Feelin' Pretty...

Picture from August 2015
of my new shorter haircut

Good morning dear friends,

     I just got back from getting my monthly hair cut and boy, does that feel GREAT!!! I went back to really short hair one year ago and have never regretted it a bit. When my hair was at its longest it came down below my shoulders and I had enjoyed it, at first. Over time and through a LOT of family illnesses and issues with us and our aging parents I had gotten into the habit of just pulling it up into a high ponytail every time I had to hurry out the door. It was always in my face when it was down and I was tired of it being hot on my neck all the time, too. Anyway, after momma passed away I was ready for a change and had it cut to a pretty chin-length style that I liked fairly well, but it did require more time for styling and more "product" than I had used for a while~lol! One day I was looking at pictures of my pretty cousins from North Carolina on Facebook and thought, "you know, I think I would like to go short like them...it was really easy to care for when I wore it that way"...and so here I am, back to being "short-n-sassy" again! I love my sweet beautician, she can cut hair in her sleep! That girl is not only really great with the cut but she is quick with the scissors, too and has a heart of gold. It is always such a pleasure to step into her pretty shop. Makes me a happy, happy girl! :-)
     So, last night I was inspired in the kitchen and made a homemade chicken pot pie for our supper. I took one large chicken breast and cut it up into cubes, browned it in my large frying pan with one half  chopped onion and seasoned it with seasoned salt, chicken seasoning and a little pepper. While that was going on lower heat I mixed up a can of cream of chicken soup with water (you could use milk) and a package of chicken gravy mix and set it to the side. I took out a bag of frozen Normandy Blend vegetables from out at SAM'S Club (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and yellow squash) and put that in the pan with the chicken and the onions and then poured the soup mixture over it all and put the lid on it and lowered the heat to medium low~I have a gas range so I kind of eyeball the flame height to know what that is. While that was warming through I made the easiest, most all-purpose dough on the planet~biscuit dough~for the crust. I like this easy recipe: 2 cups self-rising flour, 1/3 cup oil and 3/4 cup milk. Mix your wet ingredients in a measuring cup and place your flour in a medium sized mixing bowl. Put a well in the middle of your flour and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix gently with a spoon until all the flour is moistened. Then I turned it out onto a well floured board, put a little flour on top of it and rolled it into an approximate 9"x 13" shape. This recipe is so versatile that I now use it for everything: pizza crust, dumplings, pie crust and more. Now, after I made the crust, I put the chicken and veggies into a 9"x 13" pan and rolled the crust over the top of it. I cut little slits into the crust and baked it in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes~you could go a little longer if you like a browner crust. It was REALLY good and easier than it sounds. I put it together in about 20 minutes so that it was a total of 35 minutes from start to finish.
     It looks like it is getting ready to rain here. We had one quick hard rain fall right before I left for the beauty shop this morning. It did feel like it cooled things off a little but it was still a bit humid out there. We really had some HOT days here last week but this week is looking better with temps in the 80s. I can handle that pretty well, I just don't like it when we head into the 90s and above~too hot for me! I am looking forward to the cooler days of autumn and hope that we have pretty colors on our mountains this year. But we will have to get through August first and I am not rushing things. Life is too short as it is.
     Well, I think I will close for today but am sending you all bunches of love and wishes for a beautiful day. Feel free to leave me comments below as I really enjoy hearing from you all. For now...

Stay Cozy,
Charlotte