Frugal Friday!

Today has to be the most beautiful day in Birmingham in months!!! There is not a cloud in the sky, and it's only in the 70's! I can't think of a better way to celebrate a Friday than by taking Scarlett to the park this afternoon and going to the Ladies ReCreate Conference at our church tonight. I am so excited for this event, and the best part is that most of my LIFE Group is going too!

I thought I would make this Friday even better by sharing one of my favorite recipes. It's not really a recipe to be honest, but it makes a delicious quick meal on a budget!

All you need is:

1 Can black beans, drained

Taco sized flour tortillas

1 Can Rotel, drained

1 Pouch Mahatma Yellow Rice

Your favorite freshly grated cheese

Cook the rice according to package directions. When rice is cooked, add a few spoonfuls of Rotel. In a skillet, heat the black beans then add remaining rotel, cooked rice, and cheese. Fill the tortillas with the mixture. It's simple and magical!

If I'm feeling wild, I'll saute peppers and onions or squash and zucchini and add to the tacos, but most of the time I just stick to the basics!

Frugal Friday!

There are many words to describe me and "fashionista" is probably not one of them! I can blame this on several things...I am way too frugal to buy trendy clothes every season, I prefer classics that I can wear forever, and I don't possess the required physique to wear most fashion forward clothes. With that being said, I think I know how to look good, and I stick to the classics I love and add trendy items by way of accessories. Maybe one day I will have all the money in the world to spend on my wardrobe, but until that time comes, I'll keep shopping with a budget in mind. This is my style on a $50 or less budget! If you want to check out a true fashionista, head on over to my friend L.A.'s blog.

Weekend Wardrobe on a Budget by brandimcgreevey featuring metal jewelry

Why Oh Why Do Weekends Fly By?

It's Sunday evening, and another great weekend that has flown by once again is coming to an end. Boo! Our weekend started out with adventures in babysitting. Yep folks, Michael and I successfully made it through our first babysitting gig. We technically babysat for an hour, but it was our own little adventure with a very very cute little boy named Eli.



Eli is almost 6 months old, and I cannot believe how this little guy's life has already flown by. Jamie and Eric went out to eat while we hung out with him and took him on a walk. I love this picture of he and Michael. It's too bad that my camera didn't catch the sweet potatoes that Eli spit up on Michael just after I snapped this. 10 minutes in, and Michael was already gagging and changing into his second shirt!



Eli is so sweet! He was perfect the entire 60 minutes! Scarlett loved him too, and he had a lot of fun with her. She of course loved to get in his face, and he laughed every time she came close.
She snuck a kiss while I was taking their picture.



We got up early on Saturday and drove to Atlanta to spend the night. Michael had the weekend off, and we thought it would be fun to take a little roadtrip. First things first, we went to Ikea for some shopping. My mission was to get a new mirror for our dining room, but I came up empty handed. Instead, we left with a new colander and silverware. Very exciting, huh? We left Ikea, checked into our hotel in Midtown and walked to Tin Lizzy's Cantina, which is where the University of Tennessee Alumni meet to watch UT football games. I can't tell you how great it was to see all that orange in one place! We met some really nice UT fans who let us sit with them, and although we lost, we had an amazing time!



This morning, Michael took me to Atlantic Station so I could do some more shopping at H&M. I scored some really cute fall clothes for cheap, and even better, I used my Visa gift card I won last week at our company picnic. I only paid $3.16 for 5 tops!

We ended our little trip with brunch at The Silver Skillet. Michael and I have made it our mission to find dive restaurants that have been featured on the Food Network's Triple D. The Silver Skillet was delish!!! It's a tiny diner with some major soul food, and no one can go to this place expecting to stick with a diet!

After eating, we headed home to see our little baby in Birmingham, and we have been chilling out at home ever since. It's 12 hours until work tomorrow, and I just can't help but wonder why weekends have to fly by so dang quickly!

Here Lately...

Here's what's been happening lately in the McGreevey household. Please try to contain yourselves from all of the excitement of our oh so fabulous lives! :)

On Friday, I found out one of my girlfriends was pregnant! I can't count the number of my friends who are moms or are soon-to-be-moms on both hands anymore. There are five wives in our mutual group of friends. J has a baby, and L, N, & K are all pregnant. And then there's me...the childless one! I won't lie...I threw a pity party for myself, not because I want a baby but because I don't want all my mommy friends to forget me. I'm over it now (and I know Michael is saying "Thank Goodness"). I'll just focus my attention on being the favorite aunt!

Saturday was a busy day. Michael and I scored some free breakfast grub from Chickfila and squeezed in a breakfast date before he headed to work. I attended my company picnic at the Birmingham Zoo for lunch (and ate again...whoops), and I scored a $100 gift card. I watched football all afternoon. GO VOLS!!! Friends came over for dinner, and we headed to bed.

On Sunday, I cried like a baby at church because of our September 11 commemoration. I cannot believe it's been ten years! I vividly remember getting ready for class that Tuesday morning in my Abercrombie model bordered dorm room. I watched the second plane crash on live television, and I thought I was watching a joke. That day, a young man on my college campus yelled "Praise Allah" in class and was beaten by a young female student. Class was cancelled.

On Monday, I signed into Yahoo, and the number one trending subject was Psalm 46. I was beyond happy to see a chapter in the Bible as the most popular search rather than Jennifer Anniston or Justin Bieber. President Obama read Psalm 46 during his September 11 prayer service, and millions of people were searching the passage on the web. You cannot tell me that God does not have a plan and out of every tragedy He has a divine purpose!

On Monday night, I went to my second LIFE Group Meeting. This group is full of women my age, and I am so excited to see what God has in store for me. Every week we enjoy dinner and ministry, and I am so glad the group meets on Monday because it is the perfect beginning to the week.

On Tuesday, I finished The Help. What an amazing book! I laughed and cried so many times, and I am dying to see the movie. I identified with Skeeter so much, and I want to meet her in real life. My only complaint is how the book ended. I wanted more!

Today, Michael and I decided that we have a very conservative ghost haunting our apartment! Every time we turn on the tv, the channel is turned to Fox News. Every day I come home to Fox News, and no we don't leave the house with Fox News turned on for Scarlett to watch! I don't know what's going on, but I guess a conservative ghost isn't too bad, just as long as he only sticks with changing the TV!

Well...we don't lead the most exciting lives, but that's what has been going on lately! I hope everyone is having a great week!

So That's Why They Call It "Labor" Day

I'm a couple of days late, for good reason (thank you Tropical Storm Lee), but I hope you all had a fantastic Labor Day and ended your summer with a bang! I wouldn't really call my holiday weekend exciting, but there was A LOT that went on the past few days! Michael was a ghost around here because he worked his behind off to get ready for Samford's first football game, and on Sunday, he took a guys trip to Tennessee to raft the Ocoee River. I didn't get to see him until Monday night around 10 pm :(!

Michael wasn't the only one in this family working this weekend. I had several projects to tackle that I have wanted to complete, and this place needed some cleaning! I was also a single parent, and I had to make sure I gave our baby some extra love!

Scarlett and I spent Saturday afternoon at the park. I let her swim a little, but her fun was quickly interrupted by a Doberman named Draco who fell in love and wanted to play with her! She didn't like him very much! Ha!



I made some time for a girls' night on Saturday and met my friend Jessica at Cocina Superior. Isn't she so pretty? I tried my first skinny margarita but made up for it by eating my weight in salsa and chips while we caught up and had a great time together!



On Sunday, the monsoon called Lee started, so the baby and I stayed in while I worked around the house. I potted three new plants, washed 5 loads of laundry, reorganized the same closet for the fifth time, moved furniture, and I redecorated too! That's always the fun part!

This shelf sits in our "entry way," and it just doesn't make me happy. It's too dark and doesn't serve a real purpose, and I was on a mission to change it!



I didn't change too much, but I added more white to the shelf and a new basket that serves as a catch all for our mail and keys. I am thankful to not walk in the door anymore and see all of our belongings cluttering the table!



So what was Scarlett doing while I was working around the house? She was longing for the rain to stop, so she could go on another walk! The poor baby didn't realize she still had 24 more hours to go before her next walk.



As I said in the beginning, I would have written this post sooner, but our electricity went out on Monday at 5 pm right before I started to get ready for my first Life Group Meeting! Yep, I took a shower by candlelight, put my makeup on outside under our covered balcony, and went to my group with my wet hair in a bun!

Our electricity finally came back on yesterday, but our cable was still acting crazy. It's really crazy how difficult it is to go without electricity and cable. We are so spoiled!

Lee left us with some cooler weather, and though I hate to see summer go, I am enjoying the beginning of fall. I hope you all had an amazing Labor Day that was a lot less work than mine was!

It's GAME DAY!

It's finally that time of year that we all look forward to! The 2011 College Football Season has officially started! I would give anything to be in Neyland Stadium tonight cheering on the VOLS, but it looks more like I am going to be sitting in front of the tv tonight instead. Michael kicks off his season at Samford against Georgia Southern today. I don't see him too much these days, and there is no chance of that changing until the season is over.

It doesn't matter if I'm laid up on the couch watching football or yelling my face off in the stadium, I love this time of year! The VOLS are who I cheer for first, but I will always love the Razorbacks. The Hogs have a chance to play a winning season again, and I can't wait to see what both teams can do this year!

I'm just happy to decorate my front door with a little team spirit!



It's nothing special, but I think it's cute! Just wait 'til I pull out next year's wreath when I have a year of crafting under my belt :)!

Cheers to a fun and exciting football season! I hope this year proves to be exciting as always!