Comfort Food

Macaroni and cheese is comfort food for me.  It's what all kids love and as an adult I haven't grown out of it (there's still a kid in me!!)   My oldest son is a pastaholic - he could eat pasta everyday and never grow tired of it.  This is a dish I came up with to satisfy our pasta cravings.  I wanted something easy, fast but yet full of cheesy homemade goodness.

Shells and Cheese

1 box of Barilla pasta (shells or macaroni)

1/4 cup of butter

3/4 cup milk

3/4 tsp garlic salt

freshly ground pepper

panko break crumbs

2-3 cups of your favorite shredded cheese (cheddar or colby-jack)

Cook the pasta according to the directions.  Drain and pour back into pot.  Add butter, milk, garlic salt, pepper and 2 cups of cheese.  Heat on low and stir until cheese and butter are melted.  Pour into a casserole dish and bake in a 350degree oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbly.  Sprinkle some panko bread crumbs and more cheese on top.  Place under the broiler for a few minutes until golden brown.

Serves 6 pasta loving people without a trace of it left!

Blessings!

Fireflies in a Jar

If I could save these beautiful summer days and store them up like fireflies in a jar I would be so happy.  What I wouldn't give to open the jar on a dreary, cold winter day. 

Our late summer weather has been so idyllic:  warm sunny days with no humidity which means the windows are wide open for the cool gentle breezes.  And the nights are cool so perfect for an evening walk.

I know the number of our sun soaked days are limited.  We are making sure we savor every minute.

My boys have been back in school for almost a couple of weeks now.  And I am acclimating to a new kind of busy.  But, it is good and God is good.  For that I am so thankful:)

"The Lord is my shepherd; 

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures:  

he leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul."

Psalm 23:1-3

Silly Bandz

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Silly Bandz - about a year ago my middle 2 boys went crazy over these.  We'd rummage through the selection at the gas station and Walgreens looking for the really cool ones.  Now, they sit on their dressers gathering dust or I find them on the carpet totally neglected.  Until now.  They have a new purpose in my house.  They work great as rubber bands!

So 31,000 college students are back in town and all of them shop at the same Wal-Mart for their school supplies and the one time you need to buy more rubber bands they are clean out.  Not one package left!!  I mean, seriously, how often do you need to buy new rubber bands?  Like once every 5 years probably!  And then my son would like a rubber band for his new pack of index cards and the only one I can think of is the one over my much loved cookbook (the one with the broken binding and new recipes to try slipped inside.)  Then I had the bright idea of using these silly bandz.  They really do have a purpose afterall.

A Project for Pooch

Snickers, our lovable yellow lab is a stinker for chewing on anything and everything. Little plastic balls or watermelon from my garden have been snatched up by him, torn into tiny pieces and eventually eaten by him.  He is one big chewer!!!

But, hello fleece . . .

 .  .  .  braided and knotted on the ends it becomes a fleece rope toy (find the tutorial here.)

What's genius about this is he hasn't torn it into shreds; and he's had it for about a week.  Amazing.

I made him two (one long and one short) and when I come outside he brings me both and doesn't know which one to play with more!

I could throw this to him all day long and he would never tire of chasing it.  I actually prefer throwing him the shorter rope toy since it's more like a medium size bone (about 14" finished size.) He just loves it!!

Hope you are having an awesome day!

Adding some love

This plain sleeveless blouse of mine was just crying out for some adornment to save it from the donate pile.  Now that the weather is a bit cooler I like to wear it paired with my jean capris and ballet flats.  Still a bit summery but edging into fall.

I created a spring like "bouquet" from 3 different sized yo-yo's and then added some leaves to fill in the space around them.  I backed the whole bouquet with pink felt and attached everything to it with my trusty hot glue gun.  I didn't have the appropriate brooch pin so for the time being it is attached to the shirt with a safety pin. 

This was a simple way to bring some life and personality to an otherwise ho-hum shirt.  Do you like to personalize your clothes?

Blessings!

Holding on

There's still a wee bit of summer left that I am holding onto so I managed to sew up this sundress for an american girl doll.  When I opened up this remnant at home I was surprised to see it was a sundress .  It was just over a 1/2 yard so too small for me but perfect enough for doll dresses!

I shortened the shirring and attached a skirt trimmed with medium, white rick rack.  Then I added v-straps which tie at the back of the neck.

She's all ready for those last summer bbq's, family reunions or fun outings.  This dress can be found in my etsy shop.

I am linking up with Sew Much Ado's Linky Party

More Dishcloths!

I've been crocheting some dishcloths for my dear neighbor.  I thought this light blue would go well in her kitchen with blue dishes and curtains. 

I used Anneliese's tutorial which is super easy.  It's so convenient to do a few rows while dinner is cooking or while I sit outside watching my boys play.  It's also a relaxing way to wind down before bedtime I've found.  I bought a cone of yarn this time and I have to say there's a lot on it and it unwinds like a dream!  No more tangles!!!

I wanted to share this super adorable card I received in the mail.  It's just so much more fun to get the mail when there's a hand written envelope instead of all of the ads and bills I am inundated with.  Oh sure, texting, facebook and e-mail are convenient and nice but cards like this still make the short walk to the mailbox a whole lotta fun!

Blessings!

Dramatic Dana

I thought I would share some more photos of my friend Dana's visit with me. I so appreciate her spice for life since I can be too serious 99% of the time! This photo was taken in an antique store and she is having quite the deep conversation with the young gentleman, don't you think?

We also visited a historic home and she made yourself  right at home in the 1920's kitchen by donning an apron and convincing me to do the same:) 

This next photo is my favorite.  Can't you just see the sweat pour off her brow???  LOL.  She is standing next to one of the first "automatic" washing machines - one that actually spun the clothes dry.  Can we say an "amen" for modern improvements in the home?

It will come as no surprise to you Dana has had some experience on and off the stage.  She is also a very gifted teacher and has such a love for kids and ministering to the chinese people.  The laughs we had together are priceless!!  

Blessings!

Surprising Myself

Every now and then I think it's a good idea to try something new or at least a little out of character.  In my case shooting a gun is very out of my character!  While my friend Dana was visiting she convinced me to go with my hubby and boys to the gun club.  Once she heard this particular gun wouldn't "kick," she was all in! 

And after seeing her enthusiasm I thought I'd try it out, too!

To my surprise it was kind of fun and challenging to shoot the little animal targets that fall over when they're shot.

I think my hubby and boys were pretty happy with us getting into it and it was a good feeling to be supportive of their hobby (w/o killing anything!)  Goodness knows how many times my hubby has gone into a fabric store with me (not to mention my boys!)  The pink safety glasses and earplugs hubby bought for me were just the right touch.

Hey, a girl has to have her pink, right?? 

Never Give Up

This is a must see movie! Soul Surfer is a christian drama based upon a true story of a 13 year old girl who is attacked by a shark. She handles it with grace and it is her faith in God which moves her to gain a new perspective on life. I had just picked a surf wallpaper background for my computer and now I will look at it in a new light!

Have you seen this movie? Is so, did you like it?

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4:17

Fun with Pilates!

Our Pilates Session

My friend Dana, who I've known since college, has been visiting me this week.  We met early in our college years since we lived in the same dormitory and had a dance class together.  Even though our lives have taken us on very different, far away, paths we have remained close friends and she is like a member of our family.  My boys call her "Auntie" Dana.  Since I live in a house of all males it's been so nice to have girl time.  We've been shopping, out to lunch, to the beauty salon and even exercised together!  You know you are good friends when you can "glisten" together!  Raving about how good Pilates is for flattening the abs she eagerly taught me what she knew.  And no, I do not have a flat stomach after 4 pregnancies!!We had a lot of laughs with it and my youngest as you can see thought it was fun, too!  Our little personal trainer kept saying "this is easy!" If only it was easy to get flat abs like his!!  LOL!!

Have a wonderful weekend friends!