved playing in the sand - love it!}

 {i just love this picture - she is showing me her sandy hands}

 {running on the beach to her daddy - so cute! and yes, we did get rained on...}

 {ready to hit the pool!}

 {she just loves jumping!}

 {the view from our balcony}

 {more pics at the pool - she loved her Dot Suit!}

 {and then we went to play on the beach...she just plopped right down and began digging!}

 {cutie patootie}

 {she also enjoyed sitting where the water washed on the beach.  the waves broke a little further out and then shallow water washed onto the beach - it was perfect to play in!}

 {love this one!}

 {she was using her Elmo camera to take a picture of the beach - too funny!}

 {a picture with the birthday boy before heading to dinner!}

 {and a family picture too! too bad katie wouldn't cooperate...}

 {heading to the beach! love this - she matches her bucket!}

 {enjoying the beach!}

 {love her little tan lines! and that was with wearing SPF 55!}

 {a bird (crane, maybe?) playing in the surf}

 {a view of our condo building!}

 {this may be one of my favorites too - she's having so much fun!}

 {yes, I was on the trip too - I just took most of the pictures!}

 {beach bum - so cute!}

 {oh! and a picture of us before dinner!}

 {and a picture after dinner - she just would not cooperate in a picture with me!}

 {pretty sunset while walking to get ice cream}

 {every night she loved sitting in the "big chair" and reading and snuggling with me.  needless to say, I was not complaining!}

 {love her expression - heading to the pool in our hats!}

 {another balcony view - so pretty!}

 {what I did during naptime - beer and a book and the beach...not too shabby, huh!}

 {sunset after dinner at my favorite restaurant down there}

 {and finally a good one! except I look kind of like a turtle}

 {my two loves!}

 {she loves her daddy for sure}

 {a keeper! love this girl!}

 {and another try at a family picture - at least Katie is looking at the camera!}

 {yes...trying to be artsy fartsy.  not too bad, I don't think!}

 {my favorite restaurant down there - love, love, love it!}

 {picture of the restaurant!}

 {and a family pic at dinner on our last night - probably the best one, except the flash washing us out...oh well!}

 {balcony view before we left}

 {I love this one - ocean and beach at the bottom with lots of sky...again, artsy fartsy}

 {goodbye, beach!}

{katie found this little chair right before we left.  she kept moving it around when we were loading and packing up - she wanted to sit in it wherever Brad and I were!}

What a great trip - not much to do except go to the pool, go to the beach, and eat!  Sounds like a perfect vacation to me :) If we go back there, maybe we will head to Orlando for a day or two as it is just about an hour and a half away.  I know Brad got pretty bored at the end - he actually was able to convince me to leave early afternoon Friday instead of waiting until that night to be on the road.  It was definitely nice to get home in time to actually sleep in our own bed!  Hope you enjoyed a recap of our trip :)