Top 2 Tuesday

Top 2 things you've learned about money.

1. Don't spend it if you don't have it.  GH and I live by this rule. I'm a firm believer that you should pay cash for things, instead of using a credit card. I took the Dave Ramsey course at church when i was in college, and Glenn and I really want to take it together soon.

2. You can't take it with you. Work hard so that you can enjoy what you have. It's always fun to splurge on a vacation, fancy dinner, or that new designer handbag. For my husband, it's a new tv!

and here's a bonus...

3. Separate spending accounts are necessary for us. We have both of our paychecks direct deposited into our joint account. However, we also have our own separate accounts that we put money into weekly. I use mine for shopping, getting my nails done, and whatever else I may want. GH uses his for golf and sweet little gifts for me!

What are the Top 2 Things you've learned about money? Go tell Taylor!

it's okay to be nosy

I've gotten several new followers in the last couple of months, so I thought it's about time that I do a Q & A with y'all! 

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 I promise to answer every question as long as they are not inappropriate or super awkward! 

I really want to answer your questions via vlog...as long as I can figure out how to do it!

So, ask away! Happy weekend loves! I'm off to get a much needed mani/pedi thanks to my sweet hubs!

Double Chocolate Thin Mint Brownies

I decided to make these to celebrate our truck load order of Girl Scout Cookies arriving!

Ingredients:

1 box Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix

1 box Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies

2 eggs

1/4 c. water

1/2 c. vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, oil, and water. Stir in brownie mix. 

3. Place Thin Mints in a large zip lock bag. Using a wine bottle rolling pin, crush cookies and pour into brownie batter. 

4. Pour into a greased brownie pan and bake for 24-28 minutes. 

WILW

I am loving all of the fun and yet relaxing things that we're planning for spring break!

I am loving that hubs and I celebrated National Margarita Day yesterday!

 

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I am loving that I have been able to stick to my workout schedule this week!

I am loving that my fabric swatches came in the mail over the weekend. They are going to work even better than I first imagined!

 I am loving these Double Chocolate Thin Mint Brownies that just came out of my oven!

 I am loving that I finally get to meet Neely in 2.5 weeks!

I am always loving this incredible man! 

Glenn surprised me with a mani/pedi gift certificate this afternoon to use this Saturday while he plays golf! Sounds like to perfect way to spend a Saturday!


What are you loving?

weekend in review

Happy Sunday loves! I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

We began Friday night off at our favorite place, La Fonda {no, not Kipp's LaFonda} for yummy dinner and excellent margaritas. It's the perfect way to end the work week in my book!

We headed back home to wait for our sweet friends Billy and Michele! They came in town for the weekend from Waco, and stayed with us Friday night.

We all had a blast just talking and catching up. At one point I looked at the clock and it was 3 am. Once I realized that I had been awake for 22 hours, it was time to call it a night! We got up late Saturday morning and had breakfast and got ready to head out and do some shopping. GH was so kind and offered to go with me. Sweet man!

We went to the Rodeo last night. It was okay. We waited for over an hour from the time the Rodeo ended until the Josh Turner concert began. I think we would have had more fun if we had gotten more sleep the night before. I took pictures but none of them turned out. However, it was still fun!

Brittany sent me a DM Friday to let me know that I won her Stella & Dot giveaway! Be sure and check out her site here!

Do y'all watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition? We used to way back when. Not sure why we stopped though. Well, we are tuning in this week. They are building a home for a soldier who was wounded in the Ft. Hood shooting back in 2009 and his fiance. 

We're enjoying our Sunday afternoon being lazy and watching golf! 

Only 1 more week until the Writing TAKS test! I can't wait to have it behind us.

3 more weeks until Spring Break!! GH is taking the week off too! I get to meet up with Neely in Austin, and we have some friends from Dallas coming to spend a few day with us as well!

P.S. I created a Facebook page for the blog yesterday!

Glenn's Homemade Salsa

This recipe is a Hardwick family favorite!

Ingredients:

5 serrano peppers

2 jalapeno peppers

1 onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 {14.5 oz} cans whole tomatoes

2 T. fresh cilantro

juice of one lime

Directions:

1. Cut ends off serrano and jalapeno peppers. We keep the the seeds in because we like our salsa spicy. Cut the ends off the onion and dice in half. 

2. Place canned tomatoes, serranos, jalapenos, minced garlic, onion, cilantro, and lime juice into a blender and blend until it reaches the consistency of your liking.

Tuesday's Thoughts

I hope y'all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! I actually don't care too much for the day. It's not a real holiday. However, I love any excuse to receive presents! Ha! 
We prefer a low key Valentine's Day at the Hardwick casa! We went out to eat this past Friday to avoid the crowds. We made Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo last night. It would have gone more smoothly had I not forgotten to get fettuccine noodles and Parmesan cheese. I made a last minute run to HEB before we began cooking. I couldn't help but laugh at all the guys buying flowers and candy so last minute!

GH surprised me with flowers that he had delivered to my classroom yesterday morning! I was not expecting them at all since he had already given me my present earlier in the week! 

I've gotten behind

I forgot to post a Tasteful Thursday recipe. I haven't had a single second to blog until now. So how about a recap?  

Work has been beyond crazy and stressful, and it probably won't get much better until after March 1st. My sweet friend Lauren gave me some great ideas for our week long Writing Camp at school. I know my students are going to love it!

I am so thankful for my sweet husband. He treats me much better than I deserve.  We went to Piatti for dinner on Friday. I had the most delicious Seafood Enchiladas with homemade pasta, crab, lobster, fish, and shrimp. Y'all, it was seriously the best seafood meal I've ever had. 

What's the best meal that you've ever had?

 GH surprised me with these beautiful earrings that I've been eying ever since I saw them in one of my fave magazines!

 

Glenn and his bff Landon played golf yesterday afternoon, and I went to a Willow House party. I am SO excited about all of my purchases!

 I can't wait for my fabric swatches to arrive in the mail. 

I've been ordering sewing books like they're going out of style.

I made homemade cookies for our Valentine's Day party at school tomorrow.

We got our shipment order of Girl Scout Cookies today. 

We are having our first  house guests this weekend and I am beyond excited!

Happy Sunday loves!

WILW

I am loving that I got some much needed ME time this afternoon. I stopped by Target on my way home from work today and I enjoyed some wonderful retail therapy. 

I am loving that we have less than 2 weeks until the Writing TAKS test. I just hope that I can survive these last couple of weeks. I will have my life back after the test.

I am loving that we signed up for Netflix finally!

I am loving my wonderful husband. He not only puts up with me, he takes such good care of me! I had a 12+ hour work day yesterday and he was incredible! I came home to a clean house, a homemade meal on the table, and then we curled up on the couch and watched a movie! 

What are you loving this Wednesday? Go link up with Jamie!

love BSC day 3

If I could travel anywhere this snowy February, I would {LOVE} to go... back to Lake Tahoe and pretend that I didn't have a care in the world!

Link up and share where you would love to go.

love BSC day 2

When I'm feeling down, to cheer myself up I {LOVE} to pamper myself with a massage and a mani/pedi. Again, shopping always helps too!

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love BSC day 1

When I need some me time I {LOVE} to...

When work and the everyday demands are causing me stress and I need some time to myself, my favorite things to do are:

Shop! Shopping is my form of therapy. I even love to go grocery shopping!

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Catch up on Reality TV.

Cook and/or bake.

Take a hot bubble bath and drink a glass of wine {something I do almost daily when I get home from work}.

Catch up on blogging.

Fill in the Blank Friday

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1. If I could only read one magazine publication for the rest of eternity, I would choose Southern Living. 

2. If I were to run my own magazine it would be all about cooking, home decor, fashion, and travel.

3. I buy my magazines (at the grocery check stand or via subscription) mostly subscription

4. I prefer my magazines (in print or online) I agree with Lauren, in print hands down.

 

5. The number of magazines I buy each month is probably 9 or 10. I currently subscribe to 7 magazines. However, I almost always see a few others in the grocery store check out line that I need as well!

 

6. My favorite magazine genre is (lifestyle, gossip, home, etc...) cooking and home, however I always get sucked into gossip magazines. I try really hard not to buy them but sometimes it's just too hard to resist.  

7. The magazines I read regularly are Southern Living, Real Simple, Glamour, InStyle, People Style Watch, Rachael Ray, and the Food Network Magazine. 

Visit the little things we do to join the fun!  

dissapointed

I posted back in November about a certain pair of boots that I had to have from Aldo Shoes. I was also coveting another pair of boots and the only way I could justify purchasing them is if I could get them on sale.

The KREUZIGER boot from Aldo sold out immediately in stores throughout San Antonio. I tried several times to buy them at the mall, but I didn't have much luck. The sales associates told me that they were too popular in the stores, but they would keep a well stocked selection online. So, I decided to wait patiently and I checked 4-5 times a week to see if they had gone on sale. 

I checked Aldo on Tuesday evening and they had gone on sale! I was thrilled! I have been searching for months for the perfect brown boot with a heel and these were the only ones I loved. I doubled checked to make sure they had my size in stock and they did! I made my purchase as quickly as I could! 

I got an email right away from Aldo stating that my order was being processed and they gave me my order confirmation number, along with the shipping and delivery date, and they had already taken the money out of my account. 

I received the following email from Aldo Shoes late last night:

Dear Kerbi,

We would like to provide you with an update on your recent ALDOSHOES.COM order #15472758. In processing your order, we realized that we were unfortunately out of stock of the item(s) listed below. As such, we were obliged to cancel the shipment of these item(s).

style	size/color	price	quantity	total
KREUZIGER	39 / Cognac	$83.99	1	$83.99

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience this cancellation may have caused; we do our best to maintain the accuracy of our inventory. If you would still like to purchase the item(s) listed above, please check our Web site again in the near future; we update our inventory often as new shipments arrive.

Please note that the amount of $81.73 has been refunded to your credit card and should appear in your account within 3 to 5 business days.

We value your business and hope you will shop with us again.

Sincerely,
ALDO Customer Service
1-888-818-2536(USA)

I was and still am in complete shock that Aldo would allow this to happen. It's very simple. If you have an item for sale on your website, you should make sure that you actually have the specific item and size requested in stock before you:

A). Sell an item that you don't really have in stock. 

B). Take money out of someone's account for said item that you don't actually have in stock. 

C). Send a confirmation email with the tracking number, ship date, and delivery date for said item that actually doesn't exist.

Aldo Shoes will no longer receive my business. 

Have you or someone you know ever had a similar online shopping experience? 

 

Italian Sausage Soup

This week's recipe is a favorite of ours! It is so easy and delicious! GH has been making this for me for years!

Italian Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 ounce) cans low sodium beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
2 small zucchini, cubed
2 cups packed, fresh spinach
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes {optional}

Directions:

1. Cut Italian sausage links into bite size pieces, leaving the skin on. {We have always left it on, you can't taste it once it is cooked}. 

2. In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic, season with salt pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir in both cans of broth, tomatoes and carrots. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.

4. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.