Lasso The Moon

New Camera

You might have noticed that in the last several posts, the quality of photos has been all over the place. That's because I've been switching between 2 cameras and a cell phone for the past 2 months.  Last week I finally went for it and got myself a new one. (Actually Donnie bought it for me from some money he'd been saving.  Thanks, hon!)

I did a little research and found this article, which told me exactly what I needed and what I would want to save up for.  I love articles like that, because on this subject in particular, I was totally clueless.

I settled on the Canon T3i, which is supposed to be a good bridge from point and shoot to DSLR.  We bought the body only from a guy on CraigsList for a couple hundred bucks less than retail.  And it was practically brand new!  I love that about CraigsList!  I went for several days without a lens, which was excruciating after dropping that kind of cash on the body.  But then we found a guy in Dallas with the 50mm f/1.8 I was looking for.  Hurray! I can finally take pictures!

But I don't really know what I'm doing.  And I don't even care at the moment, because I never took photos like these with any other camera.

Those last few were from last weekend's much-anticipated Rainbow Party.  I'll share more of it just as soon as I'm able to put this camera down.

Later, friends!

 

 

E is for Ethan

This is a quick update on the boys' room. 

I bought this letter at the big Junkadoodle closing sale.   (Sad face.)

It's aluminum, about 20 inches tall, and it came off of some building somewhere.  I love all of those things.  The only thing I didn't like was the color. 

Brownish-yellowish-ick.  I couldn't put it up in the newly painted room like it was.

So I grabbed a can of spray paint from Home Depot in Dark Steel.

Read the directions  before you start.  I know I always say that, but in all my years of DIY-ing, reading directions is usually what makes or breaks a project.  The directions say to shake the can for a minute or more.  This isn't a joke.  The first time I sprayed, almost no color came out of the can.  So I shook some more.

Even with the correct shaking time, metallic spray paint goes on very gradually.  You want to use multiple very light layers.  I think it took me 5-6 coats to get the look I wanted.  Thankfully you only have to wait a couple minutes before reapplying.

Yes! In the bright evening sun, the paint looked really sparkly--not really something I was looking for in my boys' room decor.   But it was just the reflection of the sun.  Inside it was a much more manly shade.

After it was dry and not at all tacky, I took it inside and hung it in its place.  I measured down from the ceiling in two places and hung with picture nails so it wouldn't need straightening all the time.

And there it is.  The boys room is coming along a little bit at a time.  I'd love for it to be done already, but I also love the process of putting a room together piece by piece, and doing much of it on my own.

Did you miss any of the other boys' room projects so far?  Now's a good time to catch up!

Inspiration Board

Paint

Chalkboard Wall

Behind-the-Door Shelves

What are you doing this week to make your house seem more like home?  Do you use letters and words in your decor?  Share your stories in the comments!

 

 

 

Shredded Chicken Tacos :: Crock Pot Recipe

Oh my goodness, this week completely got away from me.  I cannot believe it is Friday already!  That seems to always happen to me when there is a Monday holiday.  Mondays are kind of my 'reboot' day after the weekend where I get back into my routine of laundry, housework, meal planning, etc.  And as much as I love spending extra down time with my family on Monday holidays, they nevertheless seem to throw the rest of the week out of whack.

I have actually been very productive this week, which will account for my whereabouts, since I obviously have been now where near this blog!  On Monday we threw a spur-of-the-moment Labor Day party and ended up serving 2 dozen grilled burgers to our family and neighbors.  In doing this I have discovered a deep passion of mine: Serving food to hungry children.  Whether they are chronically hungry due to poverty, or have just worked up a big appetite playing in the sprinklers (we had both types at our party!), there are few things in this world that have brought me as much joy as helping fill a hungry child's tummy.  I have to find ways to do this more often!  Although we didn't invite anyone over til around 11:30am, we ended up with 19 children (plus adults) in our backyard over the course of the next 4 hours.  It was hectic, exhausting, and heavenly!

Later that night, we went out as a family to pick up a lens for my new camera.  This is another reason I have been so scarce this week.  My old cameras finally gave out altogether, the camera I was borrowing from Donnie's ministry is in the shop, and the new camera and lens we found off CraigsList is just complicated enough that I have to take 6-7 pictures of everything before I get one that I like.  Oh well, I'll get better at it I'm sure.

The rest of this week has been playing catch-up, working on a couple projects, and some really good thrift store shopping.  As soon as I get some good pictures of them, I have to show you what I've done for Ethan's curtains!  Yes, I actually started them.  And they are turning out adorable.  

But here I am going on and on about whatever, when you really just clicked on this post to find out about some chicken tacos, right?  Sorry to be so wordy--I guess I just missed you this week.  But, I won't make you wait any longer.

If you like feeding hungry children as much as I do, you must have this recipe in your repertoire.  It is so easy I can make it in my sleep!  I try to have the ingredients in my house at all times, because as easy as it is, it is equally delicious, and my kids also love it!  That is the trifecta of recipe criteria right there.

To make these chicken tacos, you only need three ingredients:

4-6 chicken breasts, thawed

2 cups salsa

1 packet chicken taco seasoning

That's it!

To accompany, you might also want to have:

tortillas or taco shells

re-fried beans (I always go for the fat free)

grilled onions and bell peppers (this is my favorite addition)

sour cream

shredded cheese

These take 4-6 hours in the crock pot, so I defrost my chicken in the fridge overnight.  Around lunchtime, rinse the chicken and cut off those gross white globs of fat.  Those will liquefy and turn sludgy in the crock pot.  Nobody needs that.

Next, set the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.  Sprinkle the seasoning packet over the chicken, and pour the salsa on top of that.  Set your crock pot on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. 

About 30 minutes before dinner, take out the chicken and shred it with a fork.  It should be very easy to do.  When it's all shredded, put the chicken back in the crock pot to mix with all the salsa and seasoning.  Set the crock pot to "low" or "warm" until it's ready to serve.

This is when I put the onions and peppers in the skillet to grill, heat up the beans and tortillas, and set the table.  By the time this is all done, the chicken is perfect.  Serve it with tongs or a slotted spoon.

I'm pretty sure this is my kids' favorite homemade meal.  It might be mine, too.  I'm fairly obsessed with the shredded chicken tacos at Taco Cabana (a local fast food chain), and these are very close in flavor.  They cost way less, too.

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Sorry about the lack of pictures on this one. I took tons, but I didn't want to put them on here.  The photos themselves were okay, but raw chicken is just very very ugly.

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Don't forget to pin this recipe for later, or share it with a friend!  Because who doesn't need another never-miss dinner idea?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO, Anna

 

A Bag of Rainbows

My niece, Ellie is having a birthday party this weekend, and the theme is rainbows.  I don't know when I've been more excited to go to a kids' party.  My sister has a great eye for detail and color, so when she told me she was throwing a rainbow party, I couldn't wait to see what she would come up with, and still can't! 

To make the wait a little easier, and to get the kids (almost) as hopped up about it as I am, we got to work on her birthday gift.  Don't worry, she's turning 5 and doesn't read this blog, so there won't be any ruined surprises.

This project could not be easier.  Before you start, gather some supplies. 

You'll need:

1. craft paint in every color of the rainbow. We added an extra--pink--so we have 8 colors total.  Although I didn't know it before I started, having an even number of colors actually makes the painting part easier.  But that's up to you.

2. freezer paper, a pencil, an iron, and scissors

3. painters tape (we used 1" wide) and sponge brushes

4. a plain canvas bag

(Since I had most of these supplies already, the whole thing was right under $5--perfect for a kids' gift!)

I started by sketching out my elephant shape on a piece of freezer paper.  You will be ironing down the plastic side, so draw on the paper side.  Please feel free to use my drawing for your own bag--just right click on the photo, save, and print it out.  Or, come up with your own shape.  I used an elephant, because it's the same basic shape that I used on a freezer paper onesie for her back before she was born.

Cut out the outline, the eye, and the ear.  Then, iron the elephant down where you want it.  The freezer paper will block the paint from touching the canvas.

Tape off the stripes, right over the elephant, using your 1-inch painter's tape.  Pull off every other strip of tape to make stripes.  Decide which colors you want where, and label the tape to help you.  It's easy to get confused with so many different colors.  Also, if the tape pulls off part of the freezer paper, be sure to iron it back down before painting.

Paint your first set of stripes.  If the elephant's eye crosses a red stripe like mine did, you might want to pick a different color for that little dot.  Carefully pull off the tape while the paint is still wet, and set it aside.  You can reuse it for the next set of stripes.

When the first paint is completely dry, carefully tape on top of the painted stripes.  Be sure you know which colors are under there, and label them in whatever code will help you keep them straight.   Paint the next set of stripes!

Carefully pull off all the tape and the freezer paper stencil.

Let the bag dry completely and you are done!

I can't wait to give this to Ellie on Saturday.  I think it will be perfect as a library tote or small school bag.

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Know someone who might love this little project? Don't keep it to yourself; share it!  Find all the "share" buttons at the end of this post, and spread the word!

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Want to see why I'm so psyched about this party?  Follow this link to my sister's party pinboard.  I fully expect to see many of these ideas and more on Saturday.  (And go ahead and follow her pinterest account while you're there.  She pins great stuff!)