Weekend Recap: A Recipe & An 89th Birthday!

What a weekend.  It was jam packed, so let's get started.

FRIDAY:  It was about 45 degrees and sunny, which basically meant I HAD to sit out on the deck and enjoy an ice cold beverage....even if that meant I was wearing a winter coat and sitting next to a pile of snow.  It was wonderful anyway.  Now if only those 45 degree days would stay....

SATURDAY:  I finished painting the kitchen!!!  I can't wait to show you the before and after photos this week!  After I finished painting, I went to do some laundry...and realized our washing machine wasn't working right.  Great.  So I spent much of Saturday night on Google and YouTube looking for possible solutions.  Kevin and I are going to attempt to fix it ourselves this week.  Wish us luck!

I did a fun and yummy dinner on Saturday night that I want to share.  You may have seen this Buffalo Chicken Crescent Ring photo on my Instagram:

You can find the original recipe HERE, but I did it a little different and it was still delicious, so I'll share what I did below.

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup buffalo sauce

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 tubes crescent rolls

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, buffalo sauce, and shredded chicken.

2.  Open the tubes of crescent rolls and separate each roll into four rectangles.  Lay the rectangles on a parchment lined or nonstick baking sheet to form a large circle.

3.  Spoon chicken mixture into the center of the crescent dough ring.  Fold the top of each crescent dough rectangle over the chicken filling, pressing into place to secure the dough all the way around the filling.

4.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes (original recipe said 15-20 minutes, but my dough wasn't done, so I had to keep putting in back in the oven), or until golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.  Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping!  

SUNDAY:  We headed to Kevin's mom's early on Sunday so we could do some laundry before his Grandma's birthday party.  She is turning 89 tomorrow, so all the family got together to celebrate!

After the birthday party, Kevin and I headed to my parents to visit for a little while, and then my friend Kristen and her little boy, Cam, came over to visit for a while too.  We finally got home around 9:30 p.m. last night and then went straight to bed.  We were tired after a busy weekend.  

I'm looking forward to heading to Cincinnati this weekend to visit my brother-in-law and his wife!

Five on Friday!

So glad it's finally Friday!  This week has seemed extra long, even thought I took yesterday off from work....more about that below.

Linking up with Christina, Darci, April, and Natasha and you should too!

ONE.  I took yesterday off from work to finish painting the kitchen...but I'm STILL not done!  I will finish tomorrow though.  I ended up having to do two coats of paint, so that took extra long.  Everything has one coat, and I'm about half way done with the second coat.  There are lots of little nooks and weird areas to paint (and I'm a bit of a perfectionist), so it took a lot longer than I anticipated, but I'm LOVING the result!  Can't wait to share it next week!

TWO.  I'm excited to spend some type with family and friends this weekend.  I get to see one of my best friends and her little boy (below), who I haven't seen in forever!

THREE.  I made Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas using Amanda's recipe...they were soooo good!  Do yourself a favor and check out her recipe HERE.

This was after I already ate half of it....it was so good, I didn't want to stop and take a picture!

FOUR.  Monday is St. Patrick's Day and I have zero decorations up for it.  Not even a printable, and I love printables.  I might just have to print this one tonight and put it up for a few days!




FIVE.  The 2014 Birthday Bash lineup will be announced on Monday morning!  This is one of the rare occasions when I can't wait for Monday morning to get here.  You can read about past Birthday Bash experiences HERE and HERE.

Hope you have a great weekend!

I Can't Say No to That Face

Does your dog (or other pet) give you that face that you just can't say no to?  The one with the big, brown, sad eyes that is just so adorable, you give in?  Mine does.  He has the face perfected and it gets my husband and I every time.  Whether it's because he wants to play, wants some popcorn, or wants to go cuddle in bed, he usually gets whatever it is.  Or he gives us that face when he's done something he knows is naughty and I can't help but laugh.  Is that a good thing?  Probably not, but I mean, you tell me if you could say no to this face:

The "I'm sorry I got really muddy at the dog park" face.

The "I know I shouldn't have this washcloth, but look how cute I am" face.

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The "Mom, please take this dumb costume off me" face.

 And the best face of all (the one that we get most of the time, but I can't ever capture it on camera):

The "Mom, please play with me and my toy" face.

 That look when he tips his head down and looks up at you with those big eyes...it gets me.  Does your pet give a face like that??

Weekend Recap: I Painted the Kitchen (kind of...)

Once again, the weekend went by way too fast.  But it was a productive weekend in our kitchen, so I'm happy. 

Friday night we just caught up on shows on the DVR.  My favorite shows right now are Scandal and The Blacklist.  So good!  

Saturday I got up early and went grocery shopping and then my Dad came over to help us with some stuff in the kitchen.  We grouted some back splash that needed it, cut and installed a small back splash tile that had been missing, and brainstormed trim ideas for around the back splash.  We used some pre-mixed grout and it was AMAZING.  I'll be sharing the details soon.  After my Dad left, I taped the kitchen so I could start priming!  Then I ran out of painters tape.  And primer.  Fail.  If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I did get a little bit painted...I really wanted to see how the color looked on the wall, so I painted one small wall and I'm LOVING the color!

The green on top is the old color, and the gray is the new!

Sunday morning we went to church, out to lunch, and then headed to Lowe's to pick up more primer, painter's tape, and some other things we needed.  I finished taping and priming the kitchen (except for this one area where the vertical blinds are--that's another story for another time), and then it was time for dinner and I didn't feel like starting to paint Sunday night....so I relaxed and crocheted instead :)

I'm hoping to finish painting this week, and then I'll be sure to share full before and after photos.

Hope you had a great weekend!

The Intentional Life Project: Improving the Budget

Last month was the first time I participated in The Intentional Life Project and I'm excited to continue participating.  You can read my posts about last month HERE and HERE.  The theme this month is improving the budget.  I'm linking up with Bre and Ginny today to tell you my plans for this month.

Overall, I think my husband and I do a pretty good job with our "budget" and managing our money.  However, we are always up for finding ways to save more money and improve our budgeting skills...you know, to save for that fancy car I want :)  So I decided for this month's "improving the budget" theme, I would try to save money on something that is pretty frivolous (in my opinion).

I find myself getting "specialty" coffees from McDonald's, Biggby, or Starbucks 2-4 times a week.  I pretty much drive past McDonald's and Biggby on my way to work every morning, and the grocery store I go to has a Starbucks in it.  These drinks can cost anywhere from $3-$5 each time.  So if I got a $4 coffee three times a week, that's $12 a week, and $48 a month on coffee!  That's probably a good average of what I spend.  I'd rather put that (roughly) $50 a month towards our savings account, so I decided I'm only allowing myself ONE specialty coffee drink per week.

Getting a Starbucks coffee is my favorite way to get through a grocery shopping trip!

I do love that little extra "treat" once in a while, so I thought once a week would be a good way to curb my little coffee addiction and save a little cash in the process.  I have a Keurig at home and we have coffee at work, so there is really no reason for me to stop and get coffee on my way to work anyway.

I know this is a small way to improve our budget, but I think it's an easy one, and hopefully it will help me recognize other small areas I can improve as well.

What are some of your ideas for improving the budget??

Cool Cucumber Pasta (Recipe)

We are having a pot luck at work today, so last night I made this great pasta dish.  It's quick, easy, makes a lot, and best of all, it's soooo good!  My mom makes it a lot in the summer with cucumbers from her garden.  It's a great summer recipe, but since Mother Nature hasn't realized that Spring is on the way, I'm hoping that me making this will hurry summer (or spring) along!

Cool Cucumber Pasta

Ingredients

16 oz cooked pasta, drained, set aside

2 medium cucumbers, sliced thin

1 medium onion, sliced thin (or if you're lazy like me, you buy pre-chopped onions)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tbsp prepared mustard

1 tbsp parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Combine oil, cucumbers, and onion.  Toss with pasta.  Combine remaining ingredients and toss.  Cover and chill 3-4 hours.  Serve with a slotted spoon.

That's it!  So easy and soooooo good!  What's your go-to pot luck dish?

Weekend Recap: Happy Birthday Admiral!

The Admiral turned THREE on Saturday!  I can't believe he is three already.  He definitely still has some puppy energy, but he also loves to cuddle and is just a great a dog in general.  We love this furry little guy so much!!

We started the birthday celebrations Friday night by going to McDonald's to get him a small vanilla ice cream cone.  And me a Shamrock Shake :)

Saturday morning we played a little football in the backyard with his new football we got him.  He loves Nerf footballs...but he destroys them.  So he gets a new one every year and the old one gets thrown away.

Saturday night we gave him a meaty rawhide bone which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Sunday was spent at church, and then doing laundry and other things around the house.  Kevin also had to shovel because we got more snow this weekend...I swear it's never going to end.

We have a pretty busy week coming up, but then I'm looking forward to getting some work done in the kitchen this weekend!

What were you up to this weekend?

Linking up with Lisa and Bella.