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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year's Eve!

Holy ma-joly today is New Year's Eve! 2013 was a blur - a good one- but a blur nonetheless. Since Southern Komfort wasn't around to document every exciting event that happened in 2013, below is a recap of the major points in the year:

1. I had the opportunity to travel with my church to Honduras in the summer - Ah-mazing!! I do plan on going back summer 2014.

2. My sister started driving {with a permit} this year. Everybody get off the road and save yourselves! Kidding... she's a great driver :)

3. Hunter and I became youth leaders for our middle school and high school students in our church. I love them!

4. New friendships were made and some rekindled... That's always a blessing! Many grew deeper and I can honestly say I have some amazing friends!

5. At the end of February, I was hired on with the Florida Senate as a Journal Writer. I seriously love my job and the people I work with!

6. Hunter has still managed to put up with me ;)

7. We welcomed Jep into our family.

2014 is going to be a great year, I just know it. I can feel it in my bones. So much has happened in 2013, and many things were wrapped up {which is a great thing!}. 2014 will begin with an epic football game between my Auburn Tigers and my alumni FSU -- War Eagle! From there, I will be moving back into my house. Who knows where the wind will blow me from there.

I hope everyone is excited about the new year as I am, and I fully expect God to bless ya'll in many ways! Here's to the new year...

{image provided by Google}

Monday, December 30, 2013

Happy New Year Friends!!

Take the day to enjoy each others company and relish in a new beginning. Make lists of what you want to accomplish this year whether it's BIG or small. As always, smile each day because that itself is a blessing.




{image provided by Pinterest}
 

So many pretty things...

These last few days, I have started gathering things together, sorting through stuff, and weeding out what I need to move with... and what can be tossed. And let me tell ya, the pile to be tossed is so much bigger than the pile to keep. But hey, that's good!

I'm very excited for this next step in my life. For those who know my deeper story and struggles I dealt with a few years back {and for the last year}, this is a triumphant moment for me. I've been so happy these last few years, found a man I love so much, and this is just the cherry on top.

With this next step, I'm not feeling any anxiety or doubts. I know the good Lord has his best plans for me and they're just unfolding. I am, though, forever grateful for the humble abode my parents provided for me in my time of growing and regaining my feet on the ground. There truly is no place like home. 

With that, I urge any and all of my readers and friends to never be afraid to step out on that limb and take a leap of faith. Sometimes, being comfortable is not the way to live. Always challenge yourselves and know that with faith, you will survive. Think about it... The financial woes you faced, the heartache, whatever it may have been this past year... you survived it! I don't know about ya'll, but I attribute all of my happiness and joy to my King.

I'm beyond ready for this next chapter in my book. This post is dedicated to the folks who stood by me in my times of need, and loved me in spite of my flaws. Thank you for praying for me and I will always hold you near and dear to my heart.


xoxo

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Pumpkin Fudge

What a hit!

For Christmas, my gift to one of my brothers was a batch of pumpkin fudge. He had his first taste of this absolute amazingness from a recipe I made at Thanksgiving. A co-worker brought them for us to try out in my office and I was determined to try to master the dessert myself. Talk about a melt in your mouth, wonderful goody of yum {not going to lie, I ate about 10 squares throughout the day}.

With that being said, I wanted to give it a shot at Thanksgiving. I was nervous because I had never made this before; my family and our guests like pumpkin, but I wasn't sure how much pumpkin. Oh my goodness... IT WAS A HIT! Everybody loved it and asked to take some home!

My brother specifically requested this dessert as a present... That was all he wanted for Christmas! Since we all know I just love food, I wanted to share this recipe with my friends and fellow bloggers. Plus, it was a good enough excuse for me to try some too. You know, I had to make sure it was edible before giving it to my own brother. I can't poison him with my cooking; I was totally looking out for his well-being.... Right... 
Here's the recipe below, but if you follow this link you will find it here as well.

Note: I did not include nuts in this recipe. Also, the pumpkin part is under the chocolate part 


Hope you and yours enjoy this delicious dessert! Who knows, maybe this dessert will make another appearance for Christmas...
xoxo
Kel

Friday, December 27, 2013

Wait, it's Friday?!

This week has been a busy, fun, relaxing, family-filled week all rolled into one. I cannot believe it's already Friday... You know what that means! High Five for Friday!

1. Christmas, duh. I love Christmas and have had an amazing week with family and friends.

 2. Jep has been adjusting great with the chaotic lifestyle we have. He's such a goober!


3. I've had the opportunity to be off all this week from work (with the exception of Monday) and it's been splendid! Hence, why my blogging has been, for lack of a better word, lazy...

4. Some of my extended family will be coming into town today and I cannot WAIT to see them! We always have a great time being together eating, drinking, and being merry.

5. Ok, for the non-hunters, shield your eyes and stop reading at this point. This week is the opening week for "doe week". Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to go out to the woods yet (due to a precious little puppy), but hopefully Hunter will be able to "bring home the bacon".

I hope you all have had a fabulous week!!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

What's a perk of having a boyfriend? Two Christmases, duh.

I absolutely love every holiday that comes along because I get to spend them with two amazing families. Many times, mine and my boyfriend, Hunter's, families will combine our holidays and enjoy each others' company {I love that they like each other!}.

This Christmas I participated in Hunter's family Christmas lunch, and let me just tell ya, that was some kind of deliciousness. It should be illegal to eat that much...

After we stuffed ourselves full of goodness, we moseyed on over to mi casa to have Christmas dinner with my family. A perk that I absolutely love about holidays in my house {other than mountains of food} are my brothers coming home. It's so nice to gather around the table and just feel like it's the old times again.






I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

        The Grits Blog (Follow here!)// Southern Komfort (Follow Here!)// B. Britnell (Follow Here!)

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Happy Little Friday Everyone!


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Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!

We wish you a joyous and bright Christmas! Enjoy the day with your loved ones and let's remember this day, and always, as the day our Lord came.

True Christian Christmas

Christmas isn't showy gifts
Or glittering decoration;
It's honoring our Savior, Jesus Christ
In humble adoration.

It's serving those less fortunate,
Meeting their needs before our own;
It's making sure at Christmas time
That no one is alone.

It's taking what we would have spent
On things that no one needs,
And using it to help someone
With service and good deeds.

Our Savior showed us how to live
With charity, faith and service.
It makes the holidays a joy,
More peaceful, and less nervous.

So let's remember Christmas is
About our Savior's birth;
That's the way to happiness,
The way to peace on earth.
 
By Joanna Fuchs
{courtesy of PoemSource.com}
 

 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"
 
-Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863)
 
{image provided by Google}
 

Monday, December 23, 2013

He's here! He's here!

Jep has arrived!!

 
It has been less than 24 hours and we are already smitten with this precious thing. Manny LOVED meeting his new little brother, as well as the "grandparents". Here's some pictures to show how the day went!
 


 




Overall, it was a great day. I love my little family more than words can say and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us. All this love does a momma's heart good!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Corn Dip Recipe

OK let me preface this by saying this dip does look gross once all ingredients are mixed together. BUT it is sooo good! You'll just have to try it and take my word for it. This delicious gem comes from my sweet Aunt Jenny's recipe book - thank you for sharing with our family!

Are you ready for this super easy recipe?

Ingredients:

- 1 can of Rotel
- 3 cans of Mexicorn
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 cup of mayo
- 2-3 cups of grated cheese
- 1/2 diced onion

Steps:

1) Open all cans and drain juices; set aside.
2) Measure out the sour cream and mayo; set aside.
3) Dice your half onion - don't cry; set aside.
4) Find a big, adorable bowl.
5) Mix everything together.

Amazing right?! Did I lose anybody there? I know it can be difficult, but you will prevail my friends! OK, I'm a horrible person and didn't take a picture of this concoction to share with you fine folks, but below is an image I found on Google that closely resembles what the dip looks like (minus the green on top).



Enjoy!


Friday, December 20, 2013

What day is it?!

Frrriidaaayyy!!

 
Goodness, I love Friday's! It's been quite a busy week for this chick. Between work, gearing up for Christmas, visiting with friends, getting ready for Jep to come... I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off!
 
Despite the mad chaos, this week has been an amazing week!
 
1) Earlier this week, I grabbed some pre-work breakfast with Ashley at the oh-so-delish Chick-fil-A. Check out her blog!
 
2) Tuesday provided for an awesome and riveting bible study with some close friends from my church. I just love these folks! We ate, fellowship, and talked about the Love of our lives... What more could you ask for?
 
3) Let me tell you about my sister-friend, Tiani. Tiani is my K-Pop loving, multi-lingual speaking, God-fearing, bunk bed buddy in Honduras, fellow youth leader, goober of a friend. She has been afforded the awesome opportunity to attend University of Florida in Gainesville to further her education in bilingual studies. Wednesday, we had a surprise going away get-together for her, and honestly, I'm going to miss her awesome smile and kind soul around the halls of our church. I know she'll be back to visit on weekends here and there. Love you my sweet Tiani!
 
  
{image provided by Southern Komfort - Tiani and I in Honduras}

 
{image provided by Southern Komfort - Tiani teaching}
 
4) Thursday I had dinner with my sidekick, Kate. This girl and I, the world better watch out when we're together! I love and appreciate everything about her and her friendship.
 
5) Tonight, Hunter and I are joining some fellow youth leaders and newly engaged friends of ours. They are such amazing people and the kind of friends you want and need in your life. We cannot wait to enjoy dinner with them and celebrate their engagement!

 
**Bonus High Five: We get to pick up Jep this weekend!!!
 


Thursday, December 19, 2013

DIY Fabric Pine Cone

Growing up, my mother was always making little gifts or food goodies for our neighbors and friends. Lucky for all my friends, neighbors, and family, I have picked up her habits! Remember when I said I would share my secrets of the gifts I made this year for some friends? Well, here's one of the DIY gifts I made for some of my co-workers:
 
{image provided by Southern Komfort}
 
It's a very easy process -- Here's what you will need:
 
{image provided by Southern Komfort}
  • Ribbon that is an inch in width (with wire in it - this helps hold the shape later)
  • Styrofoam egg-shaped oval
  • Scissors
  • Straight pins
  • Lighter/matches
**All supplies can be purchased at any craft store.
 
The design:
 
1. Cut the ribbon in squares that are roughly 1-2 inches long (see squares in above picture).
 
2. Singe the ends of the ribbon to avoid any stragglers from coming out when you're pinning the fabric to the Styrofoam.

3. Pin a a square on the top and bottom of the Styrofoam oval so that the Styrofoam isn't showing on those ends.

4. Fold the square fabric in half, corner to opposite corner, to make a triangle.

{image provided by Southern Komfort}
 
5. Holding the Styrofoam oval so that the smallest end is down, starting at the bottom, pin the   triangle downward.


{images provided by Google}

6. Continue pinning each triangle around the Styrofoam oval, working from bottom to top.
 
7. Once Styrofoam is completely covered with fabric, you can either leave as is or make it an ornament by adding ribbon to the top of it.
 
I made my gifts as ornaments and pinned ribbon to the biggest side of the ornament (top) and attached a little charm to each one. The ladies loved them and they took less than 30 minutes to make each one.
 

Time for a Link-Up!

 























                                            The Grits Blog (Follow here!)  Southern Komfort (Follow Here!)





Rules are there are no rules! 





Please link-up to whatever you like! 





All that we ask is, if you wish, please follow us via the links above and that you link back to this blog - so that other's can join in and mingle! 





Happy Little Friday Everyone!





The Grits Blog












Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Welcome to our family!

Everybody... Say hello to Jep!

 
Is he not the most precious thing you have ever seen?! He is a Blue Tick Hound and is right around 6 weeks old.

Hunter's family so graciously got this little guy for him as a Christmas present and we cannot wait to pick him up. We will be picking him up Sunday from Dothan, Alabama... This week needs to kick it into overdrive. Like ta-day junior!

This is the only picture I have of him right now, but I will most surely provide more once we pick him up. I cannot wait for my other dog, Manny, to meet him! He's been needing a playmate for awhile.

{image provided by Southern Komfort}
 
If you would like to learn more about Blue Tick Hounds, check out this website!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Is it New Year's Resolution Time?

So driving into work today, my mind was spinning with all of the DIY craft ideas I am gearing up to do. I was getting all of my ducks in a row, so to speak. To help myself prioritize {{and to give you lovely folks a sneak peek of what's to come}} I have included a list below of my top 5 ideas that I will attempt to craft, and hopefully succeed. Here they are:

1) Palette headboard -- I have seen this before and I LOVE IT! I'm a vintage, rustic, country kind of gal so wood designs are my favies. I'm hoping it'll look a little something like this:
 
{image provided by Google}
 
2) Wood wall -- Again, going off the rustic feel here... I came across this the other day and thought "How stinkin cool is that?!" Therefore, I have a small area in the master bedroom of my house {just a couple more weeks until I move back into it!} that will boast this wood wall proudly. Heck, the deer mount even looks cute here! (Warning label: I am a hunter, I would like a couple of mounts in my home)
 
{image provided by Just a Girl Blog}
 
3) As I've mentioned before, I love to cook and I love food. My mother and grandmothers have more recipes than one can imagine and we're always referring to them. I thought (and saw an idea) how cool would it be to take a couple of my favorite recipes of theirs and frame them. These lovely ladies would make their debut in my kitchen:

{image provided by Pinterest}
 
4) My sweet friend Kate showed me a couple of cute ideas that I could do with mason jars:


 {images above and below provided by Pinterest}
5) Last and certainly not least (I'm the most excited about this craft adventure!), I will learn to sew. Imagine all the things I can do and make! We're looking at multiple pillows being created, table runners, kids clothes, you name it... I'm your Sally Homemaker! At this point, I cannot sew a button onto a shirt so I'm starting out fresh in the sewing world. Wish me luck... and the people teaching me too!

Monday, December 16, 2013

One Year!

Oh-em-gee!!
 
I just realized the other day that it has been a year since I proudly graduated from Florida State University with my Bachelor's in Marketing. Holy cow, time flies when you're having fun! Some of you reading this may be thinking "This girl has lost her ever-loving mind". I'll have you know, it took me SIX {read it people}, SIX years to get through college. It wasn't because I partied, didn't care, or struggled to pass classes - this chick worked full time while putting herself through college.
 
**Side note: I am FOREVER grateful to my parents and boyfriend for financially assisting me through my last semester in college. There is a special place in Heaven for all of you :)
 
With this big anniversary for me, I've decided to list 12 positive things that have happened in my life since graduating college. 12 things for each month I've been out... Come on people, math!
 
1) Sleep was afforded to me again and the little dark circles under my eyes have left me. Hallelujah!
{image provided by Google}
 
2) Unfortunately, at the beginning of the year I was part of a company layoff. However, I was able to land a career pretty quickly working with the Florida Senate. Tell me that isn't awesome?! If you're ever visiting the Capitol, stop by to say hey!
 
3) To make a VERY long story short, I legally won all rights to my house. What a great day that was! I will be moving into my home at the beginning of 2014 (it has been used as rental property), and I will most surely share my decorating adventures with you.
 
4) My boyfriend, Hunter, and I had the amazing opportunity to partake in a mission trip through our church to Honduras this past summer. I truly left a piece of my heart with the people in that country - summer 2014 cannot come fast enough!

 
{images provided by Southern Komfort Blog}
 
5) Upon returning from Honduras, Hunter and I jumped on board as being leaders/helpers for our church's middle school and high school youth groups. Talk about a whirlwind! But I love every minute of it.
 
6) I have had some amazing friendships come to fruition this year! I love each and every single person that has come into my life - thank you for putting up with my quirkiness!


{some of the ladies supporting our men's flag football team}
 
7) My sister is driving... Watch out world! In all seriousness, she's a great driver. Slightly heavy on the gas pedal, but hey, aren't most of us??

{my sister after getting her permit - isn't she presh?!}
 
8) My Auburn Tigers have somehow miraculously made it to the National Championship. They will be playing my Alma Mater, FSU. Man oh man!
 
9) My sidekick is doing great and still spoiled rotten! Adoption alert: We may be adding to our family soon so that Manny can have a buddy to play with. Updates will come!

{Manny being a goober as always}
 
10) My family is doing great and no unfortunate, surprise health issues thus far. God is so good!
 
11) Bragging time: I have watched Hunter become the man God intends him to be this year. He has always had an amazing heart and I've always loved him... But with his new found relationship with God, my love for him has grown deeper in ways I simply cannot describe. His heart for his Lord and others is undeniably contagious and fulfilling to be around. I cannot wait to see what great things are in store for him, and us as a couple.

{We're special, we know}
 
12) And finally, I'm just entirely excited to see what 2014 has in store for me. I know that there are big things to come... and I'm ready.