flashback friday

Vintage. I have a love for vintage items. Almost everything I see, I like. True story.  Here are some lovlies I found in this site.  So pretty ...

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Enjoy your weekend my Peeps.  Make it fun and keep it safe.

Most importantly, remember why we have Monday off.

Tootles.

What's on your plate? Wednesday {on Thursday}

I know. I know. Slacker, right?  Well I am not one to make excuses but I do have a good one ... I have been super duper busy. You know? Making a living and such. :o)

Here is your weekly dose of yummas! And hey! we are at Y already... weeeee!

Daughter loves LOVES loves yams so in honor of our little bumpkiss ... here ya go:

YAM CASSEROLE [good-ness ahead]

All you'll need:
4 pounds yams
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 ounces pecan halves
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

All you'll do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Poke yams in several places with a fork, then cook them on high power in microwave oven until heated through and soft, about 20 minutes. When cooled, remove skins and place the yams in a large bowl. -> I cook in short 4 minute intervals. My microwave cooks the yams quickly.  You be the judge. You know your microwave. ;o)

Beat yams until smooth. Then beat in one egg at a time, blending after each addition. Stir in 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/8 cup melted butter, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg; beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Transfer mixture to an ungreased 3 quart casserole dish. Arrange the pecans in a single layer on top. Sprinkle with remaining brown sugar and drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter over the top.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until browned and bubbly.

So easy right? And so tastey. Try it.

[Prep Time: 30 Min] [Cook Time: 25 Min] [Ready In: 1 Hr 55 Min]

Per serving approx. 8: [Calories: 491] [Total Fat: 25.5g] [Cholesterol: 76mg]

DIY :: Recipe Board

... correction, the cutest recipe board ever, in my opinion ... 

Last weekend we had no softball. Yes you read that correctly, no softball.  We got lots done around the house, like we always do when there is a free weekend.  Yeeee!

I also thought this would be the perfect weekend to get crafty.  Remember back to January 3rd when I listed some goals for 2011? One of them was making more time for crafts.  I love crafting but have had other priorities lately which meant there was no time for it.  Know what this means?  Yup, I've got lots of ideas and lots of supplies just sitting around screaming my name. [insert dream of owning a sewing machine here] 

Well, on Saturday, I answered.  I have been wanting to make a decorative recipe stand for our kitchen for a while now so I did it!

The supplies I used were: hot glue gun, 8x10 picture frame, wine corks, polka-dotted ribbon and plastic grapes & a leaf.  

I started by laying out my pattern like so ...

Easy breezy, right? Right!

Once the pattern was layed out I hot glued all of the corks in place.

Ya, still simple. (I love this craft!)

After all of the corks were glued down I added the decor I picked

which goes with our kitchen theme.

I love the sparkely polka-dotted ribbon. 

I used ribbon so I could place the recipe through it instead of using a tack.

And ta-da!  The finished product just waiting for a recipe to be added.

Not only do I love the way this came out but I really love that it only took an hour to do from start to finish. Including getting the supplies together.

What do you think?  Want one?

     

 

Jeter's Feature {Episode 3}

Hi y'all.  It's been a while since poor little Jeter has had an update so here we go ...

This little rascal has been growing so fast and getting in to so much. HA!  I keep saying having a puppy is like having a toddler.  We don't rest until he is sleeping.  Seriously.  He is cute when he sleeps and he is big enough to make a nice pillow pup.

 
Jeter turned 4 months old last week and had his final shots. Yep, time is flying.  Attn :: Potty Training People. Please let this kick in - STAT. Thanks!  He is doing much better but it's just not done yet. :o/

He has been to many, many softball games recently and played with all of the little siblings while he was there.  Jeter gets LOTS of attention from everyone. 

Jeter was smuggled into his first hotel for an away tournament we had. Don't tell, k? 

Jeter and Daughter are little buddies. She loves that little guy just like he is her real life brother.  He can now jump on her bed! Can you believe it?  I can. He is like a puppy po-go stick!

Most recently we were out of town for softball {again} but couldn't bring the puppy.  The facility didn't allow animals.  So he had to go to a puppy hotel for the first time.  We were nervous but he was fine.  The little guy even met two new friends while he was there.  Jeter had such a good time during his stay that he slept for a while when we got him home.

 
Ahh ... such a lovie.

More to come.  Enjoy the weekend!

What's on your plate? Yumma ...

Xavier Steak ... mmm ... Yep, my mouth is watering so lets get on with it ::


All you'll Need:
2 (10 ounce) steaks, at least 1-inch thick
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
6 asparagus spears, ends trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 slices Swiss cheese -> I'll use pepperjack. Not a big swiss fan.

All you'll do:
Season the steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Place into a glass dish, and drizzle with Worcestershire sauce. Turn the steaks, cover, and refrigerate 15 minutes. Turn the steaks again, and marinate 15 minutes longer.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.

Place the steaks on the preheated grill, close lid, and cook for 7 minutes. Toss the asparagus spears with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the asparagus onto the grill, turn steaks over, and close lid. Cook until the steaks until they reach your desired pinkness, and the asparagus is tender. Turn the asparagus halfway through. Top each steak with 3 asparagus spears and swiss (or pepperjack) cheese. Continue cooking until the cheese has melted. Remove from the grill, and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Doesn't this sound delicious?!  Let's get q-in!

Life {as a} Mountain

When I think of a way to describe life experiences I always think of a mountain.  I see the mountain with little people on it that resemble my family.  For me, it's easy this way.  What do you do?

In the past 10 years our journey on our mountain has gone a little something like this ...

We had always hovered about 3/4 up the mountain.

(I have a little mountain)

Then we made a change in Hubber's job which took us really close to

the top of the mountain.  This is where we stayed for about 7 years.

Then, it happened, the economy dropped and so did business.

This rolled us down to about 1/4 way up the mountain.  Another big 

decision happened which brought us to about 1/2 way up the mountain.

(see what hard work can do)

Then out of nowhere the worst news hit us and threw us

to the bottom of the mountain emotionally.  We found ourselves fighting to get back

to that 3/4 mark (the 1/2 way mark at least) with all of our might.

It hasn't been easy but on the way we have found who our

true friends are, and family for that matter.

I cherish our loved ones wholeheartedly and they know it.

As hard as our journey on our mountain has been I can honestly say (and I

speak for Hubber too) that there are no regrets.

We are smarter and happier then we have been and it's all because

of the experiences we have had & the people we have

encountered in our young lives.

Everything happens for a reason.

Sometimes life has to come full circle in order to really appreciate
who you've become and what you've got.

I am strong minded - to some this can be frustrating I'm sure. I just

don't put up with the crap anymore.  I don't have the time or the patience for it.

I am still the nicey-nice woman I have always been and that won't change.

I love being the positive influence and the one people come to

for advice or to vent.  I like to listen. 

What I don't like is when those people don't take anything

from what I have said and they keep sulking in their own pitty.

That's what I mean by 'crap'.

Life is too short to worry about what others think about you and your mountain.

I have learned that if you walk into a room glowing and confident then

that is how others will see you.  Any decent person anyway.

The people who continue to judge  and pick on others just aren't worth

the time of day really so you definitely shouldn't worry about what they think.

One of my favorite pieces of advice I give is this ::

"If it takes more energy to keep the relationship going

then it does to enjoy then it's just not worth it."

I believe this 100%.

Welp, I've got to get back to working on our mountain! :o)

    

 

What's on your plate? {a Ma & Pa joint}

(Hmmm ... intersting, my blogger features are missing. Oh well, I'll work with it.)

Anyhoo ... I am skipping [X] today to bring to you one of THE best pizza places in town. It's a little hole in the wall snuggled in a residential area on 35th Avenue and S. Land Park Drive. Seriously, Hubber wanted to turn around because he thought we were going the wrong direction. Luckily we saw the shopping center as we rounded a corner and voila! There sat Brick Oven Pizza.

The pizza was the best I have had to date. They added a generous amount of toppings that were spread evenly and the pizza was cooked perfectly. Daughter even took leftovers for lunch today.

It's such a small place. I was reading an old newspaper article while we were waiting for our dinner, which talked about how the owners decided to expland the dining area. It's intersting to see how small that little place was before then - all counter and kitchen with room for maybe 3 small tables.

They have all of the pizza toppings you can imagine, even scrambled eggs. No, we did not get any eggs. They also have sandwiches so if pizza is not what your craving you'll still be able to get something mouth watering.

Check them out if you can. You won't regret it.