June 28, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Purple Dayz

Who doesn’t want an easy summer? The deeper into summer it gets, the less I want to wear. Nothing says, “easy,” like a maxi skirt. More comfortable than jeans. More covering than shorts.

The best part about a maxi is definitely the breeze around your legs.

I purchased this maxi skirt for a great sale price on Free People (they have a new version here) last year. I have worn it but have never gotten around to blogging about it.

Purple is my least favorite color, but I love the volume of this skirt. And it has grown on me.

I did not want to be bogged down with too many accessories so I simply paired it with my Anthropologie Necklace from earlier this year.

The sandals were a killer deal that I scored in December. The were originally around $130 and I paid $23. I usually wait for a sale on most of my clothing and accessories. In fact, this whole outfit head to toe was obtained for $128.

I plan on wearing this skirt a lot this summer. A good rule of thumb is to buy your summer clothes in the fall and your winter clothes in the spring. You will get the best deals that way.

Do you wear maxis or shorts in the summer? Are you with me on wearing less accessories in the heat?

These photos were edited using the App Afterlife’s Equinox Filter.

April 22, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Antique Shopping With My Mom

My mom wanted to have a girl’s day a few weeks ago. I was in. Since we both love antiquing, we planned on heading down to some local antique stores and picking out a fun restaurant to eat at.

It was a fun day, but incredibly hot. I wore my Free People Tutti Frutti Slip Skirt that I got for a steal at Nordstrom Rack (similar skirt here) with a white t-shirt, bow belt from Anthropologie and On A Wing Necklace with vintage boots. It seemed like a good outfit for antiquing. Sorry for the blurry pictures. My daughter took them and the camera is big for her tiny hands.

I wanted to share all of the pretty vintage treasures there were to be had. I did not buy anything except for a few post cards to add to my collection. You can see a new feature about them that I started on this blog here.

Vintage Maracas. The color is beautiful.

This bracelet that reminded me of peacock feathers (Heather!).

I can always spot a gnome.

This guy lurking creepily in the back was tagged as an elf. The horror! But, well, he is creepy enough for the title. He was $150. Now that may seem like a lot of money. And it is. But imagine the possibilities. How scared would your spouse/partner be of this creature?

Oh. Man. What a steal!

If only I weren’t so scared of it myself…

Here was a cute ceramic gnome candle holder. I don’t buy the kitschy ceramic stuff. I like the small felted gnomes I can hide in other objects or plant sticks or outside gnomes. But he was cute sitting on the shelf.

If I had one more room in my house, I would have sprung for this amazing ceramic Italian chandelier. It is gorgeous. The colors were perfect. The price was fair for a chandelier. So pretty!

I love the blue on this ceramic crock.

And the blue on this old plunger.

Look at the pretty turquoise jewelry!

And there was great blue grass music being played throughout town. It was a beautiful day. We even got to see this cute little dressed up fellow.

Thank you Mom for spending it with me. I had so much fun!

Have you been antique shopping lately? Thrift store shopping? I love sifting through old things. You never know what you are going to find!

P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

January 20, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

The Lazy Mom’s Salad

Who knew? Who knew my kids would have a fondness for spinach? Certainly not me.

I did not try spinach until about five years ago. I was terrified of the stuff. Here is what I knew about spinach that prevented me from trying it:

When eaten your body would become grossly disfigured causing monstrous veiny muscles to spontaneously burst out upon your arms.

When cooked it would shrivel away into a slimy green paste that resembled nothing of its former self.

It is green.

So I stayed clear of spinach. No thank you. “Olive Oil go rescue yourself and stop being so annoying. And, no, I am not eating spinach. Especially to save you.” There I said it. Oh, you know you were thinking it.

But I tried it as a salad. I loved it. It is so velvety and mild. I thought perhaps my children would love it, too.

And they did.

And they do.

More than me.

More than my husband.

More than Pop…

No, not more than him. Their bodies don’t combust for the stuff.

Thank God.

I won’t make a salad unless it is easy. Dinner is all ready so time consuming. Here is how I always make my salad, 3-4 times a week. We never get tired of it.

Ingredients:

5 – 6 oz. of prewashed baby spinach (best flavor I have found is Safeway or Vons O Organic) or prewashed romaine lettuce
1/3 cup Italian dressing (whichever is cheapest)
1/3 cup feta cheese

Optional for the less lazy:

Chopped red bell pepper
Chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Directions:

Dump salad in a bowl. Sorry. Forgot to take a picture of it in the bowl. But here it is before that step. All innocent. It doesn’t even know what’s going to happen to it.

Measure feta. Dump feta in the bowl.

Measure Italian dressing. Dump the dressing in the bowl. Toss.

And try not use the word dump while you are cooking. Just a thought. A suggestion. Don’t take offense or poke my eye out! “A-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!”

That’s it. Three ingredients. If this salad could talk it would say, “I am what I am and that’s all that I am. Or all that’s in me.”

You could also dump (Sorry. Couldn’t resist) in the optional ingredients at this point. But be warned that most kids don’t like the extra ingredients.

Now go ~~rescue Olive Oil~~ take a nap. Cause that was exhausting.

“A-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!”

June 6, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Mama’s Goin’ Out Crockpot Chicken

This is a recipe I came up with to feed my family on nights I go out. Mommy has to get her social on. My kids love this recipe. I think they look forward to nights I leave the house (my husband stays with them), because of this dish. I have seen similar recipes, but I never have a packet of dry italian seasoning mix on hand. So, I use a little italian dressing and add a couple of extras.

This is chicken seasoning. It is amazing. I first learned about it through some of my husband’s coworkers. Adding a little of this to any chicken recipe enhances the flavors. I buy mine at Costco. You can also find it in the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store.

Ingredients

1-1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or chicken tenders)
1/4 cup italian dressing
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. italian herbs dried
1/2 tsp. salt + 1/4 tsp. at end (if needed)
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. chicken seasoning
1/2 cup sour cream
Package of noodles or rice to serve chicken over

I always spray my crockpot with Pam before I cook something in it. I do not want to have to scrub a pot.

Place your chicken breast in the crockpot. Pour 1/4 cup italian dressing into a 2 cup measuring glass. Add cream of chicken soup. Add all of the other ingredients (except sour cream, extra salt and noodles) and mix together. I use a fork.

Pour mixed ingredients over chicken breast. Cover with crockpot lid. Turn crockpot on and cook mixture on high for four hours.

Cook noodles or rice according to package instructions. Set aside.

Remove chicken.

Stir sour cream into the soup mixture. If I want the sauce thicker, I will sometimes mix two tablespoons of flour with one-two tablespoon of water in a separate small bowl. You want it pourable. Not thick. Then stir the mixture into the sauce until completely incorporated. I have just purchased this new item, Wondra. It is an instant flour. I have not tried this yet, but I imagine a little of this would work, as well. In fact, it might work better!

I am “goin’ out” on Sunday (Happy Birthday, Amy!) and making this dish that night. I am going to try some Wondra. I will update this recipe based on which item works better.

For now, I recommend my flour mixture, because it is tried and true.

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Taste sauce. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, if needed. Add chicken back into crockpot. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the chicken and sauce are warm again.

Serve over noodles or rice. Eat it, or do like I do, and skip out. Believe me, they won’t even miss you.

Have fun! Enjoy!

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

italian

Purple Dayz

Antique Shopping With My Mom

The Lazy Mom’s Salad

Mama’s Goin’ Out Crockpot Chicken