Mmm Mmm Monday

Okay, so one of my Twelve for '12 goals is to try at least 12 new-to-me recipes this year. I get tired of eating the same 'ol, same 'ol week after week, so new ways to make some old favorites is something I want to try and accomplish. (And, posting more to my blogs was another goal for me, so two birds with one stone, as they say...) To try and stay on track with this particular goal, I thought there was no better way than to perhaps begin a new feature here, and entitle it Mmm Mmm Mondays...And, since I actually TRIED a new found recipe ....I thought I'd share it here, since it was SOOO easy, and Oh-my-GOSH, so good!! (I found this one on Pinterest, of course!, but I modified it *just* a bit, by adding more honey and more garlic, so while I've linked to the original here, the following is what I actually prepared:


What you need:
1/2 c. honey (I used orange blossom, because it's native to the area -- and what I had on hand -- but I'm sure clover works just as well)
3 Tblsp. soy sauce (yes, I added more of THAT, as well)
6 lg, cloves of garlic, minced
4 bone-in pork chops

What to do:
~ In a shallow pan, mix honey soy sauce and garlic.
~ coat the chops with mixture
~cook in frying pan over medium heat, adding the remainder of the mixture and turning once to cook through.

serves four (actually, two at our house, with one left over for lunch the next day!)

 This was really a big hit here; De-licious, and certainly one that will be added to the rotation in the future. 

(And, since I actually MADE this one, I'm linking it to Tackle-It Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom...kind of a 'cheat', I know, but, that's the way it is! )

Nature's Paintings

It's almost springtime again! With the crazy weather patters we've been experiencing, we've had some absolutely gorgeous sunsets...Nature is the ultimate artist, don't you think? 

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
Aristotle

To participate in SkyWatch Friday, go HERE

My Twelve for '12 list

Okay, so here's the deal: I haven't posted a WFMW post since last spring (actually, I haven't posted ANYthing on this blog since last spring...) but, one of my goals this year is to get back to my blogs on a more regular basis. You see, there was a time when I posted to at least one of them every day, and while I honestly don't see myself posting that often, I *do* want to post more often.

I've also made one of my goals this year to tackle at least 12 small(ish) projects around this ol' house, which may also give me fodder for posting here at Mo's Home. (way to minimize the effort, huh?!) So, I thought maybe a list of things I'd like to get done might focus my attention, and help motivate me to actually DO them, rather than just think about doing them!

One really bothersome task I'd like to complete is to finally finish my living room walls. As you can see, I did a sort of fresco texturing on the walls of our dining room, and I liked it so much, I decided to do the living room as well. Around that same time, we visited a favorite little restaurant here at the beach, and fell in love with the paneling they had applied in their "cigar room", and decided we were going to recreate it in our home.

HA!! Much, MUCH harder than we had anticipated! That was nearly four years ago, and the bottom half of my walls are STILL unfinished. So, while the mister is still convinced we can pull it off, I'm more than a little weary of looking at this half-done job, and I think I'd simply like to finish them all the way to the floor, and then IF we ever get around to cutting, staining and applying those panels...who am I kidding?! I just want finished walls!

And, a painted ceiling! Another effort that went undone while we debated on the walls...

I'm also thinking I'd like to paint our fireplace black.

Yes, black. It sounds bad, but look at these:

theletteredcottage.net

houzz.com

lidbeckbrent.com

And, frankly, ANYthing would be an improvement over the funky red eyesore we call a fireplace now!

And, while I have the black paint handy, it would be nice to finally re-do that little bookshelf that sits in the corner...something like this would be nice:

emilymacleoud.blogspot.com

And, maybe that old steamer trunk, while I'm at it.....

Of course, I can't forget my rocking chair; it could use a paint job too, I think, but I don't know if I want to paint it black as well, or give it a nice pop of color like this (maybe in moss green?):

youwannatalkjive.com

It's not ALL painting projects I want to complete, tho. For instance, I want to get the lighting fixture hung above our kitchen sink. We recently replaced the central light in there with a smaller one, and purchased a track light to match. Once we got the central light installed, however, I thought maybe the track might be overkill in our little galley kitchen, but I've since changed my mind on that (as I am wont to do!) and have decided I want it hung as well.

I also have an idea for up-cycling our old breadbox into a plate rack. I think it would be cute AND functional (as I have very little storage for dishes), plus it would be fairly easy to accomplish, which is a big selling point for me!

Another thing I want to try my hand at is to convert some min-blinds into roman shades for our bedroom windows...there's an excellent tutorial I found on pinterest that looks so easy that even *I* can accomplish this one!

Plus, there are a TON of other projects I've found on that site that I'd like to try my hand at, such as:

~ this jewelry organizer (I really need a solution for a way to organize my necklaces, bracelets, and such....)

~ these faux wrought-iron grates (made from TP rolls, if you can believe it!)

~ these floor standing candlesticks

~ a DIY "old sign" for the laundry room

~ these hemp pendant lights for our bedroom....

and...and...and....

See, my intentions ARE good, now lets just see if I follow through with acting on them. At the very least, I now have a list to use as a starting point.

Hey, It Works For Me.