If you read through my posts, you will find that I love pot roast, but I am very picky about it!  When Jonathan and I met, one of his favorites was Catalina Roast.  I had never tried it…or even heard of it (it actually sounded really gross to me), but it quickly became one of my favorites.  This time, I changed it up a little and it was spectacular!

Typically, I salt and pepper my roast and then sear it in a hot pan with a little oil just to get the outside browned.  In a large roaster, I layer potatoes, carrots, and onions (lots of onions).  I sit the roast on top and cover with a large bottle of Catalina dressing.  I cover and cook around 350 for several hours. 

This time, I really did not have the time to follow the usual steps and also did not want to have the oven on for hours because we were not going to be home.   So, it was time to try this recipe in my trusty Crock Pot.  I layered my potatoes, carrots, and onions and then salted and peppered my roast and placed it on top.  I then covered everything in a large bottle of Catalina dressing.  I cooked it on high for several hours and then on low for several more.  It was DELICIOUS!  It was the best Catalina Roast ever! 

Phillip and I like to have it over fresh biscuits (which I have also done for lunch the last two days), and it is so good as leftovers!

Many of you know that we have been looking for a new retail location for Amy’s Confection Company.  Well…(insert drumroll)…we not only have one new retail location, but we have two! 

We will be closing our Shops of Steele Street store December 31.  Beginning the week after Christmas, our full line of products will be available at Added Accents on Wicker Street.  In approximately a week, a limited line of products will be available at Cafe 121 on Chatham Street in the coffee bar.

We are VERY excited about this transition and believe it will open our products up to a whole new group of customers while better serving our current customers at the same time!

I think Melissa over at “I am the Mama” posted about Red Box several weeks ago.  I have had intentions of trying it for months now, but we kept putting it off, and finally, about 2 weeks ago, we tried it for the first time — and now I am addicted!

For those who have not noticed it, at the entrace of Lowes Foods and Walmart (and a couple of gas stations in town), there is a big giant red box with video covers on a sign around it.  The deal is you can rent movies for $1 per day and then you simply return it back to the big red box.  I worked at Video Wiz in college and I must say that I feel a little bad that I can be easily replaced with a big red box!!  But is it brilliant.  We have returned most of our movies the next day, but I have one currently that will probably end up costing us about $3. 

You can go online to www.redbox.com to reserve your title before you even get to the store.  This makes it very quick and easy.  Also, if you visit the website, you get a code for a free night’s rental!

Saturday, November 8 – 10:00 to 5:30 Sunday, November 9 – 1:00 to 5:00

It’s time to kick off our favorite time of year, and we are planning our biggest Holiday Open House ever! Mr. Amy’s Dips and Dessert Mixes   After your many requests, it is finally time you get to know Mr. Amy — or his dips at least!!  Sample our entire line of dip and dessert mixes. Sample our Carolina Cake Truffles, Almond English Toffee, and gourmet popcorns along with our new line of sweet holiday snack mixes! It’s a great time to start your holiday shopping with our new line of monogrammed totes — with special prices Saturday and Sunday only! We will also be debuting a new line of hand-beaded wine bottle stoppers and wine glass charms by a new local artist!     Amy’s Confection Company Shops of Steele Street 102 S. Steele Street (corner of Carthage and Steele) 919-353-2286 www.amysconfectioncompany.com

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We just got home from voting!  We were in and out in less than 10 minutes (8 of which were spent with Jonathan and I filling in our little circles!) – no line at all!  We were voters 510 and 511 in our precint.

Voting with my husband is one of those really special things for me.  I could have voted this morning while I was out.  For that matter, I pass the McSwain Center almost every day and could have early voted any number of times.  But…there is just something about going to vote together!  I love it!

If you haven’t already done so — GO VOTE!!

Well, sadly, unfortunately, etc., etc., the TSP plans all had to be scratched this week!!  If anything changes, I will update, but for now no exciting news

I still cannot reveal the TSP, but I can report that we actually finally made some progress yesterday and by this weekend there should be a full report on my blog!!

I’ve really neglected my blog, but today I feel like I have so many ideas running through my head…

1.  Months ago, I ordered my free Senseo coffee maker thanks to a post by The Mama.  I went several months without even taking it out of the box, but now with my new job and crazy second and third shift hours, I hate to admit just how much it has been used!  It is actually set up conveniently on the corner of my desk, and I just hit the button when I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open another second!  It makes great coffee and some of the flavored pods are excellent!

2.  Last Sunday, we made the decision to join Brickcity Community Church!  That is a huge decision for us.  Both of us were very involved in our churches in our “past lives” before we met.  I especially had a very hard time leaving my church (where I had been the music director for two years) during my divorce.  Since then, we have searched and searched and just hadn’t found the right fit, but now we have.  I didn’t get to go to church yesterday, because I was sick and Jonathan went to homecoming at his parents’ church, so it was the first Sunday we’ve missed since we been attending BCC, and we were both so sad!

3.  My top secret project (TSP) is still in the works.  I hope to be able to announce it to the world in the next week or two!

4.  The 2nd Century Project is being unveiled this Thursday at Depot Park.  I had already signed up for a business seminar, so I will not be able to attend, but I am so excited to see what they have planned for Sanford/Lee County.  I think this is definitely a step in the right direction for our town!

5.  The guitar…a few months ago, Phillip started learning to play the guitar.  He has actually gotten really, really good at it and is progressing every day.  Luckily, his taste in music is pretty much in line with Jonathan and myself, so we enjoy what he is playing.  We have also discovered what a great voice he has.  I need a tamborine …

6.  The only upcoming show I have for the confection company this month is ARToberfest in Downtown Sanford on October 18.  I think it will be a great show with lots of great artists and crafters.  Booths are still available.

7.  For the past 2 years, a highlight of fall has been the Communities in Schools Gala.  This will be the 3rd Annual Gala for the Children featuring a Taste of Lee County.  I offer a variety of desserts at the event and enjoy the opportunity to spend some time with a lot of my customers and some of Sanford’s nicest residents!  Visit Kim Pritt’s blog for more information.  If you only attend one social event this season, this is the one!!

8.  October is quickly approaching.  Remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Beginning later this week, I will offer a line of “Pink Ribbon” chocolates at Amy’s Confection Company in Shops of Steele Street.

9.  I’m also working on a new website for the Confection Company using a WordPress base, and it is driving me nuts!!

I think that’s everything for now!!!

We talk about going to Trader Joe’s every time we are in Cary, but somehow we never make it there!  It is just a turn we rarely seem to make.  Friday afternoon poor Jonathan was a great sport as he drove me from one end of Wake County to the other searching for new suppliers for the Confection Company.  As we all know, with gas prices rising, shipping cost are rising, which is really starting to hurt.  I know to some the logic would be…you are going to spend more in gas driving all over looking for local suppliers than you would in shipping costs, but that really isn’t the case for us.  We typically make a couple of trips to Cary per month anyway to go to Sam’s, AC Moore, etc.  We used to make a couple of trips per month for dinner, but those don’t really happen anymore! 

So, Friday we decided to go in search for some new wholesalers/suppliers, do our usual Cary/Raleigh shopping, and go out to dinner.  In the process, we made our first trip to Trader Joe’s.  Oh.my.gosh!!!!  I love it — we both love it!  We didn’t buy a ton, because I had just made a grocery trip Friday morning and we had several more stops to make, so we couldn’t buy anything cold/frozen, but we did buy some “junk food!”  The “less guilt” chips are to die for!  We have had a long obsession with kettle-cooked chips.  I could eat them every single day if I didn’t think I would end up as big as one side of the house!  These were by far some of the best ever, and SO much cheaper than our “regular” grocery stores.  The customer service was great (which was also SO much better than the place I bought groceries that morning and walked out irritated as usual!).  I can’t wait to go back soon (with my cooler this time, of course)!!

Well, my sister and new brother-in-law’s wedding has finally come and gone!  My camera has been acting a little crazy, so some of my pics are a little fuzzy, but here are a few until I get my CD with the “good pictures!”

My sister…

This is at the home the groom’s grandmother.

It’s rare that I have a picture with all four of us — me and my boys!

I’m now a proud aunt!  This is me with my new niece, Sarah…

…and her twin brother, my new nephew, Noah!

My cousin Dixie…horsing around…killing time before the wedding started…she was my comic relief!

Those handsome guys waited so patiently through the hours of photos!

This was the “cupcake bar,” which was a huge hit with the “under 12″ crowd!  They each iced their own cupcakes and could top them with gummy worms, M&Ms, sprinkles…  My fear was that they would all end up covered in icing, but they didn’t even get the tablecloth dirty!

THE cake!  I feel like we have talked about this cake FOREVER!  Melissa wouldn’t pick a design, so in the end this is what I designed for her.  She had no idea what it looked like until she walked in the door at the reception.  I think she was very pleasantly surprised!  I was very happy with the outcome!

Another angle of the cake – Jonathan built the beautiful stand for me!  He did a great job!

Overall, it was a great wedding.  The ceremony was sweet and beautiful, and the reception was great fun.  Aaron Gaines did a great job with the food, and we all danced way more than we should have!!