This repurposed spice rack hanging on my bathroom wall? Make me happier than you can know. I freely admit I am a girly-girl. Raising a girly-girl. Painting my nails makes me feel feminine and sexy. So yes, I own a lot of nail polish. It’s been hanging out in a big wooden box with my favorites tossed in a metal pail. Having all the colors together and out where I can see them made me smile all morning. Thanks for being my knight with a drill, baby!

These perfectly mismatched stools sitting at our bar? <sigh> Perfection. I have a very eclectic style – it’s hard to pin me down. But I know what makes me happy when I see it. And these totally do! A local furniture store is having a moving sale, with big markdowns on lots of items – I scored some other fun items I’ll have to share. We were browsing with my mom, whose love language is gifting. I had already spotted these random beauties on a previous visit with the hubster and mentioned that I loved the look of the row of them. He agreed. Mom and I were pointing out different items we liked in the store and I showed her these. She negotiated an even sweeter deal on them and treated us – thanks, Mom! They’re sitting at our kitchen counter, which is one of the first things you see when you walk in our house. Happy, happy, happy!

This card? Made for a sweet friend who had to say goodbye to her husband way too soon this past week. Hug your loved ones, folks. While I know this life is just a blip in time and we are not meant to get too comfortable in this temporary world we live in, it sure does hurt us when we have to say goodbye to our loves. Never take those you love for granted.

This storage for embossing folders? Does it look familiar? YES! It’s a floppy disk holder. I picked it up at our local Goodwill store for a few dollars – new in package. I don’t have a huge collection of folders and it’s just perfect to hold them. This pic is also a pre-cursor to a full studio post coming soon. I’m working on cleaning it up (always) and maybe moving a few pieces around before I take all the pics.

I had to change the name of this post – I thought I had only four, but I remembered another fun for Friday. This bunch of fun? $43, delivered to my door! Seriously! Bind It All is having a huge liquidation sale – stuff changes often on there, since it’s so stinking marked down. I get nothing from sending you there other than sharing the enabler’s need. Enjoy!
Have a wonderful weekend!

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• Happy National Scrapbooking Month!
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Candy’s Simple Pico de Gallo

• ½ medium onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, diced (honestly? We leave the seeds and membranes in, but you can definitely remove them for less heat)
• pinch of sea salt, to taste

Add ingredients into a quart size jar. Seal well and shake. Serve fresh or refrigerate overnight for a stronger flavor.

You might also like:

• Tuesday…
• Meal Planning – Candy Style
• Simple Thank You Cards with a Bookmark
• Hand Stamped Tile Coasters
• Crockpot Chicken Tortilla soup
• Oh how I love my ATG!
• An Altered Menu Plan
• The 12 Days of Christmas – a Ring and Run
• Tool Tuesday: How to Load an ATG
• Winner of Blog Candy!

Our local Mexican restaurant makes the most amazing chicken tortilla soup. It is seriously delicious. And I kind of crave it ALL the time. There’s a problem with that on a few levels:

1. These days, who can afford to eat out much?
2. It’s never just the soup. The soup comes with chips and drinks and other people’s meals and it’s just too much money and too many calories. 
3. We now live far enough out of town that my cravings can’t just be indulged on a whim, though my sweet husband would certainly try.

So, I set out to figure out my own version of this amazing chicken tortilla soup. And I think I’ve hit it pretty close! I make this in my crockpot, because if you know me, you know I adore my slow cooker. It just makes cooking so much easier.

This recipe evolves occasionally, but this is the recipe we had last night and it kind of rocked. Hope you enjoy!

Candy’s Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 2 split chicken breasts
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic granules or garlic powder
• 2 tsp Adobo (I use Goya Adobo with cumin) 
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2-3 tsp Sazon (I use Badia Sazon with no MSG – if you can only find the packets, one packet will do.)
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 4-6 cups water (I add this until it’s at the level I desire – remember, I feed hungry people!)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Pico de Gallo (this is my oh-so-simple recipe)
• Avocado, chopped
• Tortilla chips
• Cooked rice, if desired

Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot and season with onion powder, garlic granules, Adobo, cumin and Sazon. Add chicken broth and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When chicken is cooked through, remove from soup. Remove chicken from bones and shred. Add minced garlic and shredded chicken back to crockpot. Cook on low for another 30 minutes.

To serve, add a scoop of cooked rice into bottom of bowl. Ladle soup over rice. Top with Pico de Gallo and chopped avocado. Enjoy with tortilla chips!

You’ll note I do not make my own tortilla chips. I have tried, but they just don’t turn out well. Some come out very crispy, some come out burned and some are floppy. All in the same batch! So, if you have a fool-proof method for making your own tortilla chips, please share!

Enjoy your very own Chicken Tortilla Soup.

You might also like:

• Tuesday…
• An Altered Menu Plan
• Under The Weather?
• Candy’s Simple Pico de Gallo
• Meal Planning – Candy Style
• Slutty Brownies
• I love fall!
• Simple Thank You Cards with a Bookmark
• The 12 Days of Christmas – a Ring and Run
• Go Elf Yourself!

Here’s a really neat card I whipped up using The Stamps of Life’s set umbrella4you. It’s a layered card, which looks a lot more complicated than it is. 

If you need further instructions, let me know – I’m debating doing a video on it, but the whole thought of a video terrifies me.

And yes, that little blue umbrella you see sticking out under the card is the stamped envelope. I really do love adding in that little extra touch!

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• Simple Thank You Cards with a Bookmark
• Video Tutorials with a Free Flip Video Camera
• Assembly Line Birthday Cards
• Another 12 Days of Christmas
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• Looking for some blog candy?
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This is truly a project without a purpose. I simply felt like making a fun little mini, cruised YouTube to get some inspiration and…here we are!  
I found a tutorial on these fun pages from Elsa at Just A Few.
Each page in the mini is created from just half of a 12×12 piece of paper – economical too!

I used my stash to create this – with the majority of the paper from an older CTMH kit.

Embellishments were pulled from my (overflowing) storage – don’t we all have too much?? This cute little project is a great way to use up some of the fun embellies we’re holding onto.

The covers are just 7 Gypsies Book Boards, cut to size and sanded.
I used my Bind-It-All for the binding. LOVE that little machine! I did have to re-bind it, as I underestimated just how large of a binding it would need. (It took the largest wire I had – the 1 ¼” size was perfect!)

I finished it off with lots of flowers and ribbon. Now, I just need to figure out what to do with it? I don’t know that I have ever made a project without an end purpose in sight…

You might also like:

• Love my Bind It All!
• Post-It Note Keychains
• Altered Planners, Calendars, Datebooks, etc…
• Altered Lunch Box Tin
• Handmade Photo Purses
• Altered Tins
• Whew! What a Month!
• Altered AOL Mailer
• The CTMH SPRING 2009 Idea Book is Here!
• Calendar Templates

Okay, okay…I have had some readers asking me to share more menu plans. I’m trying to reach a balance with crafty goodness, menu plans and real life (which includes home schooling, church responsibilities, tax season for the hubby – which is always kind of overwhelming, and various other schtuff). So, bear with me?

This week was a little weird for us. We had snow on Saturday, which was absolutely GORGEOUS! However, when it snows in NC, everything screeches to a halt until it melts. This isn’t a bad thing, necessarily. It just changes plans. So I had to change some plans around and adapt some. Which is easy to do, especially with a meal plan! That said – here’s what we ate, and what changed…

Saturday – to be completely honest, I hadn’t planned on a dinner for Saturday. Our oldest generally has worship band practice at an inconvenient time, which throws our schedules completely off for the entire day. I have been grocery shopping during this time, which coincides with supper time. So, we have been just grabbing something after shopping. The oldest often doesn’t get home until after 9:30 (I KNOW!!) and he eats then. He doesn't like to eat before practice. BUT, with the snow falling fast and furiously, we had to “Plan B” it.

Hubby worked the morning shift, so I tagged along. I walked uptown to our local crafty store, The Art Room and made a fun tag for their free make and take. This was my first time catching the free make and take – they have one most Saturdays, I’m just not in town to participate. And WOW – what a crowd! They open at 10 – I arrived a few minutes before. There was already a crowd gathered on the steps. But The Art Room was prepared! I took a ticket to ensure my spot at the “Art Bar” for the make and take and browsed the store until it was my turn. This is what we made: 

Then I hung out with the hubster until I needed to go grocery shopping. (Thankfully, I’d seen the forecast and figured I needed to adjust my shopping time, just in case.) Grabbed the groceries and added in extra cilantro. (I’ll share why in a later post.)

Long story short (too late?), we moved a meal I had planned for later in the week to have it Saturday night. We had one of my favorites – Gina’s Spaghetti with Sautéed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes. I usually try to save this one for summer, when tomatoes and basil are abundant, but I was craving it! So yummy…we also had some roasted garlic bread. This is super simple – just roast a head of garlic, mix the roasted garlic with your favorite butter (remember, I’m dairy-free, so it’s a vegan spread here) and a little sea salt. Spread onto a loaf of French bread and pop back into the oven until warm. I’m feeding a hungry teen and hubby, so I always have to beef up my meals!

Super Bowl Sunday – well…we were supposed to have a big Super Bowl party, with all our youth and their parents, as well as our church elders and pastor. Unfortunately, the snow looked like it would stick around when our youth leader made the decision to cancel. And the snow completely melted before party time! But no worries, we still had a blast with just our family! We had “chicken bites”, which is an adaptation of a Paula Deen recipe. I know, Paula?? But as an occasional treat, her Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps aren’t too terribly bad for you (they do involve bacon). And with our change, it’s actually nearly a health food! We made them without the bacon for our party – still yummy! Oh, and a warning? NEVER, ever substitute chipotle chili powder for plain old chili powder.

We also made corn dog muffins. What a fun treat! They were inspired by Iowa Girl Eats with dairy free modifications. I used the cornbread recipe from Whole Foods.

We made Chex Mix – always a favorite with the kids. We also made Oreo Football Cookies. Wow! These were easy to make and delicious!

I made some guacamole to go along with tortilla chips and we had quite a spread! Oh, and the game was amazing too.

(Oh yeah, and these? Our “penalty flags” for when they called a penalty, we disagreed with the refs calls – or just felt like throwing them at each other.)

Monday – an oh-so-simple meal of spaghetti and meat sauce. I pulled some sauce I’d made a few weeks ago from the freezer. I make my sauce with crushed tomatoes, tons of garlic, some seasonings (basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and sugar). Usually, I add some Italian sausage I get locally that is AMAZING. My guys like meat.

Tuesday – chicken and yellow rice with broccoli. OK. I know you’re going to want this wonderful recipe. I don’t have one. I made this up when the boxed yellow rice we used just began costing too much to feed the crew. I sauté some chicken (boneless skinless breasts, or use some pre-cooked chicken) until browned. I used coconut oil this time to sauté them, but you can use your favorite fat. Then I add rice (white or brown). I sauté the rice for a bit, until it starts to smell “toasty”. Then I add Sazon until it looks like the right color. If I were using the packets, I’d add 1-2 packets. We go through so much Sazon, I buy it in bulk. Add the appropriate amount of water for your rice, cover and cook until done. That’s it!

Wednesday – supper at church

Thursday – I was out most of the day (kind of unexpectedly) and hadn’t planned a crockpot meal. So, we ad-libbed. We had hot dogs with homemade slaw. I know hot dogs aren’t great for you, but I still figure they beat a restaurant meal any day!

Friday – DATE NIGHT! No clue yet what we will have, but I guarantee we will enjoy ourselves.

So, there you have it – a real-life meal plan, complete with real-life changes and challenges. 

You might also like:

• Meal Planning – Candy Style
• Crockpot Chicken Tortilla soup
• Tuesday…
• I love fall!
• Winner of Blog Candy!
• Altered Planners, Calendars, Datebooks, etc…
• Ah – a Friday in Fall!
• Happy Birthday to Me! And a little blog candy…
• Close To My Heart Sale!
• It’s Friday!!

Aren’t these fun cards? I needed a lovely way to say “thank you” for some Christmas kindnesses and knew I wanted to add a little bonus with the card. A bookmark card was the perfect solution! I used some Cloud 9 Design paper by Colorbök that I just adore. The stamp on the bookmark is Stampin’ Up! Block Party. I heat embossed the sentiment with a Close To My Heart Silver Pearl embossing powder. You can see the sentiment clearly, but I really love the look of the pearlescent powder. A quick knot of a slate blue twill tape is tied through the top to complete the bookmark.

To make the pocket for the bookmark was incredibly simple. After adhering the first paper to my card base, I just cut a triangle from a complimentary paper. I then adhered the triangle on two sides, making sure to leave the top open to form my pocket.

The sentiment on the inside of the card is from a Stamps of Life set (love these stamps!), as is the flower inside and on the envelope. Both stamps are from the thank you set Stephanie sends out for your one year anniversary in the club – Thanks4OneYear. You’ll find I try to decorate my envelopes with nearly every card I make. It’s a little extra that makes a big difference. Oh – and the colors of the inks in real life match MUCH better than they're showing up in the pics. Trust me, I'm not that goofy.

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• Altered Lunch Box Tin
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I begin my meal planning by checking out our local grocery ads. We live in a small town with only 2 regional grocery store chains. I try to shop at a particular store, as I can’t stand the attitudes of the employees at the other chain. If there is a fabulous sale, I might make an exception and grab the sale items at the other chain, but only under duress and with much grumbling.

We eat a little…differently…in our house. I am lactose intolerant with an allergy to beef. I also have thyroid issues and as a result try not to consume too many soy products. My oldest has a serious neurological allergy to red food dye. I try to cook as “whole” as possible, but there are some convenience foods I adore. A study in contrasts. I also have to cook on a budget – no lobster is served in our house. At the moment, we own two houses and thus have multiple mortgages. So, my grocery budget is as small as possible. I also have to have several quick fix meals during the week. My husband and oldest are second degree brown belts and often train during the week and are famished when they get home. Wednesday nights are church night here and we are blessed that our church prepares a meal that evening. For $10 for our family of four, you bet we take advantage of it!

I will try to post our weeks menus as often as possible, along with any pictures or recipes I happen to have. I am not a chef or even a cook. I have NO professional training and have completely learned “on the job”. <grin>  I’m just a mom with a hungry teen and husband to feed on a budget.

Last week’s meals were simple – I have had some kind of bug for several weeks and needed an easy week.

• Sunday – BBQ chicken on the grill, grilled and seasoned corn on the cob, Pioneer Woman’s Crash Hot Potatoes
• Monday – meet at 5 at **** – Eat Out
• Tuesday – Hot dogs with vegetarian chili, coleslaw and baked beans
• Wednesday – Eat at Church
• Thursday – Pork ribs in the crockpot, steamed broccoli, carrots, rolls
• Friday – grilled chicken over pasta or tossed salad

A simple and easy meal plan. Can you tell chicken and hot dogs were on sale this week? Now, here’s the more in depth plan…

Sunday – BBQ chicken on the grill – I pre-bake my chicken then have hubby toss them on the grill for about 10 minutes with our favorite BBQ sauce.

Grilled and seasoned corn on the cob – easy peasy. I just mix some salt, sugar, pepper, and Tastefully Simple Season Salt with some dairy free margarine. Spread on the corn, the wrap securely in aluminum foil. Grill about 10-15 minutes.

Pioneer Woman’s Crash Hot Potatoes

Monday – meet at 5 at **** – Eat Out – this is a real rarity for us to eat out during the week

Tuesday – Hot dogs with vegetarian chili, coleslaw and baked beans – I can only eat Oscar Mayer Bun Length wieners (beef free). We use Hormel’s Vegetarian chili. I make a simple dressing for my slaw with mayonnaise, white vinegar and sugar. The baked beans? Canned ones I fancy up. I always add ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, brown sugar and minced onions. Then I bake them for 30 minutes or so.

Wednesday – Eat at Church

Thursday – Pork ribs in the crockpot – I just throw them in the slow cooker with my favorite BBQ rub. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. I always add some Sticky Fingers to mine when I serve them, but the hubster prefers his plain.

Steamed broccoli, carrots, rolls  – okay. The steamed broccoli is frozen, the carrots are canned. And the rolls? Frozen. Told you, I like my convenience foods.

Friday – grilled chicken over pasta or tossed salad – this is such an easy recipe! I marinate the chicken breasts in a soy ginger salad dressing, and then throw them on the grill. Either boil up some pasta (helps to fill up the hungry teen) or chop up a salad, then top with the sliced grilled chicken.

You might also like:

• An Altered Menu Plan
• Crockpot Chicken Tortilla soup
• Tuesday…
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• This and That
• I love fall!
• Five for Friday
• Close To My Heart Sale!
• My Altered Life
• Under The Weather?

So this year, I’ve decided to give up on any resolutions and instead, count my blessings. So much more positive! To help me do this in a concrete way, I created a gratitude journal.

Along with being terrible at keeping resolutions, I also stink at committing to a daily undertaking. I know I know – maybe I should seek help? I adore the idea of taking a picture a day, as some of my friends do. And a journal sounds just amazing! But I know me and I know that I wouldn’t make it past January before slacking off. When I spotted the idea for a gratitude journal on http://www.iloveitallwithmonikawright.com, I knew I had to make my own.

The best part of this journal is that every last bit of it came from my stash. Which means there are some seriously old supplies in here. Also, since there are no pictures in here and it’s simply a personal journal, I felt more free to use heavy, bulky embellishments. It was a lot of fun to put together! Here are some detail pics of the finished product – now I’m off to write my gratitude for today. 

You might also like:

• Standing Cards, part 2
• Close To My Heart Sale!
• The CTMH SPRING 2009 Idea Book is Here!
• The 12 Days of Christmas – a Ring and Run
• Love my Bind It All!
• Altered Clock Birthday Gift
• Five for Friday
• Cards and Handmade Box
• “I’m just lickin’ the ladybug…”
• My New Blog!

Yes, slutty brownies. I ran across a similar recipe on Pinterest (don’t we find everything on Pinterest?) and wanted to recreate them. Made a few changes and oh my – they are SO delicious. (By the way, they’re called slutty brownies because they are quick, easy and just a little dirty. )

Let me state right up front – I am NOT a chef. I’ve never had any training and I just cook for my family. I hope you enjoy the recipes I share with you, but treat them as one friend giving them to another – there’s no teaching going on here.

OK, here’s what you need to make the most decadent, gooey, yummy brownies ever (clearly this is not gourmet recipe): a box of your favorite brownie mix (or homemade, if you’re feeling really industrious), a roll of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, and a pack of Oreos. I usually use the Double Stuf Oreos, but these were on sale. They were still delish.

This next step is perhaps THE most important part of this recipe. Line your 9×13 pan with parchment paper. I cannot stress this enough. This is a seriously warm gooey mess after it bakes and you will be thanking me for the parchment paper.
Press the roll of cookie dough into the pan. I accomplish this by putting a sandwich baggie over my hand and pressing with that – no sticky hands.

On top of the cookie dough, place the Oreos. 

Mix up the brownie mix according to the package directions. Pour over the Oreos.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes. When you remove them from the oven, the brownies will have that glossy look brownies get – you’ll know they’re cooked. However, under the surface? There is a warm, ooey-gooey chocolate paradise waiting for you. Set the pan aside. I mean it. You absolutely cannot bake these and expect to eat them right away, unless you want a spoon dessert. They have to set up. Allow to cool for 30-45 minutes, at least. Then lift the brownies out by the paper (See? You’re welcome for the paper tip. )

Cut the brownies into SMALL portions. Trust me. These are super rich. But oh-so-good. 

A variation I made yesterday, but wasn’t smart enough to get pics of, is to substitute the Oreos with Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. Yes! I think I like it better than the original. I also used my favorite square muffin tin to bake them in. I just greased the tin VERY well and prayed hard when I removed them. I baked them for 19 minutes at 350. We still cut the Slutty Muffin Brownies (could I call those Stud Muffins??) in half to eat them, because they were so rich.

You might also like:

• Tool Tuesday: How to Load an ATG
• My Altered Planner
• Hand Stamped Tile Coasters
• Meal Planning – Candy Style
• Crockpot Chicken Tortilla soup
• An Altered Menu Plan
• Altered Clocks
• Just another rainy…Friday
• My Altered Life
• Altered Lunch Box Tin