The Messy Project

I was so excited when Kelly e-mailed me to let me know I had won a spot in her August #MessyProject! It's so funny because just a couple weeks before that I had signed up for a spot in September or October :)

I was really excited, but also nervous. I'm not fashion forward...I mean, I'm decent but I don't take many risks when it comes to fashion. I had seen some previous months of #themessyproject and there were some things that would have been entirely outside of my comfort zone.  That's part of the fun J

It took me a little while to figure out exactly how I was going to accessorize this dress.  I then came up with adding different pops of color to the outfit...with necklaces and belts.

{Sorry for the poor quality pictures - my camera is acting up, so I had to use my ipad!}

First Look: 

I added a black belt I had from another dress - which was from Target and I added the necklace, which is from Groopdealz. Simple, but definitely "me"

Second Look: 

This teal belt is also from another dress I already had - which was from Target and the necklace is from Groopdealz as well J

Now go check out the other 4 girls and see what they did with the same dress!  There are some pretty great ideas!

Samantha @ Hooah & Hiccups

Megalin @ My Random Lovelies

Amy @ Sweet Home Amy

Kelly @ MessyDirtyHair

Fall Fashion

So to get you guys in the fashion mood for tomorrow’s post, I figured I’d put a few pictures I’ve found on Pinterest that I’m wanting for fall. Tomorrow’s post will be about #TheMessyProject and I’m super excited about it! Come back tomorrow to see what it’s all about!

I'm not really fashion forward {at all really}, but I try. I'm loving these casual looks, although all very similar.

via 

via 

via

I love the boots with the colored skinny jeans!  And for the reverse – colored boots with jeans! I need a money tree stat so I can go shopping J 

What are your favorite looks for the fall?

Crock-pot Enchilada Soup {Recipe}

This week I’m sharing my famous Crock-pot Enchilada Soup recipe. Yep, it’s famous- you didn't know?

I love a good crock-pot meal – you throw everything in and leave it there. Stir it occasionally, and it is done by dinner time. My kind of cooking!  I should start this recipe by telling you guys I’m not a measurer. I am when I’m unfamiliar, but if it’s something I’m making myself or trying to copy – I just put in amounts that feel right. I know, that doesn't help you guys out too much. Trust me though, you can’t mess this up. Put the amounts that you feel right about and it will turn out delicious!

 

Ingredients

Package of Ground Turkey/Chicken/Beef or Two Chicken Breasts

1 Can Beef Broth

I can Mexican Corn

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1 Can Black Beans

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

Diced onion (1/2 of one) or Onion powder {I’ve made it both ways}

Garlic Powder {few shakes}

Pepper {Few shakes}

Steak Sauce {few shakes}

Worcestershire {few shakes}

 Chili Powder {Several shakes}

Ground Cumin {Several shakes}

If you find that at the time dinner is served, it’s a little too “soupy” mix a little cornstarch and water together. Then mix into the soup – it will thicken it up a bit.  This will not compromise the taste!

To Serve:

Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.  We eat the soup with Tostitos Scoops instead of a spoon J

ENJOY!

Linking up with Stephanie & Chelsea!

It's Friday!!

Sister love: I love these two so much. Especially when they are sweet, loving, and giggly with each other!

Check out this video of them giggling together last night:

Hadleigh’s First movie:  Sunday I took Hadleigh to her first movie at the movie theater!  It was a friend from school’s birthday party and we went to see “Planes”.  I was nervous on how she would do, but she did awesome!  We left the movies twice to go potty, but other than that, she sat and watched the entire thing. It was a really cute movie.

I have this decanter from Pottery Barn on my mind to get for our new cabinet, but for some reason I can’t click the button to order.  I really want it monogrammed, but it approaches $50!  Any better ideas?

My sister and her family head into town tonight for the first time since they left in May to move to Charleston, SC.  The cousins will definitely get in some quality playing time here and at the Rivah later this week J

Tomorrow we have Hadleigh’s birthday party at the local children’s museum.  We are really excited to celebrate with family and a few friends.  Cannot believe we’ll have a 3 year old next week! Full update post on how our 3 year old is doing coming soon!

Linking up with H54F & 5 on Friday

Teaberry Trails

I’m super excited to introduce you to Brittney, who is taking over my blog today J  She’s pretty awesome, so definitely go on over to her blog and say hello!

Why hello everyone! My name is Brittney and I blog over at Teaberry Trails. I am really excited to be here at Harris Heart-to-Hearts with Erin today! When I signed up for the Big & Littles Network, I truly never thought that I would be paired with such an awesome individual! It’s almost like we were meant to be seeing as we have so much in common and all! Cray-cray I tell ya!

Anyway, so here’s a bit about little ole me…

-Even though I moved quite often, I was born and raised in Virginia. When I was four we moved from Fairfax to a little town in Shenandoah County. We moved multiple times within my twelve years of school, but always stayed within our school district and I attnended the same school with the exception of a year my entire school career.

-My husband Jeff and I met in high school. Took us a bit to figure out that we were just meant to be, but we have it right now.

-Speaking of, we have two sweet little girls yet another thing Erin and I have in common! Willow Lola and Lyla Lane are two sweet girls that I am fortunate enough to call mine!

- I love to run and workout, but I hate getting up to get it done! I love the feeling during and after I finally get off my butt to do so, it’s just getting there that takes some time. Usually, I have to have an ultimate goal to work toward. Case in point, Read this post and I’m ashamed to say that I have yet to run over six miles since!

- I have a problem with starting things and never finishing them. Like crafts. I started a quilt almost three years ago and have yet to finish it. All that needs to be done is the binding…maybe I’ll get on that soon. I blame Pinterest for keeping me on my toes haha!

If you want to know any more quirky facts I seem to have, visit my About page! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Bloglovin’ for more fun stuff!

Thanks so much Erin for having me! I am really excited that we were paired together and have been able to form an awesome relationship!

See, I told you! Now go on over to her blog – you know you want to!

Fudgies {Recipe}

Another easy recipe coming to you this week!  It’s a family favorite and one of my specialties J 

1 Stick of Butter

½ Cup Evaporated Milk

¼ Cup Peanut Butter

2 Cups Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

4 Tablespoons Cocoa

3 Cups of Oatmeal

Melt everything but the oatmeal in a pan on stove-top.  Once all melted, remove from burner.  

Add the 3 cups of oatmeal – mix well.  

Then transfer spoonfuls onto wax paper.  Once hardened, you can transfer them to a container.

 

Again, so easy and NO-BAKE! It took me a total of 15 minutes I think?  Also, I may have been out of evaporated milk last night when I made these, so I used French vanilla coffee creamer.  It worked wonderfully and you cannot even tell the difference. J You have to get creative sometimes!

Linking up with Stephanie & Chelsea

How to Stay Connected To Your Partner {PFALO}

I’m certainly no expert at this – I know Daniel and I could be better at this at times. It’s hard.  Working full time jobs, Daniel getting his Masters, and then 2 kids on top of all the other adult duties like cleaning and cooking. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.  Here are a few things we do as a couple to stay connected.

Send random texts: OK so really this is me and then Daniel responds. Ha! And actually, it’s not really random. It’s texts throughout the day just saying “I love you!” or “I miss you!  Or “xoxoxo” I know think he gets annoyed sometimes with the texts that get sent to him, but deep down he loves it ;) And I of course love it! I’m a tad more “needy” than him.

Simple surprises: Daniel was in Denver for work, so I thought it would be nice to surprise him with a little treat in his hotel room after his long day of meetings and dinner.  Wasn’t anything big – just a small plate of snacks and a beer.  I had room service bring it to his room when he wasn't there and had them hand write a little note to him.  Just letting him know I was thinking about him.  Daniel surprised me one afternoon with a bracelet for no reason.  Although we hardly ever give each other gifts, it was nice to get one.  It just lets the other person know that they were thinking about you.

Make the time to talk/be intimate/cuddle:  It’s simple. Talk about your day, talk about the kids, talk about an upcoming date night, or other upcoming plans.  Make time to cuddle/make-out/be intimate.  Although with kids, you might not be able to be as spontaneous as maybe you once were, but making time for it is better than not. 

Date nights: We don’t get these a lot, so they are definitely special when we do.  It’s nice to get out with just you two – talking, eating, and having a drink – all un-interrupted.  I can’t say that I still don’t feel guilty, because I do, but I don’t let it stop me from enjoying myself.  There are so many unique restaurants in the Richmond area, so we try and make it t a new restaurant when we have date night. I love the little tradition we've started!

Have something’s in common: Maybe it’s a TV show? Maybe it’s an extracurricular activity? Maybe it’s cooking? Or maybe it’s re-doing/ re-decorating a room in the house.  We don’t have much time in our schedules, but when we do, we seem to start tackling a room in the house to re-do.  I love that Daniel has just as much of an opinion on décor as I do. Actually, if I’m being honest, a lot of the time he is better at it than me!  I think it’s nice for you to do something with your significant other.

 

Birthday Pictures

Nikki did it again!  We got pictures done for the girls birthdays (Hayden=1 & Hadleigh=3).  When we were there it seemed like there was no way Nikki got any good pictures.  Not because of her, but because the girls were EVERYWHERE.  Nope. She caught some amazing images of the girls being themselves and running around exploring.  Nikki does an excellent job and my girls just love her, which makes things even better.  If you are in the Richmond area – you should definitely schedule a session with her!

Nikki's Website

Nikki's Facebook

Nikki's Blog Post from our session 

Linking up for Wildcard Wednesday!

Easy Pesto Chicken {Recipe}

I’m trying to get back to planning meals and cooking dinners.  Getting inspired is hard!  Especially, when I work all day and I know that 99% of the time, Hadleigh will not eat whatever I fix. I will say, cooking during the week is so much easier when I have all the ingredients and I know exactly what we’re having.

Last night, I actually made this pizza that I saw on Mallory’s blog yesterday.  I switched things up a bit and added sliced celery and a packet of ranch dressing mix into the sauce.  It was super yummy!

This recipe is one of my favorites.  It has so much flavor and is easy to make!

You’ll need:

2 Chicken breasts

Can of Artichoke Hearts

Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

Jar of Pesto (I use Classico brand)

Rice (I use Rice Pilaf)

Preheat Oven to 350

Cut the chicken into pieces (or you can leave them whole) & Lay into a casserole dish

Top the chicken with the Pesto

Cut Artichoke Hearts & tomatoes – add them on top of the chicken and pesto. Add as much as you desire.

Pop in the oven and bake until Chicken is fully cooked (about 20 minutes)

Serve on top of rice

Easy Peasy! It’s delicious – you’ll thank me later  J

Linking up to Kitchenspiration with Stephanie & Chelsea!

Introducing Your Child Into A Home With Older Siblings Or Pets {PFALO}

I don’t have any ground-breaking advice on how to transition a new baby into a home with pets or older siblings, but I can share with you how and what we did.  Honestly, we were more concerned bringing our oldest home to the dogs than bringing our youngest home to the dogs and big sister. 

I think the dogs knew something was up when I was pregnant.  They can sense those things.  I ended up having to be in the hospital for about a month before Hadleigh was born, so I didn't see them at all.  We didn't do any prepping before-hand {I have no clue what you could even do}.  Once Hadleigh was born, Daniel took a blanket Hadleigh had been wrapped in home to the dogs.  This way they could get a little used to her smell and not be all in her business when we brought her in the door.

 

I’m not sure it worked or not, but they weren't all over her – we made sure of it.  We did introduce them and let them sniff her.  They were very sweet with her.  We actually thought Isis was going to be very motherly, but we were totally wrong.  Ha! She could care less about the noises she made or when she cried.  Duke, on the other-hand, was the motherly one.  Every time she cried at night, Duke would wake up and walk over to her bassinet.  I had to tell him she was OK before he would mosey back over to his bed. So sweet.  They were actually more standoffish with me because I had been gone for so long.  It didn't last long, but it was there way of letting me know they didn't like the fact I “left” them. Noted.

Even though they took to each girl very well, we were still cautious.  We make sure when the girls get close to them to keep an eye out. Or if we know one isn't feeling well or in a bad mood – we make sure the girls don’t mess with them that day.  Not that anything would happen – the dogs love the girls and let them do whatever they want to them – but we don’t want to find out if anything were to happen.  I think that is just being responsible dog owners.

When I was pregnant with Hayden I didn't have any worries about bringing her home to the dogs.  I wasn't concerned with how she would be around the dogs or her big sister, because that’s all she will grow up knowing.  My main concern was Hadleigh.  For 23 months, she was the one that got all of the attention.  We actually sent her to daycare the day Hayden was born – we didn't want to change the schedule she was already on.  Once we knew Hayden would be born soon, we had our parents go pick her up so she could immediately meet her sister.  Our parents spoiled her with presents as well as Hayden.  Daniel and I also sat down with her and made a big deal over her while the grandparents were holding Hayden for the first time.  We also got a small present for Hadleigh that was from her new sister.  I can’t remember for the life of me what we got, but it was something small.  It was something extra for Hadleigh to think “wow, this baby is pretty cool” just in case she thought otherwise.

Hadleigh loved giving her little sister kisses and sitting next to her.  We really were very lucky.  There definitely was an adjustment period for about 2 weeks.  Nothing major, but a lot more defiance and whining about everything and anything. After the first couple of weeks, things started to calm down.