Two February No-Nos

There are two things that our family doesn't do in the month of February.

We don't talk about the ground hog.  Instead, we talk about birthday girls.  After all, what birthday girl wants to talk about a 4-legged rodent on her big day?

Also, we don't watch much (if any) of the super bowl, because we are too busy with birthday parties and such.

This was a big birthday weekend in our family.  Two birthday parties.  Our daughter and our niece were born on the same day -- six years apart.  Giving each girl her own "party space," we celebrated with our niece on Saturday, and for our daughter on Sunday.

Super Bowl Sunday is typically the day that we schedule our family gathering to celebrate our daughter's birthday.  This year after everyone left, I chuckled and said the neighbors probably wonder why we have a super-bowl party every year, and everyone leaves BEFORE the game....  (Because all of the birthday gifts have been opened, and all of the cake and cupcakes have been eaten, and the icing licked off our fingers - duh!)

So, yes, we birthday-partied.  And what a party it was.  Celebrating 14 years of pure joy! We enjoyed a new Pinterest recipe for a birthday cake (I'll tell you about that another time). There were camera lessons (of some sort, I heard) and lots of Leapster-Explorer-sharing in the living room.

At one end of the kitchen, the birthday girl showed a bunch of the girls how to make THESE Christmas stars, as well as some Duck tape wallets and clutch purses.

One lucky cousin even got to take a purse home!

At the other end of the kitchen (this makes me laugh, because it's not like our kitchen is huge or anything), my hubby gave a demonstration of the teapot he recently purchased.  It allows you to watch the flowering tea leaves "bloom," and then to dispense the tea from the bottom of the pot, leaving the tea leaves behind.  Sound wacky?  It is.  He found it for cheap on clearance at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. There stood a group of family members watching those silly tea-balls "bloom" -- well, it IS kind of fascinating.  (Wish I would've taken their picture, all bent over and watching...)

Looking forward: It's week SIX of the 52 Weeks to a More Organized Home.  This week we're learning about a home recycling center, and how to handle trash.  Do you recycle? I'm headed over to Taylor's Home Storage Solutions 101 next to see if our family is doing things the most efficient way, or if there are things we could be doing better.  More about that later in the week.

For now, party's over.. big kiss... everyone back to work.

HAPPY MONDAY.  Have a great week.

Picture Perfect?

Pictures.

They are a big part of a blog post.  Admit it, we all like a little visual prettiness in the middle of our reading.  There are all kinds of blog posts that admonish you about the use of pictures.  Most of all -- to USE them.

I've always taken my own pictures, and enjoy doing so.  But sometimes... well, you know - the well runs dry.  Like... in January.

From my archives.  (Thank you for asking - ha!)

Now, mind you, I've been known to ask someone if I can use an image from their blog or website.  In that case, it's someone else's image, used with permission.  This is usually only the case if I want to talk about something in particular, like a giveaway, for example.

Well, one day, in desperation, I used a photo from the Flickr "Free Use Photos" on an ordinary post of mine.  It felt strange.  Even though the photos in this particular Flickr group are available for use by anyone, it felt odd to be using someone else's work to "embellish" my own post.

Personally, I don't think I'll do it again.

Do you use all of your own images?

Are they always current - or do you sometimes pull them out of your archives?

Do you have another source that you draw from?

C'mon.  Spill the beans.

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

from Betty Crocker's Cookbook

(New and Revised Edition, fourth printing 1980)

2 pounds potatoes (about 6 medium)

3 T. margarine or butter

3 T. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2-1/2 cups milk

1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)*

1 T. margarine or butter

Wash potatoes.  Peel if desired. Cut into thin slices (about 4 cups).

Heat 3 T. margarine in saucepan over low heat until melted.  Blend in flour, salt and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.  Stir in milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir 1 minute.

Arrange potatoes in greased 2-quart casserole in 3 layers, topping each of the first two layers with 1/2 of the onion and 1/3 of the white sauce.  Top with remaining potatoes and sauce.  Dot with 1 T. margarine.  cover and cook in 325F oven for 40 minutes or in 350F oven for 30 minutes.** Uncover and cook until potatoes are tender, 60-70 minutes longer. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.  (6 servings)

* I use dehydrated onions, just adding about 1 T. (dry) to the cream sauce before layering with potatoes.

**Here's where you have to plan --> Minimum cooking time = 90 minutes

Unpeeled potatoes make for a more rustic dish, but underneath all of those browned edges, these potatoes are so creamy.  I don't make them often, but Creamy Scalloped Potatoes are definitely a family favorite!!  I hope you'll enjoy them too!

 

Project Pinterest: Epsom Salted Candle

Melissa at The Inspired Room, talked about these Epsom Salt Candles, and I pinned the idea.  Turns out Melissa got the idea from her friend Emily at Remodeling This Life -- so let's give due credit to Emily.

For $1.99, I got a one pound box of Epsom Salts (the smallest box I could find which was way more than I needed).  I already had some modge podge, and a candle just begging for a little dressing-up.

This was what I ended up with.

If you go to Emily's blog, you'll notice that her candle is more... shimmery.  (Does that make it shimmery-ER?)  For some reason my candle is not.  Yes, I know the pictures were taken in the dark... that's because I wanted to show you the cool texture -- because mine was not... SHIMMERY.  Disappointed?  Yes, a little.

In the daylight, it looks like this:

oops, forgot to crop out that bad petal...

Pretty and textured?  Yes.  Shimmery?  No.  But, I'm still happy.  I just ended up with a snowy candle, that's all -- and another easy project!



Here are the rules:
1. Decide which pin on Pinterest you’d like to recreate.
2. Create it!
3. Flop or success, create a blog post about your re-do and include the original pin’s url.
4. Add the Project Pinterest button to your post so others can join in too!
5. Link up and check out other bloggers’ posts!

Recipes, Cookbooks, and Some Treasures

Since we're supposed to be tidying up our recipes and cookbooks this week (are ya still playing along?), I thought I'd show you how I have my recipes organized.  I am not a crazy-wild recipe collector -- probably because I'm kind of a chicken about trying new things. There's nothing worse than a "flop" from your own kitchen.  Everyone in our little family tends to like what they like, and doesn't want to be bothered with the rest.  My sweet hubby is the most adventurous, and likes to do the most experimenting in the kitchen.

Anyway, back to my recipes.  Many of the recipes that I've saved are old standbys, used often.  Some are clippings of classics, like Rice Krispies Treats because, isn't it good to always have that recipe on file?  There are some that are copied or clipped because I genuinely think I will try them someday... when the time is right. (Can you say STALLING?) Still others are handed down from family members, and I just cannot bear to part with them. (i.e. My gram's peanut butter cookie recipe is not a favorite at our house, but I will never part with it.)

Recently, I sat down and went through my entire recipe drawer, and discarded a lot of recipes that just weren't going to happen.  I'm happy as long as everything fits in one drawer -- so that's enough discarding for now.

With the exception of a handful of cookbooks that I refer to, and another handful of recipes that are saved here on my computer, all of my recipes can be found in this little drawer.  I have tabbed-dividers for appetizers, salads, desserts, etc.

This is one of three drawers found in this sweet little "recipe box" that my dad made for me. (The other two are used for other purposes.)  My mom has always-as-long-as-I-can-remember had a 3-drawer like this (I'm not sure where she got it).  My dad copied the design, and made one for me and for my sister as well.  It's one of my treasures.

It's gotten beaten up over the years -- even pulled right off the counter-top by a pre-schooler whizzing by at top speed!  So, it definitely has some knicks and scratches.  One of the drawer-fronts has even been broken in half.  Still, it remains one of my proudest little treasures -- all the more special, knowing that it was made with love especially for me.

While we're talking about my dad and treasures, let me show you this beautiful china shelf that he made for me as well.

Again, my mom has a shelf JUST LIKE this.  Dad took measurements, and traced shelf profiles making copycat shelves for my sister and I.  Isn't it beautiful?

I love having my dad's handiwork in our home.  These are treasures indeed.  As are the recipes that are tried and true, and have stood the test of time.

Do you have a special way of storing

or organizing your recipes?