Fair Week: Day 2

Today's department is Scrapbooks.

I love to scrapbook and frequently go to all-day or overnight crops. When it came time to select my fair entries, I discovered that I started a lot of albums this year, but didn't finish any. Instead I decided to enter one that's been completed for a couple years, but that I've never entered before.

This is an album I made to document my husband and I's trip to Washington D.C. in December of 2005. We were just boyfriend and girlfriend back then.

It didn't place. It was still on display, but they had it turned to the most plain page in the entire album. The rest of the album is better. I promise. :)

Fair Week: Day 1

Today was drop-off day for home arts projects at our county fair. The volunteers did a fabulous job of making the process smooth and easy. That's no small feat considering the huge amount of projects that are exhibited each year. All 19 of my projects are now safe and sound in the home arts building for display all week. Judging is going on as we speak. *fingers crossed*

What did I enter? Well, each day this week I'll be posting my entries in a specific department. First up is Photography.

This was my first year for entering photos. I was reluctant to submit anything because this is one of the most competitive categories and I'm really just starting to learn about my camera and its settings. There's no fee to enter so I had nothing to lose other than the time I spent choosing mats, framing the photos and wiring them for hanging.

Here's what I entered:



Color Still-Life



Black & White Still-Life

Color Animal



Black White Animal



Color Landscape



Black & White Landscape



Color Portrait

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Hello! I'm CRAZY busy this week getting my fair projects finalized. I'll post more about those later, but today I wanted to share a very quick What I'm Loving Wednesday post with all of you.

Today I just have one to share, it's a site called Cleaning with Vinegar.

I knew vinegar was a great cleaning tool, but I had no idea there were so many uses for the miracle product. This site details several ways to use vinegar for cleaning. There's everything from kitchen cleaning to laundry. These tips are great whether you're trying to go green, save a few bucks or both!

My particular favorite is the All Purpose Cleaner. I tried something similar when my husband and I were first married, but he HATED the smell and begged me to stop using it. I did, reluctantly. Cleaning with Vinegar gives the suggestion to add 12 drops of essential oil to the mixture to cut the smell. I tried this a few weeks ago (with tea tree oil) and didn't tell him. Guess what he said when he got home? "It smells good in here." I've been using it exclusively ever since.

Well, back to work! I've got 50 pieces of ribbon to cut before bedtime. :)

Menu Plan Monday: 8/1 - 8/7

Happy August! I feel like everyone is posting this, but where the heck is the year going? The past 7 months have flown by! I'm not really complaining, though. I won't wish my life away, but every day that passes is one day closer to Christmas...which I adore.

This week, my husband won't be eating dinner with us until Friday so I'm just planning for Peanut & I. I'm trying some new-to-me recipes I've been acquiring (mostly via Pinterest) that look good to me but that I know my husband wouldn't like. I'm scaling back the number of servings when possible and, if that's not possible, we'll eat the leftovers of those dishes for lunches.

Monday: Pioneer Woman Asian Noodle Salad

Tuesday: Baked Chicken Fingers, Steak Fries, Cabbage Salad

Wednesday: Greek-Style Egg Rolls with Garlic-Dill Dipping Sauce

Thursday: Linguini with Zucchini & Chickpeas

Friday: Husband's softball tournament (pre-game Subway with the team)

Saturday: Date Night!

Sunday: Cheeseburgers

I hope your August is off to a great start! Can't wait to see what all of you are cooking up this week.

Menu Plan Monday: 7/25-7/31

Happy Monday! I'm looking forward to the short break in the heat this week and a much-needed lunch & shopping date with my momma tomorrow. My parents took a 2-month road trip from mid-May to mid-July and haven't seen her much since they returned.

You can probably tell from our menu, but we have zucchini, yellow squash and lettuce coming out of our ying yang. Having a productive garden is so exciting! At first I was overwhelmed by it, but now I'm enjoying the challenge of finding new recipes and new ways to prepare it. Pinterest has proved a GREAT source for this research.

Monday: chicken meatballs, whole wheat pasta, zucchini rounds

Tuesday: tilapia in parchment packets, baked potato, sweet corn

Wednesday: Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas, brown rice

Thursday: leftovers on the run (hub's softball night)

Friday: grilled chicken breasts served over salad w/ lots of toppings

Saturday: homemade pizza

Sunday: hamburgers, steak fries, salad

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Hey, hey, hey! Look at me, posting on a Wednesday and something other than a weekly menu. I've been eyeing this linkup for a very long time and I'm happy to be participating in my very first What I'm Loving Wednesday today!

I'm loving this dress, the Calm tunic by Lole. It's amazing. It's been in regular rotation since I bought it a few weeks ago. It's so comfortable and super versatile! I wore it for Peanut and I's trip to the zoo. The wicking fabric kept me dry even in the 90+ degree temps. I've also worn it with heels for date night and with fun sandals to a baby shower. I love multi-purpose clothes!

I'm loving this set of The Pool Party shower gels by Philosophy. These scents are all summer! They leave my skin feeling so soft and refreshed.

I'm loving these fabulous chrysanthemum earrings from Colored with Love. I have them in aqua, pink & teal. They add such a fun pop of color to any outfit!

I'm loving Pinterest. Basically, you create categories (called "boards") and "pin" your favorite things from the interwebs to them. It's so much fun and a little on the addicting side. Definitely check it out! Already signed up? Follow me so I can follow you back and see what you're pinning!





And as always, most of all...I'm loving these two:

Menu Plan...Tuesday? 7/4 - 7/10

Hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July holiday weekend. We did. It was pretty low-key and very relaxing. Peanut went swimming for the very first time in a friend's pool. She loved it!

I'm trying 3 new-to-us recipes this week and I'm pretty excited about them. Here's what we're eating:

Monday: cookout with friends

Tuesday: Chicken Pitas with Yogurt-Dill Sauce

Wednesday: Bangin' Good Shrimp (imitation Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish Grill)

Thursday: Salsa Chicken (slow cooker)

Friday: BLTs (with fresh lettuce and tomatoes from our garden!)

Saturday: cheeseburgers @ camp

Sunday: probably grab pizza on the way home from camp