Hamburger Sliders

My 12 year old son took the video.  I apologize for where he aimed the camera for most of the video.  I hope you have a sense of humor and remember that I have invited you to "Hang with me and my Hooters".
So here you go.

Thrift Store Find

Yesterday I stopped at a Thrift Store and they had just received  five pallets of merchandise.   Anyway they had about 100 of these great metal lanterns.  Most of them either had no glass or a couple panes were missing, or the latch was gone.  They had about 3 different sizes and ranged anywhere from $5.00 - $15.00. 

To continue my bird nest obsession, I took strips of dictionary pages (another obsession) and cut them in strips.  I covered a bowl with Saran wrap and then mod podged the strips of paper together overlapping as I went.  On my final layer, I just pressed dry strips to the wet mod podge so it would look textured and strewn about.  I let it dry at least 24 hours and removed the Saran wrap and voila - a cute bird nest.

I stuck in some moss and my beautiful green bird and gave him a new home.  My  lantern  only cost me $4.99.  I think I need another one!!!

Linking up to: http://www.whipperberry.com/

http://itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com/
http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/
http://www.mysimplehomelife.com/
http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/
http://singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/
http://www.thefrugalgirls.com/

 

We have a house guest

I know, I know, I posted this the other day, but it really is fun to watch.  In just 4 days our little guest bird has made the nest.  Back and forth, back and forth, twig after twig one at a time.  It is so intertwined I don't know how they do it.   They tweet all day, I might have to record it - it is so loud.   I can't wait to retreive that beautiful nest for my house.  I have big plans for it.

Day 4

Some of lifes greatest treasures - are the simple pleasures we enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

These are quick and easy to make especially if you already have the chicken shredded in the freezer or buy the shredded chicken from Costco.

I can't find my pictures of dinner last night.  My son helped me take the pictures and helped with the camera but now I can't find my pictures.  I am going to post this recipe from their site, but I know the pictures are in my camera somewhere.  

Super easy and delicious recipe from Our Best Bites.  Easy to make and very tasty.  My kids gobbled them up in a matter of minutes.  I used flour tortillas and they worked wonderfully.  The kids didn't even bother to dip them in sour cream. 

I've never had a bad recipe from "Our Best Bites".  They are a favorite of mine with  family friendly recipes.

For those that tasted my popcorn at Christmas, this is where I got my recipes.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

This recipe is from "Allrecipes.com".  I know it is like the easiest recipe to make, but I have never made it before.  Friends always seem to share with me and every year we have a jar or two.  I decided to make some this morning and have my own stash.  The house smells really good right about now.  Fresh strawberry aroma.

I tripled my recipe!



2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
4 cups sugar
1 (1.75) oz. package dry pectin
3/4 cup water

Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. (This is a little scary at the amount of sugar you use.....and I love sugar, but WOW!)   Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute.  Stir the boiling water into the strawberries.  Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.

Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours.  Place into freezer and store frozen until ready to use.

Letting my strawberries set with the sugar for about 15 minutes.

Eating this jam on homemade (wheat) toast is about the best thing a gal could eat.

New Umpire in Town

One of the joys of having children is that you get to see them grow up and become talented hard working people, earning their keep.  My 12 year old son just got his first job.  WHAT YOU SAY?  Take a look at this!!

That's right folks.  There's a New Umpire In Town!!  He did an awesome job and he makes a little bit of money for each game he umpires.  It was soooo cool to watch him tell the coaches how he was going to run the game.  The best part is that he is a very quiet, respectful boy.  To hear him yell out the call and take control of a game was awesome.  Very proud Mama this morning.



  

Kitchen Art

Since I painted my family room a few months ago, it has started the domino effect.  I painted the downstairs bathroom, and kitchen.  I need to do the laundry room and them we start in the living room and that takes us to the upstairs.  Anyway, I'm getting rid of the golds, reds, greens, and going with gray, silver, white and blue. 

This picture use to fit in nicely with our home decor.  But not any more.  What can I do with this?  It has a great frame and the size is perfect.

I decided to try chalk paint.  It is the new craze and I had not used it before.  So I got some black and put on several coats and covered the entire picture.  My handwriting is terrible and I didn't have any chalk to write something, so I went to my Cricut and printed out words that I won't have to erase.  This hangs in the corner of the kitchen close to the table area.

When ever we have company, family gatherings, etc.,  everyone always gathers in the kitchen.  Sometimes we encourage guests to go to a more comfortable seat in the family room, living room, or out on the patio.  They always end up back in the kitchen.

This quote is perfect for our family and fits in the kitchen perfectly.  I know the words aren't perfectly spaced and even, but that's exactly how I want it. 

 

Chicken Parmesan

4 Chicken Breasts
1 Egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs
4 Tbls. Butter
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Serve over hot Pasta.

Ingredients

Melt butter and add dry bread crumbs

In separate bowl slightly mix the egg

Dip Chicken in Egg and then in butter/bread crumbs and put in greased dish.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

Remove from oven.  Add Spaghetti sauce and cheeses and stick back in oven for 5 -8 minutes.

Remove and serve over pasta.



I've been given an Award

I received an Award and now I'm Passing it On.

This award was given to me by Linda at her beautiful blog called Delight.   Linda is my oldest sister.  There are six of us all together and I'm fifth out of six.  Her style is very chic with vintage touches and when you look at her blog, it is very calming and beautiful.  Thank you Linda for thinking of me and passing on the award.

So.....what is the Liebster Blog Award?

Some time (in the recent past), somewhere (rumor has it that it might be Germany), someone (I guess he/she was named Liebster) decided to do something nice for a whole lot of bloggers and started the Liebster Blog Award.

It’s an award you receive, but it is also an award that you give. If you receive a Liebster Blog Award you are asked to choose 2 - 3 other bloggers and send them one as well.

These are the *rules*: this award is meant to highlight small blogs. So the blogger receiving the award links back to the blogger who awarded him/her, and tags 2-3 people. For those I am about to award, I should also point out there is no obligation to continue this award. If this is not your cup of tea, don’t worry.

The first blog I would like to present this to is....



http://mallicious.blogspot.com/

First of all, I love the wallpaper on her blog.  Take a minute and watch the Chandelier.  It moves.  So cute. Mallory has a great decorating touch.  Plus, she is so nice.  Some of her posts make me laugh out loud and some I just go back to again and again for ideas, like this one.

She turned those ugly light fixtures that a lot of us have....into this.

How cute are these?

Her bathroom makeover is awesome.

Go visit her blog.  You will be glad you did.  She has great decorating taste, she's done some traveling and I learned something else about her.  She and her husband are considered  DINKS.  I had never heard this term before.  Read her blog to find out what that stands for.




The second blog I would like to pass this award to is....

http://junkyvagabond.blogspot.com/

First of all, her blog is very clean, easy to maneuver around in and her photos are beautiful.  The title of her blog caught my eye right away and I was hooked.  I love looking through what one person thinks is junk and making it something special and personal.

The first post that caught my eye and I thought was so clever is her Mason Jar Memory Jars.  Very simple and creative way to keep items and mementos from vacations.  I wish I had done this when my husband and I traveled before kids.

This post caught my eye.  What a great way to display this old fold out ruler.  I want one of those.  My Grandpa had one in the shed on his farm.  It reminds me of that.

But one of my favorite posts is the redo of their cottage and the kitchen.  I love to bake and be in the kitchen and when I saw this picture, I immediately knew there was something missing.  I loved reading her explanation of this kitchen and totally agree with her decision. 

Visit Jill at JunkyVagabond.  She has some great little treasures in her blog and the pictures are perfect. 

I am enjoying meeting and getting to know so many people through blogging.  It's more than just looking at pictures, it's making friends with people who like the same things you do.  I hope you enjoy their blogs as much as I have.

Repainted Kitchen

It's done.  My kitchen is fresh and clean.  This is going to be a long post, so bear with me.  As you might know I am not very good with a camera.  I've never really been interested in photography, but as a blogger it is the most important part of your blog.  If you are going to post something, you want everyone to see right?  So I have been practicing and experimenting with my little camera and am learning a few things.  I know it is very hard to get a good picture when you shoot into the light.  My kitchen is full of light.  I have done my best to give you good pictures without burning your eyes from over exposure to the light. 

I want you to know that very rarely is my house top to bottom clean.  REALITY!  I love a clean home, but we are a very busy family with three teenagers, who are on the go.  It was fun to stage these pictures for my blog.  It was a lot of work.  I turned on the stereo to some real good Classic Country  - George Straight, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Reba (real loud) and went to work.  In a couple hours the kids will be home from school, with backpacks on the floor, shoes strewn about, and hungry for after school snacks.  I'll enjoy it while I have a little peace and quiet.  I might send my husband out to lunch since he is home today, so it won't get messy!  NOT REALLY (but maybe). 

So here we go!!!!

Before

After

I decided I wanted an all cream kitchen.  While I know this may not be exciting, I have painted this kitchen probably six times.  I've never been afraid of color, so this is a new look for me.  My cabinets are not new, but we had them painted about four years ago.  I didn't want white, I went with an off white.  I love the look of white on white, or cream on cream.  I knew I could add enough color with appliances, counters and wall decor to make it work.  I hope you like it.  WE LOVE IT.

My valances are tops of shower curtains.  I cut the bottoms off and used the holes in the tops for the shower curtain where the hooks go, to hang the valance.  They are fabric and perfect for the look I like.  The picture in the corner above the phone will be another post.  I used Chalkboard paint for the first time.  I realized I didn't have any chalk to put a message on it when I was finished, but will show what I did in another post.

These are vintage recipes from my Grandma that I had displayed up high above the microwave.  I decided to make a grouping on this wall.  They are very special to me.

I have seen this word being used in other blogs and some TV show made this word popular, and I knew I wanted to do the same thing.  I got the letters at JoAnn's on sale for half price and used my Chalkboard paint to paint them. 

There is a story behind this vintage fork that belonged to my husbands Great Grandfather.  It deserves displaying and is very, very old.  It also is engraved with their family name on it.  That's another post.

Please disregard these ugly chairs.  I loathe them.   I don't even want to redo them.  I want to get rid of them.

If anyone wants to invite House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Country Living or any other magazine over to my little kitchen, you have my permission.   (Smile)

Wait, here is reality.  I will get to this tomorrow.

Before

After

Link Party at: http://www.mysimplehomelife.com/

http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/

http://www.remodelaholic.com/
http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Oreo Chicks

I'm putting the kitchen back together today.  I took a break to check my blog and found these darling Easter Chicks from BrownPaper-packages.  These are so cute.  Her blog is fantastic.

Have a great day.