ten days until Christmas

i have slacked majorly on my blogging lately. lots of remodeling, baking, and shopping have consumed my life. however, i am excited to say, after over two months of our kitchen floor being torn up and the house being covered in dust and grit we now have gorgeous new hardwood floors throughout our main floor! the best part was when marc walked from the bedroom to the kitchen and he came back all smiles saying how nice it was not to have to wear shoes into the kitchen anymore! we've had fun using our new shark steam mop too - got an awesome black friday deal on this for only fifty bucks! so far we love it and i'd highly recommend it to anyone - WAY easier than moping!

i saw a picture today reminding me that we only have ten more days until Christmas. this year i have been in such a festive holiday mood. i am sure the fact that i get to spend a WHOLE WEEK with my sister - have not seen her in over a year and a half - helps that mood! i enjoyed shopping for all of the little ones in mine and marc's families this year! we went from having two nieces and nephews to five and a sixth on the way! and the fact that december is the six month countdown to our big day gets me even more excited!

we had a fun holiday theme/tacky sweater party this weekend at our friend's home. it was great seeing the looks everyone put together for it. needless to say we had cindy lou who, uncle eddie(s), frosty, the leg lamp from a christmas story, and many awesome tacky christmas sweaters! the lovely hosts, brit and jp, put together a great time for the second year now. a few snaps from the night...

  

to end an eventful weekend we decided to make this yummy taco salad

 

 taco salad

1 head of lettuce
1 bag of frozen steam corn
1 can of black beans (drain)
jar/fresh jalapenos (as many as you'd like - optional)
1 pack of cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
1 lb grilled/baked chicken (we used Perdue frozen grilled chicken strips)
ranch dressing
barbeque sauce

cook chicken and corn. mix chicken with a little barbeque and ranch - set aside. chop the lettuce and layer the bottom of the dish, add some barbeque and ranch, then half of your tomatoes, a little more of both sauces (you will add some after each layer). add some black beans, sauces, corn, sauces, and jalapenos. put all of your chicken in. then, layer everything one more time in the same order - adding sauce after each layer. on top, crunch up regular tortilla chips and cover with mexican cheese. this is best once it sits in the fridge for a while - make it the morning of or even the night before for best results.

this recipe makes a full trifle dish, we did it in a large bowl and medium bowl - didn't have anything big enough :/
enjoy!

mini vacay

after a long week at work i was so excited to escape for the weekend. with marc heading to vegas, i figured it would be the perfect time to go visit my mom and do a little wedding planning! the weather was warm and sunny all weekend. i went and tried on bridesmaid dresses - this has been the hardest thing for me to find/pick out. i finally [think] i have found the best dresses for my ladies.

every time my mom and i get together we usually end up treating ourselves to p.f. changs - my favorite! however, we tried the new crispy korean chicken wings and i would not recommend them. if you are new to the place i do highly recommend the crab wontons, lettuce wraps, and tuna tataki - these have never failed me! i could not leave the beach without some pizza from mellow mushroom - it is amazeballs!

we got free tickets to the dickens christmas show and decided to spend our sunday afternoon breezing through it. we got lots of ideas for christmas decor - plan on crafting some of those next weekend! i also picked up this cute wine glass and garden flag.

 this will be great when getting cozy next to the fire and cheering on some tarheel basketball!

i can not wait to hang this cute guy out for christmas!

engagement

marc and i had our engagement photo shoot last month and just got them back last week [so exciting!!] i feel like once you start with [official] wedding stuff it all begins to feel real. we got the pictures taken at marc's parent's lake home at smith mountain lake, va. it was a beautiful evening and one gorgeous sunset. laura ashworth photography did our pictures and we loved working with her. with all the engagement talk, i figured i would give the short version of our engagement.

we went out of town for the weekend with marc's family to the greenbrier for a little r&r. it was perfect winter weather and the mountains were breath taking. our last night there marc wanted to walk out front and see the resort at night [his excuse was to see the lights-there were none] so i went along with no idea what he had up his sleeve. we walked down the sidewalk and he hugged me close, gave the sweetest little speech, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him. no i did not cry, i went into shock! it was such an exciting and memorable moment. i said yes [of course] and the ring fit perfectly! ahhh it still makes me smile to this day when i think about it. and no worries, he is a gentleman and asked my daddy for permission before popping the question.

here are a few photos we loved the most!

spootacular fun

all of the ladies

marc[a little creepy] and me

mario, princess peach, and luigi

i know i am a little behind, but i wanted to post some photos from our halloween fun last weekend. i did learn that halloween can be the best time for people watching. i loved seeing all the different costumes. and it is much more fun [and original] making a costume versus buying one of those overpriced, cheaply made ones.

a little halloween throwback [five years ago]

taco soup

the weather has been nuts lately. one week we have seventy degree days and the next it's chilly and in the fifties. with the cold blowing in this weekend i felt it would be the perfect time to throw together some taco soup! (i must credit my mom for this yummy recipe)

 all of my ingredients

 brown the meat, onions, and jalapenos in the pot you're going to cook the soup in (less clean up)

 dump all of the other ingredients into the pot and mix together

 let cook on low/simmer no less than 1 hour (i left mine for like 3 hours)

i enjoy mine with a little sour cream and cheese (you can never have too much cheese)


taco soup

2 lbs hamburger (i used ground turkey - could also use shredded chicken)
1 onion
2 packs of ranch dip mix
2 packs of taco seasoning mix
2 cans of kidney beans
2 cans of black beans
2 cans of corn
2 large cans of petite diced tomatoes
2 cans of rotel
1 large can of tomato sauce

brown hamburger/turkey (if you use shredded chicken then cook the onion and jalapenos and mix the chicken in with everything else). add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour or longer.

serve with graded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. enjoy!

*if you are not a fan of spicy food, then you can use mild rotel and leave out the jalapenos. however, if you like it hot, use hot rotel and hot & spicy taco seasoning. 

now with our happy, full tummies maybe i can get marc to help me finalize our wedding guest list!

newbie

hello! this whole blog thing is new to me. my lovely bestie Laura Wyatt set me up with this fabulous blog design! i am excited to get into the blogging world and show y'all all the creative, fun, exciting, and stressful things i've got going on. with a wedding eight short months away and a fixer-upper my fiancé and i are always starting new projects. follow me into the life of a future southern wife as i am making a house transform into a home, planning for our wedding, and my attempts at mastering my mama's delectable southern cooking.