meal plan monday

This weekend, we had our Fall Women's Retreat here at Camp. It was so great - perfect weather, amazing speakers, fellowship, and delicious food! A big thank-you to my hubby for spending the weekend with Lenna, so I could be a part of the retreat!

I got to talking with one of our speakers, Sherene McHenry, about life and I started telling her about this new blogging adventure I've started. Did I mention that she's a life coach!?! She was so encouraging and uplifting and got me even more excited about meal planning! She was on a roll, planning a meal-planning book I could publish...oh the possibilities :) You can find one of Sherene's amazing books here! I'm so thankful I had to the chance to chat with her...she's one of those people who give off energy and joy. I want to be more like that!

The next two weeks are sure going to be tasty! You can download the menus, grocery list, and recipes below!

MENU #1

 

MENU #2

The grocery list includes all necessary ingredients for each of these meals planned, minus staples we all generally keep in our pantry or baking cupboard.

Take a look at what your family might need for breakfasts, lunches or snacks and be sure to add those to your list before shopping!

GROCERY LIST

Let me know how you like the recipes this week! You can download all of the recipes for the next two weeks by clicking below!

RECIPES

You can find the recipe for the Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza over on 100 Days of Real Food Blog!

happy meal-planning :)

diy wreath

I'm a sucker for easy projects :) I'm not a creative person - It's so hard for me to come up with original ideas. If you give me a prototype, I can create anything!  I found this adorable idea on Pinterest, see the pin here, and decided to give it a whirl!

I grabbed all of my supplies from Walmart - a plain brown wreath, spray paint, piece of white felt and a roll of burlap garland. The garland was 10 yards for only 5 bucks and I know I'll use it for a lot of other things as well.

I started with a plain jane wreath. I chose a plum color spray paint, thinking I could use this wreath throughout the year!

My yard and dining room table were my project spaces for this one, because my hubby was hogging the garage while cutting up his deer!

Just lay the wreath face down on your surface and spray away! Because of all the vines twisted and tangled, you really have to spray from all directions. I wasn't too picky about the back side. Flip it over and spray the front. I did a very heavy first coat, and that's all it took!

While the wreath was drying, I went to work on the burlap flowers. There are a million tutorials on how to make burlap flowers, but to be honest...it's all trial and error!

I started by cutting my burlap garland in half because it was 6'' wide. I cut strips about 18'' long.

 Fold the strip in half...I dotted glue along the bottom half, then folded it over so it would stay while I was working with it!

You're GLUE GUN is your best friend for this project!

Next, start at one end and roll a few times and glue to hold it together.

From here - you just need to go for it. I rolled and twisted, and unrolled and untwisted until I got it how I wanted. There is more than one way to do this. I kept rolling and twist the burlap as I went. Use your glue gun frequently to help keep the rolls together and it will help you form it better!

I tried to keep the fraying edge down, and if I couldn't, I used the glue gun to tuck some loose strands in. Keep twisting, rolling and gluing until you run out of burlap. Glue the very end. If you need to trim off a little bit, that's fine.

I wasn't in love with my flowers at first, they aren't exactly alike...but that's fine :) Cut a round piece of felt, smaller than your flower and hot glue it to the back of your flower. This will help stick your flowers to the wreath better (sorry I didn't take a pic of this)!

You can spruce up the flowers by adding beads, buttons, etc. I found a random plastic pearl necklace and some old buttons that were in my great-grandma's sewing box.

I made 5 flowers total - 3 smaller ones (18'' long) and 2 bigger ones (24'' long). The great thing about a project like this, is you can do as many or as few as you want. I didn't have a wooden letter to add to my wreath, so I did a few more flowers.

Next, you need to make a big bow. THIS IS SO HARD :) Thank goodness my super-crafty Mother-in-law was over and helped made one for me :)

I'm happy with the finished product! I hope you craft away and get even more creative than I!

happy crafting :)

Friday Freebie

On this drab Friday, I'm tackling loads...and loads...and loads of laundry. I normally don't mind my weekly chore, but this week I couldn't do it on my usual laundry day (Monday) so it had to wait until today - meaning LOTS OF LOADS!

To make the day not so drab, I'm putting out some of my fall decor! The rest will have to wait until my wonderful hubby gets home from work and can get my tubs down from the garage!

I scored these gorgeous mums this week for $2.99 each! I bought 6 plants!

I'm sure all of you have seen or even printed those adorable chalkboard signs that are all over creation! I've been having lots of fun playing around with different fonts making them.

Just choose your favorite frame - I love to spray paint my frames to match our decor! Add the frame to your fall decor and smile :)

happy friday freebie :) 

Click to Download!

Give Thanks Sign     Gratitude Sign

What's for Dinner this Week?!

Next to my husband & daughter, FALL is my favorite thing in this world! The fall-like weather this past week inspired my meal planning for the next two weeks! I'm excited to taste some of our cool weather favorites...it's been way too long!

I'll get into my step-by-step meal planning details later, but for now I've posted this bi-weekly meal plan!

Feel free to copy the menus, grocery list, and recipes for your use! Note**this grocery list is specific to our family - what I already have in the pantry, cupboards, fridge etc. I don't include on the list, so make sure you adjust it!

DOWNLOAD MENUS, GROCERY LIST, & RECIPES BELOW

Here's our menu for this week. I generally stick to the menu because that's easiest for me, but there's always room for flexibility! You can get some of these tasty recipes below!

My amazing Mom taught me how to meal plan for 2 weeks at a time! This helps for SO MANY REASONS! 1. Cuts planning time in half 2. If you want to have flexible meal options it gives you 14 options already available 3. Reduces grocery budget...everyone knows the more times you go to the grocery store, the more you spend because it's SO HARD to stick to your list! 4. You only have to grocery shop once every two weeks (Occasionally a 2nd stop is necessary for fresh produce)!

I always start by picking meals, and compile my grocery list based on needed ingredients. I don't include breakfasts or lunches on my menus, but I plan for them on my grocery list by adding things beyond our dinner items that we're going to need!

Here are some of the tasty recipes! Let me know how you like them!

This hubby favorite recipe is from my "Aunt" Beth! We love it!

I found this recipe in my 2009 edition of Good Housekeeping Comfort Food magazine!

DOWNLOADS
Click on the links below!

Menu #1     Menu #2     Grocery List     Tortilla Pie     Baked Penne     Crockpot Roast

Easy Chicken Pot Pie     Taco Chicken Bowls     White Chicken Chili

Happy Planning!

Getting Started

Well, hello! Thanks for visiting my new blog. "Why do I think people will read this?" you ask! Well, I don't know if they will, but I hope those who do will find it helpful! Let me explain why it exists:

I have one of THE best Moms in the world. She was and still is one of the world's best home-makers. She taught my sister and I how to love God, respect her husband, love her 4 kiddos, and manage a home! We learned valuable lessons in laundry, cooking, thrifting, sewing, and one of the biggest MEAL PLANNING. I have learned a few things since being married, but most of what I know in the areas of home-making are compliments of my mother! This blog will focus on meal planning, recipes, and grocery lists, but will also highlight pieces of my home-making life!

I have the privilege of being a stay-at-home Mommy and I love it! I applaud working Mom's because I have NO idea how you work, raise your kiddos and manage a home. I'm tired just thinking about it! I applaud the stay at home Mommy, who has committed herself to raising and teaching her kiddos at home, rarely getting breaks from tiny humans :) This blog is for all of you!

I was challenged by a recent message in church about doing "Good". Hebrews 13:15-16, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is please." I hope this blog will be just one avenue in my life in which I can "do good". If my weekly meal plans help just one working mom spend less time in the kitchen when she gets home and more time with their precious kiddos, then it's worth it. If my grocery lists or recipe cards help one person save money on their food budget, so they can go on a special date with their hubby, then it's worth it!

I am not a professional cook, meal planner, or anyone special. I'm just one home-maker letting life happen and finding joy along the way! I don't cook with all organic foods (though I am trying to work on eating more whole foods), I love simple recipes that taste great and that provide leftovers for lunch!

I'm excited to hear comments from you all and I hope just a little bit of good comes from "all things debi jo".