Scurry the Squirrel

Meet Scurry.

And his twin and best friend Scurry II?!   Aren't they cute as can be?

I love the handmade section of Etsy.  It ranks right up there with Pinterest as far as sites that I can browse for hours (make that all day!).    My daughters' sorority mascot is the squirrel.  So, of course, I had to browse Etsy to see what squirrel items I could find.  That's where I met Scurry and ordered his pattern.   He just looks so fun and silly and confused and whimsical and juvenile with that big furry tail!

These little guys had me going to 3 different craft stores to find furry felt plus the various shades of brown and gold felt.   I learned how to sew a long time ago, but I recently learned what a dork I am when it comes to troubleshooting thread issues.  It helps to make sure you put the thread where it's supposed to go like in that little what-cha-ma-call-it on top!  Oh boy, I KNOW that, how did I miss it?!

The cat was stalking the project.

So cute!

What have you sewn lately?

Kerry
(I'm posting about my experience with this pattern and is not intended to promote a particular Etsy shop.  I do think I should mention the shop that it was purchased from.) 

Joined the Blog Hop at

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie was pretty common on our dinner table when I was growing up.  Not homemade though.  Swanson made it and froze it in those little aluminum tins.   It had a top and a bottom crust.  And it was good.   I wouldn't touch the frozen ones today with a ten foot pole.  I'm not even sure if they have real chicken in them!

The recipe on the Bisquick box makes a pretty good chicken pot pie.  That's as close to a homemade chicken pot pie as I have been until I made the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie recipe for the Sweet as Pie Cooking Club.

I like to make my own chicken broth when possible and avoid the rectangle kind (in a box).  It's richer and adds much more flavor.

I think my vege peeler went out in the garbage with the last batch of vege peels.  Wonder what recipe I was making!?    Anyway, I can't remember to pick up another one so I used a knife to scrape the carrots.  Have you ever done that?   My mother didn't have a vege peeler in her kitchen.  I don't know if they hadn't been invented yet or if she just didn't buy one.  So I scraped carrots with a knife.  

Fresh veges ready to go.

And yummy english peas.  

A side salad goes well with chicken pot pie.  But ranch dressing in a bottle is awful.  I like to use Hidden Valley in the envelope.  Except I grabbed the wrong thing!  I got the dip mix!   This is not the first time that's happened, I must admit.  Ugh, and it does not replace the dressing mix.  I tried it and it never thickened up at all.   I wish I had made my own!  Next time I will, like this homemade ranch dressing.

Moving on.   Chicken and veges all chopped up in the broth, now to add the cream. 

It was creamy.   I have cooked with more cream than ever since I started following these Pioneer Woman recipes!    This even smelled creamy, so creamy I worried that it covered the chicken flavor!   Maybe next time I'll only add half the amount or substitute fat free condensed milk like one of the other ladies did.

There wasn't enough time in the day to make a crust, so I used a frozen one.   Having trimmed off the edges (which turned out to be a mistake), I added the little dough pieces back to the pie.  :)  See how happy he is?

Turns out I trimmed off toooo much of the edges.  Ten minutes into the baking time, I smelled something burning!  Oh no, it had spilled over into the oven!  Quick grab a baking pan and slide it underneath.   Yuck, the smoke finally subsided but what a mess it left!

After all that, he's still got that silly smile and I am smiling too because it was very good!   Creamy, but not too creamy as I first thought it might be.  The Bassman liked it too.  We ate every last bite of it.  Well, not all at one time!

Excuse me, now I have an oven to clean.

Kerry

Repurposed Wine Bottles

When we looked at a rental house for college, the guys who lived there had a display of their trophy drink bottles above the cabinets.  Ugh, not cute, but typical college house decor, I guess.   So I left wanting to give the girls a better option (without spending a lot of money, of course). 

I had seen out in blogland where wine bottles were sprayed with spray paint and some decorative bottles were sprayed then antiqued.  And to be honest they never really interested me until I saw the bottle display that the guys in that house had!  Ugh!

I got the best inspiration and instructions for how to spray the bottles here at Ruffled.   Those colors really stand out! 

For mine, I used spray paint colors that I had on hand already.  I did spray prime the bottles first, just thought that would be "nicer" if you can make a painted bottle "nice".

Excuse the flowers, I just stuck artificial ones in to see how it might work. 

I like the color of the blue one.

They add some height to a mantel display or vignette.  I used a couple on my spring mantle.

They're not much to look at on their own.  But when combined with other colors and maybe more items in a vignette they work better.   They might be added to centerpieces for weddings or showers for inexpensive decor.

And certainly an improvement over "trophy" bottles!

Kerry

I'm linking up to:
Spring Spray Paint party at Thrifty Decor Chick and Wow Us Wednesdays

Braised Short Ribs Crockpot Style

Who knew what new experiences in the kitchen cooking with the Sweet As Pie Cooking Club would bring?   I have rarely eaten short ribs must less cook them!   Yet I was looking forward to trying the Pioneer Woman's Braised Short Ribs .

Short ribs are not in demand around here.  I bought the only 2 bone-in packages that the grocery store had.  Then I headed to the kitchen to get out my dutch oven.   Uh...the dutch oven?   Oh.  No.  I.don't.own.one.  At least, not one that can go in the oven.  How have I made it this far in life without one?

Ok.  Quick.  Plan B.  Most roast and baking that requires 2-3 hours in the oven I do in the crock pot.  Not because I don't own a dutch oven, but because I was a working mom who wanted to have real food ready after a day of work or soccer or whatever to feed the fam when it was time to eat.   So why not throw the short ribs in the crock pot instead of the oven?   So there it is...Plan B...crockpot style.

Pioneer Woman covers all the steps and ingredients in detail in the recipe link above.  I started with regular bacon since I had that on hand already.  If you want to use pancetta and have trouble finding it, check the deli.  In my neck of the woods, it would most likely be found at the deli counter instead of the meat counter.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper.  Then roll them around in the flour.  Again, Pioneer Woman does the details of this messy process in her post.  I gladly refer to her for that!

Carrots and onions all chopped and ready to go.

Grab the red wine with the most unique name you can find just for fun.

Everybody in the pool.  Well, almost everybody!



Now, everybody's in the pool.  The crock pot that is.   Add the fresh rosemary and thyme.  Cook it on High for 3-4 hours or until the meat is falling off the bones.

We had both creamed potatoes and the Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta that PW mentions in her post.  The creamed potatoes were just in case we didn't like the polenta...another plan B.

I always thought polenta was just "grits".  And just grits would have probably worked here.  I wanted to give polenta a try too.  So would any yellow corn meal do?   What about self rising?  ???  I don't know, so I got the plainest yellow corn meal on the shelf and went with it.

 

Corn meal, water and salt.  Doesn't sound very appetizing now, does it?



Add in the goat cheese and it becomes a rich and tasty side dish.   Goat cheese is kinda strong, so beware if you try it. 

On a scale of 1 to Heaven (as the PW rated them), I'd say they are not Heaven, not really even close. The ribs were very good though.   I prefered the polenta with mine, but the meat-and-potatoes Bassman preferred the creamed potatoes.    He enjoyed some of the leftovers last night and said it was good again.

Kerry

Pin note:  This is simply my experience with this recipe.  If you'd like to pin it, please click on the Braised Short Ribs link at the top and pin the Pioneer Woman's original recipe and post.

Now I'm linking up with:

The Sweet As Pie Cooking Club and Tasty Tuesday Parade of food at: 

Tag, you're it!

Last week I was spring cleaning blogging along and saw an email where I had been tagged!    Huh?  What?  How?   Lori at Bleak 2 Unique tagged me!  I like Lori's blog and enjoy her craftiness and before and afters and that she shares her faith with us. 

I quickly learned that Tag is a bloggie get t0 know you game!  Fun!  I haven't played tag in years! 

Here's the way it works:

Post a photo and 11 random things about yourself 
Answer the questions that the person who tagged you asks
Create 11 new Questions for the people you tag!
Contact them and let them know they have been tagged!


I'm it, huh?  Post a photo?  Well, just take a look over there at my profile...yeah, that's me.

11 Random Things about Me...
1.  How's this for random...I just finished a tube of SweetTart candy.  It seems to be my favorite lately.
2.  Grandbaby #2 is on it's way.  Another girl.  Can't wait to spoil her!
3.  I come from a large family, 4 brothers and a sister.  There was no way and still is not possible to keep up with everything we are all doing.
4.  My favorite color is blue.  Can you tell?  Actually, there's a reason for the blue on my blog.  I'll post all about that one of these days.  Stay tuned.
5.  I'm a Mom of twins.   One child is a blessing and two is a double blessing. 
6.  I don't like to run.  I do exercise almost daily, love aerobic classes, walking and weights but don't expect me to run.  (Unless I need to run from something, I guess!)
7.  I love Reubens.  Whenever I eat at a new restaurant, I get the Reuben if it's on the menu.  With mustard please, no thousand island dressing.
8.  I love that scarves have been in style, I wear one every chance I get!
9.  I am ready to go to the mountains.  Maybe Blue Ridge.
10.  I am also ready to go to the beach.  The gulf, of course, or maybe the Bahamas.
11.  I have an IT background and my patience is thinning.  I sometimes get frustrated with blogger and my 3 year "old" computer.  Am I alone? 


Now for my answers to Lori's questions:

1. How much time a week do you spend blogging?

It varies really.  I just do it for fun so at least 10 hours.   Multiplied by 14 if you count Tagging posts like this one and Liebster Award posts.  LOL!

2. How many different states have you lived in, and which one is your favorite?

I have lived in one state my whole life.   Neither college or career or family or any other reason has interested or required me to move.  Alabama is my favorite :).
 
3. Are you a "half glass full", or a "half glass empty" kinda person? Explain a little

I'm a realist with a half glass full.  I find that I'm usually hopeful when others are saying "nah, no way".   There are times when we find ourselves in circumstances that we'd rather not be in so stay positive.  There is ALWAYS hope.  Nothing lasts forever!

4. Can you laugh at yourself? Give an example

Yes, I am laughing at myself now as I am answering these questions!  Not that the questions are bad, it's just me.  I guess you have to be here...

5. When you lay down to sleep...what do you think about?...or do you just sleep?

Fortunately when I lay down, I just sleep.  Unless the night sweats wake me up and I find myself thinking about my to-do list!   Just being real, my friends.

6. Would you consider hosting a HGTV show? What would you call it and what would you do?

I would be flattered at the opportunity, but nah, not for me.  I don't like being the center of attention.  I find it difficult sometimes to speak to a small audience much less thousands!  If Kevin and Layla of  The Lettered Cottage couldn't get a HGTV spot, then I know I'm way down on the list.  I'll stick to my just-for-fun blog!

7. How many Pinterest pins have you actually done? If so, was it successful?

I've done 32.  Yes, I actually counted!  I cook pretty often so it's not too difficult to knock out a recipe that I have pinned to try.    That and a handful of crafts.  I am a slooooww crafter and seamstress.   I would consider all but 1 a success.  It was a recipe with italian sausage.  Not bad, just not a keeper.

8. Does your TP roll over or under?...(Over is the ONLY way:)

Agree, over is the only way!  'Nuff said.

9. How many pets do you have?...What are they?

Let me be clear...my daughters have 4 pets.  When the girls were little, I didn't have time for pets.  Yet I knew the value of a pet to a child.   So I reluctantly agreed to having pets and had the whole "you're responsible" conversation.  Since they are away at college now, I had no choice but to adopt the pets as mine.  I mean, who else is going to feed and pet them?  And the cats need a face to swish their tail in when they jump in your lap, right?   We...er I...have 2 dogs and 2 cats.

10. When was the last time you played a board game? What game was it?

It's been a few years ago.  We had a ball with Apples to Apples.

11. Have you bought an area rug lately? If so, what brand, style, color etc. was it?

Nope, I have not.  I hope to be shopping for one one of these days after I get the hardwood floor installed!  My latest purchase was a couple of small sisal (I think) rugs to try in the sunroom.    I got them at Old Time Pottery so they were cheapo.  I love the natural look of the rug in a sunroom environment and just wanted to see how they would do before I purchased a large one.

It's been fun and as newbie blogger, I'm getting back to some  posts that are piling up and some much needed updates to my blog header, I mean look at how plain it is!  Maybe I'll come back to this one day and tag some others...how many was it...11 questions?


Kerry

Liebster Award and Where 2 or More are Gathered

Candy over at Pickin and paintin has passed on the Liebster Blog Award to my blog!  I was so honored and excited!  I enjoy Candy's blog and the shabby distressed look she creates.  I'm ready to do a chalk paint project after seeing her projects!  



The Liebster Blog Award {Liebster is a German word meaning "dearest or beloved"}

It's an award in the blogging community given to an up and coming blog, having less than 200 followers.  Now, I am to 'pay it forward' by passing the award to 5 other new, up and coming bloggers.  In the search (which takes time), I ran across several new blogs that I enjoyed very much!   

As I was searching for you, I noticed that a couple of you have something in common.  Your faith and blessings.  And your willingness to put it on your blog.  Not in a boastful way, but sharing it.  Not "in your face" kind of sharing.  Just the kind of sharing faith that we're supposed to do.  Offering support and friendship.  When I started my blog I thought I should share my faith along with other things in life that I love.  So it is possible that I saw your blog because you share your faith!  See?  He leads us that way.  "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them."  Maybe we should create a "He Loves You" award?  I hope you are blessed because you shared your faith in some way. 

Now, let me say this is for fun so if you chose not to accept (as I almost did), no problem, and we'll all move on to our next post!

Shirley @ housepitalitydesigns .  Where It's All About the Hospitable Home.  I love her colorful blog header and the Pass It On Project!

Pam @ The Best Laid Plans loves to cook, embroider and other crafty projects.  And shares her family love too.  So.do.I.  Enjoy!

Oh my, look at Francine's furniture updates @  Sky Blue Creations.  I love the old white and burlap chairs.

Lisa's thrifty finds and budget decorating  at Budget Design Girl caught my attention as I am trying to do the same thing!   

Check out Kristel's Pottery Barn knock-offs at The Velvet Door! 

Penne a la Sisters

Since the Pioneer Woman blogged about her sister in this Penne a la Betsy post, I'll share a little about mine too. 

She's a high school math teacher.  That's why she has this look: 

I'll get forgiveness for that later.  Love ya, girl!  Actually, she's a good math teacher.  Big sisters just know these things.  Her students like her so that's a big clue.

Here we are about to watch a game.  Roll Tide.

Now on to the Sweet As Pie Cooking Club  recipe Penne al la Betsy.  Oh by the way, my sister doesn't like seafood so she didn't have any of this dish.  But this is definitely girl food.  And the Bassman liked it too.  He likes pretty much anything with seafood in it.

I followed the recipe verbatim from the cookbook.  So check it out or the PW website for the details. 

The shrimp look so good.  These came from the gulf.  Only "gulf" shrimp will do people!  Look for it.  Ask for it.  It costs a little more but it's worth it and helps our economy.

I used some white wine that I had on hand.  Hmmm, wines have odd names now don't they!

There is some confusion on the part of the amount of tomato sauce.  The recipe on the PW website called for an 8oz can while the cookbook version called for the larger 14oz can.   Definitely need the larger can. 

Basil is my favorite herb and I could've added extra!

Creamy, but not too heavy.  The recipe makes a generous amount.  I was curious how good the leftovers would be.  You know, some things are best eaten NOW and just shouldn't be warmed up again.    Other ladies at the Sweet as Pie Cooking Club had good results with the leftovers and so did I.  

I will spare you the picture of my empty bowl of leftovers tonight.  Yum!

Kerry

I'm linking up with:

Sweet As Pie Cooking Club and Tasty Tuesdays