BUTTONS!!!

     I was organizing some of my craft and sewing items today and decided to round up all the vintage buttons I've collected from various thrift stores and put them in a clear plastic container (also found at the thrift store).  It started me thinking about why I can't pass up the chance to own more, despite having hundreds already.  Just another link from my childhood I suppose.... one of my favorite things to do at my grandma's house was go in her bedroom closet and get out the old shoebox FULL of vintage buttons.  There was every kind you could imagine; glass, plastic, metal, wood and in every color you could dream of.  I would sit on the floor and play for hours.  I would string them, pretend they were pirate treasure, and just pick them up and admire them.  Today my own collection isn't nearly as fascinating as that old shoebox, but there are wooden, pearl, glass, metal, plastic and various other materials.  Unlike grandma's...many of the buttons I have found are still on the original cards.  Some of my favorites are probably from the 1920's and are beautiful green glass.  Maybe someday I will take them off the cards and find a special project for them!

Paper doll cards

     I recently purchased these adorable paperdoll cards to use for craft projects.  I have no idea yet what I am going to do with them, but I am trying to build up supplies for when a good idea comes along, and I couldn't pass them up.  If anyone out there does paper crafts and has some ideas it would be appreciated.  I watch a few blogs out there of crafters and the things they come up with are amazing.  Feel free to use the images in your own crafts.  There were 9 total and I'd be happy to scan in the rest and share them.

ZOEY

This is the newest addition to my family, a toy Yorkie named Zoey.  I'll tell the story of how she came to be some other day, but I wanted to get a picture of her on here so I could share it with everyone.

I'm Going Nuts!!!

    Ha!  Those who know me well are probably not surprised by this (right Cat? :-) )  Not the insane kind, it is pecan season here in Texas and since there are pecan trees on the property where I live I can pick as many as I can find for FREE!!!  There may be lots of shocked people at the fact that I am posting, but now that I'm finished with graduate school I will have more time for playing around with the blog.  If anyone has any great pecan recipes I would love it if you would share them.  There will be a few pecan pies in my future, but other than that I'm open to suggestions for the 50 + pounds that I will end up with. 

Gourmet Friday's

In the interest of keeping life a little more interesting, I wanted to bring back something that I used to do (ok, translation; before I got lazy). Gourmet Friday. No, that doesn't mean stove top and hotdogs. Tonight I will have the following menu: Phyllo wrapped salmon, saffron baked rice, heirloom tomato and basil salad and poached pears. The phyllo will be the interesting part as I have only worked with it a few times. I'm not too worried though, it's a pretty easy menu and I have the scariest thing covered already (I know, don't keep you all in suspence, right?). I already have the saffron! I'll let everyone know how it turned out. Tomorrow I pick up my angel food boxes so I'm looking forward to creating stuff out of all the good things in there. If you've never tried angel food the meat is SO good! This time I ordered 3 boxes: The regular box, the grilling box and the fruit and vegetable. I'll try to add a pic (probably all loaded in the car because I have to be at work shortly after it gets picked up. Happy Friday everyone!

Oh, and I chose the pic because I just happened to find a copper pan (very similar to this one) at the thrift store yesterday for $2!!!!!

Crockpot Cooking

Like most of the rest of you, my budget has been drastically slashed. This is one of those times where having the ability to stretch a dollar or make something from nothing is essential. Many people would be feeling sorry for themselves or wondering what in the world they will do, but for me it is more of a challenge. I signed up recently for angel food ministries meal boxes. It provides you with meat, veggies, fruit, dairy and usually a starch of some sort, and you can also get extra packages depending on what your needs are. Since I am in San Antonio and it's always grilling weather, I added the grilling box (consists of different meats for cooking on the grill). Now, what to do with it all! Some of you may be familiar with a site called Hillbilly Housewife. If not you should check it out on the enclosed link. This site even has specific recipes just based on the angel food ministries meal boxes and an emergency menu if you are in a really tough spot. Tonight I will be making the pinto beans with ground beef. Sounds almost like a chili, without all the seasoning of a chili. There are tons of recipes so if you are stuck for an idea head on over. Even though this isn't under "crockpot" recipes I'm going to stick it all in my crockpot for a few hours and just enjoy at dinner time. I think I'm going to get most of my meals off this site for awhile! Enjoy.

Christmas has past

I have been promising my friend Laura (hi Laura!) that I would post a picture of some of my Christmas cards this year. I participated in a card exchange and got so many beautiful cards and it was lots of fun. This isn't all of them, but there are probably about 70 in this picture.