Taco Soup

In honor of my favorite month {October}, I'd like to share my favorite fall recipe.

This is the easiest dinner ever, and it's so yummy.

Here's what you need:
1lb hamburger meat
1 package of taco seasoning
1 package of dry ranch dressing
1 can of rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can of corn
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of black beans
sour cream and cheese for topping

Fry the hamburger meat & drain. Put in the pot.

Add all other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Top it off with some sharp cheddar and sour cream. YUM! This fed us for 3 nights.. So it serves about 6 people. Double it for a party!

Just an Average Monday with the Chandlers

On a typical Monday night, Will & I get off work and head straight to the gym. But tonight, we both decided it was a good idea to skip it {Hey, you've got to have a day or 4 for your muscles to re-cooperate right?}

Turns out, it was a great idea. We went to the Fairhope Pier and walked around a bit. 

There is something about sunsets at the pier that are just so peaceful. This type of beauty makes me confident I am moving in the direction the Lord has planned for me. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon." {Psalms 19 1-4}

{So Blessed}

We came home and decided to make a new recipe I found on Pinterest. When I say we, I mean Will watched football and I made Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheeses for us. Healthy, right?! I forgot some of the ingredients at the store, so I just made up my own variation of the recipe. Here's what I used.


1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon spreadable garlic
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup almond milk
1 ounce fat free cream cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup (about 5 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (6.7 ounce) jar grilled artichoke hearts or you can sub marinated artichokes, chopped
Slices of bread

This makes about 4 sandwiches with a little leftover.

1. Melt butter in skillet, at garlic & flour. Cook a minute. Add milk. Cook another minute.

2. Add cream cheese, mozzarella, pepper, and greek yogurt to the mix. Then add artichokes and spinach.

Then you get this!

Add it to your buttered bread and put it in another skillet just like a grilled cheese.

Annnnnnnd... WOOLAHHH!

Obviously, mine doesn't look as pretty as the one in the original recipe, but I can close to guarantee you it was yummier. 

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

Brunch Shower

What's better than one Brittany? Two Brittanys. {Our pastors favorite thing to say to us}

Today we had a brunch wedding shower for our friends Brittany & Cory after Sunday school. I realize I go a little overboard on decorating. I am my mother's child.

I made these fun pom-pom balloons I saw on Pinterest somewhere, and then they deflated before the party. Points for effort?

Fruit dip, lemon water, & a fabulous arrangement complete with flowers from our bushes outside.

I found these super cute food labels here. They worked out great!

OK, so no one ate any doughnuts, but it sure was cute. And I had an excuse to use my Mimi's cake plate. It was a gift to her and my Papaw for their wedding. {So pretty & special}

We also had monkey bread & breakfast casserole. Everyone left with a full tummy. :) Isn't the bride a beaut?!

I mean, how fab is this hostess gift? LOVE IT!

Happy Brunching y'all. 

Best Day Ever

My most favorite part of my job is calling students to let them know they have been accepted into one of our degree programs. They {most of the time} get really excited and I am always genuinely happy to give them the news that their dreams & goals are coming to life. Today, I had a student tell me this was the "best day ever." In my head I was thinking "I can imagine, your GPA barely teeter-tottered over that thick black line of acceptance & denial." It made me start thinking about my "best day ever."

OK, so maybe I just wanted to look through our wedding photos again and this was a good transition. This day truly was my "best day ever." Every single moment was captured by the lovely Aimee Reynolds and her husband Robbie. These are a few of my favs.

{Our rings on my Mimi's hankie}

{Mom couldn't get it together}

{Insert "that's what she said" joke}

{My fantastic grandparents}

{Candy bar by my WONDERFUL cousin Lindsay}

{Longtime BFF}

{Made by the truly crafty & creative Evey Owen}

{Yes, that sunset is real life}

{And yes, we left on a sailboat into the Mobile Bay}

{Olive Juice}

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I want to preface this post with an apology to Laura, because this is not on our diet.

Will & I got a fabulous pizza stone for a wedding gift from our dear friends Daniel & Addie. We use it all the time! Last night, we decided to make a BBQ chicken pizza. YUM!

Here's what you need:
1 roll of Pillsbury Artesian Pizza Crust {No, I don't know how to make dough, I buy it}
3-4 cooked chicken breasts
2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 pieces of super crispy bacon
A little bit of olive oil
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup of ranch dressing
1/2 TBS fresh oregano

You have to bake the pizza crust by it self first. {You can do it in the oven or on the grill} You don't want to get it crispy just yet, just where it cooks a little. I put mine in on 400 for 5 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and lightly brush olive oil over the crust of the pizza.

Will & I are obsessed with this little place in Fairhope called The Happy Olive. It is an OLIVE OIL BAR. So that't what I used. I highly recommend the "Organic Butter." {Keep in mind a little bit goes a looooong way}

After that, spread your BBQ sauce all over the pizza and add the chicken and bacon to the pizza. Top with shredded cheese and sprinkle the oregano over it. Throw it back in the oven for about 6-8 more minutes to get it good and melty and let that crust turn golden brown. Take it out and let cool for zero minutes. We are not patient enough for cool time. Drizzle ranch over the top, cut, & enjoy!

Refinishing 101

This was our first attempt ever to refinish anything. And I would define it as a success.

Will had an old dresser he had used all through high school and college, and it had quite a bit of wear and tear on it. {Not to mention the new scratches on it from using it as a weedeater holder in the garage}

Our friend Brandon let us borrow his sander for our first project. {We weren't going to buy one if we weren't any good at this} We also used an old t-shirt for staining, gloves, sandpaper {120, 150, & 220 grit}, Miniwax Dark Walnut, Polycrilic to seal it, and a paintbrush to put on the poly.

We took all the drawers out and removed all the hardware. I sanded the little crevices while Will used the man tool starting with the top of the dresser. We panicked because it started to look like this when he started sanding. Not to worry, it turned out OK.

 It took about 3 hours total to get everything sanded on the dresser. Thankfully, it did not have too much detail so we didn't have to do too much by hand. We started with the 120 grit to get the finish off, then moved up to the 220 to smooth it over before we put on the stain. 

Not too bad, huh? I got antsy while Will was doing the last sanding all over it and I went ahead and stained the drawers. I took a piece of an old t-shirt, dipped it in the dark walnut stain, and spread it over the drawers in the direction of the grain. After I did the first coat on all drawers, I let it soak in for about 5 minutes and then wiped it off. It was a bit splotchy, but I loved the color of the stain.

We did the first coat on the dresser and it looked great. The second time around, I used a little less stain and didn't wipe it off. I know you are supposed to, but I liked what it looked like, so I left it. After we did the second coat on the dresser, we let it dry in the garage over night. 

The next day, we put the first coat of Polycrilic on the entire thing with the 3 inch paint brush. We let that dry for about 4 hours, then put another on. We let this dry overnight again. We moved it in the house the next night. And Wooooolllahhh! Isn't it beautiful!

I will post an updated photo when our pulls and knobs are on it. I can't seem to make a decision on which ones to get. The entire project cost us about $60. The Polycrilic was $17 of it, but it was worth it because you can wash it out with soap and water AND it doesn't smell like a regular poly. AND we have enough to do 0289730847 more projects! 

Happy refinishing ya'll.