day 25 - I changed this to be your *ideal* day, in great detail. Pretty low key, just how I like it :)
Sleep in (yeah that's about 7:00 a.m. for me) and drink a cup of coffee while I read a book and wait for the hubby to wake up.
Make breakfast.
Hit up the upick farm and play in the festivities going on.
Come home and plan and or make dinner/dessert.
Play with the dogs.
Grab a glass of wine, cuddle with hubby and watch a movie.
Go to bed early!
10.31.2010
10.30.2010
Day 24 – where I live
Day 24 – I changed this up a bit to what I love about where I live and that would be the community of local farmers that open up their farms for all to pick whatever produce is in season. Every weekend during the fall there is music, food, and other fun festivities going on! We've love going up there all the time; here is my husband in 2008 picking raspberries.
10.29.2010
Day 23 – a youtube video
day 23 - this is a youtube video of my sister singing at her high school graduation this year. Yeah, I totally cried.
10.28.2010
2010 Shutterfly Holiday Cards
Can you believe October is almost behind us? Where did this month go!! I know I've been MIA lately, but I've been swamped at work and by the time I get home I don't even want to look at the computer! I'm hoping to catch up on my all about me posts before the weekend is over.
Anyway, since Monday is the 1st of November and Christmas is just around the corner, I've already got my headstart on Christmas cards for this year. Earlier this month, I purchased 10 from Shutterfly and absolutely love them! I always look for a cute and great quality card that isn't going to bend too easily. These definitely fit the bill. Shutterfly has a great selection of Christmas photo cards and holiday cards to choose from, it was hard to narrow it down to just one.
These are a few of my favorites -
Also, I'm considering Christmas Thank You cards this year since my in-laws live on the east coast and we always end up mailing each other our gifts. Isn't this one super cute?
Check out more fun stuff at shutterfly.com!
*shutterfly is giving me 50 free holiday cards for this review. Want some too? Check it out here: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/
Day 22 – a website
day 22 - a website. Here are a few of my go-to websites when I have time to surf the web!
Happy Money Saver - She shares lots of great deals and coupons throughout the day.
Kevin & Amanda - Not only does she have the cutest fonts around, she shares yummy recipes and other random cute things!
Joy The Baker - Yum. Yum. Yum. And Joy is uber-cool too!
NieNie - Her positivity is so contagious, I have to get my daily dose!
Happy Money Saver - She shares lots of great deals and coupons throughout the day.
Kevin & Amanda - Not only does she have the cutest fonts around, she shares yummy recipes and other random cute things!
Joy The Baker - Yum. Yum. Yum. And Joy is uber-cool too!
NieNie - Her positivity is so contagious, I have to get my daily dose!
10.27.2010
Day 21 – a recipe
day 21 - a recipe. I haven't been doing much baking lately. I've either had my nose in a book or we've been out of town/had company over for the weekend. I mentioned the boys went hunting last weekend and I cooked venison for the first time ever. I have to admit the idea of it was a little hard for me to swallow (how punny :) but the recipe was really good.
Be sure to check out more of the recipes I've shared on this little bloggy over the past couple of years :)
Three Bean Taco Chili
Be sure to check out more of the recipes I've shared on this little bloggy over the past couple of years :)
 |
| photo from taste of home |
- 2 pounds ground beef ( I used one lb of venison, about half of an Italian Sausage)
- 2 cups water (I omitted)
- 1 can (16 ounces) refried beans (I accidently used pinto for these)
- 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (16 ounces) chili beans, undrained
- 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 1 cup chunky salsa (I thought it read 1 cup, so that's all I used)
- 1 envelope taco seasoning (I just put in about 1 palmful of cumin, some sprinkling of chili powder, garlic salt and oregano)
- 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained (I omitted)
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1. In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the water, beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, taco seasoning and olives.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Garnish with cheese. Yield: 9 servings.
10.26.2010
Day 20 – a hobby of yours
day 20 - a hobby of yours. Last year we had so many tomatoes I didn't know what to do with them. So I started exploring in the canning world, my first recipe being canned salsa, and I have been hooked ever since! I even participated in a fun jam exhange earlier this summer. Here are the recipes I sent to Leslie, my jam exchange partner. (Left one is tayberry jam, the right one is strawberry jam).
1. Place 8 or 9 8-ounce mason jars in a large hot water bath canner (or pot). Cover with water and bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer center lids in separate saucepan full of water.
3. Place mashed strawberries and lemon juice in a separate pot. Stir in pectin until dissolved. Bring strawberries to a strong boil.
4. Add sugar (measure beforehand so you can add it all at once), then return mixture to a full (violent) boil that can’t be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute 15 seconds.
5. Skim foam off the top.
6. Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water. Pour water back into the pot. Using a wide-mouth funnel, fill each jar with jam, being careful to keep the liquid/fruit ratio consistent. Fill jars so that they have 1/4-inch of space at the top.
7. Run a knife down the side of the jar to get rid of air bubbles.
8. Wipe rim of jar with a wet cloth to remove any residue or stickiness.
9. Remove center lid from simmering water and position it on top.
10. Put screw bands on jars, but do not overtighten!
11. Repeat with all jars, then place jars on canning rack and lower into the water.
12. Place lid on canner, then bring water to a full boil. Boil hard for 10 to 12 minutes.
13. Turn off heat and allow jars to remain in hot water for an addition five minutes.
14. Remove jars from water using a jar lifter, and allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
15. After 24 hours, remove screw bands and check the seal of the jars. Center lids should have no give whatsoever. If any seals are compromised, store those jars in the fridge.
picture from spilling buckets
Tayberry Jam
3 pounds tayberries
1 ¼ pounds sugar (2 ½ to 2 ¾ cups)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1. Sterilize your jars and put 5 teaspoons on a plate in the freezer, to test your jam for doneness later.
2. Set aside approximately 1/3 of the berries.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients (remaining berries, sugar, and lemon juice) in your jam pan.
4. Bring the mixture to boil.
5. After the mixture thickens a bit, add the remaining berries. I added mine at about 10 minutes, which was about halfway through the cooking process. This late addition of the berries helps your jam to have a nice texture in the end.
6. Boil the jam until it sets, using a large, shallow, stainless-steel spoon to skim the stiff foam off the top as it cooks. I started testing my jam for doneness at about 15 minutes and considered the jam finished at around 20 minutes. (Keep in mind that lots of factors can affect your cooking time; it may be very different for you, so be sure to watch the mixture and test it.)
To test your jam for doneness: Remove the pan from the heat. Use one of your frozen spoons to scoop up a little bit of jam -- not a whole spoonful. Return the spoon to the freezer and wait 3 minutes. Retrieve the spoon and hold it vertically. If the mixture runs very slowly or not at all, it’s done. Alternately, give the mixture a little push with your finger. If you see creases or wrinkles, it’s done.
7. Take care of any final skimming and ladle the hot jam into your sterilized jars. I processed mine for 5 minutes in a hot-water bath, which is appropriate for fruit at my elevation. Yields about 5 half-pint jars.
1 ¼ pounds sugar (2 ½ to 2 ¾ cups)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1. Sterilize your jars and put 5 teaspoons on a plate in the freezer, to test your jam for doneness later.
2. Set aside approximately 1/3 of the berries.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients (remaining berries, sugar, and lemon juice) in your jam pan.
4. Bring the mixture to boil.
5. After the mixture thickens a bit, add the remaining berries. I added mine at about 10 minutes, which was about halfway through the cooking process. This late addition of the berries helps your jam to have a nice texture in the end.
6. Boil the jam until it sets, using a large, shallow, stainless-steel spoon to skim the stiff foam off the top as it cooks. I started testing my jam for doneness at about 15 minutes and considered the jam finished at around 20 minutes. (Keep in mind that lots of factors can affect your cooking time; it may be very different for you, so be sure to watch the mixture and test it.)
To test your jam for doneness: Remove the pan from the heat. Use one of your frozen spoons to scoop up a little bit of jam -- not a whole spoonful. Return the spoon to the freezer and wait 3 minutes. Retrieve the spoon and hold it vertically. If the mixture runs very slowly or not at all, it’s done. Alternately, give the mixture a little push with your finger. If you see creases or wrinkles, it’s done.
7. Take care of any final skimming and ladle the hot jam into your sterilized jars. I processed mine for 5 minutes in a hot-water bath, which is appropriate for fruit at my elevation. Yields about 5 half-pint jars.
Simple Strawberry Jam
from The Pioneer Woman
5 cups hulled mashed strawberries
7 cups sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 49g package powdered fruit pectin
7 cups sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 49g package powdered fruit pectin
1. Place 8 or 9 8-ounce mason jars in a large hot water bath canner (or pot). Cover with water and bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer center lids in separate saucepan full of water.
3. Place mashed strawberries and lemon juice in a separate pot. Stir in pectin until dissolved. Bring strawberries to a strong boil.
4. Add sugar (measure beforehand so you can add it all at once), then return mixture to a full (violent) boil that can’t be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute 15 seconds.
5. Skim foam off the top.
6. Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water. Pour water back into the pot. Using a wide-mouth funnel, fill each jar with jam, being careful to keep the liquid/fruit ratio consistent. Fill jars so that they have 1/4-inch of space at the top.
7. Run a knife down the side of the jar to get rid of air bubbles.
8. Wipe rim of jar with a wet cloth to remove any residue or stickiness.
9. Remove center lid from simmering water and position it on top.
10. Put screw bands on jars, but do not overtighten!
11. Repeat with all jars, then place jars on canning rack and lower into the water.
12. Place lid on canner, then bring water to a full boil. Boil hard for 10 to 12 minutes.
13. Turn off heat and allow jars to remain in hot water for an addition five minutes.
14. Remove jars from water using a jar lifter, and allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
15. After 24 hours, remove screw bands and check the seal of the jars. Center lids should have no give whatsoever. If any seals are compromised, store those jars in the fridge.
10.25.2010
Day 19 – a talent of yours
day 19 - a talent of yours. I've mentioned before that I was a major band geek in high school. I played the french horn (oh how I miss my horn section with Lori and Briana :) and sang in various choirs. Before that I played percussion and saxophone. I can't even tell you how many times people teased with "this one time, at band camp..."
10.24.2010
Day 18 – your wedding/future wedding/past wedding
10.23.2010
Day 17 – an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
day 17 - an art piece. I made this little clay heart when I was in 2nd grade! My parents had it hanging in their house until they packed up all my stuff and brought it to me when we bought our place. It's a little dusty, but a fun keepsake from elementary school!
10.22.2010
fun fridays!
I've been looking forward to this weekend all week! Hubby and I are going to be hanging out with this good looking couple - the boys are going to be hunting while the girls bake cookies, watch movies and drink wine. Men aren't the only ones who love hunting season!
Day 16 – a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
day 16 - this song always gets me teared up! It reminds me how grateful I am for my parents with all of their love and support, particulary while I struggled through college. Now that I'm all grown up, married and making it on my own with my husband I can't help but know their encouragement is what got me through it all. And there I go getting teared up again!
10.21.2010
Day 15 – your dream house
day 15 - my dream house is a toss up between 2 different styles of houses - a rancher and a farmhouse. I absolutely love farmhouses and would love to have one on property with lots of acreage and great views (and horses for the hubby!). Check out this post from The Farm Chicks for some more awesome farmhouses!
photo from the farm chicks blog
10.20.2010
Day 14 – a non-fictional book
day 14 - I know technically this isn't a non-fiction book, but it's based on her year-long journey through self-rediscovery so it should count, right? I loved Eat Pray Love and have read it quite a few times! I especially enjoyed her journey in India as she developed her spirituality during her stay there. Have you seen the movie? What did you think? I just love Julia Roberts!
10.19.2010
Day 13 – a fictional book
Day 13 - a fictional book - I posted about my favorite one a few days back. Right now I am totally loving this Christian novel series I am currently reading - the Mark of Lion. It started off a little slow, (took me over a month to read the first 100 pages) going back and forth between 3 different characters that would eventually converge. I seriously have not been able to put it down and have considered bringing it to work so I can see what happens next!
10.18.2010
apple pie
I need to catch up on weekend posts, but first things first, I made this apple pie on Thursday for our Aunt and Uncle who had a very short visit. I used this crust I already had in the freezer, which I loved because the recipe makes 2 double crusts, freezes easily and is really flaky. I watched this video a while back with tips on how to make the pie dough. I loved the spices in the pie filling too!
Apple Pie
Recipe from Sugar Plum
2 1/2 lbs. Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon clove
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, for dotting pie
Cream, for brushing
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
1 double crust pie dough, or see Sugar Plum's site for her pie dough recipe
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove until well combined.
Remove pie dough rounds from refrigerator, and allow to warm up a bit before you start rolling. Roll out one of your pie dough rounds, thinly, on a floured surface, and fit into a 9-inch pie plate; pour 1/2 of the apples into pie plate, and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cover with remaining apples.
Roll out the second pie dough round and slice it into wide strips, using a pizza cutter. Weave strips into a lattice, covering pie. Trim away the excess dough, and make the crust look all pretty. Brush cream evenly over lattice-top, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake pie for 1 hour and 10-20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown, and apples are bubbly. Do NOT underbake - you want the apples tender. If your crust starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil.
Cool pie on a wire rack, to room temperature (or still a little warm!), before slicing.
Yield: 8-10 slices
Recipe from Sugar Plum
2 1/2 lbs. Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon clove
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, for dotting pie
Cream, for brushing
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
1 double crust pie dough, or see Sugar Plum's site for her pie dough recipe
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove until well combined.
Remove pie dough rounds from refrigerator, and allow to warm up a bit before you start rolling. Roll out one of your pie dough rounds, thinly, on a floured surface, and fit into a 9-inch pie plate; pour 1/2 of the apples into pie plate, and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cover with remaining apples.
Roll out the second pie dough round and slice it into wide strips, using a pizza cutter. Weave strips into a lattice, covering pie. Trim away the excess dough, and make the crust look all pretty. Brush cream evenly over lattice-top, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake pie for 1 hour and 10-20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown, and apples are bubbly. Do NOT underbake - you want the apples tender. If your crust starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil.
Cool pie on a wire rack, to room temperature (or still a little warm!), before slicing.
Yield: 8-10 slices
Day 12 – something you are OCD about
day 12- I'm not really OCD about much, except when it comes to washing clothes. I don't generally let my husband do any laundry because I am super paranoid about my clothes shrinking or turning pink!
10.17.2010
Day 11 – a photo of you recently
10.16.2010
day 10: photo taken over 10 years ago of you
day 10 is a photo of me I think I was about 2 or 3. Look at that fro!
10.15.2010
day 9 – a photo you took & Fun Fridays!
Day 9 – a photo you took is going to double as my fun friday for today! After seeing this sweet guest tutorial on Kevin & Amanda's blog I decided to make a few of my own. I didn't realize she used plastic pumpkins, so I decorated some of the ones we picked up from the pumpkin patch.
Happy Friday!
10.14.2010
day 8 – a photo that makes you angry/sad
10.13.2010
day 7 - a photo that makes me happy
photo by rockstar jenny j
10.12.2010
day 6 - twenty of my favorite things
All about me day 6 is 20 of my favorite things in no particular order:
1. my cup of coffee in the morning
2. our pups
3. listening to bebel gilberto
4. the crispness of autumn
5. pretty peonies
6. a night of playing board games with friends
7. getting manis & pedis
8. turbo kickboxing at the gym (when I'm not injured)
9. a nice glass of red after a long day
10. baking cookies
11. a challenging job
12. wearing a cute apron
13. reading a good book that is hard to put down
14. singing my little heart out
15. my grandma's flour tortillas
16. childhood friends
17. lazy Sundays
18. fresh peaches
19. holding hands with my hubs
20. tea time
fall lovin
We had our friends over this weekend and stopped by the local u-pick farm for some pumpkins, apples and fresh cider! It was so much fun; although I'm not so sure the hubby was super happy about loadng up our 90-pounder! 
Oh, and I got to wear this super cute scarf I got from Jessica for the scarf swap! Thanks Jess, I love it!! Be sure to stop by her blog, she is one month away from wedded bliss :))
10.11.2010
day 5 - favorite quote
All about me day 5 favorite quote - one of my favorites comes from the Bible.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5,6
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