Meal-Planning Monday: An Update

A week or two ago, I posted these recipes, and I just wanted to let y'all know how they turned out!

Flavorful Pot Roast
The verdict: DELICIOUS! I'm not usually a fan of pot roast, but this was so moist and flavorful - and I love that you just throw it in the Crock Pot and forget about it. That's my kind of meal! :)

Cheesy Corn Casserole
The verdict: Yummy! It has a really different texture, and the flavor is wonderful! Plus it was so easy. The only downside is that, for a side dish, it's a little pricey (just because Cheez Whiz is kind of high), but I like it anyway, and I will be making it again for sure!

Parmesan and Bacon Pasta:
The verdict: I didn't actually cook this one yet, but my sister-in-law did, and she said it was SCRUMPTIOUS, so I'm really excited to try it!

Butter Chicken:
The verdict: I've made this one before, and you seriously, seriously have to try it at your earliest convenience! It *only* has a half-stick of butter (although it DOES have quite a bit of heavy cream) and the best flavor. Just remember that you have to marinate the meat overnight. But it is so totally worth it. :)

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes:
The verdict: I actually thought these were incredibly yummy, but Micah wasn't super impressed. You have to peel the potatoes, then boil them, then mash them, and then bake them, so it's a bit of a hassle. Micah actually said that he preferred these potatoes. And I think I do too. :)

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies:
The verdict: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Seriously amazing. There's nothing more to say. Make them. Make them soon.

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

I think my love for Ree Drummond (a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman) has been well-documented here. I love her recipes, I love her photography, and I love her witty writing.

So it probably won't come as a surprise that I LOVE her new book, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels! I pre-ordered it, and it was delivered a few days ago (yes, even in the ice!). I finished it the night I got it. :)

I didn't read the entire thing, though, because the first 2/3 of the book is actually on her website. When she first started blogging, she posted the story of how she met her husband in a smoky bar on a pit stop in her hometown before she moved to Chicago to go to law school. As fate would have it, they fell in love and she wound up becoming the wife of a cattle rancher instead of a lawyer. She wrote the story in segments, and when I first stumbled upon her blog, I started reading the story and couldn't make myself stop! Her book includes the story from her website PLUS the first year of their marriage.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you all to go out and pick up a copy because it's a wonderful story and very easy to read (or you can order it from Amazon here). But the book also got me thinking (surprise, surprise) on another level.

One of my favorite things about the book (and Ree, in general), is how insanely in love with her husband she is. They've been married for years and have four kids, but the sight of her husband in chaps still makes ger giddy. She's not one of those women who let having kids make her forget about her insane love for her husband. That's something that is incredibly important to me. I do want kids someday, but I don't ever want to forget about how much I love being with Micah. I don't want to let the hustle and bustle of raising kids (which I know I'll love) come at the expense of my relationship with the love of my life. I think it's a tough thing to do, but I hope I can be half as good as Ree is about remembering how incredible (and insanely handsome) my husband is. :)

Tuesday's List: House Projects

I'm linking up to Love From Texas to share a list of house projects. Never mind the fact that it isn't actually Tuesday! I'll try and get on track next week! :)

I've told y'all (multiple times, I'm sure) that I'm decorating fairly lightly in this house because our lease is up in September and we'll (hopefully!) be buying something at that point. So it just doesn't make sense to spend a lot of time and money on furniture/decorations that may or may not "go" in the next house.

But we have done a few things (like the new bed and guest room), and I'm hoping to get a few other things accomplished while we're here. :)

{Dining Room Table}

We're using Micah's grandpa's table and chairs for right now, and I'm so thankful to have them, but eventually I want to get something that's a little more our style. I'm in love with this table from Pottery Barn:

It's a little rustic, but still gorgeous. I'm not in love with the chairs, and I'm not exactly sure what I want, but I'll resist the urge to put the cart before the horse: I'll focus on getting the table first.

{Office Furniture}

Right now, we're using my Ikea desk from law school, and it serves our purposes just fine, given that our "office" is actually one of the spare bedrooms and no one ever sees it anyway. But in our next house, I'd like to have some decent-looking furniture to put in a study.

Ideally, the room would have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a big comfy chair in it, as well, but that's probably wishful thinking. :)

{Master Bedroom Artwork}

Now that I've got a color scheme for the master bedroom (hallelujah!), I'd like to eventually get a piece of artwork for the room. I don't know precisely what "style" I'm looking for, but I'm going to keep my eye out for something with marigolds and grassy greens that isn't too modern-looking. Or maybe I'll do something with words, like this:

Who knows, though. Most weeks, I'm feeling good just to get the house cleaned and picked up - I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself to finish decorating while we live here. But when we move next time (hopefully the last time for a good, long while!), it's ON! :)

Because she's so darned cute...

... I thought I'd share. :) (Please ignore my weird, high-pitched, I love my dog a little too much voice. And I'm sorry about the ending. I promise I didn't plan that.)

Snow! (2.0)

It has been CRAZY around Texas with all of this snow and ice! I've had to work from home for the past FOUR days because our office was closed! The ice by itself wasn't much fun, but today it snowed - probably the most snow I've ever seen around these parts!

So Micah and I drove around to look at all of the snow... and then came home and played in it!

The little pond by our house actually froze over!

We tried for like fifteen minutes to get a picture with me and Lilly, but she was having too much FUN!

She was just covered in snow. The cutest thing was watching her fetch her Frisbee... :)

This was definitely before we had a massive snowball fight in the front yard. :)

Poor dog...

(Although it doesn't look like she minds too much!)

I hope everyone takes a little time today to go out and enjoy the snow! You're never too old to enjoy a good, old-fashioned snowball fight! :)