Cheesy Mac N Cheese [taste of tuesday]

I've been wanting to make homemade mac n cheese for a longggg time but I've never gotten around to it. Last night I finally went for it! This stuff was so yummy & it really wasn't all that hard to make. It probably took about 45 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients:

via

• 16 oz macaroni pasta
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 1/2 cups milk, warmed
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 lb Velveeta, cubed
• 1/2 lb cheddar, cubed

• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tbls parsley
• 2 tbls butter, melted

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350* F & Boil your pasta for 2 minutes less than the directions suggest, drain it & set it aside

2. In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter, salt & pepper. Once melted, add flour, stir & cook for 1 minute. (this is what it will look like after)

3. Add milk & wine & bring to a boil, whisking.

4. Cut up cheeses into cubes.

5. Add the cubed cheeses & stir vigorously until melted

6. Add pasta & cheese sauce to a greased 9 x 13 pan & mix

7. Combine the bread crumbs, parsley & melted butter in a small bowl

8. Sprinkle the crumb topping on the macaroni & bake uncovered for 20 minutes (the original recipe suggested 30 minutes, but I found that to be too long. I believe 20 minutes would be much better!)

Voila!

Now I'm off to drool over everyone else's recipes! 

Linking up with Ash & Jess! :)

Weekend Update!

Morning Lovelies!

I know I was a little MIA last week... My computer overheated on Monday night & I let it cool for the week. When I turned it on last night it did the same thing again! :( So now I have to take it in today to be looked at so in the mean time I jacked Darren's computer to write my post! 

Friday Darren & I went to see "Pain & Gain." It was really good!! I love me some Mark Wahlberg! Then we met some of our friends for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. SO YUMMY! After that we went home & watched "Insidious." I've heard it was really good from several people but we never saw it... I'm glad we watched it! We both thought it was really good. Scary movies have been pretty disappointing lately so it was nice to see a good one.

Saturday we sat around the house all day since the weather was awful. Saturday night we went to watch the UFC fights. My favorite fighter, Chael Sonnen was fighting so we had to go support him! A ton of our friends went out with us & we had a blast. I  may have had a few way too many angry orchards.. Whoops, ha. Chael lost, but it's okay... he's still my fave ;)

Sunday we woke up early to go help Darren's parents move some stuff. Then we tried out a local wings & pizza place with Darren's brother & it was actually really good AND cheap... double bonus! We went home & then I spent some time couponing so I could score some free stuff... The total retail value was $63.29, I spent $11.66 & I got $13 back to use on my next shopping trip. Tutorial coming Thursday so I can share my secrets with y'all! 

1. D & I before going out

2. Me & Wrinky

3. A ton of selfies. This is what I send Darren when we're away from each other haha

4. Wrinkles & my pretty pedi

5. Gifts for some good friends

6. My friend, Chelsea's gorgeous girls

7. Jones v. Chael!

8. Me repping Chael. You can barely see it, but you get the point, ha

9. My couponing goodies ;)

Linking up with Sami, Leeann, Sarah & Molly.

Now I'm off to Jury Duty... Ugh. 

Weekend Update! [parties & the zoo!]

Friday night I went over to my friend, Jenny's house. We tried an at home body wrap that's supposed to release toxins & remove skin impurities... Yeah, I don't think it worked. It was just really, really cold & gross ha. After I left her house I picked Darren up & we met his brother up at BJ's for a few drinks. YUM!

Saturday I went to my good friend, Nana's graduation party because she just graduated from Nursing school. AND she also just got engaged right after as well! I'm so excited for her. Her party was fun & it was nice to see her & catch up. Saturday night we threw a dog birthday party... lol. Darren's brother's dog turned 1 & he wanted to have a birthday party for her so we set up a little party at our house & invited over a few of our friends & their puppy as well. We let the dogs play while the adults watched the UFC fights & played pictionary. SO much fun!

Sunday we went to the Houston Zoo with my mom, brother & sister. We had a ton of fun. My family is so goofy (especially my brother & sister who are 11 & 13) so we had a great time animal watching AND people watching, ha! My mom took us out to dinner afterwards & then we headed home & crashed.

1. Darren & I at BJ's

2. Nana's AWESOME pinterest-inspired Nursing school grad cake!

3. Nana & I... blurry, but it's the only one we took

4. Puppy party favors I made (can you imagine when we have kids?! lol)

5. Wrinkles giving the birthday girl a birthday kiss! :)

6. The pretty giraffe.. we have NINE giraffes right now at the Houston Zoo! So many!

7. Selfie!

8. Brother, momma, sister & me

9. Me & mom being goofy

How was your weekend?

Linking up with Sami, Leeann & Sarah!

I got my braces off!! (Before & After Pictures!)

I GOT MY BRACES OFF!! 

I know a lot of you have said that you didn't even notice that I had braces. That's because I always tried to choose pictures that made it look like I didn't have braces, or where you could barely see them. I had 6 month smiles. They were clear braces, you could barely see them from far away. They estimated I would have them on for about 8 months & it ended up being 10 months, but it was well worth the wait! I've always been insecure about my teeth & now I can finally smile with confidence & I LOVE IT!! 

Okay, I'll stop babbling now & let the pictures do the talking! :)

Before & After:

This was the picture that they had taken of my teeth at the Ortho the day I got my braces on:

An open mouth view of before:

& after:

:)

Can you tell I'm excited?! ha

What do y'all think?! Weren't my teeth just awful before? haha

5 Random Facts About Me & OHP

Last week, my blog bestie Ashley tagged me in a post to tell 5 random facts about me, so here we go!

1. My biggest insecurity has always been my teeth. 

I finally got braces the middle of last year. BUT I'm getting them off TODAY at 9 am!! (Before & After pictures will be up tomorrow! Prepare to be shocked!!)

2. I'm REALLY good at ping pong. 

The first time I played Darren, I hadn't played in quite a while & he had been playing pretty consistently & I beat him... easily!

3. My favorite movie is Something Borrowed. 

I've seen it literally at least 30 times! Sad, but true. Here's my favorite part:

4. I know more about UFC than probably any other girl out there. 

Darren has two passions: tennis & UFC. We really make an effort to take an interest in each other's passions which means that I've seen A LOT of UFC over the past 4 & a half years! My (well, really our) favorite fighter is Chael Sonnen:

5. I don't cry very often during movies, but I cry at almost every single wedding video I see. 

Like this one, I've seen it five times & I've cried every single time. I'm such a baby! ha

Kelly and Dustin // Wedding Feature from AleaLovely on Vimeo.

I'm tagging: 

Candice @ Just Stay Lovely

Dani @ Short, Small & in Love

Beth @ Clothes & Cocktails

Alex @ Let Life Be Like Music

Kerry @ Till Then, Smile Often

Now, on to my favorite pins for the week!

Linking up with Shanna & Michelle!

Cake Pop Tutorial [taste of tuesday]

The first time I made cake pops was a disaster. That was about a year ago & I haven't attempted it since. When I saw this pin on Pinterest, I clicked on the link & I decided to give it another try since I LOVEEEE cake pops that other people make. I'm so glad I made them... I told myself I wasn't going to eat any because of my YF diet, but I broke down & tried one. They are delicious!! Darren & his friends loved them as well!

One: Mix your boxed cake mix

Two: Prepare your cake

Three: Bake your cake according to directions on box

Four: Add your container of frosting & mix with the cake to form small clumps

Five: Place your candy melts into small plastic containers

Six: Melt your candy melts in the microwave (I had a little trouble the first time I tried, I recommend microwaving in 20 second intervals & stirring in between until melted)

Seven: Form small balls out of your cake/frosting mix (I didn't have a cookie scoop, but if you have one I would recommend using it to form your balls so that they are perfectly round. Mine were a little lot bit lumpy.)

Eight: Dip your cake pop sticks in the melted chocolate & stick into balls. Let sit for a little while, then dip the entire ball into the melted chocolate. Pop in the freezer for about 15 minutes & you're good to go!

Can't wait to see what everyone else made this week!! :)

Linking up with Ashley & Jessica!

Weekend Update [a blate + a graffiti run]

Friday we went to watch a tennis tournament at River Oaks. [I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before or not, but Darren is OBSESSED with tennis, ha]

While we were at the tennis tournament, some of our good friends called & asked if we wanted to come over for dinner at their new place. We've been dying to see their new place so we were beyond excited. Then I realized we had to get them a housewarming gift. Insert Pinterest. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of MY versions because we were in such a rush, but here's what we ended up giving them (they LOVED it!!)

via & via

***It's a lime tree with coronas & limes (we subbed the coronas for dos xx because they like it better) & the other one is a bottle of wine wrapped in a dish towel.***

Saturday we went to Boneyard (a dog park/bar) & I FINALLY got to meet up with Ashley & Savanah. They were so sweet & I'm so glad we all had the chance to get together.. Plus Ashley's pups got to meet Wrinkles!! :) That was my first "blate" & I'm glad it was with these ladies!! 

Sunday we woke up really early to go do a graffiti run. When I woke up I was thinking, "Why the hell did we pay to wake up early on a Sunday & go RUN?!?" But y'all... IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!! We were covered from head to toe with all different colors. If you haven't done it before, sign up! After the graffiti run we went to another tennis tournament at River Oaks, but this time it was the finals. It was an amazing match & we were on TV ;) 

(But unless you watch the tennis channel, you probably didn't see us haha)

1. Me, Ashley, Savanah AND Wrinkles, Axel & Bowser! :)

2. My best attempt at getting a good picture of Wrinkles & Bowz!

3. Me, Ashley & Savanah minus the pups! (apparently I didn't get the "stripes" memo lol)

4. Before the graffiti run...

5. After the graffiti run!!!

6. Me & Wrinkles

7. Darren & I being goofy... like always

8. My boys! (Darren & Wrinkles)

9. Darren & I at the tennis tournament!

Linking up with Sami, Leeann & Molly!

How was your weekend?!

              

Friday's Letters & #backthatazzup

I'm starting this Friday out dancing & you should too. 

Here, I'll help ;)

Everytime I hear this song now, I think of that movie, "This Means War." The movie itself really wasn't all that good, but it makes me think of when Reese Witherspoon was singing & dancing in the kitchen in her underwear & I can't help but laugh, ha. Incase you haven't seen it... here you go. You're welcome.

Dear Coupons, I'm finally starting to use you again & I've got to say: I AM LOVING IT! I'm saving so much money & stocking up on tons of essentials! Dear Internet, thanks a lot for going out for almost two days.. that was really fun! not. Dear Weather, thank you for being so perfect & for continuing to be perfect throughout the weekend! Dear Ashley, Ax & Bowser, WE ARE SO BEYOND EXCITEDDDDD!!! Tomorrow is FINALLY the day!! :) :) 

Dear Printer Ink, why are you so dang expensive?! Dear Blog, get excited... I'm FINALLY paying for a blog design & it is long overdue! Can't wait!

Dear Houston Rockets, congrats on the playoffs! I'll be taking full advantage of your 50% off sale this weekend & picking myself up a Parsons jersey! :)

Dear Outlet Mall, see you Sunday!! ;) Dear Ecards, thank you for always being so damn funny. 

Linking up with Whitty & Ashley!

Oh, How Pinteresting!

If you like what you see, you can follow me on Pinterest HERE! :)

Happy Wednesday!!

Linking up with Michelle!

Weekend Update

Morning lovers!

Let's start this weekend update with Thursday since I didn't blog on Friday!

Thursday night Darren & I went camping with some of our good friends. We took Wrinkles along with us & we had so much fun for it being just an overnight trip. Since it had rained the night before, the firewood was still a little wet so it took us FOREVER to get the fire started. Once we did, it was nice to just sit around the fire til about 2:30am. The only bad part was that it was FREEEEEZING once we got away from the fire! I was wearing sweatpants, two pairs of thick socks, THREE shirts, two jackets & two comforters & I was still freezing my butt off!!!

Friday we got back from camping around 4 and were beyond exhausted. We took showers, climbed in bed, watched a few episodes of Mad Men & passed out at 7!

Saturday we spent some time cleaning & I stopped by my mom's house to say hi before I headed to a babysitting job in the Woodlands. I babysat two of the cutest kids ever in the most AMAZING house! They were probably the easiest kids I have ever babysat.. gotta love that. I got off around 10:30 & picked Darren up to go see a movie. (What else is new? lol) We saw Evil Dead. Uhh, if you're looking for a movie that's freaky from beginning to end, you've got it!

Sunday we picked up the paper so I could go through the ads & cut some coupons. Once I saw Michael's ad I hopped in the car & rushed over as quick as I could because they're having some beyond amazing deals. I got a TON of stuff & only spent $28 :) I came home, cooked some dinner & then Darren & I took Wrinkles for a walk. We finished the night off with some more Mad Men!

1. Wrinkles at the campsite
2. Our gorgeous fire (after we FINALLY got it going)
3. Wrinkles trying to find shade on Friday
4. I'm in loveee with this tank from shopriffraff
5. Poor baby was trying so hard to stay awake on the drive home Friday, but he fell asleep sitting up!
6. Me & my brother Saturday night
7. I got my nails & toes done & Wrinkles approves ;)
8. Went & saw Evil Dead
9. My baby after we got back from a walk last night, tired but happy!

Can you tell I'm more than a little obsessed with my dog?! haha
Hope you all had a great weekend!

Linking up with Sami, Leeann & Molly!

Oh, How Pinteresting & Truths About Me

Yesterday, my girl, Candice, tagged me for Truths About Me.

It was a little hard to think of things I haven't already shared with y'all but eventually I came up with six.

Here we go!

one: I get addicted to TV shows reallyyyyy fast. As in, someone will tell me about a show, I'll watch the first episode & if I love it then I'll spend the next three days on Netflix watching episode after episode until I'm all caught up. Some of my favorites are Dexter, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy, The Walking Dead, The Bachelor/Bachelorette & Big Brother just to name a few. If you don't already watch those, DO IT. (and thank me later!)

two: I am currently unemployed. I got laid off almost two months ago and I haven't found anything yet and it's driving me CRAZY! The first couple of days it was nice to not have to wake up and go to work, but now I just feel lazy & bored pretty much all the time. I try to keep myself busy as much as possible. I can't wait to find a new job and get back to work. 

Never thought I'd say that!

three: Even though I really want to be a teacher, a part of me has always thought about becoming a wedding planner! I love everything about weddings & I know I would be great at it. There are two things keeping me from it... One is that I have a passion for kids & I know that if I'm a teacher I will wake up everyday and actually want to go to work and two is that wedding planning is such a hard thing to break into. You really have to be established before someone would trust you to plan their wedding and I wouldn't even begin to know how to get myself established!

four: Darren & I go to the movies at least once a week. WE LOVE MOVIES! Seriously. If there is a movie out that looks even remotely good, we've probably seen it. Our families know how often we go to the movies & last year for Christmas we got over $200 in movie gift cards alone. 

They were all gone by the end of February. 

Sorry, I'm not sorry.

^^the last three movies we went to see^^

five: I love giving gifts. It's one of my favorite things ever. It makes me happy to get something for someone that I know is going to make them happy! I love putting gift baskets together, I love being creative with gift ideas & I love wrapping them & making them all pretty. 

Honestly, I love giving gifts more than I love getting gifts. I'm weird, I know.

Anybody want a gift?? ha

six: On the other hand, I love getting mail! I check the mail every day & hope there's something in there for me haha. I love when I get my Birchbox & my Glam Bag in the mail every month, or something I've ordered online, but I especially love getting a letter/note/card of some sort! So next time any of you feel like writing a letter or buying/making a cute card, send it my way! haha :)

I'm tagging Allison & Kelly!

Now that y'all know a little bit more about me, let's get on to my favorite pins for the week!

Linking up with Shanna & Michelle!

White Strawberry-Lemon Sangria [taste of tuesday]

I love sangria.

Seriously. LOVE IT.

If you look at my "Drink On It" board on pinterest, half of them are sangrias! ha

I decided to finally make one of them last night & man, oh man was it yummy!

Without further adieu:

original recipe found here

one: cut up your lemons, apple & strawberries

two: place lemons in the bottom of your pitcher, then apples, then strawberries along with your wine (I used Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc) and rum (I used Bacardi Dragon Berry)

three: place in the fridge for 4-5 hours

four: add sprite and drink up!

Linking up with two of my favorite ladies, Ashley & Jessica!

Weekend Update

Happy Monday! I hope you all had an amazing Easter weekend!

Friday Darren & I picked up my little brother & sister & took them bowling. We had a BLAST! Plus, AMF Bowling has a special Mon-Fri from 2-5 where it's only $6/person including shoes.. Can't beat that! Later that night we met up with some friends of ours for dinner at TGI Fridays & then we went to see, 

"The Host." I didn't really care for it.

Saturday was the laziest day EVER! I literally don't think we did anything all day. I take that back.. I did make it to Target around 8:30 at night & had some Starbucks & bought some organizers for my crafts... That's productive, right?? 

Sunday we met Darren's parents for brunch at 59 Diner.. Yum! Then we headed back to the house for a much needed nap & we invited his brother over. I made one of my favorite dinners of all time & we just hung out & rented a Redbox. We had planned to go to the dog park & meet up with the beautiful Ashley, but the stupid weather decided to rain & be nasty outside. Boo. Maybe next weekend?

1. My sister & I at the bowling alley.

2. My brother & I at the bowling alley.

3. My delicious drink at TGI Fridays. I wanted to keep that shaker SO bad! I'm gonna have to buy me some nice ones like that!

4. Wrinkles :)

5. The squat challenge that I found & I'm starting TODAY!

6. Me & Wrinkles. Sorry for the terrible quality!

7. I NEED this dress from shopriffraff.com

8. Making one of my favorite dinners. (Scalloped potatoes & ham with homemade baked beans)

9. All of my new organizers for my craft supplies. (I'm still working on creating an office area so for now they stay here!)

Linking up with Sami, Molly, Sarah, & Leeann! :)