My Favorite Things

Happy Saturday! I figured I would have a little fun this afternoon and compile a list of my favorite things. I would love it if you all would share your answers, too! And if you come up with more questions, let me know, and I'll do another post.

What's Your Favorite...?

1. Candy
Dark Chocolate all the way!

2. Board Game
I love all board games, but my favorites are Settlers, Bananagrams, Dutch Blitz, and Yahtzee

3. Holiday
Easter

4. Childhood Memory
Vacationing with my family

5. Cereal
It changes all the time, but currently I'm into Whole Wheat Chex

6. Type of Cookie
White chocolate macadamia nut

7. Sport to play
Tennis

8. Sport to Watch
Hockey or basketball because they're both fast-paced. I'm not a huge fan of watching sports, but my husband is, so I've learned to enjoy it.

9. Candy from Childhood
Root beer flavored Bottle Caps

10. Pet
My cockatiel from childhood

11. Clothing Store
Second-hand/consignment stores are the best, but I also like Maurice's

12. Breakfast food
Pancakes!

13. Pop/Soda/Soda Pop
I prefer juice, but if I had to choose a pop, it would be Ginger Ale

14. Person
My husband! (aka Mr. Handsome)

15. Restaurant
Olive Garden

My College Years

Anne and me

First off, thank you for all your wonderful ideas of how to celebrate one million pageviews! I'm going to talk with Mr. Handsome and get back to y'all soon.

Remember when you submitted questions and feedback to my "Ask Ellie" post? I look at those comments frequently and have been using them to plan my blog posts. (Feel free to continue to submit ideas, either as a comment or via email--nashvillewife@gmail.com.)

A few of you asked me to blog about my college years, so here goes!

I chosen a state school with a student population of more than 40,000. Not only was tuition significantly cheaper than private or out-of-state schools, but I had heard from multiple sources that the journalism department was very strong. (With scholarships, my education costs were very reasonable.) I also had a friend from church who was a sophomore in architecture and had great things to say about the academic strength of the university.

My friend had told me about the house she lived in on campus, so I visited and absolutely fell in love with it. Of course I was nervous about attending such a large, public school, but she assured me that this house would provide a close-knit community of caring girls to lean on.

I ended up being accepted into both the university and the house, and my friend's words proved true. I was blessed to be able to stay in that house during all five of my semesters on campus, so I never had to experience true dorm life.

I lived with 37 other Christian girls in a four-story house. We did all our own cooking and cleaning, which meant we paid significantly less than those who lived in the dorms. Next door was a house full of Christian guys who kept an eye on us. (Don't worry, we had plenty of rules--which we made--to prevent shady things from happening.)

Each girl shared a study room with one or two others, although we slept dormitory-style, with 20 girls in one large attic room and 18 in the other.

My study room in freshman year

You may be surprised to hear that I have never slept better in my life than I did during college! Even though everyone went to bed at different times and the door was constantly opening and closing, no one ever complained. I rarely ever woke up. The room I was in--called the "warm dorm"--was kept at a constant 65 degrees, and the other--the "cold dorm"--was somewhere between 15 and 50 degrees, depending on the season. (In the winter, they kept the windows open...)

Every week, each girl prepared one or two meals for the entire house and cleaned one or two areas; bathrooms were always the worst. Every Sunday after church, we had the guys over for lunch, which meant we had to make food for 70 people. (The boys prepared dinner for us on Saturday nights, but let's just say that many of the girls elected to make their own food.)

We had plenty of social events and study parties, and there was always someone to talk to. It truly was a great way to spend my college years! I'll be forever grateful to God for the life-long friendships I made while living there, especially the one with a gal named Anne. She introduced me to her family, and a certain brother of hers and I really hit it off. LOL. Click here to read more about how I met Mr. Handsome.

Oh, and by the way, I graduated with a bachelor's in journalism and concentrations in both business and public relations.

1 Million Pageviews!

I told myself that I was going to check my Nashville Wife pageview meter every night before bed so I could watch it switch over from 999,999 to 1,000,000. But alas, my busy life got the best of my, and I missed it...

So today, I'm at 1,026,000 pageviews. Woohoo!

Of course, I couldn't have done it without my wonderful readers. Y'all are the best! I love sharing my life with you and chatting with you via the comments section.

Please feel free to share your suggestions for my blog, either as a comment or an email (NashvilleWife@gmail.com). Many readers have done that already, and I hope many more will!

Lastly, we must find a way to celebrate this milestone. Any ideas? Someone mentioned doing a giveaway. What do you think I should raffle off? 

As always, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. :)

Have a blessed day!
Ellie

Drawing the World...Freehand

As I shared with you back in November, I elected to leave public school after 10th grade and homeschool during my last two years of high school. (Click here to read about my homeschool journey.)

My in-laws have seven kids, of which Mr. Handsome is the oldest, and all have been homeschooled for the majority of their childhoods. The first five, who are now in their 20s, were homeschooled until high school, and the youngest two--Mae and Lena, ages 13 and 14--will most likely be homeschooled all the way through.

Last weekend, my mother-in-law joked that she wishes she could go back and homeschool her five oldest again. "I've learned so much through the Classical Conversations curriculum that I'm doing with the little girls," she said. Truthfully, all of her older kids are very successful, so she was clearly a good teacher.

Are any of you familiar with Classical Conversations? It's a rigorous co-op program that divides the learning process into three stages: grammar, dialect, and rhetoric. Let's just say that the oldest five are glad they didn't have to go through it. As someone who grew up in the public school system, I can tell you that Classical Conversations kids learn more useful information than public school students.

The most amazing part of the curriculum is how much the kids memorize. In middle school, they learn how to draw the world freehand and label ever country and its capital. Mae has already mastered that, but she enjoys practicing her skill.

Here is a time-lapse video of her freehand drawing the United States. Naturally she claims it "isn't very good"...

Mother's Day Craft for Kids

Footprint Butterfly Flower Pot 

Mother's Day is less than one week away. Are you looking for a last-minute craft for your kiddos? If you are, you'll love this post!

We don't have any children (yet), but I helped my sister-in-law Anne with her Mother's Day craft. (It's supposed to be from her 21-month-old daughter Ana, but of course we ended up doing all the work.)

Anne found the idea on Pinterest, and I think it's quite adorable. Kudos if you can get your child to sit still long enough to put paint on the bottoms of their feet and press their feet onto the flower pot. My niece wouldn't have any part of that, so we made paper cutouts of Ana's feet.

We positioned the cutouts on the flower pot and lightly traced them with a pencil. Then we used paint brushes and acrylic paint to fill them in and draw the butterfly's body.

Once we finished the first flower pot, we spent a few moments admiring our handiwork and proceeded to make seven more. (In addition to her mom, Ana has two grandmothers, three great-grandmothers, and two great-great-grandmothers.)

The flower pots we used were seven inches tall, but you will want to measure your child's feet before going to the store. This craft works for children of any age! (Click here to see the "grownup craft" that my husband made for our moms.)

I'm not wearing makeup in this photo, so don't look too closely ;-)

No-Sew Fleece Blanket

A couple weekends ago, I was invited to a friend's baby shower. I checked her gift registry, but most of the items have been purchased, so I decided to do a homemade gift. After thinking it over, I came up with the perfect idea: a no-sew fleece blanket!

I visited the fabric store and bought an adorable animal print pattern for one side of the blanket and a plain brown piece of fleece for the other side.

I made my blanket 1-1/2 yards, but looking back, I would have preferred it to be only one yard, as that would have been the perfect size for a car seat or stroller cover.

The general rule of thumb for no-sew blankets is...
Infant: 1 yard
Toddler/child: 1.5 yards
Teen/adult: 2 yards (or 2-1/2 for taller adults)

What do you think of the finished product? (The feet belong to Lena, my 13-year-old sister-in-law). The tutorial video that I followed is embedded below.

Best Lasagna Recipe

Lasagna is one of my favorite foods. I always grew up thinking it was difficult to make, but when I attempted it on my own, I realized that it's fairly simple to prepare...and so delicious!

Do you usually boil your noodles ahead of time when you make lasagna? I never have, and it always turns out great, so I'm wondering if it's worth it?

Best Lasagna Recipe 

(With Homemade Sauce)

Homemade Meat Sauce:
2 pounds ground sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon basil
2 Tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
6 oz can tomato paste
Mushrooms (optional)
1 zucchini, shredded (optional)
1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)

Cottage Cheese Mixture:
2 cups cottage cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

Step 1: Brown sausage. Drain, and add to medium-sized sauce pan. Add remaining sauce ingredients, and stir to combine. Bring sauce to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes.
 

Step 2: Boil 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles (I always skip this step...) In medium-sized bowl, mix cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt, and pepper.

Step 3: Now it's time to assemble your lasagna in a 9x13-inch pan. Start with 1/3 of the meat sauce, and follow with 3 noodles.

 Step 4:  Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles, and sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese.

Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4. Follow with 3 more noodles and the remainder of the meat sauce.

Step 6: Cover with foil, and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 20 minutes. Let stand before serving. Enjoy!

Best Lasagna Recipe 

(With Homemade Sauce)

Homemade Meat Sauce:
2 pounds ground sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon basil
2 Tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
6 oz can tomato paste
Mushrooms (optional)
1 zucchini, shredded (optional)
1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)

Cottage Cheese Mixture:
2 cups cottage cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: 
1. Brown sausage. Drain, and add to medium-sized sauce pan.
2. Add remaining sauce ingredients, and stir to combine.
3. Bring sauce to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Boil 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles (I always skip this step...)
5. In medium-sized bowl, mix cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt, and pepper. 
6. Assemble in a 9x13-inch pan. The 10 layers are as follows (from bottom to top):
    1/3 of meat sauce
    3 noodles
    1/2 of cottage cheese mixture
    1/2 of mozzarella cheese
    1/3 of meat sauce
    3 noodles
    1/2 of cottage cheese mixture
    1/2 of mozzarella cheese
    3 noodles
    1/3 of meat sauce
7. Cover with foil, and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. 
8. Remove foil, and bake another 20 minutes. Let stand before serving.