Mans Best Friend

This week has flown by and I'm kind of excited for a weekend to sit back and relax, with no set plans lingering over our heads. We have tossed around a few ideas consisting of a little outdoor recreation (tennis and golf) and plan on allowing our kitchen to have a rest while we try out some new restaurants around town. Of course in the mix of all that, you can be sure that football will be watched consistently. 

Hope your weekend is relaxing and here are a few pictures of our furry family member who just got a new toy; if you can't tell from these pics, he is obsessed with this duck and guards it with his life! So darn cute.

Love List

Here are a few things that I am enjoying at the moment!

I just received the fourth Harry Potter book in the mail yesterday (so thrilled this one came with a dust jacket and looked as good as new, though it was used!) and I can't wait to start it! The last book ended with a twist I didn't see coming and I couldn't put it down; so eager to start reading about Harry's next adventure. 

Not sure if you're as into books as I am and have heard the news, but J.K. Rowling has a book being released today that is geared towards adults; I'm interested to see how it compares and differs from her writing style in the Harry Potter series that made her a phenomenon.

MAC cooked us some delicious steaks the other night, that he actually sautéed on the stove in olive oil, butter, mushrooms and some spices. I used to have an obsession with chicken and would prefer that over steaks, but after having my husband make me a steak, I don't even think about chicken. What's chicken?? We paired our steak with sweet potato fries and corn, literally fresh off a farm, near Bainbridge, Georgia (perks of MAC working in the crate making/farming industry).

With football season in full swing, I'm loving this chevron platter with the football bowl and spreader from Coton Colors (my new place of work). The platter and bowls come in a variety of colors to correspond with your team of choice. Wouldn't you be just the cutest thing serving your food contribution to a tailgate in this; I know I'd think so ;)

Just a close up of this adorable polka dot bowl!

Yay for Thursday, which means it's almost Friday, which means another fun weekend!

Tomato Soup

The past few mornings I have woken up to find the air quite cool and crisp; Fall is knocking on the door of the South and I couldn't be more excited for a new season! With this change in weather comes a desire to eat warm, hearty comfort food. My family frequents a local Italian restaurant, Z Bardhi's, that offers a tomato soup that is melt in your mouth delicious. The soup base is creamy, with  the perfect amount of spices and it has a slight texture without chunks of tomatoes (I can't stand the texture of tomatoes, but love the taste of them in certain dishes). The soup alone is amazing, but then they add on a huge piece of grilled Tuscan bread with an olive oil based dipping sauce.

If you live in the Tallahassee area, you must try this (along with everything else Z Bardhi's menu has to offer) and if not, go home and make this easy, but scrumptious meal for dinner! Now my mouth is watering and I'm counting down the hours to 6 o'clock!

Football Weekend

I can't even get over how great of a game FSU v. Clemson was this past weekend! They were the first ranked team we have played, so I was really hoping that we would at least hang in there with a tough team, but we more than hung in there and showed everyone we deserve our ranking in the top 5! We went to a huge tailgate that consisted of Boston butts, green bean casserole, and some scrumptious homemade Mac N' Cheese, courtesy of MAC; he surprised all of us with his own concoction that turned out quite good! After hanging out with everyone and playing corn hole, MAC and I headed to my parents to watch the game because we were sans tickets. I cheered, tomahawk chopped, and jumped up and down the entire game. Due to a big FSU victory and a Bull Dog win, the Crosby household was a very happy one indeed! Our Sunday was spent outdoors on the porch and the golf course enjoying this gorgeous "fallish" weather! 

Hope you have a beautiful Monday!

Better Late than Never...

Today was my day off and the designated "craft" day for my mom and I to finally create our wreaths. My mom decided to do a monogram one, while mine has a Fall flair to it (Hobby Lobby ran out of the type of leaves I needed so my wreath is sporting a some what bare look at the moment). 

 

This was an extremely tardy, short and sweet post because we got started on our crafting later than I anticipated, but I figured I'd go ahead and share this with y'all; I was very eager to have some fall decor up in our home before our out of town guests arrived for the big game tomorrow! Hope your weekend is wonderful and realllyyyyyy hoping Florida State plays hard and pulls off a huge win for us against Clemson (my brother went to Clemson and FSU is my alma mater, but my entire family is pulling for the tigers!! Where is the loyalty here and how RUDE ha)!

 GO NOLES!

The South

As Michael and I traveled back from Savannah this past weekend, I curled up in the passenger seat with the most recent issue of Southern Living I had and began to lazily browse my way through every article (yes, I'm one of those that literally has to read every thing the magazine has to offer). I came across a certain story called "Making the Leap" about a woman who, having lived in NYC for quite some time, decides to head back to her roots and move home to the South. Reading her short story made me feel a touch of southern pride and I thought I'd share with you a little excerpt from her article.

"Why?" they all (okay, mostly the New Yorkers) would ask. I never had a clear answer. It is impossible to distill atmosphere, to defend a decision made without concrete reasoning. I suppose I could have said, "Because the South, like anything worth knowing, is complicated. And complexity married to beauty never bores"

But I did not. Usually I said, "The economy."

In truth, I had wants.

I wanted to sweat when I climbed into my car.

I wanted a place where playdates did not exist and play did.

I wanted not to be the only woman at the school bake sale who 1) loved coconut and 2) made her own cake.

I wanted to garden more than three months a year.

I wanted my kids to know the value of manners.

I wanted to hear birds sing at night and get high on honeysuckle and marvel at the size of magnolias, perched like Easter hats on waxy green heads.

I wanted to drink in twangs and drawls.

I wanted to hear the frenzied jangle of banjos and fiddles.

I wanted to lay eyes on men wearing overalls and cowboy hats and women with hair teased high as Larry Hagman.

I wanted to hug people I just met.

I wanted to see bugs big enough for saddles. And insolent enough to stick around when the lights come up.

I wanted to drive past walls of kudzu, both terrible and beautiful, draping the landscape like living quilts.

I wanted to suck wild berries and guzzle RC.

I wanted to stop agonizing over fried food.

I wanted to eat. And eat. And eat.

Most of all, I wanted to raise my children, girls ages 10 and 11, in my ancestors' geography, where they could ramble barefoot in the sunshine and not fret about being sideswiped by a speeding taxicab.

My favorite line would have to be the one about drinking in twangs and drawls. There is just something about a Southern accent that tends to make me go weak in the knees; my sweet Dad, who was born and raised in Georgia, always spoke with a slow, southern drawl so it was only natural I marry a good ol' boy from Savannah who swept me off my feet the first time he opened his mouth. Heavens I could go on and on about Southern accents, never mind my love for all things to do with the South, but I'm sure you have a limited time to read so I'll save more rambling for another time and let you go about your way :)

What are your reasons for either staying in the South or wanting to move back to the South if you have moved away like this woman?? I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts!

Blustery Day

Last night we were lulled to sleep by a constant down pour of rain and were woken up this morning with crackling thunder and scary lightening; looks like we're in for quite a blustery day!

I get up early with MAC so we can eat breakfast together before we go our separate ways, but I don't leave for my job for another two hours after he heads out, so I've been curled up on the sofa with a warm cup of coffee, reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. These sort of days make me just want to stay inside, wrapped up in a blanket, watching movies or reading to my hearts desire!

No pictures today, but wanted to share with you the recipe I'm making for dinner tonight. It's called "Easy turkey chili" and today's weather seemed suitable for something warm and hearty!

Now it's time to don some polka dotted rain boots and hope to not get blown away :)

Savannah Weekend

This weekend was a whirlwind, but a mighty good one at that. It was wonderful to visit with family and to see our only little nephew, John Christopher (he has grown so big since we last saw him and is just adorable). Sad to say I had a photography brain lapse and forgot to take pictures of JC or other family members, but I managed to take a few scenic ones and also one of MAC and I. Hope you had a refreshing weekend; we're looking forward to the FSU v. Clemson game, tailgates and having some sweet friends make a visit this weekend (our first out of town guests, yay!). Back to the daily grind; happy Monday y'all!

View from MAC's grandparents backyard after a delicious brunch Saturday morning; not too shabby, huh?!

Only pic I have of us the whole evening (guess we were busy celebrating!).

Beautiful cobblestones and Spanish oaks on a square in downtown Savannah.

A house on Jones Street, my favorite street to look at houses on.

An old, historic bookstore in downtown Savannah; a bookworms dream!

Meet Bear

 I know Bear has made short appearances here and there on my blog, but today I wanted to "officially" introduce you to my family's dog, aka the cutest darn thing you've ever laid eyes on. My mom got him last Christmas as a puppy, and though my parents like to joke about him being a naughty rascal, my brothers and I beg to differ, after all, what puppy doesn't have some mischief in him?? He seriously has the sweetest personality, always wanting to play with you, cuddle with you, and give you kisses! 

I am off work today and came to my parents house this morning to be greeted immediately by Bear jumping up and down like he's on a pogo stick (we joke that he's half yorkie, half Jack Russel), about to jump out of his skin he's so excited to see me. I carefully step over his puppy proof gate and am lavished with sloppy, wet kisses; when I sit down to pet him, he jumps up in my lap, flops himself over and basks in the scratching I give his little belly. That, folks, is the sweetest greeting and a great start to my morning :)

The boys in my family (except for MAC) are huge Georgia Tech fans, naturally making Bear a GT dog!

I promise we don't torture him and send him flying down a hill on a long board, just thought it would be a cute pic :)

This is Bear's bed my mom had monogrammed that he relaxes on in the kitchen; the kitchen being the most frequented room at my parent's, he had to have a designated spot in there!

And this is the precious little thing fast asleep like a sweet angel! If you know my mom, she will most likely have some sort of objection to this description of Bear, but don't pay her any mind :)

Our family dinner that I prepared last night turned out mighty delicious! It was quite simple because I worked all day and had to have something I could prepare in the morning that would be near ready when I got home from work, but tasty none the less. We had BBQ chicken sandwiches with sweet potato fries and homemade classic chocolate chip cookies. It was a grand time and we hope to make it a weekly tradition!

 MAC and I are off on a weekend romp (once again) to Savannah to help in celebrating his grandparent's 50th anniversary! We hope to follow in their footsteps and reach such a respectable, incredible milestone in our lives one day! Cheers to sweet, long lasting love and dogs that make you smile:)

Happy Friday to you sweet thangs! 

Beef Tips with Noodles

I made a new recipe last night, beef tips and egg noodles, that turned out so good, that I just had to share! You can click here for the directions and the only thing I would change next time I make this is to add a bit more soup for a thicker sauce! Just trying to sharpen my wifely home maker skills with varieties of meals for my handsome groom! 

My mom started decorating for Fall yesterday and she snapped a quick pic of her kitchen to show me.  I just had to share because it was so cute and made me happy :)

Hope you're afternoon is great! Mac and I have invited my family over to dinner for the first time tonight, so hopefully my meal tastes scrumptious! I'll let you know how everything turns out!

Fall Wreaths

Crafting/decorating has become my new job description and believe me when I say that I never thought I'd hear those two words being used to describe the tasks I'M responsible for at work. I went from dressing people to dressing their kitchens and homes! 

The store I work at currently is a locally owned boutique called "Coton Colors" that specializes in gift items such as painted pottery, ornaments, home decor, stationary, and monogrammed products. The store is in the process of expanding into the space next door to us so I have done a lot of organizing and moving items around, but because we decorate seasonally, I have had projects that include making Halloween displays and also decorating Fall wreaths (I know you're probably thinking "tacky Halloween" decor in your head, but trust me, the store looks adorable and the items are very whimsical and chic).

As much as I complain about not inheriting the gift of "craftiness", I slightly impressed myself with my wreath making skills! A lady I work with, who is a mini Martha Stewart, generously showed me the ways of the craft world. With a little guidance, I managed to make my first wreath for the store and it turned out mighty cute, if I do say so myself :)

So basically I'm obsessed with wreath making now and have put some pics below of a few I'm loving at the moment. Since I am now a proffessional, I am going to make a wreath for my mom and myself and hope to have pics of those soon!

Hope you have a great Tuesday and go craft something :)

r

Beach Trip

I started my new job last week and totally lost any prior knowledge of time management, hence the lack of posts. I also forgot how tiring it is to stand up for 8+ hours a day, but I'm enjoying work and thankful for a job!

Mac and I randomly decided to take a mini road trip to Jacksonville, Florida this past Friday to visit one of my best friends from childhood and my brother. Even though we didn't have to travel too far, it felt like we had a little vacation. We hit up the beach one last time, the boys surfed while J and I chatted, and we had the best day that ended with delicious tacos and Georgia football...Go Dawgs (that's for you Mac) and Go Noles! 

Here are a few pictures from the weekend... And I hope you have a great start to the week! The temperature dropped a good bit last night so I'm hopeful it may lead to some slightly cooler fall weather!!