Fabulous First Days of February!

The weather this past week (minus the weekend) was fabulous! The highs were in the low 60's and the lows only got into the high 40's. We didn't even have to use our heat for almost the whole week, and boy was that nice. We have terrible insulation and original windows in our home, so lets just say it's not the most energy efficient, and our bills reflect that bad!

Sweet pea and I tried to spend as much time outside as possible, and I have been itching to get back to the zoo again, especially since sweet pea is really into animals right now. So on Wednesday we decided to go after nap time. This ended up being the perfect time, because it was about 2 hours before they closed and there was hardly anyone there, which made for easy animal spotting. In the summer you can barely get to or see things, and it's even harder for sweet pea to see anything when she's in the stroller. Here are some pics from our fun day.

The elephants were just some of the few animals that were awake that day. We must have been there at nap time.

Don't they look comfy?

Sweet pea was excited that she got to see the gorillas eating a nack (snack).

The seals are my favorite, but they aren't as exciting to watch in the winter as they are in the summer, boo. Sweet pea seemed to enjoy them though.

This is one of the new polar bears to our zoo. She is a baby and her name is Quanik. This was the first time that we got to see her, because she was in transition for a while, and we never had a chance to go see her until now. She was so much fun to watch, and was totally hamming it up for her audience.

Since Diego is sweet peas favorite show, I thought for sure she would want to see the jaguar, since baby jaguar is Diego's side kick. It was sleeping, but she still said "hello" to it, and seemed content to just that.

The giraffes were sweet peas favorite animal of the day. They were the first thing we saw, and the last as well. This one happened to be outside when we came back the second time. I don't think I have ever seen a giraffe laying down before, so I was glad I had my camera on hand.

Sweet pea was very unsure of this bronze statue outside the giraffe house, but after some coaxing this was as close as she would get. I love this picture because it's almost like she saying "Wow your tall!"

I am glad we enjoyed the outdoors when we did because the weather is going to get cold again this week, and they are even calling for a chance of snow. I knew this was going to happen, but I am still not happy about it. Hopefully Spring will get here soon, so we can enjoy some more outdoor activities.

Gonna jump off her now and watch the new show on NBC called "Smash", so far it's pretty good. Until next time, BYE!

Mmm Mmm Monday #11:Superbowl Edition!

Hopefully everyone had a fun filled Superbowl day! We hung out at my sister-in-laws house all day and played games until the BIG game came on. We also pretty much ate all day, and boy was everything yuuumy!! I literally don't think I could have eaten more if I tried, I was full as a tick until I went to bed. Everyone that came to the party brought a dish, so we had lots of variety. I decided that I wanted to make something that I had never made before, so I poked around pinterest a bit looking for some inspiration.

I came across a recipe for a buffalo chicken cheese ball, and decided that it sounded yummy. I wasn't 100 % satisfied with the recipe that I found, so I decided to just use the idea of making the cheese ball, but come up with my own recipe, using things that I had on hand. Here is how I made it.

Buffalo Chicken Cheese Ball

You will need:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 pkgs cream cheese (8 oz)

1/2 bottle wing or hot sauce

1/2 can diced green chiles

1 cup monterey jack cheese

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream-for garnish

Place everything in a large mixing bowl, except for the cheddar cheese.

Using your hands, mix everything together very well.

Once it's mixed, form ingredients into a ball, and place on wax paper.

Next flatten the ball a bit and shape into a football.

Next take your cheddar cheese and coat the outside of your cheese ball generously.

To create the laces on the football, place sour cream into a plastic baggy and cut off the tip to use as a pastry bag. Make the laces as shown below. Place cheese ball in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve or leave for your event. It will keep the cheese from getting to soft.

Serve with scoopable tortilla chips and Enjoy! (I left the football on the wax paper but just trimmed the excess off once I transfered it to the plate)

I'm pretty sure that this cheese ball was a hit, because it was almost gone when I left the party after halftime. Hubby enjoyed it thoroughly as well, but said that it needed a bit more wing sauce. It had a nice flavor, but could have used a bit more kick.

Hubby's (and everyone else) rating: WHOPPING 5!

I hope you enjoy this recipe if you choose to indulge. I am going to go enjoy some chocolate chip cookies and good TV so I will see you later. Until next time, BYE!

Linking up at:

Wow Us Wednesdays over at Savvy Southern Style

Awesome Vintage Finds

On Sunday Afternoon, sweet pea, my mom and I went to one of the many Peddler Malls in our area. It had been a while since I had been and mom had never been before, so it was time to make a trip back. The main things I was looking for were some baskets for storage and a drum table to go beside my bed. We were shocked at how many people were there when we pulled up, it was like the place to be that day apparently.

I took my camera with me to shoot some pics of my favorite booths, but the batteries were dead, so I wasn't able to take any. We ended up being there for like 2 1/2 hours and sweet pea was sooooo good the whole time. I made sure to take plenty of snacks with me to keep here occupied while mom and I looked around. I didn't end up finding a table, but I did find some really neat things. Here is a pic of my purchases of the day.

I thought this olive oil bottle was really pretty and it was only $1 so it went quickly into my cart. That copper fish mold is just like one that my grandmother has, and at $3.75 I just had to have it. Both of these things will be going in my kitchen and once I find just the right place for them I will let you take a peek.

These 2 vintage Ball jars are for a project that I will be working on for my master bedroom. As soon as it is finished I will show you that as well. They were both $2.50 a piece which I didn't think was too bad. The same booth where I got these also had a bunch of the blue vintage Ball jars and I really wanted to buy a couple, but they were $7.75 a piece and I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for glass jars.

Mom and I really thought this basket was neat and I thought it would be prefect to keep our magazines in. Hubby and I both received magazine subscriptions for Christmas, so it won't take long to fill this bad boy up. We couldn't tell what the basket it made out of, but we guessed it might be tobacco leaves or corn husks. What do ya'll think??

I found a spot for it right under the side table next to the couch. Once we get done reading one we can just toss it in.

My rule with magazines though is unless it has something really cool in it and you just have to keep it, it gets recycled. If we kept every magazine that we have ever gotten, we would probably have a room full!

I hope to go back to the Peddlers Mall in a few weeks to continue to look for a drum table, and I am sure by then I will be wanting some other things as well.

I am really excited about this weekend because I get to hang out with my girlfriends whom I don't get to see very often. It has been a while since I have been out by myself, and this lady needs some momma time! Well I am gonna jump off here and get some beauty rest, until next time, BYE!

Partying over at:

Savvy Southern Style

At the Picket Fence

Love Is In The Air

Well it has just been a beautiful day here in Louisville. The sun came out for a bit and the temp got up to 64 degrees, Yay! I know it is probably just temporary, but I am loving every minute of it. Sweet pea and I even took a walk when I got home from work and she loved it! We have a bit of an uneven driveway in some spots and when we roll over them with the wagon the vibration of the wagon makes her crack up, it's so cute!! Those are the moments that make being a mom the best!

I finally got some batteries for my camera today, so it is working again. I wanted to show you all the decorations I have put up for Valentine's Day. I don't put up a whole lot, just a few things here and there. I usually decorate my trusty ol' grapevine wreath on the front door, but this year I gave it a little facelift by adding the banner that goes across the center. I made it using some scrapes of dropcloth that I had and painted LOVE on it with some craft paint I had on hand as well. I really like the way it turned out.

I bought these tulips on sale at Kroger last week. They were only $1.49 per bunch. This picture was taken the day after I bought them I think. They are not looking so hot right now, so I think I am going to have to pitch them and get some new ones.

These precious mother-daughter aprons were given to me for Christmas by hubby's grandparents. I just adore them and can't wait to do some baking with my sweet pea. I have a particular peanut butter cup cupcake recipe in mind.

Sweet pea's room already has A LOT of pink in it, but I decided to add just a bit more. I found that cute pillow in the dollar spot at Target, and she fell in love with it. She was laying on it while we were shopping and saying "Shh, night night", it was too cute!

These birds were also a purchade from Target in their Valentine home decor section. Since they match her room, I think I am going to just leave them up all the time. The heart in the middle was purchased from Joann Fabrics in their dollar section. It is one of those color your own things.

Here is the finished product after sweet pea got done with it. I helped her out a little. It may be a little messy, but I think it's just perfect.

Hopefully you enjoyed my Valentine's tour. I hope to be back later today with another fun post about what I did this weekend. Until then, BYE!

Partying over at:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Savvy Southern Style

At The Picket Fence

Mmm Mmm Mondays #10

Wow, I can't believe that I am already writing my 10th post of this series! It feels like just yesterday that I decided to embark on this weekly adventure. I had planned on finally having a spectacular sweets recipe to share for this post, but as always life gets in the way and that didn't happen. However I still have a really awesome recipe to share and I think you are gonna like it, so here ya go!

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

You will need:

1 box dried jumbo pasta shells

1 15 oz container ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt

1 cup mozzarella, grated

1 bunch chives, minced

(I apologize in advance for the poor quality of pictures, but my camera is acting up these days, so these were taken using hubby's phone)

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Boil pasta shells as directed on package. Be careful not to boil them to long, or they will tear while you are trying to fill them. I boiled mine for about 9 mins.

While your shells are boiling you can prepare the filling. In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, egg and salt, mix well.

Then add in your mozzarella and 3/4 of your minced chives, and mix well.

Spread an even layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. I don't have an exact measurement because I just eyeballed it.

Once the shells are cooked and cooled, fill each one with cheese mixture. I ended up boiling 25 shells and filled all but 3.

After all shells are filled, top with a little more sauce. I once again just eyeballed it.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins, then uncover and bake for another 15 mins. Once it's finished baking, top with remaining chives.

I chose to serve mine with salad and some homemade cheesy garlic biscuits.

This meal totally gets a 5+ in my book, because I LOVE Italian food. I really wish that I didn't love carbs as much as I do, because it would be a heck of a lot easier for hubs and I to lose some weight if we didn't. I just can't help it, it is soooo good!!

Here is the link to the original recipe that I found via pinterest. She also share a recipe for making your own sauce, but I was lazy and just went with the store bought. Hubby would like me to attempt to make my own sauce though, so maybe one day I will get courageous enough. So if any of you other bloggers out there have a good recipe for some delicious sauce I would be much obliged if you would send it my way.

Well it is way past my bed time and my eyes are getting sleepy, so until next time, BYE!

Arts and Crafts Keep You Sane

Well here I am again this week as promised. Today was a beautiful day here in the Bluegrass state. The sun was shining bright and it wasn't too cold outside, if only I could have taken sweet pea to the zoo or something, but instead today was one of my days to work. Oh well, Spring will be here before we know it, and boy I am ready!

On Sunday I went out in search of some fabric to make a few easy projects with my new sewing machine that hubby got me for Christmas. I got excited when I saw the sign in the store window that read "Winter Sale" but was quickly disappointed when they didn't have anything that caught my eye. Hopefully they will be getting some of their Spring fabric in soon, but until then I will just have to put my sewing projects on hold.

Since I struck out at the fabric store, I decided to go next door to Michael's to see what I could find. I wasn't necessary looking for anything in particular, I just enjoy browsing sometimes. I really like looking through the dollar bins at Michael's because you never know what you may find. I was just browsing along minding my own business when BAM! it hit me, and starring back at me was this notepad that read "Arts and Crafts Keep You Sane".

I mean if this doesn't sum it all up in a nutshell, then I don't know what will. This is totally how I feel about all the crafting that I do. I don't do it to keep up with the latest fad or to impress people, I do it because I LOVE it, and it's like a calming outlet for me. Hubby has his golf and XBOX and I have my Arts and Crafts. I have literally been crafting since I was little, like when my sister and I would puffy paint our canvas Keds in the summer, and would make hair accessories out of fantastic plastic. We were like kids in a candy store when mom would take us to get arts and craft supplies, and I have yet to stop loving it!

I hope that one day I will be able to pass on my love of arts and crafts and all things DIY to my little sweet pea, because I would love to have a little crafting partner. She already loves to color (on walls and furniture!) and likes to watch when I am making things. So when I say lets go to Hobby Lobby I hope she gets that same excited feeling that I got when I was little.

I also found a few other cute things in the dollar bins as well.

These cupcakes wrappers were just too cute to pass up, and at $1 for 75 I was sold! I especially love the ones with the strawberries. Gonna have to make something extra special to put in those.

I was also super stoked when I found these little garden stakes. They will be perfect this summer for our vegetable garden, so that we will be able to differentiate between the plants. I was going to make some out of stones this year, but at a $1 a pack I couldn't pass then up.

Do Arts and Crafts Keep You Sane as well?? If not, I hope you have something that does and I hope it makes you happy every time you do it. I am going to jump off here for now and relax a little before hitting the hay, but I hope to see ya'll real soon. Who knows, maybe I will even write another post tomorrow. Whoa, 3 posts in 3 days, that 's dedication for me!

Goodnight!!

Linking up to these parties:

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence

Mmm Mmm Mondays #9

I just now realized that I haven't written a single post since last weeks Mmm Mmm Monday. I have a bunch of things I want to write about, but I just haven't had the time to actually sit down and execute it. I promise I will try and do better this week at letting you all know what's going on in this crazy head of mine.

Hopefully everyone had a lovely weekend. We had the best day yesterday just hanging out as a family. Hubby even took sweet pea and I out to breakfast at Wild Eggs, which serves the best biscuits and gravy. It's not your normal biscuits and gravy, instead of your normal white gravy, they use a spicy sausage gravy and it is just delicious. I get it every time we go there because I love it so much!

Back to why your really here, this weeks recipe comes straight from pinterest, and let me tell you it did not disappoint. I don't know about you all, but every recipe I have tried from pinterest has been wonderful. There are obviously a ca-trillion (yes, I made that a word) good cooks out there in blog land, and I am very grateful. Tonight's original recipe can be found here. It is a recipe for slow cooker jambalaya, so here we go.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

You will need:

1 lb smoked sausage, sliced

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes w/juice

3 tbsp dried minced onion flakes

1 cup chicken broth

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp cajun seasoning

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

white rice, cooked

Sorry I don't have a pretty photo of all the ingredients used in this meal, but I was trying to put it together quickly while juggling a ton of other things, so I decided to for go that pic, hope you don't mind.

In your crock pot combine all your ingredients except for your rice. I added a little more chicken broth than the recipe called for because it didn't seem to have enough liquid. You will see what I mean if you decide to make this. Cook on high 3-4 hrs or low 6-7 hours. Once your meat is cooked thoroughly, add your rice and cook for another 15 minutes, until everything is warmed through.

Once it's finished serve it up with some yummy corn muffins, and dinner is served.

The original recipe called for chicken and sausage, but I decided to leave the chicken out since we eat it all the time. Hubby said he thought shrimp would be good in this dish, so I think next time I make it I will do it with shrimp instead of sausage. Since hubby loves all things spicy, he gives this dish a BIG ol' 5!

Well I am going to jump off here for tonight, but I will see you soon. Until then, BYE!!