Winter Decor

Winter Decorating

Today the Hubs decided he would do the cooking, and make a double batch of his famous "deer chili". So that gave me the opportunity to finish up a few projects so I could cross "winter decorating" off my to do list. Most of the winter decor has been up since I put my Christmas decorations away. There were a few things I had seen on Pinterest that I wanted to finish up and add to my winter mantle. So today was the day. Here's the full view of the finished project.

I made one of the Epsom Salt candle holders you can find on Pinterest. Very easy and I got all my supplies at the Dollar Tree. The plate was something I already had, and used my Silhouette to cut the "V" out of vinyl. The pitcher and bird were things I had.. I added a bit of "snow" to a pine cone.

At the other end, I added some black candle holders I picked up at the Queen's Antiques in Buford (love that place!), a metal ice skate from Michael's, and a few more pine cones with "snow" in a milk glass dish.

There are several ways to repurpose old sweaters on Pinterest. I decided to use an old white sweater and make a wreath for my living room mirror. I used a sleeve from the sweater to cover a styrofoam wreath, wrapped it with some yarn, and added a few fabric flowers. Taa Daa!! Here's a close up and another pic for the full effect hanging on the mirror.

Hoping you are enjoying your weekend as much as I have enjoyed mine. Spent some time with some special people, heard a great message at church this morning and finished my winter decorating. Really enjoyed the chili (very yummy and very spicy) and my day off from cooking. Thanks honey!

Come back soon to see what I do to this cute stool found at Mud Puppy Antiques in Winder (another favorite place to browse for treasures!).

I've been sick for the last 4 days. So sick that I haven't cooked since maybe last Friday. That is a stretch for me. Ask my hubby. Ask any of my children. Since I've been sick I've been able to watch the Food Network while I lay in bed, read some books that seem to have southern recipes written into the story line, and browse and pin new recipes and ideas on Pinterest. Today I've finally started to feel like I have a little energy, so I decided to try two new recipes tonight . . . must have an appetite again!

Have you heard of 7 Up Rolls? Have you tried them? Why haven't you told me? This is just one of the yummy recipes you can find on Pinterest . . . it was pinned quite a few times I might add. My mom makes the best yeast rolls I think I've ever tasted. She has shared her recipe with me, but mine don't turn out as light as hers. And they take some time to make. So I opted for this quick version of a roll to go with the soup tonight. Four ingredients - can't be much simpler than that and about 20 minutes from start to finish and they are done.

The soup I made was based on a recipe I saw Rachel Ray throw together on her show this week.

7 Up Rolls

1/2 stick of unsalted butter

2 cups baking mix

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup 7 Up

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. While oven is preheating, place 9" square baking dish in oven and let the butter melt. Remove dish when melted.

In small mixing bowl, place 2 cups of baking mix and 1/2 cup sour cream. Use two forms and cut the sour cream into the baking mix until a crumbly mixture forms. Pour in 7 Up and fold into baking mix and sour cream. This makes a very soft dough. Sprinkle extra baking mix onto a pastry board or on a sheet of wax paper. Turn dough out onto this surface and pat lightly into a 9" x 9" square. Cut into 9 rolls. Place into baking dish. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes.

* You might want to add an additional 1/4 cup of baking mix to the recipe. The dough was very soft and sticky. But the rolls turned out yummy - very light.

Italian Meatball and Pasta Soup

2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1-2 ribs celery

2 cans chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes, 14-15 oz can

2 cans cannelini beans, 14-15 oz cans

3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices

2 small zuchinni, cut into small pieces

1 bunch Kale, chopped

Meatball Dumplings -

1 lb. Italian sausage

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1-2 Tbsp. milk

parmesan cheese

Pasta of your choice

In soup pot, melt butter or heat olive oil. Add chopped onion, minced garlic and sliced celery.

Cook until veggies become transparent. Add 2 cans of chicken broth and 3 broth cans filled with water. Add diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil. Turn heat down, cover and let mixture simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Peel and slice carrots. Slice zucchini. Add veggies to the broth and let them cook for about 30 minutes until tender. Add another soup can of water if a lot of the liquid has cooked out. You want to make sure there is enough broth in the pot to cover the "meatball dumplings" you will be adding to the broth. Bring the broth to a low boil.

Mix italian sausage with 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp. parmesan, 1 egg and 2 Tbsp. milk. I use a melon baller to make uniform size meatballs. Drop meatballs into the boiling broth. Let them cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add kale and let cook for another 10 - 15 minutes until wilted.

I did learn a trick from Rachel about the pasta. Since my family doesn't always sit down to eat at the same time, this worked perfectly. I cooked the pasta separately, rather than adding it to the soup. Drained it, drizzled it with a little olive oil, and set it aside. Then when I was ready to serve the soup, I put some pasta in each bowl, ladled the hot soup over the pasta, sprinkled with additional parmesan and served it. Hubby just said I could serve this soup in a restaurant! He made my night . . . just one of the reasons I love him.

Happy cooking!

A Confession

We have had several days in a row of less than 90 degree temperatures, and I am loving it. Time to pull out jeans and a sweater to throw on over a t-shirt! Sleep with the windows open.

Before I write anymore, I must make a confession. I have become addicted to Pinterest! I think I'm not alone in this addiction. In my fellow Pinterest addicts defense, there is a wealth of information out there. Things that you can really use - amazing recipes, tutorials for sewing/crafts, recommendations of products, books to read, decorating tips and ideas. And that's just a few of the things to be found.

As the weather begins to cool off, I like to pull my crock pot out of the pantry and use it for some yummy suppers. Our family has found a recipe (on Pinterest) that is becoming one of our favorites - and we've used it for pork chops and chicken.

Creamy Ranch Pork (or Chicken)
6 pork chops or chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom soup)
1 package of Ranch dressing mix

Put the pork chops or chicken in the crock pot. Mix the 2 cans of soup with the Ranch mix and pour over the meat. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

We served this with Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes (delish!!), green beans and squash.

Enjoy the cooler temps and spending time on Pinterest.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Well, I've made it to the middle of another work week and I'm going to link up with Jamie at What I'm Loving Wednesday again. We're waiting for the rough weather to arrive here and I'm not loving that it will probably occur about the time I will be ready to go to bed. Haven't had a good night's sleep in several nights, but I shouldn't complain. I'm loving a new song by Laura Story called Blessings. One of the verses in the song says ---

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise.

That song really makes you think about life and the reason things happen. It sounds like things are bad in Alabama and parts of northwest Georgia now. Hope everyone stays safe!

Next I'm loving all the great blogs I keep finding. There are so many talented and creative

women out there. I could just spend hours and hours reading all their blogs. I really enjoy Lemonade Makin' Mama and TheHouse of Smiths.

I'm loving that our family will be attending the pinning ceremony for my middle child who is majoring in nursing at NGCSU. I am so proud of her and her many accomplishments. One more semester and she will be a nurse; something she's wanted to be since she was a little girl.

We celebrated Easter this past weekend. I'm loving that we went to church and then had a yummy lunch with my parents at my sister and bro-in-law's house. So nice to be together with all the family. Ham, potato salad, German potato salad, deviled eggs, green beans, strawberry & pineapple congealed salad, Mom's homemade yeast rolls (can I just say delish!!), layered salad, and then dessert - carrot cake, cheesecake, and cake balls.

Happy Wednesday everybody!

Top Two Tuesday - Collections

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Today's (actually last week's, but I just saw that!!) Top 2 Tuesday blog is about the top 2 things you collect. Of course, I'm sure my family will get a kick out of this as I seem to collect a lot of "stuff"! But if I had to choose, these would be my top 2.

1. Fabric!. Ever since I was in high school and got a part time job at JoAnn Fabrics, I have collected fabric. My parents used to ask if I brought any of my paycheck home or did I spend it all at work on more fabric. Unfortunately I don't think someone who sews (I think the new term is "sewist") can ever feel like they have enough fabric. There is always a new design or a new color that catches your eye and says "please bring me home and make something out of me"! Now that I've started Just Sew! Studio, I actually can say I HAVE to buy more fabric.

2. Pewter! When Dan and I got married (a long time ago - 30 years ago this July to be exact!), pewter was IN. My mother-in-law had lots of pewter, and I thought it was really pretty. There were several shops in the Pompano Beach / Fort Lauderdale area that sold only pewter. So I added it to my wedding registry. I'm glad I did that. Now I have a collection of quite a few things that I display on top of my kitchen cabinets. Steak platter, pitchers, sugar & creamer set, and a Noah's Ark baby plate & cup set ...but I think my favorite is my deviled egg platter!

Just curious. How many other people have a sock collection that keeps growing? I didn't mean to set out collecting socks, but I think my washing machine has set out to drive me crazy. No matter how many matched pairs of socks I put IN the washing machine, they never all come out. I am now the proud owner of an ever growing collection of only one sock from a pair. While we were shopping last Saturday, my sweet middle child (who is almost 21) proceeded to tell me that I could purchase another package of the low cut socks we wear when walking or exercising for about $5. Does she not understand how many times I have done this? Only to find that the new package of socks I purchased have just a little bit different finish around the ankle, different color stitching across the toe, no shaded heel area, etc. and that creates more unmatched socks when I only remove half from the washer. One day there may be only two of us left in the house, and I will send all the leftover, unwanted, unmatched socks to one of my children's homes so they can be obsessed with where did the other sock go! And having a dog who enjoys chewing socks up does not help either.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

First of all, I'm loving that my two girls have been an inspiration to me to get myself outside when I get home from work and WALK! They both participated in their first 5K this past weekend and had been working up to this goal for the last few weeks. On Saturday I walked 3 miles . . . much to my surprise. I've repeated that walk 3 out of the last 5 days. I didn't get to it tonight because I had a hair appointment (another thing I'm loving Wednesday) and now it's time to cook supper.

Second, I'm loving another Pioneer Woman recipe. Who would have guessed? I tried Simple Sesame Noodles on Monday night, added some stir fried chicken, broccoli and carrots and am enjoying it for my lunch this week. Has to be one of the easiest things to make and very yummy!

Another thing I'm loving is that we celebrate Easter this weekend. Such an awesome thing to celebrate the love our heavenly Father has for us by sending his Son to die in our place and then rising from the dead. Can you even imagine the surprise that those women had at the empty tomb? Or when they disciples realized He was among them? One of my favorite songs that is all about why we celebrate Easter!

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Enjoy what's left of your Wednesday!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Okay, I'm going to jump in here and link up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I'm loving that spring is here and the dogwoods are in bloom. They are my absolute favorite tree - very delicate. When we found the property we eventually built our house on, it was in the early spring and there were dogwoods in bloom all over the property. The following year when spring arrived, I started watching for the dogwoods to bloom. Nothing! I asked my sweet husband why our dogwoods weren't blooming like the others, and he looked like the cat who swallowed the canary. "I think I didn't know they were dogwoods and I must have cut them down when I was clearing out the woods!" he said. Gotta love him even though we only have about 3 dogwoods left on our property now. You'd think he would have planted some by now.

I'm loving that I finally gathered up my courage and Just Sew! Studio is officially in business. We've had 3 classes so far, 2 more planned for this month, and everyone has gone home with a finished project. Hopefully some of them will be inspired to begin sewing on their own. It seems to be a skill that people are becoming interested in again.

I'm loving that the only thing I cooked tonight was bacon for our club sandwiches. If you know me, you know that I cook a full meal almost every night so I'm really slacking if bacon is all I cooked. Pioneer Woman recently had a blog about her version of the club sandwich and decided if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me! I'll be out of the kitchen in no time tonight.

Happy Wednesday Y'all!!