Wednesday, November 28, 2012

jingle bells, batman smells

my friends keep me motivated.
i mean, if all the mothers i know are out there
crafting away like mad women,
then i can to.

so i decided that i was finally going to make my
jingle bell wreath. 
my current christmas wreath was purchased from
wal-mart 5 years ago when ronzo and i
still lived in the townhouse.
back then my house was decorated in
left over college pieces, along with my mom's hand-me-downs.
it was not cute.
this wreath is not cute.
imagine plastic greenery
with gold accents.
plastic, as in rubbery.

so since i had to run to hobby lobby to buy
new white taper candles for my dining room table,
i thought i would pick up everything else i needed
for my new wreath.
then i picked up three boxes of jingle bells and
decided to go on the hunt for foam wreaths.
i walked and walked
sounding like a million santa claus's heading down the aisle with me.
nope, sorry folks, its just me and my boxes of bells.
i gave up, shoved everything on a shelf and left.

merry freaking christmas,
i need a cart.


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

leftovers

do you have lots of turkey
and side dishes left at your house?
normally my mom's idea for getting rid of
all the leftover turkey is to make turkey tetrazzini
which, don't get me wrong, is delicious.
but i am a pot pie girl,
so when i saw this on the food network,
i had to share.

first, get out your muffin tins
and preheat your oven to 375.
cut fillo dough in squares for each muffin cup.
fill with turkey, gravy, green beans, corn, potatoes
and dressing.
top with another square of fillo dough
and brush with butter.
sprinkle with paprika if desired.
back for 20 to 30 mins.

wah la... since everything is already cooked and your gravy is made this is literally
the easiest and fastest turkey pot pie ever made.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

happy turkey day



thanksgiving was huge.
lots of family.
lots of food.

we had 2 turkeys
1 beef tenderloin
corn, green beans and broccoli/cauliflower casserole
dressing
sweets potatoes
mashed potatoes
deviled eggs
salad
cranberry sauce
strawberry pretzel salad
my dad's rolls
and
4 homemade pies

i am full.
and that was 3 days ago.

hope your thanksgiving was as filling as mine!



ps- like the keep calm and gobble on motto?  it's a free printable found here.
print it, frame it and use it next year!

Monday, November 12, 2012

if you look hard enough, you can always find something to buy yourself

pottery barn got me.
i mean, i don't know how a 20-something childless lady
gets put on the pottery barn kids mailing list,
but i couldn't help but look through it.
it.   is.   adorable.
if i were rich aunt brooke,
instead of just aunt brooke
my nieces and nephew would own half the magazine.
but alas, i can't see spending $45 plus shipping
on a robe that a kid is going to outgrown in 6 months.
too bad.
but i can justify some amazing christmas stockings
that will get used year after year after year.
i guess i found my own weak spot.
longevity.
so i dug into ronald's wallet, got out our trusty credit card
and made my purchase.
i even bought two of the striped littler ones for leia and louie.
they should be here by next week.
and hung promptly in my house the weekend after thanksgiving.

i can't wait.


Sunday, November 11, 2012

fall day - in more than one way

we had our family fall day yesterday
on what i think will be our last nice day of the season.
yesterday - - sunny and 70.
today - - rain and cold.
we barely made it.

it was a lot of fun.
we had a hayride
hot chocolate
roasted hot dogs
made pumpkin pie
had a bonfire
and played a little game of football.

i hadn't played in years, but i was the top scorer -
thank you very much.
at one point ronnie was covering my dad
and somehow fell, then fell trying to get up and then fell again.
(not the most coordinated, that one.)
when we got home last night his knee was really bothering him
he slept with a heating pad and his leg propped up on a pillow.
this morning he could barely walk
and as i type,
he soaking in the tub.


yep, only one injury yesterday
and it was this guy.

Photo

Thursday, November 8, 2012

eight things on the eighth

{one}
i had an interview at the bank today.
i'm trying to psych myself up
for a position i'm not sure about.
i think it went well.

{two}
i voted.
and my guy lost.
i hated it.
but that's all i'll say,
because who really cares about anyone else's political beliefs.

{three}
i found the best [new to me] blog.
she posts outfits everyday
 and tell exactly where she got the clothes.
but the best part?  this shit is cheap.
and her ideas are good.

{four}
i made chicken and rice casserole
but used cream of mushroom soup
instead of cream of chicken because
it's all i had.
i don't recommend it. 

{five}
ronnie spent more time and money on the jeep.
but now it is lifted and has bigger wheels and tires.
he's happy.
the amount of time he spent in the freezing garage is unimaginable.
i seriously would have cried.
and given up.
but ronnie seems to enjoy this crap,
so i let it go. 

{six}
i'm dying sections of my hair
an auburn color.
but i'm leaving the blonde ends.
i think it will look cool.
i can't wait.

{seven}
i'm in the market for a new laptop.
i know nothing about which computer is best.
suggestions?

{eight}
i started christmas shopping
and have three people done.
only ten more to go.



hope you had a good eighth of november!






Wednesday, November 7, 2012

halloween, a week late

Photo

i had a festive halloween.
two parties
and two costumes
in one weekend.
i don't think i've pulled that off since college.

Photo
we were wayne and garth - - and then a hunter and an electrician.
 Photo

the first party was at our house.
since kiddos were involved
and i had a prego mom on the roster,
i wanted to have a few activities
to make things more fun.

Photo

plus, my friends are a little jealous of
all my family fall fun days
so i wanted to give them a little piece of that.
i had a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood,
hanging apple eating contest,
a fire pit complete with hale bales
and of course, booze.

Photo: one of my favorite pics from the halloween party

the scavenger hunt and apple contest were fun
but we never made it outside to the fire.
i think the booze kicked in and that got skipped.





so if anyone is interested,
ronnie and i have a sweet set up in the back yard.
complete with all the fixings for smores.





ps- interested in doing an "adult" scavenger hunt?  just make a list, pick teams, and give everyone a couple beers for the walk.  so. much. fun. i had them take pictures with their phones of the items on the list to see who found the most things.  mine was fall themed, but it could be in any season.