Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe yesterday on Pinterest.

With colds luming around our house, and the temperatures getting cooler, I found it perfect for tonight.

It was so delicious, and just as good as getting a bowl at Panera.

 So, I'm going to share it with you.

I did change a few things from the original recipe...so here it goes.

2 chicken boneless chicken breasts

2 cans Rotel tomatoes, undrained (I used the mild kind)

1 can black beans; drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained (I used the mexi-corn)

1 small onion, chopped

2 cans low-sodium chicken broth

1-2 cups water...eyeball it

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp chile powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp dried cilantro

tortilla chips

 sour cream

shredded cheddar cheese

Put chopped onion, beans, corn, rotel tomatoes, chicken broth, water, and spices in your Crock Pot. Stir to mix.

Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid.

Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours.

Before serving, remove the chicken breasts from soup and shred.

Return chicken to CrockPot, stir to combine.

Serve with tortilla chips. I used the Tortilla Scoops.

Also, top soup with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

Coffee Filter Wreath

 I have a friend who's a fellow crafter and turned me on to this super cute idea of making a coffee filter wreath.

I didn't know what to expect until she showed a picture of one to me.

I was hooked and

had.to.make.one...

So, last week while Eric was traveling she came over, and we each started making one.

I had so much fun hot gluing, talking, and drinking wine.

Anyway, before I digress anymore, here's what it looks like and how it's made.

{because believe me, you will be hooked too.}

Isn't it just gaw-geous???

Here's what you'll need to make one for yourself:

A Styrofoam wreath

{I got the medium size one from Michael's...and don't forget your coupon.}

coffee filters...a lot of coffee filters

glue gun and glue sticks

marker

shows to watch on TV or a friend to make one with you

Time...lots and lots of time

First, heat up the hot glue gun.

While that's heating up, go ahead and start separating your coffee filters.

I got the ones from Wal-Mart and later realized they were the 4 cup filters.

By the way, I ended up using close to 700 filters.

Next, you'll want to place the marker in the center of a coffee filter...like so:

Turn it all over and fold the filter down and around the marker.

{sorry the lighting is awful, and I terribly need a new camera.}

Put a dot of hot glue on the tip and place on the wreath.

I didn't take a picture in the beginning, but start from the inside of the wreath and work your way out.

Another pointer...you want to make sure that you put the filters very close together.

The closer you put them together, the tighter they are, and the fuller your wreath will be.

Like I said, you need time...it takes a lot of time to make.

This is definitely not one of those quick type projects, but it pays off in the end.

It took me about 6 hours total to make it.

I worked on it a couple of hours for a few nights and then finished it up this morning.

When you finish, turn it over because the inside might need a "hair cut".

Just trim up the ones that are sticking far out the inside hole or around the outside.

You want to make it as clean on the back as possible.

And there you have it...a coffee filter wreath!

I didn't think this would fare very well on my front door.

Thanks to my friend who got me inspired on this project, she also pointed out a great home for it.

I used some brown ribbon I already had and hung her up.

So, whatcha think????

I just L.O.V.E it!!!

Thanks, Ashley for your inspiration and for coming along on this venture!!!

I had so much fun!

Halloween Picture Frame Crafts

I've been a busy little bee these last couple of weeks.

I saw this adorable Googly-eyed {Halloween} frame on a blog and just had to make it.

So, I bought the stuff and made it...just that simple.

Want to know how to make one for yourself?

No biggie...just click here.

After making this cute one, I just had to come up with more...

So, I decided to make a ghost frame.

Here it is...

This one was easier than the first one...if that's even possible.

Want to know how to make this one???

OK, just click here.

Last one...I promise.

I know I got a little carried away, but they are so easy and cheap.

And, my brain kept coming up with more ideas.

What's the one thing you need for Halloween and fall???

A Lil' Punkin' of course.

I know...no cute Punkin' in there, yet.

But only a matter of time, and I can't wait to see it finished.

Want to make this one???

Easy peasy...just click here.

I've been working on something else too, but for now these are my Halloween frames.

Have you made something cute this Halloween?

I'd love to see it.

Hope all y'all have had a great weekend.



Lil' Punkin' {Halloween} Picture Frame

Here's how to make this cute little frame.

What you'll need:

A square, unfinished wooden frame - from Michael's $1.00

"Pumpkin" Orange craft paint - had on hand

green felt - had on hand

green ribbon - had on hand

black pipe cleaner - had on hand

letters cut for words

All I did was paint a couple of coats of the pumpkin orange paint on the frame.

As it dried, I made a template of the leaf from Word and cut it out. I used my template to cut out the leaves on the felt.

When the paint was dried, I then sprayed it with a clear acrylic sealer.

While that dried, I cut the letters on my Silhouette.

Once the frame was dry, I hot glued on the "stem", leaves, and ribbons.

 Last thing I did was glue on the letters.

And there you have it...a pumpkin frame.

I cannot wait to see who or what ends up in this frame!

Ghost {Halloween} Picture Frame

After I made the Googly-Eyed picture frame I decided "this is easy...what else can I come up with?

Well...here it is:

It's a ghost...do you see it???

It was so easy. Here's how to make your own.

All you'll need is:

An unfinished square wooden picture frame - Michael's $1.00

White craft paint - already had on hand

a bag of white pom-pom balls - Michael's $2.99

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Googly eyes - left over from the googly-eyed frame

letters cut for "Boo"

It took no time at all, I tell ya.

First, I put a thick coat of white paint on the frame.

While it dried I heated up the hot glue gun.

I then started gluing on the pom-pom balls all over it.

I then glued on the googly-eyes.

While all that "dried" and cooled, I tied the bow and glued it on too.

I then used my new, and lovely {did I mention how awesome it is?} Silhouette SD to cut out the letters "Boo" and glued them on.

I did have to be kind of careful here and use the hot glue gun...a little tricky but nothing terrible.

Literally in about an hour I had a frame completed.

And look how cute it is.

Hey, every ghost needs a bow, right??

{This picture is a few years old but I just saw it fitting.

Man I miss my kids that little...}



Googly eye frame

Hey y'all. I got this idea from another blog.

I thought it was just too cute and perfect for Halloween.

So, here's what you need.

A square wooden {unfinished} frame - $1.00 at Michael's

Lime green craft paint

 painting sponge

black ribbon

Googly eyes {of all kinds of shapes}

hot glue

Scrapbook paper or cut out letters

OK....ready to get started?

First, paint a semi-thick coat of lime green paint on the front of your frame.

While it dries, heat up your hot glue gun.

I tried to use Elmer's glue, but the eyes keep falling off...

Lesson learned, never stray from the hot glue gun.

Once the paint is dry, start hot gluing the googly eyes all over the frame.

I started with the big ones and then filled in with all the others.

When the eyes are glued on, cut a piece of ribbon {I used black} a little more than the width of the frame, and hot glue it on the bottom half of the frame.

I then used my Silhouette SD {holl-a} and created the letters "E E K".

I printed them out purple and then cut them out on the Silhouette...

Lovin' my new toy - just sayin'!!!!

I glued the letters on top of the the ribbon, and wha-la...there you have it!

Confession

I have a little confession...

Well, it's a little bigger than a little.

And, it might not mean much to most of you, but it's eating at me, and I have to get it off my chest.

I feel like a child that has lied to my parents and need to tell the truth.

OK, here it goes:

A few weeks ago I think I mentioned that our neighbors bought a house and moved across town.

I know, I know, not that big a deal, right.

The problem is, I have been the worst friend {to my friend} and neighbor {to the new neighbors}.

I have not been over to meet our new neighbors!!!

That is so not me nor the Southern way.

Growing up in the South, if a new neighbor moved onto the street we were at their doorstep with either a cake or a casserole to welcome them to the neighborhood.

And here it's been a few weeks...not hours...weeks, and I have yet to go over to introduce ourselves and welcome them not only to the neighborhood but also to the South.

I've tried...really I have.

 I've made 2 loaves of Amish Friendship Bread to take to them.

The first, we wound up eating it, 

and the second is sitting in my freezer as hard as a brick.

What is wrong with me???

For the life of me, I can't go over across the street.

I can't do it, and my Mama taught me better than this! 

Well, you have to know, Colleen was my first friend when we moved here to North Carolina.

Over the last four and a half years, not only did our friendship grow to crazy heights, but she was the one person in this town that I came to depend on.

She has always been there for me:

She always had that cup of sugar or that egg I needed for a recipe.

She was there for me with the birth of our son,

And she was there for me when we lost our dogs.

She's been my Raleigh Rock!

It's weird.

 My friend and her family moved only 15 miles away {and now only 2 miles from Hunter's preschool}.

But,

for some reason, I can't walk across the street, and face that house, and have new people come to the door; and not have Jack greet me at with his welcoming barks.

I know, I know, I just need to put on my "big girl" panties and go welcome my new neighbors...it's the Southern thing to do!

And I will...maybe tomorrow.

It's Here!!!

Oh my goodness, I am SO excited right now!

I just put Hunter upstairs for his "quiet time", when I heard the doorbell ring.

I knew exactly what it could be and I started getting all tingly inside with excitement.

I went to the door and found this...

Want to take a guess as to what it is???

Yup that's right, my friends...It's my Silhouette SD.

I literally felt like a kid on Christmas morning!

I immediately started opening it up and quickly realized I have my work "cut" out for me...no pun intended.

There is a software CD, an instructional video, and a booklet to read.

Wow! I have a lot to do before I get started.

But, let's take a look at this beauty.

Isn't it bee.u.ti.ful?

I cannot wait to get started, and the ideas are endless.

 I'm hoping this beauty will help me finish this...

or this...

or this...

If only my precious new Silhouette could help me fix, Henry.

Poor Henry needs some tailoring and I don't think my new gadget will help here.

Looks like I'm going to have to heat up the old hot glue gun and break out the sewing stuff.

I cannot wait to see what my new Silhouette will cut for me!

But for now, looks like I have some reading to do.

I will be back to show you my new projects.

Anyone feel like crafting with me???

Hope you have a Happy Thursday!

Weekend Recap

Whew, another crazy weekend done.

How in the world do they go by so fast? It must be these crazy schedules we insist on keeping. {And that would be my fault.}

Let's start this off with an update on my chigger infested heiney.

Boy is it infested.

Those suckers ate me alive.

I will spare you most of the details of the lathering with any kind of soothing and cooling lotion I could get my hands on, and tell you that it has been just as awful as it sounds.

The websites say the biggest side effect from these bugs is intense itching.

Intense huh???

Imagine a bunch of fire ant bites and multiply it by 1,000.

The itching has been so intense I have sometime caught myself looking around for a tree to rub my poor heiney on just like a dog.

These stupid critters have left me thinking like a dog...Thanks!

And the worst part...you're not supposed to scratch because that makes it worse.

Yea...fun.

But thankfully, my dear friend Amy told me about Chiggerex.

Hallelujah!

That stuff is a miracle lotion.

It has really helped with the intenseness of the itching.

It's been better today but still not out of the woods.

Just hoping that everyday gets better.

Thanks Chiggerex...I'm starting to feel Chiggerific!

Back to the weekend at hand.

IT was great just busy {as they all are}.

We started Friday night with the Phillies game.

Oh, the Phillies!

What can I say...it just wasn't meant to be.

But before the game we were ready.

The kids and I decided to surprise daddy with a Phillies party when he got home from work.

We made banners and pennants.

We got all the foods for a baseball game:

Peanuts,

Cracker Jacks,

Hot dogs,

French Fries,

Beer {for the parents},

&

Sprite {for the kiddos}

We were ready for a good game.

Unfortunately, not only was the game a pretty boring game, the outcome was not what we wanted...they lost.

No trip to the Championship game nor the World Series.

Oh well...

Saturday was filled with a lots of fun.

Eric took the kids to soccer for Dallas' soccer game.

I finally got some quiet time in the house to myself.

Oh, what to do.

I pretty much walked in circles the first few minutes not knowing what to do.

I then got to work.

Cleaned the kitchen {as always}

folded laundry,

and finally got my fall decorations up

{yes, 8 days later than what I wanted...just haven't had time}.

Here is before:

And, after...

A pumpkin and scarecrow made the bathroom...

After soccer, decorating, and showers, we went our separate ways.

The boys went to do boy things, and my girl and I went to do girly things.

We had our toes done, grabbed a quick lunch at Panera, and did some shopping.

We had such a great time. I love shopping with my sweet angel.

We got home and she packed for her sleepover.

She went to her friend's Little Ella's for a birthday sleepover.

We all took her over to our friends' house and ended up hanging for dinner, part of the UGA game, and oh yes, the "party".

Dallas stayed all night and into today.

She was one filthy and tired little girl today, but so happy.

She loves sleepovers.

{unlike her mother at this age.}

I was so excited last night that my Bulldawgs showed up.

They looked pretty good against Tennessee, and

we WON!

I love winning.

Today was just as busy.

Church,

Picked up Dallas,

Dallas had soccer practice,

Played baseball {lots of baseball} with Hunter,

Had a playdate at a neighbor/new friends' house with the kids.

Needless to say the kids were in bed early tonight.

They were pooped and so are we.

I hope y'all had a great weekend.

What did you do that was your favorite thing?

Chiggers...

{Viewer discretion is advised. I don't normally say ugly words on here, but as you read you will understand why some might slip...just saying.}

So tell me, have you ever seen one of these guys?

Of course you haven't.

It's because these microscopic pests are just that P.E.S.T.S!!!

And you will never see them with a naked eye.

Do you have a clue as to what it is. Well, if the title didn't give it away, this little creature would be a chigger.

I grew up in the south and heard a lot of people talk about chiggers.

I never really knew what they were though.

I can honestly say that in my 32 years of life I have never been attacked by a chigger.

Well, that is until now.

I have now been attacked...yes attacked by this nasty, tiny, little creature.

After attending a field trip with my daughter yesterday and going on a hay ride I discovered last night these awful, itchy bumps and had no clue as to what they were.

It took all day of coating with Benedryl cream until my bestie had the brilliant idea that these {things} were the culprit to my itchiness.

Now, here's the bad part.

Want to take a guess as to where these mosquito bite looking welts are located on my body?

Legs? Nope.

Arms? Nope.

Ankles? Nope.

Ass...

Yes!

Yes that would be were they have inhabited on my body.

Seriously?!?!

I mean who gets Chiggers on their ass???

{That would be ME...the same person that can figure a way to blow the orbit out in her face...let's just say I was for a few days officially an "air" head.}

In researching this "bad bug" I've discovered that it has been thought they bury themselves in your skin...g.r.o.s.s.

Thank goodness, I can tell you that that is not true. They just bite you like a mosquito and as they take your blood they swap it with an enzyme...fun.

I also read that sometimes a skin rash may occur, but "It may stop where the underwear meets the legs."

Um...Not!!!

At least not in my case.

These suckers nudged their way under my pretty underwear {without my permission} and had themselves a feast!

I hope they're all fat and happy now,

 but sure wish they would have sucked out more fat.

I would love to have some of Mrs. Devine's Jewelweed lotion she gave Fancy Nancy when she got poison ivy.

Anything to take the itch away.

Although I have found the Children's Benedryl Intant Cooling Gel to work wonders.

My ass feels like it's covered in Icy Hot...but it's not itching, so I'll take it.

So here's the lesson for the day my dear friends.

As you go out to the fun pumpkin patches and cuddle up with your loved ones on the back of a tractor on a big bale of hay, just know your risks.

You could be the next victim of these blood-sucking, itchy welt causing little creatures.

And yes, I did have on jeans.

 Take precautions...and sit on a blanket.

So tell me...have you ever been attacked my chiggers?

Tired...

Whew. Here it is Sunday evening and I'm totally exhausted. But, I can happily tell you that this weekend was a success...

Success in that my yard sale was a complete success!

I think it was probably the best yard sale I've ever had.

I got rid of all my big stuff, and those awful maternity clothes, crib mattresses, baby clothes, and lots more stuff.

Apparently my "junk" was others' great treasures.

Granted I did "give" some of the stuff away essentially, but I was happy to get rid of it.

I made money on it and didn't have to just give it to Good Will.

Because I was not taking that stuff back in the house.

In the end, I did take a few things to Good Will, and only two bins of baby clothes went back upstairs to the storage area.

But, the best part of all...are you ready?

Remember why I wanted to have a yard sale????

I wanted to buy myself a Silhouette SD.

Well, these bad boys cost upwards of $200.00

I brought in $260.00!!!

That means I can purchase my awesome little machine and still have money to spare...

I possibly see a new pair of boots in my future too.

All-in-all, it was a great morning, and totally worth getting up at 6:00 AM on a Saturday.

My parents made it to town just fine.

We were all so excited to see them. As they walked in the door, I grabbed Mama and said "Let's go."

As wonderful as she is, she just followed along.

We went up to Dallas' school for Family Fun Day.

It was fun indeed. We ran into a few of her classmates.

They slid down a great big "bouncy" slide, saw a magician, and got their faces painted.

The PTA did a great job with the festival, and I believe everyone had fun...

that was the intent, right? :)

Of course in a day, there always has to be "unsuccessful" times.

And, I did had them.

I never got anything pumpkin in the oven yesterday.

And here it is October 2 and still haven't.

But, I did make my Friendship Bread last night that I've been smushing and mashing for 10 days.

It's so cinnamon-y and delicious!

Pumpkin will come another day.

 I fell into bed last night completely exhausted and was asleep I think before my head hit the pillow.

This morning proved to be the start of another full day.

My daddy did make a great "southern" breakfast and then we hit the ground runnin'.

Church meeting at 11:30.

Dallas had a soccer game at 1:00.

Clean and organize house.

And thank goodness for my awesome Mama, I now have clean bathrooms and clean floors.

Oh, and we'll throw laundry in the mix too.

But, I ended my day with ribs grilled by my daddy.

And, if you know my daddy, you know he knows ribs.

He makes the best in the country...maybe even the world.

We had ribs, Brunswick Stew, corn bread, and salad.

Such a great comfort meal to end a crazy but good weekend.

And somehow tomorrow is Monday and the start of a new week.

I'm tired just thinking about it!

So, how did you spend your weekend?
Did you have a great success? I'd love to hear about it.