Menu Plan Monday: Feb 11-17

(1) I had planned on making Chicken Pot Pie today, but was at school longer than I thought, working on Valentine Greetings with the other Senior Moms. We had a fun day!!! :O)
I ended up fixing Chicken Strips/left-over Mac & Cheese/Corn
(2) Chicken Pot Pie
(3) Lasagna, Pea Salad, Garlic Bread
(4) Valentine's Day Dinner- Steaks??

I'm keeping this week's menu plan vague as we may be going to MD to help Logan/Lindsey move later in the week. I've planned meals for half the week, and we'll just go with the flow the rest. For Valentine's Day, I want to fix Peter and Nathan's favorites, plus bake a Red Velvet Cake<3 <3 <3 Peter and I will have a special dinner together when we go away this weekend.

Last week's menu plan once again varied a little.
Mon Feb 04 - Sun Feb 10
Monday: Breakfast Casserole, Fresh Fruit
Tuesday: Roasted Chicken w/gravy, left-over risotto, string beans
Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff....Pioneer Woman's Mushroom & Swiss Sliders and Fries w/Spicy Dipping Sauce YUM!!! (recipe post coming up!!)
Thursday: Sweet & Sour Chicken w/rice
Friday: Steaks.....Today's menu changed three times, no steaks today, Peter wanted fish, (and I had just put it in the oven when he decided to join Nathan for an Oyster Roast at the Fire Dept.), so we changed plans again. We just had a quick sandwich and kept the fish for Saturday.
Saturday:  Baked Fish w/ Potatoes & Onions, Sauted' Cabbage, & Corn Muffins
Sunday: Pigs-n-Blanket and Mac & Cheese

DIY Project: Jute Wrapped Letter

I finally got around to making the jute wrapped letter for the door. This is a super easy project, and it turned out great!

All you need is some jute twine, a wood letter, and your glue gun. I bought the biggest letter Hobby Lobby had. I also made a few fabric rosettes and added those to the monogram, along with some ribbon for hanging.






For hanging: I attached a Command hook upside down on the inside of the door to hang the ribbon from.


I got the idea from Pinterest:

source: Pinterest

30 Spaces/ 30 Days: Kitchen Cabinets

Space 2 of 30: Cabinet: Dishes
More kitchen organizing- the cabinets. I keep switching things around in the kitchen (Peter and Nathan never know which cabinet to look in for a cereal bowl...LOL). Not really, but I have rearranged things again to (a.) put all like things together, (b.) make better use of cabinet space and (c.) have a better flow in the kitchen. So, once again, the cereal bowls are in a different cabinet...this time hopefully, to stay. I ordered a couple of cabinet organizers, and the plate stackers really made the dishes cabinet more organized.
before:

top shelf: misc. items that didn't belong in with the dishes
middle shelf: bowls, small plates, serving dishes
bottom shelf: dinner plates (that were hard to get out because of the divider in this cabinet)
after:

This is much better! I moved them to the end cabinet without the middle divider and added the plate stackers.

Space 3 of 30: Cabinet: Spices/ Baking Supplies/ Household items
I swapped this cabinet and the dishes cabinet and it works so much better.
before:


after:

top shelf: baking supplies
middle shelf: spices
bottom shelf: checkbook, wallet, cash/coins, savings jar, keys (in small crocks), tarts for Scentsy warmer, cards for current occasion, & the set of measuring cups I use daily.
I also keep my calendar and emergency #'s on the cabinet doors, as well as a few keepsakes from the boys.

Logan's classic note: "gone in the marsh....love you!" and a note I got from Nathan a few years ago while I was at work, classic Nathan: "Mom, just in case I'me not home... I cleaned the whole house for ya so you don't have to do it.....P.S. Bub's room was too messy to clean, so I didn't." LOLOLOL :O)

Space 4 of 30: Food Storage
I have a big pantry cabinet, where I keep cereals, crackers, bread, etc., but I prefer this bottom cabinet for canned/ packaged food. It was a MESS!!!
before:


after:

30 Spaces/30 Days: Kitchen Drawer

Space 1 of 30:
I've been busy in the kitchen this week, not only painting but organizing! I marked several items off the list already, starting with the utensil drawer.

I bought this Mainstays Expandable Mesh Cutlery Tray from Walmart last week (should have picked up two as I need one for the island drawer as well). It was super CHEAP!....less than $7.

I love it! Much prettier than the blue plastic one I've been using.

Do you spot something that I should have gotten rid of years ago????

Yep, I'm still holding on to the boys medicine spoon! I have this problem of not being able to throw some things away. I moved most of the gadgets to the island drawer, and just kept this one for cutlery, knives, and most used utensils.

The Simple Woman's Daybook- February Edition

Outside my window...it has been a dreary, rainy, cold day, but at least we didn't get snow!
I am thinking...of a few things I want to put on my birthday wishlist!! :O)

I am thankful...for our warm, comfy home!!

In the kitchen...I made Sweet & Sour Chicken over rice.




before going in the oven...

I am wearing...jeans and a tee.

I am creating...lots of stuff! I have been very, very busy painting, organizing, and decorating!

I am going...to help Logan & Lindsey move out of their apartment and into their new house next week!!! We are so excited for them!

I am looking forward to...our annual mom/daughter get-away next month! :O)

Around the house...there is something being done in pretty much every room in our house! Now that I have finished painting the kitchen, I have a few more painting projects to do. I am also doing some major organizing....post on that coming up!

A favorite quote for today...


One of my favorite things...the bird feeder that Peter put up right outside the kitchen window.

A few plans for the rest of the week: this week is almost over, but church on Sunday, Senior Moms meet to do Valentine greetings at school on Monday, more organizing, and celebrating Valentine's Day (a special dinner & Red Velvet Cake!!)

A peek into my day...



Update on the 52 Week Money Challenge: I started this challenge as a fun (easy) way to have a little extra savings at the end of the year. Peter thought it was a great idea too, so he joined in and also added Nathan to the challenge. So, we are doing the challenge x3!! As of today, Week #6=$63.00 saved! :O) :O)

A Very Merry Disney Senior Trip: Day 3 continued

More riding of Everest, then we split up again. I think the guys may have ridden a few more times, before moving on.

We checked out Kali River Rapids and hoped to get a chance to ride together before leaving, but we never got back there. A few of us rode Dinosaur, and when the rest of the group caught up they tried to ride too, but got stuck on the ride for about 30 minutes before being let back off. After that, we decided to head back to the resort to freshen up before heading out to Cape May Cafe' for dinner. I started to get worried about the best way to get over to the Beach Club on time for dinner. We had a couple of options, but I decided the quickest way would be to catch the bus to Epcot and walk throught the International Gateway to Beach Club. We headed for the bus stop, and while we waited for everyone to catch up, Melissa joined the CMs for some Cupid Shuffle. :O)
 
It seemed like it took forever to get to Epcot and through the park, but we only ended up being a few minutes late and it wasn't long before our pager went off and we were soon seated. Everyone loved the buffet and soon we were all stuffed. The grads decided that they wanted to head back to the resort and skip Epcot tonight, but we had a mission in mind, and decided to take a walk through World Showcase. I got a few pictures of the Beach Club lobby- I especially wanted to see the gingerbread carousel here.

As we walked back to Epcot, Illuminations had started. We stopped for a few minutes to watch this amazing fireworks show. We were headed to Germany, to that little caramel shop, to use our snack credits for today. We all came out with some yummy treats!



I had really hoped that everyone could have ridden Soarin', but it didn't work out. We continued through World Showcase and stopped for some shopping before heading back to the bus stop. We finally made it back to the resort after midnight-exhausted- but excited for tomorrow!

Organizing: 30 Spaces/30 Days Challenge

I found this great  blog {Little Lucy Lu} via Pinterest, and one post that sparked my interest was her 40 bags/40 days challange. I love making lists, getting organized, and a challenge, so I got busy making my own list of spaces that need organizing. I decided to go with 30 spaces/30 days, and I've been busy already! Here's how my list looks:

Update soon.......