I've Waited 8 Months for This Day....

Since becoming a momma, I'm trying to also be more "domestic." Actually, if you've noticed, for the last year or so, I've been more motivated to cook. I'm calling it "nesting." You call it whatever you want. :) But Honky Tonk Hubby, is enjoying it. I've been cooking and baking so much lately!

Months ago, I found Made It. Ate It. Loved It. And I LOVE it! One of the recipes I really wanted to try, was this bread. But I was pregnant, and didn't want to eat. Was sicker than I'd like to remember. But I printed it out. And knew, in a few short months, it would be cool enough to bake again. You know, not triple digits!

8 months later, I'm baking bread! I know!! I shocked myself. :) But this recipe seemed easy enough! I just had to try it. And my house, smells AMAZING right now!! Mouth watering, OMG-ing, I can't wait until the bread is baked....GOODNESS!!

I'm telling you, if I can do it, so can you! It's not that bad. And what is better than fresh bread and butter? When it's cool outside. And there's stew making in the crock pot. I can't wait for dinner! If you don't hear from me in days, I'm in a bread coma! ~Chels

Something for Momma

On Saturday afternoon, baby girl was fast asleep. Dinner was in the oven. Hubs was working on something outside. And I was enjoying the quiet time. There's not much of that around here. So you really enjoy those few precious moments.

And I thought, why not make something. I took a look in that folder. I tell you, my hubby just laughs at this folder on my laptop. Full of all sorts of projects. And I saw this bracelet. Perfect I thought! It's definitely turning to Fall around here. Not necessarily jacket weather. But we don't have to have the AC on, 24/7!! That's ALWAYS something to be happy about. :)

With Fall in the air, I want to start bringing out my boots, scarves, and stuff like that. To me, this bracelet falls into that category. Way back when I was still pregnant. Like in the Spring, I went on a bit of a craft supplies, shopping spree. Buying lots and lots of supplies. For all these projects I was going to work. Not everything got done. This is one of those projects....

I managed to make 3. But not before hubs came inside. And saw me twisting wire around a jar. To which, he asked if I was making Slinkys now. Funny man!! But before you wrap the bracelets, they do sorta look like a Slinky. Just more stable.

Honestly, this was a nice project to work on. Not too hard. A little mindless wrapping of supplies. And now, I have a fun bracelet. That I won't mind, if it gets dirty. Or baby spit all over. :)Now I'm thinking about those things. What would be OK, to wear, with my sweet baby girl. Oh, she just rocks my world! ~Chels

Topsy Gardening Pots

Do you remember when I blogged about some gardening ideas? There was 1 project on there, that I really wanted to make. Those topsy looking pots. I REALLY wanted to make them! That post was written back in February. It's now August!!

I'm the size of the moon! Weeks away from meeting our baby girl. And those pots are still on my mind! I'd been telling my mom-in-law about them. And when my in-laws came into town for our Baby Shower, they bought us all the supplies. And showed us this tutorial. :)

Well, for the last few weeks, everything has been sitting in our garage. We had meant, to get busy a few weekends ago. Actually, right after my in-laws bought the supplies, our mommas got busy painting. We have 20+ pots that are painted and ready! They had offered to make us these little guys, while they were here. But we wanted to spend time together. Enjoying the fact, that our family was here.

Here we are. Weeks away from meeting our daughter. In the crazy August heat! I'm the size of the moon. And all of a sudden, I need to finish 100 projects!! Crazy....even I know this! But I went shopping today. With a friend. And picked up a bunch of flowers, and some herbs. I figured now that we've made a little financial investment in the project, there is no putting it off!

My hubs agreed. Tomorrow, we're working on these cuties. As soon as we get home from the Farmers' Markey. I know! But this momma is in desperate need of fresh bread, produce, and plenty of Kettle Korn! Maybe even a fresh lemonade. :) ~Chels

Inspired

I think I've said it more than once, I'm not crafty. But I try. I'm always inspired by people's ideas. Especially when I sit and go through Pinterest, for hours and hours. That site is just so darn addicting!! So is Lola's blog! Either she's making something, or blogging about something she wants to make. That's where I seen this picture....

And now, I feel like our door NEEDS a wreath just like this! So much so, I wobbled to Hobby Lobby. Picked up some fun polka dot material. And some felt. And lace. Oh, and the wreath form. Now I'm going to sit under the AC, and try to make some crafty miracles happen. If all goes well, we should have a wreath. Hopefully by tomorrow! ~Chels

Making Some Crafty Memories :)

I have a secret to tell you. And you can't tell anyone! But my hubs and I, did a little crafting last night. It was such a HOT night. And I was looking through this folder of projects, that I want to get done, before our daughter is here. Let me tell you, it's HUGE!! With just over a month, I'm not sure everything is going to get done.

But we're not going to focus on that! What we're going to talk about is this. I was looking for something to work on. It's been so HOT outside. But we decided to turn on the sprinklers. Water the grass, and just enjoy the evening. Outside. As much as we could.

Well, hubs shocked me!! He brought out this bag of mine. It's been sitting in the garage for almost a month! With the supplies to make these bracelets. Yes, I said a month!! But you see, I wanted to ask my doctor, if I could use spray paint while pregnant. She told me, that she'd prefer me not to. But that I could work with these pens, outside. ONLY outside!!

That wasn't very good news for me. There are a few projects that I want to work on. But I need to use spray paint. So I've just been putting them off. I don't want to bother my hubs with painting bracelets, flower pots, letters, that weird looking bookshelf, etc. To my surprise, he actually wants to do all these things. Without me asking him!!

My hubs went to the side of the house, and painted a bunch of bracelets for me. A BUNCH!! I might have gone overboard buying them. But I found them on sale....for 25 cents a piece!! :) When they were dry, he brought them to me. Where our dogs and I, were enjoying the relaxing evening. They were eating some treats. I was having some fruit, and reading a magazine.

Hubs and I, spent the next 2 hours, writing on my bracelets. Well, I wrote on them. My hubs drew some fun pictures. When we went inside, hubs stayed in the garage for a few more minutes. Sealing the bracelets. I don't know the name of the stuff he used. But it's clear.

That's what my hubs and I did last night! And it was such a nice evening. Whenever I look at my precious bracelets, I'll remember this night. The wonderful memories that we made. And just how precious my husband is. Because who else can say, they spent the night making bracelets with their husband? And really enjoying it. I have to be the luckiest woman on earth. Because he LOVES me, with all HIS HEART!! Luv you too Suga' Boots!! ~Chels

Taco Tuesdays in a Crock Pot!!

I can't lie. Around here, "Taco Tuesdays" are a MUST!! I tell you, don't mess with our Tuesdays. When my hubby and I first met, we were poor college kids. Man, money was so incredibly tight! Most of the time, we'd hangout at the 4H house. Because everyone would just bring a few things, and we'd cook up a meal.

But on Tuesdays, it was "Taco Tuesday." We'd sometimes splurge, and go to our favorite Mexican restaurant. But most of the time, we'd go to Taco Bell. Get us a few cheapo tacos, and sit and talk. Some days, we'd head to the local park. Other times, we'd head to one of our houses, and catch up on our favorite shows. And when one of us was pulling an "All Nighter" at the library, the other would bring dinner. :)

When we got married and moved in together, not much changed. Other than, it's been a heck of a long time, since we went to Taco Bell! Now hubby has a better job. But we're still a 1 income family. Cooking is not just something I should do....it's almost necessity. To cut down on costs. And I'm totally cool with that. It's my way, to provide for my hubby. Since he works so darn hard!

I've been pretty good. We still eat our tacos every Tuesday. It's that one thing, that makes both my hubs and I, very happy!! Almost 90% of the time, we have ground beef tacos. I'm just not too skilled in cooking. Once in a while, we'll have leftover roast. I'll shred it, and cook it up with onions, peppers, and jalapenos. And if I'm being really lazy, I'll pick up a rotisserie chicken. I shred it up. And those tacos, usually get more "fancy" toppings than the rest. :)

But I feel like I'm in a rut! I want to keep our "Taco Tuesdays" going. But I wanted something a little different. And honestly, I haven't been wanting to cook much. I know I say this a lot, but it is so HOT here!! Living in the desert, sorta sucks the life out of you at times.

Well, you know what? Good friends are awesome! And not long ago, Rach blogged about this blog. She was working on a craft, for her boys. And had tried out some recipes. I thought, that this recipe sounded good. And super easy! Heck, Rach has 3 kids. Under 3!! And Mike is away, fighting that fire. If she can make these, so can I!

Life changing folks! So good!! I almost NEVER use my crock pot. I just don't know what to cook in there. And it takes up so much space. That it spends 98% of the time, tucked away under our kitchen sink. I know. Weird huh? But my hubs refuses to put cleaning supplies under there. Like most people. We've never had anything under there, except all the appliances, that we rarely use.

Thanks Rach! For sharing this blog with me. And helping me find this recipe. Something tells me, these are going to be regulars in our meals. They're easy, cheap, and so tasty! Heck ya! Things that we have on hand, all the time, chicken breasts and salsa. This is what we ate on Tuesday night. With fresh corn tortillas.You have to LOVE the local Mexican bakeries. :) Try this out! You won't regret it. Plus, clean up was super easy!! That's always a bonus in my book. ~Chels

Berry Fun

I don't know if I ever shared this on my blog. But the first summer that we lived here, we planted a bunch of berry bushes. Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc. Yum! And every year, we've crossed our fingers. That the snow doesn't kill them. And neither does the heat. But we don't get fruit. Lots of pretty green leaves. But no fruit!! I'm starting to wonder about those little guys! We planted them, because we LOVE fruit that much. But we're still waiting on our first harvest....

But like I said, we LOVE fruit. Especially berries! And I've been dreaming of eating bowls and bowls, of fresh berries. One day. Fingers crossed. Instead, we took a drive yesterday. To the "local berry patch." By local, I mean 2 and a half hours away!!

But you know what? It was totally worth it!! Baskets, buckets, and what not later....I was one happy lady!! I had so many berries. And I've happily sat here, taking in as many as I can. Isn't that part of the Summer fun? Fresh and yummy berries. Maybe next year, our little plants will give us some berries.... ~Chels

Fruit Fun!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! We had so much fun! We had a bunch of friends over. And then, late in the evening, we headed over to J's house. For a little swimming and fireworks. :)

J had told a bunch of friends, that he was going to have fireworks. So we all planned on it. And I wanted to make some yummy treats. It was totally last minute. Since hubby came home Tuesday, with the news. :) But I knew, there just had to be something out there, that I could make.

Oh yes! Made It. Ate. Loved It. didn't disappoint! I'd seen these fruit pizzas a while back. And really wanted to make them. They look and sound so delicious!!

I was on a bit of a time crunch. Not going to lie! So skipped making the cookies. I actually used the mix in a pouch. You just add water. :) But I made all the rest. And these sweet treats were so good! I need to make them again. And soon! But this time, I'm going to follow this recipe. All of it! Who knows, I might just gain 10 lbs this week!! ~Chels

Can't Wait!!

My hubs and I decided to have some friends over. For the 4th of July. Which means I need to figure out something to cook. Oh my! I've been hunting down some good recipes. I thought maybe some kabobs would be good. But when I started thinking about that, it's a lot of cutting! My expanding pregnant belly and I, figured we'd like a much simpler route. Maybe for baby girl's 1st birthday...we'll do kabobs. :)

I kept hunting. And hunting. Hubs wanted to do burgers and hotdogs. But I wanted something much easier. I didn't want for my hubs, to have to be at the grill all day! Who wants to cook that much, when you have company over? Not me! That's when I found this recipe!!

Yes, it all sounds AMAZING!! The oven does most of the work. Oh, and I did buy the bagged coleslaw mix. 3 bags! Our fridge is now full of pretty ribs....waiting to be cooked. :) Pretty much, I just need to make the dressing for the coleslaw...and the sauce for the ribs.

Easy peasy. No? We also bought lots of fruit! Some hotdogs for the kids. And a few friends are bringing a salad or dessert. Man, I'm getting excited for Wednesday! Who's with me? Oh, and you have to check out this cooking blog. AMAZING recipes my friends!! ~Chels

New Favorite Meal

It's been H-O-T!! I've been getting fatter. I know I'm pregnant. But what never crossed my mind was, that I'd be this pregnant, during the HOTTEST time of year! Oh. My. GOODNESS!! I'd tell you to come and murder me. But really, that wouldn't solve much....

With all this heat, and expanding belly, I'm not doing much. Can't lie! From about 2pm on, I just want to lay down, turn up the AC, and nap!! I have absolutely no appetite whatsoever!! But I'm forcing myself to eat. For the sake of my daughter.

When I do eat, or cook, I want it to be easy. Simple. Light. Nothing complex. Nothing that is going to keep me in the kitchen all day. Or that is going to have me doing dishes all night. That's why I'm so happy, that Ashley posted this recipe!!

I've essentially taken the idea, and made similar pasta dishes, 2 or 3 times a week. All month long! We're talking, any veggies I can find in the fridge, are quickly sauteed. Then angel hair pasta is added. Then we eat. Some nights, I sprinkle some cheese on top. Other nights, hubs will grill up some chicken to go with our pasta. He eats it, I don't. One night, he even made us some fish. That was yummy!

I can say this much, I'm having a hard time with protein at the moment. Mornings all together are still tough. Food wise. But I can manage some eggs, and light protein. After that, it's a struggle for me to eat protein. I know it's important. But I just can't deal. So I try to eat peanut butter or beans for lunch. But this idea, is really good. Lots of veggies=lots of good vitamins!! ~Chels