Dinner....

I'm not sure what you would call this, maybe Chicken Cilantro Tomato Soup? But whatever it is I found it delish enough to share. I had no clue what I was going to have for dinner, even after I walked through the grocery store staring at all the options. For some reason, the only items I put in my basket were a bunch of Cilantro and a few Spring Onions...uh, ok? What the heck was I planning on making with only those two items in my basket? Sometimes I worry about myself.

It all came together though, no worries. I dug through my pantry and found these items:

2 cans of diced tomato's with cilantro and lime juice

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can of black eyed peas

I also had some fresh chicken breasts in the fridge.

So, first things first, I threw the chicken breasts in a frying pan with some olive oil and let them start cooking. Flipping, as needed, throughout the rest of the prep. I opened all the canned goods and emptied the contents into the largest saucepan I had (6 quarts, I think). I also added about 3/4 cup of water, just to think out the tomato sauce. Then I chopped up 4 spring onions and this much (see below) cilantro (you can go with as much as you want on these two items...I like them both so I went a little on the heavy side) and tossed them in with the rest of the ingredients.

By the time I was finished with all that, the chicken was ready to be cut and added to the mix. I added 2 1/2 chicken breasts just because I'm not the worlds biggest fan of a super chunky soup. Again, you can add/take away as you please. Here is what the yumminess looked like!!

My little helper...begging...*cough cough*...patiently waiting to see if you can get some of the yumminess.

Pretty darn cute <3>

Back to the soup...so after everything was in the saucepan, I covered it and brought it to a slow boil over medium to medium-high heat, let that go for about 2-3 minutes then cut it back to low and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Stirring here and there. In that time I was able to clean up the little bit of mess I made, load the dishwasher and get bowl and spoon out! Super easy y'all...and delicious! I totally recommend trying it. I started prep at 6:05pm and was eating my soup at 6:30pm!

*Clean*

Perfect amount of spice and freshness.

A little dash of cheddar and some blue corn chips....YUM!!

Let me know what you think if you try it!!

Until next time...

I'm ready, I'm ready, IIIIII'mmmm ready...

...for warmer days! This week is spoiling me already. The slightest hint that Spring is really just around the corner and possibly ready to settle in has me dying for flip flop weather, shorts and tank tops, weekends spent outside in the sun, and the beach...oh, the beach. I love the beach. I wish I were on the beach now, toes in the warm sand, shades on, and book in hand. Lazy and loving it. Ahhh....(imagine the part in a show where the screen starts to get squiggly and the picture fades into a new and better location...for me it's a white beach, sparkling ocean, and warm breezes....)

(mmm...shall we say here?)

(or here?...yes, please!)

This year, my family is on top of the vacation game. My sister-in-law, AY (no, her name is not Ay...those are her initials. Although, if that were her name I imagine there would be a lot of pirate references...."Ayyyyyyy, matey!") um....anyway, she did an awesome job of making everyone come to a decision and nail down a place for our summer beach getaway. This year we are trying something a little different and heading to Holden Beach. I am excited for the switch up of scenery from the usual Myrtle Beach. Not that I don't love Myrtle....but it seems everyone and their brother does as well. Sometimes it's nice to be one of only a few on the beach...actually, it's nice all the time. Myrtle used to be a lot more like that, but it has become quite the hot spot over the past few years. And since we are a big group, therefore requiring a good amount of space, it only made since to try something new for a change. Have any of you ever been to Holden?? Any tips on places to eat, go, see??

Our beach trip is still a ways off though and I'm afraid the second I let myself believe that this slight warmth is here to stay it will pack itself up and head right back out the door it walked it beautiful self in. So, for now, I won't be fooled. Just know that I love you warm weather and can't wait to spend as much of my time as possible enjoying you when you are here for good.

Until next time....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's to wishing everyone a day filled with love and sweets!!! I can't believe it's 2011, I can't believe it's February, I can't believe we are halfway through the month and another Valentine's Day is upon us....man.

SWL and I showed a little extra love by going on a "day date" to the delicious Olive Garden, yum! I was so stuffed I didn't even have room for dessert. Shocking. I know. We were tempted to get some to go and then decided to pull the "healthy/smart" card and say, "Eh, we don't need it." As soon as the door shut behind us and we were walking to the car, I was second guessing my decision of turning down the scrumptiousness that is all of the desserts at O.G. But it was too late, I would look totally lame if I ran back inside, drooling, to order the dessert that I had just turned down...so I let it go.

That's probably why I decided to whip up some goodies of my own....mmmm. It always works out for the best when I fix the sweets I am craving. Not only do I get to fix exactly what I want but then I can scarf it down in the peace of my own home, not having to worry whether the person in the next booth is disturbed by the bits that seem to escape as I'm shoveling the goodness down the hatch. Anyway...back to the sweets!

I found this recipe over at an amazing site, Bakerella. And while my cake balls definitely didn't turn out looking anything like Bakerella's, I must say I thought they came out pretty tasty. I didn't follow the recipe 100%, I went with a Devil's Food Cake mix....and I think these would be good with any cake mix really. Here a few snapshots...

(ewww....)

(ahhh....)

(YUM!)

I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day and enjoy any sweets that come your way! Love you all!!

Until next time...

Vday...on the cheap

Valentine's day is right around the corner and while I don't decorate or have any real prep for the "holiday", it is one of my favorites. I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much. Whether its all of the pinks and reds, the flowers and candies, or just the the openness that everyone seems to have with their feelings, I look forward to it every year.

The hubs and I have never really been big on "going all out" when it comes to the special day, maybe a card and a nice dinner, occasionally some flowers, but other than that our celebration is pretty low-key. Since we keep it pretty much under the radar for ourselves, I thought it would be fun to start a tradition of doing something fun for the kids in our lives. Catch your breath...NO, we don't have kiddos that have been running around in secret....I'm talking about our nieces and nephews. We love all five of them to death and I thought, "Well, why don't we send them a little LoVe nugget this Valentine's day!" I mean who doesn't like getting an " I <3 you!" on Valentine's when you aren't really expecting it...I know I do (Hint Hint...SWL are you reading this? ;o) ).

So, in keeping with the theme of low-key and under the radar I decided to hit up the $1 bins are Target (aka Taarr- jee') and I found some cool deals. There were lots of "love" themed socks each for only a $1 (Batman for the boys!). So I grabbed a pair for each of the kids based on what I thought they might be excited to see once they opened their package. Then I made my way to the sticker aisle, what kid doesn't love stickers, right?! I'm an adult and I would probably rate them in my top 10 favorite things to receive...is that weird? Anyway, I did the same thing there, chose a pack of $ o.99 stickers that reminded me of each of the kids. (I apologize in advance to the parents (love you guys) for any unwanted placement of the stickers that should occur.) Lastly, what is Valentine's Day without a little chocolate? So I scooped up a bag of milk chocolate hearts to divide between the kids. Even though two of the babes are still too young to truly enjoy the chocolaty goodness, I know my sisters will have no problem finding a home for the sweets!

On the way home from work, I stopped by the post office to grab some "bubble envelopes" in fun colors and then made my way home to pack it all up. I wanted to put a little note in to let the kids know we love them and say, "Hi!" since we don't get to seem them as much as we would like. I had some pink card stock left over from a high school computer class project...wow...just wow. So, naturally, I composed a simple homemade Valentine and stuck it in the envelope with the goods! Tada! Here are a couple shots...

Total cost, including postage, $26! Not bad for five Valentine's Day packages! I was pretty proud...I'm trying to exercise my thrifty bone a bit more this year...not to shabby for having to dust it off.

I hope the kids enjoy them! I wish I could be there to see their faces when they realize they have a "special" package in the mail. I used to love getting mail when I was younger...still do, minus bills.

So, if you're still wondering what to throw together for the loves of your life, at least the little ones, don't look past the $1 bins and sticker aisle...could be just what they were looking forward too! What thrifty ideas do you have for Valentine's Day? Do you celebrate?

Sidenote: I feel really guilty about posting this before posting anything about the buffet progress...but I couldn't hold out any longer. Only new info on the buffet front is that I have acquired (thanks to KAS and KMR) a new stripper that I plan on testing out hopefully this weekend!! Fingers crossed!

Until next time...

Oh Saturday...

Ugh, have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to be swirling around your brain and nothing seems to stick? That's me today. I have projects to get done, cleaning that could stand to happen, exercising, laundry, this, that and the other.... But all I can muster up the energy to do is sit on the couch and stare at the television, then computer, then television, then...you get the point. I did play a round of Qwirkle (current favorite game, FYI) with the hubs though, that counts for something, right?

Maybe it's the grey, rainy day. Maybe its the chilly weather. Maybe I just needed to take it easy for a day. Whatever it is, that is definitely what I am doing, taking it easy. Hanging at home with the hubs and the pup. And even though I could be checking things off a list that is probably lost somewhere in all the mess, I'm enjoying myself too much doing nothing to get up and put forth any effort. Hmph. :0)

I hope this weekend has brought some of the same relaxation to you and yours. Here's to Saturday. Ahhh, how I love you.

Until next time...

Total Bust...well not completely, I guess...

So, as you all might have noticed there is nothing posted about any kind of excitement from being finished with the buffet redo. It's because I failed....I didn't meet my deadline of January 31st. But I have been working on it. It's just taking way longer than what I anticipated.

Over the summer, back when I first purchased the buffet, I was in the middle of like 4 other projects and so I only sort of started working on the stripping of the buffet. I chose the top because it was flat and easy to work with at the time. I put the stripper on and you could see it begin to work almost instantly, even though the jug says to wait for about 25-30 minutes. Here's an example of what I'm talking about from another piece I was working on. Those bubbles were like perfection, it meant the stripper was doing its job and I was on my way to a "new" piece of furniture.

(This table is now white and lovely, you see, because the stripper worked. Hmph!)

But I never got the bubbles with the rest of the buffet. I don't know what is going on but so far it seems like all the buffet is doing is soaking up the stripper. Awesome. I even let it sit for the entire amount of time mentioned in the instructions...and nothing. When I start to scrape its like I might as well sprayed the thing with water! Extremely frustrating.

At first I thought the issue was the kind of stripper I chose. I was out of the old, so I opted for the "environmentally safe" choice. It did "okay" but took forever....and while the smell was way more bearable and I felt better about cleaning my supplies and throwing things away, I couldn't take it. I broke down and bought some of the "real deal" stripper. The stuff that has to be "disposed of properly". (I hate it...I do.) But when I gave that a shot thinking, "I'm in business now! Bwah hahaha", nothing. More soaking up, waiting, and a whole lot of no real results. Here is what I got...

(One of the doors from the buffet..all butchered up now, sad.)

A sorta, kinda, half way there, but not really done door. What the?!?! So, here I am...and I need your help. Names of strippers (ha), tips that work, anything....please? This was supposed to be easy, well not easy, but not this hard.

I'm quite discouraged and thinking I might have ruined a perfectly good piece of furniture just because I wanted it to be a different color. Tear :*-( Any advice, or pointing in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time....