Going to the Chapel....er, Farm, that is...

Well, after 6 months of hard work, planning, pulling my hair, biting my nails, crying, laughing, and losing my mind, the day finally came and I had the PERFECT wedding! Everything was simply beautiful.  The day was the perfect marriage of vintage and modern; rustic farm meets simple elegance. I mean, it was gorgeous! So many people helped make the day special and complete and I am eternally grateful to each and every person. Big thanks to Dudley Farm, a state park in Newberry, Florida, for allowing us to host the event there.  Ours was the first wedding to be held at the farm due to strict park guidelines, but I begged and pleaded my case and they gave us special permission to use the park.  Because our wedding went so well, they are actually planning to allow future engagements there now!  You can visit my Facebook page for the complete album, but here are a few pictures to highlight the event.

 

 

 

Lysol Healty Touch System

Great deal alert!!!  Walmart has the Lysol Healthy Touch No-Touch Hand Soap System for an uh-mazing price right now! First of all, this thing is wonderful - it automatically senses when you raise your hand to it and it dispenses a perfect amount of hand soap in your palm.  Best part? No icky germs on the dispenser itself.  I really wanted one for my kitchen for the oh-so-many times I work with meat and need to wash my hands immediately.  I absolutely HATE pushing the soap pump with beef or chicken juice on my hands.  Now, I don't have to!

Walmart's normal price is $9.99, but they are currently marked down to $6, which is great.  But, hold the phone! If you got the Red Plum $5 off coupon, you can get these bad boys for $1 ONLY!!!!  I was super excited, as you can certainly imagine!

So, go stock up! I set mine up this morning and I am in lurve! <3

Layered Southwest Salad

Trey and I just got home from a fun evening in High Springs, where we joined family members to celebrate my Aunt Joy's birthday (just a smidge belated seeing as her birthday is Sept. 15).  Aunt Joy's sister-in-law Mary made chicken enchiladas, so I took a yummy, southwestern salad to go with the meal.  It's such a great and easy recipe, so I thought I'd share with you all.

Layered Southwest Salad

15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup salsa

lettuce, chopped

1-2 chopped tomatoes
15 1/4 oz can of whole kernel corn, drained

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

1/4 cup bacon bits

1 avocado, sliced

ranch dressing
tortilla chips

Anything this colorful has got to taste good!

Combine black beans and salsa in a small bowl.  Layer bean mix, lettuce and next 4 ingredients in a large serving bowl.  Place the avocado slices in a circle on top, then sprinkle cheese and bacon bits on top.  Serve with ranch dressing and tortilla chips, if desired.

Almost finished! Just needs cheese and bacon bits to be complete!

Love it! Such an impressive presentation, and oh, so yummy!

Not only is this a tasty, fresh dish, but it sure is pretty to look at, especially when served in a glass bowl or trifle dish.  It is simply beautiful once it's all put together and is a really nice spin on a traditional salad.  Enjoy!

A Bride's Work is Never Done!

Planning a wedding is a huge ordeal.  I mean, seriously, HUGE! I consider myself a fairly organized, methodical person, so I wasn't too terribly daunted at the thought of organizing our wedding.  What I was not prepared for was the sheer amount of physical labor that would go into the planning.  My wedding is fairly DIY - we made our own invitations, will be making our own ceremony programs (look for that post and pics later!), homemade wedding favors with the help of my future monster-in-law (Vivian, you know I love you!!!!) and the wonderful Jess Campbell and Brittany Kiel, etc, etc...you get the idea.  Because we are getting married at Dudley Farm, we really wanted the wedding reception to be reminiscent of a simpler time: think family reunions, fresh pies and cobblers, wildflowers, horseshoes.  So of course, for table decorations, I immediately decided on vintage cut glass, milk glass, and green glass vases of various sizes and shapes.  We have scoured the local towns for these items....the antique and thrift shop owners recognize me almost instantly now.  I currently have about 100, just 30-40 shy of the total I need for the wedding.

Just a few of my baubles so far.  I think Charli likes them

The only problem with these vases, aside from the fact that they take up a ton of room, is that they are crazy dirty.  So guess what I've been doing all afternoon.....that's right - cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!  My recipe for fresh, sparkly, shiny vases: a bathtub full of hot water and PineSol.  Mmmm....the house smells so good (come to think of it, so do my hands, although they're so pruny from the water, it doesn't matter!). 

Ewwww...gross...just look at the dirt floating around! Yech! Thank heaven for PineSol!

I know they are going to look gorgeous full of wildflowers at the wedding.  I can't wait to see them all set up and full of life! This is going to be so worth the time and effort - I just know it! :)

Hear No Evil

Okay, so I got this major case of hiccups this evening.  I'm talking, the stomach-cramping, I'm getting nauseous, kind of hiccups.  Very painful, and very irritating.  I've always had a tendency to get them and they last for a long time.  But today, praise the Lord, I have found a cure! Yes, I said a cure - not some silly gulping water or holding your breath technique, but a bonafide remedy to cure your case of hiccups!

Hiccups are little more than a reflex. You get them when the vagus nerve or one of its branches, which runs from the brain to the abdomen, is irritated.  Apparently, the branches of the vagus nerve also reach into the auditory system, so some doctors recommend a simple solution of putting your fingers in your ears! That's right - fingers in ears!!!  By stimulating the vagus nerve endings in your ear, you overwhelm the nerve with another sensation and it forgets about your hiccups!  It's incredible because it ACTUALLY WORKS!!! Trey and I were shocked! Guess that's a little tidbit of information I'll definitely be remembering from here on out!!! ;)

Well, I finally did it....

So, after thinking about blogging for a couple of years, I finally bit the bullet and created one.  Just what I need...one more website to keep up, right? As if two classroom websites and a Facebook page aren't enough!?  Oh well, guess I'm just a glutton for punishment.

So, I suppose the plan is to come on here and post about the goings on in my life.  Pretty uneventful right now, what with planning a wedding and beginning a new school year. Yeah......right.  The school year thing is feeling pretty good, right now.  Feeling good about my new lesson plans and I am LOVING my new students! I can tell it's gonna be a great year.  Now the wedding thing, on the other hand, is a different story.  Don't get me wrong, I am sooooo ready to marry Trey.  In fact, I wish we already were.  It's all the tiny details about getting married that are insane! Have I done this; did I order that; do I have everything accounted for?????  The list is never-ending, and constantly evolving! But, I know all the chaos and hair loss will be worth it in the end....it will be a beautiful wedding and I will be married to my best friend!

Well, I guess that's it for now.  Until next time, keep thinking of sweet sunshine and apron strings!!! :)