Christmas Decorating

I absolutely LOVE Christmas! We decorated the weekend after Thanksgiving so we can enjoy our decorations as long as possible. We haven't done too much to our house since I last posted, but we have added crown moulding to the main rooms. I think it was a much-needed addition!

Our living room/dining room ready for Christmas!

We have a real tree in the living room and a fake tree in the dining room.

Bailey's stocking is front and center, of course:

Bailey's not quite sure of the Christmas tree, especially since it meant his chair got the boot: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We still exist - I've just completely fallen off the blogging bandwagon. I'm thinking of starting again in January. But for now, Merry Christmas!

Beach Vacation!

Michael and I just got home from a week-long vacation in the Seaside, Florida area with my whole family! We had such a great time - it was so nice to relax and spend time with family. We rented a house for the big group, which included my parents, both of my brothers, my sister-in-law, her mother, baby Gates, Michael, and myself!

Michael and I at the wine bar:

Mom and I:
Gates and me before dinner - I LOVED spending all week with him:
Michael and I at the wine bar again...

My family on Grayton Beach (minus Chris):

Michael and I on the beach:

Gates wasn't so sure of the sand...

Mom and I in Rosemary Beach the last night:

Gates is starting to walk - it's absolutely adorable:

Dad and I at George's in Alys Beach the last night:

Dinner at George's the last night:

One last shot of mom and I:

This trip couldn't have come at a better time! I finished my old job the Friday before we left for the beach and I start a new job at a Public Relations firm tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Our kitchen is finally finished!

We just added the finishing touches to our kitchen...finally! The final additions were window treatments, adding the above-the-range microwave, and crown molding to the cabinets! Here are some pictures (sorry for the poor quality, but I am definitely not a photographer):

I absolutely love how our kitchen turned out! We have done so much - we have painted, put in new granite countertops, replaces the hardware on the cabinets, installed hardwood floors, bought all new appliances, tiled a new backsplash, and the other items mentioned above. I really love cooking in here now - having an updated kitchen to cook in makes such a difference! Please tell me what you think!

New Porch Furniture

We are finally finished with the front exterior of our house! It's taken about 8 months, but we are finally satisfied with how everything looks. We bought some new porch furniture a few weeks ago, which was the final touch.

New chairs and table:

We also got a new address plaque (which has been blurred, of course), and Michael painted our light fixture black:

If it weren't so dang hot, we would probably be spending a lot of time out here!

To recap, since November, we have landscaped the yard, painted the house, added a new porch swing and furniture, and added accessories. I think we're going to relax for a while!

Greek-Style Pork Chops

I'm so sorry that I have been MIA for the past few weeks. Truthfully, I just don't have anything particularly interesting happening in my life right now (which is actually VERY nice not having event after event scheduled)!

I wanted to share with you this delicious recipe from Cooking Light. If you like Greek cuisine, you will LOVE this recipe! And at only 233 calories per serving, you can enjoy this meal guilt-free.

Greek-Style Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops
• 3/4 cup plain fat-free Greek-style yogurt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 1/2 cups diced plum tomatoes (about 2 medium)
• 1 cup diced seeded cucumber
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Combine 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, oregano, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and garlic in a zip-top plastic bag. Add pork to bag, and seal. Marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature, turning after 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, yogurt, 1 tablespoon dill, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk. Cover and chill. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Sprinkle tomato mixture with 1/8 teaspoon salt; toss to combine.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove pork from bag, and discard marinade. Sprinkle both sides of pork evenly with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add pork to pan, and cook for 4 minutes on each side. Remove pork from pan, and let stand for 2 minutes. Place 3/4 cup tomato mixture on each of 4 plates, and top each serving with 1 pork chop and about 3 tablespoons yogurt mixture. Enjoy!

LET'S GO USA!