Mama Knows Best » Home & Garden

New office?

Jessica — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:45:10 +0000

Every so often I find myself yearning for a change. Whether it be the paint on my walls, swapping around the pictures in my picture frames, new toss pillows or a total re-organization of furniture. I have been feeling the urge for change lately, beginning with my living room. I am in dire need of purge therapy and reorganization.

As a work at home mom, it is important to me that my computer be in the main play area of the house. My current desk is nice and simple with clean lines. It offers an ideal amount of storage and could stand to be reorganized. When I purchased my desk last winter, I thought in terms of short term use. It was small enough to set up in my living room without taking up too much space and served it’s purpose.

When it comes time to move from this current house, I will be scoping out U shaped desks (like the one in the photograph) and making an investment. U shaped desks offer ample amounts of storage, looks nice and serve their purpose. Everything I would need will be at my finger tips. Most of my “office” supplies are at my finger tips, but a hand full of them have to be tucked away for safe keeping. My current desk is too open to store everything and not worry about the munchkins.

The thought of having a new office (soon) thrills me. I am looking forward to being to get my work done in peace and quite. I am also looking forward to the idea of being fully organized for once in my life. At least my home office.

you spin my head right ’round.

Jessica — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:10:03 +0000

Summer is in full swing and while I have been enjoying myself on the weekends, I have also been putting off very important things and avoiding important people. I am trying to wrap my head around things still and putting together our new “norm,” but cannot seem to stay on track. So many distractions have come my way, but tomorrow is a new day and I will once again try to tackle my slacker ways and come out victorious. Or at least, that is the plan. First and most importantly is studying for a test tomorrow evening, then comes the whole catching up on assignments for my online class. Those are the two most important things at the current moment. I will worry about the less important things on Saturday afternoon while I watch the newest member of the family– my three month old nephew Bryce! Together, Bryce and I will tackle my enormous to do list, do a little bit of shopping and order new swimming pool supplies. Unfortunately for Bryce, I will also smother him with kisses and cuddles. It will be my first time watching him and goodness gracious y’all, I’m excited. I miss babies!

Giving the outdoors a face lift.

Jessica — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:26:44 +0000

Three years ago, the deck outside the back of my house was finished and stained. To look at it now though, you would never know, as nearly all of the stain has chipped off. It looks rough and is in need of a major face lift. Hence, the title of this post. Well, our deck is getting a face lift. Along with all of the furniture. Our wooden furniture needs repainted and the metal furniture just needs new outdoor chair cushions. Had I been smart, I would have taken before/after photographs. Nothing beats the back yard in the summer at this house.. the yard is always well kept and the flowers look amazing. Will be sure to upload some pictures.

24 Hour Challange

Jessica — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:03:50 +0000

I was recently given a twenty-four hour challenge from Cascade and given the opportunity to try the new Cascade Complete. I have always had a dishwasher in my home and have always used Cascade liquid gel in my dishwasher. Before loading the dishwasher, I was always having to pre-wash everything. Not only does that take time away from what I was doing, but I was racking up the water bill by having to do things this way. To tell y’all I was excited about trying a product that did not require pre-washing and had a rinse aid action would be one heck of an understatement. I was through the roof and totally ecstatic– I may have even shared some of the Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPacs with a good friend of mine shortly after my first go!

Our challenge was to use the casserole dish sent to us via Cascade and back Blueberry Cobbler, except we are not big fans of baked blueberries in our household. Therefore, I made something I knew I always had problems with– stuffed shells. Not only did we get baked on mess from this dinner, but we could always guarantee we would have sauce stains. We would then have to allow the dirty dish to sit empty for twenty-four hours and place it inside the dishwasher. Seriously y’all– we have always had problems with red sauces staining our dishes, therefore, we have a dish we dedicated solely to baking saucy dishes. I was having panic attacks about this beautiful, new casserole dish looking like a disaster after it came out from the dishwasher. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the dishwasher to find that Cascade Complete actually worked! I did not have baked on mess, nor sauce stains all over my white casserole dish. Dishes are not my favorite thing and getting dirty dishes after their first run? Not my idea of a good time. Cascade Complete, thank you for making this mama’s life a little more stress free.. I will be a lifelong customer.

This product reviews was based on using complimentary Cascade product provided by P&G. Bloggers also received a Walmart gift card to share with their readers. P&G does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any statements or product claims made here, nor does it endorse any opinions expressed within this website.

Jumbo Stuffed Shells w/ Mushrooms
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Ingredients
24 Jumbo Pasta Shells
3 cups tomato sauce
1 cup mozzarella, shredded

Stuffing:
1 Cup chicken stock
20 g porcini mushrooms
1/2 pound button mushrooms
2 onions, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb minced meat
2 tbsp sundried tomatoes
2 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
1/4 cup parsley

Method
Bring to boil in a big pot water and salt it and add the jumbo shells (according to package)

Stuffing:
In a small casserole, add warm water and rehydrate the porcini mushrooms, leave for 220 minutes, put aside. Salt & pepper to taste

In a pan, use 1/2 of the oil and brown the 2 mushrooms and onions. Remove on a plate.
In the same pan add the rest of the oil the meat and sundried tomato and hot pepper flakes.Salt & pepper to taste. Add the chicken stock and the mushroom mixture (from the plate) and breadcrumbs.

Simmer until all liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and add the cheeses and parley.

In a 13″x9″ tray cover with all the tomato sauce and gently fill your shells and place one next to another. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and bake in oven for about 45 minutes at 350F

Making a list & checking it twice.

Jessica — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:30:46 +0000

For the past two months, I have been steadily been making honey do lists for my friend Doug. Doug and Tiffany live in the perfect older home for renovations. They have the most amazing skeleton laid out before them that holds a great deal of potential. Our first order of business was painting their kitchen (which needs finished), then building a coat closet off the front porch and this weekend we will be working on dry walling the inside of the front porch and removing an odd sized window.

Who knows what we will work on next, but we should probably start using project management software to help us keep track of projects. Some of the major projects like new kitchen cabinets, newer carpeting, etc will have to wait, but for now, we can continue beautifying rooms one by one. Helping them on their house totally makes me miss owning my own home.