Mangia!

Recently i have been asked by a LOT of people about my pasta!!



i grew up in an italian family where the sauce was made from scratch and sundays meant: going to church, going to grandma's with all my aunts, uncles and cousins, eating pasta and sausage, playing penny poker and having a lunch meat platter for dessert!



i loved those days. the food, the family and the fun - good memories! unfortunately, this tradition did not last for many reasons - family relocations, deaths and the busy schedules that we all have nowadays.



because of my busy schedule, i didn't always have time to make the sauce the way grandma did, so i took a shortcut. after may attempts i came up with a winner.



and to my delight, my pasta sauce is a big hit with everyone who tries it.



so i am ready to share my "cheatin" sauce recipe:

3 TBSP of EVOO

3 garlic cloves

2 lbs. ground chuck

1 large jar of Prego Traditional Sauce
(i get the super huge jars from costco)

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 cup of sugar



In a large pot simmer EVVO and garlic. When just starting to brown (about 2 minutes) add the meat. Cook meat and drain. Return meat to pot, add Prego, tomato Sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil. And simmer, simmer, simmer - the longer the better.



that's it!!! easy and delicious.

~~~ lookie, i've got junk in my trunk ~~~

wanna take a peek into my trunk?

i love those pumpkins - creamy white and a grayish shade of black - perfect.

i spent some happy money today. at my favorite store. The Lamb's Tail. it is the most adorable antique shop. the shop is located inside of an historic rustic barn, complete with real goats and lamb's.

to me, it is heaven - i get lost inside this place. the word charming, isn't even sufficient enough to describe this shopping paradise.

Let's take a closer look at my new treasures.....

love this cake plate and dome - $10 ~ not too bad!
i am looking for just the right location in my house for it.

my sole intention for this trip was to find a fisherman's basket to hang on my front door - and yes, I sure did find one! now i have to figure out how to hang it.

i have this weird thing for wood boxes (however, i never want to be in a coffin - creeeepy)!
when i saw this box, it practically begged me to bring it home - how could i possibly decline?

this rickity tin basket now is home to many white tapers.

as i was putting away my new possesions - i realized that i have consumed quite a bit of merchandise from the lamb's tail..........for instance.

this

and this

oh, and this

table ~ i think i paid $20 for it, in the clearance room!

(my puppy also loved this table so much she tried to eat, see bottom left leg)

and last but certainly not least....

my very first purchase and my very favorite piece.

the lamb's tail is located in the cute little town of armada, michigan - if you are in the area, i would highly recommend a detour!

holiday boutique

Last year I did my first "holiday boutique". It was at The Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. The setting was beautiful! Behind my booth were large windows that looked out onto Lake St. Clair.


I am happy to say that the show was a success. Here is a look at some of my hot selling items from last year.

Friendship Wands.............SOLD OUT.

I only made a few of these cake plates, but they were also a popular item. This year I am going to make some cupcake stands along with the cake stands.

Here are a few new items that I am including in this year's boutique.

hand stamped french script candles

mini chalkboards

they include a piece of vintage silverware - perfect for the day's menu in the kitchen.

french tea towels, i am now making them with natural colored flour sacks-

i think they look much better.

picture frames........

and my favorite so far are these placemats.

i am creating a variety of styles ~

french (which look great on a table with the french script candles)

and these adorable birds -

(i don't know why i numbered them, i just thought that it was "the pottery barn" thing to do!

Stay tuned for more creations.

I will be re ~opening my etsy shop soon.

my sweet savannah

i have a very sweet friend, her name is Melaine . she blogs on her site: My Sweet Savannah - i would say that she is "famous" in blog land!!!

last week i was having kind of yuck week!

on thursday i went to my mail box and there was a package ~ addressed to me!

i had no idea what it might be - i ordered nothing.

i ripped it open and found the sweetest surprise.

she made me this sweet pillow and i couldn't love anything more!!!!

she sells these pillows at her etsy store - and trust me - you're going to love her hand created items.

thank you melaine - you're the best friend that i never really met :)

"extra extra" read all about it

so what did i do this past friday night?

i was an "extra" on a movie set. really i was!

MAJOR check off the bucket list!

ohhhhhhhh and this wasn't just a little ole' movie - check out my fellow cast mates:

demi moore, kate bosworth, ellen barkin, thomas haden church, ellen burstyn, george kennedy, ezra miller and more!!!

the movie is called

"the reasonable bunch"

and it is being filmed at my friend Lisa's house. about 2 miles from my house.

(isn't that just incredible???)

anyhow - they were looking for extra's to use as wedding guests - so me and a "bunch" of friends jumped in.

Extra Bonus: ashton kutcher was on set all weekend - that was kind of really exciting, especially in light of all the recent rumors surrounding demi and ashton (i hope it isn't true!! however if it is - i wouldn't mind seeing demi and bruce reuniting).....speaking of rumors and willis- Rumer Willis (Demi's daughter) was also on the set - watching her mom and hangin with ashton. and if i might add, ashton and rumer seem to have a nice relationship. and demi was beaming while ashton was around! oh and, just sayin:

ashton kutcher is even cuter in person!!!!!

okay enough of the stars! let's get back to my hollywood debut - shall we?

there was a lot (a real lot) of sitting around. they filmed through the night -i arrived at 2 pm and didn't leave until 3:30 am!! the life of a star isn't easy you know.

bummer: couldn't take any pictures!! however....................
my daughter, was lucky enough to hang out for a few hours on the set with kate bosworth (who by the way, is a total doll!!!!)


she let my daughter interview her for the school newspaper and just hang out to see how things work on a movie set. my daughter was thrilled. ....seriously - kate bosworth - she is the best! no diva in her, just a beautiful, gracious and normal girl!!!

here is a photo of my daughter with kate - she had the best time!

(kate -if you ever shall stumble across this blog -thank you again for the thrill of my daughters life!!! you are the best!!!)

now back to my "extra" work: will i actually be in the film? probably not, but it was an experience i will never forget. i would say if you have the opportunity and the time - go for it!!!!

i will never forget the night i spent on the movie set! NEVER.

Star Struck

here in michigan the economy has taken a huge hit.
the auto industry is a part of almost everyone's income in one way or another.
the auto industry has not been good!
the govenor decided to give movie makers a huge tax break if they made movies here in michigan to help out the economy.
it is working.....!
over the past couple of years, there have been a lot of big movie stars in town filming big movies. last week they finally came to my town......rochester.
my friends and i thought it would be fun to go into town and watch how hollywood works.
The movie is called The Reasonable Bunch. The cast includes, Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Ellen Barkin, Thomas Haden Church, Ellen Burstyn and Martin Landau.
below are pictures from our "stalking" ......


first - we saw Kate Bosworth near her trailer. the little girls with us yelled out her name and she invited them down for a photo. she is not only beautiful, she is extremely gracious!
we caught demi moore on her way to the make up trailer, she was kind enough to give us a big smile and a wave.

another shot of Kate Bosworth. she is a real sweetie - very kind!

we stumbled across the filming of this scene in our local gas station. this is Ellen Barkin, Ezra Miller and Daniel Yelsky.

stay tuned for more stalking updates!

similarities!

this morning i made my son a fried egg - then i took the dog out. i realized that the egg i had just fried looked just like the daisies in my yard.....

i should also mention i haven't been sleeping well at night!

summer

the first week of summer vacation wasn't so great. In exactly one week 6 out of the 8 of us caught the nasty stomach flu bug! Hopefully - that is it for "sickness" in this house for awhile.

I now look forward to the start of summer vacation...........

Take me out to the ballgame

saturday night we decided to go down to the ball park to catch a detroit tiger's game.

it was a beautiful night.
comerica park was packed.
we got standing room only tickets. we thought we could find a seat somewhere - it wasn't until the 9th inning when we grabbed some seats from people leaving.

i only drink beer at the ballpark - somehow it tastes better.

i love baseball games in the evening.

i don't think there was an empty seat in the entire stadium.

i think someone told cabrera to look our way

and then there was this after the game.........

and then there was this after the wedding......

and all this for just 17 bucks!

an award!!

and just when i thought no one was out there reading my blog!!!

i received this award from Julie at Growing your Grass Greener. Thanks Julie.....i am really excited that you choose me.

the rules behind this award are simple:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award!

2. Tell seven things about yourself (in your blog)!

3. Pass the award along to 15 other blogs that you think are fantastic. (even though there are way more that deserve the award).

4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award!

Okay.....

I thanked Julie - thanks again.

Seven things about me:

1. I have 6 children - ages 19, 18 , 16, 15 11 and 9!

2. I have lived in Tulsa, Dallas, Princeton, NJ and England. Now I am settled back in my home state of Michigan.

3. I just got a new puppy named Roxy - love her!

4. I have a problem - shopping!!!

5. I married a boy from my kindergarten class.

6. I want to move into an older home a fixer upper.

7. I have a great life and I am very grateful for all I have.

Passing this award on to my 15 most favorite bloggers ~ enjoy!!

1. Melaine

2. Meg

3. Stephanie

4. Jen

5. Jamie

6. Kelly

7. Tracey

8. Daisy

9. Annette

10. Chris

11. Holly

12. Federica

13. Lu

14. LuLu

15. Brooke

okay! Done.

around the house

Unexcused ABSENCE

i have been away from blogging for too long now.
i never seem to have the time to sit down and think of something (interesting)to write.
so much time has passed since my last post
i don't know where to begin. so i am just going to post some random photos of "life" since i have been away.


my son's hockey career ended ~ so sad! however, they ended on a great note.


my son's senior year. the team won the regional championship - for the first time in school history. very exciting...trohies, newspaper interviews!!!


he was named to the all county team as an individual player - very proud!!!!


also... very sad to say good bye to something that has been such a great part of our lives........


however, i still have one more son playing for 2 more years...that's a good thing.



so what do hockey mom's do when hockey is over?


well of course, we pack up all the photos that we took and go away on a girl's scrapbook weekend ...........



and then we come home and buy these:



i do believe that the cricut is an essential machine for all scrapbookers! i LOVE it.



and then there was spring break

long drive for sunshine! but totally worth it.


and when we came home

we added this adorable little puppy to our family.

this is roxy. she was born on valentine's day. we adore her. i am sure she will be the subject of many upcoming posts.