Our Memorial Day Weekend.

Yes, so this is a tad bit late but I wanted to at least document our Memorial Day because it was such a fabulous day celebrating with family. My sister in law Nicole and my brother Craig had us over to their new home here in Ruston and we hung out, ate and were entertained by the kiddos. Here are just a few of my favorites from the day.

Grilling meat is an American way and nothing says Memorial Day like all the guys hovering over a huge flaming grill looking, talking about and drooling over pounds and pounds of meat. In our family it's something that is passed down from Father to Son. It's a man's right of passage and I am so thankful it is. Love me some bar-b-que! :)

 Another tradition it seems on Memorial Day is to break out the pool, floaties and swimsuit because summer is here! Landon and Makaylan definitely enjoyed a little pool time last weekend.

I'm pretty sure Makaylan (or Kay Kay, as we call her) had enough fun for all of us! These pictures MADE MY WHOLE WEEK! I'm thinking about getting them printed off just to smile at them daily.  

It's these simple Freedoms that we love and enjoy and sometimes forget to say thank you for. 

So to all the men and women who gave their time, service, family, mental and physical health and most of all their lives...we say THANK YOU! 

I do hope you had a great Memorial Day and are enjoying your first week of June! Can you believe it's JUNE already?? So many things I want to get done this summer, our first summer living in Louisiana together. :)

Enjoy Life Now.

There are the kind of friends who see you through anything. You know the kind, they still love you no matter what you've done or haven't done. The kind of friends who know you are a pack rat and come over to help clean out my room with heavy duty trash bags in hand. (Yes, this really happened) They stand by you on your wedding day, hold your hand during bad break ups, buy the champagne when life calls for celebration. Lauren and I once had a fight over whether we were first cousins or best friends. Well, in our case, we are both. 

This is her beautiful son, Trey, who just turned six. Lauren, Wayne and their two kids came over last night to brake our newly painted house. Buie grilled burgers. Trey played hard like a six year old does. 

Baby Elle was the perfect guest. Isn't she beautiful? 

The burgers were perfect, babe. 

Trey left us a chalk drawing that I will be enjoying for days to come. 

Hopefully it all washed off okay. ;)

 Fresh flowers on the today.

Even the dogs had a splendid evening. 

 We ate, listened to Buie tell his many stories like he so often does and wished this night would never end. Great friends are so few and far between so when you find them, cling tight and never let them go!

 I hope you are enjoying this Memorial Day weekend with the ones you love enjoying life's simple freedoms.

Enjoy life now.

Project Veggies!

The last few weeks we've been planning and talking about several projects, including but not limited to, painting our house, building a raised bed for veggies, building a pergola, staining our fence...and the list goes on. As with any "new" house that is actually not so new, the project list is soon to follow and is growing longer and longer by the minute! Since we hired out our painting to save our sanity, and quite possibly our marriage, we decided this would be a good week to tackle the veggie garden project. While the painters have been inside getting high off the paint fumes, B & I have been outside in the fresh air dreaming of the day when we can literally walk outside of our back door to go grocery shopping. :)

It might be a weird dream but I have always wanted my own garden. There is something so satisfying about getting your hands dirty, about growing something from a tiny seed and then enjoying free healthy food right from your own backyard just as God intended. It's exciting to see your dream become a plan and your plan become a reality. The first step to having our own veggie garden is done! It may sound silly but I'm so proud of us. :)

I also want my own chicken coop but that is for another day and another project.

 And the great thing about this dream is that it is totally doable. B & I are NOT super handy people. B has no skill in carpentry (sorry, babe) but he rocked this project! Basically if you know how to use a drill, you can manage this.

We chose an area in our yard that gets the most sun. This was a task in itself because we live in the middle of the woods. Literally.  I'm still a little nervous about whether our veggies will get enough sunlight but we picked a spot that gets about 6-8 hours of sun. (Please ignore the weeds in the bottom left. That is another project.)

 I'm so grateful B was totally on board with this project because it's good to have some muscles especially when you are pounding the stakes in the ground. Not only was he on board but he practically built the whole thing himself. I did my part by handing him the appropriate tools he needed, taking pictures and keeping the dogs out of the way. I think I had the harder job. :)

 We followed the plans on the Pioneer Woman's website. She lays everything out so clearly and has a picture for each and every step which is super helpful for visual people like myself. Honestly, it's pretty easy so don't be intimidated! If you've been wanting to build a garden, go for it! If you don't have a few hours to dedicate to the project- just do what we did. Divide it into a two or three day project. Day 1: Go buy your supplies. Day 2: Build the framework to 1 bed. (This parts takes about an hour or two depending on your skill level.) Day 3: Go buy soil and seeds. You will need LOTS of soil. This will be your most expensive part of the entire project but good soil is the key (so I've been told) so don't skimp on good soil. Day 4: Plan where your veggies will go and get to planting!

Here is our first finished raised bed. As you can see in the background, we have the wood laid out for another raised bed. B is planning on building that one today. If you break it down into smaller projects, it's not so overwhelming. :) 

I can't wait to get some veggies growing in here! I'd love to hear your tips and secrets. This being our first garden, I'm sure we could use all the help we can get! Happy Gardening!

New Beginnings

Buie & I ordered a juicer today. We are going on this cleanse, detox, eating raw foods hard core. I know you're thinking..."Blah, blah blah. We've heard it all before, Cara Beth." And yes, it's true I started a detox right before Thanksgiving but seriously who starts a detox right before Thanksgiving??? Right after we decided to start our detox, we also decided to move so our cleansing plan fell to the wayside. Buie actually made it further than I did. He even ate vegan for like 3 days straight which is huge for my meat and potatoes guy. 

I'm sick of being tired all the time. I'm sick of being worn down. Quite frankly I'm sick of being sick. While I have made a HUGE improvement in my health over the last few years, I am no where near where I need to be. I am willing to try pretty much anything at this point. Juicing has been something I've wanted to get into so we took the plunge tonight and bought one. So hopefully I can blog about our juicing as we stay on this difficult journey to good health. I have to be honest. I'm really excited to get started! 

So here's to new beginnings, good health and hopefully some great juicing recipes! 

I'm so ready for Spring. Anyone feel me on this one? 

Melissa's shower

Melissa and I have been friends since we were young, like 2nd grade young! We grew up going to church together, then in 6th grade we started going to the same school. She has always been such a kind and generous person to me. She always thinks of others before herself. Even when I was a part of her wedding a few years ago, she was so concerned with all her bridesmaids even on her special day. She really is one of the most selfless people I know. Melissa and David are expecting their first baby girl, Emma Kate, next month so now is the time for us to spoil them!

Saturday morning several of Melissa's good friends threw her a baby shower at my mom's house. We divided up tasks and conquered! This was actually my first baby shower that I was in charge of. I really don't like telling people what to do, but if you don't delegate then you just end of doing everything yourself and that's no fun.

I got a lot of ideas off Pinterest (of course), like the donut tower. Seriously, how simple is that? You just pile up white powered donuts in a pyramid shape and garish with some pretty flowers. Simple & practical yet still pretty enough for an elegant shower. The drinks were my mom's doings. She kept glass baby bottles from when my older brothers and myself were babies - so yes, they are 30 something years old. She uses them over and over for showers. I think they are brilliant! Use them with oj, lemonade, mimosas or punch and fun straws!  Petit fours are a must for any Southern baby shower. Instead of a fruit platter, we did fruit kabobs. Again, so simple and colorful!

Mom did the centerpiece with the adorable baby dress. 

I think it might have been Melissa's favorite part! ;)

 And if you haven't had mini quiches from SAMS, you haven't lived. No these aren't homemade but who cares when they taste this good. (I'm going from memory here since I haven't eaten one since 2007- not gluten free)

 The entry table and guest book. I found this little foxy guy on Melissa's Pinterest page. The second I saw that she had pinned it, I ordered it. Melissa's last name is FOX. How appropriate, huh?? How ADORABLE!

Melissa and Jamie showing off their baby bumps! Melissa is on the left. Jamie's shower for her little girl is next Saturday. I can't wait!

I think everything turned out so well! Melissa received so many incredible gift for little Emma Kate. Thanks for all of your help with the shower, ladies! I cannot wait to meet little Emma Kate! Sunday afternoon, we shot Melissa's maternity pictures so be on the lookout for those images soon. :)

Detox Day 1 & a Quick Smoothie Recipe

Day one of our detox went smashingly well. I'm proud to say I didn't eat anything with excess sugar all day. This morning I started off with organic turkey sausage links (These are my favorite!) and a peanut butter & banana protein shake. We get them at our local Kroger and they are perfect for adding it a little extra protein to any meal.

This shake is super easy and tasty!  I keep several bananas chopped up and stored in ziplock baggies in our freezer so that they are easily accessible when I'm making my smoothies. 

So here's the smoothie: 

1 frozen banana (apprx. 90 calories)

8 oz of original almond milk (40 calories)

1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter. You can also use almond butter but I was all out. (95 calories)

1 scoop of protein. I use About Time Chocolate Protein Powder.  (103 calories)
and ice! I almost forget ice.

Blend all of these together and feel free to adjust ingredients based on consistency. If it's too thick, add more almond milk. If it's not thick enough, add more peanut/almond butter. This really is so good and it satisfies my milkshake addiction. I LOVE milkshakes but they are so bad for you. A large chocolate milkshake from McDonalds has 880 calories! 220 of those are purely fat calories. Wowzers! This peanut butter/banana shake is about 330 calories and much better for you! 

For dinner tonight, I made potato, shrimp and corn bisque. Yummo! Hopefully I'll get that recipe up on the blog in the next few days. 

Thanks for following me on this journey to better health. And please know, I am not a doctor, a nurse or a dietician...just a girl trying to make better food choices. :) If y'all try my smoothie concoction, let me know if you like it! 

Rudi's Gluten Free Tortillas

Last week someone with Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in trying a new product of theirs. Um...let me get this straight. Your going to send me free food that's gluten free and all I have to do is write about it on my blog? Sign me up! Three different flavors of Rudi's Gluten Free tortillas showed up at my doorstep 2 days later and I was eager to try all of them. But I started with the plain flavor. 

Fiesta, Plain and Spinach Flavors

                            

The first thing I noticed was the size of the tortillas. They filled up almost my entire dinner plate. I'm used to eating those really small corn tortillas so the change will be nice. I baked my tortillas in a skillet with some butter for about 30 seconds on each side, just to give it some color and crispiness. Then I filled it with scrambled egg, sausage, shredded cheese, salsa, salt & pepper! It was seriously the best breakfast tortilla I've had since college... well, come to think of it, it's the only one I've had since college that hasn't been on a corn tortilla. 

Do I recommend this product? Definitely! If you have Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance there is no question that you need this product in your life. Look for these tortillas in your local store's organic section. Our Kroger is starting to carry more and more gluten free products. Even if you don't have to eat gluten free, these are great tortillas for anyone!

I can't wait to try the Fiesta and Spinach flavor next. Head on over the Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery Facebook page. They are doing giveaways through the entire month of August.

mini spinach frittatas

I haven't shared a recipe on our blog in quite some time and I'm not sure why. It's no secret that I live with an amazing chef. Ok, he's not an actual chef but he's my personal chef and that is all that matters, right? ;) Buie is all the time cooking up something. Since he manages a bookstore, he often (and I DO mean OFTEN) brings home new cookbooks and cooking magazines for new recipes to try. I love it! I don't HATE to cook. In fact, I have a few of my favorite dishes I have somewhat perfected, including my gluten free gumbo, but I step aside when Buie is ready to cook. For instance, right now, I am on my laptop blogging away and where is he? Cooking. This is AFTER he already cooked a delicious flank steak for my parents tonight. His only request is that I keep him company while he cooks. Therefore, here I sit at the breakfast table, blogging and admiring his handiwork. (Please excuse the pictures. I just snapped them with my iPhone. I promise they taste SO much better than they look in these pics!)

Here is a recently discovered recipe that I literally cannot get enough of: mini spinach frittatas. These bite size frittatas are easy to make and have become a staple in our household. They make for a quick breakfast if you are running out the door or a healthy alternative for a snack to tied you over until dinner. If you have kids, these would be great to make to protein to their diet. One serving has 10g of protein.

Recipe by Nancy Statkevicus | Tucson, AZ found at www.tasteofhome.com

1 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

24 slices pepperoni

• In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Place a pepperoni slice in each of 24 greased miniature muffin cups. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with the cheese mixture.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until completely set. Carefully run a knife around edges of muffin cups to loosen. Serve warm

Nutrition Facts: 3 mini frittatas equals 128 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 50 mg cholesterol, 396 mg sodium, 4 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 10 g protein.

We ALWAYS double this recipe because they go so quickly in our house. They also freeze nicely. Enjoy! If you end up making them, let me know how you like them. I would be interested to know if kids like them, too. I would think they would since they have the pepperoni on the bottom. Maybe I'll have to let my niece and nephew try some. :)

Thanksgiving Recap

What a day great of family, food and football. This Thanksgiving was spent at my in-laws in Rison, AR. After being away from Buie for almost a week, it was so great to get a big hug from him and many wet slobbery kisses from the dogs. I think they missed me just a little bit.

Wednesday evening we spent the evening playing with the dogs, taking pics and just enjoying each other's company. Jill quickly got reacquainted with her cousins Scooter and Conner.

Thursday we ate so much wonderful food. I love this picture of Buie and his mom, Mrs. Carole, who fixed a wonderful spread for us this Thanksgiving complete with gluten free ham, dressing, green beans, sweet potatoes, corn...and the list goes on.

And yes, I am thankful for this wonderful gluten free chocolate cake and the wonderful hands that prepared it.
The boys had a great time at their grandparents house this Thanksgiving!

And I was so happy I remembered to take a few family pictures.
Brent and his brother, Tee. Aren't they handsome? ;)
Our little family that I am so thankful for. The cats are fending for themselves at home. ha. I hope y'all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Oh, and GEAUX TIGERS! :)

As I sit here Thanksgiving evening with my husband on one side and my dog and my apple computer in my lap, I realize I am truly blessed. I have a roof over my head, a belly full of food and a heart so full of memories with a family that loves me.