And the Last Week of September is in Full Swing

Happy Monday my blog loves.

I hope everyone enjoyed the first weekend of Fall as much as I did!

This weekend we met up with our friends Tim and Jenn and headed to a familiar MA attraction called Kimball Farm in Westford or Bolton one of those. But it was your typical farm type place filled with fried food, mini golf, ice cream, goats, and even an arcade. Some photos from our adventure are below.

Then on Sunday was the typical routine of grocery shopping, laundry, and of course football. Last nights Pats game was a mess so I will go no further on discussing it. As I keep saying it's early in the season. Then I made the easiest dinner ever, well the ingredients and cooking part were easy, it was my stove that set us back. I don't have where the original recipe came from but bless them for coming up with a gem!

What you need:

2 chicken breasts

Green beans (fresh or frozen)

Red potatoes (cut into fours)

1 packet of Italian dressing 

1 stick of melted butter

All you need to do is place the chicken in a casserole, place green beans on one side and the red potatoes on the other then drizzle with the melted butter and pour the dressing packet over it. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. This is where my stove issues came about, when I had baked it for an hour and it wasn't finished so next time I may try a higher heat and a little bit longer.

 Yum!

 Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Monday.

Until next time!

First Official Weekend of Fall Is Here

Happy Friday loves!

It is the first weekend of Fall! Saturday marks the official First day of Autumn and I couldn't be happier. My season is finally here. I can officially bust out the fall boots and not feel crazy about all the fall decorations in my apartment!

photo credit from this lovely blog with some awesome fall decorations.

If only I had a fireplace to begin with and was this crafty.

The weather was also exceptionally Fall like when I left this morning which was good because I finally got to wear my new leopard scarf.

Along with the fall weather and fashions, what I look forward to the most about fall is the activities. Bring on the corn mazes, apple picking, pumpkin carving and fall cooking! Hopefully we will get out this weekend and do something to embrace the changing season.

Everyone enjoy the weekend and do something fall!

 

 

Until next time.

It Has Finally Occurred To Me...

Good morning loves!

I have come to a realization this morning...I am not cut out for a desk job. Yes, I understand there are people everyone who say they would love to not be sitting at a desk all day and doing something else but I truly believe that this lifestyle is not for me.

I have made it very very clear (especially to all those around me) that a 9-5 day job is the type of job that just is not my cup of tea. I literally cannot sit at my desk longer for an hour without getting antsy and need to get up and find something to occupy my time and keep me away from my desk. It also doesn't help that work is especially slow lately, which leads me to just sit and twiddle my thumbs, not the best way to make my day go by. I would love to be able to come and go as I please and be able to take care of things at home while still being employed.

And there is where the dilemma begins?

I need a career change and quick because it is really getting to me. My thoughts are all over the place on the first step to a new career and trust me I've been applying and interviewing but I just want my next career to be something I LOVE, not just something that is paying the bills but I really want to be excited to go to work.

As of right now, I think my option is to start looking at going back to school and get my butt moving on this change. I mean come on there are only so many excuses to use for walking around the office and I'm running out of them!

Any advice for those who have made career changes would be so appreciated!

Until next time! Enjoy this beautiful day!

From Everyday Frustrations to Award Nominations

Waking up late, cold coffee, and the weather taking a turn for the worst are just a few of the frustrations of the morning.

But my mood was lifted when I received a lovely message from Michelle from Skinny Jeans & Coffey Beans letting me know she has nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award!

Ms. Michelle's love for pumpkin and New England had brought us together and she shares that love and much more on her blog....her blog is a must read.

I appreciate the nomination more than you know!

 

This was the first I've heard about this award, so I'm spreading the word and encouraging people to participate. The rules are as follows:

• Nominate up to 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging
• Let the nominated bloggers know that they have been nominated for this award
• Share 7 random facts about yourself
• Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you
• Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog. 

With following the rules, I have decided to nominate Kayla from Simple Bliss for the award.  

I've known Kayla for quite some time but I love learning a new side to Kay through her blog...she posts some of the most delicious recipes you have ever seen. Please check out her blog, try her recipes and show her some love!

Now the 7 random facts about myself:

1. I HATE the words moist and nugget. I am not usually a stickler for weird habits but those two words get me every, every time.
2. I love the color Red. Not many people know that this is my favorite color, but it is.
3. I can't swim. I can doggy paddle for a bit, but if it came down to swimming for my life well I would die.
4.  I'm afraid of the dark. You would never guess if you walked into my bedroom and saw the dark curtains and no light shades, but I am scared of the unknown when the lights go out.
5. I listen to country music. Most people are use to me listening to house music or rap, but when I'm by myself I love me some country ya'll.
6. I hate driving. Yes, I understand it is a necessity to be able to drive from place to place but if i had the option I wouldn't drive. 
7. My last strange fact is that I have weird infatuation if you will with smells. I love candles and anything that smells good but if we cook something and it burns I feel like the only smell I can smell is that and it becomes something I obsess over until I get rid of it...so weird.

Might have been my longest post, ever!

Thanks again Michelle for nominating me!

Until next time. 

Beautiful Weather, a Nature Walk, and Banana Bread

Happy Monday loves.

A little behind on the Monday morning blog post but you know how Mondays can be after the weekend.

This weekends weather was beautiful, no complaints. Hiked on Saturday and the leaves are just starting to get that color changing feel which got me in the mood for some fall flavor so we picked up some apple cider doughnuts and a chicken pot pie on the way home.

Sunday was relaxing, the usual food shopping, laundry and Patriots game. A very disappointing game but oh well its still early in the season.

Speaking of sports and their seasons, woke up Sunday to realize the NHL is now in a lockout and growing up in a hockey household and dating a hockey player and fan, not having a Bruins season right now is devastating. But I remain optimistic!

Like I promised I am going to post the banana recipe I tried this weekend. It was a delicious, just enough banana and super super good warm with butter. I got the recipe here. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast recipe. My whole kitchen smelt delicious while it was baking. I was even able to make 2 whole loaves with this recipe.

Let me know if you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

Until next time!

Times are Changing

Happy Friday everyone!

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend filled with some light house cleaning and laundry, a movie night with the hunny tonight, maybe some hiking tomorrow and of course, football on Sunday.

You can tell the Fall is approaching because our weekends begin to slow down a bit until the holiday season of course, but right now its the lull dying down from summer birthdays, beach trips and BBQs.  A time to really just relax.

I plan on making some fudge this weekend, and if everything comes out as planned and delicious as its suppose to I will post the recipe :)

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

LETS GO PATS!!!

Until next time lovies!

We Will Never Forget

God Bless America.

I am dedicating today's blog to everyone affected by September 11th.

 

I am taking this time to remember those who lost their  lives on that tragic day 11 years ago and pray for the families who grieve those losses.

We will never forget. 

 

Weekend Warming Chili

Loved waking up this morning with the air being a little cooler, fall is so close!

Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend! A big thank you to the Patriots for that wonderful win yesterday. Speaking of the Patriots, I made a quick and simple chili yesterday for game day. The recipe is my mum's and she swears its the easiest chili recipe out there. The recipe can be doubled or tripled depending on the size you are serving. Perfect for a Sunday football party!

What you will need:

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can light red kidney beans
• 1 can dark red kidney beans
• 1 package of chili mix
• Shredded cheese

Begin by browning the meat until it is cooked all the way through. This is probably the most time consuming part of the recipe but even then 1 lb of ground beef browns rather quickly.

The last step involves combining the chili mix, the two cans of beans and the diced tomatoes. Mix all of those ingredients together. Cover and let simmer on low for 2-4 hours. I feel the longer you let it sit the tastier it is.

After you let it simmer, top it off with some shredded cheese and enjoy! Ryan likes to dip bread into his, so a loaf of fresh Italian or French bread is always good to have on hand with chili.

Let me know if this chili is the big hit at your next football party!

Until next time.

 

Lovely Lovely Friday

It's Friday!

We made it through another week, a short one, but a busy week no less. I hope everyone has some good plans for this upcoming weekend. The weather is suppose to feel more like fall and the Patriots kick off their season on Sunday!

I wanted to share a few things I'm loving right now.

Pumpkin beer

My growing Alex and Ani collection

Pumpkin coffee and the Patriots

The beautiful New England weather

Anything and everything leopard

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Until next time.

Oh how the summer goes by...

The middle of the week is already come and gone and we are two days closer to the weekend!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day and the extra day off from work. Our weekend was filled with   new restaurant experiences and plenty of sun. Soaking up what was left of the summer. Labor Day always has that feeling of leaving the Summer behind but welcoming my favorite season...the Fall.

We had the pleasure of trying Bistro 20 in Sudbury on Friday. I would recommend the menu to the Italian lovers out there, but the atmosphere was lacking for a Friday night. We were the only people in the main dining room and it was 6 o'clock on a Friday...strange but overall enjoyable.

Saturday, we had an early dinner with Ryan's grandfather and his wife at the Cheesecake Factory, so much food, so much cheesecake! Can't complain for a girl who loves food and loves sweets.

I decided to get creative in the kitchen on Monday after eating out I felt we needed some homemade cooking. I saw a recipe on Pinterest for Spicy Cream Chicken and Pasta. Recipe can be found here. The recipe was delicious and made an ample amount for leftovers for the next night. This will definitely  be a recipe I add to my cook book!

Well as you can see the long weekend was filled with lots and lots of food but also some good relaxation before the rush of fall and the countless Fall television shows start up again.

Enjoy the last few days of warm weather and start cleaning out that closet for all the scarves and sweaters of the season. Look forward to my upcoming tips on how to better organize when downsizing aka apartment living.

Until next time.