Fun Weekend!

Today was my dad's birthday! We (Mom, Matt, Mandy, Viv, me and Josh) had a little surprise party for him at church during LTC chorus practice that my parents direct. I think he was surprised!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Tonight, along with my dad's birthday celebration, was our annual Oscar party!! My dad always goes way-out and makes it such a special must-attend event! He dresses up in his tux and decorates the upstairs for the occasion! This year we had a giant Oscar and other fun stuff! We fill out ballots each year and the winner receives a nice prize!

This year, my brother and sister-in-law decided to show up in there Oscar attire just for fun! It was really cute!! Vivian got all dressed up for the Oscars, too! And, I must say, that I (actually Josh) won this year!! Josh did all of the research and gave me the answers (thanks, honey!)! We usually share answers so that we have a better chance of winning!

It was a great evening with family!!

Favorite Recipe!

This is a recipe my mom has used since I was little and it is GREAT! I actually made this for dinner tonight along with fried eggs....healthy, I know! These are super easy and perfect for a Saturday morning breakfast!

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Put 1 can of biscuits in a greased pie plate or 8x8 square pan

Melt together, stir and pour over biscuits:
1/2 stick of butter
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Bake for 10 minutes

Mix together and pour over hot cinnamon rolls:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk (use more if needed)

Serve warm! I promise you'll like them!!!

Your Requests, GRANTED!

A few of you have requested recipes and pictures. So, here goes....

The closet---not gorgeous, but organized! It would obviously be much "cuter" if I had matching hangers, etc. But, I prefer the "free" method!

Chipper chicken:

I make a half recipe for two of us. Otherwise, it feeds a family. The Curry Chicken and Rice was my favorite food growing up...I LOVED it and still do!

Chipper Chicken (aka Flash Roasted Crispy Ranch Chicken)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 ranch seasoning packet

1 can cream of chicken soup (can use 98% fat free)

1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. crushed tortilla chips

2 Tbsp. butter (I use EVOO)

Combine soup, milk and dressing packet in shallow dish

Dip chicken in soup mixture and then in crushed chips

Place chicken on greased backing sheet, drizzle with butter. Bakke at 400 degreese for 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.

Easy and good!!

Curry Chicken and Rice (my mom's version)

Saute in skillet until tender:

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. shortening

1/2 cup chopped celery

Add:

1/3 c. flour

Add:

2 c. chicken stock

Cook until thick.

Add:

1 small can tomato sauce

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper (to taste)

Add:

4 cups boiled chicken, chopped

Heat thoroughly and serve over hot rice.

Birthday Weekend!

New red bowls:

I thought this was funny:

Just a few days ago I was on the brink of a quarter-life-crisis! NO JOKE! I was seriously depressed about being 25 and having expectations for myself not met. Of couse I have a LOT of positives in my life, including my husband, family, house, job, etc. But, I still have things that I had hoped to have accomplished by 25.

Anyway, my birthday weekend definitely made up for it! Josh took me to Texas (I'm not telling where....it's not very well known and I'd love it to stay that way!) and we had a GREAT time shopping at the stores that surrounded our fun hotel, going to a movie, eating pizza, mexican food, gelato, ETC!!! Everything was within walking distance and was so fun. The weather was perfect and it made for an incredible getaway!

Saturday, on my birthday day, Josh told me that he thought we should eat at Mi Cocina for lunch around noon, because he had a surprise for me after lunch. So, after shopping for a bit, we walked into the restaurant and instead of asking for a table for two, Josh mentioned to the hostess that we had a room reserved. I looked back where she was pointing, and I saw my parents, my aunt and uncle and cousins sitting at a table singing "happy birthday", taking pictures and crying:) I was TOTALLY shocked! My parents told me they were going to be in Tulsa for the weekend and that they were worried about the snow up there for their travels. Little did I know that they had been in Texas since Thursday! It made for a very fun surprise!!!

Josh gave me money to go shopping with, so I found some great things! I got a cute sweater, sunglasses, red bowls (I had been eyeing at Anthropologie for a while), a fondue set, black and white kitchen towels, a basting brush (I've been needing one!), and bath gel. He also surprised me once again with a trip to the spa across the street from our hotel for a massage and manicure! It was a really nice spa and so relaxing!!

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend or husband!!! Thank you, Josh for the FABULOUS birthday! I'm not quite as depressed about 25 anymore! It was nice to get out of town and have a relaxing weekend with you!

Thank you also to my parents for driving down to Texas to surprise me for my birthday and to my aunt, uncle and cousins that drove up! It was so fun to see everyone and celebrate!

TODAY'S RANDOM PROJECT:
I have had a card table in the kitchen stacked with baskets of craft supplies and it has been driving me crazy!! I was planning on using birthday money to buy a small book case and use square baskets to hold all of my supplies, but I didn't want to spend the money. So I took Josh's old dresser, from when he was a kid, and put my supplies in the drawers. Now they're out of site but easily accessible since it's in my kitchen. I used one of the cute kitchen towels that I got at Crate and Barrell this weekend on the top. Nothing fancy, but it's defintely functional and FREE!!!