Lent 2013 :: Day 23 ~ Pops of Easter

Signs of the Easter Bunny are popping up throughout Our Sweet Home South!! Which means March 31 is right around the corner!! With the Easter holiday comes pastel colors, deviled eggs and my fav, Mini-Cadbury milk chocolates.

But most importantly, Easter is the day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This time of year is a perfect time to remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!

Nowadays, the important times in life can be oh so consumed by the Halmark mindset, and people get so wrapped up in gifts, decor and who has what. So when you you see a pastel Easter egg or candy dish filled with yummy chocolates or a cross in your neighbor's front yard, be thankful for these signs of Easter and remind yourself what the Easter holiday is truly about.

Till next time, Sweets!!

 

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Lent 2013 :: Day 22 ~ DIY Kitchen Island {Take 2}

Well Sweets, this post was meant for last night, but The Hubbs stayed up super late to finish screwing on the handles for our DIY Makeover to our "Kitchen Island"!!

Didn't he do an amazing job!! So blessed to have such a Handy Hubbs!!

The handles are from Hobby Lobby, and I decided to go with three different sets to give our "Kitchen Island" that rustic feel...duh!! Would you expect anything less?!

Also, I added the Cherry Cobbler accents to the sides and trim of the drawers.

I am in L-O-V-E with our almost finished "Kitchen Island"!!

The only thing left to do is get our countertop wrapped and set!!

Check back for final updates, y'all!!

 

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Lent 2013 :: Day 21 ~ Meetings & Margaritas

With the launching of my new website for Sweet Home South {Coming Soon!!}, I will be premiering my love for wedding planning!! Wedding What~Nots is apart of my Sweet Home South trifecta.

With one wedding ceremony {Thanks B!!} under my belt, I have the privilege of working from beginning to end for the entire wedding planning process with one of the sweetest brides, Cat, and her dear of a mother, Mrs. Liz. Both of these fine ladies are family to my Bestie SaySay!! So thanks to SaySay for trusting my passion for weddings and referring me to her sister Cat to guide her and sweet Mrs. Liz through the wedding planning and execution process!!

Just take a sneak peak y'all of Cat and her Soon-To-Be hubby, Thomas!! One word ~ GORGEOUS!! I just love Love, y'all!!

To kick-off Cat's wedding planning, I am hosting the girls at my Sweet Home South for Chicken Tortilla Soup and Margs!! What more could a girl ask for?! Mexican and Margaritas!! Seconds please!!

Of course I reached out to my Bestie KK and got her delish recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup {See Below}. As for the Margs, my go-to is Nana's No-Fail Margarita Recipe!! If you have had the privilege of sippin' on Nana's margaritas, you know they are quite special!! But sorry Sweets, this recipe is top secret!!

From KK's Kitchen

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Whatcha Need:

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes with chili peppers

1 package enchilada sauce mix

1 ½ cup water

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups milk

3-4 boneless chicken breast

Whatcha Do:

~ In crock pot, mix the enchilada packet with the water and tomato sauce.

~ Add cream of chicken soup and milk and whisk together until smooth.

~ Add uncooked chicken & Pour drained black beans, drained corn, and diced tomatoes.

~ Cook on low for 6-8 hour.

~ Before serving, take out chicken and shred or dice, then put back and stir it all together.

~ Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese & tortilla chips

*Optional- you can also serve with lime and or avocado if desired.

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Lent 2013 :: Day 20 ~ DIY Kitchen Island

The Hubbs and I were all about some DIY this last weekend. As you know, we put a little oomph into our master bath. Well we couldn't stop there, so we started on the finishing touches of our "Kitchen Island". The reason Kitchen Island is in quotations is because our island is actually an iKea dresser that was The Hubbs first dresser when he moved to Chi.

Well, dresser no more!! It is now the perfect "Kitchen Island". The top drawer holds cutting boards, measuring spoons, mixing bowls, kitchen tools & foil, saran, zip locks. The second drawer is filled with Pyrex & fancy casserole dishes. The last drawer is packed full of every pan we own ~ from panini pans to sauce pans to our wok!! Really and truly our "Kitchen Island" is everything we needed and wanted without having to splurge on a new piece of furniture for Our Sweet Home South.

With our "Kitchen Island" being one of the focal points in our kitchen, we wanted to pretty it up with a little DIY action. The Hubbs screwed in 1x4s to the back side, and I kilz & painted the frame and drawers (still in process). At first I wanted to paint the entire island in Cherry Cobbler red, but it was like WHOA!! To tone it down, I left the 1x4s and drawer accents painted Cherry Cobbler to add a pop of color, but I painted the main frame Seasalt to coordinate with our kitchen walls.

Whatcha think, Sweets?

The drawers still need 1 more coat of Cherry Cobbler accents & Seasalt overall. As for the top of the "Kitchen Island", we are going to wrap a piece of plywood with galvanized steel.

Our hopes are that the"Kitchen Island" will pull our kitchen together by having the rustic look with steel accents and colors that match & coordinate within our kitchen.

Check back later for the finished product!!

 

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Lent 2013 :: Day 19 ~ Cookied

It's that time again, Sweets!!

The Girl Scouts are out and in full action using their sweet smiles and high pitched voices selling the heck out of cookies!!

This afternoon during a break from all of The Hubbs and my DIY-ing, I hopped on over to Kroger and got some hamburger makins'. On my way in through the sliding doors, two little Girl Scouts and their supportive mommas were fighting the wind and cold trying to sell as many boxes of those tempting little treats as they could.

It made my heart smile and brought me back to my days as a Girl Scout. I knew that I didn't have cash, but thought for a hot minute that maybe with technological advances, the Girl Scouts now take credit or debit. Well, they don't. Shocker!! So when I was checking out I got cash back and made a pit stop at their alphabetically organized cookie table.

With a smile, I requested 1 box of Thin Mints, which is a Bernie Family Tradition and my sweet-tooth Daddy-O's, Clarkie's, ultimate weakness...haha!! While the two little Girl Scouts were marking off another box sold and giving me my change, I let them know that once way back when I was a little girl I was a Girl Scout, too!! I made sure to add "But that was when I was young and now I am super old!!"

Well those little Girl Scouts sure know how to play the game because the alpha Girl Scout sweetly replied "Really? That's so cool!! But you are not old at all!!"

Honestly I was flattered. I suddenly had an urge to buy like 5 more boxes, probably a mix of Samoas & Thin Mints, but snapped back to reality and figured it was all apart of their scheme. Truth be told, if I had those lines and selling skills, I probably would have sold way more boxes of cookies!!

Make sure to support your local Girl Scouts, Sweets!!

 

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Lent 2013 :: Day 18 ~ Bath Crashers

{Here is yesterday's post, y'all!! Would have gotten it to you last night; however, all of Our DIY-ing had me asleep on the couch in no time!!}

You could call us Bath Crashers. TLC might as well hire The Hubbs and I to be the new hosts of the show. Maybe I shouldn't be that extreme, but I have to say we did a pretty dang good job on elevating our bathroom atmosphere from dorm boring to master bath chic!!

We now feel like our bathroom is our bathroom, not just some boring, old b-room. Shout-out to Sherbear, for helping me prep our bathroom with some new decor ~ the everyday shelf organizer and the pop of color sconce with my signature cotton bunches. Thanks Sherbear!!

Here are a few snapshots, Sweets!!

{Added a linen curtain panel to create a rich feel for our door-less shower & purchased a luxurious bathmat at Target}

{Our master bath decor centers around this mirror and the decor tile in the shower, so we mixed it up with the metal/wood everyday shelf organize.}

{We kept with the gray color scheme & metal/wood/natural fibers decor. This new rug will now be transparent to all of Rue Girl's hair!!}

{Here is my pop of color!! As you can see it is on the wall behind our porcelain throne. In the future, The Hubbs and I would like to add a little rustic touch with the below pin from My Pinterest page. Whatcha think, y'all?}

{Proposed rustic touch for a future add-on to our master bath ~ weathered wood paneling}

Would love to hear your comments!!

 

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Lent 2013 :: Day 17 ~ Perfect Peace

My morning routine includes singing Rue Girl her morning song {yes, I have made up her very own morning song and I sing it e-v-e-r-y morning}, my glass of lemon water and reading my daily devotional, Jesus Calling (JC).

For the past year and half, I have been reading JC and have blogged about my JC devotionals in the past. My daily readings continue to remind me that God never ceases to amaze me with His words. Each devotional fills my heart and mind with comfort and care that God is in control and there isn't anything I can do today, tomorrow or forever; He is in control. He has already planned out my walk with Him. He will guide me as long as I lean on Him ~ in good times and times of need.

My devotional today {March 1} reminded me of God's Perfect Peace. At times we all feel a little weighed down with life's worries. When we start to worry, we begin to lose sight of God and His plan for each of us. Thank goodness I had today's devotion because I needed Him to remind me to stop worrying, start praying and in time God will guide the way.

The Hubbs and I have a favorite quote that we constantly remind each other of when one of us starts to be impatient with God's Plan...

"God doesn't give you patience; He gives you the opportunity to be patient."

I hope my daily devotional today helps you now or later, but ultimately reminds you to stop worrying, start praying and in time God will guide the way.

*You can purchase JC at any bookstore or download Jesus Calling onto your iPad.*

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