Homemade Mashed Taters

well, I had a lovely recipe for you ladies today

when making mashed taters I normally don't have a recipe, I just do everything to taste

well I got to work measuring and writing everything down, taking pictures and making sure that this post would be awesome. 

I wrote down the times I started and the time that it was finished so you would know how long it took to prep and cook this dish.

BUT when I went to take it out of my home management notebook, said recipe was nowhere to be found!

What good is a  home management notebook if you can't find what you need?!

lol

So I'm going to try as hard as possible to remember errathang that went down

we really like homemade potatoes. It might take a lot longer to make, but I know whats going into my food.

I know some people don't consider mashed potatoes a healthy dish, but it's healthier than you think

since it's homemade

This recipe will give you a lot of leftovers but its better to be safe than sorry

Cast of Characters: 

(serves 4)

4 potatoes

 1/4 - 1/2 cup milk

4 TBS butter

1/2 - 1 tsp paprika {or just enough to make it pink} optional

1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder

2 TBS mayo, totally optional if you want to keep it "skinny"

1 TBS salt, or to taste

get a really big pot.... as big as you can get it.

this is a Paula Deen stock pot I got for Christmas :)

peel and dice your potato. It doesn't matter to what size, as long as they're all equal in size

Place them in the pot

THEN add water, just enough to cover

put on the lid, but leave some space for the steam to release

Sometimes I get a little carried away and forgot to take pictures... sorry

set your eye to med-high heat and let water come to a boil, with taters in it

once it comes to a boil allow for 20-30 minutes or until tender

drain in a colander

Place in a large bowl or a stand mixer bowl

Start mixing in stand mixer on a low level or with electric mixer

add milk, butter and mayo until desired consistency is met

add salt and garlic powder. 

stop mixer for taste test

then add paprika

place them in a serving dish. If they're ready a little early you can place tin foil over them to keep warm

I started peeling the potatoes and at 5:41 and I set them on the table at 6:24

If you make them, let me know how they turn out for you :)

dear whitney

if I ever had a chance to write a letter to my younger self
it would be 
a letter for encouragement
a letter for comfort
a letter for peace

and this is probably what it would look like

dearest whitney, 
never blame yourself for your parents' divorce. 
never put value in your appearance,
unless you are praising your husband at the city gates



you have no idea how many times you will blog from the bathroom while your youngest plays in the tubby
or how many times Tangled will be watched in a days time
you'll always have one sock looking for its sole mate


 you might not know it now, but you will grow to have a love for women's ministry
you will grow to love serving others
baking, cooking, planning 
for your fellow neighbor


the demons you grew up with as a child will be forever present, 
but I can promise you, that you have overcome them


That man that you called dad
the one that was never around
you forgive him,
because you will finally understand why he made the sacrifices that he did.
you and big daddy grow to be the best of friends


I never want you to validate yourself with the quantity of friends you have
they all leave you, eventually
except for that precious little girl you met in 4th grade.
Aunt Brittany stuck around

and she will be your biggest cheerleader


you still grow up to have a passion for children.
I know you always thought you couldn't be happy unless you had your very own classroom, 
but you are pretty darn happy staying how with two of the spunkiest little girls in the world.


your future husband will make you speechless.
he'll be quiet, so you'll need to learn some patience
he likes spaghetti........ a lot
he's a complainer and he's stubborn

but he loves you with everything he has to offer
you will have to compete with hunting and fishing
guns and his knife collection

but he will always come home to you. 
he's hard to resist,
and will make you weak in the knees

you aren't a big worrier,
but you do wonder if your oldest even likes you sometimes
and she does, whitney
she admires you
and appreciates you
be careful with the way you speak to her
for the words you say will become her inner voice,
and you promised yourself so long ago
that the verbal abuse was going to end with you.

lastly but not least-ly
my dearest whitney, 
you will grow up to live a simple life, 
a life that the Lord, Your God, promised you long ago

you've been given every desire of your heart, 
Most days you're lonely,
craving more excitement,
wishing you could wiggle your nose and the house would clean itself
but you ARE happy

Your husband loves you,
your children make you laugh
your house might be messy,
but your home is happy.

Linking up with:
weekly wednesday blog hop
Mommy Moments Link Up

my very first tutorial

the month of love for us is actually January.

 because it's the month we celebrate our anniversary.

and this year made 7 years for us

to celebrate the red hot {since we live in Alabama, I mean that literally,  lol} love month

I bring you my very first craft tutorial

a Valentine Door Hanger

mckdesigns.biz

I found this on Pinterest, but there was no tutorial to follow and that seriously bummed me out.

I was determined to make it, so a bloggy neighbor of mine and I headed out to Hobby Lobby and started searching high and low.

I had most of the items I needed

 but we bought 4 letters for $3 a piece and some lilac colored ribbon

What you Need::

pair of scissors

hot glue gun

lighter

1/4" ribbon in any color

5/8" ribbon in any color

needle and thread

circular stickers

skewer, optional

drill

can of red spray paint

drill tiny holes into the letters, from the front, where you want to tie the letters together with ribbon

 Add stickers to make a polka dot effect

Here's a close-up of drilled letters

  spray paint letters in layers, I think we used three layers of paint

 layer three

let dry overnight, even though it isn't necessary

 move to your work station and peel off stickers, we used a skewer, but you don't have to

 cut 6 pieces of 1/4" ribbon into 6" increments

take your lighter and burn the edges so it will go into the holes easily

it was a little tough to get the ribbon through the hole so I threaded a needle for a little help. I wanted my knots to be on the wrong side of the door hanger so I went the back on the X's and went through the fronts on the O's.

tie your ribbons with a square knot {its like a shoe tie, but it's right over left then left over right} and cut off the excess

hot glue under ribbon and around holes to add stability 

{my letters kept rubbing against and on top of each other}

Once all your 1/4" ribbon is threaded, knotted, glued and cut

take your 5/8" ribbon and cut two pieces of equal length. 

We used 18" only because I didn't want to block our peep hole

repeat the previous step with the lighter and needle/thread.

tie off and glue again

This step will be much more difficult because the ribbon is much thicker

have someone help you measure where you want your hanger to "sit" on the door and tie your ribbon at the proper length.

For the bow: Cut your 1/4" ribbon and 5'8" ribbon to the same length {we used 20-ish"}

lay your door hanger back on your workspace and tie a knot perpendicular to your hanging space.

Then tie a bow like you would a shoe. I am not good at making bows at all so this is the only part about the project I'm not happy with.

Here is what our front door looks like

and here's a closer look.

This is my very first craft tutorial EVER... and I would have to say

I'm pretty proud of myself..

If this tutorial inspires you, I'd love to see what you creative ladies come up with!

Happy Crafting :)