Yippie I found it!!

As I posted last week, I was planning a trip back to Home Goods to get my lovely Le Crueset pot, a late birthday present to myself and early Christmas from the hubby. After more than a week, I was surprised to see 2 left!!

As with most items from a store like HomeGoods/Marshalls, this one was labeled "Seconds" meaning it had a few flaws compared to the ones they would sell at full price from another retail store. I carefully looked the two pots over, the red one had a few imperfections in the enamel on the outside. But I couldn't find anything wrong with this one!!

Last night I used it for the first time to make Chicken & Dumplings, the cheaters way. I had a soup mix that contained all the spices and only had to add the water, chicken, veggies, and make the dumplings. It turned out quite well for being so easy!!! Of course home made is so much better but this momma needed something quick!

I forgot to take the picture until we had already spooned some out, hence the half full pot :) I promise to do better next time.

I have a feeling I will get a lot of good use out of this pot in the next few months. Already bought my ingredients for Taco Soup! Recipe to come!

Look what I found at Home Goods!

On a random trip to Home Goods the other day I was returning a lamp and of course had to wander the aisles looking for any fun finds. Their stock changes frequently and there are often one of a kind items that you have to snatch up when you see them. Those of you that have been to a Home Goods store know what I'm talking about!

I recently started looking for some new pots and heard about Le Creuset, a quality cast iron cookware brand that has been around for decades. They are quite expensive, so when I happened to see this beauty I was thrilled!!! However I was a little confused because the label on the pot did not tell you its size, say 4 qt etc and I am not a good judge by looking. This looked to be the medium sized French Oven in a beautiful burnt orange color. The price said $159.99, compare to $240.00. Sounds like a good deal to me!!

But, I wanted to make sure of the size and check the prices online to compare. And I felt a little guilty buying a pot for myself that I had intended to ask hubby for for Christmas. Yes, I left the store with out it. May have been a big mistake!! Once I got home I regretted not snatching it up. Afterall, it can be an early Christmas present that will get much more use starting now, with Fall coming and soups and chili on the menu! I'm going back this afternoon hoping they have at least one left. We will see!

Deal of the Day: PB Kids Games in a Bag

I came across this sale today while shopping online at Pottery Barn Kids. It's a great gift idea or perfect for keeping your kids occupied while traveling, or really anywhere.

Pottery Barn Kids Games in a Bag are currently on clearance for $5.99 with free shipping making it an even sweeter deal. They have Mouse Bowling, Dominoes, Memory and Tic Tac Toe.

I think I'm going to get a few for my girls and neices!! Check out their sales and clearance for more deals!

Wordless Wednesday

Operation Kindergarten

It has been a busy week here in our household!! My oldest daughter Keira started Kindergarten!
I'm happy to say the first day went off without a hitch. We picked out the perfect outfit the day before, packed her lunch, and made sure to get her in bed by 8pm. She is not a morning person and is used to sleeping in until at least 8am, especially over the summer. I woke her at 7am and as soon as those little eyes popped open, she had a huge smile on her face!

I made her promise to humor me and please let me take as many pictures as I wanted of her on the first day. She usually moans & groans anytime I whip out the camera (or my phone in this case-I apologize for some blurriness). But this day she happily obliged which made for a less stressed momma.

I admit there were several times I thought the tears were going to come a'flowing, but I held them in, not wanting to freak out my poor girl.

Here are a few pictures from her first day.

My sassy girl

On our way-she couldn't get there fast enough!

Outside her classroom

Ready to start the day!

When she got home, I asked how her day was. Her response "Good. I didn't have to go to the principal's office!" Well thank you Jesus! The funny thing is she is usually on her best behavior with others so there was never any worry about this on my part. I think when she learned the expected behavior for her class and the consequences, she was a little worried about ever having to go to that scary principal's office!!

Now let's hope it stays this way all year :)

I'm back, and hopefully to STAY!!

After a long blogging hiatus, I'm back!! I hadn't planned on being away for so long, but life just got too busy. We moved into our new home last July and with a new house and 2 kiddos to take care of, blogging just took a back seat. I've been wanting to sit down and write for months now and with my Virgo personality, if I couldn't sit down and write something and make it perfect, then I better just not write at all. I'm working on that though :) Hoping my new laptop will come in handy. On my ancient computer it took forever to write one post and I was confined to my desktop computer. Seriously y'all, my computer is 10 yrs old!!! Now I have finally caught up with technology!!

Life has been good to us in our household and I'm hoping to share some of our adventures, and, lets be real here, misadventures! I love reading other blogs and taking a peek into others' lives. Whether it's through raising kids, homemaking, decorating, or growing in my relationship with God, I can't wait to read your stories and share mine as well.

What Have We Been Up To?

Well I'm long overdue for a blog post, I'm sorry it's been so long!! There has been so much going on with our house loan, Kevin starting a new job, Callie's birthday, Keira going to camp, Keira's first dance recital and now Keira's birthday party this Saturday.

We've enjoyed our time here at grandma's swimming & playing, but now we are really ready for own own place!! As I am sure grandma and papa are too! We were originally scheduled to close on the house June 30th, but it's been pushed back to around July 15th. We had some setbacks with the loan since Kevin started a new job and had to start over with a new lender. That combined with the fact that the builder is a little behind schedule. However, it's coming along nicely; we have a driveway, tile inside on the floor and bathrooms, our granite is in as well. Now we are waiting on light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, carpet, and grass! Hope to have some updated pictures soon.

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of the girls and what we've been up to the past month!

Callie learned how to drink out of a straw! She is so proud of herself!

Gardening with Grandma! The girls LOVE to help water plants, plant new ones, and generally anything outdoors!

I got sprayed with the water hose by sissy!

Keira getting her nails painted

And showing off her dance moves

Here is a turtle we found on one of our many walks. It was pretty hot so we moved him back down into one of the small canals so he can get to the water. We thought about keeping him but with the dogs around thought it might not be a good idea!

The girls love swinging in the hammock out by the pool. Mommy & Daddy do too!

 

I have some adorable photos from Callie's birthday party & Keira's first dance recital I hope to post this week. Quiet time to do this is rare with the 2 girls and Keira not really napping anymore!