Ultimate Blog Party - come on in!

Hey gals! If you've hopped over from The Ultimate Blog Party, welcome! I'm all about finding more and more blog friends, so I thought this sounded so fun. At first I wasn't sure if non-mommas were allowed, but they are, so here I am! Hosting a *party* and talking about myself... is there anything more fun?

OK so a little about me... I'm a 30-year-old Southern girl, married to my hubby of 5+ years and living in the Atlanta 'burbs - Buford, actually. People here always bark about the "Buckhead Betties" so I decided I'll be a Buford Betty - you know, bring some city chic to my little redneck 'burb. I've been in the Atlanta area since I was 2, so it's pretty much all I know. The hub and I have three precious pooches (in case my banner didn't give that away). They're our babies and we are nutz over them. Yes, nutz with a *z* - that is especially nuts. We've been trying to get preggers for roughly 2 1/2 years now - you can see all the details of that hot mess on the right. It's of course been a big struggle for us, and it certainly gets harder as time goes on, but we never let it slow us down. We know it's gonna happen when it's meant to - so for now we're just living up our time together as "just us" - because y'all know that goes out the window once tots are in the picture!

You can really read up on what I'm about here - some of my quirky habits and whatnot. But in general... I'm very girly. I like pretty things. I like wearing pretty things, making pretty things... yep - super girly. I love all things preppy but I like to throw in a little mod and funk in there too sometimes. I think fashion is all about fun and I just love it. I'm definitely an accessories girl. I'll cringe at spending more than $8 on a tank top, but I won't think twice about dropping cash on a new Kate Spade bag or some killer shoes. Well that's if I'm not on shopping hiatus (which I totally am right now and it sucks).

Besides my hubby and dogs, one of my biggest thrills is spending time with my beloved girlfriends. I can't imagine life without them. They're all so different and unique and I'm a better person for knowing them all. I truly treasure my relationships with my girls and I get in as much girl time as I can. You can actually catch my bestest girl here. She's fabulous and you'll agree, I'm sure.

As for things I like to do... I love to throw a party and I usually enjoy the planning process more than the actual party. I have my own invitation business so that keeps me busy in my spare time. I work with a lot of brides, which is super fun because I love everything about weddings. I love trying fun new restaurants - my parents have always kinda been foodies, so I take after them on that for sure. I'm not at all outdoorsy. The idea of hiking or camping sounds like pure torture to me. (Probably something else I inherited from my parents.) I'm also a big home-body. I love going out to dinner and meeting friends or going on a date with the hub, but often my ideal evening is lounging on the couch with a glass of wine and the remote.

That's me in a nutshell really... a large nut. As for my little party here, I will share a yummy crockpot recipe that we tried out this week and LOVED. I found it on Spark People and immediately tried it. Very low cal and very yum-o (my favorite combo)...

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Stew

1 onion, chopped

1 16oz can black beans

1 16oz can kidney beans

1 16oz can corn (drained)

1 8oz can tomato sauce

2 14.5oz cans Rotel

1 packet taco seasoning

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix everything together in your crockpot except the chicken. Lay chicken breasts on top and cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Before serving, shred the chicken and stir in. Great served with sour cream and cheese in a bowl. Or with chips or even as taco filling.

Yeah the hub raved about this one. It's definitely spicy with the Rotel - so if you want to take it down a notch, substitute one of the Rotel cans for a can of plain diced tomatoes. I just had the leftovers for lunch today. Mmmm.... I do love me a good crockpot recipe!

Well thanks so much for popping in to my little party! Please leave a comment if you're a newbie - I'd love to visit you, too! :-) Have a great week and be sure to drop by again!