Home stretch

That's right, 16 more days until I become Mrs. Palmore. I could not be more excited that it is finally within arm's reach. That's a picture of the inside of the church where we will be married. I love the stained glass! I have 5 more days of work until I am off for the wedding and the honeymoon. Needless to say, it's a little hard to focus.













Mom, Dad and I drove to check out the sunflowers we are hoping will bloom just in time for the wedding. It was so pretty and I think I could have sat under a tree for hours just admiring them. And I say under a tree because it was about 1,000 degrees and there are bees everywhere. So a little distance and shade would be necessary for sure. Mom felt it would be wrong not to "rescue" the ones that had been blown over and uprooted by the wind, so she hauled them back to the car where we had to fold down the seats they are so tall!

 

We are going to check on them again this weekend and hoping they will be right on schedule!

In other news, Justin moved back to Birmingham for good last weekend and it is ridiculous how much easier a relationship is when you are living in the same city. We've been able to grab lunch together and cook dinner, take Bear to the park... probably very normal things that we've only been able to do on weekends we were together. BUT, as nice as it is, it makes me realize how wonderful it will be when we are married and living together. It's no fun having to tell him bye every night. Only 16 more days! Have I mentioned I can't wait??!

Whipping something up

On Tuesday Justin came into town to surprise me. I love surprises! I knew he was coming but didn't think he'd come until Wednesday or Thursday. I was sitting at my desk at work and he walked in. I love those moments because I get butterflies all over again when I see him. Anyway, so I always look forward to when he is in town because that means I can cook. So in the 1.5 hours between the time I got off work and when I was meeting my friend Katie to go for a walk, I wanted to whip up something for dinner. One of my favorite things is getting ideas from recipes and then combining them to come up with my own recipe. I decided to go with shrimp and grits, which is something we are ordering off of menus often!

It turned out great and I was so pleased. I even got a mention on twitter from Justin about it. So, I think I'll be adding this to our suggested dinner options in the future.





Shrimp and Grits (for 2)
Shrimp


3 pieces of bacon (I used lower sodium)
1 container of baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup of green onions (green parts only), chopped
1 Tbs. butter
1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbs. of flour
1/2 cup of chicken stock

Grits
1/2 cup of instant grits
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

 

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until done. Remove and set aside onto paper towels to drain and crumble once cooled. Reserve about 1Tbs. of bacon drippings in skillet. Add mushrooms, butter and green onions (reserving a few for garnishing). Cook until soft and has reduced, about 8 minutes. Add shrimp and stir. Cook until shrimp have started to turn pink. Add flour and stir until flour is evenly distributed and has started to cook out. Add chicken stock and let simmer 3 minutes (add more stock for a thinner sauce).
 
Meanwhile, cook grits according to instructions on the box, using stock in place of water. Add cheese once grits have thickened and stir.

Serve grits onto plates and spoon shrimp mixture over the top. Sprinkle bacon and reserved green onions over the top. Serve immediately.