Party Hopping

This past weekend was full of showers! Ok, just two, but still- it was a lot for one day. My mother and Aunt Ronda hosted a family shower for my cousin Heath's bride-to-be, Elisabeth. Out of respect for my mother, I won't go into any other details other than it was beautiful. I won't divulge the madness/craziness behind the scenes. Wink, wink!

Here is the hostess with the mostest cooking her little heart out before all the guests arrived.

The table all set and ready to go. Everything was super delicious! My mom made a breakfast casserole that was the bomb.com.

 All the Robbins ladies (and future) gathered together. Now that I look at this, I wonder where my grandmother was for this. Ha!

The future sister-in-laws. I have to say, Heath did good picking out Elisabeth. She is an absolute delight and such a sweetheart.

One of the highlights of the party was that my {great} Aunt Essie was able to come to the shower. She is a trooper, I tell ya!

This is where my grandmother was- playing with the baby! He is 6 weeks old and oh-so precious!

Here is everyone all gathered together. It was wonderful to see everyone. Sadly, showers like this is the only time that we all get together!

Heath even made an appearance at this shower. He had to come open his gift!

So, that was our brunch shower that morning. Later that night, we had a couples shower.

All smiles before the party! The happy couple and my Aunt Susan {or Birdie} and my Uncle Brett.

I had to include this picture because I thought it was just so darn cute! <3>

The hostess had a really cute idea for dinner. Those boxes on the table all contained our meal. We had bbq sandwiches, marinated green been salad, potato salad and chips. It was too cute!

I think Heath really enjoyed his shower! If you look at the picture above you may see something quite shiny and big. That beautiful silver present caused quite the ruckus. My mother bought what she thought was silver paper. It turned out to be nothing more than clear cellophane. So, here comes the melt down and panic. Because where my family lives, there is no Wal-Mart you can just run to and grab some wrapping paper. So she improvised....with tin foil.

She then wrapped the cellophane around it. I thought it looked fine. But she was still mortified.

So do my mother a favor, and pin this idea. Tin Foil/cellophane wrapping. It's the next big thing! Heath and Elisabeth didn't seem to mind the homemade approach.

Plus, like someone pointed out, after you unwrap your present you can sure bake a whole lotta potatoes!

Ha! Love you, mother!

So that was the epic day of showers. It was an interesting day- but a good one!

The Critters Come Out

It seems like ever since Stacey moved out of the house, that I have had an influx of critters at my house. I guess because Bentley is no longer there to patrol the yard and keep the rift raft away. My friendly raccoon has stopped by a few times, not to mention the cat that scared me half to death last night when I was making my way out to the laundry room and it pounced from out of the blackness of night.

This weekend was no exception for the Critter Quota. At least David was there to help a girl out on her pest control.

First off, poor little Moxley discovered a yellow jacket's nest in the backyard. He came running out from behind the bushes all freaked out. Yeah, Mox. That hole in the ground with insects coming in and out of it- it's not a safe place.

David did a little research and the best time to kill these mean machines is at night when they are "sleeping" and all safe and sound in their nest. So, we tried to keep Mox out of them the best we could and continued to enjoy our afternoon in the nice, cool fall air. {they have since been eradicated}

It wasn't until about 10 minutes later that Mox stumbled upon another visitor in my yard. Yep, right behind our chairs on the patio beside the house. All of 2 feet from where I was sitting was my arch nemesis.

Yeah, where is Ethan Hawk when you need him?

Thankfully, I had the next best thing. David, aka wanna be Steve Irwin.

I was convinced that this guy was a deadly viper, but sadly, it was just a harmless garter snake. It may not have been a rattlesnake, but I wanted it gone nonetheless. David tried to fight me on it, but I just couldn't stand for it. IT HAD HAD BABIES! I know this because I found one of it's nasty little offspring on the carport a week before. So, therefore Earl had to die. And it really bothers me to no end that I have no "snake killing" devices at my house other than a pair of hedge clippers. Note to self: buy a shovel.

I know it was harmless, but I would have broken my neck trying to get away from it, had I been alone facing this cobra.

I'm a ssnaake. I'm a sneaky, sneaky ssssnaaake.

Just call me the honey badger. I don't care. Maybe that's what I need, a honey badger. He could take care of my snake and yellow jacket problem. But then again, the dachshunds and badgers are mortal enemies :)
so I may need to reconsider.

Here's to 31!

Yesterday I celebrated my 31st birthday, or my 2nd anniversary of turning 29. However you wanna look at it. To be honest, my day started out rough. I slept through not one, but two different alarms and woke up at the time I should have been walking out the door to go to work. Yeah. Not a great way to start your day, much less your birthday. Then in the hustle and bustle trying to get out the door, I realized that my sweet little Brutus had tried to bring me a nice birthday present....a dead squirrel. He was so proud when he laid it at my feet. Err..thanks? Then on the drive to work, some chick in a minivan tried to run me off the road and she just barely missed side swiping me. Thank goodness for my super stellar driving skills and a good pair of brakes.

However, my day got better. My sweet friend (and the wife of my boss) Jennifer brought me lunch and a few presents. So I had a nice little break from the stresses of the day. When I got home, I had a really nice surprise waiting for me.

On the back step in the carport (next to the freaky Bentley planter, ha!) was a beautiful bouquet of flowers sent to me by my sweetheart. It was so thoughtful of him, since he was unable to celebrate with me in person since my birthday fell on a Wednesday.

The best surprise of my day was that my sweet father came up to stay with me last night. I wasn't expecting it. My mother was on her way back from Pensacola, so she wasn't able to come see me. But I guess daddy couldn't stand the thought of his baby girl spending her birthday alone. It totally made my day. He even brought my a birthday pie. (and I apologize for these horrible phone pictures!)

I know two little pups that were super excited to see their papa! Especially my father's favorite (heehee) Brutus.

So I had a nice evening spending time with three of my favorite guys.

It was a pretty exhausting day for all! Although it was sad to see my daddy leave this morning, and take the puppies with him. The boys however, seemed super excited to go home and see their Mimi and Oscar and Jack.

So, that was my birthday. Simple and sweet. Perfect.

Weekend Recap

Tomorrow I will officially turn 3-1. Blah. However, it's nice to be surprised and made to feel special from time to time. This past weekend, I went to Savannah to see David and to be his date for his friend's wedding. Wouldn't you know that he had a few pre-birthday surprises for me when I got there late Friday evening! I was totally not expecting it. He had gone all around town securing some of my favorite treats. He knows that I have an unhealthy love for the Savannah Candy Kitchen, so he was sure to pick up two of my favorite things- gophers and salt water taffy. David then went above and beyond the call of duty when he drove clear across to the other side of town to get me an extra special treat. One that I had never had. Enter Gigi's Cupcakes.

Image via

Oh. My. Goodness. He "done good" is all I can say. He knows I am a big fan of lemon, so he got me the lemon icebox cupcake, as shown below.

Image via

It was very, very tasty. But the big winner, winner chicken dinner was the lemon cheesecake cupcake. I couldn't find a picture on their website, which was sad because this thing was AMAZING! I mean amazing. So, if you find yourself near a Gigi's Cupcake store, stop by. It's totally worth it. And by reading Gigi's story, I can tell that she is a woman of great faith with a great story. Even better!

 I may {or may not} have had a cupcake for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, but I'm not fessing up to it. Oh, what the heck. Yeah I will. It's my birthday and I'll eat cupcakes for breakfast if I want to!

Saturday evening we got all dressed up and headed over to the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony. I of course cried, and I didn't even know the people getting married. But it was such a sweet service. My favorite part was that it was at -wait for it- a museum!

I took my point and shoot camera, but I don't have it with me right now, so you will have to settle for this crappy iPhone picture. The wedding and reception was at the Roundhouse Railroad Museum in Savannah.

Image via

Image via Elizabeth Ann Designs

The reception was held in the room pictured above, which looked to be an old workshop of sorts. Click on the link for Elizabeth Ann Designs for photos of another wedding that took place there. It was really neat and unexpected. I loved it! Plus, there was the opportunity to walk around and look at all the history displays. Right up my alley!

The rest of the weekend was low-key. We mostly spent our time trying to tame this beast and his brother:

JJ looks all innocent until there is a Golden Retriever thrown into the mix. Poor Mox was bombarded by Thing 1 and Thing 2 aka the dachshund brothers. The boys weren't very welcoming to Mox. Especially Brutus. He can be quite mean when he wants to be.

Sunday, David treated me to lunch down at Tybee Island and for a walk on the beach.

It was fabulous and I enjoyed every minute out there walking hand in hand with my handsome and sweet man.

That's about all I have for you today. Sorry I've been MIA here lately. It's been a super busy couple of weeks but nothing of note to blog about.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Stacey's Farewell Party

Last night we had a last hoorah for Stacey. We had a house full of friends at our house to wish Stacey well with her new job and her move back home. It was a bitter sweet evening full of laughter and of course, a few tears from me. I'm so glad that so many came to see Stacey before she leaves this weekend.

Yes, weird, sad cow. I feel the same way! (and if you can't see, the sign says "I'm so sad that Stacey is moo-ving")

I decided to go with the color scheme of red and aqua for the party after finding some cute floral plates at Hobby Lobby. I thought it turned out pretty cute!

Here is the woman of the hour before the party began! Stacey, hope you enjoyed your party! Love you!

As one her going away present from me, I got her the Thomasville: A Place Apart book and asked all of the guests to sign it and write her a little note. It kinda felt like yearbook signing though. Ha!

Here is Stacey opening a few of her going away presents. I thought it was so sweet of everyone!

I know how special Stacey is and I am so thankful that she has so many friends that know that too!

All in all, it was a wonderful night and I am going to miss me some Stacey Suzanne!

How Pinteresting!

What did we do before Pinterest? Well, I know what I did. I would tear pictures and articles out of magazines and put them in a big notebook, never to find what I'm looking for again when I needed it. Enter Pinterest. It makes it so simple! However, I'm one of those that will pin stuff and never actually do it.

Well, I guess I finally had a reason to do some of those pins. Stacey is leaving me to move back home, {enter sob here} and I am throwing her a going-away party, so I finally had a reason to do some of the pins that I had marked. The first thing that I did was make some Lemon Chex Mix. It is so delicious! It will become one of my go-to recipes for any type of party, or just a rocking Tuesday night.

Original Recipe Via

It's super simple to make. Way easier than those Muddy Buddies that I am so fond of. Here is the recipe:

Lemon Chex Mix

• 9 cups rice Chex
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 4 tsp lemon zest
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Pour cereal into a large bowl and then set aside. Melt the chocolate, butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a microwave safe container. Melt for minute. Stir. Melt for additional 30 second intervals until smooth when stirred. (Don't be like me and add your lemon juice/zest after the chocolate has melted. It will make it congeal into something not so pretty!)  Pour melted mixture over cereal and gently stir until the cereal is evenly coated.

 

Transfer the cereal into a gallon ziploc bag. Add the powdered sugar and shake the bag around to get all the pieces evenly coated. That's it! Easy peasy!  

 

Next thing that I saw that I wanted to do was to make a "pinecone" cheese ball. Since Stacey is leaving Thomasville, I thought it would be very fitting to make this. Thomasville is known for it's plantations and all things pine tree.

 

I had to call my mother to get the recipe for the cheese ball part, and I will give it to you the best I can remember. I still didn't write it down, just had her on the phone reading me the recipe while I was making it!

 

Cheese Ball

• 2 packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1  package (8 oz.) of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp onion flakes
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tsp red pepper
• 1/2 Tsp garlic powder
• Salt to taste

Beat with an electric mixer (or by hand) the cream cheese, worcestershire, onion flakes, lemon juice, red pepper, garlic powder, and salt until smooth. Then mix in your cheese. Shape into a ball. We usually roll the cheese ball in chopped pecans, but for this occasion, I used almonds to make it look like a pinecone. Then just add some rosemary for garnish.

Here was another thing that I made. I didn't take a picture of it last night, so I'm using the picture from Pinterest.  And you can tell, because this picture isn't taken with an iPhone!

Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Here is how I did my layers:

Layer 1 - Ground Beef w/taco seasoning
Layer 2 - Refried Beans
Layer 3 - Salsa
Layer 4 - Guacamole
Layer 5- Sour Cream
Layer 6 - Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
Layer 7 - Olives, Diced Tomatoes

The fun thing about this is that you can make it your own. I however did not realize how time consuming it would be to make these individual cups. So be sure you have plenty of time to do them. Thank goodness my mother was there to help me do the fruit skewers while I was making these, or I would have been up all night!

So, that's a few of my pins that I have done. Stay tuned for the party!

Getting To Know You

For lack of anything else to blog about, I thought I would do one of these ABC Meme things and post it here, so you can get to know me a little better. Here goes nothing!

A. Age: 30 - but only for about two more weeks :)
B. Bed size: A king. And I sleep right in the slap middle of it!
C. Chore that you hate: Folding/putting away/hanging up clothes. I. HATE. IT. WITH. A. PASSION! That's probably why my room usually looks like a disaster zone 99% of the time. I don't mind washing clothes (I mean, come on, it's just putting them in the washing machine!), it's the folding and putting away part that I can't stand.
D. Dogs: I've had quite a few dogs in my lifetime. I currently am the proud mama of three dachshunds- Oscar, Brutus, and JR. Before that I had a few Springer Spaniels - Renegade, Mr. Bojangles, Digger, and Heather. A few German Shorthair Pointers- Lady, Bo, and Champ. A random Chihuahua my father got from some old lady where he was working- Coco. Umm..some sort of chow mix that stayed over at the family farm-Red was her name and several other strays that stayed at the farm that I can't remember the names of at this moment-oh yeah, one named Paco that would ride in the tractor with you. Ok, the more I think about this, I could probably keep going, considering all the strays that would wind up in our yard, but before I end this section, I better mention Jack, my father's Jack Russell/Rat Terrier mix. I guess I will claim him ;-D
E. Essential start to your day: Coffee, coffee, and more coffee! I don't feel right unless I've had my morning cup.
F. Favorite color: At soon-to-be-31 I feel silly saying that I have a" favorite color" but if I had to choose, I will go with purple as a nod to my girls in the Sweet Valley Twins books. But I really also like blue and green.
G. Gold or Silver: Both. Gold mainly for costume jewelry- silver for things like wedding rings and basically anything with diamonds!
H. Height: I'm around 5'6" - 5'7" I would say.
I. Instruments you play: The piano! Although I haven't played in quite sometime! That's one thing I miss about working at the Museum. I would run the Lapham-Patterson House tours on Fridays and in between tours I would play the piano all afternoon. It was great! I really want to learn another instrument. Maybe one day I will find the time.
J. Job title: CFOO - Chief Financial and Operating Officer- Fancy, right? lol
K. Kids: Just one in heaven. Other than that, none, unless you count my dogs as children. Ha!
L. Live: Georgia for the last 5 years. But I'm totally a Florida girl through and through!
M. Mother’s name: Cathy Elaine is her name. (gotta say it rap style though)

N. Nicknames: I guess my most used nickname is Sissy. However, I have had quite a few over the years: Trashley, Trash, Smashley, Ashley Pig Pork (given to me by my brother to coincide with my initials, APP), Piglet, or Ashley Paige.
O. Overnight hospital stays: I've only had to stay at the hospital overnight a couple of times. Once was due to an ovary/ovarian cyst removal. Think that was a 2 or 3 night stay and then with my miscarriage, that was a 4 day stay. Both times were not fun to say the least.
P. Pet peeves: Most notably- people driving in the left lane on the highway. Not passing, just cruising. Drives me absolutely crazy.
Q. Quote from a movie: I quote movies all the time, but I don't have any go-to favorites. My favorite movie to quote isprobably Dumb and Dumber!
R. Right or left handed: I'm a righty!
S. Siblings: My brother, Brad. We are 3 years apart.
T. Time it takes you to get ready: It's according! If I wash, dry, and fix my hair before I go somewhere, two hours. If I don't have to do all that stuff to my hair, then I can cut it down to about a hour. I'm super slow!
U. Ultimate Vacation: I really want to go to Italy at least once. Ultimate dream. Just to soak in the art, culture, and country. Maybe I can get someone to go with me one day. Hint, hint--David! And a nice little tour around the Mediterranean wouldn't be so shabby either.

V. Vegetable you hate: I can't really think of any vegetables that I hate. Guess that's a good thing!
W. What makes you run late: If I decide to hit my snooze button one too many times. That will always make me late. Other than that, I'm usually very punctual.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: I can only remember getting one x-ray and that was when I tore some ligament in my knee that I had to get x-rays for. Besides that, getting my annual x-rays at the dentist is about it.
Y. Yummy food that you make: I would like to think that everything I make is pretty tasty. I really like to bake, so I will go with any of my baked goods!
Z. Zoo animal: Hmm...I've never given this much thought as to what my favorite zoo animal is. If I had to choose, I would probably have to go with monkeys. They are the most entertaining. However, I am usually most intrigued by animals that I have never seen before, like a Red Panda or something. Those are always cool ones to come across.

So there you have it! The A - Z run down of some of the things that make me tick!