LPC turns 22!

Happy Monday!  Is it just me or did this weekend FLY by?

This weekend LPC turned 22 and a few of us gals celebrated at her dad's vineyard, Cooper Vineyards.  It was perfect!  We just sat out on the deck, enjoyed two bottles of wine (The Rhapsody and Sweet Louisa), some cheese and crackers, fruit, and cupcakes!  In addition, a man was playing live music and serenaded LPC!

It was a little too windy to actually get the candles lit, but the birthday girl was a good sport and posed for some pictures!

22 Year Old LPC!!

The Whole Group!

AGC, MCN, LPC, ABE, ALG

Pretty vineyard!

Sunday, I made my dad breakfast for Father's Day and gave him this lovely dahl house frame.

Our mission this summer is to get a pretty picture on the beach or boat to fill the frame!

We were planning to go out for a Father's Day dinner Sunday night, but I seemed to have caught a summer cold and wasn't feeling well.  My dad was very understanding and we decided we would order pizza and watch a movie instead and celebrate next weekend!  

Did you have a good weekend?  How did you celebrate Father's Day?

Baked Mac-N-Cheese and Dirty Shirleys

TGIF! 

Today I'm going to share the recipe for the Baked Macaroni and Cheese I posted about Monday.  Remember way back in March when I posted about my trip to Alexandria here?  In it, I mentioned how my aunt sent me home with lots of cookbooks.

One of them was this gem:

When I decided to make a Mac-N-Cheese side for our cook out last weekend, I knew Southern Living was the place to look.  

Their description of the macaroni and cheese was:  "Sometimes the simplest recipe brings the greatest pleasure.  Macaroni and cheese proves the point again and again."

Here is their VERY EASY recipe for Old-Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese. (Yields 8 Servings)

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce package) dried, elbow macaroni (cooked) I like to mix it up so I used a mix of large elbow and penne
• 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt I did not measure out the amount of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper I used black ground pepper and definitely used more than 1/8 teaspoon
• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Ingredients

Preparation

• Layer one third of macaroni in a lightly greased 2-quart casserole; sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.  Repeat layers with remaining two-thirds macaroni and 1 cup cheese, ending with macaroni layer.  Reserve remaining 1 cup cheese.
• Combine eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring with a wire whisk or fork until blended.  Cover and bake at 350F for 45 min or until thoroughly heated.  Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.  Cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. We were running short on time, so it didn't stand 10 min.  I think the most important part is that it stands long enough for the cheese you added to melt!

DELICIOUS!

Secondly, after yesterday's post, many asked me about Dirty Shirley Temples.  Well, if you enjoyed Shirley Temples as kids, you are in luck--it's the same drink with alcohol added.  Here's an official recipe I found at DrinksMixer.com.

WARNING:  Because they are so sweet and delicious, you can barely taste the alcohol, so these babies can be dangerous!!

Dirty Shirley Temple

• 1 oz Vodka
• 5-6 oz Sprite
• 1 dash grenadine syrup
• Pour the vodka over ice.  Fill the glass the rest of the way with Sprite.  Add grenadine, garnish with a cherry, and serve!

When I make them, I rarely measure out the ingredients, I just pour all three in a glass and drink!  

What are everyone's weekend plans?  (Hope they involve the opportunity to try a Dirty Shirley!)

Summer Reading & A Tag

Happy Thursday!

Saying I was tired in yesterday's post was an understatement!  Yesterday I left the house around 8 am and did not get back until 10 pm.  I had a fun day, but didn't get to bed until 1 am (WAY past my summer nannying bedtime)!

I know I've done a few book reviews, but I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned just how much I love to read.  I've always been a huge reader and usually at the beginning of the summer I read like crazy and just zoom through books.  This summer I haven't been reading quite as fast--I think due to having had summer school--but I have done some good reading.  Last week I stopped by the library and went a little overboard...I got 7 books!

I don't think I'll make it through all of these in the month-long check-out!

A lot of these are books I discovered through blog friends and others are just random books I've wanted to read or that I found on this great site called What Should I Read Next? recommended by Seersuckered Sailor.  It's very cool--you basically type in a book you love or have recently read and it will suggest tons of other books that are similar.  

Before checking out these, I read Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop and Barefoot by Elin Hildebrand.  Both were very good and I highly recommend them!

Right now I'm about 2/3 of the way through To Kill a Mockingbird.  It was never assigned to me during school, but I've always wanted to read it.  I'll have to say, I was pleasantly surprised that despite being a "classic" it's a very easy read!  I might have to do a review of it when I finish, though I imagine many of you have already read it!  

What's on your summer reading list?

Secondly, for this post, I wanted to fill out a cute survey one of my best blog friends, Maddie at spark, tagged me in!

Favorite Nickname?

Probably Allie Boo.  This nickname was coined by my dad and when I was little he would sing this song:

  "Allie Boo, Allie Boo

Pretty, pretty, pretty Allie Boo,

I love you, 

I dooooo."

Allie and Daddy before a UVA Football Game

Favorite Color

Pink and Yellow are my two favorite colors with Blue as a close second!

Are you outgoing?

YES!  I am incredibly outgoing, love to speak in front of a big crowd, etc, but can get shy during certain situations!

Are you more cautious or curious?

Hmmm, this one is tough.  I'd say when it comes to safety, I'm most definitely more cautious.  But when it comes to learning about the world I am very curious and have always loved pondering life's "big questions."

Favorite food?

I always have a tough time picking favorites.  Some of my favorites, though are:  Mac-N-Cheese, Chicken Parmesan, and Crabcakes.

Favorite drink?

This one's tough too.  If we're talking alcohol, probably a Pina Colada, though I don't have them often.  My go-to drink when I'm out is a Dirty Shirley Temple.

A night that may have involved a few too many Dirty Shirleys!

Cat lover or dog lover?

Dog lover 100%

Favorite sport?

Volleyball--I played competitively for years and really miss it!

Favorite song of the moment?

"Old Alabama" by Brad Paisley 

or

"Honey Bee" by Blake Shelton

What is your current occupation?

Summer Nanny and Graduate Student

Cutie A & Cutie B

What are you wearing right now?

The pajamas I got for Easter (see here).  In a few minutes I will be changing into a bikini and cover-up!

What time did you wake up today?

6:30 am, because I had to write this post (usually I schedule them the night before)

I'm not going to tag anyone in this post, but I would LOVE for any of you to answer these questions!  Be sure to let me know if you do so I can stop by and read your answers!

Have a great day!

Tips for New Bloggers

Happy Hump Day!  Man...I am tired!  I forgot how much being with the kids all day exhausts me (a big round of applause out there to all you mamas!).  Cuties A and B and I have been having an absolute blast.  Monday was a pool day and yesterday we spent the day at Maymont, the most fabulous park (post coming soon).  Despite all the fun, I have been pooped at night and have been going to bed early!

Also, because I'm with the kids all day, my time for reading all of your blogs, is greatly diminished.  I'm trying my best to keep up with all my daily reads, but most of my comments will probably now be at night!

Finally, before getting onto today's post, I've been doing a little happy dance since last night!  I've reached my goal of 300 followers in 3 months!  YIPPEE and MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

Now onto today's post! (WARNING:  This post is text heavy but there is a picture at the end to reward you for reading, hehe!)

I'll admit, I'm still a blogging rookie, but now that I have been blogging for 3 months (I started March 15th), I figured now it be an appropriate time to post these tips for new bloggers that I've been working on for a while now!

Lots of people have emailed me asking how I have gotten so many followers in such a short time.  Though I'd like to attribute it to my incredible writing skills or wittiness, I don't think that's it.  I think the biggest part has probably been my addicition/obsession/dedication to blogging.

Below are the tips that I think have made me successful thus far!

Have fun!  I started this blog after becoming addicted to reading the blog Let the Tide Pull Your Dreams Ashore.  I really enjoyed reading it and after a while, I thought "I can do this!"  Since then I've really had fun with my blog.  I try to add variety and post about what's on my mind.  Sometimes it's serious, sometimes it's superficial, and other times it's just random.  The most important thing, though, is to enjoy what you're doing.

Blog about what you love.  If you blog about who you are, what you love, and what you know it will show in your blog.  I don't try to stretch this blog to be something that it's not.  For example, every so often I try and post about something "deep" however it's been a while since my last really thought-provoking post.  Though this bothers me some, I also know that if I tried to force myself to add one of these posts when I can't really think of a good topic, it would be uninspired and not fun to read.

Follow other blogs!  This and the next tip are what I think have probably made this blog the most successful it can be.  What I have loved about blogging is the community aspect of it and the friendships I have made.  Supporting other blogs by following is a great way to get people on "your team" so to say!  When you decide to follow, comment and say "I'm your newest follower" so bloggers will know that you like what they're doing and support it.  In turn, they'll be more likely to support you as well.

COMMENT ON OTHER BLOGS! Does this tip stand out to you?  I hope so!  I honestly think that this tip is the #1 reason I have so many followers in a short time, and was especially crucial during the first few weeks of my blog.  The first few weeks of blogging I probably spent way too much time doing it!  I literally commented, commented, commented on other blogs.  My repertoire was that I would go through my "Blogs I LOVE" section and read each one daily and comment.  I also was constantly trying to find and comment on new blogs.  I would do that by clicking on other people's comments on posts I'd read or by looking at the Blogroll sections on other blogs.  When commenting, I always make sure to actually comment on the post and then at the end of my comment I would say something along the lines of "I just found your blog and really like it, please stop by mine" or "I'm new to blogging and love yours, please stop by mine and share any tips you might have."  This way, not only would the blogger more than likely check out my blog, so too would other people that saw my comment.  I still do this, but not the extreme I did at the beginning of blogging.  Now, I simply go through my "Blogs I LOVE" section daily, and will scroll through the Blogger Reading List when I have the time.  Additionally, I try my very hardest, to check out the blogs of everyone that comments on mine. I still find new blogs randomly, as well!

When an idea for a post comes to you, write it down!  Whenever I get the idea for a new post I either will jot it down in my planner, or, if I'm near the computer, I'll even make a draft post on Blogger.  If I have a title idea I'll write it then, if not I'll just write something that will let me know the topic.  Then inside the draft, I'll either write the post, or just jot down notes so I won't forget what I was thinking.  I currently have close to 20 drafts, which is great, because it provides me a store of posts for times when I might be feeling uninspired or be just plain busy!

Seek inspiration in the world around you.  Since blogging, I so often will now think--"I can write/blog about this."  Sometimes posts that share the most everyday things can be the best.

Add pictures to your posts!  So, obviously, I'm not practicing what I preach in this post.  But, I guarantee in a majority of my other posts, there are pictures!  Adding pictures enriches your posts and makes them more fun!  For me, I love to read blogs for enjoyment, and if all the blogs I read were just text heavy I wouldn't have the time or enthusiasm to read them.

I hope these tips help!  I've only been doing this for three months and I know I still have a lot more to learn, but I thought it would be good to share what has worked for me so far!  Also, PLEASE, add other tips you have in the comments section so we can all share our tips and ideas with each other!

And finally, to not be a total hypocrite, I'll add a picture!

I get to see this girlie tonight and could not be more thrilled!

Allie and LPC

My New Boudoir

Hello everyone and a warm welcome to all my new followers!  I'm now just 2 followers away from my goal of 300 in 3 months--thank you, thank you!

My Garnet Hill quilt came in yesterday!  Scroll below to see the transformation!

BEFORE

I got this bedding in 9th grade and 8 years later still LOVE it!

White quilt and sham on!

Colorful shams added!

AFTER

Isn't it lovely?

That's the kind of cushy bed you could spend hours in!

Have a great day!