Berry Fun

I don't know if I ever shared this on my blog. But the first summer that we lived here, we planted a bunch of berry bushes. Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc. Yum! And every year, we've crossed our fingers. That the snow doesn't kill them. And neither does the heat. But we don't get fruit. Lots of pretty green leaves. But no fruit!! I'm starting to wonder about those little guys! We planted them, because we LOVE fruit that much. But we're still waiting on our first harvest....

But like I said, we LOVE fruit. Especially berries! And I've been dreaming of eating bowls and bowls, of fresh berries. One day. Fingers crossed. Instead, we took a drive yesterday. To the "local berry patch." By local, I mean 2 and a half hours away!!

But you know what? It was totally worth it!! Baskets, buckets, and what not later....I was one happy lady!! I had so many berries. And I've happily sat here, taking in as many as I can. Isn't that part of the Summer fun? Fresh and yummy berries. Maybe next year, our little plants will give us some berries.... ~Chels

I Surprised Him!!

My hubby totally surprised me for Mother's Day. I wasn't expecting anything. For real!! Because I'm pregnant. I know that I feel like a momma. But I'm not really a momma yet. Anyway, my hubs totally surprised me. And completely spoiled me on Mother's Day. I knew immediately, that I wanted to do the same for my love. :)

Weeks ago, I started thinking of what I could do. And I started planning. Ultimately, we went on a long drive to the mountains. Were I surprised my hubby with a new fishing pole, and a new tackle box. Jammed with all kinds of fishing stuff. We spent the day in the mountains. He fished. I enjoyed the quiet time. It's so great to connect with nature. Oh, and I cooked us up a big 'ol picnic lunch! We did end up, stopping at the cutest steakhouse, in the mountains. For dinner, on the way home!

But I know I surprised my hubby. First, that I was able to plan, and pull off the entire day! Second, because I cooked. And it was darn good. Most of what I made, were my hubby's favorite foods. I called my MIL weeks ago, and begged her to help me. Which wasn't a tough thing to do. She was happy to help!! :)

The one thing that I totally did on my own, was I made these ginormous cinnamon buns. For breakfast! I'd seen this recipe, months ago. And I'd been wanting to try it. But to me, it seemed like a "fancy recipe." Something you make on a "Special Day."

I'm pretty sure, that my hubby wondered why I crawled out of bed...at midnight. But I whispered to him, that I was having trouble sleeping. Lately, that has been true. It's just hard for me to sleep now. I'm guessing that it's due to my expanding baby belly. But I told him to go back to bed. I quickly made my way to the kitchen. And started these sweet treats. Knowing that they needed some time, to "do their thang!"

Then I went back to bed. On Friday, I'd prepped all the other food. Things were good to go. And I got up, extra early, on Sunday morning. I put the cinnamon rolls into the oven. With our main course. And headed back to bed. My hubby actually slept through all of this. I was shocked! After 15 minutes, I got out of bed. Pulled out our yummy goodness!! And grabbed my hubby's card.

He was shocked! I'm not sure if he was more shocked that I was celebrating him on Father's Day. Or that I had baked a batch of these sweets. And they were so good! I swear to you, 1 roll, was bigger than my hand!! OMG!!

After our sugary breakfast, we got ready for the day. Headed out to church. Then hit the road. It was a really WONDERFUL day! And I hope that we can turn this into a family tradition. Next year, having our baby girl with us! And these little guys, are going to be a regular for all our "Special Mornings!" ~Chels

For My Lova'

This week, my hubby and I celebrate 4 years of wedded bliss! On Thursday to be exact! Man, time does fly by! Now, we're just months away, from becoming parents. It's just crazy, how fast life moves.

Back to our anniversary. I wanted to do something special for my Lova'. Ya know, he's been so wonderful, during our pregnancy. Actually, he is wonderful all the time! That's why I married him. Ladies, I wasn't that crazy! I knew, this man was special. :)

I want to do something extra special. Take into account, it's like a million degrees here! We have had horrible smoke, from a fire that's a couple hours from us. Outside stuff, just ain't gonna happen. :( And here I had had my hopes on a starlight picnic. Maybe next year! Instead, I figured I'd make my hubs a special dinner. Inside. With the AC blasting!

And like any normal pregnant woman, when I think of food....I think of desserts!! I know, I shouldn't. But it's all I crave these days. And then I remembered. Those "no bake" cheesecakes. In a flippin' jar! Dang it, they look so good.

So I hauled my pregnant self down to Wally World. This morning. In nearly 100 degree weather....at 10AM. Ugh....the "Dog Days of Summer" are here!! I must have spent, 2 hours looking for those cute little jars. Then I gave up. My feet were getting all swollen. My belly was rumbling. Baby girl and momma were hungry. I bought my ingredients. Then hopped over to Subway. :)

One, I can't find any cute jars. To me, they make this dessert. I'll keep hunting. I've got a couple of days. Two, what the heck else am I going to serve? Honky Tonk Husband likes to eat. And until about 20 minutes ago, I hadn't realized, I don't have a menu planned! I need to get on that! ASAP!!

On a good note, I got my hubby's present. And it's all wrapped up! Yay for me! That rarely happens this early in the game. Maybe pregnancy is getting me more "on the ball." Do you have any dinner suggestions? Or plans. Any ideas? I'd LOVE to hear them! My hubby really is a special guy. And I want to show him on our special day! ~Chels

Which Do We Start On??

Tomorrow we find out, whether our Honky Tonk Baby is a boy or girl. I'm so excited!! And so nervous! This pregnancy just seems to be flying by! Here we are, already going to find out if we're going to have a son or a daughter....

It just got me thinking, how real this now feels. Tomorrow, we're halfway! And in 20 very short weeks, we'll be bringing our baby home. Hubs and I, just want a healthy baby. Monday night, after dinner, we both wrote down whether we thought we were having a boy or a girl. We both wrote the same answer! I guess tomorrow, we'll see if we were right.

Because I'm feeling so anxious, I've been searching through Pinterest. I found 2 boy projects, and 2 girl projects. Darn, I'm just so excited to know!! Do you know, we really haven't bought much for Honky Tonk Baby. Sad but true. Mostly because what do you buy? You know, until you know if you're having a boy or a girl.

We've picked up a few packs of white onesies. That I want to try and dye. But I haven't bought dye yet. We've bought our breast pump. And a few blankets. My hubs came home one day, with a stack of books. And some stuffed animals. That's it! We really need to find out whether we're going to be having a boy or a girl....

Remember those projects I was telling you about? Here they are. Hubs is taking some good notes. Even making out some lists. I'm 100% positive, that after our doctor's appointment tomorrow, we'll be heading to the store. Hopefully Target. But I'm sure, hubs will have his lists in hand. Wanting to head to Lowes or HD. :)

What do you think of this little tool bench? Incredible! Just like Daddy's! We even spotted the cutest set of Craftsman tools at K-Mart!! So adorable!!

How about a Firehouse? This would be adorable! Being that the firefighters run by our house, every morning. If we have a son, I'm sure he'll just adore that! Better yet, this is made our of a bookcase!!

This is what started my little search. :) You know that little space under your stairs. The one that no one knows what to do with. Well, turn it into a little playhouse!! LOVE the door! All I've got to say is....my hubby is in serious trouble....if our baby is a girl!!

And no playroom is complete, for a little girl, without her very own kitchen! Shut your mouth!! Isn't this just darling? Wow! I don't even know where to begin....

There you go. This pregnant lady, is ready to find out if her baby is a boy or a girl. I'm also ready to do some shopping. And put our baby's nursery together. I'm sure that Honky Tonk Baby's Godmother, and Godfather are anxious too! How in the world, am I going to get through the next 24 hours?? ~Chels

Our Easter Treats :)

How was your Easter? Ours was nice. Actually, it was just what we needed!! It was totally "low key." My hubby and I went to church. And then had a fun afternoon with friends. It was so nice to see Lola again! Glad she came out for a few days.

And because Lola and her man hosted Easter, no one had to worry about cooking. Lola is the best cook I know! Sorry to my momma and MIL, but it's the truth! I still wanted to make a little something. So I took to my new favorite blog. And made a triple batch of these sweet treats!! Which were gobbled up in record time!! :)

Oh, yes. They were delicious!! Not only were these Rice Krispies treats delicious. But they were fun. Last week, while buying some groceries, I found some Easter Sprinkles. And that's what I used. So fun! The kids really enjoyed them. Most of all, we just enjoyed the good times, with our dear friends. When you live so far away from family, good friends are so important! Not only did God give us his son. But he's blessed us, with some AMAZING friends! ~Chels

What the Peep??

O-M-G!! I saw this picture on Pinterest, and it made my heart just stop! Peeps and smores? It can't get any better!!

Oh yes it can! We made a quick stop at Albertsons on the way home from church. Bought our supplies. And recreated this happy little treat. Thank you Pinterest!! You made our Thursday night, so much happier, than we could have ever planned! ~Chels

Life Changing...and Sweet and Sour Chicken!!

This is blog post, that we've all been waiting for. The one when I tell you, I'm really enjoying cooking. Oh, and I found a blog that will change your life! Because it's got the most AMAZING and DELICIOUS recipes around!! Go immediately here, and follow Made It. Ate It. Loved It.

Back to the post. Around here, we enjoy oriental food. Probably a little too much! But in this small town, there's not really a place to go. And you know, get good food. There is a place, on the college campus. But it's only open Monday-Friday, from August-May, from 11am-2pm. Not really making for the easiest place to dine. If you know what I mean....

Other than that, you can drive an hour away, end enjoy PF Changs. But for us, that's just not going to happen. It's like a once every 6 months, kind of thing. We do have a local place. But the only thing that is good, is the beef and broccoli. Oh, and the prices!! But we crave sweet and sour chicken, lo mein noodles, and good egg rolls.

When we dive up north, like once a year, we also eat at Panda Express. Like 5 times, in 2 days!! I know, we're crazy. But I so wish, that we had a Panda Express near us. The closest one, is 3 hours away! Can you see why, I need to learn how to cook? And why this blog, is making me so excited.

Well, not only have I found good egg rolls, at Costco! I can't remember the brand, but they're in the freezer section. Oh, and I've seen small packages at Wally World. But you pay less, if you buy the big box. Then I found this good lo mein recipe. I know! The stars were lining up. Lastly, I found this recipe for sweet and sour chicken!!

Can you tell what we're having for dinner? Um, hello! Look at this picture!! I just have to make this. I've already been to Albertsons twice. And it's not even lunchtime. Can I make it to dinner? Oh, the Honky Tonk Hubby is going to be so excited!! ~Chels