Date night in dinner

Last weekend B and I stayed in for dinner on Sat night. We hadn't cooked a special dinner at home in awhile, and we were looking forward to spending a night together in the kitchen. We decided to tackle roast beef for the first time. I'm so glad we did. This recipe was excellent and would be perfect for a dinner party!! My only suggestion is to really watch the internal temperature throughout. Since we only did a 3 lb roast, it took us much less time than the recipe called for. We cooked it in our Le Crueset and clean up was a breeze. We had mashed potatoes and cipollini onions for our sides. These onions are amazing; honestly, they were the best part of the meal. Cipollini onions are expensive for the amount you get (they're quite small), but I think you could easily sub a sweet vidalia onion with similar results. B and I will definitely make this meal again and will make the onions again as a topping for chicken or for a flank steak.

*A good meat thermometer will go a long way in the kitchen!! We have a relatively inexpensive one from Crate and Barrel. It does a great job. I don't think the electronic ones are necessary.*

How kindness can change a day

I took care of a family last week at the hospital whose son needed surgery. It was a wonderful experience as they were the nicest parents and their baby was quite adorable. They had mentioned to me upon discharge that they really appreciated all I had done for them and that they wanted to write my manager a note stating how thankful they were. This is very uncommon in health care. We have all kinds of parents and patients who will complain about the care they are receiving but rarely hear good reports of care or kind comments. This family absolutely made my week (and the fact that the surgery went incredibly well really helped). Today, the family came in for their follow-up clinic appointment, and after the appointment, tracked me down in the hospital in order to give me a small gift and one of the sweetest notes I have ever received. I was shocked, surprised, and felt so cared for. It even brought tears to my eyes. For them to go out of their way and do something like this while dealing with a post-operative infant and his two sisters was just so kind and generous. I do love my job, though like anyone, there are days when it's frustrating, hard, annoying, etc. This gesture has made me realize even more that parents and patients do appreciate our care.

On a harder note, B found out today that he did not get the job he had interviewed for. We are both quite upset/sad about this as we had really hoped for this job and the move that would come with the job. Hopefully this will lead us to better things, but it's so hard not to be disappointed. I've been praying a lot for guidance in this new phase of our lives and had thought this was the right move as there was even an open job for me in the same town, but apparently it wasn't. If you have room on your prayer list and can add us to it, I'd certainly appreciate prayers for guidance and patience over the next few months!!

Sweet Tea Diaries Giveaway

She is giving away a Tucker Blair headband. I've been drooling over these headbands forever, so I know some of you must feel the same way. All of the polkadot ones are too cute and the lobster one is perfect for all the summer events coming our way. Can't you just imagine it with a white sundress on the 4th of July? I have fantastic needlepoint lobster sandals that I wear every year to a lobster bake we attend, and I get SO many compliments. You can check them out for yourselves here. Head over there and enter. She's also doing an "Entertaining Lilly Style" giveaway for her birthday month. I'm sure you'll all want a piece of that!!

AI awesomeness

Honestly, his Ring of Fire was weird, but, tonight, Adam Lambert rocked that stage. B and I have both put him in our top 3, and I'm calling it early- he'll win!! Anyone out there agree with me???

(Rounding out the top three are Danny Goeke and Matt Giraurd, but Lil Rounds could be there.)

I finished last night......

It was great! I know Erin is finishing it now, and TCP has already read it. Did anyone else read it and like it (or dislike it?)? I'd love to know how much of the story was actually from Laura Bush's real life and how much was just Curtis Sittenfeld's liberties.




I'm now onto Jodi Picoult's newest. She's definitely in my top 5 for authors, so it's no surprise that just a few chapters in, I'm already hooked and loving it. If you haven't read any of her books before and want to, let me know, and I'll fill you in on my favorites. There are a few (okay, two) that aren't worth reading (in my opinion). I really like all the others, but a few stand out over all. The twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat and the emotions of the family members will tug at your heartstrings!!

570 Hours

Today, I met a huge goal in my life. HUGE! I completed all 570 hours of clinical time needed for graduation from my pediatric nurse practitioner program. I have a few more assignments to finish up before the end of April, but I no longer have to work an "extra" job. I had a hard time believing this day would ever come when I started my masters program in September of 06. While I don't claim to know everything (or even close), I do know that I have learned an incredible amount and am ready to forge into this new profession. I really, really hope that I can help babies, children, and their families to be the healthiest they can be!!

Smaller update: We haven't heard anything yet about the job that B interviewed for; we knew we wouldn't for at least two weeks. The good news is that there is a PNP job in the area that I would love to do. I'm working on my resume now and hope to apply early next week. I was really nervous about finding a job in this economy (even in healthcare), but seeing this open up has given me a little confidence! I'll keep you all updated as soon as we know anything...........

Full weekend

B and I had a great weekend, mostly because the weather was gorgeous here, and there are starting to be signs of spring. (I will not let myself think about this coming weekend in which there is predicted SNOW!)

Saturday morning we were up early and ran 5 miles. Longest run to date! We did it in 49:21, so just slightly faster than my normal 10 min mile. After running, we came home, got ready, and went to the Chicago History Museum. The two premier exhibits were on Abraham Lincoln and Chic Chicago. Fashonistas, Chic Chicago is a must. There were so many gorgeous dresses with information on the designer, the dress, which Chicago socialite wore it, and which event it was worn to. Chanel, James, Versace, Donnna Karen, Armani, Karl Lagerfeld as well as many more were featured. Pictures were not allowed (bummer), so I have nothing to show you! The exhibit runs through July, so if you live here or are coming in for a visit, go! B wasn't huge on the fashion exhibit, but there was so much else there to see, we ended up staying for two hours. Then, we headed out for lunch at a Senagalese restaurant we had heard good things about (it was okay) and went to get some new running shoes for me. After being out and about all day, we came home to make an amazing dinner (longer post with recipes later), drank a bottle of wine, and headed to my cousin's to hang out with him and his friends. It was a ball, and we ended up being out until 1:30 in the morning. We knew a few people there, but the rest were so sweet and so much fun, we just couldn't tear ourselves away.

Sunday B slept in (a rarite around our house), I tried to finish American Wife (almost done), and we went to brunch here. Our neighborhood was so busy because of the weather. I saw tons of flip-flops; so exciting! We went back home, opened all the windows, and started a major deep clean. Every surface was dusted (including under the bed), cleaned, vaccuumed, polished, etc. We did 7 loads of laundry including the quilt, the mattress pad, etc. Our apt looks amazing now, and I feel ready for spring!! We used our stovetop smoker last night to make brisket with coleslaw, corn pudding, and cornbread. It was so yummy. I'm so glad B convinced me to register for the smoker. It's awesome!

Today we're back at work with the rest of the world. I'm so thankful for our weekend together, for the wonderful weather, and for the motivation to cook good meals and deep clean. What were you thankful for this weekend??

Kentucky Derby Finery

One of my goals in life is to attend the Derby. I mean, who wouldn't want to dress up, wear a cute hat, sip on drinks all afternoon, and perhaps win a few dollars? We'll see if it ever happens, but in the meantime, I'll dream about fun hats to wear!!


Found here

Found here



Both found here


Two of my close friends attended the Derby last year and posted this pic with the rest of their pictures. K said it was by far the largest hat they saw. Can you imagine walking around with this on all day! It would be hard to get through doorways for sure! But she definitely pulled off getting a lot of attention!!

I need a reason to wear this hat!

This gorgeous inspiration board is from Snippet and Ink. See the white hat on the right side??? I'm slightly obsessed. I have a two garden weddings this summer along with a backyard wedding, but I'm not sure I could pull it off as Americans, in general, just aren't hat people. This one is slightly over the top as well, so if no one else is in a hat, it might be too much. Europafox, can I come to a wedding on the other side of the pond with you? I'd be happy to buy this hat for the occasion!



Anyone have any other (perhaps slightly smaller) works of millinery that I can peruse while I'm dreaming? Also, is anyone out there planning a yellow and white wedding? We debated on navy and yellow for awhile, and I still think it would have been just gorgeous!

Friday giveaway!!

Mrs. Southern Belle is hosting a fantastic giveaway- one of her handpainted signs! This would look fantastic in a foyer, kitchen, or family room. Black always helps to ground a room, and cream is an easy neutral, so it's sure to work for anyone out there. Head on over and enter, ladies!!