Also, it was a great weekend.

This past weekend I spent time with four fabulous ladies in Hickory. We got together two-ish years prior out east at Edisto Beach right after I had graduated from App. Since Brad and I are moving in LESS THAN A MONTH (ah!) we wanted to get together one last time. This time Bob & Linda were out of town, so the Thompson house hosted us for the weekend!

We started out with the classic cheese product + rotel dip, which progressively got less edible after each reheating. Also, we watched a LOT of Friends episodes. Lindsey made her mind-blowingly good brownies for us and we drank authentic Hawaiian coffee. Saturday we had lunch at Shell's. That of course included their famous cherry vanilla lemon slushie. It was too entirely cold for Hickory and we even saw snow flurries!

I thoroughly enjoy a good girls weekend, especially with this group. Jeni was in our wedding and has been a great friend even before App came into play. Ashley has the best laugh and the cutest stinkin' puppy on the planet. Amy is awkward and wordy and I love every mintue of it! Lindsey left us early, for which she won't be forgiven, but I love her a lot anyway and love the creative gifts she comes up with for her above-her-room neighbor. :)

Here are some photos to recap the weekend:

Jeni Creepin'

things

reason enough to visit Shell's: cherry vanilla lemon slushieeee

speed dump.. thank you st. stephens 

lyla being all cute

tuck

Tuesday Nights

So for several months now, my friend Lindsey and I have been taking turns (with Grandmom Burton also) cooking yummy dinners together on Tuesday nights. Usually before and/or after eating, Lindsey and I have also been addictively watching Dexter. Haven't heard of it? Well.. you're missing out! Check it out here on the Showtime website. One thing I think is really cool is that the actor who plays Dexter claims Raleigh as his hometown.


Anyway, I'm blogging about this now to share our meal tonight with you! Get ready for great recipes!!!


Lindsey got me a great cookbook by The Pioneer Woman for Christmas, so I put it to use tonight and made her meatloaf. I chose this so I could have something to go with my grandma's noodles that mom gave to my sister and I this Christmas (Thanks Mom!!). For dessert I made what we fondly referred to as "Yummy Explosion" in college. I got this recipe from a genius friend. 

I totally failed at taking pictures (again) while I was making the meatloaf, so check out PW's if you want step-by-step pics. Because I'm being lazy today, I copy and pasted her ingredients/directions verbatim below.

PW's Favorite Meatloaf

Ingredients

Meatloaf:

• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 6 slices White Bread
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• 3/4 teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/3 cup Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
• 4 whole Eggs Beaten
• 10 slices Thin/regular Bacon

Sauce:

• 1-1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• Tabasco To Taste

 

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Brad doing the honors...
(isn't he gorgeous?!)

De-lish!

Here is a set up of our dinner tonight...
minus the homemade sourdough bread!

Now as for my grandma's noodles... I'm not ready to share that one. Is it bad I want to keep it secret? ha! I haven't made them myself yet, but when I do I shall share. To prepare them you rinse the noodles, then bring them to a boil in chicken broth. Done.

THE Noodles. Essence of my childhood.

For Dessert:

Yummy Explosion



 Ingredients:

• 2 cans crescent rolls
• 1 lb cream cheese
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Orange marmalade to taste (trustme on this one... think creamsicle!)

Directions:

• Lay 1 can crescents flat in a 9x13 pan.
• Mix in cream cheese, 1 c sugar, vanilla annnd marmalade!
• Spread over crescents and lay 2nd can of crescents on top.
• Melt butter and mix with 1/2 c sugar and cinnamon.
• Pour over crescents.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 10-20 minutes, until golden.

Hope you enjoy these!!!

ABC's of Us

So if you haven't seen The Dating Divas blog yet, please go check it out. These ladies have such super cute ideas for dates/gifts for your significant other. I got hubby's Valentine's Day gift idea from this post. It was so easy, cheap to produce and is so meaningful! All you need is a computer, printer and some cute ribbon/string (and in my case, sharpies.. because I use them every chance I get)!

I can't tell you how many times I told Brad leading up to today that I was so excited about his gift and couldn't wait to give it to him! I am very proud of myself to the point where I almost just want to claim the whole idea as my own. But I won't. That would be wrong.

Here is a little view of hubs' gift!:

If you watch Friends like we do, you'll get it.
If you don't get it then you need to watch Friends. Season 6.

aww :)

I'm still so proud of this little project!
Happy Valentine's Day my love!

Goodbye for now, iPod.

I recently rediscovered the iTrip I had hiding out in my car and got really excited because it would make the drive out to AZ more enjoyable. Yesterday morning at approximately 8:01a.m. on my way to work, I was jamming to Jack Johnson when Mr. iPod cut off and didn't come back to life. It was a sad, sad morning.

Since then, I have charge said iPod and tried playing it with a regular AUX connector cable thingy in hubby's car. Died again. Haven't tried reviving again... I'm crossing my fingers on this one though!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Today my wonderful sister-in-law celebrates her birthday. Happy 22nd, Sarah! We love you so very much and are incredibly excited about you and Jeff gettin' hitched this fall! Enjoy your last birthday as a single lady!