Yes, Finally

Warning: If you don't like sappy posts you won't like this one. Just sayin'.

Yes!! He is finally in town working for a few weeks and I am so excited to be able to be a seven day a week wife to this guy.....

I can't wait to cook dinner every night and sit down without his seat empty. We are so happy to just have him be home and to be able to get some things done around here spending some time together each evening when he comes in from work.

I can't wait to head out to greet him when he pulls up. I can see him pull up from my kitchen window and I always go out and greet him. My kids always used to run out too but now only the littlest one does. Our entire marriage I have done this. I think it is nice to know someone has been waiting for you and is welcoming you home. All the bad news from the day can wait. A hug and a kiss is the front yard greeting. Told you it was sappy.
So yeah, I am excited and getting my menu ready for the week. Going be doing some cookin' for my man.

Linking to:
Time Warp Wife
Raising Homemakers
Spiritually Unequal Marriage

Uses for Ice Trays

I received this email today from Home Made Simple. I think this is just the cutest idea. They have an entire article on uses for an ice tray. Thought I would share.

Some Sister Time

Well what do sisters do when they get together? They go out to eat and shopping of course. Today sis and I are going to the Sugar Bowl which just opened in our downtown. It actually was originally opened in 1928 and has just been brought back in the same location with the same menu. Soda fountain and ice cream along with burgers and the usual. Can't wait to see it inside.

Then of course we are headed just up the street to my favorite shop in the world. I haven't been in over a month and I need to see what's new.

Good Old Jello Poke Cake

Since I will be making this cake this weekend for visiting family, I thought I would share this old post with you.

All you have to do is bake a cake as usual and let cool. You can do a sheet cake or two rounds like I did. Once cooled, poke holes all over the cake and dissolve one 3oz. box of jello into 2 cups of boiling water and pour over the cake. Refrigerate at least three hours and place the bottom of the cake pan in warm water before you flip the cake out of the pan. Then frost with whipped cream. I used real whipping cream but you could use Cool Whip if you would prefer. I put sliced strawberries between the layers and garnished with berries on top. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Company is Coming

I am so excited as my sister that I have not seen in a couple of years is coming to stay this weekend. She is my only sister and we lost both of our parents ten years ago so she means a lot to me and I miss her.

There is just nothing like family.

We have been sprucing and cleaning in order to relax when they are here. My niece is coming as well with her daughter.

I think a barbecue with mom's recipe for potato salad is a must.

Time spent on the patio enjoying catching up. We are supposed to have perfect weather so I am thankful for that.

It is always a little emotional for me when I see my sister as she look so much like my mom. Like a whisper from the past. I take after daddy but more girly.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. I will be back in a few days. 

Linking to:

Funky Junk Interiors

Do You Share Your Blog with Family and Friends?

The answer for me is no. Outside of my husband and daughters, so far I have not told anyone I know that I have a blog. Am is strange for doing this? The question that I wonder about is if I am the only one who keeps this little world a secret from my larger world? I am not sure the reasons completely but some of them for sure are:
1. I guess I wonder if they think I have anything relevant to say.

2. Do I want to answer all the questions every time someone says, "hey she has a blog." The whys and the hows and what am I doing on this blog. You all know the answers to that question because most of you are already bloggers.

3. Maybe no one will care but my husband's family is sometimes a rough crowd and I just haven't wanted to go there with them. This is probably the main reason I don't share the blog.

4. Will I ever share it with my family and friends and the answer is probably yes when one of my kids mentions it and I am forced to spill the beans.
      -That's if anyone cares. It is not something I think about often or dwell on. My girls and hubby read it regularly and it is a nice way for my husband to see what I am doing while he is working out of town.

Tell me what you think. Am I the only one?

Adding Some Retro

I am trying to gather some 50s retro items for my kitchen mini makeover and remembered this was way up in the cupboard and is I am sure, decades old as it was here with the house when we bought it.

Perfect item to hold snacks for the kids.

Oh yeah look at those red knobs. I am on the hunt for more red and turquoise items to go with the funky tiles in my kitchen.

I can't wait to paint in here but it is number three on the painting hit list so who knows when we will make the final transformation to my funky 50s kitchen. Until then I shall continue gathering.

Linking to:

BNOTP

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Under $100 Linky Party

Common Ground

Favorite Things Friday

My Romantic Home

Inspiration Friday

Cherished Treasures

Container Gardening

I love to plant flowers in pot all over our yard. Some are by choice to spice up the patio like the ones below.

Others like the one below are born out of necessity. We have lots of trees in our planters and the soil is often full of roots and I can barely get a spade into it. I bring color in by stashing pots throughout the planters.

Some of the pots help to soften the garage wall which backs up to our patio. Our vines are planted in some of the pots as well.

The secret to lovely full pots is using only potting soil. You cannot use soil from your planters but most people know this already. I like to pack the pots full of plants. This gives them the overflowing fullness that looks the best. I always generously mix in time released fertilizer into the soil when I am planting them. And lastly, don't let your pots dry out too much. They don't want to be soggy either, but on really hot days I will water twice a day. But most summer days, once is enough. A labor of love for sure. I always hire a neighbor girl to water daily when we travel. You don't want to spend all that money on creating your container garden to see them dry out while you are gone.

Here are my latest inspirations. Just picked these up at Home Depot and with names like "Lemon Zest" and "Rhythm and Blues" how can I go wrong? Not sure what pots they will go in yet but I am sure something will come to me once I get out there and put those gloves on.

Linking to:

No Minimalist Here

Brambleberry Cottage

Terrific Thursday

Cottage Flora Thursday

My Romantic Home

SNS

Old Glass

My husband is very sentimental and keeps everything I don't sneak into the trash. These blue glass jars were my hubby's grandmothers and I was going to donate them and even had them in the boxes when I noticed they were back in the garage. Hmmm. Then one day I noticed they were in the house and this is what he did with them.

He paired them with some of his glass insulators.

Maybe I could put TV snacks in them. Pretzels and peanuts, M&Ms. Wouldn't even have to walk to kitchen that way.

He has accessorized with the flag banner we can never find a place for. I think I like it here for now.

Linking to:

Alphabe-Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch

No Minimalist Here

Cath Kidston Sale

For all you CK fans, this was in my e-mail today. Their stuff is pricey but always fun to look at and dream. Tomorrow it looks like everything is 15% off.

The Big Switcheroo

My husband and I are switching up some bedrooms in our house. Our bedroom to be exact. We are giving it to our two oldest and we are taking their room, the original master. Our current room was the original formal living room and after additions we converted it to a large master but what we HATE about it is its location. Right next to the front door. As we have older kids, there are people coming and going into our house late into the evening at times and we hear everything. Wakes us up and just does't feel very private or quiet at all. SO we are moving to the back of the house to the original master that is smaller but quiet and has a view of my garden.
I feel like we are moving. It has been a big job getting ready for this so hopefully most will be done this weekend. I will need to paint the girls room that I just painted but lime green is not me even for a second. Here is what I envision.

Smelly Laundry?

Has anyone else ever been faced with this problem? You wash and dry your laundry and then you pull a t-shirt out of the drawer, slip it on and go, "Phew who let the dog in? And did she roll in poop?" Well, everyone in this house has. It was becoming a common problem of clothes coming out of the laundry stinky. Didn't matter if I used my homemade soap or bought soap. The result was the same. Now you can blame it on the six stinky people in our house, or the dog beds I wash weekly or my lineman's filthy work clothes, but something was causing the stink.  

So where did I go? To the Internet of course and found the easiest solution. Add a little vinegar to the rinse cycle. That's it. I pour in the fabric softener bowl and it never fails. Clean smelling washer and laundry. You may smell a little vinegar in the washing machine but you do not smell vinegar in your clothing at all. Cheap and simple solution to my conundrum.

Linking to:

Tip Junkie

The Stories of A2Z

Savvy Southern Style

Raising Homemakers

The Easter Beagle Has Crashed

Looked out back to see this. A little someone or maybe the Easter Beagle has discovered my stash of plastic Easter eggs. But you know I just love looking at it. It is like spring burst forth on our patio. 

Thought I would leave them until today, when that little someone could put them back in their basket.

Little ones: Do they leave messes or beautiful creations? Well, that all depends on how much sleep mommy had last night and how good the coffee is this morning and I would say the coffee is excellent.

I have learned a lot in my almost twenty years of parenting. Things like this honestly used to freak me out at times but now I know it is a hiccup in my day. Something to look back and see the beauty in. I am blessed all these years later to have another little one in our home. To relive this season again is often surreal. To see the joy in a little ones eyes at a basket of colorful eggs is a gift and one I don't take lightly. That is if the coffee is good and I am rested. 

Linking to:
Pink Saturday

Frugal Challenge Update- Meatless Meals

I know I always start off these posts by mentioning the rising prices of food and goods, but have you seen the price of food? It is really getting hard to feed a family and stay on a tight grocery budget. Now my family loves meat like anybody else but we usually have one or two meatless meals per week to give our bodies a rest and to also save money on buying meat. So the question remains, "Can you feed a carnivorous family meatless meals and fill them up?" The answer is yes. To help save money in our home my husband and I are committing ourselves to a minimum of two meatless dinners per week.

Just tonight we had one of our favorite meatless meals of bean tostadas with all the fixins. I chop up olives and lots of veggies and top with sour cream, avocado and cheese and of course salsa. Everyone makes their own and it is a fun meal. Beans are a wonderful source of protein and are filling as well.
One of our favorite summer dishes is black bean salad. Served with cut up fruit and herb bread, it makes a wonderful light summer supper. The recipe is below. Another Mexican favorite is cheese enchiladas. I will make a pan with chopped sauteed veggies added to the enchiladas and a plain cheese pan for those that don't want the veggies ones.

Soups are a wonderful meatless option. One of our favorites is potato cheese soup. Here is my recipe for how to make is easily with leftover mashed potatoes. Veggies soups are another healthy option.

Pasta dishes are great family fillers. One I like to make is just what my mom used to call Mac Bake. She would boil up any kind of macaroni or noodles she had on hand, mix with spaghetti sauce and top with grated cheese. This was a favorite of mine as a child.

I have recently started experimenting with lentil dishes. Our German relatives make a lentil gravy that is so simple but addictive. I will get the recipe and share it soon. One recipe I will share soon is a lentil and green olive salad.

Here is the recipe for my Corn and Black Bean Salad
1 can black beans rinsed and drained well
1/2 c. chopped cilantro (We love cilantro so I use it generously)
1 c. frozen corn (I love to use fresh corn on the cob from leftovers if I have it)
      -Do not cook the frozen corn. Take the frozen corn and let it thaw and drain well.
2 tblsp.  finely chopped red onion
1 chopped cucumber
1 diced tomato (add just before serving)
Juice from 2 limes
Drizzle with olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp. cumin (season to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least two hours. Add tomatoes at the end and toss.

Linking to:
Time Warp Wife
Take A Look Tuesday
All Thingz Related
Foodie Friday

Colors of Summer

The other day my hubby and I went to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy some curtains and I found these. Aren't these straws just the colors of summer. Had to have them.

Placed them in my ball jar for a cheery bouquet.

They just scream to be used with a snow cone. Oh, to get the snowcone machine out. You know it's summer when the snowcone machine is fired up.

Linking to:

Coastal Charm

All Thingz Related

The Blackberry Vine

Rednesday

The Simplest of Gifts

Sometimes the simplest gifts from others are just wonderful little surprises. My daughter came home from a student's home to bring me these...

Meyers lemons, the best lemons in the world and fresh eggs from backyard chickens. If I wasn't trying to watch it so much, I think I would wip up a Lemon Chiffon Cake.

Home is....

Love. Corny but it is true. It is where we come at the end of each trying day back to those that love us most.

A place where we seek shelter from the outside world. Where we can rest and re energize for the next day.

Home is where the light is always left on. Loved ones waiting for us to welcome us home. I always ask my kids and hubby how their days went. I try to give them a chance to debrief. Let it out if they have had a bad day.

Home is a place of beauty. Simple is all that is required but a clean and orderly home is a pleasure to come home to. After a busy day outside the home, we want to come home to order and calm.

Home is where we need to remember to value the ones we love the most. I know my family will love me no matter what but I also know that my attitude sets the tone for my home. If I am patient and calm, then the kids will follow suit. If I am stressed and snapping at them, then everyone is stressed. We must try hardest to speak kindly to the ones we love. I tell my girls that words do hurt and you have to watch how you speak to others. We want to leave behind beauty not bitterness when we leave our family. None of us is perfect but it sure makes a difference.

Linking to:

BNOTP     A Stroll Thru Life

Keeping it Simple

Homestead Revival

The House in the Roses

Homemaker Mondays

Coastal Charm

Cozy Corners-Outside

My back yard and patio is my favorite place in all of our home. It has cozy corners that I love to sit and relax in and have some lunch or look through magazines. A place to unwind.

The vines are coming back and my morning coffee spot is already for the summer.

Chimes are a necessity for me. They block unwanted noises and sing with the breezes.

The fountain has been cleaned and is now running whenever we are out there.

A space to get away without getting away. We could all use that with our busy lives.

Sunday love. A day with my family enjoying the yard and sun and a barbecue for later.

Linking to:
Seasonal Sundays         My Romantic Home
An Oregon Cottage      The Gypsys Corner
Sunday Showcase
Masterpiece Mondays
BNOTP
The House in the Roses
It's So Very Cheri