Italian Wedding soup

I'm going through a bit of a phrase where I only want to eat soup. Maybe it's due to the cold weather, but I've been on a soup kick.  Here's my version of the Italian wedding soup. It's so easy to make, and I love how soups in general make the house smell great, and fills the air with warmth.  I love to serve this dish with French bread, and fresh grated parmesan cheese. It's an economial meal for a growing family of five. 
Here's how: Ground beef, 1 egg, olive oil, salt, pepper, Italian bread crumbs, dried basil flakes, garlic powder, grated parmesan cheese, six cans of 14.5 ounces of chicken broth, diced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, sliced mushrooms, fresh spinach, diced carrots, or any favorite vegetable, and 1 cup of orzo pasta.
First start off my making the meatballs.. Dump a package of ground beef into a bowl, add 1 egg, 1/2 c. of grated parmesan cheese, teaspoon of salt, pepper, garlic powder, 1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs, and mix together. Form small balls and set aside.
In a large dutch oven on low heat, add olive oil, 1 diced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, salt, pepper, dried basil, and stir until translucent. Add all six cans of chicken stock, add meatballs, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and shimmer for a few hours (2-3). Add carrots, mushrooms, and orzo pasta. I usually don't measure veggies just put in as much as you like, and whatever veggie you like. At this point you can add water to bring broth level up. Before serving add spinach, and stir.
A hardy meal your whole family will love. Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken soup

Homemade Chicken soup is one of our family staple meals. It's easy to make, and what I love about it is you can transform this simple soup into other yummy dishes for your family. Some simple changes can be is to add Matzo Ball. I use Streits Mix. You can also add rice, homemade noodles, or thicken the broth to make a gravy. Once the broth is thicken you can use it as a filling to make individual pot pies with homemade or pre-made pie shells.
This is how I make this soup:  Two 24oz. chicken broth (Sam's Club), 1 whole chicken, 1 diced onion, 4 diced garlic cloves, 1/4 c. olive oil, 1 diced stalk of celery, 4 peeled & diced carrots, 1 bag fresh French green beans, salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
In large stock pot add oil on medium heat. Then onion, and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add broth and whole chicken. Spices next. I recommend you decide how much you would like to add to your soup. We are all different. I prefer less salt, and more basil. Cover stock pot and simmer for a few hours. Yes hours. You want to have the best chicken soup you ever had don't you? In a few hours the chicken will be soft and falling off the bone. I take chicken out of pot, and put in a large bowl to cool. Remove meat, shred and put back in soup pot. Add veggies, and cook until tender. I usually taste the broth at this point to see if any seasoning are needed. Use your leftover soup, and be create. Happy souping!
                                              

Decor Mesh Christmas wreath

 

I have fallen in love the decor mesh. It's my favorite new crafting tool. Unfortunately it's not available in my area, but I was able to find it a Hobby Lobby in abundance.  I can't wait for the after Christmas sales because I will be one of those crazy shoppers waitingfor the store to open. I found many videos on YouTube.com showing different methods of using decor mesh.

Thanksgiving burlap flowers

I've hung the same wreath for Thanksgiving for the past 4 years, so I finally decided to make a new one using burlap flowers. I love the rustic look it gives to a holiday wreath.

Love Puff Pastries

My son wakes me up early morning, and says "Mom I need to bring a snack for the teachers today." What do you do? Pull out the puff pastries. I love puff pastries because you just roll them out with flour, and fill with anything you like. Today I filled with mustard, spinach, & cheese. I also love to fill them with cut up Grannie Apples, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll out the top pastry and layer on top. Seal with egg white, and fork. Pop in the oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Perfect, and delicious everytime.

Decorating Cake

With Halloween just around the corner, and the weather turning cold I'm feeling the itch of Martha inside me. I don't know what it is about this time of year, but something inside me yearns to create, create, create. Since this year's budget is tight I've been just using what I can find around the house. These cakes I made are not the prettiest, but seem to have a ghoulies quality about them. Just perfect for the holiday.

Decorative Halloween garland

Still feeling in the crafting mood... I decided to add garland to an everyday flower container for my front porch. I will probably fill with fall leaves to complete this look. I used pipe cleaner to line the rim of the container then added ribbon, and cat decor. I secured by twisting pipe cleaner to hold everything. Only took a few minutes. Happy decorating!

Burlap Halloween wreath

I have this old Thanksgiving wreath in the garage. Since I'm on a bargain these days I decided to go through my craft items to spruce up this premade wreath for Halloween.  I used pipe cleaners to arch the burlap, ribbon, craft rings, and craft ball to the wreath. That's it. Easy...

Halloween Hair Clip

Now that my house is  completely reorganized my crafting juices are in full swing. Perfect timing for the holiday season. I found my tub of fabric, so I started with a simple burlap hair clip. This is one of the easiest accessories to make.  You take any scrap fabric that's at least 1" x 12". On  the long side of the fabric sew a running stitch. Gather together to form a circle, and sew knot to secure. That's it. I added a spider ring to the  center with a needle and thread. I secured back with felt fabric to cover work area, and added a hair clip. My little monkey loves the extra accents for her holiday outfits.

Halloween Face Painting Ideas

Now that I've discovered the wonders of face paint. I love using it with makeup. The combination of the two has given me another level of play. I can't wait to create some more fun looks.

Hot Chocolate Love

I love that the weather is getting chilly. Although I'm not of fan of cold weather...  I love this time of year that I can make my monkey's some fun hot chocolate before they go to school. It really make you feel like the holiday season is upon us.  Enjoy the season!

Face Painting Fun

I recently added face painting to my service menu, and it's been an unexpected treat for me. I love hanging out with my monkeys, and their little friends. This brought together two things I enjoy. Creating, and kids. It's been such a delight for me, and I really enjoy seeing them so happy with their whimsical face work.

Witch broom Halloween Treats

The crafting season has begun! This is my favorite part of the year. I love to make handmade crafts during the holiday season. This is the only time of year I seriously become a night owl. I can get so zoned out making crafts, and putting the details touches on my projects I lose all sense of time. Here's my first craft project this season, and I saw this idea in the October issue of Martha Stewart. She is my craft muse. I purchased small brown bags from Michaels. They had several different color options which would also be fun to use. I filled one bag with candy. I used Hershey Kisses, and candy corn. Then I use a second bag pre cut with vertical cuts and place on top of first bag. Inserted clean sticks for broom handle, and tied with ribbon. I added Halloween rings for effect. I can't wait to pass these out to all my little house visitors. I hope this inspires you to get into the crafting mood.

Shellac nails anyone???

One of the best investments I have ever made! I am a big Shellac lover, or I should say correctly "Gel Polish Lover."  People get confused by Gel Polish, Manicure overlay, Gel Manicure, and Shellac. Well all these names fall under the umbrella of Gel Polish. They brand name may be called "Shellac", but they are all soft gel products. I do a lot of nails for brides, and the one thing I notice is I hear more complaints about a French manicure gone wrong, and sometimes right before the I do's. I also suggest to all my brides to get a thorough manicure, and then a gel polish French manicure. This will ensure they will have no problems before, during, or after the wedding. They are easy to apply, remove, stay shiny, and last up to 14 days. I love them!  Next time you're thinking about getting a French manicure.... think about getting a gel polish French. I should also warn you that not all manicurist are well trained in the practice of gel polish, so follow your gut instinct.  Happy fingers!

Fabric Flowers

I needed to find an economical way to display 8 x10 photographs of my work with clients, so I decided on just using plain black poster board accented with fabric flowers, and organza. I added black ribbon to the center of the flower to give it some "pop", but I love how they came out. They softened the hard edges of the poster board, and I liked the 3 dimensional look it give my photos.

Organza Hair Accessories for everyone...

At this same bridal fair, I needed to pass out a free item to all booth guests. I decided to make a ton of these organza flowers since I love the way they look in updos. They are really easy to make, and very affordable for me. I had a ton of these lefted over, so I'm planning on using them to accent something for my little monkey.

Burlap Art, Flowers, & accessories

 

I received had my own booth at a Bridal Happy Hour to advertise my business. I really wanted my booth to represent me, so I thought it would be a great idea to make burlap, canvas coverages over a plain artist canvas. They looks so great, I decided to create word stencils out of freezer wrap paper, and cut out with an x-acto knife. I laid the stencil over the burlap canvas, and used a foam paint brush to add black craft paint. I made a rosettes out of burlap, and pink ribbon for the centers. I love how they came out, and I really thought it really shows that I am a creative person at heart. I like the rosettes so much I decided to make a few hair accessories out of them also. I can envision these rosettes on a lapel of a men's sports jacket for a beautiful country wedding. I hope you like!

Interesting Back to School Lunch Ideas

Well it's that time of year that all our monkeys are back in school. It's been great for the kids seeing old friends, and familiar teachers. I love the idea of being back on a regular routine, and having some me time! Of course we all promise ourselves that this year we are going to be more organized, stay on top of all their activities, and make homemade lunches. I'm not a fan of school lunches. I know it's convenience, but have you seen school lunches? Canned, frozen entrees, and for some strange reason everything is yellow in color? Not my idea of a healthy lunch. Scary is more like it... For you moms thinking about what to do for home lunch ideas. Here's a few I found on the Food Network website. I also get stuck with being creative with lunches, so here's a few interesting back to school lunch ideas. Check it out!

Craft Ideas for the monkeys

Don't you have days where you can't think of things for the monkeys to do? I know I do. Here are a few quick easy project for those days the kids are bored, and are begging you to give them  something fun to do. Most of these are things we have around the house stashed in some old box, and need little set up effort from you. I'll be having my little monkey test some of these projects out today.

Homemade Wedding Hair Accessories

Recently I've been having my wedding hair designs professional photographed, so I thought it would be a great idea to incorporate my love of crafting into making wedding hair accessories. Here's my little monkey helping me model these homemade hair accessories made out of  organza, and burlap fabric. Here's the link to show you how to make these Homemade Fabric Flowers

Burlap hanger

Here's a cute way to accessorize a hanger for a special occasion dress. I use my wedding dress for this photograph. I found it in one of my daughter's play bags. All I did was wrap scrape pieces of burlap around the hanger securing it with hot glue. I made the organza flower, and hot glued pearls in the center. If you want to know how to make the flower here's the tutorial link. This would be a great project for any detailed wedding photo...

Burlap rosettes

It's been a while since I focused on crafting; however, my new business has absorbed my focus lately. I recently did an all day bridal photo shoot, and that inspired me to craft again. I said to myself "How could I make the photos better?" Crafting that's how!!! My 1st love... It felt amazing coming to this conclusion. How unexpected how things can come full circle. I had to take a moment... Okay! I've been interested in burlap for awhile, so I started there. It's actually an easy fabric to alter. I wasn't expecting that. For the construction of the rosettes, I basically cut a 2" strip. I folded in half (the long way), and tied a knot at one end. Then I folded the remaining strip in half, and coiled around the set up knot with occasional twisting of the folded burlap. I hot glued the flower where I needed extra support. I added burlap to my oversize message board. I bought a dollar store trash can then added burlap. I even added burlap to my nail file holder. The black ribbon in the center is added ribbon to the initial knot I made to start the rosette project. I'm thrilled with the final look. I can't wait to make more burlap rosettes for future photo shoots, but more than that I'm happy to be crafting again....

Sterilizing your Makeup Tools

Before I went to beauty school I never disinfected by tools like hair clips, nail clips etc... Now I keep a clean container under my vanity just for disinfecting my tools on a monthly time frame. I purchase my disinfected at Sally's Beauty supply store. It's called Hydrox Hyrdrocide. It's a hospital grade disinfected that I use for my tools. The basic mixture is 2 oz. to 1 gallon. For my small container I just use a teaspoon of Hydrox. I submerge my tools into the mixture for about 15 minutes. I use tongs to remove my tools, and rinse under water. I lay all my tools out on a clean towel to dry. Then I put away. I do this every month. Something you might want to think about doing yourself. We all share grooming tools, so it's the best way to clean tools.