Nutella Brownies

I found this quick and easy recipe on pinterest HERE. My husband l.o.v.e.s. Nutella so I am always willing to try something new with it. And this one looked too simple to pass up. Only 3 ingredients, come on now. 

Nutella Brownies

1 cup Nutella

10 tablespoons flour

2 eggs

 Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

I think the baking time can be a little tricky. I only had these in the oven for 25 minutes, I usually always cut the time 5 minutes short to make sure I don't over bake. I think because the batter was so small in the muffin tin, they would have been fine baking for only 15 minutes. These turned out a little burnt, but I still ate them, haha! I put a little Nutella on top like icing and they were fine. I will definitely make these again until they come out perfect! 

Weekend Review

I had a really nice, long holiday weekend and was pretty productive. I think weekends should always be 3 days. Just sayin. ;)

Friday I took Ruger for a ride to the vet. We just had to pick up his vetsulin and some more dog food, but he loves rides so much I decided to take him with me. We had just enough vetsulin for Friday morning, so that was my first goal of the day to pick up his new order. It has come in earlier but wasn't shipped on ice which ruins it. So the vet had another order placed and mailed overnight. Thank goodness.  

When we go for rides I have to put my back seats down all the way. He won't stay in the "truck" of my car can't stay on the seats either. He learned this from riding in Jay's truck initially, and now especially since he can't see, I can't change things up on him. One time I tried to put him the "truck" to see what he would do, and by the time I closed the back and got in the driver seat, Ruger had already hopped over the back seats and had his face in mine. Haha it was hilarious! He may be blind but he's not dumb. Needless to say the seats went down and he was happy. 

The rest of the weekend I spent cleaning and crafting and baking. I was on a roll! For Christmas last year, Jay bought be a menu pad to hang on the fridge. I used it pretty often, a few weeks here and a few weeks there. I liked having it and kept us better organized for dinners. But the pad of paper was too heavy and ripped off the magnets from the back. I tried to glue it back together but it never seemed to stay. Keeping it in the "junk drawer" was not useful for meal planning either. 

I've been telling Jay for a while now that I was going to make a new menu board, and sure enough I finally made it this weekend. I'm so proud of the way it turned out. I took several ideas from pinterest but ultimately I used whatever crafts I already had on hand. I had a cork board that I cut in calf, leftover burlap {still} from our wedding, scrapbook paper, and contact paper. I had mini clothes pins but decided those were too small. So I ran out and bought regular size and some magnetic tape. I knew I wanted the menu pieces to be reusable, I didn't want to throw the paper away after one use. And I knew I didn't want pre-made menu items because we don't always have the same side with the same main dish. So contact paper made them dry erasable! I used the side of a cracker box to make the little box to hold a marker and a few extra laminate pieces. 

Our bathroom closest has been a mess since we moved in. I couldn't ever figure out how to organize it but this weekend I was determined. I bought a couple plastic bins and used a few random boxes I had laying around to separate items. I used stickers to make labels! We have a pharmacy bin, travel bin, extras bin,  a box for nails, and a box for all the random stuff, like all the soaps and lotions I've collected. I know, it's cheesy but I was so excited, haha! I sent this picture to Jay after I was done, he not near as excited as I was. 

For July 4th, Ruger and I couldn't wait for our man in blue to get home so we could celebrate. I made a hot dog dinner with chili sauce, baked bbq beans and grilled asparagus. The weather was nasty most of the weekend and Jay worked, bleh, but I wanted to "celebrate" as best we could. Jay had a long day and was pretty tired so we didn't venture out to see any fireworks. We sure heard them though. And Ruger was scared of the booms. I've always enjoyed July 4th no matter what our plans are, because it's the anniversary of the day Jay first said he loved me. I'm a sucker for any kind of anniversary and will use any reason, big or small, to celebrate our relationship. 

I also made some Nutella brownies this weekend - more on that in my next post!! ;)

Buchanan Carnival

I know, I lied in the previous post... forgive me?! :)

Anyhoo...

Ever since I first started dating Jay, we've gone to the Buchanan Carnival. We haven't missed one yet. He even worked a few times, but hey, that still counts. The Buchanan Carnival will always be special to me because that is where he first told me he loved me. What makes it even more fun is that he did it on July 4th under the fireworks. {insert cheesy aww here ;) hehe}. Now, we haven't made it back on the 4th the last 2 years, but we still make it to the carnival no matter what. 

So fast-forward to this year. We were able to plan a day to go with his family; his parents, brother and his wife, and our cute as a button niece. We had so.much.fun! My favorite carny food is hands-down vinegar fries and raspberry ice cream. My FIL introduced me to the raspberry, I can't have anything else now! Obsessed. Jay's favorite carny food would be Petro's. It's Frito pie in a bag. Delicious but not something I have to have every time.

Now I'm not one to enjoy carnival rides. I feel like if the ride can be broke down into pieces, put on a truck, and travel down the road to the next location... I'm not getting on it. Those things are scary. And of course while we were walking around we saw a guy "fixing" a part to this very tall, upside down twirly, ride. No thank youuu! But the kiddie rides seem okay. They go slow. And stay on the ground.  Those are good in my book.

Our niece wanted to get on some rides. She is a few months after 2 so her options were limited by height. She was able to ride several though and she had a blast. A couple of the rides she had to have an adult ride with her because she was too small. It was the cutest thing when she wanted Jay to ride with her, and I got to ride a few with her too. Had a ball!

I can't wait until next year. I hope we can plan to go with Jay's family again. It was definitely more fun. And next year I'm sure our niece will be just as fun if not more to watch!

{walking with Uncle Jay to the carousel // too scared to ride at first}

{had to ride with mommy first, and then she rode with me! she had to ride the doggy too}

{Dizzy Dragon ride with Uncle Jay // Wiggle Worm with Aunt Megan}

{her laugh is so contagious, such a cutie!}

Life Lately...

Le blog is A-L-I-V-E again! Oh how, I've missed this! I know I've come and gone a few times over the past several months, but I'm here and I'm here to stay! I really have missed this community and keeping in touch with some bloggy friends, so here's to a fresh start and commitment! :)

So life has been G-O-O-D lately. Really good. So good I haven't taken the time to get on my computer, haha. 

I've been married to my love-man for A YEAR AND HALF today! Say what?! I cannot believe it's been 1.5 years already. And I love him more than ever. 

We recently have been enjoying a lot of snow. And I like me some snow! This time exact same time last year snow dumped on us too. Valentine's weekend I might add. Let's hope it happens again next year! What made this year even more fun, it happened on a Monday which was a federal holiday, so I was off work, and it was already my hubs day off, AND I had already taken off the next day off to spend with him since he was working Valentine's weekend... which then meant I didn't have to worry about making it into work with the snowy conditions or feeling guilty for calling out because I had preplanned to be off! Woop woop! We had a great time together. It's these simple kind of days, just hanging out, that make married SO enjoyable. Life is never boring when you LIVE with you best friend. 

{selfies while the husband shovels}

{my heart rides around in there}

{thinking about making a run for it... or not}

{someone looooved eating the snow}

{butt and butt, haha! ready to go for a riiiiide!}

And that's all for now, y'all! Let's catch up again tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow! :)

Moving

The big news around here is that my grandma, Lali, officially moved here yesterday! This has been in the works for months and it's finally here! My parents remodeled their basement and had an apartment built for her, complete with kitchen and everything! It's so exciting knowing she is living here now. Next up is my aunt and uncle, they will be moved up here by the end of the year! 

It's really bittersweet though. I'm going to miss her house in Atlanta and all the memories we made there. I'm going to miss everything about it, my grandfathers rose garden, the swing by the driveway, the basement shuffle board, and the pink bathroom. But, nothing will compare to having her here. In the same state. The same city. In the same house as my parents. And I can see her whenever I want any day of the week. I could not be more happy about this huge change! 

{my husband, me, and Lali on our wedding day}

{me and Lali last night in her new home}

P.S. You would never know she is 88! :)

Husband's Birthday!

I'm back, back again! Sorry for the long pause in blogging. Life gets hectic sometimes and the last thing I do most nights is get on the computer. By the time I get home in the evenings after work and the gym, shower, make dinner, and clean up, I then plop down on the couch and enjoy a new snuggles with my dog before going to bed myself. Then again and again and again day after day. 

But I have my blogging mojo back after a few friends have asked me to start posting again. And no better time to start then to share my husband's birthday! 

Today is my husband's birthday and I've had so much fun celebrating him. He's working nights this weekend so it's only been a little celebration but fun nonetheless. I absolutely love birthdays and making it a point to celebrate the person. My husband feels the complete opposite, ha. He doesn't see what the fuss if all about. This little cutie has grown into the most handsome man I am lucky enough to call MY husband! We are gonna make cute babies one day. 

Anyways, since he is working nights this weekend I've had plenty of time to cook and bake some of his favorites! One of the best ways to a man's heart is through his stomach! 

Jay requested Dirt Pudding and of course I had to make it for him. I've never made it before and didn't think there was anything to it. My friend Ashley from work has made it for several work functions and I had to get her recipe. Let me tell you, this Dirt Pudding is the bomb dot com! And my husband loved it! 

What you need: 

1 package regular Oreo cookies

1 stick butter

1 8oz block of cream cheese

1 large tub of cool whip

1 large chocolate instant pudding box

3 cups of milk

1 cup confectionary sugar

1st layer: Crush Oreo cookies. Melt butter and mix with crushed cookies. Press cookies into a 9x13 pan. Same some for the top.

2nd layer: Mix cream cheese, confectionary sugar, and 1/2 tub of cool whip. Beat until smooth. Spread over first layer.

3rd layer: Mix chocolate pudding and milk together and let it get a little firm/thick. Pour on top of second layer.

4th layer: Spread remaining cool whip on top and sprinkle with remaining cookies. 

I also decided to try a new chicken recipe I found HERE on Pinterest. Let's just say Pinterst for the win today! Apparently there is a restaurant out west called Wingers that has pretty famous chicken. I made their Buffalo Sticky Fingers.  This chicken was really good and pretty easy to make. My husband really liked it too, double yay!  

Today is also our dogs birthday too! Sweet Ruger is 7! Jay brought him home just a few weeks after he was born and they have been inseparable ever since. Our friends gave us a brand new Orivs bed they had acquired for FREE because they didn't need it. Ruger LOVES this bed. So thankful for thoughtful friends. Ruger also got a lot of carrots today to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, with his health problems he can't have any treats even for special occasions. But carrots make him do backflips so we are good!