Six Words Friday ~ Trick ~

Something sweet for Trick or Treat

Sharing my Halloween candy bowl with
Adrienne at My Memory Art ~ Six Words Friday

Please stop by and share Six Words with my dear friend Adrienne.

Many thanks Adrienne for hosting Six Words Friday,

it's both challenging and fun!

Good Fences ~ Edition 32 ~

Pretty fences from inside the Butterfly House,

from our visit back in September.

 

 I love Sunflowers...
 

 and pretty wrought iron fences.

Gates decorated with Butterflies...

 

and Butterflies,

decorated with flowers.

 

Fences up-close...

 and this bamboo fence sprinkled with beautiful butterfly ornaments.

Sharing the Butterfly Fence's with my good friend

Theresa at The Run*A*Round Ranch

for Good Fences

Stop by and consider joining in the fun, any fence or gate will do!!

September 19, 2014

 

Let's Get Organized...

I'm kinda' organized...o.k...let's be honest,

I'm an organizing junkie.

I am, and I am way beyond hiding that fact in shame.

Bring on the Martha Stewart comments...

I have heard them all.

 

For those who may enjoy this,

I'll share a few of my new organizing tools.

 

 On October 20th, I started a cleaning diary.

My vision is not very good and I can never remember

what I have cleaned and when I last cleaned it.

I thought this would help me keep track and keep the house clean.

I found a link online for these pretty, blank calenders here.

 I had a "To Do List" pad that ran out of paper.

I found this on line here, free to print.

I love the layout and colors and it's "free" you can't beat that!

 I printed a bunch and will hook them to a piece of cardboard
with a binder clip.

 

I also found this perpetual calender here, free to print, as well.

To list all your important family birthday's and anniversaries.

I had one that was very old and all the names were fading.

 

 I like this one, it is colorful and compact...

 and just the right size to hang on the inside of my pantry door!!

 

So there, some, of my dirty little organizing secrets,

I hope you enjoyed them!!

 

Skillet-Roasted Chicken and Stuffing

There are no words to describe this meal,

it is the best chicken dish I have ever made, the hubs and I loved it.

 

Here's the recipe...

 

Ingredients

• 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
• 6 tablespoons butter (divided)
• 2 tablespoons minced minced fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, minced
• 7 ounces Italian Bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (6 cups)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth

Instructions 

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in small bowl in microwave, about 45 seconds. Stir in 1 tablespoon sage, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Brush chicken with herb butter.

2. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in 12-inch oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery, ½ ­teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon sage and remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off heat, place chicken, breast side up, on top of vegetables. Arrange bread cubes around chicken in bottom of skillet.

3. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, about 1 hour, rotating skillet halfway through roasting.

4. Carefully transfer chicken to plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Holding skillet handle with potholder (handle will be hot), stir bread and vegetables to combine, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.

5. Add broth and any accumulated chicken juice from plate and cavity to skillet and stir to combine. Warm stuffing, uncovered, over low heat until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit while carving chicken. Transfer chicken to carving board, carve, and serve with stuffing.

Now the best part, pictures.

You must have known there would be pictures!

 

 Onion and Celery

 Saute`ed just until the onions are translucent.

 Lay the chicken, slathered with all that herbed butter,

right on top of the onions and celery.

 Stuff the cut up bread around it, that's it.
In to the oven it goes, 375 degrees for an hour.

  It comes out lookin' like this.

Hello, Mr. Chicken...

here's the stuffing all finished off...yum.

I made mashed potatoes to go with it.

 

This is comfort food at it's finest, make it.
It was so easy, you will not be disappointed.

Gallery Walls...

We built our home in the early 80's and at that time,
I decorated the walls with pictures and art.

And somehow, 30 years have passed and I had not noticed

how outdated that crap, art looks.
I never bought any new "art" because all of my walls were full,
"I have no room on the walls", or so I thought.

 

I did not take "before" pictures and trust me when I say,
you are lucky I didn't.
Little by little, I am taking down the old stuff,
hiding it in my trash can so no one can see it,
and those walls are getting a face lift.

 This wall is in our upstairs loft area,
and is the second wall to get a complete overhaul.

 The theme here is...
Our Life at the Jersey Shore.

 Most of the pictures here are photographs I have taken.
The one on the left, all "sunned out" is of the hubs riding his dolphin.
Under that is a postcard of the shoreline, that I have always loved.

  This is also new to the upstairs den,
on a smaller wall, around the corner from the Jersey Wall,
that leads in to our bedroom.

 This painting is in the downstairs family room
and is kinda' new.
This view looks exactly like the bike path where we ride.
I purchased this from a catalog,
it came unframed, and I am super happy with the frame I picked for it.

 I have shown this wall before.
It is part of the staircase leading to the second floor of the house.
Birds, butterflies, blooms, and a few of the hubs and I.
This is the wall I started with.

 Mike and Alisa bought this door knob for me.
I fell in love with it when I was in North Carolina.
It now hangs close to the above wall grouping,
and it holds the first scarf I knitted.

I'm not sure what's up next.
I don't have a lot of walls downstairs...
we live on a river and the back of the house is
primarily windows.

I enjoy these projects and I love sharing them
with you guys!

Many thanks for stopping by!
 

Today and Everyday...

                   

      Smile...

      Swing yours arms...and jump in a puddle.

       Let's be kids again!!

      No comments today!!

  

Saturday Critters ~ 47 ~

Being Different

I'm different, much different from most of my friends and family.

My best friend is my husband and I'm a home-body at heart.

I have a sprinkle of geek, I don't drink, smoke or like to shop.

When I enjoy something, I become obsessed.

 

In a lake with 100's of other swans...

 this swan was so obviously different.

 It was large, larger then some of the white swans,

 

 it appeared to be full grown,

 

the feathers caught the light beautifully.

 

There was not one other swan with those pretty tan feathers.

In the hundreds that were swimming there,

not one other swan looked like this.

 

Any thoughts?!

Sharing this beautiful swan seen on our Sunday drive,
October 12, 2014 with

Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen

for Saturday Critters stop by and consider joining in,
any ole' critter will do! 

 

Six Words Friday ~ Never ~

 

 

 

Never miss the beauty around you!!

Sharing images from my pretty Wildflower Garden with
Adrienne at My Memory Art ~ Six Words Friday

Please stop by and share Six Words with my dear friend Adrienne.

Many thanks Adrienne for hosting Six Words Friday,

it's both challenging and fun!

Good Fences ~ Edition 31 ~

More beach fences from Saturday...

A gorgeous day, a ride on the bikes, a little beach time

and a delicious lunch-dinner in Long Branch at Pier Village.

 

 And here's the hubs/child,
goofing off in the children's playground.

and the two of us, lovin' that sun!!
 

Sharing the Jersey Shore's finest fence's with my good friend

Theresa at The Run*A*Round Ranch

for Good Fences

Stop by and consider joining in the fun, any fence or gate will do!!

October 18, 2014