Faux Pumpkin Dinner

This weekend we kept the Halloween celebrating going. Last weekend we had the costume party this weekend we did themed dinners. Our first was faux pumpkins adapted from this site.

I took orange bell peppers and carved them like a pumpkin. Cutting off the tops and then adding faces. Meanwhile Steve cooked up some Stove Top stuffing and sausage and onion. Once that was cooked we filled the pepper with the filling and put them in the oven for 40 minutes. 

Here is the finished products.

See that fancy bread.. that is fresh bread made by my parents in my Dad's new outdoor bread oven. He built it from scratch this summer and we have reaped the benefits ever since.

The peppers could have cooked a little longer in my opinion and we cooked them 10 minutes longer than the recipe called. Otherwise it was a success. Mouse loved it.

~ Cassi


Pin It

Five Minute Friday ~ Relevant

It's Friday, which means time to join the girls at Gypsy Mama. Write for five minutes on one topic unedited.

Topic:
relevant

"pertinent to the matter at hand,"

The matter at hand to society is not what is Relevant to me.

I don't know what Jersey Shores is about. I have never watched a show where someone is voted off an island (is that even still popular?). I try hard to not watch shows that give parents, kids, families a bad name.

I am not versed in what is Relevant to our culture.

I am trying to stay relevant to my God, my Marriage and my Family. I (we) are in a fight to save our marriage, to grow our faith and be present in our families. Fighting a fight that our culture wants us to loose.

Praying daily for the strength to win the fight.

To daily bring in things that are Relevant to US

~ Cassi

Pin It

Project Basement

It has been busy the last week with the rush to get parts of the basement finished.  The electrical permit expires in November, last part of the electrical was fixed on Monday.  Yesterday and today the flooring gets put in.  Hardwood laminate in one area, carpet in the TV/game room.  It is amazing how the rooms are coming together.  From studs and concrete floor to painted walls, drop ceiling, pendant and can lights.  Bathroom vanity from an old dresser and a bath fan that had more issues and headaches than any other part of the basement.

The goal is to get the basement complete before November 19.  Tight timeline, hope we can do it!

~Steve

Pin It

What I Wore Wednesday ~ Monster High Girl

This weekend our neighbor put on a huge halloween party and chili cook off. It was so much fun. The chili cook off got all the adults in on the fun. I was impressed at all the different style of chili that are out there. Everyone had their own idea of what was important ingredients in chili. I prefere the classic midwest chili with a touch more heat then most midwesterns would like. But the winner was a heat and flavor infused white chicken chili. We lucked out and got to bring some of the winning one home.

I know you came here to see what I wore. Well to stay in the spirit of halloween this week at work I wore:

Sweater: Target

Shirt: Macy's (I think)

Pants: New York and Co

Shoes: DSW

 For the kids there was a halloween costume contest. Mouse decided to put together a costume from her stash. She didn't want to wear her actual costume for this year in fear she would spill on it (really she just wanted to wear two costumes this year). She decided she wanted to go the Moster High look. She put the costumer together and I did her make-up and hair. I am shocked on how good black hair looked on her.

 Mouse and Steve carved a pumpkin together. She didn't win the costume or the carving contest. But I think she still had fun.

Mouse in her best Monster High doll pose.

Check out all the other girls at

Pleated Poppy- What I wore Wednesday

Cassi

Pin It

Fairy Tea Party

I completely forgot to put a post together for yesterday.  Mostly because this weekend flew by. Mouse had a Fairy Tea Party Saturday morning (more on that in a minute) then we had a Halloween party (more on that later this week). Sunday we did home projects. Tons of home projects. Steve and my Dad finished almost all of the electrical work (trying to save money after this). It's great to have handy guys around. Then Steve and I worked at putting the ceiling tiles up. And since my arm is still causing problems by the end of the weekend we were too tired to even think of picking up a mouse (computer mouse).But today I am back on track a little.
Steve and I make to do lists and put them out on the counter so we remember what is still left with the basement. Every time Mouse sees a new list she adds have a tea party to the bottom of the list. So for October's to do list on the top of the list I wrote have a tea party. She was soo excited when she saw it.
Mouse wanted a Fairy theme party. She is completely focused on them lately. She reads the Spiderwick Chronicles and the neighbor girls reads Rainbow Fairies and then they swap Fairy stories on the bus. She decided on a purple and pink with a little green (because "Fairies live outside Mom"). Mouse, my Mom, Steve and I made tissue paper flowers, Fairy Dust bottles and Mouse made the place setting cards.

The tutorail for the tissue paper flowers can be found here. Thanks to pinterest for finding it.

Mouse planned a menu of cucumber sandwiches, pimento cheese sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches. Second course was scones and cream with jam. For the final course her and Grandma made cupcakes and butterfly chocolates, we also added strawberries to the plate. OK, in truth beyond Mouse only one of the girls ate all the sandwiches. (I love that friend of hers) But really all the girls were so well behaved and seem to have a good time.  

Later they made fairies out of clothes pins. I should post a tutorial on those. Hope all of you had a magical weekend too.

~ Cassi

Pin It

Five Minute Friday ~ Beyond

It's time again for Five Minute Fridays with Gypsy Mama. Five minutes of unedited writing on a single topic.

Beyond...

This year has all been about going Beyond. I am trying to learn to go beyond me. I am not in control of my life. No, I take that back I need to let go of control of my life. To go Beyond me and let God take control.

Beyond the shallow trappings of this world and surrender to the picture Beyond my comprehension.

To feel a love and learn to love Beyond any I have felt so far.

But to do all this is tough. I falter and turn back over and over again.

This last week is a good example. I felt like we were finally getting a place financially (we have been finishing our basement and that has ate away at the extra money) were we could buy some bigger ticket not needed items. I really need a new camera. And my desire this year is to take Mouse to the Caribbeans. But then I rear ended someone on my way to work. Nothing bad just enough damage to file a insurance claim.

I lost the resolve that morning. I cried (crazily) to the guy I just hit that I won't get a new camera now. I am sure he understood. It was hours later that I finally surrendered to God and poured out my desire for him to handle the budget.

Why can't I surrender there first?

I know that it is Beyond me that everything will work out.

Because nothing is Beyond him.

~ Cassi

Pin It

The Green Room - Stillwater, MN

A few Saturdays ago, Steve and I went to Stillwater with a girlfriend of mine and her husband. First let me mention this friend and I have known each other since we were four years old. It amazes me that we've been able to weather out all these years together and still have fun being together. When Steve and I want to be foodies, they are the first couple we think to have join us.

So we decide to do a food tour of Stillwater. Stillwater is this great town in Minnesota that has a ton of little shops and antiques but it is also becoming a trendy food place too. We decided to meet at Savouries for appetizers. This place was nothing to write home about and it was closing the next week. That is the one problem with Stillwater that it is so trendy that the restaurants & shops don't last long.
My review of our dinner: For dinner we went to The Green Room. This place has become my new favorite food place. To start the place is small and dark, a little to dark for me. The two level dining room and exposed brick is a nice feature. Though the brick made it difficult to sit in the benches. 

Not this brick the other side is uneven white brick.

The drink menu  was long enough to offer options in style and price point but not so long you get lost in it. The menu it self is well written and you want to try everything. They also have a small Indian portion to their menu which is nice for this curry loving group. Though only Maggie went for the curry and ordered the Mahi Mahi in Spicy Red Curry. Her husband ordered the Risotto Crusted Salmon. I ordered the Grilled Beef Tenderloin served with Balsamic Cabernet Demi, Balsamic Braised Figs, Grilled Vegetables and  Risotto Cake.
Let me start by saying the portions are huge for a place like this. Chris's salmon was the biggest piece I have ever seen a restaurant serve. My tenderloin was at least 3 inches thick. The demi-glaze was thick and dark and not to sweet. The risotto cake made me want to lick my plate clean. I can't recommend this restaurant enough for their food. The waitstaff was also very good. I like any place that has adult servers. Ours had tried the menu and knew what to recommend.

Steve's Review:  Walking into the Green Room I thought, oh oh, small and busy.  I'll be cramped but it was remarkably roomy for this long, ally style restaurant.  I ordered the bone in pork chop over wild rice.  For a drink I could not decide and ordered a Brandy Coke.  It was basically a big shot of Brandy, but I won't complain about that.  When the food arrived I was surprised by the size of my chop.  Over an inch thick.  Charred but only enough to add some flavor.  The wild rice was a little undercooked and after tasting Cassi's risotto I was disappointed in my wild rice.  Over all the atmosphere and food makes the Green Room a top 5 restaurant for me.  I am looking forward to going back.

We ended the night with coffee and gelato at Luna Rossa. Their coffee was perfect for the cooling evening which for Minnesota was still warm. We sat on their large outdoor eating area, which was fun to people watch. The espresso and biscotti flavored gelato that Maggie and I ordered was so yummy. It was a perfect way to end the evening.

~Cassi & Steve

Pin It

What I Wore Wednesday ~ Hippie Style

Hippie Style or at least that is what I was called three or four times that day. But I liked it and I tried something new. I have loved all the looks I see out in the blogland with the headband around the head (in yes, hippie style). But so far I have been afraid to try it. Then after seeing Natalia's hair last week on WIWW, I knew I had to try it.

Shirt: Macy's

Long Sleeve t-shirt: Old Navy

Jeans: American Rag (Macy's)

Shoes: DSW

Headband: Made by Me.

Don't you just love actions in Photoshop! This picture was not pretty before I hit the action but.

The only bad thing with this outfit was the bat wings got caught on the door and ripped. Doesn't that always happen the first time you wear a new shirt, it never seems to happen to an old shirt. But I should be able to fix it.

Check out all the other girls at

Pleated Poppy- What I wore Wednesday

~ Cassi


Pin It

Dresser to Vanity

We have been documenting our working on the basement here. The part I am the most proud of is our bathroom vanity. Here is a brief tutorial on how we did.

We wanted something different and thanks to blogland we had some great inspiration. Then Craigslist helped the rest of the way. We found a great deal on an antique dresser ($15)!

And that is when it got time consuming. The dresser was cheap due to it's condition. The veneer was cracked and bubbled in numerous areas. Trying to get this off the dresser was a little bit of problem. We tried ironing it so the glue would let loose but sanding it seemed to be the best option.

After a few rounds of sanding we were able to prime it. The top was painted with a semi-gloss black and the bottom half was painted with a satin white.

Yes, that is me in my painting get up.

Once it was all painted then I distressed it on the edges and gave it a quick glaze of black.

Steve did a great job redoing the drawers to fit the plumbing. We got the sink and the faucet at Menard's. (the green tape is so I can paint the two inside walls white. We are leaving the cherry for the rest.

And this is how it turned out! It's perfect. I am so excited. Now we just need to get the plumber back out to finish the hook ups and we will be able to test it out.

Isn't it pretty.

Check out our links page to see where we linked this to.

~ Cassi

Pin It

Five Minute Friday ~ Catch

Friday a day to write freely for five minutes. Join us at The Gypsy Mama's Five Minute Friday, she'll give the topic you just have to write.

Catch...

Tomorrow, I have nothing planned. I am excited to have nothing. These past two weeks have been stressful at work. Which as much as we try not to it spills over to the home.

I need to stop and Catch my breath. Sleep in.. read a book.. sew...pray
Things that will fill me up, restore.

We all need that from time to time. A day of nothing. To decompress

I hope to get some pictures of Mouse and fall. To just be present in the moment of the day with no worries pressing in.

I want to have my breath Catch in the beauty of rest.

~ Cassi


Pin It

Forget the lyrics

When Mouse and I are in the vehicle we listen to "rock and roll" as she puts it.  I have paid little attention to lyrics in songs before because she was not at the point of understanding them.  Well that is changing, she is now asking what songs mean and works at singing along with some of them.  That is starting to cause an issue.  Some songs have great music, instrumentation, but not great lyrics for a youngster.  Example is the band Foster the People with the song Pumped Up Kicks  In the song it talks about outrunning a gun, running faster then my bullet.  Great, the beat of the song is fun and easy to move to, imagine me bopping my head up an down, fun right.  Well the lyrics are not what I want Mouse listening to.  So now what? Change the station when a song I like comes on with lyrics that may not be appropriate or hope Mouse is like me when listening to songs.  Just enjoy the song and don't think to deep about the meaning of the song.
We do luck out with Mouse and her music tastes.  She would prefer to listen to Frank Sinatra over Justin Bieb...oh I can't even right his name! 

~Steve

Pin It

What I Wore Wednesday ~ Long Sweater

This fall I have been wearing the long sweater look quite a bit. In fact I just picked up this one from Ann Taylor that I am soo in love with. It is very thin so it's great for layering.

I wore it here with a dress, that is way to short for any respectable Mom to wear on it's own.

I paired it with of course my favorite pair of American Rag jeans. They are really the best brand out there. For two reasons 1. Super stretchy so they are very comfortable 2: because they are super stretchy you can buy a size smaller than you normally would!

Sweater: Ann Taylor

Jeans: American Rag- Macy's

Shoes: DSW

Dress: So old I don't remember, at the moment

I also took this thick sweater out of storage in the past month. I love cuddling into it. The only down side is this sweater sheds more than our cats.

Here is how I wore it after work. (Pretty soon you will not see bare concrete floors!)

Jeans & Sweater: Macy's

T-Shirt: Target

Boots: Bass Outlet
And here is how I wore the comfy sweater at work.

Same Sweater, Boots and T-shirt. Then I paired it with a skirt: Thrifted and a pair of gray tights from Target. Necklace is also thrifted I believe.

Check out all the other girls at

Pleated Poppy- What I wore Wednesday

Cassi

Pin It

Compassion International - Zaida Update

It's been a while since I have posted about Zaida. You can check out how we became sponsors here. Check it out, then come back.

OK, back good.

I still sometimes get lost in thought on how different our two worlds are. I think of Zaida's mother often. Does she fear the same things? What are her hopes and dreams for her daughter? What is it like for her being connected to another Mom thousands of miles away? Does she love us as much as we love her little girl?

Someday I hope to go on a Compassion Blog trip to answer all those questions, to visit the little girl who change our perspective.

Zaida is doing great. The letters we are receiving from her are becoming more thought out. One of my favorite letters was when Zaida gave us a recipe for hen soup. I hope to adapt it to make it for Mouse one of these days.

Remember October is the month to get the Christmas donations to Compassion. There is a lag time in dollars to presents being available at Christmas so get your donations in soon. If you are not a sponsor yet, what better Christmas present to give a child.

~Cassi


Pin It

Five Minute Friday ~

I am starting to look forward to Fridays for more the just the end of the work week. But to enjoy the freedom in writing Five Minute Fridays give. Join up in the freedom at Gypsy Mama.

Five minutes of writing on the topic... Ordinary  Starts now.

I have always had a grass is green complex. (or so I have been told) The ordinary in others always seems more exciting than the ordinary of my own.

But when I get to the greener grass I start to see the brown Ordinary grass shooting through theirs too. Then the process starts all over again.

I am learning to seek out the green in my own yard. Understanding the ordinary life of mine is green. There is love, comfort and history in the ordinary moments.

This weekend I will delight in the ordinary and seek out the green.

~ Cassi

Pin It

Restaurant Review - Spill the Wine

Cassi and I took in a new restaurant on Tuesday night.  Spill the Wine is located in Minneapolis.  We have had a gift card for almost a year.  It was time to use it for date night!

Steve's Review:
I checked out the Spill the Wine website before we went.  It has a small food menu but enough to meet most standards.  I decided on the burger with fancy fries.  The decor the restaurant was low key, brown brick with art work on the walls.  The bar was very interesting.  The legs of the bar were old wine barrels.  That was the most interesting part of the decor.
We ordered cheese curds for appetizer and wine flight.  I ordered wine from Luna, Cassi ordered wine from Middle Sister.  The wines tasted good and it was fun to state which one we liked best to worst.  I am not a big red wine fan but may have found one to enjoy.
The food arrived and we dug in.  My burger was thick, at least an inch but not done the way I asked.  There was no real flavor to the burger which made it disappointing.  I was excited for the fancy fries, as they are called, but again became disappointed with the fries that were limp and not crispy.  The seasoning on the fries was good, something I would like to try at home.
Overall the experience was not one where I would recommend, or want to go back to Spill the Wine.  I am glad we tried it and enjoyed the different wines but the food just did not match up.

Cassi's
So one thing I have to give the place is high marks in customer service. A year ago I had made reservations and a week before we were to go they called and asked if I could reschedule for another night. I explained that we were going to be in town for a play so I was unable to reschedule. Then they explained that someone had booked out the restaurant for the night. So as an apology they sent me a gift card. It was something that was over the top in customer service to me with a two week notice I had plenty of time find a new place to eat and yet they still sent the card.
Now for date night. The place is very unassuming in decor. The menu is limited but eclectic enough to fit most tastes. We started with the wine flights. As far as wine flights go it was a good selection and decent price. The cheese curds with truffle oil and capers was my favorite part of the meal. The capers were baked into cheese curds. I ordered the grilled the skirt steak and sweet potato. The steak was a little tough for my likes. The sweet potato had really good flavor but something seemed off. That could easily be because I don't have much experience with sweet potatoes. In general I would not recommend the place to someone for the food but a place to sip a wine and chat definitely.

~ Steve & Cassi
Pin It

What I wore Wednes to Work and Home

Somedays I think I have really changed my stule then other days I realize I really haven't changed that much. Take this current outfit, peasant tops and jeans have been a staple for me since before highschool. (It was popular back then promise.) Through the years I have kept the looking going, (yes even in the early 2000 when it wasn't so popular)

But I still want my style to evolve and change as I have through the years. Looking at this outfit I feel like it lends it's self to a good mix of the old me and the new.

Starting with the new me:

Shoes: DSW

These skyhigh heels are a new look for me. These shoes add the spark of fun to this outfit, I feel they show off the side of me that has changed the most in my style. Adding that funky twist.

Mouse wanted in on the picture, since we had similar shirts on that day. The peasant top (JC Penny's) and jeans (American Rag, Macy's) show the comfort I have in knowning what I like. They are my staples, my go to outfit.

The necklace was made by my parents (in their hippy years). Yes, they made rock jewelry and sold it out of a van. (OK the van part I always add not sure if they even owned a van but it makes a funny visual for me.) This piece represents where I have come from and the style I take from both my parents.

This is how I pull this mix off for work. The longer sweater the new touch I have added in the past two years.

How has your style evolved or stayed the same?

Check out all the other girls at

Pleated Poppy- What I wore Wednesday

~ Cassi

Pin It

How build a terrarium

Gussy hosted a blogger meet up on Sunday at Amelia's Floral for some of the Minnesota bloggers. She planned it just perfectly. It was a an excellent idea to build a craft while meeting. In this meeting we built a terrarium. Liz the instructor was adorable. She has such a positive spirit.

Amelia's provided this huge fish bowls to start terrarium experience. She explained that you needed to add a layer of charcoal and then sand. She said this helped the watering process. After that we added a thin layer of black dirt.

Then the fun part picking out the plants. Either dry plants or wet based plants such as ferns was our options. I found this cute little one called angel tears that had orange berries.

We added some rocks for looks and peat moss for ground coverage. I left room in mine so I could find some miniature to add to it. I hope to find a small gnome and mushroom.

Here is my finished terrarium. Thanks again Gussy.

~ Cassi
Pin It

Comfort Zone

Yesterday I stepped outside my comfort zone. I attended a blogger meet-up. My first! I also decided that I really should do this alone.  I didn't bring my Mom, a friend or Steve. This in it's self would rack me full of nerves. I always bring someone with. But I felt led not too. To meet the girls who's blogs I follow, to be the unread blogger of the group.

As I stood at the door of Amelia's Floral, the bitter aroma of Gigi's coffee filled my senses as anxiety started to take over. But the beautiful eclectic feel of Amelia's and the friendly staff started to easy the nerves.

I was nervous about being the non-city girl of the group. But soon I was laughing with Heather about giving out generic locations, because no one knows our small towns. We are eight minutes apart! The group turned out to be quite diverse in locations. Gussy put together a great group to build Terrarium. (more about that tomorrow)

Thank you Gussy for a fun afternoon but thank you more for pushing us outside our comfort zones.

~ Cassi
Pin It