Picture Dump

A picture dump to update you on what we have been up to lately!

Last Night's Dinner

I've become addicted to Pinterest and one of my boards is for new recipes. Last night I decided to try one on there for the first time. I was so excited about this dinner because it sounded really good. While I was making it 1. I made a complete mess and 2. it just did not look like it was going to turn out good. I really thought I had made a disaster of a dinner. To my surprise when I tasted it, it was great! I loved it and can't wait to make it again. Colin even really liked it!

The recipe is from the website Ready Set Eat. I have never made anything off this site before but I will start looking for more recipes on it now that I tried this one! The recipe is called Zucchini and Black Bean Skillet. I've linked to the recipe below. The only two changes I made to it were that I also added yellow squash and garlic. I think I will add corn and chicken next time.

Click here to see the recipe!

Catching Up the Last Couple Months

Wow, I have been a bad blogger. So bear with me as I play catch up minus pictures.

• This summer I traveled to Ohio for my Grandma Sweval's 80th Birthday!
• Colin and I went home for a week to spend with our family and friends.
• Once August started work got so busy that I feel like we haven't had a few weekend in months.
• We have done some house updates including starting to put edging around our flower beds, Colin painted a hallway, we re-did our bedroom and Colin made a headboard (will do a separate post about this) and we re-painted our front door red.
• We have had 4 home football games in a row and I am exhausted but Clemson is also 4-0! We have had a great football season so far and hope to continue it this weekend as they travel to VT! Go Tigers!
• We have had company the past 4 weekends between family and friends. Colin's mom and grandparents came down for a few days and it was nice to have them here.
• Next weekend my brother is coming for our homecoming game.
• I am going to the Maryland game to host an IPTAY event the night before the game.
• We have a big donor event before the UNC game.
• Colin's parents are meeting us in Atlanta for the GT game the last weekend in October and then coming back in November for the Wake Forest game.
• Our nights are consumed by Fall TV again. So glad our shows are back on. I'll do a post with all the shows that we watch later and my new favorite show.

That is our life lately. Super busy. I feel like Colin and sometimes just pass each other in the morning and at night and don't get to just sit down and enjoy our time together.

Scaredy Cat...I mean Dog!

For the second Sunday in a row we took Bella to the rowing facility on Lake Hartwell to see if she liked to swim. We hoped deep down that she would be a water dog and would just run right in to fetch a ball. Well today our dreams were dashed...we realized she just does not like water. Last week she did pretty well, actually walked into the water on her own and would swim to us. Today, you could tell she did not like it. She wouldn't walk into the water on her own, so we had to pick her up and put her in the water and when she did swim, she swam straight to the dock to jump out and wouldn't come near us. We were disappointed that she didn't like water but she does seem to enjoy running around on the dock while we lay in the sun. Bella we loved you but you are such a chicken doggie! Below are some pictures of the 5 minutes we actually got her in the water. Even though she hated every minute of it, I think she still looks pretty cute!

Summer Salad

I thought I would share with you my go-to salad in the summer. I could eat this for lunch or dinner every day of the summer and I have actually had it 3 times this week already. I got the inspiration from a salad at Longhorn Steakhouse.

Lindsey's Summer Salad:

- spring salad mix

- grilled or rotisserie chicken

- pineapple chunks

- grapes sliced in half

- strawberries sliced in half

- pecans

- feta cheese

- light raspberry and walnut vinaigrette

You can add whatever fruit you want, but this is how I always make mine. This salad is SO good and SO easy to make! Sorry for the poor quality picture but I took it with my iphone. Be sure to add this recipe to your weekly dinner menu!

In My Nook Library...

I recently got a Nook Color and am so in love with it! I get on kicks and will read a ton of books and then take a break for awhile, but since I got my book I have been reading non-stop. I thought I would let you know what I'm reading in case you need some recommendations for your summer reading.

I stayed up late last night to finish reading the Hunger Games series. This series was awesome, I loved all three books and I highly recommend them. They are a fast read. They just started filming the movie about 2 hours away from me in Ashville, NC. The movie comes out in March and I am so excited to see how they portray all the characters and costumes in the movie. You better believe I will make Colin take me to this movie!

Before I started the hunger games I read Water for Elephants and loved that book as well. I liked it so much that I finished it in a weekend. Sadly, I have yet to see the movie because Colin refuses to go. I'll wait for it on DVD since it didn't get great reviews. I know I was late on the bandwagon for this book.

I also read Mini Shopaholic. I read the entire Shop

aholic series a few years ago and loved them so I was excited when the author came out with a new one. If you were a fan of the series be sure to read this one as well, it was a cute book!

I almost forgot the first book I read on my Nook...Throwaway. I wasn't sure about the Nook yet so I wanted to read a free book to start with. It got good reviews on Barnes and Nobles so I said why not, it's free. It turned out to be a decent book so if you have a Nook, download the book for some free guilty pleasure summer reading!

I have a few books at home that I still have to read and I think my next one will be the Help. I want to see it before it comes out in August as a movie. I also have several books on hold through the library that I will put on my nook. I can't wait to read the summer away!

What are you reading? Leave your suggestions for good summer reads!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Sorrells

A month ago one of Colin's best friends (and roommate for 4 years at Clemson) got married in Augusta, GA. We traveled down for the weekend to celebrate Brian and Ashley. Colin was in heaven because all the guys that he lived with during college were there and in the wedding. Colin was a groomsman along with several other of his dear friends. They have a blast just getting to see each other. For awhile, everyone was really spread out and we usually only got to see them during football. We are very lucky now that Chris has moved to Charlotte to start his residency and Brian has moved to Greenville with Ashley. We also got to see our good friends Wes and Kate at the reception. We don't get to see them often and I am always thankful when we do!

The wedding was beautiful and so was the couple! They are perfect for each other and I am so glad they are married now. I'm so excited that Brian married Ashley, not only is she great but I think that we will just continue to become good friends. Below are some pictures from the wedding.

Congratulations Brian and Ashley, we wish you a lifetime of happiness and love!

Warrior Dash is for Sissies!

I've been so bad at blogging but several weekends ago we ran in the Warrior Dash with our friends Chris, Brian and Ashley. To be honest I was SO nervous about doing this because I am not a runner not did I do much running to prepare myself for this. Not to mention Chris is a beast and runs half-marathons, Ashley is a runner and Brian is always in shape.

Luckily, I had nothing to worry about....this race was easy. You paid way to much for what you got. They claimed the course was 3.48 miles but there is no way because we walked some, you get stopped at obstacles and we finished in 40 minutes. The obstacles were also too easy. I really wanted to be challenged with the obstacles but they were a piece of cake. Ok, complaining aside, I really did have a good time. I loved the mud and the obstacles and I can't wait to run a race like that again. We already decided we are going to put together a team for the USMC Mud Run in Columbia on October 15th. Chris, Brian and Ashley all ran it last year and said it was awesome, so I can't wait for this race. I have to say, after running this race, I have no desire to run in a running only race. I just don't like running but I love the obstacles! Below are 2 pictures from the day. We had a great time with out friends and even went to see Bridesmaids that afternoon.

Call Me Crazy...

Call me crazy...but I signed up for the Warrior Dash for May 15th. If you don't know what the warrior dash is, check out the website..http://www.warriordash.com/register2011_georgia.php. I cannot believe that Colin talked me into this. It is 3.2 miles with 11 obstacles. Some of those obstacles include running through tires, repelling down a ravine, and jumping over fire...yes, you read it correctly...jumping over fire.

We are running this with three other friends, Chris, Ashley and Brian. They all did a mud run together and are runners and in awesome shape. Colin and I need to get our butts in shape so we started running. Before signing up for this I NEVER ran or have really in my life. So this week I started running 3 miles. I run a slow 3 miles right now but I can finish 3 miles. I have 6 weeks I think until the race to get better and more comfortable at running. I bought some running shoes last night and I'm ready to go!

Oh and when I finish the race I get a viking hat, T-shirt and a medal that is in the shape of a viking hate...so excited!

Happy 3 Year Anniversary Colin!

A few days ago, March 15th, was Colin and I's 3 year anniversary! We celebrated with sushi and watching Clemson win their first NCAA tournament game...overall a very good day. I thought it would be fun to post some pictures from our years together. I wish I had all the ones from high school but they are back in Indiana. I really hate that I am missing pictures from 2003 and 2004 because I lost a TON of pictures when my hard drive crashed a few years ago...tear! So enjoy the picture overload. Love you Colin!

Christmas 2010

September 2010

October 2009

March 15, 2008

August 2007

July 2007

May 2006

December 2005

Summer 2005

Need your Help...To spray paint or not?

Now that we have a car big enough to haul items, we went and bought our patio table for the back porch. We have had our chairs and umbrella for a year now but didn't have a table because we couldn't drive it home for the store. We spent this morning putting it all together. Below are a few pictures of what it looks like all set up on the deck. There is where I need your help...

• We know we are spray painting the table brown. I want to spray paint the chairs brown as well. Colin wants to leave them blue. So we decided we would take it to a poll on the blog to see who wins. So I am asking you all to look at the pictures and help us decide if we should spray paint the chairs or not...we need your opinions. Please take my poll to the right....thanks!

We finally have lamps...and a few other updates!

We have been slowly but surely adding some decorating touches to the house so I wanted to update you all with a few pictures.

First, Colin added molding to the bookcase and made the shelves more sturdy. It turned out great. We also cleaned out all our DVDs and are storing them elsewhere now and cleaned out the books we have already ready. All we have to do is find a few items to help accessorize the shelves and we are done. I think my handy husband did a great job!

We have been looking for lamps for our living room since we moved into the house over a year and a half go and we FINALLY did! I made Colin go to TJMaxx with my on Tuesday and told him to cross his fingers that today we might actually find some lamps...and we actually did! We have disagreed over lamps for so long I was so relieved to find ones we both liked. I love the green ceramic. We got two of them for our side tables. At night having just the lamps on instead of the over head light is so nice! Yay for lamps!

We have been working on the kitchen. You can see in the pictures that we painted the walls and also added new hardware to the cabinets. I have hated the color of the cabinets since we moved in until we finally painted and the new hardware, now I like them. We also hung up the new family sign above the sink that my mom got me for my Birthday. I think it works perfect in the space and love it! We are still waiting on Colin's bonus at work to come in so we can buy a new sink and kitchen faucet. Once we get those bought and installed the kitchen updating is done. Here are a few pictures to tide you over until it is finished.

Next on the list is hopefully getting the hallways painted and some artwork up in the 1/2 bath!

Birthday/Valentine's Day Recap

Ok, so I didn't take ANY pictures on my Birthday or Valentine's Day. That is something that I wish I was better at...capturing moments with pictures!

My Birthday was on the 12th and it started out perfect! Before I had even woken up Colin had gone to the store and came back with a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee, the ingredients to make my mom's waffle recipe and flowers! What a sweet husband I have! After breakfast I had to go to work (we had a basketball game vs. UNC). While I was working Colin took my car to get the oil changed, put new windshield wipers on and got a new break light. Am I lame that I think that is romantic that he did that for me on his day off? HA! We went to the basketball game but lost by 2, oh well. After that we tried to go and buy a Honda Pilot (we have been researching SUV's for awhile and finally decided on the Pilot, we decided to trade Colin's Mustang in for something more practical). Our first attempt at buying the Pilot did not go well and we left without a car. But that was ok because we knew we could get the best deal for us by going elsewhere. We then went to PF Changs (yum) and to Yogurt Mountain for dessert. Let me tell you, that place is awesome! I turned 26 and now am officially closer to 30 than 20 but I think that 26 is going to be a good year!

Now on to the Valentine's Day recap...we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day and it was a beautiful day so we planned to grill out. Well plans changed when I wanted to try another Pilot dealership. Once I know what I want I have to have it then, I'm really an impatient person. So we tried a new one and we successfully negotiated a great deal and drove away with a pretty new SUV! I wanted to take Colin's picture with his Mustang but he said no. I know he will miss it but he seems pretty excited about his new car. Here it is below:

Thanks to everyone who made my Birthday special with phone calls, texts FB messages, cards, flowers and presents! Love you all!

Getting Lost in a Book...

This weekend Colin was in Indiana visiting his family and I really didn't have many plans so I picked up a book off our bookshelf on Friday that I bought this summer. This book was on the clearance rack at Boarders in I had never read anything by the author just was intrigued by the book jacket.

It was a well worth $6 I spent on the book. Kristen Hannah's True Colors sucked me in and I couldn't put it down all weekend. The book is about three sister's who lost their mother at a very young age. During the book they go from being very tight knit sisters to being torn apart by a tragedy. The book is about family and what it means to be a family. I don't want to give anything away because I recommend that you read it.

I forgot how much I love to read because I haven't read a book in a few months. I really need to turn off the TV more and pick up a book. My next book is going to be Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult...another one from my bookshelf. Has anyone read it? If so, did you like it?

Kitchen Preview

Colin and I decided it was time to spend some money and muscle in the kitchen. We haven't done anything to it since we moved in. We have always hated the blah color and the sink. So here is a preview of what we will be doing in there until it is finished to post pictures. To update you on the progress we have the walls painted and we are buying new cabinet knobs tonight.Here is the color we painted the walls. It is called Blue Arrow by Valspar in satin.

Here is the sink that we want to get.

Here is the new faucet we want to install into the new sink.

Here are the kind of knobs we are looking to update our shiny ugly gold ones.

I am also wanting a hand painted family name sign to go above the sink and then the kitchen will be finished! I can't wait to see it completed and post pictures!

A Random List of Thoughts

It's been awhile and we haven't done anything real exciting in the last few weeks so this blog is just a bunch of random thoughts.

• I have the home decorating bug again. First on the list is to finish painting the house. Hopefully we can get the hallways and maybe kitchen done this week. Fingers Crossed!
• I'm really excited for tomorrow night because Colin and I are going to dinner with Brian and Ashley. Brian was Colin's roommate for 4 years at CU and they are totally in love with each other! Brian and Ashley are getting married in April and we can't wait!
• I am itching for a new car. I have wanted an SUV forever and hopefully this summer we will get something new. We both have small cars and can't even buy a table for our porch because it won't fit in either car. We even had one time at Home Goods where we couldn't buy a piece of art work because it won't fit in my Accord.
• I rediscovered my Chop Wizard over Christmas break. My mom was using hers when I was home and I remembered I had one. This thing is amazing if you chop a lot of veggies. It was perfect for chili and when I made texas caviar. If you don't have one but hate chopping up veggies...go out and buy one! You won't regret it!
• Colin and I have been looking for lamps for our living room for what seems like months. We don't have any lamps in there and we really would like to find two side table lamps and maybe a floor lamp. Does anyone have any good suggestions on where to find some good lamps that won't break the bank?
• Right now is starting to be my busy time at work. I am working hard to schedule and coordinate 11 Prowl and Growl meetings. It is where we take the coaches around the state for basically a pep rally. As much work as these meetings are it is one of my favorite things I do in my job. I hope to one day add more event planning to my job, I think I would really love it.

Hope my random ramblings didn't bore you too much!

Snow Day Southern Style

We officially have over 7 inches of snow in Liberty, South Carolina. I know all you people from home don't believe me so I am going to provide picture proof. They announced that Clemson was closed last night so I knew I wasn't going into work today but I still got up at 6 AM. You think I love snow, well I married a kid trapped in a man's body. Colin was up at 6 AM opening the blinds in the bedroom to watch the snow and he even had on the TV to track the storm along with the news anchors. Colin's drive to work is through back roads and the country and we knew it wouldn't be safe for Colin to go to work so he stayed home as well (they ended up closing early).

Today has consisted of taking Bella out to play in the snow multiple times today...she LOVES the snow. She runs/jumps through the snow and eats as much snow as possible when she is out. We loved playing with her today outside and it was the first time she has played in snow. She is a snow bunny just like her momma! We also just finished the first season of Dexter on instant watch on Netflix. We just started watching this show and we are already HOOKED! On to season 2...

Tonight we plan on cheering on the Auburn Tigers in the National Championship while we eat chili and texas caviar as long as we keep power. Ice is supposed to start around 6 pm tonight. We are loving our snow day in the south today!