Soup or dip...

Yesterday seemed like a soupy day. So, I made soup instead of lasagna. I didn't have a recipe so I googled it. It always seems like a good plan to combine recipes when unsure what recipe looks the most delicious. And, the result was good but very thick. It had the taste of the filling from a potato piergi and about the same consistancy as well.

Needless to say, a bowl is about all one person can eat because I am sure it stuck to our ribs.

Shopping Day

I have moved the day that I go grocery shopping to better fit my three day weekend. I have started shopping on Fridays for groceries and it has had a few surprising effects: food seems to go further, the grocery store is less busy, and we spend less money on eating out.

I am inclined to belive that having more food choices on hand over the weekend allows us more dinner choices and cuts down on our want to eat-out. Also, many meals that we eat during the weekend take a little longer to prepare. Inadvertantly, we eat easier meals during the week for example grilled cheese instead of resorting to our easier meals on Friday and Saturday nights.

So, this week we have a few cool dishes prepared:

Monday

Lasagna

Garlic Bread

Tuesday

Meat Loaf

Rice

Salad

Wednesday

Potato Soup

Oyster Crackers

Thursday

Orange Chicken with Asia Vegetables

Spring Rolls

Friday

Grilled Meatloaf Sandwhich

Sauted Veggies

Dale is not a fan of vegetables so I am hoping to mask many of the veggies I bought inside many of the these dinners. For example, Lasagna will have mushrooms, peppers, tomato, possibly zucchinni and the meatloaf, I hope, to disguise carrots or sweet potatoes in the loaf. This may even benefit me in eating more veggies that I thought.

To round out the week, I am going to bake a loaf of blueberry bread before the week begins. It makes for an easy carry-out breakfast and it is healthy!

October, the Month of Love?

In total, Dale and I will have attended four weddings this month. We truly enjoy celebrating these joyful days with our friends and family. Additionally, weddings now have more meaning for us. We now understand what each couple is vowing to eachother and the joy and fulfilment that these commitments can bring.

To the month of love.

Hand-Me-Down or Hand-Me-Over

Those who have moved, gotten married, or left the roof of their parents understand the need for furniture when they enter their new home. You will, probably, also recall the willingness for those we love to "give-up" their older furniture.

Dale and I got a lot of this "given-up" furniture. It consisted of a full sized bed, two barrel chairs, wicker love seat, and end tables. While our home has a vintage feel because of this furniture, I have taken it as a project to learn how to update a few of these pieces.

Much Google searching proved that any person will time and patience could reupholster a piece of furniture. With excitement I visited our local Menard's and purchased a staple gun. See below:

What a purchase! I felt like I gained new power with this purchase; I could tackle the world now. Or, atleast the world of "vintage" furniture.

My first project was a barrel chair. This chair was passed-over and then down from Dale's grandmother and is older than me, by 5 years. The fabric choice for this chair was inspired by the decoration of my office at work. And, Hobby Lobby just happened to have the perfect upholstery fabric to compliment my new office decor.

After eight hours of tearing off stained fabric I made it to the center of the chair. This reminds me a little of a tootsie pop, "How many licks does it take to get to the center?". Except it would say, "How many staples does it take to get to the center?". And folks, the answer is THOUSANDS! I cannot believe how many staples I removed from the chair and later vacuumed-up because they didn't make them into the garbage bag.

 I have to report, the end project looks great! And, it is comfortable!