IT'S ALWAYS THE EASIEST ONES

Just thought I would drop in a share a recipe with you really quick because it is so easy and Kenny L-O-V-E-D it.

I feel like I will hem and haw over a recipe and get all excited to make something new and different and maybe a little fancy and of course Kenny will thoroughly enjoy it. (at least he pretends to) But it is the simplest recipes that he just raves about and then is down right enthusiastic about eating leftovers. Because we are a leftover eating household. I usually cook 2-3 times a week and then its leftovers the other nights.

Anyway the recipe is called Bubble Up Enchiladas and I found it on Pinterest but it is originally from Recipe Diaries. This girl even nicely broke it down in Weight Watcher Points. So I love that too. I did add a can of black beans when I made it.

Bubble Up Enchiladas

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 16 oz can reduced fat refrigerator biscuits
1 ¼ cups shredded low fat Mexican Cheese

Extra Ingredients
Green Onions, black olives, salsa, etc.
Fat Free Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown turkey and drain if needed. Mix in a can of enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Cut the refrigerated biscuits into fourths and stir them in the meat mixture. Then you just dump it all in a greased casserole (I use 8 X 11) and bake for 25 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through. Usually I use a tooth pick to see if the biscuits are done. Take out of oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes: Add in a can of black beans or corn (when the beef is cooking in the pan), or sprinkle with some green onions. Top with a tablespoon of fat free sour cream.

You can make into 8 servings

GIRL ON FIRE

Last night we had a girls night. We went to Ciao Bella for dinner and some wine(where I had one of the best meals since I've lived in Memphis) and then it was time to for The Hunger Games.

I loved the books just like everyone else. Yall. This movie did not disappoint. It was so increcibly good and in my opinion did the book total justice. I have heard people say it was a little drawn out but I felt like the length of the movie was necessary because they had to include everything or the fans would of been disappointed.

A few thoughts:

• Katniss - is awesome and a bad***. When Elle is old enough to read Young Adult books I will be handing her this book and not the one with Bella Swan.

• I loved Elizabeth Banks as Effie.

• I loved Lenny Kravitz as Cinna even more and I was not pleased when he was cast. He made me want to go buy some gold eyeliner.

• Liam Hemsworth(Gale) had all of three lines in this movie.

• The movie did an excellent job of capturing the intensity of the actual Hunger Games. My stomach was in knots the entire time. I felt nauseous the entire I was reading the book.

• Rue-amazing (and then Thresh)

Okay, so I sound like a total tween nerd but this movie was just so good. I cannot wait until the next one comes out!!

CRAWDAD WEEKEND!

This weekend was a fantastic jam packed weekend and I had to spend most of Sunday recovering from overall exhaustion.

Friday morning, we met our favorite play date pair Lindsay and her little boy Loftin at the zoo. Anytime we go places with them we always take the babies' little cars. It is just so cute to see those two blondies cruisin around and they love each other.

Taking a snack break while watching the seal show.

Saturday morning, Kenny headed out to play golf with a friend and Elle and I hung around the house straightening up and getting ready for the parrrrrtay! We hosted a crawfish boil with some friends that afternoon.

Our friend Joe is a master boiler of crawfish. He knows how to get the spice just right. I prefer his crawfish over any I have ever had. I finally managed to score some Abita Strawberry to sip along with the little critters and it made for an absolutely perfect afternoon with friends. Other high notes included these amazing spinach dip cups my sister made, Blue Moon cupcakes, perfect weather, getting good use out of our new corn hole games and the boys getting into an all out water hose fight at 10 o clock at night when they were supposed to be cleaning up the backyard. They were soaked and of course the girls just locked them out of the house because they were so filthy.

Elle just wanted to dive into that bucket so bad because of the ice.

A little family pic. One little girl with some sleepy eyes.

All the boys hanging out waiting on the crawfish to cook.

Aunt Annie and Elle

Sunday, I was just wiped. We went to bed at a very decent time but I was just exhausted. Kenny took Elle on an office supply and frozen yogurt date and I stopped by the Little English trunk show. I love their clothes but I will never go on the first day again. It was so crazy. Moms absolutely crazed over cute children's clothing. I still got Elle some cute things and also something for her Easter Basket. I am excited that I have actually managed to come up with some cute things for her basket because you can't buy candy. Don't worry I will be sure to blog about all her happies.

Looking forward to a very busy week and another fun filled weekend coming up. Tonight is girls night! Dinner, wine and THE HUNGER GAMES!! I am so excited!

ALL THE PUMPED UP KICKS

So I really want a new pair of tennys. The seasons are changing and it is becoming so much easier to get ready for a walk. Now I just throw Elle in the jogging stroller and we go. I don't have to worry about her being cold or making sure she has on enough layers. She can be barefoot and I hand her a sippy cup and we are off.

I want something cute and fun with bright colors. I am STILL wearing my gray new balances from college. You know, the ones EVERYONE had. When trying to decide I do have to remember that I will be wearing them to Zumba twice a week so they can't be super clunky or totally geared towards running.

Here are some of the ones I am considering (listed in order of likability:

Nike LunarEclipse +2

These are the front runners right now. (pun intended) I like the colors and they don't look as clunky as some of the others.

Asics GT 2170

I like the colors of these and Asics have made a big comeback since I was in 6th grade.

Nike Lunarglide +3

These are cute and a little less loud. Probably why they are towards the bottom of the list. I am still considering them.

Asics Gel- Pacewalker

These are still making the list.

Alright does anyone own these or have any opinions. All of them have good reviews on Zappos so that isn't helping me too much.

A LITTLE FAMILY GETAWAY

This weekend Elle and I traveled to Nashville to join Kenny. He was there for work and we wanted to hang out with some of our friends who live there. I requested to go one of my favorite restaurants, Sopapillas. Have yall ever been there? The food is so good and they have a cucumber margarita that I love. I could seriously eat there every week. Sadly, we do not have one in Memphis.

We decided to get a babysitter for Elle while we went to dinner and it was just lovely to enjoy some adult conversation and not have to rush through dinner or be stressed about her behaviour. She is just getting to that age where it is hard to go out to eat with her. We love having her there with us but she would probably rather enjoy being at home playing too.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, watching lots of basketball (my bracket is over) and grilling out. We ran to the store to grab stuff to make for dinner and decided to put Elle in this car. She loved it. Probably a little too small for it but it was so cute. Have you ever tried to steer one of those things. Not easy.




We loved spending time with our friends.It was a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

WHAT YOU GOT IN THAT BAG

The other day as I was digging around in my purse for the millionth time, I thought wow things sure have changed. Look at all this stuff I am lugging around in my purse. And most of it is not even for me. I know it is my fault because I have grown sick and tired of carrying a purse and carrying a diaper bag so I just throw the bare essentials in my purse.So far Elle and I have not had a huge crisis where I needed more than the bare essentials.

So let's take a peek:

My lovely purse. And the bow color for the day. Elle will only wear one for so long so its always clipped on my sleeve, my purse, my collar. Losing a hair bow is a travesty.

This is all pretty self explanatory. The only thing I can't believe is missing is a pacifier. I try to ALWAYS have one in my purse as back up. She is not a huge paci girl but if a tantrum was thrown I would pull that sucker out in a second. Notice we have more bows. Plus I have some on top of our microwave, in my car console, in the diaper bag. You get the point. Bows, bows everywhere. And last but not least, I HAVE to find my book of lists. I feel lost without that thing. It is basically my brain on paper. One time I forgot it at home when I went out of town and I had Kenny take pictures of the pages and text them to me. Sad.

Oh my gosh the cheerios! They are everywhere. Kenny, the saint he is, just took my car to vacuum out all the cheerios and goldfish crumbs in my car. I seriously never thought I would be that mom.Okay how sad is this? All of this is what was just stuck in my wallet. Not put in a proper place but just stuck in there with edges sticking out and jumbled together. Thankfully I organized it after I took this picture and I feel way better now. And don't picture me rollin just yet. I don't run around with a ton of cash. I had just been to the grocery store and that was our grocery money.

Alrighty, we hope you enjoyed being nosy and taking a looksy into my purse.

WEEKEND OF BABIES AND CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS

FIRST AND FOREMOST- I AM THRILLED THAT MY BEST FRIEND SUSAN DELIVERED HER LITTLE BOY SUNDAY MORNING!! ANDREW JOHN. KENNY AND I ARE SO HAPPY FOR ANDREW AND SUSAN AND CANNOT WAIT TO MEET LITTLE JOHN IN A FEW MONTHS. CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE ALL BECOMING MOMMIES!

On Friday, I was invited to attend the Southern Women's Show at the Agricenter by Lifetime's show The Balancing Act. I had never been to the Women's Show before and it was a lot of fun. It is basically just an opportunity to shop and sample. They have celebrity cooking demonstration and also some celebrity appearances. So Elle and I went Friday and enjoyed strolling around and looking at all the booths and meeting people. I was able to meet Charles Mattocks- The Poor Chef (he happens to be Bob Marley's nephew) and sample some chicken curry he had just whipped up that was delish.

Friday night, Kenny and I just grilled BBQ chicken (my fave) and watched In Time. Have yall seen it? I love sci-fi movies and this was an interesting concept. Plus you can't complain about watching Justin Timberlake for a couple hours.

Saturday, Kenny and I spent most of Saturday playing with Elle. That afternoon we got out to run some errands. Kenny is wanting to get Apple TV so we hit up the Apple store to go look at it. I swear their stuff is like crack. Kenny is already talking about getting the new ipad. And I am lost without my iPhone. Now we want to incorporate TV into it. After doing some window shopping we grabbed some dinner and frozen yogurt annnnnnd fell asleep on the couch ha!!

So it is no secret that I love my television right? Particularly reality television. So when I saw that Teresa Guidice from the Real Housewives was making an appearance at the Southern Women's Show on Sunday I thought it might be a fun afternoon outing for the fam (tongue in cheek) to see what she was like in person. I was given complimentary tickets so why not? So we went and ate lunch and I bought some fun drink mixes and dip mixes for the beach and river weekends and then we took a seat and waited for Teresa. Kenny was having a blast. Ha!

She really did not have a lot to say. Talked a little about her cook book and then took questions from the audience. She was very candid and did share some dish on the other housewives and behind the scenes stuff. Very thankful for a husband that will tag along for silly afternoons that include seeing someone kinda of famous just for fun.

FOTO FRIDAY

DON'T FORGET JPRESS DESIGNS IS DOING A GIVEAWAY EVERY FRIDAY! HOP ON OVER THERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! CLICK HERE!

Lately, Elle's favorite thing to do while she is hanging out with me while I get dressed and ready is to play with my makeup. It keeps her entertained so it is fine with me. It is so cute and girly.

Wednesday I wasn't feeling well so I took Elle to the school/park/playground in our neighborhood.We spent some time outside and she loved watching the kids at recess. It did both of us some good.


Hair standing straight up from a good wind blow and banana shampoo.Yup! She has gotten in the habit of rubbing her hands through her hair when she eats.

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY

FAVORITE WEIGHT WATCHER THINGS.....

4 Points Per Cone

This is probably my most favorite thing when it comes to periods of time where I watch what I eat. 4 Points and totally indulgent. The ice cream is great but the cone is the best part. It is coated with chocolate on the inside and for your last bite you get this amazing chunk of chocolate. When I plan out what I am going to eat every day I always give myself one of these for dessert first. Because if I can have dessert, specifically one of these, then I don't feel like I was deprived. I am also a fan of Skinny Cow's ice cream sandwiches.

2 Points Per 3/4 Cup

1 Point for 1/2 Cup of Silk Original

0 Points for One Large Banana

I know it is better to eat more protein at breakfast and sometimes I do. But my favorite thing to eat in the mornings is cereal. This is relatively low points. 2 points and I use Soy Milk because that is what Elle drinks and it is lower points. I use half a cup at 1 point and then slice up a big banana and that makes for a pretty filling breakfast.

2 Points for 2 Slices

For lunch I like to eat sandwiches if I am not eating a Smart One. But sometimes the bread can be a lot of points. This Sara Lee 45 Calorie Bread is 2 points for 2 slices. That'll do.

0 Points!!!!

I know this is kind of a no brainer. A lot of people weren't crazy about the new PointsPlus program but I love it because along with vegetables, fruit is 0 points. Which means, if I am hungry and I am saving my points for something else or don't have any points left then I can always have a piece of fruit. Or you can add it to a meal to bulk it up, like my cereal.

Skinnytaste.com

Also known as Gina's. This website has the widest range of recipes that are tasty, healthy and all of them have the Weight Watcher points listed. Since I cook a lot I turn to this website to meal plan.

UNDER THE WEATHER AND GIRLS NIGHT!

UPDATED: Elle DID NOT have an ear infection. Great news! I felt silly for bringing her in. Guess that makes me 2-3. In other news, in getting us ready and out I realized I feel T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E!

Well we are definitely feeling under the weather in our house this morning. I have been watching Elting the past few days trying to figure out if she has an ear infection. We are headed to the doctor in about an hour to find out. I am 2-2 for bringing her in when she actually had one. It is so hard to figure out if they really have an infection.. She pulls on her ear when she is tired and is getting all 4 of her top teeth so has been pretty fussy. This will be our third infection in the last three months. Hope we aren't headed for tubes.

I am feeling bad too. Sore throat, achy, groggy. Yuck!

I started feeling bad last night when I went out with some girlfriends. We went to Las Tortugas/Deli Mexicana for dinner and then to a movie. This was my first visit to Las Tortugas. Have yall been? It is so good. It is strictly authentic Mexican. Meaning no beloved cheese dip and nary a margarita. But the guacamole and the food is awesome. I had the fish tacos. I didn't even miss the cheese!! I can't wait to bring Kenny. I know he will love it!

After dinner we went to see The Vow. I love Rachel McAdams. And I might consider Channing Tatum a guilty pleasure. I loved the movie Dear John so much. The movie was good. It might of had a couple of us tearing up a little. I thought it was neat that it is based on a true story. I can't imagine Kenny losing all memories of Elle and I. I would be so devastated.

It was a fun night but by the time we were on the way home I was ready to crawl in bed because I was starting to feel really bad. Here's hoping whatever this funk is goes away very very soon.

THAT'S A WHOLE LOTTA YEARS!

Kenny and the birthday boy

Our little family, including Lena packed up and headed to Fairhope this weekend to celebrate Kenny's Dad's 70th birthday. Yep! 70! That is a big birthday.

The drive was a long one and we arrived in the evening on Thursday and stopped in for a little seafood before heading to Kenny's parents house. Going to be honest. I needed a drink. I drove the entire way and towards the end Elle was extremely ready to get out of the car. I was stressed to the max and needed to eat my feelings and drink them maybe too. Ha! Kidding sort of. I am ready for Elle to be at the age where she can sort of entertain herself during road trips. I know it must be so hard to just have to sit there.

On Friday, Kenny and his dad went to play golf while Elle and her Grandma got some quality time together. That night we went to a Tapas bar, Auroras for drinks and dinner before heading to the art walk at all the shops downtown. It was so fun. All the shops stay open late and have food and wine and there are bands on the streets. We had a good time walking around.

Elle and Grandma posing with one of the shop's kitties. The cat was thrilled. And my child does own shoes. She just won't keep them on.

A grainy morning self portrait. We do these occasionally and I keep them and love seeing how different Elle looks.

Saturday, Kenny's parents wanting Elle all to themselves and so Kenny and I went on a date. We were going to do a little shopping but the weather was gross so we decided to do one of our favorite things instead. We went to see Safe House. Kenny had been wanting to go to the movies and wanted to see that movie so it was a win win! We miss being able to go to the movies all the time. After the movie we grabbed some lunch. It was a nice date and we were so appreciative that we got to spend some time together.

Elle playing with all her loot that her grandparents caught for her at Fairhope's Mardi Gras parade.

Saturday night, Kenny and I took Kenny's dad and his mom out to celebrate his big birthday. We went to Camelia Cafe and if was amazing. I definitely recommend it for anyone who is looking for a nice and delicious place to eat in Fairhope. I had the bananas foster for dessert and it was to die for. It was such a nice night celebrating.

Sunday, we hit the road early stopping in Hattiesburg to meet my mom for lunch. It was another very long car ride but the whole weekend was so much fun it was all worth it.

We have progress! Elle decided it was time to pull up and stand on her feet this weekend. Hooray!

FOTO FRIDAY WITH A GIVEAWAY!

So it is no secret that we love our children's books around this house. I was in need of some really cute book plates for Elle's books. Luckily for me Susan at J Press Designs had just created a line of personalized book plates and they are so cute!

Lucky for you, she is giving away a set of personalized book plates TODAY!! All you have to do is hop on over to her BLOG and leave a comment. And since she just started her Friday Giveaways (she is doing one every week) your odds of winning are great!

Or you can customize your own and check all of her fantastic paper goods on her Etsy site.

Here are ours in person. The colors are brighter in person. But the more I think about it, I might use them for than just book plates. The backs of them are very sticky so I could use them as labels too.


Have a great weekend! Good luck with the giveaway!