Tis the Season for Salad

I have to admit that I've never really liked taco salad...until I found this recipe.  Of course, I altered things a bit to my liking and made it my own.

Best thing about this salad, it takes about 15 minutes to throw together and it has all your food groups in one big bowl!


Plus, this salad will fill you up.  In my case, I eat so much that you get that I ATE TO MUCH! uncomfortable fullness.  But hey, it's just salad, right?  How much can it possibly add to your waist line?  You be the judge. :)

Here's the quick recipe:

1 lb. ground beef  (I've substituted ground turkey too.)

1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

1 c. water

1 large head of lettuce (I usually mix Romaine and Red Leaf Lettuce...I can't stand iceberg.)

1-2 c. cheese ( Mexican Blend is my favorite.)

1/2 to 1 full red onion depending on size and preference.

1/4 bottle of Catalina dressing

1/2 small bottle of taco sauce

Dorito nacho flavored chips, crumbled (Again, however many you want.) 

1 to 2 diced tomatoes

Even my dad (who tends to be a food snob) loves this recipe. 

I dare ya to give it a try!

Linking to:




House of Hepworths

Somewhat Simple

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

So Cool!

Oh My Heck! as we say here in Utah!

Christina over at The Tattered Tag  picked me to be The New Neighbor on the Blog!

Christina was one of the first followers of my blog and she has been supportive of everything I've done.

She hosts several different blog parties and I try to link something up every week.  She is awesome because she has never missed giving me a great comment on every.single.project I've linked up.  See what I mean...she's totally awesome?!  

Go to her adorable blog and give her a big shout out for me!

I Made It Myself

I started out with this and just about decided to leave it as is.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind this wreath at all and it definitely has the spring look I'm going for.  I made it about 2 years ago but wanted to do just-a-bit-more this year.

The reason it almost stayed like this is because I wanted one of those cute little bird nests that I've seen all over blog land.  But I HAVE NOT been able to find one.  Anywhere.  And believe me I've really looked!  

So I decided to make one myself.  I cut some twigs off the trees in my yard and then got out my bag of moss, a lot of hot glue, some twine, and I went to town.  I also found a little bird house at Joann's for a dollar, spray painted it and used some distress ink for antiquing.  (Sorry, the pictures don't show that work at all.)  The eggs are rocks that look egg shaped to me and I wanted everything to have a more natural look.

 

And....voila!  I think I did an ok job of adding some cute. :)

Getting this birdhouse onto the wreath was  $&#(*&$  frustrating!  I ended up putting a small nail in the back, tied some twine to it and then wrapped it around the wreath. The hot glue I tried first was just not doing it!

I added a little more moss around the whole wreath to integrate the mossy nest a bit.

Now I'm done and I'm not touching this again.
Mainly, because...

I can't handle extra clean up like this very often, and I didn't show you the floor! :)

Linking to:

The Tattered Tag

Between Naps on the Porch

Pinkapotamus

The Stories of A to Z

Not Just a Housewife

Today’s Creative Blog

Centsational Girl

This Blessed Nest

Savvy Southern Style

Blue Cricket Design

House of Hepworths

Somewhat Simple

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Fingerprints on the Fridge

I Had a Good Laugh!

I know I haven't posted in awhile.

It's been one of those exhausting weeks that you just try to get through.

My youngest has been battling double ear infections and strep throat again and I've had a horrible pinched nerve and pulled muscle in my neck from carrying the before mentioned youngest on my shoulders.

One more thing. I've been WAY busy working on house training the new puppy.  It's coming along, but it's slow.

Today I asked my husband to wipe up the muddy prints all over my kitchen from the dogs coming in out of the miserable weather.  (It is snowing a.g.a.i.n, another motivation drain in my book.)

He did it without complaining but insisted he needed these:

I laughed my head off!  

What woman would think to wear knee pads for a 2 minute job?

It took him longer to put the knee pads on than to wipe up the floor.  Hehehe!

I think he figured out how hard I was laughing at him when I whipped out the camera to snap a shot.

I don't know if he thought I was very funny. :)

I bought a few pieces of junk today too.

I have IDEAS for these.

Just so you know I am still planning on talking about new projects...I just needed a bit of inspiration.

My husband did a good job at not laughing at me when I brought my treasures home today. Plus, this hard working hubby went to Home Depot with me to scope out a few projects I'm dying to get done.  He insists we have a detailed plan in place before we tackle them though.  You can't tell he's an engineer and I'm just a get-er-done girl can you?  Luckily, we DO love each other so we work through each nightmare great project with just a few discussions.

Have a great weekend and I'm hoping to be back next week if I can get over this spring, winter like, boredom.

I linked this to:

Vintage Revivals

Do Over

This is what I used to have in the mini hallway you enter from my garage.

It just wasn't quite doin' it for me.

I wanted something that I could still hang my keys up on but I also needed some type of message center.

Inspiration struck when I found this cabinet door at the thrift store for $3.00.

Are you getting where I'm going with this?

I ripped the poster off of the front.

Sanded with my hubs orbital sander.  This was a five minute job that I procastinated for about 3 weeks because I HATE to sand.

I taped off the edges and spray painted the center with chalkboard paint.

After that, a couple of coats of red, semi-gloss paint went on the edges. 

(I already had the paint leftover from painting my u.g.l.y. front door last summer.)

Now this is what you see when you walk in from the garage.

I know you've seen a T.O.N. of chalkboard projects, but this is new for me and I love how it works in my space.

Recognize these hooks?

They came off what was hanging hear earlier...just needed some different screws that would work with the cabinet thickness.

I had this little glass thingamabob on a magnet board.  I put a screw in the wall and then hot clued it to the head of the screw.

Tie some grosgrain ribbon into a cute little bow over it and we're playing dress up!

Now I have my message center with hooks for keys.

 I'm liking this look just a bit more than the picture with the small spot for keys.

This little board has attitude.  Especially, considering I only spent about 6 bucks on it!  I might need to lower the bow just a bit though.

It's always something, ain't it?

Ok, it's a day later, and I fixed the bow.

Did you really think my OCD self would let that slide?

Linking to:

The Tattered Tag
Under the Table and Dreaming
DIY Home Sweet Home Project
Between Naps on the Porch
Dittle Dattle
The Stories of A to Z
Today’s Creative Blog
A Diamond in the Stuff
Blue Cricket Design
Domestically Speaking
DIY Showoff
I’m Topsy Turvy
Tip Junkie
House of Hepworths
Vintage Revivals

We Have a New Addition!

We have a girl!

A girl puppy that is.

We got her about 2 days ago and her name is Abby.

She is a sweetheart!

She plays really well with my three boys and the other animals we have in the house.

Of course we're still working on the potty training thing but with this face it's hard to get upset with her even when there is an accident.

We all have learning curves. :)

Just in case you're wondering, she's a Bernese Mountain Dog.  One of the best dog breeds on the planet in my not so humble opinion.

This is the first time I've had a female.  I have always been completely surrounded by testosterone!  I've already got her a pink collar and tag...I just-could-not-resist!

Hopin' you have a great remainder of your weekend!

One of My Favorites

Check out what I made for dinner last night!

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes.  The flavors are so simple and the whole thing is pretty easy to make too.

I love the colors...they are so fresh looking!  (Sorry my bowl looks a little messy in this pic.)

I usually make this in the summer, because it is fun to use ingredients fresh from the garden.  But I-have-been-craving-this-NOW!  So of course, it had to be made. 

I originally found this recipe in Giada De Laurentiis's book:  Giada's Family Dinners.  Ya gotta love this girl...she makes the.best.looking stuff!

Here's the recipe for ya'll if you want to give it a shot:

Salt

1 1/2 C. ditalini pasta

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

5 plum tomatoes (I use Roma tomatoes), cored and chopped

8 oz. fresh mozarella cheese, cut into 1/2 in. cubes

8 large fresh basil leaves, coarsley chopped

1 can of sliced olives

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add the ditalini and cook, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 min.  Drain.

While waiting for pasta, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 min.  Add the tomatoes and saute just until heated through, about 2 min.  Add the cooked pasta.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Add the cheese and basil, and toss to coat.  Season the pasta to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

This is SO DANG GOOD!

I love to serve it with a tossed salad or fresh cut fruit and garlic bread, of course.

Enjoy!

Linking to:

Blue Cricket Design
Blessed With Grace
House of Hepworths
Tatertots and Jello
Fingerprints on the Fridge
The Speckled Dog
Remodelaholic

Wild Child!

You want to know what happens when a bunch of boys get together and find out how fun rock throwing is?

(Sorry this is so blurry, the kid just won't hold still!)

Isn't this the prettiest shade of red/purple/blue/yellow?

He doesn't do anything halfway, (Ex. - Bugging the crap out of his brothers, and doing whatever he's told not to.) including black eyes. 

Pretty obvious how excited he is!

Actually, he's just a total ham and loves getting his picture taken.

Tommy - a.k.a. WILD CHILD!

A Little Spring Inside

Ok, ok, I admit that I'm a bit jealous of everyone in other parts of the country who are seeing signs of spring.

Things here are starting to warm up but you never know when that freak spring storm is going to hit.

I decided I really needed a jump on spring so I brought a little inside.  Plus, spring is one of my favorite seasons.  (I happen to love Easter too.)

 

I found all of these hurricane pieces and the cheese cloche at the DI.  

The ones with the candlestick bases were made by me.  I spray painted a couple of blue candlesticks white and then hot glued them to the bottom of the glass pieces.  I also spray painted the base of the cloche.

The Easter eggs are actually made out of chalk.  I found them at the dollar store.  I was going to make some with the robin's egg look (I still might.) but these will do if I don't have the time to make my own.

I love this ivy that I planted in a little pot from Ikea.  Of course setting it on spanish moss gives it more of a natural element in my book. :)

My favorite might be this cute little teacup I put inside of my cloche.  I love blue and white china soooo much!

  I know I'm a sucker!

I love the little orchid I found too.  My husband hates how it sticks out of the hurricane...but what does he know?  I'm sold on it and that's what counts, right?

I tried grouping a few of these thing on a tarnished silver tray I picked up at a garage sale years ago.  I don't know if I'm lovin' this look but it does make it easier to scoot things out of the way when it's time for dinner.

Sometimes function wins over style.....sometimes!  Ha! 

Whichever, I'm happy to have a few fun spring things to liven up my home.

Hope you all have a great remainder of your weekend!

Linking to:

Blue Cricket Design
House of Hepworths
Remodelaholic
Tatertots and Jello
Fingerprints on the Fridge
The Speckled Dog
Green Door Designs
Centsational Girl
A Stroll Through Life