Fall Pie Pockets...

Has anyone run by Williams-Sonoma lately? Y'all, they have the most adorable pie molds for fall. They have little apples and pumpkins. Absolutely darling for this season. I wonder if you could freeze them like a pie? That way you could pull them out on a weekend and warm them up in the oven.

Friday Date Night

My husband and I have designated Friday nights as "Date Night" so we can keep some spice in our marriage. Every week I try to come up with a new date idea. Last week it was bowling but this week I came up with a really great date. Our very own drive-in movie. Oh how I miss the drive-in. I remember going to the drive in to watch the movie, Grease. My older sister and a group of her friends took me and my best friend. She wasn't thrilled about it but got stuck babysitting and was forced to drag us along. It was the coolest thing ever!!! I ate milk duds and they even tasted better at the drive-in movie. Well, these days it would be difficult to find the traditional outdoor theater so we are going to create our own drive in movie date night (minus the car and being outdoors).

I'm planning on throwing an over sized blanket on the living room floor along with throw pillows. And turning off everything but the television.



I'm going to order Chinese take out (yummy).



Finally our movie feature will be "The Twilight Zone." I bought the series off of Amazon.com and I can't wait to snuggle with hubby and watch the old episodes.

Who are you? Betty or Veronica?

Did anyone else grow up reading Archie comics? When I was a girl my best friend and I use to read them on our summer break. I remember being about 8 or 9 and laying by the pool, sipping Orange Crush from the glass bottles, and reading about the love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica. Reading Archie was like watching High School Musical for kids today.

Archie comics have been around for 70 years, y'all. And for 70 years Betty and Veronica have been competing for Archie's love. Not anymore. Archie finally made up his mind and proposed to Veronica. C an you believe he proposed to Veronica?!! I always thought deep down Betty was his girl (heavy sigh).....


Who are you most like, Betty or Veronica?

A RETRO KITCHEN

I'm so excited to share with y'all one of the coolest sites I've come across for the kitchen. Y'all know how much I adore retro things and I've found a company that makes new retro appliances. Now y'all can remodel that kitchen into your retro utopia. They also carry them in several colors including pink. A pink kitchen, Y'all!!! A girl can only dream...Well, I'm very fond of red. I would do mine in red and have cherry accessories. I think I'm going to slip the website onto my hubby's desk (wink). Here's the site if y'all are interested http://bigchillfridge.com/site/fridges





Of course if I'm going to have red kitchen appliances I would have to top it off with red accessories......

A Retro Date.....

My hubby called and is getting off work early this afternoon. Friday is our "date night" so we decided to have a retro date and meet at Princess Hamburgers for old time burgers and shakes. Then head over to the bowling alley. We both like to bowl and it'll be a good way to stay cool indoors while having fun. What are y'alls plans this weekend?

Retro Lunch Boxes

Summer break is about over and kiddo's are heading back to school. I think back when I was a girl and what I remember of my school days. I remember those big green vinyl seats on the bus, bus fumes, individual metal desks that had a flip top, the smell of chalk dust, standing in line to sharpen my pencil, the recess bell, playing on old metal playground equipment (type that would burn your butt if it was too hot), and carrying my old metal lunchbox filled with PB&J sandwiches, apples, cookies, and change to buy milk in the cafeteria (I would purchase chocolate milk of course). Look'n over my list there's gotta be at least 4 violations with OSHA, LOL!!!

I believe when I was a kid my favorite part of the day was lunch. Now that I'm all grown up not much has changed, LOL! I thought it would be fun to look up retro lunchboxes and see what they might be worth these days. If y'all have any stashed up in the attic or closets you might want to dust them off. They are worth a pretty little penny.

Since this is a retro blog I decided to use metal lunchboxes from the early 1950's. I looked them up to see what they have sold for. This is what I found.....


Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck (1954) sold $535.25 -$700


Davey Crockett (1954) sold $695.00- $900

Hopalong Cassidy (1954) sold $450- $1000.00

Who would have thought to have invested in lunchboxes when we were kids?

A Diet Nightmare!!!

This is a true story, y'all! If you spend any quality time around my house y'all would figure out pretty fast that my hubby and I are both very competitive with each other. Oh, it's not the uncomfortable kind...we like to kid and joke around. Even our tennis class laughs when we play against each other. We are both a good sport about it all but we like to win (and remind the other by breaking into a silly victory dance).

Well, we both need to drop a few pounds and decided to challenge each other by who could drop the most weight first. We decided to cut out sweets (we love us some chocolate). The first day went by ok but the second (I was crawling the walls). I was detoxing for some chocolate really bad. The third day I was in sugar shock and started to feel weak as my body was adjusting to no chocolate in the blood stream. My husband was going through it as well but being stubborn we didn't dare break down. Neither one of us wanted to admit to being the weakest link so we concentrated on the taste of sweet victory.

The other night I was awoken by a sharp pain in my shoulder. And when I say a sharp pain I mean it was an excruciating pain. I couldn't believe my eyes as they shot open. My husband was biting me!!! I slapped his head and leaped from the bed. I screamed, "What on the earth do you think you're doing?" My husband was dazed and confused as I flipped on the light. No joke this is what he says, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bite you. I was dreaming I was eating a donut (as he wiped the drool from his mouth). It was huge and chocolate but no matter how hard I tried to bite down I couldn't get it in my mouth." I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants. I told him, "Get up. I'm making some chocolate chip cookies before anyone else gets hurt." I'll tell ya, if Weight Watchers had a crises line......LOL!!!

Sew, what are you up to?

Who loves to sew? I've been getting my holiday things together. Before you know it the holidays will be here. Lately I can't find any cute decorations for Halloween. I want to create my own Halloween table setting. I bought the cutest fabric to make place settings. It's so cute!!! Once I finish them I'll post. What type of sewing projects are y'all working on?

Household cleaning tip of the week

I don't know about y'all but I love hearing any household tip that makes my life a bit easier at home. I take great pride and joy in caring for my family by creating a clean and comfy environment. Keeping house has never been an easy chore and I truly appreciate all the advice I can get. I've decided to research household hints and tips and share them with you. This week I'm posting on vinegar. Y'all, vinegar is a powerful thing! I'm only going to list five ways but it's a miracle worker and has thousands of ways to help the average housewife.

5 ways you can clean with vinegar

1.) Fruit flies- You can get rid of those little boogers by setting out a small dish of undiluted vinegar.

2.) Cleans mildew- Wiping down walls, doors, and showers with white distilled vinegar with a cloth or sponge.

3.) Cloudy glassware- Soak a paper towel in full-strength white distilled vinegar and wrap around inside and outside the glass. Wait a few minutes and then rinse with warm soapy water.

4.) Clean refrigerator- Clean the shelves and walls of your fridge with half and half solution of water and white distilled vinegar. Gets the crusties, nasties, and smelly's out of that fridge.

5.) Remove stains from teacups- Scrub gently with equal parts of baking soda and vinegar to remove those pesty stains.

If y'all have any household tips for vinegar please share!!!

New Recipe

TEXAS CHILI

Ingredients

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 large sweet onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, minced

3 cans (15 oz.) of pinto beans

2 (28 oz.) of cans diced tomatoes

4 (8oz.) cans tomato juice

3 jalapeno peppers, minced

1/2 c. chili powder

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1.) Cook and stir beef, onion, and bell pepper in a large pot over medium heat until the beef is brown and onion and pepper are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain grease from beef.

2.) Stir in beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, jalapenos, chili powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Bring mixture to a slow boil; cover and reduce heat. Simmer chili at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so that it does not stick. This chili can be simmered for several hours; the longer you simmer, the more flavor you get.

* Serve with your favorite cornbread!

RETRO ROCKET THURSDAY

For Retro Rocket Thursday we are going back in time, y'all! Put on your space suits gals as we travel back in time to the year 1950.
Average house cost ~ $8,450.00

Average yearly salary ~ $3,210.00

Cost of a gallon of gas~ 18 cents

Average cost of a new car~$1,510.00

Black & white T.V. ~$249.95

James Dean gets his break when he appears in a Coca~Cola Advertisement

POPULAR MOVIES

Cinderella

Samson & Delilah

Sunset Blvd
Father of the Bride
King of Solomon's Mines
Annie Get Your Gun


Nat King Cole's MONA LISA came out

The Korean War breaks out

I just finished watching one of my favorite movies, "The Stepford Wives." Stepford looks like the perfect community to me (minus the computer chip thingy). I love the wardrobe they used on this film. And the hair, make up, and accessories...

Family Fun on a Budget!

Doesn't it seem like everything cost a small fortune these days. Is it me or has the prices increased and the quality decreased? Everything is overpriced and built shotty at best (nothing built to last). I went car shopping last year and about passed out on how much the prices have soared in the past 4 years. And my husband and I went to a movie; my goodness it was just the two of us. Now I know why my mom and aunts make a big deal over that senior discount, LOL! It makes me wonder how a family can afford to do anything. When I was a kid we had all sorts of fun and it didn't cost nearly as much as it does today. But that's when socks, underwear, and a bike were considered Christmas gifts. You should see what my niece and nephew get for Christmas!!! I think my sister takes a small loan out during the holidays, LOL!!! I think a good pair of socks would change those kids. Did anyone else get socks for Christmas? And yesterday I was at the outlets and some kid had a nicer phone than me. How does that happen? He doesn't even hold down a job? Priorities in this country are out of control if you ask me. That's how we got into this deficit mess. I think we need to pull back the reins a little and begin to watch those pennies. So, I began to think of cheap but fun things a family can do on a weekend budget. This is what I came up with:

1.) Zoo- Most cities have them and they don't really cost much for admissions. They usually have activities and shows too. You could take the entire family to the zoo to learn about the animals that God created.

2.) Board Games- Most of us all have some collecting dust in the closets. Dust them off and sit around the dinner table one afternoon or evening. Set out some snacks and sodas. You would be amazed how fast time goes by and how much fun you'll have.

3.) Hiking- There are thousands of National Parks and hiking trails around our great country. Look up on the Internet to check and see where the nearest park is located and put on your hiking boots. Pack a picnic lunch and fill up an ice chest. These are the memories you'll cherish not the trip to the mall or department store.

4.) Museum- It's a great way to stay cool this summer and you will learn all sorts of cool things about your state and city. We love visiting local museums.

5.) Bike Ride- Ride your bike at the local park or bike trail. Afterwards you can go out for a scoop of ice cream.

This is my list for cheap entertainment. I would love to hear your suggestions on how to have family fun on a budget. Looking forward to reading your ideas!!!