She ended the season with a bang

It sucked to have her injured at the last game, senior night, right before finals.  As her mom, I kinda want her wrapped in bubble wrap from head to toe.

Gina

Thrift fun in August

Well, I did ease up on my To Do list and allow myself to go bopping around Salvation Army and Hob Lob on Friday as a reward for a successful first week back to school  Check out what I got:

At Hobby Lobby I got the pumpkin, a round fall candle, and some decorative little gourds and pinecones. Then I stopped at a Salvation Army and spent $3 on a cute silver wire basket, the lovely amber colored vase with tiny bubbles in the glass, and the daisy plate.

I cleaned the plate up and used some of the leftover fabric from the girl's room re-do.  Added mod podge, put bumpers on the bottom and now,

it's a pretty catch-all for coins, jewelry, name badge, keys, etc.  I got to use my glitter mod podge, and it adds a little extra sparkle to the plain fabric.  The silver basket is also going in her room, as an "In Box" for mail on her desk.  

Maybe thrifting once a week should be in my regular routine!

Gina

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The Modge Podge Challenge at

Bacon Ranch Chicken Crock Pot

I saw this recipe recently on someone's blog.  It reminded me of a dish that was brought to our house after we had baby #2 by some sweet friends.  You wrap chicken breasts in bacon, slather with a cream of chicken soup and sour cream mix, then bake.  Simple, and so good!  So when I saw this adaptation for the crock pot, I knew I had to try it.

Bacon Ranch Chicken Crock Pot

6 Boneless chicken breasts (I always start with frozen in my crock pot)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

16 oz. sour cream

1 package Ranch dip or dressing mix

about 8 slices bacon, cooked and cut up in small pieces

I used the microwave to cook the bacon - it comes out nice and crispy and it's easy to drain off the fat if you use a microwave tray for cooking bacon.  Spray your crock with Pam. Place the breasts in the crock and salt and pepper them.  Mix the soup, Ranch Dip mix, and sour cream and pour it over the chicken. 

Scatter the bacon over it, then set it on low for 8 hours or so. 

 Served with rice, and a salad on the side.  

That sauce was velvety-smooth and would be great on noodles or mashed potatoes as well. 

Gina

Finishing The Girl's room

  Want to take a peek?

Before

After: walls painted "Naturally Calm" by Behr - a grey lavender. Bed on "bed elevators" making more storage room underneath, childhood trinkets and treasures stored, frames painted silver, books stored on shelves.

Before

 After - pretty sheer curtains from IKEA, lined basket, open space.  

 

 

A childhood favorite gets a place of honor.

Gina

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I'm not worried

I'm not.

I think you are going to have so much fun and do a great job in high school.  I think you will make many friends with your easy, genuine smile and your friendly ways.  I think you will love all the classes you picked because they interest you.  I think you will have an adventure learning your way around today but you will see many familiar faces from band camp and scouts and find that you know people you can turn to for help - upper classmen, even.

You are a great kid and you will have a successful high school experience and we are all excited for you!

And not worried one bit!

******

We love you !

A wish for Bubbie

That you get a teacher like this who is young and fun and as eager to teach as you are to learn.

Teachers who light a fire under you to never stop being curious about the world around you.

That you "make new friends, but keep the old".

Be proud of all your hard work and accomplishments because, after all, you did a great job.  And we know you are ready for the next step!

Keep doing your best and always remember...

Your parents are proud of you and love you very much!

GOOD LUCK IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, Bubbie!

Gina

Memo board redoux

My girl made a cute memo board about a hundred years ago when she was in Brownies:

She picked a print of pink with silvery stars and silver ribbon to go with. She made her own fabric covered buttons, too.  I was very impressed with her craftiness!  However, it's time to upgrade her room to college girl, so the little girl memo board must go. 

I pulled the pink fabric off and used the fabric I found at IKEA over the quilt batting that was already there.  I also used the leftover ribbons from Olivia's memo board as it will all tie in to her room nicely!  Including the lavender shell buttons - so pretty!

It's all in the details, right?
Sometimes these little projects help me get my creativity mojo back!

Gina

Moving The Girl to college

Hooray for us - we got The Girl to the right place, at the right time, with the right stuff.

There wasn't time for teary good-byes, we will let life experience and grit take her the rest of the way from here. 

Good luck, Chloe!  We know you'll do just fine, and we're always here for you!

Gina

Beef Chimichangas

Chimichangas is one of those dishes that I know everyone at my house will eat - and it's fairly simple to make.

Gather some garlic, taco sauce, vinegar, salt, oregano and cumin, chopped green chilies, sour cream, and about  2 lbs. either ground beef or turkey.  Make sure you also have burrito size flour tortillas and 1 stick butter.  The whole wheat tortillas are really good!

Brown the meat and drain well.  Tip: I always put cold water in the cooked ground beef, then drain.  More fat comes off, and it cools down faster if you are going to use it for taco salad or are putting it right in the fridge or freezer.  Season after this step so your good stuff doesn't go down the drain, too!

To your cool and drained ground beef add: 1/2 c. taco sauce, 1 small can shopped green chilies, 1/2 c. sour cream,  1 t. of salt, 2 t. each of oregano and cumin, 2 cloves crushed or minced garlic, and 1/4 c. cider vinegar.  Mix well and store in the freezer - I used a zip loc. Don't be turned off by the vinegar - you want it. Also, the color isn't great here, but carry on, it's really good!

Thaw the filling overnight.  Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.  Melt the stick of butter and dredge about 6 large flour burrito size tortillas in it.  Put a good sized spoonful onto each tortilla and fold up like an envelope - you don't want the filling to ooze out.  Place seam side down in a glass casserole dish.  Bake 15 minutes.  They will turn out crispy on the outside.  Serve with salad, more sour cream and some salsa.

I can pretty much guarantee my peeps will love them every time.
Let me know if you make them and how you liked them!

Gina

The Girl's room - a couple of small projects

I found a great fabric to go in The Girl's room:

It's called Kajsastina from IKEA and is a cute little daisy print, grey with white,  the perfect scale and color for a couple of projects and it comes in a dark grey background, too. This wicker basket is home to her basketballs, but with a new liner, she may use it for other things.  I cut the old liner at the seams to make my pattern.  I didn't make a drawstring for it to be snug around the top but I might add that later.

 

I think it came out jazzy!

I also covered the light switch cover:

using mod podge and few clips

 

Her room still looks like a bomb went off - full of boxes, etc.  The big project is still to come: painting.  I found a comforter in a deep plum. The walls will probably be done in a soft grey lavender.  Meanwhile, what to do about the memo and bulletin boards?

Gina

Easy freezer cookies

Today I took the easy route for making freezer cookies  and made  "semi-homemade".  Starting with packaged mixes and adding in my own egg, oil, and baking chips.

Sometimes I just want to get some cookie dough into the freezer asap.  I'm getting things together for the back to school crazies, and now having cookies for lunches is one thing I have done .

Peanut butter and chocolate chip, and

Oatmeal with butterscotch.

 No nuts or anything fancy this time around. Wrapped in cereal box liners and secured with rubber bands.  I don't really need to label these, I can see through the paper well enough. Each package is half the batch of dough and will keep about 6 months, tho we will eat them long before then! I slice and bake them while frozen - it only takes 12-15 minutes. Done!  Now, I have to get some freezer meals put together.

Gina