Rachel is the definition of a southern belle – as beautiful as she is down-to-earth, she’s the person you want for your neighbor, your sister, your best friend. Funny, sassy, and the slightest bit naughty, she is the mom who bakes fabulous birthday cakes, coaches the kids kickball team, and finishes the day with an icy cold beer. She is goodness personified…

Casey is the epitome of wearing your heart on your sleeve. She has a power like no one else to make you laugh, cry, or all of the above, all with her words and images. She makes beautiful babies, has an incredible faith, and her smile lights up a room. She’s the mom you want to be more like, who can find the joy and humor in the most challenging situations…

Alli is strength, sass and charm – she sets her mind to something and it is done. She is the mom to 5 (FIVE!) boys, and is the person I look to for assurance that I’m on the right path with my own boys. She is the mom who is always prepared, always ready for a challenge, always there with an open ear…

And so to these women, I raise my glass and say thank you – for inspiring me, for enouraging me to be a better mother, and most of all for being my friends. I hope you have an amazing Mother’s Day.

This post was inspired by Concannon Vineyards - they sent me a couple bottles to try and asked me to tell them about my favorite moms. I was not otherwise compensated for this post, and I was honored to share with you a few (among MANY) of the amazing moms I have been priviledged to meet in the last 7 years.

photo credits respective of the links included

This is one of my family’s favorite dishes~and my most asked-for recipe…

Photo, courtesy the lovely Ali (now blogging at Jam hands)

Mexican Chicken Casserole
Serves 4-6

Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine:

2 Cups Shredded Cooked Chicken
1 Cup Shredded Cheese ( I use a cheddar/jack combo)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 Cup sour cream
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos-mild)
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)

In a greased 2 qt baking dish, put a layer of crushed doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

You can add other items to this, depending on your preferences, like olives, green chiles, onions, etc…The chicken mixture would also make a great enchilada or burrito filling!

Enjoy!

It’s been an interesting week – I got shingles of all things…who gets that???

I did get one thing done that I wanted to – I made a Food Photography board on pinterest to provide inspiration, ideas and even a recipe or two! I think I may create another one at some point where people can add their own photos.

This week I am using another older photo – I was doing some food styling/photography for a POTENTIAL job/project, and didn’t get to take any for fun. This is an apple pie my HUSBAND made last year while helping out a family friend at their restaurant. It was sitting in the garden window and the light was hitting it just right…I grabbed a favorite vintage apron (pics of those coming soon too!!) and crumpled it up a bit.

I used Pioneer Woman’s actions for editing – I want to say it was  ”seventies” I used, but I’m not 100% sure. Then I rounded the edges (thinking back though, I maybe would have done something fun to make it look more vintage…those little coner things you use to put pictures in a photo album?).

Now it’s your turn! Add your link to the inlinkz doodad down there, and I would love to see you comment on how you processed your image, or if you have any questions about editing your photos…

It’s a lot of fun using it to participate in Photo a day challenges. Until I get my whole should-I-create-an-office-or-studio-space situation figured out, my camera’s card reader is never in the same place as my laptop, it seems like such a chore to hunt it down, upload and edit a photo every day, when all I have to do it take one with my phone, put a cool filter (effect) on it and call it a day.

This is from my a silly drive I took my boys on – they were on a “Cars” kick, and asking about the cozy cone, and I decided to show them the real thing…ON route 66!

This was for Day 8 - Cold – my favorite (barely) sweet tea in my favorite cup 

This was from last Sunday at the Nuclear Cowboyz – super fun, super LOUD show!

If you’re on instagram, follow me at domesticchicky – I post almost every day, unlike here…. (I’m getting better!!!)

PS – I am working on a post about what to do now that Picnik is gone!

PPS – don’t forget about food foto Friday! Don’t feel like you have to take a picture JUST for this – you can add ANY post that has a food foto you’re proud of!

Feel free to share blog posts, instagram pictures, flickr links, whatever you like! Please try to visit a couple of the other participants so we all get some FPF love.

I’m going to share tips and tricks that I learn along the way too – and some of the books, posts and other resources I’ve come across.

For my first picture, I am going to share the one that is in the fff button (code is on the sidebar!) – I’m not sure how I decided to take this picture – they were the first strawberries of the year, and looked so yummy against the cheerios in that light that I’m not even sure I poured the milk before I got the shot.

 Now it’s your turn! Leave your link in the linky thingy (you know that’s the technical name, right??), and leave a little FF love

PS – I was thinking about doing themes once in awhile – announce the week before, post the following Friday…would you like that? Ideas for themes???

Grab a button!!



<a href="http://domestic-chicky.com"><img src="http://domestic-chicky.com/fff.png" alt="" /></a>

Starting Friday, I will be hosting Food Foto Friday, a picture sharing carnival for, you guessed it, food photography!

In case you don’t know what a blog carnival is, here is the short explanation: You post about the topic on your own blog – whether it’s recipes, pictures, whatever. Then you go to the hub of the carnival – in this case this blog – and leave your url and name. Visit other people participating, so everyone gets a little traffic and attention – you never know, you may find your next FAVORITE blog as you go looking around.

I’m hoping it will be a resource for tips, ideas, recipes and more…you don’t have to post a recipe – all we want are your gorgeous pictures! Eventually we will have themes periodically, and giveaways as well!

Come back here Thursday night/Friday morning and post your links! See you then!

PS – feel free to grab a button from the sidebar!

Enter Motherhood.

Don’t get me wrong – I love my boys with the fire of a thousand suns, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

I just don’t get the need to conquer, destroy, take apart, mangle. I don’t understand how they wear dirt as a badge of honor – under their nails, on their shirts, their socks…I have never seen so many knee blowouts on so many pairs of jeans. I have never seen shoes actually get WORN out before they get OUTGROWN.

I have never stepped on so many legos – I believe my boys heard their first curse word AFTER I stepped on a Lego.

But I love their passion. I love their creativity. I love their ability to turn a cardboard box into anything – an airplane, a sports car, a truck.

I love how much they love their Mama…

One passion my boys BOTH have is racing of all kinds – motorcycle, Nascar…if it has a motor, they love it.

So I was INSANELY excited to accept an invitation to check out the Nuclear Cowboyz this month in Ontario CA. Have you seen the commercials for this? It’s like one part X-games, one part Cirque du Soleil, one part rock concert. Motorcycles, quads, pretty girls, music and fireworks. Every boys dream.

Who loves their mama???

*disclosure – I was provided tickets to see this event, but the opinions (especially the ones about my gorgeous sons) are strictly my own

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!

It had been acting wonky for awhile – odd comments, weird dashboard things…I didn’t pay attention.

Then – KABOOM

I had to delete it just to keep it from infecting my own computer. The odd thing is nothing was wrong to the reader – just when you logged into the dashboard.

I’m kinda sad – Domestic Chicky was ME – the half-assed attempts at being Martha Stewart, the ideas that fizzled out.

But I am also very excited – because now I can introduce you to Chicky Loves…

One of my favorite things to do is to share – share posts with friends, share fun products with readers, share recipes…that’s what Chicky Loves will be all about. Sharing AWESOME. A whole lot of food, some books, photos, sites, goodies (especially makeup and other pretties), and anything else that strikes my fancy.

So stick around, get comfy…I am still uploading posts from the last 6 months, and I will be reorganizing my old posts, adding some new ones, and adding some fun goodies on my sidebar –>

Coming up

• Blissdom recap!
• Reviews of the new Pioneer Woman Cookbook and the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook (and my experiences with my new cast iron skillet)
• Birchbox – worth it?
• It’s strawberry season! You know I love my strawberries! Recipes and pictures!