Kellyn Visits Houston! (x2)

Last week my sister was in Houston for work; I found this to be extremely convenient! This means that we got to see her twice this year! What a treat! We got “deluxe” pedicures, talked A LOT, & spent time together in the kitchen cooking.

Kellyn treated US to some special baked apples one night. It’s very rare to have someone else in my kitchen…..I think I could easily get used to it though. She gave me the recipe, so I will have to try these delicious apples sometime. Kellyn also gave me an early birthday present; talk about surprised! Phil & Kellyn sang for me & everything. :-) Here I am “blowing out my candles” in my Steelers gear.
Here we are, doing what we always do: G-chatting; but usually there are several states in between us.
I hope RMC sends her to Houston every year! Miss you already Kellyn; can’t wait to see you for Christmas!!!! xoxoxo

Joyce Meyer

I have mentioned watching Joyce Meyer in the mornings at the gym, but last weekend she was in Houston doing a conference. I got a chance to go on Saturday & it was phenomenal! She is not only a dynamic speaker, but such a strong & encouraging Christian woman. She will be back in February and I will be sure to go see her then as well!

Delirious was the opening worship band

The conference was at Lakewood, and thank goodness! Otherwise, I may not have had a seat! I was so glad that there were large screens so I could see what was happening on stage.

After the conference Phil took me out to dinner…while dinner was awesome, I think what consumed my attention was the Christmas decorations

Randoms

This post is so random that I can’t even think of something clever to link these tid-bits together; sorry!

I went shopping with my friend Lindsey a while ago & was looking for a yellow flower for my hair. I have a black flower, but I wanted a yellow one to wear with it for Steeler games. I kept coming up empty handed, so I went to my favorite trusty website, Etsy to order this homemade headband…..which I’m sure ANYONE could make. Nice self-portrait, right?!
Ever heard of a cactus pear? Yeah me neither! I saw this for 20 cents at Kroger & just had to try it…..this was a once in a lifetime experience though. Our advice….stay away from the cactus pears! Resist the urge to buy the cheap fruit! Last summer (2009) Phil & I built an apparatus that was approved for a HUGE 3 year grant at Texas Children’s Hospital. Last week I brought it from UH to TCH. I’m so thankful for Phil building this, & in such a way that I, a carpentry challenged person, could easily transport it & put it back together. Here I am after reconstructing it at TCH. Here are some dishes that I made by CJ (I feel like I’m cheating on the cookbook club when I cook from this book, but I just can’t help myself!) I made this chocolate cobbler & corn chowder last Sunday. I knew that my sister was arriving late that night so I wanted her to have a nice warm family meal after 2 months of being on the road. Phil thought this was the best corn chowder ever, & I don’t think I could argue with him.
While my sister was here, we made CJ’s baked macaroni-n-cheese & served it with turkey meatloaf. The meal reminded us of our granny. I’m not sure how the meal tasted; I was too distracted by the awesome quality time I was getting with my sister.

The Real Southerner

My new cookbook, Southern Plate by Christy Jordan, arrived a couple weeks ago & I was so excited to start looking through it to pick out new recipes to try. Between MNF commercials (the Ten/Jac game), Phil & I were on the couch flipping through the book…actually I think this was more me than him, but I was sure to show him every yummy picture. I quickly noticed that this really is a different cookbook. Normally recipes are organized by the type of dish it is (e.g. starters, main dishes, desserts, etc.), however, Jordan’s book is organized by seasons…so the apple fritters are between the fried chicken & the sweet tea. Originally, I thought this was very unique & convenient, but the more I rambled about it the more we thought it truly dubbed Jordan as a real southerner. She organized the recipes by what foods are being harvested at different time points throughout the year. All of her recipes require simple ingredients because, being a TRUE southerner, when you come in from a full day’s work you need something “fast & cheap because you’re tired & poor.” Don’t you just love that philosophy?! Because of this, we call her the real southerner. Check out how many pages I have marked as “to do’s”. I better get started! Fried Chicken Planks- This was the first recipe that I made by CJ; it was delicious & soooo cheap! I added some paprika & cayenne pepper, because we like our chicken extra spicy.Texas Caviar- I made this for Smallgroup last week. As I was making this, I started to realize how much there was going to be & began thinking, “I hope this is good, otherwise I will be eating this for-ev-er!” I tried it before I let it sit in the fridge overnight, & I was very nervous that no one would like it. Of course, there was a reason it was supposed to sit in the fridge & thank goodness I didn’t skip that step! I think that this was a pretty big hit, considering that I came home with none! That was exactly the way I was hoping it would go! So tips for this one, I added more green onions than she recommended, got black-eyed peas with jalapenos, & used fresh parsley from our “garden” (a.k.a. the kitchen window sill hehe) Pumpkin Crumb Cake- I liked this cake as well, but I think it was better with my coffee in the morning than it was as a dessert. Crunchy Beef Casserole- Depending on who you ask, you will get a different review: Phil “Gourmet Hamburger Helper” or me- “Glorified Hamburger Helper.” I think I was expecting something different than what I actually got. I probably won’t make this again.
Grown-Up Grilled Cheese- I must to have thought I was something hot when I made this. For some reason I thought I could take some serious heat; wow, no, I'm a WUSS! In a previous post I said that I was going to try & improve the grilled cheese recipe by EK by merging some recipes by MS. I topped white cheddar with cilantro & fresh jalapenos (with ALL of the seeds). WOW! That was good, but HOT! Creole Chicken Wraps (a.k.a. step aside Chipotle/Mission Burrito/Freebirds, Darby has come to town!)- We LOVED these! I couldn’t stop eating them! Sooooo delicious. This recipe has received the highest rating in the 5 years that I have been cooking for Phil!
Pesto Pasta- I needed something easy & fast to throw on the table. So I got some pesto, added some mozzarella, tomatoes & grilled chicken. Yum-O!
Fruit Dip- I took this to smallgroup for snack a couple weeks ago. Our friend Morgan made it for her son’s first birthday party & it was so delicious I had to try it myself. Thanks Morgan for the recommendation!

Weeks 3 & 4

Last week was the 3rd week of Octoberstache & this was the 4th week. Check out the ‘stache’s progress! October is just about over, so smooth cheeks will be back soon. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I will miss the 'stache.

Spiritual Gifts & My Ministry

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms” 1 Peter 4:10

My sister, Kellyn, & I grew up throwing events with my mom ALL THE TIME. We hosted so many events that we really had the planning down to a simple science. From the food to the decorations, we knew exactly what to do. Planning & hosting events is something that we still love doing, because we have come to understand that it is a gift that God has given us. We enjoy paying attention to the details so that whoever the event is for can be showered with love. We consider events to be about relationships with people & offering a warm, hospitable environment. Kellyn & I have continued to plan events throughout our lives. When I moved to Houston, Kellyn took my position planning events & once she graduated she started in a position where she plans, organizes, & hosts events all over the east coast. Once Phil & I are back in the same state as Kellyn, we hope to continue our event planning together.

Pastor Greg, our pastor who Phil & I like to call PG, says that a person is most happy when they are in line with God’s plan; they have the same desires as God, & are using their spiritual gifts to bring Him glory. I absolutely agree with this & I am truly happy when I am using my gifts to glorify God by showering & serving others with love through planning & hosting. It’s more than a passion of mine, but also a gift that has become a ministry I love serving in.

So with that said, here was the last event where I got to serve the Lord using my spiritual gifts of planning/hosting. I went with an elegant & antique shabby-chic tea party for a baby shower honoring Gina.

This was a tea party set up by the front door as guests arrived. The tea cups were filled with purple flowers.

Amy made this gorgeous French memo board for guests to write down words of encouragement for the new mommy.

I alternated teapots filled with flowers & votives with purple ribbons down the breakfast bar.

I decorated a special chair for the mommy-to-be to sit in as she opened presents.

The food was delicious; ladies you really outdid yourselves! We had purple punch, bagels, chicken salad tea sandwiches, fruit salad, mini quiches, & a delicious cake!

Here is a close-up of the gorgeous cake; yummy!

These 2 pictures give you a better view of the decorations on the left & right sides of the table. Recognize the white candelabra?

The favors were delicious onesie-shaped cookies (Haylee, these were awesome). Morgan made the beautiful diaper cake, as well as a diaper wreath for the front gate.

Congratulations Gina! We can’t wait to meet Baby Girl Cantrell!

SSS

The night before every game I sleep in my SSS, “Steelers Sleepy Socks.” Here is a self-portrait of me prepping for yesterday’s game against the Browns…who we DOMINATED! Welcome back Big Ben! By the way, this post is for you Ms. Norton…..just want to prove to you that I’m really not “grown-up” at all :-)

The Newest Grub

Last week was a little crazy with my dad flying out mid-week so I didn’t get very many new recipes cooked, but here are some from the previous week. All of these new recipes were from the latest cookbook for my Cookbook Club. Notice how many of these meals contained spinach!

Whole-Wheat Pasta Salad with Walnuts & Feta Cheese and Toasted Pita & Herb Salad- Phil & I both loved this pasta salad; the ingredients mingled together so well! I used wheat penne pasta & EVOO for the dressing. Because this pasta salad isn’t creamy, it would probably be perfect for a picnic, BBQ, or any other hot outside event. For the herb salad, I used spinach instead of romaine, doubled the scallions, & omitted the mint. L.O.V.E. Wrap Sandwich and Tomato & Red Onion Salad- I loved this fresh & filling meal. For the L.O.V.E. sandwich I used left-over whole-wheat pitas from the Toasted Pita & Herb Salad, omitted the red pepper, & substituted spinach for the romaine lettuce. I think I probably cut my red onion slices a little too thick, so next time I will most likely chop them. The Tomato & Red Onion Salad was great, but would have been even better if it was a complete caprese salad with some mozzarella (but I guess that would have added a lot more calories). I think using fresh basil really made this salad awesome. Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach & Couscous- For the couscous I used a tri-color mix which had hints of spinach (yes, more spinach) & paprika. I added the entire can of tomatoes & about 10 oz of spinach. We really liked the Mediterranean flare of this dish. Pumpkin Pie Muffins- These muffins didn’t taste like they were low-fat at all; they were pretty good with my morning coffee. These were not my favorite pumpkins though, so I will probably stick with my own recipe on this one.For those of you who are just as obsessed with cooking as I am, & for those of you that fell in love with the PW, I just wanted to share this with you. I read the article about Christy Jordan in Southern Living a couple weeks ago & have been all over her website, SouthernPlate.com. Jordan’s style is a lot like PW in her southern cooking and blogging. Her book went on sale 10/6 & she will be in Houston for a book tour on 10/25. You can preview the book or check out the recipes from her website. Here is a link that has a quick video introduction to Jordan at the bottom, as well as a way to purchase the book. If you loved the PW, I have a feeling you’re going to want this cookbook too. I pre-ordered my copy & I can’t wait to try out this cookbook! And of course, I will be sure to let you know way more than you ever wanted to know about it :-)

What Are We Expecting?

Ha! Did I grab your attention with that title?! It’s all that psychological marketing background I have, but just to clarify, no we’re NOT pregnant. A lot of our friends have recently transitioned into parenthood & have monitored the transition with really cute growing belly pictures. Since we aren’t there yet, we monitor different things, like mustaches! Yes, you read that correctly. Mustaches.

This month is the 3rd Annual Octoberstache that Phil participates in. Some wives don’t like their husbands to grow facial hair, let alone a full-on mustache; however, I think it’s hilarious. I will laugh for the entire month of October. If previous years have been any indication, I don’t think we will be able to have any serious conversations this month because I won’t be able to keep a straight face. Imagine if you will, walking into a public place, let’s say a restaurant, with Phil (who is already unusually tall) and 4 to 5 of his guy friends all sporting dirty mustaches (“dirty” as in nasty-looking, not unclean)…and then there is me, super short but sans mustache...what would your facial expression be if you were the hostess at said restaurant? Needless to say, we will get some looks for sure!

I have taken a picture of the growing ‘stache every Friday this month. Here is the monitored progress:

After the first week in October. After the second week in October. You can be expecting some awesome ‘stache pictures as we near the end of this month! hehe

White Candelabra

I am co-hosting a baby shower for a woman in our smallgroup & I’m going with an antique shabby chic theme with lilacs, grays, & white for the decorations. For one of the centerpieces, I was looking for a white candelabra with hanging crystals. I feel like I have seen a ba-zillion of these in the past, but when I actually needed one they were nowhere to be found. It’s probably because white candelabras are more “springy,” & it being fall, I understand why they aren’t packed on the shelves at every store. BUT, I still wanted one for a centerpiece. I found a black candelabra with black jewels at Michael’s in the Martha Stewart Halloween section & decided that since the price was right, I was going to have to get creative. I mean really, a black candelabra at a shower for a baby girl does seem a bit morbid even if it is close to Halloween.

Here is the candelabra before I started “crafting.” It really isn’t bad looking for a black candelabra. I would have kept it black if I were having a Halloween party this year. Here is after the first few coats of white paint. (Yes Mom, I’m painting on the carpet, hehehe). Ta-da!!! The finished product! Notice the new crystals; I’m most excited about them. They took for-ev-er, but I’m so glad that I took the extra effort for them. Thanks Phil & dad for helping with this project! You're so good to me!