Awww Spring Break. Eleven glorious days of relaxing, resting, reading, cooking, spending time with friends, and eating. I have enjoyed every minute of it. Here is a recap of my many adventures, along with some new recipes too. Enjoy!
Adventure # 1 Thursday, Aaron and I took a little trip to the "Bike Shop". Aaron's bike needed a tune up and he's had his eye on this shop for a while. I sat in the car while he took his bike inside. He came out completely amazed by the knowledge of the owner. I think he has found a bike shop. It sure is fancier than any I've ever seen.
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| Thursday night we enjoyed our pizza. Homemade stuffed crust pepperoni and BBQ pizza (thanks Laura Ashley for the recipe). We enjoyed pizza, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and the new James Bond movie. |
Adventure # 2 A man's meal right here. Our dear friends Chris and Elizabeth Sirven recently moved from one duplex into another duplex here on campus. Aaron helped them move most of their stuff on Tuesday, but I was able to help on Friday, with the unpacking and organizing. Elizabeth and I had a blast putting everything away in the kitchen and then going through boxes of old pictures and memories. While we were organizing, the guys were cooking dinner. It was DELICIOUS. The top plate is Aaron's and the bottom plate is mine. After stuffing our faces, we retired to the living room for some lively conversation. We had such a wonderful time with our dear friends.
Adventure # 3 Saturday our friend Malorie enlisted the moral support of Aaron and me as she went to purchase a new car. It was a fun and painless experience. Always glad to help out a friend.
Saturday, Aaron and I attend church (now that we are back in our newly renovated campus, we can go on Saturday nights). I'm not sure I have the correct words to describe the service. However, the highlight of the service for me were the baptisms. As the baptisms were taking place the congregation continued to sing. From where Aaron and I were standing we couldn't actually see the baptisms but we knew when something had happened because there was an eruption of applause. My heart simply filled with joy knowing that another person had just made the best decision of their life, accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior and then following with baptism, a public display of their decision.
Adventure # 4 Aaron and I spent our Easter Sunday a little different than we traditionally have in the past. We spent the morning making sure that everyone that came to church at The Summit was properly taken care of, by volunteering. Aaron parked cars and directed traffic and I handed out bulletins, pens, and lots of "Good Mornings" and smiles. Through this process I gained a deeper appreciation for the dedicated volunteers who do this job every week. I loved that while the service was taking place we gathered in groups, praying for hearts to be opened to what God was doing, to be bold and have confidence to actually take action and follow Jesus. I was truly blessed through this entire experience.
We then came home to a home cooked, non traditional Easter lunch. Honestly neither of us could really figure out what we wanted to Easter dinner so I just made what we had. Beef Stew,
Spoon Rolls, and
Banana Pudding with Homemade Custard. *I'll share the recipes. Sunday afternoon naps were a must afterwards.
Adventure # 5 Green Smoothie - I had tried one of these at Laura Ashley's and it was delicious. So when we went to the grocery store Saturday I made sure I picked up some spinach. Aaron and I enjoyed a nice HUGE glass Monday for lunch.
After my smoothie, I decided to take a walk to the park and read. My mama had recently loaned me a book for my kindle and I was dying to get to read it. It was a beautiful day. I found a bench in a quiet spot and read for a good hour and a half. If you are looking for a good read, let me suggest the "Chop Chop" series by L.N. Cronk.
Adventure # 6 As I have mentioned before I have a sweet friend in my small group who can not eat gluten. Now I do love to cook sweet treats but sadly she can't ever eat them because they all include gluten. So when I saw these at Walmart the other day I thought: "I can make Heather some gluten free rice krispy treats". And that is just what I did. Pretty tasty too.
Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad is what was on the menu for tonight's dinner. It was delicious, nutritious, and oh so filling. NOTE: We mixed the dressing on our individual salads because I knew I would have extra, that way the salad wouldn't get all wilted. I think this would make an excellent wrap as well.
Adventure # 7 For any one that knows me very well, I really don't like shopping, especially for myself. I'll set out with great intentions but most of the time come home empty handed. I can talk myself out of an outfit faster than anyone. So when Spring Break rolled around I was bound and determined to get some new spring outfits but knew that I couldn't do this alone. Since my mama doesn't live near by (she is a wonderful shopping buddy) I asked my dear friend Elizabeth. I had a budget and I knew that if I just listened to Elizabeth I would get some super cute outfits at some unbelievable prices. I was not disappointed. We spent Wednesday shopping. *side note: I love shopping in the middle of the week, no one is out. I got some super cute outfits, saved an extra 20% at Old Navy because Elizabeth was bold enough to ask if there were any coupons or specials, saved 15% at Ross because there was a small stain on a dress (SHOUT IT OUT) and I still have half of my budget to spend at a later date.
Hint Hint - I feel another girls shopping trip coming our way.
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| So grateful for this sweet friend. She is a true blessing. |
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| We were getting a little silly and tired at this point. What a great day! |
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| So much fun trying on clothes that my "personal shopper" picked out for me. |
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| We had a survey, buy a dozen get a free glazed dozen for free. |
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Here is our selection. I see a pattern here, LOTS OF CHOCOLATE!!!
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Adventure # 8 So Thursday was a super relaxing day. It rained all day, Aaron was feeling a bit under the weather and I read ALL DAY!!! So far I have finished three books over Spring Break. So several weeks ago Aaron and I stopped for a donut and when we got our receipt it had a survey on it. If you buy a dozen donuts you get a dozen glazed donuts FREE!!! So after dinner we texted our dear friends Chris and Elizabeth to see if they were up for the adventure. They were. We went and chose our donuts. We each got to pick three of our favorites. Two chocolate covered creme filled and a lemon filled for me. We went back to their house, had coffee, ate donuts, and chatted until late into the evening. We have so enjoyed this week with them (their sweet kiddos are visiting the grandparents and they were missed). Aaron and I had some leftover donuts for breakfast the next morning. Super yummy!!!
Adventure # 9 Friday was a super lazy day! Lots of reading and relaxing. Once Friday evening rolled around it was time for some exploring and good eating. Chris, Elizabeth, Aaron and I headed out on an adventure, to see downtown Raleigh and eat at
Chuck's (a place that had been recommended to us). We had a fantastic time and I would highly recommend eating at Chuck's if you are looking for an AMAZING hamburger. We saw several other places we would like to visit as well.
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Top Burger - Bear in Heaven - Wills' Way - Mine
Bottom Burger - Spirit Animal - Aaron |
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| Because a date is not complete with something sweet. |
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My handsome date for the evening.
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Adventure # 10 Bright and early Saturday morning, Aaron and I left Wake Forest, headed north to the state of Virginia. We were going to spend the day
working at Dr. Black's farm. Who is
Dr. Black? I'm so glad you asked. Dr. Black is Aaron's Greek professor at SEBTS. Aaron has thoroughly enjoyed being taught by Dr. Black and even more so enjoyed learning the Greek language. Anyway, Dr. Black owns a farm in Virginia that will be used as retreat/refuge area for pastors and families, youth groups, or elders' retreats. Aaron and I, along with several other students worked diligently all day clearing paths, chopping logs into firewood, pulling weeds out of flower beds, planting bulbs, painting, stripping furniture, hauling and putting together beds, putting gutters on the guest house, and whatever else needed to be done. We also enjoyed fantastic food and fellowship with Dr. and Mrs. Black.
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| Just look at this view. |
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| Some of the older building near the guest house. |
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| The guest house. |
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| Aaron and the guys working hard. |
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| Aaron staining the shelves he built to go inside an entertainment center. |
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| My project. Ashley and I painted this well. We also washed the front porch and stripped the finish off of a dining room table. |
Adventure # 11 Aaron and I have spent our Sunday relaxing. I was able to try some new fillings in a pizza crust I've used before and finish another book, bringing the grand total of 4 books read over Spring Break. I feel extremely rested after my break and ready to start back to work.
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| Cinnamon Rolls - using the same pizza dough. |
Looking forward to our next adventures. Until next time...
