Hopefully the egg doesn't fall far from the basket!

My mom, now known as "Mema" has loved to decorate for as long as I can remember. Our storage room was jammed with blue tubs, wreaths, garland, signs and just about anything else you can imagine. I am pretty sure she even made up holidays, such as "back to school day". Yep we had school bus decorations, apples and rulers - you name it, if there was a theme to be found, she would find it! I am pretty sure my mom was "crafty" before crafty was even  word.

For years I did not decorate anything accept the two big holidays - Christmas (I have 4 trees) and Halloween. I LOVE vintage Halloween decorations. Since Doodlebug has arrived, I find myself decorating for all the holidays and I am sure we are only days away from me making up holidays - such as "back to school day"  - damn her! Like I needed another reason to shop.

Easter was no exception - as usually every nook & cranny (the name of her old store) was decorated. She left no egg unturned. My mom has always been really good at creating little scenes, or scape's or whatever you want to call them.  Her kitchen window this Easter may have been one of my favorites.


My mom found the darling sign on a primitive sign website similar to this Sign Shop  ... Well let me be clear. My younger sister bought it off the website. Oh my mom paid, because that is her job :) But my mom calls the Internet, the interstate and facebook, spacebook. In my heart I think she really knows their real names, but one can not be sure.



This little guy, I think my mom painted a 100 years ago ... if not we have the pair since I was a little bitty person.

All the girls in my family are creative in one way or another. Each has their own their "talent" and we got that from my Mom. I can always call her and say here is what I am thinking, how do we do that ... and she normally has the answer!  She may claim to be getting old, or only have one kidney left - but I will keep her on her toes for at least a few more years to come!

Home Cooked Dinner #234 - Pork Chops & Applesauce

Peter Brady was on to something! Skinny Pork Chops or breakfast pork chops as they are called at the store - are a super quick and easy dinner! Yeah we don't have applesauce for dinner, dessert it is!

This dinner  can be on the table in 30 mins. Just remember to take the pork chops out of the freezer - this is a problem at our house. I normally remember around 5pm, pull them out of the freezer throw them in the frig! Yeah dinner is done for tomorrow night, now back to what are we going to have tonight.

I will tell you that I am not a huge Pork fan. I hate bacon, ham and most other things porky. But I do enjoy pork tenderloin and skinny pork chops - I will not eat a fat pork chop, I told you people I had issues! We also relate every dinner we have to Doodlebugs favorite things - for example pork chop night is "just like chicken nugget night" cheese rice "just like mac & cheese" ... we find it helps. Hey I am not really lying, I said it was like ...

Ingredient's:










Option 1: Smokey Chops
Breakfast Pork Chops (2 per person)
2 cup Panko (similar to bread crumbs but better!)
1 egg
Hot Sauce
Salt & Pepper
Garlic Powder
2 -3TBS North Woods Fire Seasoning

Option 2: Citrus Chops
Breakfast Pork Chops (2 per person)
2 cup Panko (similar to bread crumbs but better!)
1 egg
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper
Garlic Powder
2-3 TBS Lemon Pepper


Two shallow pans/dishes
Crack egg & some hot sauce in one ... stir up good
In the other: Panko, salt, pepper, garlic powder, seasoning


Dunk chop both sides in egg wash, drop in panko, pat down on both sides







On stove top - large skillet with 3-4 TBS olive oil - heat over medium/high
Add breaded chops - cook 5-7 mins each side

Cheese Rice - compliments of  Rice-A-Roni: Parmesan and Romano & Cheese
Corn - Out of bag from the freezer
A girl can only do so much :) I like to see how many "home cooked dinners" we can have in  row ... I take all the help I can get! And to Husband's dismay, I have vowed to try and get a vegtable on the table every night - that one is still a work in progress.

Boys will be Boys ... Birthday Party Take 1

When I found out I was pregnant I sat down and prayed, "Listen Lord, I know we are suppose to pray for 10 fingers, 10 toes, happy, healthy baby and I want all that, but I want it in a girl!" I figured there was no way I could have a new baby and a boy  ... I had no idea what to do with either. My theory was that at least if she was a girl, I would have a fighting chance! Nine months later, we had a wonderful, healthy baby GIRL!  Thank you Jesus! HA

Since I have zero concept of boyville I am always amazed at "boy moms" and how they obviously had no problems getting through having a little boy. Since moving to Kentucky we have met a great family that was blessed with TWIN boys, good lord. I know this Moma loves her little boys but twins are no easy task, and boys to boot ... I think she and God have had a few words over the years!!

These boys are turning 6 in May. I know their Moma was hoping for a darling plaid and polka dot party. Little boys sailing boats on a lake. Blue and white table clothes with white flowers. Matching seersucker outfits for the family with darling detail. Presents would be wrapped in coordinating paper. Yeah righ, what 6 year old boy ever asked for a lovely tone on tone plaid with coordinating polka dots? 

They asked for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles .... big sigh from Moma :)

So it began - the internet searches, hours and hours.  TMNT may still be popular with the midget population, but their commercial power has faded seriously. Honestly we couldn't even find a paper plate, for the love. This meant we were going to have to make this up as we went.  So today is the first installment of all things Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! We have the first banner done and the invites have been approved and are headed to the printer this weekend.

Coming Up: custom Ninja face masks & ninja belts, more banners, front door wreathes! (Did I mention I am really happy I have a girl)

What's for dinner ...

that is the hot question of every day! After spending a wonderful almost week on vacation and eating Dunkin Donuts for breakfast every day, pizza for two dinners and one lunch, fab chicken fajitas, a lot of coke and multiple beers - I was ready to "make dinner" again. FYI none of the fore mentioned landed me in the 1500-1700 calorie range I am suppose to be in! Nor did my workout clothes even make it out of the suitcase.

So after unpacking one suitcase, and ignoring the other four (yeah we don't pack light) Doodlebug and I headed to the grocery store. Well that is a lie, first we had to go to Target, because it had been over a week and what if they had gotten something in I just couldn't live with out??? And since we were there might as well hit up TJ Max, just in case. 

So two minor purchases later we were officially off to the grocery store! Since my week in Florida had been wonderfully riddled with absolutely nothing healthy - I went someplace I rarely spend any time, the produce section. WOW they have a lot of vegetables! HA.

All it took was my favorite little sweet tomato's to catch my eye ... that was what was for dinner.

Now I often warn Husband that what we are about to eat is a "Wife Creation" sometimes good - sometimes we eat a lot of ice cream for dessert! Tonight's was really good and super simple ...

Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta
(I will make up measurements, but I believe in a spoon full of this and drizzle of that type cooking)

Marinade and Grill up two chicken breast
Boil Water & Cook your favorite Pasta Noodle (we tried a new one that was as close to a wagon wheel as possible, because I have one small person who insist on eating wagon wheels!)

In a blender:
1 cup chicken broth

2 tbs white wine

bag of sweet tomato's

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup of cream (or Half & Half)

sprinkle of Oregano, Basil, Rosemary (or your favorite) Looking for great spices try  Penzeys - unbelievable!
Salt & Pepper
Garlic

1/2 cup grated parm cheese

Blend and let sit!

Once chicken is done - slice up in small pieces

Once pasta is done - drain and return to pot, add sauce and chicken - bring to a little boil

Dinner DONE!

It would serve 2 adults and 2 small eaters ... need more - just add more stuff to the sauce and grill another breast!
Of course no dinner is done at my house without some Sister Schubert Rolls!

The circus is run by the animals ...

All 12 legs ... that is right we took over while the famdam went to Florida for vacation. Why, you ask are we posting on the Moma's blog???

We feel as though we are getting no credit in any of her craft blogs. Why do we deserve it? Well let's start by reviewing were we "live"  ... that is right in the craft room. We each have our own quarters. Tucker's is a little stinky and we have no choice but to live next to her!

Big Dog, aka Rocco  ... has the biggest crate, in his defense he is largest pet of the group. Weighing in at 32 pounds. The vet says he could stand to take a couple extra laps around the yard instead of sleeping on the chairs outside.

Rocco

Little Guy, aka Oscar ... get's the smaller crate. You will notice that Rocco has a lovely hand sewn cover over his crate - well funny story. Oscar use to have one too ... but he ate it. And then when he realized he could not see his brother every day while  crated next door to each other ... he slowely pulled Rocco's entire cover into his crate and sat on it. Well the humans got smart and now Rocco is covered only on three sides!

Oscar

So when craft time rolls around - there are usually snacks involved. The little midget, aka doodlebug  always has crackers or a cheese stick so we head to the craft room and hang out. Rocco hovering for every little bite (see weigh in size above) and Oscar politely sitting in his crate ... usually chewing all the hand tied fleece blankets Aunt Momo made. Tucker usuallys just squawks at everyone for being in "her room" ... honestly we have not figured out which room she does not consider "hers".

Tucker ... yes she always looks that happy

You think that creative inspiration does not come for us ... We think we are soley responsible. Not only are we extremely handsome, Tucker thinks she is "pretty" but weighing in at 15 pounds, looks more like a mountain lion than a cat, we are also very helpful. The little midget always has something for us to do in our crates; chew a new colored pencil, help shave crayons into new small shapes or shred small pieces of paper ... ok that is all Oscar, but weighing in at only 12 pounds a little crayon never hurt anyone. But really we feel that our friendly little personna's help shape all things crafty ... even if we are just in it for the snacks :)

PS don't tell them we were on the computer, it is on the list of like a 100 things we were not to do while they were out of town ... and if anyone ask's about the party we had last night - plead the fifth.

Love,
Tucker, Rocco & Oscar

The best ideas, are sometimes, someone elses!

First and foremost: I take no credit for coming up with this idea!

Once I finished my little moss spring meadow (aka "smurfville" thanks Megan) I wanted a little banner, because I have a small obsession with making them:) But paper didn't seem to fit ... so I left it blank.

While I sat at the hair salon for 4 hours on Saturday, happily, because I assumed I was going to leave a nice bright blond again, umm NO GO, but that is for another day, I read about 3 hours of blogs on my RSS feeder on my iPhone. If you do not have an iPhone ... get one! They rock. That is when I came upon this blog Naturally Easter, and there it was ... just what my mantel needed. So I guess I have the hair salon to thank for that, and my still brown hair, although one shade lighter and one dumb highlight in the front of my head. No I am not still angry at all ... :)

So off to Jo-Ann's I went in search  of "sheet moss" what the hell, I have nothing better to do three days before I take doodlebug on a week long vacation in Florida. It's not like I should be packing, or cleaning the house for the dog sitter or folding two weeks worth of laundry, buying dog food or cleaning out the kitty shitter ... I mean come on a girl has to have priorities.

Sheet Moss = Check ... and a few other things that I could not pass up, because I am self proclaimed craft supply hoarder. And when they are on sale, I know I will need it someday and have to pay full price ... this is what I tell Husband!

Steps:
I used my Cricut to cut out the letters.
Spray Mounted them onto the back of sheet moss

Cut them out

Hot Glue them on:

Yep, I glued them on backwards.
Not gonna lie, I cuss a lot
while crafting!

 



Hmmm what is wrong  ...
I think the orange flower looks weird
on the "I". The rest of you
think the R & I are in the wrong
place ... I am idiot! HOT MESS

 

WA-LAA (going the right direction and in the right order!)

 Yep three times! HA

I hate myself.

Enjoy!

You win some, You Loose some ...

Husband and I grew up as Kansas Jayhawk fans. Now neither of us went to KU, but Kansas City is a huge college sports town, and you just can't help but be part of a great tradition! In our most recent previous life we spent 8+ years in the great Chicagoland ... a town that could care less about college basketball, football or anything else! They have enough problem cheering on the The Cubs, The Bears, The Blackhawks, The Bulls, oh yeah that other little baseball team on the southside, The White Soxs. 

So when we made a few friends from Northern Iowa we were all excited. Last year #1 ranked KU was going to play Northern Iowa ... big win for us! So we invited them over, drank some beer - had some pizza and all be damned the #1 ranked KU LOST to Northern Iowa ... sigh

So this year, we live in the great state of Kentucky. HUGE basketball town - they bleed blue and white (some bleed red for the Cardinals, but UK fans will probably beat you over the head with a baseball bat if you are one of them) And UK & KU are both having a great year - what a fun tournament. Weeks of bball filled at each others houses and bars cheering on each others team. I promised to turn all my KU shirts inside out for their games if they would do the same for mine.

And then VCU came along - damn Cinderella stories. Goodbye KU, again.

But we could rally - UK still was going strong ... so even though it was tough to swallow - we bucked up and went to a final four party last night. I even brought a little something to show my support:

All I can say is I hope my cupcakes are a little consolation with their coffee this morning, as they lick their wounds, as us Jayhawkers did last weekend ... damn you UCONN ... goodbye UK, again.

So all my great Jayhawks creations will have to wait till next year, when we all start to get that little feeling in the bottom of our stomachs ... you know the feeling when March rolls around. But for now, I have deleted the NCAA app off my iPhone, thrown away my bracket and retired my favorite sharpie (who got a hell of a workout this year).

Doodlebug's Easter Board

Doodlebug can be found with me most days in our "craft room". Our craft room is the former storage room - we packed all the stuff up and sent it to the garage ... added some tables, about a hundred lamps, and POOF we had a craft room!

She also has a playroom - in most houses this would be considered the formal dining room ... there is nothing formal about this little circus, so a playroom it is! I do love to decorate, but I can not reform a playroom every month with a new theme - so I added a bulletin board. I can put little holiday characters and pictures of miss doodlebug and other little stuff on her board!

master piece

I cut most of these little critters out on my Cricut machine the (Create a Critter Cartridge) I inherited from sister - she moved onto bigger and better machines ... but the little guy and I are doing just fine. That is mainly how I got started ... and my small obsession for garland (I know I have a lot of obsession's!) For these guys I adorned all of them with stickles  little bottles of heaven: glue, glitter and color all in one!

I also love to use crepe paper - yep the $.99 roll that comes in all colors! That is what I made my grass in the basket from. On another day I will discuss the bizarre joy I get from sewing and gluing crepe paper onto things! I know there are parts of me that are just not right ... :)

Spring has Sprung ...

well at least on my mantel. This cold and rainy weather is not helping our cabin fever. Once St. Patricks day was over, I pulled everything down and waited and waited and waited some more ... Ok so we did have two really nice days, but then nothing! So I had to take matters into my own hands.



the little meadow in bloom on my mantel

Pottery Barn always has great tablescape's, with little creatures and grass and it just looks so cute. So I found some "garland" one was all twigs and the other was the little flower's you see. I added little clip-on butterflies and some dragon flies. Smooshed in a couple birds nest and some good ol'easter eggs ... bottle brushed bunny (Cost Plus Market), which I love - wish I had a hedgehog! I contrusted my mushrooms out of some supplies I found at Michaels! Filled all the little gaps with filler .... instant meadow. 

Insert some cute pictures of doodlebug over the years and some vintage bunnies
around the room and we are done!

Here goes nothing ...

Well this will count as my first post ... so I will make it short and sweet! Was that enough? HA ...

So I am a blogging junky. I love to dig around for hours into blogs ... I love to read all about the creative stuff people make, jewelry, scrapbooking, wall art - you name it and I love to read about it. Which goes hand in hand for my small obsession with etsy. I am self proclaimed craft supply hoarder ...  don't get me wrong, I am a little "type A" so all my hoarding is nicely filed, boxed, stacked - color coordinated, because I can not spell -throwing alphabetical out the window! If there is a cute little trinket, new marker, stamp, sticker, I will buy it. And if it has glitter on it, I don't care what it is, I probably can't live another minute with out it.

So I am going to try and post some equally creative stuff as all those other chicks out there makin it happen. Going to try and mix it up with some good cooking, because I love to do that, maybe a party planning event or two ... or just good old fashion randomness :) I hope you enjoy and share it with your other blog junky friends!