15 in 2015 {things you may or may not have known about yours truly}

1. I always have a notebook to jot down things. Lists, doodles, packing notes, travel notes. 

2. I'm a sucker for paper products. I get suckered in to cute stationery, planners, notebooks, notepads, cute post its. If it's pink, gold, silver, sparkly or in the Target dollar spot I'm totally going to buy it.

3. I waste a lot of money on a lot of shit I don't need. I never consider money wasted if it's spent on clothes or accessories (purses, shoes, etc.) because you're going to get your moneys worth out of it one way or another. 

Case in point; I was cleaning out our 'catch all' drawer last night and stashed away was my $50 Erin Condren planner. Remember that gorgeous planner I obsessed over last year in a blog post. Yeah, it was stashed away in that drawer with only about 3 months of planning used out of that entire book. What a waste of money. I was beyond mad at myself. I guess #2 on this list comes into play. Paper products, planners and such...it's a hard addiction to get rid of but I can promise you I will never buy another $50 planner again. 

Target collaborated with Sugar Paper and has some beautiful planners at a great price.

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4. I think that Jagermeister is the most disgusting thing. It's the first drink that I ever drank that actually made me sick/vomit. Sad thing is, it was only one shot and I have the picture of me doing the shot!

 

It was my parents vow renewal. I'm in the pink dress. Apparently at the time my sister and I thought it was awesome to dress alike. Gotta love looking back on fashion choices. Anyways, that little cup in hand was loaded with Jagermeister and I thought I was a badass drinking with my older sisters/family members. This badass right here made it another hour before yacking on the side of the road. I slept beside the toilet that entire night. Awful, just awful.

5. I burned my feet terribly when I was 3. So bad I had to wear bandages for months. The doctors all said that my feet would never look the same. The Pastor of my parents Church at the time came to the hospital and prayed over my feet and asked the Good Lord for my health. My feet look just as normal as everyone elses!

6. I have OCD very badly. Not the kind where I have to open and close a door three times but if I see something out of place I have to put it in it's place. If I get it in my mind to clean, I have to clean I can't let the mess just sit there. Each time I pray I blow a kiss to the Lord, Tarl and Cadence. Every.single.time.

7. I love reading with Cadence and Tarl. She'll pick out a book and I'll read the story giving each character their own unique voice. Cadence is now learning to read and it's so special having her read us stories. Our favorite books are pop up books and if you have never heard of Robert Sabuda you need to look him up! His pop up books are unbelievable. They bring the world of pop up books to an entire different level. Cadence received her very first pop up book last year from her Aunt Yvonne (my brother's GF whom we adore) and it's now an annual Christmas gift. Last year was Beauty and the Beast, naturally, and this year was The Little Mermaid. 

Just look at the detail in that coral reef. See the right page with the mermaid on it, that opens up into more tiny intricate pop ups. This is just a small inch of what his pop up books are. The second page opened up into a huge boat that pertruded out towards us as we were reading the story. They are beyond amazing and I cannot wait for Cadence to continue to grow her collection.

His Website

8. I prefer cooler weather over hot weather. 

9. I have horrible road rage but when I'm a passenger I freak out when the driver does the same exact thing I'm guilty of.

10. When I get into a good book I read it cover to cover. When I get into a good book it's the only time of the year I enjoy the warm weather because I'll sit on my porch at night with a glass of sweet tea, a marlboro light and read until it gets dark. I know that it's terrible to smoke, but a habit that I truly need to break. Moving on...

11. Pink is my most favorite color but I think I look more pretty in white clothing.

 You damn blondes can pull anything off. 

12. My most favorite place to visit in SC is Myrtle Beach. I've been countless times and just love it. You can walk the boulevard for hours. Besides the beach there is so much to do and see and I just love it. Every time we have been we always splurge and get a hotel on the beach because other than "Broadway at the Beach", everything is on the beach. The most funnest time though, if I'm being honest, was the time that Emily and I went together. There was this old lady staying at our hotel and by old I mean 70+, in her black BIKINI, tanning and with an attitude like a 20 year old - we loved her. I don't have many pics from that trip, but this was our hotel view.

Not gonna lie - I like boot weather but I wouldn't mind this right now. It's freezing today!

13. My most favorite place in GA to visit is 30 minutes away, beautiful Savannah! Love it and living here all my life there is still so much to do and see and try. 

14. My hair used to be really short and SO easy to take care of. I love my long locks but sometimes...

(side note: this pic was taken in Myrtle Beach - the first time Tarl and I ever went together)

15. I have a few celebs that follow me on Twitter. I'm most proud of Florida Georgia Line though. They even Direct Messaged me one night @ their concert!

xo

Midweek Randoms

I'm ready to start on tattoo #8. Addicted? Maybe a little but I can honestly say that you can't see any of my tattoos by the naked eye. The only one that you can see (if I have on a short sleeved shirt) is the one on my wrist. I honestly don't care what people think about tattoos. Their opinion is just that, theirs. My opinion is I like 'em. I have two more spots I want tattoos then I'm all done and completely filled up with discrete yet sexy places and that is the side of my foot and my ribcage and the one on my ribcage is next on my radar. I want to get "may the simple things be amazing" written beautifully.

Via Pinterest

I don't want mine near that big, but you get the general idea.

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I shared this on FB last night and it's beyond true.

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We have our first little weekend getaway planned for this weekend and I cannot wait. Tarl's grandmother lives in upstate Georgia and we're venturing out to her place to visit for the weekend. Her house is gorgeous and her and Papa are the sweetest couple you ever did meet. Cadence adores them, as does Tarl and I. I'm ready to spend some quality time with them and venture out in their little town.

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Has anyone else been watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? I've been a fan of most of the Real Housewives franchises and the BH cast is one of my favorites but this season there is just no drama. Just seems a bit dull to me. Now Vanderpump Rules is a whole other story - love that juicy show and cannot stand Stassi. What do you think?

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We are still sticking with our at home eating. Last night was chicken in rice but to be honest we are stuck in a rut and need more meal ideas that don't require 100 ingredients to break the bank. If you have anything please share! The other night I made shrimp jambalaya for the first time and it was delicious so new changes in the food department are always welcome and at this point, needed!

That's all for today...

#GramFam2015

Wow - it's hard to believe that time off work, school and the holidays are over. Between Christmas and New Year I had two full weeks off and I'm not going to lie, it was a struggle setting that alarm clock Sunday night after not having to for two weeks. I will say this, the time went by so fast, but it was so much fun spending that one on one time with my girl while Tarl went to work. He wasn't near as lucky as me with time off. He only got a few days for Christmas and one day for New Years so Cadence and I did a lot of baking, crafts and snuggling watching our favorite show, Chopped. 

(I love that my 6 year old watches Chopped on Food Network and loves it!)

My parents are retired so when I have time off work I spend it with Cadence but a lot of the days we'll walk to my parents house and we'll all sit outside around a fire. That's when this happened. A girl, her dog, a wheelbarrow and her Grandaddy pushing her around. Priceless memories.

We baked a lot of goodies over the break. Our two favorites are meringues and what we call "mexican chips" which is basically a tortilla cut up into triangles, spread with a little butter and fry in some hot oil. It only takes them about 10 seconds to get golden brown. Take them out the oil and as soon as they come out coat them with cinnamon sugar. It's quick and absolutely delicious. 

My meringues are amazing, if I do say so myself. They are also incredibly easy to make but they do take a while to bake. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Using my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer with the whisk attachment, I whisk 3 egg whites along with 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. When the mixture gets thick to the point of soft peaks, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. With the mixer on slow slowly add 3/4 cup of granulated sugar. Once the sugar is incorporated turn the mixture on high until hard peaks are formed or the mixture is really thick. Usually about a minute or a minute and a half. Put in a pastry bag with a pretty tip and pipe onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. No need to spray the parchment paper as the meringues do not stick. 

Bake in the oven for two hours. They are light, fluffy and incredibly delicious!

I'm honestly not a "stickler" for New Year's resolutions but I have made a few this year. One being to post a daily picture on Instagram along with a lot of other bloggers and people in general. This one is probably my favorite I have posted thus far. This face of hers is a trip!

 You can keep up with our daily life by searching the hashtag #GramFam2015 

or looking me up on Instagram @BlueJeanMiranda

When Tarl and I became serious after moving in together we went to Church every Sunday. After we got married and became pregnant we became really slack about getting up early on Sundays to get ready for Church. Although we are raising Cadence in a Godly home with prayers, morals and teaching her about Jesus we don't go to Church like we should so another resolution of ours is to start going back to Church regularly and it was such a blessing going on Sunday. Seeing all of our Church members again and Cadence thoroughly enjoyed Children's Church, she even said the prayer at the end for all the kids - I was beyond proud when her teacher told me that! It's the same Church we got married in so it's always amazing to walk down the center of the Church to find a pew knowing that almost 7 years before I walked down that aisle to marry the love of my life, now here we are with so many blessings the Lord has given us.

My final resolution is to read the Bible. It was on my list last year and I didn't stick with it. I'll be honest the Bible is a hard book to get through because of the way they spoke back then and translated it in the Good Book. Especially through Genesis when they go through their lineage explaining whose who, who they married, how many kids and their names. I'm not ashamed to say it's hard for me to understand because it can be, but with 365 days in a year I feel I can take my time and truly comprehend the Lords message. However, if you know of a Bible that you thought was a little easier to get through please let me know. There is a Christian Book store in Savannah and we're going to go check it out this weekend. 

I don't want to say this is a resolution, but more of a goal for 2015 and then on towards the rest of our future, but making dinners each night and bringing my lunch into work with me as well as dinner table sitting instead of watching TV in the living room while we eat. We've done great with this so far and I sure hope we stick with it. I've also brought my lunch into work the past two days so I'm giving myself a little tap on the back. Don't get me wrong I still plan to splurge every now and then but eating out each day (even eating cheap) adds up quick.

I have started decorating our house for Valentine's Day and I'm loving it. Pinks and reds and hearts are adorning our entry table and dining table and as soon as I have all of the decor up I'll be sure and share some pictures with you all. I'm hitting up Dollar Tree today for some cheap decor. Can't beat the price, let's be honest!

Let's talk about New York for a minute. I still cannot believe that I'm going! It truly was unreal to me until I put up my "thankful chalkboard" that I got for Christmas (pics to come) and used that as a countdown to NYC. As of today we are only 79 days away. I know it seems like a lot, but really it isn't. Between work, weekends, TBall coming up, school and functions I know the time will pass and March 26th will be here before I know it. Tarl booked us in Times Square and splurged to get us a city view room. We also have made dinner reservations at Carmines and STK. Our third dinner is still up in the air so suggestions are much appreciated! We're definitely going to do lunch one day at Lombardi's to try their famous pizza as well as Serendipity 3 and the famous Shake Shack to grab one of their burgers. I have my list of places that I 'must see' and I can't wait to see them in person. 

Well I'm off to work...I hope each of you had a blessed and Happy New Year!

xo

Christmas 2014 and One Big Surprise!

Well another Christmas in the books and I'm sad to see it go.

I always get the "Christmas Blues" as my mom calls it - when you get sad when it's over.

I love every little thing about Christmas and it always goes by so quickly, but on to a New Year and time to decorate our home with pinks, reds and whites for Valentine's. I do truly enjoy Valentine's decor. It's so sweet and Cadence adores it.

I truly have the World's Best Boss because I get a whole lot of time off for Christmas.

I worked a few hours on Tuesday and didn't have to come back into work until today, again, only for a few hours then I'm off until next Monday for the New Year's holiday. Essentially it's like having two weeks off and you will find no complaints here! I've enjoyed the time spent home with Cadence. We went to Savannah one day and Beaufort yesterday and she loves having what she calls "girl day". Not girls day out, just girl day. Love her! 

Onto Christmas...

Christmas Eve we woke up to find Olly had left us a scavenger hunt for his last day in South Carolina. All the clues left for one last gift for Cadence and she had so much fun finding the next clue. It was a special time at 6 in the morning :) She's definitely an early riser!

He didn't take a Selfie - he took an Elfie 

This picture cracks me up every single time - Rosie was sleeping and Cadence wasn't having it.

Olly brought Cadence these Christmas jammies for her to wear on Christmas Eve as well as some Elsa and Anna coloring posters. She loved them.

Leaving cookies & milk for Santa!

Christmas Eve day my parents told us to come over to their house. We didn't know what was going on so we ran over and there was my 13 year old gun that I haven't seen since. Long story short. When I was 13, that Christmas, my parents gave me my very first gun. I wanted it painted camouflage so dad took it to the guy and we haven't seen it since. Between mis-communication, timing and a lot of other stuff the guy totally forgot he had it and as time passed so did we. Well dad remembered after all these years and got my gun back, finally painted. We joked that it was a 13 year paint job but I'll tell you it was the most sentimental gift I could have ever received from them and I couldn't believe it. I was so happy that he took all that time to be persistent and call the guy non-stop to finally get my gun back. 

After I admired my "new" gun we went back home and made a lot of treats, some for family, some for Santa and admired our Christmas tree one last time while sipping on some hot chocolate.

(I always take our tree down on Christmas Day - I am a little OCD about holiday decorations being up after the holiday has passed. There's always time between Tarl's parents Christmas and my parents Christmas so while we're relaxing at home I take it down then.)

After we fell asleep, Santa came and boy did he bring a lot of toys!

She was very excited to see this big ole stack of wrapped presents.

She was very grateful for everything that she received on Christmas, but her most favorite was definitely her Elsa dress and her Beados set. Surprisingly those Beados are a lot of fun to make and actually work. Her Easy Bake Oven was another huge hit and we've already made a batch of Red Velvet Cupcakes and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I got Tarl a lot of hunting equipment that he had been wanting and a few sentimental gifts that I knew he would like but he definitely outdid himself this year with my gift and to say I was surprised couldn't be more true!

I opened my first gift which was a beanie/scarf set that I had asked for. Then I opened my next gift which was a neck pillow. I looked at him like "what in the hell?" but was still grateful...just wasn't sure what I needed a neck pillow for. He then let me open the big box which was a Keurig. We both had been wanting one and I was happy that we finally had a one cup coffee maker.

The last gift was a tiny little box with some handmade art...

It took me a minute but I finally figured it out - JetBlue & Times Square. My sweet husband booked us a trip to New York. After all these years of talking about it and dreaming about it and pinning away hundreds of things on Pinterest he is finally taking me. He booked our trip for the end of March to give it some time to warm up a little and we're going for four days. We're staying in Times Square and I cannot wait! I was beyond happy and tears were streaming down my face. Tarl, although very sweet and kind, isn't the best at doing surprises so this was just unbelievable!

After we spent time with his parents we headed on over to my parents and another big surprise was waiting from my dad, another gun that I've been wanting for a long time. 

My dad has this same exact gun and I shoot it all the time. He decided it was time for me to finally have my own and I was ecstatic.

My siblings and the spouses draw names and this year my brothers girlfriend (who is practically my sister-in-law) drew my name and got me such a beautiful door hanger.

We all got some great gifts this year, but Christmas isn't about presents underneath the tree. It's about Jesus and time spent with family which was wonderful. 

Since I have the rest of the week off, like always I will be taking a blogging break to spend that time with family not worrying about being in front of a computer. 

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas and has a blessed New Year. 

See you on Monday!

Merry Christmas!

I am so happy that today is my last day of work for the next 6 days. I'm even more happy that today is Christmas Eve Eve and tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Let us never forget the true reason for the Christmas season, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, this life of ours wouldn't be worth living and he truly blesses us with every single thing we have. 

I wish each and every one of you a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

Monday Before Christmas

I can't believe we are only three days until Christmas.

Christmas week is finally here, y'all!

If only the "yuck" would leave my house.

We were all feeling better, for a good nine days. No fevers. No sneezing. No stomach bugs in sight and wouldn't you know Friday around midnight I started throwing up and it didn't stop until around 2am Sunday morning Sunday at around 10am I woke up feeling brand new. I took a shower, straightened up the house and spent time cuddling with my family. That evening Cadence started coughing, congestion in her nose and woke up this morning with a tummy ache. 

Fortunately there is still no fever and I pray it's nothing more then a little head cold/congestion that will go away before Christmas. Tis' the season for germs too I suppose but I will sure be glad when they are gone from our house. 

Olly has still been up to his silliness.

Unfortunately with me being sick I missed my family's annual Christmas party. I've only missed two in 28 years so I guess that's not too bad a ratio, but I still am sorry that I missed it. Tarl and Cadence still went and they both had a blast. I'm so blessed in the fact that my family and Tarl are unlike some marriages where you hear the in-laws and spouses don't get a long. I'm so happy that he loves my family and my family loves him like their own. Enough to where he is comfortable to go to a party, without me, with 30+ family members of mine.

Cadence made out with a lot of great, new toys so she was a happy little girl when she came home. Sick or not she told me all about it and I was so happy she had a great time. 

On a random note I thought this was hilarious...

I mean, it is true :)

Sorry not much to post. Between work, Christmas shopping, wrapping, crafts, movies and sicknesses we've been busy. On a happier note tomorrow is my last day of work until Tuesday of next week - holla! Per usual I will not be posting while on my Christmas break. 

Talk to y'all tomorrow!

Merry Monday before Christmas!