Monday, January 21, 2013

Menu Plan Monday






Saturday - we were busy with a DIY project and ate cereal for dinner!  :)
Sunday - grilled hot dogs and baked tater tots
Monday - Breakfast Casserole and oranges (new recipe)
Tuesday - Spinach Lasagna Rolls, salad, and rolls (new recipe)
Wednesday - Fellowship Meal at Church
Thursday - Baked Cheddar Broccoli Cups (new recipe)
Friday - Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak (new recipe)

We have a really busy week, so some of the meals may change to sandwich!  But at least I'm prepared either way.

Have a great week!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

DIY Kitchen -- Curtains

Well, I am happy to report the sun is shining here again!   It was a very dreary week raining Monday - Thursday last week and then overnight on Thursday we got a light snowfall.   It is so nice to see the sun beaming through the windows!

Speaking of windows,  we are still trying to finish up the details of our kitchen.  Did I mention we started this project in July 2012?  :)   I hate to say Pinterest again, but so much of this project was inspired by pins.   Previously, we had no window treatments - just wood blinds.  I wanted to add something above the kitchen sink after finding this lovely fabric for a steal.

It's a Waverly print and I was fortunate to find it for $8.00 yard.  The background color is really close to our wall color - Sherwin Williams Tidewater.   Back to the window above the kitchen sink,  this window does not have wood blinds, but it looks directly onto our neighbor's carport.  Fortunately, we have great neighbors, but I wanted a little more privacy.  After pinning many options,  I decided to go with this one.  While it was posted as a no-sew project, my mom did end up sewing a pocket across the top for the rod.  (yes, people I can't sew - but it's on my "to learn" list).   Anyway,  I love, love, love how it turned out.
For the ribbon,  I simply looped it around and tied the bow!  Easy peasy!   The project was definitely under $16.00 because I had fabric leftover. Which made my wheels turn -- I was trying to think of ways to incorporate more of the fabric into the kitchen... and then - I thought more curtains :)   We have an eat-in kitchen, so the two large windows in the dining area have been left uncovered (with blinds of course but that's it) - I thought adding a window treatment would help set this area apart as a different "room" if you will.  I had looked for curtains to complement the fabric but they were outrageous - at least I thought so, remember this DIY was supposed to be on a dime  :)   Then, I found this idea on Pinterest.  Instead of painting stripes on the painter's cloth,  we took a strip of the floral fabric and then a strip of the ribbon to create the stripes.  I opted to put mine at the top (instead of the bottom as shown in the pin).  And, viola...
This was taken last night, so I apologize for the poor lighting - but I am in love!   Big thanks to my friend Sally for helping with this.  She did use the iron-on stitch witchery for the ribbon, but it didn't want to hold the fabric as well as it did the ribbon so she stitched it on for me. 

I forgot to mention - the rod.  I needed a rod that would extend to at least 94 inches - have your priced those lately?  Again - too expensive!  So, I headed back to Pinterest - surely I could find an idea.  I was not disappointed with this pin.  I headed to Home Depot with her list in hand and found everything I needed - the "rod" was electrical conduit.  I purchased a 10 foot piece for $2.00 (did you hear me TWO DOLLARS) and super-husband cut it down to size.  

I'm embarrassed to say the most expensive part of this project were the rings to hold the curtain.  I could not come up with a cheaper alternative or maybe I didn't search hard enough.  :)   I bought 4 packs of 10 and placed them every 4 inches on the curtains.  The drop-cloths are probably a little heavier than curtains and I wanted to make sure they were going to stay up.  I ended up using 3.5 packs and they were around $8.00 a pack I think. 

Overall, all the whole project was very reasonably priced! I'm still debating on whether or not I want to add a rug underneath the dining table.  It would add a little more color and again, help set this area apart from the rest of the kitchen.  Stay tuned!


Thursday, January 17, 2013

Rain, rain, rain

It's rained every day this week - I'm ready for a some sunshine!   However, tonight the forecast calls for snow.  Schools have already been cancelled tomorrow in anticipation of accumulation (that's how we do it in the South - haha).  

Meanwhile, I have a cake in the oven and hoping the weather doesn't put a damper on our Pinterest party tomorrow night.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

New Twist on a Favorite....

I know I've mentioned Pinterest more than once on this blog, but I can't get enough of the awesome website.  Some of my favorite pins are "new recipes" that I've stumbled across and pinned.  I'm not going to lie I do wonder how many pins people actually try.  In an effort to make sure I do attempt some of the pins, I created a "pins I've completed" board.

Tonight's menu was tacos.  While at lunch today, I briefly remembered pinning a baked taco recipe.  I pulled it up and realized I had all the ingredients needed, so I thought - why not.

Oh my word....
The recipe did NOT disappoint.  It was a definite 5 out of 5 stars.  I used the recipe from this blog .  My only modification was baking for 5 minutes.  I'm not saying it couldn't go longer - but my cheese was melted and I didn't want to overcook the shells.  I used taco seasoning I had on hand too - we usually use Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime as our "taco seasoning".   This would be a great family friendly Valentine's Day meal.  :)

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Monday, January 14, 2013

Menu Plan Monday

Super-husband accompanied me to the grocery store this week.  Yeah,  I knew it was coming.  My menu-plan changed completely and over-budget for the week!  :)

Saturday - Nephew's Birthday party - pizza
Sunday - Lime Cilantro Steak, Salad, Baked Potato
Monday - Spaghetti
Tuesday - Pork Chops, Brown Rice, Green Beans
Wednesday -Tacos / Taco Salad
Thursday - Salmon Patties, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet peas
Friday - Chicken Tortilla Soup

I may change out one of these days for a grilling option depending on our weather.  :)

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Catching up...

Nothing much to say... the past week was busy I was semi-productive in the evenings, but didn't get nearly as much accomplished as I had hoped.  It was the first full week back at work / school, so I think it seemed like it was 10 days in the week instead of 7.

Our weekend has proven to be equally as busy.  The weather has been unseasonably warm - helllooo 70 and flip flops today!

Hope you've had a busy and productive weekend!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Menu Plan Monday

I know it's Monday, but I'm going to start with the weekend and roll into the week.  :)

Saturday - Homemade Pizza
Sunday - Grilled Buffalo Wings and Celery
Monday - Greek Chicken and Salad*
Tuesday - Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos*
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Vegetable Soup*
Friday - Lime Cilantro Steak, corn on the cob, potatoes*

From 5 Dinners in 1 Hour, free sample of the clean-eating menu.
What's on your menu this week?