Southern at Heart

Last weekend my dad and I went to my grandparents house and went through my grandmas room to pick up the things she left for us. It was weird. My grandma was an extremely private person. The only people ever allowed in her room were my pops, my dad, my sister and I. So, when my dad and I went through her things we felt like we were breaking the law. I felt like a criminal when I left her room with a bag full of things.  That is not the point of this post. Here is what I am trying to get at... As we were going through my grandmas room we found over 200+ little boxes filled with jewelry. She had an obsession. She bought thousands of dollars worth in jewelry and never wore it. The price tags were still on most of the pieces. My heart broke with each box that I opened. She must have told me over 100 times that all the jewelry she bought was for my sister and I. So with each box that I opened I could hear her saying that and it broke my heart. You would think I would be leaping with joy rig

Spring!!!!  It's finally arrived. Sunshine. Blue skies. Sweet tea. and a whole lot of white fat legs! I don't think I've looked at my legs since last summer and I was in for a bit of a shocker today as I slipped on my new bathing suit. Whatever, I blame it on winter and the frigid weather we had {ha}. Besides that depressing news, we are in full spring mode over here. Windows open, house has been cleaned out, clothes have been donated, flowers are blooming, bathing suits have been bought AND we have our first beach day on Friday.  Check out these girls  Warning: dorky picture ahead curly hair and sweet tea This girl kills me she rocks these glasses from her auntie Jen so well  I have a new garden helper  My mini me or what? Hope y'all are enjoying this gorgeous weather {my friends in the Midwest-East coast, hope y'all are starting to thaw out!} I have a couple posts that are ready to be published, they may be a bit sparse because um, we're going to have wea

I know I am not the norm when it comes to cleaning. I love it. I find it to be relaxing and rewarding. Spring cleaning happens around our house monthly but there are a couple times a year when I turn this house upside down and clean the heck out of it until it sparkles. I've made a list of things to do to get your house in ship shape for the spring. This list obviously can't be accomplished in a day so don't try to be an over achiever. Set aside a weekend or pick a room to work on each day during the week. It can be overwhelming at first but you will be so glad you did it. Feel free to copy this and print it out to check off things as you go. Kitchen O Scrub walls and dust ceiling for spider webs O Clean cabinets O Clean appliances O Clean inside refrigerator and throw out expired food O Defrost Freezer O Clean windows/wash windows Bedrooms O Organize under bed and closet O Organize clothes & donate unwanted items O Dust/polish furniture O Va

Can you believe I have never taken this sweet face in for professional pictures? I have been laying in bed at night with fears that she had grown out of her special dress that Mimi got her from Neiman Marcus. So, last night I called and got an appointment and took this girl in. She was working the camera. She loved it. Here is a little sneak peak from our shoot today. Try not to stroke out over the gooshie-ness.

Happy first day of Spring! I love all that this sweet season brings. The sunshine. The soft rainfalls. The blossoms on trees. The flower fields. I long for this spring to fill my life with the same things. Sunshine and joy. A cleansing of my heart. I want to blossom and grow daily into the woman God desires me to me. So many great things to look forward to. {I promise to be back to blogging soon. I am awaiting the arrival of my new computer.}

Lime Sherbet Punch Servings: 6-8 glasses Prep Time: 10 min Difficulty: Easy   Ingredients 2 quarts lime sherbet 2 liters ginger ale 1   (46-ounce) can pineapple juice Lemon slices Lime slices Maraschino cherries Directions In a punch bowl, add 2 quarts of lime sherbet. Then add ginger ale and pineapple juice. Decorate with lemon and lime slices and some maraschino cherries. Irish Coffee Brownie Cupcakes Servings: 16 cupcakes Difficulty: Easy Ingredients   Brownie Ingredients: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature ½ cup sugar 1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/3 cup all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt Cupcake Ingredients: 1 cup whole milk 1 cup whole roasted coffee beans 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon baking powder 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 ¼ cup sugar 2 eggs ¼ cup whiskey Brownie batter from above Fr

There is so much talk, tweeting, texting and blogging going on right now about the devastation and heartbreak that happened and continues in Japan. I watched CNN last night with tears rolling down my cheeks. I can't imagine. The devastation. The death. The hurt. The heartbreak. The mess. The images bring horror and nightmares.  In fact, I'm not even going to post pictures of the devastation on my blog. My heart is broken for the people of Japan. You know what this ache makes me think about? How we break the Lords heart. This world that we live in is fallen. It's a mess, filled with filth, heartbreak, horrors and sin. I believe that God is trying to get our attention. Something big is about to happen. It's no coincidence that the #1 trending topic on twitter yesterday was #prayforjapan. It's no coincidence when you hear newscasters telling millions on air that we need to pray for the people of Japan. None of this comes to surprise to the Lord. It is hard to understa

I have a fun giveaway for y'all tonight! CSN has contacted me and offered to do a giveaway on my blog for their gorgeous lighting site. One lucky duck will win $15 towards their lighting site.  I've been browsing and picking out a few of my favorites.. Because I have a thing for decorative birds.. A classic chic bronze table lamp... I will have one of these on my back porch when I live in Nashville one day.. You will have to check their site out for yourself to see the thousands of lighting fixtures they offer. They have anything and everything you can imagine when it comes to lighting! And most of their items ship for FREE.. Ok, so here's how to enter: 1. Click "Follow" on my blog and leave a comment with what you would put the $15 credit towards. 2. Tweet about the CSN Giveaway and copy me {mrsnikkiandrews} in the tweet. Short, sweet and simple...right? Details: This giveaway ends Monday, March 14 at 12pm {noon} PST and is ope

Yesterday was a beautiful day to celebrate my grandma's life.  To be honest I was dreading it with everything in me. Who looks forward to a funeral? I hadn't really processed that she was gone until yesterday. I was doing OK until we pulled into the cemetery. Emotions of losing my grandpa 3 years ago and knowing that he was laid to rest there and then seeing my grandmas casket made my heart ache. The thought of her body lying lifeless in a container is a sight that broke my heart. I had a hard time focusing during the service because it was right there in front of me.  BUT, besides the sadness it was a great day and grandma would have loved it and been thrilled that all her kids and grand kids were together.   My dad did an amazing job sharing about his moms life. He brought back so many memories to life and you couldn't help but smile and remember the good times we shared.  She really was a lover and a giver. You can tell the kind of woman she was by my da

Most of the food in our house is from Trader Joes. I love that place.  Fresh, unique food with a decent price. I enjoy discovering new items and making my own recipes with them. My new favorite is a take on a honey dijon chicken dish, made into a sandwich. None of these items are new but this is a new favorite lunch in our house... Toasted Grilled Dijon Sandwich. This is what you'll need... -  Grey Poupon mustard deli style -  Light mayo -  Trader Joes Grilled Chicken  -  Slice of cheese -  Bread Put a dab of the mustard and mayo on one piece of bread and cover with a few slices of cheese. Lay a slice of cheese on the other piece of bread and pop in the toaster oven for a minute or so. Until the cheese has melted and the Chicken is warm.  Pair with some fresh Trader Joes Honeydew and a few cheese crunchies...  and you have yourself a delicious lunch that is incredible tasty and fresh! 380 calories at tha

Part 1 There are a few places on this Earth that I consider my "happy place".  They are places that make me feel alive, that soothe my soul, bring a smile to my face and when I'm there, I'm happy. Well, I'm happy most of the time but you get what I'm sayin'. For those of you who know me or have paid attention to my domain name this will come as no surprise to you.  My first happy place is.... I don't know what it is about this place but when I'm here, I'm home. When most of y'all think about Tennessee I know your first thought is this.. and this... Yes, that's all there but what state doesn't have rednecks?  What I love about Tennessee is the moment I touch down, I can feel my heart do a sign of relief. It's like ::::ahh, I'm home::::  The land, the greenery, the people, the music, the food.  Oh the food! I think I just gained five pounds thinking about the food. And t

I've confessed to y'all my love affair I have with chocolate.  I'm addicted and I've found something that quenches my need for it and leaves me with 0 guilt. Trader Joes Reduced Guilt Brownie Mix. Oh em gee. I could definitely use a little reduced guilt added to my food. These are SO easy and cheap to make. 1. Find your nearest Trader Joes 2. Toss in a couple boxes of their RG Brownie Mix and a tub of their nonfat vanilla yogurt. 3. Pour mix       Measure 2/3 of yogurt and mix your heart out It should look like fudge when you're done mixing Pour batter in preferred pan. I chose to make these babies as cupcakes today. Instead of it making the typical 12 brownies, I made 18 little cupcakes. I couldn't help myself, I added a little garnish of chocolate chips to each one.. Pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and... A little piece of heaven in yo

You read that right. Highest bidder gets them both. However, you might consider reading this post before you submit your best offer. Kate and I had a sleep over at my grandparents house last night. {more of that to come at the end} I have been exhausted all day due to our girls night. Our day went well and was mellow until 5pm. I had potatoes on the stove, pork chops in the oven, fresh fruit cut up and garlic bread cooking. I was determined to have a nice meal on the table for my man since I was away last night. Things were good. All until I was on the phone with my mom and realized Kate wasn't in the living room playing with her toys. I walked back to our room only to find the master bathroom door shut. She had once again locked herself in the bathroom. I did my best to keep my cool and asked her to shut the drawer so I could open the door. Nothing. I tried to tell her that she would get a special treat if she would come out. That sort of worked. Kate tried to open the