Council Hill

Summer is (finally!) over (unofficially), so this past weekend I was able to get out to see one of my favorite local bands.

The Matriarchs is (are?) an all-girl bluegrass band.  I hired them to play at our annual art festival in August and they were SO FUN!

The band was playing at Council Hill Station, an old train station/post office/general store/woolen mill built in the 1850's that now has barn dances and over 90 different kinds of beer.

On our way there, my friend told me about the Ably House, an old, abandoned house where several people had been murdered back in the 1800's.

We immediately started to look for it!

We drove down a long, one-lane road...

through a tunnel...

and then...

EEK!  That's it!

There was a fence (electrified!) and a gate.

We walked around to the back...

the path to the back gate

past the side of the house.

A little electrified fence won't stop me (it doesn't hurt THAT bad.), so I climbed over the back gate, and walked slowly past the side of the house.  As soon as I turned to go onto the front porch, I heard a sound.

A truck!  Driving down the lane right towards us!

Needless to say, I ran.

Then, nothing.  Nobody.  No truck...

Turns out, it was a couple of teenagers who came to the bridge at the edge of the property to fish.

But still.

Scary.

After that excitement, we decided to drive into Galena, a super cute, super touristy little town on the way home.

We wandered around for a little while, laughing about the irony of two adults being chased away by teenagers (isn't it supposed to be the other way around?), then headed into an ice cream shop where it's not scary at all.

GAH!

Hail to the Red, White & Blue (and, Beauty & the Beach)!

So, I'm a day late.

And I'm totally cheating by using my July Goodwill Hunting find for both July and August.

But it's so perfect!

I actually saw this red, white & blue bag months ago and grabbed it.  It could be one of those gift-with-purchase bags but I don't care!

I love it!

I'm not sure what the material is, but it feels like it'd be waterproof, and when I saw it, I immediately thought it'd be a perfect beach bag.

Not that I have time to go to the beach, but I am going to try to do something fun before this summer is over.

And when I do, I'm taking this bag!

This will probably be the last official "Goodwill Hunting" installment (but definitely NOT the last time I post one of my great thrift store finds!).

Summer Lovin'

Summer is my busiest time of year, so while everyone else is relaxing and going on vacation, I'm working 7 days a week.  

Literally.

I've taken one day off in the last month (and even then I was getting phone calls and answering emails).

With that schedule, the last thing I need to worry about is what I'm going to wear in the morning.

So I went on a shopping spree! 

I don't have any pictures, but it doesn't matter.  They'd be boring.  

I stocked up on the basics - black capris (3 pairs!), a black skirt, a tan skirt, red shorts from JCrew (ok, those aren't really "basic", but they are so cute, and I can't resist JCrew)...

Life is now much easier in the morning, and at $4 each, it's well worth it!

I also found this cute Kensie shirt that is also not basic but I couldn't resist either.

I love the lime green!

Check out Lemons & Chambray to see what Winavie found for summer.  (I am seriously jealous of that tote bag).

Next month:  Hail to the Red, White & Blue!

Cinco de Mayo

Yes, I know it's Ocho de Junio.

But, I had planned to make this recipe for Cinco de Mayo.  I actually made it last weekend, but am just now getting around to posting the recipe.

Do you notice a trend?

I also finished knitting a scarf today.

Yes, a scarf.

Yes, I know it's June.

Anyway, this was muy bueno and totally worth the wait.

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls


Ingredients
1½ lbs. chicken breasts
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
½ lb. (8 oz.) frozen corn
1 Tbsp chili powder
½ Tbsp cumin
½ Tbsp minced garlic
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp salt
cracked pepper to taste
2 cups dry rice (or not!)
8 oz. shredded cheddar
½ bunch cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker with ¼ cup of water. 
2. Stir, making sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Near the end of the cooking time, cook rice according to the package directions.
5. Stir chicken mixture with a fork to shred the chicken.
6. Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

Personally, I thought the rice was ok, but I also think this would be great on tortillas, or even tortilla chips.

May Flowers

After a long, cold, snowy winter, it's finally spring!

Technically.

I do not consider 53 and overcast "spring".

But we've had a few nice days and I've been out in the yard, pulling lots of weeds and planting a few flowers.

I didn't actually plant them myself, of course.  

One nice thing about a small town is someone is always splitting the plants in their gardens and giving away what they no longer have room for.  (excuse the grammar)  

And if they're really nice, they'll come down and plant them in your garden for you...

really nice!

also really nice!

But spring (the warm, sunny version) will be here eventually.

And now I have the cutest hat to wear when it is!

I love hats

The same day, at the same Goodwill, I also found a framed print of this photo by Ansel Adams...

Source - with info about the picture

It's borderline sacrilegious to say this, but I'm not a big fan of Ansel Adams.  But for some reason I love this picture.  

(It could be the hats.)

If you're wondering what that has to do with May Flowers, the answer is "not much".

But, that woman is Georgia O'Keefe and she is rather famous for painting flowers (among other things).

Winavie discovered that she actually didn't find May Flowers this month, but that's ok because what she did find is REALLY CUTE!

Next month - Summer Lovin'!

April Showers

Rules are made to be broken.

I've been searching for a tan trench coat for (about) ever.

A few weeks ago, I was in Goodwill and saw one!  It was so cute!

But it was from Old Navy.  I sort of have a rule about not buying Old Navy (or Target) at Goodwill.  Their clothing is relatively inexpensive (read: cheap) to begin with, and if it's already been worn...

But this was really cute.

I wavered.

But, it was dirty, so I put it back and turned around, my rule remaining firmly unbroken.

And then...

I saw another tan trench, hanging on the bar outside the fitting room.  I walked over and...

Old Navy.

BUT!

It still had the original tag on it!  It was brand new!  And my size!

And super cute!

(My rule has been amended.)

Check out the super cute little book Winavie at Lemons & Chambray found to use in her super cute little garden.  (I'm so jealous!)

Next later this month:  May Flowers (probably!)

My New Favorite Toy

Wagner Power Products 503008 HT 1000 1,200-watt Heat Gun!

When I bought this house, there was a little semi-circle of linoleum inside the front door...

I don't know why this is so blurry

Last year, I pulled up the linoleum when I ripped out the carpet, leaving this...

I don't even know what.

That was seven months ago.

Seven!

I was given this heat gun for Christmas, and finally got it out this weekend for another (not interesting at all) project.  Then I wondered if it would do anything to this... stuff.

It did!

Whatever it was, it was hard as a rock.  But after I heated it up I could scrape it right off.

And now...

hardwood floors!

Yes, the floors need to be refinished, but this is another huge improvement that didn't cost (me) a penny!

Next up, the kitchen...

sigh...

In case you were wondering...
No, I'm not being compensated by Wagner in any way for this endorsement.

(unfortunately!)