TABLESCAPE TUEDAY - VALENTINE'S LOVE TABLESCAPE

Hi everyone!

I hope you're doing well.   Are you staying warm?   We are definitely NOT!   It's been pretty cold up here in the Midwest!

Anyway, I hope this Valentine's Tablescape will help warm the heart and lift the spirits!  This was easy and fun to put together.   
 

I started with a black tablecloth, and topped it with some valentine's fabric I got at Joann's fabric for the runner. 

For the centerpiece, I took out a nice tray piece I got from Goodwill ages ago.  I had originally purchased it to use for a mini "s'mores bar", but I haven't gotten around to making that yet.   However, I thought this would look nice for a simple centerpiece.   The pink candles were also a Goodwill find, as was the red and white flower bowl.  Then I filled in the bottom with some sparkly red and pink heart table scatter from the Dollar Store.  

 Then, on either side of the centerpiece I put these tall glass candleholders from Old Time Pottery I got last year.   The white candles and the candy conversation hearts were a fun idea I saw on Pinterest and always wanted to do!

 

For the other touches, I used a few little snowglobes with Valentine's themes I found at the Dollar store last year, along with these cute pink flower tealight candles from Goodwill.

 

For the place settings, I used felt placemats from Dollar Tree, Silver chargers from Walmart (Christmas 2012), Dollar Tree white beaded plates and bowl, and a red and white polka-dot plate from Ross last year.  The red glasses were a Goodwill find as was the silverware and the white napkins.  I sure LOVE Goodwill...can you tell???   haha! 

 

 This is one of my favorite pictures of the table with my Monday Monthly Mantle in the background.   I love how the living room and dining room are coordinated with the seasons...one of my favorite things about our new home!!

I hope you enjoyed this TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon!!!  

This post is being added to:
Tablescape Thursday

 

 

MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE - FEBRUARY's Valentine Mantle!

Hi everyone!

I can NOT believe how quickly this last month went by!   It feels like we JUST rang in the new year!!!  It's just going by too quick!

Hard to believe it's FEBRUARY already, but we're gearing up for a good one!

Today, I'd like to share with you our Valentine's Mantle for the February MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE!   I had fun putting this one together!   

Please note, we are still working on putting up some mirrors for the full mantle experience, so I'm just going to show you the actual decor.  Our goal is to get 9 mirrored tiles up for a nice look on the wall above the mantle.  We just haven't gotten around to that yet!  lol

This mantle was a lot of fun to create.  Many of the elements here are handmade or purchased on the cheap at the thrift store!

The left and right sides of the mantle hold down some large sparkly hearts that I got a couple years ago at Michaels.  On the far left is a white pitcher I got at a thrift store last year filled with white carnations, along with some pink and red sparkly hearts.  

The "LOVE" sign was homemade.  I had seen something somewhat similar on Pinterest and wanted to make a sign like this.   I took an old canvas picture that we were not going to use anymore and painted it black.  

Then, I put this pretty scrapbook paper over it and glued it in place.  On top of that are these sparkly white letters I got for a dollar each at Michael's, which I glued on.   VOILA!  That was it!   It was fun to make and I really like how it turned out. That pop of black color seems to stand out and tie in with the black in my family picture frame and candleabra.

 Speaking of the candleabra, it was a Goodwill find, along with the little "Love" blocks..   I added some dollar store red candles and wrapped the center of each candle with some dollar store valentine ribbon.

This miror was also a nice Goodwill find.  I can't hang it, because the hangers are broken, but I like how nicely it sits on top of the mantle.  The candleholder is just a dollar store vase and taper candleholder, glued together and wrapped with some extra of that Michael's scrapbook paper and some sparkly pink ribbon.

Next to it, is a fun creation I made.  This is a Goodwill white candlestick, with a styrophoam floral ball and pink dollar carnations stuck in them.   This was so fun to make and I love how it looks on the mantle!

Here is a view from our Dining room tablescape (which I will be sharing more of in this coming TABLESCAPE TUESDAY post.)

I think I mentioned this before but it bears repeating...I am LOVING having a living and dining room that I can decorate with the seasons!   It is so much fun!  I'm having a hard time only changing it once a month!  I want to keep changing it up.  =D

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed this MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE!  Hope to see you again soon!!!  =D

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY - Recipe for CROCK POT PESTO RANCH CHICKEN!!!

Oh boy, do I have something special for you on this WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!

So, I was browsing Pinterest the other day looking for new and easy recipes for one of our Sunday Family Dinners!   I saw a neat post from Jenny over at Picky Palate. She posted a recipe for "Pesto Ranch Chicken Thighs" and it looked so easy.   

I'm not a fan of chicken thighs, but I love me some boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins.   So, I decided to adapt this recipe for one of our Sunday Family Dinners, where I try to make something I've never made before. 

Jenny, I wish you lived close, so I could come over and give you a HUGE HUG!   This recipe couldn't be easier to make!   Here's what I used:

12-16 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Tenderloins (fresh or frozen!  I used frozen!)
1 6 oz jar of pesto
1 packet of Ranch Dips or Ranch dressing seasoning mix
1/2 cup of chicken broth

That's it!   First you put the chicken tenderloins in there.  You can even put them in frozen and they'll cook up great!   I don't like defrosting chicken, which is just one more reason I LOVE MY CROCK POT!!!  

Then you spoon in the pesto from the jar.  


Then you add the packet of Ranch Seasoning Mix...



Then add the chicken broth, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours!   

I cooked mine on low for just a little over 7 hours.

Here is the chicken served up in the serving bowl.  It was moist, and falling apart delicious!


I sure wish this picture didn't come out so blurry....I put mine on top of pasta, but did set aside some rice for my daughter, because she's in kind of a "no-pasta" phase...lol

This was a huge hit.  My whole family raved about this dish!  My son kept asking for more of the sauce to go with his pasta, and my daughter said "OOH, I LOVE THIS, MAMA!"

So, Jenny, I thank you, for making my family so happy by allowing me to make your recipe and create a dish they loved!  This will be a new menu-regular in our home!!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!   Enjoy the rest of your week and I hope you'll come back soon!  


This post has been added to:
Tuesday To Do

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - Icy Cool Blue Tablescape!

Well, Happy Tuesday to you!!!

I hope you had a great weekend and a good start to your week.  My weekend was not so good.   I got sick around 5am Saturday morning, and it really took me out.    Fortunately, I'm feeling better now, but it was no fun, that's for sure. 

Well, for today's TABLESCAPE TUESDAY, I wanted to share with you my ICY COOL BLUE Tablescape.  I've used this for all my Sunday Family Dinners since early January.  


Once February hits, I'll change the tablescape to match the season for Valentine's Day!  I'm already getting some things together for that one and am looking forward to the change. 



For this tablescape I found this really pretty wrapping paper at Walmart for 50% off after Christmas.   I loved the sheen to it and the mixtures of blue hues!

I kept the decorations simple since the runner was so full of beautiful patterns.  I used tall silver candleholders with white candles, on which I put some sparkly silver ribbon (which you may remember from our New Years Eve table)   In the center is a silver box with a mirrored mosaic candle that I received as a gift from friends years ago!      

In between the tall candleholders and the centerpiece are some small snowflake tealights, some small turquoise votive candleholders and a silver pillar candleholder with some teal and crystal hanging accents.  

The plate breakdown is a simple one...silver chargers from Walmart, dark blue rimmed plates I got when I got married ages ago, some silver salad plates from Dollar Tree, and my white Dollar Tree bowls.   I used my blue stemmed glasses and clear water glasses.   White Napkins with blue bling napkin rings and simple silverware finish off the look..



I love how this table looked all lit up!  

Here is a view over to the living room where you can see the cordinating look, with my "Wrapped In Icy Cool Blue" Mantle.

 Thanks so much for joining me for this TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!   I hope you'll come back tomorrow where I share with you a wonderful and easy recipe that I made for one of our Sunday Family Dinners...It was a huge hit and I can't wait to share it with you!!!


This Post is being added to....

Tablescape Thursday

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY - Brandilyn's Bean Soup!

Hi again and welcome to another edition of WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!   I'm sorry it's been a while since I posted a recipe, but I hope to make up for it in today's post!!

About  2 weeks before we moved, our awesome Florida friends threw us a going-away party!  It was such a special and wonderful time with great people who I'm already missing a lot!!!

At that party, one of my friends brought this amazing soup, which was a huge hit with all the partygoers, including myself and my family.   I told her I just had to have this recipe and she was kind enough to share it.   We made it again and it was so tasty!   I thought I'd share this wonderful soup, perfect for those cold winter evenings to come home to, since it cooks in the crock pot!!!!

I call it "BRANDILYN'S Bean Soup!"  I don't think that's it's real name, but that is what I'm calling it because it came from my friend Brandilyn...and....it has beans!  haha!

The ingredients are simple.

1 packet of Ranch Seasoning mix

1 packet of Taco Seasoning

1 lb of ground turkey or ground beef (browned)

1 can of whole kernel corn or 1 bag of frozen corn

1 large can diced or crushed tomatoes (28 or 29 oz)

1 can of stewed tomatoes (optional)

1 large can of baked beans (or 2 small cans),

1 cans of black beans,

1 can of red kidney beans

1 can of white beans

 

Do not drain any of the cans.

 

The size of the cans will all depend on how much room you have in your pot. You can actually use any kinds of beans you like, if you don't like any of the types listed.

Put all ingredients in a large pot or crockpot, and again, do not drain any of the cans. Let cook till hot.   With the already cooked meat, you can set it on warm all day, or on low for about 4 hours. 

You can serve it as is in a bowl....

Or top it with cheddar cheese and sour cream, which is what I did.  YUM!!!   Both ways are really yummy, though!  This has a slightly sweet tang to it (most likely because of the baked beans and the ranch packet)  and it was very delicious!

This would be an awesome soup to make for a Super Bowl Party...It's also low in calories (if you don't load it with cheese and sour cream like I did...haha!)  and low in fat if you use ground turkey or lean ground meat!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!   I hope you enjoyed today's WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!   I hope you get a chance to try this easy and yummy soup!   I'd love to hear what you think of it, if you try it!  Our whole family liked it a lot!

 

Have a wonderful day! 

 

This post is being added to...

 

Centerpiece Wednesday

 



MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE! Wrapped in Icy Cool Blue!

Hi everyone!

I hope you're having a great start to your week!

Welcome to my very first MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE!!!    As you may have read in earlier posts, we recently moved back to the Midwest after living in Florida for some time.   I loved the beautiful weather that Florida had and the warm winters that felt like a 6 month spring!  

However, one of the things that I love about our new home is that we have FIREPLACES!!!!    I love fireplaces for those chilly mornings and nights!   I also love that I have this wonderful mantle in my living room and very neutral décor that I plan to use to decorate with a different theme each month!  

This is so exciting to me!!!  I've always wanted a room that was versatile enough for me to decorate with the seasons, and now I have one! 

So without further Ado, here is January's MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE!   I'm calling it "Wrapped in Icy Cool Blue".   I wanted the colors to be various hues of blue, silver and white.

 

I started with an old picture frame from an old picture that I painted white and added some wrapping paper to.  The hanger in the back is broken so I just set it on top of the mantle.

Then, on either side are my white candleholders from Ikea in the various sizes, topped with pillar candles.  Under the pillow candles, I hung some snowflake ornaments.  

In the middle is a glass pedestal with a plate and 4 sparkly ornaments on it.  

Then I wrapped the mantle in some pretty blue and silver tinsel that I got from Walmart and some blue lights I found on a super sale at Old Time Pottery.

Here it is all lit up from our dining room, which is decorated in the same theme this month!  I'll be sharing that table for our next TABLESCAPE TUESDAY, so Stay tuned!  =D

It's a simple mantle, but I like how it turned out for my first time!  

I hope you'll come back and join me for another MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE next month, but in the meantime, please be on the lookout for some yummy recipes and seasonal tablescapes coming later this month! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope to see you again soon!  Have a great week!

Happy New Year!!! Exciting new posts for 2014! And my New Years Eve Tablescape!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I can't believe that we are starting 2014!   It seems like we were just starting 2013....wondering what the year was going to bring.  

2013 was a great year in so many ways for me....I started blogging, our family started the tradition of "Sunday Family Dinners"!   I learned some great tablescaping, recipe and home decor techniques from so many of my blogging friends and through Pinterest, and enjoyed some wonderful times with family and friends. We had some wonderful get-togethers and parties, and....we moved halfway across the country!!!   It was definitely an exciting year to say the least!

However I'm just as excited about 2014!!!   I have to say, I'm loving our new home, and am so excited to be able to share some new features on the blog for you.   Our new home has a fireplace that I plan to decorate monthly to go with the seasons and Holidays of that month, and so I'm very excited to be sharing those with you on the new MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE posts!!!

To go along with that, I'm going to be doing new monthly tablescapes to go along with the mantles (so unfortunately that means I will not do a weekly TABLESCAPE TUESDAY, but will do one or two each month.)   I will miss doing them more often, but my schedule will not permit me to spend the time on tablescapes like I was able to before.   I will, however be making new dishes for our Sunday Family Dinners, which is a tradition we will be continuing, and any noteworthy ones, I will be posting on the WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY posts!    Also, once a month, I will share some of my top bargains for the month on my THRIFTY THURSDAY posts. 

For now, though...I'm going to show you my New Years Eve Tablescape!   My first tablescape in the new home!!!   

I call it "Silver, Snow, and Lights Aglow" 

 I found this cute wrapping paper half off at Walmart shortly after Christmas and thought it would be great!  I really wanted to do something in primarily silver and white.  

 This tied everything in together so nicely, and since my kiddos are really hoping to see lots of snow this winter, we thought it fitting to have these trees with the little snowflakes on the runner!

I kept the plates simple, with just a silver charger, and a white dinner plate, white napkins with silver napking rings.

 The candleholder in the center is from Michaels (with 40% off coupon) that I got last year, set on Dollar Tree silver platters.   The other pillar candleholders are from Ikea, and the sparkly ribbon around the pillar candles was from Michael's...70% off from their christmas ribbon!  The small glass tealight holders were from Joann's for like 69 cents each...I had to stock up!!  

 In the back, under the wreath, you'll see my winter "candy bar" with various Christmas Candies!  I'm going to show that off in a future post...including tips on how I made it.  

When the lights were turned down low, those "lights aglow" looked so pretty at the table!   I really liked how this turned out!!!  

I hope you enjoyed this post and the tablescape!  Happy 2014 and I hope to see you again soon!!!   =D


This post is being added to:

Centerpiece Wednesday
Tablescape Thursday
Let's Dish