It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Don't worry, you did not miss Labor Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, it's not Christmas time... BUT, it is less than a week until the start of college football.

Georgia Blocks...G-E-O-R-G-I-A

This year will be an interesting one for me. This time around, I have one very important person in my life who does not share my love for the Red and Black. Patrick and I have been looking forward to football season since we started dating. We are both devoted fans... he is a lifelong Auburn Tiger... and I am of course a Georgia Bulldog.

We know it could be worse... though the Bulldogs and Tigers are old rivals... we get along most of the season. I dare say we would be in a very different place if I was an Alabama fan or if he was a Florida fan. Though, growing up in a mixed household (Mom is an Auburn Tiger... Dad an Alabama fan), I know that it can be done. Patrick and I are hoping it will be a smooth season... until that fateful Saturday in November at least.

I have so many great UGA football memories... this fall as a part of my blog I am going to take a look back at some of my favorite moments. Most will correspond with the team UGA is playing each week.

We made an early morning appearance on ESPN's "Cold Pizza," prior to the LSU game in 2004... and I got to meet two of UGA football's finest... Coach Richt and Coach Dooley.

I hope you enjoy them... and one more thing.... GOOOOOOOOOO Dawgs!

Foodie Friday Chicken Spaghetti

I have been out of town this week, sorry for not posting! However, while I was gone I made this week's Foodie Friday recipe.

Throughout our relationship I have made several different dinners for Patrick, this is by far his favorite. It is my Great Aunt Carolyn's recipe... I told you that family cookbook is my favorite! It is quick, easy, and very tasty!

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts (3-4)

1 8oz package Angel Hair pasta (the normal box is 16oz, so just use half)

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 can Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (Rotel)

2 cups Mexican cheese blend (8oz pkg)

Cook chicken in boiling water to cover until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken, reserving broth. Cool and chop chicken into bite size pieces; set aside. To reserved broth, add enough water to cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta; set aside. In a large bowl, combine soups and tomatoes. Stir in chicken and pasta, blending well. Place into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly!

This is certainly one of our new favorites! It is great for making ahead and freezing. It also works if you want to freeze it in individual portions.

Our yummy dinner at Patrick's apartment!

Great Deal: Southern Living magazine

Just wanted to let everyone know... amazon.com has a deal going for one week only (ends next Saturday)... 1 year subscription of Southern Living magazine for only $5! That's right... $5! Just search "Southern Living" at Amazon.com and scroll down until you find the 1 year subscription. According to the site shipping is also free. Not a bad deal... Enjoy!

Matchmaker Matchmaker...

Matchmaker matchmaker make me a match...

People often ask Patrick and me how we met... we grew up in different states, went to different colleges, and currently live 6 hours apart... so it is a very legitimate question. I believe that God brought us together with a little help from my good friend Dana.

Dana and I when she visited me in Orlando... we went to Disney World!

Dana is an amazing friend who I have known since our dorm days at UGA, she even drove with me when I moved to Orlando to work at WFTV. We have shared so much in our friendship, she is truly a wonderful woman of God. She is 6 feet tall though, so sharing clothes and shoes has never been an issue with us. However, we do share a love of bags and purses, the Georgia bulldogs, and of course Mexican Food! (Are you seeing a trend among my good friends?)

Brittany, Dana, and I in Honduras.

She always joked while in college that she was in the "matchmaking" business. She loves meeting new people and getting to know them. She is one of the most outgoing people I know, never meeting a stranger.

She had been telling me for almost a year about this guy in one of her classes, that was, in her words, "perfect for me." More on that story in future posts... suffice it to say, Dana saw something in both of us, I am so glad she kept on!

At the D-Group banquet.... 2004.

Not only did Dana introduce me to Patrick, now whenever I come to visit him she opens her apartment to me! She is such a sweet friend who always lets me crash at her place. It has truly become my home away from home!

Foodie Friday Fiesta Egg Bake

I tried this recipe for the first time this week.. it is very quick and easy. It is great for when you have company spend the night and need a quick fix for breakfast.

Fiesta Egg Bake

Ingredients:

*Note the pineapple is not needed for the recipe... it just happened to be on the counter when I took the picture*

-6 large eggs

-1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/8 teaspoon black pepper

-1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained

-1 cup (4oz) shredded Cheddar cheese

-Bacon

In a bowl combine eggs, cream, salt and pepper... beat until smooth and well blended. Stir in green chilies. Grease a 1 quart baking dish. Sprinkle cheese and bacon over the bottom of the prepared baking dish then pour the egg mixture over the cheese.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 325 degrees. If desired broil for a few minutes to brown the top.

Serves 4-6.

The finished product...

This recipe along with many more I plan to share came from a wonderful family cookbook my mom and cousin put together. They gathered recipes from all the women (and some of the men) on my mom's side of the family. I didn't appreciate it at the time but there is something so special about being able to cook the foods that remind me so much of my loved ones. I think it's safe to say that it is my favorite cookbook. Thanks Mom!

Precious Friends

Tuesday night I got to visit with some precious friends. John and Cassie have been married a little more than a month, and they have been dear friends since our college days in Athens. Cassie and I spent three years together on FlagLine, we also lived together, along with Rebecca and Erin, for a year in 214 St Andrews (like Valentine's Day). During much of that year John was a frequent visitor to the gals of 214.

One of my last nights in Athens with John, Rebecca, and Cassie-- "The Fam"

After graduation, when I moved back to Atlanta, John and I lived about ten minutes apart. We switched out cooking duties and ate dinner at each other's apartments about once a week.

I am so excited they are finally married! They are such sweet, funny, and giving people. I know that no matter where life leads all of us... we will be my friends for the rest of our lives. We have moved from college days, to jobs, to their marriage, I can't wait to see what will happen next... maybe babies in the "fam"?!?

At John and Cassie's wedding, July 11, 2009

An Atlanta Fun Day!

Brittany and I had such a wonderful girl's day exploring and shopping (well more looking) at different shops and stores around Atlanta.

We started our day with a Fiesta Breakfast Casserole, yummy recipe from my mom. It was my first time making this recipe, and I think it turned out GREAT! Stay tuned for the recipe on Foodie Friday.

Next we set out for an adventure to the Dekalb Farmers Market. We looked at all kinds of interesting foods from around the world. I even learned a little about some really exotic foods from my resident expert. We ate lunch at their in-house resaturant... it was fantastic and very affordable! We each got a plate and then shared... my favorite was the butternut squash lasagna Brittany's was the roasted mushrooms. We picked a dessert treat at the bakery and headed home with our goodies.

Our dessert treats... Red Velvet cupcake and cream cheese brownie.

Next we headed into the city to Ikea. We had such fun looking for furniture and other stuff Brittany might like in her new apartment. It brought back memories of all my trips there when I got my first place... new furniture is so much fun!

Looking at everything in Ikea... including where Brit just came from... SE Asia.

Our last store of the day was Target where we shopped for all kinds of stuff... I think Target is one of our favorite places!!

Overall it was a fantastic and much needed girl's day out!

*More pictures to come... we forgot to save them on my computer before B left*

Brittany's Here!

Finally my long lost friend Brittany has arrived at my home!... Well, she wasn't really lost I suppose, but she was a long way away!

She arrived last night so when I got home from work we had a very sweet reunion after not seeing each other for more than a year. We attended the late service at First Baptist today because we stayed up WAY too late last night catching up and eating Chili's Salsa.

Now I have a blogging confession to make... on the way home from church we talked about the fact that if we were really good bloggers we would have already taken tons of pictures. So we decided we would start the picture fest when we got home with our lunch. Better late than never, right? Our stomachs growled all the way home... and as soon as we got there, we dug in... it wasn't until we were cleaning up that Brittany said "We are terrible bloggers. We were so hungry, that we forgot to take our pictures!"

Tomorrow is our "day of fun" and we are not going to forget to take pictures. We promise. Stayed tuned for those coming up later this week!

*By the way... our super yummy, non-photographed lunch was from Alon's Bakery. It was just what we needed*

Foodie Friday Chili's Salsa

I found this recipe when I was reading Kelly's blog. I knew Brittany would be coming soon so I thought it would be the perfect time to try it out... Chili's salsa is her favorite! The recipe is super easy... although the first time I made it I filled my chopper too full so I made a big mess!

CHILI'S SALSA

Ingredients:

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can tomatoes and green chilies

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can whole canned tomatoes (plus the juice)

4 teaspoons jalapenos (canned, diced, not pickled)

1/4 cup yellow onion (diced)

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

This is not on the recipe but I added: cilantro and juice from 1/2 lime

1. In food processor place jalapenos (optional) and onion and process for just a few seconds.

2. Add both cans of tomatoes, salt, sugar, cumin,cilantro and lime juice.

3. Process all ingredients until well blended but do not puree.

4. Place in covered container and chill.

5. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips!

Finished product...

I found that it gets better with time... all the flavors really melt together as it chills in the fridge for a few days. It is really Yummy!!!

I also tried these chips from Target... they are WONDERFUL!

To tweet... or not to tweet?

After I said I wouldn't do it... I joined Twitter a few months ago, I thought it would be interesting to see what so many people were so excited about. Well, despite my best effort, I have not been able to get really into it. I like to check it occasionally to see what other people are up to, but I am terrible about updating my own status.

Maybe it is because I don't have a Blackberry or I-phone so I can only "tweet" when I am sitting in front of my computer. Thus, I never really have anything too interesting to say because I am probably either at work... or messing around on the computer at home.

Thus, I think I am going to stop pretending that I "tweet," and come out and say I think I am going to be a Twitter dropout. I at least need to take some time to give it a break... besides I have this new blog to worry about.

Coming up Friday... I am preparing to start a weekly feature... it will be exciting!

Brittany is HOME!!!!

This post is a little delayed... she actually got home July 31st... but what can I say, I am still super excited! I have not seen her since a quick visit in May 2008, and as I prepare this week for her visit next week... I thought I should write a little about her...

Little B is one of the coolest girls I know... she is great cook, fantastic crafter, and overall just a fun gal to hang out with. We share a love for the Bulldogs, Mexican food, and a little known TV show called Related. We have so much fun when we are together! Plus it's not very often that I am the tall one.

Her time abroad was in many ways a contrast in old vs new. We could set a Skype date and video chat any time. She didn't look like she was in the next room every time... but it definitely felt like she was just down the street. On the other hand, when I sent her anything via "snail mail" it would take anywhere from 3-5 weeks to get to her. It usually took one week to get from America to SE Asia... then it spent the rest of the time moving within her country. Luckily none of my packages ever got lost is transition. This exercise served as a great reminder of how small the world has gotten... but also just how HUGE it really is!

I missed my Brittany so much while she was on the other side of the world. I am so glad she is home! Now she is just a short drive away! We are so blessed!

Science and Snow-cones

Day Two of my adventure to visit Patrick:

After a delicious omelet for breakfast we headed out to explore the North Carolina Science Museum in downtown Raleigh... the best part, the museum is free!

There was a beautiful planter full of HUGE sunflowers outside the museum... too bad it was covered in bees!

Inside the dinosaur part of the museum... we are getting to be pros at taking pictures of ourselves.

Watch out for giant bugs!!! They also had the largest cockroaches I have ever seen... too gross for a picture though.

Sorry Mr. Frog... I'll just have to blow you a kiss...I'm sure you've heard the story about the girl who kissed a frog then he turned into her prince. Well, this girl found her prince without ever kissing any frogs... I am so lucky!!

Have you ever heard of the comedian Brian Regan? He has some pretty funny sketches... one of our favorites is about snow-cones, so when we saw a stand outside the museum selling them we had to get one!!! It was banana flavored.

After a quick drive through the N.C. State campus. We stopped at Snoopy's for a hot dog lunch. It is local favorite, and it was GREAT!

Off to Raleigh I go...

I have been making regular trips to Raleigh ever since Patrick and I met back in December. I usually set out early on my "Saturday" morning and head back to Atlanta very very early "Monday" morning. It's been a while since I made the trek north, but I was happy to see that all my quirky but familiar landmarks were still there. More on those in later posts...

This time, I planned a picnic surprise for Patrick a few days before my trip. So prior to arriving at his apartment I had to make two quick pit-stops. The first place I stopped was Cafe Carolina. It is a bakery that Dana introduced me to a while ago, they have GREAT cupcakes! Patrick and I also ate there once and we still talk about how delicious they are... if you are ever in the RDU area I recommend you try them!

My second stop was at Kroger... I picked up the rest of our picnic foods including one of Patrick's favorite... steamed shrimp!! Apparently, while I was in the store Patrick tried to call me 3 times because I was later arriving than usual. When he didn't get me he decided to go looking for me... luckily I was coming down his street as he started to leave, so the search was called off.

Our picnic was a little rushed because we got to the park at 4:40pm... and it closed at 5:30pm... so here we are about to get kicked out of Falls Lake Park... it is so beautiful there!

More Raleigh adventures and photos in my next post...

Why the Blog: Part Two

You are probably wondering why I called this post "Part Two"... no it's not a typo... I called it this because it is my second start at blogging. I did it just over a year ago but then stopped... my very first post is "Why the blog".

Well friends, I have decided to pick it up again. I love looking at other people's blogs, keeping up with them, and learning how they do life each and every day. I plan to blog about what's going on with me... I'll also post some of my cooking and crafting projects. It will be an interesting outlet for me to use my journalism background (my degree is in broadcast, so don't expect any long drawn out sentences. The simpler the better, that's what my professors taught at least.) I think it will be fun to marry this with my creative/crafty side.

So as I set out on this new expedition into cyberspace... I am hopeful that I will be able to keep it up this time.

Until next time... Happy Blogging!