Five on Friday: Valentine

Hello and Happy Friday!  

Since I've kind of had a valentine's theme going this week - I thought I'd continue it today by sharing some more fun things from Pinterest, but these are all related to Valentine's Day. Such fun ideas out there! 

ONE

For Kids:

link here

Link here

Link here

TWO

For Friends:

Link here

Link here

Link here

THREE

For Family & Home:

Link here

Link here

Link here

FOUR

For that special someone:

Link here

Link here

Link here

FIVE

Crafts:

Link here

Link here

Link here

Just a few fun ideas to think about for the upcoming Valentine's weekend. Sending you all loving thoughts. ;)  I'm linking with Amy of Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.

A Hearty Soup and Cozy Stew

Hello Friends!

 Hope you're having some warmer days than we are here in my Northwoods!! It's been some just lovely(NOT) below zero kind of weather here lately. BBrrr!! Where are you Spring? Please visit soon! 

So of course it's perfect weather for a nice hot bowl of soup. I had planned to make kielbasa soup this week, but then ended up making some changes in my menu and made a different soup earlier in the week, and I know my family would prefer something else tonight. So I think I'll use up the kielbasa I have by making some sliders on little buns I need to use up. I also have some frozen corn on the cob, and can make brown sugar baked beans. Throw in some chips and some raw veggies & dip and we'll do a favorite around here - pretend it's more like picnic weather and have that be our menu tonight. But I still wanted to share that soup recipe as it sounded quite tasty. It's out of the book Fix it and Forget it best slow cooker recipes. 

What a hearty and cozy sounding soup!  That sausage will flavor that water to make a tasty broth, along with the tomato paste. And then the veggies and potatoes will round it all out in a filling way.  I'll definitely try this one sometime in the future. But I also wanted to share a tasty looking stew from the same book. It would  be a wonderful meatless meal for this Lenten season. 

Doesn't that look yummy? I love that it has savory seasonings and also cinnamon to go with the squash. Rich white beans and sweet squash. You can't go wrong.....right??  Happy Thursday! 

Wednesday Wonder

VALENTINE MOMENTS

Valentine Love

I just wanted to pop in on this Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday) day and say hello and share a couple of festive valentines I had fun working on recently. I took some base design cards and embellished them in different ways. I always find such relaxation in paper crafting. I hope to have more time in the near future to get back to doing more of it, now that there will be changes with my MIL's care.

With this card I cut out a heart, from floral paper, with my patterned scissors and then added some dark green lace through the middle. I then glued on a cream paper flower for more dimension. Then I added a little "love sign" in the corner. A sweet card for Valentine's, or anytime, to give a loved one.

And of course I needed to embellish the envelope too! So I added more lace and cut out a "fancy" circle shape with the same floral paper.

So sweet and pretty. ;) 

I liked the rustic backdrop of this card so I went with a denim heart and arrow, on top of some ripped tan paper for more texture. 

For this envelope embellishment I added more denim and a cute "love" sticker and button sticker. 

A little more rustic and fun. ;) 

Thinking of you my Friends - as I share a little Valentine's love! 

Happy Homemaker Monday

Good morning Friends and Happy Monday!  

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. It was a busy one here filled with my son's hockey games, errands, house cleaning, and the big Super Bowl!We had some friends over last night and had lots of fun watching the game and gobbling up way too many naughty goodies. I felt the game itself was sort of underwhelming...but Lady Gaga's national anthem was great - and the half time show was so good and the best I've seen. I just LOVED it!! Only a few good commercials this year.  

But then, just like that, a busy fun weekend is over and it's time to jump into a new week!!

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

Chilly this morning. Only in the teens for temps and snowing. It's supposed to be a pretty chilly week with most temps getting in only the single digits and below zero with windchill. Ugh!!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

1/2 of an onion bagel, toasted hazelnut coffee and yogurt with fruit.

  AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:

Snow blows in gusts sometimes in front of my window and gets all swirly for a few seconds. It looks gray and cold. However, it was warm here Saturday - almost 40*!! And I saw 2 robins that day...so I'm choosing to take that as a very hopeful sign that it WILL be an early Spring! Lol

RIGHT NOW I AM:

Listening to soothing music as I work on this and try to feel fully awake. I already had my coffee, but this gray weather, in combination with feeling snuggly indoors, makes me sleepy.  

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE:

Tidy overall. Laundry as usual. But lots of housework was done before our Super Bowl gathering. And my sweet hubby was a dream boat and loaded the dishes last night after everyone left. I knew it was smart to keep him around. ;) 

ON TODAY'S TO DO LIST:

Still working on my office organization and some crafting projects in there. I need to get a workout in and have been trying to take more of that priority time for myself. I need to catch up in blogging world too. With the busy weekend here  -I know there are many of you I didn't get to visit last week. I hope to get around more today and catch up with you friends. 

Some things have changed with my MIL's schedule now, and some decisions have been made. I'm so excited to say that I will have decreased time with her - but healthy safe changes are being made on her behalf. I will still be involved and doing some caregiving, taking her to her appointments and still cooking for my in-law's, but it's also going to be a healthier change for my mom and me as we will be caring for her less. I'm excited about feeling less drained and having the energy again to put into my immediate family time, my home, exercise, friends, crafting etc.  It feels like a weight is off my chest and I couldn't be happier!  Thanks for all the continued prayers and support. God is good and the power of all of it has helped so much!!

CURRENTLY READING:

Some magazines and a new Nora Roberts book - if I stay on it and finish it!! Lol

ON THE TV TODAY:

I watched Downton and just keep savoring every second. I don't want it to end!! I have some cooking shows taped yet. 

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

MONDAY: leftover game day food

TUESDAY: meatloaf, cheesy potatoes, mixed vegetable 

WEDNESDAY: salad bar night - fast/no meat Ash Wednesday

THURSDAY: slow cooker kielbasa soup with cold sandwich sliders

FRIDAY:  not sure - out for dinner?

WHAT I AM CREATING AT THE MOMENT:

Valentine's cards, valentine project

NEW RECIPE I WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:

kielbasa soup is a new recipe

TIP OF THE WEEK:

I saw this and thought it was such a cute idea - if you host a Spring dinner or lunch in the coming months...use empty seed packets as recipe holders next to each place setting. You could cut the tops of the packets with decorative scissors to make them even more adorable. Festive, seasonal, easy and pretty!

FROM THE CAMERA:

Some of the yummy eats from this weekend (& why I need to hit the treadmill!!). I made Billie Jo's cherry berry pie and boy was it delish and a hit with my family!!!  Some of the eats I made for the Super Bowl were a variety of sandwich roll-ups, slow cooker sloppy joe sliders with fixings, and butterscotch chocolate chip bars. 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Lent begins this week.

I'm linking with Sandra from Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Five on Friday: Super Bowl fun

Happy Friday Friends! 

Well even though neither of our teams made it to the Super Bowl (Vikings for Hubby and Packers for me), we still enjoy watching the game and making a little "event" of it. I thought I'd share some fun football ideas I found on pinterest for my five this week.

ONE

I thought these rice krispies treats are really cute! How they shaped the mixture into football jersey shapes and then decorated them in team colors. So easy and fun, but truly adorable. These would be cute for a kiddo's football themed birthday party too. You can find the link for these here.

TWO

And of course there's always decorating your food like footballs. Always a cute option - like these chocolate covered strawberries and this cracker and cheese plate. You can find the links here  and here.

THREE

And I think it's so fun to dress up your table to make the "event" feel more festive. Astro turf tablecloth, make your own field goal posts, even dress up water bottle with referee printables and whistles. SO cute!! You can find the links here, here, and here.

FOUR

And I love the "bar" idea for a super bowl party. Like this mashed potato bar or nachos bar. Or even a baked potato bar - you could make your crockpot filled with any of these for great fun. Yummy, interactive and fun for all!  You can find the links here and here.

FIVE

And of course there are tons of wonderful dip ideas!! Like 7 layer dip cups, cherry cheesecake dip, and making a layered "stadium" dip. You can find the links here, here, and here.

I could just browse pinterest all day for all the wonderful ideas! So those friends watching the Super Bowl this weekend hope you have lots of fun too! To All my friends I wish a very blessed and happy weekend and feel free to enjoy some of these ideas and recipes anytime. ;) 

I'm linking with Amy from Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.

 

Root Beer Pulled Pork

Today I wanted to pop in quickly and say hello and share this root beer pulled pork sandwich recipe. It's one that I plan to make this weekend, and have not yet tried. However, it sounds easy and looks very tasty. I found it on Pinterest and you can find it on my favorite recipes board here.  I plan to serve these sandwiches alongside a salad of some kind (not sure if I'm going to make a green salad or pasta salad) and some corn on the cob. Kind of picnic style meal. :)  Especially since I'm planning to have my friend Billie Jo's recipe for cherry berry pie for dessert! You can find her blog here.  Here is the root beer pulled pork recipe:

Ingredients

• 1.5 – 2 lb. pork roast
• 1 envelope dried onion soup mix
• salt and pepper
• 1 can root beer
• 2 c. barbecue sauce (You’ll be dividing it for the recipe.)
• 10 buns

Instructions

1. Place the thawed pork roast on a work space and sprinkle with the dried soup mix. Pat it on there all over the roast. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and place in the crock pot.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the can of root beer and half a cup of barbecue sauce. Pour it over the roast.
3. Place the lid on the crock pot and cook on low heat for 6 1/2 to 7 hours. Remove the roast from the crock pot and shred it with two forks. Then remove all but about a cup of the juice.
4. Put the shredded pork in the crock pot with the cup of juice, then add the remaining 1 1/2 c. of barbecue sauce. Stir it into the meat and cook on high for 15 to 20 minutes to get the meat heated up.

Looks like it could be a great game day recipe for Super Bowl Sunday too. ;) 

Wednesday Wonder

THINKING SPRING AS THE SNOW FALLS

Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy Monday Friends! Another brand new week ahead.

 It was a nice weekend here. Busy with some hockey, but also had some fun as a family in a quick road trip to my son's hockey game (his team won!). We got in a little shopping and a nice dinner.  

Then yesterday was a gorgeous one here. Beautiful almost 40 degree weather (on my sheltered back deck I think it might have been above 40) - with the sun shining away. I played with Ruby on the back deck a lot and soaked up lots of vitamin D.  It felt heavenly and wish it would stay. The forecast says it won't, but it gave me a taste that Spring isn't so very far away.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

It's only in the mid 20's today, but might hit about 30. Cloudy right now and sun tries to peek through now and then. Unfortunately a day as lovely as yesterday is not predicted for the rest of the week - boo!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

Chai tea and some peanut butter & honey toast.

  AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:

I see lots of ice. Our driveway is a solid sheet - after all the melting yesterday. But here it's nothing we're not used to and doesn't really slow us down. ;) 

RIGHT NOW I AM:

Listening to some pandora as I work on this in my office. Also, finishing up some papers I need to bring for PTA meeting later.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE:

Mainly some laundry. I need to give my bathrooms all some love, as I just didn't get to them this weekend. Never a fun job. All and all pretty tidy though. We went through our kiddos' bedrooms over the weekend and helped them get rid of old clothes and toys/books etc. We give them to some families my Mom knows that have little funds and appreciate some goodies for their kiddos.

ON TODAY'S TO DO LIST:

I have an appointment this AM and then I'll be picking up my MIL to spend the rest of the afternoon. Going to get groceries tomorrow, so will look for some fun activities to do with her around my home. Maybe go out and about later to run some errands, as she can often get more restless in the afternoons and it's nice having a "focus" to keep her busy. It'll be so nice when we do get Spring so we can spend more time outdoors - as she loves that so much too! Then later I have a PTA meeting at my daughter's school.

CURRENTLY READING:

More new magazines - but haven't jumped into another book yet.

ON THE TV TODAY:

I watched The Good Wife and Downton Abbey - both so good!! If you saw Downton (I won't give spoilers), but were you as sort of horrified (& a little grossed out) as I was by a certain scene?? I was so shocked and just kept saying "Oh God!" "Oh Lord" while it was happening!!Aaackk!! Also Good Wife was SO good!! I just love both of these shows so much! I also have some cooking shows taped and even a movie or 2 I haven't watched yet. I did watch Far From the Madding Crowd recently and really liked it. I also watched A Little Chaos with Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman. I loved him so much and am so sad that he was taken from this world far too young (from cancer). I also thought that was a good movie too.  Getting my romances in lately! Lol!  It is Valentine's season after all. ;) 

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

MONDAY: leftover garlic chicken and fried rice from yesterday (freezer meal)

TUESDAY: spaghetti hot dish, garlic bread, green beans  

WEDNESDAY: semi homemade chicken noodle soup

THURSDAY: waffles, fruit, sausage or bacon

FRIDAY:  root beer pulled pork sandwiches, salad, corn on the cob

*planning to make Billie Joe's recipe (from the blog Afternoon Coffee & Evening Tea) for cherry berry pie for dessert one of the nights (& share with the in-law's when I bring them dinner)

WHAT I AM CREATING AT THE MOMENT:

Valentine's cards, scrapbook organization

NEW RECIPE I WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:

the root beer pulled pork is new - as well as Billie Joe's pie will be new to me (& sounds delish!)

TIP OF THE WEEK:

Bread bowls can be a fun way to serve soup. For kiddos you could even use something more dinner roll sized for a mini version!

FROM THE CAMERA:

My Girl making me smile and filling my heart. Above is the intro to the essay she wrote about me. I cried when she read it to me and I think my heart grew a few more sizes. And I love how she leaves her stuffed animals or dolls in random places in such cute positions. I'll find a baby or animal all tucked in with her blankets in the book basket or like in this case - her stuffed elephant just hanging out on the dining room table.

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

I'm linking with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.