Cute Blank Journals

My sister recently gave me the cutest journal - a movie themed one.  She also sent my mom one with vintage Vogue patterns (my mom used to sew from these!) on it.  And there are so many more cute ones out there...

This one is from Walmart...

This one is from Amazon...

Entry/Exit Station

My daughter just decorated her entry from her garage into a station for the kids as they leave and enter the house - isn't it so cute?

The bench we got from a store going out of business.  The hooks and the baskets are from Target!  And a friend gave them the sign...

Pregtini

I went to a baby shower today and they had the coolest drinks in cute plastic fancy "glasses" from Party City.

The drink was a pregtini (pregnancy martini!)

Fill about 1/2 with orange juice
Fill about 1/2 with sparkling cider
Top it with a splash of grenadine

That's it - and then place them on a pretty serving tray!

Grapefruit Avocado Salsa

What a great dip or salsa for fish this is!

Peel and segment a grapefruit, reserving 1 T juice.  Chop an avocado, stir in with the segments, add roasted pepitas, sliced shallots and chopped cilantro - along with the juice and 1 T olive oil - season well.  Double this recipe if you like.

Enjoy!

Photo Books

I have a multitude of photos on my phone, and my daughter's kids love to look at them - especially the ones of them and their family.

Today, I printed out over 100 of those photos and divided them into three photo books (albums) one for each kid - and they love them!  (I had a hard time finding photo albums - finally did at Walmart!)

The pictures were only about $16 (I had a coupon code) and the books were under $3 each.  So for about $25 total, each child has a photo book to look through that makes them smile and squeal when they recognize their own faces and the places they've been!

Easy Supper

Easy supper, from what was in the fridge:

sausage
red potatoes
carrots
onion
cherry tomatoes
minced garlic
S&P, dried oregano and thyme

slice the sausage, potatoes and carrots into thin slices and place in heated skillet with olive oil.  cook for a good while, stirring occasionally, as everything browns and tenders.  during the cooking process, add the onions and garlic, and then the tomatoes - cook until they burst.  season well.

that's it!

Cuban Lunch

This is one of my favorites - the Cuban sandwich:

Just spread Dijon mustard on a hoagie
Top with pulled pork, freshly sliced ham, swiss cheese - and then broil til cheese melts.
Slice whole dill pickles diagonally into slices and place on the sandwich and enjoy...

Super yummy.

New Flavor

We spotted these recently at a drug store and bought them for our kids, who love coffee.  They said they're super delish!  Apparently, this is the newest flavor that won in their contest!

Sloggers

I found these on the shelves at a discount store (Ross), but you can buy them on line too.  I think they're really cute for gardening, and I wore them for the first time today and they're super comfy!!!  They're called sloggers!

Potato Sandwich

We had leftover potatoes (from the potato we scooped out to make potato skins a few days ago).

So...we made potato sandwiches:

Leftover potatoes, mixed with one egg, salt and pepper
Grated cheddar
Refried beans
Onion, sliced

In a large skillet melt butter with olive oil.  Meanwhile make flattened patties with the potatoes, and place in skillet.  Scoop refried beans into a patty size as well and place in skillet.  Cook until the potatoes are crisp and browned on one side, then flip.  Toss in the sliced onion.  Place the cheese on the top of the potato slices.

Put your sandwich together!  YUM!

Yard Spinners

I really love yard spinners - these whirl when the wind blows - and they look stunning in your yard.  I found mine on the shelves at Ross - but you can also order them at Plow & Hearth - check them out here.

Potato Skins Bar

We had a potato skins bar for dinner and it was delish and fun to put together!

Bake your potatoes, slice in half, and scoop out the insides, leaving a border.  Brush both side of the shells with canola oil and salt liberally.  Bake at 400 degrees about 7 minutes each side, until golden and crispy.

Set out toppings:  chopped ham, salsa, sour cream, bacon, onions, cheese, guacamole, etc...

Enjoy!

Fruit Tart - So Easy

We made this tart together, and it's simple as pie - pun intended!

2 refrigerated pie crusts
8 oz frozen strawberries
8 oz frozen peaches
1/4 c sugar
1 T cornstarch
1 tsp turbinado sugar
1 egg

ice cream

preheat oven to 400.  let pie crusts thaw about 30 minutes or more - roll them out and lay side by side.  overlap the crusts all the way to the middle and roll with pin to make one big pie crust.

in a bowl, mix strawberries, peaches, sugar and cornstarch.  pour into center of crust.

fold edges of crust inward over the fruit but leave the middle open.  beat one egg.  brush edges with the egg.

sprinkle with the turbinado sugar

bake 20-25 minutes til crust is golden brown.

let is cool for 30 minutes before serving with ice cream!

Little Fairies

Making  and creating little fairy/gnome gardens in a bed of gravel is awesome fun for kids, and it's great fun to watch them build.

You can't order these on line, but Big Lots has several sets to choose from, including tables, chairs, bridges and pavers, fences and archways, along with a cute fairy in a swing!

Home Depot even has some cute sets - check them out here!

The kiddos had a lot of fun today setting up their villages, and they played for a long time!

Tobacco Moss

I love Paddywax candles, and one of my faves has been tobacco patchouli.  However, today I bought one in a new container (a speckled gray tin!) and its scent it tobacco moss.  It's delightful !

Check out all of the scents on line...'

For Spring...

I saw these shoes and fell in love....only they didn't have my size...so I will wait...

Sneakers

suede dusty pink sandals

strappy sandals

Chicken Biscuits

We had leftover pesto chicken wings, so I de-boned them, and then chopped up the chicken, mixed it with chopped pecans and a bit of Ranch dressing - and piled it on biscuits!  A great slider for lunch!

Pita Cracker Bites

I stared in my pantry, I came up with this, and he liked it...

pita crackers
peanut butter
sunflower seeds
butterbrickle bites

spread a good amount of peanut butter on one cracker, press down with a second, until the peanut butter is almost oozing off the sides.  roll in the bites and the seeds.

bite down and chew.

delicious snack!

For Him

Looking for something "uncommon" for him for Valentines?  Look at these picks from Uncommon Goods.

Chocolate soap

A Beard Pack

Stoneware guitar picks

Honey Bees

Cute honey bee accessories for your home!

Plugged In Light

I LOVE nightlights and change them out in my guest bath for each holiday and/or season.  Check out these oh-so-cute ones from Uncommon Goods.

lu

Fresh Pesto

FRESH PESTO - we are making wings tomorrow and drizzling this pesto over them when they come out of the oven.  try it!


1 cup fresh basil
3 T pine nuts
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon

1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
S&P

place all ingredients in food processor, and then drizzle in the olive oil to make a paste.  season well.

Toddler Dresses

Found...cute toddler dresses for $8-10 at Old Navy...for spring.  They also have their tight knit shorts on sale, which are great worn under all of these dresses!

One with tiny hearts...

a swing dress...

cut out back dress

Granola Bars Delish

These really are the best granola bars I've made to date...they're called Versatile Granola Bars.  You can find the original recipe here.

I didn't have brown sugar so used the white kind.  I used pecans for the nuts and peanut butter where you're given a choice, and cranberries for the dried fruit, as well as dark chocolate morsels for the chocolate chips!  And may I say...these are SO good we had them for dinner!  There were a few crumbles when I cut them but that's okay, they landed in a cup and were placed inside the container with the bars.  ENJOY!