Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Happy Tummies Menu "Monday" 8/23/2010

Sorry guys! This menu plan is a day late. We were so busy on sunday with house duties (changing air filters, watering the lawn with our fancy new sprinkler, and planting new flowers in my flower bed (pics to come later of this).

I get a little reprieve a couple days this week of cooking (yes, I love a rest day every now and then).

Monday : Roast with potatoes and veggies

Tuesday: A "no cook night" - Our neighborhood's ladies club is having a pizza and game night for ladies and their spouses....Yay! Can't wait to meet some new couples. We met a few last time when the ladies club had a salsa dancing class.

Wednesday: Turkey sliders??? (or something else with ground Turkey. We love to have healthy night once a week. Thus, you will see turkey or fish or something meatless on every menu).

Thursday: Pork Chops with some homemade oven fries and a salad or veggies

Friday: A "no cook night" - going to get some friends together and go to a CHEAP happy hour (with food and drinks).

Saturday: Fajitas (lol I still didn't make these last week as my honey took me out to Perry's for dinner and then we went to a quaint little place called the Wine Next Door and had a glass of wine).

Sunday: Shrimp Enchiliadas (gotta get this recipe from my sis)

Friday, August 20, 2010

Our newest addition!

No, not a baby, but by the way I strapped this bad boy down in the car, you might think it was a baby. :-)

One of the clients at our firm stages homes. They decided to have a liquidation sale to get rid of some of the items in their warehouse.

The sale was Thursday, but luckily we got to go the day before to peruse and shop.
WOW! There was a lot of nice stuff. I kept thinking to myself, why didn't they do this around the time when we first moved into our home.

I found a cute vase that I instantly knew would be great in our foyer on the table. There were 3 vases there (2 tall and one short). I got the tall one. All day at work, I kept thinking about the shorter one. So, after work, I went back and prayed that it was still there. YES! It was still there. So, I got the shorter vase as well.

I strapped the vase down in the car like a baby (have you seen the homegoods commerical where the lady does the same thing to her vase....tooo funny.

I asked Jerry how he liked them and he said they were nice (you know guys never really get excited about decor). He also said that they looked really expensive. Well, the original price tag was still on the vase. They were from Pier one and the tall one was originally $50 and the shorter one was $45. I got the tall one for $25 and the shorter one for $20.....not too bad, I think.

I'm not sure if I will put anything inside of them or not, but I like the way they look. J and I had previously stated that we needed something big and bold for the entry table. I think this does it!
So, tell me what you think.....

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

You know you are getting old when.....

You know you are getting old  ahem "turning into an adult" when....

1. You get excited about new pots LOL

I just purchased this beauty at Tuesday Morning. I noticed them one day as browsed on my lunch hour. I told myself that I would buy a pot a month until I get a nice, good set. Well, I went back to Tuesday Morning during lunch to use some money that my other brother gave me as a gift (I love my brother) and then I noticed the price of the pots are ALOT more than I remembered. "$64, $89, $40....wow!"

I continued to look around and stumbled on the clearance section and there just happened to be a saute pan on sale for $24.99....score!!!!! The brand is Tramontina. It has a thick bottom, and is super heavy (I told Jerry I could hit him on the head with it LOL).

It is also the 18/10 stainless steel (which is the best...as this means it has a good nickel componet). ::::sidebar:::: when we moved into our home I searched very long and hard for some nice silverware that was 18/10 and that was a decent price. Poor hubby, did not understand this whole 18/10 thing.

I quickly, scooped up the saute pan/skillet and hugged it tightly LOL

When I checked out, the cashier stated...wow this a great deal! I was pleased with myself....yup pretttttttttty pleased! :::::sigh::: I AM getting old LOL

Anywho, here are the pics! Tell me what you think!





Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Happy Tummies Monday 8/16/2010

Whew! What a busy weekend. Hopefully, we can be a little more productive this week.
This weeks menu is gonna be somewhat simple to hopefully allow more time to do other things.

Monday: Stuffed Bell Peppers (I didn't make these on Sunday)

Tuesday:  Baked Chicken legs, rice, and veggies
Wednesday: Roast with potatoes and salad

Thursday: Turkey burgers or meatballs & veggies

Friday: Fajitas (we ate leftovers on last Saturday so I didn't make these)

Saturday: Fried Chicken? (I hate frying chicken so this will probably get changed to something else lol)

Sunday:  Beef boneless Ribs

Friday, August 13, 2010

Weekend Plans

Yay! The weekend is here. I live for the weekends. :-)
This one is gonna be a busy one for us.
Saturday, we are visiting family and friends. This will take up pretty much all of our day and night.
Sunday, we have some things that are being done to our house. So, we will have to stick around the house a bit.
There are tons of things that I need to accomplish this weekend, but there is NO way that they all will occur with the busy schedule this weekend.

My to do list is:
1. Plant some more flowers in the flower bed.
2. Orangize my folded clothes.
3. Clean office closet and get box of items to take to office max for shredding
4. Buy some landscaping rocks for the trees in the front yard
5. Buy a ladder, more air filters, and a motion light (Jerry wants two lights).
6. Look into a new sprinkler
7. Contact an inspector to have house re-inspected before 1 year builder warranty ends.
8. Find out more info on staining the fence (will probably need to rent a power washer first)
and the list goes on and on

So, what are your weekend plans?

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ikea- How I "puffy heart" thee

Hi lovelies!

If you haven't heard the new 2011 Ikea catalog is out (I got ours a few weeks ago in the sunday paper). I have been devouring this thing. Ikea has really stepped it up! There are SO many cute things. Granted, some things at Ikea don't look nearly as nice in person so its wise to go into the store to actually see the product in person.

A couple items that I think that we just NEED okay okay WANT
1. This cute shoe cabinet. I would really like this to put in our laundry room. Coming through our garage door is our laundry room and lately we have been kicking our shoes off here and putting them on a simple shoe rack.
To me this tends to look cluttered/messy. This "Hemes" Shoe Cabinet would definitely do the trick and hide the shoes. The white color also goes with my yellow/white/gray theme I want to have going on in there. Doesn't it look so crisp, clean, and classic?

I also have been lusting over this chaise lounge. The Ikea catalog has two of them place together to form a cute an comfy sofa....Love love love it
Speaking of sofas....this is the sofa that I want. I wanted a white sofa so badly when we purchased our home. Huby vetoed it, but this sofa (since it has a slipcover) makes having a white sofa not too hard to maintain.
I think we will definitely need a light sofa once we get dark hard wood floors installed in the living room.
I just need to convince my husband of so LOL (this may change once kids are in the picture :-) ).
But, this sofa is SOOOO awesom. The cushion is memory foam! How cool is that?
So, is there anything out there that YOU just absolutely NEED (at Ikea or elsewhere)?
Are there any items that you are lusting over?








Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Easy Chicken Cacciatore

I noticed this recipe on another blog that I follow called "Pearls, Handcuffs, & Happy Hours"

This dish is sooooooooooooo good and there is nothing easier to make (well hamburger helper, but that's not very good for you).

It requires only 2 ingredients
1. Chicken
2. Jar of Paul Newman's Sockaroni sauce
and that's it.

I added chopped bell peppers and onions to my dish but really its not required.

Steps:
1. Boil your chicken
2. Once the chicken is done shred it
3. Put chicken in skillet
4. Pour jar of Sockaroni sauce
Once that is warm you are done.

The sauce is very flavorful on its on, but hubby and I like really spicy food. So, I added some black pepper to the sauce and my favorite spice Tony Chacere's (I absloutely LOVE Tony Chacere's LOL).

I serve the entree with grilled asparagus (I sprinked parmesean cheese....yes the green bottle on top of the aspargus when it was done).















Hubby liked this so much that we will definitely have to add it to the weekly rotation. We had apple crisp (that I made on Sunday) for dessert....yummmm-O!!!

I actually remembered to take pics as I was cooking.



Monday, August 9, 2010

Happy Tummies Menu for this week

Good morning!
I had a wonderful weekend filled with meeting new friends, relaxing, and house tasks. The weekend just flies by doesn't it?

It's Monday and that means its Happy Tummies Monday. It is time to plan the menu for this week. I may change it up a bit as there are some new recipes that I have been wanting to try out.

Monday = Beef tips and rice

Tuesday = Chicken Cacciatore (I saw this new recipe that seems so simple. So I will have to do a post on this when I make it)

Wednesday = Beef Enchiladas (I didn't make these last week and I still have the tortillas, etc)

Thursday = Chicken Fried Steaks

Friday =  Turkey Burgers

Saturday = Chicken Fajitas (need something quick and easy as we are meeting some friends out)

Sunday = Stuffed bell peppers

Friday, August 6, 2010

My Private Oasis

I absolutely love to be outside. Anytime Jerry and I go out to dinner, I always ask, "Do you wanna sit outside" or "Do you wanna sit on the patio"? It drives him nuts because he would most rather eat inside.

So, when we purchased our first home, I knew I had to have a covered patio of some sort and if it didn't we would definitely have to put one in quickly.

Luckily, our home came with a covered patio. Albeit its small, but I knew I could do wonders with it.

My plan was to make it zen-like and sort of an oasis where I can sip my wine and read a good book.

It took it a while to get it started. My frugual hubby some how didn't get the point of decorating a patio. He thought I should focus on other things in the house as far as decorating.

But, now that I have the patio pretty much done, he had to admit that he loves it :-) Score one for apple! Zero for DH (darling hubby) LOL.

Please tell me what you think or offer other suggestions. At first, I wanted a water fountain to add to the space (so that's still up in the air). I am trying to find a nice inexpensive one. I also considered getting an outdoor standing oscillating fan. Lastly, I want to hang some paper laterns on the ceiling.

Then, I think I will be finished. But, I'm loving it thus far! Without a further ado (I always wanted to say that LOL), I present my private oasis......

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Happy Tummies - Menu Monday

Okay, one way to keep my after work tasks less hectic is for me to make a menu plan for the week. (I also put it on my chalkboard in my kitchen :-) ) Sommetimes, I stick to it...sometimes I don't, but at least it is a game plan and I don't leave work thinking, "what in the world am I gonna cook for dinner today". This process also helps me plan our lunches to take to work. FYI....taking your lunch saves SOOOOO much money!

Monday = Turkey Meatballs over rice with mushroom sauce

Tuesday = Roast with potatoes and veggies

Wednesday = Crock Pot beef noodles

Thursday = Chicken Breasts and potatoes

Friday = Fried catfish and fench fries

Saturday = Beef Enchiladas

Sunday = Shrimp & Crabment over pasta

mmmmmm just thinking about it all makes me hungry :-P

Monday, August 2, 2010

Entering the blog world

Hello!
Finally, I am entering the blog world. I have been procrastinating actually starting this blog for so long. I follow several blogs and have relished starting my own for some time. The movie Julia and Julia (that we watched on the plane on the way back from our honeymoon made me want to start a blog even more.

It was soooo tough for me to come up with a great blog name that made me "feel" excited to blog. (if that makes any sense)

I had to think of what makes me...me. Finally it hit me. I love to be happy. Our friends use to call us the happy couple or power couple. Jerry (my hubby...you will hear him mentioned here alot) calls me apple (his little inside pet name ...wink, wink.

So, voila'.... Happy Apple Goodness is our blog spot name. LOL The name makes me smile for some reason and when I told hubby the name he laughed and I love to make him laugh....so00000.. its fitting!

This blog will mostly be about home decor (we are first time homeowners), my life as wife, and everything else in our life in between.

I promise not to bore anyone out there that is reading (if I ever get any followers).
I love to write so I am hoping I will keep making posts on a regular basis.

Until next time, stay happy!!!!