Weekend Recap: Casino Style

Hello Monday! Does it have to be Monday?
The weekend was fun but today we are back to life as normal. Oh the "normal" that Monday always brings. I don't like it, at all. Since this weekend was a little out of the ordinary I thought it would be fun to do a weekend recap.
Friday
Friday was pretty boring and I took zero photos #fail. We went to co-op, had a lazy afternoon and watched The Good Dinosaur for our Friday movie night.

Saturday

Saturday was the Joplin home show which meant Russ was working. First we dropped the girls off.

Obligatory kid free selfie...

and Starbucks cup too.

Next I dropped off Russ and went to the shooting range with Anna to get in some target practice.
The good news is I showed some pretty significant improvements over our last trip. Who needs to shop when you can go shoot guns.

After the range I took Russ some lunch to the Casino and hung out at the home show where I mostly sat around and snapped random selfies while completely draining my cell phone battery. 

Once he was done we checked into our room,

Got dressed up.

And went down stairs for dinner, a few drinks and some gambling.
I really hate gambling. But I did make $1 last for at least 10 minutes in a penny slot. After I gambled away my $1 we hit up the pool and called it a night.

The next day it was breakfast with a view. The hotel was SO nice. I don't think I have ever slept so well at a hotel before. Can this place just be our weekend home?

Leftover dinner, cuties and some banana bread I grabbed when leaving the house.  Probably not the healthiest meal. But it worked.

Around 10:30 we headed home in the crazy wind to pick up the girls.



We brought some new friends home. Thanks Meme & Papa

Then "the bunnies" helped me bake a key lime cake. 


That afternoon I did some blogging while watching the race with Russ and the girls played. I am pretty sure they were having some kind of crazy animal dance party. 

Later that evening we headed to eat with our dining group from church and got back home just in time to put the girls to bed, shower and call it a night ourselves.

It was such a fun weekend that was totally out of our ordinary routine. However, my vote for next weekend is a whole lot of nothing.

What was the best part of your weekend?

Friday Highlights 2016 V8

Happy Fri-Yay!
What a week we've had! It felt like we partied all weekend long (because we did) and come Monday I was wiped out. The rest of the week felt like recovery mode but it was pretty busy too. Needless to say, I feel more than ready for the weekend and thanks to a surprise it should be full of fun and relaxation. More on that later.
Here are this weeks Friday 5!
{ONE} Blog Highlights 

This week on the blog I shared...
My newest recipe creation for Vegan Coconut Shortbread Cookies. I co-hosted the fist $10 at Target Link-up. I wished our Emily Elizabeth a Happy 5th birthday. Shared my favorite blueberry muffin recipe. Interviewed Russ for 'The Guy Behind The Blog'.
{TWO} Last Weekends Highlights
 I ran out of "blogging days" this week, so I thought I would throw a little last weekend recap in here.
Friday We spent most of the day with our dear friends.

Saturday Saturday was spent celebrating Emily, ALL day long.

Sunday Sunday was Emily's actual birthday and the Daytona 500 which is also a holiday in our family.
*Note how the husband redecorates the living room just for the occasion. 

{THREE} Mommylogues

This week I guest posted in my dear friend Whitney's Mommylogues series. I shared about where I am in my current stage of motherhood and how I feel about where we are.  Your can read my post HERE.
Make sure you leave Whitney lots of love while you are there. She's the best!

{FOUR} Surprise Night Away

Guess who gets to spend tomorrow at a "swanky" casino?!

Okay, so that sounds kind of weird. But it's true!

The husband told me he had to work on Saturday, but surprised me with a night away too. On Saturday we are heading out to the Joplin Home Show where he will work a 5 hour slot then we get to hang out, do whatever we want and stay there that night, for free.

Sounds like a win to me!

I mean how often do you get to stay at a hotel 15 minutes from your house?!

I'll make sure to post a weekend recap on Monday!

{FIVE} Giveaway
This week was the first $10 at Target link up and to celebrate we're having a giveaway!

The hosts of the $10 at Target link-up want you to take the $10 challenge! This month we are giving away SIX, $10 Target gift cards!!!  Make sure you enter for your chance to win.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Linkup Parties To see where I am linking up check out my link-up tab.
Have a great weekend!

We will see you back here soon.

The Guy Behind The Blog {February 2016}

He's back?!

In the spirit of complete honesty I have to say that after last months his and hers currently post, I wasn't so sure I would ever get Russ to do a "The Guy Behind..." post again.

I asked him to smile...

So I did what any clever wife would do, I tricked him.

Okay that sounds so much worse than it really is.

Instead of asking him all 5 questions at once making it an "agonizing" process I spread them out over a weeks time. He grumbled a bit less and didn't seem to be as bothered as he usually does when I sit down with the lap top to "interrogate" him.

He was happier, and I was happy that he was happier.
Whatever it takes to get my post and keep the peace ;).

So without further delay here are his answers to the February questions:

1. This year is Leap Year — what are you going to do to celebrate?

*Shaking his head.*
Absolutely nothing.

2. If you could create an obscure holiday, what would it be and why?

"That is the worst question ever."
Me: No it's not!
Anything that would let me take the day off work.
Me: Like 'Work On Your Hot Rod Day' Or "Yesterday Was The Daytona 500 Day"?
Yup, pretty much!

3. Have you seen the movie Leap Year? If not, tell us about another romantic comedy you have seen.

I don't think so. I don't know, that one dumb movie we watched.
Me: Which one?
I don't know! The one that sucked?! It was awful. Didn't it have Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler? We don't watch many romantic comedies do we?
Me: No. No we don't.

4. Tradition has it that women are supposed to propose to their men on leap day. Would you (or did you) say yes if your girl popped the question?

*Odd look on his face*
Me: Have you ever heard of that before?
No. But we're already married.
Me: Well let's just talk hypothetically. If I proposed to you on Leap Year, would you say yes?
Yeah.
Me: You would?!
Oh yeah, have you seen yourself?!
Me: *Laughter* Well played sir, well played.

5. If you had to have a special event take place on leap day, what would it be (ex: wedding, birthday, birth of your child, etc)?

No.
Me: If you had to pick something?
*Weird grimace*
I don't know. I've never thought gee I wish _____ only happened every four years.

Linking up with Betsy

Simply The Best Blueberry Muffins {Recipe}

Have I ever mentioned how much I love muffins?!

Probably at least once a week I would assume.

A few weeks back I was talking about muffins *surprise* particularly blueberry muffins. I had tried out a recipe on Pinterest that claimed to be the best blueberry muffins and what I discovered was a big fat disappointment. I guess you have to try a few recipes to discover that what you already have is the best thing. 

So today I am going to go out on a limb and declare my recipe to be the winner.

I took parts from a few different recipes that I liked and created these. They are easy to make and the strudel topping is always a favorite in my house. We enjoy them year round too since this recipe works great with both fresh or frozen blueberries. You don't even need to thaw them, just dump them right in there frozen. Easy peasy!

You might even say they are irresistible.

 I was mid "photo shoot" with my muffins and I turned around to discover this. Apparently Emily had found her muffin (the one that doesn't have blueberries in it) and I caught her sneaking a few bites. So I did what any good blogger would do. I told her to do it again and snapped a photo :). Apparently she loves muffins too. 

Enjoy!

print recipe

Simply The Best Blueberry Muffins

by February-24-2016

My very favorite blueberry muffins with a strudel topping.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 3/4 Cup White Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Egg
• Approx 1/3 Cup Milk
• 1 Cup Blueberries
• 2 T Brown Sugar
• 2 T White Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 3/4 Cup Flour
• 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups.

2) Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

3) Place the vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup, totaling 1 cup.

4) Mix this with the flour the batter will be pretty thick.

5) Gently fold in the blueberries fresh or frozen.

6) Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full and top with crumb topping mixture.

7) To make crumb topping mixture mix 2 T brown sugar, 2 T white sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 3/4 cup flour. Stir n 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter until the mixture is course and crumbly. My favorite way to do this is in the bowl of a stand mixer.

8) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean.

Yield: 1 Dozen

This muffin tin was passed down to me from my mama. It sure looks rough but it has baked COUNTLESS cupcakes and muffins over the years. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

So there you have it, my favorite blueberry muffins.

I hope you love them as much as we do an that they don't disappoint.

If you give them a try be sure to let me know!

What is your favorite kind of muffin?

Happy 5th Birthday Emily, Tuesday Talk V8

On Sunday my baby girl turned 5...
* F * I * V * E *
Even just saying she is five makes her feel so much older. *said while weeping and eating an entire carton of ice cream* 
While looking back through the archives recently, I realized I haven't shared many baby photos of my sweet Emily Elizabeth. So today I wanted to change that and look back on five years of our baby girl.
Baby Emily

  One Year Old

Two Years Old

3 Years Old

4 Years Old

And this is what 5 looks like. 

Emily you are such a joy to our lives.
Your free spirit, infectious laughter and silliness always keep us smiling. You have grown up so much over the past year and I am so excited to watch you continue to grow into a beautiful young lady.
I am so happy that God chose me to be your mama.
Happy Birthday Emily Elizabeth Newman! XOXOXO
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