Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Cheers to a fantastic 2014!

Stay safe!

Jen

Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup

What else do you do when you're working out on the stepper?  Think about food, of course (at least if you're me)!  I started thinking about the broccoli I had in the fridge, and then a light bulb went off in my head (that doesn't happen too often)...broccoli cheddar cheese, of course!

I'm better at cooking than photography!

 So I came up with this quick and easy recipe!

Cut up broccoli in bite size pieces, and go ahead and cut up some of the stalk too (it's just as tasty), and chop up some onion (I probably used about a 1/3 of a cup); saute that in olive oil and butter on medium heat for about 6-7 minutes, stirring occassionally.

In the meantime, in a separate pot, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter, add a tablespoon of flour, cook on low, stirring the entire time, for about a minute.  Then add maybe a cup and 1/2 of heavy cream, cook on medium high for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, add just a tiny pinch of nutmeg to that, and salt & pepper.  After it has thickened up add 1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, and stir until it's all mixed.

And back to the pot of broccoli---add about 1 1/2 cups or so of chicken broth, turn heat to medium high, put the lid on, and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add salt, pepper, and some pepper flakes for a bit of spice.  Then add that yummy cheese mixture, and you will have a fantastic soup just perfect for a cold winter day!

Enjoy!!
Jen

Featured Etsy Shop

Girls Handpainted Santa Shoes

Etsy is full of wonderfully talented people!  I always appreciate anyone that is an artist, such as this featured shop created by Katie and Pam!

Adorable Whale Romper

Such unique gifts!  These can be purchased in a variety of sizes.  

For The Little Pirate

Who can resist these darling pirate shoes for the little boy...or girl pirate!

Pretty Flower Dress

I love this pink dress for the girly girl!  The perfect party dress!

Be sure to check out their shop!  Fill your cart up with unique gifts! 


https://www.etsy.com/shop/boygirlboygirldesign?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Happy shopping!

Jen

Being a Mom

Mark, Lindsey, & Katherine (Katherine looks a bit terrified here)

Being a Mom!

That's all I have ever wanted.

The other stuff is fine.

But being a Mom is enough for me.

Why does time seem to be drifting by so fast?

 

RIP Tom

A heart so big
It broke a thousand times

In heaven now
Your broken heart
Back together again

You are missed here on earth
But in a better place now

In our hearts forever

We love you Tom! ♥

 

Soup Time!

I love making soup!  Today I made a wonderful potato soup!  I did take a few pictures, but they just don't do the soup justice (I am definitely not a food photographer!

I started by cooking cubed (smallish bite size) red potatoes with onions in my favorite Calpholon pot!  That took about 15 minutes so, on a medium high heat, stirring every so often.  Oh, I used a combination of butter and olive oil.  I then added some fresh mushrooms, salt & pepper, and cooked that for another 5 minutes.

Then add chicken broth (I've been using Rachael Ray's low sodium chicken broth), dried italian seasoning (rub through your fingers to break it up and release the wonderful aroma), some thyme (just a bit), black beans (canned), and a handful of elbow pasta. I also added about 1/2 cup of heavy cream for a creamy soup, of course, you can omit this if you want.  Cook that until the pasta and potatoes are cooked, and you have a hot, comforting meal!  

We had this for lunch, so I also made an argula salad (the potato soup doesn't have a lot of color, so this is a good way to brighten up the meal.  I added sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and I love just using a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I also had some leftover french bread, so I cubed that, placed it on a piece of foil, sprinkled olive oil and melted butter on it, sprinkled with italian seasoning and garlic salt, in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes, then broil for about 2 minutes (watch it carefully).  This was perfect not only on the salad, but so yummy in the soup too!

Enjoy!!

Jen

Thank You!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you to all who sacrifice for our country!

Milk Glass for Weddings

Beautiful!

 

 

I love it when my customers share their photo's of what they have done with their purchase from one of my Etsy shops!

This is some of the milk glass Ria bought from me for her wedding!

Gorgeous tablescape!

 Ria has a beautiful Etsy shop that you must check out!

Cute pompoms!

 

 

Lovely table runner

 

 

 Be sure to check out Ria's Etsy shop!  You're sure to find something you just must have!

Happy shopping!!

Jen

My latest obsession!

Well this blogger thing is not working right, but anyways, I just started dying today, for my first time.  Wait, dying doesn't sound right.  But anyways, I'm no obsessed and will be dying more tomorrow.  The Ritz website has formulas for lots of colors! Oh my!

A box of Ritz Dye and the fun begins!

 

 

 

 

Dying vintage linens!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Organized!

This is what I've been up to!

I've been on a cleaning and organizing kick!  We have a bedroom attached our master bedroom, which was perfect as a nursery when our kid's were babies!

 Several years ago my husband, Bob, turned it into my very own (well he's allowed to have one dresser in there) walk-in closet/dressing room!

Love my shoes!

But I soon made a mess of it, and finally decided I needed to bring back the organized beauty!

Sorry the pics are a bit blurry, but you get the idea!  You can also see that I love vintage hats and Barbies!

I love my chandelier!!

Baskets and bins are labeled

It's still a work in progress!  I want to get all of my clothes color coordinated, and I'm not sure if I want to keep that dresser in the closet.

I also got rid of a lot of "stuff"!  Tons of clothes that I wasted money on and barely wore, all donated to Goodwill.

Cute needlepoint ladies made by my Mom

These days, for me, it's all about simplifying!  I'm on a roll, and will keep you posted on more improvements to my cute room!

Happy organizing!

Jen
 

Happy Weekend!

The weekend is here (in case you didn't notice)!

Unpaid advertisement

 Tonight is a fun night at Crocker Park in Westlake, Ohio!  There's a huge outdoor wine tasting/party!  There will be a live band and tons of wine and appetizers!  You should join the fun!

More unpaid advertisements

 So what fun things do you have planned for the weekend!  I'd love to hear from you!!

Happy Weekend!

Jen

Hi there!

Hey everyone! I've been busy cleaning and organizing my house, which is quite unusual for me!  I'm not sure what has come over me!

Vintage cream and sugar set

 I've also been busy listing pretties in my three Etsy shops!

Here's just few of my latest items!

German Porcelain Serving Bowl

 

Small milk glass compote

Zeh Scherzer Bavarian Tea Set

I will be sure to invite all of you when I have a tea party!

Happy Autumn!

Jen

Blog Help Please!

Just look at my silly blog header!  I don't know how to create a pretty header, and I need help, as you can see!

Any advice would be appreciated!

Jen

I brought swimming goggles on vacation

What was I thinking!?

We just returned from our August vacation to Cocoa Beach Florida.  It was me, Bob, Mark, and Katherine.

Mark is 21 years old and Katherine is 20 years old.  I can't remember the last time they used swimming goggles, but for some reason, I brought them on vacation with us!  Maybe it's a bit of denial that they are no longer kids (although most vacations involved a lot of fighting between the two of them!).

Katherine up in a tree

I have to admit, I enjoyed our vacation this year, and relaxed (as much as I can).  Anyone that knows me, knows that I cannot sit still for too long.  Laying out in the beach is fun for, maybe an hour, after that, I have to move!

My cute "babies"

 Katherine and I always have fun together, just doing the most normal of things, because we don't keep them normal!  She always wanted to go to the Winn Dixie grocery store because she read about it in a book, so we walked there, and that in itself was a fun adventure!

Look closely and you'll see a cute dog driving this large vehicle!

I cannot stand pictures of myself, but I'm really trying not to be so hard on myself.  It's tough getting old!

So there you go, a few pictures of my summer vacation.  I just wish summer would never end!  I don't like wearing layers of clothes, coats, boots, and all that heavy stuff!

Jen

 

Tea party time!

I keep saying I want to have a tea party or a garden party!  But wait, I don't have a garden, so forget the garden party idea!

I just love the thought of an old fashioned (or old fashion?) tea party, where the ladies are wearing gloves and pretty dresses!

I love an eclectic mix of saucers and plates, it's so fun creating collections!

I'm ready for a tea party!! Care to join me!!?

Jen


 

Happy Dad's Day!

Don't forget:  Father's Day is this Sunday!

Don't worry, I'm here to give you a few ideas straight from Etsy!

Cute soap on a roap

 Trout on a roap! What a cute gift for the fisherman!

Awesome leather belt!

 Every guy needs a nice belt!

Great man cave idea!

Don't forget his man cave!  

Create personalized beer labels

A personalized gift is always perfect!

Happy Dad's Day!!

Jen

Cookin' Vegan!

Vegan Stuffed Peppers

My lovely daughter, Katherine is home from college!  She is vegan, so it's fun coming up with new recipes for her!

This one I whipped up today is vegan stuffed peppers.  

Cut the lids off of green peppers (or any color for that matter), gut out the seed stuff, then put them in a big pot of water, on high, and after they start boiling, boil them for about 5 minutes.

While that is going, cook up some quinoa, it usually cooks about 15 minutes, but I took it off the stove after about 8 minutes, and then added Birds Eye frozen winter squash (I thawed it).  You could add whatever squash you like.  I'm one of those cooks that improvises and tries to use what I already have in my kitchen.

I sauteed red, yellow, and orange peppers, red onion, white onion, and celery in just a tiny bit of olive oil.  Add whatever seasonings you like, I added some salt, pepper, and a little bit of italian seasoning.

My pictures are coming out wrong-you'll have to tilt your head!

Add the sauted veggies to the quinoa/squash mix.  Drain the peppers, add them to a loaf pan (with about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the pan so the peppers don't stick/burn).  Stuff the peppers with the yummy mixture, pop it in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes (when there's about 8 minutes left, cover with foil).

Katherine and I decided corn would be good in the mixture too, but really anything you like can be added!  You can add nutritional yeast too~!  Make this recipe your own by adding brown rice, tiny pasta, etc.  

I almost forgot, I added a dash of fresh grated nutmeg to the squash mix, and also some tiny pieces of garlic to the veggies.

Hope you like it!!

Jen
 

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!  Thanks to all that have sacrificed for our country!

I thought I'd share some patriotic items I found on Etsy.  I sure did find some "interesting" flag items when I did a search, you might want to check it out!

For the crafty people

Patriotic decor

USA

Red white and blue sun catcher

 Enjoy your day!!

Jen

My birthday fun!

My "baby" Katherine & I (or me!)

My birthday was May 20th!  Yes, I turned 25 again (25 x 2 +6).  Our birthday celebrations always last at least a week or two!  My husband Bob, Katherine and I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Pier W for dinner.

Bob & Katherine

 I love that close up shot of Katherine!  You can see just a bit of Cleveland in the background.  

Speaking of me, the dress I am wearing is a Jessica Simpson dress (in case you wanted to know).  The sleeves were my favorite part, since they open up at the shoulder, and reveal just a bit of the shoulder!

Group shot

 Then it was on to Columbus to celebrate with my oldest child, Lindsey, and her hubby Thomas!  That's Mark (my sweet son), Katherine, moi, Lindsey, and Thomas (acting shy).

Newlyweds, will be celebrating their 1 yr anniversary in June!

 

Mark & Katherine

The party isn't over yet!  Today I will go to lunch with my Dad, and tomorrow night my sister Susan is making dinner for me!

I love my family!!

Jen