4 Wheel Jamboree

Okay, so I've been guilty of seriously slacking on blogging... So this is going to be one of a few catch up blogs!

Alright, so a few weekends ago, there was a 4 Wheel Jamboree at the fairgrounds. Ryan is completely car obsessed, and I'm pretty much there myself. We've been going to car shows/events together since we were teenagers! So this event was pretty much a no brainier for us ♥

They had so many events, we were there all day!

There was mudding, which was just a blast to watch. This spunky little Bronco won! It completed the course in 3.7 seconds!




Don't let these pics fool ya, that mud was deep...



But this Bronco was epic. Look at that mud fly!



There were also some awesome BMX dudes. And wow, I don't think I could do what they do... I'd be petrified of falling!!





But these dudes, they rocked it!



Of course, what 4 Wheel Jam would be complete without a few monster trucks!



I was pretty stoked they even had the Avenger ♥ I just love the retro body style...









And to top it all off, they had the Original Bigfoot! Which is also the original monster truck.





Oh, and just to show off the sweet range my telephoto has...



That was taken from almost the top of the bleachers! Mmm, I think I love this new lens ♥

We ate nachos, pretzels, and the biggest coke I've ever seen in my life... (Wish I had taken a picture of it!) All in all, we had an absolutely amazing day together.

Award Time! ♥

First of all, thank you to all my sweet commenters and followers! I'm just blown away by how amazing you girls are ♥ You have no idea how much your comments mean to me! I'm sorry I haven't been commenting back like I normally do, but I promise to get caught up this week. Life has been crazy lemme tell you... But you'll find out all about that as I get caught up with my blogging!

Anywayy... Now onto this award stuff! I've received my very first blog award!! Today was just a horrible day, so thank you sweet Liesl for this amazing treat ♥ ♥


Now, I want to pass this award onto some other great gals!

Hey Gorgeous
A beautiful and inspiring blog by the beautiful Rhiannon Nicole. PS, Happy Birthday!! ♥

Kelly Leigh Gets Busy
If you love good recipes (especially vegetarian recipes!), this is the place to go! I also love reading about Kelly's adventures living in the beautiful English Countryside ♥

Aura Joon
If you haven't read this blog before, start right now! Aura constantly leaves me inspired by her beautiful writing and photography ♥

Itsy Bitsy Brianna
It doesn't get any cuter than this blog! Brianna always makes me smile with her cheery and fun posts ♥

2 sma grisar
If you love fashion, nails or nature, check this one out! Oh, and I just love Charlie.... She's such a sweetheart ♥

Wearable Dreams
I simply love Jesa's blog! Her style constantly inspires me to dress just a bit better than I had planned ♥

Outdoor Dining

One of my favorite things about this time of year, is being able to use our deck as a extension of our house. We especially love eating dinner out there. It's just so peaceful!

A week or so back, we had our first outdoor dinner of the year. It was pretty scrumptious, if I do say so myself! So I thought I'd toss the recipe up here for all to enjoy ♥


Southwestern Hash

2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup canned corn
1/2 cup black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
Lawry's seasoning - to taste
Cheese of your choice, just to top

Put a bit of oil in a skillet and add in the potatoes (not too much, just enough to let them brown). Cook until they're starting to brown, then add the black beans and corn. I then added a bit of butter for extra flavor and moisture. Then to add some spice and flavor, I tossed in a few dashes of Lawry's seasoning. Oh, and if Ryan didn't hate them... I totally would have added some diced green peppers to this! If you can't tell, I totally made this up, and encourage everyone to make their own modifications so it can fit your personal taste.

We also had Quorn Southwestern Chik'n Wings. If you're a vegetarian, or just trying to eat healthier, I highly recommend Quorn's products. They taste fantastic and are low in calories and high in protein!


This meal goes fantastic with a good craft brew, if you're into that sort of thing ♥

Park Photoshoot

Last week, Ryan and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather by spending the day at the park. Oh, how I love soaking up the sun wandering around the park! The one we usually go to is just wonderful. We call it our hidden treasure, because there is hardly ever anyone else there! Well, other than the squirrels that is...




This park also has some beautiful little gardens, which are some of my favorite photography subjects ♥






I also had a few experimental shot ideas. I was sooo happy how these turned out! Just the way I saw them in my head. That's seriously the best feeling!! ♥

I wanted this one to have a bit of an abstract feel to it, and of course had to capture that beautiful sunlight!

I saw these little seed pod things(I don't know what they are haha) on the ground and immediately had this image pop into my mind. Ryan, who is such a great supporter of my art, was of course willing to be my hand model ♥

And Ryan didn't want to be left out, so he took some snaps of me. Eek, I'm much more comfortable behind the camera... But it did turn out pretty cute! Thanks baby! ♥

Sugar Cookies... MmmMmm ♥

I have a habit of making a dessert weekly. This week I tried Pioneer Woman's Angel Sugar Cookies. This recipe is amazing ladies!! These cookies are the perfect, melt in your mouth consistency! Ryan says they're the best cookies he's ever eaten in his life. I think I might agree...

2 Large eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar (plus extra for the tops of the cookies)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vailla extract
4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

To make the dough, cream together the eggs, oil, butter, sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour. Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to drop balls of dough onto an uncreased cookie sheet. Smear a dab of butter on the bottom of a glass, then dip in sugar. Use the glass to flatten the balls of dough. Make sure you dip the glass into the sugar for each cookie. Bake for 9-11 minutes at 350 degrees.

Seriously girls, these cookies are amazing!! No, they're not diet food, but they're well worth every calorie ♥

Oh, and they go fantastic with coffee. *swoon*

Weekend Recap

Friday

Friday was a rainy, kinda icky day, but I wanted to have a great weekend regardless. Ryan and I spent sometime at the mall, but hunger took over before too long! Instead of settling for food-court food, we headed over to McAlister's Deli. Mmm... I love this place ♥ It's especially good on a rainy day! After eating, we were going to just head home and catch up on tv (I know, we're exciting like that), but we got a text from some friends seeing if we wanted to get some drinks and catch a movie. Um, of course we did! So we met up at the same place we all went to last weekend and enjoyed a good hour or so of talking before we all went to see this movie...

It was absolutely fantastic!! The whole theater was laughing pretty much non-stop. I highly recommend this movie!

After the movie, we all still wanted to hang out more, so we went to hang out at The Roost. A nifty little bar, which happened to be having karaoke night. Oh my, there were some good ones to say the least! There was a Will Farrell look-a-like that had the whole place laughing with his cheese-tastic performances. All in all, a very fun night!

Saturday

Saturday I got to spend pretty much the whole day with my mom and sister! We've all been really busy lately, so this was the first girls outing we'd had in ages. I'm now kicking myself for not getting any pictures... I know, I'm a horrible person/photographer/blogger for not doing so.
We had so much fun together! We all went to see this amazing little movie...

Maybe it was just me, but the 3D on this movie seemed extra fantastic! Oh, and the movie it's self... It was just darling ♥ I think I'm going to drag Ryan to it later this week, it was just so wonderful! I definitely recommend you all go and see it. Another great thing about the movie, is it had a preview for Toy Story 3 in 3D!! I'm so excited for that movie... I'm kinda obsessed with Dreamworks/Pixar cartoons ♥

After the movie we went and had dinner at...

If you live in Springfield, and haven't been to The Grotto, you need to go ASAP! It's one of the few places in town I can get a totally vegan meal without feeling like I'm missing something. Oh, and they've got a nice craft brew menu, if you're into that sort of thing.

We had such a great time talking and just enjoying all being together! I can't wait until summer when everyone is out of school and I can spend more time with my wonderful family ♥


How was your weekend?? I'd love to hear all about it ♥

PS, I want to thank you all for the wonderful comments you've been leaving!! I'm sorry I'm behind on responding, but I promise I'll catch up ASAP ♥ xoxo

10 dresses under $30

I don't know about you, but this Spring weather has me in the mood to buy some dresses! And what girl doesn't love a good deal, right?

There's a dress for every occasion here. From a night out on the town to a nice walk in the park!

Forever 21 - $14.80

Forever 21 - $22.90

Forever 21 - $22.90

Forever 21 - $11.50

Forever 21 - $27.80

Forever 21 - $27.80

Forever 21 - $24.80

Forever 21 - $17.80

Forever 21 - $24.80

Forever 21 - $19.80