It's a BOY!!

It's been a while and there has been a lot going on. For those of you who don't know... We are having a BOY! We couldn't be more excited. Along with having a baby, we are in the process of buying a house!! They have accepted our offer and now we are going through the paperwork process.

We decided to have a gender revealing party on Monday, November 21 because our friends & family were in town for Thanksgiving. I was so happy my sister-in-law, nieces and nephews were there to celebrate. Here on some pictures from our big night!

And the moment everyone was waiting for......

BLUE!!!!

Since George has started a new job, he hasn't really been able to go to my doctor's appointment so it was extra special that his work let him off & he WAS there!! I will never forget his face when the doctor said, "do you see that right there?". George lit up with the most priceless face ever. I love that man & can't wait to start our journey as parents with our sweet baby boy in our new house!

Bride & Bridesmaids night

Ever since Carlton & Ashley have been engaged, we have all been eager to celebrate! I am so happy for Carlton to meet such an amazing girl.. & not to mention she is going to be MY cousin. I absolutely think they are perfect for each other and wish them the bestest of luck throughout their entire journey!! All of us bridesmaids (besides Alyssa, since she lives out of state) got together for drinks, wedding details, dinner & more drinks. It was an awesome night! We all sat in Ashley's room waiting on her to get ready (the usual.. haha!) discussing wedding ideas and colors. Allie had the brillant idea to start the night off right and made everyone a drink (I guess great hospitality runs in the bloodstream of ALL Gloe's.. completely awesome!). Her are creations as we all make our first toast together to the beautiful soon-to-be bride!

We decided after two rounds of drinks (mine especially... Becky tried to get me drunk!) that we were going to head to Bahama Breeze, but not without taking pictures of course. This is an important time and we must document everything, especially for the nights we won't remember. Which tends to happen when I get with my girlfriends!

By the way, their black bean soup is absolutely BREATH-TAKING. Bahama Breeze ended with several rounds of drinks & move our festivities to Whiskey River. Considering I haven't drank in MANY weeks due to work & school, I surprisingly was hanging with the Gloe's (not entirely, but I was close enough!). To say the least, it was an awesome night to hang with Ashley, Allie, Becky & get to know Becka Young (Ashley & Allie's childhood best friend) which by the way I'm sure we will get along great! This isn't the first bride & bridesmaids outting... I'll be sure of that. It was too much fun, for just a one time thing.

Again, Congratulations Carlton & Ashley! Thank you for allowing both me and George to be part of this special time :) I am so excited to be there by your sides through everything.

Have a good week everyone!

Happy Birthday America!

I absolutely love the 4th of July! I love cookouts & all of the festivities that go along with America's birthday!! Happy 235th Birthday!! Nothing better than a little red, white & blue celebration. Here are some of my favorites:

Next year, maybe we will throw an All American party! Have a safe weekend :)



All American

It's 4th of July weekend! Me and my husband never really get time to just hang out, especially with me in school. We decided earlier today when we were relaxing on the beach, that would have a chill night. We cooked dinner together and are now enjoying some drinks. On the menu tonight, chicken wings! There is nothing more laid back than eating good ole American food. We made 4 different flavors of chicken wings and are getting caught up on our favorite shows.

Not only were the wings awesome, but it also helped me clean out my refrigerator and get rid of tons of condiments! Nothing better than the feeling of just throwing something away! I hope everyone has a great weekend :)

Cheers to Me!

I just finished my first final of the semester. It was Human Disease and Prevention, which was a KILLER class. We have multiple quizzes every week that covered about 5 chapters each. Along with my other 3 classes and working full-time, I am extremely happy to skip by with a 'C'. I do NOT get 'C s' but I have never been happier! Now that I only have 3 classes left of my undergrad... I'm kickin' back and relaxing with not just a glass of wine but the WHOLE BOTTLE (: George brought home some South Africian wine a few months ago. It's called Nederburg (which is awesome by the way!)

I have been keeping the corks of the wine bottles and have the idea of making this.....

They have these at Anthropology at Town Center and I just LOVE them. I guess that will be my next project!

Have a good weekend!!



Sugar High! *Recipe*

  

To die for Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes
1 (18.25 oz) package devil’s food cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 (3.4 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp instant espresso granules, dissolve it in 1/2 cup warm water
30 Reese’s Miniatures peanut butter cups, frozen

Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened (I used Kerrygold, which is 1 1/2 blocks)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 lbs powdered sugar
3-4 Tbsp low-fat milk
Reese's peanut butter cups minis (in a bag & they come unwrapped)

Directions:

Cupcakes

1. Be sure to preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in your cupcake or muffin pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or your stand mixer bowl using the paddle attachment, mix together all of your ingredients except the peanut butter cups for minute or two until well mixed.
3. Place 3 Tbsp of cake batter in each cupcake liner. Take one frozen peanut butter cup and place in the center of each cupcake on top of the batter, press down a little bit.
4. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until several cupcakes pricked with a toothpick come out clean. Do not prick the cupcake where the peanut butter cup is inserted. There will be a slight indentation or hole where the cupcake is sunken in from the peanut butter cup, you'll fill that with icing. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Remove cupcakes from the pans and place them on a cooling rack & let them cool all the way. While the cupcakes are baking you can make the buttercream icing.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1. In your stand mixer bowl using the paddle attachment, mix thoroughly the softened butter and peanut butter on low to medium speed. Turn off your mixer and in two batches, add the powdered sugar and mixing until well blended. Be careful, the powered sugar can go everywhere!
2. Add vanilla and 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk a little bit at a time while blending on low speed. Blend until well combined. You'll start to see the icing pull from the sides of the bowl. Add a little bit more milk to get to the right thinness (to your preference). Keep blending, higher the speed, until nice and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Using a big round tip and decorator bag, pipe icing onto cooled cupcakes and top with a mini on each cupcake.

My two absolute best friends birthdays are coming up... so I was looking at possible cake-ish things. We shall see... these cupcakes look like they are amazing!

Pottery Barn Inspiration

I am obsessed with buying house decor and we don't even have a house yet! We will really pick up the searching when I get out of school in August. So for now, I just buy things and put them away. Some people think I'm crazy... but how awesome is it going to feel moving into a house with ALL NEW stuff. I am so excited! I bought this duvet cover awhile ago from PB and can't wait to put it out. I love the blue's and really like the "soft tone" to it. I know it is hard to buy wall items when you have no idea the floor plan of your house BUT I am buying these. I want these heirloom frames sooooooo bad. I look at them every week. Maybe I'll order them when I get a coupon. I love everything about them, even the ledge they sit on. Ahhh, I seriously have an obsession.