The Most Amazing Steak Dinner -

I am, and have been for quite some time, addicted to watching Master Chef. After working over 40 hours this week, I came home yesterday to find something strange going on in my kitchen. My husband had been...cooking.

What's weird about this is that Josh wasn't making his infamous chili. He wasn't making chicken stir fry. (He is a master of those two dishes, by the way.) Josh was up to something... CRAZY.

Seasoned steaks were resting on the kitchen counter. Some delicious aromas were in the air. My little chef had been busy while I was at work.

"What in the world are you doing!?"
"Cooking, Gina. I knew you had a long week, so I wanted to do something nice for you."
"This is AWESOME! But..., how'd you know how to make all this?"

Fresh vegetables, potatoes, and parmesan asparagus were already baking in the oven. Those steaks I mentioned looked perfectly seasoned. WHAT WAS GOING ON??

"Do you want something, Josh?" I joke at my husband's expense, overemphasizing my bewilderment at his sudden cooking streak.

"Haha! Nah, just looked up some recipes and watched Gordon Ramsay cook a steak so figured I'd try to make you dinner."

"Wow.... okay... um.... thanks! Anything I can help you with?"
"Nah... I mean, I've got this. The whole point is that you don't have to do anything, Gina."
"Thank you so much. I'm exhausted."

I watched my husband cook with a dumbfounded look on my face, no doubt. Had he known how to do this all along? We've been married nearly 5 years. What happened yesterday was the first time Josh has cooked non-chili, non-stirfry dinner for me. It was incredible! Still, I wondered if something was up...

"So, you just looked up some recipes?," I asked as Josh stirred veggies and prepped the skillet for steaks.

"Yep! It's really not that hard, Gina. Kinda like following a lab, you know. I mean, the directions are all there. I went to the store and got all the stuff. We have lotsa spices now, too."

I am speechless.

Don't get me wrong. My husband does nice things for me all the time. Just... this time, he went over the TOP! The shopping was done. We were no longer out of toilet paper AND I had STEAK to look forward to eating as soon as I got home from work.

Josh can cook. He is REALLY good at it. He just kept it a secret for nearly 5 years. It took getting pregnant and watching tons of Master Chef episodes to inspire the chef in my husband. I don't care WHY last night's dinner and perfect-husband-ness happened. I just know I'll be expecting more meals like this that I don't have to cook in the future! ;)

THE MOST AMAZING STEAK DINNER - RECIPE FOR AWESOME

 

SOME HELPFUL LINKS...
A quick Firefox history check gave some insight into just what my husband had researched to prepare the most amazing steak dinner EVER! :) 

Recipe links, videos, and cooking tips found below... 

Zucchini & Potato Bake Recipe Found HERE!

Learn How To Season A Steak

Recipe for Oven Roasted Asparagus Found HERE!

DIY Doghouse - Improving An Igloo

 Just a plain white Igloo doghouse can be boring. With a few cans of spray paint and some stencils, this old dog house got a new look. Improving an igloo is what I call this little DIY project idea...

 White, red, pink, and bluish/turquoise cans of spray paint were used to create an abstract flower design that stood out in my Mamaw's garden. Use whatever colors you like. This project was random but fun and I was happy with the end result!

 Cutting out petal stencils I had drawn on paper was simple. Put on some gloves before you start painting. I forgot this part!

Diamonds and petals. No plan in mind, but I like the design!

Snazzed up igloo doghouse is complete! :)

Keep Smilin, Keep Shinin - A Photo Idea in Nashville - Perfect Place for Pictures

KEEP SMILIN', KEEP SHININ'

There's a building in Nashville I've been wanting to use as a photo background for a while. You can't miss it when you jump on 40 from Briley Parkway. I have no idea who painted this building, but I give he/she/they props for the hippie-artistry that beautifies my drive from Nashville to Murfreesboro. Not too long ago, the hubster and I stopped for a quick photo session near what I call the "Love" shack building. (see above n' keep scrollin'...)

The photo above is as good as it got, as far as our photo attempts went that day. Only equipped with my iPad, the morning sun's glare made it difficult to capture the idea I'd been envisioning for a specifically planned capture. 

Ever tried to take a picture of yourself with an iPad? Next time you do it, add major sunshine and another person to really complicate your selfie mission. 

The idea I wanted was center the "Love" lettering in the photo, with Josh on one side and me on the other. In my 'imagine-if-we-dream', we would lean in for a kiss and the "Love" letters would be perfectly placed below the smooch. 

Riiiiiight....

Obviously, I was a bit too ambitious for the equipment I'd brought with me that day. 

My Nikon and a tripod (see Christmas wish list) may have produced something better than the iPad snapshots we took as we tried to accomplish the photo goal I wanted, but- 

I like the candidness of what we did manage to shoot that day...

First, I'll need to take a couple test shots. Wow, that's bright. I can't even see the screen, Josh. Hmmm... Here I am, taking this idea very seriously as I try to figure out where we needed to stand for this little photo session. Not angry, just focused... and beginning to realize that this idea would be harder to execute than expected. 

Again, we were using an iPad. We couldn't see what we were actually getting on the camera since the sun was so bright. If we could've, we would have realized we needed longer arms to get more than 1/2 faces in our pose!

Yeah, that's not gonna work either. Stepping back only increased the sun's pic-ruining power. See the building, though? One of my favorite little murals in Nashville. I wish I knew more about it! (Will research later...)Anyway, I started to lose hope that we'd get a decent couple pic at this point during our iPad photo-journey. 

Still, we tried different things to make it happen. Josh is taller, so we reasoned that he should hold the iPad up to get a better picture. Still, no dice. Longer arms don't mean better pics, apparently. Better cameras do. :)

 Too bright, too dark, to sun-beamy, too... one-person-not-in-the-picture-y...

If only I were looking at the camera. Alas, my mission seemed doomed to fail. Until...

Not exactly what I had in mind, but a decent attempt at my overall concept. The 'Love' part is in the shot and so are our faces... all of our whole faces, this time. A semi-success, if I do say so myself. 

Next time, I'm taking the Nikon. 'Til, then... why don't you and your fancy cameras get out there and give this one a try? It's easy to park near this Nashville-based photo background, which is right off Charlotte Avenue. You've seen it. If you haven't thought about taking pics in front of this building, you have now. :) You're welcome, friends. 

Keep Smilin, Keep Shinin. Keep finding photo ideas near you that are perfect for pictures. Just keep in mind that whether or not your pictures are perfect will depend on your idea...and your camera. :)

For more thoughts on this Nashville mural, click below...

A before mural from another blogger

Another photo idea for this mural

* I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHO PAINTED THIS! * :)

Breakfast at Tiffany's Bridal Shower - Decorating Ideas from Tracie's Tiffany-Themed Bridal Shower

 We hosted a Breakfast At Tiffany's bridal shower for my sister, Tracie, who will become Mrs. Holt soon. The cake above is the best cake I've eaten in my entire life. My Aunt Tina is a baking genius whose knack for whipping up sweet treats is unsurpassed, in my opinion. Anyway, chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes and cake were enjoyed by all at the shower... I won't admit how many I ate. They were THAT awesome! The only thing I added to the above photo is the little Audrey Hepburn cake topper doll. I found some ideas online but decided to give my peg doll bigger sunglasses and more bling. She's cute, huh? Just looking at these pictures again makes me want more of these cupcakes!!

Cupcakes by Christina, a.k.a. 'Aunt Tina'.
 She should open a bakery. :)

Setting the stage for a better breakfast than Holly Golightly ate in the film Breakfast At Tiffany's... Pastries, parfaits, deli, pancakes, and of course... those cupcakes!! Since this bridal shower was a surprise party for my little sister, we all arrived early to help set things up. Here's our little buffet area, ready for Tracie's arrival.

WE

HAD

FOOD

AND

IT

WAS

FABULOUS,

DAHHLING!

Talking like Audrey Hepburn is perfectly acceptable, throughout the duration of your Breakfast At Tiffany's shower. A mimosa bar made a fun little brunch addition to our party, too. Fresh fruit, champagne, and a cute little sign decorated a smaller table that we placed near the buffet area. Smaller guests get juice, of course... so do pregnant ones.
(I was the latter at this shindig.)
Still, we all had lot of fun and loved this classy addition of a mimosa bar. 

TIFFANY & CO.

My mom came up with the idea to do a store front scene as decor for the shower. (She's super creative like that...) Tables were covered with pretty patterned cloths and mirrors made great jewelry displays. We scattered diamonds on the table tops to add some sparkle. Since this display sat behind sliding glass doors, the arrangement worked perfectly to create a Tiffany & Co. mini-store that we later used to give away prizes for the party games. Creative, huh? :) 

Jessica was the mastermind behind these balloons, which added a lot to the festive elegance of this bridal shower. Aren't they PRETTY?! Jess incorporated the balloons into a game we played later- inside the teal balloons, a little piece of paper would determine a balloon-popper's winning or losing status.  "Sorry, darling!", was written on my paper.  My Mamaw won this game, to everyone's delight. Popping balloons is fun. It always has been. 
Win or lose, guests enjoy this little game that Jess put together for us. 

Table decorations were made out of some
 glass candle holders I'd found at Goodwill. Adding rhinestones was easy enough and 
mirrors made centerpieces stand out. 
Sprinkling diamonds on just about everything is a decorating requirement. :)

SCROLL FOR MORE  

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S 

BRIDAL SHOWER IDEAS 

TO INSPIRE...

 

Of course, the guest of honor got to wear the famous

 Audrey crown...

We all wore little black dresses, but Tracie got the accessories to really complete the movie star glam-look.

I picked this charcoal poster up at a Goodwill store, quite some time ago. (We had this shower theme planned for a while...) We used this- and lots of other posters of Audrey from the film to decorate. 

 Perfectly named Pinot for this bridal shower! "Little Black Dress" Pino Noir.

Love my little sis! Here I am with the future Mrs. Holt. :) 

Mamaw stitched the white scarf onto Tracie's Hepburn hat so that it fell over the shoulder just as it did in the movie. PERFECT.

Here are some of my favorite shots of family...

...FROM THE BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S PHOTO BOOTH...

We used a shower curtain rod to hang up photo booth backgrounds in an entryway. (Clever idea, isn't it?) Tiffany blue boxes were wrapped and tied up with white ribbons and bows to stack up as a prop for the booth. We all had props to pose for pictures and this was a big hit at my sis' wedding shower.

Here are a few more of our photo booth shots...

Chalkboard signs, painted glasses, pearls, presents, & tons of crafty efforts went into the photo booth, shower games, and decorating success at Tracie's bridal shower. I'm WAY behind on posting this stuff, so have too many pictures to put on here today. 


 To the fabulous ladies who attended Tracie's Breakfast At Tiffany's shower, I promise to upload all the pictures I took TODAY, so check your email later this afternoon! (Sorry this is so late!)...

. For Tracie 'Ree' Holt. 

love, G.