Mom's Potato Salad

** Hey Friends!  I have decided to stop blogging, but I for now I am leaving the blog up so you can still refer to posts.  ~ Blessings, Juju


One of the recipes that I'm asked for a lot is my potato salad.  My mom gave me the original recipe that she used, but since one of our daughters has an allergy to onions and mustard, we have to leave those out.

I also added the black olives and red pimentos for extra flavor and color...this is the salad that I love best!

Number of Servings: 6   Each serving is a 1/2 cup.

(Make a day ahead for best taste!)

5 Potatoes, raw
4 Large Eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup Real Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard - optional
1/4 cup chopped Dill Pickles
3.8 oz can sliced Black Olives
2 heaping Tablespoons Pimentos, diced or sliced

1. Peel & cube potatoes. Boil in water until soft, but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Drain well, and set aside to cool.

2. Place eggs in a medium-sized pan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute. Shut off the heat and let them sit for 12-15 minutes. Scoop out the eggs with a slotted spoon and put eggs into ice water to cool for at least 10 minutes. After the eggs are cooled, crack & peel the shells, and rinse the cooked eggs. Cut eggs into large chunks and set aside.

3. After the potatoes and eggs are cooked and cooled, add them to a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients, and fold together.

If you feel that the mixture is too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of pickle juice or vinegar. 

Mom loved it with a splash of vinegar on hers! And of course, green onions and extra mustard. Customize this recipe to make it your new favorite to serve at your next barbeque, picnic or gathering.

Magnolia Hampton-style Wreath DIY

Do you like bargain DIYs for your home?  I sure do, and when I was in my craft room the other day, my eye caught upon some embroidery hoops that I had picked up at a thrift store for just a dollar each.  Right then, I remembered this wreath from a YouTube video I had seen over on Jeri-Ann Henson's channel . She's one of my favorite DIYers, and I love her farmhouse-style crafts.

When I started planning this wreath, I knew I wanted to use that same rope-wrapped style, but add a softer touch to it; then I went shopping at Walmart I found the perfect flowers in the craft/ floral department for just $3!

Here's the supplies I used and how I put it all together:

• one - 12-inch wooden embroidery hoop
• one - White Magnolia Bush from Walmart
• one - "Welcome to Our Home" small sign from Dollar Tree
• rope or heavy twine (I used 2 packages of the nautical rope from Dollar Tree)
• hot glue gun and glue sticks
• scissors
• burlap ribbon about 1-inch wide and 24-inches long
• jute twine for the hanger

Keep both pieces of the embroidery hoop together to give it more strength.  Start by securing the rope at the top of the hoop with some hot glue; hold it until it cools and is secure. Then start wrapping the rope around the hoop. I liked to keep it fairly tight, so every 6 wraps of the rope I secured it with hot glue.  You don't have to wrap it completely, just about 1/3rd or so from the top towards the bottom, since there will be leaves and flowers that will cover the bottom!

Repeat wrapping on the other side of the hoop. 

Now, take the blossoms and leaves off the stems; they should just pop or slide off easily.  The leaves on my bush came in threes, so I snipped them apart so that they would be individual leaves.

Starting at one side, hot glue on 3 leaves, as shown. Repeat on the other side, working your way toward the center bottom of the wreath.

Continue to hot glue on leaves in an alternating pattern until you get to the center. I used a total of 18 leaves, with 9 on each side. (See photos below)

Once the leaves are on, I recommend you turn it over and check them to be sure they are all secure, and touch up with some additional hot glue if needed.  You've completed the background for your blossoms!

Now, with the wreath facing towards you, hot glue 3 magnolia blossoms on top of the leaves, as shown below.  You can add up to 5 blossoms if you like.

Next, make a simple bow from the burlap ribbon, and hot glue it onto the top so it hides the screw.
I also used a tiny dot of glue to hold it to the sides in a flowing cascade.

Make a loop from a piece of twine for a hanger, and tie it around the screw at the top.

Here is the wreath without the sign:

Take the “Welcome to Our Home” sign and a 12-inch piece of twine. Glue one end of the twine onto the back top corner of the sign. Loop the loose end of the twine around the screw, adjusting the length so that the sign will hang level inside the center of the wreath. Hot glue the loose end to the other top  corner of the sign. Trim off excess twine.

What do you think??  Honestly, this is one DIY that I am in LOVE with!  It's currently hanging on the inside of our front door, waiting for the weather to improve so that I can show it off on the outside.

Shout-out to Jeri-Ann for the Hampton wreath idea! She did a lovely job, and you can go see it here on her channel.

Remember to find me over on Instagram and Facebook!

Farmhouse-style Decor at the Military Exchange!

Today I wanted to show you what I've discovered lately at the Military Exchange -- Farmhouse-style Decor!  Those of you that have been following me know that a few years ago Ed & I finally found a home decor style that we both LOVE, and have been gradually switching most of our furniture and decor to Farmhouse-style.  Some of our decor is vintage, and some is new, but it's all in keeping with the comfortable, relaxed Farmhouse-style that we have fallen in love with.

-- For any non-military folks that are reading this, the Military Exchange is a store found mostly on military bases that allow military authorized shoppers to take advantage of making tax-free purchases as a military benefit.  My wonderful husband, Ed, served 26 years in the Air Force, and because he is honorably retired, we are allowed to continue shopping on military bases. --

Do you remember this large windmill wall art from my Instagram photos?

And how about this perfectly distressed, metal Bakery sign that hangs in our kitchen?

Both of those items came from the Exchange, so I've been keeping my eyes open for more farmhouse goodness, and have been happily rewarded.

Take a look at my recent finds:

Kitchen & Dining room wall art & decor:

This handy item is metal with 3 divided areas - great for organizing:

And there's also this cute one with 2 numbered baskets:

I loved both of these wall decor pieces below, and especially how practical they are!

This clock is huge! (I have a clock obsession and I have too many already.)

And you won't find just wall decor, here are some adorable 

faux fiddle-leaf fig plants in rustic planters:

Check out these corbel-style ceramic book ends!

I brought home one of the ceramic pitchers you see below:

I've seen similar chalkboards on pedestals at Michael's and Hobby Lobby, and these are just as nice:

These oval trays match the bins in the next photo, and come in 2 different sizes:

The square "olive bucket-style" bins were so adorable, as well as the Lost Socks laundry decor:

This next one made me laugh!

I recently posted on Instagram about purchasing this great galvanized metal Laundry room sign:

and today I bought this one-piece set of 3 adorable blue & rust colored wire baskets,
to hold my tea bags over the tea & coffee station in our kitchen:

(There's an easy tutorial here to make my pallet wood mug holder.)

There was even more farmhouse-style decor that I didn't snap photos of, so I encourage you folks that can shop at the Exchange to go on over to your base and check it out!  Also, if you are in a distant location, or if you are a Veteran of the U.S. Military, you can shop online with the same tax-free benefit at shopmyexchange.com ! **(Hint: in the Search box, put Simply Perfect and you will get lots of results for the farmhouse-style decor.)

And here's a jaw-dropping discovery that I just made... The Exchange is carrying some Magnolia Home furniture online!  This makes me giddy!

So be sure to keep checking back here to see what new Farmhouse-style items that I find for you (and me!) and try to guess which Magnolia Home furniture pieces that I'm dreaming about!  I'm always over on Instagram where you will see some sneak-peeks of what I'm working on, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter!

Until next time,

Easter Free Printable - Family Motto: "Follow the King"

As Spring (attempts to) draw near, my heart is tuned into Easter and the reason we celebrate Jesus' amazing Resurrection Day.  With just a little over a week to plan and prepare for Easter, I thought I'd give you something super simple to add to your decor.  You can leave it up all year, too!

This beautiful quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson was shared with me by my son last year. His family has decided to use it as their Family Motto, and I thought it was such an excellent idea that I had to create my own printable and share it with you.  What an inspirational saying to teach your young kids as they are growing up!

What is The Knight's Code?

In the mid to late 1800’s, the author Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a series of poetry classics about knights, in particular King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, entitled Idylls of the King. The stories of Arthur and his knights came from cultural legends and many authors had put those to paper, but what became known by some as the Knight’s Code was from Tennyson’s work entitled Gareth and Lynette. Gareth is about to leave home to journey to Camelot in hopes of fulfilling his dream to join the Round Table. He says to his mother, “Follow the Christ the King. Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the king. Else, wherefore born?” To paraphrase in modern English, “To follow Christ, to live pure, speak true, right wrong, and follow the King. If not to live out these ideals, why else was I born?  -  Source

Wow, that's a powerful statement!  

If you'd like to print this out, simply click on the image above and then you can download it or print it. (I recommend using card stock.) © Please remember that I am offering this image for your personal use only, not to make a bunch of copies and sell them at a craft fair. 😊 Please share it on Pinterest, or let your friends and family know where to download their own copy, right here!

As always, I want to let you know how much I love hearing from my readers!  Leave me a comment on my Facebook page or over on Instagram, and I'll be sure to read each one. Happy Easter!