Where Are the Purple Mums?

So yesterday I was all excited about the change in the weather here in Texas and got started on my home fall transformation.  I went all over town looking for purple mums and could not find any. I was kinda bummed but decided I try to find some next week.  I had fun getting out all my fall decorations and spent the day decorating.

I had the stew cooking while I decorated.  It was so good after a long day of working on my home.  

Loving Fall

Today in Texas it finally feels like fall.  I woke up to misting rain and the temperature at 57 F.  It's Saturday.  A day to buy fall mums at the local nursery, pull out the boxes of fall decor I've collected over the years and put hot beef stew in the pot to cook all day.  We haven't ordered our wood for the year so I'll go by and do that while picking up the mums.  What a wonderful day!

Summertime and Margaritas

When I think of summertime I think of flipflops, swimming pools and margaritas.  Every summer I am always on the lookout for the perfect margarita.  There is just something about a bright warm summer day that calls for me to pull up a patio chair and sip on an ice cold sweet and tangy frozen margarita.

 Picture from Food Network Tylor Florence

Today with the popularity of Pinterest the recipes are endless.  I even created my own  Margarita Board.

Here is a recipe I love that is simple but very yummy!

The Ultimate Margaria

1 lime, halved
coarse salt
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice, about 4 limes
1 tbs sugar
1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur, Grand Marnier
1/4 cup triple sec
1 cup gold tequila
ice
1/2 can quality larger style beer

to salt the margarita glasses, rub the outside rims of 4 big glasses with a cut lime and press them lightly into a plate of kosher salt, to coat.

Combine the lime juice, sugar, orange liqueur, Triple Sec, tequila, and a big handful of ice in a cocktail shaker or blender.  Shake the margarita really well, for a good 20 seconds, add a splash of beer and strain into the salt rimmed glasses filled with ice.  garnish with a lime wheel.

Enjoy! and happy summer!

Recipe from the Tylor Florence Cooking

Sunday Supper Series June 9-15

Sunday Supper Series June 9-15

Monday: Slow Cooker Mushroom Chicken over rice; roasted broccoli
Tuesday: leftovers; roasted green beans
Wednesday: Campbell's Slow Cooker Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce over rice
Thursday: grilled pork chops; roasted potatoes
Friday: Fisherman Seafood Creole over rice
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: grilled chicken; roasted potatoes

Slow Cooker Chicken with Mushrooms

Serves: 6

Cook Time: 10 hours

ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves

2 (10 3/4 oz) cans of cream of mushroom soup

4oz Can sliced mushrooms

Directions:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker

2. Mix together soup, mushrooms, pour over chicken.

3. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

4. Serve over rice

recipe from Fix-It and Forget It cookbook by Dawn J Ranck and Phyllis P Good

Chicken in Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

Makes: 8 servings

Cook time: 7 to 8 hours

Ingredients:

2 cans (10 ¾ ounce each) Campbell’s condensed cream of chicken soup with herbs

1 cup dry white wine

quarter cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives

2 tablespoons capers drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 cup drained, coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves

half cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. Stir the soup, wine, olives, capers, garlic, artichokes and tomatoes in a 3 ½ quart slow cooker. Add the chicken and turn to coat with the soup mixture.

2. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Sprinkle with the basil if desired. Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes.

Recipe from Campbell’s slow cooker recipes

Fisherman’s Seafood Creole

Serves: 4

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons real bacon bits

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 can (14 ounce)’s stewed tomatoes

1 small can (8 ounce) tomato sauce

1 LB. Raw peeled deveined tails off shrimp

1 Frozen sliced okra

hot pepper sauce to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion, celery and bell pepper to the skillet. Cook till tender.

2. Add the garlic, bacon bits, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper to the skillet. Stir to mix. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the tomato sauce. Stir to mix. Cover the skillet and bring the sauce to a boil.

4. Add the shrimp and the okra to the skillet and stir to mix. Cover the skillet and cook until shrimp is almost opaque throughout, about four minutes.

5. Season with hot pepper sauce to taste. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about two minutes. To serve, spoon hot rice into bowls and top with the seafood Creole.

Recipe from Cheap. Fast. Good! By Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross

I'm linking this up to Menu Plan Monday  @ I'm an Organized Junkie.
and One Project at a Time @ A Bowl Full of Lemons

Flags for Fallen Vets

Today I went down to the National Cemetery here in Dallas and helped place flags on the graves of  veterans buried there.

The saddest casualty is to be forgotten.  Here in Texas we won't let that happen thanks to an organization called Flags For Fallen Vets.  You can see their website HERE.

Me and my DAR sister Sonja.

William Shakespeare's 450th Birthday

Today is William Shakespeare's 450th birthday.  Every year at this time the Woman's Shakespeare Club which I am a member of, puts on a High Tea to recognizes Mary Arden Shakespeare, Billy's mother.  Here are a few pictures from today's event.

Honoring our president with a new hat!

Entertainment by an exceptionally talented musician, Catherine Bree Cockerell

Hats, hats and more hats!

It was a lovely day.  

Easter Basket for a Little Boy

I love creating care packages for my grandchildren.  But sometimes it is difficult to come up with cute ideas for little boys.  I got the idea of using a truck for a basket from Pinterest.  You can follow me HERE.  This is my grandson's Easter "Basket" I made for him today.

Hope you all have a very Happy Easter!

What clever ideas have you come up with for little boys?  I love to hear from you.  Share your comments below.

Spring Themed Ladies Bible Study Luncheon

Can you believe the end of the year is here again?  I had fun coming up with a theme for this years Ladies Bible Study Luncheon.  It seemed old man winter would not let go of his grasp so to encourage thoughts of warmth and love I picked a Spring Theme.

 The pink background is my curtains from my craft room, the pennant banner is from Jo-Anns, and the cutouts are from Party City.  We did a pot luck style lunch.  Everything was delicious and wonderful.

At each place I put a treat bag with some chocolate and small note pad

with a scripture expressing thoughts of spring.

His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.  Isaiah 61:11

God Bless and happy crafting

UFO (unfinished object) is finished after 10 years

I fist learned to quilt when I was a young wife in a small town and didn't know a soul.  One afternoon I was exploring my new hometown and discovered a quilt shop.  I didn't even know they existed at the time.  I walked in the door and my world was changed forever.  I signed up for the beginners class and fell in love.  A few years later we moved and the first thing I did in my new hometown was look up where the local quilt shop was.  Over the years I have moved many times and have so many wonderful friends and memories from all those wonderful quilt shops I had found.  

Here is a quilt I started for myself 10 years ago from one of those many quilt classes.  The instructor used the new (2005) issue of Better Homes and Gardens Quilt book to teach us how to make the classic monkey wrench block.

 

Baby Shower Invitation

Here is a cute baby shower invitation I just created using my digital scrapbook program.  I have a wonderful program from the company Creative Memories.  I've created a lot more than just scrapbook things with it over the years like this invitation but also event programs and such.

My Ladies Bible Study always throws a shower for our expecting moms in the group.  We have had two showers this year and a house warming party too.  It is so much fun designing and creating digital artwork.

I am linking this up to One Project at a Time @ Bowl Full of Lemons

and Wine'd Down Wednesday @ Our Three Peas

Happy Scrappin'

Sunday Supper Series Jan 6-12

Monday - Red Beans and Rice
Tuesday - left overs
Wednesday - Brunswick Stew
Thursday - left overs
Friday - Pecan Crusted Catfish
Saturday - Eating Out for Dinner
Sunday - Beef Stew in the Crock Pot

Brunswick Stew

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 ½ Cup cubed, frozen hash brown potatoes

1 Cup chopped onion

1 Can (14 ½ oz) chicken broth

1 Cup frozen corn kernels

1 Can (15 0z) Lima beans

1 Can (15 oz) black-eyed peas

1 Can 14 ½ oz stewed tomato

3 Cans (5 oz) white chicken meat

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried thyme

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a 4 ½ quart Dutch oven or soup pot over high heat.  Add the potatoes and onions.  Cover and cook for 4 minutes, uncovering to stir about every 30 seconds.   (the potatoes will stick to the bottom)  Add the chicken broth and stir and scrape the brown bits from the pot bottom.

2. Add the corn, then cover and cook while opening the cans.  Rinse and drain the lima beans and black-eyed peas and add them to the pot, then add the tomatoes and the chicken with its juice.

3. Stir in Worcestershire, pepper, basil, and thyme, then re-cover and bring to a boil, uncovering occasionally and stirring.  Reduce the heat to medium-high and continue boiling, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes.

Serve with hot, fresh from the oven buttered cornbread.

Recipe from Desperation Dinners! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross

Catfish with Pecan Crust

Ingredients:

Cooking oil sray

¼ cup fine bread crumbs

2 tsp Cajun seafood seasoning

4 boneless skinned catfish fillets (6 ounce each)

¼ cup pecan pieces

1 lemon cut in half

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven ot 450 F Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking oil spray and set it aside

2. Put the bread crumbs and Cajun seasoning in a 1-gallon zipper top plastic bag and shake well to combine.  Add the fish fillets to the bag and shake vigorously until they are coated with the crumb mixture.  Place the fillets in the prepared baking dish.

3. Use a chef’s knife to finely chop the pecans.  Use your fingertips to lightly press the chopped pecans onto the top side of the fish fillets.

4. Place the butter in a microwave safe dish, cover it with paper towel and microwave on high power until melted about 30 seconds.  Meanwhile squeeze the juice from the lemon halves through a strainer over the fish.  Spoon the melted butter evenly over the fillets.

5. Bake, uncovered, until the fish is opaque throughout and flakes easily with a fork, about 15 minutes.

Recipe from Cheap. Fast. Good! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross

I'm linking this up to Menu Plan Monday  @ I'm an Organized Junkie.
and Save Money Monday @ Frugality Gal

Too Many Aprons

I love aprons.  There is something inspiring about all those cute, sophisticated and seasonal aprons I see in the kitchen stores.  They are a fun necessity of the homemakers wardrobe.  Problem is I have so many that they look cluttered and uninspiring.

But what to do?

I don't want to get rid of them.  I use them.

I decide to put the one's out of season in a drawer.

I made room for them by getting rid of all the pot holders I don't use.  I used to collect pot holders like I do aprons but they were never thick enough to keep me from feeling the heat from taking pans out of the oven.

But last Christmas Santa brought me awesome potholders that can withstand heat up to 500 degrees! I now only use these to pick up hot pots and pans.

So its time to get rid of all those I don't use except a few I can use as hot pads to put the hot pans on the counter.

I also separated my wash rags from my dish towels.

And one apron to use between special occasions. 

I am linking this up to A Slob Comes Clean  Weekly Decluttering Party.  Check out Nony's blog to see others decluttering success stories.

I am also linking this up to What-About.Co Show Off Friday Linky Party. 

Today

I've been thinking of my word all day, TODAY.  Today I did my Bible study, exercised, went to the doctor and got news that I'll need surgery for my elbow tendinitis (tennis elbow but in my case guitar elbow) went to my Daughters of the American Revolution meeting and learned about the history of women's sportswear, went to my parents apartment had a nice visit then headed home where I fixed dinner for hubby and now I'm relaxing and writing this post.   And while doing all these things I reminded myself to stay in today and not worry or think about tomorrow.  When something triggered my mind and I started to plan out a cool idea for later I would say TODAY and bring myself back to the here and now.

Today I appreciated being alive and being loved.  I am thankful for many things like being able to exercise, friends at my DAR, good health insurance, my parents, and a very wonderful husband.  It's been a great TODAY!

One Word Will Change Your Life

So I've been toiling with the idea of new year resolutions, reflecting on what I'd like to change and just basically how I'd like 2014 to be memorable.  As I was watching Good Morning America this morning while waiting for the Rose Bowl Parade I caught the interview with author Jon Gordon who wrote the book One Word That Will Change Your Life.  I love this idea!  I could go on and on about it but the video explains it so much better.

Click HERE to view video

Some of the words Im thinking of are:
Finish
Progress
Productive
Content
Active
Act
Complete
House
Home
Wait
Ruby
Live

Before I decide I need to do some real thinking.  Some priority making.  Some focus on a vision.

I need purpose.  I don't want to just exist. There are things that are getting in my way of this.  First my lack of consistent focus. I tend to get distracted by other more interesting things and so I hardly ever complete any projects or ideas I start.  I heard a saying once that has stuck with me: "It's better to finish than to start."  I'm great at starting.  I make a big deal about it by planning it, getting all the stuff I need to complete it and talk and talk and talk about it.  I celebrate the start. Problem is I don't finish and then after a while no one wants to celebrate with my starts anymore because they see no finish.  I need to get rid of these extra projects to get my purpose back in focus.

I've spent the day really thinking about my word for this year and I've decided on TODAY.

Through out the year I will remember to focus on today.  I will keep my one word front and center. I will ask myself today questions.  What tasks need to be done today.  Who can I help today. What did I learn today. What am I thankful for today.

This year it will be all about TODAY!