#nelsendays2014 Week 4

Day 22: Matt got rear-ended by a Hummer while driving to a property tour. He was sitting at a red light when it happened, and the car hit him so hard that he pushed Matt's car into the car in front of him as well. :/ The  best part is that the guy driving the Hummer tried to tell Matt and the cop that Matt swerved into him and caused the accident. wow. Thankfully, the cop read right through the guy's lie and gave him a ticket for hitting two cars. Oh the words I have in my head for people like that. So Wednesday evening was spent at ole Wilbur's garage waiting for them to deliver the car so we could empty it. Ultimately, we are SO thankful that Matt was not injured badly and that it wasn't his fault. Since then, the car has been deemed totaled, so we're back to car shopping again. This will be our 6th car purchase in 6 years of marriage- ha. We are seriously pros at carpooling and car-buying. ;)

This was Wednesday night's meal when got back from Wilbur's. It is SO quick and easy and yummy! I'll say it maybe looks a little unappetizing, ha- but it is GOOD! You can find the recipe here.

Day 23: A cold, lazy Thursday night at our place- Matt in my Clemson beanie, me in his FSU sweatshirt, Chicken Divan, and our pre-wash cycle on the dishwasher. ;)

Day 24: Pajama Day! ...I'm so thankful I get to work with friends!

Day 25: Saturday afternoon was spent at the bowling alley with our UpStreet kiddos from church! They are big second graders now... last year, the actual game held their attention for maybe 3 frames. This year, they were competing with each other for the highest score until that last frame. They have definitely grown up a lot in the last 5 years.

Day 26: My new favorite toy- I shared this on my top 10 favorite products for the kitchen. The Keurig makes me feel like a barista in the mornings, and the drawer keeps all of the pods organizing and tucked away. And the chocolate glazed donut flavor is legit.

Day 27: Do not be fooled- this is the face of guilt. ;) The door was left open to this room and Tally found new baskets just begging to be chewed on. He looks so happy- haha

Day 28: Family carpool to work! Like I said, we're pros at the one-car thing. Tally cracks me up the way he poses for pictures...

So day 28 was quite an interesting day. Our school released kids one hour early because the snow was coming down hard- unfortunately, one hour was not early enough at all! This was me entering hour 4 of the drive home. My friend Sydney had her boyfriend pick her up and gave me her car to drive because she was too nervous to drive it! I was using her GPS to search for alternate routes and it kept asking me if I wanted to enter pedestrian mode because the car was moving so slow- ha. I had it in park or turned off for a good bit of time- long enough to let me catch up on all my reading group books and pluck my eyebrows. haha... And Matt sent me a picture of Tally's first time in the snow- he loved it!

After 7.5 hours in the car, I ended up having to park it about 2 miles from the house and walk the rest of the way. Matt came and met me half way. The walk was actually a nice change of pace from driving-ha! I don't know if I've ever been happier to be home! Matt and I walked in the door around 10:00 and he had spaghetti warmed and ready on the stove! He even sautéed the onion and garlic! I was seriously so impressed- MAJOR hubby points. ;)

You can find me on instagram @hmnelsen

Enter the Solo Viva giveaway here for a chance to win a super cute bag AND wallet!
And you have TWO days left to enter the $600 CASH GIVEAWAY!

Keep up with us here:

Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

If you know me at all, or have been around here long, you know that I am a pasta. lover. Or addict. They're interchangeable really. I eat pasta at least four times a week.

I, my friends, am not the face of health. But I am the face of I-know-what-I-like-and-I-quite-enjoy-it... whatever face that is.

Today's recipe is often my post-church lunch on Sundays. I'm not sure why, really. Maybe it's because we've just finished spending an hour with 8 year olds in UpStreet and I feel inspired to eat like a child. Or maybe it's because I just always eat like a child.

Anywho, here's a quick homemade mac-and-cheese recipe for you to try the next time you too feel like being a kid, but want something a little fancier than the box version. :)

Ingredients:
I don't measure- that's part of what makes this a quick side to make- so don't worry too much about getting exact amounts of any of these ingredients. You really can't mess this up. ;) Also, this recipe serves one- so double, triple, quadruple for more. :)

1/4 lb. of your favorite pasta
1T butter or margarine
1/4 cup heavy cream (you can use milk if you don't have cream)
1/4 cup pasta water
1/4-1/2 cup cheese (I usually use a blend of cheddar and whatever else I have in the fridge- monterey jack, parmesan, mozzarella, etc.)


Directions:
Bring salted water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook according to box directions.

As you're draining the pasta in a colander, allow some of the pasta water to fall back into the pan (about a 1/4 cup). Add butter and allow to melt. Add cream. Bring to a boil, add cheese, and stir quickly until melted. Add pasta back to the pan, mix and serve.

Solo Viva GIVEAWAY!

I am SO excited to bring this amazing giveaway to you today!

My friend Megan, who blogs over at m for love, asked if I wanted to participate in this giveaway with her and a few other bloggers. When she sent me the information and I had a chance to look at the products, I knew y'all would love to have the chance to win two of the items for FREE! 

Today you can win a beautiful bag AND wallet of your choice that also come with a beautiful message…

Leo Saballos, founder and owner of the online fair trade clothing company Solo Viva, combined his love for design with his compassion for people, and sought out to create fashionable pieces that would give back to the community.

SOLO VIVA’s very first collection is Viva Xairo, a collection of handbags designed by Katie Jo Ramsey. She writes of her designs, "Xairo, 'to rejoice,' is the essence of life. In that spirit, each purse is named after a woman who inspires me to seek joy, women who embody strength and life."

The purses and wallets are handcrafted by women from Zona Franca Masili, a sewing company operated by its workers. In addition to Solo Viva’s fair trade policy, a  portion of the proceeds are donated to LifeSpring Community Health, an organization that aims to provide health education and promotion, medical services and community advocacy in urban Chattanooga. 

It is SOLO VIVA's vision to promote designers, set a standard for fair trade and support non-profits.

Incredible-right?! Well, here’s what you can do to be a part of this amazing mission AND win one of these lovely bags and wallet of your choice.

1. Visit Solo Viva, dream and swoon over which bag you want.

2. Check out these other bloggers who are co-hosting this giveaway with me!  

m for love

Maddie Richardson- A Lifestyle Blog

Re-solve

Samantha Elizabeth- A Lifestyle Blog

3. Enter in the rafflecopter below! And Voila!

(Oh and no worries if you aren’t the lucky winner because Leo will be offering our readers 20% off any purchase at Solo Viva thru the month of February with the code JOY20!!) Woo-hoo! I love a deal. ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, don't forget- you have FIVE days left to enter the $600 CASH GIVEAWAY! A chance to win a super cute bag, wallet, AND $600?! That's a good Monday. ;)

Keep up with us here:

#nelsendays2014 Week 3

Day15: Workout buddies :)

Day 16: Arbonne Party/Girls' Night at our place!

Day 17: Off to Charleston for a girls' weekend!

Day18: Baby shower for Mea and baby Rily :)

Day 19: Babies, coffee, shopping, and eating = perfect day 

Day 20: "lunch" stop for burger, fries, and a milkshake at 10:50am. Too early?! Nah.

First meal back after after length trip is always rigatoni with vodka sauce- YUM!

Day 21: This poor buddy ended up in a bandage and a cone while I was gone! Matt was a great doggy daddy nurse and carried to poor guy everywhere until to vet opened on Monday. He's already doing much better though! That's what digging in the dirt can do to you sometimes. ;)

Find me on instragram @hmnelsen

You can also find me here:

And don't forget to enter the $600 cash giveaway before the end of this month!