Everybody's working for the weekend

It's the weekend, y'all- get excited! I know i am. Except for this crazy weather we are having. Today, it is 75. Tomorrow there is a high of 65. Then Sunday- high of 44 and Monday 40! BRR!! To top it off it is raining and it is supposed to rain all weekend except on Sunday night/Monday morning it may turn to snow. ICK.

All I can say for Sunday is- Rain, Rain go away. Emily wants to see the Gamecocks and Tigers play! Baseball, that is. It's rivalry weekend in baseball and the first 2 of our 4 games against in-state rival, Clemson are this weekend. Saturday the game is at Clemson and Sunday it's here in Columbia. I do hope the weather cooperates so that my dad and I can go to the game at the new stadium- I'm so looking forward to it! We'll sit through anything as long as they play and don't cancel, so keep your fingers crossed!! And GO COCKS!

This weekend is going to be a laid back one. No plans for going out or anything. Just working at JTT tomorrow and then going to get fitted for my bridesmaid's dress for my friend's wedding in August. I'm the maid of honor! So exciting :-)
Here's the dress:

Besides that I plan on watching Mamma Mia...finally... and getting some things done around the house tonight and tomorrow night. Sometimes it's nice just to have a low-key weekend. I am going to church on Sunday before the baseball game. Many of you remember that was my New Year's Resolution and so far, I have only missed 2 Sundays. One was the weekend of my cousin's bachelorette party and the other was the weekend WEG and I were in Fripp. Not bad at all, I don't think! It makes me feel good when I get up on Sundays and go to church instead of laying around being lazy. It's a good start to the day!

I hope everyone has a great weekend- stay dry if you're expecting rain!! And don't forget to send your ideas for the Around the House Shower my way!

Shower Ideas needed!

Julie- if you're reading this, go no further!! ;-)

WEG and I, along with 2 other couples, are hosting a shower for our good friends, Julie & Nick. They're getting married in June and we're hosting a couples shower for them in April. Because it will be their big shower, we have decided to do an around the house theme rather than lawn and garden as originally planned.

I have selected the invitations:

And the wording will be:

Here comes the bride

Here comes the groom

Let's shower them with gifts

From room to room

And then of course the details of the shower.

Now, here's my dilemma. DECORATING to go along with the theme! We're having the shower at a local restaurant/bar that has an upstairs area for parties. I had WEG's 30th surprise party there and it turned out really well. My original thought when we were going to do the lawn and garden theme was to use terra cotta pots and line them with pretty cellophane for the food and have little garden spades as the serving pieces.

Then I read an idea about using measuring cups as scoops for a kitchen shower. I think those are both cute ideas, but I want to represent "around the house" and not just one room. Does anybody have ideas on how to decorate, what to serve food on, etc. that are budget-friendly. The terra cotta pots were going to be easy because we have a ton at our house that I was going to clean up and use.

Thanks for your help! Y'all are always full of great, creative advice!!

It's a block party, y'all!

From the State Paper- Dominique Archie soaring through the air for a dunk.

Ok, I know I am taking a cheesey line from the announcers that I completely laughed at when they said it, but it couldn't be more true!

My Gamecocks completed a season sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats last night with a 19 point victory, complete with 20 blocks. Yes, 20 blocked shots!! Previously, the school record for a game was 15. We owned Kentucky last night (sorry to any Kentucky fans)- It wasn't even as close at the 19 points indicates. Most of the night we were leading by more than 20 points at a time- once by as much as 28.

In arguably the biggest game of the season, we came to play and left the arena last night as the leaders of the SEC Eastern Division. With 3 games left to play in the regular season, I hope we can finish strong against Vandy, Tennessee and Georgia.

I'd like to especially congratulate our big men, who played their hearts out. Of the 20 blocks, Sam Muldrow had 7- that's a pretty incredible number.

So, congratulations guys, but don't let your guard down! The next 3 games are crucial for placement in the SEC Tourney as well as the NCAA Tourney (which we should make for the first time in a while!)

Oh, and major props to Darrin Horn- what a great coach!

A little bit o' this and a little bit o' that

Today's post is a hodge-podge of things.

First off, my head feels like it.might.EXPLODE! No lie. I think we have some sort of pollen out in Columbia right now because I have been congested and gotten a headache every day this week. My throat has a tickle that causes a cough, but it doesn't hurt so that's good.

In other, less-whining news...I think I have found my calling! Wait for it...wait for it.... CROCKPOT COOKING! It's a no-brainer..absolutely perfect for moi! The past 2 nights I've made dinner in the crockpot. It's so easy to throw it all in there in the morning, stir it a few times during the day, and VOILA- instant meal in the evening. Monday night we had venison cube steak- for those of you that don't like venison, it could just as easily be made with beef. And last night we had pork tacos (I got the recipe from Bryn over at Newlywedisms by Bryn). Here are the recipes (sorry for the lack of pictures)

Venison Cube Steak

1-2 lbs of venison cube steak (or beef if you'd like)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1/2 cup of water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and let cook on low for 6-8 hours.

It's that easy!! And really good. You can even add potatoes, carrots, and onions if you so desire and have the time to peel and cut them. I didn't, but I have made it like that before. We eat this over rice. It's yum!

Pork Tacos

1- 1/2 lb. extra lean pork loin

1/2 can or bottle of enchilada sauce

1 small can of green chiles

1/2 can of beeth broth

1 pkg of taco seasoning

Garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve in taco shells or tortilla shells with Mexican cheese, salsa, and sour cream.

This was the tenderest pork I have ever eaten. So good and oh-so-easy. WEG especially liked this one and it's definitely going on my list of things to cook on a frequent basis.

Anybody else have any crockpot recipes you want to sent my way? I think this will be my new thing because I tend to have trouble with other ways to cook meat...ha.ha.

And, guess what?!- my King Cake arrived yesterday from Bumpkin on a Swing! Oh my goodness, it was DELICIOUS! WEG and I couldn't wait to get the box open and the icing, nuts, and sprinkles on it when I got home! We decorated it and then helped ourselves to a big ol' piece. It was devine! The flavor I received was Praline Pecan...yummmm! It tasted very similar to the icing on a caramel cake. I had mine with a glass of milk and was in HEAVEN.

Here's a picture of our decorated product! I wish I had taken a picture of the box it was shipped in because that was the coolest thing I've seen lately!

Finally, while visiting my childhood friend and her family this weekend, they gave me my birthday present- a "Ta-ta" glass! It's so cute!!

Here it is:

And a picture of my Ta-ta glass beside hers- Clemson v. Carolina (they're Clemson fans, unfortunately- boo!!). Aren't they neat, though??

That's all for today- sorry for the weird conglomeration of topics!!

Spring Palette- Attempt number 1,199..or so it feels

Ok, let's try this again. Hopefully the palette above will show up for you! I'm sorry for other failed attempts that you may have seen in Reader. AHH, I told you, technologically challenged!!
So, here we go!
Top- L to R:
White Jacket: Boden; Pink Rainyday Mac: Boden; Dress: Target; Green shorts: The Loft
Middle- L to R:
Green Pants: Old Navy; Plaid Rainboots: Target; Platinum Shoes: Jack Rogers
Bottom- L to R:
Coral Pink Purse: Target; Purple cardigan: The Loft; Fun Skirt: Boden

Do you see a theme? Target, Boden, and the Loft?? And purple, pink, and green! Yep,that's what I'm liking right now, apparently. Some of this I own, and some I do not, but I would like to have it all- I'll have to work on that!!

My Spring Palette

The Polka Dotted Owl tagged me for the game "What's on Your Spring Palette?" So, there it is above!

Top L to R:

Purse- Target

Cardigan- The Loft

Dress- Target

Rainy Day Mac- Boden

Bottom L to R:

Pants- Old Navy

Jacket- Boden

Skirt- Boden

Rainboots- Target

Flats- Jack Rogers

Now, I tag whoever wants to take part...Enjoy!!

**ETA- I will update this ASAP so that you can see it. Sorry for the confusion, but I couldn't figure out how to save it except in that format! I'm technologically challenged!!

Dresses for weddings dilemma...SOLVED

I am down to only 30 posts to read on my Google Reader, so I have decided I can take a break from reading and catch you up on my shopping excursion this weekend. I managed to find 2 dresses and 2 cardigans for my upcoming March weddings all for just a little over $100. WHEW!

For the wedding at Boone Hall I found this dress at Target for $39.99 and I will pair it with a navy blue cardigan that I got from TJ Maxx for $19.99:

Shoes are my next dilemma, though. The ones in the picture are available on Target's website, but I feel like the blue/pink/white shoe may be too matchy-matchy. I was thinking of something along the lines of a silver heal...possibly wedge due to it being outside and in grass. I don't want a flat because I will be tanless and don't want my legs to look TOO stumpy!!

And for the other March wedding in Greenville I found this dress at JC Penney...on sale for $24.99- what a steal! And who doesn't need a black dress?

And I will pair that dress with a hot pink cardigan from Express that ended up being$12.00! Here it is (sorry for the small picture!):

I still need to decide on shoes for that wedding, as well. Hopefully the weather will be nice for both of the weddings!!

So, those are my outfits... I'm glad to have them decided on! Now if I could just get myself not looking so pale, I'd be in business.

In other weekend shopping news, I found a new black flyaway cardigan, several camisoles because I was definitely needing them, a sign for my kitchen on sale for $2.00 at Target, running pants and a polo for WEG, and new couch pillows (2 for $20). So, I think I did pretty well with all of my deals!