Spring has Sprung....well almost

the urge to spring clean is creeping up on me and with that always comes the urge to purge, rearrange, organize....you get the picture.

I have so many things I would love to change at the house it is a matter of prioritizing and figuring out what is do-able.

One thing I am looking for at are flat panel TV stands. I really like this one...



also on my list is to remove the wallpaper in Leo's room - we hung it 14 years ago and it's time has come to be replaced! Any tips for painless wallpaper removal?? Wouldn't it be nice if it just peeled off like this....



unfortunately I have the feeling it will be more like this...

My Review of Women's Classic Mid Paisley Boots in Gray

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

Classic Mid Paisley Boots by Bogs

Features:

• Women's Classic Mid Paisley Boots in Gray
• Part of the Classic Mid Paisley collection
• Natural hand-lasted rubber
• Easy-on pull handles
• Non-slip, non-marking and self-cleaning out...

Women's Classic Mid Paisley Boots in Gray

fashionably fun!

By skimom from rochester, NY on 2/15/2011

 

4out of 5

very comfortable

everyone stops to ask where I got them

run a bit small though - I am a 9 and I wish these came in a 9 1/2

also - say they are good to -30 ... maybe if you are hiking/moving/walking in those temps but I wear them to watch my kids ski race and standing on the snow on the hill my feet got very cold ... I use toe warmers and ski socks if I am going to be standing around for awhile

(legalese)

A Valentines Day Dinner

Last night I treated the family to one of my favorites! Chicken French with arugula and orzo!

I love Rao's Shrimp Francese recipe and just swapped out chicken for shrimp




* 2 large chick breasts pounded flat cut in half
* 1-1/2 cups flour
* 1 cup dry white wine
* Juice of 1-1/2 lemons
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 4 large eggs
* ¼ cup grated Romano cheese
* 2 teaspoons minced Italian parsley
* Additional chopped parsley for garnish

Whisk eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper until well blended. Dredge chicken in flour and dip into egg mixture, and dredge in flour again.

Heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, place chicken in pan, open side down. Brown shrimp on each side. Remove cooked chicken to a warm serving platter.

Drain off excess oil. Add wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add 2 tablespoons butter. Raise heat and whisk in remaining butter until sauce has thickened. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and squeeze lemon juice over chicken.

I served mine on a bed of arugula with a side of orzo!

enjoy!

Will work for Fabric...

you know those signs you sometimes see people standing at the edge of the road holding...



I think mine should say... "Will Work For Fabric"...because I have been known to do this in the past!



Last year I swapped my labor for the giant roll of batting you see in the photo above. I did some sewing for Roc-Lon Industries for quilt market & in return I got the batting...only problem was, I didn't quilt!

I have long drooled over the new movement in quilting - modern colors, traditional patterns approached in non-traditional ways, the use of solid colors to complement the prints and decided just before christmas that I wanted to give quilting a try and made some table runners for gifts.

Then I stumbled upon a friends blog post announcing season 2 of Project Quilting! This was just the inspiration and challenge I needed to try my hand at quilting!

here are a couple of pics of my work in progress..






and the description of my piece for the challenge - inspiring friendships

20"square pillow cover

named for Friendship, NY

driving through the hills of allegheny ny this summer I passed a roadsign for Friendship NY and thought that would be a great place to say that you were from ... when I spotted this challenge on your blog I thought it would be the perfect place name from which to draw my inspiration.

so... friendship...my online friendship with you brought me to this challenge, the fabrics I used are from other "friends" I have made both online and in real life while pursuing my creative endeavors...Patty Young and I started out together in the same boutique group on ebay, I met Sandi Henderson there as well, Jennifer Paganelli and I became online friends and later met in real life when I visited her home in CT for one of her fabulous home shows(turns out she also has inlaws in my hometown!), and I snuck a little Valorie Wells in there as I had the good luck to meet her at quilt market!

the nesting dolls fabric represents the friends we made while living in Poland too many years ago!

the fabric used for the border came from my stash - the outermost print reminds me of the hills where friendship, NY is located

I started with a log cabin block that I cut into quarters, shifted around and sewed back together, made the stripwork heart applique, added batting & backing and quilted it all free motion (?) ... as I may have mentioned this is one of my first forays into quitling and I don't know all the correct terminology yet! I then added an envelope back to the front so it could be used on a 20" pillow form

thanks for inspiring me!

breakfast treats....

it has been awhile since I shared a recipe so I thought I would share one of our favorite breakfast goodies that our neighbor introduced us to - also makes a great afterschool snack...

cream cheese & jelly paninnis!



heat up a skillet or if you have a george foreman we love to grill ours!

2 slices of bread, cream cheese (we use strawberry or cranberry orange) & your favorite jam or jelly.

butter the outside of the bread slices, spread cream cheese on the inside of both slices and spread a spoonful of jam between the slices - grill until golden!




let cool a bit before you enjoy!

sometimes for a special treat I get fancy and use my pampered chef circle cutter!

Facebook Fanpage Special

time for another facebook fan page special!

op over and check it out!

Facebook Fan Page Specials...

After seeing a variety of promotion ideas on facebook I have decided to try offering some specials available only through my fan page for a special price.

Tonight I posted the first deal....



this dress is a one of a kind - ready to ship in a size XS (4/5/6) for $30 shipped priority in the US

if you are interested in any of these deals on my fan page, message me with your paypal addy and I will invoice you directly!

if that is not your size or style I have listed a couple of new skirts in my etsy shop

Sunny Days




and Mikayla

Petition ELLE magazine!

I received this email today and felt it was something important to share with you and hope you will take a moment to read it and if you feel so inclined...fill in the petition located in the right hand column on my blog......

It looks like Elle had quite the white Christmas.



Bollywood actor and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is featured on the cover of Elle Magazine looking far paler than she is in real life. Most fans are up in arms and an appalled Ms. Bachchan is considering a lawsuit against the magazine.

Consumers have long been inundated with ads that use prominent Bollywood actors to promote skin-lightening products. In a country that produces gorgeous women of color, it is sad that Ms. Rai-Bachchan, who is relatively light-skinned, is one of the very few with some cross-over appeal. To see magazines like Elle further enforce the color hierarchy of crossover appeal by making Aishwarya appear lighter-skinned is a slap in the face.

This is the second racial debacle surrounding Elle. The American version was criticized for its October 2010 issue, which featured actress Gabourey Sidibeon on one of its four celebrity covers with noticeably lighter skin than her natural complexion.

Lets tell Elle Magazine to make a commitment to moving away from using white as a standard for beauty, and demand a public statement and apology.

Comfort Food...

this time of year makes me want to snuggle up under a blanket and enjoy my favorite comfort foods....

I think the top of my list in winter must be toast dunked in a cup of hot cocoa



this was definitely a favorite from childhood...which brings me to a few others I remember form days home sick on the couch...my mom would serve up lipton noodle soup and pb&j on saltines!





I thought I had died and gone to heaven! when I am feeling a little nostalgic these days I will pull out the saltines and serve my kids pb&j for snack after school!

BUT... a favorite childhood treat that can be rather hard to find today were chick o'sticks!




what are some of your comfort foods...childhood favorites...do you still eat them today!

Wear it Wednesday!

A sweet & funky skirt for valentines and beyond! Hearts and ruffles, a rainbow of colors



available in 12months - 12 years in my etsy shop or leave a comment on the blog or my facebook fan page!

Tasty Tuesday ....

thought I would share a dinner idea with you that we tried last night to much success.

We set up a baked potato bar and each person got to choose their own topping for a tasty baked potato!



some of the toppings we tried included...

chili
shredded cheese
melted cheese
broccoli
asparagus
stir-fried pork
sour cream
bacon
salsa



all in all it was a huge hit - a little something for everyone! What else would you add for toppings??

My Little Monkey....

my youngest never ceases to amaze me....after a crazy week skiing every day of break and a dual slalom race on the 31st where he placed 4th for boys who are 9 & 10 years old (he is 8)...he couldn't sit still on New Years Day and just relax....

no, he talked his dad into Rock Climbing!!! Crazy!







wish I had just a little bit of that energy!

It's Hot Chocolate Time!

as the temps dip to the teens & twenties here it is time to pack the cocoa into the ski basket. I thought I would share a recipe I got from a ski friend for a homemade coca mix...plain & simple, no corn syrup...just 3 ingredients!



4c powdered milk
1c sugar
1/2c cocoa powder

mix together - add hot milk and marshmallows and enjoy! I store the extra in a tupperware and bring it along with our lunch to the ski area!

Ski Season is Here!

it is that time of year again to start thinking about packing our luggage sets and hitting the road for the downhill ski race circuit.

All 3 kids are racing this year and my husband is coaching which means someone is on the snow 7 days a week so we live a life on the go - often at freezing temperatures.

I decided this year that I need to invest in some good cold weather clothing so I have asked Santa for a long down jacket - kind of like wearing a sleeping bag on the hill!



doesn't that look toasty warm?? I also figured my feet need some new boots to keep them warm too so when CSN stores offered me the opportunity to review a product from their shops I decided to order a pair of BOG boots from them and test them out on the slopes.



look for my review here in a few weeks once they arrive and ski season gets underway!

Holiday Open House at the Hungerford




The Hungerford Unwrapped!

Friday, December 3 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Saturday Dec 4th 1:00pm-4:00pm
1115 E. Main Street, at Goodman
Rochester, NY

Explore 4 floors of fine art & craft. Enjoy food, music, festivities & fun to WRAP UP your holiday gift giving.

Over 35 studios will be open

SHOP Local & Handmade for the Holidays!

Holidays....

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. We are looking forward to family packing their suitcase to join us for a famly filled feast!

We love ot make traditional as well as non traditional dishes and I would LOVE to hear your ideas for non-traditional thanksgiving meals.

One year we even had a pot of chicken curry when an Indian friend joined the festivities!


we also look forward to the arrival of the newest vintage of beaujolais nouveau...what is your favorite wine for turkey day??

let the countdown begin!

Love me my Sweet Potatoes!

with a bounty of sweet potatoes available right now I thought I would share a favorite sweet potato salad with you...something surprisingly different. Sweet and tangy with a delicious bite of ginger. Originally from Martha Stewart's Everydayfood magazine

I am able to find all of the ingredients at our local farmers market for one stop shopping!



Serves 4

* 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
* 1 tablespoon oil
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
* 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
* 3 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a nonstick rimmed baking sheet, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, coarse salt, and ground pepper; roast until fork-tender, about 35 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together fresh orange juice, oil, minced fresh ginger, and 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard.
3. Add scallions and potatoes; toss to coat with dressing. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature.


enjoy!

First Friday at the Hungerford tonight!

come join the fun from 6-9pm - door 5, 2nd floor!

Karma

I am a big believer in karma ... I do my best to treat people the way I want to be treated ... the golden rule, right? Unfortunately there are people out there that don't care if karma comes to bite them in the @ss!

Unfortunately I had my first run in with some one of this ilk recently at a show.

I accepted a stolen credit card for a purchase at the junior league holiday shops a couple of weeks ago.



I did not process at point of sale and therefore did not find out that there was a problem until I got home and the credit card was declined. I tried again a few more times over the next couple of days, tried the phone number they had given me - only to be greeted by a fax machine...then tracked down another number for the name on the card using google white pages.

On my third try I managed to reach the individual only to be told what I had begun to suspect...her card had been stolen...most likely by someone who worked for her!

unfortunately for both of us I did not remember what the person looked like who used the card - but I take heart in knowing that karma is headed her way!

Holiday Sale!

I have just listed a number of ready to ship holiday items in my etsy shop!

a few for Halloween and some goodies for winter and christmas! more coming later today :)













not on etsy but interested in one - leave a comment here!