50th Birthday!

I can't believe that my mom turned 50 years old in 2007. So, in return, we had a killer party for her to celebrate her "old" age.

I traveled to Portland where we had a big band, bond fire and a potluck costume party! It was great fun!

I made a TRIPLE batch of the WHITE Sangria recipe given to me by Monica (the nest FutureMrsWagner) and it was gone by 11 pm! it was a smash hit!

Here are the invites I put together for my mom's party.

Baby Shower Invite #2

This is a quick mockup of a baby shower invitation for a girl. The color scheme is Pink/Brown. I got inspiration from http://www.paper-source.com/ and got the supplies from Hobby Lobby.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

Sorry, No photograph, but wanted to share this really good and simple recipe! We have not gone to the grocery store for a few weeks now, our pantry was getting a little bare, however me being the continual hostess I am had invited an out of town friend of ours over for dinner and to see our new house. In the morning I got out my crock pot and in it I put a can of original Rotel, two frozen chicken breasts and a can of drained black beans. I let it cook on low all day long. I served with it tortillas, olives, green pepper, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, refried beans and some spanish rice. I had made salsa chicken in the crock pot before, but it always needed more spice and less fluid, however this chicken mixture came out perfect! The guys loved the tacos - and we have PLENTY of leftovers for dinner tonight! Enjoy!

Chicken Souvlaki Salad

If you like Greek/Mediterranean flavors - You'll Love this salad! I got the recipe from http://www.cookinglight.com/ Here is the recipe: Ingredients - 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic, divided - 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice object - 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper - 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast - 3 cups cubed peeled cucumber (about 3 cucumbers) - 1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion - 1/2 cup(2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese - 2 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives - 2 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound) - 1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt - 1/4 cup grated peeled (and seeded) cucumber - 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Preparation Preheat grill or broiler. Combine 1 teaspoon garlic and the next 6 ingredients (1 teaspoon garlic through chicken breast) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat. Remove chicken from the bag. Grill or broil chicken 5 minutes on each side or until done. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Combine chicken, cubed cucumber, and the next 4 ingredients (cubed cucumber through tomatoes) in a large bowl. Combine yogurt and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over chicken mixture; toss well. I added some additional fresh garlic to the sauce - but I am a garlic lover.

Welcome Baby Jackie!

One of my best Huntsville friends, Lisa had a baby last year. She had a precious baby girl named Jackie - and we adore the crap out of that little girl! Dee and I hosted a shower for Lisa. It was a bit of a crazy time in our life, as Robert and I had just closed on our new house TWO days before the shower. The best thing about it, was that I was able to break in our new kitchen. I found out that I was a suprisingly organized and systematic in the way I unpacked. When I was planning my wedding, I decided to attempt to create my own invitations. I think I did a fantastic job (if I do say so myself) and so that experience gave me the courage to try invites again! Lisa had already painted and prepared her nursery in a super cute green/pink theme and thus, it was my invitation inspiration. This is what I came up with for the invites! Poor Lisa, had to help me address them because I was entirely too spacey to do it by myself. AND... One of my favorite CRAZY JOEY (Lisa's (then) 3 year old son) stories that came out of this baby shower event... Lisa and Daniel had just purchased a Wii for their household and so while us women were at the baby shower, oogling over cute dresses and baby crap, the boys were going to stay at home and play the video game. So, Lisa asked Joey, "Joe Joe, do you know what you and Daddy are going to do w/ Uncle Stu while we're at baby Jackie's shower???" Joey smartly replies "go in the baby's room and look around..." Apparently, Lisa had been doing a little too much showing off of the nursery according to Joey. HILARIOUS!

Past Projects

Last year Scout went to Obedience School - and suprisingly, he graduated. You would NEVER know by the looks of it now! For his class I wanted to bring the pups something to snack on, as a "thank you" to all who put up with us for the few weeks we were in class together. A friend of mine had sent me some home made dog treats that Scout LOVED - so I made a bunch of those and put them in cute little favor bags. The class raved about them! To make these for your pooch at home - you will need: 2 cups wheat germ 3 - 2.5 oz jars of "meaty" baby food (ie Chicken, Turkey, Beef) 1 Tablespoon of water Mix all ingredients together. Form into fun shapes using cookie cutters. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Keep refridgerated afterwards. Enjoy!!!

Introduction

Welcome! After a few e-mails with a good friend about my invitation ideas for a friend's baby shower, and the onslaught of foodie blogs popping up, I decided to break down and create a blog for myself. I would like to digitally archive some of my DIY projects, as well as, keep an ongoing list of some of the recipes I find tasty! So - here it is! I can't promise that I'll actually take pictures of the recipes I make, but I'll try. And I never know if this will morph into something different but for now, it is what it is.