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There were peeps on a stick for a centerpiece (idea from here). There was our traditional omelet bar, belgian waffles with fresh strawberries, and honey baked ham. My brother brought a lemon bundt cake. My sister cranked out ham salad for us all to take home. My mom spoiled us all with gifts. We searched for at least a hundred eggs in the front yard. And we laughed so hard we cried. It was a really, really great family celebration.
This month...
The Easter packages I sent my niece and sister a couple of weeks ago.
I cannot thank you enough for sharing your ideas...and especially your kind words. It makes me so happy to hear that you are happy with this crafty/food/life hodge podge...and how haphazardly it develops at times. I loved your suggestions and they have totally helped me brainstorm ideas and how to get a little more organized with this blogging stuff.
As for the giveaway, it goes to comment #9...Christi; March 28, 2013 at 12:27 PM. Christi please e-mail me your address.
There will be another giveaway next week. I ended up with way too many of a certain craft item so I get to share it with twenty people!
When I was lucky enough to get to start teaching a second class about a month ago, I caught myself thinking like a parent expecting their second child. "Will I be able to devote the same time and energy?" "Will I be good at taking care of two?" "Will I love them as much?"
And I do love them just as much. So when my first class received Valentine's that offered a couple extra points on a test answer they may be worried about, it was only fair to make sure my second class got the same treat...just for a different holiday.
I saw this sentiment a couple months ago and realized it pretty much sums up the experience for me. As I am sure you can tell, I don't plan much of this blogging stuff out...most of the time I am just living and then sharing it.
For instance, over the years, I have had a bad habit of never really mentioning that I have a blog. Friends here and there have discovered it, puzzled because they had no clue. Heck, even my own mom had to find it on her own. I guess something I invest a little time in almost every single day ended up fitting in so seemlessly that it often does not exist in my consciousness.
Lately I have been so focused on developing ideas for the two classrooms that I am lucky enough to lead each week, that I feel like I am lacking ideas a little around here. As much as I am completely and totally enamoured with throwing my mind and soul into planning lectures and participation opportunities (in one class we have already done twenty-two different activities and it's only halfway through the semester), I want to make sure to keep going with all the other creative pursuits too.
That is why I was thinking I need to do a little more planning around here. Maybe a few brainstorming lists, a calendar or something to help re-infuse some good old-fashioned crafty enthusiasm. If you have any ideas/requests for something you'd like to see I would really love to hear them, it would be a great motivation to start making something in addition to all the sociological class activities.
And it's not very fair to ask for something without offering something in return...I filled a little priority mail box with some fun supplies to share. I'll do a random drawing for it late Friday afternoon.
My small space has had a few little items added over the last couple of weeks. There's something about the change in season's that always has me wanting to fix things up.
Feather print from Snoogs and Wild//Succulent planter from the local hardware store//No. 3 from the Oh Hello Friend Shop//Pillows from HomeGoods
Sean and I had a mutual friend in college and his mom made amazing, marinated grilled chicken. We have used this recipe countless times over the years and call it Mrs. Benanti's chicken. This is one of Mac's favorites except he once mistakenly called it "Ben Menanchi's Chicken" and the name stuck. We grilled this up for one of the cheerleading team dinners we hosted last fall and I figured calling it Ben Menanchi's Chicken wouldn't make much sense so instead I went this...
Pinapple Marinated Grilled Chicken
Nothing big happened this weekend...just a bunch of little things that made for an awfully nice couple of days. We fell asleep on Friday night at 8:30pm. Mac and I went to lunch with his dad after Mac's second tumbling class. I made these sandwiches for dinner. Sean baked cookies. There was a trip to Target for these chairs for the backyard. We got Mac's packet filled out for cheer tryouts this week. I didn't do any grading like I was supposed to. Lots of college basketball has been watched...and my bracket just may be beating Sean's at this point.
Hope you had a weekend filled with lots of good stuff too.
In this week's version of "Nora is still obsessed with watercolors", I drew wonky scallops and got to work coloring them in. I see them cut out and used as a border on a scrapbook page...assuming I can resume an original hobby, now that I have managed to start a dozen more of them.
Next up is trying to make my own version of Orla Kiely's multicolored stem.
I haven't crocheted in awhile and this blanket has me wanting to again.
My garden really "needs" this watering can.
Spinach Artichoke Dip as a sandwich is ingenious.
Cook//Make//Wish posts include three recent favorites discovered via Pinterest.
1. A couple weeks ago I invested in a couple sets of these hangers after my sister suggested them. They really do make an enormous difference.
2. In case you didn't know, always save your Bed Bath and Beyond coupons. They will accept a coupon for each item in a single transaction...even if they're expired.
3. Then I made my second annual visit to the tomato sale, which means this year's tomato garden will hopefully have eleven thriving varieties.
4. It was sorority sleepover time again last weekend. That meant a lot of green, purple and spinach artichoke dip.
5. In prepping a class on socialization I discovered the public restroom etiquette of males. Love that sociology really will analyze every aspect of our lives.
6. This my new favorite Pinterest board.
7. Countdown to spring break is on...t-minus nine days. I mentioned to Sean tonight that we should build a small bocce ball court in our backyard with our week off. I spent a little too long researching them today.
8. That is when I wasn't studying the intersection of masculinity and bathroom protocol.
9. The best thing I accomplished last week was covering the dark blue couch in my little craft room with an old tapestry. Don't know why that took me years to think of.
With springtime officially starting this week, big glasses of iced tea are sounding awfully good. I have been making simple syrup to sweeten iced tea for awhile now, but I haven't tried flavored syrups. We have a couple dwarf meyer lemon trees in our yard that are actually starting to produce reliable little crops, so I picked a couple, read a few recipes, and came up with this...
Meyer Lemon Simple Syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup lemon juice
lemon zest
Take a paring knife to peel off pieces of lemon zest being carefully to just get the yellow zest, not the white rind. Squeeze one or two lemons to get a third of a cup of lemon juice. In a small sauce pan combine sugar, water, lemon juice and lemon zest pieces. Bring mixture to a simmer while stirring often. Once the sugar is completely dissolved into the liquid remove from heat and let cool completely. Strain zest pieces from the syrup and store simple syrup in the refrigerator.
Would we be best friends one day, my sister would have probably have been kind and said yes. I would have probably rolled my eyes and said something snotty.
Needless to say, it took quite a few too many years for me to figure out that I have a really good sister. Thankfully, nowadays there are plenty of phone calls, recipe suggestions, question asking, shared interests, political debates, sarcastic jokes, and handbag purchase consultations.
And I've rarely told her how grateful I am for all of it, so I especially wanted to on her birthday. I wish I could go back and tell that mean older sister that she shouldn't waste so much time before realizing how lucky she is.
Pretty sure I've been wearing green for a week straight, we went to an Irish music concert with my mom last night, there were Lucky Charms for breakfast this morning, there will be stew and my favorite soda bread-ish recipe, shamrock cookies have been baked, and the Clancy Brother's will play all day long.
Hope today is lucky for you too!
I mentioned after the watercolor class that my very favorite thing to do is mix together tiny puddles of color. I have already dug into my paint pallet a few times this week, determined to find every single combination.
My mom taught my sister, brother and I plenty of fantastic recipes, but this one just might be the very best of them. It is a great substitute for the ever-present ranch dip, but is just as simple to mix together.
Dill Dip
We like a very generous amount of dill, but you can start with one tablespoon and see what you think. Simply mix together all the ingredients with a hand mixer. Keep in mind if the cream cheese is not room temperature it often does not mix very smoothly. The flavors intensify when this is made in advance. Overnight is usually ideal.
You can serve dill dip with anything, but our family tradition is pretzels and/or carrot sticks.
I could not resist this idea that is all over Pinterest and came from this blog. I used Skittles and M&M's to get all six colors of the rainbow and made tiny tags to tie to each bag. One of these went off to my niece and seven year old sister (along with the shamrock necklace kits) and the other three will go to my sister's kids. She will likely be less than thrilled with me for giving them all this candy, but it's just too cute not to.
If you also want to overload the kids in your life with sugar here is a copy of the tag I put together...Download Rainbow Tag.
I had lots of extra beads leftover from last year's St. Patrick's crafting, so I put together little neckalce making kits for my niece in Iowa and my little sister in Oklahoma. I punched holes in some glittery foam shamrocks from the craft store, cut a few pieces of cotton yarn, tossed in a bunch of beads and wrapped them up.
They will be off in the mail tomorrow...just in time!
When I said I'd do a random drawing on Friday morning I really meant late Saturday night...sorry about that.
The winner is comment #9...
Ellie Augustin said...Random is an awesome thing :) Happiness in the mail would certainly be a welcomed cherry on top! March 07, 2013 at 07:15 AM
Ellie please e-mail me your address so I can send the package off in the mail to you.
1. Paper is almost cleared off my desk...almost.
2. I bought an airtight watercolor palette. Let the color mixing officially begin.
3. I have been caught in two freeway sig-alerts in the last week. I have said a lot of bad words and proclaimed that, from now on, I will only work at the two community colleges that are close enough to my house to never see a freeway traffic jam again.
4. My mom brought over Farkle a few weeks ago and we loved playing it. Then I downloaded a Farkle app on my phone and have become unreasonably addicted.
5. I need to spend some serious time reorganizing the dozens of Evernote notebooks where I have been storing ideas and resources for lectures. I am afraid of how many hours it will take, but it'll be worth it.
6. Speaking of lectures, tomorrow night 52 people and I will be spending some quality time with the Sociological Paradigms, an episode of The West Wing, cake batter rice krispy treats and five dozen magazines.
7. Yesterday I found a package of extra crafting supplies that I meant to giveaway a couple of months ago. If you'd like it to show up in your mail box just leave a "pick me" and I'll do a random drawing on Friday morning.
Paper has been my nemesis as of late. I have stacks of paperwork and grading on my desk that are nearly impossible to stay on top of. Just when I clear off something, there is another pile waiting to be dealt with.
However today, because I needed a little card to send to a friend, I pushed all that paper aside and spent 15 minutes with the fun paper.
1. Watercolor painting is my new favorite hobby.
2. This bucket is great for cleaning brushes.
3. I have pretty much no desire to draw fruit.
4. However, making a mess of mixed colors and brushing it onto paper is something I could do endlessly.
5. This was one of the best gifts I have ever received...thanks mom.
By the end of this weekend I will be a watercolor artist. Up until now I have only really dragged a paint brush or even a q-tip in a wonky line and considered it painting. However, one of my Christmas gifts from my mom was taking a watercolor class together. It's actually an eight hour boot-camp over Saturday and Sunday. Surely, by then end of that I will be cranking out masterpieces, right?
