Bloom

 

 

This post really doesn't need much wording. This past year I have come to really enjoy fresh flowers in my home. I don't buy them very often, because the nearest grocery store or market that offers decent blooms is almost an hour away, so it just isn't worth the trouble usually. I would take a couple of fresh hydrangeas and some baby's breath over a dozen roses any day (as seen here).

 

This little jewel makes me really happy because it came from my very own flowerbed. I clipped it yesterday. The other blooms are blooming brown and pink but this one was beautiful and white. It's the little things....

 

 

 

Bulletin Boards

I mentioned before (in this post) that I was a chairperson for a bulletin ministry in our church. We have very limited funds for it and often reuse supplies already on hand -- I say that so you can take it into consideration when you judge the work ;)

It is a fun ministry to be involved in. The iPhone bulletin board has definitely been a crowd favorite so far - believe it or not it has risen above to be the most viewed post I've ever published here - it gets about 50 daily page views (sometimes a lot more on higher-circulation days) from Google Images and Pinterest.

I wanted to show a couple of other bulletin boards we've done recently. The first one was up for a period in the summer and it showcased baptisms we had over the summer (we are very blessed to be a part of a church that has salvation decisions and baptisms nearly every week) and also upcoming summer events. The second is currently up now and it is a football themed bulletin board. We have a growing college ministry and have a large group of football players from a local college who have been attending. Our small town is really into high school football too, so I thought a football bulletin board would be appropriate and fun for fall.

 

 

 

 

Project Post 27: Door Welcome Sign

I went to Hobby Lobby to return something and grabbed a small chalkboard while I was there. They are really inexpensive and you can get them anywhere. Hobby Lobby's are priced at $7.99 so with their weekly 40% off coupon you can get out with it for less than $5. I'm sure Wal-Mart, Target, or Michael's offer about the same thing/price.

I painted the unfinished wood frame of the chalkboard black to make it just a little less cheap-looking. First I just brushed a little craft paint on it but wasn't really satisfied because I got a little paint on the chalkboard (I'm not very careful), so then I just took the whole thing outside and sprayed it down with chalkboard paint. Whatever works... :/ 

I screwed two little eye hooks into the top so I could hang it with ribbon from a wreath hanger on the front door. I think it turned out pretty charming for a cheap, fast, and easy project. I'm sure I'll use it to display lots of "Happy Birthdays" and special messages for friends and family.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Nanny

I have plenty of blog post material waiting to be photographed, edited, then uploaded, but not the time to do it. Soon.....
Until then, you will have to deal with miscellaneous life photos :)

Monday we celebrated Nanny's birthday at her restaurant of choice: Hideaway. There were 12 in attendance for the celebration of her 77th year. Not too shabby for a Monday at noon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baked Mac'n'Cheese

 

Last weekend my parents had us over for steak and baked potatoes and my mom told me to bring another side. I made some green beans (Levi loves 'em) and broke out this recipe I pinned a while back. Guys, it was reeeeaaaaaaalllllllly good. It's definitely a comfort food (and a great football season dish!) and you definitely feel a little guilt when you eat it, but it's a GREAT recipe.

 

As far as I know, everyone else liked it too and my husband said he could "eat a whole meal of just that." I pretty much copied it exactly (made a few changes). Here you go:

 

Ingredients:

4 T butter

Coarse salt & black pepper

3 C jumbo elbow macaroni

2 12-oz cans evaporated milk

1/3 C milk

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 8-oz pkgs shredded cheddar cheese

1 8-oz pkg Monterey Jack cheese

paprika

 

Instructions:

Cook macaroni according to package instructions and add a dash of salt. Drain, return to pot, add butter and toss until pasta is well-coated. Set aside. Whisk together evaporated milk, milk, and eggs. Add seasoned salt, garlic powder, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Set aside. Combine cheeses in another bowl and set aside.

 

In a greased 9x13 pan, pour 1/3 of the macaroni and spread in the bottom. Cover evenly with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining macaroni and cheese mixture. Pour milk mixture evenly over contents of baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake until top has browned nicely, 35-45 minutes at 375 degrees. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

 

*You'll probably be thinking "good grief this is a LOT of cheese!!" as was I. I didn't end up using quite ALL of the cheese.



 

Labor Day Mini-Vacation

A couple of months ago we planned to take a weekend vacation around the first of September. That sounds like a normal thing, but it was very abnormal for us because it was going to be our first trip without and away from Levi since he was born. He's about to turn 2 (tear) so I guess it was about time. We went to Memphis and just relaxed, found good restaurants, and explored the city. It was a nice little long weekend but we sure were glad to get back to our boy. I thought I'd share some snapshots, even though I didn't snap pictures of anything particularly interesting:)

{A favorite place on the way}

 

{Crossing the river into Memphis}

 

{Downtown}

 

{Swanky's Taco Shop patio dining...until we got pelted with a surprise downpour and hurried inside}

 

 

 

{My favorite attraction!}

 

 

{Cotton fields}

 

 

{We found a really neat farm and explored - it was like a big public park}

 

 

 

 

{Trip Advisor led us to some great food!}

 

{I had to be fair and give Tyler a little shopping time too...}

 

Silly

Sometimes after hours of structured "therapy," we just need to take a break and be silly. At this particular time, Levi found it entertaining to watch himself make faces in my phone camera, and then to mimic the faces I made. And then I realized what we had spent 30 minutes doing was actually therapy. Bonus!