Long Time, No Write

Hi y’all!  It’s been SUCH a long time since I’ve been on here.  Life took over and things got crazy.  

We’ve now been married for almost 11 months and my journey as a wifey has been crazy but wonderful!  

We actually just bought our first house!!  Couldn’t be more excited!  With that came the endless hours of searching for a home, losing one to another bidder, and going in strong with the one we got.  The sellers asked for a lease back and it’s only a week until their move out date!  We can’t wait!  

We’ve also had a lot of family things!  We gained a baby nephew in December and found out my other sister is pregnant too!  Very exciting times!  

Well, that’s the major updates for now.  Hope to see y’all around sooner than later!  I know with “move in” in a week it’s only going to get crazier, with painting and so forth but I hope to be around more.  See y’all soon!  

Reheat Restaurant Leftovers

Most of the time when we go out to eat we end up with at least one box of leftovers. Most restaurants give you large portions of food, too large for one sitting. Usually, based on the price, I would expect the portion size given though. Regardless, we end up taking a lot of food home. Sometimes we eat it, sometimes we don’t.

Why don’t we eat it all the time? Various reasons…We go out to another restaurant, we go out for lunch and make dinner, the fries get soggy, etc.

Well, I think we finally have the solution to the soggy fries!! We went to Beef ‘O’ Brady’s yesterday and had a TON of leftovers. I’ve tried the method of reheating them in the microwave and after having been in the fridge, they are still soggy. Well, for my friend shrimp and and french fries I put it on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and TA-DA…the fries weren’t that soggy.

Were they as good as at the restaurant when they were fresh? No.

Were they a million times better than the microwave (AKA edible)? YES!

The friend shrimp turned out great too. Almost as good as the restaurant.

So, the next time you question whether or not you should get a box to go, just do it and try out this method!

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s

We bought a Living Social deal for Beef ‘O’ Brady’s back in October and finally got to go out and use it.

The deal was $15 for:

Two with One Appetizer,
Two Entrées, and Two
Desserts at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s

It was well worth it! The prices are similar to Chili’s prices but it has a much more causal/sports bar feel. I actually liked the environment more than Chili’s. We went when the Independence Bowl game was on and it was a great atmosphere.

For the appetizer, we got the “Land, Sea, and Air”. This appetizer had 3 fresh Angus cheeseburger sliders, 8 tail-on fried shrimp, bite-sized, all-white meat chicken dippers, fries and served with 2 dipping sauces.  HUGE!

On to the Entrees… The Mr. got the OMG Burger (12-oz. of fresh Angus cooked to perfection, topped with 4 slices of bacon, 4 slices of American cheese, lettuce and tomato.) Yes!  For my entree I got the Fried Shrimp (10 tail-on shrimp fried to a delicious crunch, served with fries, creamy coleslaw, cocktail sauce and fresh lemon.)

Then came desserts. The Mr. got the Molten Cake and I got the Peanut Butter Chocolate Explosion. Needless to say we had a lot of leftovers.

Our waitress was really accommodating.  After all of our food there was no way we could eat both desserts.  We asked if we could just pack one of our desserts to go and that wasn’t a problem at all.  She brought us out two to-go boxes for the rest of our food and then a bag so that we could easily carry it all out.   She was also really good with our refills.  The food was pretty salty (at least the food we ordered- fried and fried) and The Mr. drinks lots of water when he eats salty food.  As soon as his glass was done, it was refilled.   We didn’t have sodas, but they had a insert with all the soda options…100+ variations!  Great food and Great Service!

This was such a good deal and a deal that caught us. We will definitely be going back for more (with or without a coupon)!

Read about how to Reheat Restaurant Leftovers. 

Weekend Back Home

Hi y’all! Hope you have been enjoying your November so far! It’s been pretty busy over here.

On Thursday, our air conditioner went out. Even though I was planning on leaving to go home on Thursday, I had to wait for maintenance to show up and fix it so that the hubby wouldn’t have to sleep in the heat.  Meanwhile, it was almost 90 degrees in our apartment!  I literally had our one portable fan blasting right on me.   Yep…the picture below…that was me!

Needless to say, I didn’t make it home until Friday.  When I got there, my parents and I tried out a restaurant that we’ve been wanting to try for a while, CBQ Eatery.  Thoughts?  Good and bad.  They had good service and large portions.  The food was good, just overwhelming.  Super greasy.  They had these Blue Cheese BBQ Chips (CBQ BBQ chips, chopped ‘Q chives, blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese sauce) for $7.99.  These were great!  Really strong and definitely a meal in itself.  But…I wouldn’t recommend someone order it as a meal, but as an appetizer for 8 or more people to split.  Although the flavor is good, there is truth behind the saying “Toomuch of a good thing, is a bad thing”.  It definitely got overwhelming and couldn’t eat much of them.

Then Saturday came! Wedding day of a dear high school friend. You can read all about this Boulder Springs Wedding.

Sunday…Christmas shopping.  We did all the Christmas shopping for all of my nieces and nephews.  ALL of it.  My parents are going to see both of my sisters over Christmas break so they will be able to deliver the gifts to the kids.  This is going to save us big time because we won’t have to pay for shipping this year.  With 3 nieces, a nephew, and a nephew that will be born before Christmas…that adds up, quick.

Child Schwinn Sweet Pea Helmet- Target.com

Then Monday came.  It’s always bittersweet to leave home when the hubby isn’t with me.  It’s REALLY hard to leave when he makes the trip with me because I do NOT want to go back to Houston.  It’s always sad to leave my parents but then I get excited that I get to go back to my husband.  Definitely bittersweet.

Well, that was my weekend and now it’s almost the next weekend.  We’ll be staying in town this weekend and on Friday we have our last regular season football game- *Fingers crossed we make it into playoffs*.

Boulder Springs Wedding

This past weekend I attended a wedding at Boulder Springs. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding and with the Texas Hill Country as the backdrop, it made for some beautiful pictures (too bad all I had was my iPhone).

One way that they personalized their wedding was having their dogs be a part of their big day. They’ve been together for a while, and have two little girl dogs that were their “ring bearers”.

They also had a “unity ring” that I had never seen before. It had a gold ring with three cords attached. One representing the groom, one representing the bride, and one representing God.  The bride braided these three strands as the pastor explained the symbolism.

“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12

And here are the new MR. and MRS. entering into their reception!

The group of girls (friends since high school).   She was an absolutely stunning bride!!

They even had personalized cups for the beer.

And the bride and groom sharing a kiss during their first dance.

 

It was a beautiful wedding and I know it was everything the bride and groom expected of their big day!

Self-Checkout- Good or Bad?

Self-Checkouts…

More and more places are offering self-checkouts.  Good or Bad?

Good if…

you have a couple of small, non-id requiring items and don’t want to wait through a long line.

Bad if…

you have a FULL grocery cart, alcohol and a membership card on a smartphone that doesn’t scan without a handheld scanner.

Agree?

I’m sure y’all have all seen those people who have entirely too many items in their cart to be going through self-checkout.  Well, what if that’s the ONLY option.

Sounds awful, right?

Yesterday was the third time I had been into Kroger where that was my only option.  Self-Checkout.  Three times in 3 months.  Too much for me.  I work night shift at the hospital so I get off at 7 am.  By the time I get to our side of town and finish my grocery shopping it’s about 8:30 am.  Grant it, there aren’t a lot of shoppers at this time, but should a shopper really only be offered self-checkout?  I don’t think this is fair.  I understand the business aspect of it (saving money on employees), but they should think about the business aspect of customers like me not wanting to shop there anymore because I don’t want to self-checkout my week of groceries.

Any thoughts on self-checkout?

Changing Around Here

I started this blog after the wedding because I loved writing the blog that was all about the wedding planning process oh so much.

I enjoyed writing and I enjoyed reading all of the comments and e-mails from everyone that enjoyed reading about it all.  I started this blog with the hope that I would find just as much passion.  As you can see by the number of posts (lack thereof), I haven’t found that passion.  SO…this blog, if it lives at all, is going to be about me, myself, and I.  I plan on writing because I want to write on topics that I want to write about.  Not writing in hope of keeping people happy, but writing because I want to.

My blog will probably turn into one big vent session, but it’ll be me.  It’ll probably be good for me to vent to y’all (if there is a y’all) so that my husband has to hear less of it after his stressful days.

So…here’s to a “new” blog!

What’s For Dinner?

What’s For Dinner?

Corn Dogs!

Well, an easy homemade take on them.

Ingredients:

Jiffy Mix

Turkey Sausage

Yep!  That’s it!  It’s literally that easy.  Max your Jiffy Mix, pour them into muffin cups, and place in cut up sausage pieces.  Bake for 18 minutes and then you’re done!

Pair with some Bush’s Honey Baked Beans and you’ve got a meal!

Mickey Halloween Giveaway (Ends 10/22)

Who has kids excited about Halloween?

Shoot!  Who is excited about Halloween themselves?!

All the decorating and CANDY.

How about helping jump start with a Mickey Mouse Inflatable, Mickey’s Treat DVD, and $25 Walmart Gift Card that can be used towards candy for the kiddos? !

Welcome to the Mickey Mouse Halloween Event!

Hosted by Mom Blog Society

This adorable 3′ Tall Airblown Inflatable Halloween Mickey Mouse self-inflates in seconds. It’s easy to set up and store. Stakes and tethers are included.

3′ Tall Airblown Inflatable Halloween Mickey Mouse Features:

• Measures 3′H
• Lights up
• Weather-resistant design
• Self-inflates in seconds
• Deflates down for easy storage
• Quick and easy set-up
• Stakes and tethers included

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Great Clubhouse Hunt is an Halloween themed DVD premiere based on the popular series on the Disney Channel. Mickey takes you on the ultimate adventure to find his friends and to put back together the clubhouse, which has mysteriously broken into parts and disappeared with his friends inside! Featuring favorite characters Minnie Mouse, Donald, Goofy and Daisy Duck.

Have the happiest candy haul ever this Halloween night carrying the glowing Disney Store Light-Up Jack O’Lantern Mickey Mouse Trick or Treat Bucket. The frosted features of Mickey’s pumpkin face light-up in rotating red, green, and yellow tones.

$25 Wal-Mart Gift Card

Marriage: Sleep Over

 

I love this!

This is why I love nights off of work!