ic Kathe With an E: August 2013

Friday, August 30, 2013

Bloglovin, Pinterest & HomeTalk Hop!

Welcome to Bloglovin and blog hopping Thursday once again!  We are so happy to be joining together to bring you the  Bloglovin Blog Hop to help grow our blogs.   It's always a great idea to have many ways for friends to follow your blog. 
Each week we rotate one other social media to follow.  This week we are adding your Blog and Pinterest along with Bloglovin!   As a bonus this week we are leaving the Hometalk link up!   Friends can hop on over to visit your blog.   
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us last week.  We hope you made some new friends! 
Bloglovin Blog Hop, Twitter Hop, Hometalk Hop
Please follow each hostess, and leave us a comment so we can return the follow!   Please follow your hostesses and visit other at least 3 or 4 other links!  
We would love to feature a co-host each week, so please send one of us an email if you would like to be a co-host.  We would love for you to join us!
Please link up your bloglovin' follow link.  To find your URL, just click on your follow by bloglovin' button.  Copy and past the URL link.  That's all there is to it!  
Thank you so much for joining us!  We hope you make many new friends and followers each week.  
Not mandatory, but we would love for you to share our blog hop button.    That's a great way for us to all gain new friends. 
                                      Hostesses:
Your Modern Family                                                           ref="nofollow"
Becky @ Your Modern Family                            Doreen @  HouseHoneys  
                                                                       
                                          ref="nofollow"
 Kathe @ Kathe with an E                                      Kathy @ Life on Lakeshore Drive     
My Photo                                             My Photo  
Suzan @ Simply Vintageous                                    Tammy @ One More Time Events   

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Please Welcome My Guest - Bronwyn

My friend Bronwyn (love that name!) from I. May Be 
has offered to help with a guest post while we are moving this month.  
Please give Bronwyn a warm Kathe With An E welcome!

Greetings all Kathe followers! My name is Bronwyn from I, MayB.  I post a lot about my life, my dog, my hubby, and the strange trouble I seem to find myself in on a regular basis. I am an avid knitter, crocheter, reader, DIYer (is that a word?) and storyteller.  Thanks to Kathe for allowing me to guest post while she is busy moving!

There are many signs to show that summer is coming to an end and fall is quickly approaching.  Turning leaves, a certain crispness to the air, nights that cool down just enough to allow for sweaters, and sunlight creeping away earlier and earlier.  However, for me, the thing that truly means fall is coming is the presence of school supplies.

Quintessential Canadian notebooks.
I always wanted one in each colour.
You might think it odd that a woman who is long past school age and has no children would have such a love of school supplies as I do.  Each fall, regardless of what is going on in my life, I wander the aisles of stores taking the sights and smells of the coming school year.  I love watching the bustle of parents gathering items their children will need for the coming year and I am transported back to the time when that was my mom shepherding my siblings and me.

Each year, despite my best intentions, I am wooed by the newness of school supplies.  They represent a fresh start, a chance to learn, and the beginning of something exciting.  I am enthralled by the pens, enraptured by the journals, and in love with the smell of new lined paper.  I fully admit I have a problem!

Freshly sharpened pencil crayons. I don't even need these!
I'm a grown woman for goodness sake!
When my husband told me he was going to be taking a couple of professional courses this fall, I was delighted. Yes, learning and improving oneself is very important, but I was going to go school supply shopping!   I came home loaded with goodies. None of which I am willing to share.  He might have to go back on his own next time.

What is your favourite memory or thought about school supplies? Do you love them as much as I do?


Monday, August 26, 2013

You're Gonna Love It - Week 69

Welcome to the 69th week of You're Gonna Love It fun and frivolity!
I'm going to once again keep it short and sweet as we have so much to do this week.
Yes! We have the closings for both houses on Thursday morning and then, we begin the move out/ in on Sunday morning!  I'll try and post pictures on my Facebook page of the process so keep an eye there.
Since I'm not sure if I will have time or internet, plus the Labor Day holiday,
there will be NO party next week.  We will do Anything Goes the week of the 9th so that you can post up all of your creations. ANNND...I am keeping this party open midnight Monday September 2. 

Last week's most viewed post came from my sweet friend Mrs. Tucker from
Mrs. Tucker asked a fun question regarding our love of mason jars.  If you missed it, go now and check it out! Be sure to grab an I've Been Featured button found here.

Now, Let's Party!

Feel free to link up anything you have created.
Recipes, decor, crafts, written or photographed.
Anything you are so proud of
you just gotta share it with others.
I will reserve the option of deleting
any post that I do not feel fits the
theme of my blog. 
Please limit your link ups to
just 2 or 3. 

I love to spotlight
some of my favorites on my
Facebook page and pin them to my 
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday board on Pinterest so,
be sure to follow me there too!

As always, you don't have to
be a follower
in order to link up.
 I want you to follow
Kathe With An E
because you want to.
Not because it is required.

 I would also love it if you would link back
in some way so that others come and party with us.
Either grab the party button
or add my blog link
to your post or on your
  blog party page.
But again, it's not required.  


I ask that you please 
DO NOT link up
giveaways, Etsy shops or anything for sale.
Save those for the first Tuesday of each month
when,
Anything Goes!
(Week after next!)
Please remember, this is a party
so, after you link up,
mingle around 
and visit some of the other party guests.


*By linking up your post, you are giving Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

Be sure to stop by and visit these other great linky parties this week!
Life on Lakeshore DriveOne More Time Events

 PJH Designs



Sunday, August 25, 2013

Please Welcome My Guest - Susan

My awesome buddy,  Susan  from Organized 31, has offered to help with a guest post while we are moving this month.  
Please give Susan a warm Kathe With An E welcome! 

Hi, I'm Susan from Organized 31.   As a part of a military family, I have 20+ moves under my belt and am happy to help Kathe out just a bit during her move.  It doesn't matter how many times you've moved, 
it's still tough while you're in the middle of it.  
Kathe, we're all sending you good wishes for your move.

Organized 31 - Personalized Repurposed Tin in 20 Minutes for Free

Pin It

I love to repurpose items for organizing and storage.  Maybe it's because of all the moving, but I hate to spend good money on an item that won't work in my next house.  When I find a way to repurpose an item, I'm saving money, saving the landfill and having fun being creative.

I'm blessed to have wonderful friends.  Wonderful friends who have started sorting through their trash just to pass it along to me.  Seriously, I love that my friends are now looking at their recycling  for items that I can repurpose (I love it, but it still amuses me).  I met my friend, J., for lunch a while ago and she passed this tin on to me.


  I remembered J. telling me that when she was young, because her name is unusual, she could never find personalized items in the store.  Bing.  I knew just had to personalize this tin for her.  But you could easily add any name or label you wanted.

I hopped onto PicMonkey and quickly created the personalized image I wanted.  If you haven't used PicMonkey, it's a free online photo editor that's super easy to use (really).  I printed the image out on cream card stock to coordinate with the colors that would show on the edge of the lid and grabbed my supplies.

(You may notice where my child tried to help me and sliced the top of my image. Shrug.  It adds character and a story.  And it seems wasteful to use up more paper and printer ink printing out another image to use in a repurposing project!)

This type of can is my favorite for repurposing because it has this lip where the lid meets the can.


That lip makes it super easy to know just where to line up the paper when you decoupage it onto the can.

 I carefully added Mod Podge to just the back of the paper (to keep the matte look of the paper), lined the paper up with the lip of the can and wrapped rubber bands around the can to hold the paper in place while it dried.  Using rubber bands is a great trick to make sure that the paper adheres well to the curved surface of the can.


To finish the lid off  I added some ribbon I inherited from my mom when she was cleaning out her sewing supplies (I knew it would come in handy some day).  And finally I added paper to the top so J. can label the contents if she wants.


The entire project took about 20 minutes plus drying time.  Since I used a repurposed can and craft supplies I already had, it cost nothing but some pleasant time spent crafting a surprise for a friend.

I don't know about you, but while I love looking at those elaborate projects that take other people days to do (and would take me weeks), I prefer the quick and easy projects I can squeeze into my day between all my other responsibilities.  I guess I have a short attention span (or a busy life).




I can't wait to return this little treasure to J. the next time we have lunch together. 

You might like to see some of my other repurposed projects from trash my friends have given me.





Friday, August 23, 2013

That's where Manwich came to the rescue! Super easy and quick and it has a full serving of vegtables so I can feel great about feeding it to him. And it's versatile so I could still get creative with it.
Manwich Recipes look so yummy and you can get lots of ideas for an easy meal.

Have you seen the Manwich TV Ads lately? I like them because they are pretty darn realistic!
We luckily got to try the 3 varieties of Manwich; the Original, Bold and Thick and Chunky.
Manwich
We tried the Original first.  It's been a long time since I've had Manwhich and let me tell you, at the first bite I was transported back to age 12! By adding some sides I was able to give Mr.B the comfort food he craved.
Manwich
But wait!  There's more! There are tons Manwich Recipes and even on the side of the can!
Manwich
Who doesn't love them a taco easy as 1, 2, 3?? Using the Manwich Bold Sauce was just the ticket!
Manwich
Manwich to the rescue during this hectic time!

Manwich Taco
I can tell you this, from now on, Manwich will be a staple in my pantry from now on. I never realized before just how versatile it is and how helpful for those times when you need assistance in getting a fast, flavorful meal on the table! 
Visit Sponsor's Site

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Bloglovin, Twitter & Hometalk Hop

Welcome to Bloglovin and Blog Hopping Thursday once again!  We are so happy to be joining together to bring you the  bloglovin' Blog Hop to help grow our blogs.   It's always a great idea to have many ways for friends to follow your blog. 
Each week we rotate one other social media to follow.  
This week we are adding your blog and Twitter along with Bloglovin!   
As a bonus this week we are leaving the Hometalk link up!   
Friends can hop on over to visit your blog.   
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us last week.  
We hope you made some new friends! 
Bloglovin Blog Hop, Twitter Hop, Hometalk Hop
Please follow each hostess, and leave us a comment so we can return the follow!   Please follow your hostesses and visit other at least 3 or 4 other links!  
We would love to feature a co-host each week, so please send one of us an email if you would like to be a co-host.  We would love for you to join us!
Please link up your bloglovin' follow link.  To find your URL, just click on your follow by bloglovin' button.  Copy and past the URL link.  That's all there is to it!  
Thank you so much for joining us!  We hope you make many new friends and followers each week.  
Not mandatory, but we would love for you to share our blog hop button.    That's a great way for us to all gain new friends. 
                                      Hostesses:
Your Modern Family                                                           ref="nofollow"
Becky @ Your Modern Family                            Doreen @  HouseHoneys  
                                                                       
                                          ref="nofollow"
 Kathe @ Kathe with an E                                      Kathy @ Life on Lakeshore Drive     
My Photo                                             My Photo  
Suzan @ Simply Vintageous                                    Tammy @ One More Time Events   

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Please Welcome My Guest - Allison

My sweet friend Allison from Polka Dots and Paisley has offered to help with a guest post while we are moving this month.  
Please give Allison a warm Kathe With An E welcome!

Hi everyone. I'm Al from Polka Dots and Paisley, where I post a little bit of everything: crafts, artwork, recipes, organizational ideas and more. I'm thrilled to be posting here at Kathe With An E while Kathe is in the process of moving. I can't wait to see all the before and after's from her new house!
I recently spent some time visiting a friend and her family in southern Saskatchewan. I love spending time with her, her husband, and their incredible little girls. They live on a beautiful acreage that is calm, peaceful, and good for the soul.
The friend I was visiting is the one who first taught me how to make jams and jelly. In the past we've made strawberry rhubarb jam, peach jam, and habanero jelly.While I was visiting this time she had a giant bag of apples from the yard of a friend so we made a delicious apple jelly.
Steps:

1. Sterilize jars on a cookie sheet with the oven set on low heat.

2. Sterilize lids in hot water.

3. Chop apples until you have about 12 cups. We removed the stems and little black spots on the bottom. We did not remove any dents, bruises, or seeds. 

4. Bring apples to a boil in a pot with 6 cups of water. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Mash until you have a nice mush and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

6. Place mush in a cheese cloth placed over a jug. Use a spoon to move around the mush in order to drain out the juice. Be careful because you don't want to push bits of apple into your juice. The cleaner the juice, the clearer the jelly.

7. Pour the juice into a measuring cup until you have 5 cups. You can wait for the juice to cool before moving on to step 8 but we just washed the pot and kept working.

8. Mix 5 cups of juice, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 7.5 cups of sugar in a clean pot. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.

9. Remove from heat, stir in 1 pouch of liquid Certo, and continue to stir and skim off the foam for 5 minutes.
Place in jars while still hot and leave on the counter to set.  You'll notice the jelly get darker as it cools and you'll know it's done when you hear the "ping" and the top doesn't move when you press on it.

There you have it: delicious apply jelly made with fresh local apples. I've been enjoying mine on crackers and toast, smiling every time I eat is as it reminds me of time spent with a friend.

Thanks again for welcoming me here today. If you'd like to see more of my projects, stop on over to Polka Dots and Paisley and say hi. I'd love to have you.


Monday, August 19, 2013

You're Gonna Love It - Week 68

Welcome to another fun week of the You're Gonna Love It link party!
I hope you all are well?  
Are you enjoying the last few weeks of Summer before Fall hits?
We had record high temps over the weekend and are 
to be in the 90's all this week!
I'm hoping we cool off somewhat by the time 
Labor Day weekend hits so that our move is not unbearable!

This Thursday, August 22nd, marks the second anniversary of this here blog!
I can't believe how much fun I have had these past 731 days!  
So many new and good friends I have had the pleasure 
to "meet" virtually and a few, even in person! 
I have learned soooo much it is just mind boggling sometimes! 
One important lesson I have learned, you guys really like to party so,
Party On Friends! 

The most clicked on link came from my good buddy Cynthia from Feeding Big.
Cynthia shared 10 awesome uses for coffee filters.
I know you can find filters cheap at the dollar stores and next time 
I am there, I'll be grabbing a pack to try some of these ideas out on!
Thanks Cynthia!  Be sure to grab an I've Been Featured button found here.


Let's Party!

Feel free to link up anything you have created.
Recipes, decor, crafts, written or photographed.
Anything you are so proud of
you just gotta share it with others.
I will reserve the option of deleting
any post that I do not feel fits the
theme of my blog. 
Please limit your link ups to
just 2 or 3. 

I love to spotlight
some of my favorites on my
Facebook page and pin them to my 
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday board on Pinterest so,
be sure to follow me there too!

As always, you don't have to
be a follower
in order to link up.
 I want you to follow
Kathe With An E
because you want to.
Not because it is required.

 I would also love it if you would link back
in some way so that others come and party with us.
Either grab the party button
or add my blog link
to your post or on your
  blog party page.
But again, it's not required.  


I ask that you please 
DO NOT link up
giveaways, Etsy shops or anything for sale.
Save those for the first Tuesday of each month
when,
Anything Goes!

Please remember, this is a party
so, after you link up,
mingle around 
and visit some of the other party guests.


*By linking up your post, you are giving Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

Be sure to stop by and visit these other great linky parties this week!
Life on Lakeshore DriveOne More Time Events

 PJH Designs