Restaurant Sanitation Grades

I know not every state has to post their sanitation grade but North Carolina does...Thank Goodness!!! I have a really weird habit of not eating anywhere with a low sanitation grade. When I say low I mean lower than like a 98 or so. They grade them just like we were graded in school..A, B, C...and they give you an actual score. This is the first thing I look for when we enter a restaurant and several times I've convinced Christian to leave. One night we went to Chilis and we left because they had a low B, so we went to a steak house and they also had a B. Everytime we go to a restaurant in that area the sanitation grades are really low, so we've come to the conclusion it might be the inspector in that area of restaurants. Tonight we went to try this new Greek restaurant and they had a 96 as their grade, so we left. This might sound mean, dumb, or rude but I usually always find some nice reason why we need to leave. I always have a hard time when we go to Florida because they do not have to post their grades and I'm always wondering what their grade is. Christian's dad always wants to take us to a hole in the wall restaurant and I love hole in the walls, but only local ones that I know the history and the sanitation grade! Anyways...I just wanted to share with yall a little weirdness of mine!!! Does your state of grades posted?
 I've decided I'm going to bed super early tonight. I don't really feel well and I just want to go to sleep! I hope you all have a happy Friday! I am so ready for the weekend!!! Do you have any exciting Valentine's Day plans?

Potato Soup

Tonight I made potato soup for my first time and I must say it was delicious!!! This was the perfect meal for this cold and really windy day! I wanted to share the recipe with you guys and also because my sister reads my blog and wants the recipe. I found this on a blog a while back, but I'm not sure who it was...sorry! It was one of those days I had my notecards and writing down recipes.

You will need:

5 potatos diced (I used 6 small potatos)

1 diced onion

2 cups water

2 cups milk

1 bar of cream cheese

1 cream of celery

1 cream of mushroom

salt and pepper

Directions:

• In a large pot add potatos, onion and 2 cups water
• Let boil until water is absorbed and potatos are soft
• Then stir in cream cheese until melted (I diced my bar)
• Once melted add milk, cream of celery, cream of mushroom, and salt/pepper to taste
• Let simmer for about 20 minutes

I served it with biscuits again tonight

It is so good!!! Let me know if you try it and like!

You might want to double the ingredients if you want a large amount. It is just Christian and I and we had plenty. A large bowl a piece for dinner and we both have a bowl for lunch tomorrow.

A New Recipe and Cookies

Tonight I tried a new recipe that I got from Jenna's Journey. I've been wanting to try since I've read about it on her blog. I actually took pictures of it tonight while I fixed and wanted to share the recipe with you. You can also check out Jenna's blg because she added a couple extra things in hers.

Beef and Noodles

Ingredients

1lb. of stew beef (or whatever type of beef you like) cut into bite size pieces

1/2 chopped onion

1 can of beef broth

1 package of lipton onion soup mix

olive oil

salt and pepper

noodles of choice (i used whole wheat)

Directions

Heat about 2TBS of olive oil in skillet

Add onion and sautee

Once the onion is translucent, add in beef

Brown on both sides

Add beef broth and bring to a boil

Add soup mix and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes

I let my stand for about 5 or 10 minutes to try to make it thicken

I served it over noodles and with biscuits

Thanks for sharing Jenna!!!

I ended the night with these yummy cookies

They were delicious and I am making Christian take them to work tomorrow or I will eat them all!

My First and Socks!

I won my first giveaway on Abby's blog a couple of weeks ago and received this cute ring in the mail last week!!!

I was so excited to receive it in the mail and I can't wait to wear it! I think I am going to wear it to work tomorrow! Please ignore more plaid pajama pants in the picture above :-) Thanks Abby!!!!

Ok y'all are going to think I am crazy when I share this next picture but I was just trying to be a good mom to my dog and take care of him! While were watching the Super Bowl Christian and I were both freezing and couldn't get warm and apparently Buddy was too. When I got on the floor to play with him his paws were so cold, I even made Christian feel and he agreed. Usually everyone thinks I baby him way too much, but I disagree. So here is what I did to help him out...

I put two pair of my fluffy, fuzzy socks on him. It was so funny he would just stand there and let me put them on him but then wouldn't walk and if he didn't he would hop. I wish I had it on video, it was so funny! They didn't last long, but I was just trying to warm him up!!!!

Are any of you watching The Bacehlor tonight? I love the hometown dates! Which girl do you like this season? I'll probably do a post tomorrow on what I thought of the show tonight! Please share your thoughts!!!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR...and a few other things!

Friday morning I woke up to this...

More snow, ice, and sleet...Christian called me once he got to work and said it took him almost an hour and that the roads were really slick, so I worked from home!!! I love the days I don't have to get up and go to work.

I took the time to clean the house and put out my 3 little pieces of Valentine decorations!

I almost always have towels for each season/holida on my stove!

This cute little plate that I got for Christian one year with homemade cookies!

My little Valentine's Day flag outside! I also usually have a flag for every season and holiday!!!

I also wore my $5 Valentine's shirt I got from Target!!! I love it and I think it is just too cute!!!

Christian and I never really do much for Valentines Day except for a card and maybe dinner. He is sweet and will usually get me a gift certificate to get a pedicure! BUT I do love Valentines day!!! I love all the red and pink and I just enjoy the day!!!

I also spent a lot of time loving on and playing with this cute boy!

Speaking of dogs...Christian and I have been wanting to change Buddy's dog food to a healthier food than Dog Chow. Well yesterday when we went Petsmart it was kind of overwhelming. We had a guy representing the bran Nutro and then we had the Petsmart staff representing their brand Authority. We weren't sure who to believe or what to believe...but we did go with Authority. Do any of you dog owner's have any suggestions? 

Yesterday was a very exciting day! We booked our family vacation for the summer and this will be our home in August for a few days!!!

We are going on a cruise with my family! There will 15 of us and it should be interesting!! We are going on a 4 night cruise and then spending a few days in Florida either before or after. Since Chrsitian is from Orlando and his Dad works for Disney and we get in for FREE!!! I think we are going to leave early and take my nephews to Disney before we set sail!!!!

My sister and I also bought our tickets and booked our room for the Beth Moore Conferance in Atlanta in April!!! We are so excited! You can see my excited face in the post below. Are you going?

I can't believe today is The Super Bowl...it does not feel like it at all. We don't have any plans and will probably end up ordering pizza or something like that and sitting at home! I don't really care about the game. I just like the commercials and half time!!!  Do any of you have any big and exciting plans for tonight?

Super Excited

I am just so excited that my sister and I just booked our trip to Atlanta for the Beth Moore Conferance in April!!!!! Looks like we will be partying in the overflow with all the other fellow bloggers!!!

I wanted to join in on the fun and make a cute sign and blog about it! You can go to read more about it here to read about it and book you a spot too!!!

Are any of you going? I know this trip will be awsome in so many ways!!!!

Show Us Your Life - Beauty Tips and Favorite Products

I am so excited about Kelly's Korner beauty tips and favorite products today on Show Us Your Life!!! I am a sucker for any fun beauty product, I always love buying fun new stuff in the stores. I swear marketing people should love me because I am always the one that falls for them all!!!! I'm like that with cleaning products too.

I am really excited to find some new make up today on here. I have been trying to find a new foundation that I like lately but I think my favorite is Bare Escentuals and I'm out. I just wish it wasn't so expensive. I'm not really loyal to one specifi brand of make up. I buy all brands of eyeshadows and lipstick. Although lately I've gotten most of my lipsticks from Avon. They are cheap and I really like most of them. I've also worn Merle Norm Spice Sachet lip pencil for the last year. I heard about it on Kelly's Korner last year and I've been addicted since then. This is the one I wear most of the time. One item I am very loyal to is my mascara. I buy the same brand every time and every time I try new I end up throwing it away and resorting back to this.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Mabelline's Great Lash Curved Brush mascara. A lot of people I know always ask what mascara I use and they try it don't like it, but it works great for me. I have really long eyelashes and this is the one I've learned that works best for me.

I am always buying different lotions and trying new moisturizers and this is one of my favorites!

I have used St. Ives whipped silk lotion since high school.  I usuallys always have a big bottle of this that sits on my bathroom sink. Christian and I both like it and I think it smells so fresh! I use it for an all over moisturizer.

This winter I have had really dry skin and wanted to try something else to use along with my lotion.

I found this in the shower body lotion and it works so well! Once you are finished in the shower rub this all over your body and then rinse! I really like how smooth it makes me feel but I don't use it all the time and I don't use a lot because it can be kind of greasy feeling. The other downfall with this is it causes your shower to feel extra slick and slimey.

I also use this facial moisturizer every morning.

I really like this Olay Complete Daily UV Moisturizer. I have really liked it this year and haven't really had dry skin on my face this winter. I'm hoping it works just as welll this summer when I'm in the sun!

As far as my hair goes...I am always using different shampoos and conditioners. I don't use one particular type of shampoo but it is usually something to help frizzy hair and make it straight. I have really thick and wavy hair. My hair stylist started using this Redken product on my hair over a year ago and I've been hooked ever since.

I love this product and I use everytime I wash my hair and it smells so good!! My straightner and big round brush is also a very good friend of mine. If any of you have any good suggestions on straightening products, please share!?!?

One other thing I use almost daily is my Cherry Blossom body splash from Bath and Body Works.

I use this almost everyday, I usually spray it on right before I get dressed! I love perfume and I have a ton of it but I don't always wear them everyday. A lot of the scents from Bath & Body Works give me a headache but I love this one!

So there you have it all my favorite daily beauty products!!!