Halloween Decor

For those of you that know me well you know that Halloween is by far my favorite holiday of the year. Yup, it even beats out Christmas. Although the hubs doesn't get nearly as excited about it as I do, he's always very kind and let's me decorate to my hearts content. Ever since I was little I've had this odd fascination with Halloween decorations and it's still very hard for me to resist the urge to swoop up any and all decorations I find for this particular holiday.

So, it really shouldn't surprise most of you that I decided to break out the decorations a little early this year. In years past I've attempted to be courteous to my roommates and refrained from putting anything up until the 1st of October, however this year I gave it a little earlier than usual as you can see.

I had been wanting to make a holiday wreath for a while, but wreath forms are far and few between, aka non-existant, here in Del Rio. So, as soon as I saw they had a handful for sale at Wal-Mart for fall decorations I jumped on the opportunity and went to work. I researched a little bit online and found a few great blogs that gave detailed instructions on how to make a tulle wreath! I was also shocked to find that Wal-Mart had Halloween themed tulle. As we don't have a Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or any crafts stores here this was very exciting ;)

Here is the main link I used with the tutorial if any of you want to make your own. I obviously did mine a little different since I used a straw wreath and added letters:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/10/how-to-make-a-tulle-wreath-halloween-edition/

Somewhat finished product!

I couldn't find tulle on a roll here in Del Rio, so I just bought 3 yards of each color and that was exactly the right amount for my wreath (I think it was somewhere around 14" round). I also purchased the letters at Wal-Mart, painted them, and then hot glued them to the finished wreath. I'm sure those of you that live near a craft store would be able to find much cuter decor to add though ;) It's slim pickins around here! I'm hoping to hit up Hobby Lobby when I head up in October to visit one of my sweet friends in "the big city" and add some more themed decorations to it!

On another not, the hubs and I bought a tub of Ben and Jerry's the other night, something we rarely do as we will devour the entire thing in less than 2 days. Anyways, were were very adventurous (note the sarcasm) and tried a new flavor as opposed the always amazing half baked cookie dough and brownie batter! Let me tell you THIS STUFF IS AMAZING. Not only is it endorsed by the always hilarious Stephen Colbert but it's downright addictive...seriously go to the store right now and get it...I'm not kidding.

GET IT, NOW

Love,

The Etheridges

Pumpkin Lovin

Hi again, can you believe that I am actually blogging twice in one week?! Much less twice in two days?! It's a miracle really! Anyways, I just wanted to share this yummy, and surprisingly rather healthy, version of pumpkin muffins I found. A friend of mine introduced me to this awesome website called SkinnyTaste, which is where I found this recipe. This woman makes healthier recipes for the food that we all love! I was attempting to get in the mood for fall and stumbled upon this yummy recipe and thought I would give it a try although it seemed WAY out of my comfort zone since it uses raw sugar, no egg yolks, or any milk! It doesn't call for water or milk (weird) and can be made gluten free (for my two sweet friends that are allergic) according to the comments on her website from other bakers.

Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (King Arthur)

3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (King Arthur)

3/4 cup raw sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

baking spray

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and lightly spray liners with oil for easy removal.In a medium bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking soda, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.In a large bowl mix pumpkin puree, oil, egg whites and vanilla; beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture to the wet mixture, then blend at low speed until combined; do not over mix. Fold in chopped nuts.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tin and bake on the center rack for 24 - 26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Let them cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Makes 12 muffins.

* These are great with a little butter for breakfast or a small snack! I would recommend taking her suggestion and using the baking spray inside the liners. I know it sounds odd, but if you don't use it they stick horribly to the liners! Enjoy :)

Love,

The Etheridges 

Life In The Slow Lane

The past few weeks have been pretty quite around the Etheridge household. The most exciting thing that's happened is the beginning of football season, and let's just say we are very much happy about that! It even actually has started to feel like fall around here this past week with the cooler weather we've been having , meaning below 100+ degrees,  and even two days in a row of light rain! Needless to say, we are both very excited to head home in November for Thanksgiving and to get our fix of Georgia football, real fall weather, and friends and family ;)

Training for the hubs is going well and he is still loving flying the T-38! I just can't believe that we only have about 4 months left of UPT before he graduates and we find out what's next for us in our Air Force career! As exciting as it is though I'm also learning to enjoy the time we have together now before things get crazy again after graduation, no matter where we end up.

I'm still in full swing as far as school is concerned. Thank goodness I only have until December until I graduate (woo hoo)! A few weeks ago I was also able to participate in the ladies crud tournament on base here! I played last year as well and had such a blast, I certainly wasn't going to miss it this time around. If you're wondering what crud is, I encourage you to look it up. It's a traditional Air Force game that has been around for a long time. It's generally played by the men, but the base holds a tournament here for the women every year so we have a chance to get in on the action and join in on the fun too! It's always fun getting to hang out with the other spouses here and have some fun playing a competitive game!


I felt bad for not blogging in such a long time, so even though there isn't much to update ya'll on around here I thought I'd just stop in to say hello! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and enjoying some college football like we are!

Excited about the first game of the season!

Before the Crud Tournament! I love each and every
one of these sweet ladies. They are such a blessing to me.

Poor little Winston has been sick lately :( Luckily he's
well on the road to recovery though!

Love, 

The Etheridges

Italian Style

Hi there again! I apologize, yet again, for my absence on here. Between finishing up summer courses, working extra hours, and just the general daily happenings I haven't even thought about blogging. On a more positive note though I am officially the first day into my FINAL semester (woo hoo)!! I couldn't be more excited or ready to be done with my Bachelors in just a few short months. I've certainly travelled down a much different path than most to get to this point, but in the end I'm just excited to almost be done and have that diploma to hang on the wall :)

In other news, Mitchell is almost two months into Phase III, and I can't believe it. He soloed the T-38 last week, so exciting, of which I was only able to snap a few photos before I had to leave. Hopefully when he solos again here in a few more weeks I'll be able to stay longer and can actually get some proper photos like the other spouses ;) I also can't believe that in only 5 short months we will be dropping, graduating, and getting ready for our next great adventure.

Life here in Texas is going just fine for the Etheridges, and we are still enjoying our time together as a little family in the slow moving town of Del Rio. I can't really complain any more about the town, I've actually come to really enjoy the slow pace of life, but not necessarily the lack of good food. Being from the south I think we were engrained with a desire for culinary greatness wherever we live...

Little Winston is not a fan of bath time...

We've actually gotten a little bit of rain here...

Drop night for our sweet neighbors...I sure am going
to miss them a lot! 

Speaking of food, I wanted to share a recipe I found last week. I was able to host the lovely ladies I have bible study with each week and had to figure out something to feed a larger group than I'm used to preparing food for! Naturally I went straight for an Italian dish and researched a meatball reciepe. Mitchell isn't generally a huge fan of them, so I didn't have one on hand to whip up. Long story short, I found this delicious recipe from a fellow blogger and gave it a whirl....it was delectable and very easy to make. Enjoy!

Classic Italian Meatballs

Ingredients 

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup water

1 cup buttermilk

1-1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs (I use whole wheat)

4 teaspoons minced garlic

1 medium onion, finely minced or grated

1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1-1/2 lbs. ground pork

3 lbs. ground beef

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine eggs, water, buttermilk, and breadcrumbs in a bowl; let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken as the bread crumbs absorb the liquid. To this thickened mixture, add garlic, onion, parsley, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper; stir until combined. In separate large bowl, combine ground pork and beef. Mix meats with fingers or a large fork using a light touch until 2 meats are combined throughout. Add bread crumb mixture to meats. Mix these together, again using a light touch with fingers or large fork. Combine ingredients well, but do not overmix. Form meatballs with hands, or use a scoop. For larger meatballs, use 1/4 cup meat per meatball or use a generous 2" scoop. For mini meatballs, use 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons per meatball or a generous 1-1/4" scoop. Place meatballs on baking sheets. Bake large meatballs for 30 minutes and mini meatballs for 15 minutes, until no longer pink in center.

Love, 

The Etheridges

Dollar Days...Round Two

I literally JUST pulled this delicious concoction out of the oven and wanted to share it with you guys as soon as possible. No it's nothing fancy, and NO it's not earth shattering, but I just get so gosh darn excited when I find a recipe that is not only easy, but not super fattening and most importantly quick and delicious! Per usual I found it while I was pursuing through Pintrest the other day. Without further ado...

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

Ingredients:

2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

4 cups Cooked Brown Rice¾ cups Frozen Corn15 ounces, fluid Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)4 ounces, fluid Can Green Chilis½ cups Salsa1 cup Low-fat Cheddar Cheese, Plus More For Topping2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro For Garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for cilantro and mix thoroughly to combine. Make sure the yogurt and cheese are stirred in throughout the entire bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with extra cheese if you would like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

*I used sour cream (shhh don't tell the hubs, he'd never let me get away with either sour cream or greek yogurt) and brown rice. I'll say it here and you can quote me on it, we are without a doubt a white rice family. No matter how hard we try to eat and "like"brown rice, it just aint' gonna happen! If you like brown rice though then go for it, but next time I will probably make it with white.

In other news, Mitchell had his Dollar Ride today, aka his first flight in the T-38. As it is a night flying week, meaning they go in around noon or so and don't get home till 10 or 11, I haven't heard how it went other than a quick phone call, but I'm sure he had a blast and everything went great! Winston and I have enjoyed getting to spend more quality time together at night eating dinner and watching gushy romantic movies which I never get to indulge in with the hubs home ;) Besides the hubs Dollar Ride this week it is also drop week for our amazing friends and neighbors. I seriously cannot wait until Friday night to celebrate with them as they find out where they will be going next and what planes their sweet husbands will be flying in the future! Sending them lots of love, prayers, and well wishes!

Little Winston sure does love frisbee time!

Taking the hubs dinner all week reminds me of when he was
at USAFA and I had to drive up to the Academy
a few times a week for dinner ;)

Until Next Time...

Love,

The Etheridges

Celebrating America

Well, as I haven't posted in ages I feel like there is a lot to catch everyone up on! Not only did we celebrate the great nation of America in style, but we also were able to attend Mitchell's sister Cate's wedding a few weekends ago. Mitchell and I were both blessed to be able to head back home to Georgia, separately, to celebrate her special day. We both thoroughly enjoyed getting to catch up with his family members and family friends since that isn't something we get to do often. My wonderful mother-in-law did a great deal of the planning and the entire thing turned out perfectly! I was also fortunate enough to spend some extra time with the Etheridge side of the family on a much needed girls trip to the lake. It was wonderful to catch up and just have some quite time away from the men folk while reading the latest gossip magazines and recapping the wedding festivities. I am so blessed to have such wonderful "new" family members!

Girls lake trip! 

As for the 4th of July, the hubs and I celebrated the lovely holiday up in San Antonio together with some other awesome couples that we have met while here at Laughlin. We stayed near the Riverwalk, watched fireworks, went to Sea World, and also floated down the lazy river up in New Braunfuls. We both really enjoyed some R&R right at the beginning of Phase III as we know this next portion of UPT will be rather taxing on us both. The good news though is that we finally figured out that we should be dropping around January 4th, meaning that is when we will find out where we will be stationed and what plane the hubs will be flying! I know the time is going to fly by with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us :)

Fireworks from the RiverWalk on the 4th!

Sea World!

I am still in the midst of summer classes with my final (woo hoo) semester coming up this fall! I am FINALLY graduating in December and could not be happier to almost be done with school for a little while. Mitchell is still in the academic phase with the T-38 which means he isn't back to flying yet but will be in a few weeks as we head into August. That's about all the updates here at the Etheridge house,  thanks for checking back in :)

View on the way back to Texas!

Bridesmaids luncheon! 

Right before the wedding with my
handsome husband ;) It's nice seeing him
in something other than his flight suit for once!

My two favorite boys out on the lake

Love,
The Etheridges

Two Phases Down, One To Go

I apologize for taking so long to post about Mitchell's track, but I figured most of you who read this already found out the exciting news via Facebook, email, or phone! If there are any lingering questions though Mitchell tracked T-38's last Thursday (woo hoo)!!

We are both very excited and I could not be a more proud wife. It has taken A LOT of hard work, on both our parts, to get to this point and it is so nice to see our efforts finally paying off. This will be the final phase of UPT for Mitchell and also the most intense and time consuming as he learns to fly the T-38.

For those of you who are wondering what this means in terms of what he could be flying after graduation, it could sincerely mean a number of different things. At the end of graduation Mitchell could possibly "drop"(what we call it in the Air Force world) a fighter, bomber, or something of that sort and be stationed at a number of different places of which I couldn't even begin to list here. At this point we are keeping our options open and trying not to narrow down what he wants to fly, but we assume that will come the further he progresses in this new phase!

Here is a photo of the T-38 which the hubs will start
 flying in about a month
and throughout the remainder of pilot training!

Now, many of you may ask what does this mean for me, the lovely spouse of a UPT student? In all honesty nothing really changes on my front! Mitchell will go back to 12 hour days Monday-Friday, unlike the past 3 weeks which he was fortunate enough to be able to come home for small breaks throughout the day. Other than that my role remains the same meaning packing lunches, taking care of little Winston, and staying as supportive as possible while slaving away at school work and enjoying my job at the coffee shop!

By this point I hope I have not bored anyone to death, and if I have I sincerely apologize ;) To wrap up this post I thought I would share a lovely pasta side dish I found, and then tried recently! It's quite delicious and beyond easy. We made it as a side to some garlic chicken we made the other week. Enjoy...

Creamy Bow Tie Pasta

1 cup uncooked bow tie pasta
1-1/2 teaspoons butter
2-1/4 teaspoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Dash salt
Dash dried basil
Dash crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons 2% milk
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the oil, flour, garlic and seasonings until blended. Gradually add the milk, broth and water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Remove from the heat; stir in cheese and sour cream. Drain pasta; toss with sauce. Yield: 2 servings.

Love,

The Etheridges