the great pumpkin (see it here first!)

I am taking full credit to seeing it first and coming up with the brilliant idea to go with it!! Once you get past the scary pictures of pumpkins gone wrong here, you will see that my idea is truly that much better.

Your house numbers "monogrammed" onto a pumpkin!

So this fall find a good lookin' pumpkin and get cookin' hammering!

in the house this week.

What a week! It started out with such small details. Someone would be by to spray for bugs. Someone would be by to change the locks, since the office's back-up keys had been lost. I changed my few plans and arranged to be home in the morning for the spray and the afternoon for the locks.
Nobody came. EVER!  
I was home the entire day. Stuck there, waiting. By the middle of the afternoon I was going insane. I needed to run to pickup a few things for dinner and some hangars (as I am cleaning laundry from 1 1/2 years ago I am finding more things to hang up and ran out),  but I didn't want to leave in case they came while I was gone. I didn't want to sit there another whole day.

The next day, nothing. I went about my day - running here and there, doing this and that.

The next day, puddles in my basement. Calling the office - as they instructed, because this had happened before - I changed my plans for the morning, so I would be available to let them in and so they could change the locks. No one ever came. Apparently they had to wait til the rain stopped. Noon was bright and shiny. I had made plans for the afternoon, and no I wasn't waiting around for no one to show up.
Someone showed up. FINALLY!
And I wasn't there.
The next morning I called the office asking what time they would be out. Within the hour, my locks were changed, maintenance with the water had been addressed and I was on my way. No sitting around for me!

The next morning I tripped over some tools, slicing open my toe and the side of my foot. I used my get-out-of-jail-free me card and made a huge pot of coffee and went antique shopping. Yes, I needed my shopping therapy.
This cute little trinket box was very therapeutic!

in my pantry.

I have been working on rearranging and organizing. We moved in about 2 1/2 months ago and I've been working on one box at a time. Thank goodness we've had company several times, otherwise my house would be in a state of chaos all the time. But today I thought I would share what's in my pantry:

In the past couple days- I made some delicious strawberry jam! 

I've also put together a couple jars of homemade mixes. It makes whipping together a breakfast or a quick dessert nice and easy! Two oatmeal cookie mixes and a pancake mix.

Chicken Salad

I am borrowing this recipe from Food Network. I always check the reviews and I found lots of people complaining about the salt. So I changed that in this recipe. I also split the mayo with half regular/ half fat free to keep the flavor but not all the calories. I had extra celery stalks so I also added a bit more of that for more crunch! I also recommend using rotisserie chicken, from the store, your own recipe, or leftover from a previous meal.

4 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
        or 1/4 cup sweet onion cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon or fresh dill
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 cup prepared or homemade mayonnaise
2 teaspoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a mixing bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, scallions and herbs. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

Add to the chicken and mix gently until combined.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve on a Croissant. Other cooks suggest adding a couple strips of bacon and some lettuce and tomato. It's good either way!

Zesty Tuna Salad

Now, I am not a huge fan of tuna. period. I rarely eat it. But I found a recipe that sounded really good. I mean, come on, it's better than the tuna and mayo slush they have at Scumway. (I can call it that, I use to work there!)
I found this recipe on allrecipes.com
I made it better, I added a bit more mayo mixing fat free and regular, to keep the taste but not the calories. I also added an additional teaspoon on sweet relish. it sounded so good, then it tasted good too!

2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
2 teaspoons mayonnaise (or 4)
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish (or 3)
2 teaspoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mash tuna in a small bowl with a fork. Add mayonnaise, pickle relish, mustard, celery, onion, and black pepper; stir to combine. Chill and serve.
And it's delicious on a croissant!

keeping cool...

In this heat wave, I am trying to have cool thoughts. I decided on popsicles. I have several keeping cool ideas but I'll just share this for now. you can use a popsicle tray or plastic cups and wooden popsicle sticks.
So here's my recipe:

Mango Pineapple Pops
1 Mango, peeled and sliced
6-8 chunks of pineapple (preferably fresh)
1 large scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
less than 1/4 cup of orange juice 
honey


Place first 3 ingredients in the blender. Use orange juice to help with movement in the blender (but not to much- you want it thick). If you have a sweet tooth use a squeeze of honey to sweeten the deal. Pour into tray (or cups) add tops (or popsicle sticks). Place in freezer.
Makes 6 small popsicles.

I used the leftovers with club soda and cranberry/pomegranate juice to make a sweet little drink for right now!

Other Ideas:
Gogurts- Pop them in the freezer instead of the frig. They make excellent popsicles and are a bit healthier than the sugar loaded popsicles you can buy in the freezer section.

inspiration....

I found a few things hunting around. I really should focus on real-life houses. My house would probably not be very comfy if it looked like a showcase. But it's fun to dream about colors and ideas.

Love the green and cream!

 My latest favorite thing is brown and lavender/lilac. it's a beautiful combination of colors especially mixed with creams!  This I could do!

here's more of the brown and lilac tones. lovely!