I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Monday, August 14, 2023

Recipes, Dabbling, New Buys and an Amazing Sunset, 2023

 

 

 

 


 

 

 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
 
 I now post 3 TIMES A WEEK on MONDAY, WEDNESDAY and FRIDAYS!!!!
 
 
As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it....
 
 
 
 A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS
 
I enjoy reading your comments and will return the favor by visiting and commenting on your blog or reply to you directly here if you do not have a blog but I do have my comment section set to Moderation due to spammers and hackers so your comment will not appear immediately...
And since I have a very busy life, like most of us do, it may take me awhile to return your comments but I promise I will....
 
 
 
 PINTEREST
 
If you would like to Pin my pictures, please click on them to enlarge them to do so....
 

 

In my last post, I shared how I decorated this year's version of a Fairy Garden on the Mantel of the faux fireplace in the Sitting Room....




 

 

 Click HERE if you missed that post!!

 

And now for a few Personal Notes...
 
 

We have been pup siting for the past few days while our son Jim and DIL Danielle are on vacation in NYC, seeing 2 concerts and maybe a Broadway show or 2 as they await the birth of their twin girls.......

Uncle Joey was thrilled to have some time off so he could spend time also with the pups.....


They do catch up on their sleep when they are here......





 
Definitely Sisters.....


On August 12th, our Wedding Day, it was 45 years since we moved into our townhouse....

Joe got Take Home from on of our favorite local places, Valley Seafood!

Joe and I split the piece of haddock, which I really think looks like a Whale, and the scallops....

I had the crab cake while Joe and Joey split the 2 orders of Fries.....

Joe and I also had Cole Slaw and tartar sauce....

While Joey had chicken fingers as he does not eat fish of any kind.....

All this.... Dinner for 3.....for a little over $40 and we enjoyed in the privacy of our own home which we prefer to eating out in a restaurant any day!!

Not sure how much longer we will be staying in this house as we need to have a new roof, our SECOND new roof, put on next year....

I am so tired of being a homeowner and would LOVE to move to a maintenance free apartment!!!



Last week, it was finally cool enough that I could use the oven and not suffer from Heat Stroke when doing so....
 
 I made a double batch of Zucchini Bread.....


I cut them in half and froze them to save for the upcoming Holiday Season, leaving only one out....

I then looked up a few different recipes for Zucchini Cheese Muffins.....

 I combined ingredients from a few different recipes and came up with these which I baked in a muffin pan...


They are not sweet but rather like a meatball....

I ate them dipped in BBQ sauce....


 Zucchini Cheese Muffins....
 
2 cups grated zucchini, 2 eggs, 1 cup of bread crumbs, 1/3 cup Parm cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, season with what you like...I used Italian Seasoning, pepper, onion flakes, garlic salt and chives...Spray muffin pan with Pam. Bake at 350 for around a half hour...Serve hot and can dip in BBQ sauce or other sauces...

 
Then I looked up Chicken recipes made with Rotisserie Chicken from Sam's Club.....

I found a Rice and Chicken Bake that I altered a bit....
 
 
 
 This was all that was left from this large baking dish!!


Needless to say, it was a HIT!!

Even with My Picky Joe!!

Chicken Rice Bake:
 
 A whole Sam's Club Chicken with the meat off and fork shredded about 4 cups, 2 cups of Minute Rice..
  Original Recipe calls for a can of Cream of Celery, a can of Cream of Mushroom and a can of Cream of Chicken. 
 I substituted with one can of plain cream of chicken and one can of cream of chicken with herbs and one can of cheddar cheese soup....
  1 cup of water and 1 cup of milk. Mix everything together...
You can also throw in some shredded cheddar cheese or mozzarella which I did not have so I just broke up pieces of American cheese and threw them into the mix...
Season with what you like. I used the same Seasonings as in the previously mentioned recipe and also poultry Seasoning and some sprinkles of Chicken Griller seasoning...
Bake at 400 for 50 - 60 minutes , uncovered... 

I think the Cheddar Cheese soup really added to this recipe as we like cheese...
 

I have been doing a bit of "Dabbling".....


I decided to embellish some of the "Bee" things that I recently acquired, getting them ready for next year...

You may remember that I bought these at Dollar Tree not long ago.....



I added black gimp trim and red and yellow ribbon flowers......

 
With an occasional sunflower....





These were gifts from my friend Anne Marie...


And this is how I embellished the chalkboard.....



I decided to add some yellow trim to my red and white checked valances and cafe curtain that I made from a tablecloth for the Kitchen.....

 
 I use these right after Easter til after July 4th...
 
 
 
 For late Summer/Early Fall, I decorate the Kitchen in an Apple/Sunflower theme so I did a bit of dabbling with some older items I had already along with some new things that I recently bought....
 
 I added a strip of venise lace to the bottom of the Sunflower cafe curtains and valance that I bought last year.....

 
 
 
 This was the top part of the cafe curtains that I cut off to size them to fit the area under my microwave on the counter bar that I designed and had a friend build for me....

The valance was plain so this year, I added a gold tassel trim to it....


This was a gift from my friend Anne Marie last year.....

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9-cuBPlzatwVpZwog76-7LTQl87iu8IJ9EfFAZ-YeMBIbQc6Ot65UiYEX_myVY3-DaD-yXf_-Pnd8NhHQI7yaRmju_jtXH3d8UzghdJ69YFcT15T2gXQIJf5LrSuxXxeioASEbVKYLIOtYZLh6Vx_a_QQwBvlzlOhpN2spaNXSEn34OL0JCb7NhF/s3667/103_9983.JPG

I added red gimp and a few sunflowers to it....


I recently bought these at Dollar Tree .....



I added red bric a brac trim , bows and sunflowers to these as well......


 
 
 
I also bought this at Dollar Tree.....


I added green gimp trim and sunflowers with a red bow to this one....


I added gimp and sunflowers to these also....

 

 
 
And also to these from Hobby Lobby......



 
I bought this last year and also embellished it a bit.....


I will be sharing how I decorated my Kitchen in this Apple /Sunflower theme for Late Summer/Early Fall later on in the week.....

Some New Buys.....

I bought these for the Fall in Big Lot's , of all places!!!

 
They were $14.98, marked 50% off and I had a coupon for $5 off $15 so they 
were only $5 each!!!



I bought these in Gabes.......

 
The apron was only $3.99....

 
And this pretty Fall throw was only $8.99.....


More Dollar Tree Buys.....

 
2 picks.....

 
This will be used for my Fall Beverage Bar....


A Halloween Dollar General Haul.....


These were $1 each......

 
I plan on using these as outside decorations this year because Joe and Joey keep encouraging me to add more Halloween to the front porch and yard even though we really do not get any Trick or Treaters....

I absolutely fell in love with these.....


This was $6......




This was $1.....


And so was this garland....


And this was $2.....


And so were these.....


 


I will be using these in my Dining Room.....
 
These will be used on my Kitchen Hutch, which I decorate in a Whimsical Halloween theme...

 
This was $1 and you know I will be doing a bit of 'Dabbling" with this sign...

 
Joe insisted on buying this for $3 as it lights up....

 
 He loves to walk around the stores and tries out every Halloween decoration that lights up or has a button that says "Press Me'....

LOL!
 
These were $1 each.........


And this was $3.......


I used a $5 off $25 coupon for this haul, paying under $20 for it........


And I will end this post with an amazing Sunset from our Front Porch....








 I thought that maybe by losing over 50 pounds that I would not mind the heat and humidity as much as I have in past Summers but that was not the case....

I seem to have minded this Summer much more because even though we actually did not have any Heat Waves, which are defined here as 3 consecutive dates of 90 and above temperatures, the humidity and dew points have been pretty high and that triggers my auto immune Heat and Sun Sensitivity issues...
 
So I am really looking forward to Falloween, which has always been my favorite Season of the Year!!!
 
But on WEDNESDAY, I will be going back to Summer to share how my upstairs Sitting Room is decorated in a Garden theme along with my collection of tea cups and tea pots....

So I hope you will stop by to visit again on WEDNESDAY.....  
 
 
 Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


I am linking up to these parties:
 
 
  THURSDAY
 
 
 
 Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!
 


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6 comments:

  1. Miss MerryAugust 14, 2023 at 9:10 PM

    You have been crafting! I always think the items you buy are so cute "as is" and then I am so impressed when you jazz them! Happy Anniversary!!! I know what you mean about being a homeowner. I still call my windows my "new windows" and my husband was saying we need to set aside money to replace them in a few years. The "new roof" won't be far behind. I hate spending money, especially big money, on maintenance, LOL! Your dinner looked delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dee | GrammysGrid.comAugust 17, 2023 at 6:13 PM

    I like the bee décor finds and it looks like you're getting ready for Halloween too! Thanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedLinkParty 125. Pinned.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JeanieAugust 17, 2023 at 7:03 PM

    Your tags and bookmarks are so cute. And fallish. I am SO not ready for fall! And those sunsets are magnificent!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joanne August 21, 2023 at 7:24 AM

    Those recipes sound delicious! You did a great job on your dabbles and making those craft finds more uniquely you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Vintage Style GalAugust 22, 2023 at 3:01 PM

    I love that plaid jacket Debbie, I am a bit mad for plaid, lol. I will have to try your recipes. I have to say, I am ready for fall, the weather has been too stifling hot. Homeownership is not always the happiest of moments, we are needing to remodel a bathroom we were not expecting due to a leak and trying to find someone is not the easiest.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Laurie CoverAugust 28, 2023 at 7:02 PM

    I love the bee stuff! It’s so cheerful!

    Thanks for sharing your photos at the Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop

    Laurie

    ReplyDelete

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