Category: HOLIDAYS

BLOGTOBER – DAY 22 – MORE FALL CLOTHING

Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall?  If you missed it, let me say it again.  I LOVE FALL!  And I especially LOVE fall clothing so this category deserves a second day 😀

Recently I ran into JC Penneys for some towels and passed by the shoe department and a sign that literally said Buy 1, Get 2 free!  How do you pass up a deal like that?  For me it was especially fitting because I have needed ALL new shoes as well as clothes since losing all the weight after that last surgery.  Who would have thought you’d lose shoes sizes, but I did – an entire size!  So this is my fun purchase where I not only took advantage of the sale, but also a 20% off coupon and was able to buy 3 pair for $64. 😀 My tootsies are staying toasty this fall!

 

BLOGTOBER – DAY 15 – MEAL PLANNING

Today’s topic is meal planning which is a topic near and dear to my everyday way of life, but the fall is especially a fun time for meal planning with all the holidays, parties and family get togethers.

Meal planning for me can be a rather in depth process as we don’t do fast food 99% of the time and I cook MOST of the time.  Cooking for me is from scratch – no boxes, no cans to speak of.  When I meal plan I try really hard to arrange my recipes back to back to make the most of my fresh ingredients especially when I need expensive fresh herbs or veggies.

For the past couple of years I had tried MANY of the more reliable and popular Dinner Home Delivery services out there – Blue Apron, Home Chef, Hello Fresh, Gobble… At first it seemed like a great idea while we were still working on A House From Hell.  I had an offer emailed from a friend for a nice discount to give Blue Apron a try…  Long story short the recipes started to repeat themselves, the selection of recipes dwindled to where I was skipping more weeks than I was ordering and the issues that required customer service became more and more while the service became slower and slower while also less accommodating.  I even encountered a customer service line that was outsourced to somewhere that English was not their first language and the communication barrier was unbelievable!

Well, all I can say after this last box is NO MORE!!! Gobble is the last one we tried and I was SORELY DISAPPOINTED!  There was a HUGE discount to give them a try and I STILL overpaid for what arrived.  NOT only were many of the ingredients NOT fresh, many were also pre-prepared and not well at that! The original goal was to save time and money while trying some new and innovative recipes, but since that is NOT the end result I’ve cancelled all the services and will be back to doing my own planning and shopping.

This seemed like a good time to re-run this section on how I menu plan and save money while doing it.

There is more to menu planning than just deciding what to make for dinner, at least for the average family. We’re a military family used to getting paid once a month and trying to make it last. So for me, menu planning also encompasses recipe scouring, coupon clipping (we love to read the Sunday papers and have coffee. One of the things I always go for first is the coupons to see what I can save for us – hubby always laughs when I get excited at a large coupon for something already on the list – LOL), sale ad reading and logical common sense planning. I do participate in Menu Plan Monday, but I actually prepare my menu for the entire month all at once and then just break it up for posting. A little organization goes a long way.

I start the last week of the previous month with checking out what I already have in the freezer inventory and then the ads for my local markets for the upcoming week. I see what meats will be going on sale and then scour my recipe file for recipes to match. One of the biggest things I do to help not only with cost of ingredients, but also waste is to make sure that I back recipes up to each other that use similar ingredients that I can buy in bulk.

For example if a recipe calls for half an onion for Monday night’s recipe, I make sure Tuesday night’s recipe uses the other half. I also know which meals we’ll probably have leftovers for so I plan to either freeze part of it for a future meal or plan a C.O.R.N. (clean out refrigerator night) within my plan if there is only going to be a little of this and that leftover. I write my list and then I match up the coupons for whatever staples (flour, sugar, eggs, butter, etc…) I need and then the luxuries if there is room within the budget. If there is a really good sale I buy in super bulk for the following month also. Now I know this sounds like a lot of work, but the whole process takes less than an hour and then it’s done for the month.

It seems I have every scrap of a recipe I have ever saved as well as many of my grandma’s too. It’s like an obsession with me. If a recipe sounds good in a magazine, I figure I can make it better based on my family’s likes and dislikes and tuck it away to try and manipulate at a later date. I recently decided it was time to clean-up this mess.

I found an old metal LP file box at a garage sale for 50 cents and dressed it up a bit so it didn’t look like a trash bin on my kitchen counter. (it was a beat up lime green with stickers everywhere). I have written 2 family reunion cook books in the past which helped some with eliminating the scraps of paper and I’m also in the midst of writing a Tastebook to use as family Christmas gifts that is helping to clean up this mess on a permanent basis.

I have a perpetual list on the counter and every time we use something or run out of something, everyone is trained (finally) to list whatever they used or ran out of on an ongoing basis.

We keep a pretty concise calendar with everyone’s activities, appointments, meetings and such on it. I also write what we will be eating on each day so they’ll know what to expect. If for some reason we have to cancel a night I will rearrange the week so that the meal actually canceled is one using something from the freezer, not the fresh ingredients I’ve already purchased. When I do the shopping I buy in bulk to cut the cost and since I have my menu planned ahead of time, I break down the bulk package into meal appropriate sizes before freezing when I get home.

I originally wrote this post years ago, but nothing has changed – I still do things exactly the same.

I start with LARGE bulk packs of meat.  I then break them down by size and meat right down to cutting certain recipes into bite sized pieces.  Then I wrap them in freezer paper because I really hate freezer burn!  And I package them into pre-labeled ziploc bags for the freezer.

BLOGTOBER – DAY 14 – FALL CLOTHING

Today’s prompt was fall clothing.  I absolutely adore fall and I especially love it when we’re living in the north and the weather has a REAL season.  I pretty much wear Levis year round, but come fall it’s all about what you put with the Levis that counts!  Lots and lots of layers and comfy sweaters and comfier shoes!  Here are a few pictures from Pinterest of some of my favorite fall styles.  Under those sweaters are soft and simple camis or lightweight cotton shirts.  I love going barefoot as often as possible, but come fall whenever I go outside I have to have seriously comfy and warm footwear!

BLOGTOBER – DAY 13 – CURRENT CRAFT PROJECT

I started doing Blogtober with Sandra, but needed a bit more structure.  I found some old prompt lists and made my own compilation of those prompts.  I will start following it for the remainder of the month and try to backtrack to catch the earlier prompts too.

Today’s prompt is CURRENT CRAFT PROJECTS which is fitting as I did a tutorial on making these cute little guys.  You can find the “HOW TO” here for making your own Pumpkin family.

 

BUILD YOUR OWN PUMPKIN FAMILY

I found this fun for all, mixed-media pumpkin project over at Salvage Sister & Mister that uses wooden door frame corner rosettes to create vintage-inspired pumpkins to decorate your home. I fell in love with their simplicity, but still took it a step farther and made them three dimensional by giving them a front and a back and adding a bit more embellishment. They only took about an hour or so to complete my family of four. 😀 even with having to wait for the paint to dry, which was the hardest part! These make a great hostess gifts and look great throughout ALL the fall months, Halloween and Thanksgiving! 😀

SUPPLIES

  • Wooden Rosette Trim Block Molding Pieces – any size you like – I used several sizes to make a Pumpkin “Family”
  • Acrylic Paints – dark chocolate (I chose a metallic), 3-4 various orange colors ranging from bright to dark (I chose the medium orange as a metallic)
  • Ribbons – assorted scraps of green
  • Dollar Store embellishments – I used purple Tule, brown and black bells from door hangers, feathers from a Halloween boa and leaves from some fall flowers
  • Paintbrushes
  • Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
  • Scissors
  • Tree Branch from the yard
  • Garden Pruning Shears

INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1

  • Paint the rosettes with a base coat of Dark Chocolate. Let dry.
  • Apply a second coat, if necessary.

Step 2

  • Randomly apply Weathered Wood medium with paintbrush. Painting it thicker and randomly will result in a variety of cracks on your finished pumpkins.
  • Allow medium to dry completely, about 30 minutes.

Step 3

  • Using a limited amount of strokes, apply a thick coat of orange paint with a very limited number of strokes and do not paint over the same area more than once. As the paint dries it will crackle.
  • Large cracks will appear where the medium was put on thick and small cracks will appear where the medium was put on thin.

Step 4

  • Using your glue gun put an even amount of glue on the back of one rosette along the outer edge.  Immediately press to the second rosette together.
  • Clean off any glue that has oozed out and allow them to dry completely.
  • Weigh them down with wood clamps, a brick or large book to press them together securely.

Step 5

  • Cut tree branch into 1” to 1 ½” lengths with pruning shears and then attach to top, the center of each pumpkin with a glue gun. Or use a selection of curled wired wood.

Step 7

  • Gather a variety of green ribbons, trimmed into 6” lengths and then knot in the center.
  • Attach at base of pumpkin stem with a glue gun.
  • Decorate as desired with spare bits and pieces from your craft room.

BLOGTOBER – DAY 11 – Golden Light

I’ve joined Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Blogtober 2019.  I’m joining a bit late, but catching up as I can. 

Her prompt today is “Golden Light“.  I find myself laughing at this prompt.  This is a NO can do for me up here in the Pacific North West.  Where we are is literally a “MORNING FOG” area.  The good news is that when the fog does burn off we usually end up with gorgeous golden afternoons and evenings.

UPDATE:  I was able to get a couple AM photos that despite the fog have a golden light 😀

BLOGTOBER – DAY 10 – A FALL LOOK BACK THROUGH THE BLOG

Today’s prompt of ‘A LOOK BACK THROUGH THE BLOG‘ brought me a lot of memories, especially of more recent years past when we have lived in some more colorful places.  Fall is TRULY my favorite season and always has been.  Fall is the season where we truly welcome in all the cozy traditions, family holidays, comfort food recipes and cute clothes too!  Fall is also the season I do 80% of my canning in.

Here are a few fall pictures from recent years past. 



And here’s a recipe for one of my ALL time favorite fall recipes – Chicken Chili.

BLOGTOBER 2019 day 9

I’m joining Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Blogtober 2019.  I’m joining a bit late, but I’ll try to catch up as I can.  Her prompt today is “IN THE KITCHEN“.

Joining in today is a bit ironic as Sandra described the kitchen as her favorite room of the house which is mine too! Ever since I was old enough to read I have had a fascination with recipes and cooking.  When I was young the kitchen was where my family always gathered for meals, but also to catch up with each other, celebrate or play board games.  Whether it was grams cooking Sunday dinner or my dad preparing Thanksgiving dinner, the kitchen is a place that holds a lot of GREAT memories for me.

The kitchen above is one of the designs in my head that I love to dream about having someday.  The kitchen no matter the house we’re in is where I brainstorm for new recipes, read cookbooks cover to cover and tag the pages I want to try, plan most of my blog posts and enjoy myself the most!  I’m a strange woman – I actually like to do dishes and clean!  So the kitchen is really my favorite room!  I LOVE all the aromas of simmering sauces or baking breads and sweets.  Each one gives me a sense of accomplishment or brings back a tender memory of a family recipe.

I really LOVE the antique recipes I have come across over the years and recreating them to the best of my ability or seeing one of the recipes written by my grams and the memories of making it again brings.  But, I also love technology, new gadgets and bringing those same recipes into the 21st century.

HAPPY 4th of JULY and little trivia to celebrate it

Independence Day or the 4th of July as we call it has only been a federal holiday since 1941, but of course the tradition dates back to 1776 when the Continental Congress voted on July 2nd in favor of Independence. Two days later delegates from all thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and celebrated their independence and the birth of a nation on July 4th.

The celebrations major focus is traditionally on  leisure activities, parades, concerts, backyard barbecues, games, bonfires and family gatherings culminating in fireworks later at night.

When the Revolutionary War broke out back in 1775, a few colonists wanted complete independence from Great Britain. These colonists were considered to be the radicals of their time.  However, more and more colonists came to believe in favor of independence. Many because of Thomas Paine’s famous writing “Common Sense” which he published in early 1776.

In June 1776, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion that called for the colonies’ independence. A heated debate followed and Congress postponed the vote to his resolution. At that time they appointed a committee of five men, Thomas Jefferson from Virginia, John Adams from Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman from Connecticut and Robert R. Livingston from New York to draft a formal statement justifying the break from Great Britain.

On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Independence in a nearly unanimous vote. New York abstained, but later voted yes.

John Adams wrote to his wife that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” He believed that the American Independence celebration should occur on July 2nd since that was the day of the vote to secure it and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest.

Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 4th of July, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Before the Revolutionary war, colonists would hold celebrations in honor of the king’s birthday. These celebrations included the ringing of bells, bonfires, parades and speeches. After the adoption of the Declaration of Independence these same colonists celebrated the birth of their independence by holding mock funerals for King George III as a symbol of the end of the British hold on America and a triumph to their new found liberty.

Philadelphia held the first annual commemoration of independence on July 4, 1777. Festivities including concerts, bonfires, parades and the firing of cannons and muskets accompanied the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence.  The war was still going on and George Washington issued double rations of rum to all his soldiers to mark the anniversary of independence in 1778, and in 1781, several months before the key American victory at Yorktown, Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4th an official state holiday.

After the Revolutionary War and to this day, Americans continued to commemorate Independence Day each and every year, in celebrations that allow the new nation’s emerging political leaders to address citizens and create a feeling of unity. The tradition of patriotic celebration became even more widespread after the War of 1812.

In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday. Over the years, the political importance of the holiday has declined somewhat, but Independence Day remains an important national holiday and a symbol of our patriotism.

By the late 1700’s, the two major political parties—Federalists and Democratic-Republicans—that had arisen began holding separate Fourth of July celebrations in many large cities.

The most common symbol of the holiday is still the American flag, and a common musical accompaniment is “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem of the United States.

And did you know New York City has the biggest fireworks display in the United States and that three U.S. presidents died on July 4? John Adams, Thomas Jefferson in 1826 and James Monroe 5 years later in 1831.