Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time
I blame Rosa at FlutterFlutter. Ever since she posted about DIY: Eyebombing, nothing is safe around here. Light sockets, utensils, lamps…you name it, the Eyebombers will have left their mark. I had such high hopes for an elegant and refined autumnal centerpiece, but I should have known better. Instead of small glass vases filled with candles and berries, I have these:
The Kaiser. (Named by Will, our military historian.) [Read more…] about My Autumnal Centerpiece Gets Eyebombed
My husband, Tim, had a serious accident on his mountain bike two years ago. He was hospitalized for weeks and spent months in rehab. One of the things that got us through that challenging time was the support of our friends and family. They watched our kids, they got them to lessons and after-school activities, and they fed us. It’s hard to describe what a blessing and relief it was to come home from a long day at the hospital and find a delicious dinner waiting for us.
At the time, a good friend of ours set up a calendar to coordinate the meal deliveries, but since then websites have popped up that will organize it all for you. Two I’ve participated in are Meal Train and Take Them a Meal. The nice thing about these services is that they allow you to see what other people are bringing so you can add some variety, plus the person or family you’re supporting can list food allergies and preferences, what time they’d like the food to be dropped off, and anything else they’d like to share.
I made Grandma Campobasso’s Neopolitan casserole this week for a family in town who are going through a rough time. It’s my go-to “sympathy dinner,” but I’d love to hear what you like to make when your friends and family need support. If you have a link to a recipe, that would be fantastic!
Neopolitan Casserole
1-1/2 pounds Italian sausage
1-1/2 pounds hamburger
12 ounces tomato paste
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 12-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 TBSP. garlic powder
1 TBSP. basil
1 TBSP. oregano
1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
1 pound box rigatoni
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the sausage and hamburger until brown, breaking up into small pieces. Drain.
Cook the pasta and drain.
While the meat and pasta are cooking, mix together all the other ingredients, except the cheese. Add the pasta to the sauce. (I like to mix in some of the cheese at this point.) Pour into a casserole and sprinkle cheese generously on top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a nice salad and enjoy!
I tried my hand at a witch silhouette picture yesterday and I’m happy with how it turned out. It’s a wonderfully simple project. You just need a frame, some old-looking paper, and a silhouette. I found the paper at JoAnn’s in the scrapbook section. It’s not particularly Halloween-esque, but I like the old-fashioned look of it. I bought the frame at JoAnn’s, too. I think the black is fine, but I think a frame that’s a little more distressed or gothic-looking would be even better.
You can find the witch template at Martha Stewart dot com. She has a bunch of other designs, too, like ravens and pumpkins and bats. You could make a whole collection of these and tuck them all over the house. And a Halloween silhouette would make a great hostess gift for a Halloween party.
There are so many great ideas out there on Pinterest, but as you probably know it can be a huge time-drainer. So I did the searching for you and found these five fantastic ideas to make your Halloween even more fun. I’ll keep pinning ideas, so be sure to check out my Halloween Inspiration board.
These Halloween Mis-Fortune cookies were sold on Etsy once upon a time, but no longer are. But I think they’d be pretty easy to put together. Wouldn’t they make a fun party favor for your guests to take home? [Read more…] about DIY: 5 Fun Halloween Ideas via Pinterest
I was so happy to flip the calendar to October this morning! It’s one of my favorite months, with the promise of chilly evenings just right for warm sweaters and bonfires, sunny days that beckon you to hike along leaf-strewn paths, and dark nights made for curling up with a good book. We’ve made it through the hectic transition from summer to school and are settling into new routines.
Not that life has slowed down. This week we’ll be throwing a tween-ish birthday party for Lexie, complete with One Direction Bottle Cap necklaces and Pop-It Truth or Dare (directions for both to come if everything works out). We’re still deciding on Halloween costumes, and then there’s Will’s birthday party to plan. He’s thinking about a Halloween theme this year, so there will be lots of fun ideas to pull together for that.
And it’s just about time to get out the Halloween decorations. Like our favorite dancing ghosts and spider wreath. We managed to grow three pumpkins this year and they’ve taken up residence with the mums on the front porch. I think they’re beautiful, and I’m thrilled by how fun it is to pick pumpkins out of our own garden. It makes me want to plant a bunch more next year.
Oh, and Tim and I will be celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary next week! No big plans underway, but maybe we can sneak out for some time alone to reminisce and reflect on our years together.
Do you decorate for Halloween beyond the usual pumpkins and mums? Do you have any fun DIY ideas to share?