So Far...

I've officially been in my new job one month now and (so far) I like it...

I've booked a few weddings already, and am working with other people in the community on other events.

And I've started planning some events of my own.

In my previous position at the Chamber of Commerce, I would think "Someone in town should have a [insert the name of some event here]".

Now that someone is ME!

I've already scheduled an Indoor Garage Sale this month, and I'm working on a Women's Day Out (manicures, chair massage, wine tasting...) during March Madness, a Crafting Retreat in April, and an Outdoor Show in May.

And I'm creating a new website.

(I've been here one month!)

I was working out of the office in the restaurant next door to the event centre.  This was far from ideal (I was in the way), so we had to find a new office...

Yes, that is a closet in the laundry room of a hotel.

But now it looks like this...

making progress

It's a little bare, so over the weekend I worked on some projects I'd seen on Pinterest.

First, I took these old frames I found at Goodwill...

$2.50

$4

 I hated the gold, but liked the detail on both of the frames...

I also liked this Easy Bulletin Board Project

and these Shabby Frames.

So, with a little Heirloom White spray paint, a roll of cork, a scrap of fabric and some twine, I now have these...

much better!

I still have more to do, but I'm getting there.

New Year, New Job

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to never work a day in my life.

Actually, it was to choose a job I love, which, according to Confucius, is the same thing.

Well, I did choose a job.

On New Year's Eve I was offered a position as the General Manager of an event center in town.  My job is to attract and coordinate events (weddings, etc...).

When I was first approached about the job in early December, I said I wasn't interested.  

At all.  

I was emphatic about it.

At the time (and, to a certain degree, now) I wanted to go back to a 9-5 job.  

No more nights, weekends...  

When I'm done for the day, I'm done.

This is not that job.

But, I get to continue doing a lot of what I've been doing the last 2+ years to promote tourism, and I really like a flexible schedule (when you have a 9-5 job, you kind of HAVE to be there by 9.  I hate that!).

So, I accepted the offer.  Signed all the papers on Friday and set up a booth at a bridal expo on Saturday, with no training whatsoever.

The best part is - I get to have all the fun of planning a wedding, without actually having to get married!

Biting the Bullet

It's been a while.

Life has been changing really quickly around here lately.

First, the job...
I LOVE(D) my job!  I couldn't wait to go to work every day.  I worked days, nights, weekends, holidays, didn't make any money and didn't care!  It was a great feeling!!

Did you notice all that was past tense?

Yeah, those days are over.

I'm a big "go with the flow" kinda girl.

Recently, some little thing happened but I wasn't even fazed.

Then a little-bit-bigger thing happened, but I thought "I can get over that".

Then something really big happened but I decided to take the weekend to calm down and think rationally.

Then something truly awful happened and I said (out loud, by myself) "Alright already!".

So I'm looking for a new job.

I've had a few interviews already and more scheduled, including one (gasp!) in corporate, which I swore I would never go back to (desperate times, right?).

Then, the house...
When I bought this house, it was ok - not really a "fixer-upper", it just wasn't living up to it's potential.

I've been slowly working on little projects here and there (very little, very here and there).

Then something snapped.

I'm just tired of living in a construction zone, so I set aside some money, got a contractor friend over and told him to keep going until I run out of money or projects, whichever comes first (money).

Right now I'm working on the kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom.

I really need to find a job.

"Unwrap the Magic of Christmas"

In Bellevue, the big holiday weekend is the weekend after Thanksgiving.

On Saturday, we have a craft fair...

Fireworks...

and a Lighted Christmas Parade...

 

On Sunday, we have a Holiday Open House Tour.

It's fun, but exhausting (when you're in charge of it).

Now, though, I can relax and enjoy the holidays...

These Hershey's Candy Cane Blossoms are delicious!

KISSES CANDY CANE BLOSSOMS

Ingredients
One bag Hershey's Candy Cane Mint Candies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
Red or green sugar crystals

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F
Remove wrappers from candies
Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt
Add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended
Shape dough into 1-inch balls
Roll in sugar crystals
Place on ungreased cookie sheet
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned
Cool 2 to 3 minutes
Press a candy piece into center of each cookie
Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack
Cool COMPLETELY (Don't touch them!  If you don't the candy will melt all over, and while they still taste really good, they're not as pretty.)

Wandering

One of my favorite things to do is wander.

In New York, I would get on the subway and wander around the Upper West Side, or Lower East Side, or somewhere in between.

I still wander around the "tri-state" -  Iowa, Wisconsin & Illinois now (instead of New York, New Jersey & Connecticut).

A couple of weeks ago, St. Donatus, a small town (population 135 in 2010!) just north of Bellevue was having it's Sorghum Festival (sorghum is like molasses).

St. Donatus is home to the Gehlen Barn.  Built in 1839, it is supposedly the oldest building in Jackson County and was recently included in an article in the LA Times about Iowa barns.

And it is COOL.

Just up the street from the barn is the St. Donatus Catholic Church.  I am not Catholic (at all!), but the church is pretty.

 

Behind the church is an outdoor Way of the Cross, consisting of 14 stations winding up a hillside...

to the Pieta Chapel at the top.

After that little hike, I headed to Kalmes Restaurant to rehydrate.

After a quick stop to check out the renovations at the Old City Cemetery in Bellevue,

I headed south to Gravert's Apple Basket Orchard just south of Bellevue.

Then I wandered across the river to Savannah...

(I did NOT get a tattoo.)

After all that, I came home and made another macaroni & cheese recipe.  I think this makes three, but can anyone have too much macaroni & cheese?

Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

16 ounces elbow macaroni (about 3 cups)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 ½ cups milk, divided

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 lb cubed Velveeta cheese

8 ounce shredded Kraft Mild Cheddar Cheese divided

8 ounce shredded Kraft Monterrey Jack Cheese 

(I used a 16-ounce bag of shredded cheddar jack)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Cook macaroni until tender but not mushy, about 8-10 minutes 

Drain well and pour into a large mixing bowl

Melt on low the Velvetta Cheese and ¾ cup milk until melted (stir often)

Pour the melted cheese sauce over pasta and stir 

Add in butter, ¾ cups milk, eggs, 1 cup shredded cheeses, salt and pepper

Mix well and transfer to a 2 quart baking dish

Pour the remaining cheese on top

Bake until top crust is golden brown and casserole is bubbling, about 25 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Labor Day 2013

Two outta three ain't good either.

The three day weekend started out ok...

On Saturday, we wandered.

We started in Dyersville, home of the Field of Dreams movie site.

Then we checked out Elkader, a super cute little town that gave me lots of ideas for Bellevue.

I loved this store!

Just outside of Elkader is the little town of Gunder.

VERY little

Gunder is known for the Gunderburger at The Irish Shanti.

A Gunderburger is one pound (!) of locally raised beef served on a locally baked bun.  (I love that everything's local!)

I did not have the Gunderburger, but the smaller version from the kid's menu was delicious!

After Gunder, we wandered over to the flea market in Marquette (it was very hot and everything was very expensive).

Across the river is Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin where we stopped at a couple of garage sales.  I found a large, white enamel bowl with red trim for $3.

not the one I bought, but mine is just like this

After Prairie, we drove through the orchards in Gays Mills (orchard after orchard after orchard after...), to Richland Center where I saw this shelving unit on the side of the road with a sign that said 500.

I had seen this...

at Addicted to Decorating, and wanted to do something similar for this girl...

so cute!

Luckily, in this case 500 meant $5!

Now we'll see if I ever do anything with it.  It's real wood (not particle board) and I almost hate to "ruin" it!

Sunday, we went to the pork roast ("Iowa's Largest"?) at the church behind my house.  We ate pork sandwiches, listened to music (some good, some...), and "visited" (small town Iowa's version of "hung out".

On Monday, we broke up.

(my idea)

On the bright side, when the going gets tough, I get super productive.

First on the list was ripping up the carpet in the living room.

after

I also made this Rotel Chicken Mexican Casserole.

The actual recipe is...

Ingredients

3 split fryer breasts cooked and cubed

1 bag of tortilla chips crushed

1 can of Rotel

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 small can of chopped green chiles

1 lb of Velvetta or American Cheese

Directions

Cook and dice your chicken 

Mix together your Rotel, Soup, Green Chiles, and cubed Cheese

Heat this mixture in a microwave till melted and then add your chicken 

In a casserole dish, layer 1/2 your chips and 1/2 your cheese mixture

Repeat these layers and top with a few crushed chips

Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly

But I threw everything (except the tortilla chips!) into the crock pot on low for about 8 hours, shredded the chicken, then layered it into the baking dish and threw it into the oven.

It was SO good!  If you like that cheesy Rotel dip (who doesn't???) you'll love this.

Fishtival 2013

This weekend was the 3rd annual Fishtival Arts Festival in Bellevue.

I was free Friday night, though, so had time to do this...

Kitty Caps

Hazel's still too young to be declawed (counting down!), and her claws are SHARP!

By Saturday morning, I was downtown for some art,

metal sculpture

community painting

music,

4 on the Floor

and...

It was a very good weekend!

This week I'm attending the Preserve Iowa conference in Burlington.  Topics include Historic Preservation and Downtown Revitalization.

Fun!

(Really!)