Downton Abbey Season 4 is.... Over?

Hello blogging world. No I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I've been quite crazy busy, which I know is no excuse!! First off, I leave for England ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW!!!! Ahh!!!! But I will post more on that later. Secondly, I can't believe Downton Abbey Season 4 is OVER. I'm telling you, watching that show stresses me out and leaves me exhausted! Here's a little list of my own Season 4 Downton thoughts.

1. How did Edith manage to leave THE COUNTRY for 9 months?! Really?! Sheesh. But somehow I feel as if that secret is not going to stay a secret...

2. Rose gets on my nerves. 

3. Lady Mary, of course, was as lovely as ever. Even though I am a true Matthew fan, I like Tony Gillingham. The other dude is ok, but Gillingham is sweet and such a gentleman. <insert romantic sigh here>

4. OH MY GOODNESS Bates obviously killed that guy. Ok yeah he deserved to die but I don't think he should have killed him for one reason. Because Anna has already had to go through this whole prison/death sentence thing! Why would Bates take that chance again?! 

5. Lady Violet is AWESOME. Period.

6. Branson. I don't like that teacher lady. You need to come to America and find me. I promise to be a suitable mother to little Syby. That is all. 

7. As always, I cannot stand Thomas. He disgusts me.

8. What?! Carson and Mrs. Hughes??? Hmmm. Seem to be a jolly good pair if you ask me! 

We shall see what season 5 brings! :) 

Pasta: For Me, Myself, and I

Well folks, as I said in my first post, I love to cook. So, the other day I had the entire afternoon to myself, and decided I would NOT eat another Subway or frozen pizza! I decided to experiment a little because I wanted PASTA! Yummy pasta that is extremely bad for you but oh so delicious and French bread to go along with it. I would like to share my new found recipe for this fancy dish, "Pasta for One." I searched Pinterest (my addiction) for a recipe for one pot pasta. I found one, but made a few adjustments. Here's whatcha do.

Ingredients
4 oz. fettucini (or whatever pasta you like)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken strips
Chopped onion (I used about 1/2 cup, but whatever you like)
Garlic (fresh or powder)
Cherry tomatoes (however many you like)
Salt and pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup of alfredo sauce

Ok, so first you need to start cooking the fettucini according to the package. Then, heat the olive oil in a saucepan in order to cook the chicken strips. Salt and pepper the chicken, cook them in the oil, then take them out and dice up the chicken strips into small pieces. Turn the heat on the saucepan to low and add garlic and onion. Saute for a few minutes. Put the chicken back into the pan and add the tomatoes. Cook for a couple minutes. Add the cooked pasta and the alfredo sauce. I added a few parsley flakes for color. And Ta-da! You're done!

**The original recipe called for basil pesto sauce; however, my grocery didn't have basil pesto so I substituted alfredo sauce instead.
***You might also want to toast some French bread and top it with cheese or spices!

Here's a picture of my creation!

 

Enjoy!

New Beginnings

A new year. A fresh start. Another year has passed, a new one has begun. I have never really made new year's resolutions because I thought I would never keep them! However, in 2014, I want to better myself. Whether it is reading a book I wouldn't ordinarily read, or going to a new place, or eating a new dish, or trying something I never thought I would try. New beginnings will be in store for me this year. This year, I will, Lord willing, graduate from my community college and start at a university, move out of my parents' house and into my own apartment, visit England for the first time, and who knows what else! I am excited about this year... And I am excited to share this journey with all of you. Happy New Year! May it be the best yet. 

A Few of my Favorite Things - Christmas Edition

It's Christmas in Dixie!! So, I would like to share a few of my favorite parts of Christmas. However, they are in no particular order. Randomness is fun.

1. CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!! I love Christmas music. (Yes I listen to it before Thanksgiving). Michael Buble, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters are the best.

2. Christmas baking!! I haven't been able to do much yet because I'm just now finishing up the school semester. But Oreo balls and Christmas cookies are coming!! 

3. Christmas movies. It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Holiday Inn, White Christmas, Holiday Affair, Charlie Brown Christmas..... Oldies are the best.

4. Hot chocolate and apple cider. Yum.

5. Decorating the tree. While listening to Christmas music. (See #1).

6. Family traditions. I have a big family. Being crammed into one tiny living room on Christmas Day, listening to the Christmas story... Ah it's great. You can't move, so it doesn't pay to be claustrophobic in my family. But it's memories that I will always cherish. After we do the cramming bit, we go to the movies!! Our WHOLE family! Which is normally about 40 or 50 people total! Don't you know the movie theater people love to see us coming! 

7. Spending time with my friends. 2 of my best friends are away at college so when they come home for Christmas break it's reunion time!! 

8. What it's all about. God sending his only son to earth for the whole world. 

Merry Christmas, y'all! 

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

Why yes... Yes I did just make a Hunger Games reference. Because I feel as if I might be Katniss going to fight for her District in the Hunger Games right about now. Why? Because it is finals week. Today I have my final A&P lab practical. Ahhhh!!!! My brain doesn't work in the language of A&P. Give me some Kafka or James Joyce to read... Not muscles and bones to memorize! However, after this week.. I will be (almost) finished with my science classes FOREVER!!! I only have to take one more science class! Eeek! So excited. So, here's to the coffee-filled days ahead, my fellow student friends! May the odds be ever in your favor.

P.S. After finals week, Christmas time OFFICIALLY begins!!!! No more worrying about school! Just Christmas movies, Christmas shopping, and friends and family time! :) happy Monday! 

A Few of My Favorite Things

My first post on my brand new blog, Polka Dots and Pearls. First of all, why in the world is this named Polka Dots and Pearls?! The answer is simple. I am a Southern belle.  I have a love for polka dots and pearls and the classiness with which they are associated.  So I decided it is only appropriate to combine two of my MOST favorite things into my blog title.

For my first post, I would like to share some of my favorite things. As you have probably already seen in the title, I love old movies. Of course, The Sound of Music is one of them. Julie Andrews is truly a beautiful, elegant lady whom I wish to meet one day. If America ever needs a queen, my vote is for Julie Andrews. Anyway, I digress. Back to the movies. I love Old Hollywood. A few of my favorite old movies include: An Affair to Remember, Casablanca, The Quiet Man, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, It's A Wonderful Life, The African Queen, The Philadelphia Story, Notorious, oh the list goes on and on. I'm not completely crazy though I love these new movies too. Yes, I'm a romantic comedy kind of gal. I'm a sucker for cheese pizza and chick flicks. However, no one will ever convince me that the men in Hollywood these days will ever compare to Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, John Wayne, etc. No one will ever replace them! A few of my favorite actresses include Audrey Hepburn, Julie Andrews, Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, Ingrid Bergman, Donna Reed, ah... the list goes on again.

Now, I am not a complete couch potato. I do like to do other things besides watch movies. I love to read. In fact, I am an English major. I hope to one day teach English and/or history at the junior college level. (Which is part of the reason why I started this blog. Hopefully all this writing will put me ahead of the game!) I am just recently falling in love with old literature. I was the girl who read all the chick lit, contemporary stuff. Well let me tell you, Jane Austen, Wordsworth, and Flaubert had a thing or two to say as well! I have a wonderful literature teacher who has made me fall in love with literature. Currently I am reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Reading is a beautiful escape. You can go anywhere in time, anywhere in the universe, without moving at all when you read. In the words of C.S. Lewis, "We read to know we're not alone." This quote has such power. Anyone who knows how to read never has to be alone. I become overjoyed each and every time I read those words.

As I continue my list of favorite things, I would like to say that I also enjoy cooking. I come from a long line of "good, Southern cooks." I have been taught that food is a glorious thing. It truly is. What do we do (here in the South) when we hear that someone has died? We take a casserole or a cake over and share in the grief. Food brings people together, and I enjoy making new creations, as well as continuing old traditions and recipes that have been handed down to me.

Friends, I am also a coffee addict. Coffee is comforting, smells divine, and is always there for you when you have a paper due in four hours. (Yes, I am a procrastinator as well.)

I believe it is now time to share my great love of the 1940s with you all. I love history, but the 1940s just fascinates me. I love everything about it; the clothes the women wore, the way they did their hair in "Victory Rolls," the music, and above all I love the way the United States pulled together in the middle of a terrible war. I used to say I was born in the wrong time era... but I have realized that had I been living in the 40s... I probably would not think that the time I was living in was so great after all.

I also have this wonderful urge to travel. I want to see all the places I have read about. I will be finally starting my journey to EUROPE next spring! I have the opportunity to go to Somerset, England, for 10 days on my spring break! EEEKK! So excited!!!! (Pictures will definitely be coming!)

I am sure I haven't touched on everything, but now you know a little about me. I'm a small town girl who loves polka dots and is living her very own fairy tale. Life does not always have fairy tale endings, but I can always look at the bright side... because God's got this thing called my life all under control.