October Cooking Diaries: week 2

This is the second part of my two week cooking challenge. Miss E was home for two weeks this month and I was determined to make something different for our meals each day. To make it even more interesting was the fact that we had plans to visit one of our boys who is in college and  take him some meals on the same day as Miss E intended to head back home. That meant that I either had to make two different meals most days or double the recipes. The care package meal plan had already been in the works before her visit so to make things simple I stuck with the meal preparation schedule the second week and made enough for the care package and our meals. Most of the recipes I did just double to be sure there was plenty but the final decision was ultimately determined by the ingredients we had on hand.

The meals from week 2 begin with breakfast on Saturday morning. 

Martinelli's in champagne flutes makes anytime a special time! We had some sparkling cider leftover from the Backyard Bridal Shower so we had fun sipping some by the fire. We also kept our crock pot full of hot spiced cider for the colder days. 

A big batch of spaghetti sauce made enough for two extra to freeze and put in the care package.

We had fun making Halloween Sugar Cookies. It was a big batch so there were plenty for all of us. 

One for dinner and one for the care package.

Two pans of coffee cake.

The cinnamon rolls were made on Friday morning so that they would be out of the oven by the time we were ready to leave. We packed up a cooler with the frozen meals and a box held all the other food including 2 jars of homemade pickles. The cooking challenge was a success and we had a wonderful visit. 

Happy Saturday!

October Cooking Diaries: week 1

October has been busy even though we find ourselves at home most of the time these days, just like everyone else during this pandemic, however for two weeks this month Miss E was here. It was so much fun having her at home even though the three of us still had to work but we made the best of our time together. 

Miss E and I set up our work space next to the fireplace while Mr. Wonderful kept his routine the same and worked from his office upstairs. Instead of sitting by myself to work I now had a co-worker, you might say, sitting across from me. Every morning Mr. Wonderful would come down to check on us and then would start a cozy fire for us.  

On Monday morning I decided to make a coffee cake for breakfast to kick off our new work from home  set up. Once that was finished I began to plan dinner which turned into a two week meal plan that included the meals I had already scheduled to take to one of our boys who is currently a student. The two week cooking challenge was on and below are the photos  of most of the things we made the first week. 

We interrupt this program for a not so regularly scheduled coffee run! 

Mr. Wonderful went on a few coffee runs for us to pick up our online orders which was so nice and such a treat. We did not order any bakery items since I was making morning sweets here.

The first week of meals were mostly favorite recipes and a couple new things I tried.  We also had leftovers one night although I did try to cut down most of the recipes so that I could keep making something new each day. I will be back soon to share part 2 of my October Cooking Diaries.

Happy Friday!

Rustic Wedding Chalkboards: part 3

Chalkboards have been a big project around here for quite a few weeks as I mentioned in part 1 and 2 of my Rustic Wedding Chalkboard posts. We had great fun making them but had never been to the ranch or seen the barn so we just asked a lot of questions in hopes the chalkboards would work out as planned. Once we arrived and started setting up we knew that the large ones were just the right size and seemed well proportioned however I was still not sure the dessert table chalkboards would fit and was anxious to see the table. 

 The dessert table was in the large arena and looked like an average size table until we got closer. It was actually a wonderful spool table and was larger that it looked once we got closer. Space was not a problem at all. 

The cake stand, chargers, napkins and decorations were all at the table when we got back from the bakery with the wedding cake and cupcakes.

Once we cleared the table and the hubs moved the heavy tiered cake stand for me he was called away to help with something else and I began setting up. 

The chargers seemed like a good thing to start with once I laid out the cloth table runner. I moved the chargers around until the table looked balanced and even stacked a few for a little height. Then I added some pretty paper doilies that were in the supplies. 

The chalkboards were next and there was plenty of room for both of them.

We had sent a box of our DIY pallet board hexagons from the bridal shower with my sister in case they wanted or needed more to use and to my surprise they were with the supplies for the dessert table. 

One small and one medium size worked well and tied the table in with the overall hexagon theme.

The cupcakes were arranged by flavor to make it easy. 

Last but not least the mini chalkboard tent signs were added to the table. 

Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the peanut butter cupcake mini sign on the table however you can see it here. 

So that wraps up the DIY Rustic Wedding Chalkboards. They were so much fun to make and I am sure they will show up here now and then because I plan on using them whenever I can.  

Happy Thursday ! 

Rustic Wedding Chalkboards: part 2

Barn Weddings and chalkboards are a great combination in my opinion and I was so excited when asked to do chalkboards for our nieces barn wedding. That was back in August when we still had some leftover pallet boards from the bridal shower so I mentioned that if they would like the look of pallet board framed chalkboards I could check with the hubs about making a few. They did like the idea, he said he would be happy to make them and the wheels started turning. The chalkboard construction did not take long. He made the large ones first and as time went on new signage ideas popped up and more chalkboards were made.

The large pieces of chalkboard had to be cut down a little which left perfectly sized pieces for smaller chalkboards so nothing went to waste. 

Once we arrived at the ranch we headed to the barn and set up the chalkboards in the sitting area and then looked around a little while we waited for further instructions. 

There was still a little smoke in the air from all the recent fires but the view was still amazing. 

Once we had the layout it did not take much time at all to get the chalkboards in their proper places.   

The small "puzzle" chalkboard was in the entry area near the guestbook puzzle to remind people to write their names and messages on it. 

This one was pretty self explanitory.  

So those were the large chalkboards and one of the little ones however, there are still a couple more to share.  They were made for the fun dessert table and that post will be here soon along with another really cute DIY sign!

Happy Wednesday!