For my little boy...

Made this scripture photo for my little boy's room today... steal as you wish. : )

Newest Paintings: Mountains, Dreams, and Dark Skies

New in Campbellstown - kitchen shelves

Every gal has her dream kitchen glittering somewhere in her mind - posh appliances, perfect cabinets, gorgeous dishes, miles of counter space, happy colors or maybe all white... My dream kitchen, you'll see if you follow me on pinterest (Campbellstown), is something like "cottage clutter" with wood floors, a pie safe, heaps of white ironstone, a spiral staircase, fireplace, apron front sink, and shelving instead of cabinets.

All three pics via Pinterest

My for realz kitchen (seen in this post), is home to an army of cabinets. I'm grateful for them, since we don't have a pantry (c'mon architect, seriously?), but shelves has been my dream for a long time. So finally this past week, I took down my family photo board and drilled in these babies!

 

I found an old plank underneath our shed, cut it in half, sanded down the edges, and bracketed it to the wall. It's perfectly sized too! My fav part are the mug hooks, which you can easily find at Lowes for a couple bucks. The shelf brackets cost $6 each, mug hooks were $3, so this whole happy project took less than $30 and less than 30min - my kind of DIY! Now my bright kitchen looks a little more like my dream kitchen. Thank you, Lord, for free wood, and free time!

Happy Easter!

Best news you'll hear all day, folks.

Spicy Sausage 'n Cheese Pasta

This recipe was a Pinterest find, as are most of my trial recipes, and we really enjoyed it. It was sorta like a Mexican mac 'n cheese with delightful hits of salty sausage. We'd definitely do it again. The kids (ages 1 and 4yrs)  said it was too spicy, but they're wimps. My favorite part of making it was that it was SO simple! You don't boil the noodles ahead of time, just toss everything thing in a pot and simmer. This supper-procrastinating mama loved that, plus the noodles have lots of flavor from cooking in the broth. If ya give it a try, I hope you and yours enjoy it as much as we did!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
1.5 cups diced onion
2 tsp garlic powder
4 cups low-sodium, all natural chicken broth
2 (10 oz) cans Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles OR cilantro lime
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 box penne pasta (or whatever you've got in bite-size)
1 teaspoon white pepper (cut back on this if you have wimpy kids, like me)
 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 cup sliced scallions (optional)

1. Heat olive oil to an oven-safe pot (I use my beautiful, cast iron le cruset look-a-like from Aldi) over medium high heat until hot. Add sausage and onions and cook until lightly browned -you want that good color and roasted taste.

2. Add broth, rotel cans (undrained), uncooked pasta, garlic powder and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and add cream. Simmer until pasta is al dente, stirring occationally to keep it wet. Check for doneness at 12 minutes.

3. Remove beautiful blue pot from heat and stir in 1 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions (I didn't have any on hand, but the inspirational recipe I adapted this from called for them, and I think they'd be a nice addition.). Broil until cheese is melted, lightly browned, and bubbly.

Makes 8 servings.

Polyvore

juicy to the maxi by dandelioncotton featuring an orange tank

really having fun over at Polyvore! find me: dandelioncotton

Pinterest: my new happy fake world

hey y'all... it's been a while, i know, but part of the reason i haven't been here is because i've been preparing some post ideas... really... promise. the thing is, they aren't done yet... ssSO! in the meantime, i must tell y'all about a delightful little world that i've recently discovered called Pinterest. it's simply dreamy what you can find there - ideas, recipes, photography, crafts, style suggestions, remodel tips, baby clothes, new art, old art, hair inventions, finger puppets, DIYmercury glass, and more, more, more! and one of the best parts is you get all these ideas in one place collected by your friends. very cool.

in case you're still wondering...what is pinterest? well, they actually answer it best on the site, so i pasted it here...

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite.

What Can You Do with Pinterest?

Redecorate your Home!

Joy uses Pinterest to save decorating ideas for her new home in LA. She saves patterns, furniture, and accessories that catch her eye.

Plan a Wedding!

Divya and Ben use Pinterest to plan their wedding. Their Moms can leave comments about the dresses, flowers, and ties they pin up.

Find your Style!

Tim uses Pinterest to share his personal style. He pins clothing, shoes and accessories he finds while browsing stores and fashion blogs.

Save your Inspirations!

Sha uses Pinterest to save design inspirations for his job. He can reference inspiring design work to share with his team at Trulia.

Save Your Recipes!

Jessica uses Pinterest to discover new gluten free recipes. She always has a collection of tasty appetizers and deserts she can cook when she’s hungry and looking for ideas.

Our Mission

Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.

go check 'em out and see for yourself. ask for your invite, then find me and my friendies out there! maybe you're already there? (::twilight zone music:: ....uhm, i need to go to bed.... after i cruise pinterest, of course)