Monday, June 5, 2017

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND | 2017


Our Memorial Day Weekend looked a little like this...clean, organize, purge, nap, eat, clean, organize, purge, spend time with family, eat, nap, watch hockey, clean organize, and purge. Before the holiday weekend started Matthew and I made out a list that ended up being a full two pages of house projects we wanted to accomplish over the long weekend, and as you can guess most of them involved cleaning, organizing and purging. We printed it out, taped it to the refrigerator and both got to work early Saturday morning and checked off each task as we accomplished it. I don't know what it is about having an actual list hanging up where we can check off things as we do them, but it definitely kept us motivated all weekend long. 

Friday night my family came over over and my dad helped us hang the wallpaper in our half bathroom downstairs. Here is a picture during the process- I plan on sharing a full bathroom reveal when we finish a couple of more things in there this summer. That wallpaper...I'm obsessed.

It was a fun night with my family, we picked up a couple of pizza's to keep it simple and while my dad was working my mom and I made a chocolate lasagna dessert dish for all of us that night! Ethan and Rachel came over for a little bit that night too, before they headed to the lake the rest of the weekend.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early and got started on cleaning out out garage. It was our biggest project so we started on it first. We took a little break and Matthew made a delicious breakfast and then we got back to work. Reagan had some eggs too lol.

It rained off and on all day Saturday and so we kept having to move stuff to one side of the garage while we worked on the other side and vice versa, our neighbors probably thought we were crazy lol. We made a few Goodwill trips and quite a few trips to the dump. We also got rid of our old appliances that we have been keeping in our garage since right after we moved in. We had plans to clean them up really well and sell them but never got around to it and by then we were just ready to have them out of the garage so we listed them on Craigslist and said they were free if they could come pick them up and had someone scheduled to pick them up within 30 minutes of posting them! 

We took a break and ate lunch and then decided to finish a movie we had started earlier that week since we were waiting on a storm to pass through and Reagan soaked up all the cuddles and napped so hard.

We organized every single drawer and cabinet in our kitchen and cleaned out and organized every single closet in out house. Here are some before and after's that I remembered to snap as we were cleaning.

Reagan hung out under our new dining room chairs while I worked in the kitchen.

linen closet upstairs
This is our entryway closet. I forgot to take a 'before' picture but here is the 'after'....it was real bad before lol. Eventually we want to take down that wire shelf and had hooks on the back wall and then a shelf at the bottom to store shoes in. We are hoping to get to that this summer at some point!


Sunday we went to church and then met Matthew's parents after for lunch! Sunday afternoon we went to my cousin's house for a cookout with my family. The weather was perfect and the food was delicious. My sister made this blueberry lemon cake and it was INCREDIBLE!!

Monday we slept in a little later than the past two days before we got to work checking off the rest of the tasks on our list, and it was great! Monday afternoon Reagan and I made a trip into town to run a couple of errands and she was loving the weather and ride lol
 The weather was great on Monday afternoon and we soaked it up before the Pred's game started.
We ended our holiday weekend cheering on our Pred's! 
Reagan's favorite spot to cheer on the Pred's...and sleep.

We were worn out from getting so much stuff done, but we checked everything off our list and it was so worth it!


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Friday, June 2, 2017

FRIDAY VOL. 22


TGIF!!!!! Short weeks always seem like long weeks to me for some reason, so I am more than happy for the weekend to start soon!

It's been a busy week, but in a good way! I have a couple of different projects that I have been working on that I am excited to share about over the next few weeks, but for now, how about a little life update in list form? ;)

 - GO PREDS GO! We have made it to the Stanley Cup, but have had a pretty rough start. We lost the first two games, but that doesn't mean we're throwing in the towel just yet. Saturday is a home game and I think we are going to go downtown to watch them play. Outside of course, tickets are crazy expensive!! They have been shutting down lower Broadway downtown and having a huge viewing party...there are viewing parties all over the state, it's been such a fun experience watching everyone. There are tents set up all over Nashville selling Pred's stuff and even coworkers are getting a little crazy on game days. 

- Memorial Day weekend we cleaned, purged, and organized our ENTIRE HOUSE! And it felt so good! We made multiple trips to Goodwill and the dump. I'll be back next week with a full recap of our long weekend. 

- Now that we got my office at home cleaned out and organized I have been brainstorming ideas for in there. First things first though, I have to paint it, and very soon!

- We bought dining room chairs a couple of weeks ago and I LOVE them. We came across a really good deal and just could not pass it up. So after three car loads we had them all around our dining room table and they look so good. Now I just need to get something up on the wall in there and our dining room will be finished! 

- Growing up summer always started on the last day of school, but now since we're not in school and we don't have kids yet, summer for us officially starts on MDW...and when our neighborhood pool opens! I haven't made it down there yet, but it is calling my name. The sunset last night was absolutely beautiful...I love summer sunsets!

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Friday, May 26, 2017

FRIDAY VOL. 21

Happy Friday and happy loooong weekend! 

I saw a video on how to make these the other day and now I want to make them ASAP. I'm almost positive mine would not look anything like those though lol.

I mentioned on Monday that I was making these garlic parmesan chicken tenders for dinner this week. I wasn't too hopeful they would turn out good, but much to my surprise they turned out really well, and they were pretty easy to make!

The stairs in our house is Reagan's favorite spot. Matthew worked from home one day this week and he said she laid there most of the day. Sweet girl!

She's definitely not a morning puppy anymore! When we first got her she would wake us up, but know we have to wake her up.

Matthew didn't realize that he had someone watching him mow the yard yesterday...

She watched and waited for him by the front door the whole time
Okay, last picture of her today, but look at this crazy face!
One of my favorite times of the day is when I first get home from work. I let Reagan play outside and I sit out on our patio and just decompress from the day. I usually only spend 20-30 minutes out there before I start dinner but, it's the best time to unwind from the day. I love our backyard, you can't really see our neighbors and it's pretty private, I love it!

My sister came over one night this week and we made a much needed trip to Target! They had a Coke display up front and for the first time they had both of our names on a bottle!
 Cheesy, I know, but I still loved it.

It's a half day for us today and then we get to start our long weekend. My family is coming over tonight to help with some projects around the house that I am really excited about, and for dinner! And we are spending the rest of the weekend organizing some things around the house, cleaning out our garage, and then a cookout at my cousin's house....maybe some pool time in between since our neighborhood pool is opening this weekend- woo hoo!

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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

CHEESEBURGER PIZZA | DINNER RECIPE

I cheated and bought the pre-made pizza crusts, and they were just as good! The good thing about them is that they come two to a pack at Aldi and are very cheap, and I already had all the other ingredients on hand which made this easy meal even easier. I decided not to drizzle the ketchup and mustard over my pizza, but to just dip it in them and that worked for me. Play around with the recipe and make it fit your cheeseburger needs ;)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup mayo
4 Tbsp ketchup, divided
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sliced dill pickle chips, drained
Mustard (for topping, if desired)

Directions:
1. Brown the hamburger in a skillet over medium heat with the seasoned salt, black pepper and diced onion. Cook until no longer pink and drain any excess fat.

2. Meanwhile, combine the mayo, 3 Tbsp ketchup, garlic powder, and onion powder together and whisk until smooth. Spread this mixture over the base of the pizza dough with the back of a spoon. 

3. Top with the cooked ground beef.

4. Spread the shredded cheese over the top. Drizzle the remaining ketchup and mustard over the top of the pizza, followed by the dill pickle chips.

5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until center is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Let it cool for 5 minutes before slicing. 

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