Herb Roasted Whole Chicken with Pasta

This chicken is heavenly. You must try it. 

I've never worked with a whole chicken before, so this was a bit of an experiment. Luckily, it turned out great! 

First, I put butter as far under the skin as I could. Then I slathered it on the top of the chicken and began adding herbs and garlic.

You can use whatever spices you would like, but I used rosemary, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme.

Then, I cut an onion in 4 chunks and a lemon in half. I stuffed these inside the chicken to help infuse the flavors as it cooked.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and cook for approximately an hour 

(depending on the size of chicken and heat of your oven)

And here ya have it! A perfectly roasted chicken.

I decided to pair the chicken with a creamy wine sauce over pasta.

So, I cooked up mushrooms, onions and garlic until soft.

Take them out of the skillet when soft and add butter and minced garlic

Saute garlic until roasted.
Then, add cream cheese until melted.

Finally, add in the wine and reduce by half.

Add the veggies and bring to a boil.

Sidebar: This was the cutest! Barkley sat there so diligently watching Eric cut the chicken. It probably took him 5-10 minutes to cut it all up and Barkley stayed in the same spot the whole time! He doesn't beg or eat people food, so I really think he was just loving watching his Dad use the big knife. hehe

And that's the final product!

 

I forgot to take a picture with the chicken on the pasta...but you get the idea.

Easy Pillow Makeover

Well, this isn't the most fascinating project, but I just wanted to point out how amazingly simple and quick you can makeover details in your home. This project took about 15 minutes total!

I am in love with the drape fabric from my good friend, Jenn. It is perfect for our basement. 

Remember the valences I made in a jiffy with the same fabric?

Well, I decided to recover a couple of gross 

old pillows we had lying around.

I told you that I love stitch witchery, and this is why. 

It has endless possibilities! 

Here are the nasty pillows. They blend in with the carpet. Yuck.

 

I laid out the drapes inside out and measured where to cut so that the pillow was snug in it's cover

So, there you have the two pieces that we'll iron together with the help of some hemming tape 

(the fabulous stitch witchery). P.S.- I think they should start paying me for all of this free advertising I'm giving them! hehe

And then, start ironing! Easy as that.

Keep one side open, flip it inside out, stuff the pillow inside and hem it all together.

 

Doesn't that just look like it belongs on that red couch? I think so :)
When anyone asks about that cute pillow on my couch (that doesn't read this blog), I'm going to tell them that it's an expensive designer pillow. I think they'll believe me.

Weekend Fun

We went to Lake McConnaughey on Saturday with our good friends and the dogs.  It was the break from Sidney that we needed. We had a great time! 

The guys were troopers and sat in the back with the pups

A man's best friend

Barkley's first time in the water! He wasn't diggin it.

Charlie, on the other hand, had the time of his life!!

It was so cool to see clear line of frozen vs. unfrozen water. Very pretty!

Impromptu Garden Room

In the words of my husband, I have a "black thumb". That's the opposite of a green thumb.

Let's just say that I tend to kill plants. My usual downfall is over-watering. My plants usually grow mold for that reason. Gross! 

Now that I've been able to identify my fault, I have gotten better. 

Maybe my thumb is gray now.

Even though my skills are poor, my intentions are good and my desire for a garden is kind of becoming an obsession. I am bound and determined to have a successful garden, gosh darnit.

So, I decided to start a little greenhouse in our office. I have started many plants and so far it's not too shabby! 

Check it out.

I started with some seeds..

Check out the greenhouse effect. ooh lala

 

Let there by LIFE!

Do you think this guy needs to be trimmed?? See, this is a problem.
I have one plant that has done exceptionally well, so I refused to cut it back. I fear that if I do, it might die along with the other plants that have perished in my care. Wahhhh! 

I know, trimming is good for the plant.

I'll do it. 

One day.

So far, the plants are doing well. 

Does anyone have suggestions for keeping it up? Watering more, watering less, more sunlight, less sunlight, when to transfer to bigger pots, etc??

Snowman Fight

Last weekend, we went to Cheyenne and returned home to this in our front yard...

It was quite a shocking scene in our front yard! 

But, we knew immediately who the culprit(s) were. We looked across the street and both our neighbors were peeking out of their windows watching our reactions. They both came over and had a laugh (and a brewskie). I guess this is what happens when people around here get bored in the winter!! hahaha.

The next morning they added the caution tape while we were sleeping....

I've always known that we have the best neighbors in the world, but they took it to a new level. They'll have to watch out next time they leave town!! hehe. Eric and I can't wait to spend more time in the neighborhood this spring/summer (when we all crawl out of our winter caves)  :)

Box Valences, Kitchen Style

Voila! The kitchen valences are complete!


My lovely hubby cut the ply wood to the width of the window. It was perfect! He is quite the handy man. And he enjoys doing it, which is the best part.

Once the wood was done, I cut the fabric and batting. I just made sure to have a couple inches on each side to pull over and staple.

 I bought cheap batting to put between the fabric and wood

 When I left for college, someone gave me a blue toolbox. I can't tell you how often I use those tools. Best graduation present by far. Anyway, this cute little blue staple gun was in that toolbox. You wouldn't think it would work that well, but boy does it ever! It was perfect for this project. 

If you don't have one, I'm sure you could use little nails to fasten down the fabric.

 I made sure to staple it very well in the corners so that nothing popped out later

And there we go! Just like that.

I'm very pleased with these valences. I think it makes all the difference in our kitchen. The space is really coming together!