September 1

I've been absent. Haven't blogged about anything practically all summer. That's okay. I've never really been consistent at anything, including blogging. I still consider myself a newbie to the blogging world. Why am I not consistent? I think I have adult ADD, or maybe I have so many things I want to do that I am a jack of all trades but master of none. It could be laziness. I guess it could really be just about anything...like enjoying my summer but not taking the time to pause and document it. Yep, I bet that's it.

I've had a nice summer. It's gone by way to quick. I know it's not officially over, but it's officially over for me. When the calendar turns to September, it's all about fall in my world. Autumn is so enchanting. I adore everything about it!!

I have plans for this fall...

• first and foremost, i plan to soak up each minute of the beauty that comes with the season

• i want to relax in one of our hammocks as much as possible (we picked up another hammock at a yard sale this summer...it is a stand alone model) a girl needs options

• nesting, I'm big into nesting...you'll find me fluffing my nest, canning and freezing food for the long winter, planning meals full of comfort food, and making sure our home is comfy cozy

• i have several new recipes i've been saving for the cooler weather...so you'll find me in the kitchen...a place i love to be.

• we're still putting our yard back together after mayhem and chaos took place this past winter. we are just about ready to plant grass and build our dream garden. i'm so excited!!

• i'm also looking forward to bike rides (now that the weather isn't so hot and icky), boat rides, picnics and i'm still hoping to go to the drive-in theatre. i love the drive-in!

Happy Fall Ya'll

For The Love of Anything Galvanized

It's true. People are attracted to different things. Different personalities, different types of food, different hobbies, different decorating styles...the list can go on and on.

One thing I've been attracted to for a very long time would be galvanized items. It doesn't matter if it's a watering can, a chicken feeder or a cute little cake pedestal. I LOVE anything and everything galvanized. It's the first thing I'm drawn to at a yard sale or flea market.

Here's a little galvanized eye candy to make you drool...

Source

Source unknown

A galvanized watering can with chippy paint ='s love

This was a steal of a deal for 2 bucks at a barn sale

I'd love to have these beside my bed

I just bought a tub like this the other week for a couple of bucks. I think we'll use it for our christmas tree.

Old wash tubs make excellent planters...

...they are also great to fill with ice and serve bottled or canned beverages.

Daisies and Fruit Loops

Last week our church had a bake sale to benefit a little boy and his family. The little boy had been burned in a camp fire accident. His family needed some help. Our youth also had a bike a thon. It was fun. It was for a good cause.

I usually concentrate on the yum factor of a sweet treat and not the cuteness. This time I decided to try for both. I made cookies and cupcakes.

The daisy cookies...

...they were inspired by this awesome lady . She made similar ones on her show a few weeks ago. I used my own vanilla bean sugar cookie recipe and her idea for the daisy.

Then I made cupcakes. A plain white cake from a box and my all time favorite frosting. I used some adorable cupcake liners from this place and some fruit loops cereal. So easy. So cute.

Fruit Loop Cupcakes...

I will definitely make both of these treats again sometime.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies and Gooseberry Patch

I wanted to share with you a very special cookie recipe today. If you make these cookies, your family will flip. They'll beg you to make them again, and again, and again. They are the kind of cookie that gets better if made a few days ahead of time. If they sit for a day or two, the cookie gets soft and they become dreamy. I love this recipe so much that I sent it into Gooseberry Patch...and they published it in this cookbook. You can find it on page 148 if you're interested. I love Gooseberry Patch, they have the coziest cookbooks!

They look like little gobs. They taste similar to a brownie...only better. Give them a try, you won't be sorry...unless you're dieting.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

• 2 boxes of devils food cake mix
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup canola oil

Beat together cake mixes, eggs and oil; dough will be very stiff. Roll into one-inch balls; arrange on ungreased baking sheets (i prefer stoneware). Flatten each ball slightly. Bake @ 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Rotate your pans halfway through baking. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for about a minute, move to a cooking rack. Spread icing on the bottom of one cookie; place another cookie on top so icing is sandwiched between the two.

Icing:

• 1 c milk
• 5 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c soft butter
• 1/2 cup crisco shortening
• 1 c sugar
• 1 t pure vanilla extract

Combine milk and flour in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until thick. Cover and refrigerate. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add chilled milk/flour mixture; beat for 10 full minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed. Make sure to lick the paddle.

Simple Pleasures of Spring

I'll be the first to admit that I am a winter girl. Unpopular, I know. With that being said, I am sooo blessed to live in an area that has four full seasons. Four distinct changes. Spring is in full swing in my neck of the woods. The birds are chirping, the air feels fresh, the windows are open, lilacs are in full bloom. Everything is waking up after a long and cold winter. I'm loving it!!

I thought I'd share a few of my Simple Pleasures of Spring. I'd love it if you shared some too.

• The laundry line. It's budget friendly and the scented reward from a day of line drying is icing on the cake. Especially crisp, cool, white, smell-good sheets.

• Open windows and breezes. I love to lay in bed and feel the cool morning air wake me up.

• Playing in the dirt. Tidying everything up and getting rid of the last signs of winter (and in some cases autumn). Planting onions and other early crops. Ooh, and strawberries too.

• Capris. It feels so good to shed sweaters and pants and slip into comfy capris (that are a little loose compared to last year...yeah).

• Campfires. I love sitting around a fire with loved ones and making smores or mountain pies. It doesn't get any better than that.

• Spring Cleaning. No, I'm not crazy. I just look forward to cleaning windows until they shine and paying attention to every nook and cranny.

What are your simple pleasures of spring?

Strawberries and Pugs

I've been playing in the dirt a lot. Today I planted strawberries. I ♥ strawberries.

I've also been playing with my pups. I ♥ them even more than strawberries

It feels so good to be outside. The sun is shining, the weather is getting warm, and everything is coming alive.

Our yard is looking better. The clean-up is coming along. We've had the guy in once to grind stumps. Now we need to clean up the wood chips and then he'll come back one more time and after we get all the branches burned we'll be ready to replant our grass...yeah...that puts me one step closer to my dream garden.

Meanwhile, I'm busy planting onions, strawberries, potatoes and I'll be planting blueberry bushes this weekend. I cannot wait to enjoy the fruit of our labor!

Holiday with Matthew Mead

Who doesn't love this guy, this magazine and their wonderful website!?! They are having a giveaway, go check it out. You can win an Anthropologie gift card.

Holiday with Matthew Mead giveaway

Work and such

Hello. I'm still here. I've been working and spending time with my three favorite guys. The turn of the calendar brings new things to The Rigo Household. My work is winding down, but Georges work is starting back up. Believe it or not, we planned our careers this way. When our kids were younger it worked out perfectly. One of us was home almost all the time with them. The kids are grown now but our jobs have stayed the same. It works for us...at least for now.

While I sit here in my jammies, in my comfy warm home, my sweet (and currently sick) hubby and boys are traveling to Massachusetts to start their work back up. I'll join them often and they'll make the trip home every other weekend. They'll stay busy with work and I'll stay busy keeping the home fires burning.

I have big plans. Plans of organizing, for personal growth, for yard restoration (yes, we aren't done with that yet), plans for hobbies and plans for me time. I honestly don't understand when people complain that they are bored. I never run out of things I need/want to do.

Are there downfalls to having so much time at home alone? From being separated from the three people that make up my world? Yes...there are. I miss their faces...terribly. I miss the noise (and even the mess) that they make. The house is quiet. We have to put a lot of things on hold. I have to be responsible. But on the flip side, our time apart makes me appreciate them all the more. Makes me realize how blessed I am and how much I love and adore them. It keeps things fresh. Exciting.

George

Jared

Brantley

Meatball Soup...Mmm!

Sometimes you don't feel like making dinner...but your family is hungry...therefore you need to make dinner. In times like that, I reach for a simple recipe. A recipe that you pretty much just dump bags and cans of items together and cook. The fact that the outcome of dumping it all together is super yummy would be a bonus. A BIG bonus!!

Here's a recipe especially for one of "those nights" when you don't feel like putting much effort in to preparation.

Meatball Soup

• 1- 160z. bag of frozen homestyle meatballs
• 2- 140z. cans of beef broth
• 2- 14 1/2 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup diced potato (okay so actually have to cut the potato, but don't bother peeling it)
• 1 cup chopped onion (I usually have a container of chopped onion in my fridge at all times, so technically I can just open and dump this)
• 1- 1lb. bag of frozen mixed vegetables
• salt and pepper to taste
• parmesan cheese for serving

Literally throw all of the above ingredients (except for the parmesan cheese) into a large pot and simmer until potatoes are tender.

You can also think ahead and cook in a crockpot on low for 7-8 hours.

This soup tastes like it has simmered all day and is extremely satisfying comfort food. Give it a try the next time you need a quick and easy meal.

Oh and while you're at it, go ahead and make some "homemade" rolls. Rhodes frozen dinner rolls have directions for a speed method and are great baked in a cast iron skillet. Rub butter over the freshly baked rolls and try sprinkling with some of Penzey's Spice Sandwich Sprinkle. That stuff is seriously amazing!

Summer 2011 Reading List

It's getting to be that time of year again. The time when I like to collect a bunch of books and make an official reading list for the summer. I read mostly non-fiction books like, decorating, cookbooks, gardening, devotionals, manuals, etc...but I like to read a little fiction too.

My favorite place to read is in my beloved hammock. A favorite drink, a comfy pillow, a cardinal flirting with me and a good book or magazine. Can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon.

I also love to read when I'm traveling. I'm one of the fortunate ones that don't get car sick from reading...or knitting...or from anything else I can think of. Since it's a little hard to read in the car when I'm driving (LOL), I usually stick to an audio book, but when I'm a passenger, I love to have a book or magazine in my lap (unless there's a little black pug there instead). Since I've recently started traveling by train, I've discovered that it's a pretty cozy place to curl up with a good book too.

I've collected a few books for my list already.

• The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
• Set Free, What the Bible says about grace by Jack Cottrell
• Backwards in High Heels, The impossible art of being female by Tania Kinderslely & Sarah Vine
• Small changes for a better life, daily steps to living God's plan for you by Elizabeth George
• The Pioneer Woman, Black heels to tractor wheels by Ree Drummond

I still have a few to pick up.

201 Knitting Motifs, Blocks, Projects and Ideas by Nicki Trench

The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl

In The Company of Others by Jan Karon (yes, I love me some Father Tim)

And lastly, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

That should be enough to keep me busy for awhile.

How about you? What are you planning on reading this summer?

A Little Wish List of Cute Things

Thought I'd share a few things I'm loving right now.

These boots are absolutely adorable!!

And these iPhone covers are too cute...which one to choose!?!

This ice cream maker would be great for those hot summer months.

And last, but certainly not least, I can imagine filling this beauty with little pots of herbs.

What are some things you are loving right now?

Uninspired

That's me right now. Uninspired.

Not sure if it's because I'm tired and overwhelmed or if it's because my brain can't quit swirling numbers around from all the tax returns I've been preparing. Either way, I find myself feeling totally and completely uninspired. I've been trying to make a word for my Words with Friends game, but can't think of a word with more than two letters. Maybe it's a funk. Ever get into one of those?

Usually I have so many ideas of things I want to do, things I want to accomplish and try. Not lately. I'm coming up empty.

We all need a little down time. A little private time to sit and reflect. To grow and to improve. Some extra time spent with God. With family. A date with the elliptical. Or maybe a date with your jammies and some cute puppies. Those are the kind of things I've been doing lately. Not projects or crafts.

Why, you ask, am I telling you this...I don't know. I guess to explain my lack of posting and visiting other blogs.

Random Pictures

I'm sitting here in my bed enjoying the freedom of having a laptop. I love to snuggle up in bed and surf the net or play with iPhoto.

I've been moving pictures over from my old computer and have come across a few that I thought I'd share.

I love my husband!

My boys are my world!

My pile of pugs make me so, so happy. They are little clowns and love me no matter what!

This bulldog face puts a smile on my face too!

I cannot wait till hammock season. Lazy days with a book and a bunch of daydreams.

Howard the duck has found a permanent resting place.

And finally, I need a pedicure.

That's all...for now.