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last week i made this tissue paper pom pom to hang for a little party i had at our house.  i followed this tutorial and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make.  i have been holding to this gold and cream striped tissue paper since i worked at hallmark in college.  i think this fun project was the perfect time to break it out of my stash of wouldn’t you?

this week the boys and i went to the thrift store for a little entertainment one evening after dinner.  we came across a little barn that was in great condition for only $1.81.  i have been looking for a barn for noah to play with so i was excited that we had finally found one.  we brought it home, gave it a good cleaning, and changed out the batteries {when you open some of the gates it makes different animal sounds}  noah has been playing with it ever since. the barn didn’t come with any animals but luckily we already had some that went with a toy noah’s ark.

we also found this little toy vacuum.  it was only $1.81 too!  noah likes to clean when i do so now he can use his little vacuum while i am using our real vacuum.  unfortunately fortunately, we tried new batteries in the vacuum but the sound still didn’t work.  bummer, you know i love toys that make loud noise.

i would highly suggest checking out your local thrift stores for toys for your kiddos.  we have found some really fun things for noah and none of them have cost more than $3.

EDITED TO ADD: i saw the same Little People barn at Target this week brand new for $40!  looks like i did get a killer deal

i already knew where we are moving to next year.

someone would deliver scrumptious home-cooked meals to my house every night {for free}.

a new episode of The Office was on every night.

i am crushin on this quilted reindeer pillow. apparently everybody else is too because it is no longer available.  bummer.

i absolutely love , love, love this sleigh bell crewel pillow.  the little bells are a fun addition don’t you think? {although i am sure my toddler would try to eat those}

and that red buffalo check pillow in the background. i love it against the sleigh bell pillow. so fun!

{all images courtesy of pottery barn}

then we headed out into the rain for some trick-or-treating.  at first noah didn’t really want to go to the front door of the houses but once he realized he would get some candy he was all about it.  that’s my boy!

notice i am carrying noah’s hat in this picture.  he decided he didn’t want to wear it for some reason.  oh well!

here’s our little family minus daddy {who was out of town}

i am thinking of using this weekly chore chart for my son but you could also use it for your around the house chore chart {ie. cleaning}

i am all about meal planning these days so i was so excited to see that jennifer has two different meal planning forms you can download.

check out this fun project planner download.  it’s perfect for any DIY-er who always has a list of projects going on.  you could even use it to plan for an up-coming holiday party.

the project girl also has a daily planner, a food journal, and a travel check list all waiting to be downloaded by you.  i’m wondering if she would create a moving “to-do”list for me?  we have an upcoming military move in the next year or so and i am already dreading everything i have to do to prepare for that.

i saved the best for last.  check out this a-mazing chicken wire board that the project girl made.

um, hello! i need this.  click here for the tutorial to make your own.

]]> http://talesandtrials.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/the-project-girl/feed/ 1 Abby theprojectgirlcom_chorechart chore1 meal-planner mealplanner22 theprojectgirl_projectplanner chickenwireboard2 notes21 http://talesandtrials.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/brothers/ http://talesandtrials.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/brothers/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:10:53 +0000 Abby http://talesandtrials.wordpress.com/?p=3423 ]]> last week we had some really gorgeous fall days here in ga.  the boys and i took advantage of all the sunshine and perfect temperatures and headed to our neighborhood park several times.

check out grahams new little teeth.  i love his smile!

graham is able to sit up in the wagon across from noah now which is so fun.  he loves riding to the park in the wagon with his big brother.  my how my boys are growing and changing!

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

2 packages of crescent rolls

1/3 cup of mayo

2 tbsp of dijon mustard

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cloves of garlic, minced

several green onions, chopped

5 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped. {I use turkey bacon but you could also use bacon bits}

Pre-heat oven to 375°.  Unroll your crescent rolls and place on your baking stone/sheet with the wider ends touching. See picture below. Your crescent rolls will form a sun!

Place a scoop {I literally use an ice cream scoop sometimes} of the chicken mixture in the center of the wide part of the crescent roll.

Take the skinny end of each crescent roll and fold it over the top of the chicken mixture.  Tuck the end underneath the wide portion of the crescent roll.

When you are done your chicken ring will look like this.

I add a few pieces of shredded cheese to the top of each crescent roll.  You can never have too much cheese!

Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes or until the crescent rolls are done.

Dig in and enjoy!

I have been awaiting the release of The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond for sometime and it finally hit the shelves this week!  In case you live under a rock or something and have never heard of The Pioneer Woman you should promptly head on over to her site.  Not only can that gal cook but she also takes the most amazing photographs. Best of all she lives on a working cattle ranch in my home state of Oklahoma.  You know I just had to throw that last part in there didn’t ya?  It makes me feel like I am somehow friends with Ree because let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to call her “friend”?

I am planning on giving Ree’s new cookbook to a few people on my Christmas list this year.  AND I’m hoping to find Ree’s new cookbook under the Christmas tree with my name on it as well! {hint, hint}