bean dip... (finally!)

1 16oz. can of refried black or pinto beans

1 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

preheat the oven to 325. combine beans, sour cream, salsa, salt, & pepper in a shallow baking dish (or oven-usable glass bowl). top with cheese, if using. bake 10-15 minutes, or until heated through. (i usually stir once after 7 minutes or so)..

makes 3 cups (thankfully, it's easy to duplicate!)

(another) memorable datenight.. (Fri.10.30)

new recipe: tempura vegetables & chicken..

(insert sound of oil sizzling)

sharing: makes any meal better!

in between: serenading & being silly!

(so much fun; so glad he loves me!) ♥

mailing list.. (Thurs.10.29)

working on figuring out mail-merge on the mac...

exciting stuff to fill my thursday evening.. ♥

project #7.. (Mon.10.26)

the beginning of another dress..

important difference: the pattern for this one is labeled 'easy' :)

..i tend to make myself feel guilty for continuing to choose projects for myself -maybe because i'm genuinely looking forward to making gifts..

but i'm not there yet, so for now, i'm going to indulge and let myself enjoy practicing on myself.. ♥

fall foliage.. (Sun.10.25)

for the past eight seasons or so I have wanted to stop and take pictures of these trees...

they do the best job i've seen displaying the current season with their leaves!

(this is a drive-by shot, but maybe one of these days i'll actually stop the car and take a nice one.. :)

offsite excitement..(Sat.10.24)

our little set up at the hilton...

truly not all that exciting, but a nice change from everyday bookland! :)

offsite at the hilton..(Fri.10.23)

couldn't have picked a better location to sell books as far as i'm concerned :)

dinner with sophia..(Thurs.10.22)

who says pancakes, ice cream, & mac & cheese aren't a good combo??

(what a sweetheart!!)

big business..(Wed.10.21)

b&n introduced nook today!

...this nifty little handheld book-reading-device can be preordered at bn.com...

it's actual release date is 11/30/09.......

safe driver?? (Tues.10.20)

haha..

saw this while traveling..

glad i had the time off to take the trip to edgefield (to see my g'parents) ..glad i was safe and didn't end up crunchy like this guy!

G&P.. almost 63..(Mon.10.19)

sweet granny & papa... (edgefield)..

granny turns 80 Sunday (10/25)

and their 63 wedding anniversary is Monday (10/26)

...granny's been in this nursing home for about 4 weeks now..

her health is good for the most part..

she's on a lot of steroids so she's still real puffy all over..

most people in the home are not in such good health..

especially mentally..

sad to see her there -staring at the walls

or out the window so much of the time!

papa's a trooper.

i stayed with him monday night.

he brought us mcdonald's chicken sandwiches for supper.

(granny gets a meal at the home.)

he did laundry and looked over their cell phone bill..

(they both have their own now because they're apart so much now.)

we watched 'dancing with the stars'

(granny said she looked at it too.)

mr. darcy loves birthdays too..(Sun.10.18)

apparently he's had his share of fun with gift bags... he knew right where the goods were supposed to be...

unfortunately for him, it was claire's bday, not his.. (sorry, darcy! ;)

(great times celebrating claire's 29th!!!)

wedding {& dress} fun..(Sat.10.17)

from wes & charla's wedding...

(this is also a picture of the dress project that I've been working on since mid-summer!!! ..yay for project #6!!)

great times with the gtown kids...

(a few more fb photos).. ♥

'Once you know what it takes to live a better story, you don't have a choice..' -donald miller, a million miles.. p.66

tragedy at CFHS.. (Fri.10.16)

news story: http://tinyurl.com/yh2g82q

love birds.. (Thurs.10.15)

thought these were cute..

(spending time in The Party Maker waiting for balloons for the educator event.. :)

racoon #3.. (wed.10.14)

with this live trap dad has caught three raccoons, two cats (including our own), and one opossum!!

(he doesn't want to hurt the animals, he just wants to keep them off the porch and out of his stuff!!)

sittin in a tree... (Mon.10.12)

jeremy drew this for me a while back.. i love it.

even more i love that meggan took pictures of us in the big tree at huntington!!

these are sweet days. glad for this space to keep track and share the love/enjoyment of it all.. ♥

engagement party fun.. (Sun.10.11)

practicing cutting the amazing cake meggan made.. while eating the yummy cookies candice made.. :) ....basically everyone contributed and it was the best party ever (and my 30th birthday!!) ♥

more pics on fb..

thirtieth birthday-eve.. (Sat.10.10)

at miyabi.. still my favorite.. ♥

kayla's 7th birthday celebration.. (Fri.10.9)

and first sleepover with more than just anna i think...

...had lots of fun playing with these cuties.. ♥

sleepover cake (made by mom's friend)... with each girl represented :)


kayla got TICKETS to go see HANNAH MONTANA!!!!!!! :)

(she was thrilled to say the least! :)

thurs. trend..(th.10.8)

my updates for thursdays either consist of a sweet-sweet-sophia pic (like this one, wearing the belle-dress her gamma made her) ..or of a sewing pic/update :)

this week was a little different and extra-special, though..

my good friends (sewing-buddies and more) decided to delay my arrival (easily with some Jeremy-hang-time) and throw me a surprise thirtieth birthday party!!! ........very unexpected as it's still a few days away!!!! :)

..very wonderful and precious.. so thankful!! ♥

facebook pics by meggan..

(steph, you should friend-her so you can 'meet' and see the pics! :)

kayla's SEVEN!! (Tues.10.6)

yay for Logan's and Sister's birthday!!! ♥

stopped by sam's on the way home... just making a note about these beautiful lilies! (wonder if they'll still be in season in march??) ♥

flashback.. (Mon.10.5)

they must've been going through pictures up north because kellianne sent me this today.. loved that grandpa of mine. (he's been gone 15 years already.. as of this december!)

my uncle died saturday evening -dad's younger brother- we found out just after nick's wedding.. thanks to spending my summers in NY, I have several memories of my uncle bobby... he and his wife were my god-parents.. he was a funny character.. always making everyone laugh.. dad got to go visit and attend the services. glad for that at least..

sad, but true...

I have officially become a weekend blogger...

there seems no time during the week to enjoy this sweet outlet... going to see about remedying that! ♥

trouble-maker.. (Sun.10.4)

dad's been trying to catch this guy for a while now.. finally got him!

..didn't want to hurt him though, so he and jeremy loaded him up in the van and dropped him off down the road a ways..

groom's cake.. (Sat.10.3)

this epitomizes my good friend nick from high school whose wedding we went to in charlotte this weekend....... what an event.... wow!!

textiles & dress shopping..(Mon.10.28)

finally got to visit hancock's in florence... on the way to david's bridal!!

.....NOT the place I thought I'd find my dress... but I did!! :)

(can't wait to post those pictures!!! :)

photo confession..

haven't been so consistent.. obviously...

do have a few to share though.. :)