Finally!

We have snow, real snow, not just a little dusting that disappears as soon as you step in it.

We spent hours playing in the snow yesterday.  The sleds and snowboards were dusted off.

We brought along some friends.  SB and the Princess climbed up that hill about a million times.

WD and the Tank got in a good amount of "kid" time, too.  I love it when the 15 yr olds act like their still little.

And I did my best to attack the holiday pounds with some cross-country skiing.

I'd like to have gotten out and enjoyed the snow today, too, but I had a playoff cake to make.

That's Justin Tuck knocking the ball out and the helmet off of Alex Smith.  Heading to a playoff party.  Thanks for popping in playing in the snow with me.

Closet Overhaul

There's something about a new year that makes me(and most everyone in blogland) think about organizing and purging.  I dream of having a gorgeous organized closet like this one that I've seen all over the blogosphere.

I don't know if it's the shoes or the fun, vibrant color used in that closet, but I just love that image.  If you remember my shoe closet that I posted about here, you know I love both shoes and color.

my own shoe closet

You can't talk about closets without thinking about Carrie's iconic closet.

How great would it be to have space for a fainting couch and chandelier?

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Or what about this gorgeous quatrefoil pendant and large mirror topped island?

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And wouldn't it be a dream to have all your purses lined up and on display?

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It'd be nice to have one of those giant sized closets that could double as a chichi boutique,

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but the reality is that I have a wall of reach-in closets and it's time to purge.  I don't work outside of the home and haven't since SB was born.  Why do I need a dozen blazers?  It's time to get rid of the just-in-case I lose the weight clothes, too.  I will never be a size 0 again, and it's ok to accept that and move on.  And yes, even the purses, could use a hard look.  Wish me luck, I'm going through my purses next.

Thanks for popping in and purging with me.

Quinoa Sausage Bean Soup

It's been cold and blustery around here with lots of freezing rain that comes in sideways.  Days like this call for soup, and crazy sports schedules and other obligations call for the crockpot.  I looked into my pantry for inspiration and saw some red quinoa and Quinoa Sausage Bean Soup was born.

For those unfamiliar, quinoa is a gf protein & fiber rich grain that is a good source of magnesium, manganese, folate, phosphorous, and riboflavin(B2).  It can be used in side dishes as a nutrient rich substitute for rice, or I like to use it in soups as a substitute for barley which is glutenous.  To make this soup, I picked through 2 cups of great northern beans,

and soaked them for several hours.

I placed the beans in my crockpot with 1 diced medium onion, 7 cups chicken broth, a lb of cut up chicken sausage, 1 cup dry quinoa, 2 bay leaves, and a dash of ground pepper.

I let that simmer away all day on low(about 6 or 7 hours.) Towards the end of the cooking time, I added some spinach leaves, kale would be great, too.

Thanks for popping in and cooking with me.  I'm linking this up to Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Taxi Service

Looks like a crockpot soup kind of day.

That would be TAGS(Tag, Activities, Games, & Sports at the Y for SB, and lacrosse conditioning training at the Airport Dome followed by a lacrosse game at the Edge Sports Complex for WD.  Be back {much} later with a recipe & some pics.

New Pillows

I'm always one of those shoppers who hits the clearance racks first.  50% off?  Pfffft.  I don't even consider buying unless it's at least 75.  The other day I was at Kohls with coupon in hand and the promise of Kohls cash back when I spied these pretty placemats.

They were part of the St. Nicholas Square holiday collection and were 80% off, but there were only 2 and I never set a table for less than 6(there are only 4 of us, but the dining table looks lonely with only 4 chairs, even with all the leaves out.)  Still they were very pretty and marked down to $1.59 each.  With my 20% coupon, that brought them down to $1.27 each.  They went into the cart and once I got home, I ripped out one of the side seams, and grabbed some Poly-fil from my craft room to stuff the placemats.

A simple slip stitch closed up the open seams.

Voila!  Easy throw pillow.  I love that the silver ties in with the wingback chair that I covered here.

Easy, peasy new throw pillows.

Thanks for popping in and sewing with me.