Happy Birthday, James!

Happy 32nd Birthday to my hubby! Looking forward to spending our day off together and enjoying a nice dinner tonight, just the two of us.

Taco Soup

You know I only do easy and this one takes the cake in that department. And it's so yummy and quite healthy. So needless to say people, this one is a MUST try. You won't regret it! I got this recipe from my friend Leslie. She made it for Bunko a year or two ago and I've been meaning to get her recipe since. It must be good if I was still thinking about it a year or two later, right?

• 1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey (I went with turkey since I'm trying to be healthier and it was delish)
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can dark red kidney beans (didn't drain - added in juices and all)
  
• 1 can black beans (I did drain and rinse these before adding into soup mixture)
  
• 1 can garbanzo beans (didn't drain - added in juices and all)
  
• 1 can white corn (I did drain before adding)
  
• 1 can Rotel (didn't drain)
  
• 1 pkg. dry taco seasoning mix
• 1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
• 8-16 oz. of water
  
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• cheese, chips and sour cream for serving

Brown ground beef or turkey and onion until cooked. Drain well. Add tomato sauce in large soup pot with corn, Rotel, dry seasonings, meat mixture, and beans (see above for what I drained and what I dumped in juice and all). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot with chips, grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Christmas Festivities 2010

What a wonderful Christmas we've had. We spent time with family, opened tons of gifts, stuffed ourselves with food until miserable (in a good way) and have now had a day or two to recover from it all! We feel extra blessed this holiday season!

Going back before Christmas to get caught up...we kicked off the holiday season by walking through Starry Nights at Shelby Farms in Memphis. You usually drive through to look at the lights from the comfort of your warm car, but this year, one night a week they opened it for walking, running, biking and strolling traffic only, so we took advantage and got some exercise. It was a bit chilly, but definitely worth it.

Case saying hey to Santa at the Shelby Farms Lodge.

Then we headed for the hills and Christmas with my family. Christmas Eve lunch with my Dad's family at my brother's house...

The cousins sitting down to eat before presents.

Gearing up to open some presents.

My nephew Will with my cousin Trey.

Every year someone opens undergarments...and this year, James got five new pairs of boxers!

I squeezed in my 24 week baby bump pic.

Christmas Eve night, after the candlelight service at my parent's church, we have Christmas with my Mom's family at my Mimi's house.

Case opening his gifts with his Nana.

Giving Mimi a big "Thank You" hug.

Trying to get a good pic of all the cousins in their PJ's. It was 10:30 by this point...well past bedtime.
On Christmas we just rested up from the busy day before and then my brother and his family came over for dinner at my Parent's and the last round of present opening.

Will and Tyler deep into a game of chess.

And then here are a couple of videos I took on my phone. I never remember to turn my phone sideways when taking video, so I apologize for the orientation...I'll try and do better next time. Anyway, it was after 10:00 at night and Case was wound up and in the mood for entertaining. Enjoy...

Why We Celebrate the Season

This video is too good not to share. Just a reminder of what Christmas is all about. Santa and gifts are fun and being with family and friends is priceless, but this is the real reason for the season and what an amazing way to display it. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

From our home to yours....

Some Recent Favorites

I've been doing a lot of cooking lately and I get a lot of my recipes from my friend Kendall's blog and I just must share some of my recent favorites...

Tomato-Basil Soup. This is of course, super easy and so delicious! And there's nothing better when it's 30 degrees outside than a warm bowl of soup!


Easy Creole Shrimp. It must be "easy" if "easy" is in the title, right? And this one takes no time at all! I usually serve mine with couscous instead of rice and it's delicious! We've had this one multiple times over the past few months.


Maple Chipotle Pork Chops. I've saved the best for last on this post. This is one of my all time favorites that I've tried. It will become a regular in the Nowlin house for sure. We only have a charcoal grill and it's too cold outside for that kind of grilling, so I just used my skillet to cook my pork and it was fantastic and super easy. And I've never been able to make grits that tasted good, and these were perfect! We had green beans instead of asparagus, but Kendall's pic with the asparagus is lovely!

Thank you Kendall for the great recipes and for inspiring me to get in the kitchen and cook!

20 Weeks 3 Days

20 weeks and 3 days along. The belly is growing to say the least. Officially over half-way to the finish line!

Tis the Season

It's the most wonderful time of the year and the Nowlin house is in full holiday mode. I couldn't care less that our house is for sale. That's not keeping me from decorating and celebrating this season any differently than I ever have. It's my favorite time of year and it makes me happy to be cooped up indoors surrounded by all the holiday goodness, even if it makes our house seem smaller! The tree's up, the stockings are hung (including a new one this year for Emery!) and I got my first Christmas card of the season in the mail today and have it displayed on my card stand on my dining table. Looking forward to many more and making the time to get my own into the mail! Forgive the poor photo quality...they were taken the lazy way with my phone...

Advertising Makes Me Happy Sometimes

Just a few things I love...good music, dance and advertising. Here are a few illustrations of then all wrapped up in one package. I am in the advertising business after all...

This one ran back in the Summer of 2008 and it's always been one of my faves. Target Branding = Genius.





Yes, advertising does work and this ad makes me want to buy the Kinect and Dance Central for Christmas. James already has an xbox 360. Looks like so much fun!

It's a Girl!

We found out on Thursday that baby Nowlin is a girl! We are so excited and just can't wait to meet baby Emery in person. I've already bought a few girl clothes over the weekend and picked out some precious new crib bedding. I just couldn't help myself! Everything looked good on the ultrasound. She's healthy and growing at just the right pace. We feel so thankful and so blessed coming up on this Thanksgiving holiday and can't wait to spend time with family and have a break from work this week!

Shrimp Chowder - A Must Try

Okay, bloggie friends, this one is a must-try. Believe me. I found this recipe in Southern Living magazine about five years ago and tore it out. I don't know why. I don't typically find recipes that way and I've never really cared for traditional clam chowder before, so who knows why I decided to try it, but I did, and it's been a regular in the Nowlin house every winter since! Of course if I make it, you know it's super easy and this one really doesn't get any easier. And it's so so so delicious. Like I said, even if you don't consider yourself a chowder lover, try it anyway. I don't think you'll be disappointed one bit. Enjoy!

Prep/Cook Time: 15-20 minutes - Yes, it's true - start to finish...that's it! Perfect to make after a long day at the office!
Yield: Makes 12 cups (usually enough for James and I to eat twice)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of potato soup, undiluted
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds medium-size shrimp, peeled (I buy one package of the medium or large frozen shrimp at my Kroger - which is about 10-12 oz, and it's enough for us.)
  
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Melt butter in a Dutch oven (I just use a large sauce pan) over medium heat; add onion, and sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in cream of potato soup, milk, and pepper; bring to a boil. Add shrimp; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

To view and print recipe on SL website, click here.

Smokey Mountain Vacation

Last week James and I headed east for a mini-vacation in the Smokey Mountains and it was just what we both needed. We dropped Case off with James' parents on the way and enjoyed a few days of relaxing, hiking, eating and shopping. It was the perfect time of year and it was just splendid...

We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast on a creek that was so peaceful and quaint. I hate that I didn't get any pictures...what was I thinking? The breakfast each morning was incredible and just what we needed to get fueled up for our hiking. And we had the chef cook dinner for us on our last night and it was an amazing six course spread. Yummy!

Day 1 hike 1: To the top of Clingman's Dome, the highest peak in Tennessee. It was a bit windy, and the path was so stinkin' steep, but it was worth it. The views were amazing.

Day 1 hike 2: To Andrew's Bald (just over 3 miles round trip). This was my favorite! Once we got out to the bald we sat and had a picnic lunch while enjoying the spectacular views and then just laid down and soaked in the mountain sun.

Then on our drive back out of the park we stopped along side the road to snap some pics of the beautiful foliage.

And we stopped to take a close look at this rolling creek...

Day 2 hike: Hem Wallow Falls (just over 4 miles round trip). It was a bit chilly on our second day, but after we got our blood pumping we made it just fine.

The only disappointment of the trip was that we didn't encounter a bear. Some hikers a little in front of us did an we were jealous. Maybe next time!

Halloween!

This year Case was big enough to select his own costume, so we went to Old Navy and I gave him his choices...tiger, dragon or hamburger. He chose the dragon, but when he selected it, he thought it was a dinosaur. Close enough, right? We celebrated Halloween several times, the first being last weekend at Trunk or Treat at our church.

This pic is of Case refusing to wear his hood despite CJ's efforts of bribery... CJ and Case checking out the huge spider...

Case and his girlfriend Garner...

Case and his other girlfriend, Lauren...

Me and my dragon. Notice the hood is up. Yes! I told him they wouldn't allow him to be in the parade and get candy if he didn't wear his hood. It worked like a charm.

CJ, Case and Caleb...

Case showing off all of his loot to his daddy. His bucket was so heavy he could barley carry it.

Then this Saturday, we celebrated Halloween Waverly style with James' parents. Case getting ready and showing off his costume to his cousins in Austin via Skype.

Case and PawPaw ready to go...

So, in Waverly, they block off Main street and the whole town (literally, everyone) walks up and down getting candy at the houses along the way and the Baptist Church at the end of the street has all kinds of entertainment...music, bounce houses, face paining, carnival games, hayrides, food, and more. It was quite the spectacle and we had a great time. I think we may have to go back next year.

Family pic while on the hayride...