Recipe of the Day: Mommy's Meatloaf from Brianna Thomas

Another Brianna Thomas recipe!!



This was a delicious meatloaf and SO easy to make! The hubby LOVED IT! I mean seriously - he was shoveling it in and then had it for leftovers the next night. He NEVER EVER eats leftovers!! My pickiest eater actually liked it...except the onions. I hated onions in stuff as a kid too - I think I'll leave the onions out next time I make it. I'll use some onion powder or something like that. The other two kiddos weren't huge fans...but what kid loves meatloaf?

We will have this again for sure! We had this with salad and our favorite Instant Pot Mac and Cheese!!



Lots of healthy fats in this recipe and I use Dreamfields pasta so it's THM friendly!!

Both are THM:S!

Verse of the Day

Recipe of the Day - Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole from Brianna Thomas

Creamy Rice Chicken Rice Casserole from Brianna Thomas
THM:E




I loved this recipe! The kids...1 out of 3 ate it. Hubby - hmmmm...didn't seem thrilled but ate it. Too many veggies for him I think. But I loved it and now have tons of leftovers!! Haha! Bonus!!

Saint of the Day: January 31, 2107

St. John Bosco

Patron of apprentices, editors and publishers, schoolchildren, magicians, and juvenile delinquents

My New Way To Eat - Trim Healthy Mama

Who needs to lose weight? It seems like I'm always needing to shed a few pounds. It's something I've struggled with since around college. In high school I *thought* I was fat. That makes me sad because when I look back at pictures of myself then, I was a perfectly proportioned, beautiful young lady. I spent a lot of time not liking myself when I really had nothing to dislike. 

Fast forward to now...I am still a beautiful *youngish* lady. Not exactly perfectly proportioned any more! I strive to LIKE myself no matter what I LOOK like but to be perfectly honest, I don't do a great job at that most of the time. I look in the mirror and feel sick to my stomach at what I see there. I shy...okay RUN...away from cameras which makes me sad because I'd like to have more pictures of myself with my kids and husband. I dread shopping because I hate the sizes I have to buy and I leave depressed because nothing looks right. And let's face it - being overweight is just flat out uncomfortable. Nothing fits right or feels right. No bueno!

I've been on many weight loss journeys in my life. Weight Watchers has gotten tons of my money and time - I even worked there as a receptionist weigh-er and a leader in the past. It's a great program that stands the test of time! But...lately I just couldn't get myself motivated to do it again. I needed something new and different. Something that would challenge me a bit. 

I ran across an eating plan called Trim Healthy Mama. It's a little bit of a lot of things. It's got some clean eating, some focus on healthy fats, some focus on low carb but also focus on healthy carbs. There's also a lot of stuff missing...counting calories being the main one!

I love, love, love everything I'm eating and I love, love, love how I FEEL. I don't every feel hungry and shaky. I don't feel sugar lows and highs. I don't feel deprived. I don't miss anything I'm not eating anymore which is basically just sugar and things like potatoes, white bread, etc. I know - I don't miss SUGAR. I don't know how that is but it's true!





There is a little more cooking, planning, preparing involved while doing this plan. About a year ago, I tried the 21 Day Fix by Beachbody and I really struggled with this part of the plan. I honestly don't know what is different this time. I can't put my finger on it. I really have not had trouble keeping up with the extra work involved in following this plan. 

The ladies who developed this plan are amazingly beautiful Christian women. They emphasize over and over that you have to give yourself grace while going through the process. They want you to eat every 3-4 hours and so their saying if you mess up is that your only 3 hours away from turning it back around. I love this! I have fallen off several "diets" because of one little mess up. One small candy bar can derail weeks of doing great. But this saying helps me remember that I can just get right back on the horse again and do better the next meal.

Okay, the fun stuff...I've lost 11 pounds in the 5 weeks I've been doing this. So a tiny bit above 2lbs a week...that's pretty good and steady weight loss. I'll take it!! So, please indulge me as I keep you updated on weight loss and share info and recipes etc in the future!

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links**

Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion - Product Review

Alright friends...gonna get real up in here! For the past several years I've struggled with...well, something...on my back. At one point the dermatologist said it was Keratosis Pilaris. Later he said it was back acne - or more commonly known on the street as bacne - haha. I've used prescription medicines, creams, gels and also tried some essential oils - whatever I could find. I kept my hair super long (for me) for a much longer time than I would have liked because I wanted my back hidden. I've suffered through wearing bathing suits and knowing everyone could see it. I've blushed as people have told me I have a rash and blushed knowing people were seeing it and wondering but not saying anything. I thought I'd just have to live with this condition and embarrassment forever. But then the gal who does my hair and my good friend, Sheila, was running a special on Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion. I read about it and saw a review from a woman saying that she used it and it made her bacne go away! I thought I'd give one more thing a chance and told Sheila I wanted to buy some of the lotion. I didn't tell her I'd read that review and I told myself not to get my hopes up. It would most likely be another dead end. I was delighted when she said she'd drop off a bottle if I would write a review about it.

Well my friends...this stuff did the trick. Nothing I've tried has helped...but this did. Not only did it work, it worked fast! Just within a few days I could tell a difference. Now I can't see it's all completely gone, but the redness and raised bumps are gone. The itchiness is gone. The dry crackly skin I had back there is gone. It's AMAZING!!! Sheila couldn't even believe her eyes when I went to get my hair done a few weeks ago and she saw the difference!

Like I said before, I'm not one to pay a lot of money for products like lotion...but I will pay whatever it takes to keep using this wonderful product!!

**I received this product for free in trade for a fair and honest review**

Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion - Product Review

Alright friends...gonna get real up in here! For the past several years I've struggled with...well, something...on my back. At one point the dermatologist said it was Keratosis Pilaris. Later he said it was back acne - or more commonly known on the street as bacne - haha. I've used prescription medicines, creams, gels and also tried some essential oils - whatever I could find. I kept my hair super long (for me) for a much longer time than I would have liked because I wanted my back hidden. I've suffered through wearing bathing suits and knowing everyone could see it. I've blushed as people have told me I have a rash and blushed knowing people were seeing it and wondering but not saying anything. I thought I'd just have to live with this condition and embarrassment forever. But then the gal who does my hair and my good friend, Sheila, was running a special on Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion. I read about it and saw a review from a woman saying that she used it and it made her bacne go away! I thought I'd give one more thing a chance and told Sheila I wanted to buy some of the lotion. I didn't tell her I'd read that review and I told myself not to get my hopes up. It would most likely be another dead end. I was delighted when she said she'd drop off a bottle if I would write a review about it.

Well my friends...this stuff did the trick. Nothing I've tried has helped...but this did. Not only did it work, it worked fast! Just within a few days I could tell a difference. Now I can't see it's all completely gone, but the redness and raised bumps are gone. The itchiness is gone. The dry crackly skin I had back there is gone. It's AMAZING!!! Sheila couldn't even believe her eyes when I went to get my hair done a few weeks ago and she saw the difference!

Like I said before, I'm not one to pay a lot of money for products like lotion...but I will pay whatever it takes to keep using this wonderful product!!

**I received this product for free in trade for a fair and honest review**

Spring Cleaning Help!

What do you think of when you think of spring? Easter, grass, bunnies? Allergies, sneezing, cleaning? The good and the bad of spring. Today I want to focus on spring cleaning. I've come across a few new products to help with this unpleasant part of spring that I'll be sharing.

Today I'm sharing how I'm using a tried and true product that everyone is familiar with...but maybe not in relation with cleaning. I received Arm & Hammer Baking Soda free to use and review. I had always thought that baking soda was only for...well, baking. But it actually does SO. MUCH. MORE. Like CLEAN!

I thought I'd start in the bathroom. I'm having trouble making my bath tub look clean. Despite the fact that I clean it regularly and despite the fact that I've cleaned it with all sorts of products - bleach, Comet, Soft Scrub...I cannot make it look sparking WHITE! Would baking soda be the answer? Well yes and no. Let's start with no. Sadly, the dark spot didn't go away. This is not the answer I've been searching for to get the white. BUT...I did get the sparkling! I'm not kidding - that tub sparkled like fairy dust had been sprinkled on it!

Next I decided to try it on a problem spot in the kitchen. My stainless steel refrigerator. We got this new fridge in January. It's beautiful...and spacious...and prone to STREAKING. The streaking drives me crazy.

See how awful! No matter what I did, it looked like this! So I wondered if the baking soda might be the trick and after a little Googling I found that it might be just the thing I needed!

I started by making a paste -  mixing baking soda with a bit of water. I used a microfiber cloth to spread the paste on and then took a piece of a wet old t-shirt and washed the paste off. Then I dried it with a paper towel. I started with one small area just to test it out and was blown away!

Success! It looked so GREAT that I did the rest!

So happy! Go get your own box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda! Use it for baking...cleaning..Get more information on this product HERE.

No More Busy!!

Someone posted an article on Facebook the other day called Busy Is A Sickness and it really got my wheels spinning! Go read it, I'll wait...

If you didn't follow directions, I'll sum it up a little bit. He speaks about how busy we all are these days and about how we wear our "busyness" like a badge of honor. When friends ask how we are doing, we tend to dramatically exclaim about ALL that we have to do and ALL that we have going on and then the friend commiserates and gives us a run down of how busy they are as well. But one day his friend put things into perspective - made him think of how lucky he was to either "get to" or "be able to" do all of the things he had to do in that day. And he began thinking of how much of his being overwhelmed came from self imposed anxiety.

After my conversation with my friend, I began to notice how much of my rushing was an overreaction to my "awfulizing" in my head. Most of the time, I manufacture urgency in hopes that it will create urgency in others. Instead, it only creates anxiety, resentment and spite. Which is absolutely counter-productive. And even in the cases where the urgency is real, it's often due to a packed schedule I created.

This is the part that really got me to thinking about my life and my feelings of stress. My husband and I were talking the other day about whether or not I should go to work at some point. He asked why I would want to do that when I am finally a stay at home mom like I have always wanted to be. I told him that I just haven't settled into it as easily as I thought I would. I like everything about it and feel so blessed but I just always have this uneasy feeling of guilt that I'm not earning money. After I read this article, it really hit me why I am not enjoying being at home like I thought. It has to do with what he says about manufacturing busyness. In my case it goes something like - I sit down to have a leisurely lunch on a slow day but  instead of enjoying it, I think of all the people at their offices working hard or other moms who want to be stay at home moms but are at work instead and then I feel guilty. So I rush through my lunch and start thinking of all the things I "should" be doing - organizing a closet, wiping down a baseboard, running an errand - and then I don't feel so guilty because I'm not relaxing, I'm stressing out and feeling pressure about all of these things that do need to be done but are not anything urgent or needing to be accomplished right at that moment. And if I really want to pile it on, I start thinking of all of the things I've not done that I probably should have or things I didn't do as well as I could have. And then I feel really nice and stressed and busy. And then I don't have to feel guilty!

Obviously, that is not good. And now that I realize it, I will stop. I woke up this morning feeling nauseous after a night of not very good sleep because I felt nauseous all night. The old me would have made myself fight through getting a bunch done all while feeling horrible. But today I thought about how much I've gotten done the past few days, about how once the kids get home this afternoon I'll have tons to do, and how I have a meeting tonight. I got comfy on the couch and started up my latest binge watching Netflix show(Hart of Dixie right now - SO good!) and I've been getting a baby mermaid tale done all morning...and NOT feeling guilty one bit about it.

The writer of the article sums it up with this

I am created in the image and likeness of God, yet somehow that isn't good enough for me. So I fill my Facebook feed and my calendar with self-important busyness to avoid just being. In the process, I not only miss out on the peace and beauty that lies within myself, but I also miss seeing that same beauty in others, because my manufactured urgency has covered it up with anxiety and worry.
It's time I let my busyness rest in peace.
So my prayer today is this. That I stop defining myself by my doing, and start defining myself by my being. That I stop measuring time by the clock on the wall, and start measuring it by the experiences I share with those around me. And that I stop seeing my life as "busy," and instead, see it for what it truly is.
Full.

I am adopting this prayer and hope that you can do the same!

Red Cups and Killer Whales

Today I've read about people being mad about the color of the new Starbucks cups...still don't really get that one. And then college students and professors being mad at a college president who subsequently resigned. A mall "sterilized" Christmas so as not to offend shoppers...which ended up offending shoppers anyway. People are mad about killer whale shows so SeaWorld is going to stop having them. Isn't that the main attraction of Sea World?

If I was an alien visiting this planet for the first time and reading Twitter or the news in an attempt to learn more about the planet I just landed on, I would deduce that in order to fit in I would need to find some things to get angry about. Or I might think I need to figure out what things other people might get angry about and worry about that and change what I do in order to keep from agitating folks. 

I'm getting really tired of all the anger. I see the worrying everyone has to do about what might set others off. And it makes me sad to see so many companies making such drastic changes to their business models or people altering their lives in order to appease the angry mobs.

Why are people these days so threatened by those with different views from themselves? Why do we have to get bent out of shape over anything that doesn't go our way or seem to fit in line with our opinions or worldviews? 

It's a bunch of adults acting like children in my opinion. My kids expect everyone to do what THEY want them to do and to think exactly as THEY think and to stop anything that bothers THEM. It's my job as their parent to help them to understand that there are a lot of people in the world doing things that we don't necessarily agree with or even like. Why don't other people understand that these days?

I have no suggestions on how to change this or calm everyone down. I just had to vent a bit...before the anger takes over me and I pick up a protest sign and a frowny face and start marching around demanding everyone change everything for ME!!

It's The M-O-S-T Wonderful Time Of The Year...On TV!

This makes me SOOOOOOO happy!!

Changes, Changes, Lots of Changes

So much has changed at the cottage! As of a month or so ago, I am no longer selling Shabby Paints. It was a hard decision to make but one that I am already seeing is the right one. I was having such a hard time keeping up with the business and my family and my house and everything. So I decided to focus on all of that - most especially...myself!

My house is a mess!!! So much chaos and disorganization! My kids are not a mess but I was a mess trying to keep up with all of their activities, reports, papers due etc. And me...well, I'm overweight, unhappy and not fun to be around! So all of that is getting remedied! Several wonderful programs and support systems have fallen into place for me and I can't wait to tell you about some of the things I've been doing to make changes!

I am also excited to start blogging more about my faith, politics, and world events like I did on my old blog Wheelbarrow Manor. I had stopped blogging there a long time ago. When I started my business I really wanted to keep that Wheelbarrow part of it (read the story of why here) and the cottage just seemed to fit better for the antique part of my business. Plus, truth be told, my house and current lifestyle is much more akin to a cottage than a manor!

So, I'm going to pick up where I am now right here at my cottage!! Hope you enjoy!

Color Charts and Scrubby Soap Rescue!

Anyone else struggling to keep kids entertained this summer? We are not constant camp people. I know some kids are in different camps every week of from the end of one school year to the beginning of another! Not only do we not have the money for that, I miss my kids during the school year and enjoy the time home with them! I also think there is great value in kids being bored. They learn to be creative!

I do admit to having gotten lazy about limiting screen time and television in the past few weeks though so I decided to get a little more strict last week. It paid off! After a few hours of them being miserably bored and me being the meanest mom EVER, they got together and started writing and planning a movie. They ended up recruiting a few other neighborhood kids as well. There are costumes changes, hair and make up, and even a flash back scene. I am not allowed to see any of it until it's done of course but from the bits and pieces I've seen them doing and heard them talking about, I am anticipating an epic thriller!

They did have some down time in between filming the other day though and the "B" (bored) word was bandied about. My rule is that if I hear the "B" word, I will put the offender to work! Usually chores but this time it was a little more fun than usual. I was working on color charts to sell in the booth and online so they got to help with that and thought it was great fun!

My middle daughter helped as well but I didn't get a picture. She is the one who ran off and left the paintbrush on the table with Cranberry Bliss in it! I had no idea until a day or so later when I went to work on it some more and found a dried up, sticky Cranberry Bliss mess of a paintbrush. Yikes! Momentary panic but I then I thought...

Using my Scrubby Soap I was able to get the Cranberry Bliss mess off of my brush and continue on making little paint dots!

These will be available in the next week or so! It is taking longer than you would think and there are a few colors that I don' have in my personal stash. I don't want to open brand new jars so I'm trying to figure out a work around on that!

Meanwhile, Scrubby Soap is available in Orange and Lemon at both the Antique Gallery of Mesquite location (booth #0622) and the Amazing Again Furniture location in Dallas!

Informative and Instructional How To Video - Gelato Gel Stain

Have you used the Gelato Gel Stain yet? I haven't...and I'm NOT happy about it! It's just so crazy with the kids home for summer. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE having them home and we have a great time - going to the pool, shopping, playing board games, movies.

It's just hard to focus on anything because when we're home I'm either exhausted from whatever activity we've done that day or they're coming in and asking me things or showing me what they just made or telling me who just did what to them. I'm so ADHD that it just takes one little thing for me to get distracted and completely loose my train of thought!

Headed to the pool!!

So the furthest I've gotten on trying the Gelato is to do little sample boards which gave me a great feel for what the colors look like but not really how to use the product.

Luckily for me, Kandice from Just For the Woods, who not only does amazing work but she stages beautifully, made a video for us!  She did a bunch of pieces with the Gelato Gel Stain before it came out so that we'd have some examples to show like in this post.



Hope this helps! I'm hoping to get around to doing some practicing so I can let you know what I think and then maybe once school starts I can get a video done as well! I know it's helpful to watch how different people do it. For example, I will more than likely use a brush so that will be a big difference!

I'll be putting this video on the video section of my website if you need to see it again later!

Send pics if you do any projects with Gelato Gel Stain!

Exciting New Changes, Paint Colors and Products for Wheelbarrow Cottage

There is something about July that brings about changes to the booth at the Antique Gallery of Mesquite (booth #0622)!

Last July, we had outgrown our display and needed something new! We went from this tiny little display...

To shelves!

Later we added a second wall of shelves on the other side but I don't have a picture of that. We outgrew both of those and moved the paint to the inside of the booth on two walls!

 So fun to look back and see the progression!

So the booth is stocked now with the new colors - Americano, Goodnight Gracie and Irish Cream - and the new product - Gelato Gel Stain. You can read more about these new products here!

We're also stocked back up on Vax Applicator Sponges as well as Scrubby Soap!

A BIG shout-out of thanks to my wonderful mom and dad who yet again did all of this work!!  While I was enjoying 4th of July with my family, they snuck out there and did ALL of this!!  I'm so blessed to have their support!

The hours at the Antique Gallery of Mesquite are M-Sat 10-6 and Sun 12-6! Head out and visit booth #0622 soon!

Even MORE Exciting Annoucement: New Shabby Paints Product!!!

My last post described how I felt like a kid at Christmas waiting for the new Shabby Paints colors to get here.  Well, I can't really even put words into describing how excited I am about this next announcement!!  WAY OVER THE TOP!!!!

Besides new colors...Shabby Paints is coming out with a NEW PRODUCT!!!  We are so proud and excited to announce this amazing, revolutionary, life changing item!!!  NO!  I'm NOT exaggerating!!
Don't like the look of painted furniture but need to fix some up?  Want to paint the base of a piece but leave the top wood stained?  Just want to try something different? 

Introducing...Shabby Paints Gelato Gel Stain

Here's why you'll LOVE Shabby Paints Gelato!!  It's a Safe, One-Step Seal and Stain. No more fumes!!! Now you can have that rich, lustrous, quality finish without earth damaging chemicals. 

Gelato Gel Stain Vs. oil Based Stains
Less Mess
More Coverage
Non Toxic
Water Based
No stink
Sealer and Stain in one
Non Flammable
Better for the Environment

It comes in 3 beautiful colors: Dark Chocolate, Dark Roast and Dark Cherry! Take a look at some gorgeous work done by Shabby Paints owner Shannon and some by Kandice at Just the Woods did to preview this amazing product and be sure to go and visit her blog!

Dark Chocolate Gelato Stain

Dark Roast Distressed

These were posted by Shabby Paints owner, Shannon!

 Dark Cherry 

have a

Pardon Me, Hazelnut ReVax and Dark Chocolate Gelato Gel Stain on top.

 This shows the progression - sand, first coat, second coat!

Now, you do need to sand with this product.  Not completely sanded down but enough to give your piece some "tooth" for the stain to grab onto.  Then use a damp brush to paint it on!  

 I already know exactly what piece I'm going to be doing first when I get my hands on this stuff!  I just can't decide which color!!!

Shabby Paints Gelato Gel Stain comes out June 15th!!

Exciting Announcement: New Shabby Paints Colors!!

Shabby Paints is releasing some new colors!

 I tell ya...nothing gets me as excited as new colors!  I'm like a kid at Christmas checking my email over and over to see if they're going to be delivered soon!  

Aren't they pretty!!  They are ordered and on their way!  I can't wait to try them out.  It's hard to decide which ones to start with first!

I will let you know as soon as I get them on the shelves.  Start shopping for some pieces to try them out on!  There will be another chalk acrylic paint color (a pink almost fuscia) and a shimmer paint color (blue) coming soon as well - I will be getting them on the next order and will have them just as soon as possible!

Coming next...NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

Giveaway ON!!!

Yay!  We did it!  We not only reached 500 followers on our Facebook Page...we surpassed it!  So exciting!  Thank you for making it happen!  We love our followers and customers so...the giveaway is ON (doesn't include the bench or basket shown in the picture)!!! 

It will run through May 20, 2015 so go...go...go... get entered! this Rafflecopter giveaway
And good luck!!

Giveaway...COMING soon!!

We're at 492 followers on our Facebook page! SOOOOOO close to 500!!  Let's get there and then...we'll have a giveaway!!

Once we get to 500 we'll start a giveway for an 8oz chalk acrylic paint (your choice of colors), a 4oz Vax and an R16 ClingOn! Paintbrush!!  This is a great starter kit for newbies or a way to try a new color and have a little extra Vax for those regulars out there!  And the paintbrush...the round ones are my new favorites lately!  You're going to love this brush!!

So...refer your friends, family, neighbors...help us get to 500 and then be watching for your chance to enter the giveaway!!

Cling On! Paintbrushes Restocked

Exciting news!  I just got a HUGE order of Cling On! Paintbrushes!  The Antique Gallery of Mesquite and Amazing Again Furniture are both restocked with brushes.

Look at all of those lovely brushes!

I've been using the same brushes for quite a while now - P20, P16, F30, F40, and O35.  While they are still in great shape, a few are starting to show some signs of wear.  That's pretty darn good as most of them I've used for probably about a year now.

I have always preferred the flat brushes for most of my painting.  Of course the bent brushes (P20, P16) come in handy for many different areas of projects.  Here is an example:


But...as I was unpacking the new brushes I picked up a couple of the round brushes.  In particular, the R14.

 I LOVED the way it felt in my hand!  I can't explain it but it wasn't too big, wasn't too small - just felt really comfortable. I thought maybe it was going to be too small so I picked up the R16 and moved it around in my hands but the R14 just felt better to me.  This will be different for everyone.

I knew I had to try it next! I have been working with it a little bit this morning and LOVE IT!  It's my new go to for sure!

I hope you'll try a Cling On! very soon!  These brushes are sturdy.  They don't lose bristles.  They are easy to clean - especially with Scrubby Soap.

Here's a picture of the whole array along with prices.  I don't carry all of the brushes - but I have quite a few now.  I also do not carry the brush keeper.  I personally just keep mine in water while I'm using them.