A Friday Survey

Okay Party People! It's FRIDAY afternoon and I have {finally} HAD MY COFFEE so we're about to have some fun! My sweeeeeeet friend Natalie posted a survey on her blog today and I pretty much loved it. So I copied it. And now we have a SA-WEET blog post thingy.

So without further ado -- here's your friendly neighborhood random Friday afternoon blog post!


What is the last thing you watched on TV?

I really don't remember. But it was probably King of Queens or something last night, because it's basically how we usually end our days. I know the TV was definitely ON last night, and that I was in front of it --- but so many things were bouncing around in my mind I really didn't realize what was on in front of me. Oops. 

When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

Earlier when I was coming back from lunch! It was the first time in weeks that I've actually left for lunch (THANK YOU LORD FOR THE SUNSHINE), and it was GLORIOUS Spring weather outside.

I was just coming back from grabbing some lunch and delivering a cup of coffee to my friend Christy, who's been having a rough week. I know how she feels (ha), but it's wonderful how just a few minutes catching up with friend can brighten a day. I think it did both of us a world of good.

Not to mention, you know, CAFFEINE.

What is on the walls of the room you are in?

Um...carpet?

And a random giant cord. I'm not sure what it is connecting.

I'm in a cube.

If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?

I'd go to my people and pay off their bills for that month. Then I would buy a vacation home or a beach or an ISLAND OH MY WORD I WOULD BUY AN ISLAND!

Tell me something about you that most people don’t know.

Like Natalie, I'm extremely shy. And I mean overwhelmingly shy, and I have yet to overcome it. I love being around people, but at the same time the thought of being in a large crowd makes me want to curl up in a corner and disappear.

For example, a few years ago, I attended a conference out of state and hid in the bathroom, almost hyperventilating, during the many "networking breaks," which only lasted about 15 minutes.

...but give me a microphone and a stage and it's exhilarating.

Also, bonus fact: I would really love to work in television. And when I was little I wanted to be a stand-up comedienne. (<- ????)

Who made the last incoming call on your phone?

On my work phone -- my organization's marketing department.

If you could change something about your home, without worry about expense or mess, what would you do?

I would have a house on the water. A private lakehouse and a couple of kayaks? Jackpot.

What was the last thing you bought?

Coffee for Christy and myself. It was a drive-by coffee date, ha.

Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?

I'm not sure. Possibly sky diving if I was strapped to a professional with approximately 10 backup parachutes.

If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would it be?

Jimmy Fallon! I love the guy! I'm convinced we'd have a blast and laugh a ton.

For example:

I laughed ridiculously hard.

Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?

Maybe GAP or Banana Republic? Unless I wasn't paying for it, then I would say ALL THE STORES.

Actually, maybe Academy and/or Dick's. Because WORKOUT CLOTHES ARE COMFORTABLE.

Is the glass half empty or half full?

On a good day, it's half-full of something sparkly and delicious!

What’s the farthest-away place you’ve been?

Hawaii :)

What’s under your bed? 

A few giant, broken-down boxes that we didn't want to part with, because we knew we would eventually move. And most likely a pair of shoes or two.

Excuse me now while I crawl in a corner and cry because I've now realized how boring I am.

What is your favorite time of the day?

10am and 4pm. At 10am, it's still mid-morning but the day is still new. At 4pm, the day is young but everything starts to slow down a little.

What Inspires You?

Talking to and reading about people who absolutely love and are passionate about what they do. I so want to feel that way.

Coconut Chicken Tacos

As I type this, the skies are about to open up for a downpour that will supposedly last most of the night, bringing with it the inevitable cold snap that the weatherpeople have been expecting all week.

However, for the past week or so, we've been blessed with some INCREDIBLE springtime weather -- our temps have been in the 70s all week with sunshine every day. It's been a much-needed change in atmosphere.

All of this Springy weather has me craving summertime and beach food, and I've got the perfect recipe to kick off the season.

I made this as kind of a quick, thrown-together meal before church earlier this week, and I'm ridiculously pumped because it TASTES LIKE SUMMER.

This recipe originally came from Creme de la Crumb - but we ended up putting our strips on tacos...because TACOS mean SUMMER and did I mention WE ARE READY FOR IT?

So ready. Sooo so ready.

Also, we kind of (literally) shoved these in our mouths as we were walking out of the door for church, so I have zero pictures. Blogger fail #647.

Fix these with some warm tortillas and topped with sweet and sour sauce and you will be SET. We didn't even need cheese! Seriously, the flavor in these babies are LEGIT.

Summer, come on.

Coconut Chicken Tacos
Serves 2

What you'll need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp Tony's

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Dash of pepper

2 eggs

1 tbsp water

2 cups (1 small bag) coconut flakes

Corn or flour tortillas

What you'll do:

In a small bowl, combine the flour and seasonings. Set aside.

In separate bowl, combine eggs and water, then whisk until just mixed. Set aside.

In another bowl or plate, pour out coconut flakes. Having these "stations" will make prepping so much easier.

Slice chicken breasts into 1/2-inch strips. One at a time, dip in flour mixture, then egg mixture, then roll in coconut. Lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or foil, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray).

Bake chicken strips 10-15 or until done in the center. Warm some tortillas and build your taco, topping with sweet and sour sauce.

Hootie & the Mondays

This morning I woke up with Hootie's "Let Her Cry" in my head.

I have no idea why, because I really haven't heard this song in way too long. But for some reason, I've been HOOKED on this song all day.

Oh Hootie. You and your ridiculously soothing voice.

So what did I do?

Went straight to work at finding the Hootie & the Blowfish station on Pandora.

MY OH MY the NOSTALGIA.

Just a few of the songs that I've heard over the course of today:

Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
One Week - Barenaked Ladies (I just felt really awkward typing that. My apologies)
Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something


I'm thinking it's pretty much the best rainy Monday playlist yet.


---

So LAST WEEK.

Last week was a little rough. But that's okay because on Friday, THIS GIRL came to town!!!!

My friend Stephanie from college was passing through The City with her honey, Russ, and made a pit stop to have a double date with Hubs and myself.


We had a ball. Hubs and Russ go WAY back and have been friends since high school, so it's really funny that he and Stephanie, whom I've been close to since college, have found one another.

We're all from around the same area (Stephanie is from a small town about 15 minutes from my hometown), so it was SO NICE to have a little bit of "home" with us to kick the weekend off right.

We even revisited our crazy college roots and stayed out until the grand old hour of 9 p.m. because we are PARTY. ANIMALS.

Saturday morning, we intended to run our City's St. Paddy's Day 5K. However, when we woke up and it was raining, we opted out considering Hubs and I had both been sick the entire week.

So we did the only sensible thing to do in times like these and hit the road for SHIPLEY'S.

Only the greatest donuts around. NBD.

We also stopped for fancy coffee and all that jazz from our favorite shop and took a rainy drive through the woods.

We basically did a lot of nothing this weekend, but were oddly okay with that because sometimes, especially after being sick for a week, you just need to curl up and rest while eating donuts and listening to the rain.

On a totally unrelated note, I think I'm finally close to mastering the art of Charlene's biscuits*.

Happy Monday, folks :) Spring has finally arrived!

*My mom's biscuits are of legendary status. I just thought you should know this.

Girl Weekend

Living with a boy definitely has its advantages.


Something on the top shelf? He's got it.

Heavy box to lift into the closet? Easy.

Sixteen bags of groceries to take up to our third floor apartment? Nooooooo problem.


Hubs is no doubt my best friend. And living with him is great. But one of my FIRST and longest best friends was (and still is!) my cousin Kayla. We've been talking for months about her coming up for a weekend stay, and this weekend IT TOTALLY HAPPENED.

Girl time is oh-so-good for the soul, my peeps. I assure you this.

Hubs had to work late on Friday, and by the time Kayla got to the apartment, I was just finishing up supper. So we put on comfy clothes, ate chicken and dumplings (down South we just call it "dumplins"), and chatted the evening away.

The Hubs got home and we all talked and talked some more.

Until around 11:30 that night when we decided it was high time to BAKE SOME CUPCAKES.

Clearly, the passionate love for cupcakes DOES IN FACT run in our family.

They were oh-so-delicious.

Saturday morning we slept late and ate cupcakes AGAIN before heading to a late breakfast at our FAVORITE BREAKFAST PLACE EVER.

(outside of Cracker Barrel, I mean. Because Homegirl loves her CB.)

You guessed it! I do love the Broken Egg with all of my whole little heart!

The weather was even in the 60s again so we could eat on the patio!

Many a beignet, omelet, and potato were consumed, but not before we could have our annual struggle to take the perfect picture!

Regardless, the girl can't take a bad picture. Seriously though, isn't she gorgeous???

We spent the rest of the day shopping - because Kayla is my ultimate shopping buddy, and then Saturday night my friend Christy and her husband came over for dinner. But because I'm lame I neglected to take any and all photos so please forgive me and enjoy this photo of Miniature Goat that I want kind of badly!!!

Blog writer FAIL.

Then Sunday we all went to church, came home to our PJs, and consumed EVEN MORE CUPCAKES while watching Father of the Bride.

Parts one AND two, mind you.

Do we know how to party or WHAT.

But in all seriousness, this weekend was just oh-so-lovely and warms my heart to its very core.

I've said it before, but there's just something about being around family that just makes everything okay. We got to hang out, catch up, talk about all sorts of stuff like girls do, and just be together.

So this post really doesn't serve much of a purpose other than to reiterate my belief that best friends, famliy, and cupcakes make everything a-okay. Hope your week is getting good at this point, friends :)

Happy Wednesday!

Because It's Snowing in Kentucky

Well folks, we woke up this morning to cloudy, rainy skies with a very mild chance of snow but a very large chance of sleet, which set in around 8:30 a.m.

By the time I hopped out of the shower this morning, I had a missed call and a voice message from my grandmother, which kind of scared me because A) she never calls that early and B) she's NEVER left a voice message on my phone.

Thankfully, everything was fine. But the conversation that took place was pretty hilarious.


"Lisa-BELL!" she said when she picked up the phone (it's what she's called me since I was a baby). "You better NOT go into work today!"

"What do you mean?" I knew this was about to get good.

"You better stay OFF those roads, baby. This weather is CRAZY!"

I looked out the window. Slight sprinkles of rain.

"Umm...?"

"Those roads are dangerous! It's SNOWING in KENTUCKY!"


I love my grandmother. So, so much.


"It's so bad, people are stranded. STRANDED! The Law is having to come get 'em out!"


Down here, "The Law" = cops, ambulances, fire truck, all emergency response teams.


"Well, over here it's not too bad..." I'm trying to hide my giggles. Seriously.

"No no! I've been watching the NEWS ALL MORNING and it's BAD! Don't go to work and get stranded in the snow!"

"I love you, MawMaw. You be careful today."

"I love you too, honey. Just stay off those roads!"


My grandmother loves everybody. Even that mean old raccoon they found in the woods once that looked homeless, so they put him in a cage and took him home until he hissed and shook the cage with all of his body weight. I love that she cares so much about all of us that she stayed glued to the TV all morning, watching the weather to make sure her babies were safe.

My grandmother is amazing in so many ways. Especially since Jackson, Mississippi is still "so far North" to her; even though my hometown is only three hours South of here.


And most days, it seems so far away to me too.


Y'all be safe out there today! And if you're in Kentucky, my heart goes out to you as you wait for The Law to come get you out.

A Rainy Day Playlist

Well folks, the Royal Baby of Country Music has been born.

This kid has NO IDEA how attractive he will be down the road. He'll definitely have the world's best head of hair, if you're asking me!

Now all we have to do is wait until Will & Kate's baby makes its grand entrance, and we'll be good to go!


In other words, this gross weather may be coming to a halt for today - it looks like the sun is at least trying to come out this afternoon, despite a very rainy start to the day.

But regardless! Here are a few chill-worthy songs that seem pretty perfect for a rainy day. Enjoy, friends!

I Like to Be With Me When I'm With You - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

Hung the Moon - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

Dancing Shoes - Green River Ordinance

Baby Tomorrow - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors*

Downtown Train - Everything But The Girl

Something in the Water - Carrie Underwood

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Tiny Dancer - Elton John

Love Me Tender - Nora Jones, Adam Levy

*I'm kind of on a kick. Oops.

Things We Love More Than We Should

This is a silly and very pointless post.

Unlike all of my other meaningful, inspiring posts :)

But the truth is, it's Monday afternoon and I'm waiting for a few things to be finalized before I can leave work. So here we go!

Awhile back, I read a post on Julie's blog where she mused about all the things she loves way more than she should. While it was a funny post, it stuck with me, and since then I've noticed a lot of things that I really, really like and love WAY more than I should. For example.

Post-Its.

I currently have 12 Post-Its hanging all around my cube. Not counting the 3 full stacks that have yet to be used.

It's how I function. I'm a list-maker by nature, so to have various Post-Its to compartmentalize various projects (color-coordinated, OF COURSE) helps me to work more efficiently.

The more Post-Its, the more productive and on-task I am. BONUS POINTS if they are AMAZING COLORS like TEAL and PURPLE.

Sadly (kind of), Post-Its are not the ONLY thing for which I have an unusual adoration. Here's a list, because as we've just learned, that's just how I roll :)

• Post-Its
• Warm homemade bread (includes my grandmother's yeast rolls and my mom's biscuits :) )
• Candles
• School/Office supplies (the smell...aaahh the smell of new supplies!)
• Making lists
• New pens after old ones are out of ink
• Cracker Barrel coffee
• Cracker Barrel anything
• Homemade spaghetti sauce
• Glitter (<- be still my HEART)
• Sequins
• Writing vs. typing
• Chapstick
• Pictures of pretty cakes (????)
• Going out of town
• Splashing salt water IN MY OWN FACE at the beach (weird right??? I've convinced myself it makes my skin softer)
• Drinking basically anything out of champagne or wine glass (water? orange juice? apple juice? FILL ME UP)
• Being barefoot
• Brunch (oh, brunch. How I love thee)
• The smell of sheets, fresh out of the dryer (I've been known to sniff my pillow for several minutes)

And that's just a taste of my weirdness.

What about you? What are some of the things you love more than you think you should?