Facebook & Happy Weekend!

Happy Weekend! My sisters, cousin and I are hosting a shower this weekend for another cousin, Anne Taylor, who is getting married next weekend! Anne Taylor babysits a ton for us and Camille & Clyde are in the wedding! They are excited. I just hope they do everything they are supposed to!

Anyway...I have a day of cleaning ahead of me and my sweet grandmother is coming over to polish silver! Love her because I hate doing it! I have been doing a lot of projects this week includings Camille's curtains which are up! Woohoo! I will be back next week with some posts!

In the meantime, I created a facebook page for my business and blog. Please click here to "like" me on Facebook. Thanks!

Camille, the budding artist

Camille comes home from school with lots of  artwork and she also creates at home. Check out our art supplies here and see the picture she painted for my birthday here.

Last week, she came home with this watercolor.

It reminded me of some of the images I have seen on Etsy and Pinterst.

Source

Source

Source

Today, I purchased an frame with double mat for $11 at Ben Franklin Crafts.

I think it looks great!

Bedroom Pillow

So I have many projects on the list that involve my sewing machine but my first one is complete!

I finally used the fabric I purchased at Garden Ridge last February...3 yards for $5.99. I bought some trim at Hancock Fabrics for less than $4 and I cut the pillow form out of the pillow previously in this chair.

C&C had to get in on the action! They love a photo shoot.

I am happy with the results. On to the next project...curtains for Camille's room. They are cut and I just need to sew them now!

Menu Planner

Here goes.....

Sunday - "Easy Dinner" Barber Chicken Breasts, Wild Rice, Green Bean

Monday - Super Simply, Super Spicy Mongolian Beef

Tuesday - Chicken Piccata, Parmesan Risotto, Salad

Wednesday - Macaroni Turkey Bake (with ground  turkey instead of beef)

Thursday - Robin Miller's Parmesan-Sage Pork Loin

I used my sewing machine for the first time this weekend....stay tuned for a post on what I made!

Stoakley Garden Update

Last April we planted a garden, you can read about it here and here. It was a fun project that is still providing veggies for us. Look what I pulled out of our garden this week.

We have one tomato plant and one pepper plant left.

I was at the greenhouse today and they had romaine, arugula, cabbage and cauliflower on sale....10 plants for $5. I read that those plants would survive cooler temperatures so I decided to try it. Here is our garden now.

We are all ready for fall around here.

I found these mums at the Dollar Tree! Woohoo!

This is embarassing....

Last week, this is what my closet floor looked like.....

And Michael's was just as bad.....okay maybe mine was worse.

A quick trip to Target fixed the problem....

Phew! Much better. We can actually see our shoes when getting dressed in the morning.

Cookies!

I have a sweet tooth so I am always on the look out for a good for you, low fat or low calorie cookie!

And I may have found it. Click here to see the recipe for Good for you! Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie from Cheeky Kitchen. The first time I made them I used all-purpose flour because I didn't have spelt flour. They turned out more like cookie balls and tasted great.  I purchased spelt flour today from Ellwood Thompson's and made another batch. The picture below is from that batch. I thought they were just as good but tasted saltier. I would use less salt next time.

I plan to try these new recipes soon....Low Fat Pumpkin Bean Bars and Black Bean Brownies. I'll keep you posted.

Menu Planner

Sunday - Donna Nash Chicken

Monday - Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach & Pine Nuts

Tuesday - Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Wednesday - French Dip Sandwiches, French Fries

Thursday - Chipolte Soft Tacos

Easy Artwork

I found this red truck in a pack of 10 transportation vehicles. The whole pack was 25 cents and I added it to our crafts. When creating masterpieces with them one day, I thought this truck could be cute in a frame. Turns out I had black card stock, the frame and the mat already so it seemed meant to be! For less than a quarter, I created this for the shelves in Clyde's room. I haven't done a lot of styling of those shelves yet and excuse the reflection in this picture!

Magic!

If I was going to put my house on the market, I would have quite a bit of work to do. On the list, would be removing all the "graffiti" from my walls. I recently discovered Lift Off #3 Stain Remover after reading a post on Little Green Notebook. The stuff is awesome! It works so well.

Marker, Crayons etc on Camille & Clyde small table

After Lift Off #3 Stain Remover

Paint spilled on my sisal rug when painting Clyde's new shelf

After Lift Off Stain Remover #3

I am in love with the stuff! If you have some little graffiti artists at your house, try it out. And if you need to sell your house, give me a call. ;)

My birthday

My  birthday was last Friday. Camille was also sick last week and spent one morning at my mom's instead of school so I could work. She came home with this large box and wouldn't let me open it until my birthday. She is a stickler for the rules like her Daddy! So cute!

So on my birthday morning, I opened this.....

I love it! That is me in there with the flowers.

Here is her sweet card....

I also got this sewing machine from Michael and I can't wait to make something. I have a lot of ideas and now need to find the time.

Michael's parents got me this cute sewing kit with a bunch of supplies inside.

It was a great birthday that ended with dinner out at Lemaire with Michael. Tons of fun.

Menu Planner

Here goes....

Sunday - Southwest Chicken Chili Mac

Monday - Salisbury Steak with White Bean Mash

Tuesday - Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki (recipe below)

Wednesday - Gwyneth's Turkey Bolognese from my freezer

Thursday - Soft Taco's with Ground Chicken


Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki

1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders
1 can (6 oz) pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon molasses
24 cherry tomatoes (optional)
2 cups hot cooked rice

Combine all ingredients except rice in slow cooker. Cover, cook on low 2 hours or until chicken is tender. Serve chicken and sauce over rice.


I had a great birthday last Friday. Check back tomorrow for some pics!

Craft Cabinet Organized

When we remodeled our kitchen almost 2 years ago, we had to create some cabinets on one side of our bar that were only about 8 inches deep. I used them for toys mostly but lately they seemed to be  almost empty. Camille loves to color and do crafts and all of her craft stuff is in a large bin in her closet. It was hard to see everything in the bin and know what we had. So over the  weekend, it dawned on me to use the kitchen cabinets to organize the  crafts since we do most of our coloring and work at the kitchen bar anyway. I am so happy with it. I can also put a child lock on so little hands don't get in there unattended.

I used magazine holders and a file sorter for the paper. Since the cabinets are only 8 inches  deep, the paper needed to stand up to fit. Most of the  bins inside the cabinet are from the Dollar Tree.

Menu Planner

We were without power from Irene until last Thursday  night so the kids and I retreated to the  beach for a few days and now Clyde has come down with Hand, Foot & Mouth. Yuck! I have been working hard on getting our house organized again so projects have taken a back seat. I am hoping we will be back in the  swing of things soon. For now...here is this week's menu planner.

Monday - Zatarain's Jambalaya with Smoked Sausage and Chicken, Salad

Tuesday - Flank Steak with Red Skin Potatoes and Sliced Tomatoes

Wednesday - Italian-Style Chicken Stew (Slowcooker)

Thursday - Turkey Burgers, French Fries

Friday - Out for my birthday! Woohoo!