Mrs. Preppy: January 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Hey Good Lookin.... What ya' got cookin?

Girl Scout cookie season is now upon us. Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Do Si Dos... yum!

If Thin Mints are your favorite, then you are in luck. With this recipe, you can make the chocolaty minty goodness all year long.

Miss A and I made a batch of these last night to take over to Mojito Maven's house. I am not sure how many I took over there, but I am certain we polished off ALL of them.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/3 cup of oil

1 box devil's food cake mix

Andes mint pieces

Mix the eggs and oil into the cake mix and then stir in the mint pieces. Sometimes you need to add an additional tb or so of oil and I usually use 3/4 of the bag of mint pieces.

Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 9 minutes.

When you take the cookies out of the oven, they may not look done. But, they are. Promise. If you like soft cookies, you have to not cook them any longer.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

What is on my phone?

I would like to think that I am not addicted to my phone. But, I am not so sure if that is the case. I can Tweet (@MrsPreppy), upload pictures to my Instagram feed (MrsPreppy), read blogs, text and email - all from the palm of my hand. Not to mention, use it to talk to people. (But, I still keep an old school paper planner.)

But, the camera is what I am really addicted to. I take pictures all the time, plus capture screen shots of things I want to remember.

Here is a sampling of the 800+ pictures that are currently on my phone.

He was about to check his email.

Reading her favorite book - Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Looks like we have a winner for the half bath wallpaper.

This is how Miss A likes to ride the cart now.

I had to give my parents cat a haircut. So sad looking.

Champagne.

My ugly Christmas sweater.

Spoiled Jake.

Instead of tearing out magazine clippings (only to then lose them) I have started taking pics of products I want to remember.

Miss A being a big helper.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

One step closer...

... to becoming Martha.

Actually, she might be a little too up tight for my taste, but she sure knows how to do lots of things. And I know how to do a lot of things... and I can now add more thing to that list.

SEWING

Growing up, I constantly saw my mom creating masterpieces. She is an excellent seamstress, as it my grandmother. If it were not for these ladies, my house would not have any curtains, nursery bedding or cute outfits for Miss A. I have always wanted to learn how to sew and yesterday I had my first lesson.

Miss A and I packed up our stuff and headed over to my friends house for the day.... the little girls played while the big girls were busy sewing.

The first task was to figure out how to use my machine. I inherited this machine from my mom and it has just been sitting in a closet for months.

After we got everything setup, it was time to get to work.

After a couple of missteps, I had completed my first project - a drawstring bag!

I was so excited about it that I came home and made another one.

And this morning I made a trip to the fabric store to get more fabric - my house is going to be full of drawstring bags while I am learning the ropes. (This fabric is for a project for Miss A's birthday party)

Now that I have added this new little skill to my arsenal, I have decided I want to transform our office into my craft room. More to come on that project!

Last night when I showed my handiwork to Mr. he responded with "you made that all by yourself? Like, from a piece of flat fabric?" Yes, I made it all by myself from a piece of flat fabric.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Hey Good Lookin.... What ya' got cookin

Tonight for dinner we had one of the best soups I have ever made - chicken tortilla soup. It was better than any restaurant, plus we have enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow. Seriously - it was soo good that I don't mind eating it two days in a row.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotle chile en adobo, minced
1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp kosher salt

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup corn (fresh or frozen and thawed)

1 ripe tomato, chopped

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

tortilla chips, crushed

cheddar cheese

avocado

1. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. All the onion, garlic, chipotle, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook for 5 minutes more.

2. Pull the pan from the heat and stir in the tomato, chicken, cilantro, and lime juice.

3. Serve on top of crushed chips and garnish with cheddar cheese, avocado and lime wedge.

4. Go back for seconds.

Friday, January 14, 2011

This and That

Good Friday to all of you! I don't have a recipe or a crafty project today.... just a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

1. Have I have mentioned my obsession with mascara? I love the black, gooey stuff.... I want my lashes long, thick and luxurious. And I love to try to brands. Ulta had a sale on Lorac mascara last week, so I picked up a tube of visual effects in black. So far, I love it! I always use a lash primer and when paired with this Lorac mascara, my lashes are fab. If you ever see it on sale, pick up a tube.

2. Miss A loves to color in the bath tub.... it makes bath time fun and creative. We have some wonderful bath crayons by Crayola... they wash off easily and don't leave any markings on your tub. BUT - the Alex star bath crayons are horrible. Santa gave her this star crayon in her stocking and it is awful. It leaves bright, waxy marks on your tub and has to be scrubbed with bleach to come off. And even after the bleach, you can still see streaks. And, it leaves marks on your skin. Miss A drew on my leg and I had purple and green stripes on my skin for the rest of the night. So, save your money and DON'T buy this product. Stick with the Crayola TaDoodles- they are great.

3. Miss A's 2nd birthday is going to be hear before I realize it, which means it is time for me to get my party planning rear in gear! I think we are going to have a girly farm theme party, with a color scheme of pink, red and turquoise. I have picked up some great $1 items from the Target Dollar Spot, but I still need lots of other stuff for her party. Games, food, decor - pass along your ideas!

4. Did you watch Grey's last night? Based on a twitter (@MrsPreppy) conversation last night, I am confident that I am in the minority with this next statement.... I am excited about a McBaby! This Lexie/Mark/Callie/Arizona love square storyline is definitely going to be interesting and the coming weeks should make for some good episodes. And like I said last night, I am strong enough in my love for Grey's Anatomy that I can handle the heat of being in the minority. ha!

5. I still have some things life in the Blog Sale SALE - All items are $5 + shipping.

Have a nice weekend!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Blog Sale SALE

Blog sale SALE! Please see the items below.

ALL ITEMS ARE $5 + SHIPPING.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Christmas Cards 101

Ok, so now Christmas is over and you have probably quit receiving fun cards in the mail everyday. If you are like me, you loved to display these cute cards all season long.

But, now that it is time to put away the Christmas decor, what do you do with the cards? I hate to part with all of the beautiful photo cards that people send us, so I hold onto them.

Instead of just stashing them in an old shoebox, I keep them in a scrapbook album.

I have all of the cards grouped by year, as well as one of our cards from that same year.

This album is on our shelves and it is so much fun to look at all of the cards from years past, plus it is a great way to remember what your card looked like that year.

And now here is my question for you.....

How many years do you send someone a card without getting one in return? And I am not talking about your dear Aunt Sally that has never sent a Christmas card her entire life. I am talking about people that you know send cards, year after year.

I am thinking 3 strikes and you are out. Or, is that too generous?

Monday, January 10, 2011

Blog Sale

Here some some additional items for the blog sale.

If you want to buy or have questions, leave me a comment or email me at mrspreppy@gmail.com

1. J Crew strapless white linen top, size 10, never worn!

$10, $5 shipping

2. J Crew halter dress, light blue, size 12, worn twice!

$15, $5 shipping - SOLD

Blog Sale

***ALL ITEMS $5 + SHIPPING!!***

After realizing my bubbies and belly are probably not going to return to their prebaby size, I decided to finally clean out my closet.... I have a huge donation pile, but I thought I would see if any of you all would be interested in some cheap-o preppy clothes.

**See something you want to put in your closet? Just email me (mrspreppy@gmail.com) or leave a comment. I will send you a PayPal invoice and payment needs to be handled within 24 hours. All items come from a smoke free house and any imperfections - aside from normal wear and tear - are noted in the description. If you purchase multiple items, I will reduce the shipping amounts.