Tia Allred Blog

I love hot rollers.  I have for years and years.

Recently, we did a retro-homemaking Relief Society Meeting.  I turned to a few of my Facebook groups (and my mom), to help me come up with ideas for my handouts, and many of them asked for a copy of my finalized items.  And then after I posted a snapshot on social media, I had more requests for more details on the meeting.  I ended up sending out over 80 emails with handouts and info, so I decided I would make a little blog post so I can just share the link, and then all the info will be in one place for whoever was interested in knowing some more of the details!

It was actually a pretty straightforward and simple meeting to put together.  By far, the most challenging part was for my committee member, who did the artisan bread presentation, since she had to prepare dough at different stages to be ready by certain times that evening.  She said it really wasn't too bad.  So that is why she was in charge of it, because she knows what she is doing when it comes to bread-making! I would've been a stress case!

To start off, this was our invitation:
I ordered it from this etsy shop.  She was super easy to work with and got my invitation done super fast for me.  I took the file on a thumb drive to Staples, and had them print the invites on cardstock.  I also had them print me one big engineer print, and then we taped it to a foam board and had it on an easel in the foyer of the church.  It looked fantastic and was super easy and caught people's attention.

We started off the evening with a short class/demonstration on artisan bread making.  My committee member who did the demonstration already had some loaves of bread baked to display, along with dough in different stages.  She demonstrated how to form each loaf, gave tips on how to bake it (like different ways to use steam to get the crusty outside and soft inside).  We watched the demonstration in the kitchen.

Then, we moved to the Relief Society room and had a short class on cleaning tips and tricks.  It was short and sweet.  I handed out a few pages with cleaning schedule examples and laundry suggestions.  I also handed out a little sample of my homemade stain remover (recipe on the handouts) and a magic eraser (cut in half, so they would go further).  The samples were in a cellophane bag tied off with twine.  We also had a little discussion at the end where people asked questions on things they were having trouble cleaning, and other people offered up their favorite ideas and products for cleaning particular things.
After the classes, we had a table set up in the back of the Relief Society room with all the different breads (we had just learned how to make in the demonstration) with a few different flavor-infused olive oils and artichoke dip.  We also served raspberry sherbet and 7up floats.  Before the meeting began, we scooped the sherbet into the small clear cups and stuck them back in the freezer.  So they were ready to go, they just needed 7up poured over them.

It really was a pretty low-key and basic meeting, but we had a great turn-out (much better than we anticipated), and ladies stayed around for a while after visiting, which is always an added bonus--since the point of the meetings is to spend time with one another!

I really didn't get any other photos, which is a bummer, because the bread was really beautiful.  But for those that were interested, I hope that gave you a few ideas and helped with your brainstorming!

For the cleaning schedule handouts, this what I do--I size the weekly schedule to an 8x10 before I print it.  After it is printed, I trim it down to the 8x10 size and then I stick it in a frame and hang it in a central location off the house (for me, this is just off of the kitchen in our "command center" near the bulletin board and calendar).  When it is in the frame, I can use it as a dry erase board.  It works great!  I did the same thing with the monthly/yearly schedule, but did it with a 4x6 frame.  It works great!

I currently don't have the bread recipes, since we didn't have quite enough copies made of them.  But I can update the post soon, once I get my own copy.

Here are the cleaning handouts:

Sunday it started snowing, and it has been snowing on and off, since.  

I just love finding a recipe that is delicious and only takes minutes to prepare.  This soup is one of those gems of a recipe.  It has been on regular rotation in our house ever since I made it for the first time.  I made some adjustments to a recipe, and this is what I came up with. I was still worried that it wouldn't have enough flavor.  But so far, it never has disappointed me in the flavor department.

I made it tonight for dinner, and wanted to post it on here to document it, and so I can easily share the link with others, if they want to try it out.  I am no food-photographer, and this soup doesn't always end up the prettiest, but it is sure delicious.

Just a few reasons why I love this recipe:

- it is made in the crockpot

- it only calls for a few basic ingredients, that I try to always have on hand

- it only takes a few minutes to prepare

- it is different than a lot of my other soup recipes

- it is filling

Spinach Tortellini Soup

1 quart vegetable broth
2 cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 small bag baby spinach
1 small bag of frozen (or from the refrigerated section next to the deli) cheese ravioli or tortellini
1/2 pound pound sausage, browned
4 oz cream cheese (1/2 of a block)

- Combine all ingredients in crockpot, except for cream cheese

- Turn crockpot on low and let cook for 3-4 hours (turn to the warm setting if it is finished and you aren't ready to eat yet)

- About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the cream cheese

- Stir often, to incorporate the cream cheese

- Once all the cream cheese is melted and incorporated, it is ready to serve

We survived our trip home!  Hallelujah! I was worried, since I was still weak from having the stomach bug and had a bad cold, and the fact that the kids were sleep deprived.  Not to mention that we were overly packed up and unorganized with our suitcases.
But we made it through the airport without too much trouble, the flight was only slightly delayed, and the kids slept a good chunk of the flight home, and we were all able to just r-e-l-a-x.
And when we landed, we decided to even run into Costco for a few groceries and dinner.  Although most of dinner time I spent in the car holding Vivienne, since she had an epic meltdown.  But, I can't say I was entirely surprised, and I'm just grateful it wasn't on the plane.

We changed the kids into their pajamas in the car, and they slept the drive home while we listened to Christmas music.  They also slept all night long in their beds.  We all needed a good night's sleep, so thankful that we were able to get it!

We really enjoyed our trip to Arizona, but it definitely feels nice to be back in our own beds.  I told Brett, that Washington has never felt more like home to me!