Summer Camp

Gretta got home from camp tonight. She was only gone one night but she LOVED it! It was rainy, soggy and muddy which for an 8 year old probably made it even better. She knew a few people in her cabin and her counselor but made lots of friends. Camp was always a summer highlight for me despite the bug bites, wet shoes, and long walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I'm so grateful to be able to pass this special memory on to my daughter even at the same camp I went to. Thanks to Abbie for her patience with these 7 excitable girls!

~Kristen

Cherry Deliciousness

We spent the morning of this fine holiday with the family and our bunny burner breakfasts. I'll leave the explanation of the breakfast to Theresa. I opted to bring a family favorite, cherry coffee cake. I've had several requests for the recipe and I'm glad to share it but I've got to give my good friend, Staci Yoder, all the credit for introducing it to us. In fact, I think my family wants to spend the weekend at her house just for this!

1 c butter or margarine
1 3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
3 c flour
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 cans cherry pie filling

Frosting
1/2 c butter
1 t - 1 T milk
2 c powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time and beat well. Add vanilla, baking powder and flour. Spread 2/3 of batter (or enough to cover) in a greased 10x15 pan. Pour pie filling over mixture. Drop remaining dough over filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 min or until clean on a toothpick. Frost while warm.

~Kristen

Labels Labels Everywhere

I think I've mentioned it before but I've become a labeler. My goal is to make it so easy that everyone will know where everything goes - not just me. We've been thinking about selling our house and so I'm trying to get everything in order and be prepared for the challenges of spur of the moment showings. So, thanks to two of my sisters, we were able to accomplish a lot this and now I think we're almost ready for a listing, if it comes to that. I've posted a few photos of our newly labeled household for inspiration.

~Kristen

Good Intentions

I guess it's time for another dose of good intentions, this time thanks to Theresa.

Yesterday I enlisted her cooking knowledge to help me make yummy apple hand pies for our super bowl party. We got all the ingredients out and started measuring. As Theresa's using her fingers to level the measuring cup of flour, she says, "what's with the chopsticks in the flour?" "Hmmm" I say, "maybe a good way to keep your fingers out of there." So here's my first tip - keep a set of chopsticks in your flour container and then use the chopstick to level your cup instead of your finger or another utensil.

Lucky day - here's one more tip I just figured out. I realized I had forgotten to get a tablecloth out for our dining room and company is on their way. So, I just put my tablecloth on the table, wrinkles and all, and then sprayed with with a water bottle, stretched the cloth out and all the wrinkles disappeared. It was so quick and I didn't even need to heat up the iron.

Good Intentions

I've finally taken the time to follow through with my good intentions and I've tackled the messy catch-all cupboard. Here's a couple of things that I learned. First, there's no need to keep the dried up playdoh and crusty paint. Really, we will never use them, it's time to toss the stuff that has no use. Second, if I feel the need to keep every envelope without a matching card, I must containerize them - notice the basket on the bottom shelf? And third by making use of my new label maker, it's easy to find things and more importantly, easy for anyone who can read, to put them away. Hopefully I'll make more progress around the house and I'll share the results of my good intentions.

Good Intentions

Sometimes I think my days and weeks just fill up with good intentions. For instance, the stack of thank you cards I keep moving around thinking that if I keep seeing them I'll finally write and mail them. Or the to do list that just gets longer and longer because I don't quite get to the point where I can cross anything off. I opened this cupboard this afternoon and was nearly knocked off my feet with the pure chaos! I've decided this is where it all starts. My January 8th (I couldn't even commit to New Years) resolution is to organize this chaotic mess. Check back and I'll post the after pic and maybe a few tips I learned along the way.

~Kristen

Tip of the Day, or week or month

a special gift - the yummy kind

Everybody loves to receive packages in the mail. I don't get many but whenever there's one waiting I'm so excited. This week one evening, I arrived home to a special package waiting for me at the door. The return label said MK Cookies. Yum-o! That's Rachel Ray speak for DELICIOUS. My new boss was so thoughtful and sent MK Cookies for my family to savor this holiday. They were fresh, chewy and packed with chocolate chips. This special treat reminded me of how meaningful it is to receive - and give, a special delivery. I'm going to add MK Cookies to my card file of gift ideas for hostesses, teachers, and far away friends.

~Kristen

Tip of the Day, or week or month

The Search for the Perfect Gift


How kind of my sis to build up the pressure to be her guest blogger. Really, I'm not a very good writer but I'm a pretty good talker and I suppose that's how I got into this. So here goes.


I recently took the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test and one of the questions was something along the lines of, "Do you search for the perfect gift or do you search for a nice gift?" There's no question how I answered that one, my goal is always to search for the perfect gift. This summer I found the perfect tool to help me find perfect gifts. I picked up this card file made by Real Simple at Target. Each person in my family has a page and other people that I frequently shop for also made it in the book. Whenever anyone mentions something they'd like or even their favorite candy or snack, I write it on their card. When it came time to make a gift list this year, I was all set. This card file is also great for my shopping list, to do list, and lots of other bits of information I don't want to lose. The cards are perforated, lined and color coded plus it easily fits in my purse. A special thanks to my cousin Amanda and Aunt Marlinda for introducing me to this great tool.

~Kristen

Guest Blogger

I'm thrilled to have my sister be my guest blogger here on the lil 'ole Iowa Country Blog. She will be sharing a tip of the day (or tip of every other day or tip of every week or something) with us. She is by far the most organized and efficient person that I know, and I'm so excited to hear what she has to share. (How's that for pressure, Kristen!) The picture to the right is not from her office, but her house is not that far from this picture. So she definitely has organizational and storage tips that I know I can use.

So keep your eyes open for her fun posts!

Orange Marmalade & Pickle Relish

Last week my sister, Kristen, and I made pepper jelly together. Unfortunately we (well, actually Kristen) forgot the red peppers. Ok, so the red peppers are the most important ingredient in red pepper jelly, but no big deal! (She's sitting right beside me as I type this, so I can give her a little grief!) Seriously though, the recipe calls for either red or green peppers, so we made one batch with green peppers and one batch with orange and yellow peppers. The orange pepper jelly is really pretty, it's just that it looks more like orange marmalade instead of pepper jelly. The green pepper jelly is totally the same color as pickle relish...tastes just as good as red pepper jelly...but just looks like pickle relish. Who knew that bright green peppers would end up looking so army green when chopped up?