A Favorite Summer Meal

One of our favorite meals in the summer is Zucchini Spaghetti.  I thought this might be the perfect time to share this recipe with the garden zucchini just about ready to eat.  

Depending on how much zucchini you want to add, cut up 2-3 medium size zucchini. Place the slices in a skillet with some olive oil.  I cook mine on medium heat.

While the zucchini is cooking,  prepare a pot of your favorite pasta.   This time we used rotini, because that is what I had in the pantry.  

Once the zucchini is done, add the entire skillet to the pot of pasta including the olive oil.  I consider the zucchini to be done when all the pieces have softened.  Some may brown more than others and that is okay. It gives the dish more flavor.  I do not drain the water from the pot before serving.  

Can you believe that I was so excited to eat last night I forgot to take an after picture?! I took one today when I made some of the leftovers for lunch.    The toppings can pretty much be your choice. We love it with mozzarella, cheddar and parm.  I also like to add a bit of garlic salt to my plate.   In our family, each person adds their own mix of cheese to their taste.  Kara, for example, has a little bit a pasta with her cheese. She is also going through a phase where she doesn't want to eat the zucchini.  I, on the other hand, LOVE the zucchini. The more the better.  

This is a light meal that is just so perfect for a hot summer day!  

I will be linking up my recipe on these linky parties HERE!

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Moss, Moss and More Moss

I recently found cardboard letters at Michaels on sale for around $1.50 each.  Since we are using moss in our party decor, we thought it would be fun to decorate her name with it as well.

I had Kara pick a paint color to use on the back and sides of her letters. She chose a pretty Pistachio green. When then painted the BACK side of the letters, and then the sides.

I found moss mats at Walmart in the craft section  for around $3.50.  This was cheaper than at the craft stores so I thought I would give it a try.

Trace the letters on the back on the moss.  I made sure to have the actual side where the moss was going to be placed, facing down.

Cut out the letters using sharp scissors

Regular Elmer's glue worked really well when attaching the moss.

Firmly press on the moss so that it adheres to the cardboard

Trim off any excess if needed.  

Kara loves how it turned out, and I love that it cost less than $10 to make her entire name!

We were not down with our moss projects when her name was done.   I also picked up some cardboard ornaments that day.  I love the look of moss balls, but not the expensive price tag.

Using moss scraps for the one mat, and part of  second Kara glued pieces on the ball.

Pressing on some moss. 

Within a half hour Kara had covered 4 moss balls. (1 is not pictured)   It cost about the same amount to make 4 moss balls than it is to buy 1 pre made version.   These will be perfect for the party.

I will be sharing our moss crafts on these wonderful linky parties HERE. Be sure to check them out.  

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Crafting with Kara

Because we are having a Woodland themed party, we have been looking for flowers and colors in nature for our decor.  I saw these paper bag flowers on Pinterest by 52 Mantels, and we all agreed they would be perfect for our party.   Kara really enjoyed this craft, and will be showing how to make them.

You can make a paper flower with just a lunch size  bag, a string, and a pair of scissors.

Cut up one side of the bag on the fold, and  then cut out the rectangle on the bottom

Lay out the paper bag so it lays flat

Cut the bag in half on the center fold line.

Lay the two halves on top of each other and then cut in half again.  You will now have 4 small rectangles.

Fold all 4 layers together back and forth like you were folding a fan.

Once they are folded, tie a piece of string or yarn tightly around the middle.  We used a piece green  yarn to match the ribbon we were adding them to later.   Using scissors, round both end of the paper.

Slowly peel each layer toward the center, and petals will begin to form. It is easier to  start on end of the flower and then do the other end.

After awhile (and help from mom and grandma) we soon had a table full of flowers.

I found a pretty green ribbon at the dollar store that I thought would make a nice garland.  It was 5 years (15 feet) so I thought it would be long enough for our very long window.

Once the flowers were made, I tied them onto the ribbon.  I thought I had measured the placement so that it would drape a bit, but with this placement it was not quite long enough. .  There is a few feet of ribbon on each end so I might adjust the flowers a bit.  For now  I will wait and see as there is much more crafting to be done by Saturday.

We will be linking up this Crafting with Kara at these linky parties HERE

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Free Chips and Queso

Are you eating out with your family and friends this week?   How about printing a Chili's coupon for free chips and queso appetizer before you go.   I will be printing mine!

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A Day at the Zoo!

My mom is here!  She came in very late last night.  Since she was supposed to come in around 11 p.m., we decided to spend some time enjoying the sites of Toledo.   We love the Toledo Zoo, and had a great time.  I just wish it wasn't 90+ degrees while were there.  It was so hot, many of the animals were hiding and sleeping. On the plus side, the zoo was not that crowded.

This picture is so cool.  Not only did a get a really cool shot of the polar bear swimming toward the glass, I also accidently took a self portrait with my reflection in the glass.

They added a new exhibit this year called Tembo Trail.  They enlarged the elephant exhibit, and now visitors have a much closer view.  This elephant as fanning himself with his ears, and I just happened to take this shot when his ears were out.

Giant ice cream cones for only $2.10!!  Ice cream on a super hot day, yes please!!

It was dinner time, and they were enjoying a meal.

Kara took this picture. She was trying to take pictures of the new baby lemur. They would stay still long enough to get a picture that wasn't blurry.

The alpha gorilla posing near the wall

After the zoo, we had a few more hours to wait before picking up grandma.  We drive about 15 miles to the Fossil Park.

The kids really enjoyed digging for fossils.  This kept them busy for over an hour!

Some of our many finds.

We got to the station an hour and a half early, and her train was an hour and a half late.  Ugh! We were not really prepared for such a long wait, and there wasn't much to do at the station.  After awhile it was hard listening  to... Hooooooooow muuuuuuuuccccchhhh looooooonnnnngggggger!    We were never so happy to see a train come into a station.  Since we had a bit of a drive back, we didn't get in until 2 a.m!!

Today we rested, and started some more party work.  We got the rest of our supplies and will be doing some major crafting tomorrow.  4 1/2 more days to the party!

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Dare to Share #16

It's Friday once again, which means it Dare to Share time!




On Monday of this  week I made a practice watermelon for our Woodland Party. You can see how to make one of your own here.



On Tuesday we had a power outage that lasted almost 4 hours.  While everyone else theirs during severe storms and 100 degre weather, we lost ours on a beautiful sunny 80 degree day.  We never did find out what happened, but are grateful it was short lived.   You can read about it here.

Yesterday I share why I have been kind of quiet this week.  My mom who loves in another state is coming to visit this weekend. YEA!  I have to clean and prepare the house..  Boo!  Things are looking pretty good, but there is still some more to do.   Saturday we will be finishing up the my oldest daughters room, family room and bathrooms.



Today I had the chance to take a Target break to pick up some toilet paper and water bottles. While there I found some great finds in the summer clearance, which you can read about here.

What did you do this week?  I would love to see what you have to share.  Did you try a new recipe?  Make something new?   Pretty much anything goes.

There is no limit the amount of posts you can share.

I would like you to become a follower and post my button somewhere on your blog,  so hopefully more people will join the party.


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Let's PARTY and HAVE FUN!!

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Friday Fun Finds

I found some really fun deals at my local Target store today.  Since I am a couponer and bargain shopper, I often find fun items that I don't need, but are fun to have.  On the way home from the store, I started thinking.  Why not share  your great finds each week, so others can find them too.

One of those fun finds is a waffle cone maker.  Do I need a waffle cone maker, absolutely NOT.  Do I think it would be fun to have a waffle cone maker, absolutely! This is in the summer clearance section that is now currently 50% off.  The idea wheels started turning on things I can do with waffle cone, so I decided to get it.   I can make cones for parties.. I can make treats for the blog. I can make them just because. It is currently only $9.99.  There were only 2 or 3 left at my store so I know it will not make it to 75% off, but it could potentially go down to only $4.98.

Here are some of my others finds..  I am using some of the items for Kara's party.  The solar lantern was only $4.99.  The large red paper lanterns were only $1.75 each, and the red pitcher only $1.99.

I loved these fruit shaped ice molds. They also had a star version, but I thought the fruit shape was cuter.  These could be so much fun to make in different flavors and put into drinks.   The mold was only $2.99

If you are a fan of the Duncan Hines Frosting Creations, look what I found at my Target. All the flavoring packets were on clearance for only .48. I really like that you can customize the different colors and flavors.

I am sure I will have some great fun finds for next week.  Mom and I are going to take a road trip to IKEA!

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