Hearty & Delish

Love me some stew that's been cooking in the crockpot allllllllll day.

Not only do you have a hot meal at the end of the day, but it sends a fabulous aroma floating thru the house that just makes your stomach grumble & your mouth water!

What's tasty on a chilly winter evening......

..........well neighbor......... how about some good ole' fashioned            
Chicken Taco Chili..........YUMM-O

After scouring the net for a while, checking my pantry, & freezer - I concocted my own version...................

I'm infamous for that.......I'm a concoctor from way back (is that even a word? well if not, it is now) 

 

Did I mention this is seriously yummy???

Especially with some Lime Tostitos for some serious dunking action.......

my mouth is watering already........and it's only 11:30am!

Know the best part about this?  I did it in the crockpot.....pile it in the crock, pop on the lid, & walk away.  My kinda easy. 

Here is the recipe for this scrumptious-ness...................

I have always been drawn to mixed media projects........why - I have no earthly idea.......maybe because there are so many layers........which is reflective of me - a gal made up of many colorful layers........enough psychoanalysis - the couch is closed.......back to the conversation at hand..........

Mixed Media projects are made up of those everyday ordinary or not so ordinary what-the-heck-does-this-go-to items we all tend to find, at one time or another, behind the coffee pot, canisters, or on a window sill.  But, if you're a lucky girl like myself then you might have a workshop out back that you can go pilfering thru on a whim until your heart's content, your hands are black, & you're sneezing you're head off.....pass the tissues........

If you don't have the added benefit of a workshop, then going on a treasure hunt to your local craft & thrift stores can be a fun adventure so that we can create something like this..........

an 11 x 14 canvas exploding with color, texture, complete with lots of dimension

Open mouth & say.........

 Stuffed Bell Peppers

It's what's for dinner!!!

Crock-pot Style

Bravegirls Club Post

For those of you who have never heard of this website.......it's fabulous!  Go check them out

This particular daily reminder made me stop & think this morning..........

Dear Wonderful Girl,

Someday you will understand. You really will.

Ridin' my iron horse.....

 

Meet my Iron Horse........Ethel and my co-pilot ........Princess.........who I found sitting on Ethel as I came out of the shop.  All she needs is some goggles & a skull cap!

The good news is.......I acted on the some of the things I wanted to do more of this year......you can read about them here .......... which included the following:

Trash to treasures

Approximately 2 years ago, my close friend & I decided to try our hand at selling some of our creativity.  We'd been scrap-booking together for ages & then we became Pinterested.......which helped inspire us on sooooooooo many levels as well as made us ask the other a bazillion+1 times regarding various projects we'd pinned "why didn't we think of that???!!!" 

Several hundreds upon maybe even thousands of pins later & countless hours of oogling over scads of images got our creative juices flowing like the grand rapids.  We began hitting thrift stores, garage sales, & estate sales in search of buried & dusty treasures.  Sometimes we got super duper lucky......sometimes we found odds & ends we knew we could use to finish a project.......and sometimes we didn't find squat.  But, we always had some good ole' fashioned sister bonding time :)

We've been into the upcycling craze for a while now.  I've gotten friendly with an electric sander in my shop which has led me to become pretty handy with all kinds of techniques like antiquing, glazing, distressing, & waxing.  I've gone to work more than once at my real jobs with traces of paint, stain, or wax peeking out from under my nails or embedded in my cuticles - thank God for mineral spirits & lacquer thinner!

Today, we have our upcycled & hand crafted goodies in a couple of places locally.  We are constantly on the lookout for hip, slick, & cool ideas......here are a few things we've sold in our booths.......

I picked this table up at a garage sale for cheap cheap cheap....

Babyyyyyyy..........It's cold outside.........

When Anchorage, Alaska is 20+ degrees warmer than here in OK........you know it's C-O-L-D!!!  

                                                                                      

                Seriously!!!???

18 degrees feeling like its a whopping 5 degrees out there......school was even closed due to the cold -

not common around this neck of the woods!

You can also tell it's really cold out when Lou Lou naps in front of my little heater with her binkie.

Dreaming of spring days to come rolling in the warm grass while getting a suntan I bet. 

Sunday snuggling............

Good Sun-grey Morning

Do I have to let you up?

Lazy girl

Happy New Year!!!

Ok......so I'm a couple of days late......and a dollar short......not uncommon for me.....which is something I'd like to work on changing this year.  So let's talk about change....I'm not a big fan of making the normal 'New Year's resolutions' because I believe 'normal' is a cycle on a washing machine, but prefer to reframe the concept.  For instance, 'setting goals' is a little better in my brain but even going a step further & thinking of change as seeking a "revolution".

revolution - noun

1.  a sudden, complete or marked change in something 

2.  Mechanics - a turning around or rotating

                         a moving in a circular or curving course

Upon deep contemplation, which translates into me sitting in my flannel pj's while drinking hot tea or java with or without a 40lb pooch either on or beside me, revolution simply means movement - rather than stagnation.  Sometimes we, as individuals as well as couples & families, can become stagnant in repetitive patterns of behavior that long ago stopped being effective.