Anniversary Dinner & Weekend Away

Well, last week Jesse and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! Can you believe it? 3 years!!! I know for some that doesn't seem like very long at all, but for us and everything that we've gone through in the past years- this is an accomplishment & something to be proud of.

One song that comes to mind when I think about our anniversary is Shania Twain's "You're Still the One." You know- the opening lines... "Looks like we made it- look how far we've come my baby. We might have took the long way- we knew we'd get there someday. They said, I bet, they'll never make it but just look at us holding on. We're still together - still goin strong." .... And then there's the chorus..." You're still the one I run to- the one that I belong to- you're still the one I want for life. You're still the one that I love- the only one I dream of- you're still the one I kiss goodnight. You're still the one." (Is it bad that I just recited that out of memory?) Anyway, after everything that we've been through a lot of people would probably or have probably said that we didn't stand a chance. We had 2 choices: walk away from each other or fight like hell and come out better and stronger. And that is just what we did. It hasn't always been easy- heck, I'd be lying if I said it's been a fairy tale. But one things for sure... We've learned a lot and we've learned how to lean on each other. 

So, 3 years was definitely something to be celebrated. A premature birth, family issues, snake bite, job loss and another baby have only made us learn some tough lessons and have helped us to realize what truly matters most. How did we celebrate? 

Well our anniversary was on the 22nd- a Wednesday. So of course Jesse had to work. I planned a homemade meal for him for when he got home. I cleaned the house (i.e. I picked up the millions of toys) and sent the boys to Mama & Papa's- then I got to cooking. I had trouble deciding what to cook because Jesse absolutely LOVES steak and I don't. So I wanted to make something that we both really liked. I decided to make the first meal that I ever made him while we were dating: Chicken Parmesan. Along with the chicken I made  Red Lobster biscuits and of course you can't have chicken parm unless it's over a bed of noodles. So I made spaghetti noodles with garlic & olive oil sauce topped with toasted breadcrumbs. For dessert I made Red Velvet Cupcakes along with Homemade Red Velvet Ice cream ( recipe came from Kaitlyn at Wifessionals). 

Jesse got home late that night- so I kept the dinner warm until he got home. It was delicious. And the ice cream- oh my goodness- you have got to try it! 

This past weekend the real celebrating began. We were off for a night away- kid free! It was well needed and so relaxing! We left Saturday afternoon and made our first stop at Jimmy Johns! I mean, who doesn't love some JJ!? (I must confess- we ordered this wayyyy to much when we were in the hospital with both boys). Then we headed up to Fairview Heights for the evening. We checked into our hotel room (complete with a jacuzzi) and the headed out to shop. Now I love those thrift shops so of course we headed to Goodwill first. I was on strict instructions to not buy any toys. I know, depressing! However, I walked out with some pretty good deals. I got the kids some clothes, an ice cream maker for $4, and some new shoes. I got a pair of Gianni Binni shoes for $6 that I wore that evenig and a pair of Jessica Simpson heels for $3. I plan on doing a Pinterest project with the JS ones and glittering the bottoms. Jesse's not a fan of Goodwill so he went out to the car and took a little nap while I shopped. It's always better this way since he follows me around and makes me feel like I'm on a schedule. Haha. 

Next we were off to Savers! This store is like Goodwill on crack. Jesse needed some new clothes... Bad! He would disagree but trust me, he did. So, I of course went through the racks and grabbed things that I liked and that he might like and then I let him decide what he wanted. Surprisingly, he only decline one shirt. He also picked out some pajama pants and sock hats. Ok now here's the best part... All of the things he got were like brand new. Seriously they didn't look like they had ever been worn. Even better? This store gives a military discount of 30%!!! So, we ended up getting him a ton of things for $60! Seriously you can't beat that! Especially since we would have spent just that much at the mall on like 3 things. 

After shopping, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and to go to dinner. We decided to go to Joe's Crab Shack since neither of us had been there in a while and seafood sounded really good! We sat at the bar for about 30 minutes waiting for a table. The food was delicious! Probably my new favorite place to go to up there.

We were going to go see a movie at a theater that serves you drinks and food at your leather reclining seats. However, the movie playing wasn't something that either of us really wanted to see. We were stuffed and decided to grab some wine and just head back to the hotel and relax. Around 11:30 we were hungry and didn't want to get out- so we had some pizza delivered to our room. One full night of sleep with no kids. Did I mention that it was amazing? I really needed to catch up on sleep. 

The next day we headed to the mall to do a little shopping and then we had lunch at Lottawatta Creek. As always, the food was delicious!! But I must say, I enjoyed

Joe's more this time! Then we headed home to see our boys. It was a fabulous, well needed weekend. 

Chicken Parmesan

1 large Chicken breast per person

1 can of spaghetti sauce

1 box of Angel Hair pasta 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 spoon minced garlic (use fresh garlic if you have it) 

1/2 bag of Mozzarella cheese

Breadcrumbs 

Grated Parmesan

Directions for chicken

Mix about 1 cup of breadcrumbs with 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan. Set aside. 

Beat chicken so it's thin and flat. 

Coat chicken on both sides with breadcrumb and Parmesan mixture.

Put in oven safe pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until juices run clear. 

Take out and pour spaghetti sauce over chicken and top with mozzarella. Put back in oven until cheese is melted.

Directions for noodles

Cook noodles of choice according to directions on box.

Meanwhile, heat up 1/4 cup of olive oil with 1 spoonful of minced garlic in another pan. Once garlic is fragrant, pour oil over small strained into a bowl to get if of garlic pieces. 

Once noodles are cooked stir in infused olive oil.

Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and pour about 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. Toast for about 3 minutes in 350 degree oven. Be sure not to burn. 

To serve:

Spoon noodles onto plate and top with toasted breadcrumbs. Place chicken on top of noodles. 

Serve with garlic bread.