Exploring My Inner Pioneer Woman

I love Ree Drummond. I love her light heartedness. I admire that she pitched her business attire and found herself quite comfortable living ranch life (while still doing well financially) - smart woman! Then, there was me - waking up, donning my heels and dresses, and loving each and every day for 32 years. I'm still trying to do the best I can while quietly attempting to be a better person each day. In true Ree Drummond style, I cooked my heart out this weekend. My sweet DH appreciates my endeavors. The house smelled delicious. I baked, I cooked and cooked, and cooked - from Friday until Sunday.

I started on Friday by making a huge pot of spaghetti sauce. My mother and grandmother would be very proud of me. It was rich with meatballs and Italian sausage. I, like my mother before me, let it simmer all day long to reduce and thicken. My home smelled like my childhood. I found myself wondering if I had instilled this slow simmer technique in our son. He loves to cook and is quite good at it. Did I teach him to let the gravy simmer for a long time? In the evening, I put the gravy in the fridge so the flavors would marry even more. Saturday night, we had homemade rigatoni pasta with the scrumptious gravy.

Sunday, I put on my Ree Drummond hat once again. I made a Brussels sprouts salad with dates, almonds, dried cranberries, and a mustard vinaigrette. I served this with Asian style sausage and green beans served over rice. My DH LOVED the sausage and green beans. I couldn't get him to ever eat them at a restaurant. Same thing with anything Brussels sprouts. But, he did manage to eat some of the salad. He kept telling me how delish the sausage and green beans were! Success!

Now, on to a card to share with you.

I've been working hard and trying to improve my skills. I started this card a while ago and just got to finishing it this weekend. I think I actually began it in March! On the front, I've masked two stamps to create the background. Then, there is sweet Tilda in the yellow dress. The yellow just didn't photograph well. If I tweak the brightness, it'll bleach out the other colors. So, her dress looks yucky! She and her balloon are elevated on pop dots. I wanted the walkway to look like gravel. I hope I succeeded. This is also my first attempt at creating black hair. I like it! LOL. Here are the pages of my card:



This is the inside left. I stamped a Magnolia butterfly image and added some glitter to it for sparkle. It's elevated on pop dots as well. The print of the stamp looks weird for some reason in the photo. The lens didn't see what was on the paper very well.



Inside right:



Both interiors:



I have to make a Father's Day card for DH. I've been procrastinating in case the one I have for sale doesn't sell. I could just change the sentiment on the front and use that card. *tee hee* When we first met, DH and I went trout fishing in central Nevada. He had this expensive rod and reel. He made me a line from a willow branch and added the line with a hook attached. He showed off his fancy gear. I just flicked my willow branch into the stream and immediately got a trout! My DH was quite chagrined! LOL Then, I tossed my little hook back into the stream again and caught trout #2! DH never caught a fish at all. LOL So, that card is reminiscent of our fishing date, LOL.

Have a wonderful week! Thank you for stopping by and reading my small book above, LOL. I so appreciate your visits and comments. Thank you sooo much!

XO,
Chris

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Magnolia Stamp Lovers(ends 6/18) - Anything Goes

2. HookedonCraft Challenges(ends 6/24) - Anything Goes

3. KB Challenges #17 (ends 6/19) - Anything Goes

4. Catered Crop (ends 6/23) - Follow the Recipe: Colors: Blue & Green, Stamps: Nature (buttefly, tulips, and sky stamps, Color Medium: Painted Ink, Embellishments: pearls, lace ribbon, pearls, Tools: Die Cuts, sewing machine, Techniques:sewing machine

5. Paper Sundaes #73(ends 6/18) - Girly Girl

6. Catch the Bug Blog (ends 6/18) - Pearls and Lace

7. Creations by GillM - Sketch w/ circle shapes

8. ECP Challenges #40 (ends 6/23)- photo inspiration (I chose colors yellow and green)