Is it Friday yet?

Is it Friday yet??? It’s one of those days, where I could shut my eyes and fall asleep. Anywho… Can you believe it; October is almost over! I haven’t even gotten our pumpkins yet. I need to get on it. I should also start Christmas shopping. As you can tell I work best under pressure, and some of my finest work has been produced in the 11th hour. Has anyone started their holiday shopping or started any projects?

So… I am so excited to announce I received my sterling silver in the mail today!!! I can’t wait to get stamping and show all of you some of the new pieces. Wish me luck. (Fingers crossed) Now for the hardest part, a “company name.” If this is anything like naming a baby, my kids may be thing 1 and thing 2. Ha J/k. No, but really. Ideas??

I hope everyone’s week is wrapping up well. I leave you with a delicious, somewhat healthy and easy dinner recipe! It was one of those weeks also- quick and easy!

Buh Bye!

Whole Grain Penne & Mozzarella Pasta bake

Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup Red Onion (chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2-14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 box Whole Grain Penne Pasta
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
• 2/3 c. parmesan

Directions:

Heat oil in pan. Sautee garlic and red onion, cook over medium high heat, 1 min. Add tomatoes and Italian seasoning and simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened, 15 min. Add Salt & Pepper. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Stir in pasta with sauce. Put half of the pasta in an oiled 9×13” dish. Cover with half parmesan and half mozzarella. Top with remaining pasta, then parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.

Dumped...

Happy Monday Everyone! It’s cold and rainy here in Sacramento today; making it hard to concentrate on work. I’d rather be at home in my Snuggie. Did everyone have a nice weekend? J got back from his hunting trip on Friday afternoon; I was excited to see him. I also think he was happy to be home. It was a nice weekend.

On Saturday I drove to Nevada City and met my sister, her family, my Aunt Carol, cousin Timmy, his girlfriend, her kids, and cousins Oscar and Paula at Scott’s Flat Lake Campground. It was a beautiful location with a small fishing lake. They had been camping for a couple days and I decided to stay on Saturday night so I could spend some time with my nieces and nephew and of course everyone else.

I didn’t want to show up empty handed so I decided to make a good ol Peach Dump Cake. Have you ever had a dump cake? OMGoodness! They are delicious and most of all so simple to make. A Dump Cake is an old fashion dessert, and use to be a staple in many households in the years past. It does not require many ingredients, making it inexpensive to make and nor does it require much skill. It’s definitely something you can whip up quick for your next pot luck, family dinner, or luncheon.

Selling points for the Dump Cake
• Only a 9x13 dish to clean and a small bowl for melted butter
• Only takes 5-7 minutes to prepare, if that
• A great way to introduce children to baking
• Yummy goodness


I used canned peaches but you can use just about anything, cherry/apple pie filling, canned fruit or any type of berry etc. What’s great is you can use canned fruit, frozen berries you have in the freezer and of course fresh fruit! It taste great either way! If you try it let me know what you think. Bye Bye!

Ingredients
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix.
• 2 cans of sliced peaches.
• 11/2 sticks of butter.
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drain peaches and place them in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. (Spread peaches out evenly.) Dump the entire box of yellow cake mix over the top of the peaches. Melt butter and pour over the top of the cake mix evenly. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. (may take less or more time depending on your oven) Remove from oven and let cool until it’s safe to serve. Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is optional.

“Ballin” DIY Ornament Ball Wreath

Happy Tuesday Everyone! With my husband away and the weather a bit chilly last night I decided to collect all my left over Christmas ornament balls from last year’s DIY Christmas Wreaths and see if I could make one with the left over’s. I had a few random colors but I came up with the color combination of green, gold, silver and bronze. I think it turned out nice. What do you think?

I made a few of these last year for Christmas gifts and it seemed to be a hit. If you are interested I’ve included step by step directions with pictures included below. Also, here are a few pictures of color combination ideas. These were the Christmas Craft of 2010, what shall I do for 2011 is the questions?? Maybe some wood block signs? Anyone else working on anything? I’m also thinking of maybe doing something different and doing edible Christmas gifts.

Supplies you will need:

• Metal or foam wreath- Michaels (I personally liked the metal frame best)
• Glue Gun/Glue Sticks (have plenty of sticks on hand)
• Assortment of Shatterproof Ornaments- Large, Medium & Mini Size balls (Target and Kmart had a great selection of coordinating colors)
• Hanging wire or Ribbon

Let’s get “Ballin” once you have collected all your supplies, its best to lay them all out in front of you, so if you have a kitchen table or large working surface that would work best. Also, just a tip I usually lay some sort of plastic down so the glitter and glue does not get on the table.

Step 1
Attach your hanging wire or ribbon on the frame and Glue your first row of balls to the middle of the frame.

Step 2
Glue a row of balls on the inside of your frame, gluing them to the first outside row.

Step 3
Start filling in the gaps with the medium size ornaments around the 2 rows of large ornaments.

Step 4- Final Step
Fill in the remaining gaps with the mini ornament balls.

And there you go, a beautiful Christmas Wreath to enjoy during the holidays!

While the Hunter is away... The Gatherer will Decorate!

It's that time of year again where the J man morphs into the mountain man. The beard begins to grow out, the big black boots come out of the closet for oiling, and snipper looking things begin to pile in corners as he prepares for his week long camping/hunting trip. On this trip he goes far into the moutains in hopes to find that deer and frankly to get away from the hustle and bustle of everything else.

So whats a girl to do with this kind of time on her hands? Decorate! I went on a little adventure this afternoon and peeked around the shed for the grey tote labelled Fall. Its October 2nd, its time to get cracking. I dont really do Halloween decorations, but I do love Autumn. Maybe if I had kids, I would do the ghost and goblin thing. Heres a couple pictures of the decorating thus far. Nothing too fancy. I think I might make some garland with the cricuit this week. Have any of you started to decorate? Do you prefer Halloween or Fall decor?

Oh and P.S. Remember the bundt cake? Well that made itself into a ziplock bag and deep into the mountains also. Catch my drift?

OH NO! Baking Season has arrived!

I think it’s time to sign up for another Fitness Boot Camp; Holiday baking has begun in my house. I know, I know it’s only the end of September, and some of you are holding on to the last bit of sunshine you can. But me, well I am ready… bring on the overcast weather, sweats, boots, soups, bake goods and artsy decorations.

My motivation for baking so soon…Seeing all the goodies this past weekend at the Bishop Ranch Pumpkin Patch. (which by the way is beautiful in every sense)

To kick the season off right I went with my Pumpkin Bundt Cake. If I was a food writer I would call it Simple Decadence. It’s very simple to make and requires just a few easy ingredients. The cake is moist on the inside with slightly crispy edges. It’s just perfect and has gotten the seal of approval from the pickiest of eaters, and the J man LOVES it! Now that I have teased you with all these adjectives, I guess I will include the recipe. :) It will be a hit at your next gathering, promise.


Ingredients
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• Powdered sugar, Whipped cream or ice cream (optional)
Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Beat on medium for about 4 minutes. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Now that baking has started, you know what comes next, oh yes, glue gun burns, modge podge fingers, and trails of projects in progress. Yup you guessed it, time to start the holiday crafting… Hey, just think only 2 months til Christmas! I love the Holidays. Do you?

Let's get this Party Started!

Two years ago I had this vision to start a blog after I got married and write about the life changes that had come and document the adventure Jeromy and I had set out on together. Well… It’s September 21, 2011 and I am a little behind. So I will catch you up and get this blog going.

On May 5, 2009 we received keys to our new home we purchased, what a surreal, gratifying, and exciting moment! Short of 2 months later on July 4, 2009 I was walking down the aisle to marry my main man Jeromy. (aka “J”) It was a hot day, somewhere in the mid 90’s, beautiful blue skies and Down Town Sacramento was the back drop. The event went off with out a hitch, well there was one hitch. But you get what I mean… As many Brides would say, the day went by incredibly fast. I so wish I could go back to the same wedding and be a guest, to really see the details, I had put together for the previous 8 months. Anyone else feel that way?? The day was filled with friends, family, drinks, dancing, singing, smiles, tears, and most of all LOVE. I thoroughly enjoyed the wedding planning process, and I could seriously be addicted to getting married, each wedding would be different… Different seasons, different dress, different colors. Maybe I can convince Jeromy we need a winter wedding also. Hmmm.

After getting married, turbo mode kicked in. Every minute was spent working on our new house, (with a little travel in between, I will post that later) although it had been renovated on the inside, it had no backyard and the white walls and lack of character drove me/us crazy. So the next couple years would be Mission Backyard, Painting, and Crown Molding. Now 2 years later it is looking almost complete and we have been enjoying the progress. Trust me I still have a Wish List, but one step at a time.

I would feel horrible if I did not mention… We added an addition to our 2 member family shortly after getting married. Her name is Dotty Bea, she is now 2 years old and she is the smartest, biggest attention hog, sweetest, and almost human like Springer Spaniel you will ever meet. She IS the real Boss around the house. But I don’t think we would have it any other way.

Now that we are up to speed in a nut shell, I hope you will stick around for my post to come. I will share life stories, craft projects, business ideas, and everything in between. If you would like to read more about me, check out the “About Me” section.

I'm really doing it. Now how does it work?

Hi Everyone!

I did it. I finished setting up my blog. If you build it they will come. Wheres my followers at??? ;)