Over the bridge & through the woods, moving to our NEW house we go!

Oh My Gammit(got that from the Fred Show on disney channel lol)...& I say that with the heaviest, almost but NOT, defeated sigh I can make!

  I am in moving-packing-painting-I don't even want to think about unpacking-hell! And that is the simplest way I can think to put it lol.  I literally just got moved up, unpacked pretty much the end of January-ish, & now it is time to move again! We are not PCS'ing, however, we decided to buy a house that is actually only right up the street from us. I honestly should not complain because 'just right up the street' is actually better than from '4 states away' where I originally moved from! We live off-post in a quiet little old-school neighborhood, I swear to my husband Nephi, that it's where they filmed the Brady Bunch(all the houses were shapely made the same way) years ago haha!
 

We've passed this house daily & something about it's charming 'Home Sweet Home' appeal finally caught our attention, then itched at our curiousity, & lured us in. Upon viewing I was THRILLED already, like we had already signed....automatically the HARD WOOD floors & open spaciousness won my heart over! I have SO much to do though....the kitchen is a major down-size from the one we had, but with just my husband & I this is going to be a great starter home! I am doing my small kitchen in pink & CUPCAKES! So if you guys see any cute cupcake plates, cups, dishes, jars, let me know because I have some things already but definitely wanting to collect more! And our bedroom is done in black & white damask print everything(our wedding theme) so I am getting risky & painting the room a darker grey & hand-painting lyrics from a song I love as an accent wall (: It's DEF a work in progress, I will post pics for you guys ASAP! Hopefully with all the painting, moving, & situating, I won't go bald or have a breakdown of some sort hahaha, because in my mind it's picture-perfect, but we all know how that one goes!

This is almost the exact mental picture I had about the Army moving me up the first time...boy was I WRONG! HaHa!!!(:

 Keep me in mind...Say a lil' prayer!(:

Country Salisbury Steak

I honestly have NO idea where on earth I got this recipe years ago, but I decided to give it a try. The only other Salisbury steak I have ever had was the kind out of a box from the frozen food section LOL. Every night before payday, I sit down & try to plan out a dinner menu for the next 2 weeks because it is SO much easier than trying to figure out what to have from day to day. Although, I sometimes swap out a meal if there is something the boys & I would rather have different than what is planned for that day. I try to keep an open mind about what to fix & am ALWAYS looking for new recipes to try so we don't get tired of having the same ol' same again & again! When I ran across this recipe I wasn't sure how it would really turn out & I had in my mind that it would taste almost like the one's I had previously eaten...however, it did NOT. It was actually better, then again imagine anything is better than the cheap t.v. dinner ones! *snickers* It's simple, easy, & the boys liked it so I will be cooking it again for sure! It definitely has a home-cooked southern country-ish type taste.

Country Salisbury Steak

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (I used turkey)

3/4 c. onion, thinly chopped

1 1/4 c. water

1 pk. chicken stove top

2 pks. McCormick brown gravy mix 

1 c. sliced mushrooms

• Preheat over to 425'.
• In large bowl add meat, onions, stove top, & water. Mix well.  

 

• Pat out 6 patties & place in a large baking dish or pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
•  Bake in oven for 30mins or until cooked through. (During the last 5-10mins I broiled them so they were nice & brown on top)

 

• Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in a sprayed non-stick pan until tender then remove from pan. Add gravy mix to pan & cook as directed; mix the mushrooms in with the gravy.
• Spoon gravy over steaks, keep warm until serving.

I transferred mine to a smaller dish due to table space...

Homemade Fabric Softener 

(he walks outta them as soon as he gets home lol)

Ok, so I've been seeing so many great peeps making recipes for different detergents, soaps, & carpet cleaners...I must say that one particular re-post of a tried recipe caught my eye: Fabric Softener! As I have mentioned before, my hubbie & I took in a battle(his soldier buddy) of his; and long story short: SOOO MUCH LAUNDRY for the wifey(ME lol) to do! I seriously think that we go through 1 huge bottle of tide & about 2 bottles of fabric softener almost before 2weeks is up! I use a good bit on just our everyday clothes, but when it comes to their uniforms, OMG...I think I have a problem, I mean, admitting it is the 1st step right?! I'm the fabric softener QUEEN! Haha. I'm talkin, at least 2 or 3 caps full, to one load of laundry. Mainly because their uniforms are so stiff & secondly because no matter how much detergent I use it still seems to have that "been worn in the field" smell... LOL! But after I read the following blog post, I seriously give Ms.Hope a HUGE shout-out for being the dare-devilish woman she is with her 'Does that really work' posts! She makes & tries things out for the "Tried & True or Not So Much"! This actually only cost me under $5 to make & it makes so much. And now I have some remaining ingredients on hand to whip up another batch when I'm out. Now where can you buy not one, but *TWO* bottles, a [GALLON-ish] each, for under $5.00?!? (:

This is all you need, plus some hot water from your faucet & that is IT!

***I am pleased to say that I am with Hope on this one, it isn't as fragrant as the name-brands you would buy, but as I smell my hubbie's shirt right now, it is fresh & between the light fresh scent it does give off & the downey expressions dryer sheet, it smells pretty darn good! And it does give the clothes the softness it should! (And I only used ONE cap full due to I was almost afraid to use more due to the smell as I describe as you read on, LOL) I also added a little extra (about 1/4 cup) conditioner on a whim that it might give off more softness. Now about the vinegar smell after adding it in, I definitely was worried because when I finished & took the cap off, the vinegar smell wafted out first, then the scent of the conditioner followed...but after coming out of the wash, I was impressed that the vinegar smell had disappeared! This is a definite TRIED & TRUE that I will reuse & keep on SAVING! (: ***

Where I found my inspiration to try this:

http://hopefuloneblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/does-that-really-work-friday_15.html

I am pretty much a walking sweet-tooth! I LOVE "ANYTHING" sugary & sweet, however, I am not a big fan of chocolate, too nutsy, or things coconut. My great-aunt & my Granma, both sisters, used to make this cake & it sure is scrumptious (especially to not be 'made from scratch'!)...oh & surprise surprise: IT'S COCONUT!!! (: This is a very moist, sweet but not too sweet, delicious cake. The sour-cream also isn't over-powering, as I had imagined it would be my first time making it. The 3days sitting in the fridge is what gives it that yummy moistness & anticipation that makes my husband want to tear the lid off  & sneak a bite or two, LOL! As I said, I am NOT a usual fan of coconut but I find myself craving this cake more often & to know that it was something my Granma made & loved, makes it even better! It reminds me of HOME & that means A LOT! This go-round, I was in a bit of a rush when I cut the first slice shown below, the hubbie said he was 'just dying for a piece of that cake'...so the pic isn't as pretty as I would've liked, but you get the idea. Haha! (:

Coconut Sour-Cream Dream Cake

I apologize for the picture quality, I did this w/my phone! 

***I apologize for the picture quality, I took this with my phone!***

1 pk. (18 1/2 oz.) butter cake mix...(I use a coconut cake mix)

2 c. sugar

1 (8 oz.) container sour-cream

 1 pk. (12 oz.) frozen coconut, thawed

1 (12 oz.) container cool-whip 

• Prepare cake as directed, making two 8inch layers. Meanwhile, blend together sugar, sour-cream, & coconut---let chill until cakes are finished cooling. Split both cakes in half after they cool. 

• Spread all but 1 cup of the sour-cream mixture between layers as you stack them. Blend the remaining cup of mixture with cool-whip & spread on top & sides of cake.

• Sprinkle coconut on top & sides of cake, seal in airtight container & refrigerate for 3days before serving. Keep in refrigerate after cutting.