A Beautiful Sunset

It was absolutely beautiful outside when I got home from work yesterday so I decided that I would keep the puppy dogs outside as long as possible.  They are cooped up in the house all day and now that the temps are cooling down, I have been trying to let them enjoy it as much as possible. After our walk I had them out playing in the yard when I noticed the AMAZING sunset.  I ran inside to get my camera and this is what I got:

 By the way this is the same view out behind the back of our house, one of the things I do enjoy about not living in a big city or suburbia.   The second shot was taken about 5 minutes after the first one.

We have been taking (nearly) daily walks around the neighborhood, which they LOVE.  They really need it, too. Hawk is always a bundle of energy and wants to go all the time, and since having his back surgery a couple of years ago Peanut has become a little hefty, which is NOT good for a dachshund.  My goal is to get that little puppy back in shape!  We play with them in the house and in the yard all the time, but actually getting out and walking is a totally different ball game.  Case in point:  yesterday was the first time Peanut has made it all the way around our neighborhood (0.7 miles) without laying down in the neighbor's yard before we made it back to our house.    The 1st 3 times we did the entire neighborhood he stopped short.  When he stops, I let him rest for a minute (much to Hawk's dismay) and point to our house to show him he is almost home.  That usually works and he trots up the driveway.

Sweet Peanut, always into something. 

Big Ole Hawk-a-Dog.

I <3 my boys!

What I've Been Pinning Wednesday

All of the pretties that have caught my eye on Pinterest this week:
Two of my favorite things in one: daisies and lady bugs =)

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I need reminders like this sometimes. 

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 Love this!  I have a piece of burlap that I want to do something with....I am thinking of going this route. 

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Mason Jar Candle with Leaves Mod Podged to it....so cute!  

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Candle Vase filled with Dried Beans and Corn

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Cute wedding shower gift!  Or maybe just something to make for our house.

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 I searched and searched for stocking holders for our mantle last year, and never found any I liked. I am so glad I didn't find any because I am making these puppies for sure!

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Spray Painted Coffee Beans as a Vase Filler

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 I have 3 or 4 wooden frames I picked up in the Michael's dollar bin a few years ago that have been sitting in my craft closet ever since, but not for long! 

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 Roasted Garlic Mushrooms with Capers....YUM.

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Love this outfit.  Simple and classic.

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 Pretty pretty pretty!

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Bushel and  Peck...Remember singing this with my mom when I was little. 

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 It's true....they can make everything better =)

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Taco Soup Nachos

We ran out of chicken this weekend.  Gasp!  I know.  It's unbelievable, but true.  That 10lb bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts that I keep in the fridge is gone.  Yes I could just run to Costco and get another one, but I decided that I wanted to branch out this week and cook dishes that don't involve chicken, like most of our dishes we eat do.

Winn-Dixie had pork chops and ground beef BOGO this week so I decided I would try out some new dishes. I rarely make pork chops. I am not a HUGE fan of pork unless it's in barbecue, but Eric is, so I decided to indulge him this week.  I also picked up some  ground beef since it was on sale and I found a delicious-looking recipe in my Penzey's Spice catalog that came in the mail last week.  They always have intriguing recipies that sound delicious in their catalog, but rarely make any of them, until this week.

They had a yummy-sounding Taco Soup Recipe in their latest catalog, that looked simple enough to make and would not take forever to make which meant I could make it one night after work. I must say that the recipe did not disappoint, although because it was a pretty thick soup (more like a chili consistency) we ended up dipping it out with a slotted spoon and using it as nacho topping instead of eating it as a soup.

Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef or ground turkey (I used ground beef because it was on sale this week)
• 1-15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (the original recipe called for 2 cans, but one was plenty)
• 1-14.5oz can corn, drained
• 1-14.5oz can diced tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes with jalapenos mixed in)
• 1-3 Tbsp Taco Seasoning
• 1-16oz container salsa of your desired heat level

Garnishes

• tortilla chips
• shredded cheese (I used a Mexican cheese mix)
• sour cream
• guacamole
• lettuce

Directions

1. In a large pot, brown ground beef and drain the fat.
2. Add the black beans, corn, tomatoes (with juice), taco seasoning, and salsa.  If you are going to make it a soup, you may want to add a little water. 
3. Cook over medium low heat for 20-30 mins. Serve with garnishes.  

YUM!  I will be keeping this little ditty in my back pocket.  Eric gave it 2 thumbs up!

Southwestern Corn Salsa

One of our favorite restaurants has always been Moe's Southwestern Grill. When we were in college we ate there at least once per week if not more.  Since we don't live in Montgomery anymore we have started making homemade Moe's-style burritos, yes we even roll them the way they do at Moe's.  The last few times we went to Moe's they had a new corn salsa on their salsa bar, which has quickly become a favorite.  Of course I had to recreate it, so I did!

this was all that was left after dinner

Ingredients:

1 (12oz bag frozen Southwestern Corn (thawed)

1/2 cup to 1 cup prepared salsa

2 Tbsp barbecue sauce (I used Kraft Honey Garlic flavor)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Serve with chips or on a burrito!

It got rave reviews at my house.  I will definitely keep this recipe in my back pocket!

Sunshine on a Rainy Day

We had some crazy rain yesterday.  A pretty bad storm came through our area but because we were on the edge of it, we saw it coming over the hill and then we saw the clouds leave.  After the dark clouds the sun came out and then it started raining!  It was so crazy.  I decided to grab my camera to get some cool shots.

This is what it looked like out our back door.  I thought it was so cool!

Rain Doplets on the pool deck.

Raindrops coming off the edge of the roof.

 This is a gerbra daisy that I had bloom this week.  I thought it was so cool how the water just say in the flower. 

 My attempt at an Andy Warhol-esque picture. Of course I had to play around with the picture on Picnik.com. 

Pinspriational Tuesday

I just want to say that:

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Its true.  I do it all the time.  Regardless of whether or not the person I am talking to knows what Pinterest is.    It gets really bad when the person I am talking to DOES know what Pinterest is.  A typical conversation with my mother these days begins with "I saw this thing on Pinterest..."  or "When I was on Pinterest last night...." or "Did you see that thing I pinned...".  No joke.  It's taking over my everyday speech!  But I am perfectly ok with it because I <3 Pinterest and all of the wonderful ideas I find there. 

I never realized that my mother and I have such similar tastes until we both got on Pinterest.  As I scroll through pins of all of the people I follow, I will almost always stop on something my mother has pinned, and not realize it until I go back to pin it myself.  Seriously.  It happens all the time. 

Here are some of my latest pinterest finds, that I just can't get off my mind:

Love love love love pretty daisies!  I am planting some next spring for sure!

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 Pumpkins Specimen Art

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 Key Holder--I've been wanting to update ours for a while now.

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Burlap Football 

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Christmas Garland Wrapped Letter 

(I know I know it's only September, but I love the idea!)

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 Love the color combination and the comfy looking jean-t-shirt-cardigan combo.

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 Pretty Grays...perfect for the office

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 Hidden Valley Ranch Sausage Stars....YUM

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 Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Bitter...looks fantastic!

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 Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream

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Oreo Cheesecakes

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 Love the hidden washer and dryer and all of the counter space.

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 The story of my life.

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Yarn Wreath

I guess the start of September made me all excited about fall this year.  I had to remind myself this weekend that it may be September, but I am still in Alabama and 82 degrees is not quite jeans and long sleeves weather.  I guess I am just wishing for it!  I guess I will have to just compromise with Bermuda shorts and capris.  =)

I continued with my fall decorating last week.  I made a couple way too many trips to Michael's and got the supplies for a yarn wreath (among other things).  I decided I wanted to put a wreath on our back door (since that's the one everyone uses when they come to our house), but I had to make it pretty simple and sturdy since that is the door we primarily use.

Here was the result!

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I love it! And it was really easy to make.  I thought that all of the wrapping would take forever, but I was able to knock it out in an hour or 2 while I was watching tv one night last week (I am pretty sure it was Dance Mom's night).  I got the idea from this Pinterst Pin.  There is a great tutorial that goes along with it.  I used a rough Styrofoam wreath so I ended up just covering it with plastic wrap from my kitchen drawer so the yarn would be easier to manipulate.  

The only problem now is that I have run out of doors for wreaths.  I guess I will have to start hanging them in windows and over mirrors!  

Couponing at the Outlet Mall

I meant to put this post up a couple of weeks ago but forgot, so here it is!

When I was up in Michigan visiting my parents, we went to the most wonderful outlet mall in the world (ok in my world).   It's a branch of the Premium Outlets in Birch Run, MI - about 30 mins from my parents' house. We always have the best luck finding deals when we go there.  I have my go-to stores:  all of the kitchen stores, North Face, Columbia, Bath and Body Works, JCrew, Gap, Old Navy, and Bass.  Because I had not made a trip up that way in the past couple of years I was completely unaware that New York & Company, Ann Taylor and LOFT (yes LOFT!) all had opened up outlets!!!  I was like a kid in a candy store.  Plus there's a Culver's right across the street so you can stop and eat a butter burger & some yummy ice cream and go right back to shopping!

All of the stores have incredible deals, but I am completely convinced that Bass's "Buy 1, Get 2" Shoe sale--yes Buy 1, Get 2 on Bass SHOES--is by far the best sale to take advantage of.  We hit it at the perfect time, too.  They had just put out all of their boots for the new season!  I know I live in Alabama, why do I need boots....right?  Bass has a very nice selection of leather boots (that I can wear to work).   Because I am 5'10" I appreciate that the heels on their boots are not sky high, however, they still very stylish.

Get to the deal!!!
So we took advantage of their B1G2 sale and got 3 pairs of boots, plus a pair of dress shoes and 2 belts, for a whopping $140.36.  Wanna know the best part?  We SAVED $449.65!  No joke! We got all of our purchases @ a 76% savings!

Here's how we did it:

We bought one pair of boots for $149.99, then we got 2 pairs (one was $129.99 the other was $149.99 for FREE!)  The other pair of dress shoes we got was on sale for $34.99 (marked down from $99.99). The belts were originally $44 and $46, but they were on sale "Buy 1 @ 50% off , Get 1 @ 75% off" so we got one for $23 and one for $11. 

 If you are trying to keep up with the total we are @ $218.98 for our grand total right now. 

Well Mom just happened to have a 20% off your entire purchase coupon with her, so the total got knocked down to $175.15, plus she had a $5 off coupon from a purchase we had made earlier in the day at another store, which made it $170.15.  To add to that awesome total, Mom had 2 rewards certificates from purchases she made over the past year or so which took an additional $40 off our total, making the grand total with tax $140.36.  

We were extremely pleased with our savings!  Now all I have to do is wait for Christmas and my birthday so I can start wearing them!