Fun Christmas Presents: (Boot Jewelry)
I was in my local western store the other day and as I was checking out at the counter, I spotted a pair of boots with a piece of jewelry on them!
Now maybe I’m a little late at this, but I thought that was the COOLEST THING I had ever seen!
I mean, why didn’t I think of this?
Everybody knows I love to wear my boots.
Let’s be honest, sometimes those boots need a little sprucing up!
They had different styles.
They even had some rhinestone ones, but this one caught my eye the most.
It even looked good on my flashier boots.
I think the best part is that you can wear it with either a plain or a dressier outfit.
It would be great for when you wear your boots with a sundress!
I also picked this up while I was there.
Girls! Listen up!
Y’all need one of these handy things for when someone else isn’t around to help you!
It is hard enough sometimes to get those darn things off WITH someone’s help.
You know, you know what I’m talking about.
Watch and learn:
Step on…..
Insert foot…..
Pull foot out!
OMG! Do you realize how much this has changed my LIFE????!!!!????????
Better diagram of how footing is.
(I probably could have done this to begin with, but that just wouldn’t be me)
I caution you, however!
DO NOT TRY TO STAND ON THIS AFTER CONSUMING ONE OF THESE:
You will hurt yourself.
SO!
Let’s recap:
“Boot Jewelry”!!!
Fun!
Cute!
Christmas Present!
Got at my local Western Store, Wild West.
$19.99 each
Wooden Boot Jack
$9.50 each
P.S. I also tried these with my regular fashion boots and I think they looked good too.
Now go do more Christmas Shopping!
-Esther
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Christmas Present Ideas (Knitted Headwraps)
I saw these cute Knitted Headwraps while I was out shopping with my mom.
I felt like these would be the perfect gift for someone who loved hats, or loved headbands,
……….or loved things touching there heads.
SO, I decided to buy them….
for myself.
I guess at some point, I will have to start shopping for others.
But in the meantime, check these out.
I thought that they were so pretty.
There were so many different colors in the store and the best thing was that they were buy 2, get the 3rd FREE!
This could have just been a marketing ploy to get you to buy more.
(It worked)
I just love the bows on them. They have two adjustable buttons on back.
The red is so Vibrant! What better color to get for Christmas?
This is the red one on. I love how it keeps your ears warm too.
The brown one has the prettiest Amber colored bow.
I think overall, this one is my favorite.
Headwraps bought at Bijuju.
$16.00 each
Local Myrtle Beach Store (Market Commons location) had Buy 2, Get 3rd Free
Let me know what you think!
-Esther
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Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables and Gravy
I haven’t found many people out there who don’t love a good Roast Chicken.
I have tried it myself by cooking the whole thing (Thanksgiving Style), just sitting in the pan. Maybe doctured up with some butter and salt and pepper.
Nothing too great. I may have even tried to add some type of citrus to it a time or too, but still nothing that great.
My chicken always had some spot in it that might still look a little pink or God forbid, bloody (GASP!), and my kids would get totally grossed out!!!
So, you can probably guess where the rest of that story goes….
I decided to make it a different way about a week ago and I have to say that I will probably never make Roast Chicken another way again.
This is by far, the easiest way I have EVER cooked Roast Chicken.
First, I took some Carrots, Onions, and some Sweet Potatoes.
I roughly cut them into about 1 to 2 inch pieces. You don’t have to be precise, as they will cook down. In fact, the more UNprecise you are, the better. It gives it a “rustic” look.
Then I drizzled some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over them, tossed, and added a little salt and pepper. Then tossed again.
Then I tossed them aside. Well, not really. More like slid them.
Now, back to the chicken!
I cut the backbone out, and pressing down, skin side down, pressed until I heard a pop. This “butterflies” your chicken.
Before you say, “Oh, I can’t do that”…… Let me just tell you, YES YOU CAN!
I used to always buy my chicken already cut up from the store, which by the way cost more than a whole chicken you can cut up yourself.
My mom tried to show me how to cut one up myself, but I was never interested.
(F.Y.I.: I plan on doing a tutorial later on how to cut a whole chicken up.)
Back to topic: IT IS SOOOOO EASY TO CUT THE BACKBONE OUT OF A CHICKEN.
Just turn it over, find the area that looks literally like a backbone (I do not mean to insult your intelligence).
Start at the top, and going down both sides of it, cut.
This can be done with a knife, but I found it easier to do with kitchen shears.
If I’m not grossing you out yet, read on. : )
I salt and peppered the chicken and then I used my “Herbs de Provence” Pampered Chef seasoning mix and sprinkled it on it.
This is it below. You can also pick this up at your local Grocery Store in other brands. I just happened to have that one on hand.
By the way, this is a great mix to use on Chicken, Pork, Vegetables (you name it!).
Then I coated my Cast Iron Skillet with a couple of tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Put the whole Butterflied Chicken in skin side down and seared it on medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, until it was golden brown.
Flipped it over………
And added all the vegetables to the pan. It may look like the pan is too crowded, but it isn’t. These will cook down and the chicken will cook just fine as well.
I sprinkled the vegetables with a little more Herbes de Provence.
I popped it in the oven for about an 1 hour and 15 minutes and this is what it looked like when finished.
It will literally fall off the bone!
But WAIT!
There’s MORE!
I removed the chicken and the vegetables to a platter and covered with aluminum foil to keep warm.
I couldn’t just let all these juices from the meat and vegetables go to waste!
Couldn’t let the little bit of wine that was left in this bottle go to waste either. (“Waste not, Want Not!) Right?
There was about a cup left in the bottle and it all went into the pan.
I let it simmer for about 8 or 9 minutes until it had reduced by half. Then I added a tablespoon of butter.
Stirred in until butter had melted and Voila!
Yummy gravy! In fact, it was so good, I caught Z drinking the rest of it after we were cleaning up the table. YES! I said DRINKING IT!
Oops! Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.
Well, he won’t know if we don’t tell him.
If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think.
This is a definite “KID APPROVED” meal.
The sweetness from the onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes cook into the chicken and make it soooo good!
By the way, this is a great easy meal to entertain with or if you just want to share with your family.
ENJOY!
-Esther
RECIPE: Roast Chicken w/ Root Vegetables and Gravy
Ingredients:
– 1 Whole Chicken ( 3 to 4 lbs.)
– 2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence, divided
– Salt and Pepper
– 4 tablespoons Olive Oil
– 4 Carrots
– 4 Sweet Potatoes
– 2 Sweet Onions
– 1 cup White Wine, I used Chardonnay OR if you prefer, you can use Chicken Stock
– 1 tablespoon Butter
Directions:
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
– Cut Onions, Carrots, and Sweet Potatoes roughly into 1 to 2 inch cubes.
– Combine vegetables and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper. Toss to coat and set aside.
– Use kitchen shears to cut out the backbone of the chicken.
– Lay chicken open, skin side up, like a book. Flatten the chicken with your hands, pressing down until you hear a pop or crack noise.
– Sprinkle chicken with Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper.
– Heat a 12 inch or larger size cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Add chicken, skin side down, and sear 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown.
– Flip the chicken over and add vegetables to open areas around chicken. It’s ok if it seems overcrowded.
– Roast chicken 1 hour and 15 minutes or until an instant- read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F.
– Remove chicken and vegetables to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm.
– Add the wine to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon loosening any brown bits in bottom of pan.
– Allow to simmer for 8 to 9 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half. Stir often.
– Add tablespoon butter and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You won’t need much, if any.
– Carve chicken, set on platter with vegetables and serve with gravy.
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UPDATE: Master Bathroom Shower
So, as you know, a couple of weeks ago, I gave you the week of the “Ewws, the Yucks, and the Awes!”
You got your fair share of the Ewws and Yucks.
If you don’t remember, allow me to remind you:
Remember Exibit A???
No?
What about……
Exibit B????
(Don’t worry. I’m not going to show anymore.)
We had to make the decision to redo our Master Shower after finding out that it was leaking water into our bedroom when we were installing new flooring.
Well, the shower looks a lot different now! Think I finally got my Awe!
After all that dark gunky mess, all I wanted to see was light and bright!
I am very pleased with how it turned out!
I wanted the look to be vintage, so I went with an octogonal designed tile for the floor. We used this for the flooring in the rest of the bathroom as well. The grout color was a dark grey. From what I have seen, charcoal is a common color for vintage bathroom grout, but I didn’t want it to look black, so I chose to go this route instead.
I chose a plain white subway tile for the wall with white grout. I really wanted things to look bright and I figured that using white grout would give me that look. The best part was all the tile was bought at either my local Lowe’s or Home Depot store. When I cleaned Home Depot out of their stock, I went right over to Lowe’s. They were different name brands, but the look and dimensions were the same, so you can’t tell the difference in product.
The contractor suggested going all the way to the ceiling with the tile and I’m glad he did. It really gives it a much grander look and draws your eye upwards, so it makes the shower look bigger than it really is.
Is it possible to be in love with a shower fixture? Because I think I am. Pretty sure I understand the meaning to “love at first sight” now.
It has a shower head and a seperate hand held. For me, this was so important, because I hate cleaning showers and a hand held shower head really makes this so much easier to get to all the nooks and crannies.
I really felt like the exposed plumbing pipe of the fixture added to it’s vintage charm, so I really wanted a face plate that would continue that look. The porcelain knobs that say Hot and Cold, as well as the Arrow, helped add to it.
I absolutely love this shower head. The lady at the store was really nice and was looking out for me. The original shower head that was on the faucet in the display room was different and she told me that with the thick hair I had, I would be standing there for years trying to rinse the shampoo out due to no water pressure in it. She suggested I go with this one instead and it has really made a difference. I haven’t had any problems.
HOWEVER! BE WARNED! When you go into a Kitchen and Bath store to buy a faucet, it is like going into an expensive restaurant where everything on the menu is a la carte! The pole and cord to my hand held was one price. Then the shower head was another, then the hand held was another, and then the face plate was another.
Needless to say, I paid a bit for my faucet.
It was definitely a SPLURGE, but I feel it was worth it because I know that I will be in this house for quite some time and it will probably be a nice selling feature when the times comes. I did manage to make up for it a little because my shower doors should have been $300, but were on sale for only $79. SCORE!
Those were all views from the outside looking in. But this is usually my view from the inside looking out.
Yes, Buster always guards the shower when I’m taking one.
However, below is a more accurate picture of what my view usually is from the inside looking out.
No, privacy is not something we get much in this household as of yet.
-Esther
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