Pretty Pitcher

Isn't this beautiful?  I love the rope handle on this pitcher from Pier One!  

Organized Elegance

Pretty cool, sleek, and handy for your mail...and your keys...by your door on your way out!  Online for $15.

Beach Waves

Just discovered this hair product.  It's supposed to give your hair beach waves.  It has a great scent (sea salt and fig!)  I haven't decided if I love it or not, yet, but I'm giving it a try.  It definitely is not sticky or gummy like some hair products.  Try it, and see what YOU think!

Pop Top Six Pack

Uncommon Goods has such uncommon things - as stated in their name!  These cute drinking glasses have can pop tabs painted on them - how cute is that for spring beverages?

Butcher Block Cart

Isn't this cute?  A great addition to any kitchen....small, yet decorative, and useful! A butcher block cart.

Shelf with Hooks

Great shelf from Target, washed wood, with hooks for hanging.  Got it today for my new kitchen...

Soup Anyone?

Our kitchen is being remodeled, so we are having to be creative and resourceful in finding food we can eat that we don't have to bake or cook on the stovetop.  These soups are at Target and they are Panera bread soups!  Can't wait to try them...

Soapy

These dish soaps are found at World Market in the stores and they're under 5 bucks each.  They smell great, last a long time, and the jar is so cute - it just brightens up your kitchen and sink area!  Try them out in soap...or hand lotion!

Cherry Jasmine Tea

I'm not a tea lover, never drink it.  But today we shopped at World Market and tasted a sample of this tea and it was so delicious that we bought it - try some!  Cheribundi Cherry Jasmine Tea!

Herb Kit

What a cute gift...or treat for yourself!  Nothing is more rewarding than your own herb garden, and this herb kit even comes with stakes to mark them!

Chalkboard Vase

Really cute chalkboard vase with a little side clip for the chalk!  Check it out!

Sensational Soup

This soup was to die for!  It's got a lot of ingredients, but was super easy to put together and done - in about 45 minutes total.  Not bad for soup!  Kale, White Bean, & Butternut Squash soup - from Woman's Day - make it for your family!

Leftover Quesa

Leftovers can be great grilled up in a tortilla for a quesadilla.  Today's leftovers included: sweet potato fries, grilled corn, salsa, and Mango Fire cheese (found at Target!).  This combo tasted great!  Try it...

Monday Mix-Up

Here's what we had in the fridge:  leftover veggie burgers, cabbage, red onion, carrots, and some spicy pickles we just bought this weekend at a farmer's market.

In a skillet, I heated some olive oil and stir-fried shredded cabbage, shaved carrot, and sliced red onion, until it was almost caramelized.  I topped with some lemon juice and pepitas.  This slaw, along with the spicy tasty pickles, sat atop a bun.  Served with roasted sweet potato fries sprinkled with Parmesan and cayenne.

Really good!

Road Trip!

ROAD TRIP 2014 – SPRING BREAK

Today we set out on a road trip, to celebrate our 35^th wedding anniversary.  Road trips are the best!  We chose lots of small towns and printed out places to see, walking tours, shops to visit, and food to eat, and somewhere to stay along the way. 

This trip we headed north, with our first stop being in Waxahachie, Texas.  We arrived just in time for lunch at The Dove’s Nest, a restaurant only open for lunch, at the back of a fancy vintage store.  Little did we know we would taste the best dessert ever – chocolate bourbon pie!  Our lunch wasn’t bad either, mine being a turkey wrap and homemade chips, with a jalapeno corn salsa on the side.  We ended up purchasing the restaurant’s cookbook just so I can recreate that pie!

We walked through the store, and crossed the street to the visitor’s bureau where we got a brochure for a walking tour (there was a driving one, too, but we opted for a nice walk).  We love architecture and history, which is a must if you enjoy walking tours.  Walking the blocks, we read of the intricate columns and facades, as well as what was housed in the buildings almost 100 years ago.  Super fun.

Driving around, we went down Wyatt Street where shotgun houses were lined up.  These were built in the early 1900’s and they are just one long room, wooden houses, sort of a rectangular shape.  My dad told me he lived in one when he was a boy!  We also saw a private residence that is built as an exact replica of the Munster House from the TV show The Munsters.  Odd, I know.

As we left the town, we drove up farther north to our next destination – McKinney, Texas! We pulled up to our hotel and rested a bit, before parking downtown on one of the cutest squares in small town Texas, ever.  Lined with shops and restaurants, this was a place we couldn’t wait to explore.  But for this night, we just ate at Rick’s Chophouse.  It was crowded, so we ate in the lounge where two guys were playing and singing, Nickel & Dime Duo – they were great.  We ate at the bar and I enjoyed a chopped salad that was circular in shape (it must have been placed in a mold) and Jon had prime rib.  It was rich, but delicious.  We stayed and listened to the music, and then returned to the hotel for the night.

The next morning we had breakfast in our hotel (it was free) and then coffee at Snug on the Square Coffeehouse – super cute place – while we waited for stores to open. I caught up on my magazine reading J.  When the ticket office opened, we purchased our theater tickets for the evening, then began our exploration of the historic downtown area which took us several fun hours.  We stopped in antique stores (Jon got an old tool), a farm to market store (I bought pickles and he got coffee) and numerous other clothing and home stores, along with foodie type places.  We had lunch on the patio at Spoons – a huge amount of guacamole and chips, and we shared sliders.  It was a cute place, with okay food.  We finished our fun walk around the square and down the streets. 

We then drove by Heard-Craig House (but didn’t tour) then Chestnut Square Village – an area of town where old houses were brought in – and saw a wedding being prepared there.  Markers were being placed in the ground for the farmers market the next morning (we planned to go!).  We ended the afternoon at Towne Lake, walking by the fountain and bridge, sitting on a bench watching two guys with model speedboats.  It was quite lovely!

For our evening, we went to the McKinney Reparatory Theater and saw Worldwide Widow – a comedy about a couple that gets their elderly mom interested in the computer, in order to keep her occupied and out of their hair, only to have it all backfire on them.  It was a play written by contestants who entered a writing competition to have their play performed live on stage.  The play was funny, but the acting lacked luster.  The theater was in an old courtroom in what used to be the courthouse on the square, so that was pretty cool.

Our third day, we visited the Snug Coffee Shop again, this time for breakfast.  It’s such a cute, cozy, place and I really enjoyed my ‘everything’ bagel – delicious – with a bowl of fruit.  The Chestnut Square had a farmer’s market, with vendors set up across the lawn between the historic houses, which made for a fun shopping experience. We bought pickles, soap, pasta, and more, from the locals. 

We left out of McKinney and headed to Farmersville, where we walked the few shops downtown – everyone was super friendly and talkative.  One store was a catchall type of store where I found some magnets for my bracelet.  Another elderly gentleman talked to us a long time about his world winning poker son who actually is building a huge place in Pflugerville!   On to Greenville, but it was old , run down, and there wasn’t much to see.  We did find a Mexican food restaurant TaMolly’s (ha) – which was okay. 

From there we reached our destination for the evening – Sulphur Springs.  The downtown square is really pretty and new, with a huge impressive courthouse, glass, free-standing bathrooms on the square (which you can see out of – but people can’t see in!), giant chess and checker games, and lots of shops and eateries.  We walked around the town and then drove out to see Coleman Park.   We were going to walk the trail there (waterfalls and a tunnel?) but it was about to rain, so we didn’t.

Sulphur Springs has a small 6-screen theater, so we opted for a movie.  The ticket prices were so much cheaper than those at home!  We saw The Need for Speed – super action-packed and an interesting story – but crazy.  It was entertaining…yet disturbing. 

There was a small VF outlet, among a few other stores, and Jon needed Lee jeans, his favorite, so we stopped and got two pair exactly like he wanted.  A Good News Christian bookstore was in this same small mall, so we stopped in to purchase Kim Walker’s  CD which we had heard about, and we drove down to the square at night (all lit up) and listened to a little of the music in the car.  We fell in love with the couple who owned the store, and visited with them a good while before we left!

Back to the hotel, we purchased a small pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream and enjoyed it in our room. 

Our fourth and last day, we had a slow trip back home planned out, through several more towns.  We headed south to Emory, Terrell, Kaufman, Kemp, Kerens, Fairfield, Buffalo and more tiny towns off the beaten path.  Lunch was in Terrell at Dos Aces, another Mexican food place recommended by locals.  I can’t say any meal we had compares to all the good food in Austin, but they weren’t bad.  Also in Terrell and other towns, we noticed the stores on the square are closed on Sundays! (What do these people do on Sunday afternoons?).  We did find a cute, small outlet center in Terrell with about 20 stores and found some good buys at Old Navy!  I got two new dresses! 

The drive was pretty on the way back, and we crossed a huge lake, Lake Tawakoni, as well as viewed lots of cute ponds by country houses.  We stopped and took a few photos of courthouses, parks, and just cool sightings one doesn’t see in larger cities. 

The best part of the trip, of course, was meeting all of our kids as we returned to Pflugerville this evening, before coming home.

I’m ready to go again!  So we will be planning the next road trip soon.  Thanks for “traveling” with me.

Where we stayed:  Comfort Inn Suites in McKinney, Holiday Inn in Sulphur Springs – both very nice and affordable.

What we enjoyed the most:  McKinney, TX for sure – we’d go back there!

What it cost:  Gas, three hotel nights, eating out (but breakfast was free in the hotels), and just a little spending money for shopping, as well as one night out at theater, and a movie night too!

Road Trips are super fun because there’s the planning of it (get a good atlas with all the back roads) and then the surprises along the way, as well as laughs and friendly people who just want to talk and share their story or their town.

Late Night Snack

Arriving at our hotel late tonight, we just wanted a small snack and found in the lobby store this ice cream we are enjoying so much - Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey - banana ice cream with fudge chunks and walnuts.

It's awesome...

Satin Shirtdress

Found this cute dress in a magazine, and it's a great buy, and looks so comfy!  A shirtdress by Joe Fresh!

Chocolate Bourbon Pie - the die for!

This chocolate bourbon pecan pie was really the best pie I've ever eaten!  We had it at The Dove's Nest in Waxahachie, Texas.  I even bought the restaurant's cookbook just so I could have the recipe!

Serves 8:  Use your basic piecrust dough and then the following is for the filling:

3/4 c sugar, 1/2 c melted butter cooled, 1/2 c flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup semisweet choc chips, 1 c pecans, 3 T bourbon.

Line a 9 in pie plate with the dough, trimming and fluting edge.  Bake at 350 for five minutes (til light brown). Combine sugar, butter, flour and eggs in mixing bowl, beating well. Stir in chips, pecan, bourbon - pour into pie shell.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until set.  Cool slightly before slicing, then top with icing!

(If you  use a deep piecrust and dish - then double the filling)

Ipad Cutting Board

Now this is something so cool and innovative - a great gift for newlyweds - or for yourself!  Check it out - an ipad cutting board! It even has grooves for the juice to run, when you're cutting fresh veggies!

Stuffed Zucchini

These stuffed zucchini were so good, I didn't want to stop eating them.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Just scoop out the pulp of 5 good-sized zucchini and chop up the pulp.  Place zucchini in microwave dish on high (covered) for 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender.
In skillet, cook Italian turkey sausage links (casings removed) and pulp til sausage is no longer pink, then stir in 2 chopped tomatoes (seeds removed), 1 cup Panko bread crumbs, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese grated, 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, 2 T minced fresh oregano, 2 T minced fresh basil, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Spoon into zucchini shells.  Bake covered 15-20 minutes, top with 3/4 cup grated mozzarella, and bake 5-8 minutes more.

We ate these with grilled corn, right off the cob, just stir-fried with seasonings....

Delish!

Dessert Cups

We ate our dessert tonight in cute plastic cups of different sizes.  What a fun thing to have on hand, when company comes for dessert - especially gelato!  And a triangular wafer cookie tops it off!

Eda-Mommy Dip

This dip is easy and delicious - made it tonight for our lunches this week!  It's from Real Simple Magazine and it's called Eda-Mommy Dip!  Just be sure to buy shelled edamame - I messed up and had to shell them one by one!

Spring Sandals

Love Nine West shoes, especially these low-heel wedges that are comfy and stylish!  And they come in three colors!

Outside on the Porch

Found this metal wall art that is normally hung inside the home, but thought I'd hang it on the porch outside. I really like it.  These can be found in home decor stores and can be quite affordable!

Crunchy Goodness!

These fish tacos were very good!  Just slice up red onion in a bowl with 2 T lime juice, salt and pepper.  Toss it while you prepare the next bowl.  Whisk together 3 T sour c ream with 1/2 cabbage sliced thinly, and 1 sliced jalapeno (seeded if desired), salt and pepper. Toss it too, while preparing the fish.

In another bowl whisk 1 cup flour with 1 T cornstarch, 1 T chili powder, 1 tsp baking power, 1/4 tsp cayenne.  Remove 1/4 cup of the flour mixture to a plate.  Then stir in 1 egg and 1 cup chicken broth in the bowl and mix til smooth.

Fill a cast iron skillet with 1/2 in canola oil and heat to 350.  Place a cooling rack on a rimmed baking sheet.

Coat 1 lb tilapia fillets with dry flour mixture, then dip in batter, let excess drip off and place in hot oil.  Cook, turning once, til golden (3 minutes or so).  Transfer to rack.

Fold 1/2 cup fresh cilantro into the cabbage mixture.

In a flour tortilla, serve up the fish, cabbage slaw and onions - and enjoy!  They're so crunchy and tasty!

Jumpsuit

Want to wear the new jumpsuits this spring?  As well as a bit of the Aztec fabric?  I got a black jumpsuit (similar to the one pictured here) at Marshalls - a great buy.  I'm adding in an Aztec tee (from Rue 21) and a geometric belt, to pull it all together!

The jumpsuit is a great piece that can be worn with a jacket, with a tank, with a tee, with or without a belt, etc. for this new season about to arrive...

Parm Pitas

Homemade pita chips can be flavored so many ways!  Today, I tried this recipe from Real Simple Magazine:

Just use honey wheat pita bread and cut into triangles (use your pizza cutter!).  Brush with unsalted butter, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and crushed dried oregano, and a bit of sea salt.  Bake in 375 degree oven about 8 minutes (watch them so they don't burn, and remove when just browned).

Store in an airtight container after they cool, and enjoy with hummus!

Black & Whites

I first ate these in New York, and have searched since then for a good recipe for these black and white cookies.  Found one!  These were so easy to make, and even easier to eat!

Cornbread sliders

We made the cornbread sliders tonight and they were so delicious - using cornbread instead of a normal slider bun.  And the chipolte mayo, along with the caramelized onions, put the taste over the top!  Try them!
Check out the recipe here.

Bamboo Art

We saw this today in a store, but what a cute idea for a window ledge in a bathroom or kid's room, or in a recess in a wall anywhere!  Let your imagination roll, and use things that are out in nature to bring into your home!  These are bamboo shoots and an origami elephant!