To make me happy...

It doesn't take a lot... to make me happy. While wondering around Lowe's on Monday afternoon, we came across the key counter. Of course, since I am obsessed with green right now, I had to have this...

A new house key!!! Isn't it so great??? I smile everytime I pick up my keys now. Brian shakes his head. (Underneath it all, he really is amused that it takes so little to make me happy.) And yes, it is bejeweled too! HA!
Also, Jodi's Venison Recipe that I promised you is here!

Our good friends Marie and John were recently engaged and we celebrated last night with a champage (flute rimmed with a strawberry, of course) toast! We made grilled pizza's again, this time introducing a new one. The Margharita. I used some whole wheat flour this time too, instead of just all-purpose.

From Left to Right - Top Row. - Shredded chicken, low-fat feta cheese, sliced fresh baby mozzarella, diced Campari tomatoes.
Bottom Row - Fresh spinach, carmelized onions, Italian blend

From Left to Right - Cooking spray, pesto, tomato sauce, basil, empty beer bottle and one of the crusts.

The finished Margarita, sprinkled with fresh basil.

And for dessert...

Fresh Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisps with French Vanilla Ice Cream. One of my goals this summer is to make homemade ice cream and frozen yogurt! Dad and I pick fresh rhubarb this weekend and I knew that I wanted to make this! I made 4 individual crisps in the French Onion Soup Crocks Melissa got me for Christmas a few years ago. They worked perfectly!

Congratulations Marie and John! We are so excited for you!

In the last 24 hours...

In the last 24 hours, I have...


- Sewn 4 skirts, the one on the left is for my cousin Melissa, and the other 3 are for ME!!

- Figured out how to do a blind hem after MUCHO cursing, head scratching and seam ripping

- Figured out that if the fabric is cut, I can whip a 5 Minute Skirt up in 30 minutes flat. Keep in mind, that was the LAST skirt!! The first one took several hours due to the directions in my sewing machine manual, and the fact that I don't have the next item.....

- Wished I had a serger, because then it really would be a 5 Minute Skirt, the pattern even says so.... hint, hint anyone????

- Planted my Tomatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Basil and a couple of Hungarian Wax and Chili Peppers for Brian

- Washed, Dried, Folded and put away/packed for the weekend - 3 loads of laundry

- Watched my nephews for a few hours

I'm exhausted!  Have a great weekend! I will have a venison recipe to share next week, compliments of our good friend Jodi!

There's A Snake on my Deck!

AHHH, there's a SNAKE on my deck!

Good thing it's for Jamie's B-day gift, or I would have run shreaking back into the house and locked the door! (Snakes are sneaky...)

He's pretty darn cute, isn't he? I am totally proud of myself! I developed the pattern all by myself! I'll tell you though, stuffing this sucker was NOT easy. And since I have 2 more snakes on request for back to back July birthdays, (well, actually one snake on request, Brian's nephew's birthday are about a week apart and Zach really thinks he needs one, he will be 6. Travis will be 2, and to keep things simple, 2 snakes it is) I am heading to the hardware store for some pipe! I believe it is going to be a green summer too around here folks!

*Edited to add: The Sneaky Snake Pattern is available, leave me a comment if you are interested! I will email it to you! If there is enough interest, I will work on making it into a pdf file...

We made the Asian Pork Satays from Cuisine Grilling again last night, and we remembered to get a picture.

I only made half of the marinate, and it was still plenty, so I will edit the recipe shortly! It's super high in sodium!
A lot of bloggers out there have a project ticker in their sidebar, however, I am completely dense when it comes to super cool things like that and have no earthly idea how to add one!  Aren't these GREAT!!! They only take one skein of the homespun with 2 strands held together. AND they fit ME great until Brian shoved his huge paws in them and told me how much longer he wanted his in the wrist, thumb, and palm! Thanks HONEY!!!!

I may spend the weekend, or at least a few hours of the weekend re-writing this pattern in the round, the seam is kind of bulky and annoying when you have them on, but other than that, they are great mittens. Does it sound like I already made up my mind? Yep, I do believe I will be frogging the bolero this weekend. NOW I just have to find the right scarf and hat patterns, yeah!

Oh, and have you seen these yet? Can I tell you how much I adore them? I truely do adore them and I want a pair that are cabled, and a pair that are cabled with a different cable than the first. People, you will be seeing a lot of these in my future. I love making wristlets! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making these! 1 Skein of yarn! Yes, only one! With left over!!! I don't know, do you think they need little crochet flowers clustered at the back of the hand? PLEASE!!! ADD YOUR COMMENT and tell me your opinion... I really can't decide!

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend!