Backyard Farm update for May

Hello peeps,

Has you know we have a backyard farm, well basically 5 raised  garden beds, four trees and countless flower pots everywhere.  We have recently started to get fruit and veggies, this just makes me sing and dance. There is something about going into our garden area and seeing each and every plant grow a little more each day. One day the fruit isn't ready but the next it is, and the TASTE.. WOW!! Talk about being able to taste fresh vegetables and fresh. It's hard to purchase items from the grocery store when it taste so different and you truly have no clue how long its been stored or how it was grown. 

are first tiny little watermelon

Yummy Zucchini

One of our first Strawberries

They do not last in our house, as soon as they are picked they are eaten. 

Our ladies getting bigger and bigger

Off to the garden to see what the last couple of days of sunshine has turn up. Enjoy this wonderful Sunday.

Back to the beach I go!!!

Isn't she a beauty??

Must stop in and enjoy, there's even a doggy menu

BloodyMary 

AMAZING!!

A little art in a little alley way

We crashed a wedding

My girls having fun in the sun!

This is how BooBoo rides in the car when daddy's driving

One of kind

My love for stationary is real 

No Easter here....

I do hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, as for us we had a very needed beach day. You know as the kids get older I have noticed my lack in holidays spirit. I did get a Happy Easter banner up, lol it hung there in our living room until yesterday. I was pleased with myself and my one cute decor item. For Easter Sunday we ditched the family BBQ dinner and headed to the beach for the day.  I convinced the Morey family to join us and we headed to our spot. Now if any of you who are from California you know that this weekend was RAIN RAIN RAIN. That didn't stop us! it's not like were gonna melt, well maybe I did a little. 

We set up our base camp and the Morey boys jumped right into the Ocean. Crazy boys! It was freezing cold and then it started to rain on us. not a lite sprinkle this was large soaked kinda of rain, we ran back to the car for the umbrellas but by the time we got back to the beach the rain was gone. In the distant we could see the sun shining down. it moved slowly to us until we were kissed by its warmth and it turned into a beautiful day. 

Looking at this picture you would have never thought it was pouring down rain 30 minutes ago.

My son is stunning even in darkness

We had lunch the kids went rock climbing and I went to find sea glass. This relaxing day away from life was much needed. 

She was born my wild child with a beach bum soul

Thrift store EEL!!!!

Hello Peeps, 

I'm currently sick AGAIN!! For the fifteenth time.. lol At least that's how I feel. i mean seriously how long can one person be sick from a cold/flu. I have been fighting this SUPER BUG since my birthday in JANUARY!  Ok enough with me gripping about poor me and my horrible immune system. 

You all know I LOVE me some thrift store shopping. This past week I went to lunch with a friend and had time to kill afterward. I needed to go to staple for a few offices simple i needed but hate purchasing, printer ink being one of them. Right next door to Staples is Goodwill, now I tend to stay how from Goodwill since it has changed a lot over the years, they are not considered a thrift store in my eyes based on their prices and the fact they seem to have Target items at a high price then Target. I was curious how this came to be and come to find out each location is responsible for pricing. This made perfect sense is let’s consider my recent purchase.

I had time to waste before I picked up little miss C from school so I went into Goodwill and did my normal perimeter search of something that I needed or could re-purpose. My first find was this cute little basket the perfect size for my out going mail (no price), then I see this box and all I read was paper on it. I'm a huge stationary hoarder and blame my grandmother for this obsession. Well come to find out it was a calligraphy set $4.00, with direction, paper and envelopes. Something I could not pass up so into my arms it went with the perfect basket for out going mail. Did see anything else that caught my eye my last stop was the purse section, I have never purchased a purse from Goodwill but always look just because you never know what you will find. I was just about give up when a braided brown handle caught my eye. When I took a look at the rest of the bag I new it was made from something that cost a lot at the time of purchase, but I didn't know what it was made out of.  

I checked the purse out making sure there were no marks or snags on the outside and inside, and on the inside was one single tag that read MADE FROM REAL EEL SKIN. REALLY I thought… EEL skin this is gross but I absolutely loved how the handle was and how the purse closed and for $5.00 how can you go wrong.  So I purchased it along with my paper the basket I could buy because for what ever reason they cannot sell you something without a tag on it… this irked me.  I spent a total of $9.00 on paper and a eel skin purse. The logic of the price is bizarre if you ask me. There were some other purses there that we not made well and with imitation material priced high then this purse that looked brand new.  

Moral of this long store is a purchased my first animal made purse and I had to look to see how eel skin is made and I was shocked to see it’s made from the ugliest bottom feeder there is, so now I don’t feel so bad and started using my new purse.

Have a great week!

One Pan Chicken Burrito Bowl

          So, I'm trying new things to broaden my horizons. This Tuesday I chose to try a new recipe and where do you think I looked.. PINTEREST of course!!! I did what most of us do and browse for at least 30 minutes and pinned about 50 things during that time. I love one cook skillets and I came across One-Pan Chicken Burrito Bowls.. from No. 2 Pencil
Looks good.......

One-Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls

Rating: 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4-5

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
• 3 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of diced yellow onion
• 1 cup of uncooked extra-long grain rice
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups of colby jack, monterey jack or cheddar cheese
• kosher salt and pepper
• freshly diced tomatoes
• diced green onions
• sour cream
• guacamole

Instructions

1. Start by sautéing onions in 2 tablespoon of olive oil until they start to soften.
2. Season diced chicken with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
3. Add chicken to pan and cook over medium high heat until chicken has started to brown.
4. Move chicken to one side of pan, in the other side of the pan add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice for about 2 minutes or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.
5. Stir in black beans, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic powder, chili powder and cumin.
6. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.
7. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
8. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
9. Sprinkle with cheese, recover and let set for 2-3 off heat to melt cheese.
10. Garnish with fresh tomatoes, green onions, sour cream and guacamole.

Notes

Recipe variations: Try sautéing diced bell peppers or jalapeños along with onions. Mix in frozen corn in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Substitute ground beef or ground turkey for chicken. Skip the cheese for a lighter version.

Recipe can be print from the actual website. Number 2 Pencil 

This is my verison:

             It was ok... I should have added cilantro and more spices, it just didn't have enough seasoning for my taste. I did add corn to mine for some reason my son loves corn in his beef burritos when we make them at home. Little miss C enjoyed it very much but the rest of us it was just to bland for our taste. Honestly I would put it in a burrito... I think I'll do that tonight.  

             There was no "Tuesday with grandma" she has official came down with the flu. I've been checking on her daily to see if she needs anything. So far she is feeling better after the doctor gave her some medication. I went grocery shopping and got some stuff done around the house. 

Until Tomorrow....

Sick..Sick.... and Yarn!

This past week has been nothing but sick bodies all over my tiny house. First it was J three weeks ago saying his throat hurt and hacking all the time. His good immune system help, he got it and was over it in the matter of days. Then it was me starting with a sore throat, quickly moved into my chest and throat. I still have a dry raw throat but that's it thank goodness. Last Wednesday Little Miss C start complaining of a headache and sore throat, well its a a week later and she has a respirtorial infection with double ear infections. The bonus is no school for her, but now the man-child has been coughing. WILL THIS EVER END!!!


I did however make it to Tuesday with gram. We went yarn shopping and I finally bit the bullet and got all my 11 skeins for my "As -We-Go Stripey Blanket" (linked to direction) to make. I've had my eye on this pattern for a year now, but never really had the courage to think I could do it. Some reason now I think I can, I've only finished one blank, three hats and one finger-less glove... haha! What am I thinking?

As-We-Go-Stripey Blanket

Isn't she a beauty!

Here are my color choices:

This is my third basket of yarn.. I may have a problem.

9 of the skeins are Red Heart - Anne Geddes Baby yarn:

                          Rosie

                             Bluejay

                               Ladybug

                             Bumble

                        Posy

                      Jam

                      Lily

                       Tafy

                        Grass

1 skein Bernat Softee Baby:

                                             Flannel

1 skein Purl Essence Baby:
                                             Sincerely Pastel Blue (color # SSS-126)

I already started my long 194 stitches, plan on working on this blanket at night in bed. More pictures to come once I have some length to it. I did learn something new along with this, I have a google drive. hahaha I had to ask my kids what that was and why I could save my file to it. Learn something new everyday. Gotta love Google.

Vintage Postcards

I purchased these pretty little cards at the Treasure Island Flea Market, it was my sole purpose for going. I truly wished I could have purchased them all.  I already want to go back and look for more, but its once a monthly and this month is booked for that weekend. The two top are from the 1974 published by Marilyn Blaisdell. Photographer: George Waters

These are actual houses in San Francisco and the address are on the back.. crazy right! So I did what any curios person would do and goggled them, and sadly these building have been rebuilt.

Now I have to decided if I pack them away or use them.

Am I about to do this… Yes.. YES I am.

Ok so here it is I would like to think I have some small tiny ounce of artisticness (\is that even a word? it works for me at the moment..so just keep reading) in me somewhere, but truth be told I have none. It just so happens that’s once on a while I create something so artsy fartsy I even shock myself. I have been dibble dabbling in art journaling and I have to say I love it… I wish I had more money just so I could go buy all the supplies I need but truth be told I don’t but that hasn’t stopped me. I just use what I got and most of the time it’s recycled which I love and so does our beautiful mother earth. I am currently participating in two art journal prompts this year… I’m a little behind but that’s ok.

Here are my art journals with links to the places I‘m participating with.

(breathing….)

Journal 52….click here to check out.

Each weekly prompted is emailed to you directly with a pictures of  her art journal and a link to her YouTube channel.

Week 1: Pathways

Week 2: Just Be

Week 3: Conversation Starter

  

Week 4: Silhouettes

Week 5: Television

Currently working on Week 6: Window, Week 7: Valentines, Week 8: Aromatherapy, Week 9: Artistic Restraint, Week 10: Coloring Page

MFC.....click here!

 This one is a little different majority of sharing and interaction is through Instagram. 

 #1 & 2

 #3 & 4

There they are ....and relax. I hope you enjoy looking through my eyes of expression.

Treasure Island Speaks Through My Lens

Here are a few pictures of our day trip to San Francisco

 On Treasure Island near where we parked is this beautiful tree. The circumference of this tree is at least 8 feet. Amazing beautiful. We took several pictures from all angles but this one is my favorite in back and white

 The view from Treasure Island to San Francisco

 Another magnificent tree on Treasure Island

Panoramic view Treasure Island

Panoramic view from Twin Peaks

We had an amazing day in the city from Treasure Island, the Steak shop, Twin Peaks and thirft store hunting. Until we meet again beautiful city....I'm secretly trying to go this weekend for 3.14 day (PIE)