hot ham & cheese crescent rolls

I had to share our delicious weeknight dinner! 
If your oven doesn't take a year to preheat like mine, then you could have this ready in about 30 minutes!

Serves four. If doubling the recipe use a 9x13 pan. 


Side of vegetables ::
Frozen zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower & carrots (use whatever is on hand)
Put olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. 
Throw in veggies and sauté until water is mostly evaporated. 
Season with seasoning salt (I love Lowry's).
Pour in 1/4 - 1/2 cup of broth (I used beef but chicken or veggie would work too)  
Simmer until all liquid has evaporated. 

My "all I had on hand marinara sauce" ::
Mix together ---
8oz tomato sauce
1Tbsp red wine vinegar
Dash of each of the following
garlic powder
oregano
thyme
basil
parsley
kosher salt (regular works too)
pepper

Ham & Cheese rolls ::
1 can crescent rolls
6-8oz deli sliced ham
6-8oz deli sliced cheese (I used provolone (then took picture with colby jack because I already threw out the provolone bag!) but you could use any cheese you have on hand)
butter
dash of each of the following
basil 
oregano
garlic powder
salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Unroll half of the crescent dough and spread it to cover the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan.
3. Bake for 8 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and spread a little butter then season with seasonings.
5. Layer 1/2 of the cheese.
6. Layer all of the ham.
7. Layer the rest of the cheese.
8. Layer the rest of the crescent rolls on top. 
9. Season again with seasonings.
10. Bake for about 15 minutes until brown (and no longer squishy in the center).

ENJOY!!

Let me introduce myself...again!

Zach, Nicole, Penelope [3], Lillian [1.5]

Hello,

     I am Nicole!

Welcome to a peek inside this Dowler house!

We are recent first-time home buyers who live in northwest Montana.

We try to get out as often as we can to explore the beauty our state has to offer.

As a stay-at-home mom my days are filled with beautiful chaos.

I could not get through this life without the ever-present hand of God.

The biggest aspects of our lives summed up in five words ::

Jesus. Family. Friends. Food. Adventure.

This blog is a place for me to get it all out : the good, the bad, the beautiful & the ugly.

Feel free to ask me anything!

Enjoy!

Nicole

Copycats

Oh friends,
         I have a confession.

This past week I overheard Penelope, age 3, pretending to be a momma.
There was a lot of negativity & yelling. 
Then as she was pretending to get Lilly ready for bed she got really sweet -- cuddly, happy tone of voice, singing songs, kisses, prayers. 

What did I learn from this? 

I appear happiest when it's time for my girls to go to sleep 

and they're mirroring my ugly! 

How does that make me feel?

Like a completely awful mom!

I have a hard time giving myself grace because once I mess up I feel like I've scarred them for life. 

I have a lot of emotional damage from my childhood.
I grew up wanting kids because ::
I was going to parent so much better.
I was going to be the best.
Then after a few years of marriage I realized how much work goes into a healthy relationship & quickly didn't want children anymore ::
I didn't want to fail.
I didn't want to let them down.

Zach & I had a fight one day.
I said, "I don't ever want kids."
Two weeks later I found out I was pregnant.
I prayed & prayed that it was a boy.
Boys seem to forgive easier - they don't seem to hold grudges as long.
A girl seemed impossible.
Penelope Joy was born.
A short 9 months later I was pregnant again.
"Please God, I am BEGGING you...I cannot ruin two girls lives!"
Lillian August was born.

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord. 

"Plans to prosper you & not to harm you. 

Plans for a hope & future." 

Jeremiah 29:11

I realize God knew what He was doing when he blessed me with my two little loves.

Being a stay-at-home mom is my full-time job. 

This past week I failed miserably. 

Had I been at a "real" job they would have fired me.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you are working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, 

and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

Colossians 3:22-24

So, what's the solution?! 

I need to be the mother I hope they become one day.

I need to continue to work on me! 

Constantly. 

Constantly cleansing my heart. 

Constantly being intentional with my time & genuine joy of getting to mother my littles. 

So dear friends I'll leave you with this ::

Let's find the power in optimism! 
Let's be the best we can be! 
Let's fight our negative urges!
Let's start new positive habits! 

Wishing you all the best in your parenting!

Enjoy!

Nicole

Homebody

Homebody : noun : A person who enjoys the simple pleasures of being at home. 

Home is where I spend 95% of my time. 

Home is my comfort zone.

If I'm going to be a homebody I may as well LOVE every aspect of our home! 

Six of my thoughts when making our house home ::

1) Does it bring joy?
The question I ask about every item that's going into our home.
There is no point in spending money on items that are "trendy" but bring no flick of "oh I love this & it brings a smile to my face!" 

2) Our little loves touch/get into EVERYTHING!
I need to be practical in including style & decor that works for the whole family. 

3) Less is more!
The slightest feeling of having "too much" sends me into a tizzy! 
I crave simplicity! 

4) Mix & match & all that jazz! 
For me, this will be the most difficult aspect of creating our new home. 
How am I going to include bits of each style I love, but keep the flow & not have it look too hodgepodge? 

5) Don't compare. 
I am loving all the Instagram accounts I follow & pull tons of inspiration from. 
I also see how easy it is to be jealous, covet, or feel insecure. 

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." Dr. Seuss

Right now this shelf is a mess, but that's our real life.

6) Stay frugal!

Stick to a budget. 

I hope you found inspiration in this post and can use it while you make your house home! 

Thrifty Mrs.

Thrift : noun : the quality of using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully.

Thrifty: adjective : using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully.

I grew up in Whitefish, Montana; a wealthy resort town. 
My family was not wealthy.
I grew up wearing hand-me-downs and items from 2nd-hand stores. 
It was embarrassing & shameful to admit at the time.
Not that my wardrobe looked any different than anyone else's. 
I actually had some really great clothes that were purchased at a fraction of what the other parents were spending. 
It was just the stigma of it not being purchased brand new that I got made fun of for.

Jump ahead to my 20's & all the "cool kids" shop frugally. 
What the what?! 

Dumpster diving. Facebook sites. Thrift stores. Craigslist. Garage/Yard sales. Vintage.

When I go thrifting I ask myself a thousand questions, but I ask these two most often //
1) Who donated this item?
2) Why did they donate this?

Thrifting is so fun/funny to me. 
A bunch of inexpensive stuff others don't want that I find incredibly perfect for my family! 

Personally, I've always loved the thrill of the find. 

A $136 Free People dress that looks like it was worn once for $4.75//SCORE!
A 50¢ wood durian that I painted white//SCORE! 
Finding things for my two little gals that we could otherwise never afford//SCORE!

*Even better SCORE is that I typically only shop 50% off colors/days at thrift stores!*

As we look into decorating our new home I seriously can't justify spending full price for anything!
It's definitely fun to keep up with the all the latest trends. 
However; it's definitely not in our budget!

I am extremely excited to show all our before & afters. 
I am beyond excited to decorate & bring our home to life in our own joyful way! 

Now we all just wait until we move and I can start the process of making our house home, one thrifted piece at a time! ;)

The flowers came in a bundle of about 10 and I got them all for 50cents.
The giraffe was 50cents and I spray painted it white.

Our front porch fall decor.
Every decor item was thrifted!

Third offers a charm?

Hello!

I wanted to share a new update with you all!

The housing market is extremely competitive in Northwest Montana!

Houses in our price range are getting snagged within a few hours of being put on the market. 

We've looked at probably over 20 houses & put in three offers. 

First offer ::
1,000sqft 3 bed, 2 bath - a little outdated - vaulted ceilings - 4 fruit trees - massive back yard - quiet & convenient neighborhood.
The issue :: the previous owner chain-smoked in it for 15 years [vomit]. The second we walked in our eyes and chests were burning. But we saw so much potential we decided to make an offer and hope & pray that all our hard work would get the smoke smell out.
Our offer was refused.

Second offer ::
2,200sqft 3 bed, 1 bath with potential to add 2 bed, 1 bath in basement - move-in ready - perfect layout - convenient neighborhood.
The issue :: it was backed up to the middle school.
Someone offered over asking price & snagged it.

Third offer ::
The second offer happened on Tuesday. I was feeling quite defeated.
Were we ever going to find our home??
Wednesday morning I sat down at the computer.
I prayed, "Okay God, show it to me!"
I clicked "new listings" and it was the only one.
Built in 2005 - ranch style - 1,300sqft 3 bed, 2 bath on a 1/4 acre lot - convenient but on the outskirts of town - huge backyard with an awesome playset.
I recognized the street address, we would be two doors down from some very good friends + a block-ish away from our bestie!
I text Zach immediately and he got ahold of our [amazing, truly amazing] realtor to set up our showing.
The more I looked through the photos I could imagine everything set up.
I kept repeating, "Ooh, momma loves this house way too much."
Penny saw the playset and asked "ooh, that be my slide?"
Then she saw the kid bedroom, "ooh, that be my bed?"
Thursday we were the first of five showings.
I went in with complete peace. Zach paced back-and-forth while thinking things through.

Finally, we sat down at the kitchen bar & made our offer right then & there. 

That evening we received the call that our offer was accepted!!

Things are moving right along!
This Wednesday is the inspection.
I just keep praying that everything checks out perfectly and it'll be smooth-sailing!
Closing date is scheduled for June 15th.

I'm still practicing patience & complete faith in God! 

It's definitely a challenge not going out and buying ALL THE THINGS to fill the house. 

With so much inspiration on Instagram & Pinterest I truly cannot wait to start making it home!

Zach keeps reminding me to not get ahead of myself. 

To wait until we actually have the keys in our possession...

but I'm just so dang EXCITED!!!

Thank you for following along on this journey!

Nicole

8 moves in 7 years

A peek into our journey so far...

July 11th, 2009 we were married. 

1st move : our housing fell through so we lived with my in-laws for a few weeks. 

2nd :: We moved in with Zach's brother, his wife & their two boys for almost three months.

3rd :: Finally our first home of our own! A 950sq ft 2 bed 1.5 bath apartment. 

4th :: I became manager of the complex so we moved into the 1500 sq ft 3 bed 2 bath manager's unit. Penny's first house! 

5th :: I quit to become a stay-at-home momma so we found a 2 bed 1.5 bath apartment attached to someone's shop. It was a wonderful home & Lilly's first house! 

6th :: Bigfork! Zach's office moved so we moved to be closer to his work. 2 bed 2 bath with shag carpet and popcorn ceilings..every renters dream! 😂

7th :: The big house that broke the bank! We desperately wanted to be back in Kalispell (especially after Zach's work moved offices again!) so some friends offered us an opportunity that only comes around once in a lifetime. Gorgeous home & an awesome 40 acres to play in. We set up a cross-country ski track, had a herd of elk pass through, bonfires, and many wonderful memories were made in that home. Unfortunately the utilities were astronomical for us & we just couldn't afford it any longer. 

8th :: back to the in-laws! With most of our belongings in storage! 

I honestly couldn't ask for better people to do this season with. My in-laws are some of the greatest people to walk this earth. We are so incredibly blessed by them! 

Right now we are looking to purchase a home! 

We've put in an offer on one, but it was refused. 

So we're working on patience. Playing the waiting game. Holding out for the perfect house that God has planned for us! 

I grew up in the same house my first 18 years.

Zach's dad was a Marine so they moved every three years. 

I crave stability.

Zach loves the unknown.

I'm wanting our forever home.

Zach is intrigued by investment properties.

Ultimately "home" is wherever my family is. 

BLOG MERGE!

Dearest readers, 

I've decided to merge my two blogs. 

I had this grand plan to have an Instagram & blog solely for our home decor/updates/diy/etc. but quickly figured out I'm not cut-out for the one theme thing! 

So the next few posts are going to be posts from my other blog - I apologize if you were following along and are now seeing these a second time.  

Now, my hope is to keep up with THIS blog. 

Prepare for a hodgepodge/mishmash/multifaceted/eclectic collection of writings!

So much love to all! 

Enjoy!

   

 Nicole