As of late

When it’s winter and spring, I can hardly stand to wait for the summer. During the winter I just sit back and daydream about summer, thinking “The summer needs to hurry up and get here, it will be nothing but barbeques, lake time, tan skin, late nights, float trips, etc,” but when summer rolls around, it seems to be more like bed by 8:30pm, a different wedding every weekend, a baby shower every Sunday, and complete and utter exhaustion.

Nonetheless, I still get thrilled when my computer screen reads 4pm on a Friday. This weekend, it’s time for some lake fun! We have dedicated this weekend as “family weekend” at Lake Ouachita. My cousin and his new girlfriend are joining us, and will be coming in from Shreveport, LA to meet us for a weekend of fun in the sun. Also, since my sister and my mom are in Florida (white the rest of us non-teachers slave away at work this summer), my dad is coming to the lake with us for the first time. I don’t think people get how pleasant Lake Ouachita is until they actually get to experience it in all of its glory (trust me, it NEVER disappoints!)  Here below is a picture of Ouachita, so you can see why I love it so much:

Myself and our Min Pin, Cholla (such a lake dog!)

 

Since I’ve self-diagnosed myself with mild OCD and over-planning disorder (ok..so that probably isn’t a real thing, but if it was, I would have it HANDS DOWN), I like to do as much food prep as I can before we get to the lake (because honestly, who wants to spend their time at the lake chopping veggies and cleaning the kitchen, especially after a long, exhausting day in the sun?) In preparation for this weekend, I chopped up a red and a green bell pepper, as well as a white onion. We like to use these on pizzas (Friday night is typically pizza night at the lake, we like easy dishes because we are all tired from working all day) as well as some people (ahem..me) like them in their eggs or hash browns  for breakfast. I also like to make sausage balls ahead of time because they are easily freezable and easily cooked for simple breakfasts, and who doesn’t love a good sausage ball?

When thinking of snacking for a lake weekend, we usually go with a roasted red pepper hummus (the Marketfresh one from Wal-Mart is our favorite) and bagel crisps. We can’t get enough of that combination! I also really like to snack on fresh cherries! So delish on a summer day. Now I’m sitting at work, still have 3 hours to go before I get to go to the lake, and my mouth is watering. Maybe blogging about food on a slow day at work isn’t the best idea.

In other news, I got the pictures back from the Couple’s Shower. The theme for this shower, as previously mentioned in another post, was Casino Night (chosen by a highly excited Charles.) The wedding party did a SPECTACULAR job on this shower, y’all. I really do have THE best friends and family. I won’t torture you with a ton of pictures, but here are a few just so you can see a hint of what the shower was like:

The hostesses created these CUTE card decks as favors with our names on the back.

"A" cookies for my new last name (Alley)

I made this by getting an old picture frame, glittering the sides with spray adhesive and glitter, and using chalkboard paint on the glass! Totally DIY!
 

Close up of the cards

Some of the food, all with Cards that had the item description on them!

Lovin on my wabes

The wonderful Hostesses and nyself!



Well, all, I better get back to work! Maybe if I do, the afternoon will go by faster and it will be lake time (wink wink!) Hope to see you all back here real soon for a weekend re-cap!

Until next time, xoxo
Michele