The Year was 1972

The year was 1972 in a small town called Deer Park. My family built their own home on a few acre property... life was much simpler. They had cows, horses, and chickens that roamed the land.
That summer they brought home a brand new baby girl. My parents were no strangers at having kids for as I was the 4th to be born. My dad named me after my mom... probably because he knew I would turn out just like her!
Today is my birthday!!! I am looking back at the years that have past.
I remember getting older and having our german sheperd as our babysitter...and he was a good one. If anyone would drive onto our property "Duke" would be right on their car window not letting them out of the car. Those poor door to door salesman. I miss that dog!!! I also remember the long walk from the bus stop to our house which was about a mile. For a 5 year old walking home from the kindergarten bus that was a long walk. In todays world I don't even let my kids out of my site!!! As the years passed and I grew older and more independant... like riding my bike into town over the summer when I was 9... no parent supervision until my mom came home (which we knew better to be home before mom) Would I trust my kids...probably! Do I trust others..no way!!! All summer long we would see almost all of our school friends for as the Deer Park pool was the place to be. When I walk into the rec center and smell the chlorine ~ flashbacks of that simpler time comes to mind.
I grew up in this small town with the same kids all through school. This is what I want for my own children.. a simpler time. To have life long friends. Someday!!! As for today I am in love with the most wonderful man and have two special little girls. My oldest daughter~ my husband said we should of named her after me...she is just like me in every way. One day they will look back and hopefully have wonderful stories to tell about growing up. xoxo

4th of July family fun!

Whoohoo! What a party!!! Most of the family came up for the 4th of July festivities... lots of food, fun, and music!
Playing on the jukebox around the homestead has been Michael Jackson to remember all the good times that we had growing up listening to him... made us feel like kids again! R.I.P. Michael!





Oh...all the food!!! Patty & her husband (Troy) came over from Spokane, Washington. They spent all of friday touring around Pikes Place Market. Picked up some Mick's hot pepper jelly for some snacks. We have cream cheese with hot pepper jelly poured over the top and wheat thin crackers are used for dipping. Yummy!!! Next, we made Red Velvet cupcakes with white frosting and blue sprinkles...tying in with the red, white, and blue theme of the day. I also made homemade cheesecake. My nephew, Travis, requested my famous (at least with the family) pasta salad... always the perfect hangover remedy =) My hubby made the classic cheese burgers and hot dogs. Linda & Joe brought over some wonderful trout that Joe caught on his last fishing trip to Alaska. Everything was very good!!


Next, was the fun! The guys left the house around 3:00 pm in search for the best deal on fireworks...lol They are so funny! Hunting for rabbit (fireworks)... so about 6 I made the call... we are hungry and the kids are restless. Lucky enough they were just down the street. We sat around on the deck talking about the ol' days... how times have changed on how we celebrate Independence Day. Remembering growning up in the town of Deer Park and who we see over the year. After the dinner is done we head on down to the beach to light off fireworks. Like every year the guys do a wonderful job!
We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Independence Day! xoxo

Getting ready for the 4th of July!

I was just thinking the other day about the 4th of July and how it is next week! We are having a small party at our house. You actually can still light off fireworks here in Indianola, WA. Anyways, I wanted to do something cute for the decorations and not spend a lot of money doing it. So, off searching the web I went =)

Etsy was the place to be for me! Support the other crafts and help spread the word about their business to boot. I came across this adorable place that designs tablescapes that you can download and print out yourself. I was thinking could it really be this easy... that I don't even have to go to the store to purchase a thing... Yes is the answer! PaperandCake is the Etsy store name and they have many more cute party tablescapes to purchase as well. I ordered the 4th of July and the Dinner for 2 tablescape in Damask.
The total for both was only $13.00. I probably would of spent that in gas just looking around for decorations in various stores.
I didn't even have to wait to get it.. These people are on top of things!!! Check them out! They even have a blog.

I will take pictures of us enjoying the decorations and will probably blog more about it =) Happy Independence Day!!!

Yummy! Cajun Chicken Wrap Recipe

So, I am on day 4 of my diet and I have lost 7 1/2 lbs!
Ok.. I stole this off of another site! I am giving credit where credit is due! Just might have to make this for the 4th of July in our house =) LaaLoosh! It just looked sooo good!
On this site she gives you how many points they are for Weight Watchers.

Cajun Chicken Wrap Recipe

Ingredients:
3/4 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips3 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
4 medium tortillas, flour, fat-free
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 small onion(s), red, thinly sliced
1 tsp paprika
2 cup mixed baby greens
3 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
8 medium basil, leaves
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
4 tsp fat-free mayonnaise
1 small tomato cut into strips
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix the 3 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning, paprika and flour. Season chicken with salt and pepper and coat with seasoning mixture. Spray a large, nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, add chicken to pan and sauté until cooked through (approximately about 1 to 2 minutes per side). Remove chicken from heat and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning for the dressing. On each tortilla, spread 1 teaspoon dressing, add greens, onion slices, two basil leaves and some slices of tomatoes. Top with chicken pieces and wrap. Enjoy!
Serves 4.



She also had a great Mojito recipe....

Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Bacardi Rum
- 12 fresh spearmint leaves
- 1/2 lime
- 7 oz sprite zero or club soda
- 2 tbsp. Splenda

Directions:
In a cool tall glass, muddle the mint, Splenda and lime juice. Add crushed ice. Add rum, soda and stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge and a few sprigs of mint. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe makes 1 serving

Time for Bed!

If you came to the Funky Junk Sister's Show you would of seen the 2 benches that I made out of twin beds. Today I was checking out some DIY projects and came across a few more favorites. Most of these beds can be found at estate & garage sales, craiglist, or goodwill. Whenever I find one and it is a great price or FREE (is even better)... I just have to get it!

Beautiful old headboards are being tucked away to gather cobwebs, when they can be restored to a new and lovely life. Don't forget to bring them into the light of day. Rebuild and re-love them.


Use can just about use them anywhere... in the garden


made in different styles... this one took a lot of effort.


I kind of like the old chippy paint ones...


This one would go great in my house!

Lite & Yummy for Summer!

Today~ I started my diet! How many times do we say that? Myself~ way to many =) Four weeks ago I gave up coffee..I know how can I give up coffee??? It was pretty easy! I stopped going to Starbucks and I didn't buy anymore Vanilla Creamer to make it at home. Today~ I gave up soda and sugar... for those of you who have known me forever..know that I was a Coke drinker. You would hardly ever see me without a Coke in my hand. A few years ago I cut way back on the soda drinking and replaced it with water. I could never truely give it up...until today!

For summer and to support my new diet... I want to post a few yummy recipes that taste great and are super easy to make. Here is the first of the many to come =)


Grilled Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwiches

Ingredients
Makes 16
1 loaf thinly sliced white sandwich bread (32 pieces), preferably Pullman
2 pounds salted fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 medium tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
Directions
Using a 2- or 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter (depending on size of tomatoes), cut out bread and mozzarella.
Season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Sandwich 1 tomato slice and 1 mozzarella slice between 2 slices of bread. Repeat with remaining tomatoes, mozzarella, and bread to make 16 sandwiches.
Preheat a grill to medium, or heat a grill pan over medium heat. Brush outsides of bread with butter. Grill sandwiches until golden brown and mozzarella is soft but not completely melted, about 5 minutes per side.

The Funky Junk Weekend!

Sorry this has taken me a few days to post... I needed to recoop after a long fun field weekend of selling and buying. First, I would like to thank every single person that helped to make this 1st ever Funky Junk Sister Show such a success! For the last few months my sister (Linda) and I worked really hard at getting the word out on the show...plus, finding all the wonderful vendors. Each and everyone of the vendors were extra special in their own way. And none of them let us down! They actually surpassed every expectation that we even had... the displays and their products were beautiful.
An extra special THANK YOU to Debi Ward Kennedy and her hubby Bob for helping us with a vendor presentation on friday night. It was super helpful and many people thanked us for having you there.
The ladies of the Today Country Store were a hoot! They were going to do a decorating seminar on Saturday, however, people were to busy shopping and having a good time to check it out. We will plan that better for next time =)
I hope everyone that came to the show had a wonderful time and found some great treasures! Here are a few pics that we took along the way =)
Photo from above the night before the show.


People lined up by the door before we opened. Die hard shoppers! =)



The Funky Junk Sister's Booth.

This was COOLBOB JUNK's Booth. They had the most beautiful flowers displayed in their booth!

Of Course the Today's Country Store!

Here is the table that I had posted earlier that I had redone in RED! Turned out super cute!!!

Here is the bed and stool that was also in the last post... the bed we made into a bench and I recovered the stool~ ooh la la!

And our fridge... it looked so cute all fixed up! I called her "Betty" she is as vintage as Betty ever was =) This lovely lady purchased Betty for here painting studio.

Hope everyone enjoyed the pics and I am sure I will have more over the next couple of days to share... I am trying to talk my sister into doing a Fall Show. So, stay tuned! xoxo