I love weekends....

Well, every other weekend that is. I have to be Preppy Police Girl two weekends a months...those aren't always so fun. This weekend has been great! Friday, I spent most of the day in my PJ's (don't judge) and then decided on an impromptu trip to TJ Maxx and Target. I got the softest towels I've ever felt at TJ's for a mere $10 for 2 towels! Seriously they are the best towels I've ever felt!

Saturday night, Hot Police Boy and I had Scary Movie Night. I cooked breakfast casserole (which was delicious) and he bought lots of movie candy, popcorn, soft drinks and beer. We watched A Haunting In Connecticut. Ummm....well, we didn't finish it. Scared. The. Crap. Outta. Me. I had to turn the lights on and watch a Cosby Show marathon to get my mind off of that dreadful movie. It was too intense and based on a true story. I just couldn't do it. HPB made fun of me. Whatev.

Today, I'm cleaning the apartment and visiting my nephews. And that's it. Breakfast (and probably supper) will be leftover breakfast casserole. It's that good! Want the recipe? Sure you do!Breakfast Casserole

You need:
1 tube of refrigerated Crescent rolls
6 eggs
1/2 cup of cold milk
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp of pepper
8oz. of ham (I use the Carolina Pride sandwich ham)
1/2lb. of bacon, chopped and set aside
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325. In a 13x9 inch pan spray lightly with cooking spray, unroll and press entire sheet of crescent rolls into the bottom of the pan, sealing the perforations (just pinch them together). Chop up the sandwich ham and sprinkle over the crescent rolls. In a large bowl, beat 6 eggs, milk and pepper together and pour over the ham and crescent rolls. Top with both kinds of cheese. Cook for 25-30 minutes until the eggs are set. While the casserole cooks, saute chopped bacon in a frying pan until crispy. Place on paper towels to soak up excess drippings from the bacon. Once the casserole is done, sprinkle the bacon on top.

Variations: use sausage or smoked sausage instead of ham, add onions, green peppers or jalepenos etc.

A cold, cooking and Happy Thanksgiving....

Well, I have caught the dreaded "Summer Cold". I haven't had a cold in almost four years, so I really can't complain. However, there is nothing worse than being super congested in the hot, thick, South Carolina summer air. Gross. Each time I step outside, I feel like someone puts a plastic bag over my head and I'm suffocating. Nice. So...if this post is hard to understand, or laden with bad grammar and/or punctuation, I'm blaming it on the cold meds that are making me a little loopy. :)

Lately, I am OBSESSED with cooking. I mean seriously, I could just stay home all day, every day and cook and cook. I love it! I have planned out my menus for the next 4 weeks and I've made my grocery lists. The menus are posted on my fridge, and I look forward to making all new recipes. I am loving The Food Network magazine! It's amazing! Some of the recipes are a tad too time consuming and ridiculously over the top, but it's still a fun read for killing time, and getting ideas.

I also got the Taste of Home 5 Ingredient magazine. It's, by far, my new favorite. I'm pretty sure it's a special publication, but it is really great. I love simple but delicious meals and this one should provide just that. I'll let you know how the recipes go.

Also, over at Kraft Foods website they have a "One Bag, Five Dinners" section, complete with a printable shopping list and recipes for a weeks worth of meals! I plan to make several of these dishes as well, and I'll let you know how they taste. Obviously, since I'm just cooking for myself (and sometimes Hot Police Boy), I will modify the recipes accordingly and can probably get two days of meals out of one night's cooking. I'm fine with leftovers!

So, I'll leave you with one of my FAVORITE recipes for a sandwich that I eat all year. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I could eat Turkey every day of my life! This sandwich is my "Thanksgiving Feast" that I can have any time!

Thanksgiving Sandwich:

2 slices of whole wheat bread (I like the deli style bread, it's thicker and holds up well with travel)
As much sliced deli turkey as you prefer
2 slices of Baby Swiss cheese (I use Sargento)
1 leaf of lettuce (I use Romaine or Butter)
Mayo
salt and pepper
dried or fresh Thyme, Sage and Rosemary
Cranberry Sauce

I spread mayo on one slice of bread, layer turkey cheese and lettuce, sprinkle on S&P, dried thyme, sage and Rosemary to taste and spread cranberry sauce on the other slice of bread. Put it all together and you, too, can have a Thanksgiving Feast in the middle of August!

Random....

I've been neglecting my blog and I apologize. Work has been beyond crazy and has consumed a lot of my time lately. I'm also working on all the paperwork needed so that I can begin volunteering at one of our major hospitals. I formerly volunteered at The Ronald McDonald House and I miss volunteering! A lot!

So, what have I been doing? Working and ORGANIZING my new apartment! I have been driving myself crazy with organization lately. I just can't seem to get things exactly like I want them. By things, I'm speaking of my storage room, spare closet and the area under my kitchen sink. I want them to be perfectly organized and for me to be utilizing the space I have to it's full potential.

Yesterday, HPB and I went to Old Time Pottery, Pottery Barn, Garden Ridge and Marshall's Home Goods to get more things for me to organize with. I found these great collapsible baskets for $3 at Garden Ridge.
I only bought 3 but, I wish I'd bought several more. I'm going to have to get some more....soon. They are great, and I've used them to organize my spare closet. Here is what my spare closet looked like before:
Here is after:
I'm still not completely satisfied with it. It just doesn't seem organized to me??? Anyway, I'm using the collapsible basket on the left to hold extra bathroom items like shower gels, hand soaps, toothbrushes etc. I like to keep things stocked up, so I just put the new ones in the basket so they are ready when I run out of the current things. The other basket holds all of my Velcro rollers (do people still use these?), my curling iron and extra hair items. The baskets will have labels after tomorrow. I took my label maker to work, so I have to bring it home.

Also, here is a picture of my "new" coffee table/TV stand.
My sweet mom painted it white for me. It's a table that is about 20+ years old. Very heavy and sturdy. The bad thing is, it was painted BLACK before. My mom did a great job and I love it! I was going to put some baskets underneath it, but I think I've changed my mind. For now, at least. And, yes, I'm still using the dinosaur TV until the flat screen comes in!

One more thing, at Kohl's I got this adorable fish candle holder!
It was originally $40 but I got it for $7. The candles were $1.30 each!!! I bought about 10 of them.

So....that's about all the random for now. As soon it stops being cloudy, I'll take some pictures of my bedroom and continue the home tour. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Kisses,
~TPO

Just around the corner...

This morning, I woke up to dark clouds and a slow, weeping rain. It has been so long since it rained here (minus the occasional evening thunderstorm)! Though my hair will look like an electrocuted poodle today, I'm throwing it in ponytail for work tonight and enjoying this weather! Also, thanks to the steadily falling rain, the temperature is only 72!!! Ummm, yesterday my car thermometer read 101. Gross.

It feels like Autumn outside, which makes me crave the imminent return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. I know I can get one all year, but I refuse to drink them except in the Fall. Some things are sacred, and to me the Pumpkin Spice Latte is, well...a true sign of Fall.

**The Botanical Gardens in Clemson, SC. Less than 5 minutes from my house--can't wait to take walks there in the Fall (with a Pumpkin Spice Latte in my hand, no less)**

I love days at the end of summer when you can feel the air changing a bit, and it lets you know that Fall is just around the corner. I, for one, can't wait!

Welcome To My New Home (Part 2)...

I have decided this may be a 4 part series. I know, you are just about to pee with excitment aren't you? ;) The reason for this is, I haven't taken pictures of my bedroom yet (even though it hasn't changed much from this), and I still need to find some pictures for my bathroom walls. But, today, I'm going to show you the kitchen! So, here we go!

Above is the kitchen view from my living room. This kitchen is a good bit smaller than the one in my previous apartment, but I love it so much more! It is laid out much better and I have lots of cabinet and counter space. I have really enjoyed cooking meals in here. It feels very cozy to me.

This is the view from over near the laundry room.

On top of my cabinets, I've put rope lighting along the tops. Someone twittered about this tip, so I tried it out and couldn't be happier! It give a beautiful glow at night, but it's not so bright that it's distracting at all. It's about $15 for 18 feet of rope lights. I had to drill a hole in the top of my cabinet where the overhead microwave is for the plug. It took all of about 10 minutes to finish this little project.

This sign was gift and I've hung it over my sink. I don't know why, but it makes me laugh.

Closeup of the place setting on the bar. These plates are a little campy, but they work for me.

My mom made this candle with some shells she found on the beach. Just heat up a spot on the candle to melt the wax a little and press in a shell. I'm currently working on making some more. Very, very easy!

Well, that's pretty much my little kitchen. I hope you enjoyed seeing it!

Have a great day!
K~

Welcome To My New Home (Part 1)...

I promised you a "tour" of my new apartment, so here it is! I'm going to show you my balcony/porch and living room. I know you are on the edge of your seat :)

This is my balcony as I come up the steps. I love my front porch! It's very cozy and comfortable. I had dinner out there last night, and I enjoy just sitting outside reading a magazine with a glass of wine. I plan to do this a lot here. My mom gets all the credit for decorating out here. She planted the ivy, bought me the patio set and is currently making cushions for my chairs (out of sailboat sail material)!
My little patio table.

Ivy that my mom took cuttings of from her garden. The door to the right, if you can see it, is to my large storage room. I love having my storage right outside my door!

This is the view of my living room, just as I walk in the door. I prefer very clean, open and not a lot of clutter. If it looks a little bare, that's on purpose. "Things" just sitting around drive me insane. Obviously, my decor is nautical in nature. I realize that I don't live at the beach, but I have always loved coastal decorating.

Yes, my sofa is actually a futon. I know, I know. But...I live in a one bedroom apartment and I need a place for people to sleep when I have visitors. I couldn't find a sleeper sofa that I really liked, so I went with this. However, I think this is a pretty smart looking futon, if I do say so myself. The cushion is not your typical futon mattress. It's soooo comfortable and everyone who has sat on has said so. I think the bead board is perfect!

My end table is pretty basic, but I love the starfish lamp!

Another view:

My $7 pictures!!


This picture is my favorite! It had a $150+ price tag on it, but I got it at Marshall's Home Goods for $2O! It is very heavy and required some special hooks to hang it up.

My "coffee table" is a rope trunk that I got on sale at Target. I think it worked out perfectly and I've gotten several compliments on it.
I really hope I don't kill this plant! I do NOT have a green thumb.

And just for kicks....this is my lovely TV.
Have you ever seen such an ancient thing? The brand name is "Orion"?? I've had it forever! Believe it or not, it has a great picture, but man is it UGLY. I have ordered a white flat screen, but it's on back order. However, I really want a white one, so I've paid for it and it will be shipped in late August.

I was going to show you my kitchen as well in this post, but this got a little long. So, I'll show it to you later this week.

Anyway, hope you liked your little tour of my little home! There are still several finishing touches that it needs, but so far I'm loving it here!
Have a great night!
K~

Sneak Peek....

Hi! I finally have cable and internet at my apartment now! Thank you so much to those of you who have followed my roommate drama and moving. Your encouraging comments have brightened my day on several occassions!

Here is a preview of my living room. It is unfinished in the picture as my pictures had not yet been hung up. Please, please excuse the ridiculous makeshift "TV stand". It's hideous, I know. I finally found a wonderful table for my TV, but it is being sanded an painted white by my sweet mommy. It should be finished in a day or two! And...I have a white flat screen TV that is on the way. That TV in the picture, I'm pretty sure, is older than me (however, it works like a charm) :) Anyway, I am completely settled in, organized and LOVING my new place! It is even better than I imagined and I enjoy spending time here, cooking and relaxing. It's also nice to have it ALL TO MYSELF!

I have to say this as well: My mom and daddy are the GREATEST parents in the Universe. They have tirelessly helped me move, organize, clean, hang pictures, order pizza and anything else that needed to be done! And, every time they show up at my apartment they come bearing gifts! I love them so much and I honestly don't know what I'd do without them. At 30 something, I am still very much a little girl in the presence of my parents. I love that!

Hope you have a great day, and I'll be back soon with a full picture tour, if you really want to see.

K~



p.s. that picture was taken with my Blackberry, so it's not the greatest.