Friday, April 29, 2011

Friday Etsy Favorites

This week's Friday Etsy favorites are just lovely! ♥

1. Clover Istanbul ► Black and White Little Bird Pendant
2. Little Sidekick ► Soft Blocks - Set of 3
3. The Nib And Quill ► Mini Handmade Journal with Coptic Binding
4. Waterrose ► Hand Embroidery Cuffs
5. Erin Elyse Designs ► Set of 6 Blue Floral Fabric Cover Push Pins
6. Dainty Button ► Sweet Home Alabama Headband


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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Honey Mustard Chicken

I bought some chicken thighs and wanted to try something new. I came across this recipe - Honey Baked Chicken. It looked good, so I decided to try it. Although it's called Honey Baked Chicken, I like to call it Honey Mustard Chicken because well, there is mustard in it and to me, that name just sounds better. :)


Here is the raw chicken in the marinade. I love to line my pans with aluminum foil because that way, clean up is a cinch!

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Right out of the oven...hmm...hmmm...

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Honey mustard chicken with brown basmati rice, mashed potatoes, and salad.

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As a side note, Tobias LOVES mashed potatoes. I gave him some huge spoonfuls and he ate them lickety split and asked for more! Honestly, he can eat two whole potatoes himself. Did I tell you that he LOVES mashed potatoes?!!

Mateo does not care for mashed potatoes. At. all. I think it stemmed from the time I tried to hide some mashed cauliflower in with the mashed potatoes. I must have put too much cauliflower in because he said that the mashed potatoes tasted like cauliflower. Oops! Since that incident, he will not eat mashed potatoes.


Honey Baked Chicken

Ingredients:
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces (I used chicken thighs)
1/2 cup butter, melted (I used a little less)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan, skin side up. Combine the melted butter or margarine, honey, mustard, salt and curry powder and pour the mixture over the chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours (75 minutes), basting every 15 minutes with pan drippings, until the chicken is nicely browned and tender and the juices run clear.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Inspiration Sunday - Easter Sunday

Happy Easter Sunday everyone!

Since today is Easter Sunday, I thought that for this week's Inspiration Sunday I would celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with some beautiful and inspirational items from Etsy.

Wishing everyone a blessed day!


Leather Cross Cuff by Michelle Verbeeck
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61442245/leather-cross-cuff

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The Sign of the Fish Necklace by Stacy's Designs 88
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61571082/the-sign-of-the-fish-necklacesterling

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Wire-wrapped Wall Cross by Totally Crosses
http://www.etsy.com/listing/67367490/wire-wrapped-rusty-nuts-and-bolts-wall

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Word Custom Necklace by Aura of Laura
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70032918/word-custom-necklace-antique-brass

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Scripture Art, The Love of Christ (Ephesians 3.18) by Art By Erin Leigh
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68537801/scripture-art-the-love-of

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My Peace I Give Unto You Wall Decal by Decor Expressions
http://www.etsy.com/listing/60506480/my-peace-i-give-unto-you-let-not-your

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Christian Fish Leather Notebook by GILD Bookbinders
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72482540/christian-fish-leather-notebook-book-for

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Believer Hand Stamped Necklace by Betsy Farmer Designs
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70610455/sale-believer-hand-stamped-cross

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Friday, April 22, 2011

Friday Etsy Favorites

Happy Easter weekend everyone! I thought I would do an Easter inspired Friday Etsy favorites. Enjoy these fabulous finds! ♥

1. TuToo Cute Tutus ► Felt Bunny Clip
2. Gamut ► Vintage Enameled Cross Cluster Necklace
3. Butterfly Baby Place ► Pillowcase Dress and Matching Tie Shirt
4. Forevermore Creations ► Hello Bunny - A Rabbit Charm Necklace
5. Art Angel ► Spring Birds - Original Mixed Media Art on Canvas
6. Angel Dog Designs ► Spring Nest with Felted Eggs Medium Blue


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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Creating of Cocoa Bear

Cocoa Bear would like to write a guest post on my blog about how he is created. :)

Here it is in his own words.

My name is Cocoa Bear and I'm writing this to tell you how I am made. Here are my pattern pieces being laid on the fabric, ready to be cut out.

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I'm all cut out, ready to be sewn. Yay!

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My ears and face are sewn and my heart is beating. I'm happy but am anxious to be able to see what's all around me.

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That's better. Now to be able to smell and talk would be really nice.

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Perfect. Life is great. Well almost. My back's feeling a bit cold. Oh, wait I don't have one yet.

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Yay, I now have a back side to me and I am ready to be stuffed with lots of love. I can't wait to stand up and run to the loving arms of my new family.

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Here I am filled with life and love, ready to go to my new loving home.

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I hope you enjoyed my guest blog post because I really enjoyed writing it! :) ♥

Latest Wall Prints

Live What You Love -
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72317919/live-what-you-love-wall-art-8x10-custom

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Faith Is Daring The Soul To Go Beyond What The Eyes Can See -
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72257517/faith-is-daring-the-soul-to-go-beyond

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Modern Deer / Fawn Birth Announcement Wall Art -
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72256391/modern-deer-fawn-birth-announcement-wall

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Whimsical Tree Personalized With Your Names -
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72316446/whimsical-tree-personalized-with-your

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Modern Birth Announcement (Landscape) -
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72256874/modern-birth-announcement-landscape-wall

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You Are My Bit of Sunshine -
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72191954/you-are-my-bit-of-sunshine-wall-art-8x10

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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Inspiration Sunday - Topiary Trees

Recently, I bought two six foot topiary trees that I am going to plant in pots. The trees have a somewhat long stalk and three shaped balls. Last year I had bought a miniature one that I planted in the backyard. I love topiaries.

They are so unique and add some interest to the landscape. It is quite fantastic how they are grown and shaped. Since topiaries are on my mind, I thought, why don't I do an Inspiration Sunday post on it? :)

Here are some inspiring photos of some beautiful trees. It's amazing how much work must go into pruning the trees in order for them to keep their topiary shape.


A little evergreen haven. So beautiful!
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I love the layers of the tree on the left.
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Wow! An elephant topiary. So very cool!
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I love these ones from Beckley Park in Oxfordshire. Who knew you could shape a tree into a bear?
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I love this row of spiral topiaries.
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These trees are quite unusual. It kind of looks like a huge piece of broccoli! :)
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This is a photo by Stephen Buchan of a topiary outside a church in Costa Rica.
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This topiary in Château de Villandry, France is utterly amazing. I can just imagine the amount of work it was to create and maintain this masterpiece.
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This website Topiary Arts is a great resource for all things topiary. It has categories such as maintenance and care and pruning and cutting.

I can't wait to pot my trees. It's going to be so much fun!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Friday Etsy Favorites

Here are this week's Friday Etsy favorites! Some fantastically unique finds! ♥

1. CMVision Jewelry ► Breeze Kisses - Hair Pin Set
2. Claylicious ► Handmade Ceramic Big Owl Figure
3. Teener1416 ► Easter Egg - Lithuanian European Chicken Egg
4. Montclair Made ► Zipper Pouch - Property of - Customize Your Own
5. New Leaf Handmade Goods ► Mother Goose Notebook
6. Sweet Harvey ► Screenprinted Canvas Totebag


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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Happy Face :) Sad Face :( Mad Face :|

Tobias makes the funniest faces. We'll ask him: show us your happy face, show us your sad face, and show us your mad face.

Here is what we get.

Happy face.

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Sad face:

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Mad face:

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Monday, April 11, 2011

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

One day, I was looking for an easy black bean soup recipe and came across this one - Black Bean and Salsa Soup.

The ingredients were simple and it was not only easy, but fast to make. Based on this, I thought I would give it a try. I'm so glad that I did because it was delicious!


Here is the black beans, broth, salsa, and cumin ready in the pot to be pureed. (I reserved almost 3/4 cup of black beans because I didn't want the entire soup to be pureed. I wanted some whole beans in there also.)

I also used homemade salsa that I had, so I'm not sure what the difference in taste would be if I had used store bought instead. *Side note - nothing beats homemade salsa! :)

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I used a hand blender to puree the mixture. So much easier than putting it in my food processor or blender. Here is the result of the pureeing. After I finished pureeing, I added the reserved whole black beans and heated everything on the stovetop.

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The original recipe called for sour cream and green onions as a garnish. But I didn't have either, so I added some grated cheddar cheese and a dollop of salsa. It was so good and healthy. The kids loved it too! So double yay for that! :)

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Black Bean and Salsa Soup

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1 cup chunky salsa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 4 tablespoons sour cream (I didn't use this)
* 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion (I didn't use this either)

* replaced with grated cheddar cheese and salsa

In an electric food processor or blender, combine beans, broth, salsa, and cumin. Blend until fairly smooth. Heat the bean mixture in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Ladle soup into 4 individual bowls, and top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of the sour cream and 1/2 tablespoon green onion.


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