I’m Meredith….and I’m a Pinaholic!

Saying I love pinterest might actually be an understatement!  I am hooked on it but I honestly don’t think it’s a bad addiction (or at least I keep telling myself that).  I’ve used tons of recipes, tips, crafts off of pinterest and there are tons of ideas I would have never thought of.  If you haven’t been on it, you should be…if you comment below I would love to send you an invite!  If you are on it…follow me because frankly I pin cool shit :)

So, I’m going to do something fun with my addiction – a 30 day Pinterest Challenge.  (With my right hand in the air) I Meredith Dowdy commit to creating, cooking, crafting or cleaning one pin every day from September 1 through September 30 and write a blog about it!  Fun right?  

And for one lucky reader, you are going to get a $30 gift card to Target…because who doesn’t love Target.  All you have to do is follow my blog (click on the “Join my site” button under My Followers) and comment on one of my 30 day Pinterest Challenge posts.  Each comment will get you one entry for the gift card…so comment one time or every day.

Happy Pinning!

Here is a link to the Pinterest Challenge Blogs:
Day 1 - Mommy Daughter Dates
Day 2 - Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Day 3 - Vintage Headband
Day 4 - Blogger Social Media Buttons
Day 5 - New Mom Freezer Meal
Day 6 - Giving Jar
Day 7 - Grandparents Day Card
Day 8 - Frozen Fruit Cubes
Day 9 - Sweet Romper Pics
Day 10 - Roasted Carrots
Day 11 - Eew!  Not So Clean Cookie Sheet
Day 12 - Save the Pants!
Day 13 - Spicy Margharita Pizza
Day 14 - Spotify Running Playlist
Day 15 - Nutella Obsessed
Day 16 - Football Queso Blanco
Day 17 - Trading Wine for Weights
Day 18 - The Magic of Photoshop
Day 19 - Nature Scavenger Hunt
Day 20 - Sweet Pork Tenderloin
Day 21 - Garlic Butter Sauce
Day 22 - Urban Race
Day 23 - French Braid Bun
Day 24 - The Perfect UnSweet Tea
Day 25 - Mini Facial
Day 26 - Magic Microwave Cleaner
Day 27 - Green Goddess Smoothie
Day 28 - Yummy Baked Taquitos
Day 29 - Spooky Tutu
Day 30 - Delish Pumpkin Muffins

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As Seen On TV - Tortilla Bowl Fakes

I am not one to order things off TV BUT I was so close to buying the As Seen on TV Tortilla Bowls (see below).  I could literally eat Mexican food every day...there isn't much tex mex that I don't love. And have you seen the infomercial with the cinnamon sugar tortilla bowl sundae...yummy!

But before I bought them...I found a fake tortilla bowl recipe on the internet.  And they are so easy and so yummy :) Doesn't this look AH-MAZING!

And you know me...I had to try and cut a few calories out.  Have you seen the Ole' Spinach and Herb wraps...only 74 calories for one where regular flour tortillas have 150 calories each.  That means you can have a glass of sangria with dinner :)

Here's the super simple recipe:

Tortilla Bowl Fakes

1 Serving

1 Flour Tortilla (Regular and Ole both work)

Pam

Muffin Tin

Tortilla Bowl Fillings

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Turn your muffin tin upside down and mold your tortilla into a bowl shape. (see pic above)

3.  Spray lightly with Pam.

4.  Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

5.  Stuff with your favorite fillings - Hubby's favorites are rice, refried beans (fat free), grilled chicken, and queso.  I typically go the healthier route with lettuce, tomato, grilled chicken, 2% cheese, light sour cream and salsa.

Pour yourself a glass of sangria and enjoy :)  And if you like my recipe - make sure you pin it :)

Calories (according to my count): 

1 - Tortilla Bowl (no fillings) - 150 calories (Flour Tortilla), 74 calories (Ole - you won't miss the calories)


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Family Vacation - Part 2!

Just us!  We were sad to see Nate and Kelly go but excited to get to spend time together with just the three of us.  We spent a LOT of time on the beach and got to do a little shopping!  Check out the pics below:

Day 4:  Lots of Beach Time 

The "Beach Castle" had tons of families which was wonderful!  Addi met a friend, Sandler that we played with for the rest of the week.  These girls had a blast building sand castles :)

This pizza was so yummy!  I have been on this white pizza kick lately and this one was amazing - it had chicken, alfredo sauce, fresh tomatoes, spinach, artichokes and cheese.  I typically go for all sea food when I'm at the beach but we decided to check out this local place..I highly recommend it http://www.nypizzeria.com/!  Oh and check for Groupons if you go - we got 50% off.  

Day 5:  Beach and Shopping

We went to the beach and played all morning long...this was our last full day down there so we headed out early.  We met Sandler again...got some good sun and sea shells!

After nap time we headed down to the Strand for some shopping.  Going to the Strand is a must if you visit Galveston.  Where was our first stop?  La King's Confectionery....they are an old fashioned Soda Shop and Candy Company.  They have been open forever...I remember going there as a little girl.  Addi stocked up on a ton of gummys and snacked on them as we strolled down the strand.  They have tons of other cool shops too.  And...you can walk down the strand and drink alcohol as you stroll...drinking and shopping :)

Yep...we went back to the Spot!  I'm telling you it is awesome food and happy hour specials.  Here we all are enjoying our yummy dinner...try it people, it's great!

And probably my favorite picture from the trip!  This was our last night in Galveston so we spent the evening walking in the waves.

Day 6:  Kemah then Dallas

We packed up early and said by to the beach and our Beach Castle.  But vacation wasn't over yet...we decided to make one last stop at the Kemah Boardwalk.

This place was amazing...they had rides, an aquarium, tons of restaurants, a fountain and lots more!  Plus - it is on the water and voted one of the top 10 Boardwalks in the US. 

This is my second favorite picture...she loved the ride!  We only rode a few since there weren't too many for her height but there were a lot for the older kiddos.

Here's Addi and Mike at the aquarium..there were lots of fish, alligators and sharks.  You could even go upstairs to the aquarium restaurant where you felt like you were eating under water.  

And the aquarium has a stingray feeding tank!  It was so cool to feed and touch them.

This was the last stop before our long drive back - we had lunch at a little restaurant featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  They had the best homeade steak fingers :)

We were happy to be home but had the best vacation!  I really do miss the beach and at some point in our future we will be buying a "Beach Castle" of our own.

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Family Vacation - Galveston Island!

For those of you not tired of seeing all the facebook pictures...here are more!  We went to Galveston for 6 days and it was AH MAZING!!!!  I know you are all saying how could Galveston be amazing - so here's where I get sappy.  I got to spend 10 full days with my precious family which only happens once in a blue moon.  I loved every single minute of our time together and was so sad that I had to go back to work.

Here's a fun rundown of all the things we did - sorry for all the pics but I just couldn't pick a few.

Day 1:  Arrive in Galveston & Fun with Friends

Addi was great in the car...we woke her up super early 5:45am to get in and head to Galveston.  With the help of Dora, colors, lots of snacks and a stop at Bucee's - we made it to Galveston in 5 hours. 

This was our Beach Castle, as Addi called it.  Palisade Palms is a beautiful high rise on the East End of Galveston - it has magnificent views and is literally right on the beach - no seawall crossing for us.

We split our trip with our good friends Nate and Kelly, they stayed at the condo a few days with us and we stayed a few days by ourselves.  Our friends Rachel, Nathan and Baby Mia came from Houston to play and have dinner.  Uncle Nate was helping put the girls to bed...he's so good with these girls :)

Day 2:  First Day on the Beach and Pampering

Vacation for us does not mean sleeping in!  We were up and at the beach super early picking up sea shells while Daddy, Kelly and Nate slept in.

This is my beach baby!  She was worn out after a morning of jumping waves and building sand castles.  She LOVED the beach!

Kelly and I got to slip off for a few hours for some much deserved Girl Time!  We went and got our toes done and had some Miami Vices (Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri mix) - YUMMY!

Day 3:  Dolphins and The Spot

We took a Dolphin tour through the bay of Galveston.  The dolphins were being bashful so we didn't see very many BUT we got a really cool tour of the bay and learned a lot about Galveston and it's history.

Then we headed to our favorite happy hour and restaurant place - The Spot!  They have the best shrimp kisses (bacon wrapped shrimp with pepper jack cheese)...yummy!!!  And they also have great hamburgers.

That wraps up our first 3 days...stay tuned for days 4-6!


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