little notes #6

happy friday my lovely friends! its been a while since i've done one of these, so i figured i would start friday off with some notes.

dear apartment,
how did husband and i manage to accumlate so much stuff in the past few years. seriously.  i have been packing for what seems like weeks now & theres still a million more things that need to be packed. and by next weekend. and i have to go on a box hunting mission tonight. should be interesting.

dear sunny weather,
wow you got warm really quickly.. if this is any indication of what summer will be like, i'm really not looking forward to summer. not even april yet & already in the 80s.

dear kitties,
i know yall are super thrilled about all the boxes in the house that yall get to play in.  but things are about to change big time for all of us.  i know yall have no idea whats about to happen, but i'm pretty sure you wont be disappointed. lots of hiding spaces and window watching opps are coming.

dear time change,
as much as a i grumbled about losing that hour of sleep, its been pretty enjoyable in the evenings. sunlight a little longer always means getting more done.

do you have any little notes?

feel free to share.

even grab the above picture for your post.

happy a fantastic weekend my loves.

xo

featured sponsors: chrissy & jen

last week we met kassi & kayli of truly lovely blog & this week i'm introducing to you to my other two ladies.

  meet chrissy of whimsical poppysmic!  i've enjoyed reading her blog posts and following her on instagram.  her and her daughter, leonie, currently reside in germany (how fun!) and always up  to some kind of fun activity. 

they just finished a cute little easter display using real egg shells that is beyond cute & she made french knots that would anyone swoon.

be sure to check out her etsy shop for some really cute items, like jewelry and wall art.

______________________________________________________________

meet jen! she blogs over at freckle on the nose & currently resides in north carolina. she has two adorable kitties, ollie & josie, who she spoils like children.  she also has a man in her life, keith (pictured above)

be sure to stop by her little blog & see all her DIY inspiration & life adventures.

thanks again to all my march sponsors!!

if you are interested in sponsoring in april, i still have spots on open.

eatery challenge #4

in my spring fare post, 

one of my items was to "have shakes at twisted root."

well it didnt really go down that way.

i had been craving a burger. a real burger.

not some cheesy frozen patty from a window.

so husband and i made plans for saturday night to go over to the twisted root.

twisted root really became popular when they were featured on diners, drive-ins and dives

and they never looked back..

twisted root

they have a couple locations within the metroplex,

but we opted for the roanoke location in the heart of their "downtown." it was a bustling saturday night, people lined the streets everywhere and i knew it was gonna be packed.

with a sprawling menu of what seemed to be a million options i selected the st patty's patty (the month special) & a side of french fries.

the st patty's patty was a

1/2 burger* with pepperjack cheese, bacon (REAL bacon!) & avocado ranch. all typical condiment veggies included. and the fries were regular fresh cut fries. husband and i split a bucket o' beer. & he had the buffasin burger with a side of fried pickles. buffasin  = half buffalo, half venison

along with condiments they have a pickle bar! pickle bar! even snooki would be impressed by this thing.  pickles ranged from regular dill to atomic and had a little of everything in between. my favorite?? the sweet and spicy for sure! and all fresh made. nothing from the back of a pantry cabinet that has a sysco price sticker.

as ron burgundy was called, we hurried to the counter to retrieve our meal. heaven was about to be experienced.

every bit of this meal was pure deliciousness.  and i mean every word of it.and not only do that have your generic ketchup and mustard, they have chipotle ketchup & honey dijon mustard with horseradish. yum yum!

twisted root is definitely a must visit if you are in the dfw area, whether living or visiting.  menu items also include a black bean burger for the animal friendly & turkey burger for the cow friendly. do not expect chicken anywhere on the menu. you wont find it, they dont carry it. oh and exotic game burgers? oh yeah it happens here..

*all burgers are 1/2 lb. so sharing is always an option

and lets not forget dessert.  sno-cones, cotton candy & adult and virgin milkshakes have their own menu.  thats for next time, when i dont completely stuff my face.  or maybe decide to overstuff my face.

rating on a scale of 1 to 10? um a million!  already planning our next visit!

a birthday of seafood & flowers

saturday we celebrated damon's dad, scott's, birthday.  his birthday is actually thursday, the 29, but weekends are always more convenient for everyone.

we met at big fish on main street for lunch & enjoyed lots of seafood and numerous glasses of ice cold sweet tea. big fish will be making an appearance later this week in the eatery challenge.

after lunch, the twins wanted to go the park to see the fish.  the fish in question were the kois over at the city's botanical garden.  husband and i had never been before and we were amazed at what we had been missing out on. totally gorgeous & totally free.  man, we've been living under a rock. 

so add this to the list of awesome picnic places.

life lately // according to betty

this weekend was an over the top, wonderful weekend.

spent time with the twins // husband surprised me with ice cream // found cat in the tub

enjoyed seafood for a birthday // acted like children at the grocery // took a family photo

played with our food // first what i wore photo  // cranberry limeades during happy hour

my favorite canned veggie // the best burger EVER // explored nature

you can tag along on instagram if you like

@cheersbethani

closed: cheers giveaway: modcloth + ad space

its friday my friends!! and what better way to do a friday than with a giveaway!!! 

winner will receive the following:

$15.00 gift certificate to modcloth - certificate will be emailed directly to your email upon claiming your prize

&

a medium ad space on the blogola for the month of april!

(total $20.00 value!!)

entering is simple!

mandatory entry:

comment what would you buy if you won

extra entries:

follow on twitter: @cheersbethani

tweet this giveaway: must include #giveaway & @cheersbethani in tweet

follow on instagram: @cheersbethani

blog this giveaway

(leave a comment for each entry completed!!)

open to domestic residents only!!!

giveaway deadline: thursday march 29

winner will be announced: friday march 30

good luck!

xo

and the winner is:

tara

congrats tara!  please email to claim your prize...

 you have until friday before another winner is chosen.

email: cheersbethani {at} live {dot} com

thanks again to everyone who entered!

blogger bonanza dfw 2012

alot of interest was sparked from this post. which makes me smile. & a few people have even wanted to collaborate on this to make it successful.

i'm got a few ideas, but heres where i need your help.....  i need suggestions on the following things.

where to hold hold the bonanza, need a few options?? 
     for example -  a fondue place has been mentioned
do goodie bags?? if so, what kind of items would you like to see in them??
allow non bloggers (just readers) to attend??

also would like to know who in the dfw area would seriously be interested in participating, so i can get a general idea of what size space we would need to look at...  also what dates are totally off the calendar for you, so i can narrow down when are "good days" to hold the event....

heres a form you can use for feedback >> blogger bonanza 2012

thanks in advance..

spring fares + an awesome freebie!

with us two days into spring, i can tell you i'm definitely loving all this super gorgeous weather we have been blessed with. well minus the monsoon a couple of days ago, but i know we need it, so i will take it.

i've decided husband and i need to make the most of our wonderful spring weather since summer isnt too far bechind and then we will be complaining about how it is too hot to go out and do anything.  so i've made me a little "to-do" list for spring.. food edition. 

picnics, parties & lots of yummy delicious food.  i'm already dreaming of the pasta salad (its my fave picnic food!) & grabbing a delicious shake with a burger on a friday night.

have you been the website LOVE vs DESIGN?! not only is it a personalized stationary site, but they have quite a few freebies I know anybody would get excited about!  heres a few i absolutely love & figured i would share:

feather gift tags

sequins thank you card

owl library card



time card invitation

 again free!! it doesnt get much better than that!  so jump on over there and get you some fun stationary!!!

happy wednesday afternoon my darling friends!

hump day happiness

its the first wednesday of spring and i have a jillion reasons to be happy today...

rain! in the past 2 days we have gotten about 4.5 inches of rain! its like monsoon season, because the weather folks are saying theres potential for more rain today.  and all this rain puts us like at 13 inches for the year so far, double where we should we be. very thankful, because i know in july & august we will be wishing for more.

apprasials.  our home was supposed to undergo the appraisal yesterday. can't wait to hear the news - hoping its worth alot more than what were paying. 

new friends.  damon introduced me to a fellow he works with and his wife this past weekend. super awesome people & hope they become long lasting friends of ours.

smash.  i love this show.  everytime i watch it, it just puts a smile on my face. maybe its the music, or the dancing.. or maybe it reminds me of my trip to new york & seeing broadway. broadway is pretty spectacular if you've never been.. any other smash fans?

blackberry cobbler.  the picture above doesnt do this amazing dessert justice.  its getting to be the time for blackberries again, which means more homeade yumminess in cobbler form.  and when its not the season, i know i can go to the local grocery and get a frozen one. yay mom for that find! i think its my most favorite dessert even. even more so than red velvet.  eek.

what things are on your hump day happiness list?

if you choose to join in,

let me know, so i can check your happy things.

be sure to add my picture to you post.

thanks! xo



featured sponsor: truly lovely blog

this month, i had the pleasure of having a handful of totally awesome sponsors.  first up are two ladies who i've enjoyed getting to know & cant wait to share with you! they are a bloggin' sister duo which makes them twice the fun.

meet kassi!! she married her sweet husband back in july & they've been living happily ever since.. did you know they've known each other forever? check out their about me page to hear about her first letter from the now husband.

besides her normal 8-5 job, she also sells scentsy! so if youre in the need for some super awesome smelling scentsy, visit her shop to pick up the latest scents.

when shes not work or at a roping competition watching her husband compete, you can most certainly find her completing some sort of DIY project that even makes martha stewart jealous.  the blog is full of DIY tutorials and pictures, make any project look like a cinch!

meet kayli!  shes the younger of the two truly lovely ladies & i recently just wished her a happy birthday! she currently is attending college where she is studying to be an english teacher. 

when shes not studying proper grammar and writing a jillion papers, you can find her hosting a series on their blog called ten weeks of thanks.

if you havent already done so, be sure to head over to Truly Lovely & tell them Bethani sent you.

thanks again to kassi & kayli for sponsoring cheers, bethani.



cattle drives + gun fights

sunday we met some friends for a day of food, shopping & people watching.  and the best place to do that??

the fort worth stockyards during spring break. 

husband and i have been there numerous times, but its one of those places that i can visit over and over again and its always fun for me. the food is spectacular.  a little a bit of everything down there.  but if you're a first timer, Risckys BBQ or Steakhouse is the way to go. We prefer the BBQ route, because honestly you can't go wrong with a chopped beef sandwich with a larger than life glass of sweet tea. And for starters, fried pickles seems to be the only way to go anymore. 

after filling our bellies, we headed out for some wandering, shopping, and people watching.  and the stockyards never disappoints. rich culture is something you will always find & if you venture down at the right time, you might find yourself at a rodeo or in the middle of a cattle drive.  oh and "gun fights" are regular, so watch for those too.

and before you leave, dont forget to stop by the candy barrel for all your favorite mouth watering sweets, old and new. 

life lately // according to betty

probugs for kids?? // home improvement stores // wishing for trip to nyc // easy reading

stockyards with husband and some new friends // the candy barrel // cafeteria food // lazy sunday

a new 'do // stockyard steakhouse // kitty toy tornado // boxes, boxes & more boxes

st patty's day // the love shack // goofing // a kitty's new perch

ridiculous chemical names // my favorite dessert // cultural shopping // & mommas new doggie

you can tag along if you'd like.

instagram = cheersbethani

have a happy weekend

its friday!

heres to a great weekend!

what are you and your loved ones doing this weekend?

husband and i are going to pack some more. you never realize how much stuff you have until you have to pack it up. we also have a jillion things we need to take to the donation station as well.

maybe we will squeeze in a good eatery to include in the challenge. 

did anyone watch missing?  i was told its super fantastic, so maybe i will fit viewing this into my schedule.

also going to work on the hop project.  

  - going to come up with some more ideas to generate donations for feeding america. thinking design based options or something like that..

  -  i would love getting some more people involved in the hop - raising funds all over the world even. if you are interested, give me a shout, i would love you have you apart of this. email me for details: cheersbethani@live.com

our home: an update + cloudy head syndrome

the picture really doesnt do the home justice, but its the only one i can find at the moment.  just figured  i would give an update on our home buying.  we are patiently waiting for the next step in the process.  we have succesfully gone through the inspection, signed the million papers (the first time!), got them submitted to the underwriter & are now waiting for the appraisal, survey & closing.  i think the waiting game is the most stressful part.

we have been packing what we can here the last few days & our apartment is looking more barren each day. i'm shocked at how much stuff we managed to fit into our tiny one bedroom.  i'm anxiously waiting to get the keys & have ridiculous amounts of space for what seems like a million items.  we are hoping to close at the beginning of april, but anything can happen.

i've been trying to decide where i want my blog to go at this point in my life.  i've really enjoyed all the friendships i've gained from this little space i've created in blogger world.  but sometimes i feel like i really am not using my blog to its greatest abilities. 

i still want my blog to be about me & my life (love, food and adventures included!), but i feel like theres so much more i can be doing with it.  and not to a social competition level.  i'm not writing this blog to have a million followers or to have my name recognized at the local grocery, but i want to reach out and do something, like being an active voice for a organization, charity or starting up something of the like. if anyone has any ideas, thoughts or something already happening that i can be apart of, let me know.  im thinking something along the lines of hunger outreach.. hmmmm.  thoughts?



 & for those that may have seen yesterday, i really want to start or find a local blogger meet and greet; so i'm currently playing with that idea as well.  if anyone is in the dfw area and wants to collaborate, let me know.

so many things in my head i tell you. we will see where it all takes me.

blogger meet and greet

yea i kind of wish something like this would happen.