I have a girl crush on Sarah Richardson

Sarah Richardson - one of my favorite designers.

Here are some of the "spaces" she and her team have created.

She has a few shows on HGTV - Sarah's house, Sarah's cottage, Design Inc.

Oh to have her "eye"

more pretty spaces

images from here

gorgeous spaces....ideas for the cabin....

All images from Simply Natural

$5 dinners...

Wow - $5.00 dinners....

Here is one.... I think I am going to try this on Tuesday....sour cream was on a super sale at my grocery store today and I bought two....

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients
1 16 oz container fat free sour cream ($.88)

1 can of green chiles ($.68)

1-2 cups homemade chicken stock (free)

about 1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken ($1.50)

1/2 tsp garlic powder ($.05)

Salt/Pepper, to taste

10 flour tortillas ($1.14)

1-2 cups shredded cheese ($.75-$1.50)

2 cups of frozen corn ($.44) On sale the other week for $.88/bag!

Directions
1. In large skillet, whisk sour cream, green chiles and 1 cup of chicken stock. Add more chicken stock until it comes to the consistency you want for your sauce. Add garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Before adding the cooked and shredded chicken, save 1 cup of the sour cream sauce.
3. Stir chicken into the sauce and let simmer about 10 minutes, allow flavors time to infuse.
4. Spoon sour cream chicken sauce into tortillas. Roll and place “seam down” into a baking dish. 10 enchiladas fit comfortably in a 9×13 dish.
5. Take the sour cream sauce that you removed and spread it over the tortillas.
6. Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake about 15-20 minutes at 350.
7. Cook corn as directed on package instructions.
8. Serve Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas with Corn.
Cost $5.44 Plus enough for lunch tomorrow

Missing girl

15 Random Complaints / Observations

1. Why is it the second a floor is swept the dog shakes his fur all over the clean floor.
2. Why is it the second a floor is mopped either Hubs or one of three boys will walk on it with shoes on?
3. Why is it that I can never get the laundry finished? There is always more and more to do?
4. Why is it that I picked today to clean the house while hubs is out for a motorcycle ride and just found out that tomorrow it is supposed to rain? Should have cleaned the house tomorrow??
5. Why is it that I cant keep my room clean?
6. Why is it that I expect my kids to keep their rooms clean? See item #5???
7. Why is it that when I "go on a diet" or start watching what I eat I gain weight?
8. Why is it that I check Facebook far too often when should be doing something else?
9. Why is it that no one really updates their blogs on the weekend? Sometimes I want a diversion from doing my chores.
10. Why is it that I cant get out of Costco without spending close to $300.00?
11. Why is it that I say "I should be" too much when doing item #8 and #9.
12. Why is it that I cant keep my "flylady routines" a routine?
13. Why is it that I keep forgetting I am going on vacation in a few weeks? (I know I shouldn't complain about this one)
14. Why is it that I make the "to-do" list far too long and too much for one day and then still suffer with item #11.
15. Why is it that I am creating this list instead of cleaning my room? See item #5

I wore skinny jeans all week and have not lost a pound.....I am taking them back.

quick turtles....

Found this post over at http://www.twigandthistle.com/blog/and have to add it to my must try file.....

Homemade Turtles!

Ingredients:Mini PretzelsPecan HalfsRolosThat’s it!
1) On a cookies sheet, arrange the pretzels then place a Rolo on top of each one. Bake at 220 F. for 2 minutes.
2) Pull out the sheet out of the oven and immediately start placing the Pecans on top and pushing them down, squishing the Rolos.
3) Enjoy!

Found another one I want to try...

Did not end up having the planned Cobb salad for dinner......Child #3 had to work late which in turn made me so late that I didn't have time to make dinner before the dog trainer showed up...

Ended up spending a few dollars shy of $50.00 at McDonald's - what a friggin waste of money - that is for our family of five and g/f of oldest child - CHA CHING...and now a few short hours later I am starving again....

Note to self - use crockpot on dog training nights.

I LOVE our dog trainer - my 5 year old puppy is responding well and what an improvement in just two short lessons.......

I have just found another recipe on another blog I am going to put on my must try this week list.....

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

2 tblsp hot pepper sauce, such as Frank's RedHot

3 tblsp white vinegar, divided

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb chicken tenders

2 tblsp reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tblsp nonfat plain yogurt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

4 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce

1 cup sliced celery

1 cup chopped onion

1 large tomato, chopped

Whisk hot pepper sauce, 2 tblsp vinegar & cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Spray cooking spray in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken tenders; cook until cooked through & no longer pink in the middle, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add to the bowl with the hot sauce; toss to coat well.

Whisk mayonnaise, yogurt, pepper & the remaining 1 tblsp vinegar in a small bowl. Stir in blue cheese.

To assemble wraps: Lay a tortilla on a work surface or plate. Spread with 1 tblsp blue cheese sauce & top with one-fourth of the chicken, lettuce, celery, tomato & onion. Drizzle with some of the hot sauce remaining in the bowl & roll into a wrap sandwich. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

I think i am going to go and "borrow" some Easter chocolate from my kids....insert evil giggle....

Whats for dinner

After spending the afternoon outside in the warmth of the sun I am now in summer mode and craving salads.....

And just found the perfect BBQ Chicken Cobb salad to make for dinner tonight.....

Although I do not have left over chicken in the fridge I do have some ham left over from Easter dinner at our neighbours and will grab a chicken from the grocery store on my way home from work.....

BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad

Leftover Old-Fashioned BBQ Chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
World's Best Blue Cheese Dressing OR a high-quality Ranch. I suppose, if you swing that way, you could use Thousand Island or French, but I've never been a fan.
Leafy green lettuce (I like Romaine)
Hard-boiled eggs; sliced, wedged, crumbled, chopped, whatever.
Chopped green onions or sliced red onions
Chopped tomatoes
Blue cheese (if not using aforementioned dressing) or sharp cheddar cheese. Pepper jack might also be good, although I've never tried it.
Avocado cubes
Crumbled bacon

Wash and chop lettuce (if not buying pre-washed, pre-chopped lettuce). Blot with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Arrange lettuce on large dinner plates and add a handful of BBQ chicken. Arrange remaining ingredients on top--you can either keep all the toppings separate and let dinner-eaters mix it up (or not) according to their liking, or you can just go WILD and sprinkle everything on top. Serve with dressing and enjoy!

I wish i had it right now to eat ......

http://allears.net/menu/menu_fch.htm

Happy Easter.....really?

Oh what to say about Easter 2009 other than...........CRAP.

At Christmas time I went over-board with the Sears Wish Book. I had ordered two R/C Air Hog mini storm chasers.

At the time DH and I decided we would not give as Xmas gifts rather wait and give as Easter gifts.....Last night DH pulled them out and they were left with the Easter goodies.....and a real metal slinky each....I have not seen the metal ones in a long long time.....

I digress, the boys are extremely happy with the R/C planes......get the 16 double A batteries installed and proceed to play with them - within 15 minutes of installing the $20 worth of batteries DS #3 gets his propeller stuck in the fringe of the carpet and rips it off - it is now garbage - he throws himself to the ground like a three year old and proclaims to the world at the top of his banshee wailing voice "THIS IS THE WORST EASTER EVER".

DH trying to calm the ten year old just turned 3 year old down.....gets out the model glue and promises he will do his very best to fit the propeller - trying hard to not scream "I told you not to play with it around the fringe of the carpet"

DS #2 decides he will learn from his younger brothers experience and try and fly his outside - it takes less than 39 seconds for it to be stuck in a tree........he comes running into the house and instantly turns into a second wailing banshee....

DH gets the broom out and knocks it out of the tree- now it is running on full speed even when shut off....

So now I have two very unhappy boys full of a sugar rush from eating the Easter treats left for them....

What is a Mom to do.........well I proceed with making a scrumpish breakfast taken from a fellow blogger.......Baked French Toast

Baked french toast

melt 1 stick of butter then add in 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 t. cinnamon and stir together.
pour into a 9x13 pan covering the bottom.

then layer slices of bread on the sugar mixture with the crusts removed.
(it would probably just as good with the crusts on....)
i used 15 pieces of bread.
fill in the holes with smaller pieces.

in a mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups of milk and 6 eggs.
pour over the bread.
that's it.

put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
when it looks baked and golden, pull it out and drizzle syrup over the top.
put it back in the oven under the broiler until brown and bubbly.

It is so yummy............and definitely a "maker againer" as my youngest used to say when he was little.....

BUT.........what was I thinking giving a sugar filled yummy breakfast to two boys who were already on sugar over-load - this recipe is fantastic - but definitely really high on the sugar content....

Now I have two boys bouncing off of the walls - arguing and unwilling to burn off some of the sugar overload and we are to be at our neighbours in two hours for an Easter dinner......

What was I thinking????

It also feels really weird - oldest DS #1 decided he wanted to spend the night at his buddies last night - feels weird to have Easter without him......

I remember what it was like to be 17 almost 18 and friends are so much more important than the Easter Bunny.......

Does anyone know a quick sugar detox???? CRAP.