The Cannary Family

Homemade laundry soap

2012-02-13T05:51:00.000-08:00

I've made laundry soap before, mostly for fun, and found that it was a big pain - mainly because it was liquid; it was hard to stir, hard to store, and just a mess to pour into the container you were going to use it from. So when I saw a way to make it in powdered form, I thought I would give it another shot.

I bought Purex Crystals, washing soda, baking soda, borax, and Oxi Clean. I didn't think to write down the sizes on these - sorry. But I found them easily in the washing detergent section of Wal-Mart.

I also added bar soap. I grated up enough to equal 2 cups. I chose the hardest slivers of soap I had, so they would grate up fine and dissolve easily in the wash. The Chinese soap seems to work well - I read that you shouldn't use beauty bars like Dove or Tone - too much oil in the soap can make spots on your clothes. And you could always buy bar soap like Fels Naptha, also sold where laundry soap is. I just happen to have a lot of small used bars handy.

The mix of sandalwood and jasmine soaps smelled divine!

I found a big stockpot in the garage to mix it all up in. Next time I will do this step on the back patio, as the dust really flies, and it's not fun to breathe it in!

The empty Purex and Oxi containers made good containers to store a batch for me, and for The Girl. I want her to test it out - I wrote the instructions for her on the top of the cap and included the small scoop that came with the Oxi. I can pour the mixture easily into this bottle - genius, I say.

For a large load set on "super" for water level, I would probably use two capfuls of soap, otherwise one seems to work fine. And I pour it in as I'm letting the machine fill so it has extra time to dissolve before I pile the clothes in. Most of our things I wash on cold and it doesn't seem to be an issue.

All the extra soap fit nicely into this plastic lidded bin I stored above the washer.

******

So far, so good. I've done a couple of loads and they seem clean and smell great. I didn't do the math to figure out how much per load I am saving, if any. It cost $18 to make and I am curious to see how long it will last - I am keeping track of how many loads I do - typically, I do roughly 8-10 loads per week. It was fun to do and great knowing I have enough laundry soap to last a while. Have you ever made your own laundry soap?

Scrubs spiff

2012-02-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

I remember when we were little, having blue jeans with iron-on patches adorning them. In fact we had them on lots of our things - apparently they were an inexpensive way to spruce up kid's clothing. Not any more. They seem really expensive to me but I needed something on the plain black scrubs I wear to work.

This butterfly and blue dove 'tatoo' were 1.99 each.

As were these tiny hearts. gee whiz. Iron on patches went and got expensive!

But they will look cute next to the big one above.

This Disney one is large, and at 4.99 the priciest, but cheaper than ordering them on-line and my JoAnn's now carries them in store. I think it will appeal to both big and little girls at the hospital.

Iron on patches jazz up my very plain, and very solid black, scrubs.

And these are inexpensive scrubs from Wal-Mart so I guess it all evens out!

I spiffed up three tops, but I would like to do more - maybe add a few small butterflies to the one on the far right. Maybe take them somewhere to get my name embroidered on them.

Anything to make them less severe!

But I think this one is my favorite.

Whatcha think? Anyone out there use iron on patches any more?

Burlapped Cork Board

2012-02-09T03:53:00.000-08:00

So while perusing the crafty blogs I came across a gem from Megan

at Balancing Home. She made a Ballard bulletin board knock- off,

and it made me want to make one, too!

Well, it so happens I had a nice big bulletin board out in the garage...

...and a big enough space over my desk to hang it.

Before

The memo board that was hanging there was cute, but so little. I'm going to find a new home for that portrait and make a Ballard-inspired board, too, only mine will have a French memo board twist.

I started with sage green burlap, a darker sage ribbon, and two packages of upholstery tacks.

I ironed the burlap then laid it out on the bulletin board. There was about 2" of overhang to wrap around the frame to the back. Then I just started laying out the ribbon and tacking it in place.

In the center where all the lines of the ribbon intersect, I pushed in a tack.

After that, I just filled in the blank spots with more tacks until I ran out.

Then I stapled the edges of the overhang to the back and carefully trimmed away the excess.

Nothing fancy for the corners. Just wanted to make sure it wouldn't stick out from the wall.

TA DA!

My new board seems really big, but it fits great in my office nook.

I put all the pictures and mementos from the little one, and now I have room to add more stuff.

I am just going to use the tacks I already have - about a bazillion clear ones. Why buy more?

I really like how it turned out. I estimate I spent $10 on it; Ballard's sells theirs for $89.

And mine has a little something extra.

Whatcha think?

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Karma Sunday

2012-02-07T04:59:00.000-08:00

We had a Super Bowl luncheon at work on Sunday and I ATE. I was just about starved by the time I went to lunch - one bowl of oatmeal did not hold me well for 5 1/2 hours. I don't know why I didn't have a morning snack. I often forget what time it is then it's suddenly lunch and hard to make wise choices...in any case, I'm not going to beat myself up for enjoying the food. It was awesome: Chili with fritos, creamed corn, 7 Layer Dip, homemade Snickers bars...if you're going to put a naughty thing in your mouth, I think it should be great, and it all was! Sadly, the Fickle Finger of Fate (aka Karma) poked me when I got home from work and opened the back door of the car:

Crock pot lids shatter into a meeeeelion pieces when they hit the driveway!

Darn it.

I ordered a new lid for $14 and am awaiting it's arrival. I use my crock pot every week, so it will be a bummer to have it out of commission. I tried to order a new knob,too, as this one got a little too close to the heating element on my stove...they were out. I'm going to scrub up my crock pot, put it up where I can't feel sad about it and wait for the lid. Meanwhile, I am also adding a couple of new things into my healthy routine this week: walking, another big tumbler of water daily, and a healthy helping of forgiveness. (:

Scout's gallery wall

2012-02-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Waaay back in October, I purchased one of those set of frames from Tarjay as a gift to Scout thinking he could print, frame, and hang some of his best photography in his new room.

As of a week ago, this is what the wall still looked like:

Hmmmm....need to put in a call to Procrastinators Anonymous sometime...maybe later.

So one evening we finally sat down and uploaded a bunch of his work to Shutterfly and got busy! In a couple days we had the prints and were ready to start filling those frames.

We started by laying them all out for him to pick his favorites.

That weird bright shape in the middle is the reflection of the dining room light fixture - mat prints weren't available in anything smaller than 11x17. The bug pic didn't make the cut - it is one of my favorites! We cleaned the frames, popped the pics in, took the easel backs off, and went to work getting them "just so" on his wall. I use the eyeball method of hanging art - I think we did good!

Scout was pretty particular about where he wanted each frame.

He's got black and white photos interspersed evenly with the color photos.

It's a very creative look, I think!

Too bad these frames don't have glare-free glass, but I figure we can get that from Michael's and swap it out. That way, it won't matter that we get glossy prints.

And he'll be able to print more often if we keep this simple.

I think it came out nicely and wish we had done it sooner! I told him we can look for more frames to add - I am on the lookout for another set in that silver tone, but we could mix and match the frames like he did the photos.

Whatcha think?

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Hubby's Whopper Cake

2012-02-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

Seems like we have one birthday immediately following another from September on...and Hubby's is the last of the "birthday season" here at Camp Rustown. I wanted to make him something fun and found another delish one by Brandi at the Country Cook! Go here for the recipe.

Here it is, just sitting innocently in my fridge, waiting for Hubby to get home from his Scout meeting:

Milk chocolate cake, malted cool whip frosting, and crushed Whoppers!

The frosting is made with Lite Cool Whip and chocolate malted milk powder.

I had lots of Whoppers left over...they got hidden in a secret place...

Hubby could not resist sneaking one from the top.

I bet you could swap out the chocolate and make a strawberry version with strawberry cake, strawberry whoppers, and vanilla malt powder...YUM. Might have to try that next.

Happy Birthday, Hubby! Hope it was a whopper of a good one. (:

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Coffee fueled organization

2012-02-01T04:46:00.000-08:00

One of my new habits for 2012 includes 86ing the creamer in my coffee. Which for some strange reason, makes me want more coffee. And when I have more than one cup of coffee, I become like the Tazzy Devil, cleaning and organizing. Which is not a bad thing. Take for instance what I was able to do with a trip to Wally world and a couple of hours:

Swapped out the old and grungy cutting board with three new ones in different sizes.

Cleaned out the knife drawer and got rid of the old dull, rusty knives...

...and put a knife block with new ones on the counter, handy to my prep area.

Bought some new kitchen cloths, putting the old ones out for car washing - also bought some pillow covers for the boy's rooms - I was washing bed linens at the same time...

This is most beautiful drawer in the house - dish cloths and towels, and pot holders.

No more stained and nasty cleaning cloths!

I didn't say I didn't make a big mess while all that was going on...I did.

After that, there was no stopping me. I went through all of the cabinets and cleared out stuff we could stand to get rid of, wiping down and organizing as I went. It felt good to take a bag of stuff out to the Goodwill pile and the kitchen was clean and shiny.

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Mom's new habits...

2012-01-30T06:46:00.000-08:00

Along with the resolution list I have been diligently trying to follow I made me a reminder card for my desk:

And I've been doing very well with it, if I do say so! That large tumbler of water has become a habit now - I fill it up at the start of the day and sits out on my kitchen island, as a reminder. Whenever I walk past it, I drink from it. I have also remembered to take my vitamin and calcium tabs daily - something I haven't been able or willing, to do in years. I haven't done these things since the holidays:

*Cook with butter
*Eat bacon
*Drink a soda
*Have creamer in my coffee
*Eaten fast food

I'm not chastising myself if I have something from the naughty list: candy, creamer, etc. I find my cravings for those things are very weak now, anyway, so I can easily do without them. I am still working on the walking effort. It just is the last thing that appeals to me during the day.

This picture makes me cringe a little. Wrinkled pants and muffin top is not my best look. I have hung those jeans I want to fit into in a prominent spot and I could zip them last week. Hooray! I have lost 3.7 pounds and I feel so much better than I did a month ago, but I still feel I have so far to go... I know that my steps toward my goal are baby steps, and I'm OK with that.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Tilapia Tikka Masala

2012-01-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

Have you tried those pre-measured spice recipe packets from McCormick? Our local grocery store was having a buy two get one free on them so I bought them, thinking it was nifty to have the recipe plus the pre-measured spices in one package. Marketing genius! I tried the Chicken Tikka Masala - a blend of garam masala, cumin, garlic, paprika, red pepper - on tilapia and Hubby rated it a 5.5 on a scale of 1-5. Yes!

Four ingrediennts - couldn't be easier. Six tilapia filets, one can petite diced tomatoes, 2 T. diced cilantro, and the McCormick Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe Inspirations. I opened all the little packets of seasoning and mixed them all together. Then, I salted the fish lightly and sprinkled on about 1 t. of the seasoning on the filets. I melted a little butter (2T or so) and sauteed the fish til done; then removed to a warm dish.

In the pan drippings I added the tomatoes, about 2 t. more* of the seasoning, and the cilantro. I let it come to a boil, then poured over the fish. I served it with hot rice and a salad.

The sauce was fresh tasting with just the right amount of spice. So GOOD. And it fit perfectly into the healthy eating plan Hubby and I are following. Even my 16 yr old. loved it. Tilapia is one of our favorite fishes - so mild and goes with so many things. Excellent in fish tacos! I'm pretty sure we'll be having this again - try it and let me know what you think!

*There is still a bit of the seasoning left...what shall I add it to next?

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A bright spot in the house

2012-01-27T04:56:00.000-08:00

My laundry room is all spiffed up and ready to get to work!

Here is the before:

Everything crammed in and the builder beige still on the walls...

Ewww...

And that's as far out from the wall as I could move the washer to paint down there...

I ended up practically standing on my head!

I pulled down the contact paper from the shelves.

Hard to tell the paint color from these photos - take my word for it the walls were blah and scuffed. But now the floors are scrubbed and the walls have a fresh coat of paint.

Want to see the "afters"?

The paint was left over from the front room project - called "Tobacco Leaf" by Martha Stewart in a satin interior latex enamel. Perfect for this area.

I purged the shelves - storing things elsewhere or loading up my Goodwill pile.
And made a sweet little area on the shelf for pretty blue things...

This little dish holds all sorts of treasures I find in my washing machine...

These blue plates have been hanging in here since the first time I spiffed up this area a year ago. My mother was perturbed that I hung them in here as she gave them to me and wanted them out where everyone can see them. But I don't have a "blue" room in the house and I am in the laundry area six days out of seven. Made sense to me to hang them in here where I can enjoy them.

My art gallery of magnets the kids made in school...

Love this fabric that lines the baskets.

I added a tension rod to hold my ironing.

I got that idea from somewhere...can't remember where. I think tension rods are great - you can use them anywhere and they don't damage the walls. This one is fairly strong, too - it holds everything I need to iron or hang dry.

All of the Christmas stuff is now in the top of my master closet in 4 big clear boxes. This big one in the laundry room holds miscellaneous decor - stuff I need to get to easily. Seasonal things, mostly. And next to it are the hard-to-store things. And empty space! So it's there if I need it. I think it's prettier in here now. it will take the drudge factor down a bit when I open up the door to do laundry.

Is is silly to love my laundry area? Because now, I do!

A plan to freshen the laundry room

2012-01-25T04:35:00.000-08:00

You can't really call it a room, per se. More like a closet.

But I want to add some color to the walls and arrange the stuff on the shelves differently...

Yikes. And wash the ironing board cover!

Nothing fancy. Just a sprucing up - moving the appliances and vacuuming thoroughly, storing some things better..my mini-project for the rest of the week!

My obsession with pine cones...

2012-01-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

...continues, well after Christmas...

But I think they make perfect Winter decor!

I can't help it.

Orange Chicken with Green Beans and Brown Rice

2012-01-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

The idea for this recipe is from an HEB store flyer. But I read the instructions, improved them (in my opinion), and adjusted the cooking time. Still, I appreciate the idea, HEB!

Orange Chicken with Green Beans and Brown rice

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 pound green beans, trimmed

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

1 cup brown rice

1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube, crumbled into the rice

2 cup fresh squeezed OJ and water (half and half)

some grated orange rind

1/2 t. of crushed red pepper.

black pepper

olive oil

*Use a cast iron pan or similar, because it's part stove, part oven cooking.

Add the red pepper to the OJ and water mix and set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Saute your chicken things in a little olive oil til browned; set aside.

In the pan drippings, saute the onion and the rice a few minutes. I love using cast iron - it goes right to the oven from the stove!

Turn off the heat. Add fresh green beans to the skillet on top of the rice and onion mixture. Set the thighs on top of that, pepper it, pour on the OJ/water mix with some orange rind grated in for extra flavor, and cover. Bake at 375 for about an hour.

******

I might have let mine sit in the oven a little longer while I watched Jacques Pepin on PBS. (:

With the lid on, it was perfectly fine.

Oh, my. What a delicious dinner!

I don't normally cook brown rice, but I am trying to make each meal a little more healthier. Brown rice is perfect in this. Try it and let me know what you think!

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A simple birthday cake

2012-01-20T04:57:00.000-08:00

That's what I wanted for Firstborn. The holidays and all it's baking did a toll on me and I was looking for something simple. Of course, The Chronicle delivered. Chronicle recipes are awesome - submitted by some of the greatest cooks in Texas! Mine came out super moist and coconutty.

It was so moist the powdered sugar flat out disappeared. Made no difference at all served with Chocolate Swirl Malt Crunch ice cream. I'm just sayin'.

It was pretty non-healthy, party kind of meal. That's OK on people's birthdays, people.

We had ribs from Rudy's, pizza, salad, and an olive relish tray.

Oh, and beer.

It's been a whole three weeks since we've ordered pizza...

But it's such an easy meal that boy-type people love. Well, he's really not a boy any more...
Still hard for me to wrap my head around him being 22 ...

And that cake, in all it's moist leftover glory, is still staring me in the face.
Gonna have to freeze it unless Firstborn gets to eating it up soon...

What did we know?

2012-01-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

We were 29 when we started our family.

And thought raising kids wasn't all that complicated.

We did a good job producing healthy ones who were very much wished for.

We had people tell us that they couldn't picture us as parents. Why ever not? We figured we could do at least as good a job as our own parents, and maybe a little more so..

We've taken their safety and health seriously. It has been as important to us as their education and making them feel loved. Did we want them to have all that each of us did not have growing up? Of course.

But those things aren't always material.

We initially counted on the support of friends and family, who gradually drew back to watch us from a distance. It was lonely at times - we wanted to be part of the old gang and felt like we never could afford to go out - even if we did have time to do so, which we didn't.

We didn't have babysitters or grandparents nearby.

We formed our own family island.

We vowed that all of our kids, starting with our first sweet boy, would know what it means to have two parents united behind you, making you their top priority.

Firstborn, 1990

We thought we could be good at it - even if everyone else didn't.

We felt that in our hearts, it was meant to be.

And now it seems it's been that way forever.

Clothing clean out - and a goal

2012-01-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

See these jeans? Size 14 - but they may as well be size 12, they fit me so tightly.

Oh, they are worn. Very much so.

They used to be the ones I used for yard work...apparently a while back...

And I am ashamed I had to extend the loop to make them fasten last time I wore them. But it inspired me to go through my clothes and throw out the "crutches" keeping me from enjoying all the great things I could be wearing!

I must have thrown out half a dozen tees that were stained or otherwise just big and sloppy. Why was I holding on to things I can no barely stand to wear? Now I have space in the tee shirt drawer to add some cute tees! An incentive to keep eating healthy and drop a few more pounds!

I did the same thing with the drawer that holds shorts and workout wear. I was on a roll!

The closet was next - a lot of things I was wearing were simply because they fit - leaving a whole rack of stuff I really want to wear but don't feel good in any more. That's sad!

I have some really cute skirts I used to live in. And this rack had some size XL fleece tops. XL. OMG. I had to get rid of them mostly because I don't want to fit in XL any more. And now I can see clearly what I want to wear and can't wait to feel confident in again!

The goal is not to look like I did at 26 - half my lifetime away. The goal is to feel more like I did at 26 - healthy and attractive. I would have to lose 30 pounds to do so. That might be unattainable. But it doesn't mean I won't try...and I think I will take stock of my goals - and my closet - on a regular basis.

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Fun at Pottery Barn

2012-01-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

I had a credit to spend at PB so I went to see what was on clearance and lookee what I got:

A cute stuffed calico-ish bird that sits next to my glazed ceramic thrift store find. I think PB had a bird themed Christmas selection...anyhoo, she didn't look Christmas-y and I love her up here!

And these! The most beautiful napkins ever. And not just because of the colors...

The price, too!

They made a pair of toss pillows with some solid scraps of fabric for the backs.

******

I still have a lot of decor out from the holidays - pine cones, evergreens, crochet snowflakes and such, because it seems so drastic to take every thing down that's winter-related....

but I love adding more color to brighten it up!

Crockpot Lentil Soup

2012-01-13T05:23:00.000-08:00

I've been battling sinusitis for what feels like forever and soup has been a very soothing thing for me...pricing it in the store, I was inspired to make my own. Cheaper, healthier, and more rewarding...not to mention, you can make more soup than you need right then and freeze the rest. Bonus! There's no recipe to this, just a method. I rinsed and drained my lentils and placed them in a large crock pot with some leftover smoked turkey from the holidays; specifically a drum and a wing.

Then I rooted around in the veggie drawer for those things we needed to use up at the end of a week: half a red onion, a couple stalks of celery, half a tomato, a few baby carrots, and some garlic. Reminds me of my mother's "Friday Soup". I added in a chicken boullion cube and enough water to cover, and let it cook on low for about 5 hours. I tasted the seasoning at that point and added a little more salt and pepper. Then I let it cool and stored a couple of lunch sized containers for the weekend.

The rest went into a big container for the freezer:

This will be so easy and so comforting one night soon!

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Easy Chicken Curry

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe from Kraft and made only slight adjustments to it. And I have to say, it was the best chicken curry recipe I've ever made! The kids and Hubby scarfed it down and asked for seconds - after I had already stored the leftovers for hubby's lunch. Who knew they'd love it? Next time I will add more chicken thighs - they cook up so tender and wonderful in the crock pot! Without further ado...

Crockpot Curry Chicken

2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

1 16 oz jar salsa

2 T curry powder

1 container of fat free or low fat sour cream

Spray the crockpot with Pam and place the chicken thighs inside. Mix up all else and pour over the chicken. Depending on how your crock cooks it could take 6-10 hours; mine happens to cook fast so I cooked this for about 5 hours. I served it over couscous with a side veggie of peas and carrots. YUM.

Lately, no matter what I cook, Bubbie adds jalapenos to it. Even curry, which is mildly spicy already. I guess jalapenos count as his veggie. This big jar was given to us by my sister about 3 weeks ago....

As you can see, he is pretty hooked on them. Considering he has gained almost 10 pounds in the last 6 months, I am all for whatever makes dinner more appealing!

Finally, the chair project

2012-01-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

I took advantage of a sunny and beautiful 66 degree day to finally get that chair painted for the closet. For $11 I got a solid wood chair with a seat cushion that matches the chairs in the master bedroom. yay!

I started off by digging out the leftover Damask fabric by Waverly.

Hey - it was an expensive project and I was going to use up as much of that fabric as I could!

Which meant that it had to pieced together, since it was just mainly scraps.

And then I top stitched the seams with a zig zag stitch so the sections would be sturdy. I tried to match the pattern as much as possible. But it has something like a 13 inch repeat!

There is a tiny nub of this fabric left. Wonder what I could do with it, ha ha. Really, I'm getting kinda tired of hauling it out. I've already made a French memo board and decopaged some light switch covers.

I stapled it all around the chair pad. If I stand back a bit, I don't notice the patching as much - I'm hoping Hubby will not find this to be a problem. After all, it's going to live in the closet!

I primed and spray painted it a matte black. Not my best spray paint job for sure...

But I bet Hubby will appreciate a place to park himself and slip off his shoes...

Nosy cat 'fix'

2012-01-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

I love having real plants indoors, but Sugar will not leave them alone. She will maul them and dig in them and then go puke them onto the carpet. This year most of my outdoor pots went to live in the garage for a few months but these lucky ones got a new home in the kitchen window:

Beautiful cacti! Don't ask me their names - I have no idea. I just love how they have natural protection from my nosy cat. And the terra cotta pots are perfect for them, as well as the bright light from this window.

I picked up this pretty one from Home Depot today for about $5. It added a bit of color where I had taken down Christmas decor. Plus, cacti are great for lazy gardeners - like me. It's been since Thanksgiving that they've been here - unmolested by Sugar. They definitely don't taste - or feel - as good as they look!

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My resolutions 2012

2012-01-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

I don't, as a rule, make resolutions for the New Year. For one thing, if I tell someone, I immediately fail and for some reason, I can never keep them to myself. (see below) For another thing - I should be willing for the other 11 months out of the year to improve myself physically, mentally, financially, etc. Doesn't make sense to want to change things for the better based on it being January 1st. But, for some reason, I made resolutions this year. And since I'm telling them to everyone, wonder how long it will be before I break them?

1. KISS everything - keep it simple. Not just decorating - parenting, finances, relationships...
2. Lose weight. So cliche. But I probably need to.
3. Stop drinking soda. Drink more water.
4. Go back to my walking program.
5. Stop cussing. Be nicer. Tell everyone "goodnight" at night before retreating to my bedroom cave.

Hmmmm.....five things ought not to be so hard to keep up with...

A crafty way to recycle Christmas cards

2012-01-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

School starts back tomorrow morning. Blerg.

This is the dead last post about Christmas 2011. Seriously. But, do you ever wonder what to do with all those Christmas cards you get? OK, I admit we only got 10 this year. TEN. People that's just sad. But I so hate to throw them out. Seems like such a waste.

So, after I take them down from the card holder, and cut out, or off,

all the photos for my fridge memo board,

I get my trusty Santa scissors and some bottled fabric glue paint...

...and I cut out small sections of cards to embellish and make gift tags..

I store them away for next year - I'm always thrilled when I get ready to wrap - finding a fun craft I did the year before. I think they make hand made gifts sparkle!

I use a hole punch to make them into hanging tags.

Sometimes all I need to do is accentuate the design that's already there.

Or, add a holiday sentiment, or a button.

I also have some scissors that make decorative edges to make them fancier!

You could have a lot of fun doing this with your kids.

******

All of Christmas is up now, safely packed away in storage boxes at my house.
And the boys (and girl) are all ready to go back to school.
And I will have to get used to a silent house for most of the day.
How 'bout you?

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Scenes from the New Year

2012-01-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy time since Christmas.
Working those extra hours and LOTS of extra cooking and laundry.
Coming home from work on New Year's Day I found:

The Girl's gear packed and ready to go in the front room,

a delicious smelling dinner of Ham balls, cabbage, and black eyed peas -

with champagne chilling in the fridge,

and the den couch inhabited by people relaxing and watching TV.

But here we are on Tuesday morning - just a day away from the holidays,

which seem so far away...

The Girl is safely back at college,

the boys slowly getting back into routine,

and my second desk on the kitchen island brimming with my "put off" list including running to the bank, dropping off books at the library, putting oil in my car, going by Walgreen's, vacuuming the house, and ironing...plus we will squeeze in a movie and a good dinner.
It's off to a slow start, and I haven't had time to be creative - yet.
I'm getting there...

What I've been up to

2011-12-28T19:06:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas I have been trying to take it easy in the evenings and read for a while. Sometimes I fall asleep in this comfy bedroom chair with my book on my lap, a victim of sitting still for too long...

I have been picking up some extra hours at work, then rushing home to spend time with the peeps - making them a lunch, taking them to a movie or shopping, working on the odd task, doing laundry and dishes and getting dinner on, cleaning up the kitchen and getting ready to go to work again the next day...by the time I sit down, I'm pooped!

******

Hopefully next week, when I'm back on a regular schedule (and so are they, by the way), I'll do some creative things - scanning in old photos, blogging, trying a new recipe or two, getting some closet and storage organization and de-crapification underway...

...just thinking about all I want and need to do makes me drowsy...

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Serenity Now

Monday dawns...day after Christmas

2011-12-26T08:43:00.000-08:00

What's your tradition for "Day After"? Here it involves sleeping in, drinking coffee, and wondering what's to eat...I told Hubby I think our new tradition should be going to pizza buffet at Double Dave's! (: While we wait for everyone to actually GET UP and get going I can haul out the leftover snacks from Christmas Eve...including this dip I made from the last can of pumpkin from Thanksgiving:

I served it with graham crackers - yummy. Even good for after Christmas breakfast! (: Go here for the recipe. I made it in my new Pampered Chef stoneware pie plate from my sister - so pretty!

I see Chicken Pot Pies in my future in 2012...

Now to rouse everyone into getting dressed...pizza rolls and salad are calling my name...

A very Cannary Christmas Eve...

2011-12-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hello! What had you been up to today?

We've had a very rainy and cold day here at Camp Rustown...but hearts are warm.

We enjoyed Overnight French Toast with bacon for a late breakfast..

Did a little last minute shopping at World Market and HEB. Got the fixin's for dirty martini's...

...and enjoyed them with hot Artichoke Heart Dip...yuuuum...

Hubby finished up all last minute gift buying and we finished wrapping the gifts - each child gets a different wrap. No one will know which is theirs until Christmas morning!

...and Santa doesn't wrap. FYI...so there will be more added to this pile...

Then we set a beautiful last minute table with things we already had,

added some white napkins and gold chargers...

We will eat by candlelight...magic! Chicken enchiladas, salad, and wine. It will seem like a four star restaurant and we will all be hungry after church gets out around 8 p.m.

As the day winds down, I reflect on how fast the season goes by, and how I can slow it down, just a little, and truly live in the moment.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Wimberley Winter Wonderland

2011-12-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

We took a trip to the hill country to visit Maggie's shop and bop around for the day.

It was an overcast and chilly day - perfect for Christmas shopping!

So many fun shops with local art

Lights and greenery strung everwhere

Quaint little houses turned into gift shops on the square

We got our exercise walking everywhere!

We stopped at Wimberley Cafe for lunch.

The boys enjoyed just hanging out together and we tore up some delicious burgers!

We had just missed a big Christmas "To Do" on the square a few days before,

but found plenty of fun places to pose for pics.

My sister's shop is all decked out in tiny white lights and has the most amazing salsa, sauces, treats, wine...

...and lots of samples to try...

We got Hubby some treats for his stocking. Fun! Can't wait to go back soon!

In just three days...

2011-12-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

You will be a teenager!

Thirteen years have gone by in a flash - so hard to believe I actually blinked...

I will remember that Christmas forever - the sense that we were finally completing a group of people to love and cherish and call a family. A day that all of us welcomed you as a gift of love to our family.

Happy Birthday, Bubbie!

We will never forget that it is your special day, too because having you as a part of our family means so much to all of us (:

Christmas cookie tray

2011-12-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

I made a last minute cookie tray for Hubby to take to work one day last week. Just found the ingredients for some basic stuff and ran with it!

Chocolate Pretzel peanut clusters, Russian Teacakes, and Jam Pastries. YUM.

The clusters were made using the recipe off the package of some chocolate bark I've been wanting to use. I subbed in pretzels for the chow mein noodles since I already had pretsels on hand. They also have peanut butter in them - they were so easy and really good!

These Russian Teacakes go by many names - Sandies, Mexican Wedding Cakes, etc. I made mine with walnuts as pecans have priced themselves waaay out of my budget. They are simple to make - here is a recipe that's very similar to mine.

I lined them up next to the pile of clusters and kept baking...

Last but not least were the jam pastries. This recipe called for pie crust, jam, cinnamon sugar, and nuts.

You roll out the dough onto the sugar and press it in. Then spread the jam on, sprinkle the nuts, roll the whole thing up, and slice to bake.

I think they came out so pretty! Looks like I slaved for hours, but really,

I spent maybe one hour total on the whole thing!

YUM. I think these would be good for breakfast, too. Today is another baking day at my house in preparation for the cookies we leave out for the Fat Man (:

What's on your last minute agenda? Any cookie baking?

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Kitchen swag

2011-12-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas spaces in the house!

The garland swag that hangs in the kitchen window.

FULL of ornaments the kids have made over the years.

In fact, some of them don't fit, so they get alternated!

And at the bottom are the tiny trees they made one Thanksgiving. I love these!

There are ornaments here that are irreplacable, so they don't go on the Christmas trees.

I think of this as a different shaped tree! One I can see every day as I'm in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning, or helping someone with a homework project.

It's true that the kitchen is the heart of the home...

A lot of them have school pictures, but some of them have candid shots; those are the ones we made at home. It makes the window seat such a happy place!

It takes me back to when they were all little...

...and actually smiled for photos (:

This is my favorite - made by Firstborn in pre-K. Everyone needs a macaroni bell!

Were they ever that little? Was my hair ever that brown?

And The Girl's that short?

Sweet Scout!

Popsicle tree made by The Girl in Brownies.

Puzzle ornament made by Bubbie in Mothers Day Out.

I love all of them and look forward to seeing this sight every Christmas!

Do you have a spot like this for your kid's Christmas art?

Tacky Homemades

2011-12-17T04:28:00.000-08:00

That's how my mother always refers to gifts she makes at Christmastime - and they are always anything BUT tacky. And personally, I like a gift that's hand made and home made. So, I got an idea to make ornaments for a co-worker who's name I may or may nor have drawn in our Secret Santa gift exchange. I'm not sayin'...

I started out with sparkly unbreakable ornaments from Michael's, and some shimmery white fabric paint. I found the cutest Ho Ho Ho ribbon and was so excited! Only to discover at home that someone had cut about half of it off the roll....grrr...Michael's was very nice and let me get another roll...but I had to settle on polka dots ribbon.

Still pretty cute - stripes and dots together work!

I used a measuring cup to hold the ornament steady and wrote each family member's name in white,

Eventually I used my cute martini glasses for the task...mmmmm....martinis.....

This set has the cutest pitcher, too. I really need to get over to the liquor store and get the fixin's for a holiday martini! OK, back to the craft...

Then I added a dot of red to the lettering. They dried pretty quickly.

And when they did, I added the ribbon to the tops to gussy them up a bit. She will still be able to hook a tree hanger in there to hang them on their tree. No worries about them breaking - hooray!

I packaged them in one of those red rectangular zip loc containers and bundled that with a box of Starbucks cocoa, candy canes, and gingersnaps. The ginger snaps are in a wrapping paper covered Pringle's can - an idea from Angie at Echoes of Laughter.

Merry Christmas, Mom of Three Cute Kids!

Spaces I love

2011-12-15T04:58:00.000-08:00

Little things around the house that make me smile:

Candles and angels. Photos of loved ones. Greenery and ribbon.

Santa and candy canes. Tiny trees...

Silver and gold together.

Pine cones! Nooks with books and pretty pillows.

Anything made by my children. Especially if it involves hand prints!

A real tree in the front room...

And our vintage tree just for the kids; with an ornament for each one, each year.

Full of happy Christmas memories.

Cozy spaces. Sweet family. Merry season.

She wants a dog...

2011-12-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

The Girl dog-sat for our neighbors on Thanksgiving weekend.

It included taking them out for walks one at a time - they have two Blue Heelers.

She took Bubbie with her and I trailed along, out of breath!

This is Allie, the oldest. She loves tummy rubs and The Girl.

"Mom, I reaaaally want a dog!", she says, every time she dog-sits. I remind her that she has a lot to accomplish before she graduates college. She's just now learning to fend for herself and live on her own, and her dad and I feel like a dog would complicate things.

I know she would love it and take care of it.

And bathe it. And scoop poop. It would be a good companion and protector. I know.
She makes some good points for it.

But taking care of a dog is so much more than that. So I hope she will hang in there until graduation. I plan on getting her one then, when she has the home and the time, and the means to give it a lifetime of love.

Walnut Raisin Pie

2011-12-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

I wrote down this recipe more than 26 years ago, even before I was married. I was working in the Stationery and Books department at Foley's - obviously I was a hard worker - spending time copying recipes out of the cookbooks...yeah. I pretty much hated that job. I might have only made this recipe a couple of times in all those years. It's something Hubby and I enjoy. The kids, not so much.

I think it smells and tastes just like Christmas!

Walnut Raisin Pie

3 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. apple pie spice (or use a combo of nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves)
1 c. light or dark corn syrup
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. raisins*
and a ready-made pie crust!

*Soak your raisins in a little hot water for 10-15 minutes to soften them up!

Heat the oven to 350. Prepare your pastry OR just pat a ready-made one into your buttered pie plate. Beat the eggs, sugar, salt, spices, syrup, and butter with a mixer til blended. Stir in the raisins and nuts. Pour into crust and bake 40-50 minutes or until filling is set. Cool and serve.

******

For some reason, I felt a little blue around the edges the day I made this - when that happens, I simply throw the back door open to let a breeze into the kitchen and I bake something wonderful. Works like a charm!

Front door spiff

2011-12-10T04:06:00.000-08:00

So while I was out Christmas shopping this week, I could not resist the urge to visit the thrift stores

- kinda to balance out all the un-thrift shopping I've been doing - if you know what I mean.

And lookee what I found:

A chair for that closet project - $4.99! I plan on painting it black and re-covering the seat cushion to match the chairs in the master bedroom. It will be a nice place for hubby to sit while he dresses in the mornings.

And this crackly glazed terra cotta pot. I LOVE the green. Not sure if it's going to stay by the front door, but that's where I put it, full of pine cones and greenery. It was pricey for Goodwill - $6.
But I love it so much - I'm sure it will find a permanent home inside after Christmas.

And since I gussied that up, I had to add some sparkly sprays and poinsettias to the wreath.

Pretty!
But I gotta tell you, I am REALLY done with Christmas decorating now so this is the last of it.
So many other things I have to do...and

I'm anxious to get started on that chair!

Our cards arrived...

2011-12-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

Our cards arrived from Shutterfly. This year I am not as jazzed about them as I was last year:

For one thing, the colors seem extreme in the photos and the contrast is really high. The pics don't look that way on my computer. And I wish I had given more thought to that whole black and red theme. One of the reds looks a tad orange-y. I picked a style that is just a card - not folded. We can all sign the back, so that's OK. Hmmm...I think next year I will get one big group shot.

And I will pick a more traditional card design and colors.

******

For now, I am getting them signed by everyone so they can be in the mail next week.

Coffee and Cocolate Bar

2011-12-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

I got a fun idea from Angie at Echoes of Laughter for a Hot Chocolate Bar -

using just what I had and including some coffee treats:

I cleared off one side of my kitchen counter and moved the Keurig over from where we normally make coffee. Found a big round serving tray to set everything on.

I think that will make it easy for me to clean around it...

Then I loaded it up with goodies! Hot cocoa mix, Gingerbread syrup, small instant coffee sticks, K-cups...

...and three kinds of marshmallows...yuuum...I fished around and found a couple of jars to store

them in and tied on some holiday ribbon.

I just folded back the box tops on the hot chocolate so the boys could reach in and grab the one they want.

Yummy holiday K-cups! This will be a nice spot to make a special coffee or hot chocolate treat.

And the bonus is that I have more space at the other end of the counter. Can't wait for the boys to discover our new Hot Chocolate and Coffee Bar at Chez Rustown (:

Cleaning out the freezer

2011-12-05T06:56:00.000-08:00

It's Monday - which means at my house there is a ton of laundry to do and we need groceries. I'm pretty good about menu planning and cooking so we have plenty of good things to eat! But sometimes I find myself staring into a full freezer on Sunday wondering why I made a grocery list for Monday. Then, I toss that list and make a new one - one that takes into account the food we already have!

We need to economize this month anyway...

Rooting around in my freezer I found a package of turkey dogs, some leftover chili, and some pre-cut bell pepper. I'm going to add pork and beans and some tomatoes which are getting soft - both items I already have. My new creation shall be called Chili Dog Beanie Weinie. I think we will have a salad with it and some Blueberry Streusel Cake for dessert. I'm sure the menfolk will eat it up.

******

Cleaning out my freezer and pantry before I go grocery shopping - it's like getting something for nothing...(:

K.I.S.S.ing the mantle

2011-12-03T04:15:00.000-08:00

Last year I purged a LOT of stuff from our holiday decor so that this year I could

Keep It Simple, Sweetie (KISS).

I love the simple shapes of Christmas trees, pine cones, and berries. I bought just one thing this year - the wicker tree in the background - LOVE IT. At 50% off at Hob Lob, it was destined for my home.

I added from my pine cone stash...some I collected with the kids...

...and some glittery ones I found at Wally World last year.

Added a sweet ceramic tea light votive tree from my sister,

and a couple of glazed green ones from Hob Lob a couple years ago.

I love the color and the swirly pattern.

Some sprays of berries and some greenery - I have a lot of these in my stash that I use every year.

I have re-arranged the pine cones a bit, but I am DONE.

Simple and sparkly with a little red here and there.

(KISS!)

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Holiday pecan pie!

2011-12-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

This is one of the pies we served at Thanksgiving - the flavors were so good and it smelled
amazing warm from the oven. Enjoy with a cup of coffee!

Bourbon and Orange Pecan Pie
(from Real Simple magazine, Nov. 2009)

1 ready-made piecrust
1 c. light corn syrup
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit
3 eggs
2 T bourbon (or use 1 t. vanilla extract)
1/2 grated orange zest
1/2 t. salt
2 c. pecan halves

Pre-heat the oven to 350 after setting the oven rack to the lowest position.

Place pie crust in butter pie plate and crimp along the edges.

Whisk together corn syrup, sugar. butter, eggs, bourbon, orange zest, and salt.

Stir in the pecans

and pour into the crust.

Scape the bowl with a spatula to get all of the goo!

Bake 50-55 minutes and let cool before slicing and serving.

Admire your pie before everyone digs in!

You can even pose with it and show your mom your beautiful smile. (:

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Christmas cards 2011

2011-11-29T04:43:00.000-08:00

We had a good 30 minutes of photo time in the back yard on Thanksgiving day...

Mom and Dad

It was a lot of fun, but not your normal portrait sitting!

we laughed a lot and enjoyed each other's company...

And sometimes I actually got the kids to pose sweetly...

...but only for one or two pics...

...don't they look innocent?

Oh, so pretty...

.....even though they didn't want to be serious at all.....
And somehow, out of all of the photos we took, we got a few for the Christmas card. (:

Lunch with Maggie

2011-11-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

My sister and I met in Dripping Springs for lunch at a Mexican restaurant one day last week.

The restaurant was so-so, but the company was fun! She brought me a new Tervis Tumbler and treated me to lunch for my birthday. Fun! I brought her some wine for her Thanksgiving dinner, a jar of homemade Cranberry Sauce, and some Bacon Jam.

Maggie might be older than me, but she is young at heart, and we like a lot of the same things.

She helps me see things from a different point of view, so it's nice to talk to her about important stuff.

She is fun to spend time with - I don't get to do that too often. We have 7 kids and 4 sisters between us (not counting each other). We live in the same part of the state, but she owns her own business and it's about to be the busiest time of the year for her, so I won't see her again unless I go there. Which is not a bad idea, really. Wimberley is a pretty little town out in the country.

The Hill Country is so pretty this time of year - wish I'd taken more pics.

Guess I will have to visit her sooner, rather than later!

A prayer of Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2011

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

We thank you, Lord - amen!

Kids bathroom update

2011-11-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Before

After!

Before - orange peel texture and yellow paint.

After - "Spanish Moss" and knockdown texture.

I think the problem with the yellow was it's intensity. And yes, the Fall clings went bye-bye, too!

I plan on adding one of those beautiful wall quotes to the mirror, and talk hubby into framing it out.

Everything looks so clean in here now. I will change out these prints with the season - maybe add a couple more next time I visit IKEA for frames.

The Hunter green had run it's course...this shower curtain is as old as our house, built in 1993...

The new shower curtain is fabric, not plastic, and has a pretty grey stripe in it. I love how it looks with the green. One thing I learned is that the light bulb you choose can make a difference in how the paint color looks. I'm not gonna get all crazy because it isn't exactly matchy-matchy; I just want it to coordinate.

Another thing I have learned with bathrooms - white towels can be bleached so they are a very good choice for kids! I re-framed the silhouette art from a while back - don't know if it will live here forever, but the newly painted wall was a blank and I wanted to pretty it up.

The 'mat' for all the framed pictures is a sheet of cork, cut to fit. I love the texture of cork!

I am OK with silk plants. I will change this out for a small Christmas tree after Thanksgiving.

And maybe add tiny pine cones to this candle vase.

******

Looking at the before and afters I realize that what I was trying to do was get away from the harsh of the yellow against the Hunter green and create a softer look - still green because it's one of my favorite colors in the home - so calm and natural. I kept the white instead of accentuating the cream on the shower curtain - it looks fresher and I wanted to stay within my very limited budget! I scrubbed down the cabinets and doors and hubby added some new brushed nickle door stops. Just need to tweak a bit with decor.

Whatcha think?

The menu this year!

2011-11-20T19:08:00.000-08:00

Planning the menu for Thanksgiving is a no-brainer here, as very little changes year to year. The only thing missing will be my sister's stuffed jalapenos, but we are substituting chex mix that we will munch while we play dominoes and cards with soda and beer on the patio. (: And I am going to try my hand at a Bourbon Pecan Pie I found in Real Simple magazine.

I asked my family what one item they had to have that makes it Thanksgiving for them and a menu came together. Hubby and Firstborn love the turkey, The Girl is a green bean fan, Scout loves corn casserole, Bubbie loves Watergate Salad, and will eat anything with bacon, and me? I love it all, but especially the cranberry orange sauce! Eventually, I will write down the recipes so my kids can carry on the traditions with their own families, if they choose. And I was even thinking of putting together a family cookbook.

What about you? Got a holiday menu that's near and dear to you?

Liquid gold

2011-11-18T05:26:00.000-08:00

Time to take a break from painting and start planning the Thanksgiving dinner!

I love all the planning and shopping and food prep and I try to make as many things from scratch as I can - including the gravy. It's not like I'm a gravy professional, I'm sorta self-taught on that, but I'll have a great start with some homemade stock

I bought a couple of BIG turkey wings and plopped them into the crockpot with a little water, some garlic salt, and some rosemary. Underneath them I tucked some odds and ends of celery and some carrots - but the wings are so big you can't see 'em. Trust me, they're in there - they will add a nice flavor to it.

After they cooked most of the day I strained the liquid into my trusty Pyrex measuring cup and set it in the freezer to set up the fat that rose to the top. I chopped the turkey and bagged it to make yummy turkey pot pie or turkey a la king for another meal. Yum.

This cup of concentrated and seasoned stock is what I ended up with - about 1 1/4 cups for some tasty Thanksgiving gravy. I just scraped the fat off - it comes off easily - and spooned it into a mason jar for storage in the freezer.

Liquid gold!

It's jelly-like but will liquify when I heat it up to make gravy. We like to brine our bird and sometimes it makes the drippings a bit too salty to use. So, just in case....I will pull out this secret weapon! And if I don't use it for gravy, it makes an awesome base for delicious soup.
My mother made the best gravy, but I don't do so bad...
What about you - do you make homemade gravy?

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Bathroom walls

2011-11-17T05:12:00.000-08:00

Before I could even think of spiffing and cleaning the kids bathroom

I had to tackle the ugly truth about it's walls:

Oh, I can handle the truth...I admit it - I didn't have the knowledge or the follow-thru to do this right...

Let's just say that some places in the walls looked better than others...yikes

Enter a friend of mine who husband works with a subcontractor who does this sort of thing.

He didn't poke fun at me, and even said it was a good effort.. Very diplomatic of him, I think!

The first evening, he worked 2 hours and took down all the towel bars and wallpapaer,

and scraped the uneven areas of joint compound off the walls.

Then the next two evenings he began taping off the door jambs and cabinets, etc. This was the most time consuming part - six hours worth of work. I don't think he realized how much a hassle that was going to be, or he would have charged me more...

And yes, this bathroom was out of commission for almost a week, no small thing with

5 people sharing the master bathroom....

And after his last visit which lasted 5 1/2 hours, here's what we are left with...

Knockdown texture, perfectly done! You can see the yellow paint peeking thru, soon to be a

lovely shade of green! Yes, I know it's hard to see, so here's a close up:

I wish I knew how to do this, but I don't, and it's good to know your limitations right? Lovely knockdown texture, how I love it! So much better than the nasty wallpaper and once I get it all done, the kids will have a beautiful, relaxing bathroom in green, cream, and gray. I'm finishing up the painting today and hope to have it all put together by the time the boys get home from school.

It's been a challenge - wish me luck on finishing it up!

Wreath of Thanksgiving

2011-11-15T04:50:00.000-08:00

After I took down the Halloween wreath, I wanted to put up something different than this

quickie wreath I made for 0 dollars:

Pretty, but I wanted something that really said it was the season of abundance and thankfulness! I love all the burlap and monogram things I see in Bloggyland, so I combined the two (in my head!) and went to Hob Lob.

I already had a grapevine wreath, so I got a chipboard "C" and a couple of Fall sprays.

I figured I could pull the rest from my wreath making stash.

I love the colors, and the nuts and berries added in makes it even better - I've still got those huge acorns from last year and the tablecloth to match - love the simplicity of acorns and pine cones....I paid $4 for two of the sprays - and they will get used more than one, I'm sure!

The C was 1.99, and 40% off that. I wrapped it in a long strip of frayed burlap

and tied it on the wreath with more burlap.

I like how it looks natural, but so colorful and really full - it fills the front door.

Gosh, I am ready for cooler temps and Thanksgiving!

Another smidge

2011-11-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

I learned to translate several of my hubby's phrases. The most used one is: "I'll get to that this weekend", which means "I'm in no hurry to do that, but I want you to stop asking". So after I heard that on the closet shelves for the third or fourth time, I decided to do it myself. In two or three hours today. Cause that's how much stuff there was to deal with. So, here's where I'm at on the closet project:

Organized the things on the shelves and took a load of crap out to the garage.

Here are about half of the gimme caps, neatly hung on cup hooks.

Hung some miscellaneous pics and his radio operator clock on the wall above my clothes - might as well use the space to keep them out of harm's way.

The rest of my clothes hanging...

...then the shelves, then his side. He's got a tiny nook in there I want to put a couple of pretty catch-all containers for his change, etc.

He has way more clothes than I do...

But the best part is the floor. I will never tire of the expanse. After almost 13 years of this being an office with NO floor space and a fight to get to my clothes, I am pretty happy with this. Think I will ever get done? Still need:

*pretty light fixture

*Rug

*A chair or something for him to sit on - the ottoman is too small

*And I would LOOOVE to get rid of 90% of what is on the shelves above his clothes....
but for now, I am done with this!

I was ruthless...

2011-11-11T04:42:00.000-08:00

In preparation of holiday meal planning I went through my collection of recipes and I was ruthless...

...and I made a big mess.

But honestly, I had to toss about 50 or more recipes that I would never make. I gather them from many sources - magazines, cookbooks, the internet, blogs...most of them I really want to make. Maybe even had intentions of doing so. But sometimes I think my eyes are bigger than my stomach - know what I mean? And some of them were years old...

Afterwards, the remaining cards all fit nicely into my recipe box - not jammed packed in so tight I couldn't get to them. I cleaned up the box, too, and added a quote from a favorite cook of mine:

Which I think I will do!

Then I purges my Holiday Planner and got it ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Inside I keep menus, gift lists, decor ideas, and calendars of holidays past.

Let the planning begin!

Time for a change..

2011-11-09T05:12:00.000-08:00

It's time to finish what I started a while back...spiffing up the WHOLE bathroom, not just one section...

It's time to take this bathroom out of the 90's...where marble-y paper with gold streaks was fashionable...

I loved the wallpaper and the shower curtain - but they have not changed in 13 years,

and they are waaay outdated...and they make the bathroom look small.

And mismatched.

'Cause it is.

No one does hunter green anymore. No one. So it's impossible to find ANYTHING that will look good in here...and the yellow was not a great choice...but you know how it is when you get done with a project because the whole time you are doing it you think "I wish I were done with this". Yeah. That's what I felt. So, I found a stopping place. Then stopped.

Bleh. Time to pick another color for this bathroom....and hang some new art...and pick some new towels and accessories...and this time I am getting a professional's help! And he's coming today so this will be done before the holidays - yay!

Quiet and companionable

2011-11-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

"A cat improves the garden wall in sunshine, and

the hearth in foul weather."

J.M. Riley

Sugar, Fall 2011

And she's just nice to have around...

A smidge more progress on the closet...

2011-11-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm still waiting on Hubby to organize those metal shelves, but in the meantime

I added a couple things to the closet project:

A cute apple green ottoman he can sit on that hides his scout socks -will keep looking for a chair to refinish.

A French memo board for odds and ends photos and name badges and such.

This is tucked in a small nook next to his hanging suits.

All of the belts, ties, hats and purses are hanging now in their own space.
I found a lot of these hanging organizers on-line at Linens N Things.
Hubby has his own shoe organizer and all the hats he doesn't use are secured on cup hooks above this area.

I sacrificed one of the rods just for this purpose - I think it was a wise decision. If Hubby can get to his stuff more easily, he will warm up to this whole Turn-the-Office-Back into-a-Walk-in-Closet thing. And maybe, just maybe, it will inspire him not to drape clothes on a chair and throw shoes on the floor...

I also bought two hanging shoe organizers for me - some of the top pouches hold gloves and scarves. There was still plenty of room for my clothes as I have a large dresser, too.

I love the fact that underneath the clothes is NOTHING.

This makes me happy every time I come in here!

I steam cleaned the carpet and hung some stored pics on the walls -

might as well have them safely up and out of the way, right?

And I removed some lighting he had installed under the shelves for to light the desk.

At this rate, I'll be done sometime after the new year...

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Scout's Halloween Birthday

2011-11-03T04:50:00.001-07:00

Halloween was a lot of fun here, even though the whole week hasn't been so great...

Monday or not, we were going to party!

Scout and Miss A practiced their carving skills as soon as they got home from school,

while I set out pumpkin spice cupcakes, goldfish, Muddy Buddies,

and a honey peanut and candy corn combo

Pretty simple snacks, really - meant to appeal to teens.

The main dish was Chili Frito Pies with some Honey BBQ chicken wings on the side. Yum!

Spiced cider and beer for the grown folk, Dr. Pepper for the kids...

And I showed some mad carving skills myself!

Dad was up to his usual display tricks for the treaters - the theme here was teen lawn care people,...

...teen drivers, and just all-around "Beware of Teens". I pretty much gave the kids the run of the backyard and patio, but guess where they migrated? To the driveway where the adults sat giving out candy (:

Lots of silliness went on - they really lived up to the Beware of Teens theme,

scaring unsuspecting trick or treaters!

It was a nice break in the routine for Scout and friends!

Picadillo

2011-11-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

I am always on the lookout for great new recipes for my collection and found this one recently at Frugal Follies. It's got some interesting ingredients and sounded promising so I gave it a try.

Picadillo

2 T canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. ground beef

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 small green olives with pimentos - I used the salad ones which are already sliced

1/4 cup raisins

2 t. chili powder

1 t. cumin

1/4 t. cinnamon

Rice

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the onion; saute 2-3 minutes. Add the green pepper (I didn't have any, so I left it out) and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more. Remove veggies to a bowl and set aside. Add beef to the pan and cook until it is no longer pink. Add veggies back to the pan.

Add the tomatoes, olives, raisins, and spices, and turn heat to high until the sauce is boiling. Lower heat and cover, simmering 15 minutes or so while you make the rice. Serve over rice. Serves 4-6.

I served it with steamed carrots and it flat out disappeared. Hubby kept saying it was very good and so unusual - sweet from the raisin, salty from the olives. Perfect for Fall weather with the flavors of cinnamon and cumin. I will definitely file this one for future reference!

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Happy Birthday to our best Halloween treat ever!

2011-10-31T05:03:00.000-07:00

Scout's 1st birthday, 1996

To the outside world we all grow old.
But not to brothers and sisters.
We know each other as we always were.
We know each other's hearts.
We share private family jokes.
We remember family feuds and secrets,
family griefs and joys.
We live outside the touch of time.
-Clara Ortega

Happy 16th birthday, Scout.

We love you!

Not quite what I envisioned

2011-10-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

I saw a cute idea lately for a centerpiece I wanted to re-create for my dining table.

It involved spray painting some small fake green gourds and pumpkins and adding them to a vase with branches. I chose a pretty satin cream color paint, and painted the branches black so it would look Halloween-ish, but it didn't turn out like I envisioned it would. The branches were ridiculous and bulky and didn't look right. I put them by the front door with the pumpkins.

And I didn't have enough of them to fill my $1.62 vase from Sally Ann,

so I had to add some other elements to it to fill it up. Drat.

Hmmm...maybe next time I am out I will look for more of those vase filler items but for today I am giving it a rest. I tell myself: I do a good job, even if my ideas don't always pan out. And if I never try, I will never learn how to decorate my home and make it an inviting and beautiful place for my family. Which is why I love Darlene's Master Designer blog post I read recently - it helps me see a bigger picture.

“I am a Master Designer.

I love Beauty;
I see potential and I want to fill it with beauty.
I aim to create something beautiful that is worthy of joy.

Design is a high calling, one that can improve the lives of others, be a means to foster relationships, and add much joy to my family.

I appreciate fine and lovely things, but they are not my treasures.
I know what is truly important, and
I do not aim to “store up my treasures here on earth.”*

I live to bring glory to God, the Ultimate Master Designer.
He created Beauty.
He created all beautiful things.
And, He created my passion for design, and set that joy in my heart.

Everything that I create,
and have created,
is because I myself was created by a Master.

I am a Master Designer.”

*{verse reference, Matthew 6:19}

It's good to keep it all in perspective!

If you've ever compared your home, your style, your decorating to anyone else's....

Maybe your vision should change, too.

Gone batty!

2011-10-27T04:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got the bright idea to create some bats to hang outside in the front yard. Then I remembered: it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Hmmm...I didn't want to put forth all that effort for nothing. So I decided to hang them in the dining room instead. Here is my prototype:

Awwww...I think Bubbie made this waaay back in Pre-K. I hang it up every year, but it's getting kinda beat up. Time to make some new ones! I used to make them out of exposed x-ray film and hang them in the trees out front. That seems eons ago. We don't have much of that around anymore since everything, including x-rays, are digital nowadays!

I gathered up some empty tp rolls and painted them black. Yes, we had six empty tp rolls. (What are people doing with all the tp around here??) Then I got out some construction paper and traced the bat wings to be similar to the one Bubbie made.

I put hot glue along the rim of one end and added a bat head. Then I stapled the wings and a string of skinny black rick rack in the center of the back. So simple even a Pre-K'er can do it...

I also added orange eyes with fabric paint - just more Halloween-ish, I think!

Then I hung them from the light fixture over the dining table.

I like the skinny rick rack. Looks spooky!

They all fly at different heights. It's so hard to get a good pic of this with all the stuff in the background.

I call it our Bat Chandelier!

They fly alongside the original one which I will keep and treasure forever - it's that way with all the art my peeps make. I can't bear to throw any of it away!

Added a bit of black and white ribbon left over from the memo board I made hubby to the project fail that I will tell you about soon...it doesn't look as bad to me now that it's been sitting here a few days...

Time to stop goofing off and get dinner started!

Ficus rescue

2011-10-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

Back when the summer was blazing, I moved my ficus over to a corner of the yard under the oaks just to save it from frying on the deck. It loved it there. Grew another foot or so. Little did I realize, it was supporting it self on the swing. When I moved the swing to blow out the red rocks, lookee what happened:

Yikes! It can't even support it's own height! Not sure if that's the pot's fault, or what. But I really want to leave it here, as it camo's the cords from the bug zapper and landscape lighting.

I rooted around in the garage and found a curtain rod from a failed attempt to hang curtains in the master bedroom. It was the perfect length and strength to help lend some support.

I just stuck in down deep into the pot, and secured the tree with a bit of twine in a couple of places.

The rod is slender enough to be unobtrusive in the tree,

Then I moved the big pot from the front door over, to balance out the space.
Plus, I needed to clear the front door area to decorate for Halloween.

I like how shady and cool this area of our yard is.

While I was out there, I gave the hedgehog a bath in some orb spray paint.

I think he turned out snazzy! He props open the back gate letting cool breezes blow through...

After an hour or so of sprucing this area looks neat again.

A nice place to sip my wine or read a book in the afternoon...

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Love me some Smith & Hawken!

2011-10-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

I was supposed to be decorating for Halloween, but I had to make a stop at Tarjay

and lookee what I found::

Beautiful rattan pumpkins! I pretty much love Smith & Hawken, so I gravitate over to
that part of the store to see what has gone on clearance lately....

I love the natural detail. Love that they can stay put right here from now til Thanksgiving is over...
and I love that they were half price. $11 for the pair!

I put them on the bookcase in the hall leading into the den. I also put the amber glass vase of eucalyptus back - you can't beat the smell of eucalyptus. It's a natural look that is simple and effective in this nook.

With the burlap runner here, they look right at home!

Easy Spice-y Pumpkin Cake

2011-10-21T05:05:00.000-07:00

Cooler weather makes me want to run go turn on the oven and bake something wonderful. Something that will scent the house like Fall...and Thanksgiving...something like this:

Easy Spice-y Pumpkin Cake

1 c. white sugar

1/2 c. water

1/2 can pumpkin puree

1/4 butter, melted and cooled (1/2 a stick)

1 egg

2 t. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 tub buttercream frosting (or make your own!)

1/2 c. walnuts (with some extra pumpkin pie spice and a little dab of butter)

Heat the oven to 325. Spray an 8x8 glass cake pan with Pam. Mix the first 6 ingredients. Stir salt and baking soda into flour, then stir into wet ingredients. Bake for 40 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed in the middle. Cool.

Meanwhile, toast the walnuts: I crushed mine up a bit, added to a skillet with a sprinkle of spice and a little dab of butter. Watch it carefully and stir it constantly over low to med heat to toast the nuts. Cool.

Frosting from a tub - I cheated today and it worked out beautifully! I stored the leftover in the freezer. After frosting it, scatter the nuts on top, perk a pot of cinnamon coffee and serve!

Don't mind if I do! (:

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and

Front door Halloween

2011-10-19T04:45:00.000-07:00

Monday dawned and I was ready to decorate for Halloween. One little problem, though: I have no idea what happened to the box of Halloween decorations from last year. For me, that is huge. I'm usually pretty organized. I can't believe I would have purged all of it, so it had to be in the attic. But since I am deathly afraid of going into the attic, I had to make do!

I collected some branches from the neighborhood greenbelt,and added some that were spray painted black.

Added a couple of pumpkins from the grocery store...

And a couple of hairy spiders...which make me jump every time I leave the house, because I'm such a ninny!

The big one is from Wally World, the smaller one from Walgreen's.

Wrapped some Halloween garland around a grapevine wreath and added a chipboard

hanging sign from Joann's (60% off!)

Something I noticed: pumpkins from the store are always dirty - clean em up with a bit of Orange Glo and they shine! Plus the front door area will smell orange-y wonderful...

I like that I was able to use some natural elements - I think I am leaning more

and more towards that in my home.

A little plain, but it will do for now. I have some lights to string up and I might add a few more branches for drama. After all they're free! Plus, eventually, hubby will find that box for me...

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Boys primp, too

2011-10-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

I remember primping for formal dances in high school. It usually started shortly after I arrived home from school, and continued until about 10 minutes before my date arrived. I never realized before -

boys primp, too!

Oh, my! And they like to mug for the camera, looking pretty handsome...

I think Miss A and Scout make a very attractive couple, no?

Wait! I need to get a pic of you two together!

Or, maybe not...

All that primping and they are ready to party!

Owl Love

2011-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

I found this ceramic owl candle at World Market for $5,

and added it to the mantle in the den.

Cute!

The guy that rang me up said "Yeah, owls are pretty popular lately, for some reason..." Ya think? Which got me to thinking about where all I have them in the house...not saying I'm obsessed or anything...

But they're in my kitchen...

And the front room...

and the floating shelves in my bedroom...along with a collection of dust - can't get good help nowadays...

And one is perched in a bookcase, too. I don't want to wind up one of those old ladies who have owl earrings, and owl sweatshirt, and hand painted owls on her Keds.....but they sure are cute, and seeing them every day makes me smile! What about you? Got a thing for owls?

Sugar bombs on a stick - literally

2011-10-13T04:37:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite things to do is roast marshmallows, and the boys can't stand to have a full bag of marshmallows lying around...

Like these ginormous ones I found at Wally World - each of them equals

at least three regular size marshmallows!

Currently there is a burn ban on in Austin, but Hubby is careful using charcoal in the pit and

we roast mallows over the dying ashes...

You have to have a lot of patience this way as it takes a while - plus, the huge ones just take longer to roast.

No open flames. We're being good.

I've notice that in so many photos lately people just ignore me as I snap away. They refuse to smile or pose. I just go on snapping. I guess that's OK unless we are doing portraits.

Which we aren't here.

So, OK.

Even in warm weather Bubbie loves roasting mallows and wearing his fuzzy camo pants!

But I think this be more fun once we get cooler weather...

Where did it go?

2011-10-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

My brain, that is...Did I just lose it one day and not realize it? Back in May, when we were supposed to get the high school band uniform cleaned, pressed and returned to school, I did so. I thought. The uniform lady pulled Scout aside and told him he had returned the wrong tux shirt - the one like the middle school band kids wore. I wrote her a haughty email assuring her that no, I sent the correct shirt in - it was the one he was issued. So, she dropped the subject.

Then, while doing the master closet organization and clean out from hell, I found this hanging in hubby's shirts. The tux shirt. That belongs to the high school band. Oops. I emailed the woman back to apologize, took the shirt immediately up to the school (5 months late), and then realized - now we are out a middle school band shirt....sigh. I used to think I was so organized and on top of things...and I definitely need to investigate thoroughly before I dash off an email...

New rings!

2011-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

A 26th anniversary gift from hubby - he bought us both a Together We are One ring.

Silver and gold together. My favorite combo!

Very symbolic and very beautiful. And James Avery is one of my favorite stores - I love everything there! This ring made a rough week a little brighter for hubby and me...and is a beautiful reminder of the dual nature of life and marriage - pain and joy, struggle and reward. Here's to the next 26 years...

Circling the drain

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems my little family has been dealt one little tragedy after another. Some big. Mostly small.

But really, it's the small tragedies that will get you down...

Pictured is Bubbie, on the bathroom floor, covered by his favorite quilt, toughing out a nasty stomach virus. It has wound it's wormy way around our group: first, me on Sunday; then Scout on Tuesday into Wednesday, now Bubbie. Who will it strike next? I am praying no one, as I need to work this weekend and it would limit hubby's ability to hold down the fort by himself. And hopefully it will skip Firstborn who began his new job on Monday. This bathroom is hereby quarantined and will be scrubbed down with bleach as soon as Bubbie's fever breaks. And I am praying for better days...

Closet progress

2011-10-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

Small pictures for what seems like small progress...

But it represents HOURS of work, cleaning up and clearing out. There's still a lot to do, but hubby picked up these stainless shelves which will be les likely to gather dust and will keep the radios and other electronics from overheating on wooden shelves. Smart, I thought.

Still need:
*Hanging shoe organizers I ordered from Linens N things
*A storage bench he can sit on and store his assorted scout items in; rolling would be nice
*Pretty rug - after I steam clean the carpet
*Light fixture
*plastic bin storage for sweaters, etc.

It's getting there, though....

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I can't stand it

2011-10-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

I hate every view of my closet/home office,
which we don't even use as a home office and haven't for months...

It makes me want to cry every time I open the door and go in there. I hate the ceiling fan and that light. The rows of radio equipment. The clutter and stacks of crap. I hate that hubby will not leave it's door closed so we are always air conditioning it.

I hate the stacks of crap I have to store above my clothes -

instead of pretty containers to store purses and sweaters.

I hate that all of hubby's gimme caps must be kept - even the ones with linty fur covering them that he will never wear again. I hate our clothes all shoved up on the bars so that neither one of us can get to our things.

OMG. I hate the crap we have to store in there. I want everything off the floor!

And I want hanging storage for all of our shoes.

The mismatched baskets are making me angry. They don't even hold everything they are used for. I am going to throw away about half of my clothes and shoes and clean this mess up.

The cords. I HATE THEM. We have a fax machine, two printers, a phone, a router....and yet, there is no computer in here. You would not believe the lint and dust.

And the carpet in here is wrinkled and stained.

Hanging clothes jammed up so tight, I lost Scout's band tux shirt that was to be turned in this May. How it got in here I'll never know, and hubby has so many shirts crammed into such a small space, he never noticed...Dry erase board we do not use. Stacks of paper, envelopes. And a tie rack that hangs down so low the ties get caught on the pant hangers below.

I just can't stand every part of this closet and it makes me crazy and I have to, HAVE TO do something about it. This closet was one of the great things I loved about his house

before we had to make it into a "ham shack" and office.

And I am going to make this my fall project starting NOW.

Mire poix

2011-09-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

Recently I happened upon Redoux, a very cute blog written by Good Time Charlie (GTC). A post that caught my eye was for mire poix - a chopped veggie blend you use in cooking as a seasoning base for all kinds of wonderful things. She does a great job explaining it - go here.

Since I had these at the bottom of my veggie drawer I thought I would give it a try!

These veggies I need to use up since I'll be leaving the house shortly to do grocery shopping.

I hate wasting food. But this will be delicious made into mire poix!

I chopped two bell peppers...

Almost an entire bunch of celery...

Several carrots - I think I had 4 good sized ones...

Two onions - I saved these for last as they were so potent! I cried the whole time and felt like I was in danger of chopping my own hand off as I could barely see my knife. At some point, I'm going to have to get a food processor. For now, I am the food processor...

I gave it a stir in a large plastic bowl.

Then I scooped it into ziploc bags in 1 cup portions.

And put all the little bags into one big gallon size one. Then promptly misspelled my label. Oh, well. It occurred to me that mire poix is similar to the celery and onion I saute and add to my dressing each Thanksgiving. Something tells me I'm going to love using these little bags of veggies!

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Compost Cookies

2011-09-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ever have leftover cereal? We do. Into a large resealable cereal container it goes until it gets full and becomes a smorgasbord of cereal that gets eaten before I will buy another box. We have two of these now and the boys are started to campaign for "new" cereal. So, I decided to make compost cookies.

Compost Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 T corn syrup

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cup flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

2 t. salt

1 1/2 c. crushed cereal

1 1/2 c. chopped nuts, dried fruit, or choc chips - mix it up!

Cream the butter and sugar - add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift the dry ingredients together and gradually add them into the creamed mixture. Stir in your combo of crazy mix-in's.

You can freeze cookie dough wrapped up in the liner of the cereal box.

Wet your hands to smooth out the dough into a shape you can wrap neatly.

Make little packets of a third or so of the dough. Then freeze them.

Just slice and bake at 375 for 12 minutes when ready to eat.

Lately my pictures have been kinda lame. But these cookies are not - buttery and somewhat crewycrunchy, depending on the mix in's, or "compost", you use.

Warm from the oven they got a big thumbs up at my house!

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Sentiment and my desk

2011-09-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

See that picture of hubby and I over my desk? It was in a much thinner frame that I decided to paint and use for my cork initial project. why is it that one project always leads to another?! I ended up going to Hob Lob and getting a more substantial frame for it - and I don't mind that gold one bit. I think it looks great against the Tobacco Leaf paint in my front rooms.

I had the framing guy cut a 3/4 inch mat for me so that you couldn't see that the portrait is not exactly 16x20. For some reason, it printed out smaller. Seeing the white edges in portraits makes me crazy! But after I added the mat, I liked the way it looked in the frame even more.

The frame was $15 (half price) and the mat was $9. I'm thinking its worth it, since I only have one copy of this picture and want it to be framed and hung correctly. It's a late 25th anniversary present to us to have it framed nicely. We were sweet young things of 25 and this pic was a special deal at Foley's - $25 or so.

See a pattern here?

Oh! For short hair again! And for being about 50 pounds lighter, but that's probably not going to happen...

It hangs above my desk in my little office nook. Where it will stay until I take it down again and get copies made for each of my kiddoes. Someday...