The Week Before The Super Bowl - A Look At The Stadium Grounds

WARNING: This is a picture loaded post, but I know I have a few Packers fans that visit my blog and I am sure a few Steelers fans as well. I thought you'd like a up close and not so personal look at the place to avoid at all cost this coming week!

Of course the signage is everywhere. From every restaurant in four directions welcoming football fans to all the Super Bowl signage around the stadium itself.

And we are not talking small signs, I am talking HUGE signs. Huge outdoor screens to watching the game in the parking lot. Extra tickets were sold at $200.00 a pop to be able to stand in the parking lot to watch these huge screens during the game......ummmm.....no thanks.

All of the main roads around the stadium have announcements for road closures....On a day to day basis, this is a traffic problem area, and I simply can not imagine what this will be this next week. I have to admit, I won't be traveling in that area for the next two weeks. No way.

People were lined up for stadium tours. The parking lot was full. This was on Sunday, one week before the game and already cars everywhere.

All surrounding parking areas around the stadium have now become tent city. Not small tents mind you, but building size tents.

There are antennae everywhere. The major cell phone companies have set up a huge station there to try and support all the millions of additional phones for the area. I fear we will be lucky to even get a call to work over super bowl weekend.

Here is another look at the stadium, this parking lot had lots of golf carts and personnel on the other side, so I am not sure what this lot is stationed for.

 As we were doing a drive by of the stadium, I no sooner asked my husband if he thought there were already fans here in North Texas when I looked on the side of the road, and I saw two Green Bay fans walking down the street. So, yes, we have fans a week early, and the weather this week is supposed to be the coldest we have had since 1997. Nothing like welcoming fans used to frigid weather with a little of our own.

Here is the main street that runs by the stadium, only one lane open, this was a Sunday morning, and the traffic was already a mess.....this week, it will be a nightmare.

Attendants were stationed at every entrance as well as policemen.

This is a photo with half the signs installed. The other player will be on the right of the super bowl trophy sign and they were putting it up as we went by.

Again, tents and signs everywhere!

It is amazing how this has come together in such a short amount of time it seems. Everything from landscaping to new freeways have been built. It has been a lot of work, but looks like they are ready for the crowds.

Certainly the beer companies were not to be left out, very large signs are on the corners of the streets.

This was an amazing thing to see, the size of this is lost in the photos. It is gigantic in scale. Really an amazing sight to see.

From super large signs, to the smaller signs, super bowl fever has hit us here in our area. Our local news is full of stories, turn on the radio and that is what they talk about. We have been warned to visit local restaurants off the beaten path, avoid this area when possible, and find alternate routes on  your daily commute that will take you around this super bowl frenzy area.

I thought the World Series was an event to behold....never could have imagined all the fan-fare surrounding Super Bowl here in our area. It has been a wild time.

For all you who are far away from this mass confusion, thought you'd like a little peak at to the super bowl happenings the week before the main event. From what we saw, you'd think this past Sunday was super bowl Sunday.....it is a mad house in Arlington, Texas!

Disney or Taste of Home Magazine - 1 yr. subscription $2.99

I thought I'd share this today, because I felt it was just too good to pass up.
Southern Savers is offering your choice of Disney or Taste of Home magazine for $2.99 for a year subscription, and the best part is you can order up to 5 years worth of magazines at this same price.

Click HERE to be taken to this page. I just purchased Taste of Home this morning and also a subscription for my mom, so it is the correct price. The code works with no hidden fees or charges, shipping included. Best part is I did not have to sign up for anything but the magazine.

I thought some might be interested, it was too good not to share!!

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Doggie Treasures - Dachshunds & Company

Welcome to this week's Vintage Thingie Thursday! This week, I have a few vintage doggie things to show off! The first one is a wonderful bracelet my mom gave me for Christmas. I just love it....and here is why.............

This beauty was made by our very own....Lemondrop Vintage. (The photo is one she took so you can see the detail) My mom must have told her I wanted dachshund thingies and this bracelet is full of wonderful things, picked out just for me.

I ADORE the 1947 vintage Rabies tag....ADORE IT!!!, The little dogs, and things dogs love are so sweet. Click on the images to see an up-close look. I get lots of compliments on this piece, and really do treasure it. If you ever need a wonderful gift, don't forget to visit Lemondrop Vintage, she makes the very best bracelets I have ever seen. They are truly wonderful!!! Hint - Hint - I would love a sewing themed bracelet ;0)
And I 'd like to remind my sweet husband, I have a Birthday coming up!! LOL

This sweet little postcard has an adorable little dachshund and child. I am thinking this must be an Easter post card, but I can not read the writing. I love the colors in this card, so crisp and pretty. Maybe some of our friends read this language!

Here is the back, I simply love the handwriting. So pretty.

Here is a vintage dog I picked up last year at Goodwill. I know it is not a dachshund, but I thought it was so cute. These little dogs are the "company" part of the post.

Here is the underneath side stamp, made in Japan.

The same day, I found this cute little white doggie with the black one. I have them in a shelf that holds all my kitschy vintage things. They make me smile.

Here is the stamp on the white doggie, marked Japan. The stamp is a little different from the first.

Well.....and then I'd like to show you Dora....she started pouting when I pulled the other dogs out to take their picture. She feels like if it not a dachshund, then maybe I am not giving her the attention she needs. Silly dog....she is spoiled rotten, that is why she behaves so badly at times.....pouting included.

If you'd like to join in today, below are the instructions for Vintage Thingie Thursday!!! Have a great week everyone~~

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so  please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Easy Chicken Piccata

I thought I'd share a recipe I have used for a while now. It is really easy and super quick for a great meal during the week. My husband loves this dish and he always orders it when we eat Italian out at a restaurant. I decided to try and duplicate his favorite dish, and this one is pretty close.

Easy Chicken Piccata

What you will need:

* 4-5 whole Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
* Olive Oil (aprox 1 1/2 Tablespoon)
* 1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
* one clove of crushed garlic
* 1 1/2 cup White Wine
* 3 Lemons, Juiced and about 2 tablespoons of lemon zest
* 2 Tablespoons Capers
* 5 Tablespoons Butter, Cold
* Salt And Pepper, to taste

How to:

Pound chicken to an even thickness inside a plastic bag. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and saute in a very hot pan with a small amount of oil. Just brown the chicken breast, no need to cook all the way through, they will finish cooking in the last step.

Turn down the heat to medium and saute onions and garlic until soft, stir to keep from over cooking. De-glaze the pan with the white wine. Keep over the heat to reduce the wine by 1/2. then add the lemon juice and capers. Cook for just a couple of minutes.

Add the cold butter in pieces and stir as it melts. The butter should make the sauce thicken slightly and become creamy.

Once the butter is melted add chicken and coat with the sauce. Simmer until the chicken is done, possibly around 10 minutes or so.

Serve immediately, over pasta of your choice. You could also serve this with garlic mashed potatoes and of course garlic bread goes very well on the side.

Ready For Quilting: Brown Bag Quilt Project Quilt Top Finished

My first finish for 2011 happens to be my brown bag quilt project quilt top. I am sure most have read on my blog about my participation in this project. I finished the top and the back this weekend. In-case you don't remember the rules, they were simple. Exchange 2 yards of fabric with your swap partner, something you considered "ugly" and construct a quilt using 90% of the fabrics sent. Tada......I finished mine! (Click on pictures to make them bigger to get a closer look)

Here is the finished quilt top. We were to use the fabrics sent, and any amount from out stash with only buying one fabric to add to the quilt. I finally decided to pull out the scraps of batiks I had and a few other pieces that blended with the fabrics sent. I had no idea really what I was doing......seriously.

The one fabric I purchased was the large outer border fabric. I will be using the same fabric for the binding as well. The small gold border was part of the sent fabric, I had just enough for the small inner border. The pieced border was a complete after thought, but I needed to use up the gifted fabric, so I decided to piece the border in a similar fashion as I cut the blocks out in the quilt. I do like how that turned out. I have to say, that since I have participated in two different mystery quilts, my confidence at adding a pieced border has really gone up. I had no pattern for this pieced border, I just did my own thing, but I think it works well.

This was a really fun project. It required lots of planning and thinking about what and how to use the fabrics that I really might not have even looked at otherwise. It was a great lesson of stepping out of my comfort zone and using different types of fabrics than those that I am used to.

I am pretty pleased with the final top. I am sure it is a far cry from what Mary, my swap partner had in mind when she sent the fabric, but I hope she likes how it turned out. This is a pretty large quilt. It measures
79 1/2 X 102. I don't really ever think small when it comes to quilts, the larger the better. I don't know why that is.

Here is one more look at the outer border and the fabric I purchased. I think it goes pretty well with the busy looking quilt top.

This is the back of the quilt. I had the main fabric already in my stash, it was 5 1/2 yards, a little light than what I had originally planned, but with the two large pieced strips with it, so I think it will be fine. It really looks a little better in person than what the pictures show.

Here is a closeup of one of the pieced strips on the back. It was a good way to empty out my stash of all these fabrics and use them up in this quilt.

Here is a picture of the fabrics my swap partner sent me to use in this quilt. Some of you may remember them, but some may never have seen them.

And this is ALL that is left. If I had to guess, I used 98% of all the fabric Mary sent me and I think the finished quilt top turned out great. I am going to get this to the quilter soon, and I can not wait to get it back and get the binding on this one. I will have one more post on this project, and it will be once it is complete, I will show it once more. Thanks for following along in this journey, it has been a lot of fun. To see more wonderful quilts in the works, visit Judy at Patchwork Times.

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Family Treasures

A few weeks ago, I told you about getting some things that belonged to my Aunt and Grandmother from my Uncle's estate. Today, I  want to show you some of the vintage kitchen wares I was able to bring home.

Vintage Pyrex. This is two casserole dishes, one with a matching lid. I really love the design on these, and wish I knew what the pattern was called. I am going to have to research that and see if I can find the name of it.

This is a beautiful platter. Oh, I am loving this one, the shape, the flowers, the colors. There are no markings of any kind on this, so I have no idea of the maker or how old it might be. But is is one of my favorites.

Here is the detail of the flowers and edging. To me, it is a happy design.

Believe it or not, I do not have a deviled egg plate. When I spotted this one, I was thrilled to have it. The coloring is simply beautiful. I always make deviled eggs at Easter, and this year, I will have a beautiful plate to sit them on.

I have often wondered why I have not ever owned a egg plate, maybe it is because I only really make the eggs at Easter and never think about having one until it is time to make them. Anyway, now I won't have to worry about that and it is a beauty and belonged to my Aunt too, making it extra special.

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday everyone, I am looking forward to seeing all the vintage goodies today!

Quilting Along: Brown Bag Quilt, RRCB, and Begging Quilt Project to name a few!!

I decided it was time to give an update on my brown bag quilt. Some of you may remember me talking about this a couple of months ago and showing the fabrics I received. If you'd like to refresh your memory, HERE is

the original post.

....And here is a SNEAK peak of the progress of the quilt. Just a small, well....very small shot of the top and just a smidgen of the borders. Surely, you did not expect me to show the whole top when it is not all the way sewn together?!? "What's That?" Oh, you did....well, just a few more days and I will display her in all her glory. Did you catch that....GLORY. I am happy with how this top turned out. It was a challenge using all the fabrics that were sent in the brown bag, but I have successfully done that.

I used some fabrics I had in my stash, that I had no idea what to do with. I went a totally different direction from when I first started out, but I guess that happens sometimes. We were allowed to buy one fabric to add to this quilt and the fabric I purchased was the outer border. I had the backing fabric and although it is not a perfect choice, when I finish with what I intend to do, I think it will look fine.

I can not wait to show my partner this top...but sorry Mary, you will have to wait a little longer!!

Along with working on this top, and the Roll Roll Cotton Boll quilt top by Bonnie Hunter, I have taken some of Bonnie's advice and decided to reclaim some fabric from thrift store finds. I have had a ball rescuing men's shirts for $1.00 each at the local Goodwill and preparing them to go into a quilt.

Just look at all this goodness. About half of these I had already purchased about a year ago, and decided to use Bonnie's method and cut them up and have the fabric ready to use in a project.

These fabrics are from Children's clothes, that I found for 50 cents a piece, I love these fun designs.

This is the year to be frugal on fabric purchases! I think I am off to a good start with these shirts. Besides that I have fallen in love with the idea of making quilt tops like they did in days gone by, using shirts, sacks, or whatever scrap they had on hand. I am excited to get started on this project soon.

One last update:  The begging quilt project is well on its way to being constructed!!! I even received some fabrics in the last couple of weeks and was thrilled, because I needed just a wee bit more for the size I want this to be. Stay tuned for more on this quilt! And again, thank you so very much for all who contributed to this quilt....it is going to be very special!