Fun in the Sun!

More coverage on one of my sweet babies-- Mara..

We enjoyed the sun a little bit this weekend!

Everyone else ran from the water hose but she loved it!

She is an absolute goof ball!

BAHAHAHA!

Love my little girl!

And here are the gorgeous hydrangeas blooming at the house!

I think with all the rain this weekend they have bloomed even more!

Can't WAIT to put them in vases around the house.

"Gardening" Interest and My LOVE for Pinterest!

Sooooo,

for whatever reason lately I have been wanting to plant something.

I have never thought of myself of having a green thumb.. AT ALL. But, for our date night Friday night, I wanted to go to Home Depot and pick out some flowers for our yard... This should be interesting.

I mean, I have never planted anything in my life and now I'm going to go all out and plant a variety of flowers in the yard? Then there was the question of tilling up the dirt where I would be planting. Um, I'm sorry Coach.. Did I mention that I have never done any kind of landscaping ever?

After walking and looking around what seemed like forever, I started feeling a little overwhelmed in the Garden section of Home Depot..

So, as we were walking out, Coach spotted some Cactus and said, "Hey, why don't you start with something like this? They hardly ever need watering and maybe the little watering it does take, it will help you remember to water the ferns." HA HA! (Oh yeah.. I forget to water those things.. even though they STARE at me when I head up the porch steps.)  

So being the sweet, wonderful fiance he is, Coach helped me put together a group of cactus plants and this is what we came up with--

Coach even bought me this gorgeous pot that matches the kitchen.
(Did I mention he is the sweetest thing ever?)

Here is my finished product and I LOVE IT!!!

Red and yellow are two of my favorite colors.
And it never hurts to have a little aloe in the house! Reminds me of my Nanny.. Growing up and now still she has SEVERAL aloe plants.

And I get to glace at a little pop of color while I'm cooking! (I put it under our kitchen window)

Watch out Mara!! (I bet she'll only get her nose too close once!) ;-)

I couldn't get one plant in so I found a basket and made a pretty decoration for a small table we have in the kitchen.

Hey, I thought it was a nice touch. :o)


After, I got home today from Mama Jane's, I got the itch to 'redecorate' a little in the house. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pinterest and all the idea's that come from there. It's so addicting to 'Pin' and I can even lose track of time once I get started.

They have all ideas from recipes, to hairstyles, to vacations, crafts, even organization for your shoes and clothes--(this is what I need to get busy on)

Here are a few things I have made from inspirations off Pinterest:

This is the first thing I made from P.. I use it every week for reminders! AND, I already had this picture frame and the wooden letters. The only thing I paid for was the construction paper from Hobby Lobby and the felt marker.
Here is the tutorial.

Then, this wreath. It's made from book pages that are rolled into roses.

CLICK HERE for the tutorial!

I made this for our front door. HERE is where my inspiration came from.

And then I made these bottles wrapped in twine. They will be brought back out later on this year for fall decor.

Since a wedding is in our future and I did NOT want to spend any $$$, I started looking around the house for things I already had.

I found

AND HERE IS WHAT I ENDED UP WITH:

The hydrangeas came from the bushes in the yard that had been dried. They were actually in another arrangement I made and

I had the extra rosettes left over from the wreath. I cut two pieces of the burlap and put them together.

The pecans came from our front yard I had collected last year. (they may be too fall-ish for now but I love them!)

Well, it's not Pier1 Imports but it has a personal touch from the Hopper house and best yet-- I got a whole new look for our dining room for FREE! 

I love mirrors too! They are so simple but can spruce up any room.
Here is a really cool website I found that gives you 10 ways to use them in your house!

Follow ME on Pinterest!
I would love to see your inspirations as well!!

Happy Pinning!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!!

This is my beautiful Mama.

Today we had lunch at my grandmother's.. aka Mama Jane's. Food was SUPER YUMMY and by no one hardly speaking at the table I think that was a for sure sign it was!

I loved the gorgeous roses she had added on the table.

Here are a few Kodak moments from our day.

My brother and my two cousins.

My sweet little Kyli-bug

Her keepin' my bro company while he naps.

So sweet. :-)

Hope all the mother's and mother's-to-be had a wonderful and blessed day!

What's for Dinner??

Tonight, on the dinner menu--

Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken

from a website called Skinnytaste, that one of my dear clients shared with me.

Thank you Allison!!!!

I must saaayyyyy-- it was DELICIOUS!!!

Skinnytaste was started by a girl who was trying to stay healthy. The Skinnytaste recipes have been featured on Glamour.com (and more-you can read about her under her About Me tab),  and was the winner of the SHAPE Magazine Best Healthy Eating Blogs 2011!!

This website has anything from appetizers, breads, crock pot recipes, desserts, kid friendly meals; low-carb, gluten free, and vegan recipes and TONS MORE!!

All the recipes are provided with the nutritional information

AND

She even has how many points each meal is for all of you Weight Watcher lovers out there!

For the recipe, CLICK HERE.

Here is mine prepped:

& here it is AFTER!

I will definitely be making it again!

OK, so I didn't start dinner until almost 10, so instead of taking the time to cut the chicken breasts in half, I just rolled the whole thing. :-D They were still totally fine and cooked in 25 minutes! I buy the Perdue Perfect Portion individually wrapped chicken and most of them are pretty thin breasts anyways.

I paired it with reduced sodium black beans and Voila!

Dinner is served.

Springtime, Grease, and a little Laughter

Spring,

well it may be safe to say Summer because of the 80/90* weather these days, brings so much new life around the 'farm'. Squirrels running around gathering who knows what, birds singing, and I even saw a chipmunk in the yard this morning. I think the squirrels and birds love our pecan trees.. there are so many of them running and flying around! One of the squirrels in the back even plays a little game of chase with the Pups... 'Rocky' waits on the tree, he hears the door open, takes off for a head start, and lets the Pups chase him all the way to the barn!! NEVER a dull moment around here.

The birds are busy, busy building nests. Coach even found a baby nest in one of our bush's the other day. The mom flies in and out of the bush and when she leaves the babies they start screaming!

If you look really close you can see their beaks. I was trying to get as close as I could without disturbing them. So cute!

And speaking of birds.. Coach and I were enjoying our swing on the front porch Saturday morning (watching two Blue Jay's build a nest in one of the pecan trees).. one minute we were swinging right along and the next minute,

BAM!!!

We were sideways! LOL! I wish I could have gotten a picture of us on the swing because I almost did a backward flip when it first went down!

Such a funny moment and I bet God was doubled over laughing with us!

For date night later on, we went to see Grease, put on by the Jefferson High School.

Everyone did such a GREAT JOB!!! It was so much fun watching a few of the students that I knew and a couple of nights even sold out! I am so PROUD of these students! I know they put in a lot of time and a lot of hard work!

(He was so tired of me taking pics)

Oh well. ;o)

Something really exciting happened this past Tuesday!! MY WEDDING GOWN IS HEREEEEE!!!! It actually came a couple of months early! A great surprise for me this week! I haven't had time to get there and try it on yet because of work but I cannot wait to get it on again!!!! I am especially looking forward to putting it on in November!

If you are newly engaged and are looking for the gown of your dreams, I highly recommend Elite Bridal! Check out their website HERE!!

Very professional and sweet owner who definitely knows her stuff!

'Til next time,

The 3 Amigos

Meet our babies.

Kyli, Sox, and Mara

Coach has named them The 3 Amigos

They are THE sweetest things ever.. and no I am not just saying that because they are mine. ;-)

And don't be fooled by their sweet look.. they do get mischevious at times.. just like when kids get real quiet you know they are up to something.. yeeeaaaaahh, dogs do that, too.

Kyli,

is my sweet, little, high maintenance Min Pin. I mean at times she can be a HOT. MESS. I got her from a breeder in Athens (GO DAWG'S!)

when she was 5 1/2 weeks old and we haven't slowed down since! She has been with me thru thick and thin and can be the best little cuddle buddy ever.. well on her sweet days. ;-) She loves to burrow under blankets, (especially ones that have just come out of the dryer) and has a SERIOUS love for milk.. I mean this little girl comes flying from out of no where JUST as I am finishing with a bowl of cereal and just glaaarress at me, waiting for it to be hers. She loves her bones and treats and will go thru sit, down, and speak in record time to get it.

Since being out here on the 'farm', I'm pretty sure Kyli has felt right at home. If you don't know anything about Min Pins, they were first bred to hunt vermin and work as family gaurdians. Well, already in the past few months, Kyli has killed a number of things. It KILLS me, but I know it is in her blood. Moving right along.. She LOVES it out here where she is able to roam free and 'hunt' and soak up the rays outside. And be careful if you pull up in the yard! She will definitley let you know you are on HER territory! Bless her heart, she thinks she is bigger than she really is.

Did I mention she loves the snow?
Check this video out HERE *YOU DONT WANT TO MISS THIS*!)
And check out another one HERE

She. LOVES. It.

Being the mischevious, independent, energetic, and stubborn Min Pin that Kyli is, can be quite a challenge at times, but she knows when her Mama is upset and is always by my side when I need her.


Sox,

is the absolute best dog ever. She was found by Coach's sister on a road near our house, she brought her to him, and the rest is history. She will steal your heart first thing! She loves being outside, has a love for any kind of ball she can fetch, and her and Miss Mara (we will get to her shortly), keep each other entertained by chasing each other in the yard around a certain bush. I am hoping to get this on video soon cuz I think we could win some serious cash from AFV! And you rarely see one without the other. They are definitely two peas in a pod.

 Sox will sit, give you as many high 5's, or Paw, as you want, and has recently caught onto 'speaking', thanks to her Daddy. Sox and Kyli have recently become quite the cuddle buddies BUT if anyone is becoming too rambuctious or too loud, here she comes to REFEREE! It's hilarious to watch these pups interact with each other.

She absolutely, DESPISES getting a bath! I mean what dog does like to get a bath but Sox would crawl into the hardwoods if she could when she hears its 'bathtime'. Coach has to pick her up and carry her to the tub! What's even funnier than that is when she does hear that word, she grabs the nearest bone and tries to give it to you like a peace offering- "Here you can have this bone just puh-LEEZE don't give me a bath!"

Such a sweet girl to be around.

And finally,

Miss Mara,

Too cute, right?

Where do I begin with this one? I actually found Mara on the same road that Sox was found on, last March, right in the middle of the road on the double yellow line. She was wormy, starving, and only about 8-10 weeks old. She came right to me and on the drive home just layed in my lap and fell asleep. After 'fostering' her for a couple of weeks, I started getting really attached. Needless to say, I could NOT give her to anyone else and she became a permanant member of our family. And the name Mara actually means DOUBLE in Swahili.. (I know, I know)

Mara and Sox became BEST BUDS immediately. I don't know if Sox kicked into mother mode or what but whatever it was, these two have been inseparable from the beginning.

Mara has THE goofiest personality out of all 3. I mean let's face it, she even looks goofy ;-) and that's what makes her sooo stinkin' cute! She is a bassett hound-lab mix and I love when she stands with her feet together. So precious. She snores.. and I mean she saws huge logs and has the deepest bark ever.

I always have a shadow when I'm working around the house- no matter where I am- she is there.. just checkin' on me.. makes me feel sooo LOVED.

AND, she is starting to show us her smart side. We have two doors on the back porch- one swings in and the other swings out- WELL, she has figured out that instead of waiting at the 'out' door for me to let them in, that she will just help herself inside using the 'in' door! And poor Sox is a creature of habit.. she likes to go out one door and in the same door. So if Mara is on the porch and Sox is barking to come in, she'll take her nose and nudge the door open and here comes Sox! HILARIOUS!! 

The Lord has certainly blessed us with a sweet trio of pups! They keep me in stitches and bring so much joy and laughter to me and Coach. I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world!

Here are a few more of my favorite pics of them!

Hope they bring a smile to your face!