Anniversary Week: How we met

Our 2nd anniversary is coming up on June 20th. And to celebrate I wanted to share our story.

First up, is how we met.

My husband and I met our Sophomore year of high school. I started attending Youth events at the church he went to. I was actually dating someone else at that time and Chad likes to tell everyone that he stole me. haha. He definitely won me over with his humor and personality.

(a picture of us on our first date also the very first picture of us together, ever)

We were friends for a while and didn't officially start dating until April of our Senior year. For months I had been hoping he would ask me out and when he finally did I was on Cloud 9. Our first date was to a big fireworks show on the river where we live. It was so cold that night but we had fun. He asked me to be his girlfriend, under the stars on the 4th of July.

 (my Senior prom)

(my High School graduation)

After 3 months of dating I knew that he was the man I would marry. I remember the exact moment. We were sitting in his truck and he told me he wanted to play me a song by a group I had never heard of. He played me, "Stars Would Fall" by Monk & Neagle, and I about melted right there in his truck. I couldn't stop smiling (if you've never heard the song, preview it on iTunes). We both graduated that year and were headed to college in the fall.

(move in day our freshman year)

Fast forward a few years...we had just finished our spring semester of our Junior year in college. At this point we had been together for 3 years and I was getting a little impatient about getting engaged! Remember, I've known he was who I would marry since month 3 of dating, so it was incredibly hard to wait so long!

(getting ready for a date)

We knew we wanted to get married next summer after Chad finished school (2009) - I was set to finish a semester before. Chad told me that he needed to sell a dirt bike so he could have some money to buy me a ring and I was like okay, that sounds reasonable...looking back he totally had me fooled!

Angel Food Cake

My husband's birthday was yesterday and he loves this angel food cake with cool whip and heath bar. My grandmother shared this recipe with me and I am so glad she did! It's so easy to make and so good! I decided to surprise him and make one. I've made this several times and would like to make the angel food cake from scratch, but yesterday wasn't the day! I was short on time and that is why there are not as many step-by-step pictures.

Here's what you need:

• Box angel food cake mix (or what you would need to make one from scratch)
• 16 ounces of cool whip
• 1 package of heath bar bits (found by the chocolate chips at Walmart or any candy topping you want!)

First, you make the angel food cake by following the instructions on the box. I have an angel food cake pan but you can also use two 9 inch loaf pans or 3 smaller loaf pans (not sure the size but it says it on the box). I have done it both ways and both ways the cakes turn out great! If you are using the angel food pan as soon as you remove the cake from the oven, you have to turn it upside down on a glass bottle, like so...

If you use the loaf pans, you have to immediately turn them on their sides on a heat safe surface. (sorry no picture)

You have to wait until the cake is completely cool before you do anything with it. While the cake is cooling I would get the cool whip out of the freezer and set it in the refrigerator to thaw. This will make the icing of the cake a lot faster!

Once the cake has cooled completely, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake from the sides. Then, tip the pan over and plop the cake on a plate (or whatever you will be using to store it). 

If you used the angel food cake pan: cut the cake so that it has three layers (cut twice)

If you used the loaf pans: cut the cake in half

Now it's time to put the candy of your choice in the thawed out cool whip. Save some to put on the top on the cake once it has been iced. Stir it up real good.

Ice the angel food cake just like you would any other cake.

Put some in-between the layers and then around the outside.

Finally, top off the cake with the bits of candy you set aside. Enjoy!

You will need to keep the cake in the refrigerator because of the cool whip. Otherwise, it will end up a runny mess.

tidbits

{one} Well, I have finally finished school! What a relief! I passed student teaching and graduated last Saturday. Now, time to job hunt in full force. There are several jobs open in the county I want to work in. I have applied for all of them. What I would really like is to be hired at the school where I student taught...a position just opened up and I will interview soon! I am praying that this is where God wants me because I really want to be there, but I do know that it might not be where God wants me.

{two} I cleaned out our disaster of an office yesterday and boy does it look good. I threw out a bunch of stuff that had been collecting dust and also put a lot in the basement. Does anyone else feel great when they clean? Or am I a weirdo for feeling that way?

These are recent pictures, isn't the wall color gross!

{three} I don't know what I am going to do this summer when I have nothing to do. This is going to be my first summer off since high school...so about 6 years! I will probably finish painting the walls and trim in our house. I want to make a quilt too. I have done the "easy" version where you put two pieces of fabric together with batting in the middle. I say "easy" because it wasn't that easy. Now, I want to try one where you have to cut out the squares and sew it all together. I have a tutorial pinned on my Pinterest site (under DIY). I'm thinking the first time I will buy pre-cut squares...I know, I know. But, if I'm going to actually finish it, it can't be too hard!

(via)

{four} My Mamaw turned 70 on the 17th. She definitely doesn't look or act 70! She was a elementary teacher (one of the reasons a became a teacher) and it's neat to share my experiences with her. It's not that we didn't have anything to talk about before, but now she is able to give me a TON of advice and useful tips.

My Mamaw with her grandchildren.

{five} My husbands birthday is tomorrow and I can't decide what to get him! It's not that he's hard to buy for but there's nothing he really wants. I do know I'm going to make him this delicious angel food cake with cool whip mixed with heath bar icing. It's soooo good! I'll have to post how to make it later in the week, it's pretty self-explanatory! We did go to our favorite, local Mexican restaurant for lunch today. Our sister-in-law really wanted them to bring out the hat =]

Happy Birthday babe! I love you!

That's all for now.

Our Humble Abode Tour - Living Room

As you probably gathered from the previous post, our house needs a lot of love. It was built in 1991 and is perfect for us. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. It also has an unfinished basement that we will finish...one day. Next on our tour is the living room. I have already put up some pictures of the living room, but here they are again for good measure!

The first thing my husband did in this area was close in the door to our master that was right in the middle of the living room. I'm not sure why the previous owners needed two doors to their room...but whatever! Oh and we also painted the mantel white. It was bad! We have chosen a yellow toned taupe for this area and will paint all the trim white - Chad is also going to continue the chair rail trim all the way around into the dining area. This is my favorite area of the house because it is so open, but unfortunately right now it is covered in plastic. I can't wait to finish painting!

Our Humble Abode Tour - Kitchen

We bought our house 6 months after we got married. We lived in a rental house until then. We love our house! It has so much potential. We feel so blessed to have found it when we did and to be able to get out of our lease on the rental.

We've been so busy with work and school that we didn't start any renovations until we'd been in the house for 1 year! Actually my husband and his brother did take out a second door to our master bedroom - it was right in the middle of our living room! But other than that, nothing big.

I have a lot of pictures of our house before we even moved in - before we even bought it. I guess these could be considered our "before" pictures with all the painting going on.

The set-up of our house is different than what we were used to - usually you walk right into the living room but in this house on the right is the kitchen and then the left is the office, pantry, bathroom and guest bedroom. I love that we have so much counter space and cabinets! I also like how open the space is and the window that over looks the living room - I know that will be especially beneficial to us when we have children, right now I use it to watch television while washing the dishes...whatever gets the job done right?!

We're not big fans of the cream cabinets that exactly match the wall paint. They had a brown and cream color platte going in this house...not very attractive! We plan to paint them white but keep the brushed bronze knobs and faucets. We will keep the counter top as long as possible but plan to remove the current backsplash and replace it with tile. As far as paint goes we've chosen a peachy color and will accent with green.

Stay tuned...

Just a few notes...

• First of all...Congratulations to my real-life best friends Justin and Caitlin! They are expecting their first child this October! Baby fever just reached a whole new level for me! Auntie Cheri can't wait to meet you!
• I am done with all this cold weather! I can't wait for it to warm up. Hopefully while I'm on Spring Break so I can actually enjoy it! Here's a picture from our recent trip to Gatlinburg with our family. Spring is in full bloom there!

• Speaking of Spring Break...I will be spending my working on some house renovations (more on that later) and finish my paper work for Student teaching (which will be complete on April 12th!!!) I was blessed to receive a substitute teacher position for a maternity leave! I will start on April 13! Oh and they all have iPads, which means I get one too! Here's a before picture of our house, like before we even moved in (YUCK)!

• I've been cooking up a storm lately. It's my way of de-stressing. That and sewing. So I have a lot of fun things to share in the coming weeks. 
• My students were "April Fooling" me all day. Here are a few of my favorites:
• Hey, Mrs. W you have bugs in your hair.
• What's that on your shirt?
• Your shoe is untied.
• I really have to go to the bathroom!
• Oh, the minds of 1st graders! I was able to play some jokes on them too! I told them we were going outside for snack...and when they got back from activity (PE, Music, or Art) I told them we were going home early...I know I'm so cruel! Their faces were priceless! 
• A teacher suggested that I "April Fool" my husband by telling him I'm pregnant...Not that he wouldn't be happy but he'd be a little stressed since I'm between jobs and he's trying to get his business up and running. I don't want to put him though any unnecessary stress! Although there's still time to prank my sister...
• I just want talk about my hard-working husband for a minute. He works for a landscaping company during the day and then after work he is doing things for his own lawn care company. That is why our house has looked like this since January:

That is all for today! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Buckeyes

The tasty treat, not the team.

As you can tell, with two food posts in a row, I've been cooking during my absence. Cooking is my stress outlet. I am student teaching right now and although I love it - it can be very stressful!

Every Christmas my Aunt Toey and cousin Polly make buckeyes. This Christmas, due to our vacation, I missed our family Christmas and the buckeyes. I started craving them and decided to try to make them myself. It's not very difficult to make but takes some time.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl you need to mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. I used a natural peanut from Whole Foods - one where the oil sit on the top - and I found that it make this mixture very thin. I would recommend using a peanut butter that does not require you to stir.

Then, you will roll the dough into balls - whatever size you'd like - and place them on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place a toothpick into the top of each ball - this will be used for dipping - and then put the cookie sheet into the freezer for 30 minutes. I would recommend making sure your cookie sheet fits into your freezer BEFORE you put the peanut butter balls on there...just a word of advice from someone whose cookie sheet did not fit.

Before you take out your peanut butter balls you will want to melt your chocolate. I've always been told a double broiler works best but I think melting the chocolate in the microwave works just fine. Then, all you have to do is take the balls out of the freezer and dip them in the chocolate. Leave a little peanut butter showing at the top so it looks like a buckeye. Let them cool of course before eating and I suggest storing them in the fridge.

I used white chocolate because my husband isn't supposed to have caffeine - and well milk chocolate has some caffeine in it. They taste good either way!

Crock-pot Cake

Have you ever heard of making a cake in the crock-pot? Well, I hadn't until a teacher at school had her 4th grade make some. Ohhhh boy is it good and easy!

Here's what you will need:

• 1 box of Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
• 8 ounces of sour cream
• 12 ounces of chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
• 1 package of chocolate pudding
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of water
• 3/4 cup of vegetable oil

The first thing you want to do is spray your crock-pot with non-stick cooking spray. Then, you combine all of your ingredients in a mixing bowl. I used my stand mixer and would suggest mixing all the ingredients expect the chocolate chips together first and add those last. 

Then, all you have to do it put the mix in your crock-pot

And cook on low for 4 hours with the lid on - don't take the lid off if you can help it.

Once finished, serve with ice cream and enjoy! It's a very rich and tasty cake! My husband had a large bowl...

...and literally 5 minutes later it looked like this:

And then he asked for another!

I think next time I make this I'm going to try making a vanilla or strawberry cake - I'll let you know how it turns out!

Christmas Card

Family Frame Christmas Card

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12 Days of Christmas - Day 2

I'm excited to link up with Cait again today!

Christmas Traditions

The weekend before Christmas has always been spent with my Mom's side of the family and just recently started spending it with my Dad's father's side. We don't do presents on these two sides, only Grandparents, and the time is spent together eating and playing games.

My Dad and his wife are wanting to start a Christmas Eve tradition where the 6 of us get together and have a big meal, open presents and take a family photo in front of the tree. This will be our 4th year so I guess it counts.

 (Me, Chad, Clay, Cristen, Charm, Dad)

Christmas Day is hectic! We usually go over to my Mom's house first for a lunch with her and my grandparents. Santa fills our stockings and we open presents then eat lunch. And even though we don't go to their house anymore and are too big for Santa - my Meme and GrandGrand still put out a sign that says, "Santa Stop Here". They originally did this because we had to make sure Santa knew where we were. haha

(Cristen, Mom, Me)

After lunch, we go to my Dad's house to celebrate with his Mom's side of the family. The crazy tradition with this side of the family is having oyster stew at 10 in the morning. Yuck! I eat the broth with LOTS of oyster crackers. As my Uncle Frank says, in his loud, bellowing voice "You're not a Binford if you don't eat oyster stew on Christmas". We also draw names on Thanksgiving for the gift exchange. And we fill out the same wish list every year.

 (Me, Michelle, Cristen, Mamaw)

We meet with my husband's family at a different time each year. With 2 nurses and a physical therapist, there's no way to plan it the same day every year. This year we're meeting before Christmas. We don't really have any traditions beside doing a Dirty Santa gift exchange - we each buy a $50 gift for someone of the same gender and play the Dirty Santa gift game, have you heard of it? We usually play youngest to oldest, so the older members of the family have a chance to 'steal' from the younger ones. So the youngest chooses a gift - they open it and show it to everyone. The next person can either choose a gift or steal from someone (you can only steal gifts from people of your gender and a gift can only be stolen once). It's funny because the guys really get into it - their brothers - and the girls don't really steal anything.


My husband and I haven't really started any of our own traditions, but here are some of the things we do:

• Decorate the house after Thanksgiving
• Open our presents early - I can never keep a secret and Chad always pesters me to know what he's getting
• Sending out photo cards
• We'll hopefully start up our tradition of looking at Christmas light with ours best friends Justin and Caitlin (hint hint)
• Angel Tree Child 
• Candle light service at our church

We can't wait to start even more family traditions once we have children (or maybe even before!):

• I love the idea of baking Jesus a birthday cake  (my sister-in-law and I have already talked about that. Maybe I'll do it this year!) Or doing anything that would celebrate the birth of our Savior.
• Leaving cookies out for Santa (We did this when I was little)
• My great-grand mother is in an Assisted Living facility literally 2 houses down from where we live and I think it would be nice to go visit and sing Christmas Carols. 
• Stay at home Christmas morning - this will be hard to do but I don't want my children to be pulled in to the craziness that is my family's holidays. I don't want them to be stressed like I have been for so many years. I would love to be able to go to ONE place on Christmas day instead of running around like we usually do.

So that about sums it up. Sometimes it's hard to remember what Christmas is really about and I hope we will add some traditions to our list to help us remember that.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

I'm linking up with Cait today. Join in if you can!

What does Christmas mean to you?

First and foremost, it represents the Birth of my Savior Jesus Christ. It represents the love our God has for us, because He sent His ONLY Son to this Earth to save us from our sins. Think about that, He sacrificed His Son for US! It just amazes me to know that someone loves us that much!

Honestly, I enjoy the holidays but with my parents divorced and my dads parents divorced, holidays have always been very stressful. I am looking forward to having children so we can start our own traditions and hopefully focus more on what Christmas is all about. (if you've already forgotten read the first paragraph!)

Christmas Cards

You know from my previous post that I was planning to order our Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I took part in their Holiday promotion and received 50 free Christmas Cards! Here's what we chose:

I love them. It was the only one we both agreed on and I can't wait to see the finished product. I just checked the shipment progress and they are on their way from North Carolina - I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning - I can't wait to get them!

It's that time of year!

Don't you just love this time of year. It makes me realize how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family and great friends. I also love to give gifts. I love the reaction on everyone's face and how excited children get when opening presents.

I'm always looking for unique or personalized gifts. I think I've found the perfect place!

Shutterfly.com is a great place to find all kinds of personalized and unique gifts.

I told my parents that I would make them a Photobook of our wedding pictures and that has yet to happen, so maybe this is the year to do it! Here are a couple of my faves right now (I'm really into teal and orange):

Does anyone use a mouse pad anymore? I know my grandparents do, so I thought this would be a cute idea for them:

And who doesn't like to drink their coffee and see their favorite person? My sister would love these mugs personalized with pictures of us (she's a big coffee drinker like my dad)!

Now let's talk photo cards. I love the idea because you are able to send your friends and family a little bit of yourself in the mail - in the form of a photograph. I feel like it's a more personal way to send some Christmas cheer. And your hands will thank you too.

Here are some I like:

Woe is me, how will I ever choose!

If you were wondering where to go to purchase Christmas gifts or cards, I would suggest you start with Shutterfly! They have a lot of deals going on right now, so you better check them out while they last!