Louisiana Bride: February 2010

{anti-bday fun}

February 28, 2010

So Thursday was my 24th birthday. Was I excited about it? No, way...but yes at the same time. Everyone in my family cat attest to the fact that over the years I have hated birthdays with a major passion, this hate died down once they stopped singing to me. As a kid/up until high school my grandparents would take me to Shonny's or Ryan's to eat for my birthday, and every year those retched servers would show up singing. It took a few years but eventually I became wise to the upcoming events. Even at my Mom's birthday dinner one year I heard the servers coming towards us clapping and immediately took off running for the bathroom. I don't care who's birthday it is, I don't want to hear that song.

I'd have you know my sneaky kids pulled a fast one on me and found out it was my birthday and the next day when I walked into homeroom those suckers started singing. I ignored the whole thing and went along as usual, after the 3rd out of tune rendition of "Happy Birthday" I finally turned around laughing and told them they would all recieve conduct marks if another word was spoken. I hate that song.

Last year at work the same thing was pulled on me...granted they sing to me every time I go into the restaurant now. I rarely go in there at night shift much now for that reason.

Other than the singing we had a great time, and when I say we I mean we. Thursday night J and I went to our favorite sushi restaurant Samurai and then stopped by Eskamo's for ice cream. My wonderful husband can read my mind because as my present he bought me a new scarf, candy, and new running shoes. I had mentioned wanting new shoes but never once told him what kind...and I'll have you know he come home with the exact pair I wanted, hot pink and gray shocks. Whoop whoop!

Saturday my Mom and I used my birthday as a perfect excuse to go get facials at the Riverfront Spa in Vidalia. Neither one of us had ever had a facial, I though I like massages...until I had a facial. I'm telling you now, go get a facial. It was the absolute best thing ever and my skin looks awesome today. Yesterday evening Pop came by and we all ordered Fish Fry and ate Dippin Dots cake, yum yum. That was another one of J's surprises. I told him every year I get a ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and I didn't think this year should be different{wink wink} and he trumped my cake and decided to be sneaky and "stop by the mall for dinner" on our way out of town. Turns out it was strictly for cake pickup. I thought he was crazy, but again he thinks ahead. He had hid an ice chest in the trunk. Good man.

So if I had to rate it I'd give this birthday a 9 for minimal singing and tons of fun. Had I not had to hear that awful son Friday it would be a ten.

On a funny note Wednesday a student asked when my birthday was and another student immediately butted in with "There are two things you don't ask Mrs. B, her birthday and her address!" I nearly fell in the floor laughing when she said that.

Hope you all have a great Sunday, I'm going to be eating my leftover fried pickles and Dippin Dots cake and playing with this little guy:

{photo www.twosuez.com}

is the south dead?

{the death of southern charm}

February 27, 2010

Honestly, what has happened to good old fashion respect and manners. It kills me how people's kids and the people act themselves these days. Am I saying this because yesterday was PTC. Yes and no, that just put another nail in the coffin of southern attitude, chivalry, MANNERS.

It kills me the things people say, especially kids. I had a kid tell me yesterday "Why is it when {student} tried to get you fired they didn't fire you? That's not right!" He kept repeating it, and I was doing my best to keep the horror look off my face. Seriously, where is this kids parents? Am I really hearing this mess? He then went on to say "I'll give your 30 dollars to leave!" By that point all I could think, and what fell out of my mouth was "Write lines. I will not disrespect my teacher. 100 times." My eyes nearly burned a hole in this kid.

When I was in school, and considering I still am, we wouldn't dare talk to a teacher like that. Disrespect is such a huge issue it is just insane.

Earlier in the week I was told to "Go back where I came from." By that point I wished like hell I was 10 so I could set this straight. But there is only so much you can do, as in sit there and take it because you can't speak you mind without bigger drama unfolding.

So where on earth did that southern attitude all of our grandmothers had go? And who on earth shipped in a extra large case of hillbilly inbreeds with complete with a huge chip on their shoulder, bad teeth, mass amounts of ash tray breathe, and zero manners. These people are terrorizing the south by breeding and allowing their snotty children to seep into society and disrespect everyone they come in contact with.

What happened to the south as we know it? Oh wait I know, it's not just the south...this has to be more widespread.

Social services can't even save this new horrible generation from an eternity, or at least a century, from social hell. These idiots hate education and sure don't have one. And considering health isn't at the top of the list why in the world would manners be. Please can't we get an enforced vasectomy and put a stop to this.

Or at the very least offer classes on "How to be a Human", because the "How to be a Disgrace to Society" class has gone on long enough, and its time to purchase a new set of books. I suggest a lengthy titled one "Southern Charm and the Art of Developing Respect and Manners in the Lost Society."

Unlike many children these days, my Nanny enforced/taught southern charm and manners. I literally walked up and down the hall at her house one year with books on my head, and got quite good at it. She taught me about place settings, folding my napkin in my lap, and a host of other things that southern women did. She told me I am better than other people, and that is the attitude you have to have. Because if you don't think you are better than the next person you will never get anywhere{which is true, if you don't believe to some degree you're better than the next guy why would you even apply for a job?}. We read books. I was expect to carry myself a certain way, because if I didn't it would make the family look bad. I was taught how to tie scarves, do makeup, shop, take off makeup, and an ungodly host of other things this woman said I needed to know to be a woman.

Do people these days not have anyone to teach them how to carry themselves?

Give me southern society or give me death.

February 26, 2010

(this is Mallory W, and i'm asking my first question, lol): You complain about Monroe a good bit, but if you could pick ANYWHERE to live where would it be?

Dallas, TX. Yeah I honestly hate Monroe. I've said for years after graduation I would be out, but getting into grad school and waiting on Jer to get in made the stay here longer. We are moving this summer though to South LA.

Ask me anything

February 25, 2010

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/louisianabride

just because its cute · Liam · nanny · snow in LA?

{i heart twosuez}

February 23, 2010

When it came time to do baby pics I just had to go to my favorite person ever, Katie May at TwoSuez. She and Heather are wonderful photographers. And needless to say I am just gushing over our pics. We have never done a "just the girls" professional photo and I am so glad we finally did. Katie got a kick out of my sister attempting to walk in my high heels...the kid has wore Van's forever. Oh and Aunt Jo the blanket in the first pic on TwoSuez blog is the one you sent Joshua, it is so pretty.

{photos by Katie May @ TwoSuez Photography}

See the full TwoSuez post and all the pics Katie posted HERE.

{the rings on my necklace are my lovely Nanny's wedding bands, love that woman}

February 21, 2010

When your chocolate chips cookies have a slight taste of Cajun Seasoning it is time to invest in another pizza stone.

This second one will be used only for sweets. Considering I do mostly savory food on the current one{which is 3 years old and so well seasoned I could never part with it} it might be nice to have one that is only used for sugary treats...that therefore will not have a tinge of salty sweet potato fries left behind.

fatty paradise · food/recipe · sunday lunch

{best sandwich EVER}

February 18, 2010

Drip Beef...Oh my goodness, honestly best thing EVER.

Honestly Pioneer Woman, holy stinking cow it was good.
*photo hijacked from the Pioneer Woman

Italian Drip Beef

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 6 Hours

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 10

Ingredients

1 whole Beef Chuck Roast, 2.5 To 4 Pounds
1 can Beef Consomme Or Beef Broth
3 Tablespoons (heaping) Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ cups Water
½ jars (16 Oz) Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice
Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls

Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a heavy pot or dutch oven. Stir lightly to combine seasoning with the liquid.
Cover and bake in a 275 degree oven* for 5 to 6 hours, or until meat is fork-tender and falling apart. **If meat is not yet tender, return to oven for 30 minute intervals till it’s tender!**
Remove from oven. With two forks, completely shred all meat, leaving no large chunks behind. Serve immediately, or keep warm over a simmer on the stove.
May make the day before, then store in the refrigerator. Remove the hardened fat from the top before reheating.
Serve on buttered, toasted rolls. Top with cheese and melt under the broiler if desired. Serve with juices from the pot.

***I did mine in the crock pot before work and Jeremy turned it off when he got home. I then shredded it and put it on an onion roll with provolone cheese. Yum.

food/recipe · sunday lunch

Shepard's Pie

February 17, 2010

We tried another new recipe this week out of Rachel Ray's magizine, this one was good...unlike that soup I made last week. Yuck. If your making it for my family especially use two pounds of ground beef, otherwise it isn't very filling. Jeremy and I managed to eat half the thing in one sitting. But it was very tasty. I also added Worcestershire sauce to the mushrooms while I was cooking them and cajun seasoning and garlic to the beef. I just can't make anything with beef without those three things.

Everyday with Rachel Ray: Double Decker Shepard's Pie

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
One 8-ounce package white mushrooms, caps quartered and stems chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 bunch scallions, green portions thinly sliced, white portions finely chopped
1 large poblano chile, seeded and finely chopped

Directions:

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425°. In a saucepan, combine the potatoes with salted water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water; return the potatoes to the pot. Mash with the cream until smooth; season with salt.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Crumble the beef evenly across the pan and cook, undisturbed, until the liquid cooks off and the meat begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the finely chopped scallions, the poblano, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved mushrooms, 1/4 cup mashed potatoes and the reserved 1 cup cooking water. Lower the heat and simmer until the juices are thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread slightly more than half of the potatoes evenly in a greased 9-by-11-inch baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture evenly on top, then spoon the remaining mashed potatoes evenly across the filling to enclose. Bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with the sliced scallions; let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I'm not going to lie though, I also added hot sauce to it. I can't live without hotsauce.

dogs

{wordless wendesday}

3 comments

also named: The Untimely Death of the Business Executive Snowman
*click to enlarge grusome death scenes

show us your life

Show Us Your Life

February 12, 2010

3 comments

Valentine Dates and Ideas:

Granted like I said earlier this week last year's Valentine's Day sucked a big one. We worked. But Jeremy did get me a bunch of hand made candy from the Candy Man who comes by all the restaurants.

As a kid Mom always gave us a Valentine gift before school that day.

But after talking about it the other day and realizing we have never taken a single trip or done a single romantic anything since the honeymoon we decided to do something.

We looked all over the place and couldn't find anything that suited us, plus there is no way to leave the dogs alone, and still able to get out without "Crotchety Bob" having a problem with it.

Finally we decided to email Regina and see if maybe, just maybe, she still had a room open at Twin Oaks{the Plantation/Bed & Breakfast we got married at}. And guess what she had one room left. Yay.

That night when we get there we are having dinner at my favorite restaurant ever Pearl Street Pasta in downtown Natchez.

And Monday morning we are eating breakfast at Dunleith's restaurant The Castle and touring the plantation.

I honestly can't wait. Minus Pearl Street this is what we did to kick off our honeymoon before driving to Florida.

What do y'all have planned for Valentine's Day?

snow in LA?

Snow Day

2 comments

The mail lady walked through my snow. Luckily she was down the street before I had a chance to see it. Usually the mail lady is afraid of the crazy dogs barking through the glass door, I kind of wonder how she would have reacted to two dogs barking and a 23 year old in her pajamas yelling at her through the front door. She got lucky. I may be acting like a little kid, but I can count the number of times I've seen snow stick on one hand. Thank you Louisiana.

Maddie was very unhappy about the snow, and she really really had to potty, after staring at it in hopes it would go away she quickly ran under the trampoline to do her stuff. Ellie on the other hand was no amused with the idea and after sticking her head out of the doggy door she decided she could hold it and went and got in bed with Jeremy. Ellie did eventually come out though, she went the no snow route and somehow got in a bush next to the house.

And yup, that is my trampoline, my Dad was going to chunk the old thing and I wouldn't let him so it came to live with me. Little kids love our house for that fact, but so do some of the "big kids". While we were on our honeymoon some friends of our surprised us by planting bushes in front of the house. Well they eventually broke into the house through the doggy door and played on the trampoline before leaving.

snow in LA?

Snow that Sticks

February 11, 2010

2 comments

Can you believe it? Snow that is actually sticking in North Louisiana for a change. Granted Central and South LA have seen snow that stuck this winter but this is a first for us. Not to mention school is canceled tomorrow, plus we have our two day Mardi Gras break so whoop whoop for a five day weekend!

{when I got home from work today}

{I realized it was actually sticking when Maddie came in the house with a white nose}

{front yard}

To be totally honest I have not walked through the snow yet because it is supposed to snow all night and I really want a picture of the yard totally untouched. And I will track down and kill anyone that steps in my yard. Just kidding...okay maybe I'm serious a little.

February 10, 2010

3 comments

Ignore the fact that I look super tired and kinda like I walked home or something today. I totally need a tan but I am pro anti cancer these days. And nothing spells cancer like tanning bed.

Anyway. I told my/Jeremy/Philip told Jeremy about it first's stylist that I wanted a cross between Reese Witherspoon's bangs and Jennifer Aniston's bangs, plus stick to the long layers.

February 9, 2010

1 comment

You know what I did last year...worked, at Sage...till midnight. I know, I know...most romantic evening ever right. We might have done something else but I can't remember.

You know what I did in years past? Yeah I can't remember either. But I did always get a pretty rad gift from Mom every year, because she is great and loves me.

What am I doing this year?

I don't have a clue.

February 7, 2010

1 comment

Jeremy walked into the room wearing my pink beach towel wrapped around his head. This is how the conversation played out:

Me-"What on earth are you doing with my pink beach towel?"

Jeremy-"These are my new pink extensions. If Kate {Gosslin} can do it and she has more kids than Abraham then I can too. How long did it take her? Three days? And her husband left her and she has time for it."

I seriously wonder about him sometimes.

Liam · traditions

Last Weekends Events

February 6, 2010

5 comments

Some little guys nasty little cord fell off last Friday and it just so happened I got to be in town for his first bath!

That same small person was then subjected to pictures which involved him being propped up again and again. And one very funny one when his Mommy made her crazy noise at him, that always makes him stop crying and give you this look.

Slightly a shocked look, kinda scared. But hey, it works, he stops crying.

We did a lot of this...

And yes my Dad has caused this baby to become addicted to sleeping like that while listening to History Channel. Side effects have included baby hair loss resulting in looking more like his grandfather. I suspect next he will grow a mustache and ask to be taken outside so he can smoke as well.

Pop's Birthday was also last Saturday, so we made him a cake. And grilled steaks, but they aren't as interesting.

Have you ever wondered what 71 candles look like lit on a 9" round red velvet cake?

Once the cake started melting we made him blow them out. I suspect in birthdays to come I may need to make a sheet cake. My mother then forced Laura, Pop, and the baby who can't yet speak his mind about the matter into taking a 4 generation picture.

Said child was also forced to wear a banana suit. He looks seemingly like the Pope.

Pages

Lifestyle

{anti-bday fun}

February 28, 2010

{the death of southern charm}

February 27, 2010

formspring.me

February 26, 2010

formspring.me

February 25, 2010

{i heart twosuez}

February 23, 2010

post 235

February 21, 2010

{best sandwich EVER}