Beginning the New Year

Hey y'all! We are now 5 days into 2017, and it has already had a great start!

2016 wasn't the best year, but at least it ended well! Nathan's parents were in town, and when they are here, we always have a blast! New Years Eve day was full of fun at the Museum of Appalachia. Although it was a chilly day, it was perfect for walking around taking pictures! The entire area was abandoned due to the cold weather, so we had the place all to ourselves.

After spending all afternoon at the museum, Cancun's Mexican restaurant was our choice for dinner. Yum! We had our margaritas and delicious food.
To stay awake till midnight, we played games like Exploding Kittens and Phase 10!
Midnight finally arrived, and we brought in 2017 together!

January 1st was spent relaxing before getting ready to go to Breakout Knoxville! We chose the Casino breakout game, and broke out with 6 minutes left to spare! We were teamed up with another family of four, so it helped having the extra brains! Our success picture ended up sticking the image on my face, but oh well! Hehe :)

January 2nd, the group of us went to the Knoxville Gun Range to shoot some targets! We had fun, and all did a good job! I look forward to going back!

This morning was chilly, which made it perfect to bake some delicious pumpkin muffins! I haven't baked in a long while, it was wonderful to finally make these again! The recipe comes from Skinny Mom blog - Skinny Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I doubled the recipe and used to boxes of cake mix, 30 ounces of pumpkin, and 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce. 

My KitchenAid mixer makes baking a million times easier!

Today we actually had our first flurries of 2017! I can't wait to get some real snow though! :)

I hope everyone had a fantastic New Years celebration! 2017 is going to be amazing! 

Question Time!

* How did you bring in the New Year?

* What are your goals for 2017?

* What are you most looking forward to in 2017?

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Him

Valentine's Day will be here in 5 days! This cute little holiday is fun to celebrate, whether you are celebrating your admiration and love with your partner, family, or friends.

Sometimes it can be difficult finding that perfect gift to give to someone you love. As much as I enjoy the usual sentiments, something a tad bit personal means much more. Valentine's Day gifts don't have to be expensive or elaborate, as long as they are from the heart, it truly is the thought that counts.

Nathan knows that I get a kick out of Valentine's Day, and he always makes an effort to celebrate the holiday with me! (Just one of the million amazing things I adore about my hubby). This year, he made plans way ahead of time, and a dinner reservation at one of the best (in our opinion) restaurants here in Knoxville! I cannot wait!

Of course, I have a funny card to give to him but I want something else to give to him as well! So, I have been contemplating different gift ideas for him! Listed below are some gift ideas that I think would work well for any guy!

Valentine's Day gift ideas for him:

* Lottery tickets - with a card that says "I won the lottery when I fell in love with you!" (a little cheesy, but effective! Plus, it's a win-win if he actually wins the lottery)!  ;p

* A new board game, or a game for his console

* His favorite beer (or liquor) & a pack of nice cigars

* A few tools that he could always use

* Gift card to a local gun range

* Personalized chess set or poker set


Nathan loves when I make my pumpkin spice muffins, so I thought it would be cute to make some heart shaped muffins in this silicone muffin mold that I found at Wal-Mart! I figured it would be sweet to make him a delicious treat!  :)

The only ingredients you need are:

1 box Duncan Hines spice cake mix

 4 oz. Unsweetened applesauce

15 oz. Libby's canned pumpkin

Fisher chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the cake mix, applesauce, and pumpkin into a mixing bowl - (I used my KitchenAid mixer instead of mixing by hand).

Mix for about 3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and smooth.

Pour mixture into molds (or cupcake pan), top with chopped walnuts, and bake for about 30 minutes! Do the toothpick test to make sure they are done!

These muffins always turn out perfectly!

Ta Da!!  <3  Enjoy!

Questions:

* Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

* What gifts would you suggest to give to your partner?

* Think back, what was the most meaningful Valentine's Day gift you received?