Monday, October 12, 2009

Fall Photos

As promised, here are photos of my Fall decorating. Please excuse the fact that they are blurry. Our regular camera was damaged during the home invasion two weeks ago.














Thursday, October 8, 2009

Lentil Soup...mmmm

A favorite in our family is lentil soup...it's something that we ONLY eat when we go to a nearby restaurant, Crown Point. The hubby and kids both love it, much to my surprise for such picky eaters. So why do we only eat it a few times a year??



Primarily because I've heard that lentils can be hard to cook AND I'm afraid of not measuring up to Crown Point's famous soup. That's right, I said it...I'm intimidated! How could I possibly compete with something so delicious made by a family with YEARS of experience (not to mention that they are Greek and we all know Greek's can cook!).

I've decided though to give lentil soup a try. If I succeed then I can see it easily becoming a staple meal in our home. I'm imagining the days now of coming home from a long day of work and eating a big bowl of soup with my family.


So, do any of you have a recipe for lentil soup to share? I am still on the hunt for something hearty and delicious that will please everyone in my family. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Fall Decorating

There's no doubt about it that Fall is my ABSOLUTE favorite season. I adore the colors, smells, weather and taking my kids to a pumpkin patch not far from our home. You better believe I was at Starbucks the first week they released their "pumpkin spice latte". So why haven't I bothered to decorate yet??? Primarily because we are in the process of trying to sell our home and I don't want to distract possible buyers from looking beyond the decor. I've come to the conclusion though that I'm just going to break down and decorate anyway.

This past weekend my hubby and I broke down and bought mums, kale and hay bales. I couldn't take it anymore, I just had to do it! It was complete torture seeing beautiful flowers every time we went to Lowes and NOT buying any. I've already setup the hay bales in front of our house w/our little scarecrow. I've added a big pot of mums and whispy grass although I'm not set on keeping it there. I'm hoping to take the kids to a pumpkin patch this weekend to pick out pumpkins but in the meantime the scarecrow will just hang out and wait on his buddies.

I just love this idea found on Midwest Living's website--



















Who doesn't have a wheelbarrow sitting around anyway? Get some mums and kale and fill it up.

One of my favorite ways to decorate outside our home is to put a wreath on the door, no matter what the season or occassion is. Doesn't this wreath just screm FALL!!!





















Now for the inside, I typically pull down my cornucopia that I made a few years ago and throw some garland up in the doorway separating our kitchen from the living room. I also like these ideas for table centerpieces--























How will you decorate for Fall? I promise to post pictures of my home as soon as I'm done decorating.




Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Yummy Peanut Butter Cookies

My little chef, Griffin and I made these cookies the other night while Daddy was at the store. We had EVERY ingredient in our pantry already which was a miracle in itself. They didn't take more than 30 minutes to mix up and bake and they are SUPER yummy!

INGREDIENTS


1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

In medium bowl, cream together the shortening, sugar and peanut butter. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Press balls down using a fork dipped in sugar water.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Monday, October 5, 2009

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

Just as I thought I was back on track with blogging, our family experienced a "nightmare". My husband called me last Tuesday afternoon with something that I had hoped and prayed we would never have to deal with---our house had been broken into. I raced home in tears trying to understand it all and attempting to explain to my kids why Mommy was crying.

After spending nearly 2 hours with the police officer we were left to clean up the mess and try to grasp what had happened. I cried for hours while putting clothes back in the dresser, wondering why this happened and why it happened to us??? Not that it should happen to ANYONE but the neighborhood we currently live in has always been safe and there has never been any reason to worry about someone invading our home. No one else was broken into that day. Did they target our home because it had a "For Sale" sign in the yard? Or had someone been watching us noting our every move and schedule?

We still don't have the answers and we still at feel violated at times but I refuse to be scared in my own home! This is something that I know our family will overcome and I'm so thankful that none of us were home when "they" broke in. Please say a prayer for us and the person(s) who did this.