My mother-in-law briefly stopped here in Arizona on her way up north, and she so kindly brought me the last harvest of tomatoes from her garden!  I LOVE tomatoes fresh from the garden, I’ve been known to eat them off the vine- warm from the sun!

I used some of them in the Fancy Shmancy Mac n Cheese we had last night, but I would love more recipes that I can use these in.  Dig through your recipe box (does anyone use boxes anymore?) and send me some yummy ‘mater recipes!

On another note, I had some free time yesterday afternoon and created a set of lables, they are listed in the shop and ready for purchase…more are coming.

Thanks again for all the participants in September’s Giveaway.  The winner of the “doggy bag” is commenter #7, Valerie.  The Linky Love prize goes to: Giddy For Paisley, makes me wish I had a fun paisley fabric to send with it!

We’ve been celebrating with family recently and there is still more fun to be had.  In the meantime, check out this cool colorstrology - a horoscope with color.  Here is what it says about me:

I can’t say I have ever given much thought at all to hunter green….

My oldest was home sick from school today, which means of course that he was fine by about 10am (no complaints from this momma!!).  I decided to we should have some fun today.  I donned my apron, made a loaf of banana bread and got everything set for what my kids like to call an “Arts and Crafts Project”.

I used my one leaf shaped cookie cutter and traced leaves on to printer paper (we’re out of colored construction paper).  The kids colored the leaves in fall colors and then we added a glitter border to each one.  After cutting them out we decided to hang them along the mantle in the dining room.

I uploaded a pdf file of the leaf pattern so everyone can feel autumn in their homes!  Have a great weekend!

Maybe it is the unofficial end of summer for most of you, but here in the desert summer lasts for another 2 months and school has been in session for a month already.  We celebrated today with some wonderful new friends.  New friends, if you are reading- thank you for coming on short notice (that is the only way we ever plan things).  We truly enjoyed our evening with you!

I hope everyone was able to partake of the summer fruit today too!

(anything to tempt Karin to come visit Arizona!)

Cake:
1c sugar
1/4c butter
2 eggs
1/2c milk
1 1/2c flour
2tsp. baking powder
1t vanilla

Combine all ingredients, pour into a dish a bit smaller than a 9×13″ (read, I am too lazy to get up and measure my pan). Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 20-30 min at 375.

Top with fresh strawberries, raspberries or whatever berry is in season and fresh (the real stuff) whipped cream.

Not the best shot I know, but it is for friends so I can’t cut into it.  I licked the spoon after making it so I know it will taste good (oh, come on you know you lick the spoon too!).  Best part- I’m sharing the recipe (it was my grandmothers) and it is SUPER easy.

My weekend goal is to post the Vintage Sheet Skirt tutorial, so be sure to come back on Monday! Have a great weekend!

…here we go again!  I coordinated a last minute girls night out last night.  Two of my favorite girlfriends and myself went to see Mama Mia.  What a hoot!  It is every bit as cheesy and over the top as the reviewers say but to me that was the charm and humor of the film.  The acting was over exaggerated, as you would see in a stage production, but I really enjoyed the whole thing.  I have to say my favorite part was the “Lay All Your Love on Me” song when the men come out of the ocean in fins and dance on the pier, it was the ultimate in cheese but I couldn’t help but laugh out loud!  I’ve since spent the rest of today listening to Erasure’s ABBA-esque.

The best part of the evening was the 2 hour gab fest we had in the parking lot after the movie was over.  Nothing beats good old fashioned gabbing with your friends.  My husband has the hardest time trying to figure out what we could possibly talk about for 2 hours in a deserted parking lot!  If you are looking for a fun girls night out movie, I totally recommend this one.  Make sure you stay through the closing credits so you too can enjoy the humorous visual of Colin Firth and Peirce Brosman in aquamarine spandex!  Since my goal was to have a fun night out with my girls I would say the mission was accomplished!

Once a month we gather with our nearby family for  Sunday dinner.

sugar cookie base, cream cheese frosting (8oz cream cheese + 2c powdered sugar) and fruit!

While on our date last night the son asked if we could have pizza for dinner today, I said yes.  I made the dough (using my friend Kathleen’s recipe that she gave me at my bridal shower) and let the kids construct the actual pizza.

After the crust you need pizza sauce, make sure you spread it all around.

Then you’ll need to add cheese, lots and lots of cheese.  We used the shredded pizza blend with some sharp cheddar (i heart good cheddar).

Because they are kids and their pallets are limited, you will need to have lots and lots of pepperoni on hand.

Bake for 15-20min or the crust starts to brown, cut and serve!

Another fun summer idea brought to you from the mouth of a 6 year old!

My kids like Mac N Cheese from a box, hubby likes homemade Mac N Cheese, I like to add things to my Mac N Cheese.  We’ve reached a compromise with what I call “Fancy Shmancy Mac N Cheese”, the best part is that it is super easy to make.

Add 1.5cups of dry pasta (small shell or elbow) to boiling water and cook al dente- set aside.
1/2 med. onion diced
2c milk
1c (or more) shredded cheddar cheese (I mix med & sharp)
2 tomatoes diced
salt to taste
1c bread crumbs
2T butter
2T flour

Add butter and onion to sauce pan and saute on med. heat until onion is tender and translucent.  Add flour and stir into the butter and onions.  Add milk and cheese, stir until cheese has melted and sauce becomes thick (you may have to add more cheese, I always eyeball the amount).  Add salt and diced tomato.

Pour the sauce and pasta into a 2-3qt dish and mix well. Top with  bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 30min.  I was out of regular bread crumbs and had to use panko as a substitute- which might explain why it looks different. Tonight we served it with diced oranges/bananas topped with honey (more of a breakfast thing, but still very tasty!).