Tuesday, July 30, 2013

"If I'm a bird... then you're a bird."

 
 
If the above picture is not obvious enough, then here it is in black and white:

I'M ENGAGED!

Ahhh!
I think I'm still in shock.
It was so unexpected and so sweet.
Nick did good, no he did AWESOME!
I'm going to be Mrs. Sara Eagle!
My initials will be SEE! (I always wanted initials that spelled out an actual word, haha.)
Peyton gets to be a flower girl!
Can you tell I'm excited!?

Alright, let's rein it in a little bit here, Sara.
I'm sure if you're reading this, you would like to know the when, where and how, right?

The when: Saturday, July 27th
The where: Our apartment. In our living room, to be exact.
The how: you guys ready for this? Here we go!:


The Proposal:
Saturday morning we woke up slow and lazily. Peyton wasn't awake yet (she must have been tired because she is normally awake before the both of us and climbing into our bed to snuggle). We were talking about houses and wondering how the few showings were going to go to later would be. Nick got up a few times to do things and I just stayed in bed.
Peyton must have woken up at some point while he was out in the living room, moving about.
All of the sudden, Nick came back to the room, took the frame next to our bed that we use to write notes to each other, and said "Peyton has a surprise for you!".
I was none the wiser.
"Okay!" I said, as I continued to flip through my Instagram feed.

A few minutes after that, Peyton came walking into our room.
She was dressed up in her little play wedding dress and veil and she was carrying the frame.
The frame read: "If I'm a bird... then you're a bird."

{Side story!: I'm sure if you're a girl, then you instantly know where that quote stems from. THE NOTEBOOK, duh. Allie tells Noah to say he's a bird and his response is "If you're a bird, I'm a bird." Well, Nick's last name is Eagle. Whenever he calls to make reservations or has to tell someone his last name, he says "Eagle, like the bird" --because for some reason people don't know how to spell Eagle.

Anyway, the first time we watched The Notebook together a few years ago, I realized instantly as Noah said that, that if Nick and I someday got married, I would be a bird too! Get it? Good.}

Back to the good stuff!
She brought the frame over and laid it on the bed and then proceeded to climb up and snuggle me.  I said "Awww, are you my baby bird?" And she nodded and snuggled in even closer.
At first, I didn't think too much of her being in her "wedding" dress because there are numerous mornings/afternoons/evenings where she requests we get her dress up clothes out so she can play.
{I can't tell you how many times she's played "wedding" with me or my sister.}
But after a bit, I thought to myself... "Hmmm, this is kind of odd... and I wonder where Nick is?"

So, I asked her, "Did Daddy Nick want to put your dress on, or did you?"
She replied, "He did."
It was then that I knew.
I didn't know whether to stay put or to get up... The shock had started to set in, I think.

At that point, she climbed off of me, more intrigued by the iPad sitting on the nightstand.
It was also about that point that, from the living room I heard, "Did she tell you what else she was supposed to say?"

I said, "No..."
Nick replied, still from the living room, "Well, come out here then."
I almost said, "Are you sure?" But instead I shakily stood up - still in my PJs might I add - and walked through the bathroom, out to the living room.

Nick was standing there, with his hands behind his back. A smile from ear to ear.
As soon as I got close enough, he took my hands and got down on one knee.
"Sara Elizabeth {My Last Name}, will you marry me?"
{Thank goodness he didn't say more than that, because in my state of shock, I wouldn't have registered any of it!}

Of course I said, "Yes!"
{At least I think that's all I said. Remember, I was in shock!}
He stood up. We hugged and kissed and I realized he had been holding the ring box.
It was beautiful. It is beautiful.
Peyton came out to see what all the hubbub was about.
She was the one who slid the ring on my finger with her tiny, little hands.


It was so surreal.
I still can not believe it.
WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!
The shock has not gone away yet, that's for sure.
I love so much how he did it.
The fact that he incorporated Peyton so well AND surprised me beyond belief...
Oh, he did so good.

Little did I know, my Mom and sister had been in on it the WHOLE time! They even went to pick out the ring with him. He even asked my dad!
I snagged a good one, I did. 

 
 
My nails were hid.e.ous! I had just recently painted them a weird combination of purple and teal with sparkles. As soon as I put the ring on, I vowed that I needed to change my nail color ASAP.
The only problem? I couldn't find the nail polish remover!
Luckily, my sister and mom were already on their way up {we were going to look at a few houses that morning} so they brought theirs up with them.
 



 
 
 
"If you're a bird, I'm a bird." 
I can't wait to spend the rest of forever by your side, Nick.
I love you.
 
 
 


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

clownfish and minions: our weekend shenanigans

I'm back! I'm back!

Vacation was so very wonderful, you guys. Seriously, I wish I could go back. I plan on doing one, or probably a few, recap posts in the near future... but I'm still going through the 4,000-some pictures we took! So crazy.

So, for now, I'll fill you in on what we did this past weekend! Granted, it wasn't super exciting by any means, but it was fun and filled with family-time.  Though, I am starting this recap on our last Wednesday evening because that night we crossed off one of the items on our Summer Bucket List!! {yay!} So, maybe this is more of a "what we've been up to" post rather than just a weekend dealio, but that works for me!


Wednesday:
We got ourselves a fish for our saltwater tank! Finallyyyyyyy. After 2 months of constantly checking salinity and nitrate levels and gathering our "cleaning crew" for the tank {aka: an emerald crab and a whole bunch of snails- including four "zombie snails"}, we could finally add some little fishies to it! So, Aunt Nenna and Rory joined us for a trip up to Petco where we made two little clownfish {and a teeny-tiny peppermint shrimp} our own!


Any time that Aunt Nenna comes over, I swear she is constantly plotting how she is going to sneak Rory out of our apartment and up to New York with her. {You can see them cuddling in the above picture.} :P
 
Blogland, meet our clownfishies. Clownfishies, meet Blogland :)
{Nick picked out Onyx and I chose Phoenix. Then, Peyton and Jen picked out the nicknames.}
 
 
 We spent the rest of the evening watching Despicable Me {preparing ourselves for our movie date to see the second one on Friday!} and eating ridiculously overpriced snacks from Sheetz {because we hadn't been to the grocery store yet since coming home from vacation}.


Thursday:
I broke down on the way home from work and purchased only the necessities needed to create some deliciousness in the kitchen. How did I do this, you ask? Well, by using Erin's recipe for Copycat Chipotle Corn Salsa and another copycat recipe for Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice. They were piled on top of each other to make magnificent chicken fajitas. Yum. Throw those together with some Rum & Coke with lime, and you have yourself a Mexican fiesta right there in your kitchen!
 
 
Friday:
via
Nick, Peyton, and I had a movie date! We went to go see Despicable Me 2, and it was so good! We snuck in snacks {popcorn, chips, and juice} and just enjoyed ourselves. The movie was super cute and I would definitely recommend seeing it! The only problem I had with it was that I felt that the movie referenced death/dying/killing a little more than I had expected, and Peyton is only 4. It just seemed a little too much sometimes.
 
After the movie, we went to SweetFrog for a sweet treat. Peyton picked the flavors and most of the toppings!
 
 
Saturday:
Saturday I had to work, but not til later that evening. So, for the morning, we all hung out together and just had a relaxing morning. Nick and I had thought about going to a bank to see how we would go about getting pre-approved for a loan... for a house!! That's right, you guys! We're gonna try to buy a house by the end of this year {key word: TRY}. However, since it was a Saturday and the banks aren't exactly open long if at all on Saturdays, we just didn't get around to doing that.
 
Instead, Nick, Peyton, and Rory went up to the pet store for supplies for our "zoo" of animals; and I stayed home to relax/catch up on True Blood/do laundry/etc. {aka: I just sat on the couch and watched True Blood, ha.}
 
Sunday:
I woke bright and early to go to a work meeting at the Pier, yay! Ha. After the meeting I had to stay to work for a few hours and then high-tailed it outta there to pick up my babygirl and go... grocery shopping! Just what everyone loves to do... not. Nick met us there so that made it a bit more of an enjoyable experience. This was the first time doing a legit grocery run since we got back from vacation... and we made it a big one!

After taking the groceries home, we headed down to my parent's house for yet another enjoyable night around the picnic table. I finally got a chance to see how my sister's garden has been doing. The last time I saw it was before vacation... It. Is. Booming. Like crazy. Check it out:
We then spent the evening eating corn on the cob, burgers and zucchini fresh off the grill, and drinks fresh out of the martini shaker. Also, my Grammy and my Great Aunt Margie {who lives in AZ} came up to visit!

 

 
Evening's like that are what being "home" truly means.
 
Ironically enough, my Dadda made a last minute decision to pack us all up and head to the local snoball/ice cream shop {it used to be a movie theater way back in the day} for a treat to top off the night. I say "ironically enough" because none of us were aware that Sunday was National Ice Cream Day!
Ps- I suppose this also counts as crossing off another one of our Summer Bucket List items - "Get a snoball, with marshmallow!" Although, I was the only one who got the snoball, while everyone else chowed down on ice cream. But hey, it works!
 
That about wraps it up, folks. We'll see what the future holds for us as far as loan approvals and house hunting! For now, I'll enjoy the moon-rises outside of our apartment:
 
 
Sami's Shenanigans
 




Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Away we go!

And we're off! 

I'll be missing around these here parts for a little while. Instead, I will be enjoying the Caribbean sun & water with these lovely people. See ya'll again soon!




Tuesday, July 2, 2013

sausage & hashbrown casserole

 
{This recipe is courtesy of Erin.}
I found this recipe while reading Erin's blog and thought: this is AH-MAY-ZING! Ironically enough, just a few days after she posted it, le boyfriend came home and said that he needed something to take to a "breakfast potluck" at work the next day. Well, insert happy-Sara-face here, because I immediately knew what to make!
 
Badda Bing, Badda Boom, I give you {well, technically Erin gives you} some delicious casserole goodness!
 
*Sidenote: I was going to label this "Erin's sausage & hashbrown casserole" but something about "Erin's sausage" just didn't sound right. Especially since Erin is a girl. And we're talking about food here. Okay, moving on...



First, gather all of your ingredients:
  1. 30 oz bag of hashbrowns - her recipe says to use country style ones {the chunkier kind}, but I prefer the shredded ones. Po-TAY-to/pa-TAH-to... literally.
  2. 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
  3. 1 can of French Onion Soup
  4. 2 cups of shredded cheese, your choice!
  5. 1/2 cup of red pepper and 1/2 cup of green pepper
  6. 1 cup of sour cream
  7. 1 cup of onion
  8. 2 pounds of ground sausage - I used 1 pound of hot and 1 pound of mild
  9. Not pictured: salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
  1. Chop up all of your veggies!
  2. Combine and brown the sausage
  3. Mix all other ingredients in seperate bowl
  4. Once sausage is browned, add to the mixture
  5. Spoon into a 13x9 baking dish/casserole dish {and a miniture ramekin for yourself since your boyfriend will be whisking said casserole off to work the next morning and you just have to try some right when it pops out of the oven!} and bake for 45-60 minutes at 350* -I baked mine for about 50 minutes
  6. ENJOY!

*Be warned: This makes a TON of servings. I couldn't even tell you how many, but I can say that about 1/4 of it is still sitting in our fridge {even after he took it to the potluck!}. I'm sure you could probably cut all of the ingredients in half to make a smaller casserole and it would still be delish!


That's all, folks!




Monday, July 1, 2013

our weekend.

 
This weekend consisted of:
  • Me, working... per usual.
  • Peyton trying on different outfits to pack for vacation!
{All poses are her own. And that last one? Oh lord, am I in  t r o u b l e  when she hits her teen years!}
  • Getting Peyton all packed and ready to go for Wednesday!
  • However, I am not packed and ready to go. How I am going to cram 10 days worth of clothes into a carry-on sized bag is a total mystery to me!
  • {Oh, and the numbers she has in a few of those pictures above? She was using my closet as her "dressing room" and about halfway through trying on clothes she peeked around the side of my bed and said "Momma, I need a number! You know, the one you hang on the door handle? So you know how much you have?" Ha! She never ceases to make me chuckle. So, naturally, I made her "numbers".}
  • Saturday night were the fireworks at a local Christian summer camp (that is set up like an old western town, so cool). We've gone almost every year since before I can remember and it is always so insanely packed with hundreds of people.
{that's my Dadda - not some random firework watcher.}
  •  This next picture is of the line for the funnel cakes. It. Was. RIDICULOUS. We waited for probably a good 45 minutes and barely even got close to the front. So sad. Hopefully we can cross that off our summer bucket list at the carnival this week before we leave!

  • I was so, so, so happy that we got to see fireworks this year! Since we're going on vacation over the 4th and to a British-owned island, I kinda figured we would miss out on that this year. But we were in luck! And of course, they did not dissapoint! :)

  •  Sunday was spent working early at "the Pier", going to the grocery store for some toiletries for vacay, and then spending the evening at my parent's house - relaxing in the hammock {& testing out my phone's panorama setting} and spending quality time with my family.


How was your weekend?
 

Sami's Shenanigans