Asparagus Stuffed Chicken

At our house we love asparagus. We also love Sprouts. Asparagus and Sprouts. Sprouts and Asparagus. I feel like that could be a farm to table restaurant. I need to patent that stat. 
Anyway, those tasty/delicious/food videos are always on my facebook.. so when I was looking at the weekly ads for sprouts and saw asparagus was on for $1.99, I knew we were going to do this recipe. Chicken breasts stuffed with cheese and asparagus. 
Sprouts also has great deals on chicken.. I got two, 1 lb chicken breasts for $2 each! From here, it was so simple. I sprinkled TexJoy on both sides of the chicken breast. If you don't know what Texjoy is... you are 100% missing out. It's a family staple. If you don't have any, go to http://www.texjoy.com/ right now and buy you some. Then put it on both sides of chicken... vegetables... beef... pork.. yogurt... ok, just kidding, not yogurt. But anything else. It's the best. 

 

From there, I took leftover monterrey jack cheese, because it's what we had, and stuffed the chicken breast with cheese and asparagus. From there, I baked it at 375 for 45 minutes. These were large chicken breasts, if you go with smaller ones, you might need less time. 
I roasted some tomatoes and cooked the rest of the asparagus. Then I threw in some avocado with the tomatoes to round out the dinner. 

Travis and I split one for dinner that night, and then I had lunch for the next two days! I will for sure be doing this again. What modifications would you make? I think some pepperjack cheese would be really good too! 

Spring Garden

Our backyard looks gorgeous right now. Our azealas are blooming and the blue jays and cardinals are everywhere!

We only needed one more addition. Our garden! Travis built me a beautiful garden for my birthday last year. We got to test out a couple items on THE last day you were supposed to plant for fall. We got 2 tomatoes and 2 peppers. Boo-yah. Gardeners.

However, this time we are hoping to have a bountiful yield of veggies and fruits! We decided to stick with the plan we did last year. We will grow some by seeds and then we bought some plants that were already started.

Travis is most excited by the strawberry plants! We got four of them! They like full sun, so we put them in the area that tends to get the most sun.

Next up are seeds. We planted corn seeds (which was basically just a corn kernel) because yum. Then there are broccoli seeds and romaine lettuce seeds. I had already begun some lettuce seeds inside, so we were able to plant a few sprouts that are about 2 inches high!

The herbs split our garden in the middle.  To the left of our herbs are carrots -- different colored carrots!! This time we added cilantro to our mint and basil.

Then, to the right of the herbs we are have our “salsa” section. First up are the seeds… green onions, banana peppers, and bell peppers. Then we have the plants that are already started. In the front is a yellow and a green bell pepper plant. In the back are jalapeno plants. In the front right are cherry tomato plants, and in the back right are tomatillo plants!

We will invite all of the people over for homemade salsa… hopefully in 60-90 days. 

Beauty Regimen

Welcome to the first ever beauty blog.

I would not say beauty is my number one thing. I’m a shop at CVS kind of girl… Ulta overwhelms me and I know what none of it means.

Luckily, I have a sister who teaches me and I am passing along some valuable information that she has taught me… since January. That’s right. My beauty regimen has changed drastically in 2017. Here are the top 5 things I would now recommend to everyone else.

Highlighter

No, not the pretty colors that I grade all my papers in. Make up highlighter. It goes above your blush line.. a little down your nose, and a little around your eye bone. Or that’s what I do. It adds a natural glow to your skin in pictures/real life and looks oh so pretty! Also found at CVS!

The trick? The amount. The first time I did it with Caroline, I was highly aggressive with the highlighter and looked as if I had an actual sun beam on my face. Since then, I’ve learned the ways, and now I can’t sparkle without it!! (Click here to buy)

Brow Filler

At Travis’ 30^th birthday party, Caroline wanted to fill in my eyebrows. I was offended!! I have great eyebrows - a good thickness, a nice dark  color – why do I need a filler?? While she agreed, she said it just helps to make them look more even. So I said fine, and then…. I loved it!! She was all excited that this “Milani” brand came to CVS and I was like fine, I’ll buy some.

The trick? Start with too little. You can always fill in more. Especially when it comes to the middle part. It took me a couple times to figure out how far I would come with the filler. Here’s a before and after! (Click here to buy!)

Eyeliner

I’m always looking for a better eyeliner. You see, I have hooded lids – where my lids touch where my liner goes. So, I have always had an issue with eyeliner rubbing off. I typically buy one and then switch to another one looking for one that works! This past time I grabbed this one – and it’s working!!! I love the way it goes on and allows for an extremely easy winged tip.

No trick involved! Thanks Loreal! (Click here to buy)

Lashboost

Ok. This product is not at CVS and is expensive… but I am finding that it works! I ordered myself the Rodan and Fields lash boost. I am on about week 10 of using it and they say to use it for 12 weeks before getting the desired result. However, at the wedding we were at during Spring break, something happened. When we took a picture, I could see my lashes in the picture!!! That hasn’t happened since I was wearing fake eyelashes for my wedding!!! I got so excited and texted my rep to tell her “it’s working!!!!” So, just in case you need any more encouragement to use it…. Use it!

Tom’s Deodorant

This last one is important. My family has a dear friend that is fighting an aggressive breast cancer. She’s created a facebook page where we can be updated. The other day she posted about one of her doctors talking about a possible correlation between deodorant and breast cancer. While it hasn’t been 100% proven, if I can do something to minimize my chances, I will.

Did you know most women’s deodorant has aluminum in it?? Go get your deodorant and look on the back. Aluminum. And then on the back of your deodorant it says “do not use on open skin” or something along the lines of that. Well, we’re women and we shave our armpits.. meaning that sometimes we have broken skin under our armpits. Then, if you’re using an aluminum deodorant, you’re putting that aluminum right by those lymphnodes… right by your breasts.

Cue Toms! I found Toms at Sprouts, but I believe Caroline found hers at a different grocery store. There is no aluminum in Toms and it smells so wonderful! It’s more like a gel, which is the only thing I’ve had to get used to!

And that’s how you do a beauty post!! 

Unhealthy Fish

When Travis is out of town, I play the game.. what's the best meal I can make out of the food I have here at home. Anyone else play that game? 
Last week I was craving bad food. Unhealthy food. Frieddddd food. 
So, I took the healthiest option in the house.. fish.. and turned it as unhealthy as gluten free possible.
We typically have Swai fish in the freezer. Sometimes I'll buy tilapia if it's on sale, but Swai is a meatier fish that actually feeds us. If I cook tilapia, I have to cook four filets.. and most of the time that doesn't leave leftovers for myself and lunch the next day!! 
So, I took the fish and figured out what was the unhealthiest thing I had in the house. Answer? Sour cream. Yum. So I coated that fish with sour cream and threw some gluten free bread crumbs on top and baked the sucker. 

Wam bam. Thank you ma'am!! Have an excellent Wednesday night!!!

Spring Break Recap

Here's my 30 second recap of Spring Break! It was lovely and I wouldn't mind having another 11 weeks like it! :) 
The first weekend began with sushi Jen's wedding! We traveled to Mansfield to a beautiful ranch venue to celebrate Brock and Jen! That also means I got to see my college roommates for a 340 Wagon Wheel reunion!! It was the best start!!

Hannah came into town with Jude, so Monday was a girl day with all of us!! It began with a breakfast of gluten free scones, sausage, and cheese grits. YUM. I put a picture of the scone recipe... we just substituted the bisquick with gluten free bisquick! Only a couple more months until hopefully they are back in Texas!!!

Then I got to celebrate my lil bit's birthday! She had to work and then we went to Rock 'N Brews, where I convinced some of our "second" parents to meet us and one of her oldest friends!! Look at this precious old school picture of us!! Cheers to her catching bigger fish than this in her 24th year!!

On Wednesday, I pruned my garden and got it ready for some summer veggies!! I also found a baby carrot that never made it to the top! Then I took Koal to a dog park in Dallas. I met some friends and we shared some delicious frozen drinks together... because at this place it's a dog park AND a bar. Brilliant, huh? 

Then my car got egged at Sister Laura's - little hoodlums, but it wouldn't ruin our weekend! We were headed to the lake to celebrate Laura's birthday! That's right.. two of my favorite humans were born a week apart (and a couple years)! Saturday night Shop Mama watched baby Cambrie and the "adult kids" went to Winstar!!! Even though we didn't win, we had a blast!!! 

And then we came home and watched the Baylor Bears dominate to make it in the Sweet Sixteen. And then, Spring break was over! 
It was the perfect week for me to catch up on sleep and rest and friends. 
This week I'm gonna share an easy fish recipe, my favorite beauty products (huh?), and an update on how my lent is going! Happy Spring!!!

Kurios: Cirque de Soleil

It was Wednesday around noon when Caroline texted me and said: "I got tickets to Cirque de Soleil.. do you want to go?" Me: "What time does it begin?" C: "8 pm." Me: "So, you're saying I won't be in bed by 9?" C: "Yeah. It's up to you..." 
I wasn't sold. I thought about it for like 20 minutes... and decided we couldn't pass them up. So I sacrificed my bed time knowing that it's almost Spring break. 

And boy, was I glad we didn't pass it up. We got parking for $10 because they guy asked if we were with the Mavs and we said how did you know??
Well, it turns out it was Mavs season ticket holder night!!! And before Cirque de Soleil began, many of the Mavs walked across this bridge and into the first row of the audience!! Caroline and I were debating about standing in the beverage line and decided against it. Later we realized if we would have stayed in the line, we would have missed the Mavs!!!

Here's a picture of JJ and his little boy. At this point I leaned over to Caroline and said, "If Dirk is here... I'm gonna freak!" And sure enough, 3 Mavs later... Dirk walks out!!!!!! The night after he surpassed the 30,000 points mark!!!!! I have a video... but all you can hear is me obnoxiously screaming. At this point, I probably could have left and been happy. But I'm glad we didn't!!!

The show is remarkable!! The theme is curiosity, and it's wonderfully strange!! I wish I could bring all of my students and we could just look at the engineering behind everything!! It would be so interesting. It's here through March 26th, so you still have time to go!!! Here's the link to the tickets: https://tickets.cirquedusoleil.com/shop/#/60fd9c95-8dd0-46cd-b4ca-f1aa1d8ab0ba/shop/select?skin=kurios
You won't be disappointed. Promise.

731 Days of Marriage

731 days of marriage. Today is our two year anniversary!!!! I cannot believe we are already at this milestone!

We have created so many memories within this second year of marriage. It’s one thing that I love about my husband. When it comes to creating memories, he is all in.  It’s something we established early on, and I think it’s super special. It’s the same with celebrating the small things. My husband is the best at making me feel really good for “making it to spring break!!” Celebrating is fun, and within our two years of marriage we have celebrated. A. Lot!

We have continued to learn about each other. We’ve developed a schedule for cleaning that works for both of us! J I can tell without him saying anything how much he likes the dinner I cooked that night. I feel like I have a much better understanding of how Travis likes to be encouraged. I have learned to value our time together. Family has always been important to us, I believe it’s one of the first things that connected us, but with the addition of our niece and nephew, quality time has become one of the best things for our souls. I recently wrote a letter for a friend getting married this Saturday, and this was the number one item I pleaded with her to value.

The number one thing I remember from our marriage counseling was “respect each other.” I am so grateful to have a husband that respects me. He also respects my profession and continually encourages me. After two years of marriage, I can see why respect is an enormous factor. Without respect, love cannot be fostered.

Love. Our marriage is full of love. My husband loves me so well. He takes care of me, even if it means he gets the virus too. He takes my car to be washed, and he fills it up with gas. In the 2^nd year of marriage he told me he loves me approximately 8,729 times… but that’s just an estimate. He encourages time with my friends and quality time with my sisters.

Overall in year 2, we have traveled, we have cultivated relationships, we have grown spiritually, and we have created memories. Now, bring on year 3!!