Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!!! Woohooo, the countdown to the weekend has officially commenced!  As I mentioned in last Friday's post, I've decided that each Friday I will blog about my favorites.  Some new, fun items I've recently discovered and some staples.  Well, this Friday Favorite is a staple. 

My sweet, funny, loving husband. 

I once thought {after college and my career set in} that I would never ever ever be able to find a man that would love me as much as my daddy loves my mama.  Especially in Atlanta and especially this day in age.  Wow, strong words huh?  Well, they were strong feelings.  I was doubtful for sure.  For those of you who know my dad then you know those are tough shoes to fill to even come close to the man he is.  Close to the way he loves my mama.

My parents on their wedding day!

Strong, independent, resilient, capable, career oriented.  I had all those characteristics and certainly still do.  The lacking part, a mate to share my ethos, my ideals with.  To fall in love with, to build a friendship with.  A GOOD man.  Yes, I know caps lock means yelling...but a yell was necessary for that word!

As fate would have it, I met the most wonderful man and fell in love.  Not the kind of love that Carrie Bradshaw has for her Manolo's, not love like a man has for his car. I'm talkin Real_True_Genuine_Respectful_Can't live without you_Quintessential_Love.  And he loved me just like that right back.  We married in October and dated for about 3 years prior to our wedding.  He still amazes me everyday and no doubt will continue to as we advance in our marriage. 

So my Friday Favorite, my everyday favorite, is my husband.  The yin to my yang, the bubbles in my champagne!

I blog about food a lot, I know I know...geez.  Weird comparison, I suppose, but I think that the person you choose as your mate is a lot like food is to your body.  Food=nourishment and nutrients, which in turn,=good health.  Well, my sweet Husband=Food for my heart and soul. 


The biggest and most proud moment of my life hasn't been a career goal-even though I thought it so early on.  It was the day I married the love of my life, my best friend, the "food" to my heart and soul.

So, dear friends, I'll leave you with this. What is love in your life?  Love for your best friend that always has your back, love for your mother and father, love for your siblings, love for your boyfriend/fiance/husband.  Whatever love is in your life, the people that make your heart smile and you would do anything for...tell them how much they mean to you.  Tell them what their "food" brings to your heart and soul.



As for next week's Friday Favorites, I'll break out the superficial, fun stuff!  Ha! Do not want anyone to gag from my mushy blog : ) 

Love to all!  ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!!  {there I go yelling again}

Weekend Update

Weekend wedded bliss!  I have to admit that I delightfully soak in every minute of our weekends and this one was no different.  We started out Friday evening with a roaring fire outside in the fire pit and lamb, steak, chicken skewers, and veggies on the grill.  Then, onto a lovely phone date with my dear friend, Kim{Yay for her and Justin's upcoming nuptials!!!}as Dylan had a much needed date with his guitar.

Then, aaahhhh, Saturday morning!  I am fairly certain that I scored some major points with Dylan on Saturday morning.  A fun, sorta swanky lil breakfast for two.  Okay, okay yes I went a bit overboard...in my defense, it was my pride, my love affair with the Food Network, my desire to always want something to look pretty and special, I could go on...

I'll give ya a quick rundown.  I made my mama's scrumptious breakfast casserole.  Sorry, I cannot divulge the recipe as she has sworn me to secrecy {which I totally understand}.  Just glad she shared it with me!

To accompany this hearty breakfast dish, I made a side of balsamic strawberries with a dab of whipped cream.  A few slices of orange as well.

Just drizzle good quality aged balsamic vinegar and a little bit of sugar,
cover with cling wrap, and into the fridge for a bit to soak in all the flavors

Best Balsamic Vinegar from Roswell Provisions.  I speak of Roswell Provisions A LOT, I know. 
But when a fab place like this exists, I find an obligation to impart the news to you. 

Husband was happy about the food itself, for sure. However, he was just as pleased with it's "outfit!" Sometimes its fun to dress up breakfast, isn't it? : )

The little parfait dish is actually a very old
champagne flute from my Grandma's house

We relished in our food coma for a bit then onto cleaning house.  It always feels spectacular to have a clean house.  We focused on outside maintenance as well.  Have to give a shout out to our new friend, Mr. Ryobi Leaf Blower Attachment.  Works wonders and saves Dylan from the backbreaking work of sweeping our long driveway.

Upon finishing our necessary housework, we saddled up the pup put on Abbey's leash and headed to the river at Old Mill Park.  So nice that it's only a mile from our house and so easy to get Abbey there and get some exercise. 

Tuckered out!

After our hike, we stopped back through Canton Street to run into Roswell Provisions. Yes, we're obsessed.  Since we had exhausted little Abbey with us, I sat in the car while Dylan went in to pick up a snack for us.  We needed to fuel up from our rigorous walk and hold out for a few hours until our dinner date that night.  Of course, there is a funny, really random story coming.  Husband comes bounding back to the car laughing hysterically.  Me: "what is so funny???"  Dylan: "some man has a monkey in the store!"  Whaaaaa????  Immediatley, I get out of the car, camera in tow, to document this!  Roswell Provisions is a really really nice store so I was surprised this could be true and thought Dylan was messing with me.  He sits in the car with Abbey while I go in. Lo and Behold! What do I see?  A man with a monkey.

This little fella was precious.  His conductor outfit was so cute and super funny but it was the sucker he was eating that was a riot.   No, this was no random man with a monkey in this fancy store.  It was a trainer that they'd obviously hired to put on a little show.  And a show it was.  Hey, good for business!  That store is always crowded but this time...packed!  I was a little wary of getting too close to ole Curious George but a little girl in the store let him sit on her head! 

That night, we had dinner at Roux for the first night of the inaugural Roswell Restaurant Week.  Wowza, what a feast!  On our menu:  Raw Oysters, Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing, Shrimp and Grits, and a beignet.  Savored every bit let me tell you.  Its such a cute little restaurant too.  Guy over in the corner playing acoustic guitar and singing, trendy people gabbing away, dim lights, cool decor.  You know, one of those quaint little places you fall in love with.  One of those where everybody knows your name.  Festive, delectably good food, warm, and even a little romantic too!

Sunday was yet another glorious day!  Church, then errands, then cuddle time, sleepy sleepy pup and kitty, and nachos.  Perfect ending to our fun wkend.

Have a great week!

Friday Favorites

I've made a decision.  A very important blog decision, that is. ; )  From now on, every Friday, I'd like to share some of my favorite things with you.  A lot of which I discover throughout each week and sometimes those good ole trusty staples that will forever be my favorites.  Wow, I sort of sound like Martha Stewart but I'll continue.  Enter: "Friday Favorites."  I hope you enjoy. Also, I feel that this new blog effort of mine could single handedly help stimulate the economy. Surely, this will cause a bevy of people to scurry out and purchase my faves.  Sighhh...a girl can dream, right? 

In all seriousness though, these are items I highly recommend.  I hope you enjoy these favorites and please share some of yours back with me.  Unfortunately,{and I warned of this in my first blog post that I'm quite moronic when it comes to blog knowledge} I have no clue if I've even selected the correct setting to allow for comments on here.  So with that, if you can't comment on here, feel free to email me with your favorites.  kellybnks@yahoo.com.  And by all means, pleeeeease somebody with blogspot.com call, email, send me a message in a bottle, etc. of how to change settings and design.  I have been able to change some things but geez this little guy needs some aesthetic work done a pronto! 

Let's begin!

1.  Super Slimming Herbal Tea by Triple Leaf.  This tea is warm and delicious.  Promotes cleansing and detoxification to boot!

2. Amy's Brown Rice and Veggies.  This is a nice relief from the dreaded Lean Cuisines I have for lunch during the work week.  I've had this particular rice bowl twice.  Once last week and once this week and it's really good.  It tastes fresh, not processed.  Publix carries this as well as the tea listed above.  I'm sure you can find them at your local grocer if a Publix isn't nearby.

3. Bolthouse Farm's Strawberry Banana Smoothie.  Scrumptious as an afternoon snack!  Loaded with vitamins and 3 3/4 servings of fruit.  Brilliant.  Same deal-purchased at Publix.

4.  Mason Jars as flower vases and candle holders.  As Dylan and I are working on the house, we're trying to cut costs as much as possible.  These old mason jars from my Grandmother's house have served as a lovely {and free!} way to showcase our fresh flowers and candles.  Try it.  Its super cute and as we all know, mason jars are all the rage these days.

5.  Found this little gem this week!  Home Goods has great deals on basically everything in the store.  My love of their kitchen supplies sends me there every once in a while.  Yesterday, I picked up a great bamboo cutting board for $5.99!  Its a perfect size for when you need to just chop one or two veggies.  For my case, it's onions.  I hate having to bust out my huge cutting boards for such a small task.  So this little beauty does the trick!

This worked out great for supper last night.  Side note: If husband wants McDonald's and you would instead prefer real food, chop up some onions throw them in with some brown and wild rice and soy sauce and you'll have a nice little meal.  I went a bit further on veggie overload and slow roasted a sweet potato with olive oil, thyme, and rosemary. Had that along with my rice and some yummy green beans.  Major veggie sesh!  All the while, silly hubs enjoys his processed, soy {is it even soy?}, greesy burger and fries.  To each his own : )  Can't say I haven't had my fair share of those cravings in the past!

Hope you enjoy some of these favorites of mine should you decide to try any of them. 

Coming up for us this weekend: A lovely time at home!  Yes, yes gone are the days of wishing, hoping, dreaming for a night out on the town in the ATL.  Every once in a while, yes, we still venture downtown.  We certainly still enjoy our fave restaurants on Canton Street {1 mile down the road}.  But mostly, we crave time at home.  Spending Saturday morning working on the house, the afternoon playing with our sweet pup and kitty, and the evenings either grilling or cooking in the kitchen...cozy fire and cuddling.  That's what's on tap for us this wkend!  And I can't wait!  : )

I'll leave you with some pics of our "babies."  Couldn't resist.  Afterall, they are my favorites too!

Look how big we're getting!

Happy 2012: Husband Cooks!

Happy New Year!!! After ringing in the New Year with all our buddies, we celebrated our third month of marriage {pause for the "awwwwe how sweet"}, packed up the Christmas decor, did some major house cleaning, and of course, made some delicious food.  Correction: Dylan made some delicious food.  Yes, yes I typed correctly!  Husband cooks! {and yours can too with a little push}. With a recipe in hand, all the ingredients purchased and on the counter, and a little "overseeing" on my part, Dylan whipped up a lovely meal for us.  One that will last at least three nights {which saves on money and is one of our goals this year}. 

Food can be really expensive these days, especially if you like to go the organic route. We try that as much as possible but it does wear on your wallet.  This spring, we'll be growing our own veggies in an immaculate garden I have planned for us!  That's a whole 'nother post...I digress...

Back to it.  Don't get me wrong, Dylan is quite the grill master, for sure, but when it comes to actual chopping, baking, roasting, sauteing in the kitchen...he's not quite honed his culinary skills.  Until now that is.  He did a fabulous job with our dinner so I'll share some photos.  Of course, Mr. Nikon decided to lose battery power on me as I documented hubs' first casserole attempt.  No worries, my ole trusty Bberry phone captured the fun.  I'm beaming with pride even writing this post! 

Enter: Georgia's Chicken Casserole {full recipe available upon request}

First, D chopped the veggies.  Celery, onion, and bell pepper.

After boiling chicken breast, he shredded it by hand.

He added all his chopped veggies into a skillet with one stick melted butter

Next up, he melted Velveeta cheese with 1 cup chicken broth

and 1 can cream of mushroom soup in a separate boiler.

He boiled egg noodles then combined all the shredded chicken, the noodles, the cheesy mixture, and chopped veggies into one bowl.  Stirred.  Then poured into a greased baking dish.

He added pimento on top for a little color.

Into the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 mins.

Success!  So proud!  Let's eat. : )