I heart etsy!

I love etsy.com.  I am so glad I found this site before Hadley came along.  Her nursery is full of cute, handmade goodies!  Thought I would share what I am loving on etsy this week.

You can never have too many cute plates or serving platters.  These personalized plates and platters make great gifts for kids and adults!  I love the melamine plates that Simply Stella Studio carries! 

The Pink Pear Boutique is an East TN etsy shop that carries adorable clothes and accessories, and all would make great gifts!  They carry the cutest fabrics!  I have to get this dress for Hadley for football season!  Be sure you "like" their facebook page - they have lots more options posted.

I am so glad I ran across the rubber stamps from Love to create stamps.  This has made writing thank you notes and paying bills more fun!  I also gave away some of these as Christmas gifts to family members, but these would also make a great house-warming or bridal shower gift!

Stumbled across some neat prints at Enduring Arts yesterday.  They have sweet quotes and bible verses.  I can't wait to pick one out and hang in Hadley's nursery.

You can definitely spend alot of money on bows and headbands for little girls.  And I sort of have an addiction to them!  Thankfully Little Diva and Dude has some reasonably priced options, and they are all so very cute!  She has different sizes too!

Time moves too fast

I had a mini-melt down a few days ago, realizing that my sweet baby is turning one soon.  It's crazy to think how much she has changed in the past 10.5 months.  From a helpless little 8 pound newborn that couldn't even turn from side to side, that needed mommy and daddy so very much, that slept about 20 hours a day, to a crawling 20 pounder that is full of enery (I can hardly keep up with her!), smiles and giggles, self feeds, and is oh-so curious!

I cried for a few minutes after I looked at some of my earlier blog posts (specifically, the 4 month blog post).  Funny how seeing how much hair she has now, compared to January 2011, really made me get teary eyed as this is just one sign that our little girl is growing up!

I was talking to my sweet older sister, Amy, after my mini-melt down.  She has 2 children (Alan, 18, who starts UT in a couple weeks, and Olivia, 5, who starts kindergaden the same week).  We were talking about how quick this first year goes by with your babies and she said "you only have 17 more of these sweet little years until she goes to college."  That is so true....I wish I could slow down time....just a little :) 

On a lighter note, I'm starting to plan Hadley's first birthday party!  I'm doing an owl theme which I'm really excited about.  Found some darling things on Etsy.com!  Here is some of my inspiration / some things I've already ordered.

Newest addition to our family!

Brandon 'surprised' me with a Highlander over the weekend!!  I use the term 'surprise' loosely, because this man can hardly keep a secret!  After he worked everything out with the dealer, he told me because he couldn't contain his excitement.  I'm a little sad about saying goodbye to my Murano, but I won't miss the black exterior/black interior the summer months.  Hadley's new ride has tan interior which we can already tell is so much cooler, even when it's 100 degrees outside!  Here's a couple pictures of my new car. She is so pretty!  Yay!

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Who doesn't love a good mexican dish?  I ran across this recipe and it sounds delish, and with the low fat ingredients, healthier than usual! 

Chicken Tamale Casserole


Ingredients
- 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
- 1/3 cup fat-free milk
- 1/4 cup egg substitute (or one egg)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
- 1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White or Jiffy)
- 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
- 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 9 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. (Closer to 20 minutes is better to avoid a soggy bottom.) Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken and black beans; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

First trip to the zoo!

Hadley and I went to the Knoxville Zoo on Saturday with my old manager Sam, his wife Rachel, and their 2 kiddos (Brooke 3, and Brayden 18 months).  Brandon was playing in a golf tournament this weekend, so we still need a real family zoo trip soon!  It was sooooo hot, but Hadley didn't seem to mind and we had a wonderful time.  She was just glad she had cheerios and juice, ha!  Here are some pics from our afternoon!

Camels - so cool!

Yay for Cheerios!

The Elephant exhibit

Zebras

Monkeys/Chimps - they were snacking!

Tiger, in the water to stay cool

 

Brooke and Brayden :)