Domestic Chicky

5 minute bread, a fabulous roast, and planning a menu

Deanna — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:01:26 +0000

One of my goals (resolutions?) this year was to plan our meals better. For fast food to become a treat rather than a 2-3x a week occurrence. Not just for our health, but our pocketbooks as well (not that Chicky Husband carries a pocketbook – he’s more of a clutch person-lol).

I pored over many plans and ideas, and rejected as many as I considered, then I came across this little bit of brilliance -

Nester’s Imperfect, Flexible, Doable Meal Blueprint

The Nester has done it again – the only woman who could inspire me to pick up a paint brush has me semi-organized in the kitchen too. Her plan isn’t rigid, takes only a little preparation, and as a result we’ve had wonderful dinners this last week.

One of her suggestions is that you make bread dough every week – I know – MAKE BREAD! But it isn’t as hard as it seems using the 5 minute method.

Well, it would have been easy if my yeast had been good. I mixed up a batch Monday, and while I got some rise, it wasn’t nearly as much as it should have been. I went ahead and made the bread anyway…let’s just say the NHL would love this bread.

I have been meaning to try the 3 packet pot roast recipe I have seen around pinterest, it’s beyond simple: one packet each of ranch dressing mix, brown gravy mix and italian seasoning. Crock pot, water, DONE.

It was delicious – salty, but delicious. Made the most amazing gravy, but again, a bit salty. Next time I will try my own mixture – WITHOUT so much salt!

Have you tried any menu planning? Bread making? I would love to hear what you think about Nester’s plan!

Happy 2012!

Deanna — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:00:34 +0000

I get so excited about the new year – I have grand ideas, big plans and goals. Of course I forget about them approximately 6 minutes after I wake up on the first, but that’s what Mondays are for, right?

I took a break from working over the Christmas break, but still managed to sneak in a small project (Bonjour Farine!). I have some fun projects coming up, like the make over of my friend Rachel’s site, and a website devoted to JUST tablescapes – place settings, centerpieces, tables for all seasons and events – it’s going to be so much fun! One of my most recent clients, Shari at My Judy the Foodie will be posting her 100th post this week, and is now averaging 300 hits a day! Considering she’s only been blogging for a little over 6 months, that’s pretty fabulous!

Blissdom is also coming up soon! Once again I will be a Photography Community Leader and I am OVER-THE-MOON excited to see my favorite photographer (and mentor) Me Ra Koh there too! If you will be there, and have any questions on your camera, make sure you find me or one of the other amazing photo leaders during the conference. If you aren’t going, WHY NOT????

Did you make any resolutions? I kinda did, but only in the sense I would like to do things better – better at menu planning, taking more time to be creative, walking more, eating better…not very exciting I know, but anything that makes life a little easier, right?

PS – the photo above was my breakfast one morning – frozen peaches, raspberries…YUM!

Life, bucket, to-do…

Deanna — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:47:45 +0000

I love that so many people have their Life Lists on their blogs – I enjoy seeing what people dream of doing, and sometimes I get ideas for my own list. I am usually an optimistic person, and count my blessings on a regular basis, but there are things I can’t imagine NOT doing at some point:

Paris – always the top of my list. I’ve been in love with all things French since I can remember. My friend and I are vowing to go the summer of 2016.
Travel the US by RV – I was lucky enough to be a Navy kid. Lucky in that I got to see a lot of this country, and at the same time not enough. I would love to take a year, homeschool my kids and see the amazing country we live in.
Take Ballet again – I took classes as a kid, and I remember feeling so limber and coordinated – not like the lumbering hippo I feel like now – lol. This one I can do something about now – I found some free exercise videos on my cable box!
Create a photography studio co-op. Shhh….top secret idea!
Have a garden – grow veggies, fruit, herbs…I love the idea of being able to enjoy fresh picked produce from my backyard – especially tomatoes!

Well, there’s a few anyway. I think I might make a page just for the list and add to it as I come up with other ideas, I would love to hear what’s on your list in the comments!

You know you haven’t blogged in a while when…

Deanna — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:02:03 +0000

…your browser doesn’t remember the link to your admin panel anymore

We had our usual autumn round of the plague (random colds), but this last one lasted a bit longer than the rest. One week followed another, then came Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now we’re coming up on Christmas – where does the time go?

Well, pinterest for one. I have been a pinning fool, but I have been making things too! We tried this FABULOUS broccoli recipe last night, and I have to say – it IS fabulous. My oldest was scarfing it out of the roasting pan before I could get it on the table.

Maybe it’s just that time of year, but I have been downloading organizing tips/ideas like crazy. Calendars, home work areas, control zones…when (if) I decide on something I will update it here.

I did a TON of cooking at thanksgiving – made everything except the pie!

My favorite this year (besides the turkey and cranberries, which ocean spray takes total credit for), was my stuffing:

It’s half regular and half cornbread stuffing, celery, onions, chopped up granny smith apples, sausage and dried cranberries. It was so yummy – I will be making it this way from now on! I will make a formal recipe to post here

I have just about wrapped up my design work for the year, but I will be taking on new projects in the new year and will be launching a new site with my friend Kristin with printables, premade blog bling, and themes, and still doing custom work as well – drop me a line if you would like more information!

I am going to try to keep the pinterest carnival going – post about the pins you have done and link to them here on thursday!

xoxo
d

Pin it, Do it, Share it

Deanna — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:00:18 +0000

Welcome to the first week of Pin it Thursday! I hope you all had fun choosing something from your boards to do this week. I was an over-acheiver this week – I did 2!

My first pin I did was to make taco seasoning – we have tacos at least every other week, so this is a BIG money saver for us. This is a great recipe and tastes even better than store bought!

photo credit - 5 dollar dinners

Next I got some more life out of my swiffer wet jet by using this tutorial from Lifehacker- I love my swiffer, but that liquid never lasts long, and I guess it never occurred to them to make refills or even a refillable container. (ps – I also make my own swiffer pads)

Grab the Pin it, Do it, Share it button for your own post/blog!

Shop for Sharlie

Deanna — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:52:03 +0000

One of my favorite people from blissdom this past year was Jessica from Allora handmade – not only is she talented and gorgeous, she has a generous heart and a wonderful sense of humor. She and Maya made a flight from Nashville to Salt Lake City one of the most interesting I’ve ever had (although our fellow passengers might not have thought so – I don’t think we stopped talking the whole way there!)

Recently jessica asked for some help for a friend of hers and I knew I had to help. Now I’m asking for yours…

This is Sharlie.
Sharlie is a wife and mom.
She loves to read.
She loves to laugh.
She has an infectious smile.
And the best hugs on the planet.
Sharlie is also awaiting a double lung AND heart transplant.
She is an inspiration.
A fighter.
A miracle.
Jessica (one of Sharlie’s best friends) and Mique reached out to the creative community to come up with a way to raise funds for her impending medical bills. They created a Shop for Sharlie- full of tutorials, printables, and advertising opportunities. Every single dollar raised will go straight to Sharlie’s Angels. So shop ’til your heart is content. And in return it will help Sharlie get her new heart.

So I made a poster in 3 different color schemes – it’s 8×10, ready to frame and has some of the things our family value and love…

And here’s a bonus for you – if you buy anything from the shop, come back here and leave a comment with what you bought – I will draw a name and that person will win a custom poster for their home. You can choose a poster for your kids, your own family values poster, whatever you like!

XOXO

Coming up next week – Pin it, do it, share it

Deanna — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:41:23 +0000

If you are a Pinterest Junkie like me, you have plenty of great ideas stored on your boards, but how many have you actually done??

Me too…

I have done one or two recipes, but it’s almost like there is too MUCH to choose from! So I am determined to do one item from my boards a week – and I challenge you to join me!

Next Thursday, I will post a Mr Linky thingy so you can share YOUR pinterest projects! Make a recipe, create a craft, follow a photography tutorial or to-do list, ANYTHING!! Post about it on your blog, and come share it here.

Then stick around and check out other people’s projects too!

See you next thrusday!!

PS – here’s a button for you if you want to link here -

The A-Z of me

Deanna — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:57:03 +0000

Saw this on my friend Carrie’s site – it looked like fun!

A. Age: 45
B. Bed size: queen – way too small for a flipper and a snorer – dual masters in my dream house!
C. Chore that you hate: it would be easier to tell you which one I DON’T hate
D. Dogs: none
E. Essential start to your day: CAFFEINE
F. Favorite color: yellow
G. Gold or Silver: white gold
H. Height: 5’7″
I. Instruments you play: I played bass violin in elementary schoool
J. Job title: Professional Pain-in-the-ass
K. Kids: 2 nutty boys
L. Live: Southern California – but wish I was in VA, NC
M. Mother’s name: Mary Jeanne
N. Nicknames: Dork, uber goober, spaz, nerd
O. Overnight hospital stays: just for my babies
P. Pet peeves: intolerance
Q. Quote from a movie: The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we’re uncool (Lester Bangs, Almost Famous)
R. Right or left handed: left
S. Siblings: none
U. Underwear: usually
V. Vegetable you hate: bitter greens
W. What makes you run late: two things – my boys
X. X-Rays you’ve had: all of them?
Y. Yummy food that you make: cajun chicken pasta
Z. Zoo animal: otters – I could watch them all day

YOUR TURN!

10 years…

Deanna — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:30:46 +0000

I remember where I was, I remember how I felt. I remember the insomnia, the sudden obsession with 24-hour news. I remember the silence - in the house, outside…I remember crying. A lot.

10 years later it doesn’t feel that much different. I spent the week reading the memories, the 10-years-later stories – I cried again…

But it’s nothing compared to those who personally suffered

For the past few years, I have posted about one of the victims – Lonny Stone was a husband, father, brother, son…I have made a point of looking up his family all these years, to learn more about him, hoping to find that they were ok. This year I finally found it.

You can find out more about Lonny here -

Lonny Stone left his Bellmore home each morning at 10 minutes to 7 to catch the 6:59 train into the city. That put him at his desk at Carr Futures on the 92nd floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center at 8:15, and that’s where Stone, 43, was Tuesday when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the building.

Stone’s wife, Stacey, was in the drive-through lane at a Bellmore bank when she heard of the crash on the radio. She immediately thought of her husband of 15 years and headed back home.

“I put the TV on, and I saw a scene that will be in my mind for the rest of my life,” Stacey Stone said. “The moment I heard, I knew in my soul because we were connected. I knew. I just knew.”

The couple had celebrated their anniversary Aug. 23. Instead of a card, “Lonny wrote me the most unbelievable love letter, and it was as if he was saying goodbye to me,” Stacey Stone said, sobbing. “At the end of the letter, he wrote, ‘The mortgage, the kids, the things we always take for granted are the things I’ll never ever forget. Fifteen years, Dear. It might seem like a long time, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m hoping for another 115 years, and hopefully, it will seem like these last 15 years. I love you like you will never know.’”

As a member of his community, Stone coached basketball, soccer and Little League. “He was the type of person, you wouldn’t say, ‘Lonny Stone, let me think, who’s Lonny Stone?’” Stacey Stone said. “You knew who Lonny was. He was a presence.”

He has two sons, Alex, 12, and Joshua, 8. Other family members include his sister, Gayle, and his parents, Evelyn and Benson Stone of Port Jefferson Station. –Jo Craven McGinty (Newsday) Project 2996

Friday Favorites – the random edition

Deanna — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:16:15 +0000

I used to do this a while back and it was one of my favorite types of posts. Now that my boys are BOTH in school all day (*sniff), I might actually post here more than once in a blue moon!

Jam Hands - Ali has a FABULOUS recipe blog, including one of MY recipes! She has also made blogger do things I never imagined it could do.
Martha Stewart for the ipad – THIS is how all magazines will be in a few years. Videos for cooking and crafts, audio tutorials, pictures that change with just a touch, portability? My love for my ipad continues…
The Help – great book, can’t wait to see the movie. I listened to this as an audiobook, and I was so sad when it was over!
This post – Rebecca is one of my oldest (but youngest) blogging friends and the first blogger I met in person. Love her, her kids and babes yet-to-be.
Composition books – about 15 and counting. I use them for everything, from general notetaking, to journaling, Christmas gift lists, recipes, organizing and projects. This is my favorite time of year – I can get them for a quarter!
House of Smiths – Shelley is one of the newest rock stars in the blogging world – talented, creative, and handy with tools AND a glue gun, she’s also sweet, funny, and adorable.
What they give us – My friend Jules is an amazing writer. My favorite word for this post is “visceral”. Tell me you can’t smell the onion…

Share your favorite things in the comments!

Image – Me! From our visit to see the Smurfs movie