Winter = DESSERTS!!

I haven't updated in a long time....
I started baking some desserts; they aren't lasting very long. =)
My mom calls these turtles, I call them: perfect snack for my hand.
 Pretzel with Rolo on top, 200 degrees for about 4 minutes and then smashed down with a pecan.

I'm not as fancy as others. I've seen some Martha Stewarts drizzle chocolate over the pecan....I'm not about presentation. I just want it to be delicious!










I made these cherry cookies last week. I wasn't impressed with them like Michael. Here's the link with the original recipe.

I'm tempted to give them a second try and skip out on the Kiss. I think the flattening part ruined them.










DECORATING

I didn't really have the urge to put up the tree this year since Colt gets in it and I spend each night trying to get him out. However, after some Christmas music I had the tree up in 30 minutes. I love this picture of his face rubbing the branch. I think Colt was happier than I was when the tree was finished.

My DIY- ornaments from Lowe's that we bought our first year (plastic) and a Christmas bowl as my island center piece. Fancy, I know.

We went to opportunity village and enjoyed some lights.

I made the banner from pinterest, the chalkboard I copied from my favorite blog. I really wanted to decorate hard core since this is the first year I have a mantle but the JOY from Target broke the budget for that idea. I'll have to hit up pinterest for some more DIY. (I personally like that I have candles as weights for the banner)

I was organizing my crap craft supplies and Colt got a hold of a pipe cleaner. It has been his number one play item for over a week now! If I'd have known this earlier....man oh man, I could have saved some money.



I was devastated Friday when I heard about the shooting at Sandy Hook E.S. My prayers go out to the families and educators at that school. For those teachers who did best for their students, my out most respect for you. This is my fourth year teaching and every year we practice a Hard Lock Down and I thank the Lord that I haven't had to go through what these teachers and students went through. I pray that the families will heal and that all schools change/revise/edit/update their safety policy.

This photo is one from a teacher I currently work with that she has had on her door since day 1. I think this is an awesome idea for any teacher, especially if there is sub. I've been saving it for when I update my teaching page but I thought I'd share now.

Tater Tots and Monkey Bread

The Maranos came over Sunday to watch some football, poor Browns...they didn't win. I LOVE pinterest. I think  have an addiction to it. I found this recipe (grouprecipes.com) and made it today. It was pretty dang good and my favorite, easy to throw together.

What you need:

1- 2 lb. bag frozen tots

2 c. milk

4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

4 eggs

1 lb of EITHER: ham, sausage, bacon ALREADY COOKED

What to do:

In a 9x13 dish layer out ham (or whatever you chose), layer cheese over the meat, in a separate bowl, beat eggs and milk then pour over cheese. Layer tots over egg mixture. Bake in oven at 350 degrees.

***Pinterest said 45mins, I had to do an hour because the eggs were done when I checked***

 What you need

I used ham from the wall deli since it was already cooked and cut up.

Spread cheese on top of meat and then pour egg mixture on top. Add frozen tots and bake!!

MONKEY BREAD

This is straight from Grama Nancy's recipe cards. Yes, we spell it grama. Side note- one of my favorite bridal shower gifts was from grama Nancy. She gave me a laundry basket full of spices and cooking items with a recipe book with hand written recipes....I love it!

What you need:

3- 10oz biscuits

1 c. white sugar

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 c. brown sugar

1 stick butter

What to do:

In bowl, mix white sugar and ground cinnamon. Cut biscuits in half and roll into balls. Roll balls in sugar mixture and put in bundt pan.

On stove, melt butter and brown sugar. Boil for one minute. Pour mixture over biscuits. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Invert onto plate, Enjoy!

Michael turns 27!

Michael is old. He turned 27 today! Last night we celebrated with family and of course, a cookie cake. I don't know who in the world would want a cookie over a real piece of cake, but it was his birthday not mine. I made pasta from pinterest. It was delicious and home made garlic cheesy bread. We played what I thought was Scategories, but our families took it out of context. Oh, and Hypnotic liquor is not the same as Curacao...just in case you wondering. However,  I still drank it in my purple drink martini. Happy Birthday Michael!

 One more reason I love the chalkboard.

He had to have a cookie cake....

He loves me.

My mom loves me too.

Halloween

Colt was ready to pass out candy. This is the first time in 3 years that I have ran out of candy. The first year in our house I spent $50 on candy and had 2 trick-or-treaters. I cut back on the spending last year and had 6 kids show up. This year, I thought a 40 count bag of Reese's and KitKat would be enough...I had to pass out fruit snacks! Eventually I just turned our light off. It was out of control!

We went to my grandma Carole's house the Sunda before Halloween to carve pumpkins.

Yes, that is a Cleveland pumpkin carving kit!

I made ALL 3 tutus. I saw a picture on pinterest and then found a youtube video that showed step-by-step directions (thank goodness). I had a blast at work with my co-workers. Plus, I liked wearing a tutu all day.

Chalkboard (finally)

I finally got around to making my chalkboard. I had bought a piece of wood at Joann's and painted it but I didn't sand the wood and it was a hot mess! I saw on pinterest (surprise) how someone had painted glass and it worked. So, since I had Nevada Day I off I went to Michael's with my coupon and bought a picture frame with glass. Side note, teachers who show their CCSD badge receive an additional 15% off the total....just sayin'. I bought the paint at Lowe's months ago and finally painted! I used Crayola Chalk.

I love to paint, but I was a little impatient. It really needed more than 4 coats. I've already scratched off parts.

I didn't wait for it to dry completely. I'm very impatient.

TA-DA!!!



2 Years!

I'm a little behind in blogging.... so I'm going to catch up really fast. First-
We celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary October 23rd. I can't believe it has already been two years! Thank you to all who made it THE BEST Party/day! Michael and I both still talk about how our wedding was a blast!

We celebrated by going to NY earlier in October, but there's nothing better than cake! I loved, enjoyed, devoured our cake at our wedding because it was soooo good. Last year, we unfroze the top layer and it was terrible! I was so upset! I had been waiting to have that delicious cake in my mouth and was disappointed. I wanted cake this year (surprise) and was was able to order one that was FABULOUS! One of the girls on our softball team, Kim, her sister does cakes out of her house. Angel Wings Creations (on facebook). I would order from her again. The picture above looks exactly like what I had sent her, plus, it was moist and tasted just like our wedding cake minus the cake being smashed in my face. It was a great night of Caprioti's and watching the wedding DVD.

Chicken Lip Dip!

Chicken Lip Dip! I got this recipe from a relative. At first I wasn't a fan, but that's because I refused to try it because it had hot sauce in it. I am the WORST eater ever! Michale loved this dip and my mom would make it for him and send it over. Lucky for Michael, I like it now and make it sometimes. We had it today and it was all gone before I knew it!

Chicken Lip Dip

3- 8oz cream cheese

1 1/2 c. Ranch dressing

1 c. 2 TBS Frank's Hot Sauce

2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 shredded chicken breasts cooked

CHIPS!!

Mix hot sauce, ranch & cream cheese on stove top until all melted. Pour into crock pot. Mix in chicken and cheddar cheese. Keep warm and scoop up with chips! Reheats well.

Heat on stove top and mix until all blended (not the shredded cheese). Pour into crockpot, add (cooked, shredded) chicken and cheese, stir and enjoy.

I was on a pinterest kick, again. Shocker!

Here are the projects that worked and that didn't.....

FRONT DOOR

I saw this on pinterest back in June and finally....this week I put it together!

I bought floam from Michael's and used the cereal bowl and salad plate as templates and then pipe cleaners for the spider's legs. Maybe I'll get him some eyes this week. My sister did one too. Hers is super cute with a pink bow and eye lashes.

HARVEST MIX

We got this recipe from a family friend. Be warned, it is addicting. 1 bag of candy corn, 1 bag of butterscotch morsels, 1 bag M&Ms and a can of cocktail peanuts. Mix and enjoy! I cover the bowl with a lid at when we're not "picking" at it to keep it fresh.

I continue to add to the mantel...I went to Pier 1 to replace a few glasses. When I walked in the door, their Halloween decor was marked 20% off! I HAD to have the witche's hat! I found this banner printable on my favorite website, pinterest. I had bough string to make the next failed project. At least it came in handy today. I printed to pattern on regularly printer paper and then backed it on card stock scrapbook paper. 

FAILED PROJECTS



I saw this post on pinterest that you could tie string around a wine bottle, remove the string, soak the string in nail polish remover, place string back on bottle, light string on fire and then stick bottle in cold water and ta-da! Clean cut bottle. FAIL! I did it twice and almost burnt my hand & the label. I gave up. So now it looks silly with the flower sticking out of the neck of the bottle but that project will have to wait, just like the chalk board (I really want to get that one done this week though). In the same night I attempted to modge podge a calendar picture onto a canvas. I was so frustrated with the wine bottle I did a half crap job but it came out ok. Now I just need a few more items to add to the shelves....it's starting to come together.

It was a busy weekend. Won both softball games. 8 & 0! We went on a team outting to a haunted house on Saturday. We all  Everyone except me went in a haunted house. I didn't make 2 minutes before saying the word to be let out. I'm not in to paying to have the crap scared out of me. 

Our 2yr anniversary is Tuesday....holy moly! I can't believe it has been 2 years! Can't wait to watch the wedding video for the 898th time! 

NYC

Holy Moly! We had a super busy weekend in Manhattan last weekend. Since the Browns were playing the Giants at Metlife stadium, Michael and Brandon continued their tradition of going to the game and I tagged along (I just wanted the hot dog at the game). After landing and being ripped off by the taxi ($57 freaking dollars to go from JFK to Manhattan) we strolled down the block to Time Square. I love this picture because there is hardly anyone on the street. We did some site seeing by foot.

Our fist stop was to taking a breather on this bench some where..... No matter what street we were on, there were people everywhere! It was a little much for me to handle.

We eventually made it to the 9/11 memorial. It was very somber. The memorial was beautiful and the new towers are huge. The museum is not complete so we walked around the two memorials. We continued our walk (we hadn't found the subway app at this point) to Battery Park. All I have ever wanted to do in NY is go to the Statue of Liberty. I fly 2,600 miles to see that broad and she is closed for renovation! We took a ferry tour to see her anyways and the Brooklyn bridge. Can you tell we've been up for over 24 hours?




Around the corner from Grimaldi's in Brooklyn


My genius idea of going to Brooklyn to eat at the original Grimaldi's wasn't my best idea. We learned about the subway app and took the subway. Once again, not the smartest but this wasn't my idea. I voted to be ripped off by the taxi. What seemed like forever finally led us down the street to a line outside! Thankfully I was with two guys who didn't mind sitting at the bar and eating otherwise it would have been over an hour wait. The pizza was ok. I personally think the Grimaldi's here in Vegas is better. I don't get the whole "water" is better in NY but whatever. The customer service sucked! I don't care what people say, if you think I'm tipping you,then you better make sure my root beer isn't empty. That joker had 5 people sitting at the bar, 2 pretty girls and the three of us. Do you think he ever asked if I needed a another $5 root beer? NO! Good thing my favorite server at our Grimaldi's is the best otherwise that would have ruined my idea of Grimaldi's.

Brandon went to visit his family in Jersey Saturday so Michael and took a carriage ride around Central Park. (The ONLY other thing I wanted to do in NY) Our biker was great! He had personality and peddled us around and made stops along the way were moves had been filmed. We got out of the "basket" a couple of times to walk around. Apparently this bridge is in Spiderman 3 but I haven't seen it.... I was more into the Kate & Leopold, 27 Dresses, Sex & the City, Friend's with Benefits, and Elf stops. I highly recommend!!! This park is HUGE!



GAME DAY



     

We took the train from Penn station to Jersey. The train dropped us off in front of the stadium, it was beautiful once inside. . Good thing I had my headscarf and winter coat, it was freakin' freezing outside. The boys enjoyed their beer while I had a delicious hot chocolate.

Just when I thought the Browns might pull out a win, they disappointed Michael again. The fans were decent, many hugged Michael or patted him on the back and expressed their sadness for his team. There were quite a few Brown's fans yelling right along with Michael.





Sunday before we left we ate at Carnegie. The biggest sandwich ever!

Just before we left the city, Michael was a complete romantic and we walked to Central Park (good thing we had a tour otherwise we'd have been lost and probably ended up on a Law & Order episode). We walked to the Boat House and rented a row boat. Michael rowed me around the lake for an hour. I tried to show him that I was a fantastic coxswain, but that ended with the paddle being disconnected and Michael having to paddle the rest of the trip. 

Overall, AWESOME TRIP! Glad to be home though where I can drive my own car and not feel claustrophobic.

Chocolate Eclair cake & Mutated Tree

Busy weekend at the Lombardo's! Since the Browns lost, I mean played Thursday night we had the weekend to tackle that stupid tree. I don't know who in their right mind thought, "oh, great idea, a tree with thorns is perfect for this house". They were stupid! The stupid tree wasn't so stupid when we moved in 2 years ago. It was tiny and held up by the 3 sticks (a lot of good those did). Then during a blustery thunderstorm it broke in half. Yes, in half. It bent over like a dead sunflower. So we chopped it off, or so I thought. After a year and 3 months this is what we were dealing with:

It was a mutated, thorn sticking pain in the rear!

Have you ever seen such a beast?!? I know that it rained, really, really, rained for a day in two weeks but really? I know I wine a lot but the thorns were ridiculous! Who wants a tree with thorns except the grouchy old man who doesn't want his neighbors walking up his path unless they have the possibility of being thorned to death! I know that that was a question but I feel strong about not having a thorn tree.

I'm not even going to start in on the green tree! But between the two of them, you couldn't check out what car was parked in the street because you couldn't see it. You couldn't even see my fall flag that I have hanging between the two beasts!

It was out of control! So Michael did some chopping!

I walked around and pointed to the limbs that needed to be cut down, it was a hard work!



Before



After



Before



After
You can see the front door again!





    

After the tree expedition I made one of my favorite desserts! Chocolate eclair cake.

Ingredients:

1- 8oz cool whip (thawed)

1- 6oz vanilla pudding

3 c. milk

1 box graham crackers

*I made the chocolate frosting using the Nestle's recipe off the cocoa but I usually just buy a jar of chocolate frosting on the cake isle. **I was feeling adventurous.

9x13 pan

Directions:

Mix pudding with milk, whisk 2 minutes. Place in fridge and let set-up. Layer graham crackers on bottom of pan. When pudding is set, mix in cool whip until all mixed. Pour half of pudding/cool whip mixture over graham crackers. Lay another layer of graham crackers on top of pudding. Pour remainder of pudding on top of graham crackers. Layer with another layer of graham crackers. This is the part I usually place the jar of chocolate frosting in the microwave (with lid and foil removed) and cook for 30 sec. intervals until melted. Pour melted frosting on top of graham crackers until you can no longer see the crackers. Refrigerate for 6 hours before serving. Enjoy!

It tastes even better the second day, especially for breakfast.

 Last but not least, (I told you it was a busy weekend) I put up some decorations. I'm not a huge Halloween person but I like pumpkins, pumpkin bread and pumpkin candles. I bought the legs/hands from ABC distributing a few years ago. The print out on the mantle I found on pinterest and I had an old 8x10 frame laying around. The white & orange pumpkins on the mantle were at Alberton's (don't tell my parents) and I just replace the candles with them. I really want a banner that says Happy Halloween or something cute but I'm afraid Colt will attack it. It looks naked, I might need some new decor....