A Weekend in Lexington

Hey y'all! Can you believe it is already August 1st? Where has the summer gone? I spent May - June studying for the NAPLEX, and Tyler has spent June - July studying for the bar exam. Last weekend we took a trip to visit his mom and Kip in Kentucky, and it was the first time we had gotten to just hang out and relax together the entire summer (well, that's what it feels like to us anyway lol). We had a wonderful trip! When we arrived, we headed straight to dinner at a local favorite, Malone's. They have the most amazing salad there. It is called the Lexingtonian, and it is to die for! I had salad, a filet, and mac and cheese. You just can't go wrong with that dinner choice y'all!

After dinner, the boys headed back to the house while Rhonda and I did a little shopping. We went into Ulta to look around, and then we went to Bath and Body Works. I'm not sure if it is still going on now or not, but while we were there, the 3-wick candles were buy one get one (and y'all KNOW I got one.. okay two LOL). They also had their wallflowers on sale for 5 for $18, so naturally I got five of those as well. I am a sucker for a good sale. Not to mention, they had out all of their fall scents! I'm sharing what I picked up below. Also, if you signed up for coupons via email, you should have a $10 off of $30. Run don't walk to the nearest Bath and Body ladies!

These are my all time favorite fall scents. The Pumpkin Pecan Waffles is my absolute favorite! 

I like to have the same wallflower scent as the candle I'm burning, so I got the same two scents as above. Also, I picked up this adorable white pumpkin wallflower plug in. I think the next time I buy new fall decor I'm going to go with muted colors of grey, cream, and light green/blue instead of the typical browns, reds, oranges, and greens.

These images were borrowed from the Bath and Body Work's website.

After we picked up our new fall scents, we headed back to the house and spent the evening watching TV together and talking. The next morning Rhonda and Kip cooked us a big breakfast. We had bacon, sausage, eggs, and biscuits. After we got cleaned up, we went on The Tour of Homes. We got to see new model homes and some homes that are currently being lived in all throughout Lexington. Some of these houses were over a million dollars and were huge mansions. I loved getting to see all of the detail put into these homes, the high design, and the decor. Just a heads up, wallpaper in the powder room looks like it is going to be the new hot trend LOL 

After the tour, we went back to the house and grilled out. We had hot dogs, pasta salad, and baked beans. We loved our visit with Ty's family! It was long overdue! I'm so glad the timing worked out that we both had some days off so we could make the trip. 

On the way home I had to get a strawberry lemonade from Wendy's.. it is my current obsession. If you haven't had one yet, you MUST try it! I don't want to know how much sugar is in it though LOL

It stormed off and on during the trip, but I was able to capture this beautiful rainbow! 

Now that we are both working again, it is time to get back into our normal routine. Today I went to the grocery store for the first time in forever. We needed to stock up on a lot of things, which I always hate to do because it ends up being so expensive. Instead of aimlessly going up and down the aisles at the store, I decided to sit down and make a list. I referred to a cookbook my grandmother got me called Quick and Easy Dump Dinners. All of the dishes in this book can be made using one pot or casserole dish! I love the idea of cooking a home cooked meal for dinner even when I don't have a lot of time. I thought I would share with y'all some of the meals I picked out to cook over the next couple of weeks. By writing out my ingredients, I saved time and money. I shop at Kroger, so I went to the website and found coupons for any items I had on my list. These automatically load onto your Kroger card and are applied at the register when you check out. Plus, I can build up Kroger points to get money off of my gas. Today I got 20 cents off/gallon! Everything I got today will feed Tyler and me for several weeks. We eat out some during the week, but I usually try to cook for dinner as often as possible. We also eat leftovers, but I know some people don't like to do that. A lot of the ingredients in these recipes you can already find in your pantry.  

Italian Stir Fried Chicken and Veggies

1/4 cup Italian dressing

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 bag frozen Italian style veggies

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

hot cooked rice

Best Baked Ravioli 

1 bag frozen ravioli (I use cheese and spinach combo)

1 jar marinara sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups baby spinach

parmesan cheese

Chili Mac

1 pound lean ground beef

3 cups hot water

1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)

1 envelop of chili seasoning

1 box of elbow macaroni

Velveeta cheese slices 

Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Chicken breasts

1 pound baby red potatoes

1/2 pound baby carrots 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of your favorite seasonings (I like garlic powder)

Oh So Easy Chicken Dinner

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

1-2 cans of green beans

2-3 potatoes, cubed

1 packet of Italian dressing mix

1 stick of butter, melted with 1 teaspoon of Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Some of these ingredients I already had on hand, but I did have to pick up a few things at the store to make these meals. I also picked up light vanilla almond milk (for our protein shakes) and some stuff to make salads for lunch (lettuce, pepperoni, shredded Italian blend cheese with croutons and a little ranch dressing makes for a delicious lunch!) By making the list according to recipes, I ended up buying things to make meals for the upcoming weeks instead of random items that I might end up not using. I thought I would share the ingredients for the recipes I plan on trying. If y'all try any of these and change up any of the recipes, let me know! I love finding new things to try!! While typing this blog, I have dinner in the crockpot. One last quick and easy meal I love is BBQ chicken. I put two chicken breasts in the crockpot, a small can of pineapple (chunks), and half of a jar of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. In just a couple of hours you'll have a delicious dinner ready! Until next time.. Take care y'all!