Introducing.....

Introducing the newest member of our little family....Cache (pronounced 'Cash')!!! We have been waiting for his arrival for about 5 months now! He is finally here! Casey has been planning on buying a really nicely bred hunting dog. His boss, Billy, has an amazing dog and we finally got one of his puppies! He is a sweet little puppy! Although, I have forgotten how hard puppies are to take care of! I feel like I have an infant! This makes me a little nervous about having kids one day!!! Oh well...I will get over it! 

Please say a prayer for me today...I have an interview for a job that I REALLY want! In case you don't already know...I was laid off from my job about two months ago. It was a good thing in the long run. It has been really nice to have a break for a little bit too and not be struggling for money. It's so crazy how God makes things work out sometimes! Anyways...I have always REALLY wanted to open up my own boutique. It is the one thing that I have always been very passionate about, but I have not had the opportunity yet. Anyways...the job that I am interviewing for today is with a well-known small boutique favorite of mine! They had a management position open and I jumped at the opportunity. This would be great for me to learn the ropes of this store. The store that I would like to open would be along the same lines as this particular store. Really cute clothes, gifts, and accessories for a more affordable price! Can you guess this store???? C'mon...try! I worked in the retail industry before, from the time i was 15 until I graduated college, and LOVED it. I was basically the manager at that store, but I feel like I need to learn the ropes of other stores too! I really think that this would be a GREAT opportunity for me! PRAY!!

I just had to write about that really quickly...I was getting ready for my interview and felt like I needed to let some energy out! 

Also...this weekend will mark the 25th year of my time on this earth. I am not too excited this year. I don't know why! I am always a person who is excited for birthdays! UGH!! I don't know if it's this old-ish number coming after me....or the fact that I feel like there are no surprises for my birthday (i got a macbook and a new blackberry this week already)...or the fact that I am just kind of unmotivated in life right now. It is really driving me a bit crazy!!! 

I hope that you all have a wonderful memorial day weekend! We are off to see my brother graduate tonight and then hang out with friends for the remainder of the weekend! 

XOXO, 

Hilary

i got tagged!!!!

I was tagged by my fabulous friend Cara Beth! I have known her for quite some time...she was my big sis in our sorority and she is one of the things that got me through pledge week alive! Her lemonade and Subway cookies will always remain a memory from that week! She just moved into the most precious house (that i have to visit in person!) in Arkansas and has the most precious family made up of a hubby, two kitties, and a pup! I just love her!

Here are the instructions for "eight things":. mention the person that tagged you.

complete the list of eight things.

tag eight of your wonderful blogger friends.

go tell them you tagged them.

Eight things I look forward to:
1. My birthday - May 23!
2. This weekend...my niece's baby dedication is on Sunday!
3. Casey coming home from work...
4. Liz's bachelorette party at the beach next weekend!
5. Having kids!
6. Finding a new job...
7. Fixing up our house more and more...
8. Getting our new black lab puppy at the end of May!

Eight things i did yesterday:
1. Drank a Dr.Pepper for the first time in two weeks...
2. looked for jobs...
3. Cleaned the house
4. Cooked dinner for the hubs...
5. Played outside with the puppies...
6. Watched a movie - The 25th Hour
7. Went and shopped around at Target
8. Fell asleep!!

Eight things I wish I could do:
1. Be more motivated to work out!
2. Find a new job!
3. Get a new camera and laptop...
4. Go back to college!
5. See all of my old friends
6. Eat at Winslow's Wine Bar tonight... :)
7. Be a photographer for a living...
8. Own my own boutique!

Eight shows i watch:
1. Biggest Loser
2. The Hills
3. The City
4. LOST
5. The Office
6. Millionaire Matchmaker
7. The Real Housewives
8. Food Network Challenge

I am tagging.....hmmm...let me think! I will get back to you on that!!!

HAPPY HEALTHY

Hello all!!!

I don't know about you....but I am a little bit in love with McDonald's Egg McMuffins! I used to get them ALL the time in college! Me and my friends would wait up all the time until 2:30 am when our local 24 hour Mickey D's would start serving breakfast....yum yum! Sadly...I don't even know where a McDonald's is anywhere near me (maybe it's a good thing!)...so I found this healthy breakfast sandwich recipe! Believe me...it's a close second to my beloved Egg McMuffin!

Hilary's Healthy Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole Wheat English Muffin
• 1 egg white
  
• Slice of fat free American cheese
• 2 slices of turkey bacon

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  
• Open up your English Muffin and place each side on a cookie sheet...then top the bottom half with the cheese. Place in the oven until the cheese gets melty.
• While waiting for the cheese to melt...heat a skillet to medium and fry your egg white. Try to keep it all in one piece!
• Heat your turkey bacon in the microwave until crispy. (if you have a dog...throw in an extra piece for him....i know i always do! they love it!)
  
• Take the muffin out of the oven. Stack on the egg and turkey bacon and enjoy!!!

I believe this is only about 250 calories! YAY! Make it! We have had them the last two mornings and have loved them! Casey was eating egg whites and oatmeal every morning...so we had to finally mix it up a little bit!

I hope that you have a wonderful day! I may be back again later to post more...it's kind of a boring day here! :)

XOXO,

Hilary

ALL HAIL THE KING!

We found a new recipe online last week and have made it twice since then...it is sooooooooooo good!!! If you like King Ranch Chicken....you will love this stuff!

BLESS YOUR HEART - KING RANCH CHICKEN

Ingredients:

• 4 cups diced cooked chicken breast meat
• 1 (10-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can low fat, low sodium cream of mushroom soup
• 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 11 corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup low fat cheddar cheese
• I also add in 3/4 of a can of drained corn & some sliced black olives
  

Directions:
Mix together first six ingredients. Line a 9x13 inch casserole dish, sprayed with vegetable oil, with tortillas. Layer 1/2 of chicken mixture into the dish and top with torn tortillas; add remaining chicken mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for about 45 minutes or until bubbly. Add cheeses and return to oven for10 minutes or until cheeses melt.

Try it and let me know what you think!!

Get ready for tomorrow...I have a delicious breakfast treat to share.....yummmmmm....

XOXO,

Hils

FOOD!!!

I know that I took a huge break from blogging.....but, once again, I am going to TRY to be better about it! I have a slight new mission that may help me keep up! Casey and I have been eating really healthy lately....what does that mean to you? Well...it means that I am trying new recipes all the time and I get to share them with you!!! Don't worry....I will only be sharing the delish ones! :) I loooooooooove cooking...so get excited about these new yummy recipes!! Make them and let me know what you thought!

ALMOST FAST FOOD BURGER

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound 96% lean ground beef (i bought natural lean ground beef and it ended up having less calories!)
• 1 slice fat free american cheese
• 1 whole grain or whole wheat bun (look in the bakery section of your grocery store...those will be better than the bread aisle ones!)
• 1/4 chopped romaine lettuce leaves
• 1 thin slice red onion
• 3 dill pickle rounds
• Ketchup, Mayo, or Mustard....but just dont use TOO much!
  

Preparation:

Shape the beef into a patty that is about 1/2 inch wider that the bun.

Preheat a medium nonstick skillet or grill rack on high heat. Place the patty on the pan or grill. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. Try to cut the burger open a little and make sure the inside has cooked thoroughly. About 30 seconds before the burger is cooked, top it with the cheese. Place the bun halves, cut side down, on the pan or grill. Cook for about 45 seconds, or until toasted.

Place the bun bottom on a serving plate. Top with the patty, lettuce, onion, and pickles. Put the top on the burger and ENJOY!

These were so easy...and literally, close to one of the best burgers that I have had! I think the sweetness of the wheat bun really made it good!

Want to hear the best part about it? This burger is only 281 calories and 9 grams of fat!! I looked up the nutritional information for Whataburger...a normal burger there has 620 calories and 30 grams of fat!!!! If this doesn't put it into more perspective, I don't know what will!

Now...when you eat a burger...don't you feel that you HAVE to have some fries!? I do! Here is a super healthy alternative!

PARMESAN - PEPPER SWEET POTATO FRIES

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of sweet potatos, cut into 1/4 inch sticks (i used two large ones)
• 1 tablespoon grates reduced-fat parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• Pinch of cayenne
• Salt, to taste
• Pinch of ground black pepper
• Ketchup (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium bowl, toss the potatoes, cheese, olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper.

Place the potatoes in a sisngle layer on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Flip the potatoes over and bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and browned in spots. Serve immediately, with ketchup, if desired! I says that this makes ONE serving...but, thi
s was plenty for Casey and I!

These ended up being REALLY good! They kind of caught me off-guard because they aren't crunchy like normal fries are....but they were sweet and delish! I thought they were even good dipped in ketchup! Guess what? This one serving is only 249 calories and 4 grams of fat! WOO HOO!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make this meal and let me know what you think about it!!!! :)

Also...have you seen the new show on Lifetime called Cook Yourself Thin????? TIVO it! It is such a great show with good recipes!

Have a perfeday day and look forward to more great recipes!!

XOXO,

Hils

A HUNTING WE WILL GO...

Just wanted to share some photos from a recent hunting trip we took out to our lease...Just thought they were fun!

ENJOY!

BOOT SCOOT

Becky found some boots that she liked! YAY! Mission...accomplished!

Her next question was.... "What kind of SKIRTS do I wear with my slouchy boots?!" Becky, Becky, Becky..... :)

Okay...well...let me just say this...I am not much of a SKIRT person these days for some reason... but I think the boots are SUPER cute with some cute casual dresses! I LOVE dresses! Here are some ideas for looks that would go with them!

This dress is from Francesca's and it's called the Sunshiny Day dress! Only $44!! Super cute for Spring/Summer! You could even throw a cute cardigan over it and wear your boots! YES!

Okay...this one is a STEAL! It is at Francesca's also...and it's on sale for $5!!! They have it in a really pretty blue color too! But...CANARY is IN for Spring! This is called the Artisan dress. Get you one! And if you are having a one of those "i feel fat" days...this is a good looking slouchy dress to hide that! :)

This one is from Francesa's again and it called the Forever Young dress! It's only $38. How cute would this one be with some longer gold necklaces and the brown slouchy boots?! Love it!

Okay...this one is just a random picture that I found online to show some other looks with the slouchy boots! You can pull these off so easily!

Hope that I helped you out in some way!!! Enjoy!!! Keep feeding me some ideas for other blogs! Hope you all have fun plans for the weekend! I am not quite sure what I will do....maybe a movie with Lindsey...or a pedicure...Miley gets a puppy spa day....I am sure I will have to clean too! :)

XOXO,

Hilary

These Boots Were Made For Walkin'....

Today is all about BOOTS!

My good friend Becky called me last night and told me that she wanted me to be her "personal shopper" and help her find some new boots! She really wants to find some cute and casual brown boots. She didn't know if she wanted leather or suede...so I am sticking to variety! She needs something that she can wear over jeans or even throw on with a cute skirt. She's a teacher, so it has to be kind of versatile! But she also wanted them to be flats and wanted to spend around $100...because she just got some birthday money from her hubby's parents! Being after Christmas and all...I was betting that the cute boots would be marked down a bit! I got excited about my little mission! Therefore, today's post is all dedicated to Becky and anyone else who loves boots!

I love these Steve Madden Bonanza Boots! I DID own a pair of them...but got home one day and Skeeter had chewed them up! I only wore them twice but they were super comfy and easy to wear! You can find them on the Steve Madden website, Dillards, or Nordstrom....they are about $79 bucks!! Cute, Casual, Suede, Slouchy....yes, yes, yes, yes!

Okay, these next boots are Steven by Steven Madden and are called the Bizmarc boot! I found them online at Nordstom and Steve Madden. They are leather and slouchy, if you like that look! A LITTLE more than we wanted to spend...but $139 is not bad! I like the buckle too!
I love love love these boots! I tried them on at Dillards back in November and wanted them! The big buckle is so super cute! They were comfy....but I have skinny legs...so they didn't fit my calves as well as I would have liked! They would probably be good over skinny jeans though! They are Jessica Simpson brand...which I love...and they are called the Brunella boot. They are at Dillards on sale for $115 right now!

Aldo has all of their boots on sale right now! I found these Sammie boots on their website for only $90! Again....buckles! I love them! This is the cognac color...but the camel color is super cute too! I always forget about this store! They usually have some fun shoes and good sales!

Another Aldo boot is the Popoca! Sorry...the Aldo images come up pretty small...but you can go to the website to see them better! These look alot like a riding boot...and I love the little D rings at the top! $100 baby!!
Yes...these DO have heels. But......how cute are they?!?! I think you could still be casual and dress these up too! They are Chinese Laundry brand and they are known as the Kicky boot! Ont he Chinese Laundry website, they were about $80! Not too bad! These would be super cute over jeans or with a cute skirt! I bet you could even make them cute over tights!!

Well...this is all I have found so far! If any of you have suggestions...PLEASE let me know! I have been to all of the websites that I can think of...I would appreciate help in any that I have not thought of! I hope you have enjoyed! Let me know what you think!!! Good luck shopping!

Also, let me know if you are having trouble finding a specific somthing...i love going on searches for the perfect boot or jeans or whatever! Let me know! I need blog ideas!!! :)

XOXO,

Hilary

Wheel of Fortune

I just ran to Petsmart and Pei Wei during lunch. Petsmart, to get a new collar for Skeeter...he likes to wriggle his little body under the fence and run around the field behind our house. He always comes back...but it seems that his collar got torn off the other day. And then to Pei Wei to obviously feed my face!

This is what my fortune cookie read :

"Be assertive when decisive action is needed."

I think that we can all take this fortune into high consideration.

Just a random thought! Don't worry...I got SIX fortune cookies...so I might have mroe insightful things to sa later in the day when I get hungry!

XOXO

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

...okay well...I am TRYING to be back. I have been SO neglectful of my blogging lately! I don't know WHY i just stopped the way that I did! I mean I have some good excuses...I have been out of town alot....work has been crazy...ummm....did I mention that I have been out of town? I know...excuses are like buttholes... Oh well! I am TRYING! Encourage me to write more often! I just run out of ideas sometimes and it takes a while to get re-motivated!

I have found some NEW fun and favorite things to share! Get Excited!!

Okay...first problem that I have..why in the world do you take the extra amount of time to get on your website and place the words "Out Of Stock" instead of just using up that time to go ahead and take the item OFF of the website so as not to entice anyone?!? GOSH! I love love love Francesca's...but this really erks me! I always tend to find something really cute on the website and then notice that it is "out of stock"! For example...this SUPER cute Horeshoe Jersey Dress! How cute for spring/summer with some great brown flip flops! It was only $46 but is apparently out of stock! Maybe they still have it in the stores but not online? If you go there...look for it and let me know!

Number Two on my list today is this PRECIOUS cardigan. Okay...yes...it's from CrewCuts. The kids section of JCrew. Sad. But I LOVE it! There are so many grown-up looking CUTE clothes in their kids section! I am so tempted to try to fit into an XL or even an XXL! I really think that I could! Plus...kid's clothes tend to be cheaper.... :) Just look at how CUTE this Snow Leopard cardigan is! It's $78! So cute with jeans, black pants, black skirt! Very versatiAnother CrewCuts piece is this super cute silk Gladiola Dress...it's $118. I have heard that canary yellow will be a big spring color this year! I love the ruffles on the sleeves! It makes me really wish for warmer weather and sunshine!

We all know that I love to shop for the bargains at Forever21. That place has SO much stuff to look through...but you can always get some cute and fun clothes for CHEAP! For the small price of $22.80 you can own this sassy little Gingham Buttondown Dress! I love this!!! I saw a friend with this on the other day with black leggnings and flats!! LOVE LOVE!

Two of my shoe obsessions....my pink Converses and my Sperry Topsiders. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE wearing heels..as most short people do. But I really love wearing both of these pairs of shoes too! I actually got my Converses on Ebay for about $20 and the Topsiders came from Dillard's for about $80. Topsiders are, hands down, the most comfy shoes ever! Get you come!
Onto some artwork! Ken Bailey makes the geat whimsical animal advertisements! I would love to own some of these and have them up in the house..but they really don't go with our decor. Maybe we can put them up in our media/game room once we decide to do something in there?? But you can get these on Art.com for arounf $40. I think that is just for the poster, so you will have to do the framing yourself! But look how cute!!! Sadly...I didn't see a Dachshund one or a Great Dane one!

Okay...that should get your Wednesday morning started off right! Let me know what you think about all of these fun things! Also...if you have favorites...let me know! I am always looking for new ideas! You may know of a store that I havent even heard of!

Have a perfect day!

XOXO,

Hils