Addyson's 1st birthday!

I can't believe Addy is 1!!!!! Happy (late) birthday sweet girl!!!!! We love you SO MUCH!

Her birthday was August 15th and her birthday party was that weekend before. It was so much fun! It was a big party- lots of friends & family, presents & cake!

Her invitations were so cute. It was a (girly) tractor theme :)

 Her cute tractor cake!

 Aunt Sarah & Aunt Rachel with the birthday girl :) I didn't get a good pic of her outfit but it was adorable! my SIL ordered it off Etsy.

 Have you EVER seen so many presents! Ha!!!

 CAKE TIME!!!

 yummmmmmmmm:)

 me & my hunny :)

 time to open presents! of course, daddy did most of the opening.... 

 Sarah & Blake :)

 she loved her John Deere tractor..

 They rented 2 of those big blow up water slides & the older "kids" had fun on them too :)

We had a diaper party for Tiffani tonight so hopefully it will not take me as long to get those pictures up. Can't believe Ava Grace will be here in less than 5 weeks!

Fabric Banner

Saturday is my niece's 1st birthday party!!! I cannot believe she is going to be 1. It just seems like she was born! This year sure has flown by. I have been wanting to make one of these fabric banners for a while and finally had a reason to & it turned out SO cute :)

 Here is an up close

It was SO easy!!! I wish I would have took step by step pictures but forgot :) But click here for the full tutorial that I used. The only thing I did different was instead of sewing the letters on I just used fabric glue and it was SO much easier!

Happy banner making :)










also linking at tatertots and jello :)

Kobe & Bentley

Last week was CRAZY BUSY and this week is the same way!! School is starting back and you know everyone needs to get their hair done before they go back. Not complaining, I take it when I can get it :)

My parents were in Phoenix last week so we kept Bentley for them! Him & Kobe had SUCH a fun time together. It was definitely more hectic having 2 dogs instead of 1 but it was fun :)

This was them most of the time- fighting over the babies. Even if there were 100 of them right there, of course they always wanted the same one! Ha. I think Kobe was a little sad when he left..

My parents were in Phoenix for General Council but they went a couple of days early to go to the Grand Canyon. I can not WAIT to see the pictures! They said it was like 120 something degrees out there but with no humidity at all. I can't imagine.

 While they were out there my mom went to IKEA and picked up a few things for me for my craft room :) Can't wait to get started on it!

Couponing 101

I went couponing on Monday and got some pretty good deals! I got $53.84 worth of groceries for only $25.71!

I went to Publix first & here's how it broke down.....

Wisk laundry detergent 50 oz- normally $6.49 on sale for $4.49- used $2.00 off coupon so got it for $2.49

2 tubes Colgate toothpaste 8.2 oz- $2.07 each- used 2 50 cent coupons that doubled to $1 so payed $1.07 each

Dawn dish soap 24 oz- normally $3.59 on sale for $2.49- used 50 cent coupon that doubled so payed $1.49

2 jars of Ragu- normally $2.19 each- on sale B1G1- had 40 cents coupon off 2 that doubled to 80 cents off so paid 70 cents each

4 boxes Betty Crocker Brownie/Dessert Bars- normally $2.99 each- on sale for 2/$3- used 75 cent coupon off 2 so paid $1.13 each

2 bottles Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner- normally $3.49 each- on sale 2/$4- had 50 cent coupon off 2 that doubled to $1 so paid $1.50 each

Shout 22 oz- normally $2.99- on sale for $1.50- used 55 cent coupon so paid only 95 cents

Then I went to Kroger......

Tide 32 loads- normally 7.89 on sale for $5.99- then you pay $4.99 if you buy Downy (which I did) - also had 50 cent off coupon that doubled to $1 so paid only $3.99

Downy 52-60 loads- normally $5.42 on sale for $4.99- then you pay $3.99 if you buy Tide- also had 25 cent off coupon that doubled to 50 cent so paid $3.50

Sooo it was an OK couponing trip........when you can really save is when Harris Teeter does their super doubles every few months. That is where they double coupons up to $1.99! If you combine that with things that are on sale then you get things for practically nothing or even free! They did it back in June and I paid only $32. 52 for $98.02 worth of groceries! Ohhhhh yea :)

I am NO pro at this & I am definitely not an extreme couponer (even though I wish I was!)!! Ha! But my goal is to save as much $$$ as I can and build up my stock pile with things that we use on a regular basis or things I like to use every now & then...for example, I bought 4 boxes of brownie mix this week. Do I really need 4 boxes of brownie mix this week???! Um, no! But when I do get that craving they will be there... or if I want to make some for a friend or family member for a birthday or whatever they will be there! But anyway, when I get my stock pile built up then it will be a whole lot easier & cheaper when I plan my meals each week. I will go to my pantry 1st and see what I have THEN check the sale paper to see what I need.

Couponing is alot of work and I wish I did it more often but it really does take alot of time....and the closest Kroger, Publix, or Harris Teeter is about 30 min away from our house so it definitely takes some planning. If I lived closer or worked in Nashville then I would do it every week for sure! But I am trying to do it atleast every other week...

If you need help getting started on couponing you can check out my favorite couponing website, Faithful Provisions. They have lots of tips and coupons and every week they will tell you what is on sale at each store and which coupon to use with it.

Good luck couponing :)

Pan Fried Shrimp with Creole Mayonnaise :)

Josh came home from Costco about a month ago with a huge bag of frozen shrimp so I am always on the lookout for good shrimp recipes. Well, I was looking through a Cooking Light magazine and ran across this pan fried shrimp recipe and knew I had to try it! I made it last night and it was SO good! Definitely a keeper :) We also had rice, sauteed veggies (squash, broccoli, green peppers, and onions) and some home grown tomatoes from my in laws garden!

(this is my plate- hubby's is MUCH bigger! ha. Also, he did not have tomatoes because we all know how much Josh hates them!)

Here's the recipe:

• 2 1/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt-free Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's), divided
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1. Combine flour, 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning, and salt in a shallow dish. Pour milk into a shallow dish. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Dredge shrimp in flour mixture; dip in milk. Dredge shrimp in breadcrumbs; shake off excess breading.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of shrimp; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and shrimp.

3. Combine mayonnaise, remaining Creole seasoning, Worcestershire, and hot sauce in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Serve Creole mayonnaise with shrimp.

 

Okay, here are the changes that I made ---- 1st of all, I didn't have creole seasoning so my mom did some googling for me and found that creole is very similar to Cajun seasoning. So I used Cajun seasoning with a little garlic powder. Also, for the creole mayonnaise, we do not have just regular hot sauce but we do have buffalo sauce (for hot wings) so I used that and it was SO good!!! Also, for a little extra crunch, I mixed the breadcrumbs with cornflake crumbs.

 

If you like shrimp then I would for sure try this recipe!! Click here for the recipe and better pictures :)