Lucas Corner Farmhouse

This wasn't as easy as it sounds...but, then again, it's the first time I've ever done this!!  I planned a meal for every day that Adam doesn't work.  The plan is to go grocery shopping and buy everything we need for the month, and not do another big shopping trip until next month.  If we wind up not eating what was planned one day, we'll still have those ingredients on hand for another day!  This is one of those great things I learned at the Women's Conference this weekend!! :)  Since there's no good way to upload a pdf to a blog, here is a link for anyone who wants to use it/change it/just wanna see what I did! :) ((Let me know if it doesn't work...))  I included links to recipes that were online for some of the meals.  Some of the recipes I'm using this month come from this cookbook Mom got me for Christmas... If you don't have it, you can preview the book through Amazon's link that I've added.  It's really great! :) Also, I j...

I've just been reading around BlogLand, working on a meal plan for March, hanging out with the sister-in-law (we went to a wonderful women's conference at church...it was a lot of fun and we learned a lot!! :) ), finishing up a purse I've been trying to design this week (it's a simple, yet complicated idea because you have to "think outside of the box"), and working on my What I Wore Wednesday post during the week. So...based on that...expect to see a meal plan, a purse, and a WIWW post coming up soon!! :)  Until then, check out the treasury I was featured in on Etsy!! :) Not Your Grandmother's Button Box by  thirtyone13

I’ve got another simple, yet yummy, recipe for you! I made this casserole a few days ago. My sister saw the leftovers in the fridge today and said she wanted to try it (that’s a compliment in my book because she is (used to be?) a picky eater! I figured if she likes it…it must be worth sharing! :) Chicken Tortilla Casserole 1 can of chicken 1/2 diced tomato** 1/2 diced green pepper** 1 can cream of chicken 1/2 cup milk Italian seasoning (about 1.5 tbs) noodles of your choice shredded cheese (I used Cheddar-Monterey Jack) tortilla chips (this is a great way to use up those little pieces of chips at the bottom of the bag!!) **1/2 to 1 can of Rotel can be substituted for the tomato and green pepper if you like! :) Preheat oven to 375* Cook the noodles.  Use as many as you like, as long as they fit in the dish! :) About 2-3 servings, give or take!  I used spaghetti noodles, but use any kind! :) In a bowl, mix t...

I found a tutorial yesterday for how to make a t-shirt into yarn . How cool is that?? :) I thought it was pretty fantastic! :) So...as soon as I got out of class, went to a baseball game, went downtown to take some pictures, and ate dinner....I started to try out this new trick! I was so excited that I couldn't wait to make it into something! I wasn't sure how much one tshirt could knit, but I got a medium-length skinny scarf out of it! :) I think it's perfect for Alabama weather...where it's too hot to wear a scarf 10 months out of a year...but this tshirt one...and a skinny one at that! :) I'm excited about it! :)    These scarves JUST might be making their way to Etsy. What do you think? :)

I don't think I've posted it on here yet, but my goal this year is to not buy any unnecessary clothes this year.  Instead, I'm going to re-make clothes or simply make clothes.  I've got two boxes, plus numerous bags of fabric, and a basket full of clothes to fix/re-make. But....If I WERE buying clothes this year...these would be my shopping rules! I don't really know when these "rules" developed, but somehow overtime they have.  Some of them may seem impossible to you, but trust me, I have a closet and a set of drawers overflowing to prove that these rules are doable.  I almost always shop the clearance rack (I at least visit it before I shop through the rest of the store). Here's how it goes: I'll write the item type and the maximum I'll spend! :) Dresses: $30 Jeans: $20 I've gotten most of my jeans at American Eagle, and I've even managed to get Silver brand jeans and Seven brand jeans at this price :) Shirts (other than tshirt...

What a cool idea is this?? I saw this a Yes, Teacher  and I love the idea, so I'm joining  Giraffe in a Scarf  for her International Craft Swap! :)

This may be my new favorite cookie tool I found this cookie press at Wal-Mart after Christmas, marked down 75% off because it was packaged in a red and green box! :) So I pretty much paid $2.50 for this guy! :) I finally pulled it out and made some cookies today! The design that turned out to be the easier to work with (so far) was the heart design. I think it turned out really cute! I just used the recipe on the side of the box ( Class Spritz Cookies ) which are LOADED with butter in case you were wondering!  They’re good, but Adam isn’t a fan of non-sweet cookies, so I’ll probably use sugar cookie dough next time! :)  They will be a nice snack with my coffee though! :)

My Nautical pendant was featured in an etsy treasury today! “ Alabama Gets it Done ” by creeperjess

source I love this! I was browsing through some blogs I’ve recently found and I saw this guy over at Lulu in Los Angeles . I checked out the site where she found this (Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood)….which is what I’ve been doing lately! Teaching 3,4,&5 year olds some basic object control skills (catch, throw, kick, strike, roll, & dribble to be exact!)  This is all part of what will likely become part of a friend of mine’s dissertation, and I have so much fun working with the kids! Besides working with young’uns, I sure hope I’ve had a positive impact on all of the residents I’ve had in my buildings over the last five years! That comes out to be 600 people in my buildings!! I’m quite sure not all 600 “liked” me because I was the person who “got them in trouble” as they sometimes like to say. Regardless, I hope I made their day at least once. Even if that one day was just the day they moved to college for the first time and I was the person who handed them...

My mom is always finding links for cool things!  She recently sent me a link for Blogging for Books and suggested I try it out…I haven’t even gotten my book yet and I’m excited! :) Basically, you tell them what kind of books you’re interested in reading, and they give you a couple of options based on your interests.  They mail you a book, you read it and post a review on one of several websites where that book could be purchased, then you send the book back and pick out another! Like Netflix…but for books! :) On another note, I’m preparing for a presentation and a test on Thursday and Friday, so I’m going to TRY to be a little MIA.  Friday, I’m going to get fitted for my Matron of Honor dress and will likely do some wedding planning with the sister-in-law. So….if you don’t see me for a few days, that’s why!

Wifey In Training gave me an award this week! Yay!! The rules of the award are simple: Thank the person who gave you the award and pass it on to 15 more bloggers! I’ve given much thought to how I should go about this….because now that I have 80 followers (!!!!! maybe more by the time this posts!!!) how can I possibly pick 15?? Here’s how…I’m passing it on to the 15 most recent bloggers who commented on my blog! Here goes! :) The Quick Unpick This Italian Family The Pursuit of Happiness My Mom (who doesn’t blog, just reads them! :) ) Hydrant Girl and her Firefighter So I Say...Living Life to the Fullest Mandipidy TRU TALES FEATS Avery and Winslow Emerging Em One in the Hand ROBINPICH Found in the "Ali" Wifey In Training (She totally gave me the award…so I’ll list 16! :) She’s still stylish!) ...

I still want to do a giveaway when I get to 100 followers (it’s slowly, but surely getting there!! :) ) So, I’ve been wondering, what would y’all like for me to have as a giveaway? gift certificate to my etsy shop? gift card to some store/restaurant everyone loves? gift certificate to someone else’s shop? something I make? (passport cover, earrings, necklace, purse, change purse, cake plate, personalized etched glass…..possibilities would be anything I’ve made thus far on my blog plus all the ideas running through my head) Any other suggestions? Let me know what you think would be fun to win, or if you’d like to join in on the giveaway! I don’t know when it will be, just depends on when I reach 100 followers! :)

I have a stack of a few of my Paw-Paw’s old shirts that I’ve been planning on redesigning into something I can wear.  I finally finished one of them!! I can’t wait to wear it! This shirt is a men’s XL light brown/almost tan & white stripe shirt made by Kingsport. It's a relatively lightweight fabric, which meant when I was taking it apart at the seams, I had to use scissors instead of a seam ripper because the seam ripper made the thread pull on the fabric too much.  Anywho, so here is the summary of before and after… I took off the pocket, removed the top part of the collar, made little seams on the front and back to pull the shirt in to a gather, and put slits in the side since the shirt was so long. (It should probably be classified as a tunic really!) This project involved removing almost ever pre-sewn seam from the shirt, altering, and re-sewing it! It was a lot of fun! Pinning the shirt to see how many gathers I would need in order to pull the sleeves up to my shoul...

Hydrantgirl has been making fun awards for her readers and this is the one she designed for me! I love it!! I’m craving some A&W burgers now too!!     And here is the award I’ve made for her!! Because it’s true!  The two of them are Firemedics (and they make a cute couple!)  I thought Adam & I had a crazy schedule between my work schedule in the building and his work schedule at the station.  I bet they’ve got us beat!! Plus, her blog deserves an award because Adam likes to check out the blog from time to time to see if they’ve got any recent fire pictures uploaded…hehehe. Oh and because she’s Canadian and that’s SUPER cool.  I want to visit Canada one of these days! OH! And because she is a cowgirl!!  If you haven’t hopped over to her blog yet, you should as soon as you finish reading this!! Hydrantgirl and Her Firefighter

I just found out that one of the notecards my Father-In-Law painted was featured in a Treasury! Warm Yummy Rosy Love by wishbone77 PS, See the Valentine ornaments in the bottom left corner by thrityone13 ? That’s my cousin’s handiwork! How cool that we were featured in the same treasury!

As promised, here are some other projects I’ve etched, including the glass I etched for our wedding and reception.   *Glass mugs for Flowergirl & Ringbearer* I put a princess on the back of Olivia’s mug and my dad etched a race-car on the back of Tyler’s mug.     *Our unity candle*   Since we can’t burn candles in our building or have candles with burnt wicks, I thought having a floating candle in a reusable vase would be perfect! I etched our monogram that I designed and our wedding date.         *Toasting glasses & Centerpiece glasses*   Both styles of glasses had our monogram letters on them.  Also, both styles of glasses were wedding gifts.  We thought it would neat to incorporate gifts from others at our wedding so they could see that we were already using what they had given. *Coffee Mugs* These were for two friends of the family who helped out with the rehearsal dinner.  I made aprons fo...