Mid Week Randoms.

I love short hair, but it can be a hassle too. It's hard to find someone who knows how to cut short hair really good. Once you find someone, they also have to be really affordable because I need to get my hair cut every month.

I got lucky enough to find a hairdresser in town that I really like and that I can actually afford. She's great. I promise. I laugh every time I leave a haircut though. I walk in with flat hair, free of product.

I leave with shorter hair, lots of hairspray and spiky hair.

See?






Makes me laugh every time.


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We're preparing for a garage sale this weekend.



Dakota is worried he's going to be priced.



Or lost in the mess.

I want to hang signs tonight, but for the first time in too long, we actually have clouds and a few sprinkles.



Should I risk it? {probably will for the sake of the extreme doubt in texas. I would love for my signs to make it pour.}

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I had a $10 off a $10 purchase for Pier 1 last night. I made myself go spend it, because it was like throwing free money away.


I should have just stayed away. {who can only spend $10 at pier 1?!?}


Let's just say I have plenty of items on my birthday wish list now!













I accept gift cards or cash if you want to contribute to my Pier 1 fund!

{actually, I took pictures of everything I wanted to look for something similar and 50% off at Hobby Lobby!}


Hope you're having a great week!

WIWW #24

The past week or so has kinda kicked my booty and I wasn't as good with my pictures as I should have been. Check out the pleated poppy to see other women and their weekly fashion inspiration. Some of my favorites include Jodi who has been at WIWW for over a year {for real. amazing yall!} and Kathleen who is another recruiter with a classic style. Check out their posts for more pictures!

Here is the one outfit I did manage to get a picture of this week:



{classic photo bombing by dakota}



dress: franceca's
cardi: target
belt: express
earrings: walmart


You may remember this outfit from before:





Really, the second outfit is what I wanted to wear, but the denim shirt needed ironing and I was running a little late, so I threw the cardigan on. Honestly, as soon as I put it on, I felt like I was a little too fallish for the summer temps here in Texas, but I was too lazy and late to iron, so I accessorized and went with it.

What do you think - which outfit is your favorite? Is the cardigan more of a fall look? And if so, could I wear it in the fall with some tall boots? {I'm worried about it carrying over since the dress is so light weight.}

Give me your opinions WIWW ladies!  And don't forget to head over to The Pleated Poppy for more inspiration!

o.m.g.

Y'all. I am not one to normally complain about Monday. {Though, I am certainly one to speak highly of Memorial Day!} Mondays are usually good around our office. A meeting to take up a good portion of the morning, catching up on weekend emails, small odds and ends to start the week off right.


Today though, was a totally different story.


Today was a doozy. Capitol DEE OH OH ZEE WHY.


Three of our six staff members were out, leaving 2 recruiters to handle the visits. One of our new recruiters started today, so our director was busy most of the day starting her training. And of course, it was as if outsiders knew we were down in staff and decided to pay us a visit. All day long.

I feel as if I worked a whole week in just this one Monday. I certainly hope this day doesn't reflect what is to come for this week. I'm not sure I can handle it!


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In more interesting news, I tried a new recipe tonight!

My mom sent this to me a while back. I've actually had it at her house and wanted to make it for Cody. Here's the recipe:

Red Pepper Frittata

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup uncooked couscous
1 tablespoon water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 large egg whites
3 large eggs
Cooking spray
2 cups red bell pepper strips
1 cup thinly vertically sliced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Manchego or Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bring 1/2 cup water to boil in a small saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Combine 1 tablespoon water, salt, black pepper, egg whites, and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Heat a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in couscous and egg mixture; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until almost set. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


Now, I didn't follow this recipe to a t, though it was delicious that way. I'm trying to do Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet again so I left out the cous cous and added squash to bulk it up a little more.

Saute your squash until tender.



Add your thawed {previously frozen} bell peppers.



Add eggs {I only used egg whites}



Let sit for 5 minutes, top with cheese and put in oven for 10.



Tada! Super easy and delicious. I will say though, I enjoyed the texture of this frittata more when it had the cous cous. Next time I will definitely add it in. I had a side salad with mine, but am a noble wife and served Cody's with sausage. The man can only handle so much egg :)


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We're now relaxing for a few minutes, though laundry is calling my name, along with a stack of garage sale items that need to be priced. Anyone want to come help? I'll let you have first choice!

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Hope you had a better Monday than I did!

Hawaiian Sandwiches, Poor Man Style.

Starting July 1, Cody and I were on a self imposed financial crisis.

{note: calling it a financial crisis = abby exaggerating.}

Actually, we really just made ourselves get back on our budget. We haven't been going crazy and spending money beyond our means, but we also haven't been as wise as we should have been.

This return to the budget has brought much creativity to my grocery shopping. I'm trying to make good meals without having to buy a lot of items, which makes for some interesting swap outs! We returned for our weekend on the lake with 2 packages of hot dog buns. Now, every once in a while I want a good hot dog, but I knew two packages would be too many dogs for this girl.

Enter the {Hot Dog} Hawaiian Sandwiches!

This is such a simple and delicious meal. If you haven't ever made it, put it on your menu for next week! {for reals yall} Our family actually eats these on Christmas day. They're so great for parties because they're delicious AND you can make them the night before, making for a smoother evening before a party. Here's the original recipe:

Honestly, all I did to alter the recipe was use hot dog buns instead of the Hawaiian rolls. {looking back, I realize this is a slight lie. We use shredded cheese instead of slices. See Financial Crisis Use Food On Hand Above.}  I was really afraid that the recipe wouldn't turn out as good without the sweet bread, but Cody and I both agreed we didn't notice any difference. The hot dog buns were actually easier to eat!

Here's an instagram shot of our meal:




Once you try this recipe, you'll probably want to add it to your weekly rotation. We had them Wednesday night... and I served them last night for our Sunday School social.  They are that good people!

Major Prayer Request.

This is information that I have taken straight off of my sister-in-law Kacy's blog. Our world's have been rocked this week and we would appreciate any and all prayers you would lift on behalf of our family.

From Kacy:

As you know, we returned from Honduras in March as a result of Jd having
severe migraines on a daily basis. We went to the doctor and got a new
medicine, but the doctor did not think it was an urgent situation and did
not see the need to do an MRI as Jd has had migraines his whole life.
Jd was encouraged to go to see his neurologist, however, did not make
an appointment for some time. For the past month, he has been feeling
off, having a "cold" sensation in his brain, and notice last week that
he was losing motor function on his right side. He made an appointment
and had an MRI and a cat scan. He went in last Thursday for the
results and was told he has a large tumor on the left side of his
brain. His doctor, Dr. Daniel, at Medical City Dallas, said he has not
ever seen one this size that was not cancerous and it looks to be a
stage three or four glioblastoma tumor. I was in Honduras while this was happening,
visiting friends, and working with Hillside Community Church. Jd told
me when I returned on Tuesday.

He went back to get two MRIs today and to schedule his biopsy. While
at the hospital, someone broke into our car and stole our laptop and
my wedding rings which Jd had just picked up from being cleaned at the
jewelers.

This is what we know so far:

Jd will have surgery on Thursday, August Fourth at Medical City
Dallas. We are not sure of the time. The surgery will consist of opening the skull and removing what they can. They will remove as much of the
tumor as possible, and then perform a biopsy to see if it is cancerous
and what grade of cancer it is. From there, we will develop a
treatment protocol and go forth.

Jd's job has placed him on medical
leave, he will still be getting paid his regular salary and we will
still be getting full insurance benefits.

We will continue to live at my parents house, as we do not want to add the stress of moving to an
apartment to our lives at this time.

This is what we need prayer for:

Guidance and wisdom for our doctors. Jd has a long relationship with
Dr. Daniel and feels comfortable with him, praise the Lord.

The quick return of our stolen items, especially my wedding rings.

Healing. We have been praying and will continue to pray that God heal
and remove this tumor in a way that can only be credited to Him. We
fully believe that He can heal Jd without medical intervention and are
praying for that.

Our marriage to be strong, and that we will feel the covering of God's
peace over our lives in this time.



Thank you for praying for JD!

WIWW #23

welcome to a hodge podge catch up of WIWW! last week i was out traveling and was too tuckered out on tuesday to get my post up, so this week is a collaboration of pictures i managed to take over the past couple of weeks.

if you're looking for outfit inspiration and motivation to get out of your pj's, head over to the pleated poppy to see hundred's of wiww women!


work:






burn out: store in amarillo, tx
skirt: kohl's years ago
necklace: walmart, years ago
shoes: store in hereford, yellow box
bracelet: f21
earrings: coconut shells, gift from honduras

church & work (you know you rewear too!)





dress: target, years ago
belt: penney's, years ago
necklace: gift from my mom, years ago
earrings: walmart, new {had to put that so you'll know i don't only wear stuff from years ago!}

work:





shirt: target
skirt: banana republic factory store
belt: express
pearls: f21

let me just say, if you're not mixing leopard print with patterns, you're missing out. {and, if you think i'm a crazy person for mixing leopard print with patterns, touche.} i think it just adds such a fun, unexpected pop. try it out!

another note: i wore this outfit for work and then dinner with our small group at genghis grill. it was my first time to try it and while we really enjoyed it, i definitely spilt a lot of stuff while i was trying to fill my bowl. then i spilt sauce down my skirt. twice. you just can't take me anywhere!

work:





sweater: gap
skirt: loft
necklace: f21
shoes: target

a couple of notes about this outfit: let's get the obvious out of the way - i'm wearing a sweater. in july. in texas, where the average temperature isn't below 109 these days. in my defense, they cleaned out our ac units at work and now it's freezing. so even though i was pouring sweat as i walked across campus, as least i was warm in my office!

note two: why didn't my photographer tell me to fix my bangs?!?!?!? looks like i may have to hire someone else! {and get a haircut!}


hope you're having a good week!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip. Yum.

we celebrated june birthday's today up at our office and instead of the traditional cake, we did all different sorts of chips and dips. salsa was already taken, so i had to come up with something new.

pinterest to the rescue!




this recipe was super easy and delicious. it truly tastes like chocolate chip cookie dough. {it's not really considered a dip, but i feel better about eating it by calling it one.}



i don't even have to give you many tips on how to make this. the only one i have it to make sure your butter is soft enough. i made this over my lunch break and microwaved mine on a low power setting and it probably needed a tad longer.



but, it doesn't look like that bothered anyone.



Enjoy!




{edited to add: i ate it straight out of a spoon, but others dipped pretzels in it. both are delish!}

{i'm linking up with boomama's diptastic today! check out her blog for some great recipes!}

Weekend.

we had a wonderful weekend out on the lake with our sunday school class.



we water skied, tubed, wake boarded, wake surfed, floated, ate and plum wore ourselves out.



we're so thankful for our church, the friends we've made and ss leaders who are so willing to bless us!




can't wait for our next trip!
{though I need plenty of time to recover! so. unbelievably. sore.}

It's Not About Whether You Win Or Lose.

Back in my high school days, I was actually a golf superstar.

I know.

You never would have known with as much as I talk about golf on this blog!

This past weekend I actually had the blessing of playing in a golf tournament with my dad. I have to admit, I was a *little* nervous about it because the last time I really played golf was around 2008. Yeah. It's amazing my dad had faith in my golf skills!

Cody and I went out one night over the 4th of July weekend to see if I still even knew how to hold a club. Thankfully, I did.

More importantly, I still remembered my motto to success: It's not about whether you win or lose, just as long as you look the cutest!

Cuteness in hand, I knew my dad and I would be unstoppable.




{yes, we purposely coordinated. I love it!}

I was the most nervous about my first tee off. We were playing with 2 of our friends and I was just certain I was going to wiff. Luckily, I had a really pretty shot. As we started searching for it though, it was no where to be found.

Apparently it wasn't ready to play.



For real yall. The ball disappeared when you looked at it from the front!

We played decent on Saturday. {An 83 for you golfers out there.} Not the best, but we had about 5 putts that stopped an inch short or looped out.


{and superstar abby neinast}

Thankfully, we really stepped up on game on Sunday and shot a 77.





I was happy with our score, but didn't really think we would get anything out of it. I was satisfied with a fun weekend with my dad!


Luckily for us, the other teams in our flight seemed to have an off day. We were the only team to shot in the 70's and claimed first place outright!

Our prize:

Yep. $210 apiece! I'm still figuring out what I want to get with my money. {a new fall purse is currently at the top of the list! though a practical side says to use it for something on the house. wha wha whaaaa.} As my friend Leslie said: Unreal. You have achieved greatness. You were paid for looking stylish. Bravo! :)

All in all it was such a great weekend and I'm so glad I got to play in the tournament with my dad!