Home Sweet Home

Josh and I have been in the house 3 1/2 months now, and it's really starting to feel more like "home". We've gotten everything unpacked and I'm pretty much done decorating (for now). I even put out a few fall decorations this year! I will post pictures of my fall decor later, but for now........here's OUR HOUSE!

**Living Room**

From the front door.
WELCOME!
From master bedroom hallway.
From guest room hallway.
From dinning room.
Thanks Jennifer, Patrick, Lesha, Billy, Mom, and Dad for helping us paint!!

















**Kitchen**

From dining room.
Check out the bar stools! Thank you Paw Paw & Glenda for the bar stools!

I love the built in hutch! Thanks mom for all the goodies from Lonnie's!
This is where I do all my cookin'!

**Dining Room**

From kitchen.

Thanks to Me-Me for helping me make the flower arrangements! She also hemmed up our curtains and made a table runner! And thanks to Patti for the beautiful wall sconces from Southern Living! I dreamed of putting flowers in them and hanging them in my house for what seems like FOREVER!




























**Guest Room**


**Guest Bath**


**Office**

Josh has been spending a lot of time here.
Shadow box we made for Josh's Air Force ribbons.

**Master Bedroom**

From hallway.

Thanks to Dad & Patrick for putting up the blinds!
From master bath.

**Master Bath**

From bedroom.
I've been spending a lot of time here! : )

We love our new house! We have already made so many great memories, and we have years of memories to go!

Slow and Steady Does Not Win the Race....

But, it does get you to the finish line! This past weekend, Lesha, Billy & I ran in the Monster Dash 5K in Norman. Lesha & I have been talking about doing a 5K for a while, so we finally buckled down and decided to do it! We made it to the end, and we were not the last ones to cross the finish line and that was my goal for the race!


Afterwords, Lesha, Mom & I went shopping for bridesmaid dresses for Lesha's wedding. Then we went to Chili's for dinner and had dessert! I mean, we did run over 3 miles that morning...we deserved some dessert right?! All in all, it was a great Saturday! I just wish Josh could have been there...I am really hating his work schedule!

Red Velvet Cookies

Josh's favorite cake is red velvet, so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try them! I actually ended up liking these cookies better than red velvet cake (I've always thought red velvet cake was kind of bland). They are quick, easy and delicious....right up my alley!! They are also very pretty, I love the red color!!

**Red Velvet Cookies**

What You'll Need:

1 package red velvet cake mix
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar (can also use white)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing: I just used pre-made cream cheese icing, but if you're feeling adventurous you can make your own with the following ingredients. (Just mix them together until well blended)
1 stick butter
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 box confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

What You'll Do:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cake mix, eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until thoroughly blended. Roll into balls or drop by the spoonful. Try to make each cookie roughly the same size. Place them on a greased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. After cookies have cooled, spread a spoonful of icing onto the bottom of a cookie and place another on top.

These cookies are very rich and fluffy. Almost like eating a mini version of a cup cake!

Apple Dumplings

Are you ready for this?? Are you ready for a dessert that will knock your socks off?! A dessert reminiscent of apple pie and apple cobbler?! A dessert that is so easy that there is no way it should taste as good as it does?!

**Apple Dumplings**

What You'll Need:

2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
1/2 can Mt. Dew

What You'll Do:

Core and peel apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices. Roll each apple in a crescent roll. Place apples in a 9X13 buttered/sprayed pan. Melt butter. Add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edge of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake @ 350 for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream and spoon sauce over the top!

Oh my goodness....just look at that!

Oh my! I'm getting so hungry just looking at it!
My mother-in-law is coming to visit tomorrow...I will be making these again & I simply CAN NOT WAIT!

Now for the brisket and baked bean recipes that I promised to post. These are both equally as good, but I just had to start with dessert first! Dessert first??....why not...it's Thursday, which is almost Friday, which is almost the weekend! Sorry, no pictures of these. It just wouldn't be fair to post so many delicious pictures in one post. It would just be cruel!

**Brisket**

What You'll Need:

2 cans beef broth
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
5 cloves chopped garlic
2 Tb liquid smoke
1 10-lb beef brisket

What You'll Do:

Combine first 5 ingredients in large roasting pan. Place brisket in the marinade, fat side up. Cover with foil. Marinate in refrigerator for 24-48 hours. Place foil covered pan in 300 degree oven. Cook approximately 40 minutes per pound. When fork tender, remove from oven. Cut fat layer off. Slice against the grain.

There will be so much flavor in this meat, barbecue sauce is not needed. But, you can certainly serve with your favorite barbecue sauce or you can serve with the meat juice spooned over top of the meat!

**Baked Beans**

What You'll Need:

8 slices of bacon, halved
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 medium green pepper, diced
3 large cans pork & beans (28 oz)
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tb dijon mustard

What You'll Do:

Fry bacon in saute pan until partially cooked. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Add onion and peppers to pan drippings and saute until tender. Add beans and remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer. Pour beans into greased 13x9 baking dish. Top with bacon. Bake @ 325 degrees for about 2 hours. Sauce should be consistency of syrup. Let stand to thicken slightly, and serve!

This is a recipe by Pam Anderson, and has been coined by PW as "The Best Baked Beans Ever". I have to agree! Best baked beans I've ever had!!

1st Family Dinner @ My House!

It is so hard for our family to get together and it was looking like October was going to be a busy month, so we celebrated the October birthdays a little early. Everyone got together at our house to celebrate Lesha (sister), Aunt Nancy, and Me-Me's birthdays! This was a day of firsts for me....first family gathering at our house, first time to cook a brisket & first time to feed so many people. We ended up having 13 family members there!! The brisket turned out great....thank goodness, and the other new recipes I tried were great too!

On the menu for the night: brisket (recipe from PW), baked beans (another PW recipe), hash brown caserole (my mom made), cole slaw (mom also made this), apple dumplings (PW again) and ice cream! Everything turned out so yummy!! I will post all the recipes soon!

Allen, Ellis, Dad, & Ethan

Mom, Billy, Lesha & Me-Me

Pa Pa & Glenda

Look close....he's licking his lips...



Boys being boys....arm wrestling?


Birthday Girl: Lesha!

Birthday Girl: Nancy!


Birthday Girl: Me-Me!
Now this woman can cook! Don't even get me started on the meals I've devoured at her house!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

If you love spaghetti and meatballs, you will love this take on meatballs! I made these a couple of weeks ago and they were delish!

Just look at the ooey gooey cheese in the middle of that fabulous ball of meat! This makes my heart happy!

You should definitely try this recipe ASAP! No really, go to your kitchen right now and try this....I promise, you will thank me!

Here's What You'll Need:

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (80/20)
3/4 cup italian bread crumbs
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped (I used dried parlsley)
salt
pepper
3 sticks mozzarella string cheese (you can use fresh mozzarella if you have it...I'm just not that fancy)



Here's What You'll Do:

Mix first 8 ingredients together. Cut string cheese into 1/2 inch pieces. Scoop out enough meat mixture for one meatball (depending on how big you want them). Form meatball around a piece of cheese. Make sure cheese is completely covered.

You now have 3 cooking options:
1.) Cook meatballs and sauce in crock pot on low for 6-7 hours.
2.) Brown meatballs slightly, leaving pink/red center. Then place in crock pot with sauce on low for 5-6 hours.
3.) Brown meatballs until almost done, place on foil lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.

I used option #3 and it worked out wonderfully! I also made a ton of the meatballs and froze some of them in a zip lock bag. I also froze a container of spaghetti sauce, so next time we're in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs, we will be set!

Product Review - Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets

I found a new product that I just love! If you have not used the Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets, you must check them out! The laundry sheet basically combines one load's worth of detergent with one load's worth of fabric softener & anti-static into one fabulous little sheet! You just put the laundry sheet into the washer and the detergent dissolves out of the sheet during the wash cycle. Then, transfer the sheet along with the clothes to the dryer. The fabric softener "strip" is heat activated by the dryer. There are two main reasons I love these sheets, 1.) No more lugging huge bottles of laundry detergent & fabric softener home from the store, and 2.) No more running out of detergent before running out of softener or vice verse...you will no longer have to buy an unequal amount of detergent/softener! I never understood why they sell the detergents & softeners in different load amounts anyways.....why do you get a 56 load bottle of detergent but only a 52 load bottle of softener??? I think it is the same conspiracy that the hot dog weenie and hot dog bun producers have going!