What's Up Wednesday 3/29/17

Well March as usual has been a crazy busy month. I need a little fun break today so I'm jumping in on What's Up Wednesday with Mix and Match Mama, The Larson Lingo and Sheaffer Told Me To.

1. What we’re eating this week
Monday we had spaghetti and meatballs. Tuesday was a chicken and potato casserole with broccoli. Tonight will be chicken in some form and Thursday we eat out for a post-race committee meeting.


2. What I’m reminiscing about

College life. Working around a campus I see the young carefree students wondering about and today I found myself thinking back to a much simpler time. I wouldn't change a thing though really. I'm very thankful for my husband and the life we have together. That's way better than college even though it comes with a lot more responsibility!

3. What I’m loving
I always seem to answer the same thing to this. Being outside and enjoying the days when the weather is nice.

4. What we’ve been up to
Whew, what have we not been up to. March is the month for the 5K we help organize so it's a month full of planning, fundraising events, meetings and more meetings, set up, break down, work, multiple birthdays. You name it and I think we've done it this month.

5. What I’m dreading
Heat. We're back in the 80's again this week and I know it's just a taste of what's coming in the summer.

6. What I’m working on

Still working on house plans. I feel like maybe we're making some progress though. We at least have a good idea about where to build.

7. What I’m excited about

The weekend. Hopefully sleeping in for the first time in a while. Only a few more days.

8. What I’m watching/reading

Nothing new really. Fixer Upper is  still my main tv watching at the moment. Reading right now is just my daily Bible time.


9. What I’m listening to

A mix as usual. At the moment Casting Crowns "Just be Held" and Johnny Diaz "Breathe". Yes, it's been that kind of day...and week.

10. What I’m wearing

Short sleeves, no layers at the moment. It's in the 80's again you know.

11. What I’m doing this weekend

Three, yes three birthday celebrations. Although two are combined so that helps. Hopefully some rest and outdoor activities too.

12. What I’m looking forward to next month

Easter. Picnics. Bridal Shower. All sorts of fun things.

13. What else is new

Nothing much really. Unless you count the mini-war I've been having in our basement with mice. <sigh> I don't even want to talk about it.   

Bonus question: What is your favorite spring thing to wear? I think probably flip flops. It's nice to let the feet breathe again when the weather starts warming up.


Ok, so this was a quick but much needed break from reality. Happy "it's not quite Friday but we're getting closer every day" day!

Old Fashioned Pound Cake

I've been wanting to try this for a while.
It's an old recipe of my grandmother's that I've never made and my mom doesn't really remember making either. I don't even remember my grandmother making it honestly, but it was in the mix of handwritten and typed (on the old manual typewriters) recipes handed down from her.

I wasn't sure how it would turn out because it uses very different ingredients from what I'm used to but I finally just dove in and gave it a try.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well it did. It's definitely a pound cake texture and taste, very different from my usual go to bundt cakes. I think smaller portions are better with this one since it's very dense (and also not low calorie!) My favorite part was the top gets a nice crust which was yummy.

I forgot to take a photo until it had been cut into but you get the idea. I even used a very old tube pan which came from the hubby's mom and I have a feeling belonged to someone else's mother before that. Vintage. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the pan did too!

Ingredients
3 sticks butter
1 box confectioners sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 box plain flour

Directions
Cream sugar and butter. Add in eggs and vanilla. Fill empty sugar box with flour, add to mix and beat well. Pour into tube pan and place in cold oven. Bake at 350 for 1 hr and 15 minutes.

There were not a lot of instructions with this recipe so here are other things I did.

I mixed the eggs in one or two at a time not all at once.
I sprayed the vintage tube pan I used with non stick baking spray before pouring in mixture. Actually the hubby did because he was ready for baking to be done so we could eat dinner. ☺
The mix was very, very thick so I had to use a spoon and spatula to get it from bowl to pan. I also had to spread it around the pan once it was in there to even it out.
When a knife came out clean I called it done. We let it cool on a wire rack on the counter for about 10 minutes then we turned it over onto a cake plate and I flipped it back so it was right side up.

What's Up Wednesday - 2/22/17

I'm joining in again today for What's Up Wednesday with Mix and Match Mama, The Larson Lingo and Sheaffer Told Me To. It's been a while so I thought it was about time to make time for it again.

1. What we’re eating this week
Monday was a hamburger stew throw together meal. That probably sums up the meals for the week. Throw it together with whatever we have on hand. I sadly do not have a plan for this week. Hopefully one will come to me. :) 

2. What I’m reminiscing about
The long weekend I just had. The hubby and I took off Friday to do some hiking and exploring on our land and try to get closer to deciding where to build. I'd much rather be back out in the woods than at a desk.  

3. What I’m loving
Nicer weather and being outside! We've had some beautiful days here the last week or so with temperatures just right and no rain. I'm ready for spring! 

4. What we’ve been up to

We did some hiking which was wonderful, several birthday celebrations this month, we've eaten way too much food, took a day trip a few hours north to visit a yummy bakery and some architectural salvage stores. Now we're just back to the regular schedule of the work week. Boo!

5. What I’m dreading
Nothing too much at the moment. 

6. What I’m working on

We're working on designing a house plan. I think I have looked through thousands at this point and some days I feel like I don't know if I'm coming or going and which end of the house is up. We're going to get just the right one though. There has been much prayer over this and I know it is going to happen! I just have to keep reminding myself of that when I feel like we'll never figure it out.

7. What I’m excited about

Designing a house plan and getting closer to identifying where to build! Even though it feels a little overwhelming at times I'm very grateful and blessed to be going through this process. I'm excited to see how God is going to work it all out as we walk this out. 

8. What I’m watching/reading

I just finished The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Amazing book. I need to find a good one to start next now. Not really watching anything in particular. Lots of Fixer Upper and HGTV when I can. :)

9. What I’m listening to

I've been listening to a lot of streaming music at work with my earbuds since moving into a shared cubicle office type space. It helps to create my own little world some days. Sometimes it's worship, sometimes TobyMac or Michael Buble, it all just depends on the day.  

10. What I’m wearing

Still wearing layers, but more short sleeves recently which is awesome.

11. What I’m doing this weekend

Traveling to meet some out of town family half-way between their town and ours to do a very belated Christmas gathering.

12. What I’m looking forward to next month

More spring weather, lots of events for colon cancer awareness month and our annual 5K fundraiser. It's going to be a busy month but it is always lots of fun too.

13. What else is new

We got new boots to go hiking through our property so now we can go through the creeks and my whole lower leg is covered by boot which makes me much more comfortable all around. :) That has opened up more options for outdoor exploring. There's really not that much new right now. 

Bonus question: What is your "can't live without" beauty product? That would probably be moisturizer, my skin gets really dry after showering or washing my face. I love the feeling of putting a good moisturizer on after my shower. My personal favorite is Clinique. I use the plain yellow, been around forever moisturizer at night, but I love a great sunblock so having a moisturizer with SPF is always a favorite of mine too. I've been using their tinted moisturizer with SPF for a while now during the day, but just found out it's being discontinued (boo!) so I guess I'll be finding a new one.

That's all for me today. Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

Roasted Potato and Kale

This was one of those nights where you look around and see what you have that needs to be used and then you throw it all together and put it in the oven. :)

We had a few potatoes that were nearing the end of their usefulness and some leftover kale from making sausage, potato and kale soup. So I threw them together as a side dish to go with some baked chicken. 

First I chopped up the potatoes and tossed them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and basil. 

Then I coated the kale with olive oil and tossed with the same ingredients. I just neglected to take a photo of that part.

After that I spread it all out on a baking sheet and put it in the oven on about 375-400 degrees for 20 minutes or so. I was able to bake the chicken at the same time.

The kale turned out pretty good but I must confess some of the potatoes didn't have a great texture. I think perhaps they needed more of the olive oil coating them? Any suggestions for next time would be appreciated. 

Overall it was pretty good and I think I'll try it again sometime and see if I can't dial it in a little more on the potato part. Happy eating!

Window Picture Frame

This is a project I've been wanting to get done for a while now. I wanted to make a wooden window frame out of some reclaimed wood we had to hold pictures. 

My plan was to use it to hold photos of the outdoors and things I love to put on my desk at work, help motivate and remind me about what I'm there and get me through the day. 

I started out by measuring out the size I wanted the final frame to be and then the talented hubby helped me with the cutting, design and building. He used both glue and nails to hold everything together.

 Once the frame was complete I laid out the photos I wanted to use and tried a few different methods for attaching them. 

I looked at using some wire or wood pieces to attach them, but found the simplest method and one I liked the look of the most was just a good old fashioned wooden clothes pin.

So I took four clothes pins and hot-glued them to the back of the frame so that each one would hang down into the opening below. We'll see how well the hot glue holds up and if I have to change it. 

I'm happy with the final product and think this will help brighten up my space and bring a smile to my face a little more often. :)

Red Pen

So I'm just gonna go ahead and put this disclaimer out there. I'm sure there are plenty of errors that could be found on this blog, BUT this is just for fun and usually written on the fly.

Ok. Now that I've gotten that out of the way... Here are my deep thoughts for the day: "did they even read that before they published it?". I'm talking newspapers, magazines, "professional" letters and emails, business websites, and other similar avenues. I seriously need to start a side business of proofing things for people, because there are a whole lot of "uh ohs" out there.

I've always been known amongst family and friends as the one who was born with a red pen in hand. If there is an error, I will find it. (And I will want to point it out and fix it too) We're talking errors that someone should really catch. It's like the whole twelve men on the field penalty in football. There should literally be someone that has the sole job of counting to eleven on every play and making sure they don't get penalized. Just count!

On the same token, just read the text before letting something go out there. See if it makes sense and is accurate, then post.

This public service announcement is provided to you free of charge. If anyone needs me I'll be over here with my red pen.

Pizza Roll-Ups

This was a fun snack we made for a football game toward the end of the season. Speaking of the season, gut.wrenching.finish. I had to remind myself it's just a game and my favorite team will be back next year with more motivation. Roll Tide! #Greatseasonanyway

On to the food. This is a recipe you can easily make your own with whatever you have on hand. I started with a basic pizza dough. This one is homemade from a Pioneer Woman recipe, but you could use store bought too.

I rolled it out to a nice rectangular-ish shape.

Browned some meat with Italian spices.

Spread on some tomato sauce and added some more Italian spices to it.

Sprinkled on some cheese.

Then rolled the whole thing up nice and tight (it's a little messy, but that's okay)

Then we sliced it into pieces about 1-1.5 inches thick and placed in a squared baking pan. We popped it in the oven and baked according to dough directions until golden brown. I don't think I have any photos of the cooked product. I might have taken one on the hubby's phone but I don't have it on hand. Take my word for it though, they were a big hit, delicious and so easy!