Crock Pot Corned Beef

For St. Patrick's Day, we made corned beef and cabbage.  I decided to give it a try in the crock and it worked great.

You need:
4lb corned beef with seasoning pack
1 large cabbage, roughly
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 cups water
10 red potatoes
5 large carrots, chopped

I put the onion, water, corned beef, seasoning pack, sugar, and vingar in the crock pot and set it on low for 8 hours.  After 5 hours, I added the potatoes and carrots.  Then I added the chopped cabbage one hour before the finished cooking time.
It was wonderful!  The meat was tender and falling apart and the vegetables where perfect.  It went great with out Irish soda bread we picked up at Publix.

I'm linking up with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Make-Up and Mud Boutique: Facebook Store Review

I got a wonderful little package in the mail this weekend.  Two pair of earrings that I had bought from the facebook store Make-Up and Mud Boutique.  I got what I would call the Auburn and the Alabama pairs.  Both are very cute and well made.  I am surprised at the weight in fact.  Not too heavy but you know that they are there.  That happens to be something that I really like.

The Auburn or Florida Gator pain

The Alabama pair.  I must say that I am not an Alabama fan but I love RED.

Make-Up and Mud Boutique also makes neckaces, earring/necklace sets, made to order peices, and items for the home.  And you really can't bet the prices.

*** I was not compensated in any way for this post. I just truly love the product and wanted to spread the news with others.***
*** All photos are by Make-Up and Mud Boutique.***

Book Club Friday - The Last Dickens

This week I read I managed to get in one book.  I have just not been able to make myself read.  Hopefully I will do better next week.  ;0

Here is the summary from Goodreads:
In his most enthralling novel yet, the critically acclaimed author Matthew Pearl reopens one of literary history’s greatest mysteries. The Last Dickens is a tale filled with the dazzling twists and turns, the unerring period details, and the meticulous research that thrilled readers of the bestsellers The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow.
Boston, 1870. When news of Charles Dickens’s untimely death reaches the office of his struggling American publisher, Fields & Osgood, partner James Osgood sends his trusted clerk Daniel Sand to await the arrival of Dickens’s unfinished novel. But when Daniel’s body is discovered by the docks and the manuscript is nowhere to be found, Osgood must embark on a transatlantic quest to unearth the novel that he hopes will save his venerable business and reveal Daniel’s killer.
Danger and intrigue abound on the journey to England, for which Osgood has chosen Rebecca Sand, Daniel’s older sister, to assist him. As they attempt to uncover Dickens’s final mystery, Osgood and Rebecca find themselves racing the clock through a dangerous web of literary lions and drug dealers, sadistic thugs and blue bloods, and competing members of Dickens’s inner circle. They soon realize that understanding Dickens’s lost ending is a matter of life and death, and the hidden key to stopping a murderous mastermind.

My thoughts:
This was the first time that I have read Matthew Pearl and it was due to it being a recommendation on Goodreads.  With that being said, I love historical fiction, although this is not a time period that I usually pick. 
The book started out a little slow for me in the beginning.  After the first chapter, I was hooked.  I even started reading to my self in an accent that reminded me of Sherlock Holmes.  ;0
I really liked it and would give it a B+.

I am linking up with Blonde, Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Wednesday Love

Another week down and another Wednesday full of things that I love....
This week is a little short because I am doing the post of Tuesday night (as always) and I am going to bed early.

10 Ways to Make a Garland - I love the simple one with tied cloth.  Perfect for our Pirate Party.

Love this way of using a large photo in the divided page protectors.

I LOVE the monster cupcakes.  These would be perfect for Taft's school party.  Now just to convince him that he wants these instead of Spongebob. 

I am linking up to Oh, So Pinteresting and What I'm Loving Wednesday.

Play Date and Farm Party

We had a busy weekend!  Taft is starting to get a social calendar and that means not a lot naps on Saturdays and Sundays. 
We started out on Saturday with a play date with his "best fend" CJ at his house.  They had not seen each other since January.  I promise that they were happy to see each other, but I could not get both of them to look at the camera at the same time.

On Sunday we had a birthday party.  Our friend, Stran, was turning 1!  He had a great farm party complete with pony and horse rides, potato sack races, stick horse races, baby animals to pet (chicks and a calf), goldfish, a pretend cow set up for roping, a barrel cow to play rodeo, and a hayride to feed the cows.  It was so perfect!

 Shane trying to convince Taft that the calf was friendly.

 The birthday boy!  How cute is he?

Here are just a few of the decorations.  The drink options were my favorite.  We had lemonade, sweet tea, and milk.

Casey did an awesome job!  It will be hard to top.  ;0

"I speak for the trees."

I have been wanting to take Taft to the movie theater for quite a while.  Every time that a cute kids movie is out, I entertain that idea.  Finally at 3 1/2, he got to go to his first movie.  The timing could not have been more perfect since he spent last week studying about Dr. Seuss at school.
One of the the local elementary schools had two theaters tonight for $6.50 per person (adults included).  You had to have a pass that they send home and Taft and I scored one from a friend that was not using it tonight.
He was so excited.  I told him that it would be the biggest television that he has even seen.  His face was priceless when we walked up the little "tunnel" and around to the stadium sitting.  We were even able to lift the arm rest between us and get very comfy.
He loved it.  He laughed and laughed and kept asking which one was Dr. Seuss.  ;0
We also like the previews.  It seems that there is going to be a Despicable Me 2 and another Ice Age.  Both have to be added to out list.
Here a few photos from the night.

 Taft deep in thought.

 Of course Bunny went to the movies too!

And the one and only photo of me from the night.  Taft took it in the parking lot on the way home.
I loved having a date night with my favorite little man.

Wednesday Love

Oh dear!  I almost forgot that it was Wednesday.  This week has gone by so fast already, not to mention that it is a full moon week.  Anyone in the health care field can tell you that it really makes a difference.  Not in a good way.
Anyway - here are the loves for this week.
What I am loving on Pinterest:

Cucumber Salad.  While I am not a fan of cucumber myself, I know a lot of people that are and this would be great little gifts.  Here is the source.

I fell in love with succulents in Carmel.  This makes me want to get lots of them for beside the pool.

Aren't these cute?  This site has so many cute ways to use buttons.

What I am loving/random thoughts:

*  Taft went to Hooter's for the first time this week.  We went to Ormond Beach for haircuts and then decided to get some dinner in Daytona Beach before heading home.  Taft was not sure what to think.  I am pretty sure that he liked it though.  What do you think?

*  When I was giving Taft his bath last night, he told me that the Hooter's girls wear underwear to work and that he saw their booty's.

* Last Thursday, we went to Publix.  Taft and I were looking in the produce section and I noticed that they had nice little herb plants.  Shane and I decided to pick up the rosemary and catnip.  Before I could get the catnip out of the bag, Trevor had started to pull off pieces and was acting insane.  It really is like crack for some cats.

* Speaking of catnip, after I went to bed, Shane gave Trevor and Goat a leaf off the plant to enjoy.  This is what Taft and I found the next morning.

Shane said not to touch anything.  It was a crime scene.  Poor Trevor was the victim of assault and lost his pretty pink collar.  It was returned pending an investigation.

Today I am linking up with Midweek Confessions, Follow Me Wednesday, What I'm Loving Wednesday, and Oh, So Pinteresting.