Saturday, November 1, 2008

Other Delights this Week...

So in addition to the pumpkin patch, and Halloween (posted below), I had a delightful week!
My parents got home from their cruise and came to dinner to tell us all about it. To celebrate the season, I made pumpkin gnocchi (and in addition to having enough for dinner & some leftover for lunches, I froze enough for a future meal post-baby). I also tried out crockpot lady's Rotisserie-Style Chicken, which was super easy & tasted great.
Chick and I picked apples from the tree in the yard (very organic looking & need a bit more paring than store-bought apples, but nice and tart...great for baking!), and then made an apple pie to eat for dessert. We had a lovely evening!! Glad the folks had a good cruise : )

The next day I used the carcass & made chicken stock. It honestly is the best stock I've ever made! I've always done it on the stove, but tried crockpot lady's recipe in the crock. SO GREAT! I froze it in a few extra ice cube trays, so I'm set for a while.

I've been enjoying the changing leaves--the trees in the greenbelt behind our house have finally started to change and fall. It's gorgeous. Since I've never lived here in fall/early winter, I can't imagine what it will look like when all the leaves are gone. I always like the change, though--I'll probably be excited for bare trees, too.

Oh, and last but not least, I found THE PERFECT lampshade. HH dumpster dove a black lamp at some point in the past, and I came across it and decided to use it in the bedroom. It didn't have a harp or a shade, though, so I bought a shade that didn't need a harp at Walmart for $15. I was ok with it, but it was a little more brown than was ideal. So then I took a quick stop at Value Village and found a shade (for $4) that was in new condition & was the exact same yellow as the yellow walls in my room & was mottled, just like the faux finish on the walls! It was so perfect! HH picked up a harp at Lowes for a couple of dollars, and TaDa...here it is!

3 comments:

Heather, Rex, etc. said...

Paige,
I love your super-womanness. The lampshade: I love making things work with just a little money. No need to spend money on a new one! Way to go, bargain hunter! Looks great! Also, brilliant with the carcass. I will need to look up the crockpot method. Lastly, what is this pumpkin gnocchi recipe? Must have.
Heather

Simply Simmons said...

Is HH STILL dumpster diving? :0 I remember treasures he and TT brought to me as my home teachers. Good memories.

Looks great in your bedroom, though.

Paige said...

Once a dumpster diver, always....

The pumpkin gnocchi recipe is from Alton Brown's "Squash Court" episode...I check his dvds out from the library and highly recommend them--even if you don't make the recipes, there's a lot to learn.