Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue

With summer being only a few weeks away, my taste buds have been craving everything that is sweet and BBQ-y! This past weekend, I decided to make for the second time this month, Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue. You can find the original link to the recipe here. I made only a few minor changes to the dish, but all in all, this will continue to be a BBQ fixin' favorite for me!

Ingredients

+ 3-4 Fresh Chicken Breast

+ 1 Large White Onion

+ One 12 Ounce Bottle of Favorite BBQ Sauce

+ 1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

+ 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

+ 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

+ 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

+ Black Pepper & Salt to Taste

Directions

1. Combine and mix BBQ sauce, italian dressing, brown sugar, 

Worcestershire sauce and red pepper flakes into large mixing bowl.

3. Chop onion (Julienne Style) and place with fresh chicken 

breast into bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker. 

Season with black pepper and salt

3. Pour sauce over chicken and onion mix. Turn slow 

cooker on high and cook for 3 hours. 

4. Remove chicken breast and shred. Then place shredded

chicken back into slow cooker pot and cook for 1 more hour on low.

5. Enjoy on a salad, wheat bun, or how ever you please!

I topped this BBQ sandwich off by placing the chicken on a wheat bun with some fresh baby spinach and sliced pepper jack cheese. It was oooooooh so good! 

Hope you find some enjoyment and taste bud love in this recipe like I have, haha. If you decide to make it, please share with me some of your favorite toppings! Have yourself a beautiful day!

xx jamie lynn

Seasons Changing

Hello lovelies,

Much time has past since I last posted on here! Spring semester is just about over, and the long winter we've been having here in Virginia has finally decided to take a rest so that the sun can finally do its thang. Thankfully, I get to look forward soon to spending my summer days in the sun, camping, traveling and documenting more about my day to day delights!

I have been, as usual, behind on keeping up with my 30 lists, but hopefully when I am able to complete last month's challenge, I can share the entire thing on here with you all in one big photo! Until then, here are some spring snaps from this past week (with my iPhone 4s).

Now, on to summer. It's my second favorite season, next to fall, and it is literally right around the corner! There are so many fun events coming up that I am really looking forward to. To name a few, I will be:

• Going camping in Shenandoah National Park (a yearly vacation that Scott and I love to take)
• Flying to Minnesota to be a part of my cousin's wedding
• Attending my little brother's college graduation
• Visiting and supporting my town's farmer's market
• Taking more advantage of the metro system to tour parts of northern Virginia
• Moving to a new space with Scott
• Summer thrifting
• Visiting Ocean City for a weekend

Didn't I say I would only name a few? Haha! Now before I finish this little post update, I would like to share with you what I made for lunch today. Why? Because it was too darn easy and good to not share! Margherita pizza's are my all time favorite, and they make a great summer dish too. 

Classic Margherita Pizza

+ 1 Personal Pan Boboli's Pizza Crust

+ 2 Garlic Cloves (minced)

+ 1/2 Cup (or less) of Organic Pizza Sauce

+ 4-5 leaves of freshly picked Basil (split)

+ 1 Tomato (thinly sliced)

+ 1/2 Cup (or less) Mozzarella Cheese

+ 1/2 Tsp McCormick's Italian Seasoning

+ 1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper

+ Olive Oil

Directions 

1. Turn stove on to 450 degrees. 

2. Simply begin to prepare all of the above ingredients and place on pizza crust as so: 

pizza sauce, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, mozzarella, split basil, 

tomatoes, crushed red pepper, a sprinkle of more mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil. 

3. Place on oven rack and bake for 8-10 minute. 

4. One done, let pizza cool to desired temperature, and voila! Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite summer dishes? Thank gosh for Pinterest, because I have a whole board of pins with some amazing recipes to try! 

Hope your wonderful selves have been enjoying the spring season so far!

xx jamie lynn

30 Days of Lists: March 2013

Hello! 

Happy (very, very belated) new year from my blog to you! As you can tell, I have been M.I.A. on here since Christmas of last year; my decision to go back to school has kept me quite busy these past couple months! However, I've made a personal goal to keep up with my creativity throughout the rest of this year, and as much as possible!

Next month, I am looking forward to completing the fourth round of 30 Days of Lists! If you have not heard about this little project yet, you're in for a treat! Every day for the month of March, a different topic will be prompted for you to make a list. Consider it as a  fun and easy way to get creative on a daily basis. Without any rules or right way to make your lists, you may create them in any form and however you please! In past rounds, I have tried making lists from scrapbooking techniques to using my iPhone. This year, however, I have decided to just use a plain ol' sketch book to doodle in every day!

If interested, there are still two weeks left to complete your registration! Head on over to 30daysoflists.com for more information. If you have any questions about my past experiences, please do not hesitate to comment below or email me!

xx jamie lynn

"Creativity is contagious, pass it on."

- Albert Einstein -

Merry Christmas!

What a day. Although Scott and I did not get to spend Christmas today with our families, we are thankful for this day and the beautiful people on this world. Long story short...I am extremely grateful for the random acts of kindness from the tow truck guy, his friend (the mechanic), and the mechanic's son. These three gentlemen gave us their time on this holiday to help repair our car.

We started our three hour drive to New Jersey for the holiday when out of no where, Scott's back tire blew just as we were making our way through D.C.. We thought "Hey, it's okay since we've got a donut wheel", but little did we know that one of the lug nuts was stripped and corroded to the stud. Basically meaning, it was being one stubborn nut!

While on the side of the road, multiple cars stopped to offer help and assistance. We kindly thanked them and told them we had a tow truck on route and we would be fine for the time being. A little while later our tow truck driver arrived and was pleasantly upbeat for being on the clock on a holiday. He hooked up the car to pull it to the next exit where he could re-examine the situation.

Upon realizing that a mechanic would need to be involved, he offered up two solutions; one being rather unorthodox. Either we could have the car towed to a place of our choosing, or we could see if his mechanic friend who lived down the road, was home and able the help.

Trusting the winds of fate, we decided to see if his friend was home, being that this would mean immediate service and it was the closest option. Luckily he and his son were out front working on a car when we pulled up. Without hesitation he took on the challenge wholeheartedly. Between the three of them, a dynamic tow truck, several forced on socket wrenches, a blow torch, and a rather large hammer, the job was done and the wheel finally came off.

Even after saying our thank yous, goodbyes, and wishing them a merry Christmas, the tow truck driver insisted on leading us to a gas station to check the tire pressure on the remaining tires and the doughnut for our safety.

So anyway, my long story short, God bless these people and their good will. I snapped this picture while we were waiting for our tire to be fixed, just to remind myself of all the good that came from today's events.

Hope you all are having wonderful times spent with your loved ones. Merry Christmas, dear friends!

xx jamie lynn

Holiday Inspiration: Gift Wrapping

Hey there! With Christmas just around the corner, I've decided to post a little bit of gift wrapping inspiration for all of you last minute wrappers {like myself}. I kind of took the inspiration from these four websites and wrapped them up into all my gifts (hehe, no pun intended). So, hopefully you are able to find some last minute inspiration through these posts too! 

1. DIY Hand Lettered Gift Wrap by the sweetest occasion | 2. DIY Pinecones and Polkadots Gift Wrap by the charley girl | 3. DIY Festive Wrapping with Holiday Gift Tag by oh so beautiful paper | 4. DIY Washi Tape Bunting by annixen 

Supplies:

+ kraft wrapping paper / gift boxes

+ washi tape

+ scissors

+ twine or string

+ sharpies / pencils / pens

+ stencils

+ assorted gift tags / festive paper 

Please Note: I kind of went bunting-happy while wrapping these. ;)

This Christmas, Scott and I will be spending the day with my family in New Jersey to visit some family friends from when I lived in Japan. {FYI: The Hemphill's make some of the most delicious meals during the holidays; my tummy is more than thrilled to make the three-and-a-half hour drive up north!} If only these next two days of vacation could somehow turn back into a week though?

Until my next post, I would like to wish you all the Hope, Wonder, and Joy that the season can bring! 

Happy Holidays, dear friends.  

xx jamie lynn

a year in review: fromwhereistood

I have been officially off from work and on my little stay-cation break for about three days now, and I must admit that I could really get used to this feeling! Scott and I took a much needed grocery trip to the store yesterday so that we could fill up our fridge with yummy things to enjoy on our week off together. When you don't have much planned though, the time seems to really go by fast!

Speaking of fast, this year flew by in a jiffy! Although 2012 did not feel half as busy as 2011, I still enjoyed the moments that were made and experiences that were given.  I was able to concoct a little review from some of my Instagram photos of the various places I've stood throughout the past two years. It's fun to see where life brings you in a years time...

#fromwhereistood | 2011

#fromwhereistood | 2012

As far as plans for this next week off, I don't have much planned, and I plan on keeping it that way. ;) Hopefully I am able to sneak in a little photography adventure though {while I have some free time to do so}! Until then, have yourselves a lovely weekend. 

xx jamie lynn

Great Falls Park, Virginia

This past weekend, Scott and I went up north {and by north, I mean half an hour} to explore about Great Falls Park, Virginia! In the past two years of living in northern Virginia, we had no idea that such a place even existed in the outskirts of the D.C. area! We are more than thrilled about finding this gem, and cannot wait to make a trip back. Oh, and I hear there is a Maryland side to the falls that is known to be even prettier! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so thankful to have brought my camera on this little adventure of ours. I was able to test out my new Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8  lens that was recently gifted to me. I am in absolute love with this wide lens! 

Also, I just love this quote by Jason Mraz: “Here’s to freedom, cheers to art. Here’s to having an excellent adventure, and may the stopping never start.” 

Happy Tuesday to you!

xx jamie lynn