A little culture...

Growing up, Ben's view and excitement of a vacation was going to Forts, yes, that's right, Forts.  I, on the other hand only viewed a vacation as going to an amusement park and riding really scary roller coasters.  As you can see, we both grew up experiencing different things and viewing "fun" differently. 

Last week, I get a text from Ben (long story short), he bought us tickets to see Les Miserables at The Fox Theatre.  Ben has apparently wanted to see this play (aka - musical is what I call it) for a long time.  His parents went to see it when he was younger and they had the sound track that he listened to, so apparently if I didn't "agree" to go, I would be crushing his childhood dreams.  My childhood dreams were to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, but those dreams were crushed a long time ago, so I'll let Ben have his...

We got dressed up, went to dinner and then headed to The Fox.  The musical (play) was actually pretty good and we had great seats.  I did notice alot of teenagers and middle school age kids there and thought that was an expensive ticket to pay for these kids, but of course, Ben informed me he went once or twice as a child, but still, those tickets aren't cheap.  My "culture" growing up was going with my Gifted Teacher, Mrs. Knight, to the Little Theatre in Monroe and I think I turned out just fine!!!  Those tickets costs like $5 or $10.... 



Since we've been married, Ben and I have starting cooking alot more.  We like to try new recipes out.  Many things call for fresh herbs.  I know you can use the dried stuff, but sometimes it's just better with fresh herbs.  Even if you just need a little, you have to buy a whole bundle.  We've been talking about growing our own herbs for awhile and this weekend, we got to it!  We found the coolest 1/2 whiskey barrel that we bought from home depot, planted the herbs, and then "marked" them with colored craft sticks.  We have discovered that where we put the barrel doesn't get much sunlight, so we (aka, Ben) will be moving it across our back porch tonight.  This should be fun to watch!!

  

 

Our finished herb garden!

Just call me Martha!

Some of you are probably thinking "which Martha"?  Am I talking about my mom, Martha or Martha Stewart?  Well, it's a combination of the two!! 

Growing up, for some strange reason, I remember watching good ole Martha Stewart (pre jail time, of course) every Saturday morning at 11 a.m.  My brother cringed everytime Martha said "It's a good thing", but mom and I just laughed.  We both like to be crafty and creative, but neither of us can be labeled a full fledged Martha Stewart by any means!  My grandmother use to make all of my beautiful dresses growing up.  These things were seriously AMAZING!!  I do though remember one dress my mom made me and I loved it (because it was colorful and had layers of ruffles with different colors), but I seriously think it could have been made in Sewing 101.  The clothes that my mom and I really liked to make together though were those splatter painted cotton outfits that you could find at the Arts & Crafts shows.  Mine were usually the white shirts with the matching wine cotton pants that you bought at Michaels.  We would hang them from the tree outside and just start splatter painting.  If we got real crafty, we would cut out a shape from the expandable sponges and add some sponge painting.  Top the outfit off with matching socks, the fake Keds from Mervyn's, and a big hair bow and I was marked the best dresser!! 

A week ago, I posted about how we added fabric to the pantry that Ben built (Big Bird).  I also mentioned that I was going to make curtains out of the same fabric in the kitchen. (My fabulous sister in law, Hannah gave me the idea).  My end goal is to have plantation shutters in the kitchen, but that rings $$$ in Ben's head.  I found the fabric at Hancock Fabric for 40% off, bought some "No Sew" iron on strips, bought a $5 white spring rod from Bed Bath & Beyond and spray painted Nickle, and bought 2 packages of curtain clips that were on clearance at BB&B.  So these curtains are "Design on a Dime" style!  Yes, I was going to take them to my alterations lady and get her to sew the hems, but then Martha (aka, my mom) said, "you're going to make them with no-sew strips, right"?  Well, that knocked a chunk out of the cost by not going to the alterations, and the strips cost like $4, so it seemed like the perfect curtain making solution! 

Martha Stewart would be proud that I made my own curtains and my mom, Martha would be proud that I didn't pick up a needle to make them!! 

Don't get me wrong, these are not the most fabulous things in the world, but they work, they were inexpensive, and they add some color to the room.  Most importantly, they can be shut when I'm home alone!!

Last, thanks to Martha Stewart for her 11 a.m. Saturday morning tutorials and thanks to my mom for finding a way to cut a few corners and make things even when you can't sew a stitch!!

Just a splash of complimentary colors in our kitchen.

Close up of the curtains.

Take me back to Jamaica....

We got back from our honeymoon to Jamaica about 2 months ago.  For the past week or two, we have both been wanting to go back (or at least make plans to go somewhere else for a getaway).  While reading my new Cooking Light this past weekend, I came across a Jerk Chicken recipe.  It immediately took me back to sitting at beach bar/restaurant, under the trees, sipping on the cocktail of the day, and eating spicy french fries (Jerk Chicken was always on the menu and we got several times, but spicy french fries were a daily occurance!).
Last night, Ben fired up the grill and I put together the yummy jerk chicken recipe and the stuffed peppers.  Since I wasn't going to make a Jamaica Smile (Ben's favorite fruity cocktail in Jamaica) or a Miami Vice (my favorite fruity drink), we busted out the Red Strip Light.  First, we had no idea there was a "Light" version of Red Stripe and second, we had no idea until after we got back from Jamaica that they actually sold this version in the US. 

Even though we weren't sitting under the trees looking out at the ocean in Jamaica, our Jerk Chicken and Red Stripe Light was just as good as we watched Duck Dynasty on A&E ;)

Everyday Suzy Homemaker....

Growing up, one of my favorite meals was brisket!  Mom would wake up early on a Sunday morning and put it in the oven and when we came home from church, it would be ready.  Those 6 - 7 hours of cooking just melted in my mouth! 
I've always said that I wanted to cook a brisket, but the thought of something cooking that long in an oven and not a crockpot was very daunting!  Last night, my dear friend Sarah and her "friend" Mark came over for dinner.  I might have been the most excited of everyone because I love meeting my friends new "friends" ;) 
We made the plans about a week ago, then came the task of "what to cook"?  I started looking through all my Cooking Light Magazines and then headed to my recipe book thats filled with recipes from my family.  I came across the brisket and I knew I had to try it!!  I forwarned Sarah before they came over that I was trying something new out and if it was a disaster, we'd call our favorite pizza joint, Blue Moon Pizza. 

Per my dad, the butcher, I cooked a half of a brisket.  This kind of threw the recipe off with timing so after much googling, Ben and I came up with how long to cook 1/2 brisket.  After much anticipation, we ate the brisket and it was a SUCCESS!!  The dinner was filled with laughter, wine, old friends, and a new friend.  We topped the dinner off with a SIMPLE somewhat light dessert from Skinny Taste called the Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle.  Since strawberries are very tasty right now, I opted to just use strawberries and no blueberries.  It was delicious!!  I will be making this dish again, with the blueberries, for our Red, White, & Blue Burgers & Brew party that we are having at our house.

Big Bird

About 2 weeks ago, I posted about the fabulous new pantry that Ben built.  (Tim the Tool man)  The pantry itself is GREAT and I love that our kitchen is so organized and I can actually find food and serving pieces!  About a day after it was built, I just kept staring at it because it was a huge yellow (honey to be exact) built-in in our kitchen.  I didn't want to hurt Ben's feelings (I picked out the color, so I was the one at fault), so I made a joke about Big Bird being in our kitchen.  To my excitement, he agreed!  We started brainstorming different ideas on how to improve the color/look of the pantry.  I knew that any solid color we painted it would just be too much because it is so big! 
We decided to add a few panels on 3 of the doors as well as add more brown tones to the honey paint color.  Ben cut out pieces of wood, painted them chocolate brown and attached to the front of the doors with wood glue.  It was definitely an improvement, but still wasn't our favorite.  I was trying to be positive about it but Ben was just not liking it.  During our "brainstorming" session, we discussed adding fabric panels to some of the doors, but that was just a thought we had. 

This past weekend, I headed to the fabric store to look for material to make curtains for our kitchen window.  (I really want plantation shutters, but that will hopefully come in time.)  I didn't want to spend a ton of money so decided I would stay out of the "upholstery/curtain" section and would head straight to the linen material.  Well, the linen material wasn't too great, so I headed to the "upholstery/curtain" section and the piece I found was on sale for 40% off!!  I took a swatch home to see if it matched and it looked great!  When Ben got home from guard this weekend, I showed him the swatch and he was like "this will look great over the panels on the pantry".  I was so excited that he mentioned the idea. 

I headed back to the fabric store on Monday and grabbed enough material for curtains and panels.  Within an hour of getting home, Ben had already taken one of the panels off and was ready to fix them.  The process took awhile because we had to do them individually and let the wood glue dry before we moved on to the next.  We were able to take the last clapse off this morning and we are really loving the new look!  It feels so warm and "homey". 

Excited to get busy on my "no sew" curtains!  Hoping to have those done this weekend or next week!

Getting crafty.....and legal!

Our home has three bedrooms.  The master bed, a large guest room and a smaller guest room.  Because of all the renovations and extra stuff we were already needing, we decided to just use the bedroom stuff that we both had in our old rooms for the two guest rooms.  We both had IKEA furniture, but it works :)  Ben didn't have curtains or pillows with his stuff, so I was able to really spice it up and we actually really like how that guest room turned out (the larger one).  Now for my stuff....I had everything, so when it came to choosing a paint color, it had to go with what I had.  I had curtains that were green, but didn't want to paint our walls white, so I chose a really light green.  Needless to say, it looks white.  Add the white comforter into the mix and that poor room just looks bland!!  We needed some color and neither of us want to spend alot of money on the room.  I was going to get rid of the cute "wall saying plaques" that I had that talked about shoes, etc., but Ben said to put them up so add color and so we didn't have to buy even more stuff.  We still needed some color above the bed and I remembered what my friend Jennie made above her bed and thought - I can do that!! 

 For less than $15, I created a masterpiece.  Well, maybe not a masterpiece, but it works.  I got three canvases, painted the edges a deep purple and then cut scrapbook paper to fit the top of the canvas, glued them on and VOILA!  Instant wall art.  Don't get me wrong, I would love something different, but if I am going to get something nice for that room, I'd rather re-do the whole room.  It works for now and adds some color. 

Now for getting legal....

A few weeks ago, I was finally able to get to the Social Security office to get my new name - Courtney Buffington Worley.  (Such a mouth full!)  Anyway, I've been able to change the necessary things - Macy's card, Delta Skymiles, Loft card, etc., but still needed to go to the dreaded DMV (which is apparently the DDS in GA).  Since the only way I can get a new company credit card is to have my new ID, I decided I better go.  This morning I headed to the DMV, took my Glamour shot, and now thanks to the state of GA, I have my folded paper ID (that does not work when trying to fly from island to island in Hawaii - I know from experience!).  I will have my new shiny ID in less than 30 days.  Let's be honest, I did go through many outfits to determine what to wear for my picture.  Who still does this?  As I told Ben, I'm 29, should I even care??  I opted for some fabulous earrings and just went with it! 

Now, all I need to do is update my passport and I think I am good to go!  A woman did NOT make the rules for name changing because there are way too many processes!  Once I update my passport, Ben better find me a place to go so I can use it!  This has been work ;)

National Fondue Day

For those that know Ben and I well, you know we love cheese & wine and when it's FREE cheese fondue, it's even BETTER!!  Ben and I have a little obsession with fondue, especially The Melting Pot.  Ben took me on a date there early on and we turned a very awkward table sitting experience into a laughing good time!  We would both say that this is where we both knew there was more than "just liking" going on between the two of us. 

Apparently Ben & I are Club members at The Melting Pot.  Ben got an email last week saying "Free cheese" for National Fondue Day.  We obviously said "YES"!! 

Last night, we headed to The Melting Pot for a mid-week date night.  I thought we were just doing Free cheese fondue and wine, but we decided to stay for the whole sha-bang....Chocolate fondue included. 

I just love date nights with my hubby :)

Dinner Guests

Last night, Ben's parents drove down from Ellijay, GA (about 1 1/2 hours) to visit. Ben fired up his new grill and we enjoyed a yummy burger bar with sweet potato fries and fresh grilled corn on the cob.
It was a great night visiting and showing them all the new things we have done on the house since.

With all the beautiful spring flowers and colors, I had to brighten up the table with color!

Happy Easter!!

Many people have asked, "What are you all doing for Easter?" and our response has happily been - staying in town and doing nothing.  We have been going, going, going, that just being in Atlanta with no specific plans for a weekend seems like the best way to spend Easter.

Most years at our church, we have a Good Friday service in addition to Easter service.  We did not have one this year and I sure did miss it.  Ben and I headed to the 9 a.m. service this morning and then headed to Nancy G's for Easter brunch.  This was Ben's first time at Buckhead Church for Easter and I don't think he understood until he saw today the amount of people that flood into the doors.  There are usually 2 to 3 overflow rooms they have to use at the 9 & 11 services.  We did bust out our fancy clothes this morning, because it's Easter, He has risen, so lets celebrate!!  

Prior to going to church, the Easter Bunny did visit the Worley house.  The Easter Bunny also had an egg scavenger hunt for me throughout the house with a gift certificate to my favorite boutique (I bought the dress above from there.).  It was so much fun and I love that we can still be big kids!  I mean, this is our first holiday together as a married couple!

We did get a "surprise" Easter present on Saturday.  Ben got his grill from his old house a few weeks ago and we wanted to grill some steaks last night. He had not used this grill in over a year or two, but he had friends that had used it.  It definitely needed cleaning so yesterday, he opened it up to start cleaning it and it was just rusty and rotted looking.  Hot mess!
It could have still been used, but it was an explosion waiting to happen.  Ben said "Home Depot is having a sale on grills", so off to the HD we went.  (FYI - Home Depot was NOT having a sale on grills).  Now, we have a nice new shiny grill and it cooks steaks AMAZINGLY!!  We obviously tested it out last night.  

Dating my Man!

After a stressful week with me traveling for work, Ben and I definitely were excited about date night.  We had another "Groupon" date on Friday night.  I bought a Groupon back in January for a Wine and Cheese School date for two.  We headed to the Atlanta Wine School for an hour session on wine and cheese.  It was something different to do, but, we are glad we bought it "Groupon" style and not full price.

Since we ate like birds, we were both still hungry so we hit up our favorite pizza joint on the way home.  As always, Blue Moon Pizza did not disappoint.  The Luna Pizza is still our favorite pizza choice.

All in all, we loved just spending time together on a Friday night!

P.S. I love that The Daily Sweatpants started the weekend "Dating Your Man" linking party.

Tim the Tool Man...

Last week, our friend Sarah stayed with us as she was in the process of moving.  After seeing all the work that Ben had done in the house, she started calling him Tim the Tool man Taylor.  It's true, I have my own handyman!!

This week, is the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, GA which is about 2 1/2 hours from Atlanta.  Columbus County put on a concert and event and portions benefited St. Jude.  The people of Columbus County might be the nicest people ever!  I went down on Wednesday and came back late Thursday night/Friday morning.

Since I was gone for 2 nights, Ben was able to convert into Tim the Tool man Taylor and finished building the pantry.  I came home and was so excited to see all of his hard work!!  Looking forward to cleaning out our cabinets and moving stuff into the pantry as well as putting up more wedding gifts!!

 The fabulous pantry Ben built!!  He painted it too!  The honey color keeps things light in the kitchen.

The kitchen as a whole.  You definitely have to get use to the pantry since it's been a big open whole since we bought the house.

Go, Go, Go

Since last Wednesday, I have been just going and am just pooped to say the least!  I was in Augusta and Charlotte for work and then headed home so Ben and I could jump on the road and drive to Louisiana for my cousin Morgan's wedding. 

While I was gone for work, Ben was able to get a lot done on our pantry and I can't wait for it to be finished so I can post pictures!!  He has worked so hard on it and it looks fantastic!! 

Ben and I did hit the road on Friday and drove to Louisiana to see my cousin Morgan marry Margaret.  We got in late Friday night and stayed with my brother and sister in law.  We got up on Saturday morning and headed to Shreveport to have lunch with the family & to celebrate my grandmother's birthday.  That evening we headed to the wedding.  The wedding was held in a very unique, rustic event space that is adjacent to a shooting range.  It was super cute and something you'd see on Pinterest.  Margaret had everything fixed so cute!  From the yummy Wedding cake martinis, to the tea & water that were served in mason jars, to the fun tree inspired centerpieces, it was just super cute! 

It was a super quick trip home, but it was great to see the family.  Now for Monday...