Life Lately

The summer is flying past and it is hard to believe that next week is Labor Day!  I am holding off on putting out Fall decorations until September 1st....but it is a struggle.  I almost bought some Pumpkin Spice creamer yesterday and thought..."no, you still have Margaritas and Pina Coladas in the the refrigerator...wait!"

I have been keeping busy with some crafts, shopping, and enjoying the cool weather last week.

Here's what's new - 

I needed a new tissue box cover for our Paris bathroom.  If you have not read about our Paris bathroom you can find the post here - 

Paris

I had a very plain brushed chrome tissue box cover in the bathroom as I never did find a Paris one I liked.  When I had my broken wrist and a splint on my arm the beautiful tissue box cover that we had in the living room - it looked like a stack of books - took a hit when my splint hit it!  It was ceramic and shattered - so I moved the chrome into the living room. And...started to search for something Parisian for the bathroom.  No luck.  So...I found a plain wooden one at Michaels last week.  I was going to spray paint it, or decoupage some Paris photos on it, when I remembered I had some leftover peel and stick wallpaper that would do the trick.

Was not really sure how this would work, but started with the top..

Smoothed out the paper and then used and utility knife to cut around the opening.

I wrapped the edges like you would a package...

The wallpaper had a grid on back that made it easy to just eyeball how much I needed and cut...

And I am very happy with how it turned out! Love the French newspaper adverts!

It really fits in with the wall color and the other Paris objects...and it was a bargain - just a few dollars for the box and I already had the wallpaper.

Have you noticed the O'Cedar mops all over social media?

I picked one up and decided to try it...I had been using a flat microfiber mop on the tile in the bathroom and the hardwood elsewhere and was not crazy about the level of cleaning I was getting...

Very pleased with this mop...works great in the bathroom and easily cleans the shower.  I like using HOT water and a disinfectant cleaner on the tiles and it is light and easy to use.   I use it on our hardwood as well...making sure to wring it out really well.  Will use the other mop for quick touch ups, but this is great for deeper cleans.  

I love a good flameless candle and found this Mirage candle at our local department store, Boscov's.  On the clearance section...

marked down to $9.98 and then 50 % off the lowest price...

WHAT ?

I had a coupon for an extra 15% off so this was a terrific deal - 

and it looks great in the Paris bathroom.  This is our guest bath, so it will be nice to have a little night light in there!

So happy to be back entertaining again....

We hosted a Sunday Brunch for some neighbors and friends.

A summery table...placemats are old from Dollar Tree, napkins from Kohl's, and the napkin rings from Wegmans...marked down last year and I picked up a bunch.

Had the usual brunch menu...French toast, bacon, quiche, mimosas...and since I am back to baking - Scones and Almond Joy Cookies.  You can click on the links for recipes!

And...since our television is a few years old and not a Samsung Frame,  I was happy to find that you can put photos and art work on your regular smart tv by going to the YouTube app...

Just search for art for you tv and you will find all kinds...great art, seasonal art, etc.  I love not having a big, black screen when we are entertaining.  We always have music playing from our Bose when we have guests, but some of the sites even have music that will come through your tv or sound bar.  Love it!

What have you been up to in these last days of summer ?  

Have you started Fall decorating yet ?

Let me know in the comments below - I really enjoy hearing from you and love that each week I get to "meet" someone new through the world of blogs.

Have a great last week of summer...

"See you in September"!

 

Crock Pot Lasagna

My husband LOVES lasagna...and I don't make it in the summer months because I tell him it heats up the house with the oven on and it is really a "winter meal"...like chili or stew.  In the summer we are grilling and enjoying burgers, hot dogs, fish and chicken.  Whenever we are at an Italian restaurant and he will order lasagna he will always ask the waitress if it is a seasonal dish, or do they serve it all year round.  They have no idea what he is talking about...but I know it is to let me know you CAN have lasagna year round. 

So, I was thrilled to find this recipe for Crock Pot Lasagna on a blog called The Girl on Bloor. 

This is a great blog and after trying this I will be sure to follow for more great recipes as this lasagna turned out GREAT!!!

Easiest EVER Crock Pot Lasagna

• Cooking spray
• 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
• 2 (650mL) jars tomato sauce (I used Aldi Organic sauces)
• 1 lb lasagna noodles (can use either oven ready or normal) uncooked
• 1 (475g) tub ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup water
• Chopped fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

We don't eat beef very often...I used ground turkey. It was a little more than a pound but that did not matter.

Brown the turkey or ground beef,

When meat is almost cooked through, add onions and garlic,

pepper,

and salt.

Add one jar of tomato sauce...

and stir until combined.

Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray

then layer in a bit of the meat sauce to cover the bottom of the pot.

Add a layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles - I used whole grain - and you have to break up some pieces to fit.  I was worried how this would turn out, but it all went great!

I mixed together the ricotta, an egg, 

and added some dried parsley to the mix.

Layer the ricotta, the mozzarella, more of the meat sauce mixture...

Repeat until the crock pot is full...usually 3 layers total.

Pour the second jar of sauce over the entire mixture, top with more mozzarella cheese.  

Then pour the water in around the sides of the lasagna...I used the jar that the sauce came in, filled it with water, to get the last little bit of sauce out!

Put on the lid...

Cook for 3 hours on high, or 6 hours on low...I cooked it on low while we went to the pool !!!

It turned out GREAT !  I was thinking it would not 
come together, there would be spots without noodles since I had to break to fit in...but no.  And it came out in great pieces...just like pan lasagna.  

Here is the link to the recipe and instructions from The Girl on Bloor 

Crock Pot Lasagna

I will definitely make this again...it was delicious, re-heated well, and I froze two portions for a future meal.  Next time I think I will try adding spinach to the layers!

Have you ever tried lasagna in the crock pot ? Let me know if you have any other dishes that usually are make in the oven but can be so much easier in the crock pot.

Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista today.  Please leave a comment below - I love hearing from you !

Have a great week and enjoy the rest of August!

Silver Linings July!

Silver Linings July !

July just sped past...mostly because I was going to physical therapy for my wrist.  Thanks to everyone for all your good thoughts and wishes.  I was released from my doctor and from therapy in the last week of July.  "Return to normal life" and do what you can is what the doctor said.  I am thrilled!  It appears I am a good healer and while I still don't have all my strength back - that could take 6-12 months - I feel great and am able to enjoy all the things I love to do!  I will continue to do my exercises at home and watch for tendonitis as I had a little issue with my pointer finger and had to get a shot to calm that down...but all in all...I am so happy!

July also brought us to a red carpet and a premier!  Here's how that happened...

We live in Lancaster, PA in a wonderful retirement community. Moving to Willow Valley Communities has been the best thing we ever did.  We knew we needed a plan for our retirement and wanted to enjoy a great lifestyle with the option of care in the future. That is why this blog is called Our New Vista.   We moved 7 years ago into a beautiful new building, into a great apartment...and I had just retired and wanted to start a blog.  Living here is like living on vacation!  We have a wonderful apartment, have made tons of friends, entertainment and activities seem endless, 11 restaurants to enjoy, and just a few miles away from downtown Lancaster.  Lancaster was voted one of the best places to retire by  US News and World Report - and we love the history, culture, food scene, and the beautiful nature in the area. 

Early in the year we were asked if we would like to be interviewed for a short documentary about what retirement is like in Lancaster.  We said yes!  Then we were invited by one of our friends to a breakfast in his apartment where he would cook for us...and it would be filmed for the show.

This is the result - 

The documentary appears on the Very Local app - and you can download that here

Very Local

The show premiered on June 26th, but early in July Willow Valley hosted a special premier in the theater here.  It was fabulous !

It was so exciting to watch on the big screen...

A red carpet was rolled out and a photographer was there to mark the occasion.  The people in the photograph with us are two of the featured stories.  Our friend - who tells his story of being a widower, another Willow Valley resident who swims 100 miles a year and medals in the Senior Olympics, and the beginning of the film is about a woman from Lancaster who is Ms. Senior Pennsylvania.  Three good examples of why retirement is not what it used to be!

There are some interviews with others in our community and the entire experience was SO much fun!

We really enjoyed the entire experience...and when the film premiered John and I found we were shown singing our family birthday song that my family has been singing since before I was born!!!

 

Take a look and hope you enjoy Silver Linings!  Thank you so much for stopping by Our New Vista - leave a comment below if you wish because I love hearing from you!

Have a wonderful August !

“August is the bridge between summer and autumn — between how the year has been and how the year will end.” — @positivelypresent