My new favorite place in MN

Every kind of candy you can possibly imagine, locally-raised meats, hundreds of old-fashioned soda, freshly made pies, and BACON... need I say more???

I have driven by "the big yellow barn" hundreds of times while visiting family in Mankato and Worthington, but not once have I stopped to check it out. But that all changed this weekend! My husband and I were driving to Mankato to celebrate Thanksgiving with his mom and dad, and our job was to bring a pie. I thought that this would be the perfect time to check out the HUGE yellow barn that has caught my eye for years! Let me introduce you to "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store"...

The first thing that made me fall in love with this place, the word BACON painted in big letters on the outside of the barn! But once I stepped inside, I wanted to move in. I found candy that I haven't seen since my childhood: Big League Chew, Candy Cigarettes (I'm not condoning these), Smartie Suckers, etc. They literally have everything... even these little gummy candies that look like over-easy eggs (so cute)! They also have the biggest assortment of old-fashion soda. AJ found Jolt, which brought him back to his caffeinated teenage days, and I found a Milwaukee-brewed gingerale made with real ginger. Although I felt so cool drinking it, I'll be honest and tell you it didn't taste very good... I'll stick to the fake stuff:)

Besides that candy and the soda, this place has a great assortment of MN-raised meats. We didn't buy any up because we were in a rush, but next year I will be stocking up! They also have a variety of colorful pastas, dip and soup mixes, and other foods that would make terrific party servings. You also can't miss the freshly made caramel apples and nut rolls.

But the thing that makes this place "take the cake"... the freshly made pies! Oh my goodness, I can't begin to tell you how amazing this place smells. You literally want to eat the air! We picked out a freshly-made peach pie. It was hot, perfect, and absolutely delicious! AND it was only $9.99.

They're only open until Dec. 5th this year, so if you have any time this week or next weekend, take a day-trip to Jordan, MN and check out "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store". If you see a brown-haired girl who has set up a sleeping area... that's me. I am seriously considering moving in;)

The Bedroom Project

(Bedroom before)












(Bedroom after)

Over the last few weeks, AJ and I have been working hard trying to get our bedroom just the way we want it. Everything from the paint to the furniture had to be redone. This room used to be yellow, which wasn't bad, but we wanted it to be gray:) For this project, we decided to go the thrifty route! We made the headboard for our bed ourselves, moved furniture from other rooms into the bedroom, purchased furniture off of Craigslist, and painted the room ourselves! Our favorite part of the bedroom project: Our headboard. We made it for $100!

My husband came up with the idea to put 6 square boards together and cover them with a fabric. AJ had boards cut into squares (cost around $24), and then the two of us went to Hancock Fabrics to pick out fabric. The fabric we chose is a black suede-type material. It was on sale for about $10/yard. We bought about 2 1/2 yards (we should have bought more because it was a tight squeeze wrapping the material around the boards). We also bought 2 1/2 yards of the "fluff", or padding, that goes between the wood and the fabric. To "spice" things up a bit, we bought black and silver buttons to sew on each square. My Dad let us use his heavy duty stapler.

After the boards were cut, we cut the padding and fabric about an inch bigger than the boards. Then, we wrapped the padding and fabric around the back and stapled them to the back of the boards. That's where AJ's injury happened:( So learn from his mistakes and BE CAREFUL! Once all 6 boards were wrapped, AJ went and bought 4 long boards, and screwed them of the back of the 6 boards to hold them together (cost about $8). Then, I glued (tried sewing and it didn't work) the buttons on each square. We were going to have the headboard be two squares high, but went with one instead. I think AJ is planning on screwing the headboard to the wall eventually... we'll see:) For now, the headboard is resting against the wall.

I'm so proud of our new bedroom because AJ and I planned and "designed" everything together. It was a lot of hard work, but it's a project that we completed ourselves. Go Team Saigh! Which room should we tackle next???

The "Original" Mrs. Saigh's Potato Soup

Even when my husband and I were dating, I would try making his family recipes. AJ is Lebanese, so I've tried making things like Kibbeh, but today I attempted one of his mom's recipes for potato soup! Mmmmmmmmm. I tried making this recipe once before and AJ said I didn't let it simmer long enough, so it didn't taste the way his mom and grandma make it. This time we let it simmer the whole day and it turned out really well! I made enough for an entire week of lunches, and even had enough to freeze. If you're looking for a delicious winter soup, try this one:

Potato Soup

1 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 tsp dried dill weed

Melt butter and stir in flour and salt and pepper (will be pasty looking). Whisk in milk and stir until it starts to thicken over medium heat. Add chicken broth, celery, onion, dill weed and diced potatoes. Cook until celery, onion and potatoes are tender. Don't bring to a boil, as the milk can separate. Make 4 recipes to fill a big soup pot.

Thanks Pammy Saigh!