Fall!

Work has slowed down, so hopefully I will be able to start blogging a bit more.  I have taken some fun picture of pumpkins and gourds, since I love them and want to cover my house with them! haha Please enjoy them while I work on some other posts. : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple Chicken Sausage Pasta

Hey there! It is fall! YAY! Fall is my favorite!  I should be doing housework, since my house is a mess right now, but I am mildly hungover and I don't want to clean, so I blog! I should also be outside, since this is the first day the sun in shining in days, but I am mildly hungover and I don't want to go outside, so I blog! : )

 

And today I blog about a super yummy fall recipe. Colin said it is restaurant quality.  You all need to make it, enjoy eating it, and impress your loved ones with your restaurant quality skills! : )

 

 

It is from the Inspired by Charm blog, which you should check out if you have some spare time.
(does anyone have spare time these days?)  He has a pretty fabulous dining room. 

 

Excuse the dark kitchen iphone pictures : /  You can check out the pictures on the orginial post for some prettier images.  I need to figure out how to take better pictures for my recipe posts.  I also love this recipe since I get to use my large sauté pot, which I rarely use, but very much enjoy.




 

 

One Pan Apple Chicken Sausage Pasta

from Inspired by Charm

 

ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken apple sausage, sliced
(if not precooked-cook first)
 1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 granny smith apple, chopped
any apple will do
 2 cups chicken broth
might need more
 1 (14.5 oz) can of tomatoes with green chilies
1/2 cup heavy cream
10 ounces pasta (I used Cellentani.)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
cheddar works too
 1/4 cup green onions, sliced thinly for garnish

 

directions:

In a large oven-safe pan / skillet, add olive oil and set the temperature to medium high heat. Add in the onions and sausage and cook for about 5 minutes until brown. Then, put in the garlic and apples, cooking for about another minute.

Next, add the chicken broth, canned tomatoes, heavy cream, pasta, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil; then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and let simmer until the pasta is cooked al dente.
Both time I have made this, the pasta was not done before running out of liquid, so I needed to keep adding more broth until the pasta tasted cooked.  This might be due to the fact I just use the whole box of pasta, and recipe called for less?  Idk ,just have extra broth ready, if you have the same issue.
 

Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/2 cup of cheese to the pasta. Stir to combine. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Broil in the oven until the cheese melted.

Serve up, garnish with sliced green onions, and enjoy!

 

This pasta has so much flavor since it is boiled in all that good stuff!  We both end up grazing with forks right from the pan after our plates are done.  : ) 

 

 

Sunflower Watercolor

My Grandma has always had a watercolor painting of a sunflower in her bathroom, which I have loved since I was little.  So last spring, when we helped them move out and down size all of there household items, I asked my Grandma, Mom and Aunt if I could have the watercolor, provided my Grandma didn't want it at their new place.  And I received a "Yes"! Woo Hoo!

I figured it would look awesome in the kitchen, but the only walls in the kitchen have my bulletin board and my bird wall, so I had to find another location for it, at least for now.

The hallway to our bedroom has nothing on the walls, so I figured it was a perfect place.  Plus there is no direct sunlight, which I figured was probably a good thing for the painting.

 

 

The watercolor had a older mat and thin gold frame, which I wanted to update, so I headed to Michaels to check out the custom framing options.  At first I couldn't find what I wanted, but then a few weeks later I went back with a open mind, and looked again.  At that time, I was able to find some good options, and with the help of the salesperson, we got a frame and a double mat picked out that really compliment the painting nicely. 

Normally I feel I can do better than the sale people at Michaels in terms of design, but despite looking like a D&D master, this sales dude had a good eye and I appreciated his help. (Design Snob Anyone???)

 

 

 

 

 

After a little back and forth, I went with a burlap inner mat, a simple cream main mat, and a distressed green frame.  And then once we picked it up, Colin got it hung for me!  So now we have art in our hallway and my beloved watercolor refreshed and ready to lighten up my home. 

 

 

 

 

Now I just need to have my Grandma over to see if she likes the new mat and frame!!!!

Crazy Thankful

Most people know I am slightly obsessed with the show Fixer Upper, and everything Joanna Gaines and Magnolia Homes.  When checking out her online store, I saw a sign I loved and quickly bought it!  Then I started to think about my purchase, and how small the sign was, and decided that I could make it myself, and make one larger, so I canceled my purchase.

 

link to the store in general, I didn't see specific item on the site anyone

 

Then I starting thinking about how to make it and how to get my hands on some pallets, only to remember I work at a landscape construction yard, so getting a pallet was no problem! haha  Then I checked in with some of my fellow crafty-fixer-upper-loving-friends Nicole and Kaity and we planned a lady day to make our signs.

I got masonry pallets so the wood was really thick and I picked out ones with a nice gray weather to them.  Colin worked HARD taking those things apart, I am surprised he didn't dump me over it, there might have been some bloody knuckles and a lot of swearing, but eventually he got the job done and I showered him with a gazillion Thank Yous!

I thought about getting boards from Home Depot and staining them so the sign was more of a brown color, but I am glad I stuck to the pallet wood.

The ladies picked out their boards and arranged the size and shape of their signs and Colin got to work building them for us with his power tools (and some of his Dad's power tools) in our old man garage.  He just used random scraps wood to brace them together on the backside.

(Old man garages come with scrap wood when you buy the house)

 

 

I had pre-printed on cardstock our text in various sizes and fonts, which we picked from and cut out to make a stencil, then traced around the letters with a pencil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plan was to paint together, but the forecast called for snow (snow, hard to remember snow after the heat wave we just had!) so we divvied up the paint and brushes and all painted at home.  We just used regular craft paint in black.

 

 

 

Everyone's sign came out a little different and they call came out awesome.

Here is Nicole's:

 

 

Here is Kaity's:

 

And here is mine:

 

 

 

 

The boards are a bit warped, which I am assuming is due to making them outside when they still had some snow on them, then them drying in the warm house, so at some point Colin might take it apart and reassemble, but it doesn't bother me, so no rush. (Ladies, we can do the same with yours if yours warped too!)

I am so glad we made them ourselves, since we had a fun day and I am really happy with the outcome. : )

CL Fair Day Loot

What did I buy at the County Living Fair you ask? (if you missed that post, re-read here)

Lots of signs, what is what I bought, lots of signs!

 

See below!
But 2 of those signs are gifts and one is painting, not a sign..so, it isn't like I went too crazy! ha!

 

No this one was not one of the gifts, this one was for me! ha!

 

 

 I have been wanting more paintings, but real painting are pretty expensive, so when I came across this little one which was not expensive, and Colin liked it too, I bought it. 
Baby steps to collecting non-print wall hangings.

 

 

Then I go this little metal thing, I have no idea what I am going to do with it, but I like it and I will figure out some fun use for it at some point.

 

 

Then I got some metal critters. : )

 

 

And I bought some Daffodils prints.  I don't have a place in mind to hang them, but they were cheap, and I'll just wait to put them into a frame until I have a location. 
The one of the left looks just like some of the real daffodils I planted last fall!

 

 

So that wraps up my County Living loot, but I did buy some random things at the antique barn.  Things are cheap there, so I went a little nuts.

 

See the loot from the barn:

 

 

 

 

1. Little silver cream and sugar set, they had seen better days, but I thought succulents would look awesome in them, so I wasn't concerned about condition.

2. A silver bowl, which I figured was also good for plants, or maybe just snacks...

3. Umm a $3 vase! Yes Please! That is probably cheaper then the tomato sauce jars I use! haha

4. Shot glassed that I liked since they look like my grandma's water glasses.  Is that weird, to like shot glasses since they remind you of your grandparents???? Whatever, they were $1 each and we need shot glasses like once a year, so I figured of course we needed more! ha! (oh remember the days of needing shot glasses like once a week, not once a year....)

 

And I did a pretty good job of getting most of my loot set up in the house in a timely fashion, which is kind of a big deal for me, I like things to sit in piles for months until I get around to setting them up. ha!

 

The little painting, the flower sign and the metal bird found a home on the mantle.  Although it is a bit busy, I am finally happy with my mantle décor.  For the time being at least. : )

 

 

 

Zinnias

I guess I could have put these in my cutting garden post, but they are so fun and colorful, they get their own post.

 

Check these out, totally worth $4 and some miracle grow to get these cute  little bouquets each week.

 

Check out this orange one!

 

 

Summer Salad

We have a new favorite summer salad! I have made this twice now and it is yummy! Sorry for the lack of photos, but I still wanted to post this, so you all give it a try for dinner! 

 

I have made it with the dressing the recipe calls for, and with a quicker easier dressing option, which I think actually might better.

 

I found it on pinterest from the Gimme Some Oven Blog.

 

 

Shrimp, Avocado and Roasted Corn Salad

from the Gimme Some Oven Blog

 

Salad Ingredients:

2 ears of sweet corn, shaved off the cob

3 strips of bacon, diced

1/2 lb. large shrimp, peeled with tails on or off

4 cups chopped Romaine lettuce

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1/3 cup grated Fontina cheese (optional)

I didn't add the cheese

buttermilk pesto dressing (see below)

 

 Buttermilk Pesto Dressing Ingredients:

or see alternate dressing suggestion below

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup mayo or Greek yogurt

1/4 cup pesto, homemade or storebought

1 small shallot, minced

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

pinch of salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

To Make The Salad:

-Heat a skillet over high heat. Add the corn kernels and let them dry-roast for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until their edges begin to brown and caramelize. Transfer the corn to a plate to set aside.

-Reduce heat to medium-high. In the same skillet, add the bacon. Fry for about 6 minutes, stirring ocassionally, until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the skillet.

-Add the shrimp and saute until cooked and pink, about 2 minutes per side (depending on the size of your shrimp). Remove shrimp and set aside. (You're now done with your multi-tasking skillet!)

I dressed up the shrimp with a little salt, pepper and paprika before cooking them

-Assemble your salads by tossing together the Romaine, corn, bacon, shrimp and avocado. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

To Make The Dressing:

Whisk together all ingredients until blended. Season with salt and pepper.

 

 

This salad is so good! The first time I made it, I pretty much did it per the recipe.  The second time I made it, I followed it loosely and kind of just used what we had in the house.  And instead of making the dressing, I took pre made ranch, and whisked in some pesto I had and I think that mix was better than the actual from-scratch dressing in the recipe.  We like the Marzetti refrigerated Light Ranch.  So I used that plus the pesto I make myself and store in mini containers. : )

 

Yum! I wish I could eat this right now! I think we will make this quite often until the corn is out of season, it is sad day in our house when the corn goes out of season.

 

 

The Country Living Fair

Are you ready for this? This will probably be the best post of the year! I have been wanting to blog about this since we got home from it, despite it taking me months. : /

We went to the County Living Fair!
I have wanted to go for so long and this year it worked out! Colin and I already planned to go, and I checked with my brother and his girlfriend and they were free to join us!  The Country Living Fair is sponsored by the magazine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Succulents in random fun planters! Love!
 

 

 

It wasn't exactly what I had expected but it was wonderful and I can't wait to go back.  It was a mix of about 1/3 antquies, 1/3 gift shop style merchandise and 1/3 high end craft fair vendors....along with lots of food vendors.  We had an unseasonably cool day, which was perfect for a day of strolling and shopping. : )  Colin and Kevin were good sports and followed Kaity and I around and around while we shopped and shopped.  If you plan on going, despite it looking huge, you can totally comfortably get through the whole thing in one day. 

SO here are TONS of photos of our fabulous day and all the fabulous things that the County Living Fair had to offer!

 

 One of the first booths we hit up was one with signs... We might have spent about an hour and most of our money at that one booth...
The ladies were a bit obsessed, but check these out, how could we not be!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I didn't buy that sign, but I should have! HA!  and that painted metal tub! Oh My! I might need to find some metal to paint blue!
 

 

A number of booths has some old gardening tools and I like the creepy hand rake and looked like a hand!  Especially that bright yellow one, looking at it now, I am not sure why I did not buy it!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was an amazing test of my will power to not bring this drink cooler home.  I wanted it so badly and it would have even fit in the car without a problem.  How good would that baby look on my patio!? But it was more than I wanted to spend on such a piece and I selflessly left it for someone else's patio.

 

 

 There were succulents all over the place at the fair. But I like to buy them at cheaper places so it stings less when I kill them. : )
 

 

 

 

 

 

 Looking at this image to the left, I am wondering why I did not buy one of those either?  How fun would that be on the patio filled with planties!

Smile Cute Couple #1:
 

Smile Cute Couple #2:
 

 

 

This was another booth I really liked, she had all these colorful wood animals.  Every time I see colorful wood fish like that, I decide I will need a beach house one day.  She also had all these fun whales, although I didn't get any great images of them.  And then she has owls, oh the owls! I wanted one bad, but what was I going to do with it?  If she is there again, I will probably get an colorful owl I don't need since I love them.

 

 

Continuing on the topic of things I wanted to bring home, check out this whale! Love him, but he was above my pay grade and had to stay at the fair.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we were done at the fair, we headed into the town that hosted it, and got some dinner.  Although the food isn't super fabulous  Colin and I  like the vide of this fun restaurant in town so we were pretty excited to get a prime table outside to round out our fun day. 

While in the area, we also hit up an antique barn Colin and I like.  It isn't fancy, but they have good stuff and good prices.  I did not take any pictures from the barn.  We normally go in the winter and all the exterior paths are mud puddles, so it was a nice change to go in June when they were dry and easily walkable.

So there you have it, our County Living Fair Fun Day! I can't wait to go back and do it again next year!  I did buy some loot, but I will save that for another post. : )