Empty Nest Musings and A Chalkboard Printable

I am feeling a little melancholy today since after a wonderful and fun month long break, College Boy is on his way back to school. I'm so proud of the adult he's become /  becoming,  and it was fun to watch him over break be more naturally independent and comfortable in his own skin. There was a time when we'd go out to dinner and Mr. C and I did most or all of the interacting and question asking with our servers and "suddenly"  the tables have turned. Little day to day differences that you blink and they take place.  I'm not even sure he realizes the changes but they are the kind of things that make mama and papa bears smile inside and out.

It's that kind of confidence and independence we want for our children right? After all that's the job we signed up for or at least my interpretation of it. We have always been parents first (vs wanting to be his friend) and I know there were times when we were more strict than other parents, especially in HS. On the other hand, we also accepted that as he grew into adulthood, the pendulum would begin to shift and we wanted him to be equipped with the skills to make his own good decisions because he knew they were good decisions.  It's more fun than I thought seeing that take place and it means the world to us that we have the kind of relationship where he wants to spend time with us.

All of this introspection reminded me of this quote which I think sums up our whole parenting journey and my mood today. So I made it into a  chalkboard printable.

 Can anyone else relate?

 

BFF Open House Link Party #88

Yikes, I blinked and another week went by. Clearly 2013 is not going to go by any slower than 2012 did. I hope everyone's surviving flu season. I think it's trying to sneak in the door here and I'm pushing just as hard to keep it OUT. 

So let's see what everyone's been up to this week! 

College Boy's Chicken Gumbo

I don't post a lot of my own recipes ( not even chocolate ones) primarily because most of them I make up as I go along and don't measure precisely.  But my camera was in the kitchen when I was making this ( another reason I don't post a lot of recipes...it's usually in my craft room) so I decided to share. 

Somewhere in his Senior Year of HS, my genes kicked into now College Boy's palate. I came from a background where a pot of pepper sauce was on the table at all times ( the kind where you use a toothpick, not a spoon to apply to your food...guests were warned and didn't alway listen) and hubs came from a background where salt was the spiciest thing in the house. After I made this the first time it became College Boy's ongoing request for special meals. His graduation dinner, when he first came home from college, on each college break. 

For this recipe you will need: 

• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 2 ribs of celery chopped

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (you could even use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
• 1 "box o chicken broth"
• 1 can crushed tomatoes and 1 can tomato sauce ( or two cans tomato sauce if you think you have crushed tomatoes in your pantry and you don't
• 1/2 C flour
• Salt , cajun spice (can omit if you're from my husband's family) black pepper to taste
• 2 Tsp Gumbo File powder ( cannot omit!)
• Olive oil
• 1TBSP Butter

I'm not from New Orleans or Louisiana but love gumbo and started making this recipe a few years ago. 

• Coat the bottom of a heavy pan ( dutch oven ) with olive oil, add butter til melted
• Add flour and stir (and stir and stir). This will make your "roux" which thickens your gumbo. Ideally you want this to brown and not burn.
• Add your chopped onion, peppers, celery
• Add your salt, pepper, cajun seasoning 
• Stir until your roux is well blended into your veggies
• Add a little chicken stock, stir
• It should be a thick gravy consistency
• Keep adding chicken stock and stirring and watching it thicken
• Add tomatoes / tomato sauce and stir
• Add gumbo file powder 

While I'm chopping my veggies, I poach two chicken breasts. You can also do this ahead of time or as mentioned above, you can use a rotisserie chicken from the store. Depending on your family's level of pickiness, you can also add shrimp, andouille sausage etc. You'll notice those aren't here lol. You'll also notice that there's no okra in this. Yuck. Sorry. Tried it. Yuck. 

Let your pot simmer for at least 30 minutes but I usually make this a couple of hours before we eat it or I make it ahead and refrigerate so the flavors really settle in. If you do let it simmer for a while, stir periodically so it doesn't stick to the bottom. 

Serve over rice or you can eat like a soup. If you really want your family to swoon, make garlic cheddar biscuits with melted butter. 

DIY : Upscale a Dollar Store Tray (With Matching Journal)

I might have to start calling Mr. C, Mr. B. He’s become an aficionado of small batch bourbons (not to excess!)

I don’t mind because I get all kinds of cool bottles to play with. He mentioned the other day that he saw an online bourbon journal but it only allowed 5 entries until there was a charge for it, so I decided I’d go old school and make him a hardcopy journal. He’s also into watches and time pieces, and I already had some very cool clock themed paper in my stash. Win-win since I’m working to bust some stash this year.

For this project you will need:

1.) Dollar Store Silver Tray ( I got mine @ Dollar Tree)

2.) Pre-made (or make your own) chipboard journal….This was on sale after Christmas at Michaels for $.25! A whole quarter. Cheaper than making my own.

3.) Coordinating charms to match your paper of choice. These were NOT on sale at Michaels but they were $2 for the pack and totally justified given the $.25 journal ( which I may or may not have purchased more than one)

4.) Embellishments. In this case I had these Tim Holtz game spinner thingies in my stash. So my total cost was $3.25.

I cut my watch themed paper to fit the inside of the tray. Applied Mod Podge to the tray, applied the paper and finished with two coats of MP.

Before Christmas we saw some high end barware at Macy’s . Gorgeous, but $$.  I like my price a lot better!

For the journal, I covered two pieces of the chipboard ( it actually comes w/ four pieces but I’ll use the other two for something else) with the watch paper on one side and some number themed paper on the other. Mod Podged these on. Went around the edges with some aluminum tape.

I had a chipboard tag in my stash which I left naked and applied a scrap of the watch paper to, then edged with black ink.  I added one of the watch charms (one of four from my $2 package so this was $.50), and an antique embossed monogram sticker I had in my stash.

To finish off the journal, I added some of the game spinners to the watch hands on the paper.

Just gives it a little dimension. I cut the inside pages to size from paper I had on hand, and put on the ring that came with the journal ( added some ribbon on hand just cause) and done.

So now Mr. C or Mr B or whomever I’m married to , has a place to display his current favorite find, as well as keep track of what he likes, doesn’t like, etc. about them.

If adult beverages aren’t your thing, you could easily adapt this for any kind of theme from coffees / teas, flavored syrups, olive oils, balsamic vinegars or just cause you want to decorate a tray!

Sharing At:

I Love The Winter Weather Snowflake and Valentine's Printable

I'm excited to be participating with a bunch of other bloggers in celebrating snowflakes today! Living in the Pacific Northwest we're not guaranteed snow every Winter ( and then we come to a screeching halt when we do get it) and I know there are people in other parts of the country who would gladly forego snow right now. But, there's something just so serene about snow ( especially when you get it infrequently!).

We went up to the mountains to get our snow fix this weekend. Of course as a crafter what did my eyes see by extra fine glitter in twinkling in the snow and dimensional glues and embossing ideas on the trees. Prior to that though, I was inspired to make a printable based on the song "Winter Weather" made famous by Peggy Lee and then by Vanessa Williams.

(Click on image to bring to full size; right click to Save As)

I'm loving chalkboard printables right now so I did this one on a chalkboard background and to make it multi-purpose, I did "LOVE" in red with a chalk outline so I can keep this up ( once I frame it ooops) through Valentine's Day.

I took a little artistic license with the lyrics changing "got my love" to "got your love" but I don't think anyone will mind. And why is this solely a Christmas song?

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BFF Open House #87 Wrap Up and Features

Thanks as always to everyone who linked up to Friday's BFF Open House. Let's get right to the highlights.

Artsy Va Va shared this wonderful upcycled yard stick turned picture hanger. Love how she painted and stamped the wooden discs. 

Kathleen from Charm Bracelet Diva shared her version of a lamp she saw at World Market. Wonderful upcycle from a Goodwill find. 

Bev from Flamingo Toes, once again transforms an ordinary dish towel into a fun work of art.

How could I resist this printable from Polka Dots On Parade? I couldn't. And it's a perfect lead in to this week's chocolate feature from Back for Seconds: 

Yum! Hope you all have a creative week. Make it a creative one! 

BFF Open House Link Party #87

Happy Friday Eve everyone and thanks for stopping by and linking up to this week's BFF Open House! So, are you all settled in to 2013? College boy has one more week left of break so we're definitely enjoying every minute of it, but haven't gotten back to too many projects. Priorities right?  I definitely have lots spinning around in my head though.

What has everyone been up to this week?