Three Sisters. Three Weddings

This last year has been filled with WEDDINGS! This is not a complaint, but rather an exclamation. I must share with the world about how I, and my two sisters, all got married within 10 months! Not to mention, one cousin and an aunt! I know, pretty ridiculous?! This was not a wedding "intervention" sort of thing, but a random act of...wedding bliss!

Wedding #1 - It all started on September 12, 2010. Eric and I were married at my parent's house. We had an outdoors, country wedding filled with tractors, corn bread, old wooden church pews,  cowboy boots, elk antler arbor...You get the idea.

Wedding # 2 - May 9, 2010,  My older, wiser sister Sarah and her husband Kent were married! They had a traditional church wedding at a historical chapel. It was picture perfect! They had gourmet cupcakes and handmade candies at their reception. Not to mention, the most beautiful flowers arrangements I have ever seen!

Wedding #3 - June 26, 2010, My younger,  beautiful sister Kaytlyn and her husband Chris were married! They had an evening wedding, and it was a gorgeous night! The ceremony was in an outdoor ampitheatre, and the reception was indoors and catered with scumptios finger foods and mini cheesecakes for dessert. It was a perfect, summer evening wedding.  Kayt also set a new record...she had 10 bridesmaids!!

I would not recommend this method of marrying off your children. I know for a fact, we could not have pulled off all of these individually beautiful weddings without the help of #1 Our amazingly talented mother, and ALL of our super supportive family and friends who helped out above and beyond any level of expectation.

I love weddings.

Whimsy Jar Swap

I have officially participated in my first swap! I had a great time putting together these Whimsy Jars for my swap partners, Patty and Gina. The swap was hosted by Jessica, over at Kids Napping? I am Scrapping!. She was a wonderful host - so organized! 

Here is the jar I put together for Patty...

 

Gina's Whimsy Jar...

My Whimsy Jar from Patty...

My Whimsy Jar from Gina...

Thank you Jessica for hosting a great swap! Whimsy Jars are such a fun, great idea!

Thanks to my partners for a great first "swap experience"!

James 5:16

James 5:16 (New International Version)

¹⁶"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

      Prayer. How powerful! How rewarding! Yet, how difficult at times? I have  been struggling with setting aside the time for just me and God. I came across this scripture while listening to K-Love on the radio at work.   
      Spending more time in prayer has really been laid on my heart lately, and I am so glad this scripture was brought to my attention for yet more reasons to be in prayer; for others, for healing, for righteousness...

Truckin' and Junkin' - June

I have the best husband. On his way to a tractor/truck/machinery parts flea market, he asks me if there is anything I want him to watch out for? Jokingly, I told him to keep an eye out for a produce scale. Well, as fate should have it, guess what was the only thing he got from the sale? An old hardware scale! It's perfect, and I just love it.

Of course, I am not using it to weigh nuts and bolts, but it makes the best fruit bowl!

The other day my husband walks in to the kitchen and says, "Well, it's time to buy fruit, we're down to under 2 pounds!"

 

         Not only is it great for fruit, but for puppies! This is Sergeant York, aka "Sarge." He is my dad's new hunting dog and he is about 8 weeks old in this picture and looks like about 8-1/2 pounds! He's a cutie isn't he?! He's a German hunting breed called a Pudelpointer.

2 Doors = 2 Desks

We moved in to our first house about 2-1/2 months ago......Man!Tell me, does the work ever end?! We have certainly come a long way and are taking some time off to enjoy all of our hard work.  One of my favorite projects so far is our two desks/tables that we made from two old doors.

They were pretty simple to put together. We just scraped off the loose paint, put a layer of clear verathane on both sides, built the legs and then bought a sheet of 1/4 thick glass for the top! I especially love how easy the glass is to clean after working on craft projects!

Truckin' and Junkin' - May

 I thought I would share some of the newest projects that I have acquired over the last couple weeks.

The Milk Can

I "picked" this rusty find at our local thrift store. It's one of those thrift stores you walk in to and immediately feel like you need to shower and or head straight to the doctor's for a tetanus shot. HOWEVER, I have had some good luck rummaging through and finding some hidden treasures; like this milk can. Luckily, my husband has a sand blaster that can do some nice clean-up work on this little guy.
I am not sure what I want to do with it yet. I was thinking of making a wood table top for it, and put it next to chair in the living room. I would prefer that it would be something functional like that, and not just "decorational" (don't look it up, it's a word). ANY IDEAS?

Montgomery Ward Glass Washboard

Ok fellow garage-salers, you know the feeling you get when you find a sale that is just overflowing with COOL STUFF, well this garage sale was just that. This little lady has some many cool, antique housewares (one of my weaknesses) that I was like a kid in a candy shop, only worse. I managed to show some self-control, and walked away spending $10 on this Montgomery-Ward Glass Washboard and a Carlton Glass Coffee Jar. I am planning on hanging the washboard up in "laundry room," but our laundry is in one of those closets off the dining room. So - a washboard doesn't really fit in with the dinning room feel?? But anyways, I couldn't pass it up. Not sure if I will hold on to it - or sell?

Last but not least -

The Crock
   I do not know much about these or identifying how much they are worth. It does have a stamp on it. And it's BIG. The bad news; it has a crack down the side - as you can see in this pic. It holds water,but has a slowwww leak. Any ideas for a food-safe sealant? Decor? I don't want to use it as a planter. I was thinking of making a lid, or looking to buy an old, original one and using it for some sort of storage? I have seen them used in entry ways for keeping umbrellas and such in, but my entry doesn't have the space.


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Happy Junkin'!

Wapiti Chili

Wapiti, an old Indian word meaning "White Rump," in reference to the rear end of an Elk. Bet you didn't know that?! Well, at least that's what my dad as always told me!
We weren't lucky enough to "harvest" (I'll be pc) an Elk this year, but we were lucky enough to know someone who did! Elk meat is very low in fat and cholesterol, and when you take them from the wild you know they're not pumped full of growth hormones or chemicals. 


Even if you aren't a hunter, there are Elk farms that raise them just like beef cattle, and many are organic so you can come close to getting the "real deal." I am just going to go ahead and tell you, I think Elk is better than beef! I grew up on wild game and I would chose elk, deer, moose, antelope, caribou, you name it over beef any day! But, that's just me...



Wapiti Chili


2 lbs. ground Elk 
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 whole white onion, chopped
3 cups of "chili" beans, like Great Northern, Pinto, Black Beans, etc...Just use at least 2 varieties.
2 cups diced tomatoes
Handful of diced green chilles
1 cup whole corn
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp pepper ( or else if you don't like it so "peppy")
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano

 In a cast iron skillet, brown the Elk with the garlic and onions in olive oil. 
Add to a large cook pot-  beans, tomatoes, green chilles, corn and cook on medium heat while meat browns.
Once the meat is done, add to the cook pot and simmer on low.
Add the spices and stir until well combined. 
Let the pot simmer for at least 15 minutes before serving. 


I hope you enjoy! It's nothin' fancy, but I hope I at least got you thinking about trying Elk meat!