Friday Favorites!

 

 

Happy Friday Everyone!

Today is my last Friday off before School starts :(

I really have enjoyed working 4 days a week this summer - It has REALLY come in handy planning for my wedding and getting things done.

I am once again linking up with the sweet bloggers over at

Momfessionals

&

A Little Bit of Everything

&

Grace and Love

 

So today is my Friday Favorites for the end of August...

 

 

ONE

 

My 1959 Austin Healey Bugeye

 

My baby (dads is the blue and moms is the green in the garage)

My dad and I built this car back in 2008/2009 ~ Isn't it beautiful! I came up with the idea of "LadyBug" since the car is a Bugeye, and I LOVE Ladybugs! So we made it red, and my grandfather made me magnetic spots to put on for car shows! So awesome :)

He always had a passion for these cars. His dad gave him one for his 17th Birthday and ever since then, they were a huge part of his life and his favorite hobby.

 

This past weekend, Ted & I worked on a few "bugs" to get it back on the road after a little rest in the garage from our first car show in April.

Fixing the carbs

Checking the seal on the fuel line ;-)

 

Ever since I was little, I wanted a Bugeye like dads & now I have one which will forever remind me of his passion and how much fun we had working on them and taking them for rides and going to car shows. (I even won 1st at a few shows!) We have had many family vacations around the cars. We've been all over the country actually for car related events to places like Missouri, Wisconsin, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont...

So many fond memories throughout my entire life, even after my dads passing, we continue to go to car events with the friends we've made over the years. It's a little harder now with out him there, but it's a big part of who I am and will always be an important part of my life.

 

Side Note:

My first car was actually a 1959 Austin A-40

My 1959 Austin A-40 Farina

 

Dreamy isn't it?? Just what every 17 year old girl wants to roll up to their senior year of high school in huh?? I actually LOVED it and everyone knew who I was.

I also helped my dad build this one as well.

 

 

 

TWO

TEXAS!!!!!

 

Texas is one of my very favorite places to visit! 

When I was a sophomore in high school my very best friend in the world moved to

San Antonio because her dad had a job transfer.

That's super hard on two 15 year old best friends in the era of no cell phones, no Facebook, no free collect calls. Man. We were devastated!! Luckily our dads had fax machines so we would FAX hand written notes to each other whenever we could. 

My first trip down there was April of  1998!

 I've been going every year sometimes twice a year ever since! I've brought my mom, my friends,  boyfriends at the time, my parents went for her wedding, and Ted has gone with me twice! 

We have the best time down there visiting with her and her family and are luckiy enough to stay with her parents at their amazing house. 

Here are some of my Texas faves... 

The Alamo!

The Riverwalk

Rita's on the River

Dough Pizzaria
Ok Seriously GO HERE if you can! They were featured on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.
SO GOOD!!!

Riverwalk again - my favorite spot!

THREE

My fur babies


Lilly is my chubby girl on the right.
Tessa is my little girl on the left.
Both were rescued.
Lilly was left behind (pregnant no less) by a neighbor who moved and left her.
 I saw her sitting by the door of their house after they were gone and it just broke my heart.
She's been mine since 2010 - Her and I have been through a lot together!

Tessa was rescued from PetSmart about 3 months ago.

She was the saddest little girl I've ever seen.

She had been there since the fall of last year - the longest one in the window.

It seemed that no one wanted her - that's where we came in!

She's a nut, but we absolutely love her.

Lilly- ever so lady like!

Tessa playing with her little fishy

Our patient rescue pup Jake ~ He is such a wonderful dog.

Ted rescued him from PetSmart in 2008 - He is such a great boy

They just love having their pictures taken! :)

So there you have it!

My Friday favorites.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!

~TIFFANY~

The BEST pulled pork EVER!

So a fellow blogger, Andrea over at Momfessionals is apparently known for this amazing pulled pork recipe that she and many others have made. WELL - let me just say that this is AMAZING! I made this last night and my goodness, it was FABULOUS!

 

It is SO yummy and really easy to make.  

This is what you need...

Photo credit: Andrea since I forgot to take a pic of all of this!

 

- 1 Pork Shoulder Roast ~ Bone in or boneless, either kind is ok.  

- 1 Large bottle of Sweet Baby Rays original BBQ sauce.  

- 1 large onion, quartered

- 2 cans of full sugar soda like Coke or Dr. Pepper (NO DIET SODA !)

 

And here is what you do...

Throw the pork into your crock pot

Toss in the quartered onion

Pour the soda on top of it all

Place the lid on your crock pot

Let it cook for 8 hours!

 

Ready to go at 6:46am!

THAT IS IT.... for now anyway...

After it's all cooked and shredable and made your house smell divine....

 

Pull the onion chunks & all the fatty pieces out

Remove the pork and put it in a bowl for now

Dump out the liquid from the crock pot

Shred the pork and put it back in the crock pot

Pour the BBQ sauce all over the shredded pork

 

 

Look at all of that yummy deliciousness!!

I served mine with cole slaw on potato rolls!

It was flipping delicious  

I have lots of left-overs too!

Thank you Andrea for this amazing supper!!

 

 

One month to go until my Wedding!!!! Ahh!!

 

~TIFFANY~

 

 

Superstorm Sandy...Revisited

So last night on The Weather Channel was a show called Hurricane 360* It was all about some of the events that unfolded during Sandy and several peoples personal stories and experiences. Let me tell you that watching that show for 1 hour brought back all of the horror, fear and anxiety and just emotions in general that we all felt when we lived through that storm.

 

I remember it like it was yesterday (unfortunately)

The weekend before October 29th 2012 - Ted & I went to a Halloween party at a local waterfront bar that Saturday night. When he brought me home, the winds had picked up quite bad. I decided to go get my ducks from down at the bay and bring them in to my garage sanctuary that I had fashioned for them (That's a whole other story!)

The inside of my garage :)

Mama and My Dude

After I got my ducks situated, (yes I bought them their own pool so they could swim)
I pretty much went in the house and prepared for the worst storm ever predicted to hit my home town. I'm sure everyone who watched this storms path remembers this image....

It was the scariest thing I can remember waiting for. Preparing for the power to go out. Preparing for the worst. Preparing for the bay water to rise up and flood my neighborhood. All things that seam so surreal to even think about.

We thought we were ready....but little did we know, we were far from it.

 

I always refer to this picture as the calm before the storm - the seagulls knew something was happening. I've never seen them just sitting like this.

On the dock down the street from my house

The next day (Sunday) we pretty much went back around and made sure everything was secured. Tied down. Placed indoors. Closed tight. Whatever it took to protect everything we possibly could. We knew that if the winds were howling the way they were by Sunday early afternoon, and the storm was pretty far from us still, we would be in big trouble.

It was some time that Sunday night into Monday early morning that she made landfall. We lost power early on Sunday from the high winds.  My brother and his family came down with their dog and my neighbor came over with her dog as well. We all hunkered down to ride out this massive storm together. The noises that this storm made are indescribable. The winds were upwards of 100 mph for about 24 hours.

Just for perspective purposes - this is how close I live to the open bay...
(where the yellow x is)

So with no power. No heat and a bunch of people at my house, we all built a fire in the fireplace and hung out in the dark living room by candle light.

Fire trucks rode up and down the streets telling us to evacuate if we wanted to. We weren't in a mandatory evac spot believe it or not. We stayed, as did many of my neighbors even the ones who lives closest to the bay.

While all this was going on, THIS is what the ocean was doing...

Not sure where I found this, but I did not take it

 

Nothing could prepare any of us for what faced us when the wind and rain finally subsided.

It was total shock. I remember hearing throughout out the night via social media on my phone, and from texts from friends who had power and had the news that there were fires, and flood waters rising to 10 feet, the ocean breached the bay in Mantaloking, and the piers of the boardwalk fell and the rollercoaster was in the water. I almost didn't believe it until I saw the news coverage with my own eyes.

Unfortunately it was all true....
 

As soon as the sun was visible over the horizon, even though it was still windy and quite chilly, the entire neighborhood went outside to assess the damage. It was eerie actually. Everyone had the same distraught look on their faces. The smell of natural gas filled the air. The sound of sirens screamed out all over the place. But at the same time there was this creepy silence. That silence was soon taken over by the hum of generators. Its all we heard for the 12 days we didn't have power. We didn't have a generator when this whole thing began, but my mom (bless her heart) went and stood in line for hours at Home Depot (with no power, being run by a generator itself) after our 4th day with no power, to get one for us.  My mom and I had gotten into such a routine for running our generator during the day and shutting it down at night (for safety purposes) that when we finally regained power, it was like, "Oh, ok no more generator routine".  

There were police and other emergency personnel rescuing people from their flooded homes. Many of my friends and neighbors lost their homes. Our boardwalk was destroyed. There was so much debris EVERYWHERE you looked. Boats thrown up against houses, cars slammed into garage doors, pieces of peoples decks strewn about, patio furniture, couches, televisions, clothing, shingles, doors you name it, it was washed up. A boat came all the way across the bay from the ocean side of my town and landed in a bay front yard, wedged between trees.

This image is right at my corner looking down toward the bay
(We were VERY lucky and did not have ANY flooding)
The bay rose to about 20 feet away from my street

Looking down toward the water
 

Unbelievable

 

This is from the news coverage from the ocean front town of Ortley Beach - this is the main road in :(

To this day, I can remember every detail about that storm.

The parkway being shut down.

School being closed for two weeks straight.

Busses blocked intersections on the highway since there wasn't power to operate the lights.

Police barricades kept anyone from going over the bridge to the island.

Military and news helicopters flew over head for days and days.

Firemen patrolled the neighborhoods from sun down to sun up for our safety.

 They even came on foot door to door to check occupancy and make sure we were all ok.

I got VERY used to extreme quiet with no power running anything.

I was quickly reminded to be thankful for having a gas run stove.

The word "breach" now seemed scary.

The snow storm we got a few days after the storm.

Restore the Shore became an instant motto as did Jersey Strong.

Helping my neighbors wasn't a second thought - we all came together.

 

Sandy forever changed anyone who experienced it.

 

I have tons of pictures but we'd be here all day if I posted them all.

So there's my recap of that weekend that changed the face of the Jersey Shore.

 

Happy Tuesday

~Tiffany~

 

Weekend Recap

My weekend started on Thursday night... I went shopping for shoes, ran around and returned a few things from my shower and got a spray tan!

Having not gotten any color this summer and having to go to two weddings this weekend, there were no questions about this decision! A spray tan was a must. And who doesn't love a safer way to get color without the sun exposure. Luckily I got to this great little family owned place in town that does it by hand, so while it is more expensive, it looks totally natural and definitely NOT like Ross in that episode with the spray tan!

 

 

Friday I had some more running around to do before my friends wedding that evening. I managed to clean the entire house, do 3 loads of laundry, find shoes, shower, get ready do my hair and get to the church 45 minutes away ON TIME! It was an exciting moment.

 

 

This is a friend of mine and I at the Friday wedding enjoying the cookies

This wedding was so beautiful

 

Wedding number two was a bit more low key ~ but just as beautiful. It was on the water at a cute place in town. My cousin looked beautiful and her groom was handsome as ever. We all had a blast dancing the night away

This guy is pretty cute

 

And in typical Sunday fashion, we headed over to Latitudes for some drinks and music by our favorite local band

 

We didn't stay too long because we were both beat from the long weekend. It's funny how non-stop fun can be so exhausting!

So we headed home and watched "The Lucky One" ~ that Nicholas Sparks gets me every time! And even thought it was the ultimate chick flick, Ted loved it :) bonus!!

 

Have a fabulous week !

 

Sunset last night over the river

Mid week road trip to Philly

 

So yesterday was a good day. Good news is always a good thing!!

Why are waiting rooms so boring?

 

 

We headed up to Philly around 1:00 and on the way home, we stopped for some food at this amazing place we went to once before when we had to pick my friend from Texas up at the airport.....

It's called Zinburger and Oh.My.Gosh. it is DELICIOUS!

 

Ted got the Zinburger (Manchego Cheese, Zinfandel Braised Onions & Chipotle Mayo)

I got a regular burger with cheddar, bacon & BBQ sauce!

Delicious!!

 

We shared  zucchini fries with a side of ranch 

 

and....

 

Double Truffle Fries w/ a truffle parmesan aioli

They taste better than they look!

They have his favorite beer on tap, Dogfish 60 minute IPA - so he had a glass of that and I had a regular old coke, even thought it was 1/2 price bottle of wine Wednesday!

After we ate, the waitress asked if we wanted a milk shake...which believe me I did, but I held back for one of these bad boys....

 

 

 

Why not go for the big one after downing a burger and two kinds of fries...
No shame.... at all!

 

We headed home after that :-)

 

 

So on a totally random side note - We need to get a new bed frame and I am in love with
this one from Ashley Furniture!!

Isn't it gorgeous!?

So we will see if we end up getting it or not - these things need to be decided upon soon because in 45 days my king size is moving in! :)

 

 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Lilly & Tessa.... thrilled to be having their picture taken!

 

* Tiffany *

Whats on... Your Wishlist!

Today I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals - A little late in the game, but hey better late than never right?

 

The first thing on my list would have to be this amazing bag... I've mentioned it before but it required additional mentioning... I mean - look how beautiful it is!!

The St. Anne tote by Barrington

 

The second thing would be more free time! I'm so busy planning this wedding and going to bridal showers and bachelorette parties and shopping for all that goes along with them! Phew! I'd be happy to have a week off where nothing was expected of me. No work. No house cleaning. No dinner cooking. No wedding planning! Buuuut ~ my life would be boring if that were the case. So for now, I'll continue to press on and keep up with my crazy life and remember that in a few short weeks, I'll be sitting on the beach in Aruba with my HUSBAND!

Gah.... Isn't it beautiful!

You'd never know I live 4 minutes from the beach in Jersey - its just not the same!

 

The third item on my wish list is FALL! I love the warm weather and love when its sunny and stays light 'til about 9pm - but I'm a fall girl! I purchased some garland and apples to add to my already large amount of fall decorations at Hobby Lobby this weekend.
(PS: Sooo glad we finally have one relatively close to our town!)
Totally inspired by Andrea and her amazing table décor that was shown in this post last week!

I mean, isn't this just perfection!

I'm a big sucker for all things fall. Big comfy sweaters, boots, hot drinks, pumpkin spice lattes, changing leaves, apple & pumpkin picking, Halloween, hay rides, the crisp smell of the changing air! Ooo the list goes on and on!

 

Speaking of pumpkin spice lattes - which I can NOT wait for....that brings me to my number 4.....

Iced Caramel Latte

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh........heaven!

I can't lie - I had one every day of this past weekend - Friday, Saturday & Sunday people! Can we say addicted ? Maybe, but it's so delicious! Totally craving one right now, even thought I just finished my Dunkin Donuts iced coffee....

Hey, it's Monday, I'm allowed to have a boat load of caffeine! 

 

 

Last thing on my list would probably be this little gem...

 

 

Meet the Clarisonic Mia

 

From what I have read and read and read - this is the be all and end all of skin care! I think this will be a pretty strong contender on my Christmas wish list this year. Sad that these are the items that make my Christmas list in my 30's - practical, expensive skin care items. Not fun things any more!

 

So there you have my list - for now at least. What is on your wish list?

 

Happy Monday Everyone!!