backyard barbeque- family style

My beautiful little cousin!                      My brother and his new GF

 Going through the food line!                                      Husby and his friend Adam.

The beautiful dessert!

Since we have moved into our new house (a year ago) we have never had a family barbeque. You know, the ones where you invite everyone you know...? So we decided this was just the weekend for that. We had around 15ish people come and everything turned out great. Well, besides the weather. Because it rained on and off all day and the high was 98 degrees it was super humid and sticky. So, the backyard barbeque turned into an indoor barbeque! But that was okay. 

Some of our friends also came and ended up staying the night. We had such a wonderful day. I love catching up with family and friends; getting filled in on everything that is happening back home.

This was a big day for my little brother who introduced his new girlfriend to the family. She was super nice and I'm excited to get to know her more. 

The day was perfect. We should totally do this more often! 

What did you all do this weekend??

Lovin Life

Today has been one of those days. Yup, those days were all you can do is think about how blessed you are.

Blessed that you have the most amazing husby.
Blessed that you have fabulous friends and family.
Blessed that you have your health.
Blessed that you have had amazing career opportunities.
Blessed that you get to wake up everyday in a beautiful home that's yours.

I just thank my sweet Jesus who has given me so much.
Today I have been on the verge of tearing up because I'm so thankful.

Psalm 138:1
I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.

I hate to sounds so corny and mushy today!
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend filled with lots of love.

Husby and I are having a cook-out with some family and friends tomorrow.  I can't wait to share pictures with you all!!!!!!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

What I'm Loving with Jamie

This is my very first time posting with the WILW link!

My sweey Howard and Husby!!

Just Picking Wildflowers!

Just Beautiful. Simple, Classic, and Chic! 

 Anything involving Mason Jars I love. I'm really into this soft purple.

 How fabulous is this? I love the vintage feel this gives.

This is just a little something that makes me smile.







Flowers in full bloom always makes me happy.

Cooking with Herbs!

One of my favorite ways to flavor food is by using herbs. This year husby and I planted our first herb garden. I'm LOVING basil, rosemary, and lemon verbena.


I found this recipe a while ago and use it ALL the time!

Salt-Free Herb Seasoning
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried dill weed
1 tbsp. dried lemon verbena
1/2 cup dried minced onion
1 tbsp.  celery seeds
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. dried marjoram
In batches, grind all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container out of the sunlight and away from heat.
This is a small segment I did on our local news talking about herbs and how wonderful they are.
I'm curious... what herbs do you use a lot?
 
Also, for those of you all that do not cook I promise I will not post about food or recipes tomorrow! haha

You can call me... Giada De Laurentiis

One of our surrounding counties asked me to come be a judge in their county fair! How fun is that?? Yes, I know... I get paid to do this!! haha Love my job!

So anyway, Friday I spent all day judging the color, size, texture, and taste of all sorts of local grown items. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture but the biggest cabbage I have ever seen was there!   

There were canned tomatoes, tomato juice, blackberries, peaches, pickles, and the list could go on.

Have any of you all ever canned?  

I was joking with Husby because when I got there on Friday I could hear everyone whisper "that's the judge." They were constantly asking me if I would like a bottle of water or if they could get me anything. haha How funny is that? Little do they know that I am an average person raising my own little garden and canning my own vegetables.  

I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend!

Roasted Vegetables recipe!

One of my favorite things about summer is the Farmers Market. I just love the sense of community. Like I always say, Agriculture is the backbone of our county. We must support our farmers!! So why not shop at our farmers markets, right?

Anyhow, this past weekend seemed to be more like a family function rather than a quick trip to the market and home. Husby and I decided to bring Howard for the very first time. It went great! Everyone loved him and he did so good on his leash.

I love all the bright and colorful items the farmers market has this time of the year. This weekend I bought, patty pan squash, red potatoes, fresh rosemary, tomatoes, a cantaloupe, eggplant, and cucumbers!

Last night I wanted to make something super quick. I had a long day and didn't want to cook a huge dinner so I decided to roast some vegetables. I used 3 patty pan squash, 3 red potatoes, 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and a dash of salt and pepper. I mixed all the ingredients, covers with aluminum foil, and baked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Talk about tasty!

Husby and I love fresh vegetables anyway but I especially loved how quick and easy this side dish was.

What is your favorite vegetable? Any good recipes?? I'm always looking for something new!



Savarino's Cucina- Food Review

In celebration of Husby's birthday I surprised him to an Italian dinner.
Have any of you heard of Savarino's Cucina? It was featured on the Food Network's Dinners, Drive Inns, and Dives show. This mom-and-pop type of restaurant was simply amazing.

We started the the Eggplant Rollatini. This was rolled in ricotta cheese and marinara sauce. Talk about delicious!

We also tried the Stuffed Artichoke. It had bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, and garlic. We love artichoke but weren't huge fans of this.

For the main dish I had the stuffed Manicotti filled with ricotta cheese. YUM!! The  marinara sauce was AMAZING.

I loved that everything was made fresh.We had a fabulous experience at Savarino's Cucina.

Note: not the healthiest meal but SO tasty.

"Life is too short, and I'm Italian. I'd much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size 0." - Sophia Bush

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Savarinos-Cucina/323399606608

Cabo Vacation!

Husby and I went to Cabo to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversery last week. Oh man, was it amazing or what!
Pictures of our beautiful resort!

The delish food!

And us

This was truly a vacation I will never forget! The water was beautiful, the resort was fabulous, the entertainment was great, and we meet some amazing people!

Meet... Howard!

While being on my mini blog break Husby and I got our first pet... Howard! My sweet puppy Howard is the apple of my eye. Howard has brought so many laughs to our house. He happens to be my favorite little thing!
Howard is a mix between poodle and golden retriever. Don't you think he looks like a teddy bear?

Our first married year!

CRAZY!!!!
I can't believe Husby and I have been married for 1 year.
This has truly been the best year of my life and it has FLOWN by!
It gives be goosebumps just thinking about everything that has happened to us this year. We have been blessed beyond belief...
Brad got his very first teaching position, we built our first home, I graduated with my bachelors degree, we got our first pet (sweet Howard), I got my first big girl job and we got to travel to Cabo to celebrate our anniversary. Besides all the materialistic things our marriage keeps growing stronger every day. I'm very excited to see what this year brings!

Inspiration!

Hello Bloggie world. It's so good to see you again.
I know- worst blogger award goes to me...

I have been inspired to get back into blogging. Recently I met a great friend who also blogs. After reading some of hers I decided it was time for me to get back into it. It has always been such a great outlet for me; to express myself... to capture memories. So, needless-to-say... I'm back! And back for good this time!

The past 6 months have been nothing shy of a whirlwind. As my life has drastically changed so will my blog. No more wedding details! I have moved on.

I am now working for the Cooperative Extension Service where I hold the SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program) Educator position. One day I might be hosting a cooking segment on our local news station and the next I am in a classroom teaching! Every day is something new and different.

My blog will now capture some of my work life, some of my personal life, and some of my interest; couponing, decorating, and cooking!

I hope you all continue to read my blog. I know I have a TON of catching up to do!

PS- I am in the process of fixing my background. However, seeing that I am technologically impaired who knows how long this will take ;)