No Bake Energy Bites

I found this recipe on pinterest a few weeks ago and finally tried them.

They contain ground flax which seemed entirely to healthy to be good.

The chocolate chips and coconut and peanut butter made them yum.

My picture may or may not look kind of gross but if you click the link her pictures are much more appetizing!

Burlap Frame Fix-up

Started with a yellowed matte. 

It originally had this picture in it. It was from my first house over a decade ago.  It's weird to me that I was old enough to own a house 11 years ago. College still seems like it was 5 years ago, but no actually it was 12. Weird. Getting older is beginning to be a bummer.

Anyway back to the project...this is that Pates Baroni pic I remember fondly:

Cut burlap to size:

Stuck Burlap to front of matte with spray adhesive:

Cut and taped, all fancy like on back of matte 

 Added page from old atlas of Kalamazoo, MI (my old home):

I'm thinking I'm spelling Matte wrong...

Decade old picture made new for free.

Well not really free because I did buy the stuff initially but you know what I mean.

I was initially going to use the map as the matte but the sizing was all wrong. I like the way it turned out.

And the Map contains my first three towns (as an adult). Kalamazoo, Portage and Plainwell which is pretty neat.

Breakfast Crescent Casserole

 My mom makes a breakfast egg casserole that is awesome.

We have it every year on Christmas morning.

This isn't it.

It was still yum though.

because everyone wants to see pictures of raw egg.

Someone desperately needs a photography class. 

Ingredients:

1 tube crescent rolls

6 eggs 

Hot Breakfast Sausage (if you are a spicy food lover like me otherwise regular sausage would work)

1/2 cup half and half (I can't believe I actually had some)

1&1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I used a combo of mozzarella and cheddar)

dry mustard 

To Make:

preheat oven to 350 F

unroll crescent rolls in bottom of 9x13 pan (sprayed with pam)

Squeeze crescent roll seams together to get rid of holes (not sure it really mattered)

Brown breakfast sausage, drain and sprinkle evenly on top of crescent rolls.

Beat egg and half&half in a medium bowl

Add a sprinkle of dry mustard to egg mixture 

Pour egg mixture over the sausage

Layer cheese on top

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Dump Cholula hot sauce on your portion and eat up. 

If you don't like Cholula I'm sad for you, but it's still good without.

$1.99 at goodwill to dress up my open shelves = fabulous.

So lately I've been hitting up my local goodwill about once weekly.

I drop off the rugrat at preschool on monday and head on over.

Goodwill is one of those places that I always love in theory but then I get there and feel like a snob.

It grosses me out.

Or I should say it used to gross me out, but I've visited about 4 or 6 weeks in a row and found a treasure every time.

So I guess I'm not a snob after all... but I do want to wash my hands in bleach after I leave... so now I'm confused.

 This weeks treasure (well actually 2 weeks ago but I just got the pics of my camera today)

 Doesn't it make my corelle bowls look super fancy?

Yes it freaking does.

So anyway it was $1.99 and that same day I also found a "Frank Lloyd Wright" style mug (it says so right on the bottom) for $0.59. It's pretty.

I like Franks Lloyd Wright's design but I watched a show somewhere that said he was a jack ass of a father and husband. That detracts from my warm fuzzy feelings for him and his architecture.

Anyway Have a Great Day!

Living in (near) Memphis

We've been in Tennessee for 4 months now.

Our house and our area are starting to feel like home.

I'm still surprised that on a weekly basis when someone finds out that I've moved here from Michigan, Their first question is always, "Why would you move to Memphis?" which always is said in a way that really sounds like they are saying, "Why are you so incredibly stupid?"

One of the first times it happened was when we were touring potential preschools for Sydney. The first words out of the potential teacher's mouth were "I'm so sorry you had to move to this place."...What?... Then she went on to say something like "We aren't all horrible here."

When asked about my decision to come to the Memphis area I always answer with "this winter weather is beautiful" in effort to get them to acknowledge some redeeming quality, but on the last time I was asked (at the Drivers License place on Monday) I got pissed.

Quit trying to lead me people.

Your town is what you make of it.

Just because you choose to see only the bad doesn't mean you should try to pull others into your pit so we can all wallow together. I won't wallow.

I will never, even in my darkest moments, question why someone would come here.

This suburb of mine is a beautiful place. I love it.

Oh and the Memphis zoo can't be beat. It's the best.

I have a membership.

Shelby Farms Park is badass.

People have been very hospitable.

I have great neighbors.

The mailman always talks to me when I'm out walking.

The city workers wave when they drive by.

I really could go on and on.

I'll leave this post with a picture of dismantling parts of the kitchen.

So much to do to make this house mine!

Crusty Drawer Bottoms

Someone who lived here once upon a time lovingly lined all the drawers with that gripper drawer liner.

Then someone (same someone or different someone) removed it several years later and installed ugly wallpaper.

Then someone removed most of that.

Except the one drawer which I took a picture of. BTW the wallpaper in that drawer is the same wallpaper that's in my daughters bathroom....yup.

So these drawers were gross.

Sticky adhesive left behind and crumbs stuck to the sticky adhesive.....

 I really tried to clean off that raised adhesive but after several minutes on one drawer with little success I gave up. I just wash them out. Then I pondered and pondered and realized I had a roll of laminated cloth in my craft room.  

So I measured and cut and measured and cut and on like that for 10 drawers and here's a sample of the finished product:

That's better.

Kitchen in the New House

So the kitchen in this new place of mine doesn't quite meet my standards. 

The Cabinets are Thermafoil, which means they are MDF Shrink wrapped in plastic.

Probably looked OK when they were first installed. I use the term OK loosely. Now they are a peeling mess. All of the lower cabinets and drawers are peeling like crazy.

Here is a close up now:

Peeling Laminate Cabinets (Thermafoil)

Someone did a little tape job on the one on the left.

I noticed they were in rough shape on our  second walk through before we put in an offer.

I didn't care at the time.

And then I cared... A LOT.

First idea was to replace the doors. 

I started searching online and saw where that plastic coating can be peeled off these babies and after a nice paint job they look hugely better.

I like not buying new doors.

I started with the island because I wasn't ready to start the WHOLE kitchen right now.

The island can look different than the rest of the cabinets cuz well... it's cool to have your island look different...right?

So  I peeled: 

 It was actually really easy.

I sanded and primed and painted.

My husband and I added some trim to the island to make it look more.....fancy.

Paint color is Sherwin Williams: Tricorn Black

Hardware is from Target

Don't mind the dirty countertop. I never fully prepare for pictures!

So there you have it. Makes me happy to be giving this place some TLC.

It's had 4 owners (5 counting us) in 11 years and has just gotten beat up in that time. 

No new paint or fixtures or anything in that time because people have gone in and out of here through the (invisible) revolving door.

Now we may not be here for a long time either but it will be in better condition when we leave than when we arrived. Houses deserve to be loved...and all that  mushy stuff.

Exterior Shot of the New Abode

So this is the house we intend to purchase in Tennessee.

Mark is down there at the home inspection right now.

Hopefully it goes well.

We decided to down size a little. 

This baby meets all our needs but is 700 square feet smaller and 90,000 dollars cheaper than our current MI house. That's more money to spend on Vacations and Purses.

Our MI house is 3600 Finished square feet which, for us, is way too big. We never step foot into 1000 sq ft of it. Why own it and pay for it if you don't use it, right?

Speaking of the Michigan house, we got any offer on it approximately 12 hours after listing it.

I'm so pleased and shocked that I have nothing else to say about that.

I'm Patting Myself on the Back Today.

This weekend I decided I would dust off the ol' sewing machine.

I haven't sewed anything in 4 years.

It was time.

I went through all my fabric...there is not a lot to go through.

And found this Zinnia Fabric: 

and I also found this Pillow case from an old queen sheet set: 

 Then I went searching for a pillow in need of a makeover.

I found a 26" x 16" pillow.

I had a pillow cover for it once but I can't find that cover anymore and I didn't like it anymore anyway.

So my plan was to use the Zinnia fabric on the front and use the polka dot fabric on the back.

If you are wondering why my headboard has a doorknob see here.

 So because I can't sew well (yet) I decided to use the finished end of the pillow slip as a sleeve like thing so the pillow can be slid in and out.

Maybe you can see it here in this picture...I hope:

 So I cut the two fabrics into 28" x 18" rectangles.

I had one hell of a time figuring out how to cut my fabric straight. It kept going up a hill. so I got online and found some you tube videos that helped a lot.

Pinned and Sewed around the edges.

I was incredibly happy to get this done and have it be a success.

My back hurt when I was done...is that normal?
Also I'm sure my husband is so happy to have one more pillow on the bed!

At Least There is a Bed...and it's Made

When I started the Spare Bedroom back in April I had grandiose ideas of how beautiful it could be!

Then I found out we were mostly likely going to move.....  

Any effort I had toward making a pretty room went away.

First: Why waste the time when I'm just going to leave it?

Second: How do I even attempt it when my brain cells are in freak out mode over leaving Michigan and moving to the "Mid-south"?
Third: Do I really want to buy more stuff that I will just have to move?

This is the best I could Muster : 

yep, it's a bed and a nightstand. 

My Shutters Propped in the corner...

It actually looks pretty good to me.

24 hours ago all the bedding was in a big pile on the bed and suit cases and random crap was all over the floor.

If They Weren't $75 I'd so be Buying These Right Now

CONVERSE CHUCK TAYLOR® ALL STAR® MARIMEKKO

MOVING TO MEMPHIS!!! Unemployed & Better House-wifery

My last day of work was July 15th.

YIKES.

I had put in 1 and 1/2 months notice at my Pharmacist GIG

because we are relocating to Memphis. My husband dropped in an application for a position and got offered a job there (he will still be working for the good ole government.) We've wanted to move South for a while but never had the guts to do it. So we said "hell yeah, let's do this!" or something along those lines.

It's taking longer than we thought....

I thought we'd be moving this week.

Still going to happen but make take 1- 1 1/2 monthes longer than anticipated.

Anyway that is why I haven't been posting for a while.

The stress was kicking my butt!

Now I've fully embraced this house wife thing (until we move and I'm forced to join the Pharmacy work force again.)

Anyway I'm trying to be a better stay at home mom (I type this as I have my 3 year old positioned in front of the TV.... )

It is like 100 degrees outside after all.

see she does play outside sometimes

I have never been organized enough to make my family a good dinner more than two days in a row.

We are the most eating out people I know!!

Well that is all going to change!!

oh and I'm infatuated with the grill now too. 

I want to grill everything! It's like I'm a man or something.

I have also noticed other bloggers and friends set up a weekly Dinner menu and I think I'm going to try that too.

Also since I'm unemployed it would probably be a good idea to eat out less so this menu plan might help reduce the urge to go out...

Plan for today and tomorrow:

TODAY: Chicken (cooked in the crock pot all day) shredded and in soft tacos with Black Beans and Avocado, Salsa and Cilantro.

TOMORROW: Turkey Burgers and Strawberry Orange Pasta Salad

My Meal Plan for this up coming week:

MONDAY: Grilled Hot dogs, Salad, Macaroni & Cheese

TUESDAY: Taco Squares, Corn on the Cob, Salad

WEDNESDAY: Grilled Pizza

THURSDAY: Marinated Steak Kabobs and Grilled Squash

FRIDAY: Grilled Veggie Burgers, Baked French Fries, Grilled Peaches

Is that fancy or what?

Remember I'm trying to keep the three year old happy too...

Thursday will require a separate 3 year old menu...

Notice all the grilling?

On a Completely Random Note:

Blueberries rock.

Okay well that whole post was rather random really...

Holy Cow....I need a new diet

Hello my name is Kelly and I'm a foodaholic.
Seriously...
It's maddening really.


 I wish my scale said this when I stepped on it.
oh to be 150 lbs.

I'm pissed at myself and it is time to start a new healthy lifestyle.

Screw you food!

I've put 40 lbs on since last June and it ain't pretty. Ain't pretty at all.
So tomorrow I'll weigh-in (for my eyes only) and start this thing. I can do it!!!
Now you can note that my last post was about food...

Making My Sister's Salsa

My sister has serious salsa skills.

But when I ask for the recipe she is always like "I don't know I just threw stuff in it"

Dang it Angela.

Anyway, I went on a search online for salsa recipes that contained some of my sister's fabulous ingredients.

One of which is Chickpeas.

I FOUND ONE! YAY!

Mark, Sydney and I went to the farmers market this AM and got:

 4-5 Tomatoes

1/2 Onion

Cilantro Plant (used 3 tbsp minced)

Then off to Meijer for:

1 can black beans

2 cans chickpeas 

(recipe called for 1 can of chickpeas and one can of Kidney Beans but sissy doesn't put Kidney Beans in hers)

1 Big Can Corn

3 Jalapenos 

3 limes (just use the juice)

Ingredients from Home:

1 tablespoon Ground Cumin

2 teaspoonsful salt

1/4 -1/2 teaspoonful pepper

Drain and Rinse the beans and drain the corn.

Chop tomato,onion and jalapenos...of course.

Mix all ingredients together and fridge it up for 1 hour.

I love cilantro. A LOT.

As a matter of fact I love it so much that when one of my regular blog reads mentioned that she hated cilantro I pondered whether I could continue reading her blog or not.

I decided not to be a hater.  :)

Our Home Exterior

Our House: Last June (2010)

Our House: One Hour Ago.

YAY FOR GRASS!!

Tray Hook-up

I got this tray from Target a while ago.

I works great as a little condiment/napkin holder for the middle of the table. 

When dinner is done just move back to the kitchen counter. That way all the straws don't end up in my child's mouth...and then back in the jar.

Got the idea from here.