Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines day!

The day of celebrating love!

We decided to celebrate Valentines day on Saturday February 16th because it fell on a Thursday this year (and to avoid the crowds ha).

So on Saturday I started the day off with a nice jog at the green way! It was so relaxing and such a beautiful day!

Fun fact: Pink is by far my favorite color but you will rarely see me wear it, it is one of the only colors that I don't think flatters my natural coloring well. If I wear pink it will 99% of the time be hot pink which I do like on me.

When I came home I was pleasantly surprised with this little present set up below by Cody! He is so thoughtful!

*Oh and don't forget to check out my Valentines day decor! I can't wait to go all out once we have our house!*

The cute little bear just melts my heart! I am a sucker for cute little stuffed animals!! I LOVE the cotton candy gum, soft fuzzy socks, and bathtub set! Oh and you can't have too many water bottles, especially soft pink glass ones with bamboo lids ;)!!

I then got cleaned up and dressed up for dinner waiting on Cody to come back from football meetings.

When Cody came in the door he walked in with this GORGEOUS bouquet of flowers he arranged!

Nothing makes me happier than flowers and especially this arrangement. This is the prettiest arrangement of flowers I have ever seen! The Lilly's, hydrangeas, carnations, roses, snap dragons, and tulips were so pretty! Cody is always so thoughtful, he makes me feel so special. 

Here is the dress I wore to our J. Alexanders dinner!

I totally went all out. I dress up maybe once a year and I NEVER wear makeup. I have nothing against wearing makeup but I believe I enjoy just God's beauty on me alone. I wouldn't change anything about me, God made me (and all of us) in his perfect image! (I will make another post on more of this topic one day).

I even wore heels! 3 inches I believe!!

And don't even let me get started on how handsome Cody looked! He looks so good in a suit and button-down. He looked absolutely incredible! 

We thoroughly enjoyed our delicious meal together at J. Alexanders (our new favorite) and just truly enjoyed each other's company. I love getting to know Cody more and more each day. It's like unwrapping the best present in the world, his sweet sweet heart!

We of course couldn't end the night without a slice of J. Alexanders famous warm carrot cake! It does not look like that in the picture but I promise, it is the most amazing thing you will ever taste!

Fun fact: I drove Cody here as a surprise early birthday present when we were turning 18 (only had been dating for 1.5 months) just to eat this warm carrot cake since that is his favorite dessert. He loved it)!

When we got home we watched a movie and Cody fell asleep. I treated myself to a nice bubble bath which I find so incredibly relaxing. 

I had a chocolate bath bomb which was so fitting, a face mask, and a Peony scented candle!

Of course I got to try my new rose scented mousse and bath kit! I smelled like a flower garden!

After I got out of the bath Cody had woken up and had this little chocolate rose to end the night!!

This was by far the best valentines day we have ever had and only our 3rd together out of what would be 8. #longdistanceproblems

The next weekend mom came down and gave me a surprise valentines day gift!!

I got a mickey mouse waffle iron, new AMAZING kate spade earrings from mom and  gigi, and a game of mini perplexus (so addicting!).

Happy Valentines day everyone and a happy St. Patrick's day!

With so much love,

Kayla Raborn

2/25/19

P.S. - Stay tuned for a Spring favorites blog, green recipes, career development, and an Easter blog!

P.S.S.- Yes everything is still going well on the house building process, it is taking a LOT longer than we anticipated with this apocalypse-style weather that NEVER ends. In a short update, we finished the house plans and have surveyed and cleared the lot, and are waiting to level it and start the foundation. 

Sunday School Breakfast Ideas

Time for some recipes! I have compiled a few of our favorite and most recent Sunday school breakfast meals we have brought in! We get our inspiration from Pinterest and Cody and I tag team the cooking.

First of all we have the bacon pancakes!

You place a fully cooked strip of bacon on top of a long line of pancake batter on the griddle and pour more batter on top sandwiching the bacon with pancake. Flip and vuala! You have the perfect breakfast in one! Bring a small thing of pure maple syrup and you've got a meal! :)

Second are these amazing Pillsbury sausage egg and cheese stuffed croissant rolls!  Cook the scrambled eggs and sausage links separately and add them on top of the raw opened croissant rolls adding cheese to the top and rolling them back up. Throw the rolls into the oven following the Pillsbury heat and time instructions and you have yourself a perfect creative concoction that people LOVE!

Third we have a keto inspired bacon egg cup. (Yes I tried Keto for 3+ weeks, only lost 2 pounds, ate less than 20 net carbs a day, reached full ketosis after day 3.5 and felt HORRIBLE every single day (not keto flu), diet fail for me). But anyways, I had been wanting to try these egg cups for a while. Fully cook slices of bacon (don't over cook them), then wrap them around the circumference of the muffin cups, crack an egg into the center of each muffin holder (add shredded sharp cheddar cheese if desired) and place in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until the egg is cooked.

Fourth we have these cinnamon roll "waffles"!

This was by far my favorite #teamsweetnotsavory. Pre-heat your waffle iron to 350 degrees and take one of your Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and place it right in the center of the waffle iron as seen below. This works best one at a time to achieve the criscross-like center of the cinnamon rolls. Also be sure to buy the Pillsbury ORIGINAL cinnamon rolls instead of the Grands. 

Close the top of the waffle iron for only 1.5-2 minutes. The first few cinnamon rolls will take ~2 minutes and the middle and last few of the batch will take 1-1.5 minutes. It is easy to burn them so keep an eye on them. Once taken out, spread some of the icing on them that came with the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and you are done! They are absolutely amazing served warm!

Our fifth recipe is for the busy Sunday. We all have busy weeks and have difficulties making it to church on time every once in a while. It's usually not a problem unless everyone is relying on you to bring breakfast. In this case don't fret! Taco Bell has a little secret breakfast item! Cinnabon Delights can be ordered by the dozen. Just drive through the drive-through line and order a few dozen for your class. They are warm, cinnamon-y and have a warm cream cheese, frosting center! They originate from the Cinnabon chain!

I hope you enjoy these ideas and recipes maybe not just for Sunday school but any function where you have to quickly whip up something amazing for a lot of people!

With love,

Kayla Raborn

2-10-19