EASIEST MOST DELISH RECIPE!

I made these last night with a casserole dish that we were having for dinner. I had made them about a year ago and I don't know why I never made them again! I remembered really liking them but for some reason I was thinking that it took alot of effort or something...BUT...it doesn't!!! Make them tonight to go along with your dinner! They are easy and so super delicious! Casey literally asked me why I didn't make them every night!

Paula Deen's Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cup of Biquick

1/2 Cup Grated Sharp Cheddar

1/3 Cup of Water

Garlic Butter:

1/2 Stick Butter

1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/8 Teaspoon Dried Parsley Flakes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray your baking sheet so they don't stick!

Combine the biscuit mix and cheese in a small bowl. Add the water and stir just until combined. The dough will be slightly moist. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the biscuits are firm and beginning to brown.

While the biscuits are baking, make the garlic butter. In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic powder, salt, and parsley flakes. Mix well. As soon as you bring the biscuits from the oven, brush them with the garlic butter using a pastry brush.

How easy is THAT?! This recipe made about 8 biscuits for us! They kind of taste like Red Lobster's biscuits...if you have ever had them! But ummmm...we only had one left when we went to bed last night! OOPS! :) I wish I had a picture for you but I don't! They don't look perfect when you cook them... they are actually pretty lumpy looking! But they are easy and delicious!!

I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a few hurdles to overcome this weekend...I might talk about them tomorrow when I am emotionally OVER them! Just some random things this weekend that really rattled my cage!! :)

XOXO!

Hilary

"I WANT" FRIDAY!!!

Yes...I did watch some of the debate last night! I got a bit side-tracked after cleaning the house, running the grocery store because I decided that I could not go another day without pumpkins, helping cook dinner for Casey and our friend Justin (they grilled...I did what I could!), and giving the dogs baths (they stunk BAD!). I finally sat down for a bit and watched. I know this is random...but the one thing that I was most impressed with was Palin's ability to continually look into the camera as if she was speaking straight to the American people. Biden would look directly at the mediator and I noticed the he made quite a few jabs at McCain while Palin did not say much about Obama. I was very respectful of her for that as well! I was so worn out...I didn't work on anything else! I later crawled into bed and watched my TIVO'ed Private Practice episode! So dramatic... it will be an interesting season! Plus...Addison (Kate Walsh) is SO stinking pretty! I want to look like her!!

Yes...I have decided to pick out some new items for another "I WANT" Friday! I hope that you are able to find some fun things that you want too! Or maybe you can help me find what I want too!!

First off...this is a dress from a new store that I have found online called Shabby Apple! They have a super cute collection of dresses and they aren't TOO expensive! I think this would be a great and versatile one to wear to work or to throw on with some flip flops! It's called 90 Words Per Minute and it is $64. How cute would that be with some bangle bracelets?! I love the color too!! Check it out!

I am having a really hard time finding some fun stockings that I like for Christmas! This is our first year in our house and our first married Christmas too! I like things to be a little bit different and have my own personal flair! But not TOO outrageous though! I want some that I can monogram...I love personalization! I found these on the Pottery Barn website...I still have some gift cards left over from the wedding and I thought that I might use them on these stockings. I thought I might do one in Red and one in Green and then do the opposite color for the monogram. They are on the website for $24! Tell me what you think! OR... if you know of anyone with some good, fun stockings...PLEASE let me know!

So...I LOVE to look at the Ballard Designs catalog...they have so many GREAT decorating ideas and pieces! Since there are so many things in the catalog that I love, I decided to just open it up and pick out an item from the page that I open to! I opened up to these! I would LOVE to get my hands on these and place them on our mantle! I think they would look SO great! They are kind of pricey though! Know anywhere else I might be able to find some like these for cheaper??

I kind of have a thing for shoes..if you haven't noticed. I think that is because clothes are sometimes hard to find to fit right... I am short and pants are always WAY too long...shirts may night fit right or look good on... but one thing I know is...shoes, makeup, and jewelry ALWAYS fit! I have kind of had my eye on these shoes for a while now...I was kind of "iffy" about them at first and I think I really do like them! They would be super cute with a black shirt and long jeans or with a black dress! I like shoes that are a little bit different and that spice an outfit up... for example...today I am wearing jeans, a plain dark green shirt, and my leopard shoes! Anyways... these are the Jessica Simpson line - Josette Shoe - they have them at Dillard's for $79. Enjoy!

Well...that is all that I can think of at the moment... but I may be adding more later in the day! I must get back to work...at least for a little while! I am so glad that it's friday! My agenda for the weekend is this:

-Work the gift show tonight

-Work the gift show all day tomorrow

-Play with the puppies

-Maybe work on my furniture rehabs

-Clean the house!

-Catch up on Gossip Girl and Pushing Daisies!

Enjoy your weekend and rest a little bit! I think we all need it!

XOXO

Hilary

Where Is The Weekend???

Just a quick note to say that I am SUPER excited about the PALIN / BIDEN debate tonight! I am really hoping that she completely blows them away tonight and clears herself of all of the ridicule that she has recieved lately! I think that she is an amazing woman and will make a GREAT Vice President!


My schedule for the night is this:

- Leave work ASAP

- Meet up with Lindsey for a few minutes

- Maybe make a SUPER quick stop by Hobby Lobby since I won't have a chance to this weekend!

- Make a mad dash to clean up the house before a friend of ours comes to stay the night.

- Grab or make a quick dinner.

- Settle down in the bedroom with the pups to watch the debate! And then watch my recorded episodes of Gossip Girl, Private Practice, and Pushing Daisies! (I promise that I am not a rude hostess! It's one of Casey's best friends that is just coming in for the night before they go hunting... I assumed that I would give them some extra boy bonding time!) I might even make a cool frame or two with some frames, modpodge, and tissue paper that I found the other day! That would be a good sit and watch tv sort of project!


- I need to also be thinking of my "I WANT" items for tomorrow!! :)

Have a happy debate night and don't forget - - IT'S ALMOST THE WEEKEND!!!!


XOXO,


Hilary

HERE IT IS!!!

I am soooooo sorry that I have been so negligent to my blog this week! It has been crazy at work and I have just been too worn out at night to get on the computer! Trust me....if you saw how dirty my house is right now... you would understand! I had to promise Casey that I would clean from top to bottom on Sunday!

Well....I didn't end up putting together my window treatments this weekend...we ended up going to our parents houses this weekend to visit and see Casey's MeMe in the hospital. Don't worry...we hauled the puppies with us and they had a great time! This was Miley Mae's first real trip away from home...she loved it...I could tell! She had been VERy bad on a leash up until this weekend...so that was an exciting accomplishment! She really had never been on one before and HATED to be pulled by it...as soon as you tried to pull her, she would put her head down and then lay down!!! But now she will follow so much better!

Skeeter Boo made himself a little nest in the backseat of the truck... How cute is that face?!

Miley is starting to look a little more grown up! The flash made her look kind of gray-nosed though! She met our parents for the first time this weekend and all my dad could say is..."That is going to be a BIG dog..." I don't know if you know this...but...she is a Great Dane and her mom weighted 140 lbs....and her dad weighed 170 lbs!! Good thing she is the runt..I guess??


My kids sure do love to cuddle in the back seat... but I think at this point..Miley was squishing Skeeter!

These are the things that we ended up coming HOME with after this weekend......

I found a chair on our way out of town at Goodwill for $10!! I wanted one to refurbish and recover...and here is my first one! I almost had to fight a lady for it...She stood right behind me while I looked at it...just so she could snatch it up when I walked away....so....I decided to grab it and just carry it around the store with me!! And you know what..I didn't feel bad about it.... :)

Another piece to re-paint and re-cover! I found this in my parent's garage...my mom had it in the house at one time and then just got tired of it! I love the claw feet a the base! I think it will look so cute all finished up! I will just have to find the perfect place in the house for it!

I also brought back one of these end tables...I already had the other one that matches it and kept forgetting to grab the second when at home. The other served as an end table in my old apartment. My parents used these in their media room for a while...and then went with different furniture...so I got them! I would really love to repaint these too! I would love to do something in a darker turquoise color and find a place in the house for it...but I don't know if that bold color will fit anywhere! I know...this is a good table and probably shouldn't be painted... but I HATE having all kinds of different wood stains in the house... is that odd?



I don't know if you can see these signs very well b/c they were proped up against the wall when I took this picture! I LOVE these types of signs! A good friend of my husband's family has a jewelry company and she also sells homegoods within her store. Anyways...her store flooded a couple of weeks ago and these were among the damaged goods that he passed on to my mother-in-law. She just really couldn't sell the in the store...but really....you can't see any damage to them! My mother-in-law had about eight of them...so we got to pick a couple out for the house! Now I have to figure out where to put them! YAY! I love them!

Now onto our final "Bring Home" of the weekend....

Yes....I am the VERY special wife of an AVID hunter...so we officially purchased a duck hunting boat this weekend...and NOW we apparently have reason to clean out our garage! I mean...I don't even get to park in our garage...why should this thing?!?! Well...I guess our neighbors will appreciate it! Just FYI....Casey LOVES his truck...and this weekend he informed me that he thinks he might like this boat more than his truck. GEEZ! He also informed me that we can go to the laek in this and hang out........HAHAHA!

I am trying to inform him that a Wii would be so much more fun than a duck hunting boat!!! Wii Fit anyone?!

Glad I could update you on my weekend! I am working the rest of the week (after work) for a friend's booth at a gift show here in town! I cannot wait to see all of the booths there... I know there will be tons of fun things to purchase! OH NO! :)

XOXO,

Hilary

FRIDAY = "I WANT" DAY!

I have decided to officially make this "I WANT" day! I thought I would show you some cool and fun stuff that I have found that I really would love to add to my collection of many things! And, maybe you will want them too! Now you will know where to find them! YAY!

First of all, I adore fun and cute little dresses! Forever21 is ALWAYS a great place to shop because the stuff is super inexpensive and you can always find something fun there! I was on the website and I found this little black dress... the Perline Strapless Satin Dress....

A. It is only $24.80!

B. You can wear ANY color with it!

C. It has POCKETS!!!!! If you know me...you know that I LOVE pockets on dresses!!!

Okay...now I am normally not a huge plaid fan...but I could do this next shirt! I am a big fan of leggings and and flats and I think they would look totally cute with this long shirt! This is another one from Forever21...Embroidered Rose Plaid Shirt (they really think of some intricate names huh?) This shirt is only $24.80!!! We kind of changes our dress code at work...so I could totally wear this now!!

This next item is just personal fantasy. I DROOL over these chairs and wish that they could be my very own...but they are so expensive!! If you aren't familiar with King Ranch...it is an actual working ranch in Texas and I believe that it's one of the largest that there is. Anyways...they also have a store with lots and lots of leather things! I really do have the perfect spot in my house for these and they would go so well with all of our decor!! It makes me sad that they have to sit in a store all the time just hoping that someone will buy them... why don't you make them happy and buy them for me?!?! Thanks! I won't even mention how much these are...it might make me cry!

I think that Skeeter and Miley need these fun and personalized dog bowls!! They are from Ballard Designs and so super cute! They have the pet's name on the outside and on the inside there is a halequin design painted on! I do too much for my dogs and Casey would kill me if I spent any more "stupid money" on them!! :) And...they ARE $65 each! OUCH!


And lastly...I will leave you with these beautiful glasses! I just found them on the Williams Sonoma Home website! I think they are FABULOUS! I wish that we had registered for these before our wedding...but I never saw them! We have gotten so much glassware anyways! But look how pretty!!!

WELL...wasn't that fun?! I guess I had better get back to work and get some stuff done here! My bosses would probably appreciate that! My weekend project looks like it might be delayed... we are going to end up going back to our hometown this weekend to see family. BUT...I might be able to make a trip to Hobby Lobby and to Goodwill while I am there to see what sorts of fun fabrics and other junk that I can find! I am wanting to refurbish a piece of furniture SO badly!!! The Goodwill there is usually pretty good...so wish me luck!!!!! :)

OH!! And if you decide that you want to buy me any of these lovely things (Turquoise Chairs!!! Turquoise Chairs!!!) let me know! :)

XOXO,

Hilary

WEEKEND PROJECT

Yay for me FINALLY figuring out how to change my blog background to something cute! I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out! But I am glad to not be so PLAIN anymore! That is just not an accurate reflection of me! I got my free background courtesy of Simply Chic Blog Backgrounds! They have lots of cute ones...so don't be surprised if this one changes a few times before I find the perfect one!


Okay...I am back at work today, feeling much better, and without much to do!

As far as I know, Casey will be making a trip with his dad to the deer lease this weekend. What does this mean? Well...... it means that I will have way too much time on my hands and I will be bored out of my mind! So.... I have decided to work on a project this weekend and I am pretty excited about it!


I am taking this project from Kimba at A Soft Place To Land and making these window treatments for our three windows in our living room! I have been driving myself crazy trying to figure out what to do with our windows. I wish I had a picture with me at work, but basically we have three tall windows along the back wall of our living room. We have an L shaped couch which goes up against them. Long curtains just get so expensive and I could never figure out what color to do! So... now with these, I can pick a fun pattern since there is not much fabric. So, it shouldn't be overwhelming! These seem so easy too! No sewing at all!! Gotta love that!














Basically, all you need for these is: 2x6 wood, hot glue, L brackets, nails, nail heads, and fabric! SO EASY and SO CUTE! I cannot wait to make my own! She has a really easy tutorial for them up on her website! You should try it out too!


Now, my only problem will be which fabric to pick out... we have a red couch and a chocolate brown chair. Our coffee tables are black at the moment (we will be painting them soon) and our house is kind of a modern rustic feel. We have alot of oil rubbed bronze throughout (hardware and light fixtures)....any ideas?! I am thinking of maybe a pretty rustic looking damask?! I loooooooove damask! Let me know some great websites that you have ordered fabric from before! I feel like I am going to want a thicker fabric...like an upholstery fabric! Let me know!!! YAY!


I will for sure post pictures of everything when I get this started! Maybe I will even head to Hobby Lobby tonight and take pictures of fabrics so that you can see!


Don't forget....The Office is back on tv tonight too!! And...are any of you watching Dancing With The Stars?? I am LOVING Warren Sapp but Kim Kardashian is not impressing me like I thought she might! I am kind of sad about that! Oh! And Cody Linley! I like him too!!! :)

XOXO

Hilary

UGH...

Yes...I know that I have not written in a few days and I appologize big time! The reason is........ I'M SICK!!! I don't know what is wrong with me...I think I have some weird cold or something. I cannot breathe out of my nose and it is driving me crazy! Plus, my throat hurts and my back is a little achy! I have come home from work every night this week and gone straight to bed to take a nap. Let's face it...I am a miserable sick person. I am such a miserable sick person that when Casey picked me up from work for lunch yesterday....I cried. WHAT?! Yes...cried. Who knows why? I do...because I do not like to be sick!

Anyways... I just felt like I needed to explain myself. I am thinking that I might leave work at lunch today and take a half day of sick leave. I may eventually get bored at home when I wake up from my first round of napping and blog a little more.... but don't get your hopes up!

Sorry again!!!

XOXO

Hilary

Recipe of Deliciousness!

This recipe is actually my Mother-In-Law's and it is absolutely one of my favorite desserts! She usually has some made when we are in town and I LOVE it! I specifically remember when Casey and I were first dating, we were both in town to see eachother (we were about 7 hours long distance for the first 9 months of our relationship)...we were hanging out at his parent's house watching a movie one night and I kept sneaking in and out of the kitchen to get another bite of this deliciousness! I had never had it before and it rocked my world! Plus, it is SUPER SUPER easy to make! If you love cheesecake...you will LOVE this!

SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


• You will take a 9 x 13 pan and spread the first can of crescent rolls across the bottom like a sheet.


• Then mix together the vanilla, cream cheese, and sugar until it's creamy. I personally like to use a hand mixer, because it gets the job done very quickly!


• Next, you will spread this mixture across the crescent rolls that you laid in the pan.


• Cover the mix with the other can of crescent rolls like a sheet.


• Take your melted butter and pour this over the top. I also like to take some of the pre-mixed cinnamon and sigar and sprinkle that all over the top.


• Bake this in the oven for 30 minutes and Ta Da!
  

I promise you will love this! How easy is that?! I love simple recipes like this...they save so much time and money! I wish I had a picture to show you...but I don't! Sorry! :) If you know me, you know that I LOVE cream cheese...(cream cheese on wheat thins, cream cheese on ritz crackers, cream cheese mixed with rotel....) so this dessert hits the spot!

When I was little, I remember that my mom had a little cookbook book that was all recipes with THREE ingredients....or maybe it was FIVE... whatever...there just weren't many! I think I need to find a cookbook like that! Casey might kill me if I had another cookbook though! We got so many when we got married and I love them! I just love reading them...I really haven't cooked much out of them I feel like. There are just so many random recipes in there that I really don't think we want to try! But I do love Paula Dean's cookbooks...since she is southern, she has more practical recipes! Plus...I just LOVE that accent of hers! It cracks me up!

Well...I must get back to work! Today is going to be a loooooooong day for me.

Make some Sopapilla Cheesecake this weekend and share it with everyone around you! I will be having fun with my best friend Liz...she is coming in town from Austin to have a girl's weekend with me and we have an old friend's wedding to go to! Wish me luck trying to figure out what I am going to wear!

Tired Thursday!

Well...I am sad to say that the Pottery Barn table was SOLD once the guy FINALLY emailed me back. I was super sad! I kept showing the picture to Casey saying "Look how pretty it was! Isn't it pretty???" Sad times...I know it will be a while until I find another table I like as much as that one for around the same cost! So...if you find anything that you think I might like...please let me know!


On another note... I laughed really hard when I found this on the Walgreens website this morning as I was getting some pictures ordered! I think it would be really funny to do that with the puppies!! Maybe I can get Lindsey to do it with me next weekend!!! Gosh...we love our dogs too much! I have been researching and trying to find Halloween costumes for them...Skeeter has a hotdog costume...but it's kind of broken and everyone has seen it by now! Not that funny anymore! :) Anyways...you should take part in this Pet Photo Shoot if you have a pet! Part of the proceeds go towards great animal causes and it's only $5.99 to do this! Go save animals and get a pretty picture of your furry one while you are at it!!

Okay...so a little more today on SHOES! Sorry...I just love cheap shoes. Plus...clothes always find a way to fit me funny and shoes ALWAYS fit right! They are alot easier of a buy for me!

I found these shoes in an InStyle magazine a couple of weeks ago and LOVED them! You will
NEVER guess where they came from! PAYLESS!!! They are perfect for fall! I love the orange... it's not too bright and not too dark! I bought the orange ones online last week to try them out and I may end up coing back and getting the black ones too! The last time I looked, they were still doing their "BOGO" sale...so more for your money! I need a new pair of closed toe black shoes and I love the bow details. I am a big fan of bows on the shoes or just added details in general! They will be great to wear to weddings and parties with a cute little dress! Anyways...they are made by designer Lela Rose...so search for her on http://www.payless.com/ YAY FOR CHEAP SHOE FINDS!

This particular item is something that I have really been wanting. I don't know what I would really do with it. But my MeMaw (my great grandmother) had one exactly like it in their old house. One of the last times that we were in her house (when I was in college), I came across it in the kitchen and told my mom (and I THINK my Grandma) that I really wanted that bowl if anything ever happened to MeMaw. I had looked at it and noticed the McCoy stamp on the bottom of it. Turns out that this bowl was made around the 1940's and they sell for around $40 at least if you can find them!

Well....a couple of months later, MeMaw and Grandpa Gordon were moved into a nursing home in Rockwall so that they are close to my Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma would go back and forth to check on the house and make sure that everything was okay and maybe bring a few things back....low and behold...what did I see up in her display shelves one day when I was in town?! My beautiful mixing bowl!! And I was so sad to find out that the bowl was actually all glued together because Grandma somehow dropped it! Gosh!

Point of the story is...I really want one of these mixing bowls! But..I just cannot bring myself to go and buy one for $40+! AND...I know Casey would kill me if he knew I ever spent that much on a bowl! I love the aqua color of the bowl! I even wish that I could get a couple in all different colors! They have a pretty green color too!

If you see any out there...that aren't too expensive...please let me know!

And yes... I know you were wondering...I DID wear my new leopard shoes today! I love them!

I am thinking that in the upcoming posts... I will be doing some recipes and maybe some before and afters of the house! Be on the lookout and keep posting comments! I love to read them!

XOXO!

Hilary

Starting With Shopping...

My poor poor puppies ran out of food this morning... (yes...we have an ADORABLE miniature white dachshund puppy and a SUPER CUTE great dane puppy) so that meant that I probably needed to go grab some dog food during lunch! Miley Mae is such a growing girl that we try to let her eat as much as she wants at this stage in her life. Anyways... off to Target I went at lunch!

I wandered around for a little bit to kill some time and look at my fabulous find! I LOVE them! They are the Merona Meadow Ballet Flats in Leopard (obviously)... My mom is going to FLIP over these I'm sure...

I am such a sucker for:

A. Flats (even though I am short! plus I love leggings and what better shoe to go with leggings!?)

B. Cheap shoes! (Hey...if they go out of style...you don't feel bad doing away with them!)

C. Leopard Print

D. TARGET

On another note... Casey and I bought a house back in April and moved into it in May after our wedding. It was such a great buy...we found it as a foreclosure in a cute little neighborhood BUT the two families that lived there before didn't do much with it! We basically had to paint every room, change light fixtures, remodel the landscaping, and get lots of stains out of the carpet!

When you walk into our house, the very first room that you come into is the "dining room". We literally have NOTHING in it! The walls are a very light khaki color and it has carpet that we are hoping to change into wood floors very soon. But I just cannot figure out WHAT in the world I want to do with this room! I didn't want a fornal dining table yet...because we will never use it! Case wants to put a pool table in...yeah RIGHT. But one thing I have been looking for is a console table for the entry way which is in that room. I have been keeping an eye out on Craigslist b/c I really don't want to spend TOO much on the table. They have some cute ones at World Market and Pier 1...but I just haven't found the perfect one...until about 10 minutes ago!

What do you think!? And...did I mention that it is ONLY $75?!

AND...it's actually a Pottery Barn piece!

Our house is kind of a random mix of things...I think it really reflects our personalities! It's kind of a modern rustic feel. Our bedroom furniture looks alot like this piece but it's painted black with a little bit of sanding. I think that is what I would want to do with this table too! I think it would look super cute in the house!

I will have to post pictures of the befores and afters of the house soon so that you can all see how much AMAZING work we have done to it (kidding!)...but we really have come along way, I feel like!

Don't worry...there will be MUCH more to come... I have been sitting at my desk today brainstorming ideas for upcoming posts... get ready for more shopping, decorating, cooking, etc!!

YAY NEW BLOG!

XOXO

Hilary