A birthday shared

Since me and my mama's birthdays are two days apart, the past few years we've been celebrating them together. I love getting to spend time with my family, it's always crazy and filled with laughter. This year to celebrate we combined ideas--I wanted good Mexican food and mama wanted to go somewhere fun.

We headed to Arlington, they have this outdoor mall area with a ton of restaurants and shops. We headed to Chuy's for dinner, a place that I got hooked on a few years ago when I went down to Austin with Aarika and Kendra. They have this dip called creamy jalapeno, and it is heavenly. It's like ranch, with a kick and a lot more flavor. Seriously, heavenly. Go try it, tell me I'm wrong haha ;)


Then we headed to Dave & Busters to play games and so mama and Kyle could have a rematch in air hockey. (Side note--she creamed him haha) Nick was on fire, kept winning 500 tickets on all different games. The past several times we've gone to Dave and Busters we've just saved the tickets on a card, I think we have like 17,000 and now we have a bunch more. Nick did get an ice cream maker though, so that will be an interesting adventure to figure out.


It was a great birthday celebration! I love spending time with my family and love all the laughs that come with it.

A day full of joy

These pictures sum up my birthday this year--bright, colorful, and full.

My sweet, sweet husband had these and a delicious cup of coffee ready for me when I got out of bed.

I love hearing from the people I cherish on my birthday, and facebook makes that happen a million times more than it used to.

It was a wonderful day filled with lots of food, including steak from Saltgrass and a party pazookie plater from BJ's (which I didn't even know existed) It came in a normal pizza box and had four different kinds of cookie in it. Oh my goodness it was amazing.

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so wonderful!!

22 things for my 22 years

Decided to do a fun post for my birthday which is coming up on Thursday. 22 things I'm thankful for this year...

• I got married to my best friend in the world
• Because of that wedding, my entire extended family (minus one cousin) came to celebrate with us--which meant the world to us
• My parents for paying for our wedding, and on top of that buying us a new car
• Living close to both my parents and Kyle's parents
  
• The sacrifices our family and friends made for us so that they could throw wedding showers, bridal showers, bachlorette parties, attend the wedding, and the list goes on
• Our awesome landlords/good friends and the fact that we have a beautiful, perfect-sized house to live in
• Our new church home that has welcomed us with open arms
• Being able to go to Jamaica for our delayed honeymoon right after Christmas, perfect timing
• My job with awesome people, helps fund my love for coffee, and provides health insurance for me and Kyle
• All the gift cards that people gave us for the wedding which have funded cart loads of groceries, and many of the decorations in our house
• My husband being patient with me whenever I'm having a hard day, and being there for me
• Being one class away from graduating from college!
• My small garden, that is slowly becoming colorful and beautiful
• Getting to go down to Waco with my mama for Kenge's graduation party, and seeing my beautiful friend right before she got engaged :)
• Making time to get together with Aarika and Kendra, which usually includes delicious food and lots of laughter
• A husband who loves to try my cooking and is always full of compliments and always offers to clean after I cook
• My dad who has taught me how to save money and who is always willing to provide helpful advice about money and all kinds of things I have no idea about
• Because of his wonderful advice throughout my life, me and Kyle have saved enough money to book a cruise for our one year anniversary :)
• The students in our church who always keep us laughing and learning with them
• Finishing out little reading nook, which has become my place to meet with Jesus
• The Kroger Marketplace right by our house, which makes grocery shopping so much easier--it's clean, has everything I need, and awesome prices (which I can't say for the Albertson's up the street)
• A year full of family, laughter and blessings
  

Zoe's

About two months ago Kyle and I found this restaurant in Alliance Town Center called Zoe's. It's a Mediterranean restaurant. I was a little hesitant about it at first, but it turned out to be delicious and it's my new favorite place to eat! My birthday is on Thursday and I have been loving all the email coupons, especially this one...



So after life group tonight, which was me, Kyle and Cara hanging out, we decided to take advantage of the coupon and headed there. I have tried to branch out and try new things each time we go, and can honestly say I haven't had anything that wasn't amazing. Tonight I got the chicken pita pizza and Kyle got the Reuben sandwich. I think I won, mine was amazing. Everything they make is super fresh and delicious.

I went up to get a to-go box and the lady who took our order & my bday coupon asked me how our food was, which I told her it was delicious. Then she asked me if I needed some birthday cake--now I'm not a cake fan, but Zoe's cake is a completely different story. For mother's day I ordered a full cake from there, and the 5 of us destroyed a cake for 12. So needless to say I took her up on the offer and can't wait to eat it later tonight haha.

Needless to say, next time you're trying to think of a place to eat...remember Zoe's and make sure you save room for some cake!

My "famous" enchiladas

Since Kyle and I got married, we have tried out many new recipes-most have gone well, but this one has been a repeat many times! Wanted to share this awesome recipe with you, found it on allrecipes which is an awesome resource and then I put my own twist on it. (something I learned to do from my Grandma D) We always make this when we are heading over to my parents house, it's way too much food for two people, so make sure you invite some friends over!


Ingredients

• 1 small can condensed cream of chicken soup (make sure it's the condensed version)
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 10-12 small tortillas (I definitely recommend Kroger's homemade tortillas-I tried the salsa ones this last time and they were awesome)
  
• 2ish cup shredded Cheddar cheese

I cook about three chicken breasts in the slow cooker with chicken broth for around 2 hours and then shred it up before beginning.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a small bowl mix the soup and sour cream; set aside.
3. Melt margarine in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and chili powder, and saute until tender. Stir in the chicken, chile peppers, and 2 tablespoons of the soup mixture. Cook and stir until heated through.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of the soup mixture in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
   
5. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla, add a sprinkle of cheese. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam-side-down, in the baking dish.
   
6. Spoon remaining soup mixture on top, and sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

It's an awesome recipe, put your own twist on it and let me know how it goes!

A fresh new start

Thanks to my awesome hubby and his tech skills I now have a fresh new blog! I am excited to post recipes, pictures and life updates. I love reading blogs and I've decided to be a more active player in this blogging world. Thanks for stopping by!

The inspiration for the blog title came from a song by Addison Road. I heard the song a few weeks ago and this part has stuck with me.

"One day there will be no more pain
And we will finally see Jesus' face
So until then I'm gonna try
To brave the dark
And let my little light shine"
-Addison Road This Little Light of Mine