Yay for 2012!!!

Wow... I can't tell you what a life-changing year 2011 has been for me.  If you told me I would be living in Dallas by the end of 2011, I would have told you that you were CRAZY.  Although it's been a year of changes, I can honestly say God does work in mysterious ways.  I've also learned that I can handle a lot... praise the good Lord for that!

Enough of being mushy... here's a recap of our fun New Year's Eve Celebration.  We started the night off at our friend Grayson's where Taylor and I made some yummy appetizers.  She made an amazing crescent roll-wrapped brie... it was to die for!

I forgot to take a picture early, and as you can see, it was quite popular!  : )

She also made pulled pork sliders and a cheese plate... all very yummy!

I made Pioneer Woman's Stuffed Mushrooms... holy moly.  These were so amazingly good.  I followed the recipe almost exactly, but only used half of the mushroom stems.  I can't tell you how many compliments I got from these.  I recommend making them immediately.  

I also made Paula Deen's Black Eyed Pea Dip since it was New Years and all.  My sweet friend Allison made this last year and it was delicious.  I had to force most people to eat it because they were scared of the black eyed peas... I promise you it's good and I have always despised black eyed peas!  This is a must make for your next New Year's Celebration.

I also made Spinach Artichoke dip.  Allison (once again... guess I was missing her that day!) made this for Finley's 2nd birthday and Blake fell in love with it and made me get the recipe immediately.  It was a hit once again!  I forgot to take a picture of it, but here's the recipe:

1 pack 8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/2 cup Mayo

1 Garlic clove, pressed

1 can 14 oz artichoke hearts in water, drained/ chopped

3/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

1 lemon

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayo into bow and mix well.  Add garlic.  Add chopped artichokes, parmesan, green onions, lemon and black pepper to bowl- mix it all up well.  Spoon mixture into small (8x8ish) baking dish.  Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown around edges.  Sprinkle the top with a bit more parmesan and some more green onions.

Note to self: Next time I am definitely going to double this recipe- it was gone way too fast!!!

Anyway, we ate and drank over there and had quite a bit of fun:

 Boy pic... can you tell us girls are outnumbered here??

 This is my new friend Val... she's super FUN!!!

 Every time these boys play speed quarters, they fight over the rules.  Every single time.  Well, it's only happened twice, but you would think they were still in college.  ; )

 This is Aaron- he's the one that introduced Blake and me 8 years ago... I hated him for a while for it, but now I love him for it- ha.  

 Finishing the champagne before the bar.  ; )

 This guy above is Greg... a fraternity brother of Blake's.  He's been overseas modeling for the past few year's and just moved back.  Val wanted to pretend to be modeling with him- I'd say she's a natural.  ; )

We then went to The Granada (a REALLY cool venue here) and went to The Jonathan Tyler concert.  I had never heard of him, but he was so good.  

 The opening act was in a full Indian costume (feather, not dot)... we tried to get this in the background, but it didn't work too well.

 Blake thought he was funny trying to ruin my picture... 

 Apparently he forgot that I approve every picture before I dismiss him- ha.

 We were getting scared of the Indian... it was kinda weird music.

 Blake dances as well as I do... grab a camera if you ever see us on the dance floor!  ; )

 Val thought it would be a good idea to pretend to eat my side bun... I guess I didn't agree.

These boys really love each other, despite this picture.

All in all, it was a great night and an awesome way to start a new year!  I can't tell you how happy I am to start fresh.  Wishing you much love and laughter in 2012!!!

My Birthday in Tulsa!

I was so excited when I found out that Blake has called Emily to set up a birthday party for me in Tulsa!  I had a lot of fun at the Dallas party, but it wasn't the same without all my best friends!  We went to dinner at Yokozuna in Tulsa, then followed with bowling at Dust Bowl.  I'll let the pictures show how much fun we all had!

THANK YOU all so much for coming and making my day so special!  I love you all and miss you more than you know!!!

P.S. Isn't my boyfriend cute?

Christmas Decorations

Thought you all would like a little view of my Christmas decorations!

Here's my Christmas Tree for the year:

Every year, I pick a wrapping paper theme... and yes, every present under my tree has to match (no, I'm not crazy).  : )  Here's a close up of the presents:

I just used brown postal wrapping paper, then used cranberry tulle for my bows... it was super easy and way cute!  I bought way too much wrapping paper, so the good thing is I can use it year-round for presents with different colors of tulle!  The thing I love about tulle is it makes it SUPER easy to make a cute bow, as that's not my specialty.  : )
Here's some more pics around the house:

My cute little table:

There's some I took pictures of... I lost a lot of my Christmas decorations in the move- tear!  So, I need to get more while they're on sale now that the big holiday is over!

Dallas Birthday Celebration/ Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

This past weekend was a fun weekend in Dallas!  Blake took me out for my birthday dinner at The Grape. It is a fun restaurant with a great atmosphere.  When we finished up there, we went and met Taylor and Grayson for a drink...

It was a fun night!

The next night, Blake had a fun party planned for me!  We started at my apartment, where people came over, wore ugly sweaters, played games, did high kicks, walked like penguins and listened to Christmas music (my request, of course).

After our penguin walk, we decided to head to The Penguin Bar, which is a fun piano bar in town.  Little did I know, I was going to have to sit on the piano and get harassed/ embarrassed.  When I came off the stage, a surprise was waiting for me:

As you can tell, I was quite excited.  Poor Blake a.k.a. "Kristin's Little Helper" got to take that for me.

Fun times were had by all!  So excited to head to Tulsa and celebrate more!

Chicken Taco Soup

I made Chicken Taco Soup last night and it is to die for (and it's a crock pot recipe)!!!  Of course, I forgot to take a picture... oops!

I made a different recipe a couple of weeks ago and Blake politely told me his sisters was better... after the bruise my ego took healed, I contacted her to get the recipe.  Blake was right... don't tell him I said so.

Anyway, here is the easiest, most delicious recipe EVER:

2-3 raw chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can of 8 oz tomato sauce
1 package of dry taco seasoning
1 package of dry ranch dressing
1 can of chicken broth (you can add more if needed, but I didn't have to)
1 can of Rotel (I used mild because Blake is a baby- ha)

Put everything in a crock pot on high for 4-6 hours.

After cooked, shred chicken and stir.

You can add cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips to garnish.

You can thank me later!  :)

50 Randoms

So, I secretly love filling these things out, even though I always feel way too much like a high schooler to send them on.  So, since I've really been slacking in the blogging department lately... I figured what else would be better to do?!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00!  I was actually on time for work once...

2. How do you like your steak? Medium please

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema: "The Descendants" with George Clooney... I highly recommend it! 

4. What is your favorite TV show? Oh my goodness.  Way too many to name... but Modern Family, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Top Chef, American Idol, The Bachelor... I seriously could go on and on.  Oh, and now I'm starting to dig American Horror Story, although I can't watch it alone.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I'm pretty happy where I am right now, although I wouldn't mind going back to Tulsa.  : )

 

6. What did you have for breakfast? Chocolate Chip Granola Bar

7. What is your favorite food? Italian or the Volcano Roll from In the Raw

8. Foods you dislike? Hmmm... oysters gross me out.

9. Favorite place to eat? Yokozuna... I'm still working on finding my favorite place in Dallas.

10. Favorite dressing? Ranch!

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? IS250

12. What are your favorite clothes? dresses!  I'm ready for it to be warm again!

 

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Italy!

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full always, with a dash of realist

15. Where would you want to retire?  I have a feeling I might be retiring in Norman, OK.

16. Favorite time of day?  5:00 on Friday- 10:00 Sunday night.  : )

17. Where were you born?  Sapulpa, OK

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?  College football, although I'm trying to pretend I enjoy the NFL.  : )

19. What is your favorite fragrance?  Victor Rolf Flowerbomb!

20. What is your favorite face cream?  I'm actually looking for a new one.  Any recommendations would be appreciated.

21. Favorite baby/kids products?  I'm too young to answer this question.  : ) 

 

22. People watcher?  Always.

23. Are you a morning or night person?  I'm a morning person once I get up and going... Does that count?

24. Do you have any pets?   Just the cutest dog in the world.  No big deal.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? It's almost my birthday!!!  Yay!  : )

26. What did you want to be when you were little?  A kindergarten teacher or a super model.

27. What is your favorite memory?  When my brother convinced me that he shrunk our cat... it wasn't funny at the time, but I can laugh about it twenty years later. 

28. Are you a cat or dog person?  Dog. I'm allergic to cats (or I tell people that)

29. Are you married?  Can't say that I am.

30. Always wear your seat belt?  Always.

31. Been in a car accident?  I think I was in four the first year I had my driver's license... kinda got off to a rough start...

32. Any pet peeves?  Bad grammar (excuse me if I've made any errors)

33. Favorite pizza toppings?  Cheese please.

34. Favorite flower?  I kinda like them all!

35. Favorite ice cream?  Vanilla ice cream with M&Ms or heath bar in it.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?  Bueno!  I just found out we have them in Dallas (for some reason, I thought we didn't) and I've already had it twice this week.  I kinda wish I didn't know about it... 

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Passed it on the first time... the guy that passed me should be fired.

38. From whom did you get your last email?  My boss.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?  Nordstroms or Neimans (if I didn't have to pay the bill).  : )

40. Favorite book?  "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue"... I literally could read these over and over again.

41. Like your job?  Love my job!

42. Broccoli?  With ranch please.

43. What was your favorite vacation?  Mexico.  : )

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Blake.

45. What are you listening to right now?  Top Chef.

46. What is your favorite color?  It goes through stages, but possibly light blue right now.

47. How many tattoos do you have?  Zero

48. Coffee drinker?  As long as there is a lot of cream!

49. Favorite drink?  Coke. 

 

50. What word best describes you? Thankful.

OK,  I promise I will never do another one of these again... but I applaud you for making it to the bottom.  : )  Next week I promise to post about fun stuff again!!!  xoxo

Proverbs 31 Woman

I ran across this and couldn't resist sharing it:

Wow!  What a wise college kid... hope this speaks to you has much as it did to me.  Have a great week!