Snacking at our house: Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

So I got back in the kitchen and finally tried something new this past week. I Love Skinny Taste! So amazing. We tried making the Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones.

Here's how we did:

They were ok, Tim ate most of them. I ate one warm with milk and it was good, but the next day...not so much. Make them for an occasion where you don't have to store them.

Fun surprises come in little blue boxes...

I can honestly say I am 100% surprised! Tim gave me my birthday present early today. He did excellent! I usually figure out what he gets me, or I just tell him. But, this time he covered his tracks well. Tim ordered it online and then locked me out of our bank account so I couldn't see where he spent the money. Changed email passwords, even came home from work to intercept the package.

Edit: I FORGOT THE BEST PART! To know my size he called the place where my engagement ring came from and asked them if they had record of my size and they did :)

Tonight he put the little blue box on the counter and I was shocked! But, on to the photos:

I knew right away what was inside this little blue box!

"Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife"

Ignore my ugly hands... :)

The ring is from the Paloma Picasso collection and I have the matching necklace that my brother and his wife gave me long ago. I wear the necklace all the time and now I have the matching ring. I feel blessed to have wonderful people in my life, and these little tokens of their love. THANK YOU!

Surprise Yard Work!

While we were in Chicago, my parents surprised us by doing some errands around our house. The big one was this:

Cut & edged grass and a clean flower bed!

They put down the black weed matting and new pine straw.

The old pine straw went in the back yard. Which, by the way...this is the back yard. (left side)

Middle.

Right side.

I posted these back yard photos to solicit suggestions :) We want to cut out all the growth and put in ______. Different trees? Shrubs and/or bushes? More grass? Mulch? Rocks? Ideas!

And once again, a HUGE thank you to my parents. We didn't ask for their help, but they knew we were behind and they helped out like parents do. We love and appreciate you both!

They ask me where hip hop is goin', a Chicagoan, poetry's in motion like a picture now showin'

I love that lyric! Chicago is easily one of my favorite cities in my few visits there. We went this past weekend to visit Tim's family on his mother's side. Below is just a snap shot of the weekend.

Elliot wanted to come along for the trip.

But alas, we arrived without her.

Tim drove a rental.

And I cheesed for the camera.

I thought this was a cool spotting.

Loved the bridge.

Chi city!

Pretty.

We went to the museum of broadcast communications. #totallyme

Check it out!

Such cool history.

80s anyone?

All Things Considered!

Who remembers BOZO!

My name is in that drum, I'm pretty sure...just ask my mom.

Meet the Press!

OH YEAH!

I bet if my dad were there, he could tell you everything about each piece of this installation.

Tim acting like one of the cats, all passed out.

WHITE CASTLE! It really exists.

I'll let you fill in the caption...I thought they were funny.

For Dad Sowers.

On the drive home.

It's so flat!

Overall, a fun trip. Tim and I flew to Chicago from Atlanta on Friday and got in the city around lunchtime. We explored by driving (not recommended) for a bit and then set off on foot to find the Museum of Broadcast Communications, because I'm a lover of the media. It's especially something that I'm interested in because my daddy has spent over 40 years in the field. I love seeing things that he's lived through. It was pretty cool, but honestly a little less than I expected. But it's ok. Tim and I watched one exhibit show clips from memorable moments in US TV news history. We watched the Kennedy assassination, the challenger explosion and of course, 9/11 when the second plane hit. It was very emotional. 

After the museum, we met up with Sarah and CJ and ate at a place called Elephant & Castle. It made me think of my dear friend Beth because of the elephant and the fact it was crimson. However, it turned out to be some British and Canadian pub that's in fact a chain all over the North. We ate outside on the sidewalk and watched the people and cars on the street. Afterward, we went to find Cousin Amanda at Aldo. She managed one of the stores off Michigan Ave. After three stores we found her! :) 

On Saturday we got up and went to the family reunion. It was nice to see Tim's family because they are so far away. I really enjoyed visiting with them all, but I've especially grown quite fond of Cousin Stacey because we keep in touch on facebook a fair bit. She has two sweet boys and her sister Cousin Nikki has two sweet girls. One of them, Nora, was very much attached to poor CJ all weekend :). I of course also love talking to Cousins Amanda and Lauren because they are close in age to Tim and I and it's fun to hear what they are up to! Again, love them all- but it's easier when you have something like facebook to help bridge the gap between visits. :)

On Sunday we got up, ate breakfast and then began the long trek back to Georgia via car. We stopped in Champagne, IL where my husband was born. While there we ate BBQ at his dad's favorite place and bought sauce to bring back. It's pretty good (no one tell Country's)! We got in around 2:00 a.m. to our house and I slept until 10:00 a.m. the next day, ha!

Where is my Birchbox?

I bet you are wondering- hasn't it been a month already? Where is Kelly's Birchbox? Ok, maybe you aren't thinking that, but I am. I checked in to it before I left for Chicago this weekend. It was "delivered" on June 9...but..it wasn't. I check my mail daily because I love getting the mail. Especially loved getting my Birchbox last month. I emailed their customer service on Friday and got my response today that they'll be happy to send me another one. So thumbs up on that. Hopefully it will be here soon and I can share all of the goodies with you.

In the mean time. I did get this in the mail from Target:

Pretty blue cosmetic bag.

Aveeno scrub, Neutrogena sunblock, Revlon lip stuff, TREseme shampoo &conditioner for split ends, Garnier  shampoo &conditioner and of course...coupons!

Will probably try a few of these out soon and let you know how they work out.

Keep your eyes peeled because I have lots of things to blog about this week including:
-Our trip to Chicago
-What my parents did while we were away
-My putt-putt adventure with Kylie
-My birchbox when it arrives
-An update on my goals for the year
-and many others are in the works!

We're Back!

Well, things are finally starting to settle down around here. We've had the internet up and working in our home for over a week now. Who knew our lives were so dependent on this technology. Well, I plan on using it to continually update this blog.

I've started WW again, today, so hopefully this blog will help facilitate those healthy cooking and eating habits again. I also hope to take more photos, especially of the kittens exploring their new space.

All in all, it's good to be back!