Ahhhhh, Hacienda. Just saying the word makes my mouth water for their warm, salty, fresh tortilla chips dipped in salsa and ranch dip. Or sometimes I'll sneak a dip into Joel's white cheese dip when he's not looking.

If it was up to me, we would eat at Hacienda every time we go out for a meal. I have my usual entree- the chicken & cheese burrito combo with white chili. And they put a dallop of sour cream on the chili, so I don't have to get sour cream for my burrito... I just scoop it out of my chili! (I am so smart, aren't I?) Sometimes I'll jump out of the box and order their grilled chicken burritos (in the picture, on the left) or the chicken grande quesadilla. Mmmmm... When I can convince Joel to go with me, he usually gets the Torte Cubano, which is pretty tasty, too. The bread is pretty spicy, which I've never had spicy bread before.

If you have any room at the end of the meal, which normally is impossible, especially if you keep getting your unlimited refills on your chips & salsa. But if you do have room, you MUST get dessert. And that dessert MUST be a Chocolate Mudslide. Oh my word. It's to die for. Hot skillet. Chocolate chip cookie dough. Ice cream on top. Chocolate syrup on that. Melts all over the skillet so you have to eat it as fast as you possibly can. And it's definitely something to share... have them bring a spoon for everyone.

Great. Now I'm hungry for a mudslide. I could just skip the meal and go straight for the dessert. YUM.

If only I were rich...

Apparently Erin thinks I have the world's best willpower. Because she keeps adding more & more to her store that I just have to have. And for now, each item just has to go on my wish list. This week Erin, from The Vintage Pearl, has brought back a few former designs including this ADORABLE You Are My Sunshine necklace. Now, she has a lot of necklaces that I adore. But most of them wouldn't work for me, only having one child. I, personally, think it would look silly to have just "Luke" on a necklace. And if I put "Luke & Joel" it looks like I have two kids instead of one husband and a kid. So I just dream about having a personalized necklace with my kid's name on it. Until now. Having just "Luke" on the You Are My Sunshine necklace would so absolutely work. As soon as I have paypal saved up, it's mine. ALL MINE. :)

Today's favorites post brings you to TWO of my favorite things. These are usually my fall/winter favorites, but I was chilly this morning and it sounded super yummy. You can order Oh My Chai from any Tastefully Simple consultant. If you don't have one, you can use mine, Chrissy Love. She lives in Virginia, but it will ship directly to you. Anyway, this chai is one of the two that I will only drink. Yes, I'm picky when it comes to chai. I mix mine with milk, to make my tasty, yet high-calorie hot beverage of choice. The website also suggests you use cold milk & ice to make a summer treat, but I haven't ventured there... yet. The pretty little container holding my chai is another favorite of mine. I love me a handmade ceramic mug. The one pictured is from Rising Sun Earthworks, however you can find handmade mugs at your local farmers market or at several stores on Etsy.

Please don't consider me heartless, but Luke went to spend a couple of nights with Grandma & Grandpa. And I am LOVING it right now! My mornings are pretty quiet anyway, but in about 45 minutes Luke would normally rise from the dead... and he is the grouchiest living dead you ever did see. And guess what? I don't have to deal with that today! Or tomorrow! I can run errands without anyone complaining the whole way. I can browse stores without anyone asking if we can go to the toy section a million times (but ya know, I always end up in the toy section anyway- Luke or not!? Go figure). I think I'm going to get the dining room painted. And maybe even Luke's room. If Luke's room doesn't get painted, then it's definitely getting a deep clean and a restructuring.

Oh the joys of spending two days kidless. What would you do if you were kidless for two days?

I'm not sure exactly how I found her blog, but I'm so glad I did! The Vintage Pearl creates the most adorable hand-stamped jewelry ever! And some day I'm going to own the Dainty Heart Necklace. Every once in awhile I'll read through her blog and browse through her store. So cute.

Right now, what a really want is someone to have a Tupperware party. Ha ha! There are so many things that I want to replace in my kitchen. First off, I would get another set of tumblers with lids. I used to have a set, but I'm left with one cup and two lids.


I would also like to get another set of bowls with lids. I have my original set, but they're nice to have.


I would probably get one of these because the lid on mine was too close to the heat escape on the oven and it melted.


I REALLY need a new gallon pitcher. The one I got from Big Lots for $5 can't support the weight of a gallon of liquid. So it's hard to lift.


Now, if you are having a Tupperware party, please let me know! Granted, I think my husband would leave me if I bought EVERYTHING on my list, but I'd for sure buy something!!

Each Friday I'm going to talk about one product I absolutely love. Today is the Pampered Chef Micro-Cooker. I seriously use this product each and every night that I cook. It's perfect for cooking frozen vegetables, boiling water, and melting chocolate for dipping. I especially love it for cooking veggies because there is a strainer in the top. So you just cook, strain, and sometimes I even serve them in the same dish. (I'm all about dirtying less dishes, ya know!)