Another Mother's Day Gone...

Hi friends,

I know it's a little late, but how was your Mothers Day? I hope it was wonderful and full of surprises. I celebrated early on Saturday, first, with my sister. We went out for the day and exchanged gifts. On Sunday my husband had to work, but my son surprised me with candy, flowers and a lovely card. It was sweet, and heartfelt. And my husband is taking me shopping for the perfect bicycle--one with a basket, so I can take my Soph along for the ride (you all know Sophie, don't you? Well, that's a post for another day...)

Anyway, I wanted to share with you the gift my sister gave me. We must have been on the same wavelength, because I gave her a necklace, too. I didn't get any pictures, but it is a silver chain with little charms that I picked to represent her personality. Her initial "P", a little nurses cap because she is a great nurse of 20 years, a silver wing because we have had to learn to live on a wing and a prayer, especially over these last couple of years, and a mounted crystal because she's a "diamond in the rough". That's not an insult; not if you knew my sister... ;)

So, same wavelength, and we didn't even know it. The necklace she put together for me was in memory of our mother. A locket that holds little treasures of memory representing mom. The disk inside says "Mom" to show who it's for. A little heart "In Memory Of" her. A tiny little teapot because mom loved her daily morning cup of tea; I was raised on it and still love a creamy cup of English tea in the morning or on chilly evenings. There's a little purse that says "Shop", because that's what she absolutely LOVED to do (I think above anything else!), and of course, her birthstone.

It is a lovely and thoughtful gift. One that I will cherish forever. I consider myself lucky that, even through the devastation of losing my mother, I have a sister I can rely on to share in my joys, and be with me during my sorrows. That's the best gift.

Thank you so much for reading today. Have  wonderful week!

Nanette

Veggin' Out!

Hi Everybody, how has your week been? Working through life over here, one steady footstep at a time, as always...
I'm glad that I have decided to get back into blogging, though; sharing with you all truly makes me happy and helps me stay relaxed and focused enough to get through the myriad of challenges that life brings our way. I'm sure I'll be writing more about that soon at my other blog, but over here, this is where we celebrate the lighter side of life. It's why I started this blog! Anyway, I wanted to share with you something new...

I have recently gone back to vegetarianism, after many years. I have a few blog posts that I have written about trying to get out of the "funk" that I've been in all winter long...maybe all YEAR long. I was wondering when I would be ready to make my way back into that life that I left the day my mother died: fitness, healthful eating, the desire to excel. I was struggling and I didn't know how to pick up that journey where I left off. It took some time, from when I wrote that last post (you can read it here) to finally start to take heed of my own advice; my own instincts. It just became a natural progression in the journey that I am on to start taking better care of myself, and that seamlessly included the cessation of eating meat. If you read my other blog at confessions of a think-a-holic, you will get the 'gist' of the journey that I have been on. Vegetarianism is not for everyone, and I certainly NEVER thought I would EVER eat this way. Ever.
But I do. And I am a happy eater and I don't think I have ever had more delicious food.

That being said, I just wanted to share with you a couple of recipes that I tried that are now family favorites. Our son even loves it. Every night I am able to cook up something easy and delicious...and for me, guilt free!

This first recipe was influenced by the Mediterranean Veggie sandwich at Panera Bread. I tried it there for the first time ever a few weeks ago, and it is my new favorite.

Look at all that yummy stuff in there! 

This meal was such low cost. It's a huge difference from buying meat (that I never got around to cooking anyway). I bought some Cobblestone Wheat bread and an assortment of Veggies that I knew we would like. That's the idea...don't force yourself to eat something you hate. You will resent it and will not make any changes that way. 

This is how I put it together:

I spread hummus (any flavor you like, I used garlic, but we love ALL hummus) on one side of the bread, guacamole on the other. Sprinkle some feta or goat cheese onto the hummus, so it will stick. Lay your baby spinach over that (again, so it will stick).

On the other side of the bread in the same way, I put a few pieces of green leaf lettuce onto the guacamole, then cucumber slices, roasted red bell peppers, and 1-2 artichoke hearts sliced up. Add some tomato slices if you like (I do not, Noah and Tyler do) and some red or sweet onion slices (Tyler and I do, Noah does not). Put it together and slice in half.

Best. Sammy. Ever.

Serve with a side of pretzel crisps, or our favorite--veggie straws with sea salt.

You have a quick, cool and light summer meal.

So good...

Another favorite I found on allrecipes. It's a portobello mushroom cap marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, onion and garlic. It is accompanied by the best asparagus I have ever had. No kidding. Also from allrecipes, it is oven cooked and then a butter, soy sauce and balsamic mixture is poured over the top. Yum! I cooked the mushrooms in a skillet instead of on the grill, but they turned out delicious, nonetheless. I just put a little olive oil in the pan and cooked it cap side down for a while until it started to soften. Then I took a chance and flipped them over, gills down. It worked just fine, and I didn't lose any of the onions or garlic, like I thought I would. Then, I just used my judgement, checking for it's softening, and flipped it a couple of times to incorporate all of the flavors, and they were done. These truly are the "steaks of the mushroom family". We'll grill it next time and I'll let you know how they turn out...or you can let me know!

It doesn't seem like much, but it was filling, and you can always add a side salad, quinoa, rice or fruit. You'd be amazed what you find delicious when your body tells you what it needs. I'll be updating you with more healthy and quick veggie meals periodically as I try them.

If not for the animals...do it for your health!

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to stop by my other blog for some inspiration, too! 

Have a fantastic weekend!

Nanette

*I received no endorsements from Cobblestone, Panera Bread/St. Louis Bread Co. or allrecipes.com. All decisions and opinions are my own.

"Recycled Chic" Ottoman rescue!

Well, hello there! I know I haven't blogged here for quite some time, and for that, I apologize. Life sure can take you on a journey, can't it? Well, I'm really going to try to get my projects underway and get them out to you here. I am! Really!

I've just been putting a lot of time into other things that made their way to the top of my list. Family affairs always come first, and I've been writing on my other blog confessionsofathinkaholic each week. It centers me, and that is precisely what I needed. 

But! I've got several projects that I want to share, so let's get right to it...

So, here is project #1. 

We had a hand-me-down 1970's footstool/Ottoman. I always wanted to cover it, but never found the fabric. Well, Noah and I decided it was time to get at least one small project done, to further freshen up the look of the living room, so we went hunting for some fabric. 

Coupons and sales papers in hand, we commenced the search for the perfect pattern. 

Noah found it. 

I've gotta hand it to him, though. I absolutely LOVE it! It was on sale for 50% off at Hancock fabrics. 100% cotton upholstery fabric. We only needed one yard, luckily, and paid only $12. 

That was our only cost, as we had everything else on hand. I'll tell you what we did, step-by-step, but I just wish I had thought to take pictures along the way. (See what slacking gets you? I went from taking pictures of everything to forgetting to take any at all!!)

The best I can do is describe this beautiful creature to you...

It was brown velvety corduroy,  all worn out and threadbare. It had the 'piping' trim all around. And the padding was completely flattened out. But the legs were in great shape. 

We started by cutting the piping off with a sharp pair of scissors, very close to the seam line. It didn't matter how it looked, really; I was covering it up. I have a TON of quilters batting on hand (and I do mean a ton. So much, in fact, that I gave some away at our last yard sale. I did, because it was given to me for free and I needed room in storage for other stuff, plus...freebies at a yard sale do wonders for business ;) 

Anyway, I laid out a couple of layers of that: a "long on all sides" piece, then a piece that was just slightly larger than the top of the stool to give the top that rounded soft look, and turned my stool over, centering it right on the batting. I then pulled one side at a time of the longer batting just to the bottom edge of the stool and stapled, continuing around until I was satisfied. I trimmed off the excess, and that part was done. It was nice and fluffy.

Next, I took my printed fabric and centered it over the top of my stool. This took a little while as I was not satisfied with where the pattern was laying. When I got it where I wanted, I carefully flipped it over. This is not as hard as it sounds, the fabric is 'see through'. I just made sure it was straight. I pulled the front and back up, and put one staple in it to hold it.

Then we took it outside.

We used the air compressor and staple gun to do the rest. I unscrewed the legs and continued to pull and staple all around--equal on all sides, making sure not to cause any puckering. I left the corners for last. Tucking that much material into square corners can be tricky. And, as this is the first time I've ever done this, I just played with it a little until it looked good, and trimmed where I needed to, and stapled the dickens out of it, nice and tight.

One thing though...be sure NOT to staple your fabric over the holes that your legs get screwed back into or bunch too much fabric around there or you won't be able to get the legs on. But, before you do that, you should staple, or even glue, if you want, a backing on to cover the fabric edges and make your project have that 'finished' look. You can use muslin, but most fabric stores sell the black mesh fabric that you find on the bottoms of chairs and ottomans.

Next, make little holes in the fabric for your legs, screw the legs back in as is, or paint them out. And enjoy your new ottoman! Do you know how much these go for in retail?! Here's one from Target (I didn't even shop "expensive"!) It's close enough to mine, I think...or am I flattering myself? And what would have happened to this had I thrown it out...landfill city! And we don't need that. Not when you can have "Recycled Chic"!

Thanks for reading today...and I have a lot of catching up to do so there may be some fall inspired posts to come...or maybe I'll just wait till fall. It's not that terribly far off, now that I've waited so darn long...

Have a great week!

Nanette

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha

Good Morning, everyone! It's that time of year again, can you believe it?! I. Can. Not. Noah is up getting the lights for the house, now. I'm getting ready to  take all the Fall/Thanksgiving decor down and put up all the Winter/Christmas-time decor. We may even go get our tree this evening! We'll see how tired out I have the hubby...
Well, here is week 32 of SWB. I touch on a sort of unconventional "reason to the Season". Don't be offended if it's not what you think. I may have different thoughts and beliefs than you, but I think we all basically want the same thing. Why not read it first before shooting it down...it may surprise you. It won't take long, and it certainly won't ruin your relationship with your beliefs. For those of you who haven't read yet, you'll be surprised to see it's not exactly what you expect.

So, in advance, thanks for reading, as always, and have a Blessed day!
N

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha: Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their own suffering. Some suffer too much, some too little.         ...

confessions of a thinkaholic: On Another Note...

Hey, there. Here's a very personal post that I have been sitting on and debating on whether or not to share. So, I guess I'm sharing. It is important to me to share what I think is important, if it means it may help someone else. Thanks so much for reading my blog(s). You will never know how much it means to me, but I will always try to tell you.

Have a great week ahead, and be good to each other, and to yourselves.

Nanette


confessions of a thinkaholic: On Another Note...: I haven't written any other post besides the Sundays With Buddha in a really long time, so I thought now would be a good time to sort of...

Chicken with fresh-from-the-tree Plum Salsa...Yum!

Hi there! I thought I'd share another quick little dinner I whipped up using some of my treasures I got at the annual Peach Festival in Grafton, Illinois at Pere Marquette Lodge at Pere Marquette State Park. After an unseasonably cool summer, this day was pretty warm, but a great day to browse what the local farmers had to offer. We bought a bunch of plums and big juicy peaches, the absolute best I have ever eaten, actually; picked fresh early that morning.

I knew I wanted to do something with those plums for dinner, like a plum sauce with chicken, but I didn't know what. I went on the search and found something that we really liked. I altered it just a little, but you can get the full recipe here. 

Look how beautiful these are!

             It's a great feeling to support local farmers and get something this beautiful and delicious.

So, this is what I did. The recipe called for a couple of ingredients that I didn't have, like lime juice and fresh basil but it turned out fabulously.
I started with two trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts, olive oil and two plump, ripe plums fresh from the tree.

I washed and diced up the two plums and a home grown jalapeno from my dad's pepper plant...

         

                                                 ...and gathered the rest of my ingredients...

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

Click to see savings

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin  

Now, this is what the recipe called for, and I didn't halve the ingredients for the two breasts I used instead of four, but it made just the right amount for the size of the chicken breasts I used.

 Stir together the plums, jalapeno, onion and 1/4 tsp. salt in a medium bowl and the brown sugar, cumin, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in a small bowl. I rubbed my chicken with the brown sugar mixture working rather quickly as the brown sugar melts fast. What I did next varies from the recipe, but made the raw salsa very delish!

I cooked the chicken in the olive oil in a nonstick griddle skillet over medium heat for several minutes on each side. When the brown sugar started to caramelize I turned the heat to low and added a little water to loosen the sugar from the pan. I took the chicken out and added the juice from the skillet to the salsa in the bowl. I folded it until it was blended well and let it sit while I made the rest of my dinner.
That was just a simple box of Near East Parmesan flavored couscous and Green Giant Sugar snap peas. The couscous literally takes five minutes, just enough time for the peas to steam. When the peas are done you can drain them and serve, but I always sauté them with a little olive oil and salt in an omelet pan. Yum!

We like our peas right on top of our couscous and our pears right on top of our chicken, and, boy, was it delish!

    
             Don't forget, you can get the full recipe and many more at MyRecipes.com. Enjoy!


And please keep checking back. I will give it my all to get this blog back up and running with more projects, recipes, fun and adventure...promise!

Have a great week

Nanette

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sunday's With Buddha

I've been away for a short while attending to my brother's arrangements. He passed last Friday, July 26th. My sister and I have been in Wisconsin all week to tend to everything and to bring our brother home. I had been trying to get back into the swing of things here with getting this blog back under way. I've been to some interesting places, and seen some interesting things, but have just not had the time to share them with you. I started a couple of furniture re-do's, but, of course, that was put on hold, just for a bit. I will get back to blogging about our 'lighter side of life' just as soon as it lightens up a bit!
Thank you to all of you who keep checking back. Thanks for sticking with me. I'll be up and running before too long. That's precisely what my post on "Confessions" is about this week, if you are so inclined. It's a dedication to my brother, and also a reminder to live your best life, fully and with abandon.

Thanks for stopping by, you will never know how much I truly appreciate it.

Until next time,

Nanette
confessions of a thinkaholic: Sunday's With Buddha:   Week 15 You too shall pass away. Knowing this, how can you quarrel?                                                        ...