Patriotic Table
Last week at Target… That’s how all of my good stories start. So, last week at Target, I picked up some vinyl placemats. I have no intention of using them as placemats, but that’s a story for another day. Before I embark on my little placemat project, I thought I’d use them as a table runner to help get us in the mood for the 4th of July. I also bought myself roses for the first time in my life. They are from Trader Joe’s. I pretty much use whatever excuse I can to go to Trader Joe’s because a $5 bouquet of flowers really floats my boat. Red roses signify love, which…
Patriotic Manicure and Pedicure
You’re never too old to have fun with your fingernail polish. That’s a motto to live by – mark my words. The 4th of July is the perfect time to get patriotic with your fingers and toes! Plus, I knew you wanted to see pictures of my feet. Start by painting your toenails a bright, happy, patriotic red! Next, you’ll need a dark blue nail polish. Paint a tiny rectangle in the upper left hand corner of each big toe. If it turns out more like a square or a parallelogram – no worries. People shouldn’t be looking that closely at your toes anyway. On your remaining toes, paint the tips blue. Now, we’re…
Pane Bianco with Apples, Raisins & Cinnamon
Ever since I made Pane Bianco with Sausage, Sundried Tomatoes and Basil, I’ve been obsessed with, in no particular order, the following: 1. Calling ordinary white bread by a fancy Italian name like Pane Bianco. 2. Finding fancy Italian names for most everything ordinary. “Lavare i piatti” means “doing dishes.” See, it sounds so good, I almost want to do the dishes! 3. Making everything into a curvy figure-8 shape. 4. Wondering why I have a curvy shape. Oh, wait. Never mind. 5. Wondering what else I could fill my Pane Bianco with. Hmm. That sounded…uh, wrong. Sorry! Wondering how I could adapt the Pane Bianco recipe. There. That sounds better. 😉…
Kid Chairs Get a Little Glam
I’ve haven’t been feeling too motivated in the crafty, decorating department lately. What can I say? Sometimes you’re on fire, sometimes you’re not! When the urge to spray paint something this week surged through me, well, I grabbed the first thing in sight that hadn’t yet been altered: the chairs at my kids’ game table. I’ve had these kid chairs for a few years now. And yes, they still had the price tags on them. *insert forehead slap here* They are from The Container Store and are probably the only thing I’ve ever purchased from that store. At the time, I was looking for a set of kids’ chairs that weren’t obnoxious.…
Fishing with Dad
I’ve been having more than my fair share of those moments lately. The moments that take your breath away. The moments you want to savor and memorize so you can replay them later in your mind. I think I’m more in-tune with these moments because I feel a season is ending for our family. In August both of my kids will be in school all day. They aren’t babies any longer and it’s time to move on to the next phase of life. I can’t freeze the clock, so I figure I have two choices. I can either go kicking and screaming into the next phase or I can relish the present…
Tie-Dye Cleaning Rags
Earlier this week I declared a “stay at home fun day.” This is mom-speak for “we need to stay at home and do some laundry or we will be starting a nudist colony soon.” However, my kids took my declaration literally. They expected us to have fun and for me to provide the entertainment. Luckily, my daughter had received a tie-dye kit for her birthday. I had been procrastinating saving it for such a day as this. The tie-dye kit included a tote bag to tie-dye. My daughter then asked me what a tote bag was. We were off to a great start. Thankfully, the kit also included plenty of…
Fresh Triple Berry Pie
We went berry picking last weekend. It was 90 degrees at 10 a.m. and we were probably a week too early, but we did come away with a nice haul of blueberries and blackberries. We just had to work a little harder to find the ripe ones! I froze most of the berries, but couldn’t resist enjoying a few of them right away. Since it has been so hot here in Georgia (they don’t call it Hot-lanta for nothing), a fresh fruit pie sounded way more refreshing than a baked fruit pie. So, that’s what I did. Now, my definition of a fresh fruit pie is one that uses a baked pie…
Dreaming of a Lake House
I’ve said for a long time that my “forever” house is somewhere on a lake. I envision a place with a big deck and a screened-in porch. A place where wet feet are always welcome and towels hang on the deck railing. A place where my grandchildren will come and visit during the summer. I can picture them laughing while they jump off the dock and go for a swim. Maybe after dinner they’ll get out the fishing poles and catch a huge fish. We had one of those days today. You know the ones? A day where you just want to freeze time for a moment because it is so…
Flour Sifter Hack
Warning: This post contains bad lyrics, cheesy rhyming and unnecessary descriptive details. You may want to avert your eyes. I totally understand. When my husband and I got married, we received many wonderful wedding gifts from our friends and family. Since we were really young when we got married, those gifts were definitely helpful in setting up our house. One of the items we received was a flour sifter. I’m pretty sure it came bundled with some other baking supplies, but I cannot remember who gave me that gift. I feel bad about that. I also feel bad that I only used the flour sifter a dozen times. Okay, it was more…
Pane Bianco with Basil, Sausage & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
An alternate title for this post could be everything sounds better in Italian. Pane Bianco. If you want to hear it pronounced, click here. What is pane bianco? Well, in English it means white bread. See? I told you it sounds better in Italian! In this case, it is fancy-schmancy looking white bread filled with deliciousness. I stumbled upon the website Never Enough Thyme…When Lana’s Cooking the other day and could not get her recipe for Pane Bianco out of my head. I mean, look at it! It’s gorgeous! Here is my dough all rolled out and sprinkled with fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, sausage, garlic and an Italian cheese blend.…
