Craft Time

I've had this craft brewing in my head for some time.... an organized station for the calendar, invites, pictures, etc.  I love it when we get baby announcements, etc., and I wanted a place to display them... but not on the fridge.

At our apartment, we had a magnetic, white board calendar on the refrigerator.  It seemed to work well at first, but eventually, it became more of a hassle to update monthly than it was worth.  I didn't want to throw it away when we moved because I had plans for it... told ya I've been thinking about this for awhile.

We use to place invites, save the dates, etc. on the side of our refrigerator; however, since we moved, we didn't have a place for such items.  So, my solution was to create my own "station."

I was recently at Hobby Lobby, and everything I bought for this project was 30% to 50% off... my kinda shopping!  I love deals. I think it's in my blood.  Anyway, I digress...  Starting with the magnetic calendar, I found a fabric that I really liked and felt wouldn't be too busy for a background.  I tucked it tight around the calendar and stapled it to the back. 



I found some ribbon to use on half of the board and stapled it tight around the back also to create a partial french board.  Finally, I secured the board in my open frame to hang.  I put a couple magnets on the right side of the board, and I hung it next to our calendar with a tack strip below it.  ...makes me feel like Pottery Barn, but at less than half the price!  Told ya I love a deal. :)

Yum!

As you may have heard, I recently made a change in my career path and am now staying home.  Surprisingly, I've managed to stay pretty busy as I'm looking into new opportunities.  I love having a morning routine, and I'm amazed at how quickly the hours in the day go. 

Recently, I decided to pull out one of my Paula Dean magazines.  She's my kinda cook... good, American food without all the fluff.  Of course, healthy isn't the staple of her recipes, but you can be sure they'll taste good.  I've been wanting to make fried chicken, and this issue had options for about four or five different kinds of fried chicken.  I decided on the chicken fried chicken along with a recipe for pepper gravy and smashed potatoes.  I was so excited that it turned out well that I took a picture of my plate. :)  My husband loved it too, which always makes me happy.  Makes me feel like a real cook. :)



It's been fun having time to plan, shop and cook some nice meals for our dinner... rather than the regular spaghetti, which by the way, I'm looking for a good, home recipe for spaghetti sauce if anyone wants to share theirs. The only catch is not having an idea how much it will cost if you're needing a lot of new ingredients.  We're working on the cash system and living in a budget.  Last week, along with the regular groceries, i.e. milk, cereal, bread, I had a list of items for a couple of new recipes I wanted to make.  Thinking I had plenty of cash on me (and my cart seeming so NOT full), I didn't bother to really count up the cost before going through the check out lane.  I started to perspire a bit as I noticed the $$ going higher and closer to my cut off line. darn those spices.  Thankfully, I didn't go over, but I'm not sure what I would have done if I had.  My gut reaction was to pull out the ol' card.  The next time I went through the line, I kept back the "maybe's" on my list until I had a chance to confirm the math in my head was the same as the cashier's total.  This probably sounds stressful and crazy, but there's a part of me that loves it.  This is a new challenge, but it's kind of freeing... when we're done, we're done.

In other news, the Colts are playing the Texans tonight.  Hope it's a good game as the Colts' injured list continues to grow by the week.

First and Ten!

I love my husband so much.  He's a great listener, and we have a lot fun together ... often finding something to laugh about together.  Just tonight, we were outside testing the new corn hole game that his dad gave him for his bday.  ...works like a charm, except the hole keeps moving. :)

Anyway, I'm so proud of him, and I think he'd be a great sports announcer someday. But until then, he's started a blog about football. You can check it out at http://www.firstandtenweekly.blogspot.com/. It's for those who want to know more about football. ...It's especially good for us Colts fans as he's writing it from the perspective of the Colts games.

Every week, he will have an update and the basics of football will be included too! Enjoy!

say it's your birthday! do, do, du-do, do.

We had a great time last weekend with friends and family as we celebrated Josh's 30th birthday.  It rained for a short while at the beginning, but thankfully, the sun came out so we could enjoy the back yard.  The day was topped off with a great win by the Colts during the Manning vs. Manning bowl.

As promised, here are the recipes for the soups from the night.  Perfect for fall!



Broccoli Soup
2 quarts chicken broth
5 medium potatoes
1/4 c. onions
4-6 carrots
1 large bunch of broccoli or 4 c. frozen broccoli
1/4 c. margarine or butter
1/2 c. flour
1 c half and half or milk
2 c shredded cheese
salt and pepper

Dice vegetables and cook in broth until tender. Add butter. Shake flour & milk til smooth and add to soup mixture. Cook until thick. Add salt & pepper to taste. Stir in cheese just before serving. Do not boil after adding cheese.

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Beef Barley Soup
2 1/2 lbs. beef short ribs (I use stew meat)
2 T cooking oil
7 cups water
1 - 16oz can tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, sliced
2 T instant beef bouillon granules or 4 cubes
1 1/2 t salt
1 t dried basil, crushed
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
2 cups sliced carrot
1 cup sliced celery
2/3 c quick-cooking barley
1/2 c copped green pepper
1/4 cup snipped parsley

Brown meat in oil on low heat; drain well. Stir in water, undrained tomatoes, onion bouillon, salt, basil, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cover, simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir in carrot, celery, barley, green pepper, and parsley. Cover and cook another 45 minutes. Remove ribs (if you use bibs) and cool to cut off meat. Coarslely chop. Discard bones. Skim fat fro msoup. Return meat. Heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.

Hope you all are enjoying the beginning of fall.  Maybe these soups will be just the touch to help enjoy the season.  I always think that they're better the second time (like chili).