Cheers to 10 Years!

Last weekend Mike and I traveled to South Carolina for my ten year high school reunion. It was a quick 36 hour trip but we had an amazing time hanging out with old friends and seeing some that I had not seen since the day we graduated. Everyone had really changed and some lead some really exciting and intriguing lives! Little ole’ me won the superlative for Most Changed which was pretty awesome! I always love going home as it gives me a feeling inside like no other. Everything is green, there are mountains in the distance and the air just feels cooler and crisper there. 

Pumpkin doing a little ‘front porch sittin’
Me and the bestie!
Newlyweds!

Stay southern,

28th Birthday…Disney Style!

We spent my birthday at the Walt Disney World resort this year! Although it was a whirlwind trip, we had an amazing time. Every time we go it feels like coming home. Disney never fails to amaze me with the quality of the ‘product’ they have. There is no other company that is near to the same level of quality or caliber that they are. Granted, I may be a little biased. Mike and I did work there and met there, which shaped the rest of our lives in ways we could have never imagined. We have encountered many people that do not understand why we choose to do to Disney when we have no children. I love to explain to them that it is so much better and easier to travel there without a family in tow. Now granted I cannot wait to take a family one day, but with that said I will be SO glad that Mike and I went several times as DINK and got to experience what we wanted to while not being on anyone else’s timeline. It was a very short trip and I was pretty emotional when we left as I know we won’t be back for a while…but it will forever be a very important place for us Arnold’s and we’ll definitely be going back, again and again(if I have anything to say about it)! Here are some pics from our wonderful long weekend!

Great friends at Hollywood Studios

My favorite ride. Tower of Terror. You can see me in the back with my arms up!
Fun night at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!
Coolest plant at The Land this trip! Tomato.

Home Sweet Home!
Cool new spot at the Magic Kingdom! Rapunzel’s Tower!
Amazing shot the husband took of me with his iPhone
If you would like to know any tips about traveling to WDW please do not hesitate to ask! I am no expert by any means but I would love to offer anyone my insight about traveling there and what you must not miss during your vacation!

Stay southern,

Weekend Update

This past weekend we had no real plans except for watching football and hanging around the house. So Saturday we decided to have another mini home tailgate for the two of us. I whipped up a few old favorites and tried out one new recipe! This recipe is from a restaurant, Ted’s Montana Grill. It is such a yummy dip that I think will add to any occasion quite nicely! Make sure you use the full fat ingredients so you will have a thick and creamy dip!

Ted’s Montana Grill’s Creamy Ranch Onion Dip
Makes 4 1/2 cups

  • 2 cups mayonnaise
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 1 cup sliced green onions, cut into 1/8-inch pieces, reserve some for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons ranch dressing mix
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco
  • Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
In a large mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, green onions, ranch dressing mix and Tabasco. Whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. May be made up to 2 days ahead. When ready to serve, garnish with remaining green onion slices and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with chips or fresh veggies for dipping. 

 We finished out the weekend with a little organizing and cleaning as we prepare for a busy few weekends coming up!

We love our Ikea Expedit unit! It holds a TON of stuff! Sorry for the blurry pic.

Stay southern,


First Tailgate of the 2013 Season

As you know by now we live in a college town. An SEC college town to be precise! Tailgating here is as important as taxes and it is what you are doing on a Saturday here if there is a home game. Bear in mind that this is Mississippi so you need to factor in a heat index of 95-100 and you will be good to go. Saturday was no exception, it was disgustingly hot. But it was a blow out game so we left early and headed back to the tailgate to enjoy some great company and food! This week has gone so fast it has been a blur. We’re looking forward to a weekend of rest and relaxation to prepare for the busy few weeks we have coming up!
Sneak Peek of the stadium improvements at Davis Wade Stadium
Stay southern,

Labor Day Weekend Trip

For Labor Day we headed to Georgia to visit with family where we ate too much and stayed up late. We played games and ate more! It was nice to just hang out with everyone where we had no real plans or schedules! I really didn’t take any pictures which I now regret as we had some fabulous food that should have been documented! I did however take some adorable pics of some of our family puppies 🙂

This coming weekend we have our first tailgate here and we are very excited to start this season off right! It is projected to be hot, hot, hot so I hope we survive, gotta love summer in Mississippi!

Stay southern,

Finally Football!

The then “future Arnold’s” at the MsState v. Carolina game 2011

Today is the official start of the 2013 college football season!! As a southern girl I grew up going to games and listening to sports talk(ad-nauseam) from everyone I knew. My parents were not huge sports fans but I had plenty of family that was and I quickly became a lover of all things SEC football. It truly is a way of life and it is a great time of the year to go to games, tailgate or just sit at home and watch on tv! We live smack dab in the middle of a college town and we take part in all things Mississippi State football! But if you know me AT ALL then you know I am hands down a Carolina Gamecocks girl! Today Carolina plays Yankee Carolina…we need to send those guys back up north where they belong 😉

In honor of today and the beginning of football season I wanted to share a recipe that would be an amazing addition to a tailgate party! We’re actually going to enjoy it tonight as we watch the game! If you have never heard of the Captain Rodney’s products then you’re in for a treat! We discovered this great recipe at a Christmas party a few years ago and it has been a go to appetizer for us since! The recipe is a fantastic addition to any party you host or attend!

Captain Rodney’s Cheese Bake

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • One 8 oz. package of cream cheese
  • Two cups of grated cheddar cheese
  • Two green onions(chopped)
  • Six Ritz crackers(crushed)
  • Eight slices bacon(cooked and crumbled) or 1/2 real bacon pieces
  • 1/2 cup of any Captain Rodney’s glaze

Mix mayo, cream cheese, cheddar and onions in greased quiche pan(or 8×8 pan). Top with crackers and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Top with bacon and Captain Rodney’s glaze. Serve with crackers.

I hope you enjoy this football season as much as I plan to! If you don’t like football there will always be delicious food and cocktails!

Stay Southern,

    

Arnold Happenings

And here I said I was going to be better about blogging…anyway, as you can see I have updated the blog quite a bit! Hopefully this will inspire me to post more often. Life is pretty boring right now(in the best way). Things are calm and I am enjoying this time of being a new wife. Anyway, I hope to post more, not only of our life events, but of recipes and fun creative projects I get into! Soon I plan to share a ton of the DIY projects I completed for the wedding! But all in due time!!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock(or you’re not American) you know that last week was the 4th of July! Normally we would travel to either set of parents for this holiday but this year responsibility and work kept us here in Mississippi so we decided to have our own little celebration here. We settled on a southern feast of fried catfish, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and banana pudding!

Along with all of that I made frozen strawberry margaritas in my new Ninja blender! I have been wanting one for a while and used wedding gift cards to purchase one! The thing is pretty amazing! It is quite the machine! I have used it quite a bit in the week I have owned it and I hope to share a little of what it can do. Anyway, here is the recipe I used to make the margs. I wanted a recipe that was natural and not using a mix! I hope you enjoy should you decide to partake 🙂

Frozen Strawberry Margaritas

INGREDIENTS

3 cups strawberries

1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

3/4 cup añejo tequila

2 tablespoons agave nectar

Pinch of salt

3 cups ice

4 strawberries, dipped in fine sugar


DIRECTIONS

  1. In a blender, purée 3 cups strawberries, orange-flavored liqueur, lime juice, añejo, agave nectar and salt. Add 3 cups ice and blend until smooth.
  2. Divide among 4 glasses; garnish each with a sugar-dipped strawberry.
Makes 4 cocktails.

I am currently obsessed with the song Demons by Imagine Dragons. I am also digging Paper Doll by my most favorite John Mayer! It is such a simple song but poetic and great to drive to. I am so excited for his new album being released next month! Whatever music you like, turn it up and enjoy!

Stay southern,

Wedding Pictures Sneak Peek!

I have been dying to see professional pictures since we returned from our honeymoon and last Friday the photographer sent me this slide show sneak peek and I was floored! I couldn’t be happier with what they captured of our special day! I have watched it more times than I’d like to share! I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did!

Mike and Jen

I am loving Ed Sheeran’s Give me Love right now! I hope you enjoy!

Stay southern,

We’re Married!

So we did it! We got married and went on our honeymoon! We’re back home now and are learning to navigate this thing called marriage. Please come along with us on this journey as we figure out what it means to be husband and wife in the twenty-first century! I plan to update more often as I now have more time 🙂 I have missed blogging and I am excited to share what’s happening with the new Arnold’s!

My sweet husband gave me a BOSE Bluetooth speaker as one of my wedding presents so I can blast my music anywhere in the house now! Neighbors beware! Right now I am obsessed with several songs: 
Miranda Lambert’s Mama’s Broken Heart 
Imagine Dragons- Radioactive 
Emeli Sandé- Next To Me 
Bruno Mars- Show Me
Shakira- Loca (which we heard everyday on the honeymoon!)

Stay southern,

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