How to do a bridal show on a budget

This weekend Doug will be an exhibitor at the Wharton County Bridal Bliss Expo. He did this last year and had a terrific response and increase in business. We have a very limited budget to make a big impact at the show, but with a little ingenuity, I think we can make it!
First of all, we've been buying frames at the thrift stores during the year.

With a little spray paint they look good as new!

We also were on the look out for clearance items at our local craft stores. Here's a frame that would normally cost $45 - we got for $15! It had a small scratch on the front that was easily repaired with a little concentrated coffee and water.

Do it yourself framing! All you need is a little tape and a staple gun. No one will ever see the backs of these pictures so why pay for expensive framing? If the backs were exposed then I would probably cover with brown craft paper.

Instead of paying for table skirts, I got these pretty satins from the Walmart dollar bin. Everything was just a dollar a yard and it'll take me less than an hour to sew the panels together and hem.

Don't pay for accessories - shop at home! I went around the house and picked up pieces that would go with our set-up. Candles and tchochkies always work within a display and I thought I'd use the glass cake pedestal to fan out Doug's business cards and price list. The plate holders will hold pretty frames. I'll use books underneath my table covering to make different height levels on the display table.

It just goes to show you, it doesn't have to be expensive to be beautiful! Plus, Doug's work speaks for itself. His images are outstanding and I'm sure he'll finish booking up his year by the end of the show. Be sure to check out his website: Douglas Creamer Photography or send him some love at his blog.

It's Bento, Baby!

I've been working several swing shifts (3pm-11pm) and that means missing dinner with the family. So today I decided to get out the bento gear and make a happy little boxed meal to enjoy at work. Who wouldn't smile upon opening a lunch box like this, of course I'd be smiling a whole lot bigger if it contained a cheeseburger and fries!

For more bento love:

Lunch in a Box

Bento Lunch

Just Bento

Pecan pie...without the guilt!

A date with a pecan half inside.

Tastes like a bite of pecan pie but so much better for you.

Don't eat too many, though, IYKWIM!

When the garden gives you cabbage...

...MAKE KRAUT!

Our fall garden is almost done and I still have lots of cabbage! I went online to find some sauerkraut recipes and had no idea that the process was so simple! I got FREE food grade buckets from our local grocer (just go to their bakery and ask for their extra frosting buckets, they just throw them out!) and then all you need is cabbage, sea salt, water, and time.
Lacto-fermented vegetables are so good for you, and I love a big helping of kraut on a grilled hotdog. Can't wait to taste this!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Turkey spinach hummus wraps on homemade sprouted wheat tortillas.

Tuesday: Twice baked potatoes and salad from the garden.

Wednesday: Spaghetti squash with homemade tomato sauce.

Thursday: Spicy slow cooker black bean soup with cornbread.

Friday: Grilled vegetable panninis.

Saturday: Turkey burgers with swiss and guac. Doug has a wedding out of town so I'll surprise the boys with a Valentine's picnic in the backyard.

Sunday: Probably take out! We have Mass and the county bridal show that day so I don't think anyone will be doing any cooking!

For hundreds of other meal planning ideas check out www.orgjunkie.com

I need another project like I need a hole in my head!

I thought this would be a quick afternoon project, but not so!
Since the trees were cut back we have so much more sunlight in the backyard so I thought it would be nice to spruce up the area by our shed. The kids play in that area a lot so I thought something whimsical would be cute. I saw some "topsy turvy" pots online and thought it would be a great (cheap and quick) project for the yard.
I batted my eyelashes at Doug and he got out the tiller to get the soil ready for some extra plantings in the area.

Danny wants to do everything Doug and the boys do so this time Doug let Dan run the tiller...

Look at that sweet baby's face!
He told me he was a "big farmer man" now!

Even Kyle helped out by driving in the rebar and stacking pots...

He won't admit it, but he likes getting his hands dirty in the garden just as much as I do!

I thought strawberry plants cascading out of those tipsy pots would look wonderful.
Check your local Walmart, I got these bare root strawberries 10 for $3.00!

I'm going to plant those 20 gladiolus bulbs and the plants below. Those potted plants have five separate plants in each bucket and I'm going to divide them up to fill in the area.
I'm hoping it will be really pretty once everything grows in!

I hate posting incomplete projects, but we ran out of daylight...and mulch!

Hopefully we'll finish it sometime in the next day or two. I'll post pics as it starts to fill in!
Have a great weekend!

LOL Saints!

You know that I loves me some LOL DOGS, LOL CATS, and LOL CELEBS, and now someone has created
LOL SAINTS
It's written in the same style as the other LOL's and uses sacred art for the pictures.
It's a tad irreverent, but never blasphemous...just good for a chuckle!

Starting seeds

It's exactly six weeks until our last frost date so I planted my tomato, pepper, eggplant, and herb seeds in their little Jiffy peat pots.

For the next four weeks I'll be making sure they are warm enough, watered, have plenty of light, and are protected from Danny and JP! Last year the boys turned over a whole tray of fragile seedlings while playing Ninja Turtles. It was my fault, really, I set the tray precariously in a sunny windowsill.

This year I am a woman on a mission - all heirloom tomatoes and peppers and all organic!
My seedlings will survive and hopefully in six more weeks they'll be ready to put into freshly tilled soil. I can almost taste that fresh salsa now!

Best laid plans...

I thought I was ahead of the game. I planned, prepared, purchased, and planned some more. My seeds were in and I was ready to start them in their little peat pots when this arrived...

I had forgotten that I had requested a catalog from the Tomato Growers Supply Company. Not that I thought they had anything that I needed...I just LOVE to browse seed catalogs ('cause I'm super cool like that!) But when it came in the mail the other day, all my plans went to pot (no pun intended!)
If you plan on growing tomatoes you MUST request a catalog from these folks! I have never seen the variety of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes as this catalog holds. Not only do they have tomatoes, but they also sell an incredible variety of pepper and eggplant seeds as well. Their catalog also has wonderful tips and planting techniques that can guarantee your success!

So I just put in another order for some heirlooms that I just to had to have. I'm going back to the planning stage to make room for these babies but I fear I'm running out of backyard for all my grand designs.
Doug, you don't think the homeowners association would mind me putting a tomato patch in the front yard, do you?

Tomato Growers Supply Company
(scroll down to the bottom left for a FREE catalog request)

Menu Plan Monday

We've got a crazy busy week of appointments, classes, and working so I'm doing my prep work for the week on Monday for quick and easy meals through the week!

Monday: Chicken fajitas on sprouted whole wheat tortillas. When Doug fires up the grill, I plan on cooking extra chicken and vegetables to use in meals for the rest of our week. I'm also making a quadruple batch of tortillas in the morning to last us all week.

Tuesday: Whole wheat linguine tossed with butter, grilled vegetables, and lots of parm. cheese

Wednesday: Green chard tacos. Swiss chard from the garden literally takes 2 minutes to cook and will combine with leftover grilled veggies and tortillas from Monday.

Thursday: Grilled pizza. Will mix dough early in the day and allow to proof in the fridge all afternoon. Will top with thinly sliced tomatoes, fresh cheese and basil. Serve with lettuce greens from the garden.

Friday: Homemade mac & cheese with roasted brussells from the garden. I'll make this early in the morning before we start running about for the day. When dinner time comes it will be a simple warm up in the oven.

Saturday: Pulled pork sandwiches. Super easy by letting the crock pot do all the work!

A productive day around here...

It was a pretty busy day around here on Friday. The tree trimmers were here bright and early working on our biggest tree. I can't say that I was sad to see it go, branches from that bad boy almost went through our house...TWICE! It took the guys the entire day to whittle it down and the yard was completely covered in branches. Our yard looks so barren now so I got out my trusty notebook and have been making landscaping plans. The yard is a blank canvas now and I'm hoping to bring it to life this spring with scalloped beds and perennial plantings!

The boys were dying to watch the tree trimmers, so I took them out back and they played and watched safely from the field. It was such a gorgeous day that I got Doug to haul out my thrift store desk and bookcase so I could paint them.

I found these cool wooden decals and hot glued them to the desk drawers for a little visual interest, then I primed and painted most of the afternoon.

I think the desk turned out really nice.
Not bad for a ten dollar find!

And here's my little sewing nook!
It's bright and cozy and I can finally stop sewing at the kitchen table!

It got finished at the perfect time because I'm getting ready to sew table skirts for Doug's booth at the county bridal show. Lots and lots to do for that event so I may be scarce next week.
Check out his blog and send him some love:
Douglas Creamer Photography

Heard at our house...

Doug has a mild case of laryngitis (he's not sick, just lost his voice.)

JP: "Dad, why didn't you rest your voice today?"

Doug: (jokingly) "Because I have to yell at YOU."

JP: "Dad, just let mom do the yelling, she knows how to do it really good!"

Please pray...

Please say a prayer for Doug's grandmother, Hazel. His sweet Grammy is 94 years old and is battling pneumonia in the hospital. She's a tough 'ol girl, but this illness had hitting her pretty hard. She's also dealing with severe arthritis in her hip that is giving her horrible pain.
Please offer an Ave for her healing and comfort!

(BTW, the above picture was taken in October.
I think she looks awesome for her age!)

Timber!

Last year we had so many "near misses" with tree limbs almost falling on the house,
like THIS, and THIS.
So today the most wonderful men on earth arrived....the tree trimmers!

It took them all day long just to get one tree!
The brush pile was enormous!

But for John Paul it was better than Christmas!
Give a country boy a big pile of sticks and he is in Heaven!

They'll be back at the crack of dawn tomorrow...I'm going to smile when I awaken to the sounds of chainsaws firing up (my neighbors, maybe not so much!)

Plans in effect!

I laid out the general shape of my medicinal and cooking herb garden today using our garden hose. I like the shape of it and will leave it a few days before tilling just to make sure I can live with it! I'm also going to carefully observe how many hours per day it gets direct sunlight as most medicinal plants prefer shady spots.

The flipside is that most cooking herbs like bright sunny spots,
so I'm not sure I can combine the two into one garden.

I ordered some of my seeds online. Here's what I got:
Astragalus
Allheal
Elecampane
Burdock
Evening Primrose
Feverfew
Lavender
Scullcap
I figure I can get plants of more common herbs at our local nursery because growing everything from seed is incredibly labor intensive. I really only want to grow the rare stuff from seed.
I also found some really great heirlooms for my vegetable garden, so I'll be growing these babies from seed as well:
Listada de Gandia Eggplant
Fish Pepper
Napoleon Sweet Pepper
Five Color Silverbeet Chard
and you can't have heirlooms in your garden without tomatoes:
Amish Paste, Gold Medal, and Italian Heirloom

The rest of my vegetable garden will come from the Burpee seed display at Walmart.
I absolutely CAN.NOT.WAIT for spring to get here!