Dinner for One: Taco Stuffed Peppers

I'm happy to say I'm feeling accomplished today. I worked on the blog, learned some Photoshop in the meantime and did some writing work, among other household things I won't bore you with. I even planned out some of my Christmas present to check off my list early. Morgan and I also had a photo session for some photos that I'm thinking will be on our Christmas card this year. You will have to wait to see those... but I'm pretty excited about them. 

After all that I wondered what to make for dinner. On the nights Matt is not home for dinner Morgan generally gets something she likes and I make something for myself that no one else will eat. Tonight I ended up throwing together some things that I wanted to use up around the kitchen and came up with taco stuffed peppers. 

My oh my were they good. Here's now I made them:

*Note: This was dinner for one. You will have to modify sizes to meet your needs.

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 of a chopped onion

1/2 of a chopped red pepper

1 large green pepper

1/2 of a package of taco seasoning

1 package of boil-in-bag brown rice

1. Cut the top off the green pepper and take out the seeds. Set inside a baking dish.

2. Brown the ground beef. Drain the juices.

3. Add about 1/3 cup of water to the pan and simmer. Stir in taco seasoning, onion and red pepper until most of the water has evaporated.

4. Meanwhile be cooking your brown rice. Once done, stir into beef mixture.

5. Scoop mixture into pepper.

6. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. I like my pepper still a little firm. If you like yours softer than cook it longer.

I didn't have any shredded cheddar cheese, but that would have been a good addition. 

I did have a good portion of rice/beef mixture left over. Sounds like lunch tomorrow!

Welcome Peanut, Goodbye Marina

This past weekend we adopted a cat. It was unplanned since we have been planning to get a dog to add to our family, but sometimes the world hands you a surprise. That surprise came when my husband fell in love with this cutie while we were casually perusing the animals at PetSmart. Originally I said no, but after heading to our next stop we knew we had to go back and get her.

Here she is taking her own picture. So technologically savvy.

Having both grown up with pets in our lives it is wonderful having an animal in the house again. She is such an affectionate sweetie and brings a little extra fun to the house. 

On a sad note, Morgan's betta fish Marina died this morning. It broke my heart since I have never seen a kid love a fish more. When she first got her she would carry her to the living room to watch movies together. We buried her in the garden this morning and said a little prayer. (Flushing fish down the toilet just seems so heartless to me, ya know?) Hopefully having Peanut around will help ease her sadness a little more.   

Whether its a fish, cat, dog or whatever animal friend you have, give them a little extra love today!

Tuesdays Tip: Creating a Party on the Cheap

As much as I love to host parties and decorate my home the pay check of a substitute teacher is not very conducive to such things. There are no halls being rented or new drapes for every season. (By the way, why are curtains so expensive?!) Plus I'm kind of a cheap person. I refuse to pay more than I think something is worth especially if it is something I can do or make myself. 

Because of those factors I have gotten pretty creative and figured out how to host inexpensive events. Granted they are not as nice as the ones I lust after in pictures, but I still have fun putting everything together and hope everyone has a good time. 

The following are some of my tips on how to put together a party with little funds. 

1. Embrace the dollar store. I'm not going to lie. The Dollar Tree is one of my favorite places. There are so many hidden treasures there. They have a lot to offer in the way of party supplies. For our pumpkin party I bought two glass candle sticks and two other glass holders that were also in the candle aisle and glued them together. Two instant additions to my serving dish collection for $4. 

My  "crystal" cup is pictured here.
Works great for nuts and small snacks. Plus, it still works as a candle holder.

2. Do mix and match party supplies. Sometimes, particularly for kids parties you may want a special character or theme to be represented. I know my daughter will ask for the matching plates and cups and banners, etc. $12 for just paper plates alone is not happening in this house. So when we must have those special supplies we pick a couple things with that special design and mix it with the generic stuff. A one or two packs of Fancy Nancy plates mixed with a few packs of plain plates is a lot lighter on the wallet. I personally like it better stylistically anyway. Sometimes it can get to be too much character overload. You can do the same thing with napkins and then maybe splurge for that matching pinata. 

For Morgan's 6th birthday we mixed Fancy Nancy plates with light pink ones and used a  reusable vinyl table cloth of the same color scheme. The table cloth cost less than the plastic Fancy Nancy ones and we could use it again.

3. Make it yourself. Don't be intimidated. You can do it! I like to have at least one homemade decoration. It's more personalized and softens that manufactured party kit feeling. It's also less expensive than paying the jacked up convenience charge of having it pre-made. With Pinterest and so many blog tutorials out there you are sure to find great easy ideas. Here are a couple from the past few years:

Am I going to pay $10 for 3 tissue paper pom poms I can buy online or $3 for 10 that I can have fun making with my daughter? These are still hanging in her room after almost 2 years.

A fall pumpkin candle holder. I had all the supplies in my house so this one was a freebie. (Hint: I wash out and save sauce and jelly jars for occasions like this.)  

Another freebie. Why not make a banner out of supplies you have around the house?

Did you know they sell paper chain kits in the craft store? I was so tempted but then spent some time in the scrapbook paper section doing my research and found out I could buy a whole book of pretty paper for less and make a much longer chain.

4. Reuse, share, and borrow! I have a colorful girly Happy Birthday banner I found at Old Navy of all places. I goes with pretty much every girls birthday theme. Best $5. I have used it for years and my sister-in-law borrows it too. It gets around. My mom and I have nice folding chairs we share and she also is gracious enough to share a lot of dishes and serving items. If you share with family and friends its like having twice or three times the supplies.

5. Buy on clearance. Every now and then I will see supplies for dirt cheap at Target. One day I happened to catch the dollar bin 70% off. 30 cents?! It is definitely OK in my book at that price to but a few things to put aside. 

6. The time of day can lower your food bill. Dinner and lunch parties can get pricey. You need a main course, some snacks or appetizers and dessert. Having a party that is strictly munchies or dessert items can cost less and be easier to get everything together. Breakfast is also a good option that costs less than a full course meal.

7. Use what you have. I guarantee you have a lot of things around your house you can use before even stepping foot in the store. Get creative and try to stay clear of too many things you will only use once. 

At this point I want to turn the list over to you. Do you have any tip for saving money when it comes to parties?

Pumpkin Decorating Party

I will be the first to admit that Halloween isn't really my thing. I just can't get into it. Maybe I was traumatized as a small child and have blocked out the memory of it. Don't get me wrong... I like the candy. It's just the cheesy, spooky, costume wearing factor I can't seem to get behind. I wish I could.

One thing I do love about Halloween though is carving pumpkins. I'm not sure what lit the initial spark, but way back in August I knew I wanted to have a pumpkin carving party with everyone. Being that it was still summer I put a pin in the idea and moved on... until I saw the dollar bin at Target filled with fall decorations and party supplies. Specifically these small paper snack cup that I had to have. They were just so fun and since they were more fall-ish than Halloween-ish it was right up my alley. So I came home from my first shopping trip with this: the snack cups, small orange paper plates to match, 3 small tin pails with ivory ribbon handles and a spool of 4 fall themed ribbons. Random? Yes. At that point I didn't even know who, or how many, I was inviting or what I was going to do with the pails or ribbon.

My spoils. 

Eventually everything did fall into place. I knew I wanted to keep it relatively small. Add our parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, one cousin and her family and a couple of Morgan's friends together and you get a group number in the twenties. That happens to be minimalistic in my family. I also didn't want to do a meal. Just a few (or 12 or so) snacks to munch on.

Needless to say I had a FANTASTIC time and hope everyone else did too. I think we should turn this into an annual affair. 

My favorite treats on the table were the pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and the candy corn rice crispie treats. I pulled the flower arrangement together from various plants in my yard, including the last three tiny sunflowers hanging on for dear life to the wilting stalk in my garden. 

Outside we put all the pumpkins in a wheelbarrow until we were ready. I also found small Styrofoam pumpkins at the Dollar Tree. They said they were carve-able so I grabbed a bunch as extras. They ended up being great for the smaller kids to cover with stickers or for the slightly older kids when they wanted something else to do when they were done carving the real thing. I highly recommend getting something like these as back up.

As for the tools of the trade... bowls and spoons for collecting pulp, a books of templates, and a few pumpkin carving kits did the trick. I don't think you can have enough of the carving knives, so stock up! They are worth it and work much better than a steak knife. I also found the idea for using cookie cutters and a mallet to hammer in a design into the side of the pumpkin. Then you can just use the knife to get the cuts all the way through if the skin in thick. 

 Paints, foam pumpkin faces, and stickers were great for the kids when they wanted to add extras or weren't old enough to use the other tools.

A kit like this works great. I have used this one in the past:

And who doesn't love a bouncy house?! Thanks to my sister -in-law for sharing hers for the day. 

 Lastly, I will leave you with a sampling of our handy work.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I recently watched Ten Things that Make Me Happy on Bravo. I have no idea if this was a one time special or if other episodes will air, but it got me thinking about 10 things that make me happy.

Let's start off by saying that family and friends are of course on the list of things that make me happy. This is strictly my list of superficial things. The "I could live without them but I'm glad I don't have to" things.

In no particular order I present my list:

1. My Engagement Ring.
I love my rings for many reasons. I love that my husband picked it out for me. I love the memory of taking a walk on the beach in Martha's Vineyard during sunset when he proposed. I love the meaning associated with it. I love that way it catches the light and reflects it onto the wall. After all, diamonds are a girls best friend.
 
2. Photographs.
I am photo obsessed and it may or may not be getting a little out of hand. They are taking over my computer memory and house. Seriously - we had to get a external hard drive to store them all. I can't even tell you how many times I looked at my wedding photos when they came it after months of waiting. I studied them and agonized over which to print and how to organize them in our wedding album. They preserve memories and its just fun to look at them. 

3. Lounge chairs, hammocks, pool floats.
Does this make me lazy? Laying on my hammock or any other lounging device just makes me so happy.  I'm all for comfort and being in denial that I have the luxury to waste time laying around. If I can be floating in the middle of a pool or lake its even more glamorous.

4. Pedicures.
Happy feet make me happy. Pedicures don't happen often to these little piggys but when they do it's pretty amazing.

5. Ice Cream.
I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream. What's not to love? I like pretty much every flavor, but sometimes just good ol' chocolate makes me happy to the core.

6. Mama's Cooking.
This makes my tummy happy. Sometimes I get a little embarrassed over my enthusiasm about good food.

7. Good Hair Days. 
My hair is thick. It also has a cow-lick type thing that happens in the front if I don't take the time to dry it which drives me crazy. I cut it, grow it out, curl it, straighten it. Usually it is never the way I want it. A few months ago I cut my hair way shorter than I have ever had it before and guess what... I was sooooo happy with it. (Then I got it trimmed and something is just not the same. I think it probably has something to do with this time it is hot and muggy out.) Good hair days just make you feel so much more confident.

8. Vacations.
No cleaning. No cooking. King size beds. Family memories. Photo opportunities (ahem). New experiences. Disconnected from the "real world". Bliss!
 
9. A Good Deal.
All I am going to say is I was a Target today and got distracted in the dollar bins when you enter the store because they were having a 70% of clearance. 30 cents people! Let's just say I came home with a bunch of stuff that was way cuter than what I paid for it.

10. My Kitchen Backsplash.

When we bought our house it was ugly. We tore it apart down to the concrete floors. At one point there were no walls. We lived at Lowes, picking out the materials to build it back up. One of the hardest things for us to agree on was the tile for our kitchen back splash. I can't even remember what my vision was or what he wanted, but eventually we found the perfect one... then we discovered that tile was way out of our budget. Miraculously we found one we loved even better and it was unbelievable cheap (love me a good deal after all). It is glass tile in different shades of gray that pick up the blue in our walls. My brother-in-law was kind enough to come over and show me the ropes. (Note: Before the backsplash it was pink wood paneling! 'Nough said.)

Floating on a Turquoise Cloud

I am currently crazy about turquoise. In fact I just purchased the Old Navy blue slip dress featured below because I loved the bright pops of turquoise in the pattern. The color is particularly fetching when paired with red or coral. Perfect for summer! I'm already thinking about how I can wear it tomorrow and at the same time considering it for my front door color...

P.S. I can't find this bracelet, but I really love it. If you have seen it somewhere online let me know!

Source: shopqueenstreet.com via Danae on Pinterest

Source: baublebar.com via Danae on Pinterest

Source: capecodcollegiate.tumblr.com via Bridget on Pinterest

Source: oldnavy.gap.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Date Night

This week I linking up with Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop. It has been a long time since I did one of these.

I love date night! Especially since we don't get to have them too often lately. When we were in high school we would go to the movies and dinner every week, if not a few times a week. I guess that's what you get to do when you don't have bills to pay... or full time jobs... or a house to care for... or kids to taxi...

Now I really appreciate those nights we get to go out (or stay in) together.

Not only do I love dates with my husband though, I love family date night too! For Christmas my mom plans a family night and gives it to us as one of our gifts and we all go out together for dinner and an activity like bowling or a hockey game. Sometimes we stay in just the 3 of us and have Wii night and a pizza. Other times it might be a mommy-daughter-date which are also fun and special to me. Who doesn't love a girls day together?

This past weekend I was super lucky and get to have 2 date nights. The first was with my daughter and we spare of the moment decided to go to a fireworks display our community has. We layed on the hill and watched the show and had fun taking pictures and video of the pretty fireworks with my phone.

The second was a family date. One of my parents' neighbors held an outside movie night in a baseball field with popcorn, drinks, and treats for the kids. I guess you could consider it a neighborhood date night!. They played Dolphin Tale (a really sweet flick). My parents, husband, daughter, cousin, and aunt, uncle, grandmother and I all went. It was a good time.

I wish I brought my camera. I didn't, but how awesome does this outdoor movie set up look?

Source: xibex-reborn.blogspot.com via Rose on Pinterest

So as much as a enjoy a good night out with my husband, family dates are pretty sweet too. <3