Home of the Roses

We Bought Land! Now What?!

March 8, 2023 No Comments

Hello my friends! It has been awhile. Needless to say I have been busy! We have had a lot of life changing things happen in our family. Starting with selling our home that we lived in for 8 years! Summer of 2022, as I was driving away from my Mom’s house, I had this grand idea to sell our house. We’ve been wanting to move for years but it just never seemed like the right time. I mean is it ever?! So this brings us to, we bought land and now what?! But with a whole lot of craziness mixed in! Y’all remember the crazy housing market in 2022?! Even if you weren’t selling or buying you remember. Houses were going for $60K over asking, selling within 2 days and so on! I remember dropping my kids off at my Mom’s house and pulling out of the drive and having this overwhelming feeling that we should sell our house! Call it crazy, call it God’s voice, whatever it was my brain just went wild with ALL the ideas! By the time I made it home I was dead set, 100% all in, no looking back! However, there was that “little” […]

Baking, Bread, Recipes

The Ultimate Banana Bread

December 5, 2018 No Comments

I have made this bread prolly 100 times! It never gets old. And chances are if you are close to me you have received at least a loaf or two! It’s a giftable bread! 😉 So that’s why I call it my Ultimate Banana Bread. Every time I shop I buy about 8-10 bananas. They go pretty quickly at my house. But it’s a general rule if you see 2 or 3 bananas left you leave them alone. You let them get ugly and brown cause that means Mom will make banana bread. My family LOVES banana bread. It maybe last 1 day! So I make it often. I started off using a yum recipe from Paula Deen. As you can see this page is well loved. I honestly think that is a dried piece of banana!! But over time I have created my own recipe. I start off using this exact recipe. However, I’ve added in a few extras. I only use two bananas. For me, using three just makes it a little too “banana-y”. I also add in cinnamon and my secret ingredient, maple extract. It adds such a yummy flavor and goes great with the cinnamon. I […]

Chicken, Chili, Crockpot, Recipes

Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili

February 15, 2022 No Comments

This page may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here. So this post makes me oh so happy! Y’all I love me a crockpot and chili! Two of my favorite things about winter. Was scrolling one day through Facebook and a similar recipe popped up. I thought “yum” and took a screenshot. Remember our brief snow storm a few weeks ago?! Well this was the perfect time to try this Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili! I have tweaked the recipe from the original post I saw to the one I made that one snowy night. And YUM YUM YUM!! This chili is so creamy and such a nice spin on traditional chili. So there’s not a whole lot to this chili. I mean the crockpot does all the work! Hence one of the reasons I love them so much. You just dump it all in and let the magic begin! Let’s talk chicken for a second. Y’all know I love the chicken tenders from Crowd Cow but for this particular chili I am using this Tyson Grilled and Ready Fully Cooked Chicken Breast. If you have not tried this, you need to. It saves me SOOOOO much time. And I […]

Beauty, Fashion, Inspiration, Jewelry, Products

Why Park Lane Jewelry? And why I said yes to direct sales.

February 2, 2022 No Comments

Direct sales companies get a lot of bad rap. Sometimes it’s the people and sometimes it is the company it self. A few years back I dabbled in a DS beauty and skin care company. I LOVE LOVE the products but I felt like a “party of one”. Very limited training and resources. Which eventually lead to me throwing in the towel. Fast forward many years later, why I decided it was the right time for Park Lane Jewelry and why I said yes to direct sales…again. At the end of last year, a good friend of mine sent me a text inviting me to a Park Lane Jewelry party. I immediately googled and got on their website. I loved what I was seeing but noticed it was a little pricey, but like a good friend I said “yes” to attending her online party. Never had I even heard of Park Lane, but I like me a partay so it wasn’t much of an arm twist! 😉 The online party consisted of a few days of party posts, where we learned about the beautiful jewelry and customer sale, which by the way is AMAZING!! Then the stylist went LIVE on […]

Baking, Beauty, Health, Products, Recipes, Snacks

Collagen Oat Anytime Bites

January 26, 2022 1 Comment

This page may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here. So a few months ago, me and my bestie were gabbing over dinner. I love that we can talk about everything from leggings, kids, counseling (pretty sure I need it) and some how ended up discussing intermittent fasting. What is acceptable in terms of not breaking your fast by increasing your insulin release, blah blah blah. And I mentioned something about my collagen peptides and she said she doesn’t add them to her coffee for that reason. What?! We need to fix that! So that’s how I came up with the Collagen Oat Anytime Bites, so that you are still able to enjoy the benefits of intermittent fasting AND get your collagen intake for the day. Cause you can eat them ANYTIME!! I LOVE my Vital Proteins Original Collagen Peptides. Collagen is so important for your skin, hair & nails, joints, etc. The number one cause of wrinkles and fine lines is collagen loss! WHY GOD WHY?! (insert Joey’s crying face) So get it in, when and where ever you can. Besides in my coffee this is my next favorite way… COLLAGEN OAT ANYTIME BITES For this recipe I used […]

Beauty, Fashion, My Home, Products

Best of: Walmart. My Top Must-Haves for 2022!

January 12, 2022 2 Comments

This page may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here. Let me just start off by saying I love me some Walmart!! I live about 0.6 miles from one! I am there at least 2-3 times a week! So when I thought of doing a “best of Walmart” post it was a no brainer. Here are my top 10 must-haves for the new year. I love that Walmart has really evolved over the last couple years. Before you just bought food and essentials. Now it’s a bit of a one stop shop. They have really upped their game in the clothing department. My Walmart even has the fun $1 section in the front like Target. None of these products have any rhyme or reason, they are just products that I have tried and love. So here we go… FERNSYes, the plant! I LOVE ferns! They are perfect all year long! Walmart has the best ferns hands down! They are huge and healthy. So with Spring approaching I highly recommend grabbing them as soon as they come out. For under $15 a piece you cannot go wrong. I have purchased ferns from Lowe’s in years past and I swear my plants […]

Crowd Cow, Holidays, Recipes, Thanksgiving

Sausage Cornbread Dressing and Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms!

November 18, 2021 No Comments

This page may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here. Today we are talking all things sausage!! The turkey can’t get all the glory. So I am sharing two of my favorite dishes for Thanksgiving – my sausage cornbread dressing and sausage stuffed mushrooms. They are sure to please your hungry guests! Are you a stuffing or dressing lover? I wasn’t really either until I met my husband. His Mom makes THE best cornbread dressing! I try to replicate it, but it just isn’t the same. So I have come up with my own couple versions. I do a very simple cornbread dressing and then I also jazz it up from time to time with a sausage dressing. SAUSAGE CORNBREAD DRESSING This recipe is super simple and easy. I use just the store bought cornbread. Then for the sausage I use my go-to, Crowd Cow, their sweet Italian sausage has just the right blend of herbs and spices. Alright so we are going to start with the cornbread. You can make your own but I use the good ole 52 cent brand! 😉 Make according to directions. Then add in your spices – sage, rosemary, salt and a pinch of […]

Baking, Christmas, Holidays, Recipes, Sweet Treats, Thanksgiving

Sweet Pecan Pie and No Bake Apple Pie Cheesecake

November 10, 2021 3 Comments

This page may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here. I love Thanksgiving dinner. It is one of my favorite meals of the year. My family keeps it pretty traditional. Over the years we all have all fallen into our “designated” contributions. And one of mine is pies! I mean prolly the best part of the meal! 😉 So today I will be sharing two of my favorite Thanksgiving desserts: my sweet pecan pie and no bake apple pie cheesecake. The pecan pie is a staple. It’s taken me YEARS to perfect! My brother-in-law is my ultimate tester. He gives me good feedback every year. Then I like to mix it up for the rest of the pies. Sometimes I do pumpkin pie, I think I made chocolate cream pie last year. This year I decided to reintroduce my no bake apple pie cheesecake. I tried a ton of pecan pie recipes. For me it’s finding the right consistency on the “guts” or inside of the pie – not too runny but overcooked. But I have finally settled on a recipe that I have used over the last few years. The taste is spot on and the consistency is right […]

Makeover, My Home, Projects, Reveals

Sitting Room Makeover: My Mirror Wall Upgrade

October 26, 2021 No Comments

This page may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here. So a little back story on this room. I have lived in my house for almost 8 years and have tried numerous times to come up with a plan for my sitting room since day one. It’s technically the dining room, but I flip flopped the spaces because it made more sense to have a large dining room table for entertaining than a large sitting space no one would probably use. So hours, then days, then years turned into my Sitting Room Makeover: My Mirror Wall Upgrade! Shall we began… I initially wanted to tear down the mirror and maybe install wallpaper. However, I’ve spent thousands of dollars removing the old dated wallpaper in my kitchen and bathrooms so I was VERY hesitant to go down that path. Especially when you open up a wall do you ever really know what’s underneath/behind it all?!! So many, many years went by… Then one happy day my sister sends me a text! You will hear me reference her a lot. She sends me a ton of inspiration! My sister saw in a magazine how the oh so talented Shannon Claire transformed this […]

Crowd Cow, Recipes

Shrimp and Rice Skillet with Roasted Bell Peppers

October 20, 2021 No Comments

This page may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here. Do y’all remember Sandra Lee? She used to be on the Food Network. She had a show called Semi-Homemade. It consisted of exactly that. Sandra also would whip up a themed cocktail! Maybe that’s where I get it from! 😉 So I think she would be pleased with my Shrimp and Rice Skillet with Roasted Bell Peppers. Part of it is out of a box, the other half fresh! Semi-homemade for the win! This dish is PACKED with flavor! The rice plays a huge part. Zatarain’s Yellow Rice is my jam! It’s got that New Orleans flavor and goes perfect with shrimp, chicken and sausage. Then adding the onion, garlic and roasted bell peppers really makes it extra. Of course my shrimp comes from my fav, Crowd Cow. You do not have to worry about it cleaning or deveining it. I think that’s where you lose people on shrimp. It doesn’t have to be dirty or gross. In fact clean and delicious! For this particular order we got a smaller shrimp – Wild Caught Gulf Shrimp. I used about half the bag. I thaw in water for about an hour […]

Cocktails, Halloween, Recipes, Tablescape

My Adult Halloween! Day of the Dead meets Candy Inspired Cocktails

September 29, 2021 No Comments

This post originally started off with fun and spooky sweet treats for the kiddos. Then I realized they will get about 12 pounds of candy! Who needs a rice krispy treat with an eyeball on it?! So that is how this turned into My Adult Halloween! Day of the Dead Meets Candy Inspired Cocktails! I had a really fun time with this one! I don’t really decorate much for Halloween. My kids beg me every year to do scary, but let’s face it. Never gonna happen! Halloween night is usually a pretty long night!! Too. Much. Sugar. And why do the kids have to have all the fun!? It got me thinking – I want to create a fun slightly spooky, definitely themed, night for us parents. We deserve it! It always starts with one inspiration piece. In this case, it was a gift bag! Y’all this WHOLE table cost me less than $20!! Gotta love the Dollar Tree. I purposely used all plastic and paper ware. I mean who wants to clean at the end of the night. Keep what you want, throw the rest away! I loved these Day of the Dead gift bags. So I just cut […]