rachel's birthday!

today is my sweet friend and new mom Rachel's birthday!!!

she got a birthday blog last year and as it turns out...did not stop being a great friend over last year...it's all still true!  BUT NOW...she's a mom!  sweet Virginia was born back in may and it's so fun seeing Rachel be a mom!

all the things that are great about having Rachel as friend I'm sure will be echoed 100x to Virginia by having her as mom.  Rachel is quick to encourage and motivate and make you feel like you are the most talented person ever!  She's so hard-working and dedicated in her own life that I know she will make herself so very present for her sweet daughter's as well! 

Rachel, I hope you know you are loved and celebrated on your birthday today!!!  You deserve it!

fotos of the fourth

we had such a fun 4th of July weekend!!!

Friday night we celebrated Molly's birthday at the hottest Mexican place in donelson (literally...whenever jalapenos are on fire, you know it's hot).

It was a great weekend.  Eric and Lele came back in town and it was just like they never left! (maybe this will actually end up being a fake out move again...here's hoping!)

Monday was wonderful.  Any day off work is going to be a wonderful one.  We did yard work, took the dog for a jog, and ate at the Dairy Dip.

Our plan was to head to Downtown Franklin for some good times and fireworks.  After enjoying the festival and good eats at Mellow Mushroom we decided to head home and watch the fireworks from the couch.  We did watch a few neighborhood ones from the deck.

hope you all had a great 4th of July!

what a week!

it's been quite the week for us. this has for real been happening for a week now...

crazy. I know. we've accepted the fact that we are crazy for putting the house on the market after 3 months of marriage.  making my bed everyday and having all my clothes hung up nicely every morning was certainly not part of the vows...but we're making it work.  Tomorrow we will have our 8th showing in a week, so that seems hopeful.  we'll see how it all works out.

in other news, I got one of these:

I now feel hip, cool, completely conforming to everything my age demographic says about me ;) AND loving it!  all the pictures on this blog post are taken with it.

AND these came in the mail this week!!!

they are so cute and pretty and shiny...I kind of want to cuddle with them.  again, crazy.  but I do love how they turned out.  If you haven't clicked over to my flickr site from the left side bar, I'd love for you to... and check out my photography site.  I'm excited to see what the future holds.  If you need some pictures taken just holler!!!

and now I leave with you a few pictures of those I love...

molls's birthsday!

woop woop!  let's hear it for molly...it's her birthday!!!

last year molly got a special blog on her big day...its all still true.  she is still awesome, loyal, hilarious, uber creative, and really pretty. 

Molly is the perfect "go to" friend.  If you need fashion advice, decorating tips, want to go to the flea market, need the latest pop culture scoop, want to know what TV shows to watch (and not watch...but I promise Big Bang Theory is funny), take a road trip, learn a music video dance...for all these things...go to molly. 

but also...if you are having a bad day, need someone to just listen to you, make you laugh...make you smile, support you in decisions, encourage you through all of life's woes...go to molly.  Even though we can become your modern day Daria and Jane, we manage to have fun and keep smiling through all stages of life together.

can't say enough about such a dear friend. 

constant. compassionate (to all...mammals and sea life included).

a bestest friend you can have.

happy birthday molly!

here's to London in 2012...not turning 30...just London :)

party pasta!

oh...writing that title makes me think of how fun it would be to have a pasta party...like an Italian theme.  mmmm. that sounds delicious.  maybe we change josh's party theme to that...or there is always next year!!!

anyway...I'm trying to do my part to be a cost-conscience wife and watch for deals at the grocery store and find coupons, etc.  Part of that is also using what we have on hand and trying to not have to by every ingredient for every meal each week.  This week, we had Chicken Parmesan on the menu. (if you've ever eaten anywhere with the Drakes, you know they love them some Chicken Parm.)  Typically I serve it with pasta.

PASTA!  The past couple of times we've made recipes with pasta we have some pasta left over...usually about a 1/4 of a box.  Trying to save space in my kitchen I just pile all the pasta in one bin.  Like this...

ah ha! party pasta!  I love pasta and think this looks so fun.  SO, for dinner the other night, we just had different kinds of pasta, using what we had instead of buying something new.  Its not brain surgery but it seemed clever to us.  The Chicken Parmesan was really easy.  We used the Chicken cutlets (tenders) b/c they were on sale and ended up liking the smaller portions better - and they cook faster!

dip tender into egg, then into bread crumbs.  Cook in oil to brown on both sides.  Cook in the oven for 20ish minutes at 350.  After 10ish minutes add marinara sauce to the top of the chicken plus some grated Parmesan.  Allow to cook another 10ish minutes until chicken is done and cheese is melted!  Yum-o!

wednesday's sunset

the rain lately has made for some beautiful sunsets with the cloud patterns.  Last night (Thursday) in Nashville, the clouds looked exactly like how I picture them when Jesus comes back.  SO bright, fluffy, majestic...and the sun setting with perfect rays.  These are pictures from Wednesday's sunset.  The pretty colors were just amazing. 

The beauty of God is certianly not something we have to spend too much time looking for.  He places it all around us each and every day.  The sunsets have been such a great reminder of His power and provision.

doe, a deer...

the other day I looked out my office window and saw this pretty creature!

she was just prancing around and chillin'

 I went outside to try and get more pictures...it saw me and decided to cross the parking lot...

  still watching me it went down the hill...

 it came back up the hill with this little guy!!!

and off they went...

just another day on the farm...I mean office :)