Monday, August 29, 2011

Pinterest...

I am having this Love Hate Relationship with Pinterest! Have you heard of this fabulous website yet? You probably have... I'm usually the last one to be "In the Know" of anything and everything! This website is a great way to keep track of all those things you have been wanting to try, and a fabulous way to discover new and inspiring ideas. I guess you can say it is a virtual pinboard ~ a place where you can create collections of things you love and "follow" collections by people with great taste.
Now... Here is where my Love Hate Relationship begins. Once I start looking around Pinterest, from picture to picture, blog to blog. I start thinking of all the boards I want to create and all of the projects I want to begin. This is where minutes turn into hours. I'm not kidding! Some serious hours!!! Here are just a few of my boards and a picture from each...
For the Love of Kitchens...




Craft Rooms to Dream About...























I Do Forever...






















Creative Cakes/Cupcakes...


















Food and Styling...
Fabulous Fabrics...











































Gardening...





For the Love of Bedrooms...
Painted Furniture...
For the Love of Bathrooms...
Gift Wrapping/Snail Mail...
Let's Do Some Laundry...
Decorating Ideas...
HeadBoards...
Just Plain White...
Stop by Pinterest when you have a few hours. You will love it! Promise...
XoXo,


Thursday, August 25, 2011

A Freebie For You...

Last night I was up way too late on the computer! Hopping from blog to blog/website to website. Getting so many fun and creative ideas, for my never ending "Project List." Lets be honest here ~ my project list is really a big fat notebook with hundreds of pictures from magazines (which is a whole other issue of mine and another post), little scraps of papers with words, drawings, lists of what I will need for said projects, paint colors, fabric swatches, tools I must have and so much more. There is absolutely no organization going on in This Notebook, but I love it!!! I love to look through it and dream...  
 One of the blogs I found was called The Happy Homebodies. Her name is Jordan and her blog is full of cute ideas for your home. On one of her posts, she was sharing that you could get 25 free business cards from Minted.com. They are calling them "Mommy Calling Cards" but you can customize them for whatever your needs may be. You get the 25 free cards, but you do have to pay the $7.95 shipping. This is the design I ordered late last night. 


There are tons of designs, fonts and colors to choose from. Their website is also very friendly/easy to use. That is always extremely important to me. They usually charge $30.00 for 25 business cards, so there definitely is a savings going on here. This offer ends on Sept. 23. Just wanted to share this with you...
XoXo

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Love These Stores...

It's so much fun just to walk around HomeGoods/TJ Maxx! You never know what you will find to bring home with you. These apothecary jars are perfect for my cotton balls and Q~tips! No...I don't keep them on my porch, really. I was just trying to find the perfect lighting. Ugh! This seems to be my biggest problem with all of my photos. Note to Self... Definitely take a photography class very very soon! 






And of course I had to have these! We live in South Florida~you can never ever have too many pairs of sandals...
XoXo,
 

Saturday, August 6, 2011

A French Onion Pot Roast (Slow Cooker)...















I must say... I really do love my slow cooker! It's probably one of my favorite appliances. Right next to my blender, for making Pina Coladas. My Keurig, for coffee every morning and fresh brewed tea in the afternoons. Oh yes, and my Kitchen Aid Mixer of course! Ok..ok... I have four favorite appliances! Now that I have figured that out ~ I will tell you it is so easy to throw a complete meal in the slow cooker. I do this sometimes in the morning before going to work or just if I'm going to have a busy day. This slower cooker of mine... also, has the capability to make me feel like a really good mother for that day! The reason being is because the days that I work, I usually don't get home until after 8pm. So... My girls are thrilled to have a nice hot meal to help themselves to... 













Ingredients...
  • 3~4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon meat tenderizer
  • 1~2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 celery stalks, trimmed and cut into small pieces
  • 4 carrots, washed and cut into thirds
  • 2 medium sized potatoes, cut into small pieces
  • 3 fresh garlic cloves minced
  • 10.5 ounce can french onion soup, condensed (I use Campbell's)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 can of water
Directions...
  • Mix flour, salt, pepper and meat tenderizer together in a small bowl.
  • Trim any fat off the sides of the roast and rinse with water. Pat dry with paper towels. Add flour mixture to cover the roast.
  • Heat 1-2 Tbsp of oil in a non-stick or cast iron skillet on medium to medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add roast to heated pan and heat to sear for 2-4 minutes on each side. (Add more oil if needed and lower heat if necessary.)
  • Add carrots, celery, potatoes and fresh garlic to the bottom of the slow cooker and add roast on top of the vegetables. Add french onion soup and 1/2 to 3/4 can of water to the slow cooker.
  • Cook roast in slow cooker on low for 10 hours or high for 5 hours.
Sometimes you just can't get any better than "Comfort Food..."                  
                                                                                Ps...The day after I made the pot roast I was putting away the slower cooker. It actually lives next to my blender in a cabinet. When pulling out the blender I dropped it on the floor for it to shatter into many pieces... Ugh! 
XoXo,


Modified from " The Little Kitchen " French Onion Pot Roast recipe...