Eggplant Goodness

Matt and I love Chicken Parmesan, but it is not the healthiest meal in the world. I had never cooked eggplant before so I decided to try eggplant parmesan. It was a SUCCESS!

I found my recipe through Whole Foods Market. This was a hit in my house! The Eggplant with the breadcrumbs made for a savory dish that we both loved. I did make some adaptations to the recipe to make it a little healthier and it still turned out great!

Recipe: 
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise. I was able to fit about 6. 
2 egg whites- The original said the whole egg, but eliminating the yolk makes it a little healthier :) 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 Jar tomato sauce 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Take the eggplant slices and coat them in the egg whites and then in the bread crumbs. 
3. Place them on a cookie sheet and stick them in the oven to bake for 15 min and then flip them and let the other side bake for 10 min. 
4. Once the are done, increase the oven temp to 475. 
5. Take a baking dish and layer the tomato sauce, then eggplant, then cheese and repeat while ending with cheese.
6. Bake for about 15 min until the cheese is melted :) 

This was the best recipe that I could find without having to fry the eggplant. It was a great, easy, meal and we almost didn't miss our chicken! Here is a picture of the finished product:

Choose Joy

This has easily become my favorite corner in my home. From taking an old picture frame and creating a picture collage, to using old shutters as a card hanger, I throughly enjoy this space. However, one thing here is truly my favorite.

The painting on the right. "Today I Will Choose Joy." What a simple thing, right? Choose Joy. Choose joy over sorrow. Choose joy over agitation. Choose joy over bitterness. Seems easy. This painting is a constant reminder to me of where I can find true joy.

I cannot provide myself with true joy. I cannot buy a mountain of clothes from the LOFT and have true joy. My husband cannot buy me a dozen sunflowers and make dinner for me to have true joy. My true joy comes from mySavior. The Lord is the only one who can provide us with true joy in our lives.

Matt and I have been in Texas for a little over a month. Married life is going better than I could ever imagine. I have a loving husband who is so comforting, patient, and amazing. However, I found myself sad and negative about the things that I did not have here. I didn't have my friends, I didn't have a job, and my family was across the country, and I felt that my only purpose was to clean house and cook. This realization sent me into sadness.

I was reading one morning and it hit me. The Lord has given me SO much to be joyful about. While I may not always be happy about my situation, I can be joyful in the amazing life the Lord has provided for me and the salvation I have received from him.

I realized that the Lord's plan (not mine) and his grace in my life is something to be JOYFUL about. I am BEYOND blessed and should be screaming from the rooftops about the gifts I have been given.

"Let the morning bring me word of your UNFAILING LOVE, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:8

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

As I read these verses, I was filled with a sense of peace. The Lord's UNFAILING LOVE for me would fill me and sustain me. I decided to be joyful. To give thanks for what I was given and to not focus on what I didn't have. My joy can come from NOTHING but the Lord.

Choose Joy. Choose to be content in the Lord and let HIS unfailing love sustain you and give you hope.

From old picture frame to home decor goodie!

Over the past few months I have had my eye on a craft at an expensive home decor store.  It was a wood frame with wires between it and picture clips hanging from the wire.  I would see this item and think how wonderful it would look in Matt and I's home. However, my wallet did not like the price of this craft. One day, Matt and I were browsing and I showed him this piece. His first words were, "we could make that." From then on I was determined to make this piece!

My first step in making this was finding the perfect wood frame. I found this item at an antique store in my Nanny's hometown of Vinton, Virginia. This item was PERFECT and I only paid $5.00 for it!

I have now had this frame for a couple months and have been anxiously waiting to craft my perfect wire picture holder. I decided that the 4th of July would be a perfect crafting day. Especially since I could recruit Matt to help :)

The first thing that we did was drill holes in the back of the frame and place fixtures in those holes for the wire to go through.  We did three fixtures on each side of the picture frame. These fixtures came in a picture hanging kit from Wal-Mart. It was $5.95 for a kit of nails and picture hanging supplies!



We then took picture hanging wire and fed it through the eyes of the fixtures to make a straight line of wire across the frame.

Below is what the frame looked like from the back after we had attached the wire. We then added clips to the wire. These clips were left in our house when we moved in, but you can find them at any craft store.

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 Finally, it came time to add our wedding pictures! I was so excited to finally have this craft hanging in our home.

Total, it took us about 30 minutes to finish and it is a wonderful addition to our living room! Thank you to my wonderful husband who has now become quite the crafter :)

It's Dinner Time!

Over the past month and a half that Matt and I have been married I have tried really hard to learn to cook. Some of my recipes have been disasters (like trying to make a breakfast casserole and forgetting the 9 eggs). However, some of them have been very good!

I wanted to share one recipe that I have seen pinned a thousand times on pinterest, but didn't know if anyone actually ever tried it. It is the Chicken Pot Pie Cups. This recipe is from Between 3 Sisters and is a fabulous one that was so easy to make!

I made some adaptations to the recipe because I didn't want to use some of the reduced fat ingredients. My mom has always taught me to use all the fat in cooking and save the calories somewhere else :)
Here are the ingredients for this delicious meal:

-1 can of  biscuits (10 count) 

- 1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
- 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
- 2/3 cup shredded l cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of frozen mixed veggies (I used the $1.00 package from walmart!)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Separate biscuits and place each biscuit in a cup of a lightly greased 12-hole muffin pan, pressing dough up sides to edge of cup.
3. In a bowl, combine chicken, chicken soup, veggies, cheddar cheese, onion powder, parsley flakes, and black pepper.
4. Spoon chicken mixture into prepared biscuit cups.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove from oven. Place muffin pan on a wire rack and let set for 2-3 minutes. 

Some pointers I learned from this experience: 

-Use name brand, LARGE bisucits. I tried to use the cheapo biscuits and they turned out to be super tiny and didn't work for the first batch. This meant that Matt was making a mad dash for the Tom Thumb so we could finish dinner. What a great husband :) 

-I did use the reduced fat soup and the recipe still turned out wonderful!

-Their recipe said to use reduced fat cheese, but I just went with the regular and it was fabulous :) 

-Make sure the biscuits are pressed on the sides of the muffin pan so that the biscuits will cook up!

I really enjoyed making this recipe and found that Between 3 Sisters has some wonderful recipes on their blog! I hope you enjoy this fast and easy recipe :) 

Tis The Season!

This seems to be the season of engagements, weddings, and pregnancies. Last weekend, Matt and I were so excited to get to travel back to Atlanta for one of my very best friends weddings!

Father's day weekend we traveled back to my parents house for Caitlin and Bryan's big day! We were able to spend time with my parents and family members before heading up to Ringgold, Georgia for the big day!

 I have been so blessed by Caitlin and her friendship. She and I met in high school and our friendship has continued to grow stronger over the years. We have experienced so many incredible opportunities and experiences together. From living in Miami on Summer Project, to getting to experience planning our weddings together, we have been by each others sides! I am constantly encouraged by her love for the Lord and her love for those around her. I am so excited for her and Bryan and the amazing marriage journey that they are starting! I love you, friend and cannot wait to see the journey that the Lord takes you on!

Here are a few pictures from the big day!



The venue was so beautiful!

 My beautiful friend and the bride :)

 Mr. and Mrs. Tucker :)

What a great weekend we had in Atlanta!

Control Freak? Me? Never...

Matt and I are finally in Texas and are starting to become settled in our new home! We are LOVING being married and being in the same city, well, the same house, is such a blessing!

Through our journey to Texas the Lord has truly laid some things on my heart. We had the opportunity to head to New Orleans for a few days before we headed to Texas. While this was a wonderful trip, I was there wishing that we were in Texas. I couldn't wait to be in our house and start living our lives in our new city. However, thinking about all this was very overwhelming. Every thought came racing through my mind about Texas and how I was going to find a job, how I was going to make friends, how I was going to find a church, etc. As I began to think about this it began to take over and caused me to become so overwhelmed that I could not enjoy our trip in New Orleans.

I was laying in bed on our second night praying about this feeling and for what was to come. As I was talking to the Lord, he began to show me who I had been trusting in. I had been trusting in myself. I had wanted SO badly to be in control of every part of Dallas that I truly could not enjoy anything else. I was trying so hard to figure everything out that I forgot that the creator of the UNIVERSE, the God that continues to love me unconditionally, had EVERYTHING under control. As I laid there that night, I realized that by me trying to take things into my own hands I was telling God that my plan was better than his. This is something that I am constantly learning, but it is SO refreshing to know that my God has everything under control.

I was comforted by this verse as I was processing how I could fully trust in the Lord's sovereign plan:

"No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

God has prepared an AMAZING plan for us that will work out in HIS timing and not my own. I am so grateful to serve a God who has such a wonderful plan for my life.

As we start our lives in Dallas, I am challenged to remember who is in control; to remember that I do not always need or have to be in control. The Lord has everything in his hands! I am trusting Him that Dallas and our lives here are part of his perfect and wonderful plan for our lives!
 

Here are a couple pictures to depict our lives over the last couple of weeks!

 This picture is from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans! I loved their iced coffee :)

This his how we have been eating dinner! Gotta love the make
shift tables out of moving boxes!















I hope this post has encouraged you and gave you a glimpse into how the Lord is continuing to refine how I (am learning to) trust in Him! :-)

Emily

Life as Mrs. Webb!

I haven't blogged in a while and wanted to give every one a little update on our lives as a newly married couple!

First of all, thank you to everyone who made our wedding day so spectacular. I have the MOST supportive family and friends that I could ever imagine! For every one who was a part of our bridal party, came to one of our bridal events, ran errands for me, decorated the venue, did hair and make-up, etc. THANK YOU! I would have been a wreck without all of you! I am continually humbled by how many wonderful people the Lord has placed in our lives!

Our wedding day was exactly what we had envisioned! A beautiful ceremony celebrating what the Lord has brought together followed by good food, friends, and dancing! I couldn't have asked for anything more! I am including one of the pictures we have gotten so far from our wonderful wedding photographer, Jarrod Tredway! He did a FABULOUS job, so here is a sneak peek :)

We got back from our honeymoon on Sunday from a glorious Western Caribbean cruise! It was so relaxing to be able to eat, cruise, and spend some much needed time together! To recap our cruise here is a short explanation of the highlights of our week! I am also going to include some pictures of our favorite parts of the cruise!!

Cozumel Mexico:
We decided to spend the day shopping and exploring Cozumel! We left the "Carnival Compound" and started walking around the city. We bought a few decorative items for our house and saw a sign for "Discover Mexico" we thought we would figure out what we needed to discover. So we began walking down this main street of Cozumel. We walked about a mile and saw that Discover Mexico was a tourist trap of a museum. We quickly turned around! At least we got our exercise! We enjoyed the shopping and seeing the beautiful water of Cozumel.

Our ship also stopped in Belize, but the Webb's did not stop in Belize! We enjoyed a day relaxing on the ship and laying in our favorite spot: The HAMMOCK! This boat had an adult only area with hammocks and cabana's that we enjoyed!

 Roatan: If you ever have the opportunity to go to Roatan DO IT! It is the most beautiful place we have ever been and WILL go back! Here we zip lined through the rain forest, got a private tour of this luscious island, and spent time at a resort on the beach with some very yummy Rum punch! This was my favorite day of the cruise by far!

Grand Cayman: In Grand Cayman we swam with the stingrays!  We road a boat out to the sandbar in the middle of the ocean. The wild stingrays came up to the boat (they have been fed there for over 35 years) and began swimming around us! I was able to feed a stingray, hold a 60 pound one, and kiss it for 7 years good luck :)

Our final day at sea we took a behind the scenes tour of our ship! We got to see the galley, the restaurants, the bridge(where the captains navigate the boat), the engine control room, and every other part of the boat! It was an AWESOME experience! We even got our picture made with the captain of our ship!

Now we are spending time with Matt's parents, packing up our POD, and planning our move to Texas next week!! What a wonderful month we have had so far and are looking forward to our new adventure in Texas :)

Blushing Bride

Blushing bride seems to be a very fitting title to this blog post. This weekend I had the pleasure of being blessed tremendously by my friends and family. My moms cousin, Connie, and my sister hosted a WONDERFUL bridal shower for me. This shower was beyond wonderful. Everything was color coordinated to my coral wedding scheme down to the color of the punch! We had amazing food, great desserts, and amazing company.

Throughout the shower, Connie and Megan would introduce new games for us to play. One game, in particular, required me to guess the different articles of clothing that were being placed on me. Let's just say that this was quite comical. From bathing suits, to granny panties, to raincoats, my loved ones dressed me from head to toe. I am sure that this game is where the term "blushing bride" came from! As different articles of clothing were placed on me, I could feel my face turning bright red! However, I would not have changed this part of the shower! It was such a fun experience that I think everyone enjoyed!

Reflecting on this shower, I saw how blessed I truly am. I had my family, and future family, along with my wonderful friends there to prepare me, and my future house, for marriage. As I sat in the pile of presents, I was amazed at how much Matt and I have received. Matt and I are BEYOND thankful to each and every person who has come to a shower, hosted a shower, bought us a gift, or supported us through this engagement process. I know this engagement has been rough at times, yes I have been a bridezilla a time or two, but we are so thankful for all of you!

I have decided to add some pictures from this big day for everyone to see. Please feel free to laugh at me when you see the picture from the hilarious "dress the bride" game!

                         The final outcome of the "dress the bride" game! Too fun!

                                 
                                       My beautiful sister and Maid of Honor

                                         My Mom and mother-in-law!

                                         Some wonderful friends!

Something New...

This title seems very fitting for my first ever blog post. I decided to start a blog to share with our family and friends. I want to share what is going on in our lives leading up to our wedding in May and then as we continue our married lives. While we won't always have the most interesting lives, or blog posts, I still figured I would share :)

You may be wondering why it already says "World of Webb," yes that is not officially my name, but I wanted to go ahead and start blogging and decided to get used to the new name :)

Anyways, this week has been HUGE for Matt and I. It has been an emotional roller coaster of excitement, fear, doubts, and guidance. Back in November, we received information that a company in Texas was interested in hiring Matt. My first reaction was that there was NO WAY that I was moving to Texas. I didn't  want to wear cowgirl boots, I was scared of horses, and I did not want to own a cow. These three things meant that I could never live in Texas. So in my mind this was a nice gesture for this company to send our way, but it was never going to happen.

NEVER doubt how funny the God we serve is. Little did I know, two months later, Matt would be going on an interview with this same company. Still, in my eyes, Matt was just going to this interview because it was offered. I thought that there was no way he was going to move me to a state whose motto seems to be "everything is bigger in Texas!"

While Matt was at this interview, the Lord began to change my heart. He continued to remind me that he was in control and showed me that Texas could be a wonderful opportunity for us. Matt left these interviews, excited about the possibility, and to my surprise I was too.

Fast forward, one month later: here we sit about to push the accept button for this AMAZING job in Texas. I might want to mention that is amazing job is with Texas Instruments in the Apple products division!! Yes, Matt will be developing apple products! So cool! So anyways, my heart is racing and my excitement and pure joy about this situation is overflowing. I am sitting here SO proud of this amazing man that I am about to marry and SO excited about the opportunity the Lord has set up for us.

Of course I am nervous about moving to a new place, leaving friends that we love, having to find a church and community, and for me having to find a job. However, I am comforted by the peace of Christ, knowing that he has EVERYTHING planned out. I am not in control and for once in my life I am at peace with that.

We will be moving to Dallas, Texas in May and I cannot be more ecstatic for this journey that we are going to be taking! Praise the Lord for a changed heart!

Matt and Emily