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(*other offers with free Prime shipping available).

what a beautiful sunset.....

The sky was absolutely gorgeous this evening! I got this shot from my kitchen window.....breathtaking! 

bbq ribs & paula deen's string beans

We tried two new recipes for dinner today.....both were d-e-l-i-s-h!

Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs
recipe credit: Jenny Can Cook

Ingredients:
one rack of baby back ribs
half of one lemon
1/4 cup rub (see recipe below)
1/2 cup bbq sauce (your own recipe or any bottled brand)


Make your own rub:

1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp. each chili powder and sweet paprika (I only had regular paprika), 1 tsp. each dry mustard and oregano, 1/2 tsp. each  garlic powder and onion powder, 1/4 tsp. pepper. (I didn't have onion powder, but I added 1/4 tsp. cumin).

Whisk together and store in a jar.


1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Remove skin off back if ribs. Lift with a sharp knife and pull off with a paper towel.
3. Cut ribs into individual pieces.
4. Rub ribs with lemon juice.
5. Coat ribs with rub and place meat side down in pan lined with foil.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 2-1/2 hours.
7. Remove from oven and pour off liquid.
8. Brush ribs with bbq sauce.
9. Grill for about 10-12 minutes. I put ribs on our grill pan, lined with foil, sprayed with pan spray. Peter basted and turned several times.

They really were fall-off-the-bone tender and so good!
'

Paula Deen's String Beans
recipe source: HubPages
(my version below)

2-1/2 ~3 lb. fresh string beans
4 slices bacon
2 cups chicken broth ( I used 2 cups boiling water + 2 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved)
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 onion (sliced very thin)

1. Wash beans and cut off ends. Cut in half. Set aside.

2. Cut bacon in small pieces and fry over medium heat. Do not drain.
3. Add beans to pan and toss to coat.
4. Add chicken broth and seasonings.
5. Cover pan and cook for 30 minutes.
6. Add sliced onion and cook 30 minutes longer.

Yummmmmm!!!!!
As if we didn't have enough calories already, Peter wanted Cheesy Bread too!

I love trying new recipes and I really love when they are this good! :0)

post #1,000......

I can't believe I've done 1,000 posts! When I started my blog back in January of 2011, I had no idea how much enjoyment I would get from blogging. I thought for my 1,000th post, I'd do a little blog review, with some stats on my blog, and do a flashback to see what's been going on over the years.

I have 105 followers, but also have several family members and friends that read my blog. I have debated going private, since there are times when I don't really feel free to write what I'm feeling or thinking, but for now, I'm keeping it public for anyone to read. I have even at times thought about going the opposite route and start promoting my blog to try to get more followers, but I think that would just put more pressure on me and make blogging less "fun".

My blog has been viewed almost 100,000 times! My Freezer Cooking- Round 2 post got 262 page views, and I've had 680 comments made on my posts.

I try to post several times a week, but slack at times, when my life is just too busy. I try very hard to make time for blogging!

One of my favorite things about having a blog is being able to look back and see what was going on here at our house or what our family was doing. I also love having a place to save pictures to go back and look through.

Here's a little flashback from the beginning of my blog until now......

I actually tried blogging in February 2010, but didn't follow through. It wasn't until the next year, on January 6, 2011, that I started this blog. I only posted 6 times that month, all cooking posts, and didn't make another post until April 2011- but have posted faithfully ever since.

Thursday, April 7, 2011
My very first DIY post - framed chalkboard

Total posts 2011= 288

Monday, April 16, 2012
This was a "good things" post - one of those being after 4 years and 3 months.....Nathan's braces came off!!!

The day they were put on....he looked so little!

Total posts 2012= 290

2013: This time last year, we had a major life event going on in our family......

Nathan was graduating!!! 

one of my proudest moments as a parent!

I was also busy organizing the house and working on lots of DIY projects. One of my {our} favorite projects from last year was our patio project!!! It has provided hours of enjoyment and we spent a big part of our summer out there relaxing, grilling, eating, and bird watching!

Saturday, April 20, 2013 

patio project

patio project

Total posts 2013= 341

2014: That brings me to this year.....

Besides a vacation in Florida and doing a little makeover to the house, so far this year has been all about the wedding!!!! 

Lindsey's Bridal Shower

We are all very excited about the big day......which is now just 43 days away!!!

Total posts so far in 2014= 81

Looking forward to see what the rest of this year holds......and blogging about it along the way! Now, to start working on post #1,001......

{weathered wood}

My latest obsession is weathered/distressed/reclaimed wood. I had already started liking the weathered wood look, but really fell in love with it when I found that perfect little table in Marshall's {which btw...didn't work out} :0(. I'm still on a mission to find another one like it, but, in the meantime, I've decided to do a weathered wood make over on our old oak coffee table. Actually, my Dad is going to be doing most of the work on this project since I have zero carpenter skills! But, here are my ideas and photo inspirations......

I really love this one! I like the dark stain.

I like the look of this one. I love the gray!

If I were buying a new table I would choose this!!!

light stained table.....like!

white paint on bottom/ stained top

all photo sources:Pinterest

update on my table makeover soon.....

#tbt time flies

It is hard to believe that it has been a year already since we were preparing for Nathan's graduation. He couldn't wait to show off his cap and gown!

Our Disney Vacation 2014 {travel days}

Friday February 14, 2014

Today was check-out day! :0(

What a great vacation-one of the best! Two very sad people started driving around 9:00, and drove all day, stopping only for gas and lunch. We were not in a big hurry to head back to the cold weather we had left behind at home. Somewhere around South Carolina, we started to see the effects of the ice storm we had heard about. There were tree limbs down near the highway, but nothing to hinder our driving.

Happy Valentine's Day!!! <3

It was Valentine's Day, and we were hoping to find a good hotel and restaurant tonight. We started talking about where we might stop for the night. We considered Florence, since that was where we stopped the first night on our way down. I was looking at the map and Myrtle Beach didn't look that far off the beaten path and since we had never been there before we thought, why not?......

Long story short and a huge traffic jam later, it definitely was off the beaten path! We decided to at least have dinner there and when we drove past a Captain George's Restaurant, we both agreed-that was the place to stop! It was sooooo good! :0)
After dinner, Peter said he would like to keep driving a little farther, which we did and ended up in Wilmington, N.C. at a Holiday Inn Express. Maybe we'll get a chance to actually enjoy Myrtle Beach on a future road trip!

Saturday February 15, 2014

We woke up to a dreary, cold day. Again, uneventful, just driving, driving, and more driving. By the time we got to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the wind was blowing very hard {the girl in the booth said up to 50 mph}........

and by the time we got to Pocomoke, it was snowing! UGH! Back to reality indeed!

We made a quick stop in Lowe's to get a few things for the carpenter who had almost completed the job at home.  We had a Texas Roadhouse gift card that we couldn't let go to waste, so we enjoyed one more dinner together before ending our trip.
Logan was away at work, but we spent the night with Lindsey and then finally arrived back home on Sunday, February 16th.


This trip came at just the right time for us. We had an awesome time and are still talking about it. We absolutely loved our resort, which I hadn't given much of a chance before we left. We were talking about going back again before we ever left and have already started making plans. :0)