Hookie!

Well today was my day off... well I had overtime and since I'm salary I don't get paid. So I'll stay home :)

We finally have a place to eat. My amazing Grandparents bought us our first "REAL" piece of furniture. Norma. the lady that owns the place we got married and Norma's restaurants, has a saying in her kitchen that the kitchen is the heart of the home. Where families dine together, friends gather and (at least at my house) the "talks" happen. I'm so excited to finally have a "presentation" place.



Tonight we are dining like royalty. Justin finished his first week at his desk job so he got to pick. Steaks (chicken for me) and mashed potatoes :)
Have a great weekend everyone!!

A little DIY yourself.. BALLS

Actually the Luttrell home is in DIY crazy mode right now. I'll post more about the guest bath and other things later, it's giving me anxiety just thinking about it :)

It's been driving me crazy lately that we don't have pictures and decorations up in the house yet. If you have ever been to my room at prior to homeownerhip, you know I surround myself with pictures of family, friends and favorite places and decorations in general makes me feel at home and cozy. One thing that has been urking me is this beautiful Apothacary jar I have from my wedding. I tried to get decorations for my wedding that I could reuse in my new home (wedding everyday). Well this jar was filled with candy orange slices on my candy bar and has been empty since the wedding... NO MORE!

The jar has sat over my kitchen cabinets for a while... I have a LARGE space up there and I had a vision of simple decorative brown balls to fill it. OMG what a pain... I looked at Hobby Lobby, Micheals, Jo Ann's and even Walmart.. Those things are expensive and I could not find what I wanted... SO PROJECT ERIN IS BACK!
You'll need:
*Styrofome balls... I did varying sizes because the shape of my jar.
*Spray paint
*Shish-ka-bob sticks
*Spray adhesive
*Moss or whatever you want to cover

I stuck the balls in the ground to make it easier to handle. (night time pic sorry)

Let them dry a little and lay them on newspaper to dry over night

Once dry, cover the balls in spray adhesive

Crunch the moss on, continue spraying adhesive if it's not sticking like you want it.

They look a little messy, mine aren't in "touch range". I trimmed them a little, but I didn't need them perfect

AHHH!!! Yay. This is exactly what I wanted in my kitchen and it cost me under $25.00

Slow cooker = life saver

Last night we had Taco Stew... one of Mr. Luttrell's favorites. I always run out of time at home so I bring all the ingredients to work and let it sit in the back. Everyone always gets upset and wants to eat it :) I've given out the recipe and everyone just loves it. I figured I would share!


YUM!

Ingredients:
1/2 onion (or less) chopped
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 16-oz can corn (drain)
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 14-oz cans dices tomatoes with chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
2 chicken breast (I like the pack of chicken strips b/c they are easier to shred)
chopped jalapeno (if you like it hot)

Mix everything but the chicken together in a crock pot. Lay the chicken (yes raw) on top and cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4. 30 minutes before eating take out the chicken and shred it up, then add back so it can soak up the juices.

Add sour cream, salsa and cheese. Server with tortilla chips if desired.

It's so good and it makes a lot so you have left overs for lunch or dinner the next day.

The couple that sweats together..... cries together?

Well, it's true!! Newly weds pack on the pounds.. at least in our case. So, this week starts P90X and Clean Eating. Talk about numb shoulders, OUCH!
Anywho, now starts meal planning extreme and good old "clean" home cooking :)
Monday- Jap Burgers and asparagus with watermelon for dessert.
Tuesday- Teryaki Chicken with broccoli and pineapple
Wednesday- Clean Taco Stew
Thursday- Baked whole wheat penne and chicken italian sausage. Baked Apples for dessert
Friday- Grilled chicken salad with mardarin oranges, cranberries, strawberries and almonds with a little goat chesse
Saturday- Grilled shrimp and steamed broccoli


Lots of protein and veggies

Wish us luck. Tomorrow is Plyos! Yikes

Reading is not my thing :)

For those of you that know me, I am not a reader. I don't enjoy sitting back and spending hours in a book. It's never really been my thing. Other than bio books and the bible, I've only read C.S. Lewis books from front to back.
Along with a long list of half read books I found this one. I was in an airport traveling Lord knows where and picked it up. Again, I saw the title, didn't really read the back or anything. I thought it would help me stop being so selfish. Justin and I had really just started back dating and I thought it would help me be a better girlfriend and think more in the terms of "us" instead of me.
What a SMACK in the face. The books ended up being about these brother who started Me to We, it's a social outreach program to support third world countries and those less fourtunate. It talked about how these ventures brought them to meet wonderful people, including Mother Teresa, do mission work in places I'd only dream to visit and make the world a better place.
Here I am trying to be a better person when there are people out there making a difference for the whole world.
It's really an awesome book, not really sure how it ends... but they have a website www.metowe.com . They also started Free the Children! Another awesome organization!