What's Up Wednesday

 

What we're eating

On Sunday night we went to Houlihan's with my family...

I had soup and a salad

 

 

Monday we had friends over because my friends hubby helped mine fix our heat

So we ordered pizza and salad and they had beers & wine while I drank juice :)

Tuesday we had tacos

Tonight we're winging it because it's busy tomorrow!!

Thursday....THANKSGIVING!! Yay!

Friday - leftovers!!

 

What I'm reminiscing about

Lately I've been reminiscing about when Ted & I first met.

How we got together, and how I knew I had a thing for him before we even started dating.

On Monday, we were all talking about when Ted & I starting hanging out and all the crazy fun and funny stories that accompany those memories.

 

This was pretty much the first few months of us hanging out...

First summer together :)

 

 

What I'm loving

Dunkin Donuts Iced Tea

Starbucks Gingerbread Iced Lattes (Decaf)

Winter weather

Chrismastime!

The new Christmas picture I got from Kirklands

 

 

 

What we've been up to

Doctor appointments...

House showings...

Weddings...

Lot's of things keeping us busy these days...

Planning a "babymoon"

 

 

What I'm dreading

GERMS

I can't stand working in a school sometimes.

People send their extremely sick kids to school...

Teachers come to school sick....

It aggravates me SO much.

 

 

STAY HOME!!!!

For someone who can't take medicine IF they get sick, I personally encourage people do stay the heck home and get well before bringing all your gross germs to work/school!!!

 

 

What I'm working on

I'm working on staying calm.

 

 

I've had some blood pressure issues throughout my pregnancy so far, so it's making me a bit nervous... I'm a worrier as it is, so I'm trying hard.

I'm also working on accepting the fact that we might not move before the baby comes.

And I'm working on getting Christmas shopping done!!

 

What I'm excited about

Becoming a mom!!!!!!

 

What I'm watching/reading

Reading Southern Living magazines and pregnancy books.

Watching all the Christmas movies on Hallmark!
Also the usuals: home shows, cooking channel, full house lol

 

What I'm listening to

Christmas Music!

Specifically, Michael Buble...

 

 

Also, all the classic Christmas songs...

I started listening last week a bit, but this week it's on all the time!

 

What I'm wearing

All things warm & comfy

Specifically maternity stuff....

Maternity jeans are awesome... lol

And maternity leggings...

Mostly from Motherhood/Old Navy/Macy's

I've started to dip into my scarf collection too lately since it's been chilly enough

 

What I'm doing this weekend

On Friday - I decorate for Christmas, so I'm looking forward to that!

 

Saturday we have a house showing in the morning

Sunday will be Church and low key...

And speaking of decorating for Christmas...

Can we please drool over this amazing porch....

 

 

 

What I'm looking forward to next month

 

ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS !!

 

 

What else is new

Honestly? Nothing.

It's literally the same stuff... After Christmas we're going to start the babys room so that is exciting, but until then... it's business as usual.

Say a prayer that the couple who looked at our house last Saturday and "loved" it  make a move and want to buy it!

:)

 

Bonus Question

My Favorite Christmas Tradition:

Going to church on Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family then going to my moms for dinner. We've been doing this for as long as I can remember. It was always so special to spend that night with family. And now that my dad is my angel in heaven, and we've continued the tradition, it's even more special.

*

Another would be my moms breakfast on Christmas morning. Absolutely nothing beats her chocolate chip pancakes and bacon!

 

Happy Wednesday!!
&

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

~Tiffany~

 

 

 

Monday Monday & a Winner!

I hate Mondays! It just seems to take so much effort to get motivated!
This weekend was uneventful.
Friday night we had to stop by my cousins house for her twin girls birthday.
Before that we hit up our favorite local spot for dinner.
I had a margarita bar pie and a salad and ate every single bit.

Saturday we had a house showing and then pretty much hung out.
I ran a few errands and then we watched the Devils kick the Penguins butt!!
My new favorite player is Bobby Farnham!
And since I already have a #23 jersey from David Clarkson (boo)
I'm going to get his name on it! WooHoo win win

 

 

I saw this and LOVED it!

It's such a good message.

And the 80's song from the movie Summer School is also good!
Haha

So I went to the food store on Sunday after church and helping mom and was about to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry's because they were on sale for $2.88 which for that is CHEAP!
But I saw these.... and they were 4 for $5 so I scooped up 4 and my gosh, they are delicious!
Can you tell I'm pregnant?! Hahah

Oh the things that excite me these days....

And last but not least on this boorific Monday morning....
The winner of the Starbucks gift cards is:

 

Congratulations Kim F!

 

You have 48 hours to e-mail me back with your address & claim your prize!!

 

Have a great week everyone!

 

~Tiffany~

Friday Favorites & A Giveaway !!

Friday Favorites!

 

Linking up with Erika, Narci & Andrea to share my faves....

 

 

A whole lot of random !

 

First of all, I mentioned the other day that I was no longer a fan of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I know, I know, blasphemy!
But luckily Starbucks has Gingerbread already, so I've been thoroughly enjoying a
Grande Iced Gingerbread Decaf Latte
*decaf of course for the little babe growing in my belly ;)*

 

1

 The Iced Gingerbread Latte

 So as I said above, I love this drink!
I get it with caramel on top instead of the molasses drizzle because the molasses smells like spaghetti-o's (lol)
Plus, the caramel just gives it a good flavor kick!
Mmm I might have to go get one right now!
What is your favorite Fall/Christmas Starbucks drink?
I need  suggestions, I need to branch out... haha

 2

 The Container Store

How have I not been shopping here my entire life?!

I've randomly seen them in traveling, but never really knew that it was THIS. I thought it was a storage store. The closest one to me is about an hour and a half away, so that explains why I've never physically been to one, but ONLINE?!?!
Omg... I'm in heaven! I'm such an organizer and love containers for everything.

I have been looking for a better way to store my baking ingredients, similar to how all the pro chefs on the food network have theirs. In large containers easy to stick a cup measure in there to get what you need. So I was reading Shay's blog the other morning and remembered seeing the kind of jars I was looking for in her pantry. So I shot her an e-mail and she wrote back and told me about The Container Store...

 

This is Shay's Pantry & the containers I'm talking about... Her pantry is dreamy!
 

These are the containers she has from there.

 

So naturally I ordered 8 of them because I need them in all sizes!

I need to spend some time on that website and make some serious purchases!

Oh my goodness that place is fantastic!!

#latetothegame

 

 3

Spode

For my Wedding Shower, my bridesmaids all got me the Christmas dishes I wanted. It was really cute, they even wrapped it in Christmas paper. I got so many pieces and I just absolutely love it. I know Spode Christmas stuff has been around for a while, but it's timeless and you can find so many fun random pieces at places like The Christmas Tree Shop or HomeGoods. So for me, it's perfect. And growing up, I had a "Cookies for Santa" plate that was Spode which was my inspiration to start my own collection...

 

Since my shower was July 2014, and we haven't had the opportunity to host Christmas yet because we don't have enough room to do so in our current house, all these wonderful pieces are sitting boxed up in my moms basement :(

In all of the shopping that my mom and I did last week, I came across so many fun pieces that I really had to hold back from buying because I can't justify it knowing I won't be hosting Christmas yet again this year, unfortunately.

 

How stinkin' cute is this?! #needit

 

 

And this serving dish! LOVE it !

 

4

 Pregnancy Cravings
I know it's an odd "favorite" but it's pretty entertaining...
Especially when I crave things that aren't readily available....

For Example:

Hawaiin Shaved Iced
Not something you can get easily

We stumbled across an ice truck at car show late September, so I got my ice!

*
Hot Sam's 10 pretzel stixs with nacho cheese sauce 

 Hot Sam's chain went out of business in 2003
So in the mean time, I'm trying to figure out how to get the nacho cheese and so far it seems its only available in a can hahaah yum!!
*
Pickles from The Ritz which is no longer in business

 

Oh man, I could eat ALL the pickles....

*

Mexican Food - but from Texas

Particularly from Alamo Café

 

The Tortillas.....so fresh, made right there...mmmmm

The Queso...omg...a bowl of heaven

The Flautas with avocado cream!

 

 :sigh:

I could eat it all!

5
Starbucks Giveaway!!

 

So because it's fall, and because it's red cup season, and because it's Friday
and especially because I love giving things away.....
 

I'm giving away 2 $10 Starbucks Gift Cards
to ONE lucky winner!!
One for YOU and one for a FRIEND!

*

 

Wooo!!

 

To enter simply use the Rafflecopter below!

Good Luck!

  ~Tiffany~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos

I mentioned this recipe on Tuesday and said I would share so here it is...

It is something I saw on Pinterest of course, and modified it a little bit and my gosh, the end result was AMAZING! Everyone at the party I brought these to were raving about them. They were seriously delicious.

 

 

 

12 fresh jalapeños - this makes 24

8 ounces softened cream cheese

3/4  cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Sprinkle of onion powder

Sprinkle of garlic powder

Dash of salt and pepper

12 slices bacon, cut in half

24 toothpicks

 

 

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

Use a disposable baking sheet for the easiest clean up, or line your baking sheet with parchment paper. 

 

Cut tops off jalapeños then cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds and centers 

 Set off to the side.

 

Using a spatula or heavy wooden spoon, mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese, garlic, and paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper together until well combined.

 

With a spoon, distribute filling equally among all 24 jalapeño halves.

This can be a little messy - just accept it. It's worth the mess.

Arrange jalapenos on the baking sheet so they all fit.

Place in refrigerator while you do the next step.

 

Cut your slices of bacon in half with kitchen scissors

par-cook all 24 half slices.

I'd say about 2 minutes per side.

Set on a plate lined with paper towel to cool while you finish par cooking the rest.

 

Once you are done with that and have bacon grease everywhere, pull out the stuffed jalapenos from the fridge.

Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with the par cooked half slice of bacon and stick a toothpick through the center so the bacon stays in place.

 

Place back  on the baking rack and do the same for the rest.

Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the bacon is crisp to your liking.

Broil for the last minute or two to get things extra crispy.

Serve immediately.

 

I thought about serving these with a cool ranch type dip/dressing, but honestly, they were delicious all by themselves!

 

 

Enjoy!

 

If you have a husband who loves spicy stuff - these will be a hit.

I'm not HUGE on super spicy, so these were a total win for me.

Just enough heat and that gooey cheese and bacon.....mmmmm

 

 

~TIFFANY~

 

Becoming a stay at home Mom

Happy Veteran's Day!

 

To those who have served, are serving and have lost their lives protecting us,

Thank You

 

 

* * *

So - this post has nothing to do with Veteran's Day, but I need to put it out there...

 

Being pregnant with our first baby is so awesome.

It's so much fun to think about life when the baby comes.

It's so exciting to think about how much life will change, for the better.

One thing that has always been my dream, is to be a stay at home mom.

I knew pretty much since I was old enough to play house and play with dolls that I wanted to be a mommy. And as bad as this sounds, I never really had any "career" goals.

I never wanted to be a successful business woman.

I never cared about having a big fancy career.

I wanted to be a wife and a mom. That's it.

That being said, that is MY preference, and MY opinion.

In no way to I "knock" anyone for thinking otherwise.

In no way do I think ALL women SHOULD stay home.

It's just where my mind has always been.

And to the people who balance it all, amen to you!

 

 

 

 

Therefore, knowing this, and knowing that this is MY dream... I find it odd when people voice their opinions about it like being a SAHM is the WORST idea ever.

~

It blows my mind when I tell people I work with that I'm going to stay home with the baby after he is born and NOT come back to work...... and their reaction is, "oh I could never do that I need adult interaction" or "I'd go crazy" or "I'd miss my job"

For me it's the complete opposite. I'd miss my baby. I'd miss his first smile his laugh his smell, feeding him etc. 

I'd miss the important things in his life and just being there to see him grow every single day.

 

No amount of income is worth to me what being a mom is. 

Now on that angle - it's kind of the same idea...

I know not everyone can afford to do this, but knowing that this is something I've always wanted and my husband knowing this when we met, and being totally on board with it,      we always kind of planned for it.

So we were smart with things.

We planned for this indirectly. We're not in debt. We have new(er) cars, his is paid off and mine is affordable.

We live within our means.

If we want something, we save to buy it  - we don't throw in on a credit card.

Some of the things I've been told when I said I'm going to stay home is this:

"I could never afford that" or  "your poor husband is going to have to work his ass off"

While both are rude comments, I brush them off.

My husband is happy to support his family.

He has an amazing job and is fortunate enough to be able to provide for me and a baby without a problem.

But it's all relative.
For example: (and this is fake numbers for showing purposes)

Say we are approved for a mortgage of $450,000

That doesn't mean we're going to go out and buy a house for that amount of money!

BUT - some people do.

We would go for way less. Say, no more than $300,000

That way you can afford a house AND can afford to have a life.

If not, then you are what I call, house poor.

You live to work to pay for a house you basically can't afford.

Because whether or not the papers say we can afford that, the papers don't factor in cost of living such as: groceries, car payments, utilities, general spending money etc.

We know going in to this, that it is something we can afford.

 

 

I appreciate peoples opinions to a point.

I just feel like unless you are a close personal friend who is comfortable and candid with me, those types of comments are rude.

One should simply say "Good for you, that's great"

I dunno - maybe it's just hormonal me overthinking peoples comments.

But either way. Nothing changes my opinions.

And I know several of the readers here and bloggers I follow are SAHM's

So you get me!

 

Happy Wednesday!

~Tiffany~

 

 

First Week in November

Last week I was off the entire week from work because of election day and teachers convention and let me just say this....it was FABULOUS!

I genuinely LOVE being home. I love waking up naturally, which without an alarm is usually around 7am. And then heading to the kitchen to feed my animals and make a cup of tea and some cinnamon raisin toast and enjoying my breakfast while watching a show on TV.

So here is an official re-cap of what all I did since Friday October 30th!

 

Friday was Trick-or-Treat in my moms neighborhood.

It has always been the day before Halloween because ON Halloween we have our town Halloween parade which is one of the biggest around and EVERYONE goes.
She made the best cookies...

 

So I hung out at my moms Friday pretty much after work until around 9pm.

Ted was surfing in the early afternoon then met me over there.

We saw all the kiddies and handed out candy with my mom.
I was reminded of the last time I really " dressed up " for Halloween....

It was a fun night - but didn't end well :) haha

 

Saturday Ted had to work so pretty much hung around the house and watched Home Alone haha and then headed out to shop a little bit with my mom.

We went to Home Goods & Kohl's and grabbed some lunch.

Then she dropped me off and we got ready for the parade.

It never disappoints.

My mom and I with my nephews :)

 

The band I was in in High School was amazing as usual.

On Sunday, we headed to Home Depot to scope out new kitchen stuff.

We decided to update the kitchen of our house since no one wants the damn thing.

It's seriously the most defeating feeling in the world to have your house on the market for almost a year and no offers! It's so frustrating.

~
On Monday, Ted had jury duty so that was a huge bummer...
I had an eye doctore appointment and had to drop my Camry off for some maintenance at 11:00 so my mom picked me up and we went shopping!
We went to the best little Christmas store that we go to each year.
Then went to HomeGoods up north from where we live and grabbed lunch.
She dropped me off to get my car then I headed home to my hubby.
~

On Tuesday, Ted went to work and I was up and ready to go at 6am.

I got a few things done and Ted had texted me that he forgot his gym bag and his lunch.

So being the good wife that I am, I packed his bag for him and lunch and stopped to get him coffee and dropped it off at his work.

He was super happy :)

On my way home I stopped for my first red cup of the season, and I have to say,

I didn't love what I got.

 

I'm officially NO longer a fan of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I am however, a fan of the Gingerbread Latte.
He went to watch a hockey game at a friends house so me and my mom went to Houlihan's for dinner and wandered around the Christmas Tree Shop.

~
On Wednesday, we had some more important things to tend to.
We had to go to Ted's doctor in Philly for a check up.
Happy to report that all is well!

 

I'm just not a fan of Philly. I am a fan of good news though...

So after his check up we headed to dinner at a Gastropub he's been dying to take me to.

It was delicious!

 

I had some kind of steak with a rosemary demiglace and grilled asparagus with garlic parmesan truffle fries....omg... it was amazing!

Ted had ribs with amazing home-made creole BBQ sauce! Sooo good!!!!

 

Thursday is a blur....

I know I hung out with my mom a bit while Ted went to meet an old friend for lunch.

She and I did some more Christmas shopping.

Then Ted and I went food shopping

Pretty un-eventful... but good.

~

Anyway - Friday we had a Devils Game party and gender reveal party combo for our good friends.

Ted's best friend's wife is pregnant and due the same month as me!

SO fun!

 So for that, I made these amazing cheese filled bacon wrapped jalapenos.

They were seriously amazing.

I'll post the recipe later this week.

 

The party was so much fun!

The Devils won!

~

Saturday morning Ted went hunting with his dad and I cleaned the house for a showing.

Then we headed to a 1st birthday party for our friends son.

After that we went home and crashed watching TV.

It was super boring!
While Ted was hunting, I may have hinted at a Christmas present...

 

On Sunday - we had an engagement party brunch for my cousin

Then we went home.

I made a pot of gravy and meatballs.... and got sauce EVERYWHERE!

I dropped a big can of tomatoes....omg I was almost in tears from the mess.

This is only a portion of where it splattered.

 

We had angel hair and meatballs with yummy garlic bread.

Then we watched the Devils kick butt and headed to bed early.

It was so much fun NOT working! Haha

 

So that was the first few days in December for us...

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving & Christmas.

And I need to get moving on my shopping!

 

If you have a minute, say a prayer that our house sells.

I know it's trivial compared to other issues we all have, but for us, this is a big one.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

~Tiffany~