Blog Makeover Coming Soon

I'm getting a blog makeover by Krizzy Designs. I can't wait to see the final product! Stay tuned!

Royal Wedding Wednesday

I've been sick this week and really haven't thought about the royal wedding at all so I'm at a loss for words for today's post. However, I will leave you with my most absolute favorite picture of Princess Diana. Such beauty! Such class! Such elegance! Such grace!

Lipscomb University - Go Bisons!

Today's link up over at Kelly's Korner is all about Alma Maters. I graduated from Lipscomb University here in Nashville, TN.  I enrolled as a freshman at David Lipscomb University but by the time I graduated 4 years later the name had changed. I have ball caps, t-shirts, sweatshirts etc that say either DLU or LU.

I was born and raised in Memphis. I went to a private high school and all of my friends were going to Harding University. I wanted to go someplace different (although the recruiter at Harding never would take 'no' for an answer and called no less than 3 times a week. I finally had be rude to him before he realized I was headed to Music City).

Lipscomb University is a Christian school in the Green Hills area of Nashville. I saw Lipscomb go through numerous changes during my 4 years there especially the biggest change of all...going from NAIA to NCAA Division 1.  There were a lot of mixed feelings about the move but it was the best decision Lipscomb could make...if nothing else it brought back the Battle of the Boulevard (Lipscomb vs. Belmont rival).

Notable Lipscomb Alumni (just to name a few):

• Michael Adams, President of The University of Georgia
• Marty Roe, lead singer of the country group Diamond Rio
• Pat Boone, singer
• Jim Jinkins, creator of the animated show Doug
• Ray Walker, bass singer for The Jordanaires quartet (most famous for backing up Elvis

Don Meyer, the all-time leader in coaching wins in NCAA men's basketball history, coached at Lipscomb. If you don't know his story you should check out this website. It's an incredible story.

I love Lipscomb and I am so blessed that I was able to graduate from Lipscomb. I have 3 degrees from LU (American History, Political Science, and Accounting). Every time I'm on campus I seem to get lost because it is always growing!
Just like everyone else, I made lifelong friends at my alma mater and wouldn't trade anything for them. Friends that would do anything for you. One of those friends was just recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. It's amazing to see how the Lipscomb family has come together to support, pray, and lift up our dear friend. I wouldn't expect anything less from the Bison family.

I fell in love with Nashville and after I graduated I decided I would make Nashville my home. Although my roots run deep in Memphis (and Memphis will always be home) I'm glad I stayed in Nashville.

Of course I don't have any pictures of me from college on my computer (I'm at work) so I will try to post some this weekend from home.

Go Bisons!

Royal Wedding Wednesday - Princess Diana



Can you imagine being twenty years old and being engaged to the heir to the throne of England? Oh how excited Diana must have been and scared. For the 16 years or so that the world knew Diana we saw her evolve from a shy and scared girl to a sophisticated woman who loved helping the helpless and less fortunate. We also saw her turn into a fashion icon. Is she wearing two watches in the above picture?

Her wedding was the type of wedding that girls laid in bed at night and dream about...lots of flowers, lots of guests, lots of attendants, lots of hats, lots of carats in the ring, and a lot of wedding dress. 

Lady Diana was presented with several engagement ring from which to choose but she chose an 18 carat blue Sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds. She said she chose this ring because it reminded her of her mother's engagement ring. She also said she chose the blue Sapphire because it was the largest ring. Good for you Lady Diana! Get the largest one!

Ah, the dress. Her dress  was made of ivory silk taffeta and lace with a 25 foot detachable train. Let's not forget the 10,000 pearls and mother-of-pearl sequins that were hand sewn on her dress. When I think of a fairytale wedding I always think of Princess Diana's wedding.

So, on July 29, 1981 the 20 year old shy and scared Lady Diana Spencer became Diana, Princess of Wales and forever had a place in our hearts.



William and Kate

I must admit that I am a bit obsessed with Kate Middleton's engagement and her soon to be new life as a princess. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact  that most every girl in the world watched, followed, and admired Princess Diana and when she died she left a void that most people think Kate will be able to fill. Plus, what girl isn't going to be living vicariously through Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011 while watching the Royal Wedding. I know I will!

So, I thought I would do a couple of posts on Kate Middleton, Princess Diana, and the royal engagement and wedding. Hopefully, the upcoming posts won't turn into me posting picture after picture of Kate and Diana. If it does, well, we can all be jealous of the style, grace, and class both of the ladies have (as well as all of their clothes and jewelry). So, stayed tuned!

Show Us Your Life - Beauty Secrets

It's Friday and Kelly is hosting Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner. Today it's all about beauty secrets. 

I love Merle Norman make-up. I've been using it for about 15 years. My absolute favorite product is the Luxiva Ultra Powder Foundation.  I hate wearing liquid foundation because it makes my skin feel yucky; however, powder alone doesn't give me the coverage that i want or need so it's a catch 22. Enter Luxiva Ultra Powder Foundation. It is a foundation and powder in one. I get the coverage I want and need with the weight and feel of a powder. I love it!!

I also love Arbonne products. My favorite is the RE9 Eye Cream. I use it every morning and sometimes at night. It works wonders on the eye.  I love it because it is keeping the wrinkles at away!

I also love Arbonne's RE9 Night Repair Creme.  I use it at night right before I go to bed and my skin just soaks it up. My face feels so good the next morning. I love it during the winter time when my normally oily skin is dry (well, more like less oily).

About 7 months ago I had the keratin treatment. It is like the Brazilian Blowout only the keratin treatment is better for your hair. The process isn't nearly as harsh as the Brazilian Blowout. Plus, it will last longer. My keratin treatment last for about 4.5 months (and that was with me washing my hair everyday). I loved the way my hair felt. My hair started to get frizzy again so I decided I would try the Kerastase version of Moroccanoil because I didn't want to spend the cash on another keratin treatment. I love love love the Kerastase Elixir Ultime. It makes my hair shinny, silky, and deep conditions it. It contains 4 types of oil - Maize Oil  (from Central America), Pracaxi Oil (from the Amazon), Camellia Oil (from Asia), and Argan Oil (from North Africa). My hair feels incredible and looks great!

That's all I have for you. Head back over to Kelly's Korner and read up on more beauty tips from her readers (I'm going over there right now) because there are lots of secrets and tips over there.

Have a great weekend.

Taco Soup - Weight Watchers Style

Keith and I are huge fans of taco soup. We've tried several "weight watcher" style taco soups but our favorite is the Taco Chili/Soup from Ginas Skinny Recipes. I love her website because she provides all the nutritional information as well as the points value for each recipe.

Since it was cold and snowy yesterday, I decided to make Ginas Taco Chili/Soup. You can make it like a chili (just leave out the chicken broth.) or if you want it more "soupy" add more chicken broth.


Turkey Chili Taco Soup

• 1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 10 oz can rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 15 oz canned or frozen corn, drained
• 15 oz kidney beans, drained
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 16 oz fat free refried beans
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth

In a large pot, brown turkey on medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, add onions and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, beans, tomato sauce, refried beans, taco seasoning and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes.

Picture from Ginas Skinny Recipes because I still can't find my camera cord and let's face it...my picture wouldn't look nearly as awesome as this picture anyway.

If you haven't been to Ginas Skinny Recipes you must go there right now. The next recipe I'm going to make from her website is the Diet Soda Cake. Y'all should try it also!

Ebelskivers

Last weekend I made a couple batches of Ebelskivers. What is an ebelskiver you might ask? An ebelskiver is a traditional Danish pancake in the shape of a sphere. They are crossed between an American pancake and a popover with just a hint of a beignet.  Ebelskivers can either be filled with just about anything you can think of or they can be plain. I made a batch of plain, a batch of chocolate with chocolate filling, a batch of salted caramel with caramel filling, and a batch of crab cake ebelskivers.  They are really easy to make and yummy too!

I bought my ebelskiver pan from Williams Sonoma.

I also bought the mix from Williams Sonoma but you can always make the mix from scratch.

(picture from Willams Sonoma)



Batter Recipe:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Add the yolk mixture and stir until blended. The batter will be lumpy.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the rest until no white streaks remain.

To make the ebelskivers, brush the wells of the pan with some of the melted butter and place over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble, add about 3 tablespoons of batter to each well.

Cook until the bottoms of the ebelskivers are lightly browned and crisp (3-5 minutes).  Turn all the ebelskivers and cook until lightly browned on the second side about 3 minutes longer.

Transfer the finished ebelskivers to a plate and dust with powder sugar.

Salted Caramel-Pecan Ebelskivers

• 1 cup of pecans (finely chopped)
• batter (recipe above)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce or caramel dessert topping
• sea salt

Add the pecans to your batter. Prepare your ebelskiver pan as directed above. When the butter in the wells begin to bubble add 1 tablespoon batter to each well. Then carefully spoon about 1 teaspoon of the caramel sauce in the center of each ebelskiver. Top each with another 1 tablespoon of batter.

Cook until the bottoms are lightly browned (3-5 minutes). Flip. Cook another 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and drizzle with additional caramel sauce. Sprinkle with a pinch or tow of salt.



(picture from Williams Sonoma)



Once you have the basic batter you can alter it to make your favorite flavor of ebelskiver. The possibilities are endless...pumpkin pie, s'mores,strawberry shortcake, lemon curd-filled, cherry almond, iced gingerbread,  tomato stuffed, crab cake style, spicy corn etc.

I have misplaced the cord to my camera so I am unable to post any of the pictures I took; however, I have found some pictures from other websites just so you can see and ebelskiver filled and yummy.

Pumpkin Pie Ebelskivers (photo from Teenie Cakes)



Blueberry Filled Ebelskivers (photo from Something Blueberry)





Nutella, Peanut Butter, and Caramel Filled Ebelskivers (photo from Bay Area Foodie)

Each link should take you to the recipe for each ebelskiver. They are definitely worth trying!

Ugh, I hope I can find my camera cord soon!