Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone! It's here - another edition of Fabulous Friday! A highlight of all things fabulous that I've stumbled across over the course of this week (in no particular order, of course!) or even fond memories I have stored in my brain.

Morgan from Let Me Help You Help Me is giving away these two baking dishes from Le Crueset! I'd personally pick the Kiwi. Make sure you get over there before this Sunday at 8pm when the giveaway end!

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Creme managed to keep my hand from cracking this week while it was so cold in New England. I've used this since I was a child & have always gone back to it in the winter.Image via
C'mon - definitely NOT a paid placement. This is all me.

I love being home & being back in the south. Running to the grocery to pick up the things for dinner tonight (Green Bean, Ginger & Beef Stir Fry) I was walking past a complete stranger & we made eye contact, smiled & both said, "Good Morning".

I miss that when I'm gone.

I'm going to be a reader in a wedding this May and need to find a dress. What do you all think of this one with perhaps a little cardigan for the church?

Anything Fabulous to your Friday? I'm so glad it is finally here!

The little post where I get real

For me it started with Brittany & Brown Eyed Girl. These women shared (in the posts I linked to their names, so you should go check them out) their imperfections.

We all know people who highlight the really good parts of their lives. Which is understandable. I think most of us like to put our best foot forward.

But sometimes, I feel like I just need to get things off of my chest. Own up to it (whatever IT is). You know, make it my bish.

So here it is. I'm stuck. I'm stuck at a weight that I'm happier with (compared to where I was before I began my journey to become more healthy), but at the weight that I'm not completely happy with.

I know how I put the weight on in the first place. I ate too much. I like food. I find comfort in food. I'm learning how to look at it as nourishment for my body, but I still like it. Especially if it tastes all rich & yummy.

But rich & yummy go straight to my tummy.

Sigh.

Traveling can be hard. I know I've posted Tuesday's Traveler before with tips on how to still maintain a healthy lifestyle. And while I follow them most of the time, sometimes I don't.

Like last night. When I had a steak sandwich for dinner followed by a slice of blueberry pie with ice cream.

I can make excuses. "It is cold here. I'm tired of rain/snow/sleet/cold. I want comfort food."

But I recognize them for what they are. Excuses.

With each day being a new day, I choose to begin again.

I may one day do a before/after post with pictures. Perhaps even share my weight with you. Scary.

Now, I know there are people out there who are suffering from worse - health issues, babies they're desperate for & praying for, family circumstances that are beyond control - I know this.

I also know that there are other things I struggle with that make me far less than perfect. This is one I feel comfortable with sharing.

So as I continue to work to become more healthy, know that I'll be thinking of each of you. We're all far from perfect & if you choose to share your imperfections or your goals or your struggles, know I'll cheer you on every step of the way.

I'll take Combo #2, Please.

Combo #2, please. Yes, please supersize that - I'd like both Where in the World Wednesday & Wishful Wednesday together. Mmmhmmm.

Classy in Philadelphia hosts Where in the World Wednesday with the idea being to post a picture of you in someplace in the world...it doesn't have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling. It might even be somewhere in your own hometown!

So today, you get my toes (which if you knew me, you'd know I was singing along to the Zac Brown Band "Toes" - I digress) in Barbados!

If you don't remember, keeping toenails is a challenge for me. I know it is gross, but I pick at them when I'm stressed out.

You can tell we're at the beginning of the honeymoon by the paleness of my piggies.

The shot below highlights the natural wave coming out in all it's glory. First night, sitting at an outside bar, sipping on Banks beer - the beer of Barbados.

Kelsey of The Seattle Smith's hosts Wishful Wednesday & with today's topic, I knew I couldn't pass it up!

Today's? I wish I could play a character role in a book & it would be Frances from Under the Tuscan Sun.

I loved both the movie & the book & would love to move to Italy to live in a villa that I rebuilt on my own. To experience the country, the food, the wine. That would be heaven!

If you've not participated in either of these Wednesday post topics, you should make sure & check them out!

Nice to meet you

Over the weekend, Mr. Potts & I watched The Blind Side. Before we watched it, Mr. Potts had spoken to his mom & step-dad. They told him that we would love the movie & that Leigh Anne reminded them of me. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but was ready to look for any similarities.

Similar? They could have modeled that part after me! I started grinning the moment she started speaking & then laughed out loud when Mr. Potts looked over at me, grinned and announced, "Yep, that's you!".

When Leigh Anne was in her car & was honked at she responded with, "Don't get your panties in a wad." So me.

Described by SHEKNOWS as: "Equal parts firecracker, strong Southern woman, inspiration, motherly to all, pragmatic." This is me to a "T".

I know what I know, know what I want & know how I expect things to be done. I have a generous heart & reach out to those hurting or in need. I tirelessly work to make people feel comfortable & at home.

I found it funny that this movie was so spot with regards to my personality.

Is there a character in a movie or tv show that represents you?

Also, had to share two pictures from this weekend.

The first is me & Mr. Potts - gonna have to frame this one.

We celebrated a dear friend's 35th birthday & there were such fun party favors involved!

I think he pulled the "stache" off fairly well!

Update - My Tribe

When I wrote about my tribe the other day, I couldn't link up to The Secret Is In the Sauce. Without those two posts, my "tribe" may not make sense.

I wanted to link to those as they reminded me to take a look at the friendships I've made & how I can pay it forward.

You can find the first part here and the second part here.

Enjoy!

Mmmm....Yum!

For Mr. Potts & my Valentine's Day dinner, I wanted to try something new that I'd never made before. He enjoyed the Osso Buco that I made recently & I thought that another dish using the braising technique would be good.

So for Valentine's Day dinner, Mr. Potts & I feasted on Beer Braised Short Ribs with braised vegetables. Oh so yum! This was a recipe I had spotted in Cooking Light a while back & it turned out to be a great dinner for us. As always, I made some modifications, but you'll find the basic recipe here.

Picture via Cooking Light.

Now, Mr. Potts is very much a meat & potatoes man. Most of our meals contain some sort of meat, but I've been trying to cut down on the amount that we use/consume.

Finding Joy in My Kitchen had a wonderful Red Pepper Tortellini Bake that I had been itching to try for a while.

I changed the recipe up a bit - used low-fat fresh ravioli & reduced fat Italian cheese, but overall kept everything else the same. It turned out wonderfully last night & Mr. Potts wants this to be a repeat.

Picture via Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Now, normally, I'd take pictures of all of this myself, but I somehow seem to have misplaced my camera!!

I need to find it for dinner tonight - it is Fat Tuesday & I'm making Red Beans & Rice again to celebrate with a few friends.

I've Got Sunshine...

On a cloudy (and rainy) day!

Both Trish from Pink Preppy Lilly Lover & Brittany from Molly Lou Gifts blessed me with a little extra sunshine recently. And truth be told, Mrs. Grumpy McGrumpypants has needed it. Between staying an extra day in Maine, being totally over the snow & cold & longing for warm weather - well, these were just the pick me ups I needed.

The Sunshine Award is given to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world. I'd say that 95% of the time, I'm a happy little ray of sunshine, so I'm thrilled that they see this in me.

The rules, once this award is received, are as follows:
1. Post the logo on blog.
2. Pass the award on to fellow bloggers.
3. Link the nominees' blogs so others can get to know them.
4. Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.

So, following the rules, make sure & go check out these bloggers that make me smile.

Katie over at The Perks

Little Woman over at Little Woman, Little Home

Brittany Ann over at Living in the Moment

Lacey over at Perks of Being a JAP

Amber over at Life As We Know It

Annie over at Chapters of Our Lives

Ashley over at Kiwis and Cocktails

Carrie over at Laugh, Love, Eat Ice Cream

MCW over at Saving the Best for Last...(fingers crossed)

Susannah over at The Edwards Edition

Brown Eyed Girl

Brittany from Notes in the Grove

Landlocked Mermaid

Everyone of these women make me smile regularly. I consider them (as well as Brittany & Trish) part of my tribe.

I read something recently from The Secret is in the Sauce about building your tribe & I realized that I already have something of a tribe with these ladies (I'd link to it, but it keeps timing out right now). Your tribe are the people who shower you with comments or emails or tweets. Those who seek you out when you're having a "blah" day or a fabulous week.

I love that they are part of my tribe & that I'm part of theirs. If you haven't been over to check them out before, make sure to go pop in. I promise they'll make you think, they'll make you laugh, they may even make you snort coffee out of your nose laughing so hard.

Are you part of my tribe & I don't know it? Come say "Hello".

Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone! It's here - another edition of Fabulous Friday! A highlight of all things fabulous that I've stumbled across over the course of this week (in no particular order, of course!) or even fond memories I have stored in my brain.

This week has been such a long week & I'm ready to go home. So I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite things that I'm looking forward to seeing this weekend.

I can't wait to see this guy! This is actually one of the first pictures of us together.

I can't wait to sleep in my own bed with my own pillow. There's just no place like home.

Can you spot the Pepe Cat?

I can't wait to see this yellow dog. Even though Mr. Potts told me she'd been up in her chair the other night.

Looking forward to this Fluffy McFluffster! He's no lap cat, but he's making progress - he'll get on the couch & lay beside me!

These little munchkins. I should see them this weekend & will spend the day with the little man on Monday.

The pictures of the munchkins come from our Tree Decorating, Cookie Making (EATING) extravaganza!

What has been the highlight of your week?

Snowed in

Well, I'm snowed in in Maine until Friday night.

Funny thing is, not a snowflake fell here.

With all the snow that hammered the rest of the Northeast, however, I'll be enjoying another night here. On the positive side, at least I'm not stuck in an airport - but thank you to Trish who offered to rescue me if I was stuck in Philly!

Since I'll be here an extra night, I made the decision that dinner will be ingested here tonight. Either the "Sticky Pig" or the Hangar Steak & Potatoes.

I don't want to be stranded in Maine

Envision the title post sung to, "Don' wanna be a playa no more".

I have endured long flights, bad flights, oyster illness induced flights (THAT was a bad one - someone remind me to tell you all about it).

I've spent nights in airports when due to bad weather I end up sleeping in the airport SOL with none of the necessities - you know -deodorant, contact solution, facewash, facial lotion, eye cream - since they were in my checked luggage. I know - don't check the necessities. Trust me, now I don't - there are always carryon bags with me with necessities.

I'm wrapping up my evening & will attempt to get out of Maine tomorrow & not end up stranded in Philadelphia with no where to go. If that happens, that will be one of my worst nightmares. I would cry.


According to my Magic 8 Ball, the outlook is good. I'm only hoping it holds true.

This is what one of my connections look like. Fingers crossed it looks like this in the morning.


So if you learn that I'm stuck in Philly (the actual airport, everything is already sold out) and would like to share a little empathy with me, I would so appreciate.

I'm so hoping that tomorrow night will not entail me fighting for the one cheap blanket in the airport, but rather cuddled up with Mr. Potts.

I'm so hoping that instead of begging for a food voucher (and by the way, "EW!" YUCK!!) I'll be eating my own healthy food.

I'm hoping that instead of having to wash my face in a public bathrooms & take care of my contacts I'll be able to wash my face at home & not worry about laying my contacts down somewhere.

For those of you not affected by the blizzard that is, I applaud you! Great choice in living location! I made that choice too, but when you're gone frequently, it isn't as helpful, huh?

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

Random Airport Encounter

Flying on a regular basis provides so many things. Frequent flyer miles, Hotel points, opportunities to see new things, a knowledge of how to travel smartly, opportunities to meet new people. Again, so many things.

This past Monday evening, I was provided a new opportunity, one I had not encountered before.

I arrived at the airport, checked in & checked my luggage & went to the security line to head towards my gate.

In front of me was a man, a little taller than me, looking around at everything.

I could understand. There are so many people to see (read: watch & observe) in the airport. Nothing new there - I'm definitely a people watcher.

We shuffled forward and he was a little wobbly. No biggie, maybe he self medicated, but he was still standing & appeared coherent.

Except that he kept looking back at me and staring at me, trying to make eye contact.

I knew what that meant. I felt my hand to make sure my rings were turned & sparkly in his face. I lowered my head a little and avoided eye contact.

I was almost to the checkpoint when he spun around & waved his hand in front of my downturned face. At this point, I had to make eye contact. And I would rather had plucked my eye out.

He leaned in & laughed. He told me he just had to say "Hello". And the stench of liquor hit me. At 4:50 in the afternoon, he was plowed. Probably still from last night.

I lifted my eyes to the ceiling & said, "Save Me."

And then the line ground to a halt.

I was trapped. Trapped with a totally plowed man who wanted to talk to me & leer at me. At this point, I wished my mother hadn't taught me any manners.

But she did, so I smiled nicely, shifted away from him & used my laptop bag as a shield to ensure there was space between us.

He leaned over to the security guard and handed her his ticket & license once we started moving again. She handed his back to him & reached for mine. As I handed them over, the man leaned over to the guard and told her, "She's going to Maine, or so she says."

I leaned over to the guard, retrieved my ticket & license and told her, "And he's still drunk from yesterday & needs his toothpaste & toothbrush. Could you make sure it's not seized?"

See? So many new things to learn when you travel.

Where in the World has Mrs. Potts Been?

Hot Topic, I know!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for the Potts' family. We've been separated (with me traveling to the frigid, cold New England area), we've hibernated, we've endured a "snow storm" at home in Charlotte. All in all, we've just been laying low.

I've had a few people reach out & ask if there is anything "special" going on. For those who may have been wondering (and really, I don't know that many of you have been wondering), no, I am not preggers. Mr. Potts & I are committed to being DINK's for the rest of our lives.

My past few weeks have simply looked like this:

Travel

Image found here

Hotel Rooms

Sleepless nights

Watching Weeds (finally caught up on all the seasons now)

Doing our taxes & realizing we owe a stomach twisting amount to the IRS.
Image found here


Cheering on the Saints while eating Red Beans & Rice

Image found here

Some cooking, some cleaning & lots of laughter.

I've missed you all & hope you're all doing well. I'm doing my best to catch up with everyone.

What's Your Sign?

photo via
I've never been one to religiously read my astrology forecasts. Sure, I'll scan over them when I'm reading the comics or go through one of my many magazines, but I don't put faith in them.

If I did, I'd be superbly happy, incredibly fit, financially well off & living the perfect life. According to my horoscopes, I'd have a few snags in the road, but because of my witty way with words, I'd get through things with flying colors.

If I gave them much thought, I'd make decisions based on the day of the week & where Jupiter is or where the sun is rising in the house of Capricorn.

Sounds a little silly to me.

Based on my sign, this month:

• The moon is in my house of work so I'll be figuring out new solutions to old problems.
• On the 12th, I need to improve relationships with colleagues.
• Cupcakes are good (seriously, it says this!) (I KNOW! Like I need an excuse to eat cupcakes!).
• Uranus is a pain in my ... for bringing fun-loving, but unreliable friends into my inner circle - HUH?
• I'll be getting compensated at work for everything I've been doing - I'll give this the big thumbs up! And it is true - I did get a promotion!!
• Mr. Potts will begin to exhibit early mid-life crisis symptoms. HAHAHAHAHA!! I can't WAIT to see him pull up driving a Ferrari!!! Let you know when THAT happens!

This sounds like the weather forecast!!! Could go one way, could go another. Either way, very vague.

**Cue cheesy music**

Hey Baby, what's YOUR sign?

Mmmm....Yum

With traveling the past two weeks and the winter weather we had this past weekend, I may or may not have been in hibernation mode. I love snuggling by a fire & drinking hot chocolate. Or, walking to our favorite pizza place & drinking beer & eating wings & pizza. May or may not have done both this weekend.

Traveling the last two weeks & the hibernation effect may also have affected my posting &/or commenting.

With cold weather comes hearty food - the kind that fills you & makes you feel all cozy. Wanting a little of that goodness I decided to make a chicken stew yesterday to enjoy last night. This could probably be compared to a Brunswick Stew.

I got up in the morning & combined everything into my crockpot to let it cook for the day. This turned out great & was probably one of the easiest YUM meals I've made in a while. I knew I'd want to share this with you since it was so simple, yet hearty.

Mrs. Potts' Chicken Stew

Ingredients

• 4 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts, boiled & shredded
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup bbq sauce
  
• 2 Baking Potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted with garlic)
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1 bag frozen baby lima beans
• 1 bag frozen corn (I used Southwestern with peppers)
• 2 jalapeno peppers diced

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into a large crock-pot.
2. Set crock-pot to low.
3. Walk away for 6-8 hours.
4. Stir occasionally.
5. Serve into large bowls.

Serving Suggestion - would be good with cornbread. So sad that Mr. Potts & I did not have any to make last night.