Favorite Things- Spring 2013

With warmer weather and sunshine becoming more prevalent these days, so is my desire to shop and search for new bright, "springy" items to add to my list of favorite things!  Here's the list so far.

1.  You know I'm a perfume connoisseur,  so I don't buy that much Bath & Body Works anymore.  However, I was strolling through there the other day looking around and came upon this...

It's called Beautiful Day and I think it is THE perfect scent for spring!  It's a new arrival and has that light, clean smell that I love.  I bought the tiny travel size body mist to test it out but am looking forward to going back and getting the full size spray next time. And lotion.

2.  Try this.  Soon.  (Cuban Chicken Panini from Panera Bread)

It's smoked ham, all-natural/antibiotic-free chicken, Swiss cheese, sweet and spicy pickles, chipotle mayo, sun-dried tomato ale mustard served on Focaccia bread.  Delish.

3.  Cajun Shrimp nail polish from OPI.

4.  Brookstone Performance Throw Blanket

My sweet brother in law picked this out for me for Christmas.  I always love to cover up with a blanket when I'm on the couch watching TV.  Now that it's warmer outside, I put away my huge fleece blanket and exchanged it for this one.  It's double-sided.  One side is fleece and keeps me warm. The other side is smooth and cool, which wicks moisture away from your body when you're hot.  It cools you off immediately!  Weird to cool off with a blanket I know, but it works!  

That's all for now.  I'm sure there will be more to come very soon.  Happy Weekend!

HELP!!!!

Does my blog background appear gray?  On my computer at home it's yellow...and matches.  At work, it's gray.  I was assuming it was something with my school computer, but want to make sure.  Please comment what you see so I can fix it if needed.  Thanks, friends!

Happy weekend!

Kristi's Homemade Chicken Tenders

This recipe is from my dear friend Kristi, and it is divine!  I don't know specific amounts, so just "eyeball" it.

Ingredients:
buttermilk
2 eggs
flour
basil
garlic salt
pepper
paprika

Mix all dry ingredients besides flour.  Dip chicken in buttermilk, then egg, last flour.  Dip to coat in herb mix.  Fry.

Zaxby's Sauce

This recipe is for Zaxby's sauce...and it tastes just like it!  I made some homemade chicken tenders a few weeks ago, mixed this sauce up to go with it, and BAM...perfection.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon worchestire sauce

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Stir together and refrigerate. ***The key is the black pepper.  If the taste is off, add more pepper.  

Fresh Salsa

I'm going to be adding more recipes in the next few posts, anticipating making my cookbook from my favorites I've posted throughout the years.  This one is an all-time favorite....SALSA!

Ingredients:

one large can chopped tomatoes

two cans Rotel

half onion, chopped

three cloves garlic

dash of lime juice

bunch of cilantro (literally- the whole bunch)

salt

Blend together, refrigerate, and serve!

Chicago!

Okay, so I’m finally making time to sit down and blog about my trip to Chicago! It was A-W-E-S-O-M-E…and it was C-O-L-D! I don’t think I have ever been so cold in my life! That didn't keep us from painting the town red, though. Let me tell you...we owned that town. It was an absolute blast and I’m so so thankful for my sweet friends and their willingness to leave their families for a weekend of fun!

We touched down in Chicago around 10:00 Saturday morning and headed (ummmhummm, by way of limo) straight to get some Chicago pizza. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It was the best I’ve ever eaten. Ever. It stood (that’s right, stood) about two inches tall and was full of more cheesy goodness than you could imagine. We ordered two- one Chicago classic (onion, pepper, mushrooms, and pepperoni) and one Tropic Delight (Canadian bacon and pineapple). It was impossible to choose which one was the best. I’m craving more now.  Girls, if you're reading- "chambers"  Ha!

Right after lunch, we went to the Skydeck at the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears tower). We were all nervous, but determined to walk out on the ledge-which was 103 stories tall. That’s high, friends. So high that I was so dizzy when I stepped off the elevator that I thought I was going to pass out. It’s the tallest building in the western hemisphere. And the ledge is glass. Clear glass. See through glass…like all the way to the ground. We waited in line for over an hour but we finally made our way to the ledge. Hesitantly, we all did it. Quickly. But we did it.

You can tell I'm scared by the look on my face!

The view was amazing!

We went next to Magnificent Mile to check out the sights. We used our Hop On/Hop Off Trolley passes to take us from place to place. I didn’t realize most of the stores were designer or name brands that I definitely couldn’t afford…Armani, Tiffany, Coach, etc. I don’t think I walked inside one single store. But, it was still neat to see and I’m glad I can now say I’ve been there. We searched and searched along Michigan Avenue for somewhere to eat. The wait time was nuts everywhere we checked, until we found this place called Foodlife. I think it was coolest place I’ve ever been to eat. We were given a “charge card” upon entering. The place was huge, and included lots of different “restaurants” within the big restaurant…if that makes sense. Once you’re seated at your table, you take your charge card and visit any counter you’d like to order anything you’d like. They swipe your card and when you’re finished, you take your card to the front to pay. There was a BBQ bar, sushi bar, comfort food bar, Chinese, Stir Fry, Soup, Salad, Mexican, etc. I didn’t particularly like my food choice- Sesame Chicken- but I think it’s because I was so tired and determined not to stand in line, that I chose the first place I saw that I could get something quick. The other girls seemed to enjoy their meal. Nevertheless, I LOVED the concept.

We got a good night’s sleep and woke up the next morning anticipating our visit to Chinatown. My wallet was so eager to find some knockoff purses or sunglasses. Boy, were we wrong. This wasn’t like the Chinatown in NYC. This was the literal Chinatown…as in an Asian community. No venders. No knockoffs. Needless to say, our time there was short-lived.

We hopped on the trolley and headed to Millennium Park to see the giant silver bean! We had the most fun! We took tons of pictures and were super silly…and didn’t even care. We went from there to the Michigan Avenue Bridge, which was the scene from My Best Friend’s Wedding. Then we followed the smell of popcorn (not really, but almost) to Garrett Popcorn. The.most.amazing.popcorn.ever. Oh my goodness. What I wouldn’t give for some now. And Giordano’s Pizza.

The afternoon came to an end and it was time to go freshen up for our much awaited reservations at RPM Italian. This was the primary reason I wanted to visit Chicago…because I love me some Giuliana and Bill Rancic! They are part owners of this restaurant and I watched them renovate the building, choose the menu, and even plan the waiter/waitress uniforms on their reality show…which begins again in June! The food was phenomenal. We all had Giuliana’s Italian Salad, followed by our own choice of pastas. I chose Mama DePandi’s Bucatini Pomodoro.  It was pasta noodles that were hollowed out in the center, with the most flavorful pasta sauce you could imagine.  Delish!  A couple of the girls got spaghetti and meatballs….take a look at the size of that meatball! It tasted as good as it looked, too.

After we walked around Michigan Avenue a while and let our food settle, we decided to go to the John Hancock Building to see the view of the city at night.  We rode the elevator to the 96^th floor into the Signature Room Lounge.  We feasted on some magnificent desserts- cheesecake for me.  The view was much better than the dessert, in my opinion.  Although I ate every bite.

Yes- This is a real picture that I took looking out the window.

Sunday morning we woke up and spent some time with God together, which was very special.  We then set out on a mission to make it to Navy Pier.  Boy, did we think we would never get there!  We hopped on the trolley and little did we know, we had to ride the complete two hour tour to get to where we wanted to go.  If you had been as cold as we had been that weekend, you wouldn't have gotten off and walked either.  Ha!  We got on at the stop just after Navy Pier, so we sat through the entire tour…miserably.  The man driving loved to talk (understatement).  By the time we got to Navy Pier, I think we all jumped off before that thing even came to a complete stop!  We shopped around inside, then walked out to look at the view.  It was SNOWING, so the temperatures were beyond frigid.  We ate lunch at Bubba Gump’s, nursed a sick one (Oh, the memories), enjoyed ice cream and caramel apples, then headed back to the hotel to get our luggage and prepare for our trip back to the airport. 

Our flight was supposed to leave Chicago at 9:35, but was delayed until 10:20 due to the snow in Washington, where our plane had been.  We landed in Nashville around 11:30 and finally made it home safely, after traveling over many snow-covered overpasses and narrowly avoiding heart attacks, around 3:00 am Tuesday morning.  But, it was worth it.

I’m so thankful for these girls and what they mean to me.  I’m so thankful God led me to a school in which I am able to spend the majority of my days with people I love so dearly.  God is truly amazing and I am in awe of what He’s done in my life.  I truly, truly count my blessings and consider these ladies and our friendships among the biggest.

I love you, girls!

Spring Wish List

There are so many cute things out there right now that I really, really want!  Granted, I'm blessed and have way more than I need, but it's fun to dream, right?  I love seeing new items you girls write about, so I thought I'd share what I've been eyeing lately. 

1.  I'm behind on this one, but I want a Pandora bracelet.  Everytime I see someone wearing them, my need for it grows. Ha! I wish they weren't so expensive!

 2.  Speaking of jewelry, I saw a Waxing Poetic charm the other day online that I.MUST.HAVE.  I have a necklace with two charms and I want to add to it.  I have an A my mom got me for Christmas, and the other is a cross that my sweet friends gave me for my birthday.  Now, I want this one to go with it.  LOVE.

3.  Who loves Charming Charlie?  ME!!!  While most of the jewelry in there is just a wee bit out of my box, I love to go in there and browse.  It's fun to look at all the earrings, necklaces, shoes, scarves, etc.  The last couple times I've been in there, I've discovered their perfume.  It's smells reeeeeally good.  I'd consider myself to be somewhat of a perfume connoisseur.  I have forever been a fan of smelling nice and never leave the house without spraying something on.  So when I tell you something smells nice, believe me!  There are two kinds I like there: Lace and So Smitten.  They're both that light, clean smell that I enjoy.  I think a bottle is $30. Not too shabby.

4.  Anyone that knows me well knows I love me some Iphone cases!  I have several one or two that I alternate back and forth.  Something about changing them up makes me feel like I have a new phone.  Well today, I discovered this puppy.  I LOVE it.  It's Jessica Swift.  I saw someone with one the other day and was immediately smitten.  It's hard plastic, wraps completely around the phone, and isn't one of those flimsy ones like you see often.  It looks really durable, which is what I like most.

What are your favorite things for spring?  Do share!

***Chicago Post is coming up next!  Stay tuned.