that's all i want to say about that...

i got 8 of these napkin rings for 50 cents.

as you can guess, there will be spraypaint involved in this transformation.

and that is all i want to say about that.

(for now!)

what to do with bottlecaps

a long long time ago, i spray painted some beer caps red, white and blue (see here). i didnt know what i was going to do with them, but now i found something!

i got a frame (that i forgot to take a photo of before i got a can of spray paint to it!) that was 7.5x13.5. i painted it white (this might change. you will see at the end of the post). i took the glass and matt out. the glass got chucked but i liked the matt so i covered up the lovely picture with some card stock.
(i know-it is a sin that i covered this up!)

since i will had a bad experience with gorilla glue, i used good old hot glue. yup-i go old school!
it might be hard to see but i filled up the inside of the beer cap with a TON of hot glue (yes i went thru many sticks!) and slapped it right onto the card stock, leaving the matt as a matt.

here it is at the end. you can see why i dont like the color now. i think i might move it just so i dont have to repaint.

but i think it is kinda cool!

and now that i know that bottcaps can be used this way, wait until you see what i have lined up for next week! (thankfully my little brother NEVER CHECKS THIS BLOG because it is a gift for him!)

perfect 'load up before a race' dinner!

my hubby chris enjoys being on his bike. roadbike. mountainbike. whatever.

they are all expensive.
here is him last year at the end of his ride at lotoja. he didnt make it to the end, he was 20 miles short. but really, riding a bike from logan utah to jackson hole wy (lots of up hills) and only making it 180 miles isnt bad! and it was his first try! i was proud of him!
(and, yes, he is doing it again this year)
personally, i think he is nuts.
oh, yea, what i was talking about...
i made this for dinner last week and chris said that not only was it tasty (duh-i made it) but it really gave him some energy the next day on his 60 mile ride to work. it is loaded with carbs, protein and fats.
i bet lance would have won the tour this year if he would have eaten this.
and not crashed so much.
oh-again...the food. here is the recipe before i start talking about the fact that this year I am getting a 'team' shirt for chris's lotoja event!
(i will post photos when i get it!)
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (NO YOU CANNOT USE COTTAGE CHEESE! -that was for utahans who seem to think they are interchangeable. they are not.)
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
3 cups pasta
2 cups of gravy
(heat oven to 400)
mix eggs, milk, cheeses a sprinkle of salt and pepper. stir in COOKED pasta and a little chopped basil.
cover a 10" skillet in a little olive oil and pour pasta mess in. cook over medium heat for 2 minutes (until the sides start to set up). put in oven for 10-12 minutes.
when done, let sit for 5 minutes before serving. pour a little gravy over (if you want-but you WILL want!) the pasta/egg dish.
ps-i would give credit to where i found this but i have no idea. it was some magazine, but i have seen it in cook books too. and the one that i have is on an index card.

oh balls!

here is part 2 of the trip from yesterday.

it was a pretty sliver ball for $1. (i do have a thing for balls. i think this will be post 5 this year alone!)

you cannot tell, but it has all these uneven stripes of shiny/not shiny silver on it.

im putting it away until christmas.

which is only 150 days away.

less, if you count when i actually start putting christmas decorations up!

di is like a treasure hunt!

my youngest loves going to di now. he knows that there will be at least one star wars toy there he can talk me into buying. here is the latest...
it was marked at $1.50 and i just found it on amazon
here for $54.95! yup.
mine was a ton cheaper and the plastic wrap was still on the cards! a lovely di worker did use packing tape to close the box and it ripped while opening, but oh well.
and yes, we have played it and i have beat BOTH of my star wars expert kids.
thats right. i have more knowledge about episodes 4-6 than a 6 and a 9 yr old.
im pretty proud of that.

here is nate just playing with the 'people'. somehow, i am always princess leia.

part 2 of my 2nd try...

you all remember my re-do because of the 'gorilla glue incident'. well late last night i got to thinking that it needed more. not more gorilla glue. just more.
so i pulled out my big bite and popped some holes into my paint sticks and strung a wire in it.
i hung it on my door from di with a hook from some christmas decorations.
just wanted to let you know.

$1.98 worth of LOVE

(i guess my hands arent model worthy.)

but look at this amazing find!

my dear hubby doesnt understand why women love target so much. all i can say is 'what isnt to love?'.

they have a nice toys department that you can send the kids to while you check out all the stationary, mine has a starbucks (meaning carmel apple spice is there and waiting!), the adorable shoes and the clothes...

i dont know why target can make such fantastic clothes that cost so little!

and there is always something on sale that you need.

(why dont men understand?)

i just wanted to share my latest love.

in case you missed it...

yesterday i posted about how much i love aunt peg's jewerly.

and how i should stick to buying jewerly instead of making it.

just in case you didnt see amber from aunt peg's comment, i thought that i would re-post it here...

This post is exactly why we know that Aunt Peg's Jewelry have THE VERY BEST CLIENTELE!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Beth for posting this!

For every person who purchases and item from our Etsy store, and leaves a message in the order that they were referred Beth Anne, both the customer and BA will receive and extra something!

Thanks again!!!!!!

so i wanted to make sure you saw that and didnt miss out on something extra! (what will it be?) so here is the link to the etsy shop.

and dont forget to tell them ba sent you!

worse. day. ever.

back in june, chris rode in a 'tour de cure' for the american diabetes association. he isnt passionate about diabetes. he just wanted to race.
so did my studly friend kristin and her hubby steve. the only way to properly understand how aweful this race was is to quote kristin's blog...
After we finished I sobbed for about 20 minutes. My face burned, my eyes were stinging and I was hammered. I was beyond words. There was a line for food. A long line. REALLY? I am supposed to wait in a line for food? NO THANKS. What kind of race makes people wait in a crazy long line for food? Diabetes really does suck.
there was 55 mph winds, funnel clouds, rain and it all ended happily at a truck stop shower. (that wouldnt sound so odd if you knew my friend kristin)

what kind of wife would i be if i didnt celebrate the fact that my hubby didnt throw his bike into a ditch from anger?
i found his number tag (lucky 721) and framed it in a frame i picked up from savers and spray painted it black.
and i put it in our mud room, right next to great grandpa's lucky horse shoe.

who doesnt love aunt pegs?

you have all heard me go on and on about aunt pegs.
i love their jewerly.
i really love their prices.
right before camp, they had a make and take. i learned soo much.
like, maybe i shouldnt be in the jewerly making business and just stay in the jewerly buying business.

so really quick-here are a few things i made at the make and take

and these are photos i stole from their facebook page. i really couldnt get mine to look this good. no matter how much they helped me.

but i just wanted to let you know that they now have an etsy shop! so no matter where you live or what you do, you can get an aunt pegs original!

so stop on by and check out their funky reasonably priced jewerly!

and tell them ba sent you!

(ps aunt pegs has never paid me to say anything nice about them. i just wanted to promote a local, women owned business. and they are really really nice!)

im not that type of girl

i love pasta. almost more than my family.
but im not an egg noodle type girl.
no real reason. they just arent my type.
i also hate left overs. as a kid we either had pasta or leftovers.
but i love egg noodles in this! and left over chicken breast! it is simple and easy. (so im breaking 2 of my 'dinner rules' here)

italian chicken and tomato pasta toss

3 cups medium curly egg noodles, uncooked
1 T olive oil

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 ½ “ pieces

2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
3 cloves of garlic
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (the stuff in the green jar works the best for this one)

cook noodles as directed on package. heat oil in large skillet on medium high heat. add chicken, cook 6 minutes or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. add tomatoes, dressing and garlic. cook and stir 3 minutes or until heated through,
drain pasta and toss with the chicken mixture. sprinkle cheese.

see-so freaking easy! and yummy!
although i will admit, parker will only eat the chicken and some of the noodles that dont have too much dressing on them. he is a big old freak. i can say that about him-he is my kid.