What a wild week it's been. Where to begin. . . I drove down to Colorado Springs to fill in at an office I would KILL to work at. Met more really awesome people and had a pretty disastrous camping trip that actually turned out to be not-so-bad. Found a stray dog. Adopted said dog. Very crazy ten days. I hope you had an awesome end to your May. Here's a list to catch you up on your holidays you've been so desperately awaiting!
May 21 - National Memo Day, National Waiters and Waitresses Day, Rapture Party Day
May 22 - Be a Musical Instrument Day, National Taffy Day
May 23 - Lucky Penny Day, World Turtle Day
May 24 - National Escargot Day, Brothers' Day, International Tiara Day, Morse Code Day | International Morse Code Alphabet!
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Morse-coded necklaces, blankets and scarves - People would have NO idea they say something!!
| | So many Morse code crafts, I don't even know where to begin! I LOVE the idea of crafting hidden messages all over my wardrobe. Maybe some Morse Art coming up next??Also, am I wrong in saying memo = Post-it? Check out this stop motion video of Post-its! Super cute! Happy Memo Day! May 25 - National Missing Children's Day, Tap Dance Day, Cookie Monster's Birthday, Geek Pride Day, Towel Day, National Wig Out Day, Player Piano Day
May 26 - International Jazz Day, Sally Ride Day
May 27 - Sunscreen Day
May 28 - Amnesty International Day, Memorial Day
May 29 - Learn About Composting Day
May 30 - Water a Flower Day
Colorado is suffering from major wildfires right now so it's not exactly the most fun thing trying to breathe outside. I am lacking a need for sunscreen since I'm holed up in my dark apartment to keep the heat (and smoke) out. Let's travel to three places you might actually want to enjoy the sun and NEED sunscreen.
I want to sit on this dock with my feet dipped in the water and lather on the sunscreen until the sun goes does. Would you join me in Hungary for some dock-time? Come on!
| Or maybe Canada is more your style? Watching the sunset over Lake Superior sounds like another one of those times that you would need ample lotion to protect you from the sun. Oh, Lake Superior, how I miss you.
| Last, but certainly not least - a natural swimming pool in Samoa. I'm sure I would have a pretty hard time wanting to leave these crystal waters to reapply sunblock. Alas, I'm a fair-skinned strawberry blonde and would sizzle into oblivion if I didn't!
| May 31 - National Macaroon Day, Save Your Hearing Day, World No Tobacco Day, What You Think Upon Grows Day
Have you read "The Art of Racing in the Rain"?? A quote that pops up a couple of times in this amazing book is "Your car goes where your eyes go" and I think that goes hand in hand with "What you think upon grows" - What an awesome way to live At-Cause in your life! Celebrate the things you have brought into your life and the things you have continued to grow by thinking on them! Congrats!
P. S. To save your hearing - I'm addicted to my Jack Johnson station on Pandora. Perfect for summertime, if I say so myself!
Happy sizzling!
XO
Happy Friday!! This weekend is FULL of really awesome reasons to celebrate! Eat what you want day? Count me in! National babysitters' day? I babysat my way through middle and high school! And then, of course, there's mothers' day! I hope you have a fabulously relaxing weekend full of good food, fun crafts and thanking Mom for everything she's done!
Friday, May 11th - Eat What You Want Day, Military Spouses' Day,
Twilight Zone Day, National Windmill Day
Saturday, May 12th - Birth Mother's Day, Fatigue Syndrome Day, International Nurses' Day, Limerick Day, Hug Your Cat Day, National Babysitter's Day, National Mini Golf Day, Odometer Day, Stay Up All Night, World Belly Dance Day I like to think I was the greatest babysitter in my day. Looking back, I was probably a little on the boring side - letting kiddos do pretty much whatever they felt like without much structure. I wish I would have had access to the awesome crafting ideas for fun things to do back then, but I bet they still appreciated their freedom at least a little! Above you'll find Tie-Dying Basics (for the older ones) and DIY Kid Plates (to ENCOURAGE playing with their food! I bet Mom and Dad would have really appreciated THAT!) Sunday, May 13th - Frog Jumping Day, Leprechaun Day, Mother's Day I'll make this quick because I know your google reader is getting blown up by mother's day stories and tributes. If you feel like hearing a little more about the mothers/women in my life, check it out HERE. I sent my mom this really beautiful silver infinity bracelet and she had to wait WEEKS to open it for mother's day. I LOVE surprises!!Monday, May 14th - Dance Like a Chicken Day Last, but not least, for dance like a chicken day, I'd like to share my new favorite dance song. I am not one to dance in the car, but I find myself bee-bopping around to this tune. I love love LOVE The Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti & Spearhead. It makes my heart sing!! Happy weekend and work week!
XO
_Beer Can Appreciation Day, Compliment Day, Belly Laugh Day, Self-Love Month _In honor of Compliment Day and Self-Love Month, my team at Little Britches is getting some major love from me today! I made them Strawberry Cake Mix Sandwich cookies (recipe below!) and wrote each of them a "Happy Compliment Day" card!
I guess it's time to tell you that I (am addicted to) love greeting cards. Any holiday, event, moment or just-because and you're pretty much guaranteed a card from you-know-who. _Strawberry Cake Mix Sandwich Cookies -- Make and TakesWARNING: SOOO d@mn sweet!!Ingredients:1 box strawberry cake mix2 eggs1/3 cup vegetable oilDirections:Preheat oven to 375. Mix ingredients together. Using flour as needed, roll out dough and cut out heart shapes with cookie cutters. Bake for 7-9 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. Let cookies cool completely before frosting "wrong" sides and making sandwiches. ENJOY!I'm also using my crock pot for the first time in my whole life to make this recipe. Wish me luck -- it smells delicious so far!! I'm thinking I'll realize what I've been missing by letting my crock pot gather dust in our laundry room. If you have any yummy recipes for the slow cooker, throw them my way!! | | _Crock Pot Cheddar Beer Chicken Tacos --- Oh, I can't wait!!Jessica at How Sweet It Is sure knows how to make me drool. I must have at least ten thousand of her recipes pinned on my pinterest! Maybe someday I'll check another off my to-try list! Happy simmering in your self-love! XO |
_National Pie Day, National Handwriting Day, Chinese New Year, Apples Month _I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas! Unfortunately, my bananas aren't quite ripe enough yet so I'll have to settle for APPLES! I found this awesome recipe for a new twist on the apple pie. This is another cute idea! _Mine did not turn out nearly as pretty, but VERY tasty! _Pie a la Apple - Paper Plates and China(This recipe will make 4 baked apples)Ingredients: 5-6 Granny Smith apples that can stand on their own 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon brown sugar Pie Crust (homemade or pre-made)Directions: Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the top of 4 apples off and discard. Remove the inside of each apple with a spoon very carefully. Remove skin from remaining apple(s) and slice very thinly. These apple pieces will give you the additional filling needed to fill the four apples you are baking. Mix sliced apples with sugars and cinnamon in a bowl. If you prefer more or less cinnamon make adjustments as desired. Same goes for the sugar. Scoop sliced apples into hollow apples. Roll out pie crust and slice into 1/4 inch strips. I added a strip inside the top of the apple, which can be seen in the photo above. Cover the top of the apple in a lattice pattern with pie crust strips. Place apples in an 8x8 pan. Add just enough water to the cover the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and sliced apples are soft. Yum yum, yum! I had leftover crust and apple insides so I made an apple hand pie, too! Happy apple month! XO | | _
P. S. Here's mine prior to baking. Post-oven, the apples sort of melted into themselves so I pulled the crust off and scooped up the insides to eat them that way. Oh well, they were fun to make and look cute in theory! |
_National Blonde Brownie Day _Well, I was craving brownies. I knew that Blonde Brownie Day was coming up. I mixed a little powdered sugar with cream cheese and piped some "cute" hearts onto my boxed brownie batter and baked. They were delicious, but not very pretty. Or original. Or legit. . . they were clearly Brunette Brownies. BUT, like I said, they were tasty, so that's really all that matters. Here's a for-real Blonde Brownie recipe, straight from Nestle Toll House!
AND here's what they're really supposed to look like! _Blonde Brownies - Allrecipes via Nestle Toll HouseIngredients:2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour2 1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar3/4 cup softened butter/margarine3 eggs1 tsp vanilla extract12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chipsDirections:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan.2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Beat sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Spread into prepared pan.3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. _Happy baking!
XO
_National Popcorn Day _1. Get flat-bottomed brown paper lunch bag.
2. Add a 1/2 cup scoop of bulk popcorn kernels to your brown paper bag.
3. Fold the bag over twice (STAPLES = SPARKS, stay away!)
4. Pop into microwave for 3 minutes on high.
5. Add toppings (ie. chili powder, hot sauce and salt; onion powder and garlic powder; parmesan cheese and salt; cinnamon, sugar and honey; butter and salt)
Holy canoli, good idea!! _Oh. My. Gosh. Popcorn Cake - Cookies and Cups _Prepare a large tube or bundt pan by spraying evenly with cooking spray. Pop 2 bags of buttered microwave popcorn as directed on the package and dump into a large bowl. Pick out the kernels that didn’t pop. Now mix in 2 cups of M&M’s and 1 1/2 cups broken pretzel sticks.. (Not crushed, just broken into smaller pieces) melt 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter over low in a large saucepan. When melted add in a 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows (8 cups). Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and pour over your popcorn mix. Stir until all the ingredients are combined and then press into the prepared pan. Cover with foil and let your cake set for at least an hour to cool. Loosen sides of your cake from the pan by running a butter knife around the edges. Flip your pan over onto your serving platter.
Thank you so much for sharing, Shelly. My life is now complete. __I want this made into a scarf, please? Last, but not least . . . The Winkler Family Popcorn Balls - Thanks, MOM!3 batched of popped corn 1 small box of any flavor Regular Jell-O (Traditionally: Black Cherry and Lime) 3 cups mini marshmallows 6 Tbs butter Put Jell-O and butter in pot and melt/stir until Jell-O is dissolved. Add marshmallows and melt. DO NOT STIR marshmallows after melted as it will not be fluffy! Pour this mixture over popped corn in large bowl, stir to coat evenly. With buttered hands, make into balls and enjoy! This is usually in our Christmas Care Packages and after I got mine this year, I asked my mom to make me some with double the marshmallow and half the popcorn next year. . . Keeping my fingers crossed! _BTW: Design Indulgences has some GREAT ideas for hosting your own movie night complete with gourmet popcorn bar! Check it out! Happy Popping! XO
_National Hat Day, Religious Freedom Day, Asparagus Month
Yummy recipes, inspirational quotes, and a shout out to my family!  _Lemon Chicken & Asparagus - Sing for Your SupperIngredients:1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the asparagus 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped or cut into thin strips 1 cup chicken broth 1 tablespoon flour salt and pepper juice of one large lemon 1 bunch fresh asparagus Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Lay the asparagus in a single layer on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 6-8 minutes, until just barely tender. Set aside. Meanwhile, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook, turning the pieces so they cook evenly, for about 5 minutes. Add in the peppers. Cook for an additional 5 minutes then using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and peppers to a plate and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk the flour into the drippings left in the skillet. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice. Whisk constantly until the sauce starts to thicken slightly. Add the chicken and peppers back in and cook for 5-7 minutes. Spoon the chicken, peppers and sauce over the asparagus and serve. Oh my gosh, yum!!
_"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." ~ Buddha  _Fried Asparagus - Cooking VenturesIngredients:
1 lb asparagus (thin stalks)
1 1/2 c dry seasoned breadcrumbs
1 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
4 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying
Directions:
Wash and dry the asparagus. Snap or cut the fibrous root ends off and discard. Thin stalks work best for this recipe since thicker stalks are too fibrous.
In a shallow dish, combine the seasoned breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasoned salt and mix well to combine. Set aside. In another shallow dish, beat the eggs and set aside. Place a rack in a sheet pan and set aside. Start preheating the oven to 200F.
Dip a few stalk of the asparagus on the eggs and allow some of the egg to drip off. Coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Re-dip the asparagus in the egg and the breadcrumbs to add a thicker layer of coating. Place the breaded asparagus on a sheet pan (not the sheet pan that has the rack in it). Repeat this process with the remaining stalks of asparagus.
Shallow fry the asparagus in 1/2" of oil (preferably peanut oil). Heat about 1" of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until it is shimmering. When the oil is hot, fry the asparagus until golden brown, which should only take a minute or so. They cook fast! Transfer to the sheet pan equipped with a rack and place the pan in the oven to keep warm will you fry the remaining stalks of asparagus.
_"My religion is simple; my religion is kindness." ~ The Dalai Lama | | _Thanks to Rosie at Sweetapolita for sharing this incredibly realistic asparagus cake! Trick those picky eaters into trying this veggie! Check out the site to see how yummy the inside looks. . . Oh, my! |
_I want to give a quick shout out to my wonderful cousin, Nichole (and her hat!) Love you!!
Happy National Hat Day, Religious Freedom Day and Asparagus Month!!
XO
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