Amazing!

Last year I treated myself to a well deserved (and needed!) Rowenta iron, and have been in heaven every since!

Up until a couple weeks ago I thought I was a good and caring iron owner, until I took a closer look at the soleplate- icky! With JoAnn's 50% off coupon (good until Saturday), my loving mom picked up the Rowenta Soleplate Cleaning Kit.

I'm happy to report that I just finished cleaning the soleplate, and my oh my...it works! I definitely had to put a little muscle into the cleaning, however it was all worth it (even my slightly charred thumb- stupid mistake) as I'm ecstatic with the result.

Note- I tried to take before and after pictures for all, but the lighting just wasn't cooperating...perhaps next time! :)

My Favorite 'Go To' Dinner!

I can't believe that I've been cooking so much (I think Mr. D is happy that my inner housewife is finally surfacing!). :o)

I wanted to share with all my favorite 'go to' dinner. Mr. D called me last night to let me know he was on the way home (which is always much appreciated!). At that instance the little light bulb in my brain went off, as I had bought a package of grape tomatoes at the store last week, and I would have hated to have them go unused! Within minutes I whipped up the following:

Pasta with Sauteed Tomatoes, Olives, and Artichokes

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons Garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 package cherry/grape Tomatoes (halved)
3/4 can medium pitted Black Olives (chopped)
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts (drained and quartered)
Angel Hair Pasta
Parmesan Cheese, Salt, and Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, olives, and artichokes; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
2. Place pasta in a large bowl. Add tomato mixture, cheese, salt, and ground pepper to taste; toss well.
   

The recipe above is based on this one, however modified to my liking! :)

P.S.- Stuart wanted to say hi to all...too bad he forgot to smile for the photo! :(

Soup Weather in CA!!!

If by chance you haven't heard, it's been super rainy in California this week! The (very un-California like) weather prompted me to bring my CrockPot cookbook with me to work to 'study' recipes over my lunch hour (exciting stuff- eh?). The dark and cold rainy days equate to soup weather in my house, thus I prepped the ingredients for Italian Hillside Garden Soup Tuesday night, and with the help of Mr. D the CrockPot was plugged in this morning and dinner was ready when I got home (soaking wet!) from work!

I wish I could post a link for all, however this receip came out of a CrockPot binder/recipe book that I received for Christmas last year (it's a Costco and/or Sam's Club type book!).

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1 can (15.5 ounces) navy beans, drained and rinsed (I would recommend Cannellini beans)
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed
2 cans (14 ounces each) chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated sausage or cheese filled tortellini
Grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add bell pepper, onion and celery. Cook and stir 4 minutes or until onions are translucent. Transfer to 5-quart CrockPot.
2. Add tomatoes with juice, navy beans, zucchini, green beans, broth and garlic powder. Cover; cook on LOW 7 hours or on HIGH 3.5 hours.
3. Turn CrockPot slow cooker to HIGH. Add tortellini and cook on HIGH 20-25 minutes longer or until pasta is tender. Garnish each serving with cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Sight Unseen!

Saturday evening I did a little online shopping, which is way out of my comfort zone, however after spending the afternoon browsing around Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and Kohl's for the perfect duvet cover for the spare bedroom- I was desperate! {'Spare Bedroom', a.k.a.- the computer room, my craft storage room, Mr. D's Playstation room, and Stuart's home away from home.}

I wasn't looking for anything too girly or fancy as we haven't 'technically' had many guests stay in the spare bedroom; the bed is mostly used by Mr. D while playing his Playstation and when Stuart needs a nap! The walls are painted a nice sagey green, compliments of the previous owners, thus I had some color constraints, as I'm not interested in re-painting the walls.

After looking high and low I purchased this...drum roll please!

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Hopefully I'll like it as much in person, as I did online (if not it's going back to Kohl's!). If all works out, perhaps I'll make an accent pillow or two!

Mementos From Texas!

Growing up did your parents ever bring you home a little memento from their trip/vacation? I can't particularly pinpoint what or when, but I know that my parents did, and this time will be no different! My momma is in Houston (technically southeast of Houston) for the week with my Dad, and because she's the best mom in the world, she went to Hobby Lobby with a shopping list. Yes you read it right; the great state of California, home of eternal sunshine, Disneyland, beaches, happy cows (he he he), delicious wine, and avocados is not lucky enough to be home to Hobby Lobby (we have Michael's and JoAnn's- both which do not compare to the selection and prices of Hobby Lobby!).

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Word has it that my momma is coming home with all of the supplies needed to make Ashley's Apothecary Jars. If you're not familiar with Shanty2Chic's blog, you should totally take a look around as Ashley and Whitney are two very creative sisters!

A Big {Overdue} Thank you...

...to Kristi of Just Simply Southern and The Chubby Dove! My mailbox has been feeling the love lately! I always get excited when the mailbox is full of something other than bills, however I get extra excited when there is something homemade in my mailbox (do you know the feeling?)!


I absolutely love the frame from Just Simply Southern! The distressed wood is beautiful, and I can easily change out the photo (my kind of frame!). Kristi's Etsy shop is full of beautiful frames, all different sizes, patterns, and colors...go on and browse!


The photo/memo clip from The Chubby Dove is a perfect addition to my kitchen! As seen above, I plan to use it as a recipe card holder for when I'm busy whipping up something in the kitchen! :) The Chubby Dove's Etsy shop is full of great photo/memo clips, frames, and buttons (just to name a few!)...you know the drill, go on and browse!

Lunch (Monday-Friday)...

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This is definitely a random post, but then again it’s all about the spontaneity- right? :)

Up until mid-December I'd walk over to the Taco Bell corporate building 3-4 days a week to pick up something from their food court, however they moved and thus I've had to change my routine. I've been getting accustomed to bringing Lean Cuisine's 3-4 times a week, and treating myself to something 'out' (within walking distance) once a week, but my oh my its getting to be quite difficult to remember to grab something from the freezer before I leave for work. Perhaps if I cooked dinner more regularly I could bring the leftovers for lunch, but then again I’ve never been a big leftover eater.

For all of the working ladies (and men!) out there, what's your normal Monday-Friday lunch routine?

Did Someone Say Party?

I haven't been crafting per se, but I have been designing and party planning! My little sister is getting married to her high school sweetheart this coming April (time sure does fly by when you're having fun!), which means that her wedding shower is right around the corner.

I've been working on lots of do-it-yourself projects and can't wait to show all! (However you'll have to wait until the latter part of February, as the guests have to be the first to see the big reveal). Stay tuned!

A Little Bit of Texas...

After reading all of the rage about Texas Caviar, I decided to try it out for dinner last night! I served up quesadillas with a side of Texas Caviar and tortilla chips...not a bad combination! :)

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans (rinsed + drained)

1 can of black eyed peas (rinsed + drained)

1 can of corn (rinsed + drained)

1 green pepper (diced)

Half of a medium red onion (diced)

10 oz. of cherry tomatoes (quartered)

Zesty Italian dressing (to taste)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients.

Chill a minimum of 2 hours and eat with chips!

My Kind of Calendar!

Guess what was under the Christmas tree with my name on it? :) A 2010 desktop Sewing Calendar, which showcases over 100 sewing projects! A perfect gift for any sewing enthusiast...now if only I had a sewing room to display the calendar in (I guess the computer desk will have to do for now, and I'll definitely be asking Santa for a sewing room next Christmas!). Thanks Megan!

Happy New Year!

Happy [belated] New Year to all of my family, friends, and followers! After an unscheduled December blogging break...I'm back! The latter part of December was spent with family and friends, good food, family game nights, family movie nights, and Mr. D and I on the couch playing Wii- sorry I just couldn't pry myself away long enough to tend to my blog (please forgive me!).


Enough with the excuses! 2010 is a near year and I'm hoping to challenge myself and broaden my crafting and blogging abilities! I've purchased a pattern and supplies to complete a cross-stitched stocking for Mr. D in time for Christmas 2010! I'm also starting to dab into the world of painting [gasp!]. I love Kim's artwork of Endless Possibilities, and am referencing her Anatomy Of a Painting as my how-to guide! As much as I hate trial and error, I know it's the only way to improve (I keep telling myself that I'm sure I wasn't a great with a sewing machine when I started in fourth grade...but with time I've improved!).

As for my blogging abilities, if you're anything like me, I get quite annoyed when a blog is only updated every week or two (...and I'm so guilty of that!). I'd love to provide all with more daily ramblings, photos, etc. but what I would really love is for you to tell me what you would like to see or read about! Did you enjoy the Homemade Meal Mondays? Do you prefer for me to just ramble? I'd love to post a craft project everyday, but with working full time and being the perfectionist I am, it's not possible. Do you enjoy the cute pictures of Stuart (he he he!...if so I'll have my agent talk to his agent about him getting more blog time)?