Catch-Up/Catch-All

October 22, 2015 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

Today’s post doesn’t fit in any little category…Not Thirsty For Christ Thursday, not What’s Up Wednesday…Perhaps, I should just call today Catch-All Thursday – Because there’s a lot going on with this post-er’s brain today and I’m gracing you with my presence and scatter-brained monologue.

You’re Welcome.

~~Someone~~ Several of you have reached out to me, oh so sweetly, and said you miss the regular posting on this blog. I can’t tell you how much that warms my little heart. Thank you for the love and for sharing it with me! Sometimes the day just gets away from me…Ever happen to YOU? 🙂

So to catch you up on the Lifestyles of the Not-so-Newlywed Lefebvres, we shall begin with Minnesota. You all know we traveled to Minnesota for the baptism of our beautiful Goddaughter, Charleigh Mae:

Miss Charleigh is so adorable! We are so excited to watch her grow up and honored to be her ‘spiritual parents’. If you haven’t had a chance to read about the absolute miracle that Charleigh is, go back to this post to read Dani’s story!

While in Minnesota, we also got to spend time with our beautiful little niece, Eden:

Isn’t she just precious?? I’ll give you one guess as to who bought her that shirt… 😉 It might just have been a Georgia grad and her husband. 🙂

Miss Eden particularly liked her Uncle Craig – She just couldn’t take her big beautiful eyes off of him – I don’t blame her! 😉

We took some fun family shots will we were up north, too:

We also made a trip to the Foshay Tower in Downtown Minneapolis, which is an especially special spot since that’s where Craig’s grandfather proposed to his grandmother. #swoon

While we were there, we found this vintage photo:

And decided to re-create it, with a modern touch:

I don’t think it’s half bad! 🙂

Since we have been home from Hawaii and Minnesota, our enormous moving truck from Maine arrived – We are officially completely in Georgia! Although, in our tiny rental house, we are overgrown with boxes now and have completely filled one room from floor to ceiling with boxes, not to mention the entire garage, all the closets, and one POD – which is now at the storage facility. I just keep telling myself…In less than a year, God-Willing, we will be alllll settled down in one place.

We celebrated a little bit by returning to the restaurant Craig and I went to on our third date…

I’m so glad we made it past that third date…not our best. 🙂 I truly married the most amazing man in the universe! #sorryladies

And when we haven’t been busy, we have been thoroughly enjoying the arrival of our treasured bikes from Maine! Yay!!

We did 16 miles this past Sunday, in under 2 hours. Not bad for the ‘non-serious’ casual bicyclists.

And I’ve been baking/cooking, too:

I made this lasagna from scratch (well, the noodles came from a box – but otherwise…) for Craig to take on this week’s trip. I just love to cook! I wish I had more time to do it and more calories to devote to eating the food I make!!! #alas

And this past weekend, Craig finally got to join my side of the family for University of Georgia Homecoming to enjoy his first ever SEC Football experience and Georgia game! We had an absolute blast!

Daddy & Craig 🙂

Mama & her BFF from Law School – in deep legal discussion, I’m sure! 😉 #precious

My little brother & his lovely girlfriend

And us! 🙂 (Notice the super enthusiastic man behind us… #photobomb)

And in other news, I spoke last night to a beautiful group of women at St. Francis Catholic Church in Cartersville, Georgia. Honestly, I just love love love sharing my faith journey with other people! If you are part of a group you’d like me to speak to, just send me a message! You can visit my ‘website’ here for more information, and links to some recent events.

Well, I think you’re now all caught up with us. 🙂 I promise to be better at blogging in 2016. I’m excited to put all of our suitcases away (and boxes too, soon!) and begin to nest again, as we get fully settled back in Georgia.

Food For Thought Friday

A Quick Fix Delicious Chicken Dinner

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Happy Friday Y’all!

Sad to say, I am NOT feeling well…still…but at least I am home today, with my sweet husband. Always looking for that silver lining… 🙂

As promised, we have a DELICIOUS recipe for you today. It’s simple and easy to make, and you can easily alter it based on your own personal taste!

Because we love spice, we chose seasoned pepper, and red pepper flakes as two of our seasonings. Also, we used a spicy relish in addition to the heirloom tomato and roasted red pepper. Seriously, this was a DELICIOUS dish, and easy to make after getting home from a long commute and a long day at work! 🙂

Enjoy this meal, and you won’t be sorry! What are some of your go-to recipes for a quick homemade meal?

Have a great weekend folks!

My Choice Monday

Ask & You Shall Receive

April 14, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Happy Monday!

Whew! What a weekend! I’m about to fall asleep at my desk, and I have a sneaking suspicion Craig is feeling the same way today! His birthday weekend was AWESOME – but also one of those ‘vacations’ you need a vacation after to catch up! 🙂

Today’s “My Choice” is an answer to many a question we have received regarding FullTurn Church and our attendance there.

Here is a video clip of the Sunday ‘sermon’ a few weeks ago:

Listening to Pastor Alan, I can feel the Holy Spirit leading his message. We truly followed God to this place, and couldn’t be more ecstatic to have our weeks and weekends JAM-PACKED with Christ!

When the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart, and urging you to do MORE for Him, to seek Him more, to follow Him more closely… you need to listen. It doesn’t matter if you are comfortable in the pew at church you have been sitting in for the past 12 years. He requires of us as Christians to seek Him first and foremost, and where He leads us, there shall we go.

Matthew 6:33

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

2 Chronicles 7:14

14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Y’all, if you ask for His guidance, He will lead you and He will guide you. There never has to be a decision you have to make alone. No problem or issue is too big or too small for Him.

And on a lighter note…

Lulu’s On Main

This AH-MAY-ZING restaurant in little ol’ Sylva, North Carolina is the definition of a hidden gem. The next time you come to visit us for more than one day, we will drive the 2 hours to have dinner here! There is a great menu for anyone and everyone – including those of us who are gluten-free, or going through a Lenten season of vegetarianism. 🙂 Click the image to be redirected to their website.

Enjoy the rest of your Monday – It’s time for a nap!

Food For Thought Friday

Here’s Some Food For Thought: PAY ATTENTION!

April 11, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Today’s the day!!! Craig’s gotten his first two birthday clues…He took the dogs to the kennel this morning, and they gave him his 2nd clue – Meet me at my office this afternoon – We’re going out of town for the weekend!

But he stillllll doesn’t know where… 🙂 Clue 3 is coming soon! I can’t wait to share all the pictures and details with y’all on What’s Up Wednesday next week!

Last night when Craig got home, his first “gift” and clue awaited him – a note that said (to be read in the style of Dr. Suess 🙂 ):

“Let’s start this off right, like a scavenger hunt.

The first thing you’ll do is put the pups in the truck.

Water Dog Kennels – 8 AM SHARP!

When you have finished, you’ll know what to do…

Congratulations on receiving your first Birthday Clue!”

And next to the note/riddle, I placed the special birthday cupcakes I made for him yesterday:

That’s what they were supposed to look like…but I probably should have paid more attention while making the frosting…

I created my own combination recipe, using The Kitchen Is Calling, and Taste of Home’s similar recipes, and my own ideas.

Everything was going well until it was time to make the frosting and I realized it was another (I do this every year somehow!) meringue frosting…which is delicious but oh so precise and time intensive…

After I had beat the frosting over heat for ten minutes, while sweating to death and switching my already-sore-from-pure-barre arms from one to the other, I transferred the mixture into a bowl….and without thinking…poured in the entire bag of coconut.

Yes.

I was SO. MAD. AT. MYSELF.

So, of course, when the cupcakes were complete, I had to taste one (albeit, a small one) to make sure they were edible… In fact, they were quite delicious! Even though I am not a fan of lemon-flavored desserts, I had to stop myself from having more than just the small tester cake. Yum! So…

If you, too, would like to make these delicious cupcakes, here’s the breakdown:

Lemon Curd & Coconut Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups of AP Flour & 1.5 cups of Cake Flour.)
3-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups 2% milk (I used whole milk – as I do for all baking.)
FILLING:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
FROSTING:
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 egg whites
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flaked coconut (Make a note to yourself right now that these coconuts are for layering over the TOP OF THE FROSTING!!!)

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
Transfer to cupcake pans. This recipe should yield approximately 36 medium-sized cupcakes. I recommend using cupcake liners, rather than just pouring the mixture directly into the pans. This should bake on 350° for 20 minutes.
For filling, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat.
Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat; gently stir in lemon juice and butter. Cool to room temperature without stirring.
Once cupcakes are cooled, use a cookie scoop or small spoon to remove small portion of the middle of each cupcake. Spoon cooled and thickened lemon curd into a small ziplock bag, seal, then snip one corner and pipe into the well of each cupcake.
For frosting, in a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, egg whites, water and cream of tartar. With a portable mixer, beat on low speed for 1 minute. Continue beating on low over low heat until frosting reaches 160°, about 10 minutes.
DO NOT ADD COCONUT! 🙂 Transfer to a large bowl; add vanilla. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.
Spoon icing into another ziplock bag and similarly cut off a corner to pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake, hiding the lemon curd inside.
Sprinkle all cupcakes with coconut.

Store in the refrigerator. Yields approximately 36 cupcakes.

Enjoy your Food For Thought Friday – and your cupcakes! 🙂

Don’t forget to tell Craig Happy 32nd on Sunday!

Love Y’all,

My Choice Monday

What’s For Dinner??

March 31, 2014March 31, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Welcome to Monday!! Hopefully, all of you had wonderful weekends! We definitely did!!

This morning I was blessed with a beautiful surprise, and the entire course of this morning’s post changed! My sweet little grandmother from New Jersey called and let me know she flew into town and is in Atlanta! How exciting! Craig is still in town, so we are meeting her this evening after work and taking her to dinner.

Now, this sudden scenario may not seem an ‘issue’ to any of you, but yours truly is a PLANNER with a capital “P”, and immediately, my mind has gone into overdrive:

So, in your neighborhood, where would you take a surprise out of town guest for a casual, yet classy, not loud dinner? (Seriously, we want your answers below in the comments! You just never know when YOU will be in another town and not know where to eat…and I don’t mean a big chain restaurant either!)

Here are a few ideas in some of our favorite cities:

Empire State South – This little gem in the heart of Midtown Atlanta not only is a go-to for dinner. They offer breakfast, brunch and lunch, as well – not to mention some delicious desserts and libations! It’s a classy, casual setting – and perfect for out-of-town guests, as many of it’s food options are regionally delicious.

OK Cafe – While not even close to ‘fancy’, this is an Atlanta classic with DELICIOUS food and if you’re in the mood for comfort in a diner setting, this is the place to go! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, take-away – it’s all awesome! I highly recommend the Rocket Burger. Yum!

Pompeii Pizza – Located in Elk River, Minnesota (about an hour outside of the Twin Cities), we read rave reviews about this local pizzeria in Midwest Living magazine – and just had to try it out. It was delightful – This Italian girl can attest to pizza worth ‘wasting’ calories on, and this is it! Not only were their pizza and salads yummy, Craig found some local brews he was pretty impressed with, as well!

Chatterbox Pub – This neighborhood bar/restaurant in St. Paul, MN, will always remind me of our dating days. It’s one of the first places I went with Craig & his family, one of the first visits I ever made to Minnesota – fond memories for sure! 🙂 The food was tasty; the drinks were satisfying and there were even games to play while you waited for your food. Perfect!

The Mash House – This brewery/restaurant came highly recommended by my parents on a trip to the town in which I spent a good portion of my childhood – Fayetteville, North Carolina. Craig and I paid them a visit last year and were in no way disappointed! Steaks, shrimp, pasta, fish, sandwiches, burgers, salads, brewed-in-house beer… We may just go back simply to eat there again!

What are your go-to restaurants? Let us know, and we just may meet you there for a bite!

You’ll have to wait until later this week to find out just where we eat tonight with Grandma Flo! 🙂

My Choice Monday

A Delicious Way To Wake Up!

December 23, 2013December 20, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Happy Christmas Week!

We are writing to you from beautiful (& very chilly) Minnesota on this Monday before Christmas, with the perfect (mostly) prepare-ahead breakfast for your Christmas Morning!

Craig & I made breakfast for dinner last week, and tried this dish…It was so GOOD! We substituted blackberries & blueberries for the raspberries, and of course used Gluten-Free Bread – but you can certainly use “real” bread if you aren’t “gluten-challenged”!

Raspberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

Click the link for the recipe, and until you make your own version, here is the one we made last week!

Oh my goodness, this was just so delicious! Craig ate his with maple syrup, and the look he gave me when he took his first bite told me he was in heaven! 🙂 Personally, I think whipped cream…or vanilla ice cream…mmmm…would be yummy, as well!

I would have taken a pretty, ‘staged’ picture our plates…but we just gobbled this up TOO quickly!!

If you enjoy this recipe and are gluten-challenged or interested in more gluten-free and delicious recipes, Udi’s has some great ones here – Your family won’t even be able to tell the difference! 🙂

Until tomorrow…

Love,

Uncategorized

The Big 3-1 & The First Week On The Job!

April 17, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Good Morning All!

First, my apologies for being MIA the past few weeks! We’ve had a lot going on here in Georgia – from C’s birthday to his recurrent training to my new job as a nanny! Unfortunately, in all the hustle and bustle, we were unable to make the trip to MN for Craig’s cousin’s wedding – We were so sad to miss it, but plans are in the works for us to make a trip north very soon! Would anyone in GA like to volunteer to watch this little ~~rascal~~ sweetheart for us while we are gone?

My sweet husband celebrated his 31st birthday last Saturday and we were so lucky to be able to spend the whole day together! I made a Layered Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting with Pecans – all from scratch. You can see the recipe here. I made a few minor changes: The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, and I ran out of sugar at 1 1/3 cups…So I added Dark Brown Sugar to reach 1 1/2 cups, plus about another 1/3 of a cup. Also, I used pecans throughout the batter AND in the icing, as well. Craig LOVED this cake. He isn’t much of a dessert person, but loves his breakfast, so this combination worked out well for him, as it is very similar to Banana Bread. Typically, I would have a picture of this deliciousness for you…but, alas, I used a new type of icing to write “Happy Birthday Craig” on top of the cake….and instead I made a MESS! 🙂 Who says delicious has to be pretty?? 🙂

l surprised the birthday boy with a ride in a World War II Vintage Open Cockpit BiPlane!

I had no idea how much fun our ride was going to be! You should definitely try it out! You can make a ‘reservation’ here. We followed our flight with a yummy dinner at Elevation Chophouse:

And then some of our very best friends – Josh, Julia and Steve – met us to end the evening at Electric Cowboy! Happy Belated 31st to Craig! And thank you to everyone who helped make his special day even more special! 🙂

In other news, I am officially into my second week as a nanny to beautiful newborn twins and a lovely two-year old little girl! This week I have begun to cook for the family, as well, and just cannot begin to explain how much I am enjoying my new “job” – two of my favorites: cooking and children, and it’s what I do for a living?!?! Love it!

Well, speaking of my new nanny position, I must get going! Little Lucy needs a walk before I head off to work!

We hope all of you are doing well! Promise it won’t be such a long time until our next post! I’ve got a great recipe to share for a Buffalo Chicken Dip I turned into a Casserole/Hot Dish. It’s easy, gluten-free and quite tasty! 🙂 So, until then…

Take Care! XOXO,

Pier & Craig