A Simple Valentine

Whether itā€™s romantic, or itā€™s all about the kids, or itā€™s for your loving gal pals, a simple valentine celebration can still be a special. Pulling out everything I own that is pink, heart shaped, vintage or flowery helps put me in the mood for valentine decorating.  Using what I have is always my motto, […]

Target Dollar Spot

The Target Dollar Spot really delivered during a recent shopping trip.  I had as much fun as a kid in a candy store and I brought a small haul home. To be quite frank, our Target is in the hood.  No offense if you live in the hood, of course.  But when I visit other […]

Iā€™m Retiring! (Again)

Well, hereā€™s the big news around here.  Iā€™m retiring.  By which I mean Iā€™m retiring again.  I tried this three years ago and my retirement lasted seven months.  But.  This time, I think Iā€™m ready. And.  Weā€™re hitting the road.  For a month.  Yep.  Weā€™re loading up Johnā€™s Big Red and heading out. Iā€™ll have […]

Holiday Potpourri

ā€œSimpleā€ is my holiday mantra and enjoying holiday potpourri is about as simple as you can get and still satisfy the senses.  A tiny crockpot means the stove doesnā€™t even have to go on and I can set it and forget it. Remember the dried orange slices I made a couple of weeks ago?  I […]

Air Fried Pork Chops

Any sort of pork is not on our normal menu around here.Ā  Except for.Ā  Umm.Ā  Bacon.Ā  Should that really be classified as pork? But this week air fried pork chops made it into the rotation. The occasional babyback ribs or pork loin will show up, but not really pork chops.  Hub likes them way more […]

Dried Orange Slices

Dried orange slices at Christmas time are so beautiful as natural tree ornaments, garland embellishments, and drink garnishes. I am blessed in life to have friends and family who are beautiful and talented and smart and funny.  All very important traits.  And most of them are creative and artistic.  Thatā€™s where they leave me in […]

My Top Tips for Staying Zen During Christmas

Okay, so maybe Zen and Christmas donā€™t really go in the same sentence, but as much as everyone wants to enjoy the holidays, I think we all want a little peace too.  So here are my top tips for staying Zen during this Christmas season. Tip #1 ā€“ Stop! šŸ›‘ If youā€™re doing something that […]

Simple Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

If youā€™re in need of some warm comfort food, hereā€™s a recipe for simple homemade chicken pot pie.  And it will also work if you have some leftover turkey you need to use up! To lighten this recipe, filling goes into a bowl and pie crust is only used on the top.  The contrast between […]

Curried Butternut Soup

This is a strange, but true story.  I won a cooking contest.  Yep.  I know, so hard to believe!  And Curried Butternut Soup was the winning entry. Hereā€™s the backstory.Ā  I worked in the Surgery Department for a large hospital and for some reason OR, Same Day Surgery and Endoscopy all got together and put […]

Sunday Football and Taco Soup

Is football a Sunday tradition in your house?  If relaxing and catching a game or two is on your Sunday agenda, you might want to try this recipe for Taco Soup next week.  Itā€™s super simple, crockpot friendly and makes a nice, large batch. Sundays are not such a restful day around here.   Thereā€™s pickleball […]