What would a marriage be without a good fight?
A water fight that is! While having Labor Day off, we decided to engage in a nice bit of friendly competition. Ryan claimed the more "equipped" super soaker for himelf --- jerk! Just kidding. However, he was nice enough to swap halfway through... he is just the sweetest. Hahaha! It was the perfect way to let off some steam, spend some quality fun time together, and fulfill a date idea from our wedding shower! (Thanks to whoever suggested this one!) My suggestion... at least once a month.. schedule some "steam blowing/spontaneous/fun/be a kid again" time... it's healthy for marriage!
Birthday Weekend!!
The big 24. Yikes! One year away from the quarter century club folks! I don't care how old I get ... birthdays are my favorite! They're right up there with surprises. The weekend was full of food.. glorious, delicious food! I have to make recommendations to some of the best places to eat on the Northshore of Louisiana. Ryan took me to The Broken Egg Cafe in Mandeville. I had their elevated version of Chicken and Waffles that had a syrup that was infused with jalapeno. I love trying something new!! Ryan ordered the Crabcake Cavallo, which is jumbo lump crab cakes, two poached eggs, Andouille infused hollandaise with diced red bell peppers & green onions. Ryan literally said it was "THE BEST BREAKFAST" he had ever had. Bravo broken egg, you never fail!
While I made my own birthday cake and as pictured below looks delectable... it was a fail! Check out the full recipe story HERE. My husband bestowed upon me a new study bible and not pictured is a very unique journal in which he adorned with custom quotes and encouragement on the pages. I can officially put away my bright pink student bible that saw me through out high school. Got my big girl bible *wink*. And of course my husbands has a way with words, and while the inside of his card was incredibly thoughtful and sentimental... I had to laugh at his attempt to write my name on the outside. *Face palm* ...hahaha just call me "Aaydrey".. I love him still!!
Ryan made me feel like a queen when he brought me to another gem of the Northshore cuisine, Sal & Judy's (located in Lacombe). It would be best described as Southern cuisine with a mix of Italian goodness. You will not be disappointed for the pretty penny you pay. Started off with the Crab Claws that were swimming in the best cream sauce ever that you'll soak up every drop with the bread they give you!! I ordered the Trout Meuniere, a filet of trout in a white wine butter sauce. And yes I thought it was possibly pronounced like manure. Therefore I simply pointed to my menu when ordering! Ryan ordered an old favorite of his from when he used to work at Sal & Judy's, Redfish Nicholas. It was a perfectly cooked redfish filet with crabmeat, mushroom, and shrimp on top smothered in a lemon butter cream sauce.
Of course some family time came with going to the brand new Movie Tavern (dine in before or during your movie!) in Covington with Ryan's dad to go see Guardians of the Galaxy. What a treat it was to have an appetizer of Boondock Saints Nachos (loaded nachos with three kinds of cheese and of course bacon!) beforehand. Plus, the movie was hilarious! Love quality time. And I fulfilled my craving for pasta by sharing a decadent meal of Eggplant Pirogue, cajun fried eggplant, smothered in a delicious au gratin sauce with gulf shrimp and fresh crab claws, served over angel hair pasta! That was at none other than Copeland's. Thanks Miss Pam for the laughs and quality time :)
A place for everything and everything in it's place.
So if you read my previous post you probably heard about the crazy organizing that occurred. And here is the fruit of it! I know it may not look like much, but when you only have ONE closet for practically ALL of your belongings, you can't let the clothes and rest of the closet get out of hand. Plus, my jewelry was not only getting tangled, I'd forget half of it was there because it was hidden away in a drawer. Now it is on display for all to see! I would have loved to do a DIY for this, and perhaps in the future I might make one, but this was still a steal of a deal being $15 from TJ Maxx (Love that store!!!)
Cupcake Wars!
Confession time...my guilty pleasure is watching Cupcake Wars on Hulu. No shocker there. And the baker in me lept for joy to hear that we were going to recreate the show for the youth and college group at church! Props to all participants, there were some very inventive and unique flavor combinations. I was honored to be a judge and hopefully gave some constructive criticism... my favorite had to be a vanilla cupcake with cinnamon buttercream topped with ginger snaps and banana... YUM! The theme of the cupcakes were superheroes and as a result, the winning cupcake (pictured on the top left) was representative of Spiderman (Good job Courtney & Graham!) Everyone had a blast whether they were creating, watching, or tasting!
Quality Time with Ellie Bug!
Between every visit with our nephew Cole and niece Ellie, they grow at least an inch! Okay! Maybe not an inch, but they are constantly changing! Little Miss Ellie is so adorable with the most beautiful big blue eyes! It's always fun to see the personalities come out of the two of them. Although the Saints game was a bit anticlimactic, we fully took advantage of the quality time with Lance & Nina and their cute little family! Enjoy Ellie Bug being a cutie patooty!
DIY - Map Windowframe
I had my eyes fixed on this window frame when I saw it a couple months ago in Patina's Interiors...and after much consideration, I figured out the best use of it! We had a custom size reprint of a world map made that would be mounted behind the glass. Posters that were as big as this one were not cheap. I looked high and low on the internet for all different kinds of custom poster places that would create a completely "CUSTOM" size. I eventually found posterprintfactory.com and they did it for a third of the cost that other companies were doing it for. While the project as whole was not exactly a bargain, we were so thrilled with the way it turned out! Can't wait to hang it!!!
Winner of the "Organized Life" giveaway goes to......
Hannah Nelson! Believe it or not there are actually two Hannah Nelson's in our life, but this one happens to be my amazing sister-in-law! I must do a shameless plug for all the WI peeps. Hannah has her own photography business: Rosebud Photography. Please check her out! She's in the Oshkosh area, but I bet she'd be willing to travel a bit too!) Hannah please let me know which of the giveaway prizes you would like and we'll get it too you ASAP! Also a big thanks to all the others that entered the giveaway.
Housekeeping! Noticed the changes? Check them out!
We wanted to give the blog a little update and decided to give it a sleeker look with a bit more bold pictures! And now
you can find the new link to all the recipes in a section especially dedicated to "Foodie Food!" The plan is to add recipes throughout the month so you'll be able to find each of them categorized on that page for easy reference! I'll be tweaking that part of it all, but I'll keep you updated in the process! We might also be adding a subscription option in the future so that via e-mail you'll be able to get updates of the bi-monthly posts here on YBSG! Your support means the world, and although blogging looks fun, it's a LOT of work. It's a passion that I am gonna stick to and hopefully grow in! Keep up the awesome support readers!!!!
you can find the new link to all the recipes in a section especially dedicated to "Foodie Food!" The plan is to add recipes throughout the month so you'll be able to find each of them categorized on that page for easy reference! I'll be tweaking that part of it all, but I'll keep you updated in the process! We might also be adding a subscription option in the future so that via e-mail you'll be able to get updates of the bi-monthly posts here on YBSG! Your support means the world, and although blogging looks fun, it's a LOT of work. It's a passion that I am gonna stick to and hopefully grow in! Keep up the awesome support readers!!!!
P.S. I am always open to hearing ideas of things you'd like to see featured in the blog!!