Friday, October 26, 2012

I Feel Like Mike Wasowski!

But, you know, without being green...or a "one-eyed cretin."
 
Kinda like when he and Sully were on the TV commercial
but the network logo covered his whole face.
 
Kinda.
 
But he was still totally excited?
 
That's me.
 
See this magazine?   Guess what's inside it...
Nothing fancy...but a picture of my rainbow painted metal folding chairs!
That post has been crazy popular.  Who woulda thunk it?
 
 
Scrap365 contacted me and asked to use the photo for color inspiration.
 
Okay...so it's a magazine in the UK.
And it's just a picture of chairs.
 
But it DOES have my name and my blog name listed.
 
It still makes my heart sing

 
Thanks for letting me share this little bit of excitement with you.
 
 
You guys are great!
 
What little things regarding your blog make your heart sing?
 
©Kelly


Monday, October 22, 2012

A Halloween Wreath ~ and a Tutorial Rhyme


As the time drew nigh on Hallowe'en
I thought a wreath might be quite keen.

Hence, a circle made of vine,
and some fabrics oh so fine.


While assembling my loot,
a furry helper came to snoop.

She's all thumbs, or it'd be fun
if she could wield the hot glue gun.


Then I made my fabric strips,
doing so with violent rips.

So the edges would be frayed,
See? My furry helper stayed.


So I wrapped them round and round,
till all the vine was good and bound.

Securing every turn or two
with some handy dandy glue.


Half-way through I start to sweat...
How much fabric did I get?

Will there be enough to finish?
Will my confidence diminish?


But, alas, no fear was needed.
For my wreath is now completed.

Embellish some and off we go...
Hey...I see a little crow!


Roll some flowers from some scraps,
add them here and there, perhaps.

Use some more to make the bow,
hang it high or hang it low.


This small bird has come to nest
hoping now to get some rest.

Little does he know his fate,
ghouls and goblins lay in wait.


For soon they'll come with faces sweet,
trolling for some trick or treat!

And he will have no place to go
while the pumpkins are a-glow.


So he will have to sit some more
hanging out upon my door.

Till the ghosts are on their way
and end the night with All Saints' Day.


If you made it to the end...
I applaud you, my dear friend. :)

I think all that rhyming made my head hurt.

This wreath was greatly inspired by Desiree at The 36th Avenue.

Have a sweet one!


©Kelly

Friday, October 19, 2012

Leaf Peeping in Poudre Canyon


A couple of weeks ago, we took a drive through
the Poudre Canyon to see some fall foliage.


We picked a crappy day to do this since it turned out to be rather overcast.


And I'm not sure everything was at peak color.


Oh well...it was still beautiful.


And we got to enjoy each other's company. :)


And we only argued a little...about when to stop to take pictures.


This is COOOOLD water, folks.


Sleeping Elephant Mountain is one of my favorite sights on this drive.


See how fun it is?


Occasionally the clouds would part and show a little blue sky.


This is my favorite shot of the day.


Can you believe I once knew a lady who said the
mountains were only pretty with snow on them?


She must have some serious issues.


Yes...I miss the full range of fall colors in the Midwest...
but seriously, people...Colorado is a gorgeous place.


We picnicked at the Cameron Pass Summit.


Driving along I thought: The Serengeti of the High Plains.
Without the giraffes or zebras.


The one above and the next couple were taken from a moving vehicle.
Sometimes it's just not wise to stop.



This was another scene I really liked.



Here's a random bit of weirdness.
Once upon a time...long, long ago...
I told someone it was my goal to pee in every 7-Eleven in Colorado Springs.
{sadly, a goal I never reached...}

Now it's kind of a joke amongst my family...
but I had to take a picture of the one in Granby we stopped at to top off the tank
...and, yes...to use the restroom.



So, there you have it.
Some fall color in the Rockies...wish you were here?


I'm not a big John Denver fan,
but Colorado Rocky Mountain High hits the nail on the head.


Have you been out "leaf peeping" this year?
What's your favorite place to peep?

©Kelly
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Forget the Breadcrumbs Baked Meatballs


I mentioned once that we were trying to cut
carbs here in my patch of moonlight.

Shhhh...don't bring up this post, or this post, or especially this post.
I love to bake...don't judge. :)
  
Those are occasional indulgences.  As far as you know.

For the most part...we cut back on breads, pastas and such.
We usually don't have a starchy side with dinner.
Protein and veggies.
That's us.



This was something I came up with to change things up a little.
These meatballs are SOOOOO good...you might sing a little hallelujah song.
Okay...maybe that was just me.
Whatever.

Did you know that it's not necessary to load up your
meatballs {or even meatloaf} with breadcrumbs or crackers?

Nosirree, Bob.

I didn't even use egg.
Funny thing meat...it kinda cooks together like that.

Dump all your ingredients in a big bowl...like so:



Now might be a good time to remove any jewelry up to your elbows.


Now...mush it all up together making sure to get all
the seasonings and different meats well blended.

Now, I used a muffin scoop to shape them so I
knew they would all be about the same size.



Round them out some and put 'em in a baking dish.
Give 'em room to breathe a little.



Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 30 minutes.



Let's Eat:

 Forget the Breadcrumbs Baked Meatballs
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage {I used mild}
  • 1/2 cup {or more} grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pepper to taste {about 1/2 tsp for me}
  • 1/2 - 3/4 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp crushed fresh garlic
  • 1 tsp dried minced onion
  •  1/4 - 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Mix all ingredients really well.  Form into 2-3" balls.
Place in an oven safe baking dish...NOT touching.
Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes.

printable version

Eat them straight out of the pan.
Or you could be more civilized and put them on a plate.
Toss them in spaghetti.
Just be careful of the pepper...if somebody sneezes...
your poor meatball...could roll out the door.

Enjoy!

:) Kelly

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I Heart Naptime

Thursday, October 11, 2012

DIY Wonder Woman Costume

When I was a kid...I looooooved Wonder Woman.
I mean...who didn't? She was one kick butt chick!
And she had her own invisible jet.

Shut the front door!

So, last year when Sara wanted to be Wonder Woman...I was all over that!

And, yes, she still dresses up.

Sara has NEVER had a store bought costume.
That's not to say sometimes some parts of her costume weren't purchased.
But she's never worn a plastic mask with an annoying elastic string that
pullsyourhairandmakesithardtobreatheandhardertosee.


Keep in mind...I was not really blogging this time last year.
I think I had posted two whole things.

I had made this collage and posted it to my Facebook page...I'll break it down a bit.


As the picture above says:

1. $3 square toed boots from Salvation Army
spray painted with Krylon Cherry Red...then hand painted white stripe

2. A red cami ~ the Heat'n Bond worked great!
I found the eagle image through a Google search...
I just picked one I thought would be easy to cut out.
I attached the heat'n bond to the gold lamé first, then
pinned the print out on and cut it out and ironed it on the cami.

3. Blue leggings, also from the thrift store...cut into shorts and hemmed.
We used felt and the heat'n bond again for the stars...but
if you have iron-on vinyl...that would be easier - or paint.
Once the shorts were done...we sprayed them with glitter paint.


4. The headband and wrist cuffs were made from yellow foam sheets
Cut them out and painted gold, then glittered.
{After I made these, I found GLITTER foam sheets. Ugh.}
The wrist cuffs have snaps glued on.

5. Sara had a piece of stretchy gold sequined belt she wore...
but you could use any gold ribbon.

6. Don't forget the magic lasso!
We just used a length of inexpensive gold cord from Hobby Lobby. 

The invisible jet was the easy part!

{She IS wearing tan tights...but this is NOT a school appropriate costume}


She did get to wear it to a party...to hand out candy...and YES, for trick or treating.

A dad and his kids came to the door when she was handing out candy.
The dad said..."Oooh...look who that is!" 
His little girl was probably about 6.
She said "I don't know!"
He said, "it's Wonder Woman"
She just said, "oh."

Kids these days.
:)


Think you might need a Wonder Woman costume of your own?
Don't we all?

Do you/did you make your kid's/kids' costumes?
Do you have a favorite?


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