Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

FAVORITE THINGS: MUSINGS OF A VINTAGE JUNKIE






Hello, friends! It's time for another installment of Favorite Things!
My guest blogger is AnnMarie, from Musings of a Vintage Junkie.
AnnMarie is from upstate New York, and, as her blog title implies,
she's crazy about all things vintage.
When she isn't out thrifting (which is often!), 
she's writing about her other passions.......
baking, decorating, gardening and family. 

Here's AnnMarie!
 
 
I was so excited when Amy asked me to write a post for her Favorite Things feature on her blog.

I have thought about writing my own favorite things post for a long time and just haven't till now. When I think about what my favorite things are there are too many to list! So, I will focus on the Fall season, which is my favorite, and things in my every day life right now.

These are a few of my favorite things......

The first thing in the morning, I look forward to brewing my favorite Starbucks Blonde in my percolator and fill my favorite orange coffee cup up to the brim! It holds 4 cups, but we know that those are small china coffee cup sizes, right? It is how I start every day.


Not that I indulge in the morning mind you, but right now I am craving these two candies. Halloween mallocremes and spiced dots. We found a vendor at a festival with a huge table with bags and bags of all kinds of old fashioned penny candies so I had to get some. I told my husband that we had to get them because my grandchildren love them :-)


Like everyone else, I just love anything pumpkin right now. Not all the crazy things they are adding pumpkin spice to, just pumpkins....all shapes, all sizes, to eat, or to decorate with. 


Our local grocery store makes the most delicious butter cookies. They are my favorites. Oh look! They are pumpkins!


I am loving my new mercury glass pumpkin all lit up at night. What a treasure I found in this!


I just love to see pumpkins at roadside stands. This is over the top pumpkin picking!


I have a thing for leaves and they are a favorite year round but especially in the Fall. When I see the red leaves in perfect condition on the ground I have to pick them up. I preserve them by putting them between two pieces of wax paper and ironing them. They will stay flat and pretty all season.




I just scatter them around my Fall décor....


My favorite past time is to be home during the day and just take my time and putter around the house. I love being in my kitchen in the morning, baking something delicious for breakfast or dessert. On the counter are Banana Chocolate Chip bread and two Zucchini breads.


A favorite way to spend a day out is with my Mom Jane. She is a dear friend that I met at work, when we both worked! Over the years she became like a mom to me and because there is so much evidence that God brought us together, she is my spiritual Mom. When we are out people think we are really mother and daughter. Here we are celebrating her 78th birthday.


One of the comforts in my life, and so a favorite thing, is to sit in the living room with my husband and son after dinner, the kitties nearby, all of us on our own laptop or Ipod watching David Muir on ABC Nightly News. No, the kitties don't have their own laptops!


It would be awful to have a favorite things post without mentioning THRIFTING. Yes, I do it constantly. Every day I am on the lookout for something to pick and fix, or paint and resell. I love the hunt and I love when something sells, meaning someone else loved it too, which makes it all worth it.

Here is my back room filled with stuff waiting for me to list, or repaint, or fix up to sell. I had to stand in the doorway to take the picture because I can barely get in the room. Yeah, I really need to organize it all, NOT one of my favorite things!


One last favorite thing! When my daughters, grandkids, and sisters get together for a great selfie!


Thanks Amy! It was fun thinking about and writing about a few of my favorite things.



Thank you, AnnMarie! 
I love the tip about preserving fall leaves......
I'm going to give that a try!
Please stop over at Ann Marie's blog to say hello,
and also, check out her Etsy shop, which is filled with vintage collectibles! 

Favorite Things will return on November 13th!





Friday, October 28, 2016

BEST OF THE WEEKEND 10.28.16 and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!







Welcome to Best of the Weekend and Happy almost-Halloween!
Are you ready for Ghosts and Goblins,
Witches and Pokemon Go Trainers to come knocking at your door?
We get hundreds of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood,
so I'll be getting tons of candy bags ready this the weekend. 
I may have to sneak a few pieces for myself. 

Here at Best of the Weekend,
you're in for a lot of treats - no tricks - we promise!
Let's get to it and start the party!

 ****************  

We feature all kinds of posts -- 
 recipes, home decor, DIY, gardening, travel, whatevah
so link up your best stuff! 

Non-Bloggers: There are hundreds of fabulous ideas collected here each week;
just click on the links under the thumbnail photos,
and you will be taken directly to the blog post.  

All of our features are pinned to our Best of the Weekend board! 






Last week's most clicked:



Edwardian  Cottage Chic Decor - Heart Handmade UK


A few of my favorites from last week:




 Blood Punch - Shibley Smiles


 Pumpkins Galore - The Red Painted Cottage
Drum Table Restyle- Timeless Creations
 

If you were featured, grab our button!





Let's link up!

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS - ANOTHER VIDEO RECIPE SUCCESS!




SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


 What's your feeling about slow cookers?

Would you say......

A. I'd give up my refrigerator before I'd part with my slow cooker.

B. When they're good, they're very, very good, and when they're bad, they're horrid  
 
C. No thanks, slow-cooking is literally a crock of s - - -.   

 Me? I'd have to answer B.
I know that many of you are crock-addicts,
but many of the slow-cooker recipes I've tried have been disappointing.
In fact, some of them have been downright frightful. 

That's why I am so happy to have discovered this chicken taco recipe.
It adds another really good recipe to my slow-cooking repertoire.
Honestly, I'd love nothing more than to become crock-pot dependent,
and cook the majority of our meals this way.
I'm mean, what's not to like about throwing food into a pot that can be ignored for hours?
I'll take shopping over sautéing any day.
  
SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


I tried this recipe on the recommendation of a Facebook friend
She shared a Buzzfeed recipe video, which you can watch here -- it's only 55 seconds.
(Are you addicted to those videos like I am?) 

The recipe was super-easy, and involved only five ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
 I had most of them on hand, so I was able to get the chicken into the crockpot by 2:00pm, 
meaning dinner would be on the table by 6:00pm.
Best of all, I had four hours to do something other than cook :)

Oh, wait, I lied. 
The best Best BEST part was that this recipe makes a lot of shredded chicken.
I was able to freeze half of it for another meal. 
Yay! Another night of no cooking!


SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS
(Recipe via Buzzfeed)

16 oz. salsa
Juice of 2 limes
1 package taco seasoning (I used 1/2 packet of Trader Joe's -- we don't like it too spicy)
3 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
3 pounds chicken breasts (I used boneless thighs)
Salt and pepper

In the slow cooker, mix salsa, lime juice, taco seasoning and cilantro. 
Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste, then mix it into the sauce.
Cover and cook on high for four hours, or on low for 7-8 hours.
Remove the chicken, shred with two forks, and return to the slow cooker, and stir. 

Serve on soft or hard taco shells, with rice (if desired).
Garnish with toppings of your choice, such as salsa, guacamole and shredded cheese. 


Freeze leftovers in an airtight bag for up to six months.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos got three thumbs up from my family.
Oh, and one paw, since Sadie got to taste a little bit that dropped onto the floor.

These tacos are so good, you'll be doing the salsa in the end zone of your kitchen.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


Other video success recipes you may like:


Chicken Teriyaki | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes






Rosemary and Fig Chicken | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes