Creating a Recipe Binder

Last week my dear husband ask me to make his favorite chicken recipe.

As it turned out, it took me longer to find the recipe than to make it!

My recipes are here, there, and everywhere!  Enough!

It is simply crazy that at my age my recipes are not organized, so I decided to put together a recipe binder to end the chaos.

I chose some colorful binders that provide a clear front insert area for a cover page.

Making one for myself, and a couple extras as gifts.

Pinterest helped to make this a really simple and fun project with all the free printables offered by so many talented people.

I decided on these clean, classic, black and white binder printables.

I love the font used and the extra sweet comment under each category page heading.  There are eleven category pages.

After I printed out the pages on white card stock paper, I inserted each one into sheet protectors and all my recipes as well.

Using sheet protectors allows recipes to be kept clean during preparation. Simply wipe off any spills or finger prints and put pages back into the binder for next time.

Click here to download your FREE recipe binder printables!

Offered by Lauren McKinsey (http://laurenmckinsey.com/).

Thank you Lauren!

Just a quick way to get organized and so very easy to put together.

Christmas might be lean this year so making a few extra binders would be a gift most folks would love to receive.

Oh, my husband’s favorite chicken recipe, Santa Fe Baked Chicken, yummy!

Grateful for all of you every single day!

Note Cards For Moms

Yesterday was a beautiful Mother’s Day, I was so blessed to be able to spend most of my day with my son.

My son is my special gift from God, the one thing in my crazy up and down life that I got right.  He is special, a good and decent human being, and oh I love him so.  Jim is so very good to me, unconditional love.

Since my mother has gone to be with the Lord, my sister plays a huge part in my life.  I was thankful to be able to spend some time with her as well on this beautiful day.

Also received Mother’s Day wishes, with love, from my nieces, and to end my wonderful day, a call from my sweet brother.

Every Mother’s Day I try to reach out to friends to let them know they are appreciated, especially single moms, what an unbelievably difficult job they have!

Many times I have mentioned my lack of extra money, so I try to make simple gifts, costing very little, whenever I can.

This year I decided on note cards with a personal touch.

My cards were made from photos I have taken over the years.  Photos from vacations, family gatherings, special visits, or celebrations.

The cards were so very easy to make.  Simply select the photos you like, tweak if necessary, lightening them up or cropping, and print out on white card stock.

I cut them down to a 4 x 6 note card size and folded.  Purchased envelopes, and finished up by tying with ribbon or twine.

The note cards were just so fun to make.  Looking through all the photos I have saved over the years gave me endless ideas. A personal gift for so many occasions, for so many people in my life.

What fun around the Christmas season tied up in a bright red ribbon!

Maybe I am old-fashioned, but in this tech world we have lost something by not actually writing and sending letters and notes.  Love going to the mailbox and finding a card or a note from folks in my life.  Too busy, everyone is just too busy!

I love when a gift comes back, I just received a warm call from one of those single moms who received her cards, a former co-worker.  She loved them!

Hope your Mother’s Day was as special as mine, filled with love.

 

Repurposed Plant Stands

I’m “loving my new simple” passion of repurposing discarded items.

Breathing new life into old, forgotten objects.

It is amazing how fun and rewarding it can be to turn something someone no longer wanted into an amazing repurposed or the word I really like to use is reloved item.  Yes, there is such a word!

Found these old, dirty, rusted, plant stands at the thrift store for $2 each.  My thought at the time was to use them on my back porch.  They have been stored in my garage for months.

When planning my niece’s bridal shower I was concerned about side tables for drinks during lunch and playing games.  Buying new tables was out of the question, I simply could not afford anything new.  I searched online but any I found, goldtone, were at least $100.  Too much!

I thought of my plant stands in the garage.  Cleaned and sanded both, spray painted with my favorite gold paint, and I was so pleased with the outcome.

The gold paint added a bit of formal to the stands and the hairpin legs are so popular right now on many tables.

To complete the stands, I purchased two clear glass plates which fit perfectly into the top.

When not using as side tables, I will use for my plants in the living room area.

Hope you all have a great weekend, why not find something to relove!

Enjoy everything fun and loving in your life!

 

 

Living With MS – Our Last Dance

My last post highlighted a bridal shower given for my dear niece.  We celebrated the wedding this past week.

How wonderful it was for our family to be together at such a joyful time.

At the reception, music was playing and folks were dancing to all the usual crazy songs, including oldies.  I love to watch everyone dance.  It is obvious you don’t have to be a good dancer, you just get up and dance, do your own thing, and just have fun!

The DJ played a slower song and asked that all couples take to the floor.  As the music started my husband said to me “let’s dance, if you don’t mind me leaning on you a bit”.  So sweet!

He suffers from progressive MS, and he is getting worse as the months and years pass.

Walking is impossible without using a walking stick to steady his balance.

Our marriage has been far from perfect and he has not been the ideal husband, but every single time in my life I needed him, he has been there for me.

During this season of our lives we need one another more than ever.

I can’t see into the future, but with no cure for this disease, I thank God for this special opportunity, and ask Him not to let this be our last dance together.

Cherish special memories and moments in your life, I will cherish my husband leaning on me!

Love to all with a grateful heart.

 

Gold and White Bridal Shower

My spring cleaning had an extra special purpose this year, co-hosting a bridal shower, with my sister, for her granddaughter.

Our sweet bride to be requested the shower be at my home, so I wanted everything special.

Today I am going to share some of the highlights.

I decided on a simple but elegant gold and white theme.

Decorations again were simple, using banners of white with gold glitter dots. So easy to make, using purchased card stock, gold ribbon, and a hole punch.

Once you decide on the size and cut out a template, simply punch holes on each end and run the ribbon through, under and over.

I used the banners everywhere as you entered my home, in the entry, on my dining room hutch, behind the table, our focal point.

Gold and white napkins found at Hobby Lobby were perfect, only embellished with the word “love” in script.

Our cake was simple as well, white on white, with dots.  It was beautiful enough to be used as a wedding cake.

Since our cake was ordered plain with just the dots, we needed a cake topper to complete. I found this elegant gold cake topper on Amazon.  Gold script, “love”.  Perfect!

To bring in a little more gold I spray painted thrift store frames gold, framing photos and favorite sayings.

We served punch, both plain, and spiked with a bit of vodka.  Serving punch was a must for me so that I could use my $3.00 thrift store punch bowl.

Isn’t is gorgeous? Seriously, only $3.00.

Served the punch in my stemless wine glasses along with gold and white straws. Although not shown in this photo, I made a fruit filled ice ring ahead of time which is always a must when serving punch.

We served a light lunch, small sandwiches, turkey, chicken salad, roast beef, and egg salad, also a colorful bowl of cut fruit, veggies and dip.

While we were all enjoying lunch we played a video, a “he said, she said” thing!  We ask our bride questions and played the groom’s answers. It was so cute!  Questions like, favorite song, movie, and what attracted you to each other.

At Christmas gatherings we have been playing a gift pass game, passing gifts when the words left and right are mentioned.  My Sister wrote a sweet story of the bride and groom’s first meeting using the words left and right. Everyone selected a wrapped gift, some large, some small. Guests passed the gifts to the left and to the right, at the end of the story the gift you ended with was yours to keep.  We did allow everyone one chance to steal another guest’s gift before the end.

Other games included, an ongoing Ring Game.  Guest with the most “bling” won!

Who’s Got the Groom.

Using a template of a tuxedo, I added heads of famous people including the groom.  Placed each one in an envelope with a gold glitter heart, opened at the very end of the shower, guest with the groom won!

Big Screen Romances.

Name the movie, the actress, and the actor.  Guest with the most correct answers won a beautiful turquoise bowl for popcorn and of course, popcorn!

The last game was an older one used at many showers over the years, but we wanted to bring something sentimental to our shower so we used our Mother’s apron as a prop.  Mother is with the Lord now, she was such a force of love in all of our lives, including our bride’s.

Filled the apron with many things, had our bride wear the apron walking around the room for a few minutes, guests then had to write down as many items as they could remember.  The guest with the best memory won!

As our quests were leaving we gave favors as a “thank you”, hand soaps from Bath and Body Works, and a cute pack of embellished “tic tacs”, easy to make by printing on adhesive backed paper used to cover the Tic Tac logo.

Our shower was simple, elegant in ways, fun, and so very special for our bride.  When love is involved special things happen, this shower was filled with love for my niece, my sister’s granddaughter.

The wedding is in a couple of days, the family is gathering, it is a wonderful time for all of us.

Love to all today, hope you enjoyed the highlights of this “love” filled shower.

 

Simple Kitchen Message Board

Saturday was another really dreary day, no sun at all!

I need sunshine!

Decided to make my own “sunshine on a cloudy day” by working on a fun “find it, fix it” project.

A simple message board for my small kitchen.

Found this piece at a community church yard sale some time ago, broken, and missing a section, but I saw potential.

By simply adding a fresh coat of chalkboard paint to the top piece, and a new cork piece, most of the project was completed.

There were many options I could have used for the missing piece on the lower area, adding a small shelf, a wire basket, but eventually decided on just adding a smaller piece of wood, painted, with knobs, hooks, and a large wooden paper clip to hold my post it notes.

The folks at my Home Depot cut the piece of wood I needed.  They will make simple straight cuts for you when you purchase wood at their stores, which is so awesome!

So very pleased with the outcome of my “find it, fix it”.

We all need places to pin things, recipes, notes, reminders, and even a sweet photo to spark a bit of joy to our hearts when noticed during our busy days.

Hope you have ways of adding your own “sunshine on a cloudy day”!

Sometimes simple ways of adding “sunshine” are the best.

Have you ever just stopped what you are doing, grabbed a notepad, and begin writing down all the things, at that moment, you have that add “sunshine” to your life.

Try it!

It works!

Love to all.

 

Finding Green!

Cold, rainy, sleet, thunder, and even tiny hail fell today, St. Patrick’s Day.

In my husband’s oatmeal bowl this morning I left him a little something green for a treat.

His grandparents came from County Galway, Ireland, as I wrote about last St. Patrick’s Day.

He is weary, his brother is very ill in a hospital in Arizona. There is much on his mind.

He smiled as he found his surprise, and enjoyed his shamrock cookie with his coffee. The smile was enough right now.

On my weekly visit to our local thrift store, I found a little green myself, a sweet bowl for 25 cents.

Loved the shape and the scalloped edges.  It was marked on the bottom, E. O. Brody Company, Cleveland, Ohio.  Checked listings online and found my little bowl selling for as much as $20.  Just love it, and I will use it every year around St. Patrick’s Day.

Most of us collect or accumulate special treasures during our lives, I have added the little green bowl to mine!

Happy findings today, whether it is enjoying a cookie, or just sharing a smile with someone you love!

Flea Market Flips

My new must watch TV is a show on HG TV called “Flea Market Flip”.

Two teams shop flea markets to find three items to fix up and flip (resell) for profit.  The team with the most net profit at the end wins $5000.  The flips are amazing!

I started to visit my local flea markets and thrift stores just to see what was possible for me as a beginner.

Today I am sharing my first find, and simple fix up!

A candle sconce, with simple lines, that is now a gold and beautiful addition to my home.

This is how it looked when I purchased it for 50 cents. Dust and dirt in every corner with slight scratches here and there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cleaned it up and simply spray painted with my favorite gold paint.

I added a battery operated candle to complete, adding some warmth to the item.

A bunch of options for this 50 cent find, hang it in a corner, place on my dining room table, or on my desk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allowing myself to be a beginner I started small, but small flips first, building on each project.

I found this light fixture for sale on Overstock.com, maybe as I grow as a flipper I would have this vision for my candle sconce!

La Pedriza Antique Black Finish Glass Chandelier

Turn it upside down and add the lighting works!

Somewhere I read that for a happy life you need three things, someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to!

I have folks to love, and now finding and fixing up items is my new something to do and to look forward to!

Have a happy day!

Love Hurts

My oh my, it is so very hard for me to believe it is February 14th, 2017.

I somehow got lost in 2016, emotional issues and sudden emotional outbursts brought sad times to my life.

Unfortunate happenings to those I love also filled my mind and days.

So many missed memory making days gone and overwhelming disappointment took over.

Can we love too much?  Love so much that we hurt ourselves?  That’s me!

People, even those who you love so very much, disappoint and can unknowingly hurt.

Over the months, with lots of prayer and soul searching, I’m better, not sad most days, I’m OK.

I realized so many troubling things about myself… that not all folks love the same way no matter how many good things you have tried to do for them.

We are all different, I could not ever think about disappointing anyone I love, that would kill me, but maybe I did.  Maybe not being there for them during troubled years in my life, when it was all I could do to survive myself, hurt them!

Why do I desperately want to be included, doing anything I can for their acceptance. I see now that this comes from being isolated, not always able to get out, due to my husband’s disability.  He cannot travel and do things others can, he does his best and has never asked me not to go and enjoy myself.

Aware that my life is passing so quickly!  It can’t be stopped, realizing I have wasted so many days.

Too much time on my hands since I stopped working, not having that daily interaction with people is huge.

So thankful to God for loving me and giving me another day, month, and hopefully many more years to love.

We must all live our lives fully engaged and that’s what I am working on!

Enjoying my new found passion for finding thrift store items, giving them new life.  Exercising everyday, taking an online fun lettering course, reconnecting with old co-workers, all these help me stay busy.

I know that I am loved no matter how crazy I have been, and I am so thankful to have folks in my life to love.

Love to all today, and never forget to live your life fully engaged!

 

I have attached an old song (1960) recorded by the Everly Brothers years ago, ‘Love Hurts”

 

My Refreshing Time of the Year

At last, it is Spring!

Although the past week brought nights of freeze warnings and some snow, the calendar tells us it is Spring.

Crabapple TreeMy flowering crabapple tree is in bloom and temperatures are finally going to be warm in my area for the next week.

After my family’s emotionally hard winter we are all ready for a refresh!

No matter how long the winter,

spring is sure to follow.

—Proverb

When growing up my Momma always did her “spring cleaning”, going so far as to wash down walls!  We had so little, but she wanted to keep what we had, neat and clean.

Just like Momma, but not as extreme as washing walls, I try to give my home a spring refresh.  I give everything a good dusting, eliminate clutter that has piled up over the winter months, and cleaning a few windows, letting in the spring sunshine.

I want my home to be clean, simple, and uncluttered. Seriously, having clutter in a home is horrible. Never being able to find anything is so stressful, it weighs so heavy on your overall life.  If eliminating clutter is the only thing you have time for this spring, do it!

My spring decorating is no frills, just simple.

Found some white dishes in a thrift store and added to each side of my dining room hutch.

White Plates in the DiningSpent $3 on some dogwood sprigs at Hobby Lobby for the table, and added some sweet yellow birds here and there.

Dogwod in the DiningYellow BirdsSpring is also a good time to refresh other areas of our lives, our emotions, our hearts.

I have spent some quiet time focusing on my life, my faith, forgiveness, letting go, the important things, love, tell them!

Refresh!  Take care of those areas in your life that are weighing you down.

Go outside today, breathe the sweet spring air, feel the warm spring sunshine, and refresh!

Lovely thoughts to all of you!