have you seen fish face?

Recently I discovered Pintrest, and I am addicted!

I don't know why it took so long to discover, but I am happy that it finally happened. 

If you don't know what Pinterest is you MUST go check it out. 

While browsing the boards on Pinterest, I came across a photo I just could not stop staring at. 

Check it out. 

(I tried really hard to find a credit for this photo, I found it on pinterest and followed it to a few other websites but could never find the owner, my leads stopped at Tumblr.)

Isn't that photo fun?

It just so happened that while pulling all of the harvest/ halloween type decorations out. My daughter also found the makeup. 

So 

We decided to try it out.  Please keep in mind that I am in no way, shape, or form, an artist.  We did what we could for fun, and we liked the out come. 

 Here is our version.

  We had a lot of fun making goofy fish faces! 

Next time I will try harder to make it look like a fish.

spoiled dogs

Don't judge me.... I feed my dogs table food every once in a blue moon. They are never fed from the table, but every once in a while there is a little bit of steak left over that I just can't bring myself to throw out or re-heat in the microwave for lunch tomorrow. So I feed it to the dogs, and they are so patient as you can see below.

They have never eaten from a fork before.

 So I was extremely surprised by how well they did. 

They had better manners than some adults I know. 

First it was Dixie's turn. She is our pound puppy. 

Then it was Bruiser's turn.

  Bruiser is my mom's dog and he gets table food all the time, even ice cream.

He is a special dog, he was attacked by a pit bull and lost his left eye. 

Then Skye puppy got her turn.  

She is old and missing front teeth but that did not stop her from enjoying her steak dinner. 

The dogs even ate the little bit of zucchini and carrots I had on the plate.  

It was a sweet read

Recently on one of my trips to the library, I picked up a different kind of book. 

I was kinda desperate for an easy read. Something with a bit of humor and something I could put down and not worry about not getting back to right away.  Well, as it turned out I grabbed this book by Gesine Bullock-Prado. Yes, the sister of Sandra Bullock. I did not realize that at the time however. It wasn't until I was about a quarter of the way through it that I re read the author's name and put it together.   

This book was a great summer read. The only real problem that I had with it, was that it really made me want to bake, and in a bad way. I was desperate to get my hands in the dough of some sweet confection.  One of the recipes she shares is for Zwetschgendatschi or German (Bavarian) plum tart. 

I had purchased some plums a few days before I came upon the recipe. But the kids had eaten one and turned up their noses because they were not very sweet. I ended up letting those little plums sit on the counter for a week and a half before I decided I had time to make a plum tart.  I was very afraid that I had waited too long and my plums were better off as chicken feed. But they seemed to be in good shape if a little soft and juicy. 

I was going to make the recipe from the book but realized at the last minute that I did not have quite enough butter on hand. So I reached for my trusty little Taste Of Home Cookbook. I looked up tarts and right there was another recipe for German Plum Tart, and it used a lot less butter.  I now had enough.  This recipe was super quick and easy. The hardest part was waiting until I could cut into it. 

After all was said and done I had a gorgeous plum tart to take to my meeting that night. And let me tell you it was so YUMMY! 

I think I am addicted to Zwetschgendatschi!

 I thought the short crust would be soggy but it was not,

 and the flavors were so so good together.  

Here is the recipe that I used.

 You can use any kind of stone fruit, peaches, apricots, plums.

6-8 ServingsPrep: 10 min. Bake: 35 min.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 egg yolk
• 3/4 to 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds plums, quartered (about 4 cups)

Directions

• In a small bowl, cream butter and 3 tablespoons sugar until light and
• fluffy. Beat in egg yolk. Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time,
• until mixture forms a soft dough. Press onto the bottom and up the
• sides of a 10-in. pie plate.
• Arrange plums, skin side up with edges overlapping, in crust;
• sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes or
• until crust is golden brown and fruit is tender. Yield: 6-8
• servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving equals 237 calories, 13 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 57 mg cholesterol, 117 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein

 

Hand Delivered

A few weeks ago I heard a knock at the door.

 It was in the evening, and I was not expecting anyone. 

As I opened the door there was a woman standing there with a package. 

It was a very pretty box tied with a ribbon. 

She asked if I was Stacey and I replied yes. 

Then she told me that she was hand delivering my apron swap package from her mom. 

I was shocked but excited too!

When I finally opened the box, 

I went through all of the goodies and then opened my apron, saving the best for last.

Here is the beautiful Apron that Susan made for me. 

The theme was cocktails. 

I think this pretty much fits the theme.

 And it is so colorful and bright. 

I know this is the apron that is going to get me through the winter blah's...

It is so summery and cheerful. 

And now I am really wanting to do some baking, in this apron.  

These are the goodies that were tucked into the package. 

Crystal light Margarita flavor (really tastes like a real margarita too),

2 margarita glasses, a cute little coin purse that matches my purse, 

2 dish towels (there is nothing like having fresh new dishtowels in the kitchen), an adorable little pink flashlight with flowers, and a few drink recipes. 

Susan did and Awesome job of putting my apron package together.

 I love every last bit of it. 

And my apron is AWESOME! 

Thank you Susan!!! 

You can check out her blog at this address

http://shabbyandfrills.blogspot.com/

Hot mama Apron Swap....Cocktails edition.

My partner received her package so it is safe for me to post about the apron. 

The apron I finished in record time, and then had to wait to ship off. 

 I had a very difficult time finding any cocktail related fabric. Included in her package I sent a cocktail recipe book published in the 1955. It was blue and pink and also had cherries in the illustrations. That was my inspiration! I found some blue, ruffled, garter lace and let that be the special addition that made it just a little on the spicy side.  I made it with extra long ties to be able to tie it in front.

 I found a cute martini applique at Joann's and put it on the front pocket. 

 Then I made some cocktail glass markers/charms. 

They are pinup girls. I tried to stay with the pink and blues. 

Also because it was end of July all of the cocktail themed items were either on clearance or gone, to make room for Halloween items in the stores. So finding the perfect tuck-ins, I had in mind, ended up being a huge challenge. But in the end I was very happy with the package  I sent off. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did putting it together!  

Christensen Family Reunion 2011

This year we went to Palisade State Park,

 for the annual Christensen Family Reunion. 

Palisade Lake is a very small lake, 

but the natural beauty draws me in every time. 

This is the first place that my husband and I went camping when we first started dating. 

This is where I fell in love with the idea of camping. 

This is my favorite campground of all time!

Sadly although it was the family reunion,

 I did not get photos of many people.

But I did get lots of photos of the great outdoors. 

You can walk all the way around the lake. 

This lake is where I first realized that my baby girl was going to be a nature lover. 

She was 3 years old and she stood on the beach with a net and caught minnows for hours on end. 

She is the child who I had a very hard time trying to entertain and keep happy. 

And the minute she saw the thousands and thousands of minnows she was hooked.  

Well see for yourself, she is still at it. And the tradition continues every year.

My nephew Micah, and Grandpa. 

Elyssa and Dixie sitting in a tree. 

Blue dragonflies were everywhere! 

And apparently trying to make more...

This is the first photo I took when we arrived.  

Such a cutie for bug!

He was the brightest green grasshopper I have ever seen. 

I was very fortunate to get this shot just before we headed for home. 

We were walking the Lake Shore Trail, and he stopped for a quick photo shoot. 

Elyssa has a good eye for things in the water. 

She spotted this little water snake. 

Justin reached down and snagged it for a quick look. 

I was super impressed how he grabbed it so quickly, in one swipe, with his bare hands. 

I have better photos but I am going to spare the folks who have a phobia.  (no close-ups here)

Daddy trying to get some minnow fishing time in. 

Ashton was absent from this trip.  

It is the first trip he has missed.

 He was at youth camp in Idaho. 

They went river rafting. 

It was very strange not to have him with us.

But we all had many stories to share when he returned home.  

One of These Things is Not Like The Others

Our Chippewah started laying last Saturday. 

Her first egg is the one on the left in the photo below. 

Her second egg is in the middle, just slightly bigger than the first egg.

But what about the egg on the right? It is bigger and a different color....

That could only mean that our Oreo, started laying eggs today!!! 

I am so excited! 

This shows eggs from Americus, Chippewah, and Oreo. 

Elyssa, holding Oreo's first egg.  

She said the egg was the same color as her...

Finally, we are getting somewhere with this egg laying business. 

Just 2 more chicks to go! Bob and Sprout are only about 16 weeks, 

so we still have some waiting to do.