Calling Nate Berkus

Well me and mom both tried again last week for Oprah tickets and once again we had no luck! I thought with the new lottery system we may have a chance, but so far this year it hasn't helped!

But for now, if only I could get Nate Berkus to come help me with our Master Bedroom. When we registered for our wedding, bedding was the one thing that was a hard decision. I was in love with a Pottery Barn duvet cover, while AK really liked a brown coverlet. After months of trying to convince him that Pottery Barn duvet was the way to go, it didn't go in my favor and we went with a brown coverlet. I tried to spice it up with blue pillows and some pretty curtains, but after 8 months I'm still not feeling it! AK said a few weeks ago for our next bedroom that I could pick out the bedding as long as we went with a duvet!

We both really like blue. Here are some ideas that are currently floating around...

now if only Nate and his crew would come finance the project!

(pictures from pottery barn and cottage living)

Spring Fever

I love this time of year, flowers are beginning to bloom, spring is in the air and of course Easter Candy is out!!!!

This is hands down my favorite type of candy and I can only get it during Easter, so what do I do?? I eat the eggs by the handfuls, pretending they are m&ms! I'm already through one bag and refuse to buy a second, but we all know how that's going to go. I am sure I will have a breakdown tomorrow at the grocery!

Happy Spring!

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Southern Living magazine?? I love their recipes, house plans, travel recommendations and the list goes on! They now have a feature called "Mama's Way or Your Way" in the recipe section. "Mama's way" usually has more ingredients and may take a bit longer than "your way"

The January 2010 issue featured Chicken and Dumplings - of course I chose "your way" because it is a tad easier!

I don't know about you but when I think of Chicken and Dumplings I think of it as a fall/winter recipe, but this is so good I could it eat it all the time - I'm talking Cracker Barrel good!!


Here it goes:

Ingredients:
1 (32-oz.) container low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups shredded cooked chicken (about 1 1/2 lb.) - to save time, I picked up a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning - I used McCormick's Chicken Seasoning
1 (10.2-oz.) can refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits
2 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced

Directions:
1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; return to a low boil.

2. Place biscuits on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips.

3. Drop strips, 1 at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Add carrots and celery. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.

ENJOY!

Girls Only!

My dear friend Vannie came and visited me this past weekend! We had a blast!

We ate at Thurman's,

leaving for a hockey game,


shopped til we dropped (yes, I have one of those pregnancy stomachs on!),



and visited the Franklin Conservatory.

The Puffy Cookie

Oh me, Oh my! Last week when I was in Nashville I had to run to Kinko's and then there it was, Puffy Muffin! It was 10am and I couldn't resist, I had to go over and grab a pimento cheese sandwich for lunch and of course one of their wonderful chocolate chunk cookies.

I didn't just get one cookie, I got three! By 2:30 p.m. all three cookies were gone and my stomach was showing proof! If you are ever in the Brentwood/Cool Springs area in TN you must stop by and pick up a cookie! They also have great chicken salad, pimento cheese and wonderful cakes!

10 Days

It's been a busy 10 days!! It all started with a trip to Nashville for an engagement party, work for a week in the office, catching up with girlfriends, and then back to Columbus to celebrate St. Patty's Day!

The Happy Couple!
Congrats Cody & Heather!

Late Thursday night, AK called to tell me that two friends were coming up for the weekend to celebrate St. Pat's Day. The inner planner in me, was trying to organize the house, go to the grocery store, plan the weekend (all from Nashville)! AK took charge and got this place all ready for guests! Since we live in Dublin, OH, there is a parade, 5k Run, and a live music that started at 11am! It was like the steeplechase of Nashville, but for St. Pat's Day! We had a great time!

Needless to say, I'm feeling like Lily B right now and want to fall asleep on the couch!

Cayden's Coming!

My friend Cassie is expecting her first child and he is scheduled to arrive Saturday! He sure does have a cute nursery to come home too!

What a exciting time! I am so happy for you and John! Cayden is blessed to have such wonderful parents. I can't wait to meet him next week!

Fun Beverage Dispenser

I love these! Aren't they the cutest things?? They would be great for entertaining. They hold more than your average pitcher and I love how they look!

Listening to...

I love love this song! I first heard it in November when Lady Antebellum performed it live at the CMA awards in Nashville. I immediately downloaded it to my Ipod. I heard them play it again live on the Today Show this morning and still just love it! I am sure many of you have heard it, but just in case you can hear it right here!

A Chocolate Mess

Oh, the bachelor. I get sucked in so easily! Last night was the season finale and of course Jake picked the “other” girl. While girlfriends were getting together in Nashville to watch the finale, AK was right here with me. Although he really didn’t want to, he stayed up and watched it with me…until about 9:30 when he had enough! I am so thankful that not only is he my best friend, but he also does a pretty good job of filling the girlfriend shoes when he needs too!

As he was getting up to go to bed he looked over at me and started hysterically laughing, I was like what’s wrong, what did I do….he couldn’t talk he was laughing so hard. He started pointing to my shirt – oh my goodness, I had melted chocolate all over my shirt, my pants, even on my socks! How did this happen? I was a chocolate mess and didn’t even know it! It must of been from the nutty buddy I had two hours earlier. (Mich – this was like the Bruegger's incident!) AK always calls me the chocolate monster and last night I defintley showed proof!


Needless to say my stomach hurt this morning from all the laughter.

Potbelly

AK and I did some shopping this weekend, but before we hit the stores we had to fill our belly's!

We went to a place called Potbelly's and it was so tasty! They specialize in sandwiches, and they are SO GOOD! They run them through a toaster and they come out just perfect! They also carry Zapp's potato chips (made in Louisiana), which AK and I both love.

I got the T-K-Y skinny - so good and just enough! For AK it was a tough decision - Pizza or Italian sandwich, he went with the Italian and was very pleased! So if you want to fill your belly, you should check out Potbelly's! (okay, yes that was pretty cheezy!)

Record Breaking

February was a record breaking month here in Columbus....for snow!

The average snow fall for the month is 6 inches, in February we got 30.1 inches!!

So,I'm pretty happy today is March 1st! I'm also pretty proud of myself for not having a mini melt down due to all the snow. At least we could get out on most days during February, if not a cabin fever frenzy would of happened!

As I look outside today, it's starting to melt little by little.

Come on Spring!!