I'm A Terrible Liar

Hey all! Happy Saturday to you! What a beautiful day we are having, perfect weather for the big Iowa-Iowa State Showdown, go Hawks!

You probably wonder where the title to this post came from? Well let me share a little story with you that will make it all perfectly clear! About a month ago, Nick and I were driving to Des Moines to do some shopping. On the way I was flipping thru a Silpada catalog and I said "Honey, I found my birthday present". It was a simple, but very pretty, silver watch. He says something like oh yeah or oh thtat's nice, not seeming interested at all. Normally we don't do much for gifts for birthdays or holidays because when we want something we just go buy it. So I totally forgot about this watch, I mean I didn't forget, but I never thought he would actually get it anyway. I've come to the realization in our short, just over 3 year marriage, that my husband rarely pays attention to the things I say. I mean, I think he comprehends them when I say them, for the most part, but if I ask him the next day about something that we talked about, he acts like I had never said a word about it. Plus, he was driving! Anyone that knows Nick, knows that he cannot multi-task, so for me to think he would pay enough attention to what I pointed out to actually remember it, while he was driving? Who was I kidding? So imagine my surprise when I get home from work yesterday, go to the mailbox to find this package. It is addressed to Nick. From Silpada. Are you kidding me????? He actually remembered and planned ahead enough to order it and get it shipped, before my birthday was even here? Who stole my husband?! So I immediately feel so bad that I have seen this package. I walk halfway up the driveway and decide to take all of the mail and put it back in the mailbox. I was going to pretend when he gave it to me on my birthday that I had never seen it!

I was at a bridal shower when Nick got home from work last night. When I get home later on he says, so did you get the mail today. This is where my awesome lying skills come into play. No!! He smiles, why not? Because it was raining when I got home. Now did I really think he was going to believe that? I LOVE getting the mail. That is the first thing I do when I get home at night. He cracks up laughing as do I. I was totally busted. Damn, I was going to just act so surprised when you gave it to me! He knew my scheme from the second he opened the mailbox and saw the mail still in there!

So thank you Honey! Thank you for paying attention and being thoughtful enough to put in the effort of contacting Hannah, ordering my gift, in time I might add, and calling me out on my lie. You know me too well and I love you for that! :)

Have a great Saturday everyone! I am going to spend my day working on some cards while I watch the Hawks kick some Cyclone butt!

Things I Like Thursday

I hope you are all having a great Thursday so far! I am so happy that it is Thursday, it has been the longest short week ever!! Just a few projects today as I am in a huge hurry and don't have a lot of time to look for any more.

A pretty fall mirror from All Thingz Related.



A fall pillow from Cluck Cluck Sew.



A fun halloween wreath from Write it Down.



A painted pennant pillow from Tatertots and Jello.



As you can see, I am still on the fall kick! What can I say, I just love it! You will probably be surprised to know I have yet to pull out any of my fall decor (except for the quick project I made that I showed you yesterday!) I am just not quite ready to give up on summer yet.

Happy Thursday!

Oh How I LOVE 3 Day Weekends!

Can I just tell you how very excited I am to have THREE 3-day weekends in a row?! That's right, three of them. Obviously last weekend was a three day weekend because of the Labor Day holiday on Monday! Did you do anything fun over your long weekend? Normally I would tell you that we went boating, but I have a little secret to tell you...some of you may already know. We SOLD our boat!! Can you even believe it? For those of you that know us well, know that boating is our favorite pastime and my husbands second true love. Our boat was practically our child! Well we have decided to take a boating break for the time being. Let me tell you, I even surprised myself when there were more than a couple of tears in my eyes as I watched it drive away behind something other than my black F150. But, then I looked at our bank account a couple of days later and there was a pretty huge smile on my face when I saw that loan balance and it was a big, fat 0!!

So, now that I have shared that earth shattering news with you I will fill you in on the excitement of our weekend! All in all it was very relaxing and enjoyable. I spent darn near the entire day on Saturday sewing a purse (more on that in a bit). Sunday was just going to be spent cleaning the house and doing those things that I didn't do on Saturday, but I had to take a little break from that. My cousin and his wife welcomed their second baby on Saturday afternoon and my mom and I just HAD to go see her. I wish I had a picture to show you because she is absolutely beautiful. I mean pretty much a perfect baby. Her name is Layla Marie, isn't that a lovely name?! Then I spent the rest of the day doing my housework. Monday we headed to Chariton for part of the day for a late lunch to celebrate my dad's 53rd birthday! Happy belated birthday Dad!

When we got home on Monday I decided to do a quick fall craft. I ran to the Dollar Tree and gathered my supplies. I found this idea at one of the many blogs I read, unfortunately I just can't remember which one! You will need the following supplies: a glass cylinder vase, a glass candle stick, a narrow glass candle that will fit in the vase, artificial leaves in fall colors, and E6000 glue. This project is so simple and pretty much self explanatory. You just glue the candlestick to the bottom of the vase, stick the candle in, and drop some leaves in! I can't wait to see it with some evergreen for winter!



This week is going super fast since it is a short one! Tomorrow night is another Stampin' night at Susie's, so that will be fun. Friday night I have a bridal shower to go to for my soon-to-be sister-in-law! Then, it is time for another three day weekend! Why, you may ask?! Because Monday is my birthday and my mom and I decided to take the day off to go shopping in Des Moines all day!! I am so excited! I need some new clothes and I can't wait to see what they have out for fall. There will definitely be a couple of craft store visits during the day as well! Then I have three days of work and yet another three day weekend! I am taking Friday off to have a garage sale with a good friend of mine! I don't have a lot of faith in selling all of my junk, but it will be fun to just spend some time with her and have a day off of course.

A very busy September so far and many more things to come so I think the month will be over before we know it!

I am sure you are dying to hear more about the purse that I made huh? For some reason last week I just decided that I really wanted to try making my own purse. I headed to Wal-Mart and found a pattern for one that I liked and purchsed my fabric. I have never used a pattern to sew anything, so let's just say I was a little bit overwhelmed when I opened up the instructions! I decided that there was surely an easier pattern out there for a beginner like me, so I headed to Etsy. I found a great pattern from a vendor called June and July. They emailed me the pattern and instructions within 24 hours to get started! This pattern was much easier to follow!!

I won't go into great detail today about actually sewing this purse, but I will tell you that it was a bit of a challenge. I had to undo my stitches on the top of the purse a couple of times because I was confused and messed it up! The purse turned out great, but I would change a couple of things next time. I think I will use a heavier fabric and a heavier interfacing next time so the purse has a little more body and stability to it.



Well, I am off to get more stuff together for the garage sale. Have a great evening!

Food Friday: Chicken Strip Wrap with Sweet Mustard

I saw Sandra Lee make this on her Food Network show, Money Saving Meals. They sounded really good! I think this is actually the first recipe I have made that I have seen on the Food Network. I have made this a few times, including Wednesday night, which made me realize, I hadn't shared it with you yet!

Sorry there is no picture, I can't find one on the Food Network website and I haven't taken a picture when I have made them. Someday I will learn that bloggers ALWAYS take pictures of something they plan to blog about!

Chicken Strip Wrap with Sweet Mustard
1 (5 to 6 pound) fryer chicken (I use about 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup panko bread crumbs (I can't find these, so I use corn flake crumbs. I used regular bread crumbs the first time and they weren't very crispy)
4 whole-wheat flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 head iceburg lettuce, shredded
1 pickle, diced
For the Sweet Mustard:
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the legs, thighs and wings. These pieces will not be used in this recipe, so save them for something else. Remove the chicken breasts from the bone and discard the skin. Cut each breast into 10 strips. (I only get about 3 or 4 strips from the chicken breasts that I use).

Whisk the egg and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl and set aside. Mix flour, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste, in a resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken strips and toss to coat, set aside. Put the bread crumbs in a shallow dish or pie plate. Remove the chicken from the bag and shake off the excess flour. Coat the chicken in the egg, then dredge in the bread crumbs. Arrange the strips in a single layer, on a baking sheet, allowing space in between each strip.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until chicken is golden brown and cooked through.

For the Sweet Mustard Sauce:
In a small bowl, combine the mustard, mayonnaise, and the brown sugar. Mix until sugar dissolves completely.

Warm the tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconds to make them pliable. Lay a tortilla flat onto a work surface. Place about 5 chicken strips onto the tortilla. Drizzle with the sweet mustard sauce and top with cheese, lettuce, and pickle. Roll up the tortilla and put on a serving platter. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve.

Things I Like Thursday

I apologize in advance if you are not a fan of fall. All I can think about lately is fall!! Summer is definitely my favorite season, but fall is not far behind. I love all things fall: the crockpot meals, the warm and inviting decorations, the cozy clothing, and of course, the beautiful colors that nature provides! Since it is way to early (in my opionion) to decorate for fall, I figure it doesn't hurt to drool over some lovely fall decorating ideas here on my blog. Enjoy!


Beautiful fabric pumpkins from Sunshine in My Soul.



More fabric pumpkins from Posh Pieces. These are made by covering toilet paper rolls, how clever is that?!



All of the following ideas were found at my new favorite blog, One Pretty Thing.

A fall wreath made from scrapbook paper at Heartland Paper.


Pom Pom Pumpkins from Domestifluff.


An adorable grapevine pumpkin from Make It and Love It.


A daisykin from Room Remix.


A Fall Leaf Table Runner from Fireflies and Jellybeans.


Maple Leaf Coasters from The Long Thread.


Pumpkin Jewels from The Swell Life.


A cozy fall throw from Woman's Day Magazine.



Happy Thursday Everyone!