What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!
Here's what I'm loving...
I'm loving my job. Yes, at times I want to rip my hair out, but at the end of the day I love all those lil nuggets & am so thankful to spend my days with them!

One of our field trips to Mill Mountain Zoo

I'm loving my manicure I got last night at the Ladies Only Cash Mob! Downtown Blacksburg holds cash mobs every couple of weeks & they typically choose one restaurant and one store to "mob"...everyone meets at one spot and they discover where they'll be shopping/eating that evening! They're really fun and a great way to discover a new restaurant or store that you perhaps haven't tried yet. Last night, it was bundled into one location - Polished by Claire V. - and we got mini manicures or pedicures. Gobble Cakes was there with deliiiiciousss mini cupcakes and Beliveau Winery had glasses of wine to sell. Simply scrumptious!

I'm loving July! July has been full of fun adventures, including the 4th, a walking field trip for Free Slurpee Day :) , Friday nights spent on the lawn for the summer local music series and lots more!

Red, white & blue drinks!

'Merican pride, thanks to Rowdy Gentleman & Sweet Tea Monograms!

4th shirt!

"We love slurpees!"

Music on the lawn

I'm loving all of the fun races I've been finding and adding to my list. I love hopping in the car for the weekend and a race gives me an excuse to get out of town & see somewhere new (or sometimes just somewhere outside Blacksburg :))

In Lynchburg - via

In South Carolina - via

For next year:

In Roanoke - via

 

I'm loving the Valencia Orange Refresher from Starbucks! Perfect for these hot, hot days!

I'm loving this quote:

I'm loving this recipe: Veggie-Stack Pita Pockets via Food Network I made it in some pita pockets with store bought hummus, cucumber, peppers, and carrots. SO delicious!

What are you loving this week?   Have a great day!

I'm Currently Loving...

I sort of missed out on WILW, so today I'm going to share some things that I'm "currently loving"!
{Paper Straws}

I am just obsessed with these cute things! Especially if they're in a mason jar. Perfection. I'm thinking of getting some for my graduation party...any idea where I can find them in stores? :)
{Beach Themed Bathrooms}

I got to paint/decorate the half bath at home & I went with a beach theme.  I painted the walls a bright coral color, however I love this soft blue as well! I really like the idea of putting shells in some apothecary jars. I have so many shells from various beaches!   {Countdowns}

 And by last day of classes, I mean last day of everything undergrad! I don't have any finals scheduled for exam week so once the clock strikes 12:15 on May 7, I'm done. *time to partyyyyyyy!* Then we have 10 days to go after that until graduation!   {Sangria}

Citrusy Champagne Sangria

I tried sangria for the first time at the wedding! It was so delicious. Very fruity and I could hardly taste the wine...which was good and bad. I downed it! I want to try more sangria recipes now. I love sweet, fruity drinks so I'm excited to find new recipes. Do you know of any good ones?? 

What are y'all loving these days?
  Have a wonderful week! Almost FRIDAY!

Thirsty Thursday: Bahama Mama

Ingredients:  1/2 fl oz rum 1/2 fl oz coconut-flavored rum 1/2 fl oz grenadine 1 fl oz orange juice i fl oz pineapple juice 1 cup crushed ice   Combine ingredients in blender - blend until slushy consistency. via   I obviously have summer on the mind these days and this drink would be PERFECT on the beach! Yum, yum, yum.
Let me know what your favorite cocktail drink is!

Friday Five!

Hey y'all! TGIF!!   1. Happy February!

  I have a good feeling about February.  Short 'n sweet month. Plus, Valentine's Day!    2. Hitting The Road

  Nothing too exciting. Steven and I are going to meet halfway for the weekend in Fairfax and I'm bringing my roommate to stay with one of my former roommates at her apartment in Arlington! She goes to GW for graduate school which is where my roomie wants to go! She's going to check out the campus/area and see what it's like! Although we're already sure she'll love it. As for me, I'm still waiting on graduate school news...waiting is TOUGH! Anyway, I'll be gone for the weekend enjoying a baseball-free weekend! Can't wait! Last one for a long, long while.   3. Red Velvet Puppy Chow

  WOW! I love puppy chow. This takes it to a new level. Check out the recipe here! I think I'll try and make this!   4. Puppy Fever

  I almost got a puppy this week, but it ended up not working out. Now I have puppy fever! I am desperately in search of some sort of white Bichon, Poodle, Maltese mix! Either a Bichon mix or a Maltipoo! The puppy I was going to get was a small (5 lb) poodle mix. She was so precious. Let me know if you know any who need a new, loving home ;)   5. Super Bowl XLVII 2013

  I gotta stick with my boy Tyrod//the east coast on this one...GO RAVENS! Will you be wearing red or purple on Sunday?     Have a great weekend!

M&M Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Also known as: heaven   I borrowed this recipe from a teacher that used to work at my mom's school.  They are so delicious you can't just eat one! Or two, for that matter.  You might just want a plate of 5.

You can use any m&m/chocolate chips you would like.  I used the Christmas colored m&ms and plain chocolate chips.

I used a mixer for most of the ingredients - decided to stir in the chocolate chips and m&ms. Once you get to the peanut butter and oatmeal, the mixers get stopped up. I also used parchment paper for easy clean up :)

The "batter" all ready to put on the baking sheet.

 Fresh out of the oven!

This recipe makes lots of cookies.  Unless you have friends coming over or a party to go to, I would recommend cutting the recipe in half :)

Happy baking!

Valentine's Challenge: Day 6 (A favorite!)

First of all, what did you think of the Superbowl? I was pretty happy that the Giants won. They seemed to deserve it...?

For the record, when I'm with my Dad I'm a Steelers fan, when I'm with Steven I'm an Eagles fan and when I'm with my Mom I'm a Redskins fan :)

I aim to please everyone!

Today is the start of the second week of the Fabulous Valentine's Challenge with Neely, Amber and Casey!

Today's topic is: Love to be Creative! (Recipes, Crafts, Gifts, etc)

Of course I'm headed to Pinterest to help with me today's topic.

Here are my top 3ish favorites!

Paper Rose Wreath

Tutorial

I think this is adorable! It seems time consuming, but worth it. I love the big ribbon!

Valentine Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Tutorial

Chocolate covered pretzels are one of my favorite things. So yummy! These are so easy to make and so cute to look at! You could easily use these for different holidays just by changing the colors of the sprinkles :)

Valentines for Kids

Remember back in elementary school when Valentine's Day was even more awesome than it is today? You had class parties & got to go to the store and pick out valentines to hand out to your classmates?

Well, that is one of the perks of working with kids! For 3 hours next Tuesday I'll get to share in the excitement with the kids at GLE. I'm pumped.

Here are some adorable valentines I'm thinking would be great to bring to them!

Super Valentine

Printable Here

Tootsie Roll Pop Flower

Printable Here

Goldfish Pack

Supplies and Printable Here

M&M Baggies with Shovel

Instructions & Printable Here

I'll let you know which I decide to make later on!

Planing on making any Valentine's Day treats or crafts?

I'd love to see what you create or you can join in on the link up to share!

Happy Monday!

xoxo,

Top 5 Tuesday: Favorite Recipes :)

I'm linking up today with Rachel for another Top 5 Tuesday!

It was really hard to pick only five for this one! There are so many dishes that I love.

1. Appetizer

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Yummmm. I love getting this at restaurants with little pita slices or chips! My mom even made some at home last month - so good.

2. Side Dish

Sweet Potato Casserole

I love sweet potatoes! I love lots of vegetables, actually, but this is my favorite. I love the flavor of the brown sugar on them in this dish!

3. Main Dish

Lasagna

I love all Italian food! Lasagna is one of my favorites, and you can play around with ingredients/make it vegetarian. It's usually a fan favorite! Also easy to make :)

4. Dessert

(this is a toughy)

Hello Dolly Bars

My grandma used to make these all the time! We called them Dolly Parton bars (or maybe that was just me?) They are so sweet and so delicious!

I also love...

Peanut Butter Blossoms

So easy to make & soooo delicious! (Unless you have a peanut allergy, in which case I am dearly sorry.)

Eeeeek my favorite cookie - besides oatmeal chocolate chip!

5. Drink

Venetian Sunset

Champagne. Fruit. Cherries.

Yum.

Tried this at Olive Garden a few weeks ago and I loveeeee it.

What are your favorite recipes?

xoxo,

Happy Birthday :)

Today is my 21st birthday! Anyone out there celebrating their birthday today? I love birthday buddies!

After class/studying/work (womp) I'm going out to dinner at Abuelo's in Roanoke! YUM! I can't wait!

 I only wish that Steven could be here. Although his birthday is the 30th, so we'll celebrate together then!

I think as my birthday gift to myself, I want to get a blog design! Any suggestions for a site with inexpensive, pre-made templates? I have a couple sits bookmarked, but I'm sure there is a cute one out there I don't know about!

Back to the holiday blog challenge with Neely! Today is...

Day 5: Holiday Dessert/Treat Recipe

Gingerbread Snowflakes

Found this on Pinterest, but the recipe courtesy of the one & only Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup unsulfured molasses
• Royal Icing
• Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. Cut into snowflakes with a 7- inch snowflake-shape cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
4. Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
5. Put icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #7). Pipe designs on snowflakes; immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let stand 5 minutes; tap off excess sugar. Let icing set completely at room temperature, about 1 hour.

I am a HUGE fan of gingerbread!

**Everyone go check out Ashley's monogrammed apron giveaway! I think the pink one is a-dor-a-ble.

xoxo,