Painted Cabinets

When we moved into our home about 7 years ago the first thing I noticed was the builder grade cabinets and I always said "I need to redo or replace those!" LOL Well, 7 years later I still hadn't gotten up the nerve to do either. Over time we had replaced all the appliances with Stainless Steel and changed the décor probably 10 times! LOL We painted the kitchen a really cool blue last year. Soooo, I decided last month to just do it!!!

I went to Lowes and bought Deglosser and Grey Paint. We removed the doors one at a time and I did each cabinet by itself. It took me probably 7 days from start to finish to get it all done and put back together.

I also had my husband replace all the hardware and two old broken cabinets with new ones. He also added bead board to the ends of each cabinet to give it some character. I don't have a photo but we added a tall pantry style cabinet next to the refrigerator which has added so much storage its ridiculous!!! I love it!!

So here's an older before and an after photo of my handy work!

Abingdon, VA

Every Fall my husband and I take a trip to Abingdon, VA to the Barter Theater and we stay at the Martha Washington Inn.

This year we went up on Saturday and had lunch at Pop Ellis Soda Shoppe and then spent the afternoon in antique stores and walking around town. It was a very nice afternoon. That night we went to the play Kiss Me Kate. It was good, not the best play we have seen but it was entertaining.

Sunday morning we slept in (as a mommy and daddy that is rare!!)then we went down to the hotel restaurant and had a delicious breakfast.

I cherish these short get-a-ways with my sweet husband. They are few and far between but definitely something we look forward to!!!

Im BACK!!!! LOL Summer Fun

Hey!! I'm finally getting back to blogging. I guess its been about a year since I posted...I think?!!

We had a busy summer, but we did find time to go to Florida with my husbands parents to Cocoa Beach and Universal Studios!!! Yay Us!!! We flew down...it was my first time on a plane..I LOVED it!!! Ill never drive anywhere ever again!!

Here are a few pics from our vacation. I feel so behind that I cant possibly post all the things we have done the past year!!

A few highlights of the past several months:
* We flew on a plane (first time for me, Abby, and Brady)
*Decided to take Abby out of private school. She is now in public school and doing great!
*My husband was given an opportunity at work that gave him an AWESOME schedule! He works M-F 5AM-1PM, off weekends and holidays!!
*Brady turned 4!!!
*We are still struggling with Potty training with Mr. Brady...he's stubborn!
*Abby ran Cross Country for her new school.
*I painted my kitchen cabinets
*Brady got stitches for the first time
*Chad and I took and AWESOME vacation to Biltmore Inn and Biltmore house in the Spring.
Ill try to post some pics and details on some of these plus whatever else I can remember!!!!

I'm going to try to revamp the site a little so bear with me!! I have missed blogging!!

American Girl and the Birthday Girl

My daughter turns 10 years old this month so when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday she said she wanted to take a trip with me and her daddy to Atlanta to the American Girl Store and get a new doll.

So instead of a big party we took her down to Georgia for the weekend and went to the American Girl Store. All I can say about it is....it wasnt just a trip, it was an experience!!!!! We had the best time that weekend and we LOVED the American Girl Store!!

The Hotel had an American Girl package that included Abby's own check in, a room with American girl decor and a free bed for the dolls (we got to keep!). They also gave Abby cookies and milk at bedtime and a free snack from the snack bar.

What a fun weekend we had! Here are some pictures from our trip!

Happy Anniversary!

On December 5th we celebrated our 14th Anniversary!!! I cant believe its already been 14 years since we said "I DO". WOW, where does the time go?

I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on my husband. I was in Nashville TN for some job training and he came walking into the class and that was it for me! We talked during breaks and he followed me to a resturant that I went to for lunch (what a stalker! LOL). Then that night we went to downtown Nashville together and well thats all she wrote really! We spent the entire week together and started long distance dating after that. 4 months later he asked me to marry him and 11 months after meeting we were married!!! One advantage of marrying young is I feel like we have grown together and raised each other..LOL Its not always been an easy road or all fun and games but I wouldnt trade it for anything in the world. This man owns my heart and I love him so much. Heres to another 14 years of loving each other and spending everyday with my best friend!!


This has been one of my favorite quotes since I first read it...always makes me think of my husband!

14 years ago....wow we were just young kids with no clue what we were doing! I was 20 and he was 21!

14 years later......more in love than ever and I'd like to think a little wiser!

Its Beginning to Look Alot Like....well you know! LOL

Merry Christmas! I can't believe its already December! WOW, where did the year go? Well I have been busy decorating the house and making yummy treats this past week. My first project was to make something to hang on my front door and forgo the wreath which is what I have always had and I was kind of tired of it. I wanted something different and cute and I found this Holiday Frame on Pinterest.

I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased an open frame (they were half off this week), ribbon, and ornaments and this is what I ended up with. I love it so much! I can also just snip the ornaments off of it and change it for each holiday or season. Very simple and fun to do!!

I also got a yummy treat recipe from my friend and I call them Holiday Pretzels..not sure what they are really called...LOL

You just take square pretzels and melt a Hershey's kiss hug on top of it (or any flavor Kiss)in the oven until soft, about 4 or 5 mins on 200 degrees then top with M&M's. DONT walk away, keep a close eye on them.
So good and very easy to make. These are not diet friendly so I hope my family eats them all soon so I cant eat them!

Our Christmas Tree!

Annual trip to The Fantasy of Trees...we love this event!

Peacock Tree....this year I put up a new tree in the dining room and decorated it with peacock items. I love it, its so cute!

Baked Potato Soup

I recently came across a recipe for Baked Potato Soup on Pinterest. The link took me to Cook.com so thats where this recipe came from. It is the BEST potato soup ever!

I'll post the recipe then some things I did a little different and what I plan to do different next time.

Easy Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

5lbs of potatoes (Diced and Unpeeled)
1 medium onion chopped small
5 teaspoons of minced garlic (I used the king in the jar)(I only used 4tsp..I felt 5 was ALOT of garlic)
64 oz Chicken Broth
16 oz Cream Cheese
1 Tablespoon seasoned salt

Optional toppings: Shredded Cheese, Bacon bits, and green onions

Add potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, and season salt into Crock Pot.
Cook on High for 6 hrs or Low for 10 hrs (I cooked mine for 10 hrs)

After 10 hrs Add Cream Cheese and mix well into soup. I used a potato masher to mix it into the soup.

Stir well until all the cream cheese is melted and mixed in, the broth will turn white.


After I put the soup into the bowls to eat I added shredded cheese and bacon bits on top and it was just like eating a loaded baked potato!!! So Yummy!! and SOOO EASY!

Tips:
I started mine at night and let it cook all night.
I left the crock pot on Warm all day and let the soup just sit there until dinner time.

What I will change next time:
I will leave my potatoes larger. I diced them into very small pieces and I think larger chunks would taste better.
I will use a little less chicken broth....64 oz makes it very soupy.
Like I said before, I used 4 tsp of garlic instead of 5. 4 tsp of garlic seemed to be perfect.

I served mine with biscuits but cornbread would be good too. Maybe even some Mexican cornbread!!

I hope you enjoy, I know I will definately be making this again!!!