New Recipe Monday x2

So over the weekend Andrew and I tried two new recipes from pinterest 

The first was good

Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

 The second one was amazing!!!

Crockpot Baja Chicken Tacos

It was amazing

Here is our picture

We added Mexican Rice and for our tacos we used black beans, lettuce, cheese , tomato and avocado

Hopefully you found some inspiration to add to your weekly meal rotation!

Puppy Depression

So idk if this is a real thing but starting tomorrow I am sure my pups will have it

It has been 3 glorious weeks of no work and all play/ relaxation and the pups have had someone around to cuddle and play with 24/7

So starting tomorrow as I head to orientation and begin my first year of teaching the pups will be back to the grind of being alone from 8-5ish 

:(

I'm such a sad pup mom

(Idk how I will ever be able to send my kids to preschool... good thing Andrew and I plan on me being a stay at home mom)

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

With Grad School Classes every night our dinner has became rather blahh since Andrew and I weren't eating together.

I mean really how many times can you eat Spaghetti or Lasagna before it makes you want to barf

So with my last two weeks off I have been hunting on pinterest for meals that make extras and are easy to make the night before and eat for multiple days

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos....

AKA HEAVEN

Source: dealwisemommy.net via Brianna on Pinterest

My family is Hispanic so I know true Mexican food and while this is not it, it is such a fun twist on a favorite :)

You can find the full link on the picture above but here is my condensed version

Create a sauce with butter, cream cheese, garlic power, seasoning salt, milk and franks red hot ( on the stove)

Once that is done add it to the shredded chicken 

Lay out your tortillas and add a little of the mixture along with mozzarella cheese

Roll it up and add a toothpick

Bake in the over for 15-20 at 425 flipping every 5 minutes

serve with blue cheese or ranch and your favorite side :)

My Mom's Baby Shower

Yes Shocking. 

If you haven't been following me for long my mom is having a baby and is due in about a month!

We are beyond excited and can't wait to meet Ava Gray!

My sister and I decided since my mom hasn't had a baby in 17 years she deserved a baby shower

>>> HEADS UP<<<

This post is pretty photo heavy!!

We held the Shower for Ava Gray at the Pewter Rose Bistro in Charlotte

The theme was Asian and it fit perfectly with the lounge environment we were in because it was lined with origami cranes!

Our Chinese Take-Out Box Favors

They had pink personalized fortune cookies that were all about mom's shower!

Me with all the spread.. It was delicious

Scrap booking Stations.

Everyone made a page where my parents could input pictures of Ava later

The Cake

Some flowers with another favor which was a personalized fan

Diaper Cake :)

Hostest:

My sister, my mom's best friend and myself

Mom with her first two daughters :)

Mom and Michelle

The favor table :)

We also had everyone fill out their return address to make thank you cards easier. 

Everyone Making Ava's Pages

She got so many wonderful gifts but here were some of my favorites!!

Two handmade quilts from our Great Grand Mother

( I still have mine... they are the best blankets)

A rug for Ava's room decor

The Stroller... a must

The cutest baby ugg booties

And my absolute favorite gift. 

Ava is already a wolfpack fan :)

Bet you can't guess who bought that 

I am so excited for Ava to come and mom's shower was a blast!!!!

My view

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday

My view will look like this all weekend

Cuddle up on the coach with these two furballs and my favorite man reading and enjoying a plan free weekend :)

Anniversary Recap

So yes our 1st Wedding Anniversary was May 21st. 

But I was on my blogging break so here is a recap better late than never :)

We started the morning off to a homemade breakfast

Andrew made us Waffles and they were delicious!!

Next was my surprise for the day. 

The Tradition for a a 1st anniversary is paper

Andrew got us tickets to Wicked (See post about that here)

My surprise was a Gift Certificate to receive a couples massage

We did the 90 minute massage with a touch of stone and it was heavenly.

If you live in the Raleigh Area I would check this place out

Later that night we were off to dinner.

6 years ago when Andrew and I started dating our first date was to Firebirds. 

We have kept it a tradition to go for our anniversary ever since.

Starter: Lobster Spinach Queso

Andrew's Entree: Crab Stuff Fillet with Fries

My Entree: Sesame Encrusted Salmon with Aioli, mashed potatoes and green beans

Us on our Anniversary :)

We skipped a very common tradition which was to save our anniversary topper.

I am really weird about leftovers and keeping things a day past expiration or sell by so there was no way I could eat a year old cake

I went to a local bakery 

and took them a picture of our actual wedding cake and asked them to make a topper.

This is what they came up with

It was beautiful.

So we broke out our cake set and were ready to go

It was delicious and was very close to the flavors we had in our actual wedding cake.

We had a great anniversary and cant wait to celebrate at least 50 more!!!

I love Beach Music :)

So Last week we spent a wonderful week of vacation at the beach.

I just finished my first session of grad school classes and this vacation was greatly needed!

We spend a nice relaxing week with 6 of our closest friends and Andrews family was in a house down the street!

So here is a look into our week :)

Our pup Bently and our friends pup Wookie enjoying some beach air :)

Anthony, my sister Cassandra and I enjoying our first night out at the beach bars :)

Off and riding around in the golf cart with my nephew Ashton :)

Cooper's first time on the beach. He loved the water

Cassandra on the windy beach day. 

Off to play putt putt... A Beach MUST

Sara, Cassandra and I feeding fish on the peer

Bently doesn't like the water too much. He just wants to be rubbed :)

Homemade fried pickles ;)

Ending our last night with a trip to my favorite place :)

And there isn't a successful trip to the beach without watching some crazy people dancing at Broadway at the Beach