We're MOVING!

Bare with me over the next couple of weeks as we purge, pack, sell, and move to a new home.

With our home under contract, we set out on a search for a home in Fayetteville for our family.

We put an offer on three different homes. Apparently, the third time IS the charm, because the third home turned out to have almost everything on our list.

Our list looked somewhat like this:
Cute home, possibly in need of updating. On a quiet street with big trees. Large lot. Garage and/or shop for all of Chase's tools. Priced well because we were looking to lessen our mortgage payment each month.

That's about it really. We didn't have huge expectations because we want to personalize and update the home ourself.

Here's the road that led us to what we believe a great neighborhood and home for our little family right now.

Home #1:
A cute cottage. 2br (ACK!) 1ba (DOUBLE ACK!), but on a HUGE lot with pretty trees, and beautiful hardwood floors and lots of character.
Upside: it was super cute and we could see our little family loving it there, although our family would have to stay little to not outgrow the home too quickly. Also the price was killer.

Downside: It was small... 1,000sqft small and was on a major road (15th Street) which meant no teaching Connor to ride his bike on the quiet street.

Our amazing realtor advised us that the house would be hard to resell, (which is true), but would make a great rental or maybe storefront for photography. It had an offer, so we submitted an offer quickly because of the price and cuteness factor. Fortunately for us, our offer was declined! We were then led to our next property...

Home #2:
A cute 70s ranch in need of updating on the inside, but with charm and a cute exterior! (we had cute plans in mind!!) 3 br, 1 1/2 bath, and a super large lot.
Upside: The neighborhood was amazingly cute, with tall trees and sidewalks on each side of the street.  This property was also within walking distance of Butterfield Elementary, which we loved!! The location was superb, even though the house was still a little small. 1175 sqft.

Downside: There was a lot of updating to be done, and the lot backed up to a daycare, even though it was a huge lot.

We really liked this house, and found out there was a cash offer  (although lower we think than they wanted to get for the home, because they were countering, etc..) but we submitted an offer anyway. While waiting for them to decided, we decided to not wait, and check out literally one of the last homes available in our price range that we were interested in.

We are super glad we did!!

House #3:
Adorable 90s ranch-ish style home. 1350sqft 3br, 2ba.
Upside: almost 1/2 acre lot, privacy fenced backyard. A covered back patio, and covered patio off the master suite. Super clean and well maintained. My favorite.... covered front porch that runs the length of the house. It's also at the end of a cul-de-sac, on a super adorable and quiet street with lots of big trees and character. The houses don't look the exact same! It's also .5 miles away from Happy Hollow, which I have heard, and read, is a fantastic school! It's also the only home we looked at that had a fireplace.. and it's wood-burning/gas!

Downside: We will be removing popcorn ceilings and painting just about the entire inside of the house before we move in. This is kind of an upside though, because it will feel so personalized after we are finished. Also the updates are all ones we can do for a relatively inexpensive cost!

We loved the house, so we made an offer and withdrew our offer on the other house! While there was a bit of drama incurred on our part from the seller, we sat tight and let our awesome realtor sort it out, and eventually our third offer was accepted and the contract signed by both parties!! The seller is a sweet older woman, and we believe she was just having a hard time letting go of her lovely little home. We understand, and although we were very stressed at the time, are very thankful!

So, that's the story about how we found the home that we will be moving into in just three short weeks!!

On our timeline over the next 2 1/2 weeks is:

-Purging all unnecessary junk
-Packing!! Packing!! Packing!!
-Garage sale at our house on FRIDAY!
-Scraping ceilings, mudding ceilings, painting ceilings, walls, trim, cabinets... and so on!

It's going to be a wild ride, but definitely an adventure.

{ Frittata | Recipe }

I have actually never read a recipe for a frittata so I have absolutely no idea if my version is anywhere near what a frittata actually is, but it's pretty tasty.

I'm fairly certain a frittata involves eggs, and a frying pan, or *saute pan* in our case, and baking. It can also include a various assortments of toppings and fillings from what I understand!

It's like a quiche but minus a crust! (more calories- which I'm not actually looking for right now, but is tasty!)

This recipe came about because I really like omeletes.

Like a lot...

But I cannot make an omelet to save my life. The bottom always ends up too done, and then it tears when I try to fill and flip it. It's just bad.

I'm sure the more professional cooks out there have tips and tricks, but that's so not me! ;)

Tomato-Mushroom Frittata

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/8 C shredded cheddar
3 T milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 T diced fresh tomato
3 T diced fresh mushrooms
3 T diced canadian bacon (optional)


Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400*.
2. Coat or spray a small saute pan (only pans that are oven safe!!) with oil of choice and turn burner on medium-low. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Whisk together.
4. Add vegetables, meat, and cheese of your choice. (I used tomato, mushrooms, and canadian bacon because we had it on hand. Wilted spinach, artichoke hearts, and bell peppers also are a nice addition!)
5. Mix and add to heated saute pan. Run spatula around the edges, and tap in the middle to distribute the egg mixture in the pan. 
6. When bottom and sides become firm, but the top is still runny, turn off the burner, and insert the entire pan in the oven.
7. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until egg becomes firm.
8. Remove from oven with an oven mit, and fold the frittata and slide to a serving dish. Or slice and serve from the dish if you prefer.

Top with desired toppings. My favorite is FAGE Total Greek Yogurt (plain) and a little cheese.

Enjoy! Comment below with your favorite fillings or tips!! LOVE hearing how others make their favorites!

Rejected

So I may have mentioned that our house is now under contract.

If not:

Our house is under contract!!!!

We have had such an amazing experience with our realtor Jason Smith.
He is so honest, and so easy to work. You just feel well taken care of!

This being said, he had our house under contract with our second viewing! Which was surprising and scary and thrilling all at once.

This means that we close in about a month on our home, and need to have a place to live by then.

I have been so thankful for Chase (even while he's been sick with the stomach bug I had last week) he reassured me that the right home would be there for us when we need it.

We made an offer on a home two days ago and it was rejected. Now, this home was super cute as a home, but the location was not super cute. It was right on a major main thoroughfare. We were rationalizing that it was within our budget, and we could possibly use it as a studio later or something of that nature. However, it wasn't going to be an investment property.

That apparently wasn't suppose to be how it goes down, so we're scouring all the listings again, and have a few hopefuls!!

I've had this picture in my head of a cute house that we can slowly renovate to suit our taste on a quiet neighborhood close to a great school for C, because sheesh.. before we know it he will be in school. Maybe some big trees and close to a park even. All of those = $$$. So we'll see where we are led!!

I'm so thankful for all of my friends that have been keeping us in their prayers though. We've felt them!!

Tell me, what do you look for in a home/property when buying?

{ Homemade Chicken & Dumplings | Recipe }

One of my all-time favorite meals EVER has to be Chicken and Dumplings.

I've used the same recipe for as long as I can remember, and usually just "wing it." I tried to be a little more calculative tonight, and wrote down some of my measurements.

With the pending Ice-pocalypse (hah) tomorrow, I figured a good soup was in order.

My dumplings are courtesy my Mamaw, who made terrific dumplings!


Here's my recipe:

Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:

(Soup)
32 oz chicken broth
2 chicken breasts
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups water
2 T corn starch
1 C milk

(Dumplings)
3 C flour
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 C milk

Directions:

Boil water, and add chicken breasts. Simmer until chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken, save water. Shred chicken. 

In a large soup pot, combine chicken broth, salt. pepper, and left over chicken broth and shredded chicken. Cook on low while making the dumplings.

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Sift together. Cut in softened butter. Add milk and gently mix together. Press out with fingertips on a lightly floured surface. Cut into strips, or use a miniature biscuit cutter to cut dumplings. Add to hot broth. 

Cook for 10 minutes or until dumplings have puffed in size. 

Combine corn starch and milk, and then add slowly to soup. Cook a few more minutes longer, and then remove from heat. Mixture will thicken more after cooling.

That's it! A super simple, and wholesome Chicken & Dumplings. Now go buy yo' eggs, and buy yo' milk, and make some dumplings before the impending doom-storm hits.

{ While You Were Out | Printable }

So, last week my dear friend Jessica sent me a couple photos of printables for your babysitter with the text:

"We need cuter versions of these."

Jessica, I'm trying to rise to the challenge!!

These are first generation, and might need some revisions, but I'm up for a challenge.
We usually have the same babysitter, and with her, Connor's routine is old hat.

However, I made this up just in case we need it for when she moves off to college. *sniff sniff*

So, the quality is a little compressed from this file, but if you'd like the PSD or JPEG version, just leave me a comment with your e-mail, and I'll send it your way!