Happy Halloween!

I was in Goodwill recently, and saw this...

Two brand new candlesticks for $3!

But, brass?

So I bought a can of Rust-Oleum Gloss Protective Enamel in Black and these...

became these...

I love them!

(And it was so much fun!)

Then today I saw this post by Life as a Thrifter.

Now I just need more spray paint...

Hopefully Winavie at Lemons & Chambray found some good deals for her Halloween!

Bittersweet

One of my neighbors recently asked if I liked bittersweet.

"I've never tried it", I replied.

"You don't eat it."

Oh.

(Sounds like something you'd eat, though, doesn't it?)

The next day I came home and found this on my front porch...

Pretty...

I added a (very) little to a wreath I picked up for $1 at a flea market last weekend (it needs more, I know)...

Also Bittersweet...

Hint:  If you ever see "Big Head Todd" somewhere, don't tell him he was your favorite band in college.  He doesn't like that.

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!

Back to School

Not having children, "Back to School" is a bit of a challenge for me.

However, earlier this year, during a trip to Charleston, I found these framed vintage flashcards at a consignment shop (where I also found February's Goodwill Hunting!)...

Each one has the definition a different part of a sentence, along with examples and a pretty drawing.

Did you know participles are derived from verbs?  I didn't, but I do now!

I love to read and these will be hung in the library/office (as soon as I figure out where that will be).

Hopefully Lemons & Chambray (who does have kids!) found some good back to school deals!

Next month:  Happy Halloween!

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.

Burlington

Last week, I attended the first ever Preserve Iowa Summit, held in Burlington, Iowa, to learn more about historic preservation and downtown revitalization.

This summit brought together architects, historic preservationists, tourism professionals (me!) and others interested in preserving historic buildings for historic or economic development (me again!) purposes.

Burlington was a natural choice for this meeting, as much of it's downtown has undergone significant preservation, such as...

the McConnell Lofts, Capitol Theater (photos),

and First United Methodist Church, which was almost entirely destroyed by fire, along with the First Presbyterian Church next door.

after

after

The summit was awesome!  I met some very interesting people - artists, architects, and people involved with economic development for the state of Iowa - right up some of my many alleys.

I didn't love Burlington (sorry Burlington), other than...

Luckily, the Burlington Farmer's Market was held one of the nights I was in town.

I could totally do this

Maybe this too

Not the original, but made me feel "at home"

Snake Alley in Burlington is actually the Crookedest Street in the world (not Lombard Street in San Francisco).

cute front porch with a great view of Snake Alley

I usually shun mosquitos but this little park is named for it's size, not its inhabitants.

So cute, with a great view!

Huffington Post was also in Burlington recently, looking for Iowa Style.  I'm not sure they captured it, but it's a cute story.

This week, I'm really enjoying the 3-day weekend, as opposed to the 1-day weekends I've had the last two weeks.  Hope you are too!!