Niagara Falls

On our way to Boston, we made a stop at the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. The falls were in my top 10 places (okay, maybe top 20) to see...I got to check it off the list :)

This is a picture of the guys-we were trying to find a way to get near the falls and walked about 1/2 mile before realizing this road went nowhere close to it...

Tip: Parking near the falls is $15. While driving around looking for a cheaper place to park, we noticed a few cars parked on the side of the road with their flashers on. If you want to just get out of your car and spend 5 minutes or so at the falls, this is the way to do it. We just had one person sitting in the car at all times in case the police came around...you know, because we had already been stopped at the border  (long story-my boss gave me pepper spray to use if need be in Boston...little did he know in Canada, pepper spray is illegal...so we ended up having to go through customs. That put us on edge the entire ride through Canada).

Don't ask...apparently they were excited to see the falls???

Tim loved Canadian money lol

I absolutely loved Niagara Falls. Tim and I would love to go back in the summertime (when the sun is shining) by ourselves for the weekend and stay at a Bed & Breakfast, go on the Maid of the Mist, see a rainbow!...etc. 

My brother's growing up...

Today is Jacob's 18th birthday. I am SO proud of the man he's become. Jacob's actually finishing up his first year in college, but he's still "technically" a senior. Last week, we did a quick senior photo session-I'll be posting more once the weather gets better and him and I can take more-we only had like 10 minutes for these! I'd love taking some by Lake Michigan.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Sunday morning muffins

I'm starting Sunday morning with chocolate chip and blueberry (separate) muffins, green tea, and some Mindy Project :) I'm still not over whatever sickness crap I got from Boston so I've been taking it easy....and it's been awesome! By the way, in the picture on the right of Tim, he's nodding his head because these muffins are d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. You can get the recipe HERE

This whole weekend has been relaxing. Friday started out with only working 7 hours, which always makes Fridays great :). I also started reading one of the books I got from Tim for Christmas (I'm a procrastinator) called "Happier at Home".

Awesome book. If you want to feel inspired, read it. Every time I read one of Gretchen Rubin's books, I take a few of her ideas and actually use them in my own life. They truly make a difference. 

After I got home from work, I made barbecued chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and biscuits. Delicious. And for dessert? Snickerdoodles. Mmmmmmmmmm...Tim and I then picked his dad up from the airport-he had an important interview in Pennsylvania for a job that will literally change his life. We're so excited to visit them :) He's going to hear in a couple weeks if he got the job, but the guys in the interview really want him working there, so here's hoping!

On Saturday, I did something I've been meaning to do for like 6 months...I took 5 boxes of clothes and whatnot to the Salvation Army and like 50 magazines to the library for people to take!!! It felt great to be rid of those items. Seriously. Each weekend, do ONE thing to simplify your life. Don't make a huge list-you'll most likely not accomplish everything and regret it. If you only have one important thing to tackle though, you'll do it. I felt so great getting rid of that stuff that when I got home, I went through our TWO junk drawers. Now you can open them and they're only like 1/4 full. It feels AWESOME!

Tim went to a surprise birthday party for one of his friends and didn't get home until 2am, so I had the house to myself. I made fish and carrots, broccoli, and snap peas fried in butter and olive oil for dinner (Tim HATES fish). I also watched some old episodes of Rookie Blue, one of my favorite summertime shows :) It starts back up in May!

Today includes watching Tim play Defiance (a video game) and me going on Pinterest to look for wedding ideas...enjoy your Sunday!

Soft Pretzel Bites with Cheese Sauce

These are like the worst food pictures ever. But I promise, they're really good. Not like mall pretzels, but they're not bad for being homemade :) Recipe can be found HERE. I think I'm going to try a different recipe next time. But, one of my New Years Resolutions was to try new recipes, so at least I accomplished that :)

This was Tim when I asked him to smile with a thumbs up…I've gotten used to these faces...

Beautiful, right? :) Don't let this picture be the deciding factor on if you want to make these pretzels.

By the way, the cheese recipe, in my opinion, calls for twice the amount you really need. I just threw out a bowl of it…what a waste. I guess I should have eaten more cheese.

the BEST chicken alfredo sauce

This is THE BEST chicken alfredo sauce. Seriously. Why, you might ask? Um, because it has heavy whipping cream, a whole stick of butter, and cream cheese in it? Duh.

These aren't the most delightful pictures, but it's kind of difficult to make sauce look great. And of course, I didn't take an after picture with the sauce on the chicken and pasta BUT that was because I already ate it. 

It's THAT good. You can find the recipe HERE:

Yes, I felt a little disgusting making this. But once you eat it, you'll feel better. I promise.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...