February 14, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day


Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you are showered with love and appreciation not just today, but every day! We usually go out to dinner or drinks and drunken kareoke, but it's going to be packed probably everywhere in Austin tonight. We're most likely going to stay in, watch movies, drink, and make each other dinner.
I cannot wait!

Here is to the 6th Valentine's day that I'm spending with my boo Scottie, and the 3rd we are spending with our little Huxley. We love him so much!

Will you be my Valentine?

Leaving you with my linkup for #backthatazzupfriday with Whitney with one of my favorite love songs by Usher! If you don't know this song, I don't think we can be friends. ;-)


XOXO
Amanda, Scottie, & Huxley

February 11, 2014

Life Lately


One. Amazing hot coffee from Domincan Joe's, this fresh organic coffee shop in a little plaza next to my office. perfect way to warm up in this crazy cold Texan weather.

Two. Friday night we went to this bar called "Baker St. Pub" off South Lamar for the first time. It is identical to Sherlocks which was my favorite North Austin bar that I held annual birthday bashes at! I was so excited. Malford Milligan was actually there - he was a contestant in "The Voice"... he got up and sang it was so fun! Scottie and Denise danced to it too. And no way - I am not the crazy person yelling in the background.  ;-)


Three. Recently I took a work from home day to take videos care of my best friend D who got her wisdom teeth surgically removed. It was a fun morning and got some great videos and snapchats of her coming off anesthesia, also got to enjoy mac n cheese for lunch and watch movies while she slept. #win

Four. This is what happens when we stay at home getting #turntup. Huxley basket races. He looks terrified in the picture haha but that was only cause he was in the air. We have too much fun with this little chunk.

Five. Sakeeee! Finally had a sushi date with friends last week and let's just say we almost got kicked out of the restaurant...oops. It was so fun though. I had been craving sushi for MONTHS. It hit the spot.

Six. Cuddles with my boys, I'm under the blanket. Yes, Huxley sleeps with his eyes open. Creepy demon puppy. <3

Seven. Date night Saturday night after relaxing ALL DAY LONG. It was so very needed. We watched a ton of Netflix movies and lounged around. This was at Jaliscos, our little TexMex restaurant less than 5 minutes away from the house. Nothing better than fajitas and a strawberry margarita with your love.

Eight. Curly hair, don't care! I am loving my new haircut so much, it is so much easier to do your hair! This is actually me today, my girls and I have a "Galentines Dinner" at Matt's El Rancho. Can't wait!

Nine. Last night's dinner. Since it was Scott's first day at his new job and I had a long day as well, we threw a pork shoulder into the crockpot with Stubb's Spicy BBQ sauce and some onions bright and early, and when we got home the house smelled delicious and we enjoyed some pulled pork tacos! Recipe here!

Ten. I went to Orthodontist yesterday and...... exactly 1 month until my braceface is off forever!! I am so excited, I've had them on for two years, and it has been a great experience but I cannot wait for beautiful teeth!!!!
Take a good look, these babies are comin' off soon!

Life lately has been so fulfilling, fun, exciting, stressful, and crazy... I couldn't ask for a better life though! We finally have made it through the two and half months telling my mom we're moving back to Louisiana to live in a trailer in front of her house, and now are back on to saving money and feeling secure and stable. :-)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! 

February 10, 2014

A New Chapter

As you may or may not know, Scottie and I both work in the Software Industry, where he is a salesman for IT Software Applications and I am a marketer for an EMR Software IT Company here in Austin. We began this journey working at Dell selling computers to your everyday consumer, and moved our way up, got promoted, and left the company for better opportunities.


Well, two days before Thanksgiving and our annual trip to see my family in Louisiana, we got news that he was being laid off from his job. It was a scary feeling, but I remember being so calm in it all. Isn't it crazy how that works? I immediately met Scott for lunch and we talked about it. What was our plan? How can we make this work if he is 60% of our income, etc. How can we stay encouraged in this time? 

Getting laid off two days before the holiday season is the worst case scenario, but we didn't have a choice in the matter. We prayed, we sent out applications, and we waited impatiently. We are blessed to live in a city with so many opportunities in the IT world, so we had interviews lined up weekly. However, no one really hires during the holidays, so fast forward 2.5 months, and...

Today is Scott's first day at a new job.

He not only has been promoted to an Account Executive, but he is the lead on a new chapter in this company's history, in a hopefully very successful pilot! This company is a great little start-up located only about 15 minutes away from home and is a Software Application company for IT Professionals. 

I couldn't be more proud of him and envious of how he has carried himself the past two months. It has not been easy, cutting back on gifting during Christmas, cutting back on spending by not going out, eating in, cancelling gym memberships to save, etc. At times it's been disheartening when you don't hear back from a great lead you thought you had in the bag. It feels good to know that I have such a strong, courageous, and optimistic man in my life who didn't sit on the couch and sulk in his unemployment, he kept his faith, and he did projects during downtime. He helped me with little things throughout the weeks, he even made dinner (what!?). It's incredible how you can watch your spouse and be encouraged by how they deal with situations, how they react.


Trying times in your life like these are always the biggest lessons. How was I so calm and supportive? How did we manage to live on my income alone for two months? I got a Christmas bonus that carried us through the second month, we had enough savings and CC rewards to get us HEB/Walmart gift cards for groceries, we were seeing family over holidays who kept us feeling encouraged and loved through all of this. We know 100% that this was all in God's hands. Honestly! I have never felt so at ease in such a stressful situation. I felt like I could be his rock in this and I succeeded. We left it up to Him to decide Scott's next move in his career. We had complete faith in what His will would be.

He hated his previous job... it was the most difficult sales atmosphere where people were negative, there was favoritism, bullying, harassing, etc. He would come home feeling so defeated even though he had made a lot of money over a deal! We were already unhappy, so I completely believe that this was all God's doing. Scott deserved better. He deserved a career that he could thrive and grow and be encouraged, and doing honest work. We couldn't be more excited for this new chapter of our lives, and I couldn't be more proud to be his partner through all of this. As scary as it was for us, I am so glad that we experienced this situation and grew from it. I feel so confident in him and so blessed to know that we make such a great team and together, we really can get through anything life throws us. 

We truly appreciate all of the support and prayers we've received throughout this journey! 

Have a fabulous Monday, and wish us luck on his first day!!!! :-) 

February 7, 2014

Five Things on Friday

1. After years of getting maybe a trim every 9-12 months, I finally took the plunge and got a hurr cut shorter than usual. I had ombre hair done in June 2013 and it was time for a change! I know it's not a huge change and to some of you it is probably still long, but I am used to Rapunzel hair. I even got side bangs that I'm still not so sure about. I usually just pin them up, gonna have to get that fixed. I miss my long hair some days, but holy moly it's so quick doing my hair in the mornings now! Loving that.


2. I am realizing more and more how much I want need to travel. I've literally only vacationed to these spots my entire life: Disney World at 15 in Orlando. NYC in 2012 with my sister Maddie, and LA in 2013 also with Maddie. We finally got a Southwest CC and have been racking up points and I want to fly away somewhere!!! Any suggestions for a reeeally fun getaway??

NYC 2012
LA 2013

3. Hi my name is Amanda (Hi, Amandaaaa), and I am addicted to Snapchat. I literally send snaps in the morning, throughout the day, sometimes I even have texting conversations via snapchat with my sister. Who am I!? My friends now know my deepest darkest secret.... I rap pretty well. ;) I don't know what it is... when I'm in my car on the way to work, the first thing I want to do is turn up some gangsta beats. Lil Wayne is my fav to rap to. Also, Snoop Dogg and I go wayyyy back.

{add me on snapchizzle: amandamarie61}
BIFFLE <3
 Don't mind that my head is three times the size of his.
He has a tiny head! Also, he was wearing a trenchcoat in 100 degree weather. 

4. Pretty sure you need to check out what Scottie sent to our niece the other night. Huxley seriously is the coolest dog ever, but I had no idea he was an asian boston terrier! Haha I have probably watched this a hundred times and it is still hilarious. #YouBeGoodGirl!




 5. Lately I've come to realize that I am the worst Italian girl ever. I hate olives, eggplant, mushrooms, not the biggest fan of pasta... who am I? Even weirder? I am obsessed with dirty martinis, and I love me some mexi-marts, but I always give away my olives because I hate them. I feel like I make up for it though with my passion for all things wine. Wino for life.

And that, my friends, is five totally random things. I figured this would be fun to do for my linkup today with Casey  for fresh face Friday since I'm "new" in the blogging world again, and of course can't forget to linkup for #backthatazzupfriday with Whitney!! Since we've been on the subject of Lil Wayne, here's one of my favs by him. Enjoy and have a fabulous #turntup weekend y'all! 



We Took the Road Less Traveled

February 4, 2014

Easy Super Bowl Appetizers


Hosting a Super Bowl party at your house can be quite exhausting if you don't have a plan! We wanted to keep this year's Super Bowl on a budget and make some simple appetizers to fill everyone up while we down our beers, shots, play beer pong, and watch the Broncos lose Bruno Mars' amazing half time show and funny super bowl commercials...  :)

We kept it simple. We had 5 people total, so I made three appetizers, and we still had plenty left over for later!

Recipes are below. Enjoy and pin for next year's Super Bowl party!


Hot Spinach Queso: Crockpot Recipe

Ingredients: 
-10oz Frozen spinach, thawed and drained
-1lb Velveeta cheese (2% reduced fat)
-8oz Cream cheese (lite)
-1 Jar salsa (I used medium salsa for a kick, about 3/4 of a 18oz jar)
-Handful of chopped cilantro (optional, but so good!)

Directions:
-Cube the Velveeta cheese and place all ingredients in crockpot and heat until cheese has melted. You will want to continue to stir occasionally to combine the ingredients. Keep on low setting, it should take around an hour to be melted (but some crockpots may vary). This method is great so you can keep the dip warm for a few hours during the game.

If you are not doing Crockpot:
If you prefer, you can always place all ingredients in an oven safe dish, and bake until the dip is heated through. Set oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly! 


Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

These are a staple in my household. I'm a HUGE wing lover and these are always a huge hit. They can be pretty spicy, so I always have bleu cheese and ranch dressing on the side for dipping. 

Ingredients: 
-3 or 4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
-3/4 jar of Louisiana Hot Wing Sauce (Or Red's if you prefer)
-8 Wheat Tortillas
-Bleu Cheese Crumbles
-Dry Ranch Seasoning Packet

Directions:
-Place frozen chicken breasts in boiling pot of water for about 20-30 minutes until cooked
-Place cooked chicken in a bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes to cool
-Shred chicken, set oven to 400 degrees 
-Mix chicken with the buffalo sauce and ranch seasoning packet
-Roll into tortillas and top with bleu cheese crumbles
-Place in oven for 15 minutes
-Cut taquitos in half once taken out of oven.
-Enjoy!



Burger Sliders

These are pretty much a no-brainer. They are just so delicious, though! And so easy. 

Ingredients:
-1pkg King Hawaiian Wheat Rolls (12)
-2lb Lean Ground Beef
-3 Slices American Cheese, cut into fours
-Burger fixings (1 tomato sliced, few pickles, 1 small white onion sliced, small pieces of lettuce)

Directions:
-Divide ground beef into small slider sized patties and season to your liking. We used a small bit of Tony's seasoning and McCormick Steak Seasoning. 
-Set skillet to Medium-High heat. Cook burgers about 2-3 minutes per side. 
-Place cheese on burgers while on skillet to melt
-Slice buns in half and place cooked burgers on the slider buns
-Top with whatever you like
-Enjoy!

What are your favorite appetizers to make for the big day?!

February 3, 2014

Super Bowl Weekend

I don't think I could have had a MORE fun and relaxing weekend at home. It started off on Friday with some amazing news that I will be able to share next Monday (stay tuned for a good story..) and so we started off with a little celebration time.


After hanging out at the house for a while, we headed about five minutes down the road to Jalisco's and had a great dinner date. Thank you Groupon for keeping our date under $20! I ordered the Shrimp Diablos and Scottie ordered enchiladas. So yummy!


We met my brother Chris back at the house and decided to head to Game Stop to finally get the XBOX Kinect we've been wanting for a while, did you know they're only $39.99 pre-owned!? We got some games to go along with it, and our Friday turned into a little game night. 


We've only tried the middle game so far, and I am LOVING the bowling, volleyball, and ping pong on this game. It is a great workout, too! I had never played the kinect before so this was super fun, I highly recommend getting one if you have an xbox. And it also served for some great games Before the Super Bowl started. 

Saturday was nothing but laziness. We watched Last Vegas, Mud, other TV movies. We've seen Captain Phillips lately (just wow! so good) and relaxed on the couches. 

Pancakes, bacon, and mimosas for breakfast. So deeeeelicious.



Sunday Funday. We had Chris, Suzy, and Denise over for the Super Bowl game. I actually got out of the house Sunday and went grocery shopping (desperately needed, we haven't been in over 2 weeks...yikes) and picked up some easy ingredients for some super bowl apps later. We played more Xbox Kinect all the way up until the game started. How about that game???? I was totally going for Broncos, but lets be honest - I really was just waiting for that #BestBuds commercial to come on ALL GAME LONG!! The commercials weren't THE best, but they were way better than last year, anyone agree? Also, the halftime show. The HALF TIME SHOW. It was the best I've seen in so many years. Dear Bruno Mars, YOU are amazing just the way you are. Loved him. Also really fun to see Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

I'll be doing a post later this week for Easy Super Bowl Appetizers, so be looking out! We had Buffalo Chicken Taquitos, which I've made before and are super easy and delicious, Spicy Spinach Queso, and Burger Sliders. We also had a bunch of celery, bleu cheese, chips n dip, etc. Oh and lots of beer, crown, and sky vodka.  I'd say we had a pretty good time.

Huxley was sure enjoying the fire :-) 
What did you do for the Super Bowl?? Hope you had a relaxing weekend!!