Nutella fruit dip...so easy and so good!

The other day I was scanning Pinterest and my dear friend Ellie tagged me in a pin for Nutella Fruit dip. She knows how much I love Nutella and I'm so glad she passed along this recipe to me because it is simply amazing. All it takes is 2 ingredients:
1/2 Cup of Nutella
1 Cup of plain Greek Yogurt

All you do is mix these ingredients in a bowl, cut up some fruit and you have the best darn fruit dip you've ever tasted. I dare you to try it and not like it.

Happy Saturday!
If you haven't entered my Giveaway you have until Thursday!

We've got soul...a Kia soul that is

Drew and I bought our first new car last weekend and we are in love. We got a Kia Soul and I couldn't be happier with it. It is great on gas (which is convenient since gas prices are going to be 5 bucks a gallon in the near future), it is very roomy and it will be perfect to cart around our canoe this summer! When I got home from North Carolina Drew surprised me by having it waiting in the garage. What a sweet husband I've got. 

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway. I'll pick a winner next Thursday!

Now Open: Simply Burlap...GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited to announce the Grand opening of my Etsy shop, Simply Burlap! I am selling hand painted burlap banners for all occasions.   My new motto is: "Say it with a banner!" Each season I will be adding banners to go with the holidays and events of that month. I also have everyday banners that can stay up all year long. Custom orders are welcome!

In honor of the opening of my shop I am giving away a banner (up to $20.00 in value) to one lucky reader.

To Enter:
Be a follower of my blog (mandatory) and leave me a comment telling me which banner you would choose.

Extra entries:
Add Simply Burlap to your favorites on Etsy (1 entry)
Like Simply Burlap on Facebook (1 entry)
Pin one of my banners on pinterest and leave the link in a comment (1 entry)
Blog about my giveaway and leave me a comment with the link (1 entry)

Please leave a separate comment for each entry!! I will be announcing the winner on Thursday April 5th!

Beach bums

After Ali's wedding we headed to one of my college girlfriend's houses in Fayetteville, North Carolina to stay the night. We woke up and headed straight to the beach! It had been 3 long years since my toes had touched the sand so I was a happy girl!

Our hotel was right on the ocean and the view was ah-mazing! We loved every second of being beach bums!

 

While we were there we ate as much seafood as we possibly could. Our last night on the beach we decided to try out a beachfront restaurant called the Oceanic. It had a panoramic view of the ocean and led straight out to the pier!

I can't wait to feel the ocean breeze on my face again. Hopefully I will be beach bound again soon!

A North Carolina Wedding!

This past weekend my friend Bekah and I headed to North Carolina for our dear friend Ali's wedding. The weather was amazing in North Carolina and we had a great trip...we even managed to squeeze in a few days at the beach. But let's start with our road trip there...it wasn't exactly ideal. We decided to drive because we wanted to be able to jaunt around in NC. We told our friend Ali "We went through hail for you..." (spoken in a Kentucky accent so hail sounds like hell) because we literally went through hail and horrible storms and ended up stopping under an overpass because we couldn't see a single thing! It was all worth it though. Here are some classic road trip pictures...

Food, scenery, and bathroom pictures

We got there just in time to get our nails done at the salon with the other girls and then head to the church for the rehearsal. Ali was the most laid back bride ever and it was perfect that the rehearsal dinner was on the patio at one of my favorite pizza places, The Mellow Mushroom. Yum!

That night Bekah and I got to stay with the bride to be for her last slumber party as a single lady. We woke up the next morning excited for what the day held. We went to an adorable salon to get our hair done and then headed to the chapel...

There was so much love evidenced on this wedding day it makes my heart happy just to think about it. Allison is a beautiful girl inside and out and her day was a testimony of God's faithfulness. She is now married to a wonderful man with the hopes of serving in India together someday. So amazing. I am so happy that I was able to be a part of Allison and Blake's special day!

Beach pictures to come...

My furbaby daddy

You know your husband's going to be a good Dad someday if he is a good furbaby daddy. Haha...this sounds ridiculous, but it is so true. Here are some examples of how I know my husband is going to be an amazing "real" dad someday:
He shares his food without complaint...

He loves to cuddle...

He clips toenails and brushes hair...

He even buys presents...

If he looks at our real children with even half as much love as he looks at our kitties I will be a very lucky lady!

86 Years Young

My grandma turned 86 yesterday and my whole family traveled down to Kentucky to celebrate with her. My grandma is one of those people who makes you feel truly loved and special all the time. She is still so in love with my grandpa (notice how they are holding hands in every.single.picture) and she is so devoted to our family. I truly look up to her as a woman, mother and wife. Plus she's just hilarious and is always laughing at herself (must be where I get it from!)

We celebrated at my Aunt and Uncle's house and our spread could have been mistaken for an Easter spread. The food was amazing and my Aunt went all out to make sure my grandma felt special.

Our family is all about pictures so we had a few rounds of pictures before we ate and opened presents.
I really am so blessed to have such an amazing group of people to call my family. I am very thankful!

This verse says it all...Proverbs 31 (The Message)
"When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly. She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and keeps them busy and productive. Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise. Many women have done wonderful things, but you've outclassed them all! Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the fear of God." I love you Mimi!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's...Scavenger hunt Sunday! The 5 things to look for this week were: water, chocolate, light, animal and crowded. Here's what I came up with...


Water-I love the small waterfall in the background of this picture. I made this banner for my Grandma for her 86th birthday (which is today) and snapped a picture of it for my in the works Etsy shop.

Chocolate-I visited a friend and she took me to an amazing little cupcake shop.

Light-It is dangerous to live so close to IKEA...I found this light fixture there.

Animal-I always love an excuse to snap a picture of my kitties. This week we had snow in Ohio..and then 60 degrees, but I managed to snap a picture of my kitty in the snow.

Crowded-I took this picture this summer when my friend tried out for American Idol in Pittsburgh and I thought it was perfect for this topic.

Happy Sunday!

Pancakes, Pancakes!

                                                                                Source: minimalistbaker.com via Allison on Pinterest

My post today is dedicated to those fluffy, round, scrumptious things we call pancakes. Growing up my Dad and I would make pancakes together every Saturday morning. We would add our "secret" ingredient that we promised not to tell anyone about.ever. Although there are some pretty amazing looking pancakes out there nowadays none will compare with my Daddy's pancakes. Here are a few that look like they might come close though...

Birthday pancakes...do I really have to wait until my birthday? Emily you should make them this weekend...or maybe I can make them in honor of your birthday?

                                                                 Source: chef-n-training.blogspot.com via Allison on Pinterest

Then there's cheesecake infused pancakes...really?! Is this still considered breakfast?

                                                                              Source: comeoneileen86.blogspot.com via Allison on Pinterest

Now try Bacon Pancakes...

                                                                                           Source: chicagoist.com via Allison on Pinterest

And there are even pancakes made with sour cream by none other than my favorite Pioneer Woman...Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes
I actually made these this past weekend and I was pleasantly surprised with how light and fluffy they were compared to the average pancake...if there is an average pancake. Since I'm talking about pancakes it is only fair I share this recipe with you...
Step 1. Gather up your cast of characters-

 1 Cup sour cream

7 T. flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

butter (for griddle)

Syrup

Step 2. Place sour cream in a medium bowl. Add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Step 3. Stir very, very gently...it should be lumpy for texture. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl and stir in vanilla...add this to sour cream/flour mixture and stir gently.
Step 4. Add butter to a hot skillet and pour batter in 1/4 cup at a time. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes then flip. Repeat until batter is gone.

Let's face it, not only are pancakes amazingly delicious, but they bring people together. What is your favorite kind of pancake?

                                                                            Source: sarahyatesblog.com via Allison on Pinterest

Lazy

I had big plans for this little blog of mine tonight and then my cat decided to jump in my lap and I just couldn't kick him off. So instead of a fun post you get a picture of me enjoying the couch and my cute kitty. He makes me counter productive and sometimes I love him for that.

Normal blogging will resume tomorrow...maybe.

And I just ate my way through the weekend...

This weekend I went to visit some of my girlfriends from college in Indiana. I stayed with my friend Betsy and we went to visit my old roommate Carrie Jo who had a baby just a few short months ago. I literally ate my way through the weekend.
Friday night: Betsy took me to a new pizza place called Puccini's...it was delicious.

Saturday morning: Betsy and I started the morning off right with Edna Mae's Sour cream (yes sour cream) pancakes courtesy of who else, Pioneer woman. I couldn't find the recipe on her website, but if you are interested I'd love to share the recipe with you.

Saturday afternoon: We ate at a local Mexican food restaurant in Plainfield

We walked off our Mexican food at a antique shop where Carrie has rented out her own booth for the month. Isn't it adorable? Don't you want a book wreath right now? I do. We are going to take Midwest Craft shows by storm next year.

 And after that we tried out an adorable cupcake shop. I had an intense sugar rush after eating one of these...but it was worth it.

Saturday night: Penne a la Betsy, which was so appropriate since I was cooking with my friend Betsy. This is (surprise) another Pioneer Woman recipe. I have now cooked my way through half of her cookbook!

And now I am home with my sweet husband who just brought me home sushi and some flowers...he must have missed me.

A verse I really needed to hear today...

This school year has hands down been the toughest year I've had in my 4 years of teaching. My class is full of students who I love dearly, but that have some deep issues and lately I have been feeling incredibly discouraged. I try my best to help my students, but the past few weeks I have come home emotionally drained and wanting to simply give up. Today I went in to talk with my principal about a few things and she changed my spirits completely. She knows I have an extremely rough group of kids, but she reminded me of something that will help me continue working hard to make sure these kids succeed.
Galations 6:9 (The Message)
"So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued in doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get a chance, let us work for the benefit of all..."

And then this song came on my Pandora station...

God's timing is always perfect and I'm so thankful for a God who is bigger than all my problems.