recap

we have had such a cool, calm and restful weekend.

friday my in-laws wanted elle to come over to play. we already had plans friday afternoon so elle stayed the evening with them while aaron and i had dinner and saw 'our idiot brother'. which i liked. it was a lot different than i expected. i really thought it was going to be a stupid comedy, but as aaron described it, it was more of a dramedy. while it wasn't my favorite movie ever, it was entertaining and it did make me laugh and think. about being more accepting and loving without condition and just being a good friend. ned, however, was super naive. and i do not ever want to be naive. which i can be sometimes and when i have a naive moment i just feel stupid and defeated. but yea, not about me. good movie. i wouldn't say you need to hit the theaters asap and see it like you do 'the help' but it was good. i totally thought elizabeth banks was rachel mcadams until halfway through the dern movie. those girls look alike.



yesterday we hung out. all day. we ran some errands. ate dinner at a greek restaurant. watched about 6 episodes of 'damages' {after elle went to bed}. it was awesome. also, i sewed up a loot for my new baby cousin that is due to make her debut next month. i. cannot. wait.





and that brings us up to speed. today. sunday. fun day. we celebrated my niece, taylor's, first birthday. sweet sweet baby girl. she totally dug into her cake and it was great! girl loves her some food. t's actual birthday was this past tuesday, so she's been one for a few days now. so, to her, it was like no big deal. she's such a chill baby. we love her so much. here's the post i did right after taylor was born. gosh, seems like yesterday but at the same time like a year ago. weird.





tomorrow is another start to our work week. whoopty doo.

hopefully i'll get back into a better swing of blogging and i'm challenging myself to start taking more pictures with my camera camera because i know my twitter followers are really sick of seeing my instagram pictures in double doses! ha.


have a great week. talk soon!

its been since monday

i feel like i need to apologize for not blogging since monday, but why? we have been living our lives and hanging out and that is about it. i took a 3-day social media break and it did me a world of good. the other night jessica colored my hair (bless her soul it looks amazing) and while i was at her house i read in her bathroom this...


turn off outside sources that lead you emotionally. focus on your calling. your family. your home. press into Yahweh and let him talk to you.

its a wonder what 3 days can do. i feel refreshed.

this morning we went to the farmer's market and elle caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrored windows of the bank. she could not take her eyes off herself. i can see why. she is the darn cutest thing i have ever seen.



happy saturday!

monday musings

monday schmonday...

its actually been a good day so far. i was on time to work and haven't been griped out by any unhappy customers {yet} and the day is just cruis'n right along. i did forget my lunch, so i'm using my "lunch break" to blog. and i'm starving. star.ving. i lied, i packed a lunch but just peaches and grapes. easy to grab out the door. they didn't last long.

we had a good weekend i suppose. my parents wanted to take elle to a local fair saturday night with some of their friends that have a grand-girl the same age as elle, so we of course let her go and i instantly called up some friends for an adult night out. then my parent's asked if elle could just stay the night. she did and i may or may not have had a couple glasses of wine at dinner. it was a fun time!



the girls. the guys sat at the other end of the table. they weren't worthy of getting their picture taken. just kidding. just kidding.

after dinner we went back to the tadlock's to hang out for awhile, but not before stopping by cherry berry. what night's complete without some good ole froyo? while at the tadlock's i perused the tupelo honey cafe cookbook and stole me some recipes. i cannot wait to get busy in the kitchen....



making that warm pimento dip tonight! yes ma'am.

we spent the majority of yesterday at my parents swimming. i'm not too sure how many more days we'll get at the pool before it gets to cold outside to swim. i'm looking forward to cooler weather. i love fall. its my favorite. can't wait to whip up some pumpkin desserts. mmm mmmm mmmmmm.

revelation: my life revolves around food. that's ok. i like it.

had a strong urge to sew yesterday, so while i had it i took advantage of it and whipped up some dresses for two lucky little ladies. they got monogrammed with sweet initials today and they are that much cuter.



last night about 10:00 i got the aching for some cobbler so i made pw's cobbler with rasperries and peaches. again, my life revolves around food. y'all. so yummy. i'll share tomorrow. it is a heavenly treat. tart and sweet. perfection.

speaking of tart and sweet...



more sweet than tart in this picture. but don't let her fool ya. she's definitely made up of sugar and spice. i miss this girl today. she has been funny lately. i know i say it all the time...but she is so. much. dang. fun. something new everyday.hour.minute. and she just gets it. the world is her playground. its awesome.

happy monday. hope its been a good one.

just checking in

we are here. very much here. but, just haven't really had much motivation to blog lately. sorry about that. little blogging block. i'll get my groove back. eventually.

until then, here are some instagram photos of my sweet ellie bean...





oh, and here's the recipe for the tomato pie (that i was going to post on tuesday but completely forgot about until just now when i saw the pic of the pie on my flickr photostream):




tupelo honey cafe's tomato pie
makes 8 servings

1 pie crust (mine was store bought)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 10 ounces cheese)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 chopped green onions, white and green parts
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick

Roll out a 10-inch pie crust and place in a 9-inch pie pan. Preheat the oven to 425. In a bowl, combine the cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, parsley, green onions, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs, mixing completely. Layer one-third of the tomatoes in the pie pan, covering the bottom of the pie crust. Spread one-third of the Parmesan cheese mixture on top of the tomatoes and repeat, making 2 more layers of tomatoes and cheese and ending with the cheese mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top of the pie is bubbling and browned. Serve warm.

mmm mmmm mmmmm. you have to, must try this. it is the perfect savory summer pie!

monday musings

i started this post last night but wanted to add a few {mis}happenings from this morning...

*while pulling an 8-pound pork butt out of my fridgidaire this morning i dropped an entire dish of fresh homemade salsa on my tile floor. it went everywhere. and when i say everywhere i mean everywhere. i spent a good 30 minutes cleaning that mess up. and i broke one of my awesome vintage pyrex bowls and lid. ugh.

*get to work and we are out of coffee. and i forgot my lunch. i'm really not sure how i'm going to survive this monday. but i will.

*definitely not a mishappening...
hopped on pinterest this morning. saw this bedroom first thing. i am in love. this is exactly (besides the chandelier, i have to have a fan) what i want my master to look like. love every single thing about it.

Source: None via Jona on Pinterest

back to my original post...

*started using garnier fructis pure clean shampoo and conditioner. no dyes. no silicone. no parabens. it literally makes my hair squeaky clean but then once dried it is so greasy. so much for going green in the hair care department. i can't be having greasy hair.

*elle louise has started saying "i love you", sounds like "i luh lu". it is seriously the sweetest thing my ears have ever heard. the first time she said it was about 2 weeks ago. she was taking a bath. i was sitting on the toilet (lid closed, people) and aaron was doing the dishes (yes, my man does the dishes) and she yelled to aaron "daddy!" very loud and he yelled back "what?" and she said "i luh lu". no prompting. on her own free will. it was amazing. and now she says it all the time.

*i made tomato pie last night. amazing. i'll share the recipe tomorrow.

*potty training is still going on in our house. we aren't pushing anything just letting elle kind of do it on her own for now. she likes for her rubby duckys to watch her go potty. it's hilarious.



*speaking of p/ting. last friday afternoon we stopped by our friend, sarah's, house and elle said she needed to go potty so i took her dry diaper off and she pee peed on the potty at sarah's house. sarah and i were so proud.
*i started 'mad men' a couple of weeks ago. and while i'm not totally obsessed, it is pretty entertaining. quite sad and pathetic really, the way the men treat women on the show. so gross.



*last wednesday night my cousin, jennifer, and i saw 'the help'. it was so good. you must go see it. now i'm finishing the book and want to see it again once i've done so.



*elle louise looked so cute at my brother's graduation! but, of course.



*mondays always come way too soon. even after having thursday-sunday with my family. i go to bed sunday dreading taking elle to the babysitter's house on monday. maybe one day i'll be able to be a sahm. until then, i'll just look forward to that day.

something sweet saturday

today my brother graduated from college...



we are so proud of him! way to go cb!

fashion friday {fall}

first off...if you don't have spotify you must request an invite. it's the most awesome online music streaming service out there. i promise. i'm listening to 'room for squares' and remembering very vividly the first year of my courtship with aaron. awww. we loved us some john mayer. and listened to 'room for squares' on repeat.

it's been "cooler" in nwa the last few days and even rainy. a welcomed change for sure. it has me wanting fall and i've even been doing a little online browsing for fall. and pinning of course...

Source: dakotacollective.com via kari on Pinterest

leather pants. yes.

Source: dakotacollective.com via kari on Pinterest

asymmetrical dress. yes.

Source: m.urbanoutfitters.com via kari on Pinterest

lace dress. yes.

Source: m.urbanoutfitters.com via kari on Pinterest

open scarf cardi. yes.

Source: m.urbanoutfitters.com via kari on Pinterest

twill cigarette pants. in this awesome tan shade. yes.

Source: couldihavethat.blogspot.com via kari on Pinterest

high-waist and wide legs. yes.

Source: freepeople.com via kari on Pinterest

long linen dress. yes.

Source: freepeople.com via kari on Pinterest

suede wedges. yes.

Source: jcpenney.com via kari on Pinterest

stripe cardi. yes.

Source: m.urbanoutfitters.com via kari on Pinterest

boyfriend blazer. in this bronze shade. yes.

and here are a few of my "in my wildest dreams" finds...

Source: m.urbanoutfitters.com via kari on Pinterest

exposed zipper frye heath boots

Source: freepeople.com via kari on Pinterest

hand crocheted maxi

happy friday! 
cheers to a great weekend
(hopefully with pretty weather wherever you are!)...

baby cash's shower

we have been crazy busy the last week or so. every day we have had errands to run, places to go and people to see. yesterday morning on our way out the door i asked elle if she was ready to go to abuela's she said "no momma. home momma.". it made me so sad because she's usually running out the door saying "go. go. go.". broke my heart. so this morning i asked her if she wanted to go to the mall and she said "noooooooooo!" so we decided to just stay put today. we are still in our jammies. and elle is wearing panties around the house. not pushing it but just trying it out here and there. i think with elle's personality its gotta be her idea.



last weekend, with the help of friends, i hosted a baby shower for my bf, ashley. her and gary are expecting their first child, a son, in october. i'm so excited for them to become parents and to journey through this phase of life together.





the favorite at all showers. the food table. and, of course, adorned with pouf balls. ha! what shower or party doesn't have pouf balls these days?



guest sign in. monogrammed burlap with a thick matte and framed. a lot of people didn't sign (shame on them) so ashley is going to take to the hospital with her and have their guests sign it there too. great idea!



the momma with her shower hostesses. why are these pictures always so awkward. ha! i love hosting showers with a lot of hostesses. i feel like you can do so much more for the expecting mom that way!



look at all those gifts! and that was before a lot of the guests started to arrive.this was mainly just gifts for her momma, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, shannon! that is one blessed little boy!



we did a fun onesie-decorating craft. i'll share more later. i didn't know how this craft was going to be perceived by the guests but we ended up having to run to walmart in the middle of the shower to get more blank onesies. almost everyone wanted to decorate a onesie. ashley ended up with 20 fun and unique onesies for cash!

it was such a fun shower and i'm so glad ashley had a good turnout. she and gary are going to be great parents. i'm super excited about cash's birth day in october! i'm pretty sure he'll become one of my favorite little lovies.


back to veggin' out with my girl. happy tuesday.

and sorry for the lack of a tasty tuesday recipe. i have nothing to share this week. i have pinned some really good (and healthy) recipes lately. hopefully i'll get to those next week!

18 months

the roofers showed up this morning. bright and early. they are so so loud. elle is sleeping right through it. i'm not sure how, but whatever.

so, yesterday elle louise turned eighteen months old. wild.



its really hard for me to make a list about all the things elle louise is doing at this stage because she is doing so much. she talks a ton, has a huge vocabulary, and repeats everything we say. it's awesome. she will be speaking sentences before we know it. she is also very busy and into everything but most of the time pretty compliant. she is starting to get discipline and direction a little more now which are making our days at home together much more enjoyable. she is all over the board with clothes. she can wear anything from 6 to 18 months. but nothing beyond 18 months really, its just too big. pretty sure she weighs somewhere around 20 pounds and is still wearing a size 3 diaper. she tries the potty here and there and gets it but we haven't really dedicated our lives to potty training yet. soon. very very soon!

our days are pretty predictable. what time she goes to bed determines what time she gets up. she sleeps a solid 12 hours every night. when she wakes up she is such a softy and so cuddly. its so sweet. she eats breakfast, watches cartoons (her favorites are sesame street, clifford and dora dora). a couple of days of week she goes to the babysitter's house. if its our day at home, and i have errands to run, we skip the morning nap. days we are at home she usually takes an 1 1/2 to 2 hour morning nap. we eat lunch. she loves lunch and eats the most at this time. after lunch we play and play and play. this is my favorite time of the day. just sitting on the floor, interacting and watching her explore and learn. about 2:00 she goes down for her afternoon nap. we don't miss afternoon naps. she usually sleeps 2 1/2 to 3  hours at this time, depending on if she's had her morning nap or not she will sometimes sleep 4 hours! and then its time for daddy to get home and most evenings we just hang out at home.

elle louise is a girly girl. she loves her purse or anything that looks like a purse. she loves to pack it and act like she's going somewhere. she'll say "goodbye", wave, and blow kisses and then walk into another room like she's gone somewhere. when she "returns" i always get really excited and ask her if she went to target and she always says "yes". its hilarious. she also loves her babies. oh my. she is a mommy to triplets and loves to play with them all together. she has even named one. coco kate. she has an aunt coco and a cousin, anna kate. guess she just combined the names. she also loves to "help" me pick out her clothes and i always ask her opinion. she usually says "i like it" because i'll ask "do you like it?". but on wednesday i asked her about a carter's romper and she said "that cute!". i about died. she actually gets excited to get dressed in the morning and she walks around for a little bit looking down at what she is wearing. i love it.

this is the funnest stage that we have been in with elle. it is hard, yes. very very hard. very very challenging. but also brings us so much joy! she is an absolute doll baby and still to this day i look at her and think are you really mine?! she is learning something new every single day and putting things together like i can't believe. she is a smart cookie. i love it.

can't believe our baby girl is 18 months old. seems like just last month were celebrating her first birthday. and, my oh my, how much things have changed in 6 months. can't even begin to imagine how much will change in the next 6 months.

happy friday!

tasty tuesday {summer stir-fry}

easiest dinner recipe EVER. my mom taught me this and it's definitely a favorite summer meal.

ingredients:
okra, sliced
onion, chopped
ripe tomatoes, chunked (is that a term? you want good hearty bits of tomato)
3 tbs butter (more or less)
seasoning (i used slap yo mama)

directions:
melt butter in saute pan over medium/high heat. once melted add veggies and seasoning. cook over medium heat until okra are tender. serve over brown rice.

simple. yummy. healthy. enough said.

linking up at 33 shades of green. check out all the great recipes.

happy tuesday!