Father’s Day Gatherings

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!  I was so lucky to spend the day with three dads who are all fabulous: My Dad, Ryan’s Dad, and of course Ryan!

This morning, we had breakfast with Leenie and Poppy at The Little Cafe.  This is one of our favorite local breakfast spots.  Super cheap and good food. 

I decided on a breakfast sandwich (bacon, egg, cheese, and tomato) and hash browns. 

Then we ran a few errands together, and then came back to open gifts.  I gave the husband an 18-hole golf lesson!  He’s excited to have a pro take him out golfing and give him tips!  We had a fun day and it was sad to see them go.  BUT… Sadie and I had a fun kitchen project to work on… Cookie Dough Balls!  We used this recipe created by my friend Diana over at The Chic Life.  Then we created a cookie dough ball tower… another idea from Diana.  We finished up our tower just in time to take it over to Ryan’s parents’ house for dinner.

 

We had a fun evening with the family!

I’m so lucky to have 3 great dads in my life… but I know this day is hard on many people out there who have said goodbye to their fathers.  To those people… you are in my thoughts and prayers tonight. 

Best-Laid Plans…

I was really excited about yesterday.  I had big plans to perform with Queen City DanceOut at the Charlotte Knights Baseball Game.  We were planning to do a quick 5-minute demo at the end of the game, just before the fireworks show.  I had my outfit ready, complete with cute baseball socks.  Leenie and Poppy even came to watch.  And then….

Rain.

Just like that, best-laid plans foiled.

It’s not all bad.  We’re still going to do the demo on another night this summer.  But I was a little disappointed.

So instead, Leenie, Poppy, Sadie, Ryan, and I headed to the Steele Creek area for some dinner. 

   

We decided on B.T.’s Burgers.  All of us really enjoyed our meals.  I had a cheeseburger with pepperjack cheese, chili, and other fixins.  Ryan and I shared fries. 

Everything was yum.  And oddly enough… the weather was really nice.  Cooler than usual and breezy.  It felt a little like being at the beach!

So… best laid plans were foiled by the weather.  But it turned out to be a great night anyway!

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!  Especially my wonderful Dad, my wonderful father-in-law, and especially my wonderful husband! Check back later to hear about our father’s day activities.

DIY Day + A Little Fun

Ryan and I have been working on a little home improvement project over the past 2 days. 

(I don’t get fixed up for DIY Days!)

Yes, we’ve been painting!  We have been needing to repaint both of our upstairs bathrooms for quite a while, and we decided to get started yesterday!  We finished a bathroom yesterday and another one today.  Go us!  I always think it is really fun to paint… I just wish that someone would do all the cleaning up afterwards!  Ha!  Now that the bathrooms are both painted, I’m having this urge to go to Target and get new bath mats, shower curtains, and other fun things.  Yay for DIY Days!

And then after our productive morning, we had a fun outing planned. 

Ryan and I met up with Mandy and Owen, and Jenn and Cara at Carowinds!  We had been looking forward to getting the kids together for a water park day. 

 

Unfortunately, the weather was cloudier than we expected.  Fortunately, there is PLENTY of other stuff to do at Carowinds!

And now… now it is time to rest!!!

Oh, by the way, my new fitness adventure had to be postponed until Friday.  Details soon!  Promise!

Stromboli + “Perfectly Chocolate” Cupcakes

I have been having some serious chocolate cravings over the past couple of days.  I held out as long as I could, but there was only one way to deal with this problem…

… but more on that in a minute.

Today we had a really relaxing day.  There were probably a lot of (productive) things we should have done, but after church, we had “lazy time, followed by pool time.  I know that you guys must think this is all we ever do.  And… it’s sort of true. I mean, we live in the south and the weather is 90-100 degrees every day in the summer.  I just can’t think of a better way to deal with it!  When i was growing up, we spent almost every day at our neighborhood pool and I have so many fun memories of our pool days.  Here’s a cute little video of Sadie jumping into the pool.  This is her new thing.  We could never get her to do this last year.  Each day she gets a little more brave.

Now, on to the food.  Today was a good food day!  Sadie and I made this fabulous stromboli tonight. 

(Are you drooling?  It’s ok if you are.)

I made this once before with slightly different ingredients.  The idea came from Kim over at Liv Life.  Click here to check out her post.  I get loads of ideas from her!  Anyway, this stromboli had mozzarella, pepperoni, black forest ham, salami, and provolone.  It’s a meat-lover’s fantasy!  It was so good and so filling!  I do agree that the salami made it a little greasy… but it was still good.

And then… we moved on to these cupcakes.

Remember how I said I was craving chocolate?  I almost made Lauren Z’s Emergency Chocolate Cake yesterday, but I was out of sugar!  Oops!  But then I started picturing these cupcakes in my mind and I knew I had to make them.  I used the recipes for “Perfectly Chocolate” Cake and “Perfectly Chocolate” frosting on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa can.  I’ve used these recipes before and they are delish.  Why reinvent the wheel?

So there you go.  Stromboli and cupcakes.  I’m gonna have to do some work at the gym tomorrow… but it’s a winning combination. 

Oh, and by the way!  I am trying a new class tomorrow morning (if I can get up in time)… can’t wait to blog about it!

Bacon, Tomato, and Onion Pasta Salad

If you haven’t noticed already… I have a thing for pasta.  I think I could eat spaghetti every day and not get tired of it.  In case you’re curious… I’ve never EVER tried to eat a low-carb diet.  No ma’am.  Not for me.  In the summer, one of my favorite things is pasta salad.  Of course, there are thousands of varieties.  This pasta salad was inspired by my sister Meredith’s fridge.  I was at Meredith’s house on Thursday, getting ready to go and help my other sister Adrienne pick out her wedding dress.  I opened the fridge to get an egg and spied a container of pasta salad from the Fresh Market that looked kinda yummy.  I tried a bite and thought, “Wow.  This is really good.”  And then I thought, “I bet I could make this!”  And I did.

Bacon, Tomato, and Onion Pasta Salad

(This recipe doesn’t have exact amounts.  When I make pasta salads, I just add ingredients until I think there’s enough.)

Ingredients:

• 1 12-16 oz box of Rotini pasta (I used whole wheat) cooked to “al dente” firmness
• 1/4 cup mayo (I used Duke’s Light)
• about 15-20 grape tomatoes, sliced
• 1/8-1/4 cup of sliced green onions (more or less depending on the taste you prefer)
• 1/4-1/2 cup of real bacon pieces (I used the pre-crumbled pieces of real bacon on the salad aisle)
• a few tablespoons of rice vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

Mix all items together.  (I started with the pasta and mayo, mixed well, and then added everything in the order that it is listed.)  Serve cold.  Garnish with parsley.

This pasta is great for taking to cookouts and picnics, as long as you can keep it cold—because of the mayo.  It would be great with hot dogs or burgers!  Or, eat it with a cup of soup for a light lunch.  Enjoy!

Say YES to the Dress + Pasta Preview

TGIF, Friends!  This is kind-of funny to say, because every day is pretty much a Saturday for a teacher in the summer months.  Ryan and I are really enjoying our vacation time. 

This would be one of the perks of being a teacher.  We don’t have great salaries, and we keep getting slammed by our legislators with budget cut after budget cut… but at least we still have summertime.

So… I have fun news…

remember how I told you that my sister Adrienne got engaged to her boyfriend Paul? 

It’s such a cute story… she’s a first grade teacher and he proposed to her at school.  In a room full of first graders.  Now that takes guts.  Have you ever BEEN in a room full of first graders?  It’s no joke.  You never know WHAT they will do or say! 

Trying to imagine what a proposal in a first grade classroom might look like?  Here’s a cute video that will give you a visual of the proposal.  You must watch it. 

Miss W., Will You Marry Me?

How cute was that???

Well… big news… Adrienne has found her wedding dress! 

I’m so excited for her and I am so glad she found “the one.”  (The Boy AND the Dress!)  We all had a toast to celebrate!

Cheers!

And then we picked out bridesmaid dresses AND a Mother-of-the-Bride dress.  No pictures… you’ll have to wait till December to see what all the dresses look like!

So… I would like to leave you with a little preview of a pasta salad I made tonight.  It was inspired by something I found yesterday in My other sister Meredith’s fridge. 

It’s creamy, tangy, and has a manly ingredient.  Can you guess what the “manly ingredient” is?  Check back tomorrow for details and the recipe!!!

Pictures of Summer

Wow.  We’ve been busy lately… thought I’d just do a quick post tonight and give you a visual of some of our activities lately!

A visit to the Carowinds Water Park…

 

Cooked breakfasts… one of my absolute favorite things about summer…

Ryan’s softball game…

I’ll be back soon with more Dixie-Style Dining and other fun summer eats!