The list that never ends!

For homeowners across the world, the list of projects never seems to end. As soon as you get one thing checked off, the next one is added. And for the couple who never seems to have a free weekend at home to get said projects done, the list just keeps growing without anything being checked off at all.

However, we hope to fix that this weekend and get a good bit of projects checked off the list. And by sharing our embarrassing long list of items, I hope to motivate myself just a smidge in the right direction. So here goes...


Our (extremely) aggressive list for this weekend:
- Paint Hallway
- Pick out paint color for Bathroom*
- Paint Bathroom*
- Touch up trim in hallway
- Organize desk/office closet
- Rearrange office furniture
- Shop for bathroom: curtain, towels, mat, etc.*
- Clean out/organize pantry
- Put stuff up in attic
- Drop off items to Goodwill
- Yard work
- Fix fence
*Most likely will not happen.

To Purchase:
- Buy fabric and cover chair in sunroom
- Curtains for guestroom
- Curtains for office
- Rug for kitchen
- Rug for hallway

Small Fix-it Jobs:
- Replace/Fix garbage disposal
- Fix door to laundry
- Fix leak in kitchen sink
- Replace blinds in office
- Fix cracked tile in kitchen (or replace the floors...see below)
- Install flooring in laundry
- Repaint laundry
- Repaint kitchen (then the whole house will have been painted!!)
- Fix squeaky doors (bedroom/bathroom)

Our "If we win the lottery list":
- Landscape front yard
- Replace fence
- Redo brick patio
- Paint exterior of house
- Add bathroom/master closet
- Reno kitchen

Dear Santa, will you please bring me a Contractor for Christmas?

Happy Birthday Big Bro!!

Today is my big brother's 31st Birthday! I remember the week of my wedding Mom, Dad and I were all so anxious of the weekend's events, trying to get last minute stuff done and just on pins and needles when one of us said "I'm just SO ready for John to get here and livin' this house up a little". That is the best way to describe my brother. He has a presence about him like no other and when he is around you can't help but know it. Now, I can't say we have always been as close as we are today...we certainly shared (and still share) our fare share of brother-sister-brawls but I don't know what I would do without him. He is so kind, funny, personable and has one of the biggest hearts I know. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!! I love you!

Now... ready for picture overload???

This wasn't my best year...

Waiting for Santa... love this picture!

I know I'm biased but we were pretty darn cute kids!

In honor of Halloween coming up!

In Maui, Hawaii (Almost drove mom to the loony bin to get this shot.)

Rothenburg, Germany (When Dad was working in Germany.)

And back almost 10 years later! (When John lived in Germany.)

In College on Gameday. (Bumming food and drinks from the rents.)

James Taylor concert in college.

Visiting the champagne houses in France.

Final trip to Germany before we finally got him back state-side!

Tasty Tuesday: S'mores Bars

Think Rice Crispy Treats, minus the "Rice Crispy" and adding chocolate and graham goodness. I made these for tailgate Saturday and they were a HUGE hit! Speaking of Saturday... I think this picture pretty much sums up the night.


Source

 Beating Georgia 35-7 AND becoming #3 in the country... WHAAAAT??? This is just so unheard of for us Gamecocks. We have a tough few weeks ahead of us and the likelihood of us staying on top is probably pretty slim, but we will take it for now!

Ok, so tangent over... Who knew 4 ingredients and about 15 minutes would be so popular together? These little pieces of heaven will probably be a staple from here on out. Quick and Easy!

S'mores Bars
- Box of Golden Graham cereal
- 10 oz. bag of marshmallows (I used the small ones)
- 1-2 cups of chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup of butter

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted and mixed with butter. Remove from heat and add in cereal and mix as best you can with the melted marshmallow sauce then add in the chocolate chips and mix those in. Place in a greased 13x9 dish and press firmly into dish (I used a piece of wax paper on top and pressed it down that way). At this point I also sprinkled a bit more chocolate chips on top - when in doubt, add more chocolate! Let cool completely then cut into bars. What made these even better is they sat out in the heat for awhile at the game so they were warm and a little gooey when we ate them... yum yum yum!

Food Survey

I found this little food survey on another blog and figured I would give it a go for an easy Monday post. Because who doesn't want to read about my food preferences and habits?? Yeah, I thought so...

Breakfast
Favorite cereal as a child? Hands down, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Man that stuff was heaven. Recently I was keeping my cousins and they had some for breakfast and even though I had already eaten and wasn’t even hungry, I had to pour myself a bowl… and of course drink the cinnamon infused milk after.  

Coffee or Tea? With milk or without?
Coffee All.The.Way. Have to have at least a cup every morning. I drink mine with sugar free creamer – usually French vanilla or hazelnut.

The one food you eat most often at breakfast.
Honestly, I don’t eat breakfast (see coffee note above). But, if I do it’s a bagel or muffin from Starbucks or Dunkin as I pick up a cup of coffee on my way into work. However, breakfast for dinner is a weekly staple in our household and then we have the works: grits, biscuits, eggs, bacon/sausage/country ham.

Lunch

Sandwiches are usually considered lunch food. If you had to choose from a grilled cheese sandwich or a peanut butter and jelly, which would you pick? Man, this is a hard one but I think I have to go with grilled cheese. One of our favorite (and most used) wedding gifts is our grilled cheese maker. Thing rocks!

You can only put four ingredients in your salad (not including greens); what do you throw in the mix? Additionally, which greens and dressing do you pick?

Greens: Love the crunchiness of romaine but I’m really not picky.

Four ingredients: cheese (feta is at the top of that list), something crunchy (either croutons or sunflower seeds), cucumbers and broccoli

Dressing: ranch for sure (especially since I put ranch on practically everything).

One food you cannot live without at lunch.
Diet Drink – I try not to drink sodas too often but I’ve got to have that little bit of caffeine towards the middle of the day.

Dinner
It's the end of the day. You're tired, hungry, and your fridge is empty. If fast food (from a chain) is your only option, where do you go and what do you order?
Chick-fil-A. In fact, there are times when I eat there multiple times in 1 day. And it is usually a #1 with a diet Dr. Pepper (with some chick-fil-a sauce).

TV/Computer on or off while you are eating?

Sadly, the TV is on every night during dinner. Brett and I don’t eat dinner until later at night so we always plop down in front of the TV to catch whatever show we watch together that night while we eat. I know when we have a family one day we will advocate eating at the table with no TV, however for now it works for us this way.

The one food you eat most often at dinner.
We switch it up a good bit but I would have to say chicken just because you can cook it so many different ways. However, we eat a lot of asparagus too (strange, I know but it’s just so easy!).

Dessert
Choose between two American desserts: cheesecake or apple pie. Cheesecake… especially my mom’s recipe! I tried making it myself when we had our dads over for dinner for Father’s Day and it just wasn’t the same as mom’s but I hope to perfect it soon… which means lots of cheesecake in our future!

Choose between two foreign desserts: tiramisu (Italy) or flan (Spain). Can I choose crème brulee instead?? No? Then I guess Tiramisu. There is a place in Greenville called The Lazy Goat who used to have this awesome tiramisu dessert where they have these little bite sized balls of deliciousness for each layer of the tiramisu. So yum!

Ice cream: cone or cup. Cone, especially the waffle variety

Fall Garden

Brett planted our fall/winter garden last week and in 30-60 days we should have some collards, broccoli and cabbage to enjoy! We can usually get some good greens but this is our first shot at the broccoli and cabbage so we have our fingers crossed it turns out. The sandy rock mixture soil in our yard is less than ideal for a great garden but over the course of the last few years, each time we switch things out, we get better results so here's to hoping these turn out!

Along with always planting a few things of his own, Brett is a pretty big stickler for buying locally grown products which has started to rub off on me and we are thinking about joining a CSA co-op in the Spring. If you aren't familiar with these, it is where you can buy "ownership" in a local farm and get a weekly supply of whatever they harvest that week (we are looking into just the veggies but they also have ones for milk, eggs and meats). It is a great way to get fresh (and a lot of times organic) produce while also supporting your local farmers. They can get somewhat pricey and it is a lot of food for 2 people so if we do it, we will want to split it with some friends. Any takers?? I've found 2 local farms in Lexington that offer co-ops: Big Moon Farm and Round River Farms. Has anybody had experience with these or know of others?

I will keep you posted on how our own garden turns out and if we decide on the co-op... I know all 5 of you will be anxiously awaiting. :)



Our fall veggies before making their way to the ground.




Of course you can never plant a garden without a little help.



My Month via Instagram: September



We started the month by going to my happy place: Edisto Island.

and spent a day out on this.

Then football season and tailgating had arrive.

And we spent the first game watching it here.

and playing lots of dinosaurs.

Then we attended the 10-year high school reunion!

Before enjoying more football and tailgating.

And proved we were real fans and went into a game.

Which was great because we got to see this happen before our eyes.

and this... sandstorm and new scoreboard.

But the month wouldn't have been complete without a date night to Rush's... we are true romantics.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people and one of the best friends a girl could ask for!

I knew we would be best friends when we decided to sign up for our weight lifting class sophomore year to "get in shape" yet then proceeded to always leave class early on Wednesdays in order to be first in line for Mexican day at the sorority house.


We haven't changed a bit in 10 years, have we??

You are the only person I can shamelessly order whatever I want to with at Taco Bell then proceed to watch Lindsay Lohan movies all day... while on our futon mattress on the floor.

And being an anti-phone talker myself, you are definitely the only person that I get on the phone with and Brett excuses himself from the room because he knows he will have at least an hour (or more) to himself.

Love you! 28 looks good on you girl!!! :)



And, you are the only person I know who won't get mad at me posting this on the blog. :)