Spring has sprung!

Well, it looks like Spring has decided to grace us with her presence.  Once the snow melts, I'll be dying to create some DIY! These are some projects that might be calling my name.....  These images came from one of my Pinterest boards.

 

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20504617,00.html

http://dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com/2012/01/god-save-pallet-reclaimed-pallets.html

We have a spot in our backyard that butts up against the side of our garage.  Because of the two big trees casting shade, grass does not grow there.  I know that'll be the perfect place for a patio!  We'll keep our patio table and beverage tub stand there.  Originally we had thought about doing pavers, but then realized it was probably going to be pretty pricey.  Next, we decided on stamped concrete.  That's still my dream patio, but I think we're going to keep it on the cheap, and use pea gravel.  We have a decent sized area: 16'x24'.  So hopefully we can get this done once all the snow is gone!

Downton Abbey

 

I love the show "Downton Abbey," and I knew the castle was real, but I didn't know anything about it. After reading this Yahoo! article, I found out it's open for tours.  When I was in England two summers ago, I wish I had known about this.  I would have loved to tour Highclere Castle.  But I doubt I would've been able to convince my brother and dad that it would be fun.  Mom, on the other hand, probably would've been all for it!  I guess I'll just have to go back.....

Winter blues, go away!

I'm getting sick of all the snow here.  I'm ready to fast forward to spring to work on our house projects: kitchen, paint the mudroom, and build a sawhorse desk.  Possibly paint the living room walls.  Then mother nature is more than welcome to hurry in summer!  I want to get out on the water in my new kayak!!  Hubby surprised me with it for my birthday!

(tweaked a little by instagram) :)

One thing that dawned on me the other night: it's green.  And, yes, I knew that it's green.  I'm not color-blind, and I do know my colors lol.  When we first saw it at Dick's (Sporting Goods), I fell in love with it.  The reasoning behind this: the 2013 Pantone Color of the Year is Emerald.  So, naturally, that can mean any tint, tone, or shade of green will be popular.  Maybe my subconscious was telling me something, telling me to love it, and bonus! it's green!  Or maybe it was just a coincidence lol.

A kayak is considered a boat (Noun, A small vessel propelled on water by oars, sails, or an engine.), I had to give it a name!  It's bad luck for a boat to be on the water without a name.  I think everybody learned that in "Forrest Gump."

After researching boat and kayak names, I settled on this one.  Sadly, I cannot take credit for coming up with it.  Oh well.  Since kayaks are obviously used on the water, I wanted something water related.  And I thought it would be a nice tie-in to have the font look like water.  Cute, huh??  I love it!  I found the website, Custom Online Signs, through a kayak chat forum.  I chose the Aladdin Expanded font in Peacock Blue.  (I chose blue to represent the water)  It's a vinyl lettering decal, made for boats.  The price and shipping was very reasonable, too.  I made one for my husband -- Fat Paddler, in the Agatha font.  Don't ask, but he loves it!

I love pink hibiscus, as well, so I ordered a vinyl decal for the bow of the kayak.  This beauty came from Vinyl Disorder.  It's 6" in length.  This might go on the stern.  I'm hoping they'll correct my order (I was sent this one when I ordered the decal with 3 hibiscus) for free.  And the new one can go on the bow.

Here are the deets on my kayak.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas!

Looking for a quick and easy meal for dinner?  Try these chicken enchiladas.  The slow-cooker does all the leg-work!  Well, you'll have to assemble them, but that's no biggie.

Start with raw chicken breasts.  I used 3.  Toss in some diced jalapeno and diced onion.  Pour 1 whole can (I used the bigger size) of enchilada sauce over everything.  You may have to give it a little stir.  Bake on high for 8 hours.  Or, like I did, on high for 6.

Using two forks, shred the chicken.  Since the crock-pot has tenderized the chicken, this is very easy and doesn't take long at all.  Preheat the oven to 250 before you shred.  Drain off as much of the cooking liquid as you can.

 Spoon the chicken, pepper, & onion mixture down the middle of the tortillas.  Fold the sides over and place seam-side down in a baking or casserole dish.  I got 6 out of the 3 breasts.

Using the 2nd can of enchilada sauce (either 10-oz or a bigger size), pour over the enchiladas.  Top with taco/Mexican blend cheese.  Bake at 250 for 15 min.

Now wasn't that easy?!?!  I've made these twice and they're a big hit with the husband.  These make great leftovers, too!  Great for lunch the next day, or again as dinner!  You can also switch it up with ground beef/chicken/turkey, shredded beef, or shredded pork.

Sew Amazing

I've inherited my mother's sewing machine, and I've been trying to find small (and easy!) projects so I can hone my skills.  So far I've made wristlet key fobs and coffee coozies.

 

This is the Kenmore Ultra-Stitch 8 & more than 35 years old

 These are just 1.25" heavy duty cotton webbing, 1" wide fabric or ribbon, and 1.25" key fob hardware.

I took a cardboard coozie from a coffee shop to use as a template and traced it onto a rectangular piece of interfacing.  I stacked 2 pieces of interfacing and stitched them down the center so they'd stay in place together.  After cutting out the shape on the interfacing I laid it down on a scrap piece of fabric incorrect side up (in this case leopard!).  Using an iron I made heat-set creases/flaps by fold the fabric over the edge to create the curved shape over the interfacing.  Working 1 side at a time I stitched it down.  For me, each took about 30-45 minutes.  The ends are over-lapped and hand-stitched.  I didn't allow myself enough of a seam allowance on the first one, and I kept losing my bottom threading.

Articles

I found some home-related articles on Yahoo! that I thought were interesting.  First up, is interior latex paint.  This Saturday, ACE Hardware is giving away a FREE quart of the Clark+Kensington paint.  You just have to head over to their website to print the coupon.  They did this last March, too; every Saturday this deal was going on.  "Limit 1 per household per calendar year."  Last year, I wasn't limited to the Clark+Kensington brand; I was able to choose an Ace Hardware brand, Ace Paint.  It was called Teal Coast, or something like that.  Now, which color to choose this go-around.....

 

The second is slightly less glamorous.  It's an article about a product for siding.  Yes, siding.  It's durable like the vinyl, brick, and clapboard that's out there, and great for all locations of the U.S.