Rocky Top Tennessee

Since Tuesday's post was rather Arkansas-centric, I thought I'd keep my parents happy and not neglect my home of 22 years, Tennessee. It's hard because to me both Tennessee and Arkansas are my home. I know that there's no better way to celebrate "good ol' Rocky Top" than with a collection of some of my favorite Volunteer state pieces. Maybe I can convince Scott that we need one of these at home.

A simple gray canvas print of home.

 Tennessee's state motto.

I love this Tennessee necklace with the cut-out heart.

 This would be nice in a frame in the office at home.

 Well-known Nashville districts. 

I love seeing all the Tennessee points of interest on this pillow.

If you're like me and call two states "home," how do you celebrate both?

Sources: canvas, motto, necklace, print, sign and pillow.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

That's right! I'm already counting down; after all it's only 38 days until the beginning of football season! (What? Did you think I was talking about Christmas?)

Last week's SEC media days got me trembling with excitement. Football season is almost here, and I am giddy with anticipation! I thought I'd collect a few of my favorite Razorback things to get you as excited as I am to call the hogs!

A good Hogs shirt is a must, and I love the vintage logo on this one.

I love this preppy Vineyard Vines tote with tiny razorbacks around the brim. 

I've got a razorback cookie cutter that I can't wait to put to use. These cookies are my inspiration.

 No house should be without the fight song on one of its walls!

 I love this tailgating decor. It would be perfect for an away game party at home.

Red TOMS classics are my favorite game day shoes. 

The red polka dot trim is adorable on this pillow.

A neat design celebrating all things Arkansas.

 I might not be a pet person, but this little piggy in red boots has me rethinking that. 

Are you as excited as I am about Arkansas football? What are you looking most forward to for football season? 

Sources: Shirt, tote, sign, decor, shoes, pillow, print,  and pig.

His and hers: Ice cream

Scott and I have very different tastes when it comes to the foods we like. He prefers the perfect mix of sweet and salty, while I want sugar with a side of sugar and a little sugar on top. This difference is best displayed in our freezer where we each have our favorite ice cream treats stored. His is Haagen-Dazs' butter pecan; mine is Blue Bunny's birthday party ice cream sandwiches.

Now, Scott's not here to tell you why he loves his, but I can go on for days about why the birthday party ice cream sandwiches are far superior. One, it has cake batter-flavored sandwich cake. Two, it has sprinkles in the ice cream. Three, it has blue frosting swirled around inside. Yes, I'll say it again, blue frosting! While my taste buds might not be the most mature in the world, they know what they like — and they like blue frosting.

(Can't get enough of my blogging today? Then click on over to the Harding magazine blog to read about the Searcy Summer Dinner Theater date Scott and I went on this weekend.)

What a day

Well, here's the car. It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but it's definitely not in the condition I last saw it.

Despite the stress of the car wreck, we actually had a nice evening. At about 4:45 the body shop called and said that the tow truck driver and failed to get the car key from Scott and therefore we needed to go back to Little Rock and drop it off. We loaded up in our little rental (a roller-skate otherwise known as a Chevy Cobalt) and headed back.

Once we dropped of the key, we decided we needed to do something fun, so we went to Pei Wei (not Taco Bell) for dinner. It was nice to feel like we were out for a special reason (since dinner in Little Rock is a special event) in the midst of a trying day. When we opened our fortune cookies, we got a nice reminder that things weren't really that bad.

Yet another reminder that the car is just a thing, that we have God and each other, and that is just what we need. Plus, the wreck was an "unexpected event," so maybe we'll be getting some riches out of that?

Afterward, I decided Scott needed some cheering up, so we went to his favorite place on earth — The Container Store, a veritable heaven on earth for Type-A's. We then headed home, playing our version of "Name That Tune" with Cranium's Humdinger rules. (If your not familiar with the game Cranium or its Humdinger cards, let me explain. You've got to get your partner to guess the song by only humming or whistling. It can be quite difficult based on the song or the hummer.) Scott boasted about his whistling skills, while mine were less than great. It's hard to whistle when you're laughing. I do think I did a pretty great rendition of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So," though.

There's an Italian Renaissance idea of romance called sprezzatura. It means that you find the romance in your ordinary life. (I'd like to say that I learned this from my studies in Italian culture or through reading the manuscripts of ancient Italian philosophers, but, alas, I learned it from Ames on "The Bachelorette.") I realized that last night in the car coming home, laughing and whistling and enjoying our night despite the fact the morning had been so difficult. That's why I can say that yesterday was a good day.

Things

I chide Scott when he forgets to call or text me on the days he drives to Little Rock. I just like to know he's made it there safely. Usually I take the "no news is good news" approach and let it go. This morning as he left I said, "Try to call me if you remember." He replied, "I'll try; I'll try." I took that as a "I probably won't."

When my phone rang, I was surprised he actually remembered, even more so that he was calling and not the usual "Here." text message. His first words were not what I expected. "I've been in a wreck," he said. "I'm fine, but the car is in bad shape." Even though I clearly heard the words "I'm fine," the tears had already started falling. Just the idea that he was stranded an hour away from me and could've been hurt was too much. I felt helpless. After giving me the details, he hung up to call the police, and I prayed a quick prayer of thanksgiving that it was only the car and not something much, much worse.

Between tow trucks, insurance agents, body shops and car rentals, I was reminded that these are just things — silly, small, trivial things that mean nothing in the grand scheme of it all. I didn't care that his coffee had rained down a sticky, staining mess in the interior or that the car might be completely totaled. All that mattered was that Scott wasn't hurt and that God had protected him. That's all that matters. I'm so incredibly thankful for that.

Off the bookshelf: The Help

"You have to read The Help." 

When I got my Kindle, that book was recommended once for every other book suggested. So, never one to ignore good advice, I downloaded it as one of my beach reads. When I finished, I knew it was definitely worth all of the eager recommendations.

Set in the civil rights movement era in Jackson, Miss., the book follows Aibileen and Minny, who are black housekeepers, trusted to raise the children of their white employers but not allowed to use the same restroom, and Miss Skeeter, a recent graduate of Ole Miss who received a degree but not a husband much to the chagrin of her mother and yearns to be a writer. Together the trio document the secrets of the household help to change their surroundings and themselves in the process.

The author created such strong characters you feel that they are real, living and breathing people. Her villain, Hilly Holbrook, is so vividly described that it's easy to really, truly dislike her. She's really terrible. You know it's a good book when you audibly gasp, feel your blood pressure rise with anger, and tear up at a sweet moment. And I did all of these things.

I join the chorus of those who recommended this book to me because you should really read this book. It's been made into a movie and will come out in August, so you have time to read it before then if you're one of those types. If not, do it anyway. You'll thank me for it. I'll be waiting right here.

Weekend round-up

The Hannigans had quite the busy weekend — full of Harry Potter costumes, golfing for the mister, crafting for the misses, tacky lawn decor, capping it all off with a giant water slide with our Sunday morning Bible class. And yet I didn't take one single picture of any of it. Blogger/human being fail, I guess.

(Advance warning... this is a slight hodgepodge. But I'm allowed to be scattered every now and then.)

Friday night we went to a Harry Potter party at our friends', Katie and Nate's, apartment. I wore my Harry Potter T-shirt and felt severely underdressed surrounded by others costumed as Luna, Delores Umbridge, Moaning Myrtle, death eaters, multiple Bellatrixes and Harrys. Scott was dressed as a muggle. We feasted on dragon chili, snitch cupcakes, mandrake dirt pudding (complete with leaf-sprouting baby doll head), Hagrid's rock cakes, acid pops, and all kinds of other sugary goodies. Katie threw an excellent Potter Party, dividing us into houses (I was a Ravenclaw; Scott, a Hufflepuff. I made fun of him for that.) for trivia and scavenger hunts (or "Tom's Riddles"). Afterward we went and saw the movie. I spare you of a full on review/book-to-movie comparison, but it was tense, action-packed, and tear-jerking — both for happy and sad reasons. I'm sad to see it end.

Oh! I lied! I have this terrible cell phone picture taken of us getting ready to watch the movie. Scott's mocking my excitement.

Saturday we were kind of lazy. Scott went golfing, and I tackled some more Pinterest crafts. Some were successes, others not so much. I guess that's what you get when you buy a $2 hot glue gun.

That night we were "yard-arted" by Rusty and Cassie, meaning our lawn became the temporary home to a flock of flamingoes, gnomes, a swan holding some rubber duckies, and several other "lovelies."

Another lie! I have a picture of that, too.

Note the plunger.

Anyway, Sunday night we went to Rusty and Cassie's farm (not to return their "lovely" lawn ornaments) for a Bible class cookout/giant slip-and-slide. The men folk and children partook in the water games. The women spectated. It was so much fun to fellowship with the people in our class. Our class is really coming into its own, and I can honestly say it's been one of the greatest groups I've been a part of, for my faith, for my marriage, and for the friendships I've made.

No lying this time, just stealing, as these photos are stolen from Cassie.

I want to know how many guys were bruised and grunting like 80-year-olds the next morning. I know that I live with one of them.

This craft brought to you by Pinterest

If there was a support group for Pinterest addicts, you'd better believe I'd be there. If you're unfamiliar with the highly addictive website, let me break it down for you. Pinterest is an inspiration board website where you can collect, or "pin," your favorite things from around the Web in one easy to find location. You can also see the pins of other users and find inspiration that way. I have boards for clothes, recipes, crocheting and even The Beatles — plus a lot more. It's amazing the time you can waste away browsing through all of the stuff on there. Much like Facebook, the magic of Pinterest is lost in its explanation. You can only appreciate it when you go on a Pinterest bender, resurfacing from your computer 72 hours later wondering when it got so dark outside and what today's date is.

What Pinterest has done for me, besides sucking up a large portion of my time, is made me more crafty, or at least want to be more crafty — in the creative sense, I mean. Not the evil, mustache-twirling sense. I decided to hone my Pin-spiration (see what I did there?) and actually do some of the things I'd found.

Project one is for a Harry Potter party Scott and I are going to on Friday. While I don't have full on wizard attire, I decided that I wanted to wear something to celebrate the final Potter flick.

So, I took this Harry Potter print ...

[source]

... along with this tutorial on freezer paper stenciling ...

[source]

... and made this shirt.

I love how the shirt came out. I realize the purple shirt is more Ravenclaw than Gryffindor, but there were no red shirts in my size, so purple it is. I knew I'd done well when Scott, who was skeptical of the craft in the first place, said it turned out really well. 

I also took to Pinterest when it came my turn to host Bunco. I wanted a summery, picnic theme, so I took these ideas ...

[sources, clockwise: 1, 2, 3, 4]

... and turned them into this ... 

I had to do a looser translation on the doily on the paper bags because there is not a cute doily to be had anywhere around me. I've looked almost everywhere.

I can't wait to tackle more of the ideas I've pinned, like this crochet football hat, this zucchini spaghetti or this cute states print (with Arkansas and Tennessee, of course).

So, are you a pinner? Follow me at jmhannigan. If you find yourself with lots of time you'd love to waste, leave me your email in the comments, and I'll send you a Pinterest invitation!

Harry Potter mania

I'll admit it. I used to make fun of those on the Harry Potter bandwagon (the Hogwarts Express, if you will) — namely my sister. It seemed like a ridiculous concept to get caught up in — a boy wizard who goes to a wizard school? No thanks. But then I read the first one and I was hooked. And now here we are, at the end of an era. The last Harry Potter movie is just days away, and I'm as excited as Collin Creevy but as sad as Moaning Murtle that this is the end of it all. In celebration of this momentous occasion, here are a few of my favorite Potter-related things.

They were so young! (source)

Always a good thing to remember. (source)

Potter pillows (source)

I love info graphics. (source)

Cupcakes (source)

A LEGO Dobby — with a sock! (source)

The end ... (source)

Scott, Courtney and I at the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows several summers ago.

So, are you planning any Harry Potter extravaganzas next week? Or are you as morose as Snape and couldn't care less?

Fourth of July weekend

It was so nice to have a three-day weekend to look forward to at the end of my first week back to work. Saturday, Scott went golfing so I ran some errands and worked on a grad paper. Walmart and APA style doesn't sound like a fun morning, but I also stopped by the farmer's market to see what local offerings there were. I got some yummy blackberries and baby tomatoes.

After working on a 10-page paper I'd put off until that very moment, Scott and I went to Judsonia with Rusty and Cassie for dinner and fireworks. Since Searcy no longer has a fireworks show, I did some investigating to find somewhere else to watch things explode. And we weren't let down! Judsonia put on a good show (although some dinky Roman candles at the beginning lead us to believe that was all we would see), and even though we were out too late to get strawberry shortcake at the Bulldog, we still had a great time!

Photos by Cassie

Sunday we grilled our lunch and dinner. And "we" really means "Scott," but I did help in the kitchen making the cheesy grits and lima beans for lunch. And it all tasted good, too! Even what I made. Scott put some of my tomatoes to use in a peach salsa on top of the porkchop. The salsa later met its untimely demise all too soon at the hands of tortilla chips in front of the TV.

Scott manly manning the grill; our lunch

On Monday, we were very lazy around the house, played Trivia Pursuit (I won. Not that it matters, but I thought you'd like to know), and went over to Morris and Brenda's for barbecue, Bocci ball and Catchphrase (too bad Catchphrase doesn't start with a B). The weather was perfect, and we had a great time eating too much and laughing until we couldn't breathe in Catchphrase. Scott and I went to bed completely wiped and sad our three-day weekend was over.

Clockwise: Scott and Daniel representing the black team; Scott's impeccable throwing form; either Amber was really close or was almost really close, judging by our reactions; the boys take measuring out the distance very seriously.

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!

Good Eats: Mimi's Banana Pudding

One of my favorite summertime desserts is my grandmother's banana pudding. Like her fudge is what Christmas tastes like, her banana pudding is what summer tastes like. And it would be rude of me to not share this wonderful warm weather treat with you.

What you'll need: 

2 boxes of Nilla Wafers (I like a lot of wafers.)

5-6 bananas

1 large box of Jell-O vanilla pudding (or 2 little boxes)*

1 can Eagle Brand Milk (I use the fat-free version and it tastes the same.)

16 oz. Cool Whip

3 cups of milk

*This time I used French vanilla because Scott asked for it, and whatever Scott wants, Scott gets — because he's the one who buys the groceries. 

There's no cooking in this. It's mainly an assembly job, but it's a delicious assembly job.

Step one: mix up the pudding and the milk, adding the Eagle Brand milk and half of the Cool Whip to the mixture. This is the pudding component. 

Step two: Take a 4 quart dish and line the bottom with the wafers. I stack them up the side, too, because, like I said, I like the wafers — especially when they've sat in the pudding for a while and get soft. Once you've added the wafers, layer sliced bananas on top. Then pour about half of the pudding over that. 

Repeat step two. Now you have wafers, bananas, pudding, wafers, bananas, pudding. I stick some wafers down the side again. For my dish, this is full. So I add one more layer of wafers, then the rest of the Cool Whip on top. Then I break up a few more wafers and sprinkle them on top. Let this set up in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

I always have pudding and wafers left over, so I make Scott little banana-less banana puddings because he doesn't like bananas. It's because I love him.

There you have it — summer dessert at its finest. Do you have a favorite seasonal sweet? If not, make this and you soon will!