IT'S GARDENING TIME!

Oh, it is my favorite time of year. After spending the winter dreaming of the awesome things to grow in the garden and then to finally get to do it!!!!!!!!

I just placed an order with Bakers Creek. Visit them here. The seed selection is awesome. I can't wait to get my seeds in the mail and start planting.

I am really hoping to get my daughter excited about gardening. She is 10 years old. So far she wants to grow peanuts and purple hull pink eye peas. The purple hull peas are her favorite. Last summer I bought a bushel and we canned them. One bushel was not enough.

Now I have visions of have a gorgeous voluptuous vegetable garden just like this one on Better Home & Gardens website:

I know I have my hopes up way to high, but a person can dream. 

Last November I planted some cold crops and added a hoop house to the raised beds. All was doing well! Was almost time to harvest when my doberman ate/destroyed all of it! Nothing like coming home from work and pulling into the driveway and seeing a doberman with cabbage leaves sticking out both sides of mouth ( I know the visual is funny, but not at the time). So now, back to square one. Next I will post the start of my garden. SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!

Easy Enchiladas

Recently my 10 year old daughter has shown an interest in cooking and baking. Wouldn't you know, she is actually good at it!!!! As many already know, she is home-schooled. Part of her homeschooling requires her to be able to read and follow directions. This has really helped when it comes to following a recipe. She has taken it upon herself to look up recipes on the internet and start cooking. She even has gone as far as found substitutes for things if it wasn't in our cupboard.

A few weeks ago she asked friends and family to send her recipes so she can start her own cook book. She has received a wonderful response.

Last night she made Easy Enchiladas given to her from Aunt Susie (Thank you!) They were awesome!

Easy Enchiladas

Brown 2lbs of ground beef (or deer in our case) and 1 onion (chopped)

Add to this 1 can of refried beans and 1 large jar of picante sauce.
Simmer for approx 5 minutes.

Fill taco shells with burger mixture, roll sides and place in greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Take out and top with shredded cheese. Bake until cheese is melted.
Serve with chopped onion, black olives, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.

Feel free to send us recipes to add to her cook book!

Yankee to Southern Bell

We moved from Ohio to Mississippi in 2014. The BIG PLAN was to sell our Ohio house and purchase land, put a mobile home on it, paying with funds from the sale of the house. The idea was that we would not have a mortgage payment.

Sounds good, huh? It does to me too. But Murphy's Law doesn't think so. (want more irony, we stayed with the Murphy's for while throughout some of this) We have been faced with many challenges over the last few years. But I am proud to say we do not have a mortgage payment and we do not have credit card debt either.

First challenge: LAND

It is good to know people. A friend sold us some land that had a structure on it that he had started himself. This is what the inside looked like:

That is after cleaning it up a bit and running the electrical. It cost us more than we planned to spend. And biggest challenge. Its not finished. We really can't move into it looking like this.

But look at the view:

THAT'S MY BACKYARD!

After several months of the Handsome Man working hard, along with my handsome son. We could see progress. Here are some pictures.

Doaks Creek Candles - Mississippi 100% Soy Candles

Pint Size Candles $12.00 each
Christmas Special! Buy 3 Pint Candles Get the 4th Free!
Taking orders for candles, pint size only. Orders placed by Dec 12th will be ready by Dec 19th. (shipping available)
Taking orders for the following scents:
1. Mississippi Mud (Maple Kentucky Bourbon)
2. Birthday Cake (Vanilla Buttercrunch Cream)
3. Barefeet & Pearls (Strawberries & Champagne type)
4. Bless their Heart (French Lavender)
5. Orange Chili Pepper
6. Finer Than a Frog’s Hair (Basil Sage Mint)
7. Cinnamon Bun
8. Swamp Donkey (Fierce Type)
9. Merry Christmas Y’all (Home for Christmas type)
10. North Pole (peppermint vanilla)
11. Highfalutin” (Lemon Thyme)
12. Pumpkin Spice Latte

I have some Pint and Half-Pint candles in stock. I will update the scents available.

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Decoupage Candle Holder - PINTEREST GETS ME AGAIN!

I Love Pinterest! So many cute things. Wish I can do it all!

I talked before about decoupage. There are so many beautiful items out there. My first few tries I can't say they match up, but I am sure it will take some practice and acquiring the perfect material. I have been experimenting with a few different things. Napkins, printed paper and such.

My first couple of tries were blunders. Sorry. No pictures.

After a little bit of google I come up with these:

The vintage clip art can be found at Free Pretty Things For You.

I found the Mod Podge Rocks Blog helpful too.

I do think they turned out cute. I just love the images. They remind me of Nursery Rhyme books from when I was a kid. They look lovely with tealight candles too!

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Doaks Creek Candles

Soy Candles

I am always trying new crafting things. Not sure why all of a sudden a got a bug for soy candles. May have to do with coming home from work one day to a lovely smell in the house. That is usually not the norm, 2 kids, 1 being a teenage boy, and 4 dogs tend to have their own special aroma. Took a bit of looking around to discover someone had lit a candle.

So..after a lot of pinterest, a lot of google, I decided to order some supplies to try my hand at candle making.

I found these sites very helpful.

Artful Homemaking 
CandleScience
Lone Star Candle Supply

The first batch I made turned out very pretty. But the smell was not very strong when the candle burned.

The second batch I added more fragrance and added it when the wax was cooler. Around 135 degrees. First time around I added it when it was at 180 degrees. Problem I am running into is everyone has different recommendations when to add fragrance.  UGGG!

After the candles cooled I ended up with some frosting. Personally I like the look of the frosting. Looks yummy. I am still working on them tweaking here and there. Also fancying candle holders too. Not only a bug for soy candles but decoupage too. I will post some of those projects soon.

This was my last batch. Still need to come up with a name for it. The scent is Orange w/ Chili pepper. The color came out more dominate than I want. I added some pepper flakes on top. I initially added some flakes when the temp was at 135 degrees but they just sank to the bottom of the jar when I poured it. So I waited a little and added more. Was going to try to mix it in a bit, but I waited too long, so the flakes are on the top. Still pretty though. Maybe this will help you if you try adding stuff to your candles like herb flakes.

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Doaks Creek Candles

Slow Cooker Venison Stroganoff

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. You can view the original recipe here. I changed a little to adapt for the canned deer meat. I put the ingredients in the slow cooker just before we left to go for an afternoon deer hunt. My family LOVED it! My youngest daughter even had seconds.

1 quart of canned venison stew meat

1 (10.75 ounce) can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 tbs. of dried minced onion

1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup water

8 ounces cream cheese

2-1/2 cups of elbow noodles

Boiling water

1. In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water.
2. Cook on Low setting for 4-6 hours.
3. Set slow cooker setting to High. Stir in cream cheese.
4. Add elbow noodles and enough boiling water to cover. Stir every few minutes until noodles are cooked adding more boiling water as needed.

Because this recipe was such a great hit I did not get a chance to get a picture. Feel free to post one in the comments or send me one.

Want to know how to can your own deer meat? Check this post out.