In My Ears: Nikki Lane

Nikki Lane is one ballsy, badass babe. Her latest release All or Nothin' has been on repeat in my car and at my desk for a couple weeks now. And when it's not being played, I'm most liking singing along to it in my head. Sometimes out loud too. I swear these songs get so stuck in my head and that's not always a good thing. I find myself singing "tonight would be a good night to sleep with a stranger" out loud in public sometimes. Like at work. Or walking into my family reunion. Totally appropriate places like that.

"Sleep With A Stranger" was the first song to hook me, and I don't care how much of a prude you are, you can't help but chuckle at this one and kind of wish you were ballsy enough to admit that you just sometimes have those days. Lane's honesty in every song is so forthright that it grabs you when you least expect it. Every song is so raw and real. A different song tends to grab my attention every time I play this CD and it's one of those that I can listen to front to back, over and over. Not just pick and choose a song. I can relate to so many and then others just have this dreamy, vintage quality that I can't get enough of. The songs range from sad and lonely to setting your man straight and everything in between.

Seriously check this out. I can't get enough and I think the more I listen, the more I love it. I have a feeling this chick is about to get huge.

Oh and PS - it even passes the Elizabeth test. I'm pretty open minded to music, but Elizabeth is not. ESPECIALLY when it comes to female country music. She seriously likes like ONE female singer. So this is HUGE.

Texas Cookin': Chalupa Grande

"If you ever want a man to marry you, just make him chalupa grande." That's what my mama has been telling me for years. I can't personally say this theory is tried and true, but my mom and Nana seemed to have some pretty happy men in their life and they both made this on a regular basis so they may be on to something.

It's always been a hit. I like to make it in the crockpot in the winter and eat on it for a few days, then freeze the leftovers to make soup later (it makes a HUGE batch). Or make it in the summer because it doesn't require slaving over a stove for hours and it will feed a crowd!

My mom is actually famous for this recipe as it was published in Taste of Home wayyy back in 1992 and then later in the Taste of Home cookbook a couple years ago. Mama and Nana used to make it and take it to the fields for the workers during cotton harvest. The recipe is still posted online here! The little description cracks me up - it was back in their only-child days!

Photo from tasteofhome.com

If you've ever eaten or ordered a chalupa in a restaurant, this recipe is going to confuse you. I have no idea why it is called Chalupa Grande because it is NOT a chalupa. It's more of a Mexican roast recipe. I like to eat it in a bowl like stew with chips, or in a tortilla with the juice strained out. I always pack on plenty of extra cheese, avocado and hot sauce too!

Bunch of hungry crop dusters!

 Ingredients:
1 pound dried pinto beans
1 boneless pork loin roast (3 pounds)
7 cups water
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons cumino
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can chopped green chilies (OR 2 diced fresh jalepenos if you like it hotter - my preference)

Garnishes:
Corn chips, tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese
Diced avocado
Diced tomatoes
Chopped green or regular onion
Diced jalepenos
Salsa
Sour cream

Directions:
Place first 10 ingredients in a large kettle (crock pot works great). Beans do not need to be soaked. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 3 hours or until beans and roast are tender (about 6 hours in crock pot). Remove roast; cool slightly. Remove meat from bones; shred with a fork. Return meat to kettle. Cook, uncovered, until thick, about 30 minutes. Serve over corn chips or in a tortilla. Pass remaining ingredients as toppings. Yields 10-12 servings.

We're proud to be an American



Throw back 4th of July circa 1994. Selfie Fail.
Pre-Pinterest outfit awesomeness.

For us, Fourth of July has always been a family affair. Well, who am I kidding; anything is always a family affair with our family. But I am totally okay with that. Whether we were rocking amazing pre-Pinterest homemade stars and stripes apparel or crowed around in a backyard watching fireworks with giggly grandmothers and screaming children, Independence Day has always been a fun holiday for us!

 

I don’t know if it’s due to being a Marine’s daughter, a soldier’s grand-daughter or a seaman’s niece, but we have a lot of American pride deeply rooted in us. Whenever people ask where we are from (like, “from-from”, our heritage, not our hometown) I say America. We’ve been here long enough, and take a lot of pride in our family’s American history. Not a day goes by that my Daddy or Nana isn’t flying an American flag in the yard- and you sure better not let that thing touch the ground, you better fold it correctly, and then dispose of it properly. So this 4^th of July, let’s remember that the day isn’t about the party, the fireworks, the drinks or the food. Let’s do remember what Independence Day means, where we’ve come from as a nation, and love those who fought to get us to this point. But, let’s do this with a party, fireworks, drinks, food, family and friends.

We generally have a 3^rd of July celebration and ring in the 4^th with fireworks. We’ll do that tonight, and celebrate through the weekend. So, have a safe and fun 4^th of July weekend!

Food & Family. Our sweet cousin enjoying her Uncle Jeff's famous chicken leg last year on the 4th.

DIY: Pallet Texas Flag

I think it's hilarious that pallets are all the Pinterest rage these days. Growing up half my life on a freight dock and the other half in a hangar, pallets were EVERYWHERE. Seriously they were more like a pest than DIY material. I now see how versatile these things can be, but I can't believe some people PAY for the things, even before they have been repurposed. Seriously - if you need some pallets, just go drive around in a more industrial part of town. More than likely, there are plenty lying around and if you ask nice, I bet folks would be more than happy to let you to haul off a few.

This little project was so so so easy. I just slapped on some paint I had on hand. I didn't measure anything. I am NOT a perfectionist whatsoever, especially when it comes to projects, so everything I do ends up rustic looking because I like it rough around the edges. I used interior paint in white, a cherry red and a deep turquoise. I liked how the turquoise "girled" it up a bit, but if I had navy or royal blue on hand, I probably would have used that instead.

As you can see, these pallets are not the standard size ones you find lying around which are normally more square in shape, maybe a little longer on one side to make it barely a rectangle. The vertical one on the left actually came to our house when we had some parts delivered and it was already that size. The White and Red part was a regular-sized pallet that my dad had that we trimmed I think two slats off of to make it line up with the blue. I think you could play around with whatever pallets you have and just do whatever is easiest. Don't think too hard - don't do math. That's my DIY motto.

Vintage 7-Up cooler stolen gifted from the neighbors. Jalepeno and tomato plants in homemade dollar store planters and the lovely Fran the Flamingo from Coyote Candle Co.

 You could use any kind of paint, even craft paint would work. If you want to seal it (overachiever), it would probably last longer in the elements. Me? I think the more wear it gets, the better. The star was just an old rustic metal thing we happened to have that I hung on with just a nail. I shot it with the same white paint as well, however I may eventually have to go over it with some Rustoleum to keep it from rusting. Or maybe I'll just like the rusty look.

The actual cutting and painting part of this project took a solid ten minutes. Easy peasy lemon squeezey. Now for the hanging... if my roommate Emily and I had been left to our own devices, it would have taken around 10 minutes, been super rigged, but probably worked good enough for us. BUT, we made the mistake of letting boys be involved, so suddenly we had five ameteur engineers who just knew they could get this thing hung better than us. And about two hours later, it was done.

Just a little visit to the hardware store for some chain and hooks and this bad boy was flying pretty. I love how it adds a little something extra to the backyard. It would be even easier to hang on a fence or just lean on the corner of a patio or something. So fun, practically free (minus about $5 on hardware that I deemed completely unnecessary) and about a 20 minute project (if boys don't step in and ruin the fun ;).