Tis the Season

We had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving with all of our family this year.  George and I have been through a lot in the past year, but we are so beyond grateful for our family and friends, and we felt blessed to be able to spend it with those that we love most.  Here are some quick pictures of Thanksgiving 2011.

Thanksgiving with the Green Family

Our little family

Big Mama with all of her grandkids

Jane and I were determined to finish this 500+ piece puzzle....and we did!

Sisters

George and I have been busy getting ready for the holidays, decorating, shopping, etc.   My Christmas will be spent at work with all the sweet babies, but we will be heading back down to Atlanta soon after to celebrate ours a little late.  We are looking forward to spending more time with family and friends.  Here are some pictures of our new Christmas decor....
 

My favorite ornament.

C, G, and H ornaments

Burlap 'Peace' Sign and Feather Christmas Trees

Burlap bow that I made for the top of the tree

Christmas Tree

Through all the hustle and bustle, let us not forget the true meaning of Christmas.  Wishing you all the happiest holiday season.

"She shall bring forth a son,
and thou shall call His name Jesus;
for He shall save His people from their sins."
~ Matthew 1:21

FIVE

It's hard to believe that this sweet little puppy

turned 5 years old last week!  

It seems like yesterday that we were bringing the little guy home.

Of course, Grandma and Grandpa sent him a birthday box...

filled with toys and treats...

....and a birthday card!

Spoiled?  No, not at all!  Happy Birthday, Henry! 

Crazy about Balsamic

So, it has recently been brought to my attention that I make a lot of recipes with balsamic vinegar, and then I came to the realization that I truly am crazy about it.  I even put it on my turkey wraps that I eat for lunch every day.  Anyway, I wanted to share another recipe I found that I made for dinner tonight.  It was really delicious and for those of you who are like me with an obsession for balsamic, you will love it.  I found the recipe for Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken through Pinterest (of course), and it led me to a really great blog that includes prices for each item you will need for recipes.  The idea is that cooking really does save you money.  Check out the blog, it is pretty cool!    Now we are about to delve into a Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake that I also found on Pinterest.  I had some difficulty getting it to completely cook...the center seemed like jello after the 30-40 minute recommended cooking time.  I think I actually ended up cooking it for an hour or so.  Anyway, I will let you know how it tastes...it could be a total disaster! Happy Fall everyone!

Pork T-Loin Recipe

Pinterest is my new obsession. I encourage anyone who has not yet joined, to go ahead and give in.  It is SO worth it.  I would join just for the recipes alone... I have now made 3 things that I found on the website, and they have all been delicious.  Tonight, I made a brown sugar and balsamic glazed pork tenderloin, and OMG it was the most amazing, delicious sauce I have ever tasted...I just had to share it.  I seriously contemplated eating the leftover glaze with a spoon.  I did not take a picture, but you can click here for the recipe.  Trust me, you will love it!  I did not do the pork in the crock pot, but I am sure it is even more tender and juicy if you do it that way.  Enjoy!!

Busy Busy May

Wow.  The last month has been a whirlwind.  George and I traveled 4 weekends in a row and were out of town almost more than we were actually in town... Knoxville back to Nashville to Chicago back to Nashville to Atlanta back to Nashville back to Atlanta back to Nashville! Phew!  That's a lot... but we enjoyed every minute!  

Our first weekend of travel, we celebrated the marriage of our good friends in Knoxville.  It was a blast to say the least!

The following weekend was our one year anniversary.  We decided to spend it in Chicago, a city that we have both never been to.  We had the best time together exploring the city and reminiscing about the best day of our lives. 

View of Chicago from our room

Architectural Boat Tour

Chocolate dipped strawberries and Champagne sent to our room from our sweet friend Nicole

Brunch on the river

Standing in the glass box at the top of the Sears Tower

Before seeing Peter Pan

Our hotels rooftop lounge was amazing!

Cubs Locker Room 

Tour of Wrigley Field

Millenium Park

The Bean!

One Year!!!  (Dessert and drinks sent from my parents... so sweet!)

  It was a trip we will always remember, and we hope to visit Chicago again soon.  It is such an awesome city!  It was the first of a lifetime of awesome anniversaries. :)  

The next weekend we traveled to Atlanta for my brother-in-law's high school graduation and one of my best friend's engagement party.  

So proud of Franklin!!

Lindsey and Blake's Engagement Party

We had such a great weekend at home with family and friends.  We were back to Nashville for just a few days of work and then it was back to Atlanta!  George went to his good friend's Bachelor Party near Augusta and dropped off Henry and me at my parents.  It was so great to spend time with my parents since they were out of town the previous weekend.  It was also so great to see some of my best girl friends I had not seen in way too long. 

 Our travels have finally come to an end until mid-July when we will be headed to Savannah for another wedding.  :)

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Hoppy Easter!

Easter in Pictures

Easter Tie

George surprised me with some Easter Toms!

Easter Eggies

Henry was so excited about his new toy and treat!

Easter Brunch!

Easter Bloody Mary Bar= Best Thing Ever!!

Finally got the flowers planted!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

TwentyEight

My sweet, young hearted, handsome husband turned a very old  mature 28 last week.  I just cannot believe he will be the big 3-0 in two years!  Where did the time go??  George had just turned 22 when we first met, and it is so hard to believe that was 6 whole years ago.  I like to tease him because he will always be a year and a half older than me.. no changing that!

Anyways, I, of course, had to work the night of his big day, so we opted to celebrate throughout the weekend.  And it was such a wonderful weekend.  Between the Braves season starting back and the Masters, George's birthday could not be at a more appropriate time of the year.  Friday night, we dined at Tin Angel in Nashville, and it was very delicious.  We had a reservation and our table was right next to a TV which we had changed to the Braves home opener.  Could not have been more perfect.  

UGA Hat from my parents signed by Vince Dooley

Frozen Chocolate Mousse Espresso Dessert = Heaven!

Dinner at Tin Angel

Saturday,  George and I  ran some errands which included birthday shopping and an attempt at gardening.  I have been wanting to get some flower boxes for our balcony so I finally went and bought 2 flower boxes, white petunias, and soil.  Well, the flower boxes do not fit the rail on our balcony... so, now the flowers are still (5 days later) sitting on the porch in their little containers.  We returned the flower boxes in hopes to find some that would fit the rail.  No luck.  Our neighbors have some, so I finally asked them where to find them.  Well, after all that, turns out you have to buy something else to hang them with in order for the boxes to the fit the rail.  Oh how I wish that George and I had a little more common sense were a little more handy.  :)  Anyways, as soon as I get the flower boxes up and planted, I hope to post some pictures.  George thinks the flowers are going to die before I even get them up.  We will see.  Oh, and he has never heard of the term 'green thumb'.. seriously??

I think last Saturday night was one of my favorite nights that George and I have had here in Nashville.  We decided to use the grilling basket that George's parents got him for his B-day and grilled BBQ chicken and vegetables at the pool.

It was a beautiful night, and it was so wonderful.  After we ate a delicious meal, we lounged on the chairs, listened to the little kids playing in the hot tub, and talked about the stars.  Seriously.  It was perfect.

Taking a Snooze

George's birthday weekend would not have been complete without ice cream, so we went to Sweet Cece's afterwards and had some frozen yogurt.  

Sunday, the last day of George's long birthday weekend, we spent at the pool.  I was determined to get rid of my paleness but we also wanted to watch the final day of the Masters, so we ventured up to the pool/cabana and did a little of both!  Our pool is so great because it has a cabana that has couches, a long table and chairs, and a huge flat screen. It is truly like a resort!  George really wanted to have a special drink to watch the Masters so I made a drink that I made for the 4th of July last year.  

We spent the day with our good friends, Kelci and Anthony, at the pool and then headed back to our place to watch the end of the very exciting Masters!

What a perfect weekend!!

Happy Birthday to the man I adore.  I love you more and more each day.

Still here...

Well, I haven't been much in the mood to blog recently.  Not sure why, just not much to say. Life has been good, and we have had lots of visitors here in Nashville which has been awesome.  While George was out of town one weekend, my sisters came to visit and we had a really great time.  Within 5 minutes of them being here, we were all 3 sitting in one chair taking goofy pictures together on my MacBook, crying we were laughing so hard.  I would share, but my MacBook's hard drive died...so, everything was wiped out. :(  My best friend, Jodi, and her BF, Jeremy, came to visit the the next weekend.  It seriously monsooned the whole time they were here, but we still had so much fun together.  

 George and I have been doing lots of Spring cleaning and organizing.  The third bedroom/ junk storage room that we planned to eventually make a nursery office is now clear and ready for whatever may come next. ;)  We are so excited to be heading home this weekend.  We have not been to Atlanta since Christmas!!  That is totally a record for me.  CANNOT WAIT to see family and friends! Especially excited to meet my younger sister's new boyfriend! :)  Will post pics after the weekend!

♥♥♥

George and I had such a wonderful first Valentine's Day as husband and wife!  After a fun weekend of going to dinner with friends and attending the Predators game (my first hockey game ever!), we decided to stay in and do a little (husband sitting on the couch watching b-ball, golf, etc. while wife prepares meal) husband-wife cooking together. ;)  

After church, we did our weekly Publix run, and then I made some delicious Buffalo Chicken Melts with my panini press.  I have this one and really LOVE it.  You can only make one sandwich at a time, but it does a really great job and is easy to clean.  

The dinner menu consisted of an appetizer, dinner, and dessert.

Marinated Tomatoes and Brie on Crusty French Bread

I was not the hugest fan of the appetizer.  I had a really difficult time cutting the brie into 'bite sized pieces'.  It kind of turned into a gooey mess.  George LOVED it, though... so I guess that is what matters.  He ate all but maybe 2 off this plate.

Herbed Shrimp and Feta Pasta Bake

I do not usually compliment my own food, but ,WOW, this recipe is a keeper.  We bought the shrimp fresh from Whole Foods and I had to clean and peel the shrimp (deveining is so gross to me).  It only took me about an hour to do a pound, but it was SO worth it.  The shrimp was sweet and so delicious.  This recipe has feta, swiss, and mozzarella cheese... definitely not the healthiest but oh.so.good.

Heart Shaped Sugar Cake Cookies

We decorated cookies like we were little kids and had so much fun.  George did the Georgia 'G' on about half of them... so creative and romantic, right?  

So grateful for my two Valentine's that have totally stolen my heart.  I am one lucky girl. :)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! XOXOXOXO