Operation: Get Out of Yoga Pants 2013 Re-Cap



What I decided to do for today was a re-cap of all the outfits I have done in 2013. I've only been doing this series since October, but I have quite a bit of outfits documented.  I like re-cap posts because they give me the ability to reflect on how far I have come and where I want to go with things in the future.

 I will start the series back up after the first of the year.  Since it's the holidays, we are gearing up to be pretty busy the next two weeks, so I need to focus on all the holiday hubbub that is coming soon.  This will also give me a chance to recharge and reflect on where I want the blog to go in 2014.

I have about four to five more posts planned for the year, so make sure you pay attention to Facebook for those new post announcements!

And now I present to you.....



Week 1 || Week 2 || Week 3
Week 4 || Week 5 || Week 6

I look forward to bring you more ways to get out of yoga pants in 2014!

Cheesy Tuna Casserole

Welcome everyone!  It's Wednesday and that usually means that it's time for another recipe from yours truly! :)  This week I have a super easy casserole to share with all of you.  We will get to that in a minute, but first I need to cover a couple of things:

1.  This will be the last recipe for 2013.  I won't be posting recipes until after the first of the year.  I'm giving myself a break for the holiday season and to replenish my recipe stash. ;)

2.  I have quite a bit of end-of-the-year things to wrap up that are blog related.  I have posts planned until January 1st, so I need to get to cracking on new material!  Is there anything you would like to see on the blog?  Leave me a comment and tell me!

Now that business is taking care of, let's get to talking about the subject at hand....


This recipe came about after rummaging through my pantry in hopes of finding something to fix for dinner.  It was cold and snowy and I didn't want to venture out to the store.  After doing some quick Google searches and pantry rummaging, I discovered I had everything I would need to make some Cheesy Tuna Casserole!

Ingredients:
1 can of tuna in water, drained
Egg Noodles (I used half of a one pound bag.  It fed three people and we had leftovers for two small portions)
1 can Cream of Celery (You can also use mushroom, but I was out.)
1 can of milk (use the soup can)
1 package of shredded cheddar cheese
Bread Crumbs (I used Panko Bread Crumbs..not my first choice, but it's all I had)
***You may also add veggies***


1.  Bring noodles to a boil before you start the next step.  
2.  To prepare the soup and cheese mixture, heat the soup and one can of milk in a separate pan until smooth.  Flake in tuna.
3.  Turn the soup and tuna mixture down on low, preheat your oven to 350, and grease a 9x13 baking dish.  
4.  By now, your noodles are probably ready.  I shut the burner off and let them sit in their water while I did the next step.
5.  Add the shredded cheese to your soup mixture and stir until melted.  (I started with a half a bag and that was plenty.)
6.  Drain your noodles, dump them back into the pot they came out of , and then add the soup and cheese mixture.  Stir until well blended.
7.  Transfer to the baking dish, top with bread crumbs, and extra shredded cheese if you so desire.
8. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I was worried about how this would turn out because I did it on the fly, mostly.  I read a few tuna casserole recipes from Google before I started, but that was all the knowledge I had.  I thought it turned out pretty good!  Even the hubbs and the kiddo enjoyed it!

I have discovered that the more I have been cooking from scratch, the better my brain is getting at recalling what goes best with what, cook times, etc.  It's pretty exciting, but really strange at the same time.  I always had to follow recipes.  I was always scared to deviate or try to do something from memory, but I am finding that I am starting to want to venture away from that safe space.

I believe this series has a lot to do with that, so thank you guys for being so supportive!  It means so very much to me!



This post is part of the From My Kitchen series.  Please feel free to browse the archive for more yummy deliciousness!





  

Literary Junkies Link Up: December Edition

I can't believe it has already been a month since we last talked books!  The time has just flown by!  I'm back again today for Literary Junkies Link Up and most of you know the drill by now.  If you are new, you can go here or here to find out more!

Pink Heels Pink Truck
And now for the questions!
1.  If you could write a book, what would it be about? 
This is probably why I don't have a book started-I don't know what I want to write about.  I want to be a published author, but have no idea what I want to write about! 

2.  If you had to read one book or trilogy for the rest of your life, what would it be?
All I would ever need is an anthology of Edgar Allan Poe.

3.  Who is your current favorite book character and why?
I am not reading anything at the moment.  I am giving myself a rest so I can start fresh in 2014!  I reached my goal of 15 books this year!  I actually read 16, so that made me feel better about the small goal I had set for myself!  Next year's goal is 20!

4.  Is there a book you read every year during the holiday season, if so what is it and why? Nope. 

5.  Do you have any books on your Christmas list?  Name a few.
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates, Lone Wolf and The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.

6.  What is a book you read and loved that you didn't expect to? 
Oddly enough, it was the Twilight series.  I actually didn't think I would like them and I ended up loving them.  Now, the movies they did...ehhhh......

Toddler Christmas Crafts

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Monday is treating you kindly!  I hope you all got to see Friday's post!  If not, go check it out now!  

Since we've been getting into the holiday spirit around here, I've been trying to come up with things to keep L busy indoors.  (It is freezing here in the Midwest!) I decided to check Pinterest and was suddenly reminded of all the Christmas crafts I used to make as a kid.  Reindeer hands, paper plate snowmen, Santa with the cotton ball beard....there was so much....and so many different variations!

So, if I'm having problems keeping my kiddo entertained on these cold days, I know someone else has to be, so I did us all a favor and rounded up some crafts for us to do!



I think L and I are going to try our hands at the paper plate snowman and Santa, the paper chains, and possibly the reindeer ornaments, if we have enough time.  However, paper chains can be made at any time, with different colors, for any occasion.....  

Hmm, decisions, decisions....

What are you doing with your little ones to gear up for the holiday season? 

The 12 Days of Ornaments Link Up



Hello everyone!  If you remember correctly, this past week I joined up with Tawny from Tawny's Tidbits and several other bloggers in the 12 Days of DIY Ornaments.  To see all of the ornaments that we individually made, just click on a picture above and it will take you to the ornament and the instructions on how to make it!

Here is mine from this week:
DIY Popsicle Christmas Tree Ornament

Have you made any ornaments recently?  If so, link 'em up below!  Don't forget to check out everyone else's and leave some love when you do!

Have a great weekend everyone!


















Operation: Get Out of Yoga Pants (Week 7)


Hello everyone!  Happy Thursday and welcome to the seventh week of Operation: Get Out of Yoga Pants!  If you are just joining us, you can go here and find out what this whole thing is all about. For those of you that are frequent readers, this week is going to be a little different.

I hit a snag in my outfit planning....

I got bored.

So, immediately recognizing what was wrong, I decided to give myself this week to re-focus.  How am I going to re-focus you ask?

That's easy.

I'm going to use the wonderful powers of the one, the only.....




I decided to go back to my Style Ideas bored and take a refresher course in what I had been pinning lately.


one || two || three || four || five

Okay, I see stripes, patterns, navy blue, burgundy, my ever-favorite mustard, and beautiful shades of the red family.  I can see my love of stripes starting to really grow here-I want that shirt in the first pic so bad!  The patterns are startling to see me pinning, but the colors are not.  I love all colors....but have a hard time getting them to work on me sometimes.  

I spent most of the afternoon yesterday rummaging through my closet and trying to come up with variations of the outfits above.  I was having a difficult time at first because I was so blocked off from thinking out of the box.  I finally just sat down on the floor in the mess I had created and just looked around at the clothing scattered everywhere. 

Then it hit me:

I am missing a lot of basic clothing essentials.

No wonder I can only go so far and then hit a wall!

By the time nap time was done (those are my productive times) all I had was a mess and no outfits to show for it.

Bummer.

I am having a mental block of epic proportions!

So, I decided to ask all of you...

What would you like to see me in? 
Visuals welcome. :)



Toddler Meal Ideas

Does anyone else's child go on food strikes?  L will do good for a while and then she stops eating everything she loved the previous few months.  As frustrating as this can be, all kids do it.  This is why I have back up recipes in my arsenal so I can avoid the fighting and the tears at meal time (from me, not my child...I kid, I kid!  Okay, well, maybe a little...)

When L denies chicken fries, these are some of my go-to recipes for her.  And, hey, they are actually pretty good for Mom, too!






12 Days of DIY Ornaments

 Well....this post was supposed to go live yesterday, but life kind of happened and the blog post didn't.  So, anyway, I am joining up with Tawny from Tawny's Tid Bits and several other bloggers to do a 12 Days of DIY Ornaments!


I chose to show you all how to make Christmas trees using popsicle sticks and buttons.  It was a pretty fun project, took minimal time, and I didn't have to break the bank to do it.



Supplies Needed
Craft sticks
Buttons
Green paint and paint brush
Hot glue gun and glue
Ribbon/Twine

First, you need to get your tree set up.  I took one full stick and laid it vertically and then proceeded to stack the other sticks horizontally.  

It looks a little like this:


I had to break the sticks down to the sizes I needed them to be to give it that Christmas tree look.  These were pretty easy to just break with my hands.  I would not advise allowing the little ones to do this part if you are doing these with kiddos.

After you get your tree looking how you want it, hot glue the crap out of it!
I placed glue on the backs of each horizontal piece and placed them on the vertical piece.

I allowed the glue to dry and then I painted it!


Once the paint was dry, I got out my buttons and I started hot gluing buttons onto the tree.  I had some leftover red string from a Christmas craft last year, so I used that to fashion a little hanger so it can be hung on the tree. 


And there you have it folks!  A cute and simple Christmas tree ornament that is fun and easy for all ages!

Also, please head on over and see Morgan's ornament since she is the one that is supposed to be in the limelight today and not me.

Operation: Get Out of Yoga Pants (Week 6)



I am BACK and ready to go with a new outfit *AND* a little something extra at the end.  I am so excited about it!  I can't wait for you all to see it!

Today's outfit is what I like to call "ballsy".  Yup!  I would have never of thought to pair these two colors together and and have it look good on me.  Well, as I was getting dressed today I thought, "Why not?!" 

These were the results...

Ballsy Blue & Gold

(Don't worry, you'll see my face in a sec.)

Tee: Old Navy (exact)
Cardigan: Target (currently unavailable online)
Scarf: Kohl's (similar)
Jeggings: Kohl's (similar)
Boots: Urbanog.com (similar) **Worn, but not shown**

This outfit was fun.  I felt very peppy while wearing it-I think that may have been my confidence boosting.  I know we are in "Christmas mode" all over the place right now and these aren't traditional holiday colors, but I still love the combo.  It's so fun and happy! 

I may have mentioned before that I was searching for a new winter coat.  I haven't had a new coat in about five or six years, so it was definitely time for a new one.

I managed to find the perfect one online during all the online Thanksgiving Day sales.

Wanna see it?

:)



I adore peacoats.  I adore purple.  I found the two together and it was a match made in heaven. The Hubbs says it's totally fitting. :)

Oh, and the best part of this.....

A good majority of the scarfs I own match my coat!

Especially my favorite one.


Coat: JCPenny (exact
Scarf: NY&CO (Plato's Closet Find) 


Holiday Treats Round Up

I don't know about all of you, but one of my favorite things about this time of year is the treats.  The cookies, the cakes, the brownies, the Hershey Kisses....(um, actually, that last one is all year...).

Anyway, I have started making my way through Pinterest and trying to decide what I want to make this year.  I don't go crazy because it's just the three of us, but I love to bake.  The Hubbs loves cookies, so I usually do a cookie or two, but I always try and find something different to do.  Then you have the holiday parties to bake for, too and it can get a bit overwhelming, right?

Well, fear not!  I have come up with a little round up for you all of some of the most delicious looking holiday treats I have seen.




What are some of your favorite treats to make this time of year? 

Dear December

Dear December,

Here we are-the last month of the year.  You are one of the busiest, most stressful times of the year and sometimes December, you get a bad rap.  I know, I know, you didn't choose to host Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year's Eve.  I know you didn't intend to have your days and weekends filled up with shopping, errand running, or holiday parties.  It's a lot to take on, I know.

You see, the thing is December, I think sometimes we take advantage of you.  Since you mark the end of the year, a lot of us go into overdrive and think we have to cram every single thing that we need to do before the new year gets here.




We find ourselves saying things like:

"Oh man, I haven't reached my goal for all the books I wanted to read this year."

"Well, another year, and I still haven't lost that weight."

"We're still in debt..."

And lastly, and most commonly....

"Oh my!  Where did this year go?!" 

December, just because we crab about you and we stay constantly busy, doesn't mean we don't care about you.  Nooo, see, we love you.  We enjoy this time with our friends and families.  We love the holiday's you bring.  We love watching kids get all excited on Christmas Eve about the Santa Tracker and then, the next morning, when he has arrived and the walk out to the tree and see, yes!  He came!  Santa came and this is the BEST DAY EVER!  Oh man, he ate the cookies!  Oh look-are those his footprints by the fireplace!?

So, you see December, it's all good.  We welcome you with open arms despite the fact that you are so chocked full of things to do and people to see, but we get moments.  We got small moments that remind us of why you are the last month of the year.  You send us out with a bang!  We start the new year so full of love and joy and happiness and you did that, December!  You give us full hearts to start a new year with.

Thank you, December.  I don't know if anyone has ever said that to you, but thank you now.  Thank you for allowing me to have time with my family and my friends.  Thank you for allowing me to have moments with my child that remind me of what it is like to be a child when I desperately need it the most. Thank you for filling my heart so full that I can't help but be optimistic about the next year.

Thank you, December, and may your heart be full now, too.

Sara










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