Winner Winner! ( i won't say chicken dinner)

I won! Okay 9th place, but I am still in the top ten this week! Ahh, finally, after about 4 months of entering every single week, I am in the top ten (engaging pat-on-the-back machine)! Thank you Miss Casey and please go check out the AMAZING entries and winners from the pet challenge this week at I Heart Faces.

Give yourself a pat on the back too. Its fun and rewarding!

Love,

I Heart Faces: Pets

After a busy day of pulling the covers off tennis balls and digging new holes in the yard, Miss Casey Jane is apparently all tuckered out. No energy left even to come give mama some kisses when I bent down to take her picture, as she snuggled in her igloo. Oh Miss Casey, you are 9 years old now, when will these puppy behaviors go away? You are lucky that those eyes have a direct link to my soul!  I love my labs!

Go check out the rest of the Pet photos at I Heart Faces for this weeks challenge.   If you are anything like me, your heart will melt about 50 times over! 

 Love, 

April Cooking Club- Easter Brunch for Din-Din

The girls gathered around my spring table last night for some Easter breakfast goodness at 8pm! 

cute right? Very springy...

We kinda got off to a slow start and the Bloody Mary's may have been responsible for that. :)

Hi there honey!

Secretly Simple Bloody Mary

• celery, 4 stalks
• lemon, 2
• vodka, 3/4 cup (6 ounces)
• tomato juice, 3 cups
• prepared horseradish, 1 to 2 tablespoons
• peppercini peppers, 4 peppers plus 1 tablespoon of the brine (I omitted these and used green beans and olives)
• Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons
• hot sauce (such as Tabasco), 1 to 2 teaspoons
• celery salt, 1/2 teaspoon
• black pepper

We had  some tasty deviled eggs to start, which really were the devil, just ask Michele B.

Only 74 calories each Michele, eating 6 was okay! :)

Ingredients:

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise + more as needed
• 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons drained sweet pickle relish
• 2 heaping tablespoons drained small capers, rinsed and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon minced chipotle en adobo
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Smoked paprika to garnish
• Chopped chives to garnish

Instructions:

1.     Halve eggs lengthwise and place yolks in a small bowl; set whites aside. Mash yolks with a fork; add mayonnaise, pickle relish, capers and chipotles, and combine well. If needed, add more mayo for desired consistency. Use a spoon to mound filling into whites, then garnish with paprika and chives.

 

After a long couple hours of cooking and enjoying Ol Mary's company, it was time to eat. The main menu consisted of Zucchini- Ricotta Salata Bruschetta, Bacon-Watercress Salad, some of the most divine Home Fried with Wild Mushrooms, and last but not least Cali-Style Eggs Benedict.  Lesson on the eggs Benedict, poaching eggs is not easy, and you can get just as yummy hollandaise sauce from those handy little packets they sell in the store.   (What is up with this weird indenting here that I cant get rid of?)

no picture of the salad but trust me, it was pretty!

 Okay, I almost forgot the desert which I am not sure is even possible since I had it for breakfast and lunch today too!  I am not a huge fan of super sweet and chocolaty dessert so this one was very Easter worthy and just perfect for my liking. You ready? Okay, we had the...... (insert drum roll here) Lemon Shortbread Squares! Again, Michele B. tried to take some home with her in her purse right next to the, now squishy, deviled eggs. But, I won the battle, hence the reason why I had some with my coffee for breakfast. Think I will make more for Sunday!  Happy Easter y'all!

I take the pictures so that im not in them . :)

Love,

 

I Heart Faces - Wind Challenge

A weekend away at the coast was just what the soul needed. I thought we were too busy to take a mini-vacation but turns out, the laundry, lawn, and general bleaching can wait. We packed up the car and headed to Timber Cove which is just north of Jenner, CA. The weather was sunny, windy and just shy of perfect. The kids ran and ran some more on the beach and in the tall grasses (never mind the ticks they also got) on the cliff sides. We took a drive to Fort Ross which, was a Russian settlement between 1812 to 1841.  After touring the fort I walked around the back side to see a large number of Russian Orthodox Crosses  lining the cliff on the opposite side of a gulch from where I stood. 

I had to find a way to get over to these crosses. I am a sucker for anything historical and I knew this would be cool (yes, I wanted to be an archeologist almost my entire youth). So another couple minute drive and we found the most amazing little cemetery that dated back to 1812. There were at least 80 weathered Orthodox crosses all facing east-west, with head at the west, so that at resurrection one could sit up facing east, as dictated by Russian Orthodox canon. My daughter found the beauty in this place, just as I did. The wind whipped through the graves and the waved crashed against the coastal cliff just below. My Mouse found some wild Irises that were growing everywhere and made it a point to place one on an unmarked grave. Of course, I cant refuse a sentimental moment so I snapped this shot.

I love history, I love Irises, and I love my sweet, sensitive daughter. Oh and the wind helps too! :) Which brings me to the fact that over at  I Heart Faces this week , the challenge is wind. Go check it out, there are some beautiful entries.

Love,

What to do with this damn chicken: Wednesday 7

My friend Kim B. shared this link with me a while back.  Sounds like a yummy spin on a chicken recipe, which is actually a pasta dish. I am going to make this tonight with a Penne pasta.  I think my equally salt loving family will love it too.  Kim was going to try it with Tofu for my vegetarian friends. Also, the recipe says to add some fresh basil and feta at the end, which I totally agree with, but I was also thinking about some toasted pine nuts too since I love me some crunch! :)

To Recipe

I have the prettiest pasta  bowl to put it in too! Oh boy, oh boy!

Thank you Kim!

Love,

Canning Jar Lights

I recently got a new table for my back yard that was passed down from a friend of the families, who made it prior to passing away last year. I put the table in the back yard and soon after my children begged to have dinner out there, I realized I needed some light!  I saw an idea similar to this in the Pottery barn magazine using Milk bottles and decided to make my own spin. Definitely not Pottery Barn material but, I was happy. This is where I got the blue fingers.

Steps:

1. Purchased 5 indoor/outdoor light cords at Ikea for $7

2. found a case of 12 Kern Mason jars in the larger size at Walmart for $9

3. Used a large drill bit that would cut about a half dollar sized whole in the medal cap of the jar. Cut holes in 5 jar lids. i'll be honest, hubby did this part.

4. Found translucent outdoor glass paint at Michaels in a green/gold color and painted the outside of a few jars, $7. I did a bright blue also and it didn't look the way I wanted so I don't think I will go with that. I liked the green because it reminded me of the antique canning jars that were made this color

5. I screwed about 5 jars to the cord fixtures and hung them above my table. I had to play with the placement as to doing more of a tight bunch of lights or more of a grape cluster. Get the hubby to hang them from a plant hook and attach an extension cord to a socket for power. Turn on and be wowed.

Cute right? well, I liked my low budget creation anyway. I'm thinking of taking fabric to make a cozy to hide the cords or something.

Happy Taco Tuesday!

Love,