The Chunk-a-Munk

Pictures!!

Hooray! Hooray! We decided to bite the bullet and go purchase a new camera tonight, and I was like a little kid on Christmas morning when we got home, I started snapping pictures of everything!! Unfortunately, it was Brynlie's bedtime by the time the batteries were charged, so I will take pictures of her tomorrow. I feel like I have missed so much by not having a camera for a week of her life!

Anyway, here are some pictures of my Valentine banner:

and my keychain

which is really nice to slip over my wrist while I'm carrying Brynlie's carseat, etc.

I told you I got a little camera happy...my Valnetine stippling underneath my basket of rag balls (The rag balls are just styrofoam balls wrapped in fabric scraps. They're great for decor but I'm tellin ya, every single kid that comes over to my house LOVES to play with them...maybe because they know they are house decor and not toys they are more fun to play with...)

And Brynlie's bow/accessory board that I've hung on the inside of her closet door:

Ah, so happy to have a camera again!

The Yummiest Banana Bread

I always seem to have a few bananas that made it through the just-right ripeness and turn black before I even have a chance to realize it. A lot of times I throw them away, but sometimes I can't bring myself to waste them and I quickly whip up some banana bread--I LOVE how it makes my house smell, and this banana bread is the best recipe I've ever tried!

3-4 ripe bananas
1 c. shortening or butter
3 eggs beaten
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
1/4 c. evaporated milk
1/2 c. nuts (optional)

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Enjoy!

Chicken, Cameras, and Questions

This weekend my 6 year old camera finally bit the dust. Ugh. I didn't realize how much I would miss it! So, now that I'm in the market for a new camera and have absolutely no idea what to get, does anybody have any suggestions? I don't need anything fancy shmancy (I would love something fancy shmancy) but I just need a budget-friendly camera right now that can get the job done!

Since I can't post pictures for a while, I will post another recipe. This is what we had last night for Sunday dinner (we have this pretty much every other Sunday dinner)

Lemon Chicken

4-6 frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can full of milk
2 T butter
3 T McCormick Lemon 'n Herb Seasoning

Crockpot on low for 7-8 hours. Serve over rice. It's DELICIOUS! It's definitely my comfort food. The Lemon 'n Herb seasoning is the secret ingredient--but I've been having a hard time finding it at the store, so I just ordered a massive bulk canister of it--yep, pretty much have a lifetime supply of Lemon 'n Herb seasoning now! Can you tell I love my crockpot?

Last but not least, is there anyone in Louisville that owns the book Catching Fire that I could borrow? I am halfway through and it has completely sucked me in...I've been going to Barnes and Noble during the day to read it there, but it's not the easiest thing with a 3 month old. Why don't you check it out at the library, you might ask? Well, I would, if I didn't have 4-month overdue books. I know, I know, and I even worked at a library for over a year, I should have learned my lesson! But seriously, this book series is one that I cannot put down, and I think the people at Barnes and Noble are starting to recognize me.

My Peasant Dish

In answer to your questions, this is the other dinner I made this week--(I call it my peasant dish because it only takes a few cheap ingredients that I almost always have on hand.)

In a crock pot, combine the following:

About 1/2 a bag of baby carrots, or chopped carrots
5-7 potatoes, quartered
1 onion roughly chopped
4-6 chicken breasts
4 chicken boullion cubes
2 cups water

Cook on low for about 7 hours. I serve it with brown gravy and sour cream on top, usually with rolls and a salad. This is kinda my go-to dish because, like I said, I almost always have all the ingredients and it's super easy, cheap, and yummy!

Also, I have a movie recommendation. If you have not seen Gifted Hands, please watch it! It is great!

What's Cookin?

I have been trying to be more organized in my meal planning so that when 5:00 rolls around, I'm not wondering what I'm going to make or dinner and, more importantly, so that when I'm grocery shopping I don't spend $50 on random food and get home and think, "we have nothing for dinner." So I've been planning out a weekly menu and it's been helping me a lot! For dinner tonight, we are having taco soup and cornbread, and I've had a few people ask for the recipes, so here they are!

Taco Soup:

This recipe is SO easy, and it's a GREAT food storage recipe. Everything is from the pantry!

1 can tomato soup

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

(You can substitute for any kind of beans you like...)

1 can corn (drained)

1 can chicken (or you can boil a chicken breast and shred it)

1 pkg. taco seasoning

That's it! It's great in a pinch because everything is on hand! Top with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips.

Now, for the cornbread:

2 cups flour

1 cup cornmeal

3/4 cup sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 cups milk

1/4 cup oil

3 eggs

1 pkg. vanilla pudding (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients set aside. Mix next 3 ingredients, beat well. Add dry ingredients (including dry pudding if desired) to wet ingredients and mix lightly, batter will still be lumpy. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This is seriously the best cornbread ever! If you try it let me know what you think!

Also, I have to add this picture of Brynlie in the Valentine's dress my mom made for her

It's reversible, so the other side is hearts with a section of polka dots at the bottom. I love it! Thanks mom!!

A Clock Makeover

Ok, so the title of the post is a bit misleading, because I forgot to take a before picture of my clock! Dumb! So, here is the after picture of a clock that my mom and I found at TJMaxx for $10--it was such a steal! The only thing wrong with it was that it was an uglyish gold color, nothing a little spray paint can't fix!
I sanded the edges so that a little bit of the gold peaks through.


I went back to TJMaxx today and they had the exact same clock only in black for $25, so I saved $15 by spray-painting it myself!! (Sorry about the bad quality of the pictures, my flash is doing weird things and it was night time-bad lighting)

As of late

January has never been one of my favorite months...there are really no fun holidays, nothing to decorate for, the excitement of the holidays are over, and winter is just setting in... so I've been trying to fill my days with fun things to do to make the time go by (which gets a little difficult when your car is broken down and you can't go anywhere.) Lucky for me, my mom brought out and taught me some fun things to keep my hands busy and make the time fly! She taught me how to crochet beanies with flowers: She also taught me how to stipple (is that what it's called?) which I was terrified of at first but now it's really fun! Here are my Valentine projects: If anyone around my parts wants to learn, I have the part for my sewing machine so come on over! I'll teach you!

I still haven't posted pictures from our family-of-three-style Christmas, so here are a few:

Brynlie with her new pajamas from Great-Grandma Shirley on Christmas morning.

Brynlie super excited about her new book.

"What could this one be? The suspense is killing me!"

"Dad, you are SO funny!"

Christmas morning wore us all out! This was about noon, all ready to go to friend's for a yummy Christms dinner!


The world revolves around this girl

I have a few more projects up my sleeve, including a clock makeover, so stay tuned! Oh, and I should mention that there are a few redeeming qualities about the month of January...my husband and my dad were born in it :)

The Family Comes to Town

This past week my family was able to fly in from Utah for a few days. The trip was way too short, but it was so fun to be together and for my Dad and Dev to meet Brynlie for the first time!

We played TONS of games...

Arriving at the airport...Devin seeing Brynlie for the first time and Grandma finally getting to hold her again.
Such a good uncle!!


My Dad seeing Brynlie for the first time.


My mom made this darling Valentine's dress for Brynlie. She is one spoiled little girl!!!

Sleeping Beauty...this is pretty much what she did all day every day while they were here. I think all the excitement put her into a coma.

I love this picture--Brynlie is totally adoring Devin!

So content with Grandpa...

Bath time with Grandma and Uncle Devin!

Devin wasn't too sure about Brynlie crying...it was stressful!

It was a wonderful week packed full of games, movies, eating, eating, more eating, and enjoying our little Brynlie girl and our time together. Miss you guys already!!