High Five For Friday + House!

Wow...where have I been? Lots of explaining to do about that...

Guess what, it's Friday! Believe it or not it's finally here. What a weekend we had and a week it has been. I can't believe it's already Friday, but hey! I'm not complaining ;)

Starting a new link up today with Lauren called High Five For Friday!

Did you know that Lauren's sister is Kate from The Small Things Blog?! Love her, which is how I found this Friday link up. 

1. Over the weekend we... kinda bought a house?

Ok, thank you for the cheers and congratulations and all...but notice the 'kinda' and the '?'. That's because for now, all is well and dandy. Everything has been approved and appointments are made for inspections and walk throughs, etc. But, we don't close on the 29th of June and I am scared to death to count my chickens before they hatch. So, thank you for the congratulations, but please join us in prayer that everything will continue to run smoothly and that we will be signed, sealed, and delivered on the 29th!

This was the morning of house hunting! We set out at 8:00 to meet the realtor {a sweet friend from church} and were so excited to mark another big milestone in our marriage. 

We were pretty much set on a house we found online in a new subdivision in town that's still being built on. It was the first one we went to and we fell in love as soon as we walked in the door! We loved the floor plan and it was plenty big for the two of us and Jax. But...kids? Maybe. Loved the location as well. Then we peeked through a few others in the neighborhood. 

Then our realtor mentioned one on the other side of town, which is only 10 minutes away, but to me...it wasn't my stomping grounds. So, not very excited we drove over there and she showed us the house. BIG backyard. Neighbors aren't so close that you can see in each others windows-which were two pluses that the other house that we 'loved' didn't have. We walked in the front door, my mouth dropped, and it was sold. Beautiful wooden floors, grand stair case, fire place, windows, windows, windows, big laundry and mudroom, nice bonus room upstairs, jacuzzi tub with separate stand up shower, huge closet, tile floors. Talk about a dream home. I couldn't believe that we could actually afford something so beautiful! Even though I was in love with the HOUSE... I wasn't exactly sold on the location.

 We split up for lunch and went to Rafferty's to sit on the deck. It was a beautiful day!

After lunch we met up with mom and dad to tell them about the houses. Dad pointed out that we had mentioned the second house tons more then the first house. We all went out to see the house and after taking a second look and looking at everything in detail-we realized it was the one. The only farther drive it's going to me is me to work and to have a house that beautiful-who cares! ;)

But like I mentioned earlier, even though we are collecting newspapers and boxes and starting to get things ready to move... there is that small -teeny tiny- chance that God could have something else in store for us. Hope not though, cause this feels so right!

2. This week I picked back up the book, The Five Love Languages. Why I put it down, I don't know! It  is such an awesome book. Over and over I KNOW and read that the way you say something can impact how it is taken. The book noted an example: The wife who says, 'Hunny, when do you think you'll be able to clean the gutters?' vs. the wife who says, 'Seriously, there are trees growing out of the gutters! Forget cleaning them now they're about to fall off!' can make or break an entire day. Many times this week that has popped up in my head and I have had to stop, breathe, and then speak. Because when you act on kindess and really mean it... you get sweet texts like these!

3. God's glory never ceases to amaze me. These are the clouds above the gym from earlier this week. I love spring and summer so much because the end of fall and winter in Tennessee is just plain gloomy. We go for weeks sometimes without seeing a peek from the sun. I try to make it appoint to stop and smell the fresh air and to look around and see all the beauty God has created.

4. UGH! That dang nail. Ok, seriously. Chipping nails is the worst thing ever. Not the worst, but close. When you have to spend 30-45 minutes painting them and waiting for them to dry and doing that about twice a week-seeing a chip is not fun. I don't want to pay or spend the time getting shellac done-that's why I stopped getting the gel nail. But, currently the system I am using is not working well. So, a sweet friend told me about this Essie Good To Go Top Coat. So, I'm gonna test this out and I'll keep ya updated!

5. FOOD!  Last night Brandon had to work late, so my sweet mom invited me over for dinner. Dad didn't have to work-so I knew a good dinner was in store! Salsa chicken, boiled squash, mac & cheese, white beans {from the crock pot} and pancake cornbread! I was so fat and had seconds. How could you not?!

 On a healthier note- Kashi cereal has become a staple in our pantry. It's a quick, healthy, filling meal. And it's delicious! This is the Island Vanilla. Yum!

This... is some random stuffed chicken I threw together one night. I copied my  Cheesy Jalapano Popper Bake Stuffed Chicken recipe, sorta. I mixed a few cubes velveeta, bacon bits, chopped black olives, and spices and stuffed it in the chicken. Then I rolled the chicken breasts in lemon juice, salt & pepper, and dipped in italian bread crumbs.

This weekend I'm making a Southwestern Pasta Salad for our Community Group Family Picnic/Pool Party! Excited to try something new! I'll let ya know how it turns out! 

Happy Weekend Friends!