{¡voy a españa!}

{¡voy a españa!}

or

{i'm going to spain!}

one thing i have always admired about spanish is that when they are excited about something - they are so excited that they use an exclamation point before the sentence. i mean - they are so excited that they want to share that excitement with you before they even tell you why they are excited!

last year one of my best friends, señora elisabeth, moved to spain on a grant to teach.

liz in a park near her flat in segovia

she literally packed everything she could in a suit case, sold or stored the rest, and moved to spain. she didn't have somewhere to live when she got there. she didn't speak the language. all she had was a little bit {or ok, a lot} of faith and quite a bit of determination, bravery and straight up girl power.

before she moved we had a big birthday/going away bash for her. i cried when she left. i miss her a lot. thank goodness for things like skype and email and the u.s. postal service's flat rate boxes.



liz, nina, baby noah, me and ashley at the going away bash

liz and i met one night while we were organizing the juicy tube cabinet in the lancome bay while working at dillards. we quickly realized we both loved organizing, crying during a story you tell to someone you just met and dropping rulers. {which is an inside joke and no i will not be explaining it here.}


on a fun weekend trip to dallas to hang with some girlfriends

we decided to move into the duplex (there is a long legacy behind the duplex which, come to think of it, would make an excellent blog post) and help my uncle remodel it. soon thereafter we got our first dog together - mabelle. 

obligatory picture of the world's sweetest puppy, mabelle

then we moved a couple of times, went through some really rough relationships together, had a couple of arguments along the way but here on the other end we are still the best of friends.

liz and me dancing at nina's wedding

i love liz for her quirky-ness, her ability to unashamedly never be on time, her amazing sense of adventure and most of all her loyalty. i hope she finds in me endearing qualities such as these.

 anyhoo - because my daddy loves me very very much i am going to spain! i am leaving today and will be back on march 7th. don't you worry your little heads though - i have plenty going on around here for you while i am gone! my aunt kay has a story for us, my sister-in-law mccall has a fun craft for saturday, i will be posting a before & after on my new desk and i will be introducing a new blogger, jessica!

know that i am keeping myself very very busy in spain to keep my minds off of missing my blog so much! and i will have a full report when i return :)

{¡véale pronto!}

or

{¡see you soon!}

{blogiversary giveaway winners!}

g'day!

here are the winners of the shaklee samples:

(i used random.org and generated 5 winners so some people won more than once ;)

congratulations jenna, cassie and howard reviews! :)

and the winner of the pantry decals is:

congrats again jenna!

please be sure to check your emails (cassie i commented on your blog!) for contact information for the prizes! :) thanks for playing along!

dinner & portmanteau words

{happy first blogiversary to me!}



welcome back to the celebration of my blogiversary! i am so excited to have been blogging for an entire year. i can't believe it has been 365 days already.


i am celebrating with a weekend of fun - stay tuned to see how you can get in on the action!


click {here} read all about my first year of blogging!
click {here} to enter my shaklee basic H2 giveaway!
click {here} to enter my wonderfully wordy giveaway!
sorry you missed it - the giveaways are closed!

******************************************************
today i want to share one of mine and my husband's favorite recipes!

portmanteau word  (n.) a word derived by combining portions of two or more separate words

examples:

magalog = magazine + catalog

pixel = picture + element

fantabulous = fantastic + fabulous

tacolache = taco + kolache

wait - what is that last one again? tacolache??

hang on! before your head starts spinning let me explain what it is!

a tacolache (taco la cheee) is a combination taco & kolache. a spicy mexican hand-held masterpiece combined with a flaky, cheesy, warm breakfast item stuffed with meat.

stay with me now...

this is one of those meals i came up with when we were running dangerously low on food and grocery funds and i examined my pantry and fridge with a skeptical eye. after passing over the cans of veg-all (seriously what was i thinking?), tuna and diced potatoes, the packets of onion soup mix and leftover chicken parmesan this is the only thing i could come up with.

and by golly it was a winner! so here is how you make it!

to a pound of browned hamburger meat i added salt, pepper, ground coriander, a little garlic powder and taco seasoning and 3/4 cup of water. cook about 10 minutes over low and then let cool.

i roll out one can of crescents on a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with pam. i pinch the seams together a little but i don't get all neurotic about it.

i have used several things here but for these pictures i had some philly cream cheese cooking creme. and yall, these are good. spread it on a car bumper and dive in. i promise it will be delicious! spread about 1/4 cup of it on the crescent dough leaving about a 1" border around the edge.

pour the taco meat over the cresent.
{this requires little culinary skill but good hand/eye coordination helps. or the dogs just get to have taco meat for dinner.}

top with shredded cheddar cheese and pull the sides of the crescent up and over the top of the meat.

you see here i could not get them to meet. let your neurotic side take a nap and just relax! fold and tuck the ends in.

bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, give or take. just until the outside gets browned and a little flaky. then eat it all before you get a chance to take a picture. {oops}

i serve it with baked beans and applesauce. this is not some groundbreaking discovery about what compliments what. its what i had and so we used it up. but it turned out pretty good nonetheless.

oh - and have your hubby do dishes. i mean, you slaved over this dish so you deserve a break right? ;)

bon appetit!

linking up:

giggle, glitz & glam
how to-sday & the lettered cottage
tutorial & tips tuesday at stories of a2z
topsy turvy tuesdays

organizing the pantry {& a giveaway}

{happy first blogiversary to me!}

welcome back to the celebration of my blogiversary! i am so excited to have been blogging for an entire year. i can't believe it has been 365 days already. 

i am celebrating with a weekend of fun - stay tuned to see how you can get in on the action!
click {here} read all about my first year of blogging!
click {here} to enter my shaklee basic H2 giveaway!
sorry you missed it - this giveaway is closed!

******************************************************

today i want to talk about organizing my pantry. a few weeks ago i got some pantry labels from shelley (house of smiths & wonderfully wordy). shelley single-handedly inspired the entire blog world to organize and prettify their pantries when she took her pantry from this:

to this:

she revolutionized the way people thought about their pantries! no longer were they hidden closets made for hoarding canned goods and paper towels. pantries have now been brought into the light and we are using them to display some gorgeous canisters and functional baskets!

i have had my pantry in my grandmother's antique pie safe for months now. it is a beautiful piece of furniture but i knew it could be more functional and (of course) way more beautiful!

so, with the help of shelley's famous pantry labels and a little organization...

i am so thrilled with it. i want to cook more, open it every chance i get, and show it to every guest who walks in my home. lucky for me it is right inside the door!

 in celebration of my beautiful new pantry and my 1-year old blog - shelley has graciously offered a set of pantry labels to you - one of my adoring fans!

includes salt, brown sugar, flour, sugar and powdered sugar

this giveaway is open to anyone! you don't have to be a follower
but if you comment as anonymous please leave your email address so i can notify you!
but if you want to be cool and follow:
{click here to be one}

here is how to enter:

1. click over to wonderfully wordy's ready to print page and comment telling me one item you would love to have!

for additional entries:

1. follow me on twitter

2. tweet about this giveaway:

@rinderceIIa is giving away a wonderfully wordy creation from @houseofsmiths today! {http://tinyurl.com/4tb8bja}

3. "like" neathering our fest on facebook

4. facebook about the giveaway & tag neathering our fest in your post!

please leave an additional comment for each additional entry.

also - be sure to check out wonderfully wordy. she has some beautiful vinyl! and even though she isn't taking custom orders right now {bummer - i know} she has so much available on her ready to print page to choose from!

the giveaway will close at midnight on tuesday, march 29. one winner will be chosen by random.org and will be announced the morning of wednesday, march 30!

thanks shelley and good luck!

{shaklee basic H2 giveaway}

sorry you missed it - this giveaway is closed!

{happy first blogiversary to me!}

welcome back to the celebration of my blogiversary! i am so excited to have been blogging for an entire year. i can't believe it has been 365 days already. 

i am celebrating with a weekend of fun - stay tuned to see how you can get in on the action!

click {here} read all about my first year of blogging!

******************************************************

today i am so SO excited to be offering my very first giveaway to my lovely readers.

because you know, you spin my head right round right round!

i hope you have heard of Shaklee Safe and Healthy solutions.
they live by the motto "always safe, always works, always green"

Our mission at Shaklee is to provide a healthier life for everyone and a better life for anyone. We do it by making natural products that are so exceptional, you just have to tell your friends. Every product that goes into every Shaklee bottle is designed to improve health, work without compromise, and be gentle on the planet.

one of their most poplular and versatile products is Basic H2. It is an ultra concentrated all purpose cleaner that can literally be used for everything. before i show you its magical property of getting stains out check out these stats:

Non-toxic

Made from natural sources

Hypoallergenic

No harmful fumes

Contains no phosphates

Not tested on animals

Rinse free, no residue

has a pH of 6.5 (right in the range of human skin)

ultra concentrated

 

not only are their products safe for our planet - they are amazing cleaners as well! check out some of the things they have cleaned up...

grimy stains out of a microfiber cushion

fingerprints off of stainless steel

purple paint out of carpet

  

my sweet friend kristina, who is a shaklee distributor and also known as kiki, has so very generously offered five readers 2 samples of Basic H2! there is enough concentrated cleaner in each sample to make two 16oz bottles of cleaner! i am dreaming of all the things around my house i could shaklee-fy with all that!

in honor of my blogiversary and because it is spring and because i just love ya darnit...

this giveaway is open to anyone! you don't have to be a follower
but if you comment as anonymous please leave your email address so i can notify you!
but if you want to be cool and follow:
{click here to be one}

here is how to enter:

1. click over to kristina's shaklee site, peruse through the awesome items & leave a comment with one "i can't live without this" item!

for additional entries:

1. follow kristina's blog - a home made by kiki

2. follow me on twitter

3. follow kristina on twitter

4. tweet about this giveaway:

@rinderceIIa is giving away basic H2 samples today from @ahomemadebykiki! {http://tinyurl.com/4tb8bja}

5. "like" neathering our fest on facebook

6. "like" a home made by kiki on facebook

7. facebook about the giveaway & tag neathering our fest and/or a home made by kiki in your post!

please leave a comment for each additional entry. yall - that is eight chances to win! the contest closes at midnight tuesday, march 29. the winner will be picked by random.org first thing on wednesday march 30 and i will annouce the winners later that morning!

make sure you check out kristina's website to find even amazing shaklee producs! you can also contact her directly to find out her current specials!

thanks kristina and good luck!

a year in review

{happy first blogiversary to me!}

i am celebrating with a weekend of fun - stay tuned to see how you can get in on the action!

********************************************************

march 24th marks one full year since i started my blog.

i was inspired to start one by layla over at the lettered cottage and since then i have encountered so many amazing, inspiring, beautiful and loving people. i consider them all friends and enjoy sharing tales of my life with them as well as reading what they have to say.

i have also discovered the world of handmade. people like shelley, amy, maggie, jess and lindsey simply amaze me with their talents and touch my heart in the ways they share it with others and make the world a better place to live.

i have learned much about myself on the journey this last year. and i have every one of you to thank for keeping me going. :)

so stop what you are doing right now. go into the bathroom or pull out your makeup compact and look in the mirror and remember that you are who keeps me going! all your comments, support and camaraderie is what i love about the blog community! so thank you!

{ok now.. come back!}

so lets talk about some of the stuff i did around here this year...

we searched... and searched... and searched for a house...

until we finally found one!!

my mom started a blog to record old family stories...

and then she passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack on may 17.

i started healing from that by working on things around my house...

the first thing i did was organize under my kitchen sink...

we put up a barn in the back yard...

i put together my first large, complicated piece of byo furniture...

i went on a super awesome vacation with my friends...

i took a long break while all of this went on...

i made over this nifty filing cabinet...

the husband and i started our path towards financial freedom...

i brightenend up a tv stand {which was highlighted by jen @ tatertots & jello}

i hosted my first guest blogger!

wow! now that i look back, i have been one busy little bird!

now for the fun! i have some really great giveaways in celebration of my blog's first birthday! i am so excited to be offering these to you because they are from two of my favorite ladies in blog land... but it is a surprise! stay tuned to see who it is this week and make sure you come back and enter to win! :)

linked to tidy mom

{front yard overhaul}

do you ever just get the itch to do something before you lose the nerve?

the other day i was driving home with the sunroof open and the warm breeze blowing in my hair. the sun was warming my skin and my sunglasses were lookin pretty cool... i could not wait to get home and sit on the front porch with my hubby and just enjoy the absolutely beautiful weather.

and then i remembered.. this is what i would be coming home to.

kinda dampened my spirits. and got my brain ticking. {hubby would insert here that this is when he usually runs to hide. he isn't my #1 rockstar groupie fan when i "get a brilliant idea"}

i wanted to work in the yard.              

let me repeat that.

i. wanted. to. work. in. the. yard.

for those of you who know me in real life you know this is a monumental statement. i have never once pushed (or ridden for that matter) a lawn mower. i have never so much as planted a flower. i am not a veteran of being on the business end of a shovel. i don't prefer hot, sweaty, hard working manual labor. but that day i was itching to get it done.

so after a lot of batting of the eyelashes, pleading and a little pouting i had the hubby on board. we were going to just rake the yard and trim back the bushes and call it an evening.

then i tried to rake under my boxwood hedge. this here hedge has been the bane of my existance since we moved in this house. all it does is bully my front porch into shrinking into near non-existence and conceal a whole bunch of trash (hang in there - picture to follow). i got frustrated, got the loppers and then there was a whole lot of this...



if someone could explain the big white square in that picture i'd really appreciate it. :)

 then i had another brilliant idea for this baby - which is what our building was delivered on last summer. (tried and true character flaw in a diy-er - don't throw it away we can make something with it!)

i want to keep it a surprise but it might be a few months before we get it into a fully-functioning mode but let me just say - this is going to save me a lot of headaches!

anyhoo - after an hour or so of lopping, grunting, pulling and a few choice words we were left with this.

holy sweet freedom. i can sit on the porch without that wretched hedge threatening to eat me! however, it was still a pretty nasty ugly spot. so i put my finger on my chin and cocked my head to the side... hmmm... something quick, easy and economical to cover this up.

{cue the husband rolling his eyes at my next brilliant idea}

so while he was tying up loose ends and pulling up roots, working his tail of for the wife he loves so much, i hopped in the truck and dashed to lowes to pick up 8 bags of river rock. our neighbor graciously donated two industrial black trashbags to cover the dirt with and we spread the rocks around when i got home with them.

here is the wheelbarrow of trinkets deposited over who-know-how-long by previous owners or tenants.

pretty interesting array of items. i was especially impressed by the single flip flop. one flip flop. wow. yup.

after about 20 minutes of spreading the rocks around and then a few touch ups here, i added my collection of front porch adornments...

and put the handmade macrame chairs back up there. and now i get to sit here every day after work and relax.

i am so so proud of my new front porch. i have to say we added about a bazillion emotional dollars of curb appeal to the house. this project made me understand the true value of yard work - it is so rewarding.

{we still had a couple places that needed rocks - one quick lunch trip to lowes fixed it right up}

our backs were killing us and we were rubbing the blisters on our hands but to have dinner on the front porch and watch the sun set made it so worth it.

this angel came from hubby's grammie's house before they sold it. it was purchased after chris' older brother died as an infant. it just makes me feel peaceful to have him watching over everything.

when you move to louisiana and sign a contract on a home, there is a section in fine print that requires you to purchase one of the monogram flags and proudly display it in your front yard. {everyone has one} i nearly missed it but my real estate agent was kind enough to point it out. {whew} and this is my dried eucalyptus and it smells sooooo good and i love it. :)

so if you are driving through north lousiana in the next few months and wanna stop by for a chat, a glass of wine, or perhaps just some quiet time, this is where you will find me. i definitely invite you to come join!

linking up to:

the nester's take a risk party
the stories of a2z tips and tutorials party
topsy turvy tuesday
blue cricket design show and tell party
the rhinestone beagle
meet you at the fence
chic on a shoe string
remodelaholic

{just some random thursday fun}

i love thursdays.

ok not really but i hate for a day to think i don't like it. i would really prefer to skip thursday and go on to friday. but since that is not likely to happen i just kind of deal with thursday as it comes a long.

so to keep thursday interesting i want to share what i will be up to this weekend!

one of my absolute best, dearest friends is coming to visit me! :) 



me and nina

nina and i have known each other since we were in diapers. literally. i am older than her by 4 months. we went to the nursery at the church, sunday school, umyf, middle school, and high school together.  



the obligatory "everyone jump because we are all so happy" wedding picture

i got married in august. she got married the next month. she bought a house.. i bought a house soon after. she just had the most darlingest baby ever. 

used with permission

and that is one place i am not quickly following in her footsteps.

but that is definitely another blog for another day. :)

nina was an exceptionally beautiful pregnant woman!

 this weekend we plan to spend time together on my newly overhauled front porch, giggling and drinking wine! we are going shopping, thrifting and antiquing! we are eating some pretty darn good meals. we are going to sleep in on saturday and have coffee together.

it is going to be a really good weekend! hurry nina! get here!! :)


**********************************
check out my before & after over at ashlee's today!

{what i wore wednesday - # 5}

*********************************************

i love that in blog-land it is possible to be two places at once!

today i am guest posting again at life experiences!

click on over and see my top five tips on how to keep your marriage fun, strong and exciting!

*********************************************

one of the many joys of living in the south is that famous saying...

if you don't like the weather wait five minutes... it will change!

that has been so true this week. sunday it was warm, in the 70s, and sunny with a nice breeze. monday a storm blew through our area and by monday evening it was 35 outside. yesterday and today the low is forecasted at 45 and the high at 80.

this makes knowing how to layer a wonderful thing. and thanks to all you lovely WIWW folks i have learned a lot about layering so THANK YOU! :)

ruffled cardigan & jeggings - maurice's

flowy white tank & boots - dillards (on sale years ago)

super awesome gold owl necklace - vintage (it was my grandma's!)

gray vest & orange shirt - old navy

skinny jeans & belt - target

favorite boots - cavenders

necklace - oooh dangit - don't remember...

striped tee - old navy

skinny cargo pants - target

boots - dillards

 purple cardigan & gray tee - old navy

jeggings - maurice's

sandals - academy

scarf - salt & pepper

{life changing experience}

today i am taking a break from the quotable dave series to share a life changing experience story over at my friend katie's blog, life experiences.

i invite you to read my story and i hope that God finds a way to touch your heart through it.

i also invite you to spend some time in prayer over katie and her husband, matt, as they serve on a mission trip in costa rica!

menu plan monday

hooray for me! i actually have a menu!! :)

{read here for more on that if you don't know what i'm talking about and here to see why i have a menu plan!}

monday

taco-lache (taco meat rolled up in crescents and topped with cheese) with baked beans and applesauce

tuesday

creamy comforting chicken noodle soup (recipe coming for this soon!)

wednesday

chicken enchiladas with mexican rice

thursday

grilled steaks with baked sweet potatoes and salad

friday

cowboy spaghetti (by lynn at lynn's kitchen adventures) and garlic bread

saturday

smoky slow cooker chipotle chicken tacos by tiffany at eat at home

this reminds me - got to go get some hamburger meat out to thaw! happy monday everyone! :)

linking up!

{fun friday} picture frame fun!

hoooray! it is friday and i am so happy about that! anyone have any big exciting plans for the weekend? we are going to see the inlaws on saturday and then having dinner with some friends saturday night. i can't wait for some time to hang with friends :) 

last week i whipped up a cute little picture frame for my mother-in-law for her birthday. i wanted to make it into a holder for all her earrings but, as you will see, that did not work out. but i really like the finished product and i know she will love it too! 

i started with a thrift store frame that i snagged at goodwill for $1! i put a couple of coats of my favorite blue paint (baby blue by americana).

i took the back of the frame and wrapped it in burlap and hot glued the edges down.

my intentions were to then wrap it in chicken wire to give her something to hang the earrings on.

lets just say that chicken wire has sharp pointy edges, it was dark outside and i wasn't about to walk down to the shop and find some work gloves. so i abandoned that idea and went searching through my scrapbook supplies to come up with something..

tada! chipboard letters!

i thought for a while about what to put on there. i finally came up with the phrase "de colores" which translates to "of the colors." it is a song that we both learned at a three day women's retreat called Walk to Emmaus. click here to learn all about it! yay for the Emmaus plug! :) 

so i hot glued the letters on there. and then i put the back into the frame. but it was looking a little nekked... so i used this tutorial from my sparkle to make some rolled roses for the corner.

basically you cut a length of fabric, burlap in my case, and fold it in half. i ironed it to help me be able to hold it.

you know what makes a brilliant iron when you don't feel like going to the trouble of getting your out? 

yep - this baby did a lot of hard work that night. :) (also good for ironing a front seam on pants in a pinch too!)

anyhoo you roll the fabric tight to begin with...

and then you turn it away from you and continue to roll them using hot glue or fabric glue every little bit... turn and roll... glue!  turn and roll.. glue! leave about an inch to cover the bottom and hot glue it over. 

until it looks like this!

then i cut off all the little strings and was left with this. i made two more and hot glued them up in the corner (which is what the first picture is of... but here it is again for your viewing pleasure!)

and here is the final product! 

i love that it is all colorful and the blue frame will go well with their new bathroom! :) 

happy birthday momma-in-law! you are the best!

linking up!