It's not a home until something breaks:)

Well this week, just like last week, has been super busy. By day I've been prepping  for my business trip with marketing call after marketing call then by night, getting all the laundry done so that Daniel won't have to do it while I'm gone. In the midst of all of this, we have had the most random things happen around the house. The first thing was our propane tank. I LOVE our home, however I hate having a propane tank. It keeps our house warm and water hot but Lordy it is not aesthetically pleasing. Anyhow, the gas company came to fill up the 500 gallon tank and everything was fine. Well, the next afternoon when Daniel came home he just happened to look out of the dinning room window to see the 500 gallon tank rolled over on it's side and the gas line pulled out of the ground!!!! 

After realizing that we weren't in danger, we laughed :) The lovely gas company came right out and drove their very large crane truck across the yard and stood it back up.One random event off the list.

Next random event. My husband started his Tuesday morning just like every other morning, with one exception....the large amount of water that had soaked our hall/living room carpet. Flashback to the night before. I had gone to the fridge to grab a water before bed and noticed a lot of water standing on one of the shelves. Thinking that something had just leaked, I wiped it up, told Daniel about the water and went to bed. Flash forward to Tuesday morning. After just a few minutes, he found the culprit. It seems that the water line coming into the fridge had burst, so every time the water came through the pipe, another gallon of water came out. You never want to be woken with the words, "honey, we have a problem". So by 7:30, a.m. that is, we had already discovered we were going to have to purchase a new fridge. After vacuuming up water for like a hour and pulling back carpet AND using large fans to dry the floor we were off to Lowe's. Ahh, Lowes, our third home only to Bi-Lo and my real home:) Did I ever mention that I have the most wonderful husband ever? Well I do:) We walked back to the appliances where he said, "pick what you want". That's like a girls dream. Ok, maybe more so if it were Tiffany's or Coach, but for me I was so excited to pick out my very own fridge. And I couldn't love a refrigerator more:) 

Fridge was installed and TA-DA!! It has 2 ice makers...weird but love. And the handy man's not to shabby either ;) So that was the first 3 days of the week and the last two had plenty more excitement, but that's for the next post! 

With all the craziness in life, the broken water pipes, and busy schedules we try to always find the sunshine in the rainy days. Luckily, I have my best friend to laugh off these crazy, crazy moments:)

With Love,

Emily 

WOW moment

So, it has just been that kind of week! You know the kind where you don't really remember what you ate for dinner the night before, the laundry has somehow multiplied into a mountain, you suddenly realize that it is Friday and you've yet to write your paper that is due Tuesday....yes that kind of week. I found out on Monday morning that I will be going on my first out-of-state business trip for my job, marketing for my company in the Lake Charles, Louisiana area. Am I nervous? Extremely. Am I excited? Yes!! This job has definitely had its ups and downs but sitting here last night all I kept thinking was WOW. 

I NEVER thought I would have this life. I have dreamed of it for..I don't know..forever! I have a wonderful husband and marriage. For those who don't already know, I've known my husband since pre-school. We've been friends almost since birth :) To say he is my best friend just doesn't seem strong enough. He is the most loving, kind, hilarious, handsome, smart, sensitive, amazing, talented man. He is a provider and is truly the kind of man that I prayed for all my life and God loved me enough to give me that man! I have the kind of job that most college graduates hope to get, but amazingly they hired me knowing I was still earning my degree. We have a house that is our home and if we never move again we will be completely content. We are BLESSED. Blessed beyond anything we ever deserved, and we thank God everyday for giving us this life. And now, here I am, a 25 year old business student/ marketing & provider relations representative fixing to board her first airplane for a strange city without my hubby or my mom, to walk into places I've never even heard of for a whole WEEK. Again I say WOW. 

 I don't want this post to sound boastful-that's not what it is about at all. It's basically to show that a small town girl, who never thought she would make it in a business world, has made it one step closer to her dream. Not without a lot of hard work.Not without patience. Not without a lot of sacrifices and tears along the way. And not without the encouragement and love from family and friends. It makes me thankful for a mountain of laundry, for unwritten comm papers and for a husband singing Jason Aldean at the top of his lungs in his office at 10pm. I am thankful for the struggles, for the growing pains, and for all the things that have brought me to this place. Excited for the the things that are still to come. Find a quite place and reflect on everything good in your life. Whether it be career, family, whatever. I promise you will find that there is always something to be thankful for. Maybe you will have a WOW moment too:)

With Love,

Emily

Minnie's Chocolate Pie

So, this summer I read the book "The Help" and L-O-V-E-D it. I could go on and on about the book but I will spare you all:) So, although this is a recipe post you must read this wonderful book!

How does this have anything to do with this recipe? Well once you read this wonderful story you will understand. One of the characters, Minnie, is infamous for her Chocolate pies. For the movie,   Lee Ann Flemming, a newspaper columnist and baker

 made 53 chocolate pies for the filming of The Help. This is her recipe. It first appeared in the August issue of Food and Wine.  I randomly made one for my husband one Sunday afternoon when I had an itch to try something new. Since then I have made 5 of these pies! Not for myself, but for friends and family and the feedback is "more please". This is like a brownie in pie crust, and it is DELISH! The crust is very simple to make from scratch, but store bought pie crust is just fine too! Here is what you will need: 

INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
whipped cream, for serving

at least 1 cup of love:)

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk the sugar with the cocoa powder, butter, eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until smooth.

Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set around the edges but a little jiggly in the center. Cover the crust with strips of foil halfway though the baking {to prevent the crust brown browning too much}. Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

 Prepare to indulge!!

*Apologize for the bad picture quality

FOR THE CRUST:

1 tsp. salt

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 T. milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1/8 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Whip oil and milk together with a fork. Add in the dry ingredients and continue to mix with a fork until well blended. Super simple:)

All you need now is a LARGE glass of cold milk or a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and you are set! Make it this weekend and share it with a friend or your family. Nothing brings people together like a yummy southern dessert.

With Love, 

Emily

Crockpot Yummy Goodness

So, the other night while going through endless recipes on Pinterest (aka my obsession with a capital O) I happened upon a recipe for chicken in the crockpot. I'm always looking for something new to cook for the hubby that is simple but delicious. The recipe was called Angel Chicken. Why Angel Chicken? I really have no idea but if you like chicken marsala or alfredo then you will LOVE this recipe. It has a great flavor, and although the ingredients seem heavy it was not heavy at all. Here's what you will need to get started:

6 skinless, boneless thin sliced chicken breast

1 8-oz. pkg. fresh button mushrooms, sliced

 

1/4 cup butter

1 0.7-oz. pkg. Italian dry salad dressing mix

1 10-3/4-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup (or regular condensed mushroom soup)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 of an 8-oz. tub cream cheese spread with chives and onion

 angel hair pasta

Directions:

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Once your butter has melted, add in the whole pack of dried Italian salad dressing mix thoroughly. Stir in the wine, soup and cream cheese until every thing is combined and heated through. It should look at little something like this:

Put your mushrooms in the crockpot then put your chicken breast on top of the mushrooms. Pour the mixture over the top of the chicken and mushrooms, put the lid on your crock pot and cook for 5 hrs on low.

When it is done it is fork tender and delicious. I made a pot of angel hair pasta and served the chicken on the pasta with a little bit of the sauce! Goodness gracious-delish! Enjoy:)

With love,

Emily



It's Football Season: USC vs Navy

This past weekend my husband and I and my mother and father-in-law traveled to Columbia SC to see the USC Gamecocks play the Navy Midshipman. Daniel (the hubs) and his dad have been Carolina fans for forever! Daniel says he remembers going hunting with his dad and grandpa as a kid and hearing them talk about The Gamecocks as they were coming home. Funny fact: Daniel graduated from Clemson University, USC's biggest rival. Moving on... We had a great time tailgating at the game! If you are familiar with South Carolina then you know that Columbia can be the hottest place on the face of the earth, but not on Saturday. It was so nice! It was about 70 degrees and perfect for a light jacket.


 What is it about tailgating food that makes it so delicious? We had steaks, grilled corn, baked potatoes, rotel chips and dip, and salads and it was amazing:) Oh and these awesome milk chocolate brownies that my mother-in-law made .. yummo. 

Onto the game..ok lets be serious I won't bore you with football talk, this is a girl blog..lol. But these are some pictures of the stadium and pregame stuff. If you've never heard 2001 played over the loud speakers when the Gamecocks run in you are missing out! It is so exciting!

We won the game, but it was super nerve racking! Post game I had to get pics of the in-laws at their first Carolina game 

and of course one more of me and the hubs (nice hair, right? lol)

All in all it was a great weekend with the family. Can't wait for the next one:)

With Love,

Emily

Hey Y'all!

Hey guys! Welcome to my very first blog post:) I have been wanting to do this forever, but time just never was on my side. Now, with lots to share and lots to say I have decided to make time. I hope to use this blog as a way to catalog all those life moments that are worth sharing and most of all to share all those crafty projects and new recipes that I've been dying to try. After all, crafting and creating is my passion. I'm a business woman by day, but after 5 o'clock it's time to cook super for my awesome hubs then off to the next project. I hope you find these posts inspiring, and by that I mean inspire you to run to Hobby Lobby or Bi-Lo to buy your list of supplies and start the next project:) Excited for the journey ahead:)
With Love,
            Emily :)