Did you know?

The more time I spend on Pinterest, the more I realize how much stuff I DON'T know...


See below:

Source: thedailybuzz.com.au via Kaitlin on Pinterest

Put your iphone in a bowl and the music will amplify! (Yes, I tried it, and yes it does work)

Source: amazon.com via Kaitlin on Pinterest

They make ONION GOGGLES so you won't cry when cutting them...excuse me?  Where have I been?

Source: rentfluff.wordpress.com via Kaitlin on Pinterest

Put ice cubs on carpet indentations, let them melt, and then  fluff up the area with a spoon.  Seriously?  I used to try to vacuum over them, and it still didn't help. 

Source: teamimhoff.com via Kaitlin on Pinterest

Everynight when I am in bed about to close my eyes, I forget to plug in my darn phone.  No charge means no alarm...NOT GOOD.  So then I have to get out of bed, and find the end of my darn phone charger...and it puts me in  a horrible mood because who likes to get out of bed once you've just gotten into the warm sheets?   now my life is changed because I have a clip that holds it on my nightstand! GENIUS!

Source: Uploaded by user via Kaitlin on Pinterest

Here is the solution to finding 134985 bobby pins in the carpet, in the sink, on the counter, under the rug...a tic tac container.



Don't you feel so much more civilized and important now that you know these awesome tips?  ;)

I sure do.

Cameras and such.

I have gotten a few emails from y'all about what camera lenses I have and what kind of camera I have. 

The funny part about this whole deal is that I have three lenses for my camera, but don't know how to use them all that well.  I know some info about them and I am glad to share, but please know that I am no expert at all...i would really consider myself a beginner when it comes to my camera skills and knowledge.  BUT...here's my loot and I hope it'll help if you're in the market for a new lens or camera. 

1.  I got my Nikon D60 in December of 2008. It costs me around $600 and it came with an 18-55mm Nikkor Lens.  This is a good all around lens.  It's considered a zoom lens from wide-angle to normal.  Wide angle lenses will enable a person to capture alot of information within a contained space (such as, in a room).  It will also make for pleasant architecture photography.  I honestly don't know if they still sell this body style but I have had mine for over three years and still love it.  It works perfectly.

2.   I then purchased a 55-200 MM lens also sometimes called a telephoto lens.  I paid around $200 for this lens and of the three I have, I use this one the least.  Probably because I don't know how to use it! haha!  This is a perfect lens for sport photography or any other type of photography with a subject that is difficult to shot up close, nature included.  Ample light will be needed to capture fast moving objects though because  it does not give you as low of apertures as other lenses.

3.  The last lens that I just got for Christmas (thanks hubby!!)  is  the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G (sometimes called a fixed lens).  This is the perfect lens for portaiture photography.  Being a fixed lens, it allows for a very low aperture setting of f/1.8.  This allows for soft focusing and shallow depth of field.  In other words, this lens can bring emphasis to a subject in the foreground by blurring the background out of focus.  It has faster shutter speeds and in low light situations, you are able to take photos without flash.  The photo on the top of my blog was taken with a lens just like this one.  That's why the blurry background is present.

I love my fixed lens.   Mostly because I take portraits and love the look of the blurred background. 

Maybe one day I will REALLY learn how to use them all, and then I can do a more informative post.  I hope this helps a little though!! 

Nikon in general is my favorite brand of cameras.  It's super user-friendly and lasts a long long time. 


If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!  I will do my best to answer them. 

Until next time,

Kait

Insta-Friday!

Good Morning, lovelies!!  I am off to work in about 2 minutes so I gotta make this quick!!  I love participating in Insta-Friday because it's a good recap of my week via my Iphone and a great way to document the little things that make me happy!

First off, I don't think I've ever been more excited to find these shoes at the thrift store....and the price tag?  $795?  Nope!  Just $7.   SCORE!

My mom, hubby and I also went to our favorite sweet treats place.  Goodberries- it's a local custard joint.  And it's heavenly.

 

Hi, Mom!! 

We spent a lot of our time doing projects..and I loved it! It was cold outside this day, so what did we do?  Brought our project inside..ha!

And here's the finished product! A DIY pallet shelf. I'm in love.

 

 It's also great when mom comes to visit because I get lots of meals cooked for me! This one was my all-time favorite.  Deer meat! YUMMO!

THis is completely random, but has anyone ever heard of Target Greatland? I didn't know it existed until I drove past it and had to stop..naturally.  It's a Target. and I did HAVE to stop. ;)

And lastly, one of the more exicting parts to my week:  We found a mouse in our bedroom.  My cat caught him...isn't that lovely?  (But I do think he is cute!)

 

Be sure to link up at www.Life Rearranged.com and I hope you have a WONEDERFUL FRIDAY!!!!! YIPEEE!

Xoxo,

Kait

DIY Pallet Shelf

I finally got to make a couple project with the pallest I picked up a few months ago.  Mom helped me a lot and I am so please with the way they turned out! 

The funniest part though was that we did all of the cutting and nailing in the living room-it was too cold outside to saw and hammer so I just layed a sheet down in the living room. HA!

Huey was trying to help...

So after some cutting, nailing and hanging this is the end result:

I loveee the way it turned out. 

And I also made a mini-shelf for my bathroom.

Our bathroom is TINY.  In our bedroom, we just have a half bath (thank you 1960's) and it should be called a 1/8 bath because it's so little...so I need all the storage I can get.

Here's what the counter looked like before I made the shelf, and then there is an after photo too.  I used to store my hairdryer and straightener on the bath towel holder.  Sad.

(The lighting in our bathroom is horrid.  The walls are this awful white/yellow color and the light fixture is definately 40 years old, at least...so I apologize for the poor lighting.)

The counter before I had the shelf: full of stuff!   And the picture on the right is after I had the shelf to store my hair products!

It now holds my hair essentials and I am so happy!!! No more ghetto jimmy riggin' on the towel bar!

Happy Monday, friends!!!

DIY Dog Bowl Station

My mom and I tackled a small project this past week.  Even though it took us a lot longer than it probably should have, we finished our first project with a power tool! ;)

I got a jigsaw for Christmas from my brothers and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it: make a project with the pallets I got a few months ago.  They have just been sitting outside waiting to be worked on... and here's what we did.

We made my pup, Penny, an elevated dog feeder.  She is getting old (she'll be 11 this year!)  and so I knew I wanted to do something so she didn't have to bend down everytime she drank or ate. 

Sadly, I don't have a step-by-step tutorial for this because

1)  We didn't really follow any directions...
2) We messed up quite a lot and had to re-do some things

 Yeah...the nails did NOT want to cooperate...

 See? She just LOVES it!

But I love the way it turned out, and Penny loves it to (at least I think she does)


The total project costs me about 3 dollars.  Compared to online prices, that is AWESOME!

 This one is $76.99 on trendypet.com

And this one is $40.00 on Amazon.com


A little too much for me to spend...so I am glad I made my own! Our next project is to make some pallet bookshelves!! Hopefully those will be a little easier and I can't wait to share them!

Happy Weekend, y'all!!

Xoxo,

Kait

Cat Lover.

I have been a cat lover since I was born, really.  I got my first kitten on my first day of kindergarten and I named her Princess (go figure).

 (Our lovely felines, Claire and Huey.)

Ever since then, I have always had a cat.  I love them. 

A friend showed me this video and I had to share.  It's SO funny and spot on as to how cats really act.

 

 

Can any of you cat owners relate to these videos?  They are all so funny!

Happy Friday!

A real Texas meal.

Mom is still in town (yipee!) and tonight we had a feast that was truly a Texas meal at its finest.

I remember growing up we would eat this meal a whole lot.  And when hubby's grandfather gave us some deer meat a few weeks ago, I have been sooo excited to cook some.

Wanna know how this Texas gal cooks it?  I'll gladly share the recipe that has been passed down many generations in my family.  It's nothing special, but it tastes so yummy.

***Just a small note: there are photos of raw deer meat...just a disclaimer***

Here's what you'll need:

Deer meat
buttermilk
one egg
flour
pepper
salt
vinegar
vegetable or canola oil
water


Directions:

1. After you take your deer meat from the freezer (I freeze mine in freezer bags)..place it in a big bowl of water.  Add a heaping spoonful or two (or three) of salt in the water, and a pour of distilled white vineger. (I usually count to three while I'm pouring it in the bowl)

The vinegar gets the "gamey" taste out of the deer, and the salt draws out the blood.  Let the meat soak overnight in the fridge so it can get all of the blood out and thaw.  I let mine thaw for two days, but it's just up to you how long you want it to thaw.  (One day would be okay too)

2.  Once it is done, drain the water and rinse off the meat. Then slice the meat.  I like to slice it kind of small so I can have deer nuggets, so to speak.

3. Then get an egg,buttermilk, and pepper.  Beat the egg in a bowl, add a pinch or two of pepper and 3 tbs of buttermilk.  Set aside.  Then pour enough buttermilk in the bowl of meat to just coat the meat.  Maybe about 1/4 cup or somewhere around there. 

4. Then you need to tenderize the meat so it's not tough.  You can choose to do this before you cut the meat, or after...I forgot to do it, so right before I coated the meat in egg and flour I tenderized it.

And of course, I don't have a meat tenderizer so I used a plate to pound it.  Classy, right?  My grandma did it this way too! ;)

  5. After you pound the meat, take each peice of meat, dip in the egg mixture, and coat with flour.  Do this for all pieces and set on a plate or foil.  Be sure to salt and pepper each piece as well.

 

6.   Pour some vegetable oil in a large skillet and heat on high until it's hot. Then turn it down to medium.  Once it's ready, place each piece of meat into the skillet.  Be sure to have a lid or you'll get popped!

Cook the deer meat until golden brown on each side...about twelve minutes or so...maybe fifteen.  It depends on the thickness of your meat too.  Be sure to turn the meat over midway through.

and then...you have the best deer meat in the universe! (In my opinion)

Enjoy!  We had ours with mac and cheese, green beans, buttermilk biscuits and sweet tea.

It definitely made me miss the Lone Star State and I will be making this again very soon!

What's your word?

Happy Tuesday, y'all!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my day off of work yesterday and my mom is visiting so it was even better! We did some shopping, ate at a delicious restaurant, and just enjoyed catching up.

So, even though this month is already halfway over I have something really exciting to share.  My father in law introduced me to this and it's been on my mind since.  I finally sat down tonight and really thought about it.

Introducing:

myoneword.org

What is that, you ask?

Here is a small synopsis (taken from myoneword.org):

Every New Year we hope this will finally be the year that things will change. We make promises about the new person we're going to become, pledging to get a grip on our finances, get in shape, become a better parent, spouse, even a nicer human being! But there’s one problem: our resolutions seldom work. The busy pace of life gets the better of us, and suddenly, the year is over with little to no personal growth having occurred in our lives.
“My One Word” is an experiment designed to move you beyond the past and look ahead. The challenge is simple: lose the long list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick ONE WORD. This process provides clarity by taking all of your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single thing. One word focuses on your character and creates a vision for your future.

Choose Your Word.

If you’re like most people, each January goes something like this: You choose a problematic behavior that has plagued you for years and vow to reverse it. In fact, you can probably think of two or three undesirable habits—make that four or five.
Thus begins the litany of imperfections to be perfected, commonly known as New Year’s Resolutions. All of which are typically off your radar by February.

the un-resolution

Our resolutions seldom work because they focus on the type of person we want to become rather than who God wants us to be. Many people do not see God at work in their lives simply because they don’t know what to look for. So, what if our hopes for the year centered on who God wanted us to become instead?
It’s okay to want to be a better you—and the New Year is a natural time to start. The question is, how? My One Word replaces broken promises with a vision for real change. When you choose a single word, you have a single focus. You are moving toward the future rather than swearing off the past.
With My One Word, you’re right where God wants you: in His hands. And it’s not an extreme makeover we’re talking about. This year, the goal is to see His work in one area of your life.

a simple process

So how do you go about picking a word? We’ve listed out a few steps to help you get started!

step 1: DETERMINE THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WANT TO BECOME

The first step is to simply take some time and decide what kind of person you want to be at the end of this year. This goes beyond simply being healthier and wealthier, but it must drive deep into your soul. What about the condition of your heart? What about the person that God Himself has created you to be?

step 2: IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT PERSON

Get a picture of that person and then simply identify their major characteristics. Is that person gentle? Is that person generous? What are the qualities of the person you want to become?

step 3: simply pick a word

Once you have a list of the characteristics, simply pick a word. There might be fifteen things that you want to change, but you must resist the temptation to promise you will do them all. Instead, simply commit to ONE WORD.
This will provide you with a lens to see the changes you need to make as well as a way to determine whether or not change is actually happening. Understand that this process is hard, but staying focused on your word will help you to struggle in the right direction so that you can actually see God working in your life.

I am so excited to have my one word and see how it's going to change me throughout the year.  I made a post-it note on my bathroom mirror so every morning when I get up, I will see it.

I encourage you to think about this and hopefully it will be a great experience for you!