Snowflake Tree

This year I decided to get a 2nd Christmas tree. I wanted to decorate this one with a "theme" in the dining room, so you could see it from the street all glowing & pretty. And have my regular tree in the living room.

Way back in the summer I decided on white & silver SNOWFLAKE theme

I was pleasantly surprised by the huge assortment of snowflakes this year, at a lot of different stores. Ryan was kind enough to come to Rockwall to "help" (although she did it ALL) me decorate.

We drove around the backwoods and found sticks that she spray-painted (please excuse the weeds, I'm a hideous lawn keeper)

Then she hot glued Christmas ornament balls to the branches

Starting to come together!

Thanks to Tara & Kevin for the awesome snowflakes

Ryan also turned my boring ole light fixture

into a beautiful snowflake chandelier

Here is the finished product. Pictures just don't do it justice.

It really is gorgeous, and that isn't bragging, cause I didn't do it!

Thank you Ryan! Now, you're coming back for new years and "helping" take it down, RIGHT?

I don't have time for that!

My newest most annoying phrase is “I don’t have time” for _____ fill in the blank. People (certain mothers especially) wear it like a badge of honor. Like they are a better mom, because they just don’t have time to; cook, watch tv, blog, read blogs, nap, workout etc.

I couldn’t hold my tongue the other day. I was at dinner with some girls and we were sitting there having a drink waiting for our table. One of the girls asked another if she read my blog. (Now please know that I certainly don’t care if people don’t read…it’s an online journal for ME and if reading blogs aren’t your thing, I surely don’t care in the least…that being said, back to the story.) The other friend replied NO, I don’t have time to read blogs! And I couldn’t help myself, I blurted out Oh no, you can’t use that as an excuse we ALL have the same 24 hours! Everyone laughed, but I was serious! It really got my thinking about that statement and I’m going to try really hard to remove it completely from my vocab. The replacement phrase is….I didn’t make time to_____ fill in the blank. Some people CHOSE to spend their awake hours blogging, or watching tv, or working out, etc. But it’s just that, a choice!

Super Fun Weekend!

Guess who is coming for the weekend?

I'll give you a hint, this is her favorite place to eat when she's here

While she is here we plan on:

laughing a lot
eating
Decorating for Christmas

And probably hanging out with all these folks too!

That's right, you guessed it. Ryan's coming to town!

Rhinestone Ranch has a new COWGIRL!

There is for sure a new Cowgirl in town!

Holly found out on Wednesday that she is having a baby GIRL

I'm sure there is going to be LOTS of this kind of shopping in our near future!

Bling, baby Bling!

Congrats Holly & Kyle!

Sweet baby girl, your Auntie Crazy already loves you~!

Cooking Term--Shrimp, Prawn, Langoustine

Langoustine: French word for Prawn

Prawn: There is a great deal of confusion about this term because it's used to describe several different SHELLFISH. 1. The meat has a sweet, delicate flavor that some claim is better than either lobster or shrimp. These "prawns" are 6 to 8 inches in length and have pale-red bodies deepening to dark-red tails. 2. A second definition applies to the freshwater prawn (identified by the Latin name Macrobrachium ); the term distinguishes SHRIMP as living in salt water and prawns as freshwater creatures. In truth, these prawns migrate (much like salmon) from salt water to fresh water to spawn. They look like a cross between a shrimp and a lobster, with their bodies having narrower abdomens and longer legs than shrimp.

Shrimp: This delicious CRUSTACEAN is America's favorite SHELLFISH. There are hundreds of shrimp species, most of which can be divided into two broad classifications — warm-water shrimp and cold-water shrimp. As a broad and general rule, the colder the water, the smaller and more succulent the shrimp. Shrimp come in all manner of colors including reddish- to light brown, pink, deep red, grayish-white, yellow, gray-green and dark green. Some have color striations or mottling on their shells. Because of a heat-caused chemical change, most shrimp shells change color (such as from pale pink to bright red or from red to black) when cooked. Shrimp are marketed according to size (number per pound), but market terms vary greatly from region to region and from fish market to fish market. Keeping that variance in mind, the general size categories into which shrimp fall are: colossal (10 or less per pound), jumbo (11-15), extra-large (16-20), large (21-30), medium (31-35), small (36-45) and miniature (about 100). In the United States, jumbo and colossal shrimp are commonly called "prawns," though the PRAWN is, in fact, a different species.

Painted Project for Guest bedroom

You just can't believe what a can of spray paint can do!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

(in my newly decorated guest room, other pictures to come soon)

Southwestern Chicken & Rice Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (reduced fat is fine)
1 Cup of water
1 Cup Thick & Chunky Salsa
3/4 Cup uncooked regular long grain white rice
1 can corn (drained)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium onion
sliced mushrooms (to taste)
garlic powder
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Stir soup, water, salsa, rice, corn & seasoning to taste into bowl

sautee diced onions and sliced mushrooms & season

While onions and mushrooms sautee, dice chicken breast into large chunks and add to mixture

add onion & mushroom to mixture

Pour into greased casserole dishes, it makes a ton!

Cover and cook for 30 minutes

Un-cover and add shredded cheese and cook another 15 minutes

YUM!

Christmas Inspiration

I'm getting SO excited about decorating for the holidays. It is FOR SURE my favorite time of year. I love the colors, smells, the old stuff mixed with the new. It truly makes me smile to walk in and see my tree all lit up. I LOVE to look at the ornaments and remember who gave it to me and the story behind it.

So, here are some pictures of cottage~ey Christmas decor that has totally gotten me in the holiday spirit.

My trees will go up next weekend...yes, just in time for everyone to enjoy during THANKSGIVING meal! GET EXCITED.