Christmas mini album

One of my absolute favorite parts of Christmas, is recieving cards in the mail! I love to get newsletters, photos, and everything else. I always struggle with what to do with all of it though. Make a scrapbook just for those items? **shudder** throw them away? What do you do with it?

So I saw this on the Close to my Heart website, and knew it would be quick and easy to make! I bought a set of their pre-made Christmas cards. This set is called Peaceful Season. I am sorry I didn't take pictures of the individual steps but I will just try to walk you through it. It is very simple! ** I used the Close to my Heart card kits, but any card and envelope would work!

First you want to gather your cards. I chose ones that are the same theme, but not the exact same. You want to place the cards, as if you were opening a book. Adhere the open side and the bottom. I did this with a tape runner. DO NOT ADHERE THE TOP! This is a place to put a tag or something else. Once all the cards are adhered...

You want to line up the envelopes. You want the open side of the envelope to be on the outside so it is easy to fill it with pictures, cards etc.I used as many envelopes as I had cards.

Punch a hole in the top left hand corner in all cards and envelopes. Add ring to keep it together. Tie a ribbon around the ring. Fill and decorate with stickers and other embellishments.

If I didn't explain it very well, please feel free to email me and I would be happy to answer any questions!

Show and Tell Friday

I haven't been on this blog since last Friday! I have been trying to limit my time on the computer, because I feel like it really limits my productivity! Blogs are so addictive! But I knew I wanted to participate in Show and Tell so here goes...


Living on an island, can make it hard to get in the Autumn/Fall spirit. But after visiting lots of show and tells last week, I was truly inspired. I had read in a Country Living magazine that rooster decor was "hot" right now. So I was thrilled when I went to our Navy Exchange store and found this cute little wire rooster! I placed two glass pumpkins that I found at Ross ( $2 each)on either side. They are placed on a cloth napkin, on top of a matching tablecloth. Now that I look at the pictures though, I think it blends in a little too well,and am going to use a solid colored cloth napkin/placemat. I was not born with a decorating gene so you have to bare with me!

This week I have been feeling really under the weather. A nasty cold that has just left me feeling blah. I can't think of a better cure, than laying under a blanket and reading a good book. This quilt is special to me for many reasons. My Grandmother was always working on a quilt. I remember going to her teeny apartment where she would have a quilting frame up that took over the whole living room!Our home was always full of quilts that she lovingly made for each of my siblings and me. When she died, my mom and her sister, went through all her fabric, and quilt remnants. My Mom had decided to finish three (one for my two sisters and I). Being the youngest girl, mine was the last one to be done, and for some reason I can't remember why it didn't get done. My Mom asked if instead I would "mind" having this yellow wedding ring quilt. Did I mind? I have loved that quilt since I was a little girl I had this grand scheme to sneak it off to college with me but I never did. I was so happy to recieve it. It stayed on my bed for a long time, but there were too many accidents. My kids left a marker on it, a sippy cup spilled etc. I didn't want it to get ruined ( I would love to pass it down to my daughter some day.) Now it resides at the end of my bed. Every evening I lay under it and read. Or snuggle with my husband or my children. It comes out for movie nights and many other times.

Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me! If you want to participate in Show and Tell you can go to Kelli's

Show and Tell Friday

I can't believe that I have only done one of these! I did one back in April and haven't done one since. I have not been updating this blog as much but am trying to get back. So here is my first show and tell in a loooong time!

Over Labor Day weekend, I turned the big 3-0! And I was spoiled rotten. Besides a much wanted bread maker, my husband built me a new entertainment center! I had been complaining about all of our dvd's, video game systems, cords and etc. So he designed a new one and than spent the last couple of weeks making it for me. I love it! Tons of storage, no cords showing. He also turned the old entertainment center into a scrapbook armoire. I haven't taken pictures yet, maybe next week!

He also bought me a new dining set. Unfortunatley it hasn't come into the store yet. We have had our old table for 5 years and we bought it at a thrift store. It is starting to wobble really badly, and is getting to small for our family. While we were at the furniture store, I also got to get two cute baskets. I love baskets for storage and decorating. The picture is of the bigger one.

Am I spoiled or what? I am so glad I have such a sweet and handy husband!

Tackle it Tuesday

OK I was honestly so happy to finally get this job done! My pantries have been an absolute mess. I know that I am lucky to have 2 nice big areas but they were a mess. I couldn't find anything! We had 2 families move away recently (we are military) and so they brought us all the food that was still in their house. So we have had an insane amount of food. At least it looked like it because everything was such a mess. So I started out by taking everything out. I found things that had gone stale, empty pkgs. etc so I got rid of all first. Then I started putting like items together. We had a ton of drink packets ( like kool-aid singles, crystal light...) so I put all of those in one container, all the packets of oatmeal in a basket etc. These are my before and after pictures. And the last one is of the huge pile of trash that I had after I was done! Thanks for looking at my tackle!

mpm

Ok I haven't updated this since July. Yikes. However, school is back in session, hubs has returned from his deployment, and I am having a fun time in the kitchen. So I begin...again. It's about the journey not the destination right?! Well recently I have found some AWESOME cooking blogs and so I am making a couple of new dishes this week, based on their recipes.If interested in the sites & recipes I would be glad to email you or put it in the comments!

Monday:
crustless quiche
hashbrowns
fruit

Tuesday:
hoagies ( my 7 yr. old has been begging to have these)
chips & dip
cucumbers and carrots

Wednesday:
Honey lime chicken enchiladas
spanish rice
corn on the cob

Thursday:
creamy chicken italiano
rolls
salad

Friday:
nachos ( our family has family movie night on Friday's and so we like to have something fun & something that we can eat in front of the tv)

Saturday:
hamburgers and hot dogs
french fries
mac & cheese
fruit

Sunday:
creamy crockpot chicken & brocoli over rice
rolls
salad

MPM

My goodness, it has been so long!! I have really been slacking off on my homemaking duties. Summer has a way of doing this to me, but when you add in my hubby being deployed, it just makes for a disaster! lol From not keeping the kids on a regular bed time schedule, to sleeping in, to not doing a night time routine and more, the house feels like it is going to fall apart! So the first thing I am going to start with is meals. You know meals have become lax around your home when your daughter asks you to make her a casserole instead of mac & cheese! So here goes my menu:

Monday: spagetti, bread, brocoli, fruit

Tuesday: sloppy joes, baked oven fries, applesauce

Wednesday: pork chops, couscous, cresants

Thursday: scrambled eggs with ham and hash browns

Friday: mom's night out

Saturday: blt's (made with turkey bacon) pretzels, carmel apple salad

Sunday: kids pick

Thanks for stopping by! I am looking to start a gluten free diet, but in need of recipes! So if you know of any sites or have any ideas, please let me know. Thanks!

MPM

My husband only has a week left before he deploys to East Timor. So I am trying to have nice big dinners this week. Who knows what he will be eating when he gets there! So here is my plan for the week...

Monday:
pulled pork sandwiches
tater tots
green beans

Tuesday: ( hubby gone)
Beef macaroni
rolls
applesauce

Wednesday:
chicken & stuffing casserole
cresants

Thursday:
eggs w/ ham
juice
muffins

Friday:
pizza
peaches

Saturday:
grocery