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Artist: Stina Persson

Stina Persson just one of most talented artist that I have seen in a long time.













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The Big 6!

Happy Birthday to my first born son. I love you very much. You're the smartest, handsomest, sweetest, craziest and just the best little boy I could have ever imagined having :)


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Eat LIKE your at The Chesscake Factory


Everyone that has ever eaten at The Cheesecake Factory knows what a simple treat it is. The atmosphere is romantic and classic. You feel warm and kinda fancy eating there.

With more than 6 pages of entrees to choose from your mind is blown but the extensive menu and some of the prices.

This weekend we made Two Cheesecake Factory favorites for a fraction of the price.

We make their famous Chopped Salad and Fettuccine Alfredo.

Feeding 6-8 people.

For the Chopped Salad at Cheesecake Factory it will cost you $41.95

Using the same/similar ingredients we made the Chopped Salad for $12.68



A Delicious Blend of Chopped Romaine, Grilled Chicken, Tomato, Avocado,
Corn, Bacon, Blue Cheese and Apple with Our Vinaigrette

The Cheesecake Factory Fettuccine Alfredo for 6-8 $55.98

Our Fettuccine Alfredo for 6-8 $7.75

Fettuccine Pasta with Creamy and Rich Chipotle Alfredo Sauce

One Stick of Salted Butter
4tbs of Flour
1 c Reserved pasta boiling water
2 1/2 cups of Heavy Cream
Baby Portobello Mushrooms
Mozzarella cheese
Garlic
Chipotle Peppers
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg (optional)

In a large skillet at butter and allow to melt. Saute mushrooms, garlic and Chipotle peppers. Once soften add the flour. Using a whisk blend flour with the veggies and butter. Slowly add of boiling water, followed by cream. Make sure you do not thin it out to much, pour slowly and stir and blend at the same time.
Season with salt and pepper and add cheese. Stir until cheese has melted into the sauce.

ENJoY Cheesecake Factory recipes at home for less. I know that its not the same with out the lighting and soft music but if you pull out some tea candles and pick a good Pandora station... you can save a ton of money and enjoy their food at home.
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Eat Your Veggies!!!


They say that you should only grocery shop in the external aisle of the store. On the outside of the grocery store is where all the good for you selections are. Produce, Meat and Dairy.
Well, I am a veggie freak but we decided to ONLY eat out of the produce section of the grocery store.
As you know we always cook on Thursdays but this week we invited our friend Nina. We laughed and talked non stop from HOURS.

Thursday is my favorite night of the week

For Dinner: Portobello Mushroom Burger


On the shopping list:
Porto
bello mushrooms
Poblano
Peppers
Red Onion
Roma Tomato
Zucchini
Squash
Pineapples
Coconut


marinate portobellos in A1 sauce (adds that meaty taste), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, kosher salt and cracked pepper.


Cut all your veggies, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper



put all your veggies on your state of the art grill (please dont laugh at our grill)


we grilled pineapple to have with our coconut ice cream. will i have explained my issue with directions and true to form i didnt follow directions and the ice cream tasted like coconut and salt. it wasnt NASTY but its something that you dont wanna eat a lot of. oh yeah and i also added cracked pepper. lol, i dont know why, i saw if in a recipe somewhere. now, it wast in the recipe for coconut ice cream but i know that i saw it somewhere... i think


for vegetarians the portobello burger is the closest to a meaty juicy burger that you are going to get... the color is right, the texture is perfect and most important than all that its really good.

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ZARA NO!!!



I have been excited ALL summer long because I found out that Zara one of my favorite Spain Based stores were going t be be selling online.

All summer I have been visiting their site and have noticed the Big Sign that said:




I thought...yeah... Zara is in those cities as well.

The truth is that those are the ONLY cities that they will be selling to.

UGGG!!! Still no US. Im so sad.
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CornY

I have really been on the fresh corn this season... its only Courtney and I yet I was buying 10 ears for $1.00 (Thanks Earth Fare). So needless to say we were having corn at every meal.

WELL, I was thumbing through my Food Network Magazine and out pops this page.


I instantly knew I had to try all of them and share them with you. I wish it was a better picture but I will tell you all about each one. My real foodies don't need a pic to know how good these are.

From Left to Right:
Corn with Lime-Sage Butter Mix 4 tbs soft butter, 1tbs of sage, 1tbs of lime zest and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Boil corn, drain, spread with the butter.

Curried Corn
Mix 1 ts of ground ginger, paprika and coriander with 1/2 ts of cumin and turmeric.
Brush corn with olive oil , sprinkle w/spices and grill.
Serve with a yogurt mixed with salt and cilantro.

Tex-Mex Corn
Pull back husks and sprinkle with chili powder.
Cover with husk and grill
Fold back husk and spread a mix of Mayonnaise and chili power.
Sprinkle with grated cheddar and bacon

Lemon Basil Corn
Bring water to a boil and add basil leaves, lemons, Olive Oil and salt to a boil.
Drain. Mix torn basil with 1 ts of lemon zest, 1tbs of lemon juice and 3 tbs of olive oil.
Spread and enjoy

Tomato Garlic
Mix roasted garlic with with 1 grated tomato and 2 tbs of grated Parmesan cheese.
Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme.
Grill corn
Spread on mixture
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Chimi Chimi Chimichanga



My husband loves Mexican/Hispanic Food.

One of his favorites is the Chimichanga




1 package of Morning Star Crumbles
1 1/2 c. water
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. pepper
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas
Vegetable Oil
Cilantro
Guacamole
Sour Cream

In medium saucepan combine meat, water, garlic, chili powder, oregano, salt, cumin and pepper. Bring to boiling. Uncover and boil rapidly about 10-15 minutes or until water has almost evaporated. Watch closely and stir near end of cooking time so meat doesn't stick. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, wrap stack of tortillas in foil; heat in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each tortilla, near one edge. Fold edge nearest filling up and over filling just until mixture is covered. Fold in the two sides envelope fashion, then roll up. Fasten with wooden pick, if needed.

In heavy skillet or saucepan fry filled tortillas in 1/2 inch hot oil about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper toweling. Keep warm in 300 degree oven while frying remaining chimichangas. Garnish with Cilantro, Guacamole and Sour Cream. Makes 12.

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How I made Boyfriend Jeans

So, I have an issue with following directions.

Its really bad.

I cant follow a recipe (not all the way through, I am bound to add something not listed)
I cant follow a GPS (I always know a better, faster way)
and I cant follow a sewing pattern. I have tried and totally failed.

Now understand... I am a great listener.
Well that lesson on How to make Boyfriend Jeans was very clear and I actually followed directions.

I really love me new/old less than a $1 boyfriend jeans.
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How to make Boyfriend Jeans

I really love the Boyfriend Jean look but WOULD NOT pay $100+ for a pair of baggy jeans.

So on one of our Thrifting days we decided to buy old mens jean and "make it work designers".

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Say Hello to my Little Friend

The bargain of bargains.

A 1970 Sears Kenmore Sewing Machine. I dont know how much it cost in the 70s but I got it for only $15 bucks.


Thank you Sacks off 72 for easily becoming my favorite Thrift Store.
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Favorite French Artist

Henri Salvador is in my opinion a better version of Frank Sinatra. I love his music. It takes you to a wonderful feeling place... kinda like a Sade.

J'amie Henri



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Travel Channel Sweepstakes

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Flower Power

I heart broaches!
I wear them with everything. I wear the same one that I wear with Jeans and a tee with a suite. Now, I feel like I need to clarify. I do not like the ones with sparkles or fake diamonds... nothing wrong with them but totally not my style.

So Keesha knows how I feel about them and sent me a blog that ones similar to the ones that I have made were in. I really hate that I can not find the blog site anymore. So if whom ever this idea was first I want to start by saying thank you for the idea and I'm sorry that I am unable to provide a link to your site.

If you know someone who likes crafty things or need to make a cheap gift this it only takes a few minutes.

What you will need:
  • Card Stock
  • Food Coloring (optional)
  • Pin Backs
  • Water
Wet your card stock with water and crumble while under the water. Carefully pull paper back apart and crumble again.

Carefully uncrumble your paper and lay them on a flat surface. Add a few drops of food coloring to the wet paper. It will spread like tie-dye.


You can do this at night so that the paper has time to dry or if you are impatient (like me) you can use a blow dryer.

Starting at the edge of the paper cut in a circle making your lines wavy for a cool effect. You can cut your paper into different sizes depending on how large or small you want your flowers.

Once you have the cut outs starting in the middle form your paper into a circle/flower shape.

Use dots of glue if needed to hold together.

Once you have them in your desired shape and size attach the pin back with a hot glue gun or a whole lot of Elmer's.

Enjoy!
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Lighting is Everything

I have not visited West Elm in awhile... they have totally changed. Im lovin'it

Check out the lighting




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Bon Appetit!!!


She was shopping at a local Thrift Store and bought me 21 brand new, with the plastic still on them. You could not pray for a better friend than Keesha.

Bon Appetit Magazines.

I have gained 5 pounds by simply reading these magazines.

Finally got around to displaying them on my homemade magazine rack.

Purchase this Magazine Rack on Esty.com


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Sunday Nap


No one loves Sundays more than these two. No One!!!
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Deep Fried Eggplant and Mozzarella with Basil
Serves 4
Ingredients:

For the tomato sauce:

2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red jalapeno chili, chopped
7 ripe plum tomatoes, finely diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For eggplant sandwiches:

1 eggplant (cut crosswise into 1/8 inch slices)
Salt
One 7-ounce ball fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese (cut crosswise into 8 slices)
8 fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup/95 g all purpose flour
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 1/2 cups/210 g dried plain bread crumbs
Safflower oil, for deep frying

Method:

To make the tomato sauce:

Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and chili and sauté for another 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are very tender and mushy, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the eggplant sandwiches:

Arrange the eggplant slices on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and allow them to sit for 10 minutes. Rinse the eggplant under cold running water to remove the salt. Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels.

Place 1 slice of cheese and 1 basil leaf atop 1 eggplant slice. Top with a second eggplant slice. Repeat to make 8 sandwiches total. Place the flour, eggs and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls or pie plates.

Working with 1 eggplant sandwich at a time, dredge the eggplant sandwiches in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip the sandwiches in the eggs, allowing the excess egg to drip back into the bowl of eggs, and dredge in the bread crumbs to coat completely.

Repeat the process to give the eggplant sandwich a second coating of the eggs and bread crumbs (not the flour). Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to reach the depth of 2 inches/5 cm. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F/180°C.

Working in batches, add the sandwiches to the hot oil and fry until they are golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the fried sandwiches to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Sprinkle the hot sandwiches with salt. Cut each sandwich into 4 wedges. Serve the sandwiches on a platter with the warm tomato sauce. Great as a Eggplant Parm Sandwich or over pasta.
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Brazilian Lemonade



{Brazilian Lemonade}

2 bottles Simply Limeaid

1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 sliced limes for serving
1 bag crushed ice

In a large bowl (or pitcher if you have one big enough) pour about a cup of the Limeaid in then pour in the sweetened condensed milk. Pour in the rest of the Limeaid, mix well.
Fill desired glasses to the brim with ice, pour Brazilian lemonade over top with lime and serve immediately

Made this last night. It is so simple but looks and taste fantastic

recipe from nosh
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Man Night


I know that I can speak for Keesha in saying that we both Love our Husbands and their is nothing more important than making sure that they are happy and full at the end of a long day.

Well a few Thursday ago we were cooking our normal Thursday Night "Family Dinners" and the men thought that we were taking to long. NO, they did not say "what the heck is taking you women so long" but they did keep coming in and looking around, and tasting the items that we done and looking sad... so Keesha had a SWELL idea... MAN NIGHT!!!

The men in our lives were responsible for making dinner. So in true manley form they decided to have pizza.

They were so cute texting each other getting their menu together. Planning who was buying what and who's house dinner was going to be at that evening.

When Courtney and I got to Keesha and DJ's, the Ladies simply went into the other room and chilled out. It was SO NICE. We got to catch up and watch Project Runway in peace (without having to hear my husband commenting the sexualities of the contestants). Now, of course we had to go into the kitchen and complain about them taking so long but it was all in good fun.

Other than a few technical questions here and there the guys did their thing and it was delicious.

I wish I could share their recipes with you all but they are top secret. I do know that we had:

  • Vegetarian Italian Sausage Pizza w/spicy pepper tomato sauce and Mozzarella cheese
  • Pesto and Tomato Pizza with Feta Cheese
  • BBQ Pizza loaded with cheese and tomato

{Courtney rolling out dough}


{DJ showing off his culinary confidence}