Spring Fever

Only one more day...

And it will be...

SPRING!

Unfortunately nobody gave mother nature the memo.

At least not here in the northern mitten.

It was a balmy 31 degrees today!

I was super bummed because it was supposed to be 37 degrees...

And sunny.

But it was cloudy, as was my mood.

I have been couped up in the house with a sick little girl for three whole days.

And that same little girl has been sleeping in our bed for THREE whole nights.

Which means that mommy hasn't slept for three nights.

Soooo...

I got a brilliant idea.

We were gonna go to the beach!

Well, sort of.

We live in an absolutely gorgeous area of the state, surrounded by Lake Michigan.

And even though it was cloudy and yucky and cold...

I dragged my family to the one place that always makes me feel better.

 

Lake Michigan is peeking out behind the trees.

I was taking pics out the window of my car.

Please excuse any dog nose prints or drool marks that may make an appearance in these photos ☺

The white is ice, but the dark blue is open water!

(I know, I know, not that exciting, but it was all frozen not too long ago.)

We're getting closer...



Shhh...Don't tell anyone ;)

This is a scary, narrow road that drops off on the right side into a steep cliff. 

(Perhaps there is a reason for the DO NOT ENTER sign. But we are total rebels. Real lawbreakers.)

On the way to my favorite place, we pass this Native American cemetery, or burial ground.  I'm not sure what it is technically called.

I've been worried since I took this picture.

Isn't there some sort of superstition about taking pictures of burial grounds?

Or is that me being a paranoid freak?

Here is a pretty little church on the other side.

FINALLY...

We made it!

Time to unload.

 

Picture it...

Fire in the pit...

Wine glasses on the picnic table...

Hooded sweatshirts and bathing suits on kiddos roasting marshmallows...

Fiery sunset on the lake...

Paradise.

(Cristopher Cross' Sailing should be playing in your head right now. Just thought I'd let ya know ♫)

 

That, my friends, is ice.

I don't know what I was thinking.

 

This is a really cool pic.

The little girl thought that it was pretty cool to walk on all the rocks that would be covered by water in the summer.

Can you imagine it in the summer?

Me being cold, but a bit happier.

Headed back to the car.

It was cold, and icy...

But you can't stay down for too long when you're exposed to so much beauty.

Our son spotted this doe and her fawn on the ride home.

When we got home I decided to continue our warm weather themed day...

Nothin' says summer like brats and macaroni salad!

And for dessert...

 

Peanut butter pie!
(I've linked to the recipe I based mine on. If you want the specifics of my variation, let me know.)

This little boy's favorite ♥

Hope you are having a springalicious weekend!

Jessie

Taco Lasagna

Ever have something super tasty to eat at potluck, or a friend's house,

and wish you had asked for the recipe?

A few years ago I had an awesome casserole type dish.

It had meat, tortillas, taco type seasonings, all layered with lots of ooey, gooey cheese.

Since that evening I have been on the hunt for a similar recipe.

After trying several that weren't quite right...

I decided to create my own!

(Complete recipe at the end of post, so don't worry about amounts and measurements. I wouldn't leave ya hangin')

I started with the seasonings.

Which I mixed together in preparation to be added to a ground beef mixture.

I added 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef to a large pan, and browned it over medium heat.

I drained most of the fat off, and returned the pan the stove.

I added a chopped, yellow onion to the pan, and cooked for a couple minutes.

I poured my spice mixture over the beef and onion and let it cook for an additional minute.

Then, I added one chopped green chili and a can of tomato sauce.

I let it simmer for twenty minutes or so.

Into a 13x9 inch casserole dish, I scooped roughly one cup of the meat sauce mixture, and spread it evenly over the bottom of the dish.

I layered half of a package (5) tortillas on top of the sauce.

I cut the last tortilla in half for more even coverage.

Spread half of a can of refried beans (don't mess with the fat free, get the real deal) on top of the tortillas.

(helpful hint: heat the beans first, it makes them way more spreadable)

Top with half of the remaining meat sauce mixture.

Layer with half sharp cheddar, half Monterrey jack cheeses

(another hint: I like to shred my own cheese to get a better melted consistency)

Repeat the layers, starting with the remaining tortillas and ending with the rest of the cheese.

Cover with foil, being careful not to let foil touch cheese.

Pop that baby into a 375 degree oven.

Uncover after thirty minutes.

Bake uncovered until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Viola!

This stuff is killer!

Taco Lasagna

1 ½ lbs. ground beef

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 whole green chili (from a can)

1 28oz can tomato sauce (I like Dei Fratelli)

1 heaping tablespoon chili powder

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin

½ teaspoon oregano (Mexican if you have it)

1 teaspoon sea salt

A pinch of cayenne pepper

1 pkg. of 10 tortillas (I like Mission taco size)

1 can refried beans

8 oz. Monterrey jack cheese (chunk), shredded

8 oz. sharp cheddar (chunk), shredded

1 bunch green onions (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Black olives (optional)



Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain and return to skillet. Add the chopped onion to the ground beef and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes, or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne. Cook for 1 minute. Add  the chopped green chili and the can of tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Spread 1 cup of the meat mixture into the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish. Top with 5 of the tortillas. You may have to cut the tortillas in half to make an even layer. Spread ½ of the can of refried beans on the tortillas (helpful hint: Heat the beans before you spread them into the pan. It makes them thinner and easier to spread). Top with half of the remaining meat mixture. Layer ½ the shredded Monterrey jack, and ½ the shredded sharp cheddar on top of the meat mixture. Top with the remaining 5 tortillas, cutting them as needed to make an even layer. Spread with the remaining beans, and layer with remaining meat mixture. Top with the rest of the shredded cheeses.

Cover with foil, being careful that cheese does not touch the foil, and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly.

Hope you are having a splendid week!

Jessie

Desperation?

Here we are again.

On the hunt for our perfectly imperfect house.

I got my hopes up this time...just a tad.

We knew that this house was "updated" and "clean".

Which already put it ahead of the last two.

Right...?

We walked inside, into a little back entrance. It smelled old. But I can deal with old. There were stairs leading to a dungeonous Michigan basement (definition: tiny, dank storage area. Sometimes houses the washer and dryer. You know...the kind that you run up the stairs each time you have to go "down there", like the hounds of hell are on your heels.), which I passed on seeing.  My brave husband went down there.  Then informed me that the washer and dryer were indeed located down there. (Cringe)

But, once we got passed the back entry...

The kitchen.

Not so bad! It looks like people actually live here! They may even prepare food here. In fact I'm sure they do, because there are new stainless steel appliances throughout!

Yahoo!!!

The rest of the lower level was pretty darn good. (I'm sorry. I was so stoked that I forgot to take pictures!) There was only one bathroom, but we can deal with that for now. It had been updated in the past few years, so it was clean and spacious enough.

The lower level was making the grade!

Then we went upstairs...

This was the first room we came to.  Pretty tiny...

Might be able to squeeze the mini might (little girl) into it...

BUT...

THIS is how you enter the teeny tiny room!

Notice something?

Like the fact that that you could walk out the "door" (there was no actual door) and break your NECK!!!

I so wanted to cry.

I was crying.

I was doing that look up, blinky thing.  You know?  Where you try to keep the flood of tears back...

The one where your throat starts to get tight and hurt.

Yeah.

The other two rooms were fine, by the way.

So, here is the list of problems with this house:

One bathroom (can deal with that)

Old windows that need to replaced.

Small, probably scary basement (which I was too chicken to go down and see)

No garage (again, can be remedied later)

Only one heat run to the upper level.

Oh yeah... and you could possibly kill yourself if you were to accidentally walk out of the bedroom in the middle of the night.

The seriously sad part of this...

I am considering this as a possibility! I am surely desperate. Tell me I am DESPERATE!

At first we told out Realtor "No way!"

Then...

I e-mailed him...

And might have said it wasn't entirely out of the question.

My super duper handy hubby said that we could eventually build a garage and add a room above it. Wall off the entrance to the room of doom. Rework the top level. Add another bathroom...

What do you think?

Am I desperate?

Have I lost my house hunting mojo?

Jessie

I Need Your Opinion

A few posts ago I mentioned this worn, sad vanity/desk.  It belonged to my great-grandmother, and was passed down to me by my grandmother.

And

It is in desperate need of a makeover!

Here is where you come in...

I need opinions.

I am, at the very least, indecisive.

I can NEVER make my mind up about anything.

I mean, it takes me fifteen minutes to decide which color nail polish to buy.

This is a whole piece of furniture.

I can't just wipe it off and start again (at least not without a huge amount of effort).

Here are a few of my ideas...

(feel free to add your own)

I was thinking that I could stencil a quatrefoil design on the top like this talented lady did.

Maybe paint it gray with white quatrefoil

and this...

lovely fabric upholstered to the seat?

Or...

Paint the entire thing a distressed white...

With something like this beachy coral print on the seat?

But wait...

Another option, and a tad off the wall for me...

Paint the desk a pretty light blue...

With this floral on the upholstered seat

and

a light GREEN paint on the bench!

And the last option...

Plain ol' gray desk...

With a little white bird stenciling in the corner of one, or both bottom drawers...

with this pretty print on the seat?

Decisions, decisions!

HELP!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Jessie

P.S. All fabric is available at fabric.com!

Another Stinker

Yesterday brought another day of house hunting.

I didn't get my hopes up.

Which turned out to be a very good thing.

You may think that this isn't so bad.

But trust me, it gets better!

A few cracks in the LEAD paint.

I think that it hadn't been painted since the lath and plaster dried in oh...1920!

I don't know about you, but I prefer to do my renovating in comfy jeans and a t-shirt...

not a HAZMAT suit.

This was a quaint little touch.

(notice all the cracks)

Lovely wood floors!  Which were given a cool plug in the listing as "original".

Know a good electrician?

But...

The bestest part...

The asbestos in the basement!

Yay for biohazards!

We've had mold (in the last house), lead and asbestos.

Needless to say, this is not our house...sigh...

Kinda makes a girl want a yummy...

SHAMROCK SHAKE!

and for dinner...

a little chard and peanut Easter M&M's

Now, before you all go calling CPS on me, the kiddos had organic turkey dogs, carrot sticks and apple slices.  Maybe I gave them a couple of  M&M's, but definitely NO wine;)

Then today, in honor of Fat Tuesday...

I had to have a paczki (or two, or sadly, maybe three).

Oh yeah, and after I polished off half a box of paczki, I may have eaten most of  a bag of Werther's chewy caramels.

My name is Jessie and I'm a sugarholic.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Jessie

The House Hunt Continues...And Some Yummies Too!

So...

This week we went house hunting.

Again.

This house was a real doosey.

I had such high hopes that this was our delapidated fixer-upper.

Maybe a new door...? Not so bad.

Some adorable little critter chewed through the porch roof...Fixable?

A little peeling paint...

Hmmmm? Looks like some foundation trouble...Not lookin' as promising (like it really had been).

Inside...

What a lovely...errr...kitchen (these were the ONLY cabinets).

Then...

The BESTEST part!

MOLD!

Run! Run! And don't look back!

This was so not our home.

Maybe next time☺

The other things about this little gem, not shown in the pics:

More signs (if you get my drift) of critter infestation.

Squishy, rotting floors.

The wall had pushed into the basement.

Stunk to high heaven.

Bathroom described by our three-year-daughter as "disgusting".

And

More MOLD!

On a tastier note...

I made some super delectable yummies this week...

Wanna see?

Pioneer Woman's Restaraunt Style Salsa (we will never buy the crap in the jar again).

Donut Muffins from Allrecipes, by Dianne

Meatball subs.

Created from Meatball Nirvana, another Allrecipes find.

Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts.  From...

You guessed it! AR!

Next week promises to bring more house hunting, a few cake orders, and hopefully a start on refurbishing my desk/vanity.

I hope you'll stop back by!

Have a lovely weekend ♥

(I just learned the hearts and smileys, so give me a break)

Jessie

Mommy Time

Today I got to spent the day (okay...it was actually 2 hours) with me. My mom kept the little girl. The little boy was in school. And I got to do whatever I wanted!

Yippee!

Soooo...

I went thrifting. Which, believe it or not, I have never really done.

Boy was I missing out!

I went into the first thrift store (which is a ministry of our church), and hit the jackpot. Of milkglass that is.








I have been watching Martha (who needs no last name) decorate with this lovely stuff for years.

I never really had a burning desire to go out and buy some.

But today I was in a spring sort of mood. And it was only $7 for all three pieces. And it just screamed spring to me.

So I bought it.

I went to four more stores. I browsed. I imagined. I didn't hear one single whiny voice asking, "Can we go yet?"

Bliss.

After my thrifting, I decided to go find some cute little springish (probably not a word) plants to fill my new milkglass treasures.





An adorable little pot of Irish moss.






A pretty African violet.

Violets reminds me of my great-grandma. She had a ton of them growing in the big family room in the back of her house.

And it makes me smile.




Then, I went where I dare not go with my children...





Starbucks, baby! Caramel Macchiato Latte heaven.


And, since Starbucks is in the grocery store (yeah I know, a little lame, but we're small town folk), and the little beggars where elsewhere, I had to go take a looksie at the Easter candy.






These looked yummy.

So I bought them. And hid them. And sneaked them into our bedroom before anyone could see. Hence the backround of the picture, which happens to be my comforter.

But...

The little stinkers found them!!!

And as they were devouring my candy, my son proclaims, "These taste like sunscreen." Then, walks over to the garbage and spits it out!


Other than the pillaging of my chocolate, it was a pretty awesome day.









Happy Tuesday!

Jessie