Yes!!

2 years ago today, Tyler popped the big question! Through our 10 month engagement and now year of marriage, I have learned so much and have been richly blessed through my relationship with him. It is fun to think back on all the exciting milestones we've experienced together!

Tyler and I looked at rings for our one year anniversary in November. I thought for sure he would propose on Christmas, only my favorite day of the entire year. Of course I should have known by then that Tyler isn't entirely predictable. Once the holiday passed, I was really dumbfounded and didn't know exactly what to expect. The end of January was approaching and Tyler told me that he wanted to take me out for a date on Saturday night. He was very secretive and of our friends, only told Whit his plans. She then created a great story to keep our close friends from making plans that evening. She told me her mom was coming in and wanted to do dinner with all the girls. This was a brilliant story but it almost backfired! I just about begged Tyler to just switch our date night by one night so that I could partake in the activities while Whit's mom was in town. Tyler had to fight hard and finally convinced me to keep our plans as is (so funny now!)

The evening started with dinner at Square One, a charming little restaurant in Downtown Bryan. This is also where we went on our first date. Dinner was great and the wine and conversation were flowing as usual. Afterwards, we were very quiet in the car (unlike us) and Tyler drove straight to Research Park (also where we spent our first date). We got out of the car and casually walked to a bridge where we'd shared many important talks before and while we were dating. Tyler told me that ever since our first talk there, if we were to have a relationship, it would be the forever kind. He told me he knew God put me in his life and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Then he said "Will you marry me" and "can I put this on your finger?" (a very valid concern since we were standing on a bridge over water) I cried and cried and finally blurted out "YES!"

We headed from there back to my precious college house (shared with the best girls) and into a huge surprise! Everyone I loved most dearly was there and it was so touching. I will never forget the feeling! We rang in the celebration with champagne, hugs and good times. I knew from the second Tyler and I started dating that I wanted to marry him, and my dream was coming true :) Such a sweet memory!

The Cake from Hell Continued...

The cake was actually delicious and made Tyler's birthday dinner festive and fun! Maybe it wasn't such a disaster after all :)

The cake from hell and Happy Birthday Tyler!

Well today is my sweet hubby's 26th birthday! It's hard to believe we met when he was 23. Time flies! So, as a sweet gesture, I thought I would give Tyler 3 choices for his homemade birthday dessert. I also needed to redeem myself for a birthday dessert gone wrong last year (there seems to be a trend developing). Tyler loves lime and lemon desserts and so he went with Paula Deen's lemon cake. I have made a few of her desserts before and felt up to the challenge. To start, the recipe calls for creamed butter. Naturally (after much effort) I was able to pull out our stand mixer (the thing weighs 50 pounds). I put the butter in and what do you know? The stand mixer won't work. I tried everything I could manage, and no luck. Keep in mind this appliance was a wedding gift, and is therefore just over a year old. I then moved on to our hand mixer. I quickly realized I was in way over my head with this recipe. The recipe has three different parts which each have their own ingredients (for example: 2 egg whites and 8 egg yokes.) When it was all said and done, one of the cake layers wasn't done all the way, the frosting wasn't thickening and the filling was too runny. Ah, perfect!

So, sweet Tyler came home to a very distraught me and had to attempt to rescue the day. I'm pretty sure all of the cake parts were finally done and ready by 11pm. One small problem. The cake itself is supposed to be cooled by the time everything gets assembled. I said the heck with that and had the cake assembled at close to midnight. I wasn't quite sure if I needed to laugh hysterically or cry. Hopefully the old saying stands true; 'it's the thought that counts.'

I'm so glad I live in a modern age where I'm not always expected to be perfect and put together. I'm also thankful that I have a very patient and understanding husband in Tyler. Needless to say, I won't be attempting a recipe quite like this one any time soon!

And finally, here is what the cake should look like and here's how it turned out:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!

Mushroom Glazed Pork Chops

Oh me, earlier this week, I made this delicious dish! Have I mentioned that I love cooking? I'm still craving this now and highly recommend it.

10 oz cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, cut into 1 inch pieces if large
2 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced (of course, I used more)
1 t sugar
1 T plus 1 t sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
Salt and pepper
1 T vegetable oil
4 boneless center-cut pork loin chops (each 6 oz, 1 in. thick)
1 med onion, finely chopped
1/4 c cognac (I used brandy)
1/4 c light cream (I used heavy cream--who has ever heard of light cream?!)
2 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced

1. Arrange oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In jelly-roll pan, spread mushrooms in even layer. Sprinkle garlic on top. Roast on upper rack 15 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, juices are released, and garlic is golden brown. (I'd also recommend drizzling on some olive oil)
3. Meanwhile, in a 9-in pie plate or other shallow dish, mix sugar, 1 T vinegar, and 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper. Add pork and turn to evenly coat. There should be no excess liquid remaining.
4. Heat 12 in ovenproof skillet on medium-high. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat bottom evenly. When oil simmers and is almost smoking, add pork. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until browned, then turn pork over and cook 2 minutes longer. Transfer to lower oven rack.
5. Roast 7 to 10 minutes or until barely pink in center. Transfer to plate and let rest.
6. To same skillet, add onion. (also, keep in mind, unlike me, that this pan just came out of an oven at 450 degrees) Cook on medium 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add cognac and remaining 1 t vinegar and cook 30 seconds. Add mushroom mixture with any juices and reduce heat to low.
7. While stirring, add cream in slow, steady stream. Stir in 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper. When mixture bubbles, remove from heat.
8. Divide pork chops and their juices among serving plates. Spoon mushroom mixture over pork, and garnish with sage.

Enjoy! Later this week I'll be attempting Paula Deen's lemon cake and will be sure to report back on how it turned out :)

Greek food and Galveston

I had an absolute blast visiting one of my best friends, Kat and her boyfriend Drew in Galveston this weekend! I must admit after visiting the beaches of Galveston all the time in high school, I never developed much of an appreciation for the city's true charm.

We headed out for Galveston and went out for a delicious Greek dinner on Pier 21. We enjoyed delicious drinks, hummus and gyro plates (which I'm already craving again)! Then we went to the famous Tremont House for after dinner drinks. Complete with a pianist, the lobby made for a gorgeous and relaxing setting to catch up with old friends. Since life took my group of friends all over the country (literally), time to catch up is so precious and there's always a ton to share. I loved talking about the good ol' days over chocolate martinis. We had a wonderful time and hope to visit again sometime soon!

Attitude

"I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you- we are in charge of our attitudes." Chuck Swindoll

So, I dig this quote! I am making this my motto this week. I'd like to think I live by it all the time, but if I'm honest with myself, I know I fall short sometimes. This quote is so true! Attitude really is everything. Most mornings when I leave the house, I know exactly the type of day I'm going to have. I know if I'm carrying on the stresses from the day before or just a rotten attitude in general. Without fail, my day never gets any better because I've mentally decided that it's going to be a bad day from the get go. It's funny how this works every time. I never want to be one of those people who falls victim to every unfortunate event in my life. So, I'm vowing to myself to do my best to have a positive attitude and outlook on life even when little obstacles get in the way.

God does promise trials in this world and yet He also promises that He has overcome the world! And finally, when the world seems to be against me, I always take comfort in Ephesians 6.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

So, friends, no matter what you or I are facing today, I hope to stay positive and make the most of it!