Honey, this doesn't need to be monogrammed...

This would be what my husband says to me when I show him a new outfit that has come in the door for AC. I'm telling you he can see it in my eyes (or maybe I subconsciously mouth it), when I show him her new clothes, and he knows in my next breath that I'm going to say it needs to be monogrammed.

I'm a southern mama. I grew up in the south, and have lived here all my life. I know the importance of a proper monogram. I still remember my first monogrammed purse. Edith Boswell had a boutique in North Meridian, and monogram purses were flying out the door. I wanted one so bad, and asked for one that Christmas. I carried that purse til the shoulder strap broke.

Fast forward a few (10) years and the Mr and I got hitched. Our thank you notes were monogrammed; the traditional wife's first letter of her first name, our married last name initial, and husband's first letter of his first name. We registered for monogrammed chargers for our dining room table with an "S" in the middle. We also asked for monogrammed towels. This is something people who aren't from the south understand. (i.e. .) I still don't have anything with my new married (JSH) monogram on it, but give it time — it will happen!

Well, being a southern mama with a new baby, a baby girl at that; I feel the need/want to monogram everything. Whether it's her name, initial or full initial monogram... it just looks so cute on her clothes and accessories. But, monogramming is expensive. But, it's also worth it in my opinion. These are her latest monogrammed items that we picked up yesterday...

My need and want for monogramming AC's clothes and accessories won't be ending anytime soon. So, would it be worth it to purchase our own monogramming machine? After looking online, I think we could have already paid for one with all the money spent in the past seven months on monogramming.

Do you own a monogram machine? Is there a brand, model, etc. that you would recommend? Is it worth our investment? This monogramming mama needs to know!

Easter Recap 2014

Easter was a tad bit different this year with the addition of little AC. I'm not sure how I imagined it would be, but it blew my expectations out of the water.  

I had so much fun making sure the Easter bunny came to see our sweet girl for the first time, even if we weren't at our home. She got her first swimsuit, flip flops, pink bottles, paci clips and a musical soother.

This was also the first time for her to attend church. And she was such a good girl during the service. She only squealed out once, but then went right back to sleep. And my parents who were sitting on the other side of us didn't even hear her squeal. I, however, got very emotional at the end of the service thinking about last year's Easter and how special this year's service was with our gift from above.

Of course when we got back to my parent's house... we had lots and lots of pictures to take to commemorate this very special day.

This Easter was amazing having our little one with us. She was a trooper with all the traveling, and visits.

Friday Five — link up #31

August... this can only mean one thing — fall is getting near!

<center> <a href=""><img src=""/></a></center>
the Sowell life's Friday five...

1) {Travel Buddy} Monday, the Mr and I made our way back home to Alabama from our little mountain getaway. But, it wasn't just us in the vehicle... we had little MB to keep us company. She was a great little traveler. We even stopped half way for everyone to take a potty break... even her. And while we had a little snack, she had turkey and water for her snack before getting back on the road. This is how she rode most of the way home, sleeping in her seat...

2) {Our 4 legged guest} She's been the boss of the house this week. And she definitely knows how to get your attention. But we've loved every minute of her being here this week. And by the looks of the photos below, you'd think it's winter time here in Alabama. This girl loves blankets.

3) {Burgers in Bham} This week I've been to two different restaurants and had burgers. They both were unique in their own ways, and delicious. Don't worry, I'll have a couple of Birmingham Eats features coming soon to tell you where you can enjoy these amazing burgers.

4) {The Mr's Cooking} I love it when the Mr handles dinner, especially when he takes care of it all. Steak and baked potato... he makes the best.

5) {Smoky Mountain Recap} This week I've showed and told y'all all about our recent trip to the Smoky Mountains. In case you missed any of those posts you can read about our cabin and adventures here, see the views we enjoyed here, and find out what we ate here.

Now, who's ready to link up?!! Thanks for stopping by, linking up, sharing the link up on your blog and on twitter! I appreciate y'all spreading the word more than you'll ever know!! Enjoy your weekend, y'all! 

Friday five — link up #30

Hello last Friday of July. Wait, what? Summer is officially flying by...

<center> <a href=""><img src=""/></a></center>
the Sowell life's Friday five...

1) {Happy Birthday Mr Sowell} The husband had a little big birthday on Monday. He officially turned 4 with a 0 behind it. We had fun celebrating with him. Even though I don't think he loved the "over the hill" balloon or the other black balloons that accompanied it, I think he enjoying his evening of celebration. And we're still enjoying that delicious cake from Delicious Bakery!

2) {A little porch sittin'} One of the favorite things about our home is our covered deck. The Mr had a wonderful idea of adding three ceiling fans out there, and it makes our porch sittin' time in the summer, bearable. And this little cutie loves it, too.

3) {Southern Cooking} We cooked up a big southern meal Tuesday night. It involved bbq chicken, fried squash, mashed potatoes, green beans and cornbread. And I could eat it all over again right now.

4) {Napping} We've done our fair share of napping this week. The rainy weather has been perfect for it, and I haven't complained about it at all.

5) {CANE'S} Here in Alabama, I've yet to find a Raising Cane's in the Bham area. And honestly, I do love Zaxby's, but there's jut something about Cane's sauce, their fries their toast.... yeah, I'm making myself pretty hungry here. So if you know of any Raising Cane's in the Bham area... PUH-LEZ let me know. =)

Now, who's ready to link up?!! Thanks for stopping by, linking up, sharing the link up on your blog and on twitter! I appreciate y'all spreading the word more than you'll ever know!! Enjoy your weekend, y'all! 

Our Lazy Weekend...

With this being the first official weekend of summer, we celebrated by staying indoors and in pajamas. This wasn't planned, and it wasn't how we really wanted to spend the weekend. However, we both apparently needed the rest.

Friday afternoon I went to the dr after dealing with sharp stabbing pains in my back and shoulder for two days. He said it was either severely pulled muscles, or pleurisy. However, since I hadn't been sick, he thought it was the pulled muscles. He sent me home with three prescriptions and said I needed to take it easy and rest for a few days. Of course I had to ignore his advice for a few hours because the dawgs were playing for their chance to play the College World Series Championship Game. I got home in time to see the start of the 3rd inning. And I got to witness their 3rd win in the CWS!!! Tomorrow night is the first game of the championship, and you better believe we're gonna be watching. All I can say is, #HailState!!

The Mr picked up dinner because the meds had kicked in and all I wanted to do was sleep. And sleep is exactly what happened. I crawled in the bed at 7:30 and didn't wake up until 6:30 the next morning. And after three nights with little to no sleep... it was needed.

Saturday morning after we finally got out of bed, we took to our favorite seats in the house and began operation lazy weekend. Most of the morning was spent watching TV, and a cat naps were had, too. We had a some sandwiches for lunch and then it was back to napping. In between napping I checked out the latest Southern Living Magazine. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes I found.

We finally got up to cook some dinner around 5:30. We made homemade lasagna and it hit the spot. And thankfully we have enough for leftovers. Have you ever made homemade lasagna? I'm not talking about getting the pre made pan in the frozen food section of the grocery and letting it thaw and bake. I'm talking about putting it all together. And it's really an easy recipe, and one your family will enjoy. Want the recipe, click here.

After dinner we watched Pitch Perfect, and it was okay but really not the best movie we thought it would be. What's with all the previews making these movies look awesome and then they turn out to be just a blah movie? Regardless, we were back in the bed at 9 for the night. And it didn't take us long before we were out like a light. His head cold meds and my prescriptions seem to make us zombies and has us fighting to stay awake after we take them.

Sunday morning I felt a little better, or my back was still numb, and I made some breakfast for the Mr and I. And y'all wouldn't believe the amount of people who still don't know what pigs-n-blanket are... so I'm going to give the three ingredient recipe today. It's so easy, you'll be making them every morning for breakfast.

What you'll need:
crescent rolls
cocktail sausages
shredded cheese

What you'll do:
Layout your triangles, and cut them in half. Sprinkle cheese on them, and then add a cocktail sausage to the larger end of the dough. Start rolling from the larger end and roll to the smaller end. Cook on 375 for 13 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

These are perfect for appetizers, tailgates, and of course breakfast. And your kids will love to help you create them.

The rest of the afternoon we did some relaxing, and some laundry. For dinner we're having crockpot BBQ chicken. You can find that recipe by clicking here. We have plenty of TV to watch tonight before bedtime. And that my friends, will round up our weekend.

What did y'all do to celebrate the first weekend of summer? I hope it was a little more eventful than our weekend. =)

the Friday five — link up #8

The deep emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the same one that can heal it; it's just a matter of channeling it properly. #lifelessons

<center> <a href=""><img src=""/></a></center>
the Sowell life's Friday five...

1) {Oh Marsie Belle} We had the little one all week until yesterday, and she kept our nights full of entertainment. She plays real hard for about an hour and a half, and then it's all downhill. What we like to call, "nite nite time". But her granny came and took her back to Mississippi yesterday at lunch. But have no fear, we will get to see her again next week!

2) {Blue Skies} The weather y'all has been beautiful most of the week. Pretty much all of the days have been full of blue skies, and even though a few of the days have been a little nippy, I haven't had a problem with it because the sun made it feel nice. The trees are starting to bud, and I'm pretty sure everything I'm allergic to is starting to make it's presence known because I can't stop sneezing. 

3 {Southern Living} Let's face it, nothing makes me feel more Southern, or grown up than receiving my Southern Living magazine in the mail. You see, growing up, every home I entered ALWAYS had a Southern Living magazine on their coffee table. And that's one thing that I always knew I wanted to have in my own home one day. Well, this is my third magazine of my first subscription and it still makes me smile when it comes in the mail. I also feel like I should have on my pearls, long white gloves and pantyhose when I read it. Ha!

4) {Easter candy} More specifically, sweet tart gummie bears. One of my co-workers brought in a bag yesterday, and man I forgot how yummy those things are! My favorite ones, in this order: pink, purple, green, blue, orange, and yellow. And yes, I eat all of the colors in order of my favorites. However, most of the time, the orange and yellow ones are given away. Aka... the Mr eats them. =)

5) {Taco Kits} We have a love for Mexican food. Most of the time we just order take out or eat at the restaurant, but we've recently found something that we both love. It's a Taco Bell kit from the grocery store... Taco Bell Home Originals Cheesy Double Decker Taco Dinner Kit. And this is perfect for us, because I love the hard shells, and he loves the soft tortillas. Even though you are suppose to put them together with this kit, we do it our way. And y'all the cheese that it comes with... YUM. So this is how we put our tacos together... spread cheese in/on the taco first, then put in/on some sour cream, add the meat and then top it with salsa. Have you tried this kit? It's pretty awesome when you don't want to go out for the real Mexican food. And no, I'm not talking about Taco Bell! =)

We have a full weekend ahead of us! Here are some of the things I'm most looking forward to:

• my massage appt Saturday morning (I'm using one of the hour long massages that the Mr gave me for Vday)

• our Bham BLATE! So excited to meet fellow Bham bloggers

• Sams trip — y'all may think this is crazy, but I love to bulk shop

Well, that's the Sowell life's #theFridayfive... ready to link up?! I can't wait to see what y'all are posting today!  

More Randomness on this Wednesday

Today, I bring you another addition of randomness, because I have a lot of randomness going on during this week before Christmas.


1) Can you believe that this time next week Christmas will be over?! Honestly, I'm not sure if we should be happy or sad about this. In a way, I'm ready for 2013, but I love December and all the traditions. But maybe having the house back to normal, our lives will get back to normal, too? Only time will tell!

2) The Mr and I have a LOT to get done over these two days before our Christmas holidays begin. So last night we decided to finish wrapping all the Christmas presents. Well, that went great until we realized that we were missing a very important bag of presents that we purchased on Sunday from Belk. After I panicked, I called Belk and the manager was super nice, and told me to come on and she would pull what we were missing and have it bagged and ready for me to pick up. So, after a quick trip back to Belk last night, all the gifts but little Mar Belle's toys have been wrapped. And yes, I helped the Mr with this task!

3) In the middle of all the wrapping and running back to Belk last night, I attempted to start the holiday baking. Well... I got wrapped up in wrapping and left them in too long. Good thing I bought enough to make two batches. So, I'll try again tonight! (Someone please tell me I'm not the only one just now starting to do the holiday baking?!)

4) I received my very first Southern Living magazine subscription yesterday. (I feel like a real southern home owner now. HA!) And while I was flipping through the first few pages, I saw Bham's own Plain Chicken had one of her recipes featured! Congrats Stephanie!!

5) If you read yesterday's post, you'll remember that I prayed for sweet friends of ours, Jenny and Adam. Well, God heard our prayers, and they got their Christmas miracle yesterday. They saw the little's heartbeat! God is SOOO good, and I know they are grateful for all the prayers.


We hope y'all have a wonderful Wednesday.