Spring Sessions: Part One


Dear Moms,

Great morning to you all! Here's hoping that you all had a fabtabulous Mother's Day 2018- mine wasn't the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst. 🙈🙉🙊 My apologies for bot bringing you all a Mother's Day blog to get you ready for the celebration of your moms as well as yourselves; but I am in the midst of studying to get my Associate's Degree in Graphic Arts. My time is very limited as I study, work TWO jobs and get the family's home up to par. I'm working actively on some better tome management strategies to be able to better keep up with you all... No worries!

I am so happy to be back with you and giving you the "Spring Download!" This post is going to be dedicated to Spring LOOKS! These looks are not fashion based, but how to bring a bit of spring into your home- with some really great affordable items, new looks at old food faves, and also some of the hottest colors of the season. It's so great how this season brings with it, a sense of renewal and rebirth- and it's also great that you can give any room in your home a "rebirth" of it's own with something a simple as a new couch, or a fresh coat of paint. Let's get started!


Rainbow Brite and Twink by Cookiepoppet
cookiepoppet.deviantart.com
Color is coming back to the world these days and I couldn't be happier! I have missed the shades of nature, due to them being buried under mounds of snow. (Thanks, Mother Nature) Meanwhile, the on trend colors of  #Spring2018 are most certainly NOT subdued. Think: Rainbow Brite on Prozac!


I am sure that some of you just wanted to stop reading this post right now thinking about that reference-lol but it's okay, interior designer Amanda Reynal says, "People are hesitant to use color because they don't know how to use it judiciously." Reynal adds, "There has to be some personality- a few plot twists. The space should give a feeling for what really matters to the people." STEP ONE: What room are you looking to tackle? What is significant about this room to you, your family? What is the feeling you want to convey in this room?

To help you all visualize...I went to some pros. The gist: use "pops" of color in the rooms you wish to makeover. For instance, there has been a resurgence in color being used on cabinetry in the kitchen. Colors with grey undertones, according to Better Homes & Gardens (April 2018), are great because they play well off stainless appliances. (See? I'm easing you into color...thank me later!)  The colors below were recommendations from Terracotta Design Build for the very same stainless pairing- feel free to explore color in your own home and send us photos of what you came up with!

From l to r: CAPONATA AF-650,
VOGUE GREEN SW-0065, COPEN BLUE SW-0068
Retrieved: 4/21/2018 www.pinterest.com 
Since we are still, "in the kitchen" so to speak...Why not bust out a tasty dinner dish?! The best dinner on the go- is the infamous Sloppy Joe! This version I am going to give you is made with ground turkey, so say, "goodbye" to most of the fat and "hello," to ALL of the flavor! The sauce is an all around Joe sauce and can be used on any meat you decide on to make your own "Joes."
"Healthy Joe" made with lentils
pinterest.com retrieved 5/14/2018


The Who:
  • 1 tsp of olive oil
  • 1 green pepper finely chopped
  • 1/2 white onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 c. red wine, broth, or water (it's up to you!)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce


The How:

  1. Cook oil, pepper, onion & garlic in a large skillet until soft, about 4 minutes.
  2. Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Simmer about 10 minutes.

Now, like I said before, if you would like to watch your calories, or you just don't rock with ground turkey- you can try a "Skinny Joe" by using tilapia fillets, and leafy green butter lettuce cups instead of buns. You can make a "Vegan Joe" using either 1lb of firm tofu, 1lb of canned, green jack fruit, or 2 cups of cooked lentils and the standard Joe sauce recipe I provided! They're your Joes- make them however you like: buns, lettuce buns- or do like me and make a Joe stuffed baked potato!
"Skinny Joe" made w/turkey on lettuce
pinterest.compinterest.com retrieved 5/14/2018
My goodness, now I'm hungry! I'll talk to you all later. Until next time, be good to yourselves and each other!



Location: Rockford, IL, USA

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