Weekend Away

We're spending the next few days with our fantastic friends Philip & Samantha in Chicago. I'm super excited to catch up with them, get some great shopping in, and eat my weight in deep dish pizza.

Mauve the destroyer will spend her weekend at the Doggy Hotel

Doubtful that such a sweet pup could be destructive?

The chew toy for "extreme chewers." Guaranteed to entertain Dogs & their owners...

If you consider picking up hundreds of chewed rubber chunks out of the carpet "entertainment."

Oh and apparently, she likes her animals un-stuffed. Thank You.

I'm sure we will all be having fun with our friends this weekend.

Dont forget to enter to win the LimeTree Gifts Giveaway! Leave a comment (see post for details-- click the link!), win a prize! Here's another perk: become a blog follower and give yourself yet another entry!!!!

What I'm loving right now!!!

I love Chorizo and Egg Taquitos from Arandas for breakfast. Yum!!

I love finally being free from Grey's Anatomy. I had planned to catch up on my Tivo'd shows last night and Grey's was one of them. Halfway through, I was so bored (and I remembered how ridiculous last season became), that I deleted the rest of the episode and cancelled all the to-record episodes! I'm done with Grey's and it feels good.

I loved having a time of prayer and supplication with the high school girls this morning during Sunday School. Im really looking forward to our Girl's Retreat coming in October.

I love that this Thursday, I'll be in CHICAGO visiting the Millers!

I love Sunday afternoon naps. I'll be indulging this love shortly.

I love BLOG GIVEAWAYS!!!

Doesnt everyone love blog giveaways??? I know I do, and Jill over at LimeTree Gifts has been generous enough to giveaway a sweet little prize! LimeTree Gifts is all about monogramming and personalization. I got an awesome monogrammed soap dispenser and made a home for it in my master bathroom!

Isnt this engraved tray a perfect wedding gift??? Or new baby gift! Or Bridal party gift! It can be a catch-all for your desk. You can have a party and serve food on it (Dishwasher safe!!!). It would look awesome holding your Stella & Dot Jewelry!

Just had to throw that one in there.

Need some new Christmas ornaments? She has 2 types of personalized ornaments!

These bracelets have to be one of my very favorite items on her site! SO CUTE!!!

What you'll win:

So Here are the Rules:

1. Travel on over to Jill's etsy page. Look around. Her prices are so stinkin cheap, you might as well just get a few things. Here's the link: LimeTree Gifts

2. Come on back here and leave a comment about your favorite monogrammed item! Please leave your email address also.

The giveaway will end next Sunday, October 3 at midnight! I'll announce the winner sometime Monday October 4. The winner will get an adorable personalized keychain (see pics above!). Mention it on your own blog, twitter or facebook and give yourself an extra comment entry.

Happy Shopping!

See You At The Pole 2010

"God- I pray that the whole world would soon know your name."

-RFHS Student prayer

I am continuously surprised by our students. Wednesday was See You at the Pole and we (along with Coastal Oaks Church) hosted a Pre-Pole Rally. The Rally was awesome- we brought in the James Curlin Band in for some fantastic worship music. Then we brought in one of my favorite guys, Ronny Marriott to pump the students up and challenge them to take a stand for their faith.

James & the band did a great job and I have a feeling we will be having them back again in the spring to be our Impact 2011 (aka: DNow) worship band. Not only did they have a great sound, but they are some really nice guys to hang around with. They let Mauve lick and sniff all over them, which has to mean something, right??? Check them out @ JamesCurlinBand.com!

It was so nice getting to see Ronny and Robin again! While Jordan and I were in seminary, we attended church at Shady Oaks Baptist where Ronny was the head pastor. He and Robin have always been very supportive of Jordan and me and we were bittersweet to leave SOBC. Surprisingly enough, Ronny took the head pastor job at FBC Corpus a few months ago and is now very close again!

I think we had somewhere around 75 students join hands and pray for their school, teachers, peers, and world on Wednesday morning. It was such a sweet sight. Jordan spent time at RFMS and said they also had a good turnout. I am so proud of our students who have chosen to take a stand for Christ at their schools and I hope that they continue to embrace the courage needed to represent Jesus to their friends and fellow students!

Party Wash-out

So I had a fantastic time at my first Stella & Dot show yesterday. Catherine and her whole fam came into town to give me some love and support, which was awesome. We tried to convince them to relocate, but I think Curtis will need a little more persuasion!

Maybe I was expecting a few ladies who didnt end up coming to the party... but I'll give them a rain check. We did have a good turnout, despite the weather. Somehow I was the last to know that Hurricane Karl was making his way towards us!!! I was in the dark about Hermine too. I guess I need to start watching the news more! I think we only ended up getting an outer band of the storm, but it was enough to cause lots & lots of flooding around here.

I think it dumped somewhere between 10-12 inches of rain in Rockport on Sunday alone!!!

(Bonni- I stole your pics from fb... thanks!)

We're trying to get dry, but the rain is predicted to last all week! Maybe there will be a few clear moments, because these storms are really putting a hurting on my running schedule!!!

And soon the mosquitos will be carrying me away. Time to invest in a few more cans of bug spray!

Welcome Baby Wells!!!

I had the pleasure & privilege of labor and delivering... laboring and delivering...l&d-ing my wonderful friend Bethany! Because of a few scheduling conflicts, I was concerned that I wouldnt be there at all, but it all worked out in the end and I am SO glad I got to spend the day with her & her hubby.

I know I shared with you during her shower post that the sex was a surprise.... well.......

It's a GIRL!!!!

Ashlyn Mae

8 pounds, 10 ounces

21 inches long

Big big BIG congratulations to the happy mom, dad, and big sister! I am so stinkin proud of Bethany for her hard work during labor. She was such a trooper, hanging in there with me and letting me boss her around. Her sweet girl was no small fry!

Thank you for letting me be apart of your super special day!

Trunk Show Specials

Only 1 week until the Fall/Winter 2010 Trunk Show!!!

September 18, 2010

2-4pm (Drop In)

@ The Mims' Casa

www.stelladot.com/Hollie

Interested in ordering but cant make it to the show??? Send me a message and I'll send you ordering information! Take advantage of trunk show shipping! Also, orders can always be placed via my website (listed above).

See a pricey piece you absolutely love? Host a show & earn free jewelry!!!

Happy Shopping!

Breakfast Casserole

If I post any more of my mom's recipes, I'm going to be disowned!

But this one is pretty good, so I'm sharing.

The breakfast casseroles were a surprise hit at Bethany's shower this past weekend. I was just happy that the recipe worked out in my favor! My mom's breakfast casserole is one of my favorite breakfast meals, and it's something we usually only ever have on Christmas morning. I'm a picky eater and dont usually go for egg dishes (ok, so I only eat scrambled eggs with cheese. And this breakfast casserole.), so to say this is a favorite of mine is a big deal!

Usually, my mom makes breakfast casserole in an 8x8 baking dish. I got the wild idea to try to make little individual servings by making them in muffin pans. They turned into the perfect brunch shower dish. So cute and so yummy!!! Whatever dish/pan/baker you use, please take my advice and spray that sucker with more Pam/Baker's Joy/cooking spray than you think you'll need. Because you need it.

Breakfast Casserole

1lb sausage, cooked & drained

1 dozen eggs, beaten

8 oz sour cream

1 large bag shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp dry mustard

salt/pepper

Grease your pan. Preheat oven to 350. Grease your pan. Spread cooked sausage on bottom of pan after it's been sprayed with cooking spray. (Sorry I ruined your pans Bethany. I'll buy you some new ones.) Mix mustard, salt & pepper into beaten eggs, pour over sausage. Dot with sour cream. Top with shredded cheese. Bake approx 45 minutes, or until firm. Yum.

Game Night

Here are a few pictures from last Saturday's Game Night at FBCR. I want to say a big ~Thank You~ to our Connect team for a really fun and exciting time! There were game stations set up all over the fellowship hall and throughout the church. I spent a good bit of my time doing Pictionary and Scrabble Slam.

I love playing games!!

Celebrating Baby Wells

I was honored this morning to throw a baby shower for my great friend Bethany. She was kind enough to help us through buying our first house, was nice enough to stick around after all the paperwork died down and has become such a sweet friend and confidante. Her beautiful baby to be may be a girl... or a boy! It's a surprise!!!

The Spread.

Can I just say for about 20 seconds how exciting surprise babies are?!!!? There are few things as exciting (as an L&D nurse) as a mommy & daddy finding out their big surprise at delivery! Such a sweet, sweet moment to be apart of.

Back to food. New recipe coming in the next few posts!!!

This fun idea was straight from Bethany herself-- an iced tea bar! Easy and girly, you have containers of sweet (of course!) and unsweet tea. Then, you allow your guests to "customize" their tea with neat add-ins! We had a container of lemonade and freshly sliced lemons to make an Arnold Palmer. We also had oranges and limes. There was fresh mint, and raspberry syrup. The combinations and ideas are endless!! Fresh mango, strawberries, raspberries, peaches.... flavored syrups... so fun! My combination of choice? Sweet tea with a swirl of raspberry syrup. So delicious!

Sweet sister Em!

She got tons of great loot-- including the hooter hider! Hahaha, I love those things if only for their name. She got a lot of boy clothes... and the general consensus is that sister Em is getting a little brother. Oh and for anyone who insists that showers for "surprise sex" babies arent as fun as traditional girl/boy showers -- you're just plain wrong! Besides, my go-to shower gift (dipes & wipes!!!! Always a hit!!!) is as unisex as they come.

Super sweet & talented shower hostesses!

I love this lady & cant wait to meet her little peanut!