A New {baking} Recipe

Well I hate to admit it but I am that girl that bakes for everybody at work.... I just love baking and I certainly don't need the baked goods sitting around in my house! Last week was one of my manager's birthday so I decided to do something different and make Funfetti Cookies! I had never made these before, I typically make the cake but since they were going to be at sitting at work for everyone to eat, cookies would be more convenient.

First: mix 1/3 cup oil and 2 eggs with the cake mix. Then scoop dough in to balls and place them 2 inches apart on the ungreased baking sheet.




Next: Wet the bottom of a cup with water and coat in flour. Press the cookies down to about 1/2 inch high. After all of the cookies have been flattened, cook them on 350 degrees for about 8- 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

When the cookies are finished, let them cool on the rack for 2 minutes and quickly ice them. I decorated with some bright and colorful sprinkles. He was very surprised with this special birthday treat. Everyone surely enjoyed them. I can't wait to make them again because I only got one!

What are some of you favorite things to bake? I would love to try something new!

mTa

OOTD

Outfit of the Day

I wore this to church last week. The skirt was hand made by mBa's mother. I love it and because I received it in the winter, I haven't been able to wear it so when I put it on this particular morning it made me super excited! I love the cobalt blue color and the over-sized bow on the front. After church, the roomie and I went and met some of our sisters for lunch and a day at the mall! It was so good to see everyone and catch up after being so disconnected this summer!

cardigan: Lilly Pulitzer, Paley Cardigan
shirt: Jcrew, perfect fit tank
necklace: Jcrew
pumps: Nine West

Fresh From my Garden!

Every year Mom and I plant a garden. It is typically full of zinnias, daisies, and other cutting flowers for arrangements. In the past, we have planted tomatoes, peppers and a few other select fruits/ veggies; but nothing ever extremely successful. Well this year we mistakenly picked up a cucumber plant at Home Depot and didn't realize it until we got home. I decided that it was just too much trouble to take it back to the store and return it so instead, I decided to plant it. Well come to find out, one small plant produces A BUNCH of cucumbers! So many that my family was getting sick of eating them in salads and we didn't know what else to do with them! I started looking for recipes and made some homemade Tzatziki sauce, otherwise known as Greek Cucumber dip. It turned out very yummy and lots of people enjoyed it. I made the tzatziki sauce twice and the plant was STILL producing so mom and I decided to pickle the cucumbers. I love pickles so I was willing to try this. First, you pick the cucumbers before they get too ripe and produce seeds. The best are green and have lots of warts on them. So pick them, clean them, and slice them. Next, you must sterilize the mason jars you are going to make and pack the jars full of the spears. make sure to cut off the ends if necessary. You have to buy pickling spices to do this and they are pretty hard to locate! We found them at a local hardware store. You can easily follow the directions on the back of the packet, you mix vinegar and water and spices, bring it to a boil until everything is dissolved and then fill all of the jars with the liquid. After you have filled the jars with cucumbers and the liquid solution, then you put the lid and the ring on the mason jars. Bring a giant pot of water to boil and place the full mason jars fully submerged into the water in an upright position. Let them boil for 10 minutes until the seal themselves. The pickles will be ready to eat in 24 hours but if the seal is broken, they should be eaten in the within 2 weeks. These pickles were delicious! I kept them in the fridge so that they were extra crispy! We made 3lbs worth so Mom has been giving these as gifts after putting some burlap on the top, a little ribbon around the lid, and a cute label on the jar!

Hope you had a great weekend! mTa

Thank you all so much for the encouragement!! I really appreciate all of the support yall showed me! It seems that at one point or another, every blogger has felt the way I do now! It is really easy to get discouraged when activity on your blog begins to slow but as yall have informed me, there are simple ways to get things going again! I will be considering putting together a give away and I will also be commenting a lot more!!
So again, thank you :)

to die for!

I was running late to work (as usual) a few weeks ago when I passed by Anthropologie. In the doorway I saw a woman carrying the cutest wicker purse with leather handles. It was in the shape of an elephant! Now knowing how much I love elephants and collect them, can you imagine what went through my head when I saw this?! Well I really wanted to stop and ask the woman to kindly hand it over, or at least tell me where she got it :) but I just couldn't be any later to work than I already was. So I just kind of put this envy on the back- burner of my mind for the past weeks but I was investigating a KS shirt online tonight for mBa and some how, stumbled upon this baby...


THIS IS IT! can you believe it?! I in no way was looking for it and found it on the Kate Spade website! So of course, this means it is a sign right? I am meant to have it! So I click on the link and see that it is a cool $227.00, marked down from $325.00 so I wrack my brain, weighing the guilt that I will feel for spending that much money on one oh-so-trendy but ever-so-darling purse, versus the amount of happiness that it will bring me toting it around on my arm! Well of course they balance out duh So I continue to scroll down the page, ready to make my purchase when I see it... the dreaded "we are sorry-". It was all gone!



So what's a girl to do? I mean I really, really need this! I am going to be so upset if I can't find it! I am going to look on eBay later and call the KS main office tomorrow! I can't believe I missed this in stores and I need to see if there is one floating anywhere out there!

Let me know if you see one- mTa

Is anyone out there?

I have been feeling a little bit discouraged... I have been back to blogging for about a month now & I feel like no one has noticed. I have not gained any new followers nor have I received any comments almost all Summer. Now, I know that this is partially my fault for being gone for so long in the Spring but I thought I could just start right back up and everything would be the same. Well it's not. Does anyone have any sort of advice for me on how to expand and grow? I would love some feedback! I am sorry this may sound ind of pitiful but everyone needs some motivation every once in a while!

finally home

HELLO...

.me in downtown Gatlinburg in The Village.

After quite a long week, I made it home at about 8:30 last night and boy, was I tired! My trip to Gatlinburg for the first part of the weekend was rather disappointing... We did quite a bit of shopping but didn't make a whole lot of significant purchases. Tuesday afternoon we spent in downtown Gatlinburg walking through all of the small shops. on Friday we went into Pigeon Forge and did some outlet shopping and LOTS of Christmas decoration shopping! We went to about 4 different stores and while it was interesting to see all of the neat merchandise, I would have rather been shopping for clothes! I don't think it was a bad trip, but I think we just had our minds set on it being different than what we did. Maybe we should have planned it out better? After we go home Thursday evening, I unpacked and re- packed for Greensboro.
.Mom & I outside by our sign :) Love this one.

.Grant & I posing for yet another Christmas- themed picture at
The Partridge and a Pear Tree restaurant. What a cute name?!.

I got to Ethan's house around 11 on Friday. We went to lunch and did some shopping that afternoon. After lunch with his family he took me ice skating at the ice house where he works. *Note: He used to play hockey for 10+ years and I have ice skated maybe 10 times in my life! I was pretty nervous of looking silly and falling but surprisingly, he said I did well and I didn't even fall! I thought it was so cool to see him racing around the rink and doing the thing he genuinely loves to do! Saturday we went to Boone early to hang out with all of our friends that were up there for the concert and then later, we met up with his parents at the stadium. Dierks Bentley was AMAZING!! I think he was one of the est performers I have ever seen! He really knew how to entertain the crowd, he joked with us, told us about his cheating ex- girlfriend, and even changed some of the words in his song to fit us, like 'Carolina', or 'Mountaineers'. I would definitely love to see him again! Sunday, I went to Mass (for the second time in my life) with Ethan and his dad. His mom and sister left for the beach Sunday morning. After Church, we went to lunch and later cooked Chicken Parmesan for dinner. I was sad to leave after dinner.
.E & I at the IceHouse.

.Hanging out with a few of my best frieds before the concert.

.There he is, Dierks, himself.

This week's travels!

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Gatlinburg, TN! I am so excited! I am going with my mom and Grant. We are going there without any real plans. Grant is determined to go to the Christmas store and Mom and I are determined to go to the outlets! Other than that we are just going to act like tourists and walk around! We will be staying at Eight Gables, shown below!

Here is a picture of downtown Gatlinburg. I will update you with more pictures and details of what we did but it will probably have to wait until next week. When I get home on Thursday I have to unpack and repack to go to to Greensboro to see Ethan! I will be staying with him and his family for the weekend. Saturday we are going to drive to Boone Saturday to see Dierks Bentley at ASU's football stadium, The Rock! I am so excited for someone so famous to come to our far lesser- known school! Also Ethan and I will be celebrating our 6 month anniversary! He is determined to teach me to ice skate, so we will see how that goes...

I will talk to yall next week!
-mTa

Clark Retirement Community

Watch This! I saw this on Entertainment Tonight and is it not the funniest thing ever?! It is so precious!!

7.17.25

Mamaw,
I remember spending every summer with you,
I remember watching The Price is Right with you every morning at 11 while eating the bowl of grits you made me and helping you check your blood sugar
I remember spending every 4th of July at The Sandcastle with you and swimming in the pool but you would never let me go past the rope because even though I could swim, you couldn't and you didn't want me going too deep,
I remember your favorite color was red; I remember your red car and how I would count to see how long it took you to remember to fasten your seat belt,
I remember your red beta fish that we named Big Red, and even though you almost killed him three times, he never died, but most of all, I remember your bright smile and loving heart. Me and mom talk about you almost every day, neither of us would be the person that we are today if it weren't for you! I hope you're having the best birthday cake with Jesus today. I love you and miss you more than anything.

this is what I did today

Today was a great day! It was the first that I had off of work, and had nothing to do, in quite some time! I was able to sleep in until 11am and then I lounged around the house for a few hours. I discovered pinterest today as well! I am still not quite sure how to work it but I think I sort of got the hang of it! Anyways after running errands with mom I decided that I would make Rainbow Cake in a mason jar, because I found this on the website and it was super cute!! I thought it would be cute to share with yall! We did not have any yellow cake batter from a box so I decided to make some from scratch for the first time ever! I used another one of my new favorite things: ehow.com! When I puled it up on my phone it let me cross out the ingredients that I had already gathered and I could eve cross off the steps that I had completed! So cool! After making the batter, I divided it into 5 smaller mixing bowls and added the food coloring.

After dividing the batter, I dropped 3-4 spoonfuls of each color on top of each other in to the mason jar to make a fun rainbow effect!


After all the mason jars are empty and the batter is out, you need to place them in a pan filled 1/2 way up with water so that the glass does not explode when you cook it!


Cook these for 35- 45 minutes on 350 degrees! They should come out looking like this...
*note: the picture above is not mine, I am still working on perfecting the presentation!

If you have any great recipes you've made lately, let me know! I love trying new things!
-mTa

A sale on sale!

If you know me at all, you know I love Kate Spade jewlery. Well when I found out that their sale items were an additional 25% off I was super excited to peruse their website... until reality set in and I decided I have plenty of stuff and I should really be saving my money instead of shopping! a penny saved is a penny earned, Mama always says! Well I was at work the other day and my manger came walking in wearing this darling necklace! So we started talking about it and she told me it was KS and she had gotten it on sale a month or so ago. When I got home from work that day I had to show my mom and of course we fell in love with it! My mom decided to buy it for me because it was such an unbeatable deal! I can't wait for it to come in the mail!! here it is, what do you think?!
And also, speaking of sale on sale... Vineyard Vines is having their Semi- Annual 'Whale of a Sale'! All sale items are an additional 40% off! You can check it out here! The store has been a mess this week! We have taken most of what is in the stockroom and put it on the floor for shoppers to quickly get and I mean, it is just madness in there! I really love my job, though! It is loads of fun!

4th of July

okay so since I have a lot of excitement in my life going on now, I will keep you up to date on that stuff and when I have a lull I will fill you in on what you missed out on in the Spring!

This past weekend was Fourth of July! I believe it was one of the best ones that I have ever had! Saturday was my family's reunion, or get together- whatever you may call it! It was held at dWp's house, as are most family events! We had a blast trying out the new Margaritaville machine, catching up with the family from out of town, and showing pictures of each other from the 80's (which included some real nice hairstyles)! We had a wonderful time. I even brought Ethan and introduced him to everyone! This was pretty nerve- wracking but I think that it went off pretty well! whew!

The whole gang!

Twins, also Vineyard Vines models :)

Ethan and I!

Then Saturday night, Ethan and I went to the Drive- in movies in Belmont! We had a lot of fun and saw Fast Five and Bridesmaids. I know I am a little late seeing this but I did not think it was as good as everyone made it out to be. It may have been just because everyone built it up to be so good that my expectations were too high.

I love editing pictures on my phone!

Sunday, we went to church, then Cracker Barrel with my parents for lunch. After lunch we met up with mBa and her boyfriend to go to the mall and get a bathing suit. Since most of 4th of July is typically spent in a pool/ lake or beach, I told Ethan to bring his but he forgot. So we went to pick one up, then came home and got ready for the Zac Brown Band Concert! The four of us went to the concert and had an absolute blast. It was pretty hot and humid outside but luckily, it was bearable! I really love ZBB but they were not "entertainers"... they did a lot of other artist's cover songs and a ton of solos which I thought they were trying to make the concert drag on. But we enjoyed just being together and dancing to the music! The concert ended around 10:15 and we headed to Emma Loo's house for late night swimming! This was also fun... until her dog attacked me! At that point, it was time to go home.

mBa & I

The group


I think this is such a cute candid picture!

Monday, we spent the day at the pool. The we came home and girlled Rachel Ray's 'firecracker burgers' and lots of veggies which were delicious. During dinner it started pouring and we were worried about the fireworks being cancelled but the show went on and at 9:30 we watched fireworks! Monday Ethan had to leave and I had to go to work. but, this was an awesome weekend and I am glad we did everything we did!

-mTa

long- awaited Formal

The weekend after everyone got back to school, my sorority had our long awaited, and much anticipated formal! Formal had been canceled from it's original date in January due to inclement weather. We all got ready together in our room before we all had to meet downstairs to get on the buses to go to Jackalope's where Formal was held. It was a great time and we all really enjoyed everything from the food to the music, and of course, to the company that we brought!

This is a few of the boys waiting in the hall while the girls were getting ready! Don't they all just look so handsome?!

We had to take a quick roomie- pic before leaving, of course! This is so typical :)
What a good lookin' couple :)
> ps. My hair was done by a friend, Graham Jordan. She is amazing at both hair and makeup! I think I am happier with this hair style than I ever was when I paid to have it done for prom! Check her our here. If you are in the area she would love to help you achieve your look! ps. She is new at starting up her business but definitely not new at her skills!