Sisters are one of God's best ideas

I was very blessed to have my mom, dad and my sister Amy come stay with us for Thanksgiving. They drove all night on Tuesday to surprise me at 6am on Wednesday morning, which gave us a whole extra day together!

We cooked....


And ate....

And molested a turkey....


And cuddled with puppies.....


And shopped....

And played games (I won!)....

And watched movies....

And cuddled some more with puppies....


And threw cupcakes all over the floor....


Okay, so maybe that last one wasn't on purpose, and maybe Amy didn't find it too funny, but how can you not laugh when someone drops a dozen half baked cupcakes on the floor? What else are sisters for?

What I've been up to while I was away....

Celebrating my Grandma's birthday in Florida:




Loving on a few of my favorite people....



Eating at the Big Ice Cream Cone....



Hanging with the extended family....



Visiting my sister-in-law in New York City:

Blasting out my eardrums at the Eminem/Jay Z Home and Home concert...



Enjoying every single second with my sister-in-law.....



Singing all the words in every Jay Z song, even the bad ones (sorry, Mom!)....



Trying not to geek out when I saw Brad Goreski from The Rachel Zoe Project at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week....



Meeting celebrity dogs.....


Tasting every single Baked by Melissa flavor and not feeling a single bit guilty about it....



Taking a weekend road trip to Knoxville to cheer on the Vols:

Inviting my sister on a last minute road trip....


Making flip cup a family affair.....


Eating gator stew for dessert....


To see the rest of our month-of-vacations pictures, check out my Flickr.

Sugar High

If for some reason, you should find yourself saying, 'Self, we really ought to send Sara a present, but what shall we send her?', allow me to gently point you in a sure-to-make-Sara-smile (and-gain-twenty-pounds-that-she-won't-even-care-about) direction:

Baked by Melissa

Holy mini-cupcake heaven. I want them all. One Two Five of every flavor.

What I learned from my sisters

- She who showers last will shower fast...cause there isn't any hot water left.
- You snooze, you lose...the last brownie, the front seat, whatever. See also #1.
- Each successive sister has it easier than the last. This is the only case where it sucks to be first.
- If you are doing something you shouldn't be doing, at least one sister has likely seen you do it.
- Said sister will use this knowledge to her advantage the next time she snoozes and loses.
- Your underwear drawer is the only safe place to keep chocolate.
- I will always have three best friends. And they all have the same last name.


Today I am thankful for....sisters who are not above bribing each other with cupcakes if it gets all four of us in the same place at the same time.

I love you, girlies! Can't wait to see you in just 24 days!

Love, Ruh

The Fantastic, Magical World of No Calories

I was happily eating inhaling a Qdoba Naked Burrito the other night when I thought to myself: I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.

Which got me thinking - if I could only eat five meals for the rest of my life what would they be? Assuming calories are no object, of course!

{Image found here}

1. Qdoba Chicken Queso Burrito & Dark Chocolate Brownie - I was reluctant to try Qdoba when we first moved here. It seemed weird to me. Who wants to build their own burrito? Turns out, THIS girl loves to build her own burrito. Like, at least once a week. When Nate asks where I want to go for dinner on a weeknight, 9 times out of 10 the answer is Qdoba.

{Image found here}

2. Petro's Chili and Cornbread - Petro's specialty is chili over Fritos with all the fixin's. OMG. Best stuff ever. Too bad for me, we now live six hours away from the Knoxville-only chain. Probably good for my waist-line though.

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3. Chili's Triple Dipper Platter with a Frozen Raspberry Margarita - Many Friday nights you will find my happy butt parked in a booth at Chili's. I never get tired of that place, even though I order the same thing every.single.time - Triple Dipper Platter with chicken fingers, sweet buffalo boneless wings and the oh-so-scrumptious Southwest eggrolls. I split it straight down the middle and eat the second half for lunch on Saturday. Two for the price of one!

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4. IHOP Stuffed French Toast w/ a side of pancake - Yet another place I don't get to visit nearly often enough. Their french toast is stuffed with vanilla cream cheese. Makes me go all gooey on the inside just thinking about it. But no trip to the International House of Pancakes would be complete without at least one pancake. A short stack of 3 if I'm feeling really ambitious.

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5. Starbucks caramel macchiato and a cupcake - Because in my world, coffee is a meal. And a cupcake is just, well, icing on the cake.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Hello, Lover

It is entirely possible that I have died and gone to heaven.

It's no secret around here that cupcakes are my kryptonite. But really, it's not the cupcake that gets me - it's the icing.

I don't know what it is about icing that makes it impossible for me to resist. I will eat it by the spoonful straight out of the can, squirt it directly into my mouth from the tube, and I've even scraped the icing off and ditched the cake just to 'save' a few calories (HA!).

Nate thinks this makes me a weirdo.

But now I have proof to the contrary! Clearly there are others in the world just like me. Others who would like nothing more than a spoonful of gooey, sugary goodness sans the crummy cupcake part.

Icing lovers of the world, UNITE!

Who's up for a trip to Miami?

If girls had wet dreams....

...this would be mine. 96 cupcakes, 7 cans of frosting and the perfect excuse to indulge myself.

Confessions of a Blog-aholic

Leah over at Thinking Out Loud tagged me with this meme awhile ago but with all the work insanity lately I haven't had a chance to do it. Since today is all about doing anything to avoid housework taking it easy, I am catching up on fun internet stuff and watching all the trash TV I've Tivo'd in the last two weeks.

Step 1: Respond and Rework.
Answer the questions on your own blog. Replace one question that you don't like with a question of your own invention. Then add one more question of your own invention.

Step 2: Tag six other un-tagged people!

1. Make a list of things you can see without getting up.
Two desks, two computers, my camera, receipts to be put in the check register, and a venti caramel machiatto from Starbucks.

2. Favorite Football Team.
University of Tennessee Vols and Indianapolis Colts




3. What are you wearing now?
My work ‘uniform’ – purple track pants, a striped tank top and a purple track jacket (I am a little obsessed with purple this season!)

4. What's the last thing you read/are currently reading?
I just finished Nicholas Sparks’ latest book, The Lucky One. I liked it well enough but not as much as some others, like Dear John and The Notebook. Next up is James Patterson's Cross Country.



5. Who was the last person you hugged?
Nate, earlier today when he came home from work. Yes, he was at work on a Saturday. Boo. We like to hug longer than necessary because it drives the furbabies bonkers for us to hug each other!

6. What's your current obsession/addiction?
Job hunting. I have also developed an unhealthy addiction to gummy worms lately. The red and white ones are my favorite.



7. What was the last thing you said aloud?
Oliver, you’re so silly – to Oliver, the dog. Yes, I talk to my dogs as if they are (very small and furry) humans.



8. What was the last thing you bought?
Technically it would be Starbucks and groceries, but that's a pretty boring answer. The last non-essential stuff I bought was a lightweight gray sweater and a bright pink scarf, both from The Limited.

9. What are you listening to right now?
The sound of my heater warming my feet and Lola snoring.



10. What is your favorite weather and why?
Sunny Autumn days, when the leaves are just turning and there’s a little crispness to the air. I have no idea why I love it, I just do. I missed the beautiful Tennessee colors this year. Indy doesn’t even come close!

11. What is your most challenging goal right now?
Waiting patiently to become a mother.

12. Say something to the person who tagged you.
Leah, I miss you making it fabulous every day! Bring back the clothes! We want to see how you dress your cute little bump as it gets bigger.

13. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Charleston, SC – It’s close to home and I have always loved the city. There is a mile long list of places I’d like to visit all over the world, but very few that I’d want to settle down in.

14. Favorite vacation spot?
A tropical island with all expenses paid. We’ve done it twice and it’s the best type of vacation. Not a care in the world and all the mimosas your little heart desires.



15. Favorite children's book ?
Anything by Robert Munsch

16. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you.
Just one? Who made up that rule? I would say Starbucks, but since that’s the only way I ever drink milk, I can make a valid argument that Starbucks is actually good for me. So I guess I will go with cupcakes. Show me a fluffy vanilla cupcake with a mountain of icing and I lose all semblance of self-control.



17. What would you do if you won the Lottery?
The Dance of Joy, of course! Then I would tithe 10%, buy Nate an Aston Martin, and then invest the rest and live off the interest.

18. What was the first tape or CD that you bought for yourself?
I don't have the slightest idea what the answer to this question is, so I will replace it with this one:

18. Do you sleep with the covers on or off?
I always sleep with the covers pulled up to my chin. When I was a kid, I used to think that if every single part of my body wasn’t covered by the sheet, someone would chop off the protruding parts while I slept. Yes, I was a strange little kid. It must be a subconscious thing now because I am never comfortable without a sheet or blanket pulled over me.

19. Describe your perfect day.
A spa day with my mom and sisters, a little shopping in the afternoon with my Daddy-o and dinner at the Melting Pot with Nate.

20. What is your favorite accessory and why?
I have to agree with Leah on this one, I am currently rocking the scarf on an almost daily basis. It adds a little pop to any outfit and keeps me toasty warm too.

21. What is the accomplishment you are most proud of and why?
I am probably most proud of my career accomplishments. I went from being a lowly fleet coordinator to managing $40 million dollars in under four years. I am still trying to figure out how to convey the magnitude of this in a resume format. ‘Hire me, I kick ass’ just doesn’t seem like it will work.

And my added question:
22. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I tag these eight people:
Joy in the Journey
The Bleeding Heart
Honesty is the Best Policy
Count to 10
Consider the Lilies
Pink Polka-Dotted Dreams