The uniqueness of squash!

So the meal plan for this week includes!

Monday

Lunch: Weekend leftovers

Dinner: Grilled salmon with creamy pesto sauce and broccoli

Tuesday

Lunch: Spaghetti

Dinner: Mushroom squash pizza

Wednesday

Lunch: Sandwiches

Dinner: Steak and baked potatoes

Thursday

Lunch: Squash and cherry tomato quiche cups

Dinner: Taco Salad

Friday

Lunch: Sandwiches

Dinner: Leftovers

Recipes:

Grilled Salmon with Creamy Pesto Sauce: Recently at my Buy-Low they were offering a sale on Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and, if you bought 4 you got this really amazing cookbook filled with 70 different recipes including appetizers, entrees, sides, and desserts! The cookbook is called "Spread a Little Joy" and if you can get your hands on one I would highly recommend it! This recipe came from it. I'll just be posting the original amounts but you can scale it down accordingly (I'll mostly be winging it myself). The recipe also states to barbecue the salmon but I'll just be baking it in the oven at about 350 F then top with the cream cheese sauce. I'm eating this with a side of broccoli also topped with the sauce, but this could be good with practically anything you can think of; carrots, peas, rice, quinoa, etc.

Image found here

A Beautiful Mess

I'm sure all of us girls have experienced this before at some point....the tangled mess of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces in all their knotted glory. You're in a rush and you have your eyes set on the perfect necklace to complete your outfit but first you have to untie a billion knots! Sounds familiar? Well I decided I was sick of this game, being a mom I barely have time to throw together an outfit as is, never mind having to fight my accessories! 

I wanted something that would function better then what my current situation did.. I was also aiming for a look that could almost double as artwork since it would be put up on the wall in my bedroom. And so I put on my thinking cap and set to work looking for that flash of genius when whazzam! If I want artwork why not use a frame? I set of to the local thrift store and found a frame the perfect size and colour. (Sorry I didn't take a picture of the frame before I set to work.) I also picked up some jewellery wire from the dollar store for a buck. The stuff I bought was 26 gauge wire, it was the thickest they had but I would recommend something just a bit thicker if you're hanging heavy necklaces because mine does sag a bit.

What's for dinner moommm?

On Friday when the flyers come in I always like to make a full week's meal plan. I find this helps me best utilize what I have in the house, what's on sale, and saves me time and money. If I don't have regular meals planned I'm more prone to eating cheap, processed, canned meals or even worse...fast food. If anything adds up the budget fastest, it's eating out. I also find that if I'm not looking for specific items for meals I spend way more in the grocery store and indulge more on things like junk food, ice cream, appetizers etc.

Image found here

My meal plans are made from Monday to Friday and they include both lunch and dinner, aside from Friday's dinner. I don't normally include that meal or the weekends because my boyfriend, Charles, either comes over or I go to his place and so we come up with meals, and shop for them, together. I also like to include leftovers sometimes, since I sometimes manage to make way more than I could eat in one sitting, and it's a more sure way of using them up and not wasting them. Monday lunches are usually just consistent of leftovers from the weekend.

So I figure, since I'm creating these meal plans each week that I'll share them each Sunday morning so you guys can steal some of the recipes if you like. Some of the recipes are ones I've been making for a while, some are extremely basic (chicken or salmon salad anyone?), and some are new recipes. If I ever try a new recipe I'll let you know how it went the next week!

This week I'm wanting some really eezy-peezy meals since I have huge exams all week, but I promise there will be more interesting recipes as we go along! I'm dying to experiment making my own shrimp rolls and wonton soup!

Monday

Lunch: Leftovers from the weekend.

Dinner: Dutch babies.

Tuesday

Lunch: Store-bought roast chicken and store-bought macaroni salad.

Dinner: Rice salad with beans, brocolli, peppers and onion.

Wednesday

Lunch: Roast chicken sandwich melts

Dinner: Baked salmon and salad with a balsamic fig vinegar dressing.

Thursday

Lunch: Leftover rice salad

Dinner: Chicken noodle soup

Friday

Lunch: Squash ravioli with garlic butter sauce.

Now for the recipes!

Imperfectly Perfect - Before & Afters

This is the story of my home. My photos aren't perfect (I'm still mastering my camera and photoshop), and my house isn't perfect....but it's imperfectly perfect. My house will never look like the magazines without a single item out of place. As long as my daughter is awake there will always be food found on the floor, there will be toys scattered around, and chores that have been put aside for playtime..but it's my house, it's cozy and it's real. Why live in a house that can't be lived in right? Every night, however, I do take an hour to tidy up.....hence why these pictures were taken at night haha.

My house took a very long time to complete but it was worth every second. It all started in, I believe, July of 2009. I was already 7 months pregnant, (due in September!) living in a tiny room in the back of a mobile home/shop, going across to my parent's mobile home for meals. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. However, I needed a home for my new baby. Cue superman, my dad. He really did not want me to get an apartment and so he discovered that some guy was selling this mobile home for a good price, in the same mobile home park that we were already in. Yes it was in horrible shape, I'm not sure how they even lived in it, but it had potential and a crazy, amazing view. We snagged it up and set to work. Sadly my dad could only work on the renovations on the weekend because he still drove truck during the week across Canada and the States however my mom did what she could during the week (cleaning up, mudding and sanding drywall, painting etc.). I wasn't really able to contribute much due to my pregnancy and the toxic smells and excess dust. We still made time for play though, this picture was taken on my 21st birthday, the day before my daughter was born!

So with my fast approaching duedate and my house not being anywhere move in ready, I made a spot for Anna in my bedroom and in the parent's house and we made do with what we had. Finally, beginning of December, my bedroom, Anna's bedroom, and the bathroom were done and I had a fridge for basic snacks so we moved in (we still ate regular meals at my parents). The drywall was also all done and painted so we didn't have to worry about excess dust or paint fumes for the sake of the baby. Luckily it only took a few more weeks and I had a full working kitchen in time to put on a small Christmas dinner and I was able to put up a Christmas tree so Anna didn't have to miss out (despite being only 3 months old, I'm crazy like that haha). By January the "sunroom" was done. I could hear the angels singing, my daughter and I finally had a real house and I just had to make it a home. 

I owe both my parents so much for the time, effort, and initial loan they put into this house for us both. It was the best gift I've ever been given, and while many a time I was cranky that it was taking too long, I was, and always will be, grateful. 

Now let's bring on the before and after!

Dreams and Dentures

Wow! My first post! With this post I intend to answer a few questions and state why I'm starting this blog.

First off, this blog is about the story of my life...from my 14-month-old daughter's milestones, to my thoughts on our health and diet, my most recent home decor projects, and even the challenges I come across as I learn to navigate power tools, build furniture, and voyeur into attempting actual home renovations all while wielding my pink hammer (yes I do own a pink hammer!) or sippy cup, as duty calls!

Basically everyone reading this already knows me, but hopefully, some long lost stranger will stumble upon my blog one day and they'll want to know who the heck I am....perhaps? At least a teensy bit? In any case, my name is Pamela and I'm a 22-year-old single mom to a beautiful little girl, Anna. 

I currently own my own mobile home looking over the river, it's my first, non-rental home, and it's also my baby. My parents helped me (more like did all the work while I supervised ... woops!) take this mobile home from drab to fab (that's the understatement of the year), and in my next post on Thursday I'll be sharing the epic journey that was embarked on...but first I'll have to take some more recent pictures!

So why am I just now starting a blog? Well, for the past half a year I've said "I should start a blog". I see tons of other people joining in link parties, sharing their fabulously decorated mantels and home reno's, and wishing I could join in.There's also been one too many times I've wanted to post a facebook status about something I feel real strongly about but it's way too long to fit so I shrug my shoulders and keep my opinions to myself. It is, however,  a scary thought to truly expose your thoughts and projects to the world...wondering if anyone will read it, if anyone will like it, I'm sure people will hate some of it, and some thoughts may stir up controversy. Plus, I'll be honest, I like to procrastinate. Hell, this post was supposed to be out yesterday but I got a case of cold feet. I promise it won't happen again! But just as those other blogs prompted me to do something out of my comfort zone, to learn new skills, and to really push myself, maybe one day you'll be inspired to think a little differently, do something out of your comfort zone, or to pursue your own dreams whatever they may be!

So ultimately this blog is my way of spurring my creativity, to inspire me to put my thoughts into actions, to share my latest projects (the good, the bad, and the ugly!) and ideas with friends and family, and to hopefully meet some fellow DIY blogger enthusiasts. Thus, I just have to say, thanks for reading and enjoy the ride, I'm sure it'll be a bumpy one!

First two images taken personally, last image found here.