Canning Tomatoes Weekend

David and I are going to find time this weekend to can some tomatoes. Tomatoes are at their peak in Georgia, with all this heat, they are probably almost above prime. We are going to head down to the Dekalb Farmers Market and get our tomatoes there. They are known for having a TON of fresh produce at great prices. Wish us luck.

Freezer Meal- Chicken Cacciatore

This recipe comes to you from Stolen Moments Cooking and My sister. Michelle starts back to school (as a teacher) in a few weeks so she wanted to stock up on some meals to have during those first busy days back. This recipe looks great and Michelle says it tastes fantastic, too! She also doubled the recipe to have more for leftovers and dinner that night.
Chicken Cacciatore

• 3 T. Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 t. Italian seasoning
• 1 t. salt
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken pieces (breasts or thighs)
• 1 1/2 Big cans crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 c. chicken broth

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper, carrots and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, until veggies are cooked but still a little crispy. Stir in seasonings.Add chicken to the skillet.

  Cover with tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a slow boil, cover and simmer at least 30 minutes. The chicken should be fully cooked by this point, but a longer simmer time will result in more flavor. Before serving, you can cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces if desired. Serve over spaghetti.

 Let your mixture cool down fully before you freeze it, this helps prevent freezer burn. You can store this in big ziplock freezer bags so it won't take up too much room. When you want to serve it, just defrost in the fridge and heat up in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.

Each bag should be enough for 2-3 servings.

I had to post a cute picture of Miss. Maddie coming home from the groomer. Look at her cute bow and bandana!

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday is Here Again!

Today I am linking up to Michelle at the Vintage Apple. Every Wednesday people link up their favorite finds on pinterest. If you haven't joined and need an invitation let me know. It's a great place to find inspiration for anything from food to decor and crafts. Find me here! I have been busy this week pinning away so lot's to show you.

How cute is this little cubby for the doggies under the kitchen island.

Source: vtinteriors via Sarah on Pinterest

I just thought this next one was very cool. A invisible bathtub!

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Emily on Pinterest

I am still on the search for headboards and I really liked this one. Of course the whole room is amazing!

Source: HGTV via Bianca on Pinterest

This baked fajita recipe would be great for guests and to freeze for later.

Source: Eatinonthecheap via Caitlin on Pinterest

 It's Christmas in July and I can't help but look at Christmas decorations already! I think its the delusions from all this heat that I am hoping that cooler weather is coming. I love these easy name cards that can be used for food cards as well.

Source: sewmanyways via Kim on Pinterest

My new color scheme this year is going to be lime green and red and this is some inspiration.

Source: www.trendytree.com via Karen on Pinterest

I am still wanting to make my own tree skirt and I love the look of this ruffled one. The tutorial should be in the link below.

Source: prudentbaby.com via Amy on Pinterest

I know I skipped a holiday so I thought I'd show you a Halloween decoration. I already have a deep green front door so I thought this would be perfect! I've been wanting to paint it, but after seeing this I think I will wait.

Source: mel-designs via Lizzie on Pinterest

Source: HGTV via Jill on Pinterest

Here is the last one for the week. I love the paisley designs in the wall and then the colors from the pillows picking up on it! Such a pretty room! I have plenty more fun pins so head on over and join up to pinterest!

Converted CoffeeTable & Glass Shower Door

I mentioned that we were really busy this weekend doing things around the house, but David was really the one doing all the projects. Mind you he did all this in addition to his 7-8 hour class on Saturday. I decided to take a nap in the afternoon/evening and I woke up to loud banging noises. That's what I get for leaving him unattended with tools everywhere.

He decided to convert our coffee table to add extra storage.

It still looks like a normal coffee table.We were tired of our cords from our laptops and phones being all over the table (I had a picture of the mess, but I deleted it by accident).

David pried off the table top from the base, added a sheet of plywood and hinges so it would open. I originally wanted the top to rise up at an angle so I could eat off the table, but the table top is very heavy and it wasn't possible. Don't mind the painting job (David did that too, not one of his strong suits- he'll admit it) but it doesn't matter since you won't really see it and it does look better in person.

Now we can store our cords inside and David put holes so they can come out the bottom.

Look how much neater that looks!

The perfect solution. It only took him a few hours and it has been on his to-do list for a while now.

I promised you a picture of the new glass shower doors and here it is! Well, it's from my phone and quality isn't great, but I didn't feel like busting out the camera last night or this morning. Darn sunlight messing everything up. I am thoroughly loving being able to shower in our master bath! 

Weekend Roundup and Tile Grout

We had a great weekend eating out with friends, cleaning the house, hanging with Davids parents and doing work around the house.

David has finished the grout for the back splash and it looks magnificent! I am so happy with how it turned out.

I picked the socket covers in a nice stainless steel color and I think it came together nicely.

The grout really ties in the counters and the back splash. I am loving the new kitchen. All that is left is to put in some recessed lighting and take out that ginormous rectangle light that I can't stand.

Once we started cleaning up the dust and dirt from the kitchen we decided to take apart the couch and clean the dog hair from every nook and cranny.

It was worth all the effort. We also FINALLY got the glass for the shower in and it looks great! I took a picture with my phone, but it doesn't do it justice so I'll take one this week and show you. I also purchased something really exciting this weekend!!! 

I am the proud new owner of a 13" MacBook Pro! I am loving it so far although I am just trying to figure out how to use it. I have used webcam, found email, internet and all that, but transfering files is more difficult than I thought. I also purchased their one-to-one training program they have. I paid $99 for a year worth of personal one on one training at their stores and they have online video tutorials that I've been watching. I am very excited and can't wait to learn to use it more! Hope everyone else had a great weekend.

Am I Ever Going to Find a Laptop?!

Ever since I took back the Ipad 2 I have been trying to find a laptop. I finally decided on the Asus U46E from best buy. It was a little more expensive than some of the others, but it had great storage, great battery usage and a nice slim look. Everything was going well until I tried to play volume and noticed it was pretty low. I don't want to have a dance club in my living room, but I do want to be able to hear without straining.

I read some reviews and suggestions that some people wrote about and downloaded a new driver from a different model and it worked really well. I was happy for a few minutes. We then tried the video chat features using the new google + and AIM and my sister kept saying when she would talk it echoed. I checked all my settings and adjusted a few things but even my brother couldn't make it go away totally. I don't want to spend this much on a computer and have one of the features I'm going to use the most not work properly. So I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I'll have to try to take it back and try again?  Anyone have a laptop suggestion? I know you will tell me just to get a mac, but I just don't want to spend up in the thousands. Trying to keep it around $700 ish.

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

This is my first time linking up to Michelle at the Vintage Apple. Every Wednesday people link up their favorite finds on pinterest. If you haven't joined and need an invitation let me know. It's a great place to find inspiration for anything from food to decor and crafts. Find me here!

We are getting ideas together to redo our master bedroom, I know you're probably saying aren't you done with renovations yet. We finally saved up the money for what we're doing and we have a little bit further to go. I love the headboard and colors of this bedroom below.

Source: hopscotchandgrace.tumblr.com on Pinterest.

Source: aresohappy.tumblr.com on Pinterest. I am ready for fall with all this hot weather, so I really liked this decoration.

Source: Etsy Via Pinterest.  I love the texture of the pillow and the beautiful button monogram.

Source: Amazon via Pinterest My chalk board menu board doesn't love chalk (imagine that) it just doesn't show up well. These chalk markers would definitely work! They are a bit expensive so I will get them at some point.

Source: Sugarcooking.blogspot.com via Pinterest This Roasted Garlic Pesto Chicken pizza looks amazing!

Source: studiopatro.blogspot.com  via Pinterest. Wine wrapped with tea towel and ribbon. Cute hostess gift!

Source: centsationalgirl.com on Pinterest. I love this idea of a fold down laundry hanger.

Back splash is up!

David hung all the tile back splash in a few hours on Sunday.

He said it went up pretty easy and I was impressed.

Of course we had to cover our beautiful new counters so we wouldn't get glue on it.

David hard at work.

Progress

David had a bunch of cuts to make so he set up a station outside to minimize the mess.

Finished product, well we still have to grout.

It looked a little busy to me at first, but it's definitely growing on me and when we get nice outlet covers and start putting things back on the counters I think it will balance better. Great job babe!

New Counters!

I am back from my blogging vacation. Thanks to my sister, Michelle for taking over. I hope you enjoyed her adventures from Texas. I didn't go anywhere, I just didn't feel like blogging. I'm sure most of you can relate. I am back with some more house updates.

We got our counter tops in on Friday. Here is the before picture with our lovely plain counters. I can't believe I lived with them for so long after looking at the new ones.

Here is a nice close up in case you were ever thinking of installing something like this, don't.

David did the demo work and removed all the counters. It didn't take very long so that was good.  Please don't pay attention to the tops of the cabinets.

Tada! Sorry about the glare. Here are our granite counters!

Closeup

I LOVE the new deep sinks with the under mount. David hooked the faucet back up and has already installed the back splash. Stay tuned tomorrow for that. I don't know how I lived without my granite counters for so long. It was worth the wait!