Sunny Simple Sunday

It's the weekend. Anyone heading to a Halloween party? We will be tonight. My contribution: rice krispy treats and pasta salad. Fun! Pray I don't eat too much candy corn. I cannot afford the calories.

This week I am sending you on over to the four most visited blogs from last week. It always fascinates me to see what folks were drawn to. Head over for a visit after you link up.

Call Her Blessed

Make Do & Mend

Decorating Tennis Girl

Chenille Cottage

Homemade Fruit and Vegetable Wash

I wanted to share how I wash my fruits and veggies. I wish that I lived on a farm and could grow everything we needed but I must buy a great deal and it has always bothered me what may be lurking on our fruits and veggies. I have no idea frankly how much this removes but I love cleaning the produce this way and when you see the water afterwards it seems to be working pretty well.

First, when I come home from the produce store I wash all the fruits and veggies right away. I take a giant bowl and fill with cold water and one cup of white distilled vinegar. I then submerge as much as I can and let soak for 30 minutes.

If you can see the water it is nice and clear here.

As I remove the first batch I rinse really well with clean water and let dry for a bit on the counter before storing.

I go ahead and add the second batch of produce to the existing water and vinegar and repeat the soaking and rinsing.

See that water. It is now cloudy and you will see little bugs floating in there too with lots of silt and dirt on the bottom of the bowl. Nothing tastes like vinegar and we can just grab the fruit and eat without washing once I am done with this quick process.

Linking to:
Sat. Night Special
Scraps of Life

Friday

I am popping in quick as I am not sure how much time or energy I will have later on today. I have a hundred and one things to do today and being sick has put me behind. I am off for a big grocery shop. It is seriously bare cupboards time around here. We have my Sister In Law's big Halloween party tomorrow night. I will show you some pics afterwards. She changes things up every year. She is a wonder.

It is eighties themed but you will laugh when you see my costume and hubbies. This is the lowest I have spent on a costume yet. $4 to finish it off. 

At last year's party we were Star Trekkies. Hubby's idea. Here is showing how he really felt about me.

Wait till you see how he feels about me this year. I am sensing a disturbing theme. Just kidding. You know he  can't live without me or he would have run away a long time ago.

In regards to yesterday's post, you all make me want to hug you. Thanks for such kind words, I was not trying to elicit such sweet comments but you all are just too kind. Thanks!! I see how I am plucking along may be just how it should be. I will continue to share my money saving strategies with a mix of life thrown in.

It looks to be a whirlwind weekend of cooking, party fun and then up early to work with the two year olds in the nursery at church on Sunday. If I think too hard about it all my head hurts. Okay, off and running.

A Question For You All

I have a favor to ask from you. I have been thinking about the blog and the direction I want to go with it. I love the fun stuff and the visits with the chickens and garden but I would love to know what you really like reading about from me the most. Not as if I am any expert, but I love to write on topics that I find helpful or that I am concerned about. I have noticed that I get large responses on my posts regarding frugality and money saving. Part of me wants to focus more on this for my own good as well. With more detailed topics and regular posts. Is this what folks are wanting to read about? Or are they looking for an escape?

I of course will keep the fun stuff but would love your input on what blog readers are looking for if you care to share. It really fascinates me as I know what I am interested in but your input is so valuable.

Thanks for all the well wishes. After a scalding bath and hot tea, I finally got to bed. I am feeling so much better today. Still coughing but feel my energy back which I really need around here.

Thanks so much for taking time to read and comment. You all are the best!!

Creeping Crud

This picture says it all. The creeping crud has hit our house hard. I have been nursing a sick little one and my poor hubby who is now luckily getting over it. Fever and the worst cold I have seen in years. Keep your hands washed as this is a doozy. Sadly, I am now coming down with it and I have not been sick in years but this one I could not seem to avoid. I am going to take my own advice to ease cold symptoms and head to bed. I hope my big girls don't get it but that seems likely given how bad this is. See you on the other side.

Fall Harvest

This year I am determined to be harvesting something from the garden all year long. We rarely ever get a freeze where I live so winters are mild. Our long hot summer kept the garden quiet but at the end of august I planted more seeds to see what would give me a late harvest.

Basil and cucumbers have taken off. I have been picking a few cucumbers per week this month.

I planted some fall crops. Mostly greens and lettuces.

Half the garden is now planted with new seedlings and the other half is left with more mature plants still producing.

Bell peppers seem to finally take off in the fall here.

We love cukes here and even eat them in sandiches. You can see how we enjoy them here.

First year I grew celery and it has taken a while to mature but now I can snip off stalks as I need them.
Those are also the green onions I grew from market cuttings. Worked great. Snipped as needed and haven't bought any all summer.

Linking to:
The Charm of Home

Basic Recipe for Creamy Veggie Dip

If you love the hot baked artichoke dip recipe you will like this one too but you can use whatever you have to whip this up spur of the moment.

Creamy Veggie Dip
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese( You can read  in this post how I freeze shredded cheese)
1/2 regular or light sour cream
4 oz. of light cream cheese softened at room temperature
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 finely diced red onion or chives
Few dashes of Tabasco sauce
Here is where you can mix it up.
For traditional artichoke dip use 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped and one cup of  fresh spinach leaves or frozen well drained.
If you have other veggies from the garden or you need to use some up then mix things up:
I sometimes use some chopped artichokes, finely diced zucchini or squash, chopped chives, mushrooms, canned water chestnuts chopped, corn. The possibilities are endless. As long as the veggie mixture equals two full cups. Artichokes can be spendy so this gives you the flavor but it is stretched with the addition of the other veggies.
  Mix the first seven ingredients well and then stir in the chopped veggie mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 15 minutes or you see the edges bubbling. Serve with crackers, bits of french bread, pita chips. It is good cold the next day too on a bagel. Yum!

Linking to:
Met Monday
Pinned It Made It Monday
Tweak It Tuesday
A Favorite Thing

Sunny Simple Sunday

Hello! I am putting the party up a little early this week as we are having our power lines upgraded and have been without power at times and will be without electricity all day tomorrow so just in case it spreads to Sunday I am starting the party a little early. I will do features during the week. 

I thought I would share a little Happy Halloween shelf from our home.

If I don't get back on for the weekend, have a good one! Yeah for weekends.
Go ahead and and link up friends.

More of Shelly's Place

Doesn't Shelly have some awesome collections? Look at that clock!

I think I may copy cat that polka dot trim on the shelves.

A cozy corner. Those veggies in a bowl are all glass.

Even her outdoor patio is decorated for the seasons.

So cute! Thanks Shelly for another nice time in your darling home.

Linking to:
Home Sweet Home
Farm Girl Blog Fest
Mockingbird Hill

Frugal Challenge Update, Is This the New Normal?

How to write this post without offending anyone? Hmm. These are just my thoughts this week as a middle class mom trying to make ends meet. First off, it is not lost on me how lucky we are, so don't think I am whining because my thoughts do not stem from that but from my day to day life doing what we all are doing, trying to stretch an even thinner dollar even farther.

Everything that you need to buy is skyrocketing and it seems no one is going to do anything about it. Here in our state gas is so high that you really have to think before you drive anywhere. Now the last time gas spiked like this guess what spiked next? Food, yes already sky high food prices are bound to climb again. If it costs more to ship food the higher prices will be sure to follow.

When fuel prices adjust do the food prices and all the other goods we need go down? No they don't. So I ask is this the new normal? There is no way wages will keep up with these rising costs. Living on less has become the norm for a lot of us and I do live a life where we have enough to eat and a nice roof over our head and I know some do not. I know personally others who do not have that because of job loss and other reasons.

But I want hope in the future for my kids. I see graduates who cannot get jobs everywhere I look. How does  someone graduate top of class and find it hard to get a job? I know keeping at it is important and hopefully jobs will be found, but this is not what it looked like for me when I graduated from college. It is not what it looked like even a few short years ago.

We are facing a point I fear in our country where we may not turn these things around. I will not get political on here as that is not my format but I will say it how it is for me and for my family as we see it and live it every day. No matter who wins this next election, I ask again is this the new normal? After a while I fear we will forget more of how it was and accept a new lower standard of the American Dream. 

A Visit to Shelly's

Friday night I was invited to a girl's night out at Shelly's house with. Always so much fun because not only is she the sweetest but her place is the cutest thing ever. There is so much to look at. It was evening so not the best for taking shots. But I know you will love another look at her place. Her kitchen is a red and white dream.

As you walk up there are things stashed here and there. This pink bicycle was tucked along the fence.

Every holiday she decorates outside her door.

So cute. Hey I love those wooden chickens.

Her living room in red and white but she had one area all in Halloween colors of orange and black and her signature polka dots.

This hutch, a Goodwill find, changes with the holidays as well. It is so fun to see all that she tucks in there.

I think she has such a way with display. And no she does not have a blog. Patty from Lemon Lane Cottage is her sister in law and could help her so easily. See those boo canisters? Just adorable.

I will share the last of my pics tomorrow.

Linking to:

Met Monday

Pinned It Made It Monday

Tabletop Tuesday

Tweak It Tuesday

Sunny Simple Sunday

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Fall is here in SoCal and I am loving it. My feet are actually cold. Last night I had a nice girls night out at Shelly's. I will share pics later this week. Oh is her place just the most darling ever! Now some faves from last week.

The Charm of Home and her Farmhouse Halloween was so gorgeous. I absolutely love this gal's style. I could just move right in.

Everyday to Us shared a beautiful fall leaves tour. How I wish we had more of that here. I love the changing leaves and the photography is stunning.

Jann shared some wonderful vintage Halloween decor. Now you say Halloween and vintage and I am there honey. My favorite things. Adorable Jann!!

Now onto the party. Link up my friends:

A Favorite Thing

I love all of my pets but I am not sure what it is about my chickens that makes them my favorite. Yesterday, I spent some time just sitting with them near their coop.

Here is what I love about them.

First off they are just so pretty to me. I also suspect chickens are a lot like us women and we can relate to them. Whenever I head outside they follow me always talking. It is this sweet little bur, bur, bur bur. Just chatting telling me the happenings.

Unless they are resting, they, like us women, are always working. This area around an old orange tree used to have the hardest compacted soil. Now we throw some grass clippings down there and they just scratch and peck and the most wonderful layer of divine mulch surrounds the tree now. It is greener and full of leaves  than it has been in years.

They are tolerant of the outsiders. If you don't bother me, I won't bother you. I am lucky that even my big dog seems to just ignore them. Of course, I don't leave her alone with them but she has been found out back with the chickens and just seems to ignore them. The little chi however hangs around them and has chased off neighbor cats. A wonderful guard dog for them.

They take daily baths and always keep themselves so pretty. They have made a pit for dust baths under this slide. Perfect spot as no one can trip in it and it is sort of hidden.

They have never bothered their fall flowers. They appreciate beauty too! Wink-wink. I wanted to cover the coop a little from the rains and decided to use the old umbrella I was going to toss. For now I just leaned it over the coop. Helps keep me dry when I lift the lid on the laying box and gather fresh eggs for my favorite breakfast. There is just something about taking a warm, just laid egg into the kitchen and cracking it right into the frying pan.

Linking to:

 A Favorite Thing Saturday

Camera Critters

It Takes All Types, of Bloggers That Is

Yesterday, I read a post from Sheila over at Notesongs. It really caused me to think. She had a 107 comments so far, so it appears it had a lot of people thinking. She was reacting to an e-mail from a reader about how she portrays herself on her blog. Too happy. Maybe not real enough.

Really? Someone took the time to point out that she is too happy on her blog. Here is my thoughts on that if you care. Where have we gone that this is a bad thing. I sort of look at blogs as magazines. Something for entertainment, maybe a little advice here and there but something to enjoy. I am sure there are all manner of blogs out there but I prefer the positive homey type of blogs. That is what I write about.

Isn't the world full of enough ugly. T.V. is now mainly UGLY. Ugly behavior, lets laugh at people on a show, drunk, rich, poor but all acting terribly rude and vile but we call this T.V. I cannot watch much with my kids and we are not better off for this. So what is wrong with making one's own personal blog a lovely place to visit? The world needs more lovely if you ask me.

I think there is room for all of us and each one of us has to determine our own rules for OUR blogs. Someone may have a husband that doesn't want much shared or is going through a sensitive time in one's family. Maybe you put it all out there and things you share are helpful to others. That is great but another person may not be comfortable sharing . That is fine too. I am a firm believer that it is your blog, your rules. People will read or not read based on what appeals to them.

There is no one RIGHT format for blogging other than you have to post or you have no content. That is it. We all have something to give. My personal rule is this: If my husband or children might be embarrassed or uncomfortable reading what I posted, then I don't. That is just what works for us and what I blog by.

Perhaps none of this needed to be said by me but it was on my heart. If you are a blogger, blog what is comfortable and enjoyable to you. If you begin to blog for others, then you will probably stop enjoying it and we don't want to spend a lot of time doing something we don't enjoy. There is enough of that, like picking up dog poop and cleaning toilets. I digress. Thanks for hearing me out if you made it this far. Have a great weekend!! I would love to hear your thoughts.

Linking to:
Saturday's Sister to Sister

Fall Front Porch

Wanted to decorate the porch for the company we had over this weekend. I took the pumpkins I had, some galvanized things from the garden and a few extras and made a little fall vignette.

My hubby and kids like to decorate it all scary so I am sure that is coming this weekend. I prefer cute but I stay out of the outside decorating and let them have their fun.
The trick or treat sign is from Country General Store.

Fall pansies are a favorite of mine.

Happy Fall from my SoCal porch.

Linking to:

Fantabulous Friday

Show and Tell Friday
Potpourri Friday
Home Sweet Home
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Farm Girl Friday
Weekend Whatever
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Simple & Sweet Fridays
Friday Unfolded
Thrifty Things Friday
Grace at Home