Awkward and Awesomes!

Awkward:

• Seeing an older woman in her electric wheelchair in the drive through lane at White Castle
• A girl at the gym trying to force me to buy Avon from her in the locker room.  A polite, 'no, thank you' wasn't working.
• This rain. Seriously. Stop. Raining. 
• I had another awkward and I can't remember it. Fail.
• My computer. I think it's starting to hate me. See you on Friday, Genius Bar.

Awesome:

• First DQ blizzard of the summer season.  Have you seen these mini blizzards? Ad.dor.able.
• The royal wedding. I am dying to see Kate's dress
• Spinning in general but also my hilarious spinning instructor. She's so intense but so funny...really makes the class go a lot faster!
• 'Charlie the Ranch Dog' is on the way to my house. Can't wait to read it!! 
• The moms and sister (in law) are coming to our house for a Mother's Day Luncheon!! Let the menu planning begin- any ideas and/or suggestions are more than welcome!
• This video- Mister originally introduced me to this song. It makes me happy. 

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DIY: Painted Bottles

This may be the quickest, simplest, and cheapest DIY project I've ever done. I saw this idea over at Beach House in the City and wanted to try it out!

This project ended up being 100% free (we all know that I LOVE that). The bottles were left in our garage from the previous homeowners (score). 1 of them is an old milk bottle and 1 is an old narrow necked bottled. I was beyond ecstatic when I found them in the garage. That was the only thing that was exciting out of the numerous 'treats' they left us...
The paint came from the Valspar giveaway they have been hosting on their site.
So free bottles + free paint = great DIY project! I dont have a specific plan for where these are going but the options are endless!
I tried this project last night by following the directions to thin the paint a little with water.  This didn't work for me; the paint ended up being too thin. 

So I tried again tonight; much better success!

And, of course, you always need an energetic basset hound to help you with your projects.

 

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Homemade Spaghetti Sauce-UPDATE

Update alert: I forgot a very important ingredient! Sugar.  It may sound strange but my mom has always thrown a pinch of sugar into her spaghetti sauce; it cuts the acidity.  Try it, you'll like it.


I have always loved making my own spaghetti sauce; it is so easy and yummy there is really no reason not to!  My mom taught me this recipe and because of that the ingredient list is always changing and the amounts are guesstimates :) I often cook this way because it is the way she taught me and I love it! (Baking is a different story; I see the necessity of exact measurements while baking.)  But with cooking, I love that I can add or subtract amounts and make the recipe exactly to my liking.

So here is my (Jan's) recipe--it can be changed to your liking, thats the beauty of it! I also made it the night before so I could let it simmer on the stove for awhile.  I happen to think the sauce tastes better when it is able to sit and marinate for a few hours.

Jan's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
2-3 (15 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons of each of the following:
     parsley
     oregano
     Italian seasoning
     garlic powder
     onion powder
     basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1lbs ground turkey/beef
Pinch of sugar

1. Chop onion, mushrooms, and garlic and let sweat out in large stock pot in olive oil
2. In a separate skillet; brown and drain meat
3. Add tomatoes and seasonings to onion mixture
4. Once meat is cooked and drained, add to tomato mixture
5. Let simmer on low for at least 30 minutes (ideally for a few hours)

See I told you that was easy!! Enjoy!

P.S. As much as it looks like it, I am not pushing Hunt's tomatoes.  They just happen to always be the ones I have coupons for and/or are on sale.

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Meal Plan : Week of April 25th

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! We sure did, pictures and details to come soon!

Monday: Jambalaya and smoked sausage
Tuesday: Spaghetti (with homemade sauce-recipe coming shortly) + salad
Wednesday: More spaghetti
Thursday: Lemony Chicken + baked potatoes
Friday: More chicken/spaghetti leftovers
Saturday: Jonathan and Julies wedding!
Sunday: Hmmm...

What are you having this week?

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Awkward and Awesomes!

Awkward: 

• When Floyd thinks he needs to walk to the middle of someones yard in our neighborhood just to do his business.  They did not invite you into their yard, Floyd.
• The plethora of ironic quotes that I've heard lately on Bravo shows.  Probably my favorite was on 'Pregnant in Heels' from Tuesday night.  Rosie had a pregnant bride on the show...she commented that they were having an 'L.A. Style Wedding', i.e. having the wedding while she was pregnant.  No, ma'am, that's just called a shotgun wedding. 
• Floyd's ability to go from being a complete rascal to a complete zombie in a matter or seconds.  He is constantly testing my sanity. 
• My car deciding to completely freak out on me.  Not a cheap experience.

Awesome:

• The amount of free goodies and coupons I've received in the mail this week! 
• Easter this weekend!
• Family time this weekend!
• Floyd has been sleeping part of the night in his bed.  Hello ability to stretch my legs and move the covers. 
• Mister's knee is getting better and better

How's your week been?

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Style

I've recently become fascinated with perusing style blogs.  Have no fear that this has taken over my love of perusing DIY, craft, and design blogs.  No, siree Bob. It just equals more time spent in front of my dear computer.
I think what is drawing me in is all of the bright colors and fun Spring fashions that are popping up everywhere. And, I've come to realize, that stalking perusing these blogs helps me look at my closet in a different light.  I've been trying to put new and different combinations together of clothes I already own rather than buying new items.  (Don't get me wrong, there is some really cute Spring fashion out there right now and it is SUPER tempting). But I wanted to challenge myself and work with what I have (and maybe 'borrow' a few items from Mister's closet too...shh, don't tell him. 
So here is to trying new ideas, outfits, combinations! We will see how it goes!

Here's a list of a few gals that really inspire me:

*Sydney @ thedaybook

*Ramsey @ Love, Ramsey

*Katie @ Running on Happiness...I love the story of how she came up with her blog name

*Jessica @ What I Wore 

All of these ladies are beautiful, fearless, and of course, incredibly stylish! Take some time to peruse their blogs, hopefully you will as inspired as I have been!

P.S. All of these photos are courtesy of each lady's blog.

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Ballgame

The Mister and I headed down to the Reds game on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day at the park, even if they did lose :( We still had a fun afternoon date! It is so nice to have such a great stadium in the city along with a team that we really enjoy watching.

In other news, my utensil mirror fell down :( I'm trying to decide if I should re-attempt it with a few tweaks or just try a totally new project.  Anyone have any good ideas?

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BBQ Pork Pizza

Last week I made PW's Spicy Dr. Pepper pork and it was SO yummy! The pork loin I cooked was about 5lbs, needless to say, we had a lot of pork left over.  It was so good I wanted to make sure I got the most for my money and not let any of it go to waste.  I came up with this bbq pizza recipe and the Mister and I both loved it!

BBQ Pork Pizza
Pizza crust (I used Betty C's help on this but you could make your own dough)
1 cup bbq sauce
1/2 red onion
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded pork

1. Prepare dough and cover with 3/4 cup bbq sauce (yes, I am a child and made an 'S' out of the sauce)
2. Toss pork and remainder of bbq sauce in a bowl,
3. Spread pork over dough
4. Top with red onions
5. Cover with grated cheese
6. Bake according to package directions
7. Enjoy!

P.S. Linking up at Somewhat Simple!

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Meal Plan : Week of April 18th

Happy Sunday! Is everyone ready for Easter this weekend?  Here is our meal plan for the week.  There are a few repeats this week; we ended up with A LOT of pork leftovers last week so we re-purposed it a few different ways.  Recipes coming soon :)

Sunday: Breakfast for dinner
Monday: Pork sandwiches and veggies
Tuesday: Italian beef sandwiches via Everyday Easy
Wednesday: More Italian beef
Thursday: Smoked sausage and creamy noodles
Friday: Leftovers/clean out the fridge
Saturday/Sunday: Home for Easter!

What are you having this week?

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DIY: Braided Headband

DIY headbands seem to be all the rage in blogland and I couldn't resist giving it a try too.  One of the best tutorials I saw was over at Smile and Wave.

The options and versatility for these headbands are endless.  For this example I've used a jersey fabric from Hobby Lobby but just about any fabric will work.  You could easily do 1-3 braids and depending on how wide you cut the individual strips can make the braids fatter or skinnier.  One fat braid, three small/skinny braids, two medium braids and the list keeps going!  Another option is also to use three different shades/colors of fabric to create a collage of colors. 

Here's how I did it (for a 2 braid, same color version):
Supplies:
Fabric: at least 18" long
Elastic: 6 inches
Needle and thread
Safety pins

1. Cut 6 strips (approximately 18" x 1") 

2. Safety pin 3 strips to a pillow, pant leg, etc. and braid away
3. Hand (or machine) sew the end of one braid to keep it from unraveling.
4. Layer the pieces: braid, elastic, braid.
5. Sew all 3 layers together on both sides

6. Incorporate into a new outfit! 

Linking up at Thirty Handmade Days and Tatertots and Jello 
and Somewhat Simple

P.S. Who can spot the basset hound in these pictures?

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Did someone say cake??

Do you think he likes it??

P.S. Yes, Mom, that is a basket of laundry that needs folded :)

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Get Excited

So we all know that I kinda, really, a whole lot, LOVE the PW.  I tell the Mister all the time that I'm convinced that her and I could be best friends.  I know (for an almost fact) that when we met her she wanted to just hang out with me all night.  You can totally tell from her expression in this picture.  You can see it in her eyes, "Oh, Sarah, you are SO awesome, please let's be bff's with our bassets."

Well, things are about to get really exciting.  Bethany texted me earlier today to inform me that soon she's going to have a show on the Food Network!!! Broadcasting from The Ranch, dogs and all.

I. Die.

I don't know when it's starting yet and this article doesn't say but you can bet your cowboy boots there will be a viewing party (complete with PW recipes) at our house.

What do you think the chances are of Charlie and Walter having their own spinoff show?

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Awkward and Awesomes!

Awkward:

• Walking into the bathroom and there's a boy in there...errr, turn around?
• Getting dressed at the gym and realizing that the only shirt I brought to wear to work has a hole in it.
• Have you ever been really, really tired and in a really, really, really deep sleep and dreamed that you were going to the bathroom...Just taking a poll.
• Blake keeps eating the treats I make for Floyd...

Awesome:

• Saving 34% on groceries. Score!
• Seeing how happy Floyd was at the dog park. Makes my heart happy. 
• Two different dinners planned with friends this weekend
• Bethany is running a triathlon this weekend.  She's awesome!
• My flowers are growing! ...pictures to come
• Scheduling fun day trips for our vacation
• Being able to eat dinner outside

How's your week been??

P.S. I changed the comments section so anyone can leave comments, you don't need a gmail, etc. account! Yay!

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Shakey Face: Floyd Style

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Meal Plan : Week of April 11th

I am so happy to get back in the groove of coupons, grocery shopping, and meal planning.  Things seem to run smoother in the evenings when I have our meals planned.

Monday: Taco Casserole
Tuesday: PW's Dr. Pepper Pork Shoulder...this looks amazing, I can't wait to try it. My friend, Margaret, made it the other day and said it was to die for.  I'm going to put mine in the crock pot instead of a dutch oven like she does.  Mainly because I don't own a dutch oven which makes me very sad and that whole issue that I have to be at work all day.  And I don't think Floyd should be in charge of the oven.
Wednesday: More pork, probably on tacos
Thursday: Barbeque chicken pizza...maybe on the grill..
Friday: Dinner at a friend's house!
Saturday: Smoked sausage and creamy noodles

What are you having this week?

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Happy Birthday Floyd

Floyd turned 2 today! And in his honor, we made the day all about him! Which, honestly, isn't a whole lot different than any other day. 

Instead of buying him a cake this year I decided to make one for him.  I have to say it turned out pretty well! No, I didn't taste (Blake did) but it looked and smelled delicious! I simply googled 'dog cake' and came up with a banana peanut cake with a peanut butter frosting.  Floyd loved it! We fed it to him outside and he was even trying to lick the crumbs from out between the deck planks.

This afternoon we took Floyd, his girlfriend, Sidney, and Sidney's parents Marc and Bethany, to Wags Park.  This place was awesome!! Sidney had been before and she had told us how it amazing and she was right! The park had lots of grass to run around in, a small pond to swim in, and obstacle courses.  Floyd and Sidney were in heaven!  Sidney is quite the water dog and loved fetching her ball from the water.  Floyd, on the other hand, is not made for the water, but he tried!! When we first got there and he saw Sid in the water he became brave enough to go in up to his belly.  We were very surprised! Maybe we will invest in a baby pool this summer :)

I'd say Floyd has had a pretty good birthday...he's been passed out on the sofa since we got home. 

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Market Recap

If I were to show you all the pictures I took at Market, we would be here all day! In that case, I've narrowed it down to a few of my favorites!

Rowe was a show stopper, as expected! I am always ecstatic to see what new fabrics and styles they bring out.  Once again, they did not disappoint!  I personally think Rowe manufacturers some of the most comfortable upholstery out there.  We have a Rowe sectional in our house and it is amazing! We fall asleep on it often :) And this year they upped the ante and came out with a much deeper seat on a new sectional and coordinating chair.  Love!

A few trends I noticed were:
-painted finishes: mainly on accent chairs but also accent chests
-turquoise leather: it was EVERYWHERE
-purple: any and every shade
-large scale patterns
-gray! lots and lots of gray: my personal favorite 

I'm in love with this fabric. I'm seriously contemplating ordering yardage of it to make a skirt.

 

 

How adorable is this fabric??

It is always exciting to see how all of these trends are interpreted and incorporated into the design world.

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