Rules and Regulations

Rules and guidelines are what help to keep a family happy and your household in order. What better way to remind your family of these things than to have a pretty reminder staring them in the face daily? We were inspired by the example posted here to make some of our own.

Jessica's is huge, made on a 27x22 sized canvas. She used Amy Butler paper and tore it into 2" strips, Modge Podged them on, used a Cricut cutter to cut out all the words and modge podged them on. Finally she covered the whole thing in a super amazing triple coat high gloss varnish, because everything looks better when it's shiny!

Monique used a smaller 12x24 inch canvas. Using paper all from the same collection, she cut hers instead of tearing. After gluing them down, she hand lettered each rule using a paint pen. Lastly she Modge Podged the whole thing.

French Onion Soup

I threw this together last night.It was very good. A little sweet. Very comforting.

some key secret ingredients: apple cider and potatoes (my kids love potatoes.) I served it over seasoned crutons and sprinkled with fresh grated parmesan and shredded swiss. mmmm

Stock up

If you have a Trader Joes near you stock up on some of their great mixes and gourmet frozen meals for the upcoming busy days. If you have friends and loved ones who live in an unfortunate Trader Joe-less area, grab some for their Christmas presents this year!

Ahhh November, Thank Goodness You're Here

Jess and I are ready to get back to this blog! After a couple months of the new school years, sick kiddos, and crazy lives we miss our little blog. This month you can look forward to recipes, craft ideas and patterns, and entertaining for the holidays.

I volunteered to host Thanksgiving this year at my house. I am so excited but knew I didnt have enough dishes for the 24+ people that will be here. I had been watching my favorite thrift store and thought I might collect different pieces of stoneware plates to mix and match. One afternoon I snuck away to find some Halloween costume bits, and saw a huge stack of Corelle stashed behind the other plates. At the register the cashier insisted she had the right price 4 for $1.49. I did argue that they were 4 for 2.99 but she showed me the price list. The lady behind me advised "Just take it honey, it's a deal."

So this year my guests will find all these beautiful vintage Corelle plates to eat from... I am thinking chocolate brown table cloth... but am still looking for centerpiece ideas... Any suggestions?

Jess Came for a Visit!

We accomplished so much! I did a photo shoot for her and for her kiddos. We peeled a HUGE bag of green chiles! We stopped at Trader Joes, went thrifting, and ate in Albuquerque's Old Town. By the time the day was over and all the kids in bed we were too tired to do anything crafty. Jess did write up a great list of things we will be working on and posting about in the next couple of months.

Right now she is running a couple of errands before she leaves town. Just trying to figure out how to get her to move back! ;)

Mini Vacation Idea Booklet

I made up a booklet for anybody to print out. It has creative ideas for taking mini vacations. More information on my blog here

Dawn's List

Dawn can be found here

Salt water taffy recipe

Sandcastle image courtesy of Sassy Arts. Shell from Because I said so 65. Boy with boat take a break