Food, Cheap Glasses and Birthday's

All my life I have been an olive lover,

OLIVE YOU XOXO

So when I was watching Instastories the other day and saw a pasta & olive dish, I took a screen shot and wanted to make it! Its not a formal recipe, here is the pic from Cassie at Sugarplum, someone me and my Mom both enjoy following:

It's pretty easy and affordable, here is a pic of cooking everything:

I will admit not all the olives made it into the pot, I was eating them!! So good, I can't stop!

And the final product came out pretty good! I nice big bowl of pasta, olives and cheese with some garlic butter Texas toast on the side, very good!

There is always something comforting to me about a grilled cheese! They are so simple and delish, great with tomato soup too! I ordered from Grochy's Deli this week at work, it had the fancy muenster cheese on it, my favorite!

I love the weekends, especially when we pick up Slopes BBQ!! Its close to our house and so good. Best green beans around and fried okra, of course we got some sweet tea too!

I also added these cute mats from Lakeside Collection to our front steps, love them so far! I am thinking of ordering some more for my brother too...wink wink!

If you are an Atlanta native you are probably familiar with radio/TV personality Clark Howard. Clark is really good with money and always shares great money saving tips. I have had my eyeglasses for about 6 years, they were not too bad except they didn't wrap around the back of my ear, so every time I would bend down, the slip off my face. I only wear glasses at night so its not a huge deal to me and I didn't want to may a lot. Enter Clark Howard's website, he recommended Zenni glasses, the frames were $7 bucks! You can pick from a large variety on the website, then enter your Rx # and the size, they provide a ruler and you are done. With the frames and glasses it came out to about $25 with shipping...SCORE!! Especially for people who wear glasses!!

Donut ever give up!!

A sweet message :-)

Happy Birthday to my sweet friend Katie!!

Here we are at work celebrating her special day!! Katie is so sweet, very smart and a great babysitter, my girls love her as do so many others XOXO

My sweet Mother In Law also celebrated her birthday, she is currently in Alaska right now and we will celebrate when she comes back home. I struck gold when she became my MIL, she is always there for me and my family, so kind, always compassionate, fun to be around and very positive. She is the best Omma ever!!

I am so excited for September cause it means I can decorate for fall..even though its summer!!



Updates Around The House

I texted my family today that I could no longer afford summer!!

I try really hard not to rush thing and enjoy each moment, that was until I paid my August AC bill today...WOW!!! It cost a lot to stay cool here is GA, now I can officially say, bring on fall y'all!!

I did some updates to our patio I wanted to share today!

Don't worry, this is the before pic! I have loved this outdoor carpet from Walmart, but as you can see after 3 years the weather has taken its toll on it, turning a little black. I have been wanting to get a new rug out here, but they are not cheap!! Even at my go to Walmart you are looking at a lot of money.

After a lot of internet shopping I went with this pretty big one for Target and I am so glad I did, it looks awesome!! It is really soft and brightens the patio up.

After some help from Hubby and the girls, I got the patio put back together, I even got these yellow seat cushions from Ebay, the entire set was $25 which is a BIG SCORE, usually they run $25 a cushion. These came from Hong Kong so it took like a week and a half to ship, but I think they work! I loved my other ones, but they got some mildew spots on them so it was time to freshen up!

This is defiantly the prettiest picture of the new carpet, don't you think?!

I also got this cute arrow sign and white flower for our bathroom that we repainted. They both came form Hobby Lobby. I am hoping to eventually paint that cabinet white, hopefully soon!!

I have been using PizzaHut.com to place my orders and score some rewards points, I got this pizza, breadsticks (Coco's fav) and cinnamon sticks for $10...SCORE!

I love getting Taylor's weekly folder on Friday's and seeing all she has learned. I was so impressed with her when I saw how she is learning to write her name!!! GO TAY!!

The best part of my day, every day is getting to see my sweet girls, look at that big smile, this was because Shimmer and Shine came on TV!!



What I Wore & Church

If you follow along with the blog you have heard me mention how much I love The Cotton Stem blog, Erin has the best Instagram stories and I love her farmhouse style. Recently she came out with a line of t shirts and you know I was all over it!

I wore this tee on the weekend and paired it with a black skirt for work. I love the simple message Erin gives, YOU DO YOU!

Just be your best self!!

I got this super comfy Joe Boxer dress at Kmart.com for $5...score!! I wear it all the time, its a little big in the waist so I have been using my dress clip to get a more fitted look. I love the little flower print!

I picked this black and white stripped dress up at Walmart for $10, I love the side pockets and thought it would be something cheap and affordable for football season starting. GO DAWGS and FALCONS!

More stripes, right?! I have had this short sleeve maxi for a while, I can't remember where I got it fun but I love it, I usually pair it with my tan light weight vest and brown sandals. Its a great piece for summer and fall!

Nothing says fun and sun like a Lilly P print, I got this skirt from Sarta Designs and paired it with my Walmart white top and Target gold sandals.

I got this new top from Shein.com, it was listed as a dress but when I put it on, it was a little short to be a dress for me, especially at work so I paired it with my khaki skinny pants. Its a babydoll top which I love, helps hide that belly!

If you are like me you have been seeing so many pretty kimonos all over Instagram, I love the look! I got this one from Shein.com and paired it with my navy Target dress and booties, its so light weight, love it! I felt like Stevie Nicks!

It is always a special treat for me when I get to take Taylor out for ice-cream, I think I get more excited then she does! You can see the Paw Patrol came along with us, we both got some Gummy Bears in our froyo!

Sweet Taylor on the way into church XOXO

Snoozing after church!



Visit To The Dentist & Lemon Chicken

Hey Everyone! Hope you had a nice weekend, the weather in GA today has been kind of fall like, very comfortable and a slight breeze. I know as Americans we are all thinking of the people who are dealing with Hurricane Harvey and wishing them all the best, from what I see on the news, its really bad there. Not so sure how to jump from what they are dealing with to a trip to the dentist, neither one is too much fun right?

Its always odd when we see our friends/family struggling and life is still moving along for others of us.

Taylor has been to the dentist a few times, but Daddy usually takes her during the summer, during her list visit we found 2 cavities that need to be filled so I took her back the other week to get the approval done. She goes to Children's Dentistry in Cumming and its the coolest office I have ever seen!

Here she is in the Pineapple Movie Theater!

After a visit inside the movie theater we checked out the cutest turtles!!

This visit was just an exam to see the cavities, it was really fast and she didn't get upset, go Taylor!

For her awesome behavior she got to pick out a new toothbrush and a treasure from the treasure box! Wish my dentist did this! Later next month I will get to take Taylor to get her cavities filled, not exactly looking forward to this one!!

While we were at the dentist I had some yummy lemon chicken cooking in the crock pot, it was very simple and tasted really good!! This came from www.LaurenGreutman.com

Lemon Chicken Awesome

-Ingredients

-Skinless chicken breast

-1/4 onion, chopped (love my onion chopper pictured above)

-1 tbsp. garlic

-2 chicken bouillon cubes

-2-3 tbsp. lemon juice

-1/2 tsp. basil

-1/4 tsp. pepper

-34/ cup water

-2 tbsp. cornstarch

-1/4 cup half and half

-1/4 cup water

-Instructions

1. Place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker

2. Top with onion, garlic, spices, lemon juice and 3/4 cup water

3. Cook on low for 8 hours

4. In a small sauce pan, whisk the cornstarch in with 1/4 cup water and half and half

5. Once its thick and bubbly add it to the slow cooker

6. Close the lid and cook for 30 min

7. Serve over rice or pasta

It's not the best pic on a paper plate, but it tasted good, that is what matters, right? I served it with some green beans and couscous, Hubby enjoyed it too!

My sweet girl still smiling after her dentist visit, she always makes me so proud!



Simple Joys

The weekend is loading up, are you ready?!

I know I am! Hope everyone has had a nice week and is looking forward to an exciting and relaxing weekend. Here are some things that made me smile this week, I hope they do the same for you all!

I think I have mentioned before, my office building uses a food delivery service every day called Foodsby, its great and similar to Uber Eats. One day was Chick Fil A so you know I was placing my order! CFA has some of THE BEST cookies around! I mean, they are always warm and melted...YUM! This is defiantly a simple joy of mine!

This week Taylor's Pre K class shared their family pet, here is our cat PK and Taylor!

Here she is on the big screen!! Look at my sweet girl sharing all about her family pet XOXO

While I am getting ready, Coco relaxing on the bathroom floor!

I took the girls to the playground this weekend, it takes about 10 minutes to get there, love enough for Nicole to take an afternoon nap!

While Coco was snoozing, Taylor was having a blast on the playground!

It was defiantly a hot one even in the shade, Coco trying to keep cool!

Although I have not seen it in person, my Mom did a beautiful update at their Athens condo. Notice the wall behind the tv?!?!

And the after!!! WOW!!

That is right, a stone wall!!

Looks so pretty Mom and Dad!

If you have had kids like me, you will understand how many sizes of cloths you have before, during and after pregnancy, its a lot cause our bodies change so much. I still have some dresses I wore during my pregnancies I love but are a little big, instead of getting rid of them I bought these cute dress clips from Etsy and its like getting a new dress for much cheaper! They help make the dress look a little more fitted around the waist.

This pretty yellow dress came from Old Navy, I wore it a lot in my 3rd trimester and was able to wear it again and it look like a regular sundress. Of course if I keep drinking these yummy vanilla milkshakes from McDonalds, I will not need the dress clip!

Traffic at 8:30 PM is NOT a simple joy!

This should be the poster that says Welcome to Cumming on it!

I ran up to CVS and got out the same time the high parents were released from curriculum night...BOO! I sat here for like 20 min, but at least I had a milkshake to help ease the pain!

My baby girls love 3 things, her bottle, her Peppa, and her blankie's. She wants to take them everywhere she goes, with a sweet smile like this, who could say no?!

Here she is will all her favorites going on an evening stroll with me, love her!!



Solar Eclipse 2017

Where did the moon go to get a hair cut?!?!?!

E-clips!!!

Did you like that? Hopefully it made you giggle a little bit?!

Monday, 8/21 was such a fun day for so many people, it was the solar eclipse and I have to say, it was way more fun then I thought it would be, it was VERY cool to see!!

 You know I had my Get Mooned tee ready!! Love this, it was shiny and everyone loved it at work! Its from Tricia at THKLDesings, a GA native!

 Unfortunately my job did make the solar eclipse an excused absence, but for a lot of my family members they took the day off to celebrate! Here is my Dad at the Terrapin Beer Co in Athens, my brother took this, I know they had a good time!

 Thanks to my Hubby, I got a pair of solar eclipse glasses, he had extra in his classroom, SCORE!

 Ready to view the eclipse!

 The eclipse was scheduled to happen around 2:30 here in Roswell so a lot of people in my building gathered on the patio starting at 2 and checked it out, so much fun and excitement! 

 Not too good, but it was the best I could do taking a picture!

 Since so many people headed to the mountains or didn't go to school, traffic was great, I got to pick my sweet girls up almost 15 minutes early...SCORE!

Taylor's class did not go outside but they did do a live stream and make a cool hat!

 I let her wear my glasses when she got home, she was SOOOOO happy! She loves all things space, sun, moon and stars, just like her Daddy!

 A fun night gown to end a fun day! Hope you had fun what ever you were doing, isn't God's work amazing?!