Love it Love it!

Love these cute bags! Especially the typewriter one! Don't you love them too?

Love comes in all shapes and sizes... and shoes!

I am in love with these new Kid's Crocband crocs. Aren't they cute!

Fake It

I have had these window boxes for years. I think Owen was a little over a year old when Jim went through about 5 cement drill bits to install them into the mortar. In them, we've tried to grow red geraniums that were too heavy, red geranium look-a-likes (?) that burnt up in the sun, cosmos that bleached out, mums in the fall, poinsettias in December, pansies in January. Sometimes the plants would live, sometimes they wouldn't (like when the trailing english ivy strangled out everything!) At the end of 2009, I had a brilliant idea. Fake flowers and not only fake, but DOLLAR STORE fake! I am a clever girl! And so I just bought my second batch and here they are! Don't they look real. Sometimes faking it is good!

Southern Living Chicken Tetrazzini (the double batch!)

So here is my new favorite feed 'em for days recipe. I know it sounds a bit old school or cafeteria-ish even, but it is good. It is a Southern Living recipe afterall - and good things come from the South! Let me know what you think.

By the way, I added in the substitution for Tyson canned white meat - I didn't feel like roasting chicken breasts and this worked like a charm. You can't even tell!

Chicken Tetrazzini
Bake 1 for now/Freeze 1 for later

1 (16 oz.) pkg vermacelli
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cups chopped cooked chicken (or 2 large cans Tyson white meat chicken chunks!)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4 oz) can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4 oz) can 98% fat free cream of celery soup
1 (8 oz) container light sour cream
1 (6 oz) jar or can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Cook vermacelli according to pkg directions, drain. Return to pot, toss with chicken broth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together chicken, soups, sour cream, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese, pepper and salt. Add in vermacelli and toss well. Spoon chicken mixture into two lightly greased 11 x 7 inch baking dishes. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Yields 12 servings.

Note: Freeze unbaked casserole up to 1 month if desired. Thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Let stand 30 minutes at room temp and bake as directed.

All By Myself

Today is the first day of my first blog - all by myself! (Thank you to Ashley answering all of my questions about starting a blog!)

Life is Short - Eat the Cake

Cute aprons, yummy recipes, savvy ideas for moms to save us time, money & hopefully hide the fact that we are sweating our makeup off trying to make it all look perfect. Oh and this is also about trying not to be perfect. Gotta stop that right now! It's about trying hard and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. At the end of the day, let there be a hot cup of tea or a glass of wine awaiting us. God bless moms!