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The Sun Will Come Out

After several days of constant rain, the sun decided to make an appearance this morning. Although it rained straight through the 4th of July, we made the best of it and had a fun holiday week.

 

 

Austin has been wanting to buy a cornhole set for a while now. He looked up several boards online and decided it would be cheaper (and more fun) to build his own. He got together with a few friends this past Tuesday and built some awesome handmade cornhole boards. On Wednesday night we decided to paint them so they would dry in time to use them for all of the festivities on the 4th. It was so fun to pick out all of the paint colors and do this project together.

 

 

 

 

 

In between paint layers, I worked on another project. My mom gave me a recipe for these Cheesecake bites, and I decided they would be a perfect treat to bring to the 4th of July party we were going to.

 

Recipe: Cheesecake Bites

Recipes makes 20 cheesecake bites

 

Ingredients:

• 2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature.
• 2 eggs.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vanilla wafers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2.  Combine all ingredients with mixer, leaving out one egg. Combine until smooth.

3. Add 2nd egg, mix all ingredients until smooth. The batters should look similar to frosting.

4. Add 1 vanilla wafer to the bottom of each cupcake liner

4. Spoon batter onto vanilla wafers. I used approximately 1/4th cup for each one. This mixture should make between 18-20 cheesecake bites.

5. Bake cheesecake bites for 20-22 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow cheesecake bites to cool.
8. Refrigerate.
7. Add desired topping.
8. Enjoy!

Tip: The longer you allow these to refrigerate, the better. I refrigerated mine over night and they were perfect the next day!

These cheesecake bites were so easy to make and everyone seemed to love them! We took them over to our friend Elizabeth's house and enjoyed a fun night of corn hole, grilling out, and friends!

It was our first major holiday as a married couple and I'd say it was a success!

-Gemma

Sweet Summertime

July already?

 

 I can't believe we are almost half way through this Summer! Our Summer has been filled with lots of weddings. Since Austin and I got married we have been to 3 weddings, with 3 more to go to this summer. I absolutely love weddings and have loved going to them even more since we have been married. Austin has been the best man in 2 of the weddings we have recently been to. One of the perks of getting married is that you have a date/dancing partner to weddings for the rest of your life!

 

One of the couples that got married came and stayed with us this past weekend. They were our first official apartment guests to come and stay. Saturday we had a bunch of friends over for dinner then Sunday we introduced Adam and Hilary to Chipotle (yum!) and took them to a Braves Game.

 

 

I am so thankful for all of the incredible friends we have and hope that our guest room gets used often during our time in this apartment! It has been a sweet summer getting adjusted to married life and spending time at weddings and with all of our friends and family. Other then that we have been spending way too much time walking around Costco and eating Mcdonalds ice cream cones.  You can find us driving through Mcdonalds about twice a week.

 

 

I usually have to work holidays because I work as a nurse, but I managed to get the 4th of July off this year. I can't wait to watch some fireworks and eat a lot of hot dogs! I hope you all enjoy the holiday with the ones you love!

 

-Gemma

 

 

"I'm going to start a blog!"

 

This has been my New Years Resolution for the past 3 years. A few years ago my mom and I started reading a lot of blogs. We became addicted to learning about everything from extreme couponing to cooking every meal you can ever imagine. Blogging is such a fun way to share about life and the lessons learned along the way. As I settle into the middle of my summer, I have finally worked up the gumption to start my own blog. I have just entered into the sweetest season of life and I am thinking this is a perfect time to start documenting it.

 

A little about me:

 

 

 

My name is Gemma (pronounced Jay-ma). The meaning of my name is "precious gem" and I have never gone a day in my life without explaining to someone how to pronounce my name. I am a lover of Jesus, coffee, coke zero, chocolate chip cookies, fashion, decorating, my friends, my family, and my new husband Austin. This blog is a way to share all of those loves with you!

 

 

On April 20th, 2013 I married my very best friend, Austin. Austin and I met and were friends in highschool but didn't date until the end of college. It was truly God's faithfulness that brought us together and marriage has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I am learning every day what it means to be a wife and a best friend to this incredible gift that God has given me! We love going to the movies and eating lots of popcorn, watching the Braves (well really he watches the Braves while I pinterest), traveling, and spending times with all of the people we love. I hope that this blog can be a way I document all of the way's God has filled our lives with joy!

 

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with JOY."

Psalm 126:3

 

-Gemma