Recipe, Video, Giveaway… OH MY!

I'm not embarrassed to open this post with the confession that, I haven't left this house in 5 days. Well I left once yesterday, to run to the store, to grab some makings from chicken soup, but my black yoga pants were smeared with marks from little noses, my white stained shirt was coved with an over sized, washed too many times, blue zip up hoodie, with the whole look being pulled together by a camo green news boy cap, taming my showered the night before, then slept on wet, aggressive hair.



The rainy weekend set me on a downward spiral of night showers, morning changes from PJ's to clothes that could easily be slept in. The weather has been rainy, the air cold, the chance of snow being threatened. I've locked us in, crafted, cooked, laughed, organized, snuggled, played, enjoyed and lavished in the much craved goodness of all that is homey.



The coolness that's shifted the weather outside, stirs up all that is warm inside… giving me the most perfect excuse to make this…

Sausage Tomato Mac & Cheese



While you boil 1 pound, ziti pasta, brown 1 pound sausage in a skillet, then drain on towel. In same pan, saute 1 small onions, 3 or 4 cloves garlic, and any other anything {mushrooms, green peppers, red peppers, broccoli}, salt & pepper. Drop in a tablespoon of butter at the end. Add 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk in 1 cup of stock, than stir in 1 cup of heavy cream. Bring to a bubble, than stir in 2 cups of 4 blend shredded cheese {I just grate what I've got}. Stir until melted and thickens. Add in diced tomatoes {canned are fine, just drain first}, sausage, and cooked pasta. Transfer into baking dish, top with bread crumbs, crackers  {or as I prefer it, bread crumbs, crackers, butter and parmesan cheese}. Throw under boiler until golden brown on top.


{Warning: this next picture alone, can widen your waistband by 2 inches}


And once I've eaten myself sick, I find I have just been given the most perfect leeway into my justified reasoning on why I gain weight in the winter, because of the heaviness of dinners just like this. Curse you winter, curse you, and the weight you make me gain!

Speaking of weight gain, there's a certain little sweet-um in this house, weight in at 20 lbs, having me gain, a hell of a lot of stress in my life. Just look at what she's up to now….


{I never had a grey hair before this one came along, now I have more than I'm willing to put a number on}

Right now, I've got this whirlwind of energy, swirling inside of me. You know, one of those, so much to do, not sure where to focus, types of energies. This last 5 days of hunkering down, staying close to all that I love, is turning out to be just what I needed to prepare to be 6 hours away from it all, the next 4 days, as Nate and I heading out for a wedding filled weekend in Rhode Island… with that said, I've done little to prepare for those 4 days away. The 11th hour is striking my friends, and here I sit, blogging.


Early this week, I asked about doing a giveaway on the blog. I truly had mixed feelings about this. Without going into the whole process of do's and don't, should or shouldn't, what if's, and settling on the why not… Goodnyou? is now diving in deep with our first giveaway… and it's a great one!



After turning down the less than 'Goodnyou?' like products that brought this adventure to the forefront in the first place, I've settled on something very 'Goodnyou?'ish. As a simple thank you for supporting the blog, in the form of this giveaway, I in turn, feel it's important to support those who are doing their own thing, following their own dreams, loving what their doing, and doing what they love… that brings me to our first giveaway, sponsored by my friend Stefanie's new Etsy shop, Baboo's Bin.

What's the 'doing what you love, loving what you do', in your life?

Leaving a comment below, qualifies you, to be randomly selected to win your choice of the Lady Bug Tutu & Lady Bug Hat set, showcased by my little ladybug OR the Monkey Hat, being sported by my very own Monkey Man! Either way, win win, and might I mention, they will be custom made to fit the size of your little one!! Win, win, win




Winner will be announced when we get back, on Monday's post!
Happy Hump Day!