Thursday, November 24, 2011

I'm Thankful for...

First of all, HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!

We had an amazing Thanksgiving and I am completely stuffed.
I had great intentions of taking a picture of all the delicious food,
but extreme hunger overtook me and I devoured it immediately!
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for so many things including:
my husband, my family, and all that God has provided for us!


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving Eve


may your stuffing be tasty
may your turkey be plump, 
may your potatoes and gravy
have nary a lump
may your yams be delicious
and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off your thighs!
-Author Unknown

So its Thanksgiving Eve and we have been busy little bees at the Chase house.
Food preparations and decorations are underway, 
now all thats left is sleep and the big day tomorrow

Tomorrow will be awesome.  Why you ask?

1. THE FOOD 
(no explanation needed)

2. Family Time
Daniel and I are lucky enough to see our family a lot, but its really nice to get together for the holidays and this year both of our families are celebrating together!

3. Games
That's right- all of you headed to the Chase house tomorrow be ware... I have planned some awesome Thanksgiving inspired games to play, so get excited

4. Did I mention the food?

5. Christmas is right around the corner!
I love Thanksgiving, but come on you know you are pumped that the best holiday ever is around the corner!  I am particularly excited about Christmas this year, because that means I am exactly half way through my master's program and graduation is only 5 months away!


In other news, I started a new fitness regime this week.  I emailed a friend recently inquiring about her success with running a 5k, because I was really interested.  She gave me some great advice and I selected a program on my phone very similar to the Couch to 5k program and I have successfully completed the first week of running.  I am feeling so much better since I have started going to the gym regularly and I really hope I can keep it up with the upcoming holidays.  I have also started scouting out some local 5k races for early next years, because I want to have a firm date to work towards!  I am still an amateur at this whole working out thing, so if you have any great tips or websites with tips for workout newbies let me know! 

Tomorrow is a free day though... and this will be me... all day long!


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

BrrrBerry

After a delicious dinner of baked chicken, broccoli, and rice Daniel and I headed out for a little froyo. Luckily  there are plenty of places in town so we picked BrrrBerry.  I highly recommend check it out, because its amazing! They seriously have a million toppings to choose from!  Tonight I had vanilla froyo with chocolate chips, fruity pebbles, strawberries, walnuts, and chocolate covered raisins. 
Amazing combination!!

Tuesday Randoms

I have been terrible about updating lately, so a random post was a must!

Last week, Daniel and I put up our Christmas tree!  It was so much fun to put together our first tree as a married couple and I think its perfect!  
We are still in the ornament collecting process, but its looking pretty good.


Daniel surprised me with some special christmas decor this week too!

ECU Stcokings!
Aren't they adorable?


Thursday, Daniel ran into a little car trouble when he tried to pick me up from school so we spent Friday morning getting that fixed.  Let's just say that a Volkswagen is not the ideal car to use when you need to jump start your battery.
Tiny Car = Tiny Battery Compartment


In other big news, I finally got a desk at school this week and now I feel legit!  My clinical teacher made a nice little nook for me in the back of the classroom and I have a space of my own!

He also let me go through a huge bin of school supplies to stock up my desk, so I only need a few more things!  First on the list- a drawer organizer! 

Well that wraps up this edition of Tuesday Randoms.  Check in later this week for a full depiction of the first Chase/Pennington Family Thanksgiving!  It will be full of family, fun, and FOOD!!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Happy Anniversary!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY 
TO THE BEST SECOND SET OF PARENTS A GIRL COULD ASK FOR!

29 YEARS TOGETHER!
WOW! 

Their wedding day- November 21, 1982

The lovebirds in 2011
 Congratulations to Mr. Rex and Mrs. Jan!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

42 days 14 hours 49 mins 40 sec

CHRISTMAS!!
my favorite time of the year

hallmark movies
hot chocolate
cold weather
time off
food, food, more food
homemade goodies
gift wrapping
christmas trees
decorating
did i mention food?

well, these are a few of my favorite things!

i am so pumped that christmas is only a mere 42 days away.  so now its time to starting thinking about the pennington's first christmas and our apartment decorations.

our apartments pretty tiny, so i am thinking i am going to go on the non-traditional route with a smaller tree this year.  my mom has this awesome skinny christmas tree she is letting us borrow and i think its going to be perfect.  it looks something like this (p.s. no real trees for us, it makes mr. pennington all stuffy)
i'm thinking a beautiful tree skirt will spiff it up nicely!

today i must journey out to find some beautiful decorations.  i have some that i bought last year at hallmark at the end of the year, but it don't think that is going to cover the tree!  i'm kind of indecisive about themed trees versus traditional trees... i think i'll go traditional this year though.

i'm loving these stockings!


so what are your thoughts?  are you gearing up for christmas yet?
pictures to come once things are up and looking awesome!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

my cat earl

meet my cat earl
earl was the sweetest cat in the world
earl is now in kitty heaven, but i miss the little tiger


i proclaim on a regular basis that i will never have another animal,
because the pain of losing one is so severe
but the love we get from out pets outweighs the heartbreak i guess
for now though... no more pets for me 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Friday, November 4, 2011

Yum... my favorite thing

Look what I came home to last night...
awesome husband!

Chicken Alfredo
Find the amazing recipe here.

Have a good weekend y'all!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Life is so busy with school that there is not much to blog about except food... 
luckily a favorite topic of mine!

Daniel and I love squash so we decided to try this new recipe that I found here and here.
I combined the two recipes to make this fantastic meal!
It was absolutely delicious and a new favorite in the Pennington household.
The best part is its so healthy!

what you need
1 spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or 1/2 tsp. minced garlic)
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 celery stalks
1 carrot
1/2 cup pepper
1/2 cup zucchini
1/2 cup tomato
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup italian blend cheese

how you make it

Chop or dice the zucchini, pepper, tomato, carrot, celery, and onion
 Brown ground turkey in skillet and set aside.  Add EVOO to pan and add onion and garlic (if you use minced garlic).  When onions have softened, add carrots, peppers, and celery.  Finally, add zucchini and tomatoes. Cook mixture until all vegetables are sautéed. 
Meanwhile, you can either cook your spaghetti squash in the oven or boil it on the stove.  I choose to boil it on the stove, for the sake of time (I had one hungry husband!).  Boil in in a large pot for 15 minutes and remove and let the squash cool. 
When the spaghetti squash has cooled down enough that you can handle it, use a fork to begin scraping the spaghetti "noodles" out of the squash. 
 Add the vegetable mixture to the spaghetti squash.
 Add the breadcrumbs and garlic powder (if you did not use minced garlic).
 Add the marinara sauce.
 whoops... I almost forgot to add the ground turkey
 When everything is all nicely mixed spoon the mixture back into the shells and top with cheese.
 Bake in the oven on briol for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly!
Now, Eat!
This was by far one of the best things I have made!  Its super versatile, so you can add any vegetables that you like or make it vegetarian by leaving out the ground turkey!  Its a little time consuming, but the outcome is so worth it!  Let me know if any of you guys have an more spaghetti squash recipes, because we love it!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

A few weeks I made this delicious breakfast casserole
One of the easiest and most delicious casseroles
enjoy!


Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole


what you need
1 cup chopped ham (you can substitute whatever meat you like)
6 eggs
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 pinch of salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
16 ounces tater tots, frozen

how you make it

whisk eggs together and add milk, salt, pepper, and ham

pour into greased casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese

layer tater tots on top of mixture

bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour
(I turned it to broil after 45 minutes because the top just needed to finish)


Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Our Engagement Story

I tried my hand at blogging before our big day and there was just not enough time.
So I thought I would gradually share the pieces of our life that led up to
becoming Mr. & Mrs.
Today we start with Our Engagement Story


September 10, 2010 started out just like any other day.  Daniel at school and I at work.
Lucky for us both we got off early that day and  decided to take a little day vacation
We took off around lunch time for one of my favorite places
Tryon Palace in New Bern, NC


Daniel was acting a little nervous that day, but he always gets that way when he has a big test coming up, so I attributed his odd behavior to that.  We spent the afternoon wandering through the beautiful gardens and enjoying each other's company.


Around 3:00 we had finished up our tour and decided to sit in one of my favorite gardens until our dinner reservation.  We sat there for over an hour talking about life, love, and everything under the sun.  At one point, Daniel said lets go over and look at that fountain a little closer.




While I was looking at the fountain, Daniel stood behind me.  I could see his shadow a little and I kept thinking, "What is he doing back there?" 
Then it happened!!!  Daniel said, "Summer..."

I turned around to find him down on bended knee and he said

"Will you be my wife?  Will you marry me?"

At first, I thought is this happening??? And then I said, "Are you sure?"
HAHA!! Not the response either of us had expected!  I was just so surprised!

Then I came to my senses and screamed "YES!"

Finally, I noticed this little beauty in his hand!


That was one of the best days of our lives and we talk about how we wish we could do it again all the time!  Our engagement was exactly how we had both pictured it, so romantic!  We went to dinner afterwards and then headed home to share the good news with everyone!

The happy couple!