My Suburban Kitchen

Delicious Recipes to Keep my Family of Four Happy and Full

Feeling a Little Moody

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We’ve been incredibly busy putting our house back together after Christmas!  I always like to try and start the new year with everything organized and in its proper home.  That has meant a ton of trips to Target and other stores for some supplies.
We’ve also been working on our Master Bedroom (finally!) so I thought I would share with you the semi-official plan for the space.

[West Elm], [Benjamin Moore], [Pottery Barn], [Etsy], [Joann]

We finally picked a bed and chose the Valencia Sleigh Bed and matching bedside tables.  We’re going to paint the rooms Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore so we wanted to keep the bedding light and airy.  The pintucked bedding from West Elm really fits the bill for that.  Our drapes will be made from the P Kaufman Linked fabric.  Add some throw pillows and we’re pretty much done.  All we need are some lamps and those are still in the selection process.

So, where are we with this plan?
The bed is in and set up in our room.  We’ll pick up the bedside tables this week because they finally made it into the store.
I’ve had the bedding for awhile but am keeping it in the closet until all the painting it done.
As for painting…the sample is painted on the wall and we are aiming for actually doing some painting this coming weekend!  YAY!

Anyone have any lamp suggestions?  I’d love to see them.

shannah
 

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

10 Great New Year’s Crafts

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The week between Christmas and New Year’s can be sort of a crafting dead zone. All the Christmas crafts are done and used and Valentine’s is still far away.  Don’t fret…New Year’s has a lot to offer too! Here are ten ideas for New Year’s projects!

1. New Year’s Eve Surprise Bags from Brassy Apple

[Brassy Apple]

2.  Homespun with Love added a little something for New Year’s Eve Cocktail napkins

[Homespun with Love]

3.  Countdown Confetti boxes made over at Carolyn’s Homework

[Carolyn’s Homework]

4.  Fiskars has some countdown corks for cute table decorations!

[Fiskars]

5.  Martha Stewart showcased some beautiful streamers that would look perfect over the party table.

[Martha Stewart]

6.  For all you bakers, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen has Ball Drop Cupcakes.

[Confessions of a Cookbook Queen]

7.  Brassy Apple also shared some homemade New Year’s Eve Shakers.

8.  The 36th Avenue has a fantastic New Year’s Eve kit!

[The 36th Avenue]

9.  Grab some ribbon to make bow tie napkins like Emily Baker.

[Emily Baker]

10.  Make a time capsule like Kelli Crowe.

[Kelli Crowe]

Well, you better get started! There isn’t much time left in 2011.

shannah
 

 

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Christmas!

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In true {recent} blog fashion, I am here several days late to share a little glimpse of our Christmas holiday.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, the inflatables were humming and lights were glowing all over the house.

No, this is not our house but one around the corner from us we visit every year.  Rumor has it some guy names Clark lives there.

Santa stopped for a visit and a little snack too.

To leave presents for the kids…mom and dad too

Ok, I am out of rhyming ideas so picture dump coming your way.

After lots of present opening with the kids and my parents, it was time to get ready for Christmas dinner which would also include Mathlete’s family (4 adults + 5 kids!).

Mathlete’s family has a tradition where each person gets a little mitten with a Godiva mint inside.  As long as the mint stays in the mitten, no one can take it.  But, if you take it out of the mitten and leave it on the table, it is fair game for anyone to take!

After dinner, it was more present unwrapping with the cousins!

I hope you all had a spectacular Christmas just as our family did!

shannah

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The Top 5

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At the end of the year, it is nice to do a little review of where we’ve been!  Most people (me included) do it in our personal lives so I figure it should extend here too.  So, I bring you the top 5 posts, based on reader views, from 2011.

1.  I created some paint chip art for the 1st Pinterest Challenge.

2.  I hosted a crafting “date” with my friend Liz where we made Halloween wreaths.

3.  For the 2nd Pinterest Challenge, I made some homemade hurricane vases and filled them with spray painted pine cones for Christmas.

4.  Junior let me share the great painting job she did in her powder room using a toilet paper roll!

5.  I used some Ikea lanterns to decorate our front porch for Halloween.

I can’t wait to share more fun things with you in 2012! Happy New Year!

shannah
 

 

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Mom’s Not So Famous {But Should Be} Queso-ish Dip

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Ok, I have a confession…I love chips…and salsa…and cheese.  Back when I was in high school, my mom started making the perfect thing to satisfy my chip/salsa/cheese craving.  It is just called “dip” in our house but it makes it appearance by the vat-ful each and every year (usually several times).  Now, sure, everyone and their brother has a queso dip recipe BUT this one is the best.  Why?  Because my mom made it!  Seriously, it is just that good!

There are a lot of New Year’s parties coming up so I thought it would be fun to share the dip recipe with you guys!  Usually, my mom makes a double or triple batch but I’ve cut it down to what I consider a single size which still serves a lot!
First, what will you need?

  • 1 lb ground beef, ground turkey or ground Italian sausage (even better, mix it up and do some beef/turkey with sausage)
  • 2 jars salsa (pick your heat…I usually do one mild + 1 hot)
  • 2 jars queso cheese (I prefer Tostitos but any brand will do)
  • 1 can Bush’s chili magic Traditional Recipe beans
  • 1 can Bush’s Best Chili Beans (pick your heat!)

Ok, now for the instructions.  Read on carefully…it’s super hard easy!

  1. Brown the meat. Drain.
  2. In a crockpot or large pot, add meat and then dump all the rest of the ingredients on top.
  3. Stir.
  4. Heat until hot.
  5. Serve with chips.

Yeah, couldn’t be easier or tastier!  Seriously…make it for your next party and see if people aren’t practically scraping the bowl!

shannah

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Warming it Up with Chocolate

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Just before Christmas we hosted a Hot Chocolate Party for H and some of her friends.  It was a great way to get the kids together for some fun!  We had each family that came bring a plate of cookies or some other snack to share and we supplied the hot chocolate with all the toppings.

H insisted that she had to “bring” cookies as well so my {wonderful} mother-in-law made her some gingerbread men to decorate.

They decorated the cookies while I got all the other stuff set up for the next day.  I’m all about pre-planning as much as possible.  I had just about everything set up the night before (excluding the perishables) to limit how much I would need to do the day of the party.
I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking here since they are pretty self explanatory!

On our little peninsula, we set up the treats for all the kids to munch on.  I had a marker and little cards out for everyone to write what they brought.

The kids sat at two little kid tables with snowman themed plates, cups and napkins!

 On each person’s plate, we put together a little bag with supplies to make a foam snowman (thanks, Shopaholic!).

We even had E join in on the fun (just no hot chocolate for my little man!)

 Lots of adorable little girls having fun!

Did you host any parties over the holidays?  Have a New Year’s party coming up?  I’m excited that we are headed to our close friends’ house for New Year’s which means no planning for me!

shannah

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

WTCW #32

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32 weeks and counting! I hope you are enjoying the WTCW series as much as I am.

[Tasty Kitchen], [Recipe Girl], [In Erika’s Kitchen], [Skinny Taste]

Sunday:  Happy New Year!  Of course, since it is New Year’s Day, you have to eat black eyed peas.  I’m putting mine in New Year’s stew.

Monday:  I know some families have a big feast, similar to Thanksgiving, on New Year’s day.  If you have leftover turkey, consider trying cranberry turkey enchiladas.

Tuesday:  I can eat bacon on just about everything {except lollipops} so quiche with kale and bacon sounds delicious…even if it does mix something like kale with extra delicious bacon.  Oh, and I am sure you know I will be using a store bought crust!

Wednesday:  I love soup all year round but especially in the winter.  Stuffed pepper soup sounds like a neat twist on a classic dish.

[Simple Daily Recipes], [Hungry Girl], [Kalyn’s Kitchen]

Thursday:  We’re back to pasta on Thursday.  This time, whole wheat penne with broccoli ricotta sauce is on the menu.

Friday:  More options for leftovers {if you have them}:  Turkey burgers with cranberry sauce.

Saturday:  Cabbage is another New Year’s Day staple for many.  This deconstructed stuffed cabbage roll isn’t making it to the actual New Year’s Day feast but we are squeezing in the right week.

shannah

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Shopping on the cheap (in your pjs!)

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Do you love to shop?  I’m sure by now, you know that I do!  That is why I am sharing with you this awesome sale.  Thirty One Gifts is running their year end outlet sale starting tomorrow and running through the end of the year.
What’s a year end outlet sale?  Well, it is a chance for Thirty One to clean out their inventory of retired styles, prints and overstock items.

What does it mean for you?  Super deep discounts on really great items!

This year the sale is being run through a third party (amazon!) to help with the increase in traffic.  That means you need direct link to shop it.  So, how do you get it?  Easy, peasy lemon squeezy!

Simply click here to save 50% or more on your favorite products.

Happy Shopping!!!!

shannah

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Come Visit Me!

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Hi my dear readers! Guess what?! I’m not here today! In reality, I am out getting my shop on with my wonderful mother.  In the virtual world though, I am over at

sharing my Christmas decorations made out of Styrofoam trees.  Sure, it is the day after Christmas but that is the perfect time to start making your plans for next year and save some serious coin on the supplies to make all those crafts.  So, click on over to Ginger Snap Crafts and read up on 4 ways to transform Styrofoam trees.

shannah

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.