Trans-Siberian Orchestra

A couple of weekends ago Josh asked me to make him a grilled cheese. So, of course I say "sure honey, whatever you want" and walk to the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the drawer where we keep the cheese and guess what I saw.......

A little note from my sweetie! And....two tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra!! He got me on this one, I was totally surprised!

Of course I had to get a picture of us in front of the tree before we left!

These guys were amazing! They rocked it out! I kept calling them the "Rockstars of Christmas" haha


And the light show was unreal!


They even performed my favorite - Christmas Canon!!


This night was the start to an unbelievable Christmas! I am so thankful for my sweet husband -he made this Christmas one to remember!!

Christmas Senses

Christmas festivities have begun! Click on the links below to catch up!

It's Beginning to LOOK a Lot Like Christmas

It's Beginning to TASTE a Lot Like Christmas

It's beginning to TASTE a lot like Christmas!

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is getting together with family & friends to cook Christmas candy! It just wouldn't be Christmas without lots of "stuff dipped in chocolate"! This year we had some new faces and lots of new candy recipes. Everything turned out great and we had a blast making it all!

Me-Me made peanut butter cups.


Jennifer made chocolate truffles.


Nancy made fudge and kissey cookies.


I made buckeyes (peanut butter balls).


Lesha made a new recipe this year called Pretzel-Peanut Bark. It's a Paula Deen recipe so that speaks for itself!


Mom made pecan bark.


Erica made oreo truffles.


We also made our usuals: chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate covered cashews and my favorite...haystacks!


Oreo truffles......sneaky little hand, caught in action!


Pretzel-Peanut Bark!


Peanut butter cups!


Kissey cookies!


Peanut butter balls.

Another new one this year. Pretzels with hershey kisses and M&M's.


Fudge!


Another favorite of mine...pecan bark!



Can't wait to do it again next year! Thank you ladies for an awesome night full of sweets!

It's Beginning to LOOK a Lot Like Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite time of year! Everything is so pretty around Christmas time. One of my favorite things in the world is a big fat beautifully decorated Christmas tree! Needless to say, I was VERY excited to put up our 1st Christmas tree this year!

Josh knows how much I love our Christmas tree. Everyday when I get home from work, he is sure to have the lights turned on and my scentsy burning. It is so wonderful to walk into a good smelling house and see our beautiful tree all lit up! He always knows how to put a smile on my face. : )

I made my first wreath this year. I kept it pretty simple - I just wanted something very "natural" looking which is not really like me. Usually I like lots of glitter & sparkle, but I think this wreath turned out beautiful!


I think it looks great on our mantle - the pine cones and berries really go great with the woodwork!



Patti gave me these cute little votive candle holders from.....you guessed it -Southern Living!



I just added miniature berry wreaths to some red candles that I already had.



Here's a little arrangement Me-Me made for me a few years ago.

Wreath on the front door - Also made with love by Me-Me


And here's my beautiful house from Southern Living. I just added some Christmas picks to the top and put a candle inside. I found this little Santa at Dollar General for $6! I thought he was so cute!


And again, a beautiful arrangement made by Me-Me! She's got some major creative talent!


An easy way to make something look "Christmassy" - just add some Christmas bulbs!

I hope you enjoyed my little "Christmas Tour" of our home! I am looking forward to adding a little bit each year until we have a house full of Christmas cheer!

Bedlam

We had quite the party at my parents house for the Bedlam game this year. I'll let the pictures do the talking......

Of course, tons of food....

Some fruit & chocolate chip muffins!

Garlic cheesy biscuits!

Bacon wrapped jalapenos!

And remember the Buffalo Chicken Dip I told you about???

But the grand finale was the Low Country Boil!!

Let the men handle the cooking for once!

Man was it good!



We had such a great time watching the game! Okay, well maybe those of us wearing crimson had a little bit more fun than those in orange. : )



Poor Brinkley doesn't know which team to support.


Not my dog...he knows who the winners are! Just kidding.....he really likes this sweater for the comfort, he could care less that it is crimson & cream.


Whew! It was a long day, that's for sure!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

We got together at my parents house last weekend for the OU/OSU Bedlam Game! If you watched the game....you'll know that it had a happy ending! : ) We had a ton of fun and a ton of food.....and as usual, I took a ton of pictures! I'll post all the pics later, but for now I want to share a new recipe that I tried at the Bedlam Get-Together.


What You'll Need:

1 1/2 lbs or 20 oz chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1/2 (6 oz) bottle hot sauce (I use Frank's)
2 - 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 - 16 oz bottle bleu cheese salad dressing (I use ranch, or you can use half ranch/half blue cheese)
2/3 cups chopped celery
3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

What You'll Do:

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, mix shredded chicken, celery and cheese. In a saucepan over med-low heat, combine cream cheese and salad dressing & stir until smooth. Stir in 1/2 bottle of hot sauce (you can use more or less). Pour heated mixture into bowl with chicken mixture. Stir to mix well. Pour into a 13x9 baking pan. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes.

You can make this a day ahead of time, then cook in slow cooker until hot and bubbly. We served with crackers, but I think next time I'll use nacho cheese Doritos.

**UPDATE** We had some left over that I heated up and wrapped in a corn tortilla. It was delish!