Friday, October 07, 2005

Ribbon and Autumn Heaven!



Yes, ribbon heaven arrived in my mailbox today! A sweet, sweet friend of mine sent me a ton of the new Maya Road ribbon. (click on the photo to see a larger view) WOW!! It was funny because I opened the box while I sat in my car at the mailboxes in our subdivision. When I pulled all of this ribbon out of the box I said, "WHOA, oh WOW!!.." and this man was walking by. He looked at me like I had lost my mind. It's ribbon, lady. Yeah, well, it's also my FAVORITE embellishment ever. So now to wind these pretties around bobbins tonight and add to my ever-growing collection. (I think this makes 5 boxes now) And yes, I USE them, too. I don't just collect. :) Can't wait to throw them all on the table tonight and tell David, "look what I got today!" and see his facial expression. He never, ever asks how much something cost but I just want to see what he'll say before I tell him it was free. So a huge *HUG* and *THANK YOU, MY FRIEND* to M. What a generous, dear friend you are. :)

I have had a huge smile on my face all day. We woke up to weather in the 50's with a strong north wind. Oh, it's wonderful! Noah and I went out for a long walk this morning. He was skipping along the sidewalk in front of me, saying how much he loved the cool weather. At one point he held both hands up in the air and screamed "THANK YOU, GOD!" He knows who is responsible for the weather. :) It was 50 degrees WARMER just a week ago, so this is a huge deal around here. Noah got a lot of pleasure on our walk at seeing dozens of worms all "frozen" on the sidewalk. They had come out of the dirt, I guess and gotten caught in the cold front overnight. Poor things. Noah thought it was beyond cool.

I'm going to make some banana pumpkin bread tonight so we can have it for breakfast in the morning. I wish it was cool enough to turn on the fireplace, but I think I'll wait. :) I have been playing Christmas music on my computer, though, for at least a month. I love it all year long and I know my Mom is smiling if she's reading this. That's where I get it! Can't wait to fill my IPOD with Christmas songs.

I was shown yet again today how God is so involved in my life and knows what is best for me. I'm not going to name any names, but I recently applied for a couple of scrapbooking manufacturers' design teams and was turned down for them. I was really disappointed to not get on the teams and sulked for a day or two. However, I recently got to see some of the products that one of those companies is releasing in a few weeks. I don't like them at all. It's not something I would ever purchase myself, so see.....God knew that and had better things planned for me. Now I'm on two design teams that I absolutely LOVE. Thank you, Lord, for watching out for me...even in the little details like this.

Last night I made a yummy soup, perfect for the cool weather. It's one of our favorites and it makes the house smell so good. It's been modified enough that I can call it my own. Here is the recipe!

Jennifer's Corn and Potato Chowder

1 sm. onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 green pepper, diced

6 small red potatoes, diced (with skin on)

2 cups extra-sweet frozen corn

4 c. chicken stock

3 1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. half and half

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. butter or margarine

2 tsp. dried sage

salt and pepper to taste

8 slices of bacon

1-2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Tabasco sauce


* Melt butter/margarine in large stockpot and saute' all veggies, except for corn and potatoes, until onions are very soft and translucent. Sprinkle the flour over veggies and continue cooking for one minute, stirring constantly and not letting any lumps form. (it will make a buttery paste) Slowly add the stock, milk, and half and half, stirring constantly. Add the sage, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, the corn and the potatoes, and simmer gently over low heat until potatoes are tender, stirring often so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. (approx. 20-25 minutes)

While the chowder is simmering, cook the bacon slices until very crispy and then crumble into bits. Taste the chowder and adjust salt and pepper according to your taste. (you'll probably have to add quite a bit of salt, so add 1/2 tsp. at a time, stir and taste) Serve chowder with cheddar cheese and bacon slices sprinkled on top. Also good with a few dashes of tabasco for kick!

Notes: You can use lowfat milk or even skim, but the skimmer the milk, the thinner the chowder. Also, I like to cook my bacon in the microwave on a bacon rack covered with a paper towel. It helps drain a LOT of the fat off of it and makes it crispier. ENJOY!

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Saturday we'll be cheering on the Longhorns as they BEAT THE TAILS off of the Oklahoma Sooners!! ;) HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!

- Jennifer

" Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." --George Eliot



19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jennifer!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your new banner! OH, my heck! I love it! And I'm most definitely going to be trying both of these recipes! I'm thinking that our homes must be similar in a lot of ways because I've loved everything you have shared! You would have turned on your fireplace here for sure. We've had some serious hard frosts each morning this week! BTW, this autumn quote is delish! I do love your blog! Keep up the good work!

Sophia

Mary Jo said...

Jennifer - can I just tell you that you are one of my favorite peas! I have had you in my BOS for ages.
Love your new banner! And oh my god - all that ribbon. Can I be jealous? I have been looking at that ribbon on-line for a while and it is simply fabulous. Have fun with it!!

Heather said...

Hey girlie! Loving that ribbon . .. and you got it in the mail? Jealous! I eyed it at the LSS today.

ROFL .. . didn't realized it was Texas-OU weekend until Wednesday. . drove by a bank that had BOTH flags flying. Then I guess both governors had bet a bunch of non-perishable foods? Best bet they've had in a good long while!

Boy, God sure has a vision we don't see, doesn't he? Glad you've been blessed with 2 design teams you love, and haven't been "burdened" with the ones you'd have a hard time working with.

Anonymous said...

I love your new title bar!!!!!!!! Your home seems SOOOOOO Lovely!!!!

Enjoy your MR ribbon, just wait till you get your hands on the new stuff!!! {DT}

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!

Jana said...

Lookit all of that yummy ribbon....have fun playing and if you find that you just have way TOO much, you know where you can send it (just right up I-35)!! *wink wink* That soup sounds yummy and perfect for this fantastic cool weather.

Cindy Lee said...

love your new banner picture - you will HAVE to come to Nebraska and help me decorate when we build our house!!! love the ribbon!!! we are also having cooler weather and I love it and am baking today, too! I totally agree that God is in the small things and looks out for us in every way! Many blessings, Cindy Lee

Unknown said...

Ooooo, look at all that ribbon! If you find any you don't like I'll take it off your hands..lol J/K! I think you've started a trend!! I've been busy fixing my ribbon storage, just like yours!! great idea!! Love your new banner, I wish I would get my butt in gear and decorate!
I'm glad all worked out for you with the DT's. God knows what we need when we need it! Obviously you are where you need to be right now..not a part of certain DTs.
and have a great time watching the game! I'll be at work! Hook 'em Horns!!!!

Anonymous said...

When I read that you had a new photobar, I was stressing because I loved your old one more than any other blog I've visited. It was my all-time favorite. But, Jennifer, you have outdone yourself. THIS IS NOW MY FAVORITE. I have got to talk to you about how you decorate and get these awesome angles when you take the pictures. FANTASTIC. Happy weekend to you my friend.

Anonymous said...

Love your new blog banner! You always post the best recipes (is that spelled right?) Someday I am going to actually make then! :)

Carrie Anne said...

Okay...HELLO!? Can I come live in your house? I love all your little things, your candle sticks, that beautiful mantle, your lamp! Ah...too cool. Your new banner rocks.

ps - remember about those DT's that turned ya down...everything happens for a reason and only God knows why :o)

Anonymous said...

Love all that ribbon! Wow!

May said...

WOW!!!! YUMMY ribbon and recipe! =)

Anonymous said...

love your new fall decor! I love how you have your mantle as your banner - kind of give your blog that homey feeling! so happy for you with all that cool ribbon - have fun playing! and you made me switch my dinner plan for tomorrow - I so need to try some of that chowder!

Unknown said...

Oh I just love all that ribbon, yummy! I have a small collection which seems to be growing with each and every day! Enjoy all those new goodies. :)

Anonymous said...

HOLY RIBBON HEAVEN OF AMERICA!!!! WHOA!!!! LOVE THOSE RIBBONS!!!

Unknown said...

You lucky thang you!!! All of yummy ribbon and your ribbon collection look dreamy :D Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

cool new banner! love the ribbon! LOVE bananan bread! and yes Texas did beat Oklahoma, la di da! lol! *grin* With that game, we were rooting for Texas too, aparantly we've lived down here long enough to cheer for Texas teams. te he! I just got a ton of AC ribbon but *sigh* the Maya Road is calling my name...

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Pumpkin Bread sounds yummy as does the chowder and I am so jealous of all the ribbon.

Anonymous said...

WOWZERS! Look at all that ribbon!