Old faithful

I had a completely different post written out. And then blogger decided that someone else was editing my blog at the same time as me (or so they said) and it went into cyberspace!!!! Let's just say I wasn't particularly happy since it was my part 2 post to my road trip with lots and lots of pictures.......................... Anyway, onto today's post! Said in my most cheerful voice!!

Do you have a cookbook collection? I should have taken a picture of all my cookbooks at the end of my island. I have a a lot. But I stacked these to show you the array of cookbooks I have. Yet, when I'm going to make something I have never made before, I always consult with Old Faithful. Which would be my old tattered copy of The Complete Family Cookbook. There are a few reasons that I do this. For starters, it never has those exotic have-to-run-to-the-store ingredients when it's 3pm and snowing 2 inches a minute out. It always has down home recipes whatever they are that everyone in my family seems to like. Tonight I made Chili con carne with homemade cornbread and a salad. Perfect meal for such a snowy day! And Old Faithful did not disappoint!!!

Print Makeovers

On my Goodwill trip a few weeks ago. I bought these prints. I thought the actual print was nice but new they had some potential to be better than they were. I knew they had real hardwood frames but they were a little "blah" to say the least.

After a little gold metallic and black craft paint, I think these little prints are adorable now! Total cost of project was next to nothing since I had the paints on-hand already and the prints were $3.99 each. I liked the result so much that I decided to give a few more prints a makeover! (coming soon!!!)

Hope your having a nice Monday! The weekends are always too short! :)

I have joined Kimba's DIY party at Soft Place to Land ! Come join the fun! :)

Testing, 1,2,3

Hi there, I am just playing with my new lens . And I'm really liking it! I bought this before Christmas and tonight was the first time I put it ON! I can't wait to play around with it tomorrow in natural light. But I thought I'd share a few pictures from it! :)

Ps- if you click on the pictures they get bigger! Does anyone know how to BIGGER pictures on blogger? Or is it time to move?

Day Trip part one- Magic Wings

A very good, old friend and I recently reconnected on Facebook. We have been friends since 3rd grade, but as we all know, you have kids and life just gets busy!

Well, we took a day trip to Magic Wings which is right in (or near, can't remember, lol) Deerfield Massachusetts. We also went to Yankee Candle headquarters, that will be part two. It was so beautiful there. So many different species of butterflies and many other animals. Birds, reptiles, turtles, koi fish and many more! The kids absolutely loved it. Other than wearing heels (which were Clarks, aren't they supposed to be "sensible"??) I had a great day. My back is a reminder of next time wearing sneakers! ;)

Enjoy the pictures! Oh and remember, if you click on them, you can see them BIGGER!!!! :)

Madelyn is trying to have a visit with a little birdie, can you see him?

My dear friend Chris with a beautiful visitor resting on her hair!

30 yr old Legos and my aching back....

I'm not kidding either. Yes, my husband still has his childhood legos. And I got the honor of washing them all because up until about five years ago, they were still constructed in my husbands grandmother's basement!

And even though I told my husband NOT to dump them all in my laundry sink and soak them in water, the 30 yr old train still worked when we dried it out. I washed each and every piece with soap and a toothbrush. And the boys are having a blast! It was way to big of a spread to put together upstairs. So they are on banquet tables in our unfinished (but improvised) basement.

To say my husband is thrilled that my boys love legos is an understatement! Timeless toys of

great imagination!

Broadening my horizons

I don't think I have blogged about my "work" before. In my former life, as I call it, I worked in the building industry for 10 years before having my children. I worked in almost all aspects of the building supplies business(aka lumber yard) servicing builders accounts, directly with the public and also in the accounting end. I had every intention of going back to work after I had my first baby. Then I found out that my first baby was my first and second baby. That is a story for different day! Needless to say, I became a stay-at-home mom and haven't looked back.

However, I needed something to do that let me use my creativity and my love for decorating. I hesitate to use the word design because in no way am I accredited. That is when I started decorating model homes for Builders. It started out that I would just come in when the house was done and work my magic. Sometimes I would have furniture and other decor to work with (from previous models) and other times I would have to start from scratch and shop for furniture, accessories, window treatments and etc. Then that evolved into me doing the house from the ground up, where I pick the siding colors, toilets, kitchen and etc. It has been a VERY fun and creative outlet for me. Which I enjoy so much. And my husband loves it because he says it slows me down from ripping things apart and starting over here at home!

I always worked with builders because it allowed me to work on my own time and with three kids, we all know how much time that leaves! But I recently started offering my services to homeowners. Which is very exciting! I am currently helping someone with their family room.

When people say "do what you love" this is one of the things I love. And I have realized how important it is to do what you love. Life is short, live it to the fullest!

photo courtesy of my foyer

The frugal kitchen part 2

I thought I would share another one of my frugal kitchen tips! :) We are red meat eaters in my house. Not A LOT of it, but we like it. I like it more than chicken honestly. But I think it's because preparing raw chicken grosses me out, lol. I have NO problems eating it when someone else makes it. Apparently it's mind over matter for me!

So awhile ago my mom kept telling me to buy London broil or eye of round to make ground meat. I kept thinking, ugh more work. Well, she was right, it's delicious!! And you never have to worry about those ground meat recalls and LORD knows what is IN the ground meat to begin with. All you need is a piece of meat and a food processor and your good to go!

I start by cutting the meat into chunks (like 2 inches) and then put them in my processor and pulse first and then let it go until it's all ground up. Then I put it into freezer bags with the weight being what I use for recipes, say 1 lb for chili, or 1 1/2 for meatloaf or meatballs. This way you can just defrost what you need when you need it. And it tastes really good!

Now with all this said, it's breakfast for dinner tonight in our house! Homemade waffles and applewood smoked bacon!

Why I love thrift stores....

Why everyone should give GOODWILL a chance if you do not already. I found this pair of Coach mules this weekend for $15 and they have NEVER been worn! This beautiful and WARM brown coat with real fur lining and fur cuffs and hood! It was $39 and then half off so it was $19. I also found this Vera Bradley purse for $7. And these adorable cedar topiaries from Pottery Barn for $1.49 each! Seriously, what is there NOT to love about this? I also got the beaded purse for $2 and the lampshades (yes I am obsessed). I got the flip flops for $1 and the scarves were all 99 cents except for the 100% silk one, that was a whopping 1.99!!! The magazine basket was $1.49. The little metal frames were 3.99 each, which I thought was a bit high, but they are metal and I loved them!




















































































































































Quick tutorial on washing a Vera Bradley. Make sure you take out the "base" which is just cardboard in the lining material before washing. Once it's dry (air dry) put it back in and your good to go!



















I joined the Linky party at TheInspiredRoom for what "inspired"me. Goodwill definately did this week! :)

I also got a pair of prints that are getting a makeover, stay tuned........

New beginnings.......

Here it is. The land of our future home. These are the machines putting in the water line. We have waited FOREVER for this to happen. It's surreal for me to be seeing this happen. At one point, I thought it never would. Which is why we replaced almost all our first floor with wood floors, but I digress, LOL.
New beginnings are good. We have had a new beginning in one of our son's education and now a new beginning as a family. I'm happy to be able to share this! We should be digging our basement in March. I'm praying we will! Come along for the ride, won't you?

For all of us who aren't at Blissdom this weekend, I am joining Patty over at BlessedMoon for her "I'm not at Blissdom" Linky party! Come join the fun! :)
Kristi