Kathe With an E: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

You're Gonna Love It Tuesday's - #2

Holy Moley!

I am calling week 1 a HUGE success!

So many great posts!

The post that received the most views was from

Serena at Thrift Diving and her post

3 Reasons Why Impulse Buying is Necessary at Thrift Stores

So now, on to week 2!

Feel free to link up anything you created, baked, mashed,
decorated, wrote, photographed, discovered etc.!

Anything you are just so proud of
you must share it with others!

I still will not be requiring you
to be a follower
in order to link up.

I want you to follow
Kathe With An E
because you want to.
Not because it is required

(Of course if you do decide to follow,
either with GFC or the newer Linky Followers,
you will be able to see on your dashboard just
when the party has begun each week
aaaaaaaaand,
you will make me smile and
I do love to smile!)

I would also ask that you really think
about disabling
your word verfication too.
It makes it difficult to leave a

comment and some

bloggers, when they see

you have it, won't bother to leave a comment.

One of the best ways to meet new bloggers is through comments.

I would also love it if you would link back
in some way
so that others come and party with us.
Either grab the party button
or add my blog link
to your post or on your
blog party page.
But again, it's not required.

(Grab the code from right side bar please)

Only one real rule, I do ask that you
please DO NOT link up

anything for sale, etsy shops or giveaways.

Link to your specific post URL instead of your main blog URL

(no limit on the number of linkies, so add as many as you like!)

So c'mon!

Let's get the party started!Be sure to check some,

if not all like me, of the posts!

Mingle around and make some new friends!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Recipe - Cauliflower With Cheesy Dijon Sauce

This recipe was given to me
by my dear mother-in-law.
She first served it to us
at a holiday meal
several years ago.

For Mr. B and I,
it was love at first bite!

It is so simple to
put together
and is soooo tasty
that it is now
the only way Mr. B will eat
cauliflower or broccoli!

You will need 1 lb
of cauliflower (or broccoli).
Mr. B's mother makes this using a whole head
of cauliflower
but I take the easy path
and use a bag of frozen cauliflower.

Place in a microwavable
casserole dish, cover
and cook, at full power, until done.
Your microwave may be different than mine,
it takes mine about 7 to 8 minutes to cook it.

While the cauliflower is cooking, gather
1 cup of mayo, 1/4 cup of dijon mustard
and about 8 ounces of cheddar cheese, shredded.
Mr. B likes marbled cheddar so that is what I use.

Mix them all together until well combined

(whose old lady hand is that??)

Take the cauliflower out of the microwave and
add the sauce mix, stirring
to get it well mixed in.

(Good lord! Seriously, those old lady hands need a manicure!)

Cover and reheat about
2 minutes or until the
cheese is all melted.

And there you have a delicious
side dish that goes well
with ham, chicken, pork,
steaks, ice cream....um no, not ice cream,
but suffice it to say, it goes great with just about any meal!

Let me know if you try it.
I'd love to know what you think!
I'm off to get that old lady some
moisturizer for her hands!

Oh Wait!
Don't forget to come back on Tuesday
and link up your best post
of the week
at

You're Gonna Love It Tuesday's

Click here to see where I may be partying this week.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Look At That Face!

Seriously, just look at that face!

Have you ever seen anything so sweet and innocent in your whole life?

Meet Maximus Auerlius, Max for short.
Back in 2003,
when Mr. B & I purchased our home,
the ink wasn't even dry
at the closing
when Mr. B started hounding me (pun intended)
about getting a dog.
He grew up on a farm back in Saskatchewan
and only had farm dogs,
not house dogs.

I grew up in the city and
grew up with dogs and cats.
I knew the responsibility
a pet brings with it.
My sons were grown and gone.
I didn't want responsibility.

I resisted.
He was persistent.
He relentlessly sent me photos and you tubes
of cute little puppies.

He wore me down.
I agreed but only if it were a small dog.
It would be his dog.
Mr. B has given me so much,
I could give him this.

The weekend after Thanksgiving 2003
Mr. B was in his office upstairs
perusing the photos at the local animal shelter
on his computer
when he shouted for me to come see.
I took one look and
told him that we could go look
at the dog in the photo.

We were there just as the shelter opened.
We asked to see "Eli", the name given to him at the shelter.
He is a Jack Russel Terrier and was thought to be about two years old
and house broken.
We sat in a little room with a glass door, waiting.
Then, this face peeked around the corner.
At that point, all was lost.
We played with him a bit, maybe 5 minutes,
and I knew I was not leaving without him!

He fit right in with us.
He is our little clown.
Oh yes, he became my dog.

He lays on my lap in the evening
clutching his ballballball all wrapped up in
the blankie from Auntie Ms K.

Until he falls asleep.

Not a care in the world.
Dreaming of, someday,
catching a squirrel.
(We are very much squirrel free thanks to Max's diligence!)

Now, Mr. Max, like Mr. B,
is not perfect.
He seems to have a love hate
relationship with his bed
kept under the little table
in the the corner of the dining room.
Many a time we have come home from work and
found his bed pulled out
and placed near the kitchen.
One day, not long ago, Mr. B came home and sent me
this photo

I believe something along the
lines of this logic happened

(Source)
It seems...Max's bed...umm...had exploded.
Along with the rug that is normally
in front of the front door.
There was bed stuffing all over!
Max 1 Bed 0

I knew if we bought him another bed
the same sight would likely greet us again someday.

Now, to be clear, I don't sew.
I totally missed out on that gene!
I have made a few pillows but
sweated nervously the whole time.

But, I pulled up my big girl pants
and gave it the old college try.

I had a pile of upholstery fabric
that I had purchased awhile back
thinking someday I would
use it to recover a chair.
I figured it would be strong enough
to withstand the great squirrel hunter.

I took real rough measurements of what
was left of Max's bed.
I decided to do more
of a sham or envelope
type of cover,
just in case it didn't last.
I only needed to sew the two sides.

I was so upset I didn't take pictures of my "work"
in progress.
Here is the finished project.

I just put his old bed
into the cover, loose stuffing and all.

He loves it!
He still pulls it out from under the table
but, he has not even attempted to tear it up!
Bonus, I can take the cover off and wash it!

Of course, when we are home,
after a rousing game of
throwing the ballballball,
he will sometimes just fall asleep
wherever he lies.

But when there is a thunderstorm
or he needs some alone time,
he has a comfy bed
to rest his head and feel safe.

He is and always will be my sweet little puppeh!
I love him to pieces ♥
I mean c'mon, just look at that face!

Monday, April 23, 2012

You're Gonna Love It Tuesday's - #1

Welcome to the very first

"You're Gonna Love It Tuesday"

Feel free to link up anything you created, baked, mashed,
decorated, wrote, photographed, discovered etc.!

Anything you are just so proud of
you must share it with others!

I am not big on rules.
Must be my Aquarian nature.
Not being one that likes to
jump through hoops
I don't want you to either.
So,
I will not be requiring you
to be a follower
in order to link up.

Honestly, I want you to follow
Kathe With An E
because you want to.
Not because it is required

(Grab code from right side bar please)

Only one rule, I do ask that you
please DO NOT link up

anything for sale, etsy shops or giveaways.

Link to your specific post URL instead of your main blog URL

(no limit on the number of linkies, so add as many as you like!)

So c'mon!

Let's get the party started!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Garden Party

We enjoyed the most beautiful weekend!
Temperatures were in the mid 70's
and just a gentle breeze.

My favorite kind of weather to
be out working in the yard!
Mr. B has plans to move the shed
at some point so Saturday I
had to move my compost tumbler and bin
over about 15 feet to make room for it.
This meant emptying them both,
moving them and then refilling them.
Then, I decided to put down mulch on the front garden.
FYI, if any of you are Ford Focus owners,
You can fit 8 2-cubic foot bags
of mulch in the trunk.
By the time I was done I was sweating
like a nun one spot away
from a full bingo card!

Poor Mr. B spent Saturday
with his head in a muddy hole
rebuilding the manifold valves
for the sprinkler system.
NOT his idea of fun for sure!

Come Sunday morning
we were both feeling our age!
I can only speak for myself but,
even my toenails ached!

We jointly decided to take it easy
on Sunday!

Taking it easy for me means
enjoying my other hobby.
Setting up a table.

In honor of my garden season starting I decided
compose a table as if my blogging besties,
Laura (Under the Suburban Sun), Jen (Four Marrs One Venus),
and Sheree (Detroit Mom and Her Views)
were joining me for a garden party brunch.

I dressed the table in a green checked tablecloth which
you may remember from my St. Patrick's Day table.

I used a round white placemat from the Dollar Tree
and layered on a green Dollar Tree dinner plate.
Each of the salad plates has a different
seed packet and flowers on it and are from Home Goods.

The flatware was a gift from Mr. B

Luck would have it, the napkin is almost the same color as the dinner plates.
I used a butterfly napkin ring purchased
on sale from Pier 1 several years ago.

The little butterfly bowls were .99 from Michael's.
The adorable water can
salt and pepper shakers
are from Home Goods.
One of the very few times I have paid full price
for anything!
I HAD to have them!

For the centerpiece I placed my favorite
faux flowers into a galvanized
watering can from Ikea.
I placed glass butterflies and flowers
candle holders are each side.
The candle holders were originally marked
$12.95 & $14.95 each at Pier 1.
I got them on clearance for
$4.95 each! Gotta watch for
Pier 1 clearance sales people!
I regularly use their Pier 1 To Go service and
pick up my items on my lunch break.

I didn't want my friends to leave without a memory of
our meal together so
I put together a take away gift for them.

I used bright pails from Target's dollar spot
and added a faux flower from Michael's,
a colorful garden tool from the dollar spot at Target
and a packet of flower seeds for them to plant
and, hopefully, think of me when
the flowers bloom.

I hope my dear friends, whom I have never met in real life,
enjoyed sitting at my table.
I like to imagine they
have wonderful memories of laughter and
the stories that were told.
In my mind, they went home
and told their friends of
the fun garden party
at the home of
Kathe With An E.

*Don't forget to stop by my new link party
on Tuesday's
You're Gonna Love It!

I always share my tablescapes at
Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish Party every Thursday!

Click here to see where else I may be partying this week.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Gardening - Keeping it Real

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

As you know,

one of my loves is gardening.

Flowers, shrubs, veggies!

I love to spend time

putzing around in the dirt!

I try my very best to keep it real as best I can.

By real I mean natural and

organic.

I make and use my own compost.

I gather rain water.

I try to stay away from using any

man-made chemicals.

All this in hopes that

the flowers bloom brighter

and the vegetables taste

the way they are supposed to.

Although I was pretty happy with

my gardens last year,

I felt that they could have

done better.

Imagine my delight when

I discovered Whitney Farms®

Whitney Farms® is a full line of

organic soil and organic plant food.

Whitney Farms® has 25+ years of leading gardening experience and

has improved their products to have:

Low to no dust
No manure odor
Easy to apply
Beneficial microbes
Specially designed protein-based blends provide your plants with both macro and micronutrients they need to grow and thrive

I am so excited to try these products

to keep my backyard gardens real!!