12 Months and Counting...

     Happy Birthday to my wonderful little lady! I can't believe she is 1 year old today!  She has turned our world upside down!  We were blessed with a fun loving, happy go lucky, spunky little girl.  When she looks at me with those big blue eyes, my heart flutters with how much I love her! And of course those cute dimples, she lights up the room with her smile and flirts with everyone where ever she goes.  We can't wait to her blossom into a beautiful young lady, but for now...I'll just enjoy one day at a time.  Seems like she is growing up way too fast!  Looking forward to celebrating her birthday tomorrow with our family and friends!

Take a look at the last 11 months of my little lady...my how's she grown!

Happy Birthday Kinley!

Mommy, Daddy, & Liam love you so much!

Friday Foodie Favorites: Hell's Kitchen Coffee Creme Brûlée

     I was in Walmart the other day and came across this Hell's Kitchen Coffee Creme Brûlée Kit.  My hubby and I watch Hell's Kitchen all the time, so I thought I would give it a try.  It was really simple and quick with only 3 ingredients!  There is also a Vanilla Creme flavor I would like to try.  

Turned out really pretty in the heart ramekin I put it in.

It was pretty tasty too!

  

Look Who's Turning 1...

      I can't believe my little lady is already turning the BIG 1!  Seems like yesterday I was dressing her up in her very first tutu for Halloween, now she is radiant in her big girl rainbow one! Since her birthday was coming up, I wanted to take some cute pictures of her for her birthday party invitation.   This is just a sneak peak of what her birthday party will look like....can you guess the theme?  Of course, it's RAINBOW!  Be on the lookout for those pictures posting soon!

I found this cute First Birthday Number One Onesie by Pickle Bean Boutique,  the Over the Rainbow Chiffon Flower headband by MLS PhotoWorks Shop, and the Rainbow Tutu I made!

I made this board of all of Kinley's favorite things, how many teeth she has,

how tall she is, how much she weights, what she can say, and what she loves.

I brought some fun colorful balls for her to play with...

And then I busted out the cake!

We had a lot of fun today, looking forward to her Over the Rainbow 1st Birthday Party!

Just a Hop, Skip, and an Airplane Ride Home

     Well, Hello everyone! Kinley and I are back from our little vacation down to Texas to visit our family and friends.  It was great, except that we were a little sick the first few days...but other than that we had fun.  I finally got to meet and hold my new nephew, Kinley absolutely LOVED her little cousin!  We also celebrated, mine, my dad's, a friend's, and Kinley's birthdays while we were down there.  And I finally got a hair cut! Take a look at our mini vacation... This was Kinley's 1st plane ride.   She did great, such a good traveler.

Kinley liked jumping while we cooked dinner.

When we were feeling better we headed over 

to my sister's house to finally meet little man!

He is adorable and Kinley just wanted to touch him, hug him, and kiss all over him!

She also got to open her birthday present from them a little early.

She loves playing with her new Little People Playhouse!

My AWESOME birthday present from my sissy!

I think I'm ready to make some Macarons!

Hanging out at MeeMaw's & Pappaw's house,

Kinley loves the new Mickey Mouse car Meemaw bought her!

Kinley & I loved taking walks around mom's garden.

Silly little girl, playing in MeeMaw's kitchen

On that Saturday, we had a joint party for me, my dad, 

a family friend, and Kinley's birthdays.

Little lady wore her special birthday dress and new gold shoes!

The Birthday Girls

Kinley trying to give loves to baby Camden

Let the celebration begin!

The next day, my friends and I went to Sunday Brunch 

and then to the local Farmer's Market they had set up there.

It was delish, I had the Eggs Benedict, my fave!

Then they came over to play with their God Daughter.

Monday I FINALLY got my hair chopped!

Cut about 11 inches off, which I donated to Locks of Love!

My sister and Camden came over to mom's, who was 

watching Kinley for me so I could go to my hair appointment.

Kinley loves dancing to the theme song of Taratabong.

Playing with MeeMaw is so much fun!

Time for pictures!!

The week came and went too fast, then it was time for us

to board our plane back home!

Kinley enjoying her 1st donut, I think she liked it.

She ate the WHOLE thing!

We had a great visit! Can't believe it went by so fast!

Looking forward to the next one, which will probably be for Christmas!

Friday Foodie Favorites: Jif Whips Whipped Peanut Butter & Chocolate Mint Spread

     We are definitely a Jif family when it comes to peanut butter, so when I discovered this Limited Edition Jif Whips Whipped Peanut Butter & Chocolate Mint Spread I knew I had to grab me a tub to try!  I love peanut butter, and I love chocolate, and I love mint...so this is the perfect combination of yumminess! Perfect spread on bread/toast, used as a dip, and even great to bake with, which is what I did!  I found a great peanut butter cookie recipe and substituted normal PB for this one! They turned out great!

Look at that chocolatey, peanut buttery, minty goodness!!

Original recipe from Sugar Loco.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)

3/4 cup cream peanut butter (I used the Whipped Peanut Butter & Chocolate Mint Spread)

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar (packed)

2 TBsp cream or milk

1 TBsp vanilla extract

1 large egg (room temperature)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (sifted)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

How to make them:

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter, peanut butter (or whipped peanut butter & chocolate mint spread), sugar, cream/milk, and vanilla.

Beat for 2 minutes on medium-high speed to cream the ingredients, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the egg and mix until incorporated.

In another bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mix until just combined.

Place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator for at least one hour, allowing dough to rest and chill.

After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 375˚F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Using a small cookie scoop, form balls and drop dough onto prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Flatten the mounds slightly with tines of a fork, creating a crisscross pattern.

Bake for 7-8 minutes (9 minutes max).

The bottoms will have set, yet the tops looks quite underdone.

This is ok, be careful not to over bake, they will set up more while cooling.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for at least 10 minutes or until they firm up.

You can either enjoy them now, OR....do what I did and spread some of the Jif Whips Whipped Peanut Butter and Chocolate Mint spread in between two cookies and make them into a little sandwich, then ENJOY!

Friday Foodie Favorites: Giada De Laurentiis' Herb Foccaccia Bread & Tuscan-Style White Bean & Fire Roasted Garlic Soup

     I my search to find some new Foodie Finds I came across this Herb Focaccia and Tuscan-Style White Bean & Fire Roasted Garlic Soup mixes that I thought I would give a try!

I just followed the directions on the back, which were quite easy with a small list of ingredients.

It turned out pretty good, definitely going to try some more of Giada De Laurentiis' food products.

Howdy from Texas

I've decided to take a little break while I'm in Texas visiting my family and friends. Here's a little hint where I'll be for a week, I'll be back to blogging soon! Take care everyone!