Winter Valentine's Mantel for mere pennies

Well, maybe just a little more than a few pennies, using really really cheap thrifty items.

I found 2 white books on 50% off while shopping my favorite store ~ Goodwill.
Love the titles too - Life Lessons and The True Joy of Positive Living.  Might even have to read them.

White with a bit of red for a winter Valentine theme.

To decorate on the 'cheap'; I reuse items from around the house and add in thrifty purchases.

I kept my Goodwill find white pitcher from my Christmas mantel and filled it with fake baby's breath.  Then added felt and glitter hearts from the Dollar Tree.

The heart ornaments were from last year.  Glass candlesticks were previous Goodwill purchases.  I like that they are mismatched.
Dressed the candles with a bit of ribbon.

My red pitcher from Valentines last year. 
The empty wood frame from my Christmas mantel, turned and added a little silk flower covered heart (Hobby Lobby $2).

The large old bottle was a yard sale find back during the summer for 50 cents.
The smaller one holding the glitter heart, was my Dad's.  I have several he collected.
My small 'heart filled' tribute to Daddy.

After Valentine's I could keep the white and glass, until Spring.
Maybe. ;-)
Do you decorate for Valentine's?
What are your favorite thrifty decor items?

I will be linking in to some fun parties, check my blog party tab at the top of my page.

Gotta have a Plan - The Menu

My week seems crazy, for real crazy if I don't take a few minutes to plan out our weekly menu.

I was vigilant for a while.

Then I fell off the wagon during the holidays, while being home for two weeks.

With the snow storm I was home another entire week without a 'real' plan.

Although I have to admit, we ate well.

This week will be insanely busy at work, so I decided I gotta have a plan.

So in a few minutes Sunday, I put together our weekly menu.

Monday - French's Crunchy Onion Chicken (by request and new), potatoes and broccoli

Tuesday - Pintos (in the crockpot all day) with cornbread

Wednesday - Leftovers with potato salad

Thursday - Meatballs with gravy over creamed potatoes (meatballs from freezer, made ahead)

Friday - Veggie Soup (from freezer) or Leftovers.

Saturday - Dinner out

What's for dinner at your house?

Rural Roadside

I love living in the country.

I enjoy the sites.
Love barns, old homes, the simple slower way of life out in the rural areas.

So I've decided to take you along on some of my scenic routes this year with a new (hopefully) weekly posting of photos.

Hope you enjoy!

Yes, there is a place called Roosterville.

In Georgia.

I happen to know the artist that painted this sign.

Another thing about living in the country.

It makes the big ole world a bit smaller.
What do you think about a photo link party to share YOUR Rural Roadside?  A look into the world around you.

Soup's On!

January is National Soup Month

Did you know?

To me, there is nothing better during the cold winter months than a bowl of soup.

Pair it with cornbread, sandwiches, chips or crackers.

This is my daughter's favorite ~ Taco Soup.

I add Kidney beans to the above recipe link and use a large can of crushed tomatoes.

Taco Soup is an effortless, open the cans, recipe that packs a tasty punch.

What could be easier for a working mom?

My favorite is a simple Veggie Beef Soup.

Which is another recipe my mom used for a quick meal.

-Brown 1 lb of ground beef, drain grease.

Open cans of:

-Large can of crushed Tomatoes

-Can of diced tomatoes with spices (Basil, Garlic and Oregano)

-Veg-All

-Small Niblet Corn

-Diced potatoes

Mix, heat and eat!

If you like yours a bit more 'soupy' then you can add a can of tomato paste or juice.

I prefer the chunky mix of this soup.

Serve with pbj, grilled cheese, crackers or my favorite - cornbread!

If you have leftover veggies to mix up for this soup, it's a great way to clear out the frig.

We recently tried a new soup recipe.

Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup

I added bacon bits to the top for a great added taste to this soup.

This recipe was simple, using items we had on hand.  Click on the above link to try it!

Share your favorite soup recipe or link to it, Please!

Linked in to:

Winter Storm 2011

Happy New Year & Welcome Old Man Winter!

Georgia is not accustom to this type weather.

This is our driveway down on the Farm.

We have been bundled up inside the house for the most part since Sunday night.

Our transportation has been this:

My daughter bundled up on the 4-wheeler.

We traveled up the road to check out conditions.  A VERY fridgid ride.

Sleet began around 6pm on Sunday for an hour, then huge snowflakes.

Unfortunately, we had more ice than snow, creating a solid sheet of ice over everything.

There was a flurry of activity on the Farm prior to the storm.

A grocery run on Friday.  I've cooked up my easy Chicken Pot Pie and a huge pot of veggie beef soup.

We also moved all vehicles under cover of the garage or barn.

Out at the barn, we turned on heaters for the chickens and in the horse's water.

Once the sleet began, we gathered up our horses to keep them dry.

After the snow, sleet and drizzling rain was over, they were happy to be out.

Hey, a little hay and a lot of crunching on the ice!

They did a bit of romping in the big pasture yesterday and were amusing.

Luckily we have not lost power during all of this.  Which was a huge concern.

They have closed all the schools for the 3rd day now, even the University where I work.

It's just too frozen for humans and animals.

This is our neighbor's cow.  See the icicles hanging on her ears?

GMA reports that the ONLY state withOUT snow is Florida!

Has that ever happened before?!

What are Your snow day activities?

We've been playing SkipBo (a FUN card game recommended by my teen daughter); along with cooking up good food, watching movies, surfing the net, playing on Facebook to see how everyone else's is fairing in the storm and a bit of reading.

I'm looking forward to a New Year of blogging and am working on posts to share! Since the first week back at work was crazy busy and this week has been a mini vacation.