Just Some Rambling...

Today is one of those days. It's snowing and I'm bored. By the way, did you check out my new About Me page? More rambling... but it's worth it, I promise!

(Insert random picture of Hank.)
He loves his snow...

So, what else is new around the old town? The hubby and I debated becoming land lords for a mere three days, then we found out you need a whopping down payment on the house because it's for income. Damn you mortgage shenanigans... now we must save.

I had an epiphany the other day at work. Not a positive one... well it sorta is. Just depends on whether you're a half glass full type of person or a glass half empty. I'll tell you my thought and then you decide:

Working in the corporate world means your allowing someone else to live their dreams. They had a business idea and now I'm making it a reality for them. Boo corporate world! I want my dreams to come true not yours!

Okay, glass half full = I must work harder and harder and even harder than I am now to make my dreams a reality and have little laborers working for me, glass half empty = here I am making someone else's dream a reality - Nooooooooo! Rant. Over.

Oh, did I mention that I looked at how much it is to rent a store front. I know a real store. {dreaming}

Umm.. I think that is it. Well, besides that yesterday's winner still hasn't came forward. Where are you lucky number 5??  

Oh and did I mention it was snowing? But unfortunately the snow gods forgot to start early enough so I could have an adult snow day.

Yup that is it. Rambling over.

Happy err... Hump.... Day!

And the Winner is...

Alright let's do this the fair way. I've taken all of your names in order that you commented/shared and put them in the list below. The number beside your name belongs to you. :)

Here you are:

1 - Kim
2 - Sandra
3 - Anonymous ("xoxo")
4 - Anonymous (Sara's mom)
5 - Anonymous (lover of red)
6 - Ginger Bergemann
7 - Emily Thompson
8 - KHBride
9 - Katie from Katie's Nesting Spot
10 - Holly Lefevre

Bonus Share Entries:

11 - Kim
12 - KHBride

Did I tell you... you guys are the best! And, I'm not just sucking up because some of you may hate me after your number wasn't chosen. No worries, I'm sure my nice little self will have another giveaway soon! Promise!

Alright folks. Here it is... if you were numero 5.... you are the lucky winner! See:

Thanks random number generator thingy majiggy. And, thanks to everyone who participated - I definitely felt the love. :o)

Alright... number 5... it's your turn to step up. (Who the heck is number 5?)

Number 5
Anonymous: "I like the red star the best or the red A" - You are the winner.

Please contact me (martha.anne.info(at)gmail(dot)com) with your deets and the pair of earrings you would like from the shoppe. Yup you can pick any pair you want!

If you didn't get a pair and want some... you can shop here! Or, tell me a specific letter you want, a color you have in mind and I can send you some cool options and make some for you.

Now... what to giveaway next?

Frank's Red Hot Turkey Chili | Recipe

A coworker had been bragging about this chili recipe she's been eating... so I made her give me the recipe. Oh my it's soooo delicious. She found the recipe online somewhere, altered it and handed it to me. I then altered it some more... so, I'm taking claim that it's now my recipe (and the original is on a piece of paper, so it's definitely mine now).

Get ready to have your mouth on fire. If you like super hot, add more Frank's Red Hot. If you like medium hot... this recipe is perfect for you. If you can't take any heat... you might want to avoid at all costs. Holy it's yummy, but it sure does have some heat. Ready for the best chili recipe ever.*

*Disclaimer: This chili recipe is the best recipe ever in my opinion. Others opinions may claim it as delicious, absolutely amazing, can't live without it, best they've ever eaten. But, my claim is best chili recipe ever. Kapeesh? Kapeesh.

Here goes.

Frank's Red Hot Turkey Chili Recipe

1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 lb ground turkey
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground paprika
3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes 
1 (19 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (19 oz) can white kidney beans, drained
1 (10 oz) can mushrooms
1 (341 ml) can of corn

Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add turkey and cook until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are beginning to soften, 3 to 4 more minutes.

Stir in hot sauce, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, mushrooms, corn, white kidney beans and red kidney beans. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 1 hour, or until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended.

Now grab some good old mozzarella cheese and greek yogurt and you're ready to go. Don't say I didn't warn you about the heat or the absolute goodness of this chili. It's delicious. Okay I know I already said that. What are you waiting for, let's eat!

I've been partyin':

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Help! Where Should I Put These?

I need your help. With these.

paintings by dawn snell.

A couple of weekends back, my mom invited us over for din din, and let's just say I left with more than a full belly (full of lots of yummy stuff). I kind of snuck into the basement and rummaged through some paintings my grandma had painted - yes my grandma was an artist and it's kind of weird when I go to someone's house and her paintings are all hanging there cool on their wall and I'm like "my grandma painted that". Okay, so that's happened like twice in my life... but I was proud!

Actually, I'm kind of envious of her talent... and her art... and the places her art has been. (Darn art that left me behind.) Anyways, since she passed away a while back, I'm kind of sad I never got to learn from her. (you can't see it but my bottom lip just stuck out realllllllly far!) Enough shenanigans... here's what I scored:

the cat by dawn snell.

I call it the cat painting. When I was little... like 8 years old... my grandma took me down the hallway in her house and said I could pick any painting. The walls were filled. I remember her telling me the stories behind them and I ended up choosing this one. I really don't remember the actual name of it or the story but I've always loved it! From here on in we will call it: the cat who ate everything? Okay, just kidding.

lyn bicentennial by dawn snell.

When I brought this one up from the basement and begged to take it home, my mom told me it was painted for the Lyn, Ont. Bicentennial... whatever that is? Someone local want to fill me in? Anyways, I remember this painting growing up as a child and was ecstatic to see it tucked away in the basement.

a bird and owl painting by dawn snell.

And then their was the owl and the bird. The End. Because really I don't have a story for them and just thought they were pretty cool. So I took 'em. 

That's it for now. There were more but a child shouldn't be so greedy! Your turn. What kind of room would work for each? I'm listening... we have an unbearable amount of empty walls that need to be filled. Fill 'em up!

In other news...

I spent the day dreaming of a store I want to open. 

It would have at least one brick wall and wood floors, big glass windows at the front. I would showcase all of my soon to be lovely products (I'm working on a new decor one... or two) and products from local artists and hand crafters. I would call it... Well I'm not sure I should say. 

1. Because you might steal my ingenious idea. Right. And. 

2. The more I think of the name the more I debate the fact that it may be dorky. 

Welcome to the nerdy world of me. Did you know I probably have about 10 business ideas or more tucked up in that brain of mine. Is that normal? Or is it from the lack of use of creativity that seems to be bursting at the seems... Brain, why you no shut off? 

Cheers.

Almost Before & After | Our New Kitchen

This post is image heavy. Enjoy.

Okay, I'm giving in... here's a sneak peak, hence, the "almost" before and after because we aren't quite finished and, with reno A.D.D., I'm not sure we'll ever get there. Oh and it's kind of a happy family day present to you (or President's day)... So here goes.

After you get through the shady, dark, red-walled, before pictures... you will see the beauty. I promise not to talk to much, just let the pictures do it for you. And... just to get this question out of the way, I designed it, we (hubby and I) put together the cabinets and the hubby did the rest, because this is in fact an Ikea Kitchen! And those are definitely some granite countertops (our splurge on the project, okay the appliances were kinda a splurge too). Anyways, here goes.


Beauty:

Not so beauty:

Almost there:

Hold tight:

Oh there it is, beauty:

And, here's about as much decor as there gets:

And here are the lights I kinda created for way less (here's the blog post - diy pendant lights).

Oh and here's what is left to do. (Besides paint the ceiling and trim around the window.)

Add subway tile like so, only with lighter grout:

pinterest.

And create some awesome artwork to put on each side of the range hood, because my decor kind of sucks right now and I really really want some. So, someday I'll post some and show you how to make them and they will hang like so:

Phew! Picture overload or what? What do you think of the sneak peak? I promise sometime this year we will have backsplash and I will share the actual finished kitchen. Until then, that was it. Our Ikea Kitchen designed by moi and built by the hubster. :o)

It's time to link it up :)

The Gunny Sack | Sew Can Do | Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Craft-O-Maniac | Alderberry Hill | DIY Home Sweet Home | All Things Fee | The DIY Showoff | Skip to My Lou | Uncommon Designs | The Farmhouse Porch | Nap-Time Creations | Homemade Ginger | The Blackberry Vine | Lil Luna | A Diamond in the Stuff | The Winthrop Chronicles

Free Ad Space... And Other Such Things. Life.

Sorry, I've been MIA! Did you have a great Valentine's Day? We of course, spent our Valentine's Day last week in Niagara Falls. It was beautiful and very quiet. Our favorite part of the trip was wine touring through Niagara on the Lake - what a beautiful place. And, of course we picked up ten bottles of wine as souvenirs... are they still considered souvenirs after you drink them?

Perhaps I'll do a post of pics that I took while there?

Anyways, if you care to read my babbling, here's a little of what's been happening... here's my excuse for ignoring you guys...


Free Ad Space for Me = Discount for You! {Cheesy Grin}

At the start of this year I said I'd try and work a little harder at this whole blog thing. So, I did. I am. Actually, I don't think I ever take time off... Marriage, what marriage. When the hubs looks at me and tells me to take a break... I say I'm working at retirement. HA!

Anyways, in my attempt, I've been partying (link style of course), blabbing (on others posts), getting featured (YAY me!) and... now starting to do some advertising. Say what? Except I'm still pretty cheap so when I stumbled upon Angie in the Thick of It... and I saw an opportunity... for free - I leaped!

Go check it out - HERE - I got a spotlight on the right side of the page and it has a discount for you. My nerdiness desperation paid off. YAY me! And of course, Angie's blog is pretty funny... so maybe read a bit of it while you're there!

Retirement here I come. (Right...)


New Basement... Say What?
 
So remember how I told you we were working on the ensuite, well... we kind of have A.D.D. when it comes to renos. We've moved on... well downward... to the basement. I will post (I promise) next week with some before pictures and a floor plan. We already put the money down for the carpet (which will go in the main area), now we just have to get our butts in gear and get it ready to be put down. Which means a barn door... yah that's right! I'm so pumped... I will share more later though. Here's a peek at the basement when we moved in...

The photo you are about to see is not for everyone. It may appear dim, eery, down right scary. The photographer does not take credit in any means. At this time, we are doing our best to fix the situation. In the meantime, look at your own risk!

This WAS our very scary basement.
Well, part of it. There are still two bedrooms, a bathroom,
our utility/storage room and another storage room.

My Giveaway... of course!

If you didn't realize I kind of have this giveaway thing going on and I've been trying to spread the word, you know, with fella bloggers and such...

When I first posted about the giveaway, I had some gadget magoo on the bottom that you had to fill in... well I deleted it. It was more of a pain in the butt than anything... and now, all you have to do is leave me a lovely comment. You do love me don't you? Pretty please.

Get to 'er... you can win some cool earrings here.


Life.

That's. Right. Life. Happened.

It's been hectic in our household! I blame last week's lack of blogging on vacationing. I blame this week's on laziness everything else. We had a Fair Meeting (and wouldn't ya know it, we were one night late... so we never really had it.) Appointments... I took a day off work just for appointments! Hank's last day of training... is he any smarter? Well, he certainly has us trained. ;o) And, well that seems like enough excuses doesn't it? It's been crazy, crazy, crazy. But, that's life and I wouldn't trade it... okay I would. I'd trade it for my couch, a movie and some snuggling. But I guess that has to be earned.

Well that's it. That's the end of this babbling session. This weekend is food cooking time, baking, earring making and hopefully some blog post writing. Until the next time, this post was brought to you by the letter M, signing off...

Win! Clay Stud Earrings | Giveaway

Okay, I was going to wait until Valentine's Day to do this giveaway, but I just couldn't. You guys are just so darn cute and I kind of got excited after listing everything on the Etsy Shoppe yesterday that I had to do it now.

Here's the deal. If you win, you can have any... and I mean any pair of earrings that are listed in the shop, including a stamped initial of your choice. But you have to show me some love. (Oh and when I say any, I mean any ONE pair.) Deal. Deal.

1. Okay, here's where you show me how much you love me, or hate me, or just put up with me to get a new pair of earrings. Comment below, tell me what you're favorite pair is, tell me that Monday's suck or just say hi. Anything will do. But you MUST comment below.

2. Want a second chance to win? Go to Facebook and share my status... or just share it because you want to help a sister out and spread the word. The post will be something about this contest... that's the one.

Here's what you could be receiving in the mail (or you could pick a different pair?):

 

Comment - get an entry. Share - get an entry. Tell me how much you love me, get another entry. Just kidding. Go to it and please tell your friends.

Spread the love - it's (almost) Valentine's Day for goodness sake! And, you have two weeks to enter - so I'm closing this dealio on Feb 25 (2013) and will randomly select a winner from those who have commented below. (If you shared on Facebook - bonus entry, but you MUST comment below!)

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

YAY! I was featured:

And, I partied and linked up with these fine ladies:

The Gunny Sack | Alderberry Hill | All Things Fee | Uncommon Designs | The Farmhouse Porch: Cowgirl Up Party | Made in a Day  | Someday Crafts | Seven Thirty Three | Snap Creativity | Lady Behind the Curtain | Smart School House | White Lights on Wednesday | Free Pretty Things | Yesterday on Tuesday | Sugar and Dots | Homemade Ginger | Twin Dragonfly Designs | Nap Time Creations | The Winthrop Chronicles  | Gingerly Made  | The Crafty Blog Stalker | My Repurposed Life | 504 Main | The Answer is Chocolate | Someday Crafts | Shaken Together | Just Us Four | Nap Time Crafters | Miss Information | Five Days Five Ways | Simple Home Life | Too Much Time | Cheerios and Lattes | Overflowing with Creativity | The Gingerbread Blog | Polkadot Pretties

Free Valentine's Day Printables

After creating the Valentine's Day banner a couple of weeks back, I decided maybe a few photo cards would look nice too. Only this time, I decided to print them off and use them as decor.

free valentine's day printables.

See how cute they look? I set them next to this teddy bear that the hubby gave me back when we were first dating. He is my absolute favourite. You may notice the band-aid and yellow stains, he actually survived a bad house fire we had when we first moved in together. I couldn't get rid of him, so now he sits reminding of us of everything we have to be thankful for, including each other.

free valentine's day cards / decor.

Okay, enough of the sappiness. Here are a three {yay!!} free Valentine's Day printable designs that you can use for photo cards, regular cards or even photos around the house to decorate.

you're my favorite blanket stealer. (by martha.anne)

talk nerdy to me. (by martha.anne)

i'm weird and you're weird. (by martha.anne)

Click here to download all three in one package.

Now go have fun! And, if you're looking for some other Valentine's Day freebies, check out these 5 Free Valentine's Ideas I blogged about last year.

I've linked up :)

Someday Crafts
Shaken Together Life
Just Us Four
Whipperberry
Nap Time Crafters
5 Days 5 Ways
The Gingerbread Blog
Simply Sweet Home
Big Red Clifford
Polkadot Pretties
Too Much Time on My Hands
Cheerios and Lattes
It's Overflowing
Flamingo Toes
Petite Hermine
Snap Creativity
Today's Creative Blog

Finally... Something On The Walls!

If you seen the before & after of the master bedroom, you will remember me saying (at least twice) that our walls are very empty. Well, a weekend or two back, the hubby changed that and hung some pictures! YAY! {insert applause here}

I am so excited and at the same time, I feel like I'm not in the right home. We both keep saying how weird it is to have something on the wall.

All three paintings are from the Group of Seven... the hubbies favorite artists. In the last house they hung in the living room, but I felt that they would fit better above the bed here. So, there they are. I really like them and I am definitely glad that is where we put them.

Now, if I could only decide on what to do in the rest of the house, maybe some large pictures or picture collages? Do you have a preference?