Five On Friday

1. We are having crabs tonight (surprise, surprise) and I'll be making my potato salad (by Jon's request... he loves it!) but I'll also be making some hummus pinwheels. Can't wait!

2. It's official- my dogs have more collars than I have fingers. Is that normal? Growing up we had maybe 2 collars for our family dog. But I just love switching their collars every so often! When I found these collars, I had to get them. They are adorable, waterproof, durable, and only $26 (no tax and free shipping!). Plus I went through ebates first so I earned money back on my purchase. Heck. Yeah.

3. I am still loving all of my complimentary #SurfsUpVoxBox products from Influenster! Want free items too? Contact me and I'll send you a personal invite :)

4. Speaking of the #SurfsUpVoxBox, I got my nails done yesterday with my new SinfulColors polish. It went on great and my manicurist even complimented it. Love!

5. Tomorrow, my sister and I will be having a yard sale at my house. We have tons of items to sell- some brand new! I hope it is a success :)

XoXo

Recipe, Crock pot alfredo stuffed shells!

This is a new favorite of mine for sure. I love Italian dishes... maybe because it's because my mom makes the best stuffed shells and Jon's grandma cooks a meatball that makes me rethink this whole vegetarian thing ;) Looks like I'll have to find a good vegetarian meatball recipe next! Anyways, I decided to make stuff shells but with a twist (Alfredo instead of tomato sauce). 

Here's what you'll need: 
1. Shells (I used jumbo)
2. 16 oz. ricotta cheese
3. 1 egg
4. Spinach (I used fresh but you can also use frozen)
5. Shredded cheese (I used an Italian cheese mix but you could also use just mozzarella)
6. 2 jars of Alfredo sauce
7. 1 onion
8. 1 package of mushrooms
9. 3 cloves of garlic
10. Olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste

How to make the filling:
1. In a bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, 1 egg, spinach, 1 handful of shredded cheese

How to make the topping:
1. Wash mushrooms thoroughly!
2. Chop onion and mushrooms
3. Combine onion, mushrooms, a dash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and 3 pressed garlic cloves

How to cook:
1. Stuff the shells (uncooked) with your filling
2. Spray crock pot with non stick spray
3. Pour some Alfredo sauce as the first layer
4. Put down a layer of shells
5. Sprinkle half of your topping ontop of the shells

6. Repeat- Pour another layer of Alfredo sauce, then shells, then topping
7. Top with the last of your Alfredo sauce and shredded cheese
8. Cook on low for 4-6 hours

XoXo

Surf's Up VoxBox

Woohoo! I received my complimentary #Surf'sUpVoxBox from Influenster and I am in love :) But who doesn't love free products? This box included:

Not Your Mother's® Beach Babe Texturizing Shampoo & Conditioner

Sinful Colors Professional

First Aid Shot Therapy

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun

Jamba At Home Smoothies

What I'm most excited to try? Definitely the nail polish and After Sun lotion! I just love that blue color for summer and I think it will go well with the dress I am planning to wear for my bridal shower. What do you think? I'll post a picture of my nails with the polish, so stay tuned!

I also tan once a week so the After Sun lotion is right up my alley! I hate the way my skin feels after a tanning session- so dry, hot, and just exhausted. This lotion will prolong my tan and rejuvenate my skin... heck yeah.

And has anyone had the Jamba smoothie? I am so anxious to pick this up from the store. I love smoothies but I hate all the work that goes into it and somehow my kitchen is always a mess afterwards. But not with the Jamba At Home Smoothie! Mmmm can't wait.

Want free products too? Sign up for Influenster -contact me and I'll send you a personal invite :)

 XoXo

Recap!

I'm back!!! It was nice to take a break from blogging for a week but I'm so glad to be back at it. I have a lot planned for this week so stay tuned! But to catch you all up, here's what's been going on in my life...

Jon's niece, Emma was baptized yesterday and he is her God father. You can see him holding her in the picture below. It was a beautiful ceremony and the party afterwards was great too. We got her this gift and I just love it. The perfect go-to for all the babies in your life!

I FINALLY got around to using my jewelry cleaner that I got from my parents for Christmas. I'm obsessed with it! If I could, I would be cleaning my ring daily but they only suggest that you use this cleaner to clean diamonds twice a year. SO I'm waiting until right before my wedding to clean my ring!

Jon and I went to the Food truck ralley in Canton last Friday. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed trying all the food. My favorite was this veggie gyro from the Greek truck! I also like that your admission (just $3) goes to a different charity each time. 

I reorganized my outdoor furniture to make room for our new hot tub design. My patio table got moved to our covered porch. Can you believe that it went from looking like this...

... to this!? (Tablecloth, tray)

I'm so glad to be back! See you tomorrow for a special post ;)

Now back to enjoying my morning tea! (mason jar cup)

XoXo

Five on Friday

TGIF!!! Am I the only one who thinks this week went by way too slow? Here in Baltimore it was so gloomy which I'm sure didn't help! Here's to the weekend starting in 8 hours :)

1. I am obsessed with this garden stool from Zulily, priced at only $99!!! Need an invitation to join this amazing site? Here ya go! And you might just get addicted to it like me ;)

2. After some searching, Jon and I have agreed on a hot tub! We really took the time to educate ourselves and we are so glad we did. If not, we could have spent the same amount of money for a poorly built tub. And who wants that? Anyways, here is our hot tub- Now all we have to do is build a foundation. As anyone done this before? Suggestions would be great. I know we will be hitting up YouTube for some tutorials.

3. This weekend I'll be working on welcome bags for the wedding. I'm so excited! Everyone who stays the night at our venue will receive a bag. Just something simple and a way to say thanks, once again, for coming. Here are some ideas I'm getting:

4. Speaking of this weekend, I've been craving crabs so I am definitely fitting that in at some point! And my potato salad always goes so well with crabs- Jon just loves it!

5. And since I never share pictures of my dogs (joking!) here's a picture of them snuggling. It warms my heart to see how much they love each other. 

XoXo

Baltimore's Adoptable Dogs, June 2014

Ruger adoptable through Baltimore Bully Crew

Just like with human family birth order, there is an adoption order in rescue. There are first born types: over achievers, bar setting, perfectly well mannered dogs. The middle types, harder to get to know, quiet maybe, or looking for their place in the world. And the last child: loud, demanding attention, and can show off in a cute way. Of course, all types worthy of love.

Meet Ruger. He is a middle child type dog. People could walk right past him because he might not be sitting at attention or whining for attention. What he is doing is observing. Taking in the all the world has to offer with those soulful amber eyes. An amazing trait for such a young dog, don't you think? He may not steal the show, but that is only because he is working on stealing your heart. He has a story to share with you. One about being just the right dog for the unassuming, down to earth, friendly person. He is the dog that you realize you didn't know was missing in your life and can't remember what life was like without him until you meet him. Read part of his story here and then become his happily ever after. 

Ruger will be a great dog. I say "will" because he is still only a puppy. The best kind of puppy; over the potty training issues, baby teeth biting, and the I don't understand English so I'm going to tear up your house. Yet, he is motivated to learn more, and grow with you into an awesome adult dog who one day will just "get" you. He is just looking to be loved and to return that love.

He is the type of dog that cares about you because he already understands that his people will bring order to his life forever. His confidence will be strengthened by your committed leadership. What a gift you will give, by showing Ruger the world can be a marvelous place.

If anyone is looking for a young, goofy, adorable, and dog social puppy, please consider Ruger. He is adoptable through Baltimore Bully Crew.

Cari Ann adoptable through Bella's Bully Buddies

Cari Ann is a sweet, gentle 2-3 year old girl who is a total love bug! She is the kind of girl who likes to play a little fetch and then do a lot of snuggling. She would love to find a family who likes to stay home and be together. She is very good at: giving kisses and hugs, eating dinner out of her kibble dispensing toy while her family eats dinner, looking up at you like you are the only person she needs and asking for belly rubs. She is also doing wonderfully in her intensive obedience class. Cari Ann is a great family dog looking for her family! 

If you would like to learn more about me:
Check out our website atwww.bellasbullybuddies.org
To adopt me click here to fill out an application:http://bellasbullybuddies.org/bbb-webapp/adoptionApplication/index

Don't forget to follow Bella's Bully Buddies on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/BellasBullyBuddiesand come to our next adoption event!

Woody adoptable at Baltimore County Animal Shelter

This handsome young lad is about as cute as they come, with his cow spotted coat. Simply stunning. Woody is just a happy go lucky boy and already well mannered. He is an active boy and really wants someone who will take him on walks and play ball. He comes with a $50 coupon or training, from Doghouse Girls. He is one of our longest term dogs and we are very eager to get him out of the kennel so he can be a happy dog. Please consider Woody.

XoXo

Review, Chipotle Sofritas

What exactly IS sofritas you may ask? "We start with organic tofu from Hodo Soy that we shred and then braise with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos, and a blend of aromatic spices. The result is a delicious, spicy tofu that will give vegans and carnivores something they both will love." At least that's what Chipotle says. To me, it's just pure goodness!

Before Chipotle introduced sofritas, I would get a burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, mild tomato salsa, corn, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and lettuce (Over the last year I have decided to cut meat out of my diet for various reasons). Now I get all of that AND the sofritas. Just when I thought Chipotle couldn't get any better, it did. In Chipotle's description of sofritas, it says "spicy tofu". In my own personal opinion it is not spicy at all. It does have a mild smoky flavor to me and I just love it. The ONLY problem I have is now when I get sofritas, Chipotle charges me for guacamole (just like if you would order chicken, steak, etc.) but when I would just get fajita veggies, guacamole was free.

The texture of the tofu is perfect- It is not chewy and it resembles meat. The flavor of the tofu is amazing- It is far from bland and it compliments the other ingredients. In fact I would bet my right hand that in a taste test, meat eaters would not be able to tell that sofritas was not meat. And that most meat eaters would actually prefer it to their normal Chipotle order. If you are a meat eater, vegetarian, or vegan I suggest that all of you give it a try! You really don't know what you're missing out on.

XoXo

New Back Yard Plans Option 2

Happy Tuesday!!! Jon and I went to look at some pools and ended up falling in love with a hot tub. We like the idea of a hot tub better because we can use it year round. I used my online planner again to map out how the yard would be designed. The only difference in this, is that our hot tub would be square shaped. I LOVE the online planner because it gives me a visual of what everything would look like. You can see my first yard plan here. What do ya'll think? I'm loving the hot tub plan because we also wouldn't have to get rid of our existing pallet patio!

XoXo

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

Saturday night we were given tickets to the Orioles game from my boss' brother, Robert. We were so excited to go!

Robert, me, and Jon

Robert and Jon

Robert and I

Me and Jon after we got our complimentary Manny Machado bobble heads :)

The view from our seats!

We won!!! Afterwards we used the Uber app to take a black car from the game to Mama's on The half Shell! (Uber offers $10 off your first ride with them. Just click the link above)

XoXo

Flash Back Five on Friday

I haven't been known to post a picture with #tbt (throw back Thursday), #latergram, or #fbf (flash back Friday) but today I thought I'd join in on the fun! So here it goes- Five on Friday, flash back style ;)

1. May's BARCS vaccine clinic! Those of you local to the Baltimore area: The first Saturday of every month (ahem TOMORROW), BARCS holds a vaccine clinic from 9am-12pm. So you can bring your cats and dogs for low cost rabies, distemper, microchip, and licenses. All proceeds to go the animal shelter. It's a win win for everyone!

2. Jon and I taking our first Uber cab ride. We fell in love and have been using Uber for all of our cab services ever since then! Follow this link for $10 off your first cab ride with them- they are in 36 countries and 62 cities in the United States.

3. Me and my parents at my graduation from Towson University in January 2012. It seems like a lifetime ago!

4. Jon and I at an Oriole's game back in 2010 or 2011! We'll be headed back to the yard tomorrow night to watch the Orioles stomp the Athletics ;)

5. Me with my sister, brother, and my childhood dog, Elvis as a puppy on the first day that we got him. I miss that dog so much. He was the first dog I ever loved and I always will.

Here's a picture of Elvis when he was older. His picture (along with my childhood cat's picture) are in my parents hallway with the rest of our family.

XoXo