Something New for etsy!

{and no, it's not this cute hat that I'm wearing}

{and yes those are vertical blinds...don't judge...I miss my shutters but "Barton Cottage" will have to do for now! I sound so snobby! I'm really not....just really really really dislike those window treatments!! Sorry if I offended you and you have them and you love them!}

So, I have an esty store that I haven't made anything for in a loooong while due to my life kind of falling apart last year. Some people get really strong in a crisis and plow through and are as tough as nails and able to cope with life like usual but me? No! I had to fall apart a bit and that meant putting everything on the back burner. It was all I could do to keep things normal for my family. There was no room for any creativity.I was in "hunker down" mode with my children and focusing on them and putting everything else last. My husband needed me for support and that had to come first as it should. Now things are slowly coming back to a normal pace for me. I feel so blessed right now despite 2009!

Do you wanna read some honesty from a mom who at a younger age than I did has figured out a lot about life as a mom? Check out Rachel's blog!

So, back to etsy......I have some interesting things in my creative little wacko head of mine that aren't hair bows! LOL Can't wait for this weekend when I get to make it all happen! {I hope}I love having my creative side back with me again.

Lanie

It Worked!

I just imported my old blog (Lanie's Life) to Pemberley Court! YAY, now everything is in one place. Life feels just a bit less cluttered for me now. In my updated editing for blogger though I can't find the spell check! I can't live with out that!!!

New Project

So, I am thinking about making another dress like the one my daughter is wearing and putting it on my etsy site. I really liked how it turned out and it is so appropriate for 8 year old girls that are getting baptized (that's the age we baptize in our church) learn more here.

I'll tell you why I love it:

      1, It's a dress that she can wear again

2, It's not a poofy flower girl dress that makes her feel like she is still 4

3, It's a Project Runway pattern that I can actually make and customize!

4. It looks adorable with boots and will be perfect with ballet flats in the Spring and Summer.

Dinner Menu

{Yes, that's Tracy Porter again! I heart her}

So, I really do try to plan my menu for the week and shop accordingly. I am finding it really hard though to be consistent. Do you have this problem? If not, PLEASE feel free to share your tips with me! Cooking for a family of 6 can be overwhelming at times to keep thins fresh as well as throw in our all time favorites.

For this week {Yes I know it will be Wednesday tomorrow} so for the rest of this week I am thinking of:

Twice Baked Potatoes, Grilled Chicken and a Vegetable

One of our Fave's is Garlic Herb Chicken Sausage {from Trader Joe's} Penne Pasta with Alfredo and Steamed Broccoli with Green Bell Pepper and Shredded Carrots.

See how far I got? Yeah, not very.

Laundry Detergent Recipe

Laundry Detergent Recipe

OK! I made the video and it was soooo fun! But too bad no one will ever see it! I didn't even look like my self nor sound the way I think I sound!!!! Can we say self conscience? LOL

Anyway, here is the recipe and directions to make your own. Above are the ingredients with pictures of what I use.

You will need:

A 3 or 5 gallon bucket or container with lid

3/4 C Borax (20 Mule Team)

3/4 C Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer) Don't confuse this with Baking Soda!

1 Bar of Soap grated . (I used Ivory, my Granny back in the old days used Fels Naptha which you can still get today and lots of people prefer it. I used Ivory because I have it in my storage)

You will then need water at 3 different times during process.

First 6 Cups

then 1 quart very hot water

finally 1 1/2 Gallons

Ready?

Grate your soap and add it to a large pot on med high heat. Right away add 1 cup of water (from the 6 cups listed above)

Melt as much of it as you can befor adding the next cups. Once it has melted about 85% you can then add the rest of the water one cup at a time. When the soap is completely melted you will

add: Borax and Washing soda. Stir until the powders are dissolved.

In the meantime get your 1Qt of hot water and add it to your 5 gallon bucket (or at least 3 gallon size)

Pour the mixture into the bucket and then add the remaining 1 1/2 gallons of water.

Stir really well and you're done! I use my old detergent cup to measure how much I need. I would say about 1/2 cup should do it for a large load!

It will have the consistency of Jello or something like that. It will not produce a bunch of suds either. It's not supposed to. Suds don't make your clothes clean.

I got the Borax and the Washing Soda at my local Albertsons for around $3.50 each.

I have been using this for the past couple of months and I LOVE it! It has been great for Blake's sensitive skin and is also really cost effective! Only pennies to make this much detergent and you know exactly what went into it!

I love Tracy Porter...Don't You?

I have spent soooo much time on Tracy's blog. She has videos, fashion and home decorating advice and she is an amazing designer to top that! You simply must go and visit her!

Food Glorious Food

Caramelized Kielbasa with brown sugar and BBQ sauce

Other wise known as "Man Food"

This recipe I got from my brother. He made it for us a few years ago and it was Delish!

So simple:

One link of Kielbasa

2 T brown sugar(my donation to the recipe)

about 1/2 C of your favorite BBQ sauce

Slice kielbasa in bite size pcs. cook till brown on both sides then add brown sugar and cook for a minute but don't burn! Then add BBQ sauce and cook for another few minutes then call everyone to the table!

{Never mind the yellow stuff that man food sometimes has K?}

and......

I have been meaning to buy these bread bowls because my kids just love them at Panera but I hate forking out that kind of cash for soup and bread! So, I thought about what my kids like best as far as soup goes and came up with this recipe that EVERYONE raved and ranted about at the table and yes, they even went as far as to ask for SECONDS!!!!!

Here is the recipe

Creamy Chicken Soup

3/4 C. finely diced carrots

3/4C. sliced celery

1/2C. finely diced onion

Saute these ingredients in 1 T butter and 1 T Olive Oil until tender

Add 2 Chicken breasts diced and cook 'til no longer pink.

Add:

3 dashes/shakes of poultry seasoning

2 T chopped fresh parsley

2 T flour

(stir in with all ingredients in pot)

6-8 cups of water

3 cans cream of chicken soup

2 T. corn starch mixed with 2-3 T cold water to thicken

Salt and pepper to taste

You can adjust the amount of water and cream of chicken soup to your size family.

We like left overs and we love love love soup so I made more.

Homemade croutons

Yum-o! Go check out the recipe at:

Our Best Bites

Come to my new old blog!

As life changes so must I. I have decided to close this blog {well, for now anyway} think of it more like a move! I am re-opening my Pemberley Court blog to simplify things and to get to that creative side of me again. Merging everything onto one blog will be much easier! So be sure to change this on your google reader and on your saved fave's spot where ever that is on your computer!

I'm Back!

I have taken a BIG break from this blog. Since We moved out of "Norland Park" and into "Barton Cottage" many things have changed. Just as the Dashwood girls had to adjust {yes, I know they are fictional characters}I have had to adjust to many changes in my life. Change is hard and it takes a long time. I have made my self into a small shy flower that needed time to blossom. The shy flower is gone!!! {OK, I have been emmersed too much in J.A. lately!}

Love Jane Austen?

Then you absolutely must visit this place I just watched the movie Sense and Sensibility again yesterday (with a cup of tea of course) and I always wondered what the outside of Norland Park looked like. Hopefully someday soon I will get the chance to tour all the stately country manors of England!!

While you are on Hooked on Houses, check out all the pics of famous movie star homes and famous homes used in the movies!!!! My personal favorite house used in a movie is the one from The Pacifier! Love it love it love it!!!!

Antiquing for the first time with no little ones in tow!

Today was a true first for me~ There's the first day of school the first day of work etc. but for me today was the first time that after I dropped Blake off at Preschool I went to this HUGE antique shop where I got lost. I was there for 2 hours!! No one to say "don't touch that!!!!" or "Please don't touch that again, or I swear if you touch one more thing!!!!!!" I have to admit that I didn't miss any of my sweet hearts while I was there. It was like my Disneyland!

There was soooooo much to look at that I didn't know where to start. I would take a step in one direction and then stop and turn because something else caught my eye. I am sure the lady behind the counter was looking at me strangely!

Here's what I didn't buy:(because I am trying not to impulse shop.....if I still want it and it is still there than maybe!)

The old hand mixer/egg beater
An old fashioned like my mom and her mom used to have flour sifter that you hand crank
A cast iron biscuit pan
A Robin egg blue pan (for Camryn to play with)
The sweetest Demitasse cups (for Toad in the hole) see my previous post!
A huge silver cake stand sectioned platter that was amazing!

Toad in a hole

So, I totally love Judie Byrd's Kitchen! It's yet another cooking show but with less fancy and more reality! She's not perfect but so cute and funny!

Check out Toad in a hole recipe! It looked so cute and fun and my kids can't wait for me to make it tomorrow! I'll be sure to post a pic!

Lanie

Pizookie on Steroids....

On our wedding night we ate at the BJ's in Seal Beach since we hardly had a bite because we were so busy dancing and talking and all that stuff you do when you are a newly wed couple! Down the street from our bed and breakfast was a BJ's and we b-lined it there and indulged in pizza and a Pizookie!
Flash forward 13 years and 4 kids later to the past Monday night when for Family Home Evening we went to BJ's and treated the kids to a couple of Pizookies. It was like the angels in Heaven were singing when the waiter brought out that icy hot delight!

They loved it.....actually a huge understatement! They devoured them like a starving mother wolf with a fresh kill in her den!!!!

Last night we had the craving again and decided to make our own Mammoth Pizookie...of course I didn't get a picture b4 but here is one that BJ's took and you can see what was left of ours as the "after" picture!

Happy New Year!

Out with the old and in with the new. For me that means purging and cleaning my life, home and now blog. I need to re-arrange my layout and change things up a bit. I am so sad that some of my blogging friends have given up on their blogs. 1st it was a month then 2 then 4 then 8 months and no posts!!! I will miss them. I love keeping up on what's happening but I understand that sometimes other things are just more important. I get that. And with Facebook now it seems like that has taken a lot of our bloggers away. Now onto the house and the "stuff" in my life that I just don't need. Oh there is so much!!!

Happy New Year!

Lanie