Super-Simple Italian Tossed Salad

Yesterday, I wrote about the meal I made last week--Pioneer Woman's Pasta Carbonara, Italian Tossed Salad, and garlic bread.  I promised to share with you the recipe for the Italian dressing.  It's ultra-simple (only 5 ingredients) and super-yummy every time.

Super-Simple Italian Salad Dressing
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt to taste

Whisk the first four ingredients together.  Drizzle over salad.  Toss salad to coat evenly.  Sprinkle with salt.  Toss the salad again.  Taste the salad.  Sprinkle with just a little more salt.  Toss the salad again.  Repeat...until you get it just right.  You will know.  You just will.  Your mouth will be so happy.

My salad was not made up of traditional Italian salad fixings.  Instead, I made a garden salad with the ingredients I had a taste for and just poured this dressing on top.  It was fabulous.   I used romaine hearts, baby spinach, cauliflower, green pepper, broccoli, and grape tomatoes.  I have also used this same dressing on a salad made of romaine, baby spinach, grape tomatoes, black olives, red onion, artichoke hearts and baby corn...with a bit of feta cheese or blue cheese for good measure.  I don't know if those ingredients classify it as Italian or Greek or what...I DO know they classify it as yummmm-a-docious!!!

{{{Editor's note:  I DO know that the merits of wilty salad are highly debatable.  I, for one, am a die-hard fan of wilty salad.  I made this salad last Thursday night, and just finished eating the leftovers yesterday, four days later.  If you are not a fan of wilty salad, so be it...your loss.  If you are a fan, here's your notice.  This dressing makes incredible wilty salad.  Incredible.  Outstanding.  Like "stand-at-the-kitchen-counter-and-eat-it-out-of-the-dish" incredible.  Yah.  It's that good.  The End}}}

My November Goals Update

Remember when I told you all about my goals for this month?  Wel, I've been itching to give you a progress report!  I wanted to do this back on the 15th (you know, halfway through the month), but.....ahhhhh....LIFE happened.  I've been doing fairly well in several areas, and while I may not be quite at an A+, I know I'm still in the B or B+ range...and that's good enough for me right now. (It's all about Moderation, right?...that reference will make no sense to you unless you read the original goal post.)

❧So, let's talk about Thanksgiving first, shall we?
I'm not ready for it.  There.  I said it.  I'm just not ready for it.  Which is weird.  Really weird.  Thanksgiving is my very most favoritest holiday ever.  And I'm just not ready for it this year.  But I am ready for Christmas.  Ready.  Really ready.  Like, as in, today is only November 19, and just this morning I dragged in three bins of Christmas decorations...you know, just to get me started.  Yep...it's strange...I'll be the first one to admit it.  Ready for Christmas...NOT ready for Thanksgiving...yet Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I'm a study in contrasts these days.  

❧I have been working more and more on being GENTLE with my children.  I'm thrilled to report that I've seen results in this area.  I've been disciplining more--notice I did not say "punishing"...I said "disciplining"--to me, discipline equals boundaries and guidelines.  And I've been more consistent with laying down clear boundaries and expectations...as a result, my children are learning precisely what is and what is not expected of them.  They are behaving better...I am being more gentle...boundaries are set...it's a cycle that's making things flow more smoothly.  There are still many bumps in the road...on a daily basis, even.  But it's an improvement...and that's good.

❧I "accidentally" lost 8 pounds in October and wanted to purposely do the same in November.  So far I've lost an additional 2 pounds.  I'm not on track to lose the 8 I'd hoped for...but I have lost!  And I haven't gained!  Both of those are things to be thankful for.  I'm starting to fit much more comfortably into a lot of my clothes (hence the church-outfit picture above....and...we're just going to act like we don't see those smudges and smears from my littles, right?  Thanks, friends.)  If I lost another 2 pounds in the second half of the month, I'd still be very, very happy.

❧While I have not updated my Etsy shop, I have taken steps toward my Etsy goals for this month.  I've had several incredibly successful sales on Instagram (photo above is only part of the pile I took to the post office today!), and while I realize that that is not Etsy, those sales are helping me clear out non-Etsy merchandise, so that I will have the space, energy, and time to devote to my Etsy store.  It's all a process...and I've learned so much already.

❧My blog goals are also being worked on.  Most importantly, my blog relationships are being worked on.  And I'm so, so excited about that.  It's fun to blog...but to actually get to connect to the people behind all the comments...that's where the pay-off truly lies.  In the end, people are what really matter.  

❧I have not washed my house windows.  Not even one.  And evidently, not my mirrors, either.

❧I have successfully moved my wake-up time!!!  I am DAILY getting up a half-hour to an hour earlier than I used to.  This extra time on the front side of my day has proven to be priceless.  I've tried on several occasions in the past to move my rising time, with little to no success.  I am very pleased that it seems to have "stuck" this time.

❧So far, I've tried one more of The Pioneer Woman's recipes (my goal was to try two new PW recipes this month).  Last week, I made her Pasta Carbonara for dinner, along with an Italian salad and garlic bread.  Ohhhhhh yum!  Seriously, it was all soooooo delicious!  My Pasta Carbonara was a bit more yellow than hers (at least from what I can see in her photos).  I'm wondering if that's because the yolks from my fresh eggs are naturally a deeper yellow-orange. (although, doesn't PW have chickens, too??)  The Italian salad was made with a very simple homemade dressing, a recipe given to me from a friend (I'll post the recipe tomorrow).  The garlic bread was store-bought, on the WalMart day-old bread clearance rack.  It was definitely a meal worth repeating.  My hubs, who is usually not a fan of any type of white pasta sauce (no alfredo here, baby), raved about it.  So did my kids.  I counted it as a win in my book.


So, that's the recap on my November goals.  For the most part, I've made good progress.  Not perfect, but still good.

How are you doing on your November goals??? 

Holy Jars, Batman!!!

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***
A fun post!

A simple post!

A giveaway...

Just...For...YOU!!!

Because I like you...

and I'm nice that way.

Tonight I received a new batch of vintage blue Mason jars...

a big batch...

a REALLY big batch...

like as in, this big!☟☟☟

Yah...

That's a BIG batch o' jars.

Too big.

I need to get rid of one.

Why don't you let me give it to YOU?!?!?

I'd like to give one wonderful reader

their very own Traveling Mason Jar...

complete with splash-resistant lid and glass straw.

{if you've never heard of the wonderful-ness that is my

Traveling Mason Jars...well, let me just tell you,

you're missing out!  

Follow the link above to read all about them!}

All you have to do is guess how many jars I got today.

Yes, they are all on the table.

No, they are not all in the picture.

Come on!!!...that'd be too easy!!!

You get ONE guess.

Only one guess, peeps.

That rule is for people like my husband...

who would truly sit there and comment all the way up to 347 just to be sure that he wins.

And no, there aren't 347...just in case you think I was really sneaky there and gave you a big clue.

So...the rules.

All you have to do is comment below with a guess...ONE guess.

In the event that more than one person guesses the correct number,

your names will be put in numeric order, 

and good old Random Number Generator will choose the winner.

Make sure your comment links me to your blog...

or your email...

or some way that I can get ahold of you...

just in case you win!!!

You don't have to follow me.

You don't have to post about this giveaway.

You don't even have to like me!!!

{{although I'm sure you all do!}}

All you have to do is

GUESS!!!

Giveaway ends at 9:00 p.m. (CST) tomorrow night!!!

You've got approximately 25 hours!

GO!  GUESS!!!

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

PSA: Your Laundry's Best Friend

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

We've all heard the old adage,

"A dog is man's best friend."

Well, I am here today to introduce you to...

{{{drumroll, please}}}

your laundry's NEW best friend!!!

It's not Oxi-Clean.

It's not Clorox 2.

It's not even Tide Stain Stick.

Oh, no...it's much simpler {and cheaper} than that.

And you need look no further than your kitchen sink.

Yes, your kitchen sink.

Ladies and Gents,

your laundry's best friend is....

Dawn dish soap!!!

I've known this secret for years...

used it many, many,

countless hundreds of times.

And I'm here today to show it to you!!!

I'm a mom to littles.

Four littles to be exact.

Every mom knows that there's one secret to get your kids to eat anything...

Ranch dressing.

I swear, pour Ranch dressing over an old work boot, 

and my kids will gladly nosh on it until it's devoured.

They love Ranch dressing.

And, for the most part, I do too.

Except for when it gets on their clothing.

You know the drill...

they're eating carrots...or broccoli...or an old boot...

dipped in Ranch dressing.

Suddenly a blop (or three) lands on the shirt.

You swoop in and save the day by wiping it off with a dish rag.

Crisis averted, right???

Wrong!!!

You're going to throw that shirt in the wash, 

forgetting all about those pesky Ranch dollops...

then you're going to toss it in the dryer...

and only once you go to fold it are you going to notice

that it looks like this!!!☟☟☟

{{can I get a witness???  You know you've been there!!!}}

NEVER FEAR!!!

Dawn dish soap is here!!!

Simply drizzle, smear, daub...

{basically I mean apply it how ever your little heart desires}

apply Dawn to the wet-looking spots like this☟☟☟

Do not wet the fabric.

Do not scrub the spots.

Do not work harder than you need to.

Just put the Dawn on the spots.

That's it.

You're done.

Now throw the shirt back in the dirty clothes pile to be washed later.

Later...meaning later today...

or tomorrow...

or a week from now...

matters not.

Because while your shirt is lying there,

waiting to be washed,

super-hero Dawn is doing her work.

And when that shirt gets washed next time

{with NO further action from you...

don't rinse the Dawn, don't scrub the Dawn,

just leave it!!!

throw it in the wash just like that!}

it's going to come out

looking like this!!!☟☟☟

Yep!!!

You're seeing that right!

A washed-in, dried-in stain...

and it vanished that easily!!!

Quickly...

let's review.

This time, I purposely applied a ridiculous amount of Ranch dressing

to one of my four-year-old's shirts 

{one of my favorites...and yes, I had a few moments of 

what-if-this-doesn't-work panic}

That big spot?   Ranch dressing.

That big spot?  Ranch dressing that has been washed and dried into this shirt!

Those spots?  Dawn dish soap that I sloppily schmeared on there.

And those spots???

Oh...

That's right.

THERE AREN'T ANY!!!

The spots are gone!

This is going to revolutionize your laundry life.

Truly.

It will.

I've used it on so many other stains, too.

In fact, Dawn is always my "try this first" approach to any laundry stains.

Try it!!!

I can't wait to hear how thrilled you are!

✏This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you courtesy of Tweetpotatopie...

just because I'm nice that way.

Happy Laundry Day.

Love Looks Like This Today...

I stayed up late Sunday night, making a detailed list of everything I needed to get done.
I needed to send invoices for eight items.
I needed to cutely and creatively package and ship fourteen items.
I needed to make two "thank-you items" for a friend that did a special favor for me.
I was armed and ready to go.  I had my to-do list all written out.

I went to bed late, but was still determined to wake up early (per one of my November goals).
I did, indeed, wake up early.  Earlier than I had even hoped for.  And I felt rested and alert...so I decided to just get up and start my day extra-early.  
And so did my children.  All of them.  All four of them.
But that wasn't a problem!  No way!  We were starting our day early.  School would be started early...and therefore, be finished early.  We'd eat lunch on time.  The babies would take their naps on time.  And I would accomplish everything on my ultra-organized to-do list.

Except....
Except then, I went in to get Eden out of her crib.  And she was screaming.  And pointing to her right ear.  I'm no genius, but having four kids has taught me that that's a pretty good indication of an ear infection.  Especially when the screaming continued...and whenever I asked her where her boo-boo was, she'd point to her ear.
Except...
Except that midst running Addie to speech therapy, dropping a check off at the bank for my dad, cashing two of my own checks, arranging a Craigslist pick-up three hours away and picking up a Craigslist item here in my own town, I received a text from my close friend, telling me that she's in the hospital with pneumonia.  And she's been there since Saturday.  And she felt stupid texting me to tell me, but she knew that if the roles were reversed she'd want to know.  And I DID want to know.
Except...
Except that midst of picking Addison up from speech therapy, dashing to make it to a pediatrician appointment on time (sorry, I don't bother with home remedies for ear infections.  other things, yes.  ear infections, no), driving across the county to get Eden's antibiotic (yes, she has a pretty bad infection), and stopping at Farm & Fleet to get my ladies (chickens) some food, I got a text from my hubby asking if we had any soup at home.  I usually keep a container (or three) of chicken noodle soup in the freezer for "I feel cruddy occasions" such as this...but I couldn't remember for sure whether I had any on hand or not.  So I worked in a quick detour to the grocery, and grabbed the necessary ingredients (chicken, fresh parsley, celery, carrots, onions, egg noodles, bouillon).

And then we came home.
And not much school work got done (don't judge.  we work ahead just to account for days like this).
And we didn't eat lunch on time.
And Eden napped on time, but Addison didn't.
And I have exactly one package ready to ship tomorrow.
I DID get all my invoices sent.
I have the gift-for-a-friend all cut out and ready to work on while I'm sitting at the hospital tonight with my friend.
And I have a 16-quart stock pot (yes, 16 quarts.  yes, that equals 4 gallons.  i don't know how to make a small pot of soup.  my mom didn't teach me how to cook small) simmering on the stove, full of healthy, healing chicken noodle soup.



Two things have been resonating through my mind all.day.long.

First, this quote I read on Naptime Diaries just this morning:
"I've taught people that tasks are more important than relationships."
Is that what I've done?  Is that how my husband feels?  how my children feel?  how my friends feel?  
I cannot...I will not allow my loved ones to feel that way.
Go to Jessi's post.  Really.  Do it now.  You have to read that quote in context to fully appreciate the thoughts behind it.  It's profound. Simply profound.  Profoundly simple.  And the impact that that one little statement had on my entire outlook was truly astounding.

Secondly, this thought:
"THIS is what love looks like today."
Today, my baby needed to go to the doctor.  and she needed me to drive cross-county to get her medicine.
Today, my four-year-old needed to go to speech therapy.
Today, my nine-year-old daughter needed help on several of her Stepping Stones badges.
Today, my husband needed a steaming, savory pot of chicken noodle soup waiting for him the minute he walked in the door.
Today, my friend needed someone to come and sit with her, and talk with her, and just be with her.
And today, that's what love looked like.

They didn't need me trying to make money.
They didn't need me trying to please clients and customers.
They just needed me.  Me.  My time.  My attention.  My love.

There will be plenty of days to ship packages.
There will be plenty of days to send invoices.
There will be plenty of days to please customers.
There are not plenty of days left to serve my children as children.

And so, today was spent serving them.
And serving my husband.
And in a bit, I'll get to go to the hospital and {{I hope}} serve my friend.
And I'll spread a little bit of my love over each of my loves...
because today, this is what my love looks like.



{{P.S.  I'm starting up a new hashtag over on Instagram--my favorite social media.  I'd be honored if you'd join me...show us what your love looks like today...and tomorrow...and on...  #lovelookslikethistoday}}

Super-Easy, Super-Moist Luscious Lemon Bundt Cake

My son, Colton, turned eight years old this past Friday.  Earlier in the week, I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday.  He debated on it for a whole 3.5 seconds and responded, "Lemon Cake!  Can you make a good lemon cake?  Cuz' if you can't, I'm sure Mrs. Denise can."  Wow...talk about a love-hate response.  LOVE my son because, really, what eight-year-old boy chooses lemon cake for his birthday?! (and I personally love lemon cake!)  And then, talk about dashing my confidence..."can you make a good lemon cake?"  Can I make a good lemon cake?!?  Oh, baby, yes.I.can!!!

This is one of those recipes that has been around my family for as long as I can remember.  Oddly enough, it's also a recipe that was adapted from a different recipe...and this lemon cake recipe has never been written down.  Instead, every time I go to make it, I get out the other recipe and make the necessary revisions as I go along.  Weird, huh?  I agree.  I guess I never really realized that that was our method until this week when I called my dad and asked him to give me Mom's Lemon Bundt Cake recipe.  I talked him through it all on the phone...which recipe box it should be in {the blue one...she had a wooden one, too...the blue one was for sweets, though}...which section it should be in {cakes, of course}...and it wasn't there.  Which was when it dawned on me that last time I made it, I didn't have a recipe, either.  

Anywhooo, it's high time that this treasure gets a recipe card of its own.  It's super-easy, incredibly moist, and sure to please the lemon-lover in your family.

Lusicous Lemon Bundt Cake
1 lemon cake mix 
1 small box instant lemon pudding (usually about 3.4oz. size)
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350º.
Thoroughly grease and flour round bundt cake pan.
Mix all ingredients with electric mixer until just moistened.  Turn mixer on high and mix for 2 minutes.  Mixture will be more of a dough-like consistency than a thin batter consistency.
Scoop, spoon, spread...whatever....just get the dough into the pan and spread it as evenly as you can.
Bake in 350º oven for 50-60 minutes (until it springs back when lightly touched and a sharp knife inserted all the way comes out completely clean).
Allow to cool about 10 minutes on wire rack, turn over to get cake out of bundt pan, finish cooling completely and then glaze.

Luscious Lemon Glaze
8oz. cold cream cheese (you can use it straight out of the fridge)
5 Tbsp. softened butter
1 pound-ish powdered sugar 
1/4 cup lemon juice (give or take, depending on how lemon-y you want it)
milk

With an electric mixer, cream together your cream cheese and butter.  Gradually, add the powdered sugar.  Oh, and just keepin' it real here...I don't actually measure my powdered sugar. (and you probably don't either, right?)  I buy it in a 2 pound bag and when it comes time to use it in a recipe like this, I cut the top off the bag, squeeze it in the middle, and pour out what looks like half-the-bag.  Good enough for me!  Anywhoo, gradually add your pound-ish of powdered sugar.  Then add your lemon juice...again, this is all to your liking, so add it gradually and once the glaze is lemony enough, don't add any more.  Then add milk little by ever-so-little until the glaze is your desired consistency.  My glaze is a little more frosting-y...I make it just thin enough that I can pour it over the cake--hence not having to spread it, saving a step, saving time...I'm all about saving time!  Some people like their glaze thin, almost see-through.  If that's you, you may want to halve this recipe, because it will make a lot of see-through glaze!

So now your cake is done.
Stick candles in it.
Stick a fork in it.
Whatever.

Enjoy!!!

It's a New Month--November!!!

There's something I just love about the feeling I get when I turn the page beginning a new month on the calendar.  It's kind of like my own "mini-New Year's Day"...except it comes around every 30-ish days or so, rather than once every 365 days.  It's like the Anne of Green Gables quote, "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."  When I see the page turn on a new month, I'm always inspired to do better, start anew...you get the picture...

I'm especially glad to see the calendar page turn to the month of November.  October carried its own sorrows and difficulties for me, but time {and my Jesus} truly does heal all, and I already feel some of those raw wounds being gently soothed with His amazing grace.

So, November marks a happy time of year for me.  My very favorite holiday {and perhaps our most non-commercialized holiday--may be why it's my favorite} is Thanksgiving.  Fall is drawing to a close, but there are still leaves on the ground...still the scent of burning leaves floating on the air.  We still have crisp, cool days that call for sweatshirts or warm woolen sweaters...but we aren't quite to the point of bundling up in Michelin-Man-esque proportions.  Soup {or some such Big Red Pot meal} is on the menu more nights of the week than not...and our fireplace blazes more evenings than not, also.

My brain has been in overdrive the past day or two, recovering a bit from its October-haze.  Right now it's running in bullet-point mode, so I'm just going to give you a peek at some of my prevalent thoughts. {scary, huh?}

❧Every year, I choose a "Word for the Year".  The first year I did this was 2010--my word that year was "Calm"...in 2011, it was "Perspective"...this year, my word is "Moderation".  The idea is to have one major goal, embodied in a single word, to work on the whole year through.  While Moderation continues to challenge me {and I continue to struggle with it}, I am already finding myself provoked by what I am almost sure will be my Word for 2013--Gentleness.  I am confronted daily by Gentleness...or more accurately, by my utter lack of Gentleness.  There's far, far more to be said on this subject...more on that at a later time.  Suffice it to say for now, I am daily working on being just a little more gentle...in every way possible...and most predominantly, toward those with whom I live.

❧I've set a personal weight-loss goal for November.  Throughout the month of October, I "accidentally" lost eight pounds.  This never, NEVER happens to me.  I don't accidentally LOSE weight...I accidentally FIND weight...never lose it.  Well, anyway, it happened.  And I'm happy about it.  So in November, I'm going to try to purposely lose another eight pounds.  I've started walking with a friend a few days a week {started that a few weeks ago--that may be what spurred the October weight drop}, and I plan to make healthier eating choices {namely, portion control--that's such a big one}.

❧I've got some rough-drawn {not drawn on paper at all, but in my head} goals for my Etsy store.  Lately, I've been unloading much of my vintage wares on Instagram.  And while that has been fun and has proven profitable, I don't know how long that boom will last.  For years, I had the goal of opening an Etsy store, and now that I've got one up and running, I need to maximize it, by George!  So, I'm going to.  I have a few definite steps mapped out in my head...the rest is a bit fuzzy.  But at least the wheels are turning.

❧And not to contradict all I just said about Etsy, but I do have goals to continue to clear out some of my less-Etsy-able hoards via Instagram.  This venue has proven profitable for me, and it is especially convenient for culling through collections that just aren't worth the time and detail that Etsy requires.

❧I'd love to build my blog readership during November.  Even more so, though, I want to build my blog relationship.  I've received caring, thoughtful, heartfelt comments from so many people...and I've been too busy to answer them.  I've allowed myself to be too busy to answer them.  I don't want to continue to do that.  I've made some great "in real life friends" via Instagram and I belive that blogging is a great vehicle to do the same.  So here's your warning!  If you don't want to be friends with me, you'd better not comment!  And by all means, if you do want to be friends with me, I'd love to hear from you.  And if you fall into the latter category {you do want to be my friend}, and if you also have a blog, this is the comment I would MOST love to have from you: PLEASE comment with a link to your very favorite blog post on YOUR blog.  I want to look through all the pretty blogs of all my pretty blogger friends...but if I can see your favorite post ever, that kind of gives me a shortcut-sneak-peek into the real YOU.  Do that for me, m'kay?

❧This month, I want to wash all my house windows.  Yes, this is a {pitiful} goal.  No, it might not happen.  But it's a goal, nonetheless.  {note: I'm currently accepting applications for friends who want to come help ::wink::wink::}

❧I want to wake up at least a half hour earlier than my "normal" wake-up time...and I want to do this five to six days out of the week.

❧ I want to try at least two more of The Pioneer Woman's recipes. Y'all, I made her Scalloped Potatoes and Ham for our family dinner this past Sunday.  Oh.My.Garsh.  Life-changing...view-altering...ahhhhhhhh-mayyyyy-zing!!!  

The only other recipe of hers that I've made is the glaze that she uses on her Cinnamon Rolls {note: I haven't actually made the from-scratch Cinnamon Rolls...just the glaze.  Yah.  I'm lazy like that.}  These two recipes are enough to convince me that she is indeed a culinary goddess.  And I, a lowly peon. But I shall attempt to elevate my standing just a bit by working through a few more of her creations this month.

..........and I know there are a bunch more goals, floating around in my cranial grey matter, that I'm simply forgetting to mention.  But I'm tired...and I need to go to bed.  So......I'm going to exercise Moderation and stop now........so that tomorrow, I can be Gentle with my family.





Have a blessed Friday, friends!
And consider yourself hugged.....from me!