Cole's Baby Shower

A few weeks ago, dear friends of mine back home threw Lee and I a baby shower for our little Cole. I was grateful that it was on a weekend that Lee could come back home with me. It was such a fun and relaxing time. It's always nice to go back home!

I am doing Cole's nursery in a black and white theme (post to come once it's finished), so Nikki continued the theme along into the shower. I love how it turned out. Every detail was perfect. Thank you, Mrs. Waggoner and Nikki for all of your thoughtfulness and generosity. Cole is one blessed little boy!

The entry table

One of my favorite things about the shower was the mixture of floral centerpieces and baby books! I'm so excited to read each and every book to Cole. 

My mother-in-law gave me Lee's baby blanket at the shower =)

And what shower would be complete without my mom's famous sugar cookies?! So grateful for a sweet "Nana" for our little Cole. I'm sure she will be making him many more cookies in the years to come.

"Meant to Bee" Bridal Shower

This past weekend, my mom and I threw a bridal shower for a childhood friend of mine. We had so much fun planning her shower that I had to share with you all how it turned out. We decided to use the theme "Meant to Bee" and added touches here and there to help express our theme. 

Entry table as the guests walked in to the Country Club

Guest tables

Centerpieces

I just loved the little heart confetti made out of pages from books. It definitely added a lovely touch to our centerpieces. 

Advice cards for each guest to fill out for the soon-to-be bride 

This table was our advice and well wishes table. We had a bowl for the guests to leave their advice cards in the for the bride and also a bowl for the guests to leave their favorite recipe for Lauren to start her own recipe book. We sent the recipe cards out in the invitations so that the guests had plenty of time to decide on a recipe and fill out their card.

Going along with our "Meant to Bee" theme, we chose customizable honey jars as our favors to send home with each guest.

Favors

Advice bowl on the left

Recipe card bowl behind Lauren's new recipe book

One of our favorite things was our dessert table! I mean, who doesn't love desserts?

In the back you will see chocolate covered oreos that my mom made herself with rose petals on the top. I am so sad I didn't get an unclose picture of the oreos. They were ADORABLE! And equally as delicious!

We served cake, cake pops, chocolate covered pretzels, petit fours, macarons, and jelly beans on the dessert table. 

 The food table consisted of tea sandwiches, fruit, mint tea punch, and lemonade. 

The gift table before the shower began

Even though mom and I had so much fun planning this shower for the past few months, we were equally as excited to see it all come together. 

Lauren and her sweet Momma

Well wishes to the "bride-to-bee!"

[Details of where we purchased everything to come]

One Blessed Afternoon

You know those days when everything seems to be going wrong, until all of a sudden God steps in and makes it very clear that the little things in life don't always matter? Well I had one of those days this past week.

Everything from waking up sick with a nasty cold (which is the worst when your pregnant), to the gas pump at the gas station not working and a long line of people inside (all the while it's the one morning I can't spare a minute), to finally being a coach's wife on a CRAZY morning trying to get a quick picture to send in for a magazine article AND still make it to my doctors appointment on time. All to do before the clock struck noon. I thought for sure if the morning was this bad, that my afternoon had little hope of getting better. 

I literally walked into my doctors office with 30 seconds to spare. Phew! Thank you, Lord! And that's when my day suddenly was put back into perspective. 

This was the day we would have our big ultrasound and test results to find out if our baby boy was healthy or if there may be something to dig deeper into. Of course, this has any momma-to-be on her toes. I was thankful that my sweet momma went with me to my appointment, as Lee couldn't break free from work that afternoon as we had a football scrimmage that evening (I told you, crazy day). 

It wasn't until our little sweet boy popped up on the ultrasound screen that the day seemed to slow wayyy down and get so much brighter!

Baby Cole signaling a touchdown! Making his Daddy proud. =)

He was moving all around the entire time (again, like his father) and scored perfectly on all his measurements and tests. My doctor told me that he must have read the textbook, as he is right on schedule with his development. Oh this momma was HAPPY to hear! 

Thank you, Lord!!! 

Our sweet Little Boy is growing every day, and so is his momma's belly. We are over the moon excited to have our little one in our arms in January! Until then, stay put little Cole. Momma can't handle going into labor during the playoffs ;-)

Decaf Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. And with the fall, comes it's delicious drinks. This year, I've had to put a spin on some of my favorites, including the Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte.

Although I am not solely against caffeine while pregnant, I have avoided it unless absolutely necessary. There has only be a couple of times where I've had to take a small dose of caffeine, but for the most part I've steered clear. So as the fall came, I knew I had to find a recipe for my favorite Pumpkin Spice Latte that was caffeine free! 

After searching all over the internet for recipes to alter, I finally combined a few and found my own. To my surprise, it might be my new favorite fall drink! 

If you're like me and craving a fall drink without the caffeine, try this! It's simple and easy to make in the luxury of your own home. 

Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte
4 oz water

1 tea bag of decaf black tea (or chai if you'd prefer)
2/3 cup milk
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup pumpkin puree
¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice

Boil your water. (Or if you're like me, grab 4oz of water out of your keurig already piping hot with half the time)
Pour into cup/mug and steep your tea bag for 5 or so minutes.
Remove tea bag.
Add remaining ingredients and blend using your blender.
Taste and adjust maple syrup and spices to your liking.
If it’s not hot enough, simply pour into a pot and heat over medium heat until steaming (Or pop it in the microwave for 40 seconds and you're ready to roll).

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. I have a feeling I will be making many of these in the weeks to come. 

Wishing you all a happy fall!

MeeMaw's Lasagna

My husband's all time favorite dinner is lasagna. Particularly my grandmother's famous lasagna. I am blessed to have come from a long line of fantastic cooks. As you may remember, my grandmother hand wrote me an entire cookbook full of our family's favorite and famous recipes as a shower gift to me when Lee and I got married. (Click here for more recipes from her cookbook) I love this cookbook so much that it never leaves my kitchen counter. It's incredibly special to me, but also full of delectable recipes.

After being asked by my sweet friend, Whitney, here is my grandmother's lasagna recipe for all of you to enjoy as well! (Please excuse the "dash of this and dash of that" as the ladies in my family never make things the same twice.. It's all by memory and changes from day to day-- I know, I know, I'm sorry!)

Ingredients:
2 lb. ground chuck, drained
Lasagna noodles, cooked
1 large onion (I use about half because Lee doesn't like onion very much)
2 T. Italian season (roughly.. sometimes I add more if it tastes like it needs more)
2-3 cloves of freshly pressed (preferably) or chopped garlic
1 T. parsley flakes
1 Large jar of Prego Spaghetti Sauce (more if you prefer more of a saucy lasagna)
1 can of tomatoes
1-2 T. Brown sugar (I typically add 3-4, I like a sweet sauce. Again, taste and add more as needed)
Parmesan cheese
Large bag of Mozzarella cheese
Ricotta cheese
2 Beaten eggs

Directions:
Brown Ground Chuck, drain. Sauté onion. Add italian season, garlic, parsley flakes, prego sauce, tomatoes and brown sugar. Stir. Let simmer 1-1 1/2 hours, string often. Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles, rinse, drain. Grease large dish (preferably a deep dish). Put a little sauce on the bottom and then put a layer of noodles on bottom. Spoon a good amount of sauce over noodles. Next beat 2 eggs w/fork. Put ricotta cheese in bowl and add beaten eggs. Mix well. Add several dollops of the ricotta cheese mixture evenly over sauce layer. Then sprinkle parmesan cheese (freshly grated is better) over this. Next add grated Mozarella cheese over it. The repeat layers, starting over with noodles, sauce, cheeses, etc. End layers with grated Mozarella cheese. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes till cheese is lightly browned on top and it is heated all the way through.  Let sit for a few minutes before cutting into squares.

Add a salad or green beans with garlic bread and I promise it won't disappoint anyone at the table! It's a huge hit for any crowd I've ever made it for.

[Forewarning: it does take some time to prepare so plan accordingly.]

This can also be made ahead of time-- the day before and refrigerate. Leftovers can be frozen for another meal!

I use this same sauce recipe for spaghetti or other kinds of pasta. Leftover spaghetti sauce can be frozen. You can put it back into the empty prego sauce jar (make sure to leave a little space at the top for it to expand in freezer). --per Meemaw =)

Hope you all enjoy my Meemaw's Lasagna as much as Lee and I do!

P.S. If you make it, let me know how it goes. =)

Sneaky Snake

It started out like every other morning. A little cleaning here and there, I was getting ready to have a friend and fellow coach's wife over that evening with her newborn baby to take a few newborn pictures. I was taking the trash out of the kitchen when I noticed our golden retriever playing with something on the floor (or so I thought). It only took me one step closer to realize it was a SNAKE! Ellie (our dog) was trying to catch it when my scream scared everyone into a panic. My mind was racing...

How did this snake get in the house?! 

How long has it been here?! 

What do I do now?!

All I could do was scream. Like a crazy high school girl, I kept screaming and raced for my phone. Of course, my husband was in football practice at the time. Consequently, my panic filled phone calls went to my brother and father. Surely someone can tell me what to do, right? I mean, who is actually prepared to find a snake in their kitchen?!

I kept a safe distance while still keeping my eyes locked on the bottom of the fridge where it had slithered under (all the while, praying it wouldn't somehow find a way inside my fridge). I ran into the other room to get a flash light to see if I could find the snake underneath the fridge, in hopes that I could end this whole process.

No. Such. Luck.

The minute the light hit the snake, it came running out and made a swift turn into a small crack in the bottom of my cabinets.

Awesome.

Now came the waiting game...

I sat up on the counter on opposite side of the kitchen and let our dog, Ellie, sit in between me and the snake filled cabinet. So there I was, terrified, waiting for my husband to call me and tell me what to do...

Hours went by, but I wasn't about to let my eye leave those cabinets. This snake was NOT making it past my kitchen.

It was the best sound when my phone rang and Lee was on the other side saying he was headed home to kill it for me. This 5 month pregnant, city girl was thrilled to say the least.

When Lee got home of course the snake decided to stay put in his hiding spot. Nothing was bringing him out. We tried everything, making ourselves look like crazy people in the process. I decided it was time to call in reinforcements. I called our pest control company only to find out they don't deal with snakes. They referred me to Critter Control. The man at the critter control told me to get glue traps and set them where the snake had gone into the cabinet and just wait and see if it ever came out. He also warned me that it may be days, or even weeks before the snake decided to come back out and that the glue traps were not a sure bet. Not what I wanted to hear.

As my husband was headed back out to his truck to return to work, I heard him yelling. He found a snake! We thought for sure that had to have been the same snake in the garage. That it had somehow found its way out and was fleeing the scene.

Being the paranoid person that I am, I decided to go ahead and leave the glue traps down just in case. It can't harm anything right?

THANKFULLY I did!!! The little critter decided not an hour later to try and make an escape back on to my kitchen floor. The trap I had laid BARELY caught it but captured it none-the-less.

HALLELUJAH! 

I left the snake on the trap, as it was not dead just stuck to the pad, and headed out to run some errands. "Lee could kill it and deal with it when he gets home" I told myself. When I returned from my errands, it had moved! Still on the trap, but positioned differently. I knew right then and there that I had to kill it and get it out of my house! After gaining enough courage, I took the trap outside and smashed the snake with a shovel and threw it in the trash. Phew! This 6 hour snake catching charade had finally ended... so much for getting anything of worth accomplished today.

Lessons from this story:

 1.) Keep sticky glue pads in your house at all times. You never know when you may need one.

2.) The minute you find that you've caught something on your glue trap, kill and dispose of it quickly.

3.) Never underestimate country living... you never know what you may find.

Gender Reveal

It's a BOY!!! 

A big thank you to our awesome football team who helped us announce our exciting news! I'm sure our little baby will have oh so many big brothers to look after him.

Baby Blank waving to the camera! =)

See you in January Baby Blankenship! =)