Side Dish Dilemma

Tired of the same boring side dishes you make all the time?  Sometimes we are too!  Here are a few tried and true ones that we enjoy!

1.  Roasted cauliflower with fresh herbs and Parmesan

2.  Roasted asparagus

3.  Sundried tomato stuffed mushrooms

4.  Roasted brussel sprouts

5.  Loaded baked potato dip

6.  Sweet cucumber, red onion, and dill salad

7.  Hot corn dip

Chevron Round-up

I will admit that I have a slight obsession with all things chevron lately!  Luckily, I am not the only one out there.  Here are some great crafty ideas for your next chevron inspired project.

A decorative tray via Martha Stuart

 A chevron painted rug via The House of Smiths

A chevron trash can via Spearmint Decor

Chevron wall art via Ardor

Chevron mono print pillow via Design Mom

Chevron coasters via Wholly Kao

Chevron potato stamp wall art via Strawberry Chic

Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops

This is a ridiculously easy dinner idea.  It's perfect for a busy day when you just want dinner ready for you when you get home from work.  Please accept my apologies for not having a picture, but it was scarfed up way too fast!

Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops


Ingredients:
boneless pork chops
1 packet - ranch dressing mix
fat free or low sodium cream of chicken soup

Instructions:
Mix the ranch dressing mix and cream of chicken soup in a mixing bowl.  Place pork chops and soup/ranch mixture in the crock pot.  Cook on low all day.

We served ours with mashed potatoes and sweet corn.

ENJOY!

Hangin' Around This Town

Here are a few more shots from spring break!



Visited Brad at work and got sit in the mayor's seat!

Working hard!

Office space

Fabulous lunch stop

metal sculpture also hanging around this town

Sewing Project: Man Room Curtains

Today is my last day of spring break!  Where did the time go?  It was so nice to relax and get caught up on everything at home.  One project that I worked on was getting my sewing machine up and running.  A big thanks to Sallie on that one! 

My first sewing project to tackle:  curtains for the man room.  I had found this fun fabric with guitars on it a while ago and thought it was perfect!

 Overall, they were pretty easy.  It makes me very excited for future sewing projects!  So, without further adieu, my first sewing project in a very long time!

Daycation: New Bern, NC

It feels like I have waited a long time for my spring break to roll around.  It is finally here and I am relishing every moment of it!  Aside from thrifting, we have been busy!  Sallie is in for her visit and we wanted to take her to New Bern for a day to check out all their cute shops.

The second oldest city, in North Carolina, New Bern was founded in 1710 by Swiss baron Christopher de Graffenried.  It is named after Bern Switzerland.  The name itself is taken from the German word "baren" , or "bears."  They have adorable painted bear statues all around town.

See if you can tell which is the sculpture and which is Brad.

The history teacher side of me loves New Bern for its rich history.  They have seen visits from George Washington and the famous evangelical preacher from the Great Awakening, George Whitfield at the church in the center of town. 

The town is filled with gorgeous old homes.  Ava Gardener had a summer house there and Babe Ruth used to visit for hunting trips.

It is also the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola.  Originally created by the local pharmacist in the late 1800s, Caleb Bradham, it was called "Brad's Drink."

Here's Brad, enjoying "Brad's Drink" by the "Brad's Drink" sign.

We just spent the day checking out the sights, browsing the cute shops (of course I had to visit the adorable bead store), and enjoying our day.  Plus, a great lunch and pit stop at MJ's.

Us!

Creepy bear at Town Hall

4 story house by the river...swoon!

A street filled with shops

Yummy lunch stop

More Vintage Finds

Spring break has been a success so far!  At least when it comes to checking out the thrift stores/antique stores.  We scored a couple more good finds and Brad is beginning a camera collection.  Here are the latest finds.

My find was a 1940s Aero Pack suitcase.  So far, I haven't been able to find out much about it other than the fact that it is their 1940s style.  I love the shape of it.  It is more of a box shape than typical luggage.  Anyone know what this style is called?

My inspiration comes from Cupcakes and Cashmere.  I would love to come across some others and create this look for our guest room.

Brad is growing his camera collection as well.  He found a 1960s 8mm camera and case.  It appears to be in working condition and we are going to try to find some film for it.  We got a great deal on both items.  A grand total of $18.  3 for the camera and 15 for the luggage.  How did we get such a good deal?  All Brad had to do was change the ink ribbon in the card machine for the lady in the antique store.  Oh, the perks of having a tech savvy hubby!

Linked to:

I Should Be Mopping The Floor

Vintage Finds

With Sallie visiting for spring break, we were off on a day trip yesterday.  We went to New Bern, NC.  (More on that later!)  Along the drive we had to check out one of our favorite antique stores. 

Anyone that knows me, will completely understand that these mink stoles really creeped me out!  There were 8 of them slung over the top of a blue bench.  For me, their creepiness alone deserved a picture.  I was even further creeped out when Brad and Sallie were petting them!  I had to move on...

At this store, I usually find great vintage costume jewelry that I can bring home, take apart, and create new things, but I didn't really find anything that I couldn't live without yesterday.  But, I have been looking for a long time for a printer's drawer to turn into a shadow box for all my miniature finds.  Sallie had found a cute little owl sculpture and I was talking about how I needed to find a printers drawer asap.  Turned the corner, and bam!  There one was!  Overall it was in good shape, one divider needed a little glue and the back was cracked, but it just gave it more character.

Here it is all cleaned up and hung on the wall.  I already had some little treasures for it.  Guitar picks from our wedding, a tiny Tabasco sauce, a felted gourd, tiny blocks to spell Long, a wine cork from our first anniversary, a Berlin pin from Brad's "German" hat, a wind up crab toy, a tiny pitcher, a squirrel, an owl, a goat pin, a spring chicken pin, and a lounge lizard pin.  This will be a blast to fill with tiny found treasures!

Brad also had a cool find.  While perusing around the store, he found a 1960's Voigtlander Brilliant box camera.  It is still workable, just needs a little TLC.  For now, it is living on our bookshelf in the living room.

DIY Easter

I have been finding so many fun Easter decor DIY ideas lately.  They are so cute, I have to share them!  Here are my favorite finds.


1.  DIY Easter Bunny Embroidery Hoop

2.  DIY Spring Moss Wreath

3.  Leaf Print Eggs

4.  DIY Resurection Applique Hoop

5.  DIY Bunny Jars

Skinny Lasagna Skillet

We tried a new recipe the other night and it was delicious!  Recipe is from The Realistic Nutritionist.  Even though it was a meatless meal, Brad was a fan!  However, it would be very easy to adapt the recipe and add meat.

Skinny Lasagna Skillet

You will need:

• 1 and 1/2 tbsp. EVOO
• 1 large, chopped onion
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14.5 0z.) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 3 basil leaves, chopped (got mine fresh from the garden!)
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 C. skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 C. part skim mozzarella cheese
• 3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
• About 6 oz. lasagna noodles, broken into thirds and fully cooked
• 2 tbsp. parsley (fresh or dried)

1.  Heat EVOO in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and mushrooms, until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, salt, and pepper.  Cook, until mixture thickens up a bit, about 5 minutes.  

2.  Add noodles to the skillet and stir the mixture well.  Add in dollops of ricotta cheese over the noodles.  Then add in the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  Stir in parsley.  Cook for about 2 more minutes, until mixture thickens up.

3.  Serve immediately with additional basil and parsley.  

Enjoy!