On The Campaign Trail

My blog posts have been lacking heavily since the beginning of the year. We have been in constant "campaign mode" with the Republican Primary in June. But to be quite honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love politics and I LOVE being a part of a political campaign -- it's exciting, keeps me on edge, and makes my marketing brain plug into a different outlet that it is normally is not accustom to. 

I will leave you with this adorable photo of Liv. I ordered a child's x-small t-shirt with Mom's logo on it last week and it came in yesterday. I little big, but still adorable! She's the perfect model -- she work's for treats! 

A Historic Snow

Not only did we get snow this winter, we got two winter storms that were supposed to be historic for the south. The first snow storm had nothing historic about it, but the past few days have been one for the books.

The first day of this storm brought harsh winds and freezing rain that hurt when you walked outside. It was not enjoyable to say the least so we stayed indoors and watched movies, played cards, and relaxed. I was very surprised I didn't get cabin fever -- Thomas could watch movies back to back and never get off the couch, I however, can't sit still for more than 1.5 hours and I have to get up. I tried to see "cabin fever" as a blessing -- as I got to enjoy staying inside and relaxing, many men and women, including my Daddy (yes, in the south, ladies still call their father "Daddy" -- it's a fact), were outside all night working wrecks, driving down roads to make sure they were in drive-able conditions for citizens, and working into the wee morning hours. It's a true treat to have cabin fever -- it means you've had an extended period of time to relax and unwind. Thomas and I enjoyed our time inside, but can't say too much for Liv -- I can't tell you how many times she took all her toys out of her very large toy tote and we picked them up after we were done playing.

We were finally able to enjoy the historic snow today. Livy loves the snow and everything about it -- she likes to eat it, play in it, and stay outside as long as she can stand it. The sheep, Rosie & Deloris, were absolutely adorable in the snow.

Because the ground was completely frozen, Thomas had a few bags of seed he uses for hunting so we grabbed handfuls of it and threw it on the ice for the birds. They loved us for it!

It was such a great time together to relax and enjoy our family and friends!

Best Friend's Blog

I am so excited my best friend, Anna, has started a blog called "The Peace in the Puzzle".

She is an incredible person and an excellent autism teacher. Her blog is all about her life as a second year teacher to a self-contained autism class. She hopes to provide help and support to parents, friends, fellow teachers, and people like me who are constantly learning about autism through her witty and informative blog posts.

Click here to visit her blog!

Charleston.

A few weeks ago we set off for a weekend getaway to Charleston as a Christmas gift from Thomas' parents. It's weekends like this when you have the ability to slow time down and realize every couple needs time together with no agenda or set plan (this extremely hard for "the planner" in me to do, but it's necessary).

We have no children (except a maltipoo named Livy), but we lead very busy lives and know spending time together with no distractions is important to a relationship. It's hard for us to plan a date night with our schedules so we utilize our love for traveling and try to go somewhere every other month or so. 

Being recently married, our trips are not elaborate -- we haven't upgraded to jet setting yet, but travel 2 to 3 hours away for a weekend trip. In December we went to Biltmore, Charleston in January, and Charleston again this month. Just like Charleston, we both have been to the places we go to many times, but we always do something different and love eating at our favorite restaurants (we're not fans of "tourist-y" places -- we want to find out where the locals shop and eat).

During this trip, we went and saw The Hunley and took a short trip to John's Island to see the Angel Oak Tree. 

I highly recommend seeing both of these sites. It's absolutely humbling to see history so close to you as you look over the observation tank of The Hunley and The Angel Oak Tree is just God's work of art -- breathtaking. 

See you in a few Charleston!

New Favorite Marinade

I literally found this marinade last night on Pinterest around 11:30pm. Thomas marinaded our pork tenderloin tonight and it was out of this world. Here is the allrecipes.com recipe:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons dried basil
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Marinate meat for 8 hours. You will not be disappointed!

Take a look at my favorite dishes & desserts on my Pinterest page.

Snow in the South...

Here in the south, snow days are rare and highly anticipated. It is breaking news for days -- grocery stores are out of milk and bread and everyone breaks out there ski gear from last winter's vacation on the ski slopes. Snow days are also a blessing -- for the first time in 6 months I actually watched a movie from beginning to end.

Livy was all about the snow. With a horse pasture full of fresh, fluffy white powder, she was loving it and we acted like two parents snapping photos of "baby's 1st snow."

Plain Chicken No More!

There is only so many ways to grilling or baking chicken. After a while, you just get bored. When I found this recipe on Pinterest for Basil Pesto Chicken -- it was life changing. It is so good is a meal we keep on rotation in our house because it is so quick and easy, but tastes like you cooked it for hours. 

Find the recipe on my Pinterest Board. I apologize in advance for the title of this blog, but it is a great recipe that will be come a dinner staple in your house. Enjoy!