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Don’t you love waking up on the first day of work for the week and think “It’s not Monday!!!!!” Such a great feeling! Let’s get right to the recap, shall we?

Friday – I got to work super early Friday morning, so I got to leave work early. It was so nice not sitting in the horrible Friday night long weekend traffic. I got home and finished my book, “Attachments” and because I was feeling bad about having to miss my work out that morning…I totally got my work out in too!

Saturday – In the morning I cleaned the house and did some laundry and Chris cut the front yard. I then went shopping for a little while to the Outlets at Grand River and around Trussville. Afterwards, Chris and I had a date night. We went to The Southern Kitchen for dinner. This restaurant is located in Birmingham’s new Uptown District. The restaurant probably deserves a post of it’s own, but here is a mini version…

The inside:

The Menu:

The Patio:

The Food:

We sat outside on the patio, as it was a bit loud inside the restaurant. We only had to wait about 5 minutes for a table, which isn’t bad for a Saturday night in Birmingham. I assume it is because it was Memorial Day weekend and a lot of people were out of town.

Chris ordered the Blackened Grouper with a side of Macaroni and Cheese and I ordered the Savannah Salad (spinach, strawberries, pecans with balsamic dressing) and a cup of Corn Chowder. Both of our meals were great! That was the best corn chowder I have EVER had. There were several more things on the menu that I would love to try, like the Jackson Burger that has pimento cheese and a Brioche bun with hand cut jalapeno honey fries or the Ribeye Macaroni and Cheese that has blackened ribeye, conecuh sausage, and smoked gouda with green tomato relish . We will certainly be back!

After dinner, Chris drove me to see the light tunnels. Neither of us had seen them at night and it was on my list of things to do in Birmingham! There are three tunnels total, these are two of them. I took the pictures while the car was moving, so bare with me…

This is the outside of the Baron’s stadium at Region’s Field. So pretty! So fun!

Sunday – Olivia declared Sunday morning playtime. Look at that face!

I did the meal planning and grocery shopping, then headed over to my mom’s for dinner. My sister, her husband and two of their kids came as well as two of my step sisters. It was great to see everyone and the food was excellent.

Monday – Since we were blessed with a third day this weekend, I was NOT going to let it go to waste!!! I did two loads of laundry, cleaned the shit out of the inside of my car as well as Chris’s, washed the outside of mine, came in and did my leg work out then bathed Gracie.

There was also lots of furball shenanigans. I looked outside to see Mac sitting on the table. WTF? I guess since he the mayor of the backyard, he can see more perched upon the table? Such a cutie. A weirdo…but totally cute!

Olivia fell asleep while attempting to crawl half way up the couch.

I bought grapes while I was at the store, but I can never find any organic grapes around these parts. My sister suggested that I take a large bowl, dump about a half a cup of vinegar and about 9 cups of water and let them sit for a few minutes. Afterwards, I rinsed them again with water and drained it. You guys, all the waxy crap was completely gone and they tasted AMAZING!!!! I guess you could do that with other fruits as well to get rid of the nasty pesticides and other crap that is on them!

And I leave you with this: Olivia hiding out in the blankets.

Have a great week! It is already Tuesday, we got this!!!!!

Well hello there Friday! There is nothing….I say NOTHING better than a Friday with a three day weekend following. Can I get an amen? Well Fridays around these parts tend to be in fives and about favorite things…so here we go!

1. Favorite sound- Kitten purrs. You guys. I can’t even. This little kitten has the cutest purr on the entire planet. She is just a little snuggle muffin (most of the time) and she will just purr and purr and purr.

2. Blog Lovin’ – not the website, actual lovin – I got this tweet from Jana over at The Townhouse Pioneer and it basically made my Wednesday. If you haven’t checked her blog out yet, I don’t know what you are waiting for!? This girl is hilarious, has a great taste in music, appreciates a good beer, and is living the pioneer life like a  boss. If only I could do half of the shit she does. One day….one day.

3. Favorite purchase – I had to stop by TJ Maxx on Monday night to get Gracie a new dog bed. While I was there….it was only right that I look around. I mean, I am pretty sure it is against the law to go to TJ Maxx and not browse every single department. Right? Don’t fight it. Just go with it.

So I found myself a pair of Under Armour shorts that are cut awesome for my legs….and a pair of Roxy flip flops. If these flip flops don’t scream “high school Nadine” I don’t know what does. Seriously, I used to wear a lot of Roxy shit in high school and college. I thought they would be perfect for the beach and casual fast outings.

4. Favorite song- Bitch by Meredith Brooks – Who didn’t sing along to this song at the top of their lungs?!?! Ultimate girl’s night song if you ask me.

Have you ever wondered what your dogs do all day when you are at work? Or what they do when you aren’t looking?

Sometimes I find myself staring outside into our back yard for quite some time, just watching Gracie and Mac wander about. I always think about what it is that they are sniffing, what they think they found, or what is going on in Gracie’s mind as she basks in the sun.

Sometimes when I look outside, I will find Mac perched on his throne.

My favorite thing to see, which happens 90% of the time I look out….is the dogs cuddled together on the deck or out in the yard. Best puppy food – https://goodpuppyfood.com. They are almost always together and I love to see it!

They are pretty funny inside too! You will often find Gracie sniffing around the kitchen to see if I dropped anything while cooking. Or Mac trying to climb into the pantry and get treats.

Mac thinks that all drinks are his and fair game. It is seriously the cutest thing to watch him try to drink out of my water glass.

Yup, I can watch them do funny things all day.

Dog funnies, because why not?!

–Why do songs and commercials insist on having sirens?!? I mean my heart legit stops for a minute and I begin panicking immediately. It never fails. Then I am like….stupid song!!!

–I forgot to mention two weeks ago when we went to the Black Jacket Symphony concert, I was carded to make sure I was 21 to get in. Chris was all like, “Ummm why did they card her?” His dad was like “Because they think she is a kid.” YES!!!!!!!!!!

–Sometimes you gotta go off roading to avoid traffic. Or, at least that is what I did yesterday. I drove through a muddy/grassy median after realizing that I-59 was completely stopped. I felt like a bad-ass rebel, too! Take that traffic!!!!!

–Speaking of commuting, I will sacrifice my safety to spare an extra 10 minutes. You know that moment in your commute when you are driving around a super sketchy part and you hit the lock button on your doors and hope that no one walking the streets heard it? Yup, that is me every afternoon on my way home. BUT I get home TEN minutes earlier going that way. Ain’t nobody got time to be safe.

–The other day a co-worker asked me to witness a document. I haven’t signed my name to anything in…months? I had to pause and focus to sign my name correctly. Wow.

–I am way more excited than any 30 year old should be about Mario Kart 8 coming out. Chris and I have been counting down for months. MONTHS. We are probably going to go to the midnight release..and have Mario Kart party at our house that weekend. Let me know if you want to join!

Fair warning:

And now…some confessions in ecards:

A few weeks ago, we were really craving pasta and I wanted something quick and easy since it was a weeknight. I mean, who doesn’t love pasta? While this isn’t the “healthiest” meal idea i have ever posted…it was certainly delicious. It is all about portions and balance, people!

What You Need:

chicken breasts (I used rotisserie chicken because it is easy!! I just pulled off the white meat and boom. Done.)

1 box of rigatoni noodles

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

pinch of salt

pink of black pepper (a pinch is about 1/8 teaspoon)

1 cup marinara sauce

3/4 cup Alfredo sauce

olive oil

What You Do:

1. Cook noodles according to package instructions

2. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat.

3. Add red pepper, black pepper, salt and garlic. Let heat for about one minute.

4. Add chicken and saute to coat/flavor the meat.

5. Add marinara and Alfredo sauce and bring to a simmer. Make sure to cook long enough for the sauce to thicken some and the chicken to be heated through.

6. Turn off heat, toss cooked rigatoni noodles to mix.

Notes: You can garnish this with a little extra red pepper on top. The dish certainly has a kick to it, you could make it without the red pepper…then garnish with red pepper at the end for only the people who like spice. Also, feel free to add some vegetables to this if you like. I think peas or green beans would taste delicious. Or even some pancetta.

We have made this recipe twice now, and the first time I made it as above the second time I only added red pepper to my dish, as it was too spicy for Chris the first time.

I sprinkled a little Italian cheese mixture over top and served it with a slice homemade garlic bread.