Life in NC

Raleigh NC Provides Fun Filled Moms Nite Out

May 18, 2011 by Jennifer 2 Comments

NC is one amazing state from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains on the western side to the amazing Atlantic Beaches on the eastern side. Raleigh, NC is right in the the middle and has so much to offer for all families.

I was able to get a little taste of what Raleigh has to offer a couple weeks ago at the Moms Nite Out event showcased by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau and Go Mom Inc.

The fun entertainment was held at Solas Restaurant in Raleigh, NC. We had an amazing view the of the Raleigh skyline all evening long. All of the moms were able to have a taste sampler of some of the top appetizers that Solas has to offer.

As we were enjoying mingling with other moms, Primp Salon and Bar was there to pamper all of the moms. Each mom was able to choose services that they wanted to experience. I chose the eyebrow wax since it had been before the girls were born that I last had my eyebrows waxed. It really is amazing how having your eyebrows done can change your eyes. Also, I wanted to be pampered and have my hair curled.

I really did have almost tears in my eyes when I first saw my hair. It was beautiful and I just wish I could get my hair to do that every day ;).

Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau was on hand as well to give us more details about the area. Raleigh has it all for everyone from the creative genius to the lifelong learner. They actually even have a quiz on their site that will help you plan your trip and see what kind of visitor you would be.

Incredible museums are in Raleigh that the whole family would enjoy such as the Marbles Museum. Parks that are family friendly and will keep the family busy all day and have the children smiling ear to ear.

Take a day, a weekend, even a week and see what all you are missing in the Greater Raleigh, NC area. Have planning questions? Ask away. I will be happy to help.

Pillsbury Crescent Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

September 1, 2010 by Jennifer 17 Comments

As everyone knows, I am a southern gal. Born and raised in the south with the southern accent to boot, that is what makes up me – Jen Houck. I could not imagine life any other way.

Ever since I was a small little girl, my brother and I would be in the kitchen to see what we could create to surprise our parents. My love of cooking has grown even stronger over the years and most evenings, you will still find me in the kitchen. This is why it is an honor to be asked to be a Crescent Cook Pillsbury Ambassador and share my easy and delicious recipes with all of you… busy parents!

Let’s back up here and tell you the time line of how this all took place. Back in June, I filled out an application about why my love for Pillsbury Crescent Rolls was so big. I did not have any expectations, so when I received a call to say I was in the top 100 out of 3600 applicants… there was lots of grinning ear to ear. I had to submit two recipes to see if I could make it to the next round and I DID! It was then telephone interview time, to my surprise, I was not nervous at all. More than likely, it was because I was speaking of a subject that was very dear to my heart. Cooking! I didn’t hear anything for a couple weeks and then the day of L’s surgery, I received the call that I was one of the 4 finalists. I wanted to scream from the roof tops, but I have had to keep it quiet till today. That was hard.

Now fast forward to the winning recipe.

So let’s take Comfort food + Pillsbury

and we have Pillsbury Crescent Chicken Pot Pie that will make your mouth water.

Now does that not look delicious?

INGREDIENTS

* 1 bag (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables or 1 large can of veg-all
* 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
* 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed reduced-fat reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup
* 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed reduced-fat reduced-sodium cream of mushroom soup
* 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

DIRECTIONS

1. In large bowl, mix vegetables, chicken and soups. Pour into greased or sprayed 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish.

2. Unroll dough into 2 long rectangles; press perforations to seal. Place rectangles over chicken mixture; pinch center edges to seal. Press outside edges of dough to edges of baking dish.

3. Bake at 350°F 25 to 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

As we all know, us southern ladies really do love our comfort food. Ok… go on… what are you waiting for? Let’s get to cooking 🙂

New Raleigh NC Mom Blogger

August 17, 2010 by Jennifer 5 Comments

Stop the presses people, Jen has left her beloved mountains for the big city living in Raleigh, NC.

It is true my readers, I had to break off the relationship with the Blue Ridge Mountains. We just couldn’t take it any longer as I kept cheating and driving down to Raleigh throughout this year…. it became more apparent that Raleigh, NC would be our new hometown. Mountains, I still love you though and you are only 3 hours from me, so now I can cheat on Raleigh and visit YOU!

Here is to a new journey for our family. Better job opportunity for my husband, better school system for our girls and a better environment for L and her asthma. Also a better area for green and organic living. Trader Joes is definitely all that and a cup of fresh cheeries. We have already bonded tight!

So here we are… stay tuned on this new ride as I am sure we will have plenty of tales from a county girl living in a big city with a super thick southern accent. It’s all good!

Let’s get you all started on this journey with the girls’ first day of school. My babies are growing up. L started kindergarten and M started 2nd grade. L had a bit of anxiety but with some great pep talks from mom (more coming on that) she had a wonderful first day. M said everyone kept wanting to talk to her… maybe they are just enjoying her southern accent as well 🙂

Aren’t they just the cutest, stylish girls on the planet? Of course they are!

We did unfortunately already have our first ER trip and wasn’t even here a full 2 days. My precious L got spider bit. I of course naturally freaked out but all is well again and L’s foot is back to normal. It wasn’t looking so great when it first happened.

You would have had a panic attack too… or maybe I am just a overly worried mom. Yes… that’s what it is I am sure.

Here we go on the rest of our big city journey. Now let me go charge my GPS so I can find my way back to Trader Joes! They do have more than 2 stop lights here you know 😉

Ocean Isle Inn Great Family Fun

June 24, 2010 by Jennifer 3 Comments

We are driving away from the wonderful Ocean Isle Inn. It really is bittersweet as we are heading towards Fort Lauderdale now, but it is like saying good bye to family. This was our third time back to the Inn, and I really do feel like we are all family.

We arrived at the Inn on Friday to a fun filled weekend with Miss Lori. The girls were so excited to spend time with their friends, The Tiger Boys of the beautiful Carolina Mama and the Princesses of the beautiful Real Life Sarah. Hubby and I were excited as well to spend time with great friends.

The evening started off with a Tweet-Up and a Twitter Party with several mom bloggers. It was so much fun to finally meet Chele and Heather. We all had a blast sitting there and tweeting each other and hanging out with Miss Lori.

Saturday, we started the morning out by the beach with some super fun relay games. Who knew I would win a hula-hooping contest? Fun times!

The adults did participate in a game of wives vs. husbands in tug o war. The girls were trying with all our might to win this and finally I fell and ate sand and you can guess who won that contest 😉

The kids were having just as much fun as the adults too with their own relay games. Thank you Ocean Isle Inn for coming up with such creative games that could be done right on the beach.

We all thought after that to go take a dive in the pool and then head over for some good ole ice cream. It was so delicious and I found some super stylish flip flops thanks to Carolina Mama and her awesome fashion advice.

We all headed back to get ready for the grand event of the weekend. Miss Lori Activate Summer Concert. All the kids had such a blast dancing and singing to all the unique songs. I totally seen all the adults rocking out to her songs as well ;).

We ended the night with a Dance Party. It was such a grand time to just hang out by the pool chatting with all the moms and the kids enjoying themselves in the pool with beach music playing in the background. I would have loved to just bottle up that specific moment. More fun times for sure!

Sunday was all about the Dads. Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful hubby. We were able to take the time and go have some delicious seafood with Carolina Mama’s family. We just adore their family and loved having this extra time before they were getting back on the road to head home.

We were there two more days, just having a blast with Ocean Isle Inn. I love we can stay there and never have to leave the premises. The girls just wanted to play in the pool and at the beach. I was totally fine with that as we all were having such fun times. Real Life Judd was having fun squirting us with water guns. It was just great to laugh and laugh and laugh and let the stresses melt away.

The Inn is such a family friendly place, that you cannot help to fall in love with the place. The last night was spent packing up to leave… the girls started crying because they just wanted to stay longer. They really have grown to love the Inn just as much as hubby and I are! Thank you Lee, Tracey, Melanie, Maria and all the staff there at the Inn for a wonderful 5 days. We created more summer memories that will last a lifetime. We cannot wait to get back.

Fun Friend Memories!

See our complete review of Ocean Isle inn over at Traveling Mamas.

Great Food in Boone, NC

May 25, 2010 by Jennifer 1 Comment

Real Life Sarah and I had a lot of fun getting to experience all the incredible restaurants in Boone, NC! If you have not been to the High Country of NC… you are really missing out. The Taste of the High Country involved 23 restaurants from the surrounding area. It was held at the incredible Broyhill Inn.

Life in NC

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