Weekend Fun!

So last weekend we headed up to Chicago to visit with TP, Drew, and Brittany! We had such a good time and can't wait to go back. Taylor and I were talking about how weird it felt when we were walking around in downtown Chicago, because this is where we live and where our friend lives! ha. We've only been to Chicago on vacation so it's crazy that we all live here now! We left for Chicago on Saturday morning and went to TP's house to watch the Arkansas game. I really thought that we were going to win the game, but as we know, that just did not happen. And now we will move on... After the game we went to eat dinner at a place called Ed Debevic's which is a 50's Diner where the waiters are really rude to you. That part of the experience was cool, but the food was not so hot and a little overpriced so we probably won't be going back!


After dinner we decided to go see a movie but it didn't start for a couple hours so we went and walked around Navy Pier. It was pretty chilly outside but it was really neat to walk around downtown Chicago and see all the people.



They had this funny mirror on the Pier where you could look like a little person! ha. This is me and Brittany :) Sorry the picture is dark!


After walking around, we went and saw Catfish which was very good. It wasn't anything like I expected but we all really enjoyed it! The movie didn't get out until around 12:45am so we didn't end up getting back to Brittany and Drew's house until almost 2:30am! We had not seen their apartment since they got it all set up and it is soooo cute. It really made me want to make ours more homey and get more decorative pieces!


Sunday afternoon we went to a place I have never been before...IKEA!!! To say I was excited would be a huge understatement. I have always heard really cool things about IKEA and was so excited! I really wanted to find some lamps for our bedroom and we found these for only $10 each. We headed home after IKEA and just spent the evening relaxing and Taylor studying!


Hope you all had a great weekend and are having a happy Tuesday!

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall!! I just love this time of the year. It does make me a little sad that we will miss the trees changing on 540 into Arkansas though! That was always my favorite drive to make when we would go visit B'ville for the weekend during school! Well, the last few days have not been overly eventful. We have pretty much just been enjoying watching all the premieres on TV this week and Taylor, as usual, has been studying every night. And I'm sure you are asking yourself, "Did Laine and Andrew come over to study this week?" And that would be yes, they did! Last night Laine told me that she is making her sister's WEDDING CAKE! She showed me some pictures recently of other wedding cakes she had done and I was amazed. I told her I wish we could have met four months ago! :)


On another note, we did go check out the Tanger Outlet Mall last Sunday that is near us! I had been wanting to go there since we moved up here, and since it is only about 35 minutes away, we thought we should go check it out. Ok, ok.. I THOUGHT we should go check it out, but Taylor didn't complain much so I didn't feel bad! :) We realized when we arrived that this Tanger is an older one because it didn't have all the stores I was used to seeing, like IZOD and Banana Republic. This is probably a good thing though because Taylor and I both could easily spend way too much money at those stores! We did find a great deal on some new winter coats while we were there, which I was really happy about. Coats are just expensive, so when you find a good deal you gotta take it, right?? :)


This is Taylor's jacket. It looks much more shiny in this picture than it actually is!


These are my jackets! And yes, I did purchase two puffy, fur hooded coats because the deal was seriously that good :) I just love the black one! I have never had a long coat so I am so excited to wear it. That does not mean I am excited about the cold weather that will come though!


And finally, I must make a sad confession. We only have ONE yummy recipe to share with you all. We have really been striking out this week on the dishes we have tried! ha. Tonight we made pork tenderloin, corn, and green beans. Taylor had found this pork recipe and really wanted to try it out. It turned out delicious and may have been the easiest thing I have ever made!

PORK TENDERLOIN RECIPE
Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red cooking wine
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.

We hope you all have a wonderful Friday tomorrow! We have an exciting weekend planned so we will be sure and update again soon :)

Dinner, Movie, Tailgating, HOGS!!

So we have had a really good weekend so far! Taylor got all his homework done that is due the beginning of next week so he actually gets to relax a little this weekend :) Last night we decided to go out to eat and see a movie. We have been wanting to try this BBQ place in town called Black Dog Smoke and Ale House and I am so glad we did! Whenever y'all come visit we will for sure take you there because it was soooo good. We didn't get to stay and eat at the restaurant cause the wait was really long, so we just got it to go! We each got pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, and twice baked bake potatoes. I can't wait to go back and eat AT the restaurant. It was a little "hole in the wall" type place that looked really cool!


After dinner we headed to the theater to see "The Town". We have both really been wanting to see it because the previews looked awesome. It ended up being pretty good! Taylor said as we were leaving that he felt like the cops were following him because he got so into the movie! ha. We also saw a really funny commercial during the previews that I wanted to share with you all. The whole theater was laughing during this commercial! I just love watching previews before a film! Taylor thinks that it is really strange I enjoy watching them, but I just love seeing what new movies are coming out.


This morning we headed to the U of I Tailgate party that the station puts on! The game was at 11 so the party started at 8:30, but the station still chose to serve BBQ sandwiches instead of breakfast! ha. We had fun but decided not to go to the game so that we could come home and watch the RAZORBACKS!! We don't really have much planned today except watching the Hogs and doing laundry. I am hoping I can talk Taylor into going to Walmart tonight so we don't have to go tomorrow. Walmart on Sunday is just too crazy for me :) Hope you all have a great weekend!

Let's go Arkansas! Whoooo Pig Sooie!

All Work and No Play

So it has been all work and no play in our house for the last few days! Work has been going well for me, I just have so much to learn. The last few days have mainly consisted of learning the station's marketing software and all the products they sell, which are more than I ever imagined! My boss is planning on me going out to try and meet with clients on Friday so be praying for me. I am very nervous!


Taylor has been doing what he always does, studying! We spent Monday night at the Physics lab and then last night we went to Laine and Andrew's so the boys could study. And tonight, guess who is over? Laine and Andrew! I have a feeling that we are going to get to know them very well over the next few years!

Well, we don't have much to say tonight! Just wanted to update you all on our week :)

Sundays are for studying!

I always enjoy Sundays! Even though the next day is Monday, there is something just so relaxing about Sundays :) So today in our house, Taylor wasn't the only one studying. When I was offered my new job they gave me a huge stack of papers, a worksheet, and a book, then said, "Memorize this!". Ha! So this weekend I have been looking over all the information about each station, reading through a book called "Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads", and filling out a worksheet. I thought when I graduated I would never fill out another worksheet again. Well, I was wrong! The book is actually entertaining, but I have so much information about the stations to learn that it is a little overwhelming.


I probably shouldn't complain though, because Taylor's studying is like 100 times worse than mine :( And he is still not feeling well so please be praying for him. We actually didn't go to church this morning because he felt so bad and just needed to rest.


Tonight we made BBQ Turkey Burgers and they were very good! We have made them before but I didn't post the recipe so I thought I would this time. Please don't let the idea of "turkey burgers" throw you off. These have so much flavor and are very delicious! We put them on a Kaiser bun with a piece of pepper jack cheese (for me) and American cheese (for Taylor). Yummy!

BBQ TURKEY BURGERS
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 tablespoon hot sauce, eyeball it
1 pound ground turkey (or chicken)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (we used McCormick)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
In a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add chopped onions, garlic and tomato paste and sweat them for 5 minutes to soften and sweeten. Sprinkle in sugar and remove from heat. Cool in a bowl, 5 minutes. Add tomato paste mixture, Worcestershire, hot sauce to bowl and combine. Add chicken to the bowl then grill seasoning and combine the burgers well to evenly distribute the flavors and form 4 patties. Wash up.

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan, in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 6 minutes on each side. (It took our patties a little longer to cook, so just make sure they are done all the way through!)

Well, I start work tomorrow morning so please be praying for me! I will be sure and give an update tomorrow :)

Last few free days...

So my last few free days have been good! Thursday night, Taylor decided that he needed to stay up at the school and study. So he asked if I would make dinner and bring it to campus! I thought, "Well, that could be fun!". Little did I know how hard it would be to transport chicken pasta, salad, and cheese biscuits! ha. It ended up all working out fine, but needless to say next time he has to stay at school, we will be ordering pizza :) It was fun to eat in one of the U of I's HUGE quads and the weather was perfect. Taylor and I even commented during dinner that we weren't cold or hot, we literally didn't feel any sort of temperature outside! It was wonderful!


Friday night we decided to go on a date because we had not done that in awhile. We headed to Outback (thank you Mitch and Sarah!) cause they actually have a meal that Taylor is willing to split! ha. Since he hasn't been feeling well lately, I thought a good steak might make him feel better. We really like going to Outback because we can get a small order of Aussie cheese fries, a salad, the Outback special, and something to drink for a really reasonable price!


Once again, doesn't he look thrilled to have his picture taken?? :)


This morning I headed to the farmer's market while Taylor slept in. I picked up some zucchini, squash, apples, green beans, and homemade jam! I am afraid that sweet corn may be out of season now because they have not had any the last few times we went, which is sad :( After I got home, I just worked on some laundry while Taylor studied and we watched football! I just love college football season! We are sad that we may not get to see many Razorback games this year, so I guess Taylor will just have to settle watching the Big 12 teams since they are always on :) haha!

We also got to experience one of the perks of my new job tonight! Before every home football game, the station sets up a HUGE tailgating tent and invites employees, their families, clients, etc. to come hang out and have free food and drinks! There were so many people in orange today that I almost thought we had moved to Stillwater for a second. We ended up having a lot of fun which is good, because starting Monday it will be mandatory that I go! Also, our friend Keith turned 23 today so we had cake over at Laine and Andrew's apartment afterward. And I must toot my own horn for just a second because I made my first double layered cake this morning and it turned out really good! ha. It was just a strawberry mix but I am not the best in the kitchen so I was so excited when it turned out well :) Taylor even said it was good, and he doesn't really care for desserts!


Here is Keith trying to blow out all 23 candles!


We do have to give a little shout out to the Razorbacks and their win over
LA-Monroe! Woooo Pig Soooooeeeee! Two wins? Maybe this is the start to a good season? :)



Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Fun Times and BIG News!

Hello! So once again, sorry we have been MIA for the last week. Things have been pretty busy here in IL! Taylor's family came to visit over Labor Day weekend and we had so much fun! Myself, Jim (Taylor's dad), and his Papaw all had birthdays in the last week so it was fun to all celebrate together! His family got here Saturday morning and we headed to a place called Jim Gould's for lunch and it was yummy! Taylor has wanted to go there since we moved here, so he was pretty excited. After lunch we showed Taylor's family around the town and we got to check out his office at school. That evening we went to Papa Del's, a local pizza place that is soooo good! Sunday morning we woke up early and headed to Chicago to attend The Moody Church and then we spent the afternoon in Chicago at the Magnificent Mile and the Lincoln Park Zoo. And of course, no trip to Chicago is complete without a stop by the Garrett Popcorn Shop!


After a trip to the zoo (where hardly any of the animals were out!), we headed back home! Monday morning we all got up and went to eat at Cracker Barrel before Taylor's family headed back to AR. That afternoon Taylor and I just kind of hung around the house reading and studying. We had a really good Labor Day weekend and were happy to be able to visit with family :)


In other news, I am now one year older than the last time we posted! Ha. My birthday was last Thursday and I had a really good day. Taylor got up and made me breakfast before he left for school and then I went and got a pedicure with our friend Laine. She took me to get ice cream at a place called Jarling's here in town! It was delicious. But probably the best gift I received that day was... A JOB OFFER!!

This leads me to our BIG news! I will be starting work this coming Monday, Sept. 13th at the WDWS Radio Station as a member of their Media Sales and Marketing team. I am really excited and nervous all at the same time! It is going to be hard work but I think it will be a great career opportunity. We feel so blessed and thankful that after a hard last few months, God has provided us with such a great opportunity! I officially accepted the job yesterday so Taylor and I went to get dessert! And where did we go? Burger King! Ha. I don't really care for their food, or fast food in general, but I looooove their Hershey Sundae Pies!


And of course I have to update y'all on some recipes we have tried recently! We made Rachael Ray's Southwestern Pasta Bake last week and it was delicious! It took about 1 hour to cook and the only thing I would change would be to use half a jalapeno cause it was pretty spicy with the whole jalapeno! Click here for the recipe.


We love you all and we promise to be better about updating sooner next time! :)