Welcome Home!

When I was asked by Ashely at Life On the Parsons Farm Blog to join in a home tour blog hop I was so excited! I love getting ideas and seeing others creativity in action so this was the perfect blog hop!

So here is a glimpse into our home sweet home~

 This is our home, we are in beautiful East Tennessee which is a little piece of paradise.

We absolutely love it here, the location in ideal for all that we do and we love being around all the mountains and trees. Our home is three bedrooms, two baths, very open, and feels so cozy.

When you come in the front door you are in the living room and the open kitchen and dinning area.

I've really fallen in love with this layout because we have friends over often and small group regularly so I can be finishing cooking and still "with" everyone in the living room. 

I also like this area because it has a warm glow at sunrise and sunset and just feels so relaxing. 

The dinning area back up to the deck. I got this table and hutch from a local lady who paints furniture. I like the table because it has a leaf and can sit 8-10 no problem. The black hutch is nothing fancy but I like it because of the special pictures and items the shelves have.

To the right of the kitchen is our master bedroom.

The room is painted a light grey and I'm drooling over the idea of crown molding in here. 

(not pictured, overflowing basket of clothes)

Our master bath is one of my favorite areas because of its size and the area where I see the most potential. I'm considering painting this room on Fall Break and adding trim around the mirror for a more finished look. Also, lesson learned here to NEVER get white bathroom rugs. I feel they always look so dirty and they slide all over the place. So I'm currently on the hunt for one longer, slider rug. 

On the left side of the kitchen is two rooms and the other bathroom.

Drew's "man cave" literally has an over sized FatSack beanbag and big screen. That room has potential but considering we never use it, we can't really decided what to do.

The little bathroom has is simple, clean, and cozy. I don't know what it is but I just love this little bathroom.

This is the third bedroom and total mess.

I love the window in this room but other than a "collect all" we really don't use this room very much.

(hence the printer on a chair)

Until the day Little Irons are expected this room probably won't change a whole lot other than some closet cleaning.

So that is our home!

Our back deck is officially under construction (again) as Drew builds a pergola over the table area. I jumped the gun and bought two pumpkins a week or so ago and still haven't finished . More coming soon!

Next week here are my nominations for the home sweet home blog hop//

Christina

Linzi

Back 2 School & End of Summer Favorites

Now that summer is wrapping up, I'm filled with mix emotions.
I LOVE summer! This summer was way different than expected with Drew working out of town my entire teacher break but it was still fun. Here a few things that are definitely my favorite as we round out August and welcome September with open arms!

Running shorts, my go to when not in school basically 24/7.
So comfortable and hopefully will keep me inspired to run. #wishful
With all the sun we are around in the summer I want to make sure my skin is staying healthy. The lotion not only smells great but helps skin out after being in the sun all day.
As much as I love pumpkin...everything, I still need a few weeks before I bust it all out.
Speaking of skin care, this Burt's Bees cream works wonders too. I love putting in on before going to sleep and I wake up with silky skin.
This yummy soap from B&BW is a fall favorite no doubt.
I'm spending a ton of time on "school" stuff so fun office supplies that I love make it even more enjoyable. Flair pens are my addiction, cute file folders are just plain fun, and considering how much my binder contains I might as well have one I like.
Finally, oh coffee goodness.
I always enjoy a fun mug and my favorite coffee. I have it through my morning meetings, bus duty, and whatever else my sweet 5th graders might throw at me before 9:00.

Monday Meal Mash-Up

Time is flying by!

I think I'm about use to being in the swing of things, just seems

we have gone non-stop.  

Menu planning has never been more helpful. 

We are waking up around 4:30 and by the time 5:30 rolls around

sometimes I can't even remember what is for dinner so looking back on the menu I make Saturday morning is very useful. 

Tonight we tried this new recipe for a bbq dinner in the crockpot and it was awesome!

So awesome I didn't even have a sec to take a picture. Highly recommend it!

Here's what will be cooked up for the Irons this week:

Sunday// bbq dinner in crock pot, link above

Monday// turkey meatloaf with green beans and new potatoes

Tuesday// Parmesan and red pepper crusted tilpia with steamed broccoli and brown rice

Wednesday// crock pot chicken and dumplings and a side

Thursday// small group burger cook out!

Friday// wing night on the lake!!

Organizing Our Wrapping Paper

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit what a total mess our wrapping paper has been for years. 

Before this mini organization project, all our wrapping paper was in a large clear container in no particular order and not completely "in" the container. 

It is kept in the closet of the "man cave" and out of sight but always a mess and it drove me nuts that I could never find anything when needed.

So this summer I decided to clean this up and look at what gift wrapping stuff we have so I'm not buying more of the same. 

note: I did not spread the bags everywhere, my dear helper did when chasing frisbe

First I got a three drawer container.

Next I sorted out all the bags by size and pulled Christmas/holiday bags in a different stack.

Then I folded all the tissue paper nicely, secured ribbon ends, and put all tags together in a drawer. 

Once it was all sorted, the rest took less than five minutes.

Small bags went in one drawer

larger gift bags in another drawer

ribbons and any other "topper" all in a drawer complete with tape and a pair of scissors

All this took maybe 20 minutes and made a world of difference. I placed folded gift boxes on top of the drawers and a few rolls of paper are nicely standing next to this. 

Now I won't be wasting money on gift bags last minute because I know exactly where to find one! 

Back to school & menu {sort of}

Well this gal is back in full swing.

This will be my first five day week. Sigh.

I've loved these half days and partial weeks as we ease into reality,

and our demanding schedules. 

So now my evenings are filled with planning, grading, and trying to either stay up and get one more thing done or trying to convince myself that I need to go to bed. 

By next week I think it will feel a bit more "normal" and not like I'm in a fog come 4:00.

I do have to say, my class is great!

I have 28 which is a LOT of kids, but they are so respectful and work hard. 

Already loving them and looking forward to this year.

This weekend I'm going to a bacheloret party for my soon to be sister-in-law and have school open house so our menu is limited to say the least.

Sunday- birthday dinner for a close friend

Monday- crock pot pork chops, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes

{one of my favorites}

Tuesday- grilled meatballs for subs 

Wednesday- sandwiches for the lake

Thursday- small group and open house

Friday- I'm out of town

Saturday- not sure!!!

Weekend and Menu

I have survived my first 3 days back at school.

My class is overwhelmingly huge but the kiddos are very sweet and have lots of personality. 

Definitely still have lots to do in the next 24 hours as I prepare for them on Wednesday.

This weekend was simple and nice.

Nothing big but I enjoyed it.

Friday we had a brew at our favorite beer garden.

This is pretty much our Friday routine, complete with a Papa Murphy's pizza to take home.

Copper loves the run around time with a sweet pit bull that belongs to the owner and we love all the local craft drafts. Everyone wins!

Another nice Saturday on the lake.

Sunday Drew went to a wakeboard cable park with some friends and I stayed home to work on school stuff. I got alot done and made the best sandwiches for dinner. Complete with my favorite, a side of peas!

This week I'm trying to keep dinner simple:

Sunday// Ham and Swiss baked sandwich

Monday//one dish dinner I found on Pintrest.

--made it tonight and it was NOT good, nothing like the picture and not something I'll try again 

Tuesday// my favorite and something I could eat every week, lettuce wraps

Wednesday// back to school mean Crock Pot time! Pork chops with some ranch seasoning, yum 

Thursday//small group and my first full day at school- ordering pizza and making salad

Have a great week, here's to hoping my class is 100% ready in 24 hours!

Smoothies

Well at 5:00 tomorrow morning it's back to reality.

This summer I've gotten in the habit of running in the morning and I don't want to stop that just because school starts. This will require some extra prep the night before for me but I feel it is well worth it!

One thing I'll be doing is getting our lunches as much together the night before as possible.

I know somethings will have to wait but to do as much as I can will shave off some minutes.

Another thing that will help get him out the door and my running shoes on quicker is having a breakfast that requires little effort as I get lunches together. 

Breakfast is an area where I feel we can be healthy and quick.

I refuse to have us do unhealthy, fast, garbage food for breakfast especially when I can 

save money and give us something that will be good for us and just as fast. 

This summer with Drew out of town so much I cooked very minimal. 

Once thing I learned to make was smoothies.

I use to make smoothies but they were loaded with sugar and although yummy 

not as healthy as they could be.

I have cut yogurt out of all my smoothies and now only add unsweetened almond milk and the biggest change being a cup of greens to every smoothie.

I use to think yuck, spinach in a smoothie till I tried it. 

I started with half a cup then have increased to a full cup.

Truly can't tell it is in there and it is so good for you !

This prep idea came from several things I saw on Pintrest and tweaked

 it to make it how we would like it.

The recipes I made were:

\\Peachy Green

one cup frozen peaches

one banana 

one cup greens (spinach)

*add 1 3/4 cup almond milk

*1 cup ice

\\Berry Green

one cup frozen mixed berries

one cup greens

*add 1 cup almond milk

\\Strawberry Banana

one cup strawberries

one banana

*add one cup almond milk

I've made these one before and I was very pleased with the frozen fruit and how it tasted in the smoothies.

They are just plain, no sugar added fruit.

I happened to have some strawberries about to go bad so I used them too.

I labeled my bags first making note clearly of what kind of smoothie it was and what would need to be added.

Then just measure out what you need in each bag and lay flat on counter. 

I learned placing them flat down allows them to stack better in the freezer.

These are super easy and took less than 10 minutes to prepare.

Little things like this will keep me from making excuses to not run and not to mention, 

they are delicious!

Final 3 days as a "house wife" and weekly menu

Only three days left before I report back to teacher duty.

I feel like I cold wail like a child and say "no, I want longer" and at the same time I'm so excited to get back in to the groove and meet my new kiddos.

I definitely do better on a routine.

I feel like I am the ultimate creature of habit and this summer with being off and Drew being out of town has thrown my "Type A" personality a {needed} curve ball. 

So as I soak in these next 72 hours of "Bum Life" as I've called it, I will enjoy each minute!

This weekend we celebrated one of our best friends 27th birthday. We had a family cook out and small fire for the unusually cool Friday evening and had a great dinner on the lake Saturday after a unfilled day.

After we ate it was almost sunset and we just sat and listened to great music.

{Johnny Cash, Incubus, Mumford, Lynard}

So grateful for the friends and weekends like this. 

Last night we had some pretty serious storms in our area. Several tornadoes hit close to home but we are thankful to be okay and the hardest hit area did lose homes which is sad but everyone survived. 

Such a blessing!

 We kept dinner simple since we were under a tornado warning and keeping an eye on where this storm was going aka basement watch for us.

I got this dough for free from a local carry-out pizza place. They wouldn't charge me for the ball of dough for a large pizza so I tipped them a few bucks. It was almost 100 yesterday with super high humidity so I wasn't even going to attempt trying my own dough. This dough was amazing and we loaded it with toppings.

Delicious!

Tonight I made these stuffed peppers and they were awesome!

Next time I will probably use ground turkey instead of sausage but glad I tried this new recipe. 

Drew and I both loved it and it was easy to make too.

The menu for the rest of the week:

\\Tuesday- grill out with grilled corn and broccoli cheddar quinoa

\\Wednesday- chicken quesadilas 

\\Thursday- small group

\\Friday- possible cook out again? maybe smoked bbq?

and here is a great Monday moment for ya...

Seven years of living on my own and buying groceries and I've NEVER dropped a bag of groceries. Even when I lived on the third floor apartment and carried bags (all in one trip cause I wasn't willing to make two trips) never dropped a bag. Well today I have maybe 4 bags and missed the counter where of course the eggs had been in the bag that fell. Five eggs did survive.

Happy Monday!

Thankful

This past Monday night a terrible car accident took place near my hometown.

Four men were in the truck and two were husbands of teachers I taught with at my former school. 

One man died passed away and the husbands of my teacher friends are in a critically dangerous condition. 

Although I am not super close to these teachers, my heart hurts for them.

My heart aches for the young children they have and the friends and family who will feel the pain from this accident long after the tire marks fade on the road.

Our life can change with every breath we take and sadly times like this remind us.

Our physical time on this Earth are so limited and nothing compared to what eternal life in Heaven will be.

God has a plan for us and has provided us with skills and blessings of opportunities to make the most of this life. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with work, to stress about the clutter on the counter or dust on the shelf- but all these seemingly useless things take away from remembering to enjoy this life. 

To love those around us.

To make today count. Make everyday count. 

This past Monday Drew got to come home after spending all of summer working out of town.

I'm happy to have him home and I love having dinner together and going to bed together but most of all I'm so grateful to be able to hug him and have him close.

But I'm making a point to hug him extra tight, to give him one more kiss, and to make sure he always knows how much I love him.

I'm so thankful for this life and for what God has allowed us. 

We serve such an amazing God and I know he has a plan for these hurting families and this his will is always better than ours.

Friday Five and Update

Seriously, how has it been a month since I've last blogged?!

I thought this summer I would blog daily but that has not been the case. Obviously.

So these past four weeks have been jammed packed. 

Family has been in town, as much lake time as possible, house projects, turned 27 Wednesday, and Drew has been out of town during the week working on a project this entire summer.

Being home along all summer has been an adjustment for sure.

Not how I expected to spend summer by any means but I try to remind myself to be thankful for his job and not dwell on the fact I've barely seen him all summer. Luckily, his project is coming to a close (right as school starts). 

So here is a Friday 5 and Update all in one

//one//

Marshalls for the home run! I LOVE Meyers cleaners. They smell amazing, clean great, and are safe to use with kids and pets. Drew actually find these on a random rack at Marshalls for half price. I bought three full size bottles and some dryer sheets. All for under $14, made my day!

//two//

My flowers have taken off! This picture was taken about two weeks ago and they are even bigger now. I love the way they are now flowing over the rocks and spreading. Since I have all this time on my hands these days I've really enjoyed these flowers.

//three//

Strawberry lemonade from McAlisters. If you haven't tried it go right now and get one. You won't be sorry!

//four//

As if I didn't love my sweet little Copper before, all this time just me and him has made my summer. Lots of cuddles and wiggles with unlimited frisbe has been the name of the game this summer.

//five//

Ah, Norris Lake--seriously heaven on Earth. Trying to spend as much time as possible on the lake.

Top 10

I've seen this on several blogs lately, so thought I would join in//

1. Any restaurant on the water will be my choice. The water is my happy place and I love it so much. Add dinner to the mix, I'm in heaven.
2. I'm currently on a smoothie kick. Apparently I live under a rock and have just discovered how delicious and healthy they can be.
3. Currently trying to adjust to Drew working out of town Monday-Thursday. Stinks that I'm on summer break but I have to remember how grateful I am for his job. Even though I miss him and Copper waits at the door every afternoon.
4. Reading "Hissy Fit" by Mary Kay Andrews right now and it is hilarious. 
5. Trying to wake-up early and run (still on the post-vacation detox/diet)--so far I've surprised myself at how well this is going. Got to keep this up!
6. It might by almost July but I still can't ditch my comfy pj pants at night. They are my comfort zone.
7. Been OCD since off for summer and have totally rearranged the kitchen cabinets and it makes me feel so happy. Seriously, what is wrong with me?!
8. "The Fray" channel on Pandora. Can't get enough.
9. When Drew is in town on the weekends we cram in as much of "Orange is the New Black" as humanly possible. So dang good!
10. Once of my favorite parts of summer is spending time at home. And if you know me at all you know how much I LOVE our dog and he has been such good company in this quiet house. Also, he helps me get motivated to run. I just love him so much!!! (also love that he tries to over use his new high five trick to anyone he sits next to)

The best fur child we could have!