WE WERE BOTH YOUNG....

Alright so maybe we weren't the youngest people there. Maybe even the oldest group of girls there that without kids. That did not stop us from having the best time!

You might remember this post here. So my love for Taylor has been around for a while. When my friend Kristen told us she was buying tickets and wanted to know if I wanted to go the answer was a huge YES!!

Taylor Swift puts on a large production show geared towards her younger fans but it was extremely entertaining and made singing along to all her songs even better.

Umm yes we did decide to take a picture in front of one of these backdrops. Ha!

Sisters!

Friends! And totally the two that were singing every word the loudest.

Waiting for Taylor. We are such nerds!

She came out and sat on this little tree prop for 3 or 4 songs.

The tree was literally right in front of our seats. We were excited!

For encore this balcony was lowered from the ceiling

and she rode it around the entire arena. It was very high. She is a brave one that Taylor.

Taking a bow.

It was such a fun night with my friends and sister. And I have no shame. I would go see her again in a second. Looking forward to her next album already.

ZOO BOO!

Friday night we headed to Memphis Zoo's event Zoo Boo. It is hosted by LeBonheur Children's Hospital. My sister Annie decided to tag along with us. It is nights like this that I am so thankful we live in a city that is large enough to have fun events like this.

Elting was a little lamb and I personally thought she was precious. I could be a bit biased though. It ended up being a very chilly night. I prefer Halloween to be cold though, compared to past years where it could be in the 90s. We rode the Haunted Hayride and the train and stopped at all the trick or treating stations. Elting was exhausted by the time we left but it was such a fun night.

FOTO FRIDAY

Story time. Every night. After bath. Before night night. Something I always want to remember.

IT'S FALL YALL

Last week Elting and I traveled home to spend some time with my mom while Kenny was out of town for market. I love going home if Kenny is out of town because it is an extra pair of hands, someone to talk to and we go eat at all my favorite places in Hattiesburg. My mom is thrilled when we come because she loves getting to see Elle.

This weekend there was also a really big charitable consignment sale called Duds and Doodlebugs. It is huge. It takes up an entire arena and has everything from clothes (tons of them) baby gear, toys, strollers, you name it! I found a bunch of really cute things for Elle. I was shopping for bigger sizes for her. Can't believe I am already thinking about clothes for her when she is 2.

I love buying gently used clothes for Elting. I want her to have nice things but I just absolutely cringe at paying a lot of money for something she might wear for 3 months. So ebay, consignment sales, and brand sales are my friend for sure.

We got back in town in time to celebrate Kenny's 30th birthday on Tuesday. Since he had been out of town for business he took the day off to spend with us as a family. We did some shopping at his favorite store (Vineyard Vines duh!)

Kenny tagged along with us to Elting's 9 month checkup and then we went to the pumpkin patch. We decided to forgo going to the big pumpkin farm this year and instead visited the neighborhood church patch. We still picked out a very nice pumpkin and took some really cute and obligatory pictures. It was such a great day together.

FROM BOY TO MAN

Today is a very important day. Today my husband turns 30. Yes 30! That is big my friends. Big. We started dating when he was 21 and I was 19. Babies. In the time we have been together I have watched him turn from a college kid to a man. A man who who works insanely hard to provide for his family and a man that is the BEST father and husband. Elting, Lena and I are so lucky to have him as part of our lives.

Happy Birthday Kenny!!! We love you.

THE GREAT BAG SEARCH

So I want a new bag for my Christmas present from Kenny. We have decided to just do one nice gift and then stockings this year. And then of course spoil Elting to death. So I want a new purse. I have been carrying the bag I have now for a long long time.

Pinterest has been the best for this search because I can comb the Internet and collect all my wants into one Pinboard and then visit that board over and over and over and really be happy with the choice.

These are my top three...for now. Criteria: tan, leather, cross body option maybe, large






Any opinions out there?

FAMILY OUTING OH SNAP!

Kenny already had a daddy/daughter outing to the zoo but we decided to go as a family. The weather has been so nice and we also wanted to go ahead and buy a zoo membership. Needless to say, it was a great little outing. Going on a week day afternoon definitely has benefits. Not crowded at all. We even went to the Sea Lion show.

Elle actually did pay attention to some of the animals. She liked the things that moved a lot or the really big animals. So penguins, polar bears, seals, elephants and giraffes.

With our membership, it is really nice to know we can now go anytime we want.

Kenny and Elting at the Sea Lion show. I love this picture.

The Elephant exhibit. My personal favorite.

Petting zoo.

She loved the penguins.

MIMOSAS AND FOOTBALL

We were so lucky to have Kenny's parents come to Memphis and spend time with Elting while Kenny and I got away for a little weekend with each other, friends and football. Friday night we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants, The Grill for some of their famous cheeses sticks and steak on a stick. It was such a nice dinner. We talked and had drinks and delicious food. Aaaahhh adult time! Later we met up with friends at a bar for drinks before going to bed somewhat early.

Mississippi State's game against South Carolina was at 11:30 AM which makes tailgating and such more difficult. It has been a long time since we had a game at the time. But the weather was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. And we got to the tailgate around 9. We had made the decision that mimosas were definitely in order. That was a great idea. They were perfect.

The game was an exciting one. We were sad that we did not win but Kenny and I had such a great time!

A little self potrait with Kenny's new iPhone 4s.

After our sad loss, we headed back to the tailgate to eat and hang out.Isn't my Bff, Megan the cutest pregnant girl ever! Cannot wait to meet Tiny in January. They are not finding out what they are having and I am going crazy with anticipation.

Saturday night we walked from our condo in the Cotton District across the street to Bin 612 for you guessed it more drinks and some dinner. It was a good time because we ran into people we knew and got to catch up. After we left the bar we just hung out outside the condo and people watched.

Sunday morning we woke up for City Bagel of course before getting back to Memphis to let Kenny's parents get home. It really was such a fun weekend together.

P.S. So those yummy sliders that I spent time making before going to Starkville...caught on fire. Twice. Like flames. It was bad. The oven at the condo's oven is really old and not sure what happened. But the first pan caught on fire. I moved the racks around and thought I would just take the other pan but those caught on fire to. Funny thing is, even though they were black on top they did not taste burnt at all. Everyone insisted I still bring them (so embarrassing) and what do you know, every single one of those charred sliders got consumed. Thats how good they are.

HUM A HAPPY TUNE

So I'm up. I've been up since 2-ish. Elle started fussing and I thought I would try just letting her fuss it out. Didn't work so much. She ended up hysterical and with Kenny and I both awake and trying to calm her down. So after an hour I picked her up out of the crib cuddled her and was changing her diaper and started humming to her. Once I put her back down in the crib I stood over her not touching her and continued to hum This is the first thing I hummed.


We saw Moneyball tonight...last night, whatever. It was so so so good. I was on pins and needles the entire time because I know nothing about the Oakland As. What a great story. Even if I did not particularly enjoy looking at Brad Pitt as much as I used to. His haircut was bothering me. Anyway, the girl who plays his daughter sings that song and she was excellent and the song is catchy.

After that I had to turn to the ol' standby, Adele's Someone Like You. I hummed the ENTIRE song. Including the bridge. Ha! By the time I was finished and I must say I think I sounded pretty amazing, Elle was drifting off to sleep. FINALLY!!

Then I climbed back into bed.(Kenny was already snoring) I couldn't get back to sleep. Ugg. Lately, if I wake up, I'm up. I lay there thinking about things I could be doing like blogging. Now I will pay severely for not having any sleep today. Yuck. Would this be considered insomnia?


We are looking forward to a fun weekend of MSU football. Yay! I think the weather is going to be fantastic and maybe, just maybe we can pull out a win against South Carolina. I know with the way we have been playing this is a long shot but I still love my Dawgs. For the tailgate I am making


these
and these

TERRIFYING TELEVISION

Lately I fiind a lot of "horror" movies to be kind of hokey. That or I am to scared to watch them anymore because watching the movie The Strangers has ruined my tolerance for them. That movie is crazy scary. "Is Tamra home?" Tell me you know what I am talking about??

Anyway, I was really suprised after so many hokey horror movies that a television show of all things could be so spooky and scary. The show is American Horror Story. Did anybody watch it? The series premiere was on last week. Kenny and I turned off all the lights and watched it together. And boy did it deliver. We are totally hooked. Parts of it were weird and maybe a little crazy in the head. Can't wait to watch this week's episode. Wednesday Night on FX.

WEEKEND RECAP

Kenny was out of town a good bit of this past weekend going to a concert and for business. But he and I did take Elle to the zoo last week together and I need to do a post on that.

On Friday morning I met up with some friends at Memphis Botanic Gardens for a stroll and to let the babies crawl around at My Big Backyard. It is a little old for Elle but we enjoyed being outside and seeing all the pretty flowers and oh my goodness she is going to love love love the children's section when she gets a little bit older.

When we got home from that Elle was wiped out and I was beat to. I ended up sleeping when Elle was napping for both of her naps that day. That is unusual for me. I thought it was just allergies and being out in the heat. On Friday night, Elle and I went to my friends house for margaritas and fajitas. It was a fun low key night.

On Saturday I woke up feeling like poo. This was my first time to be sick since having Elting and let me tell you having a baby and being sick is H-A-R-D. Thankfully, Kenny arrived home Saturday night because by Sunday I was to sick to even get out of bed. And now, Monday, I have still spent the day in bed. Kenny has been so amazing and has been taking care of Elle all day every day the past two days and letting me stay in the bed and try to get better. We have both decided that it is better for me not to kiss her or hold her and that part is killing me. But I would hate for her to feel as terrible as I have felt. I am truly blessed to have a husband who is able to move his work schedule around and be Mr. Mom for a couple days and Elle has absolutely loved all the time with her daddy. Can't wait to get to those cheeks tomorrow though!

Despite being sick I did manage to make dinner last night because I had already done the preparation on Saturday. I found this recipe on Pinterest for a Spinach, Chicken Pasta Bake and it so good! We are eating leftovers tonight and I am excited. I am hoping I will be able to taste it more tonight. Here is the recipe. I definitely recommend it. Tasty and easy!

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake
8 oz uncooked rigatoni
1 T olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed
3 c cubed, cooked chicken breasts
1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese
½ t salt, ½ t pepper
1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare rigatoni according to pkg directions. Spread oil on bottom of 11x17 in baking dish; add onion in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to large bowl, set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Stir in rigatoni, spinach, chicken, & next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl. Spoon mixture into dish & sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.