Baked Ravioli

Hi there!  We're so glad you stopped by!   I cannot take credit for coming up with this recipe all on my own.  I had seen a ton of pins on pinterest for baked ravioli recipes.  I never actually looked at any of them, I just thought "That sounds really good" and I moved on.  Fast forward a few weeks.  I was lacking ingredients for all of the dinners I wanted to make, so I was going to make my usual go-to dinner when I need to go grocery shopping (Spaghetti. I'm sure I'm not the only person that always has noodles and pasta sauce on hand at all times...) Anyways, I opened the freezer to grab a pound of hamburger and I saw a bag of ravioli.  Light bulb.    Here is easiest recipe of all time!  Baked Ravioli.   

  What you'll need:  1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use classico)  1 bag frozen ravioli (larger raviolis)  1 C. shredded cheddar cheese 1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese   Preheat over to 400.  Layer a 9x13 pan like you would while making lasagna.  Like this: Lightly spread spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan Ravioli Spaghetti sauce 1/2 C of cheddar cheese, 1/2 C of mozarella Raviloli Spaghetti sauce Cheese   Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.  

Christmas Around My House

Hi there.  We are so glad you stopped by. Day 3: Christmas Around My House

I don't know about you, but I love to see how people decorate for Christmas. Since there aren't enough days in the week, or hours in the day for us to go to everyone's house, I thought I would invite you to my house through my blog.  Welcome to our home!

Let's start at our front porch.

   I found this adorable pillow at Home Goods and decided to decorate around it. The plaid "blanket" slung over the chair, is actually a tablecloth.   

Come on in to our living room and sit a spell.   

We can turn on the fireplace and the lights on the mantel, for a warm cozy feel.

A quick and easy addition.   Take a bucket, add some pine, branches and a burlap bow. 

Here is our sitting area off the kitchen.  

Speaking of the kitchen..... I kept it very simple this year.  I'm loving the soft earthy colors.   A little spruce with a snowman, set in a tray with a few rusty stars.

The top of the refrigerator is a great place for a display.   A winter wreath and we're done here.

The area above my pantry cabinet...... No flat space shall be left untouched.   A little more pine and a reindeer covered in a sweater.  Yes, please!

A pine tree in a basket with a little spruce twig.

A simple wreath above the sink, with a burlap bow.

We can't forget the island.  A vintage-y Santa, lantern and a little more pine. Put a doilie underneath to give it a little warmth.

Our kitchen table.   A simple basket with burlap, pine cones and berries.   Add a poinsettia and a berry clip and you're done.  Thank you for stopping by for a visit.  I loved having you.

Barn Wood Christmas Tree Box

Hi there.  We are so glad you stopped by! Today, I want to share with you my newest, or should I say oldest, treasure. It has a wonderful story behind it, which makes it so special to my husband and I. It's our Christmas tree box.

My husband's cousin and his wife, now live on the farm that was once their grandparent's.   On this homestead there is a grand barn.  After many, many years, the barn is going to be taken down.  My husband asked them if they would mind if we took some of the old barn wood. They said yes.   I'm not going to lie, I did a happy dance.  More than one happy dance, actually. We scored many treasures that day, which included a few barn doors and an old cow watering dish.   Oh, be still my heart. Well, as soon as we got the wood, I asked my husband if he would make a box for our Christmas tree.   He agreed!

Every year we go with our children and grandchildren and cut down a real tree.  The box had to be big enough to hold the tree stand, that would hold the water, for the tree.  Because these stands are bigger than your typical stand, the box had to be bigger as well.

Since I need to water the tree, I needed to be able to access the stand. So, our box had to have a door

Among some of the great items we were so blessed to be able to have, were old hinges.    What could be more perfect on an old barn wood box, with a door, than old hinges?   I know - I was giddy with excitement!

I did not want to take away from the look of our Christmas tree box, so I decorated with white and silver bulbs, clear and metal snowflakes, pearls, and of course, burlap!   

I thought it was the perfect look to go along with our new/old box.

This year I have fallen in love with all the different ways you can display your Christmas tree.  I thought this idea fit right in. I hope this gives you that little push to try something different.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  It means the world to us.

Rustic Christmas Mantel

Hi there.  We are so glad you stopped by!  I don't know about you, but Christmas for me, is coming up quickly. I don't know if it's because we have been so busy this year, or if age has something to do with it.  I swear the older I get, the faster time goes. So let's not waste another minute.  I want to share our Rustic Christmas Mantel with you.

I am really loving burlap and brown this year.  The simplistic look of it just feels cozy to me. I picked up these metal angels and the burlap poinsettia this fall and decided they would be the theme for my mantel.

I started with my old window as the base piece. I put a string of lights behind it to give it a nice glow.

A simple way to spruce up your Christmas trees is to put them in a crock surrounded by burlap.   I love this look.  Simple meets cozy.

On the other side, I decided to add lights, burlap and ornaments to this tree, and batting in the crock, to give it the look of snow.

I added pine branches around the crocks, tucked in some bulbs, pine cones and twigs.

There you have it.  My Christmas Mantel. Thank you so much for stopping by and taking a look.  It means the world to us. Happy Decorating!