Where did the summer go..

Where did the summer go.... I've been super busy this summer working on the landscaping around the house.  Funny thing was I only wanted to do this small area of the yard.

 Every time I set out to work on that particular area. I would start somewhere else with all intentions of working on my little area in... just... a... minute. Well just a minute was 3 months later. But it is finally done. Super happy with the results. One of the things that lead me to want to work on this sections was the Irises. When I first bought the house there were about 10 of them scattered about in that section of yard. Over the years they were taking over the area. Last year I had pulled out about 50 plants. This year I pulled out about another 100.

I gave them all away via craig's list. I made quite a few people happy. I moved a bunch of the Irises along the fence. And some were left in the original home

 

 

In the back I added much needed weed control.



Next year I will really get to see if my vision was realize. If every thing comes back. LOL Here are some after photo. Enjoy!!

Thanks for stopping by

XOXO
Esther

Valentine's Day Card

This year's Valentine Day cards were a blast to make. The ideas came rather quickly which I can't say always happens. My usual process is to gather all the stamps that I have for the type of card I want to make. And of course the gather process most times includes going to the craft store. Buying a new set or two to add to the growing variety of stamps I already have. This sometimes sparks the creative juice and an idea will pop into my head right there on the spot. That is what happened for the card I'm going to share with you.

The stamp set I bought this year looked like postage stamps and I thought it would be cute to create a card of a envelope you might receive for Valentine Day.

 

I also picked up little coin envelopes from staples to complete the look. Are they so cute and tiny. I punched out a bunch of hearts for my orginal idea of hearts bursting out of the envelope. As you will see that was not how the card ended up.

 



 

In order to add some dimension and texture, I decided to antique the coin envelope. Once I had added the color to the envelopes I changed direction from the original idea of having hearts poping out of the card to the look below. I also layered it on book paper and coordinating scrapbook paper in order to give it the look of being on top of a pile of mail just brought in from the mailbox.

 

 

The coin envelopes were sealed with a kiss from the set of stamps that set the inspiration in motion.  I really enjoyed making this card for my friends and family. It really brings me so much joy to create something for them on each of the holidays.

 

I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love and gratitude from your friends and family.

 

Thanks for stopping by.....

XOXO

Esther





Hoppin John Soup

I’ve been wanting for several years to cook a good luck meal for the New Year. I decide to final do it this year. I had read somewhere that a New Year meal to bring luck should consist of Black eye peas for Money, greens also for money and pork for progress amongst other things.

I found this recipe in Southern Living that consisted of those very ingredients.

 

I was super excited to try the soup. I never used smoked turkey before. I found out later the brand you use makes a big difference in taste. The one I used was soooo salty. The beans tasted wonderful  when I tried them before I added the rest of the ingredients. I was also surprised how quickly they cooked. I'm so use to soaking beans overnight and was a little skeptical that I didn't have to do that for this recipe. They did take a full hour rather than the 45 minutes stated in the recipe. But that could have been how high I had the flame. But when I added the turkey and the ham to the soup. The soup came out very salty. I think had I not added the turkey at the end the soup would have been fine. I learned I could have added a potato to the soup and that would have soaked up some of the salt. I never got to try it out, I already had two meals with it as it was and just couldn't face another if the potato didn't work.

 

I later found out that poultry shouldn't be used for a New Year meal. Because they scratch backwards it is believed it would bring upon regret or dwelling on the past. Hmmmm.... maybe that is why the soup was so salty LOL.

Here is the link for the recipe.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/hoppin-john-soup-50400000125886/

Here is the recipe just in case.

• 1/2 (16-oz.) package dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and sorted
• 2 pounds smoked turkey wings
• 1/3 cup finely chopped country ham
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 celery rib, diced
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 (16-oz.) package fresh collard greens, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Hot cooked brown rice
  Cornbread Croutons
• Flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preparation

1. 1. Bring peas, turkey wings, and 6 cups water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 45 minutes or until peas are tender, skimming any foam from surface. Drain peas, reserving 1 1/4 cups liquid. Remove turkey meat from bones. Chop meat.
2. 2. Sauté ham and next 7 ingredients in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add peas, reserved 1 1/4 cups liquid, turkey meat, collards, hot sauce, and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Serve over rice with Cornbread Croutons and parsley.

Thanks for stopping by..
XOXO
Esther

Chinese Market Soup

For the last few years I've made what I've termed Chinese Market Soup. The idea came about when I read an article about a open market. Where a soup vendor had a hot broth and you got to add the ingredients you wanted in the soup. And they poured the hot broth over it and you had a soup just the way you like it.

I line up all the ingredients for everyone to pick from. I always have the staples of a soup, carrots, beans, pasta, potatoes, etc. I have also put out bok choy, bean sprouts, watercress to name a few things.

The trick to serving this soup is make sure the broth is super hot. Once the broth is poured over the ingredients it cools off a bit.

The kids love it. They get to pick what they want and usually they eat the whole thing cause after all they made it themselves. LOL

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
Esther

A Snowy Gingerbread Party

For this year's annual Gingerbread House party I decided to go with a Snowy decorating theme. I found these snow covered greenery

I used an vintage watering can to hold the greenery and placed the wintery painting I painted this year.

I used the wreath I created last year. (you can read about it here) along with reindeer. I use snow batting and fake snow around the legs.

In the corner I set up for the house pieces were set up with a couple of trees also with snow batting and fake snow. 

On the trays with that held the house pieces I sprinkled sugar on it for the snow effect.



And hung Christmas lights on the ceiling for a extra touch. I love the way the lights look so much I am considering keeping them up year round.

Here is a look at all the candy laid out ready to decorate houses.

Here is a look at the houses that were created.

Everyone had a great time and went home with a Gingerbread House they created

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
Esther

Christmas front porch

 I normally decorate a little more traditional. Here is a picture from last year

I wanted something a little more christmasy for the front porch this year. I decided to go with Christmas ball. First I wanted to do one big ball on top of each each but I couldn't find a ball the size I wanted. I found these from the Christmas tree shop.

I used 3 different sizes on each urn.

 



To add the Christmas balls to the urns and wheel barrow. I glued chop sticks to balls and stuck them into the dirt so they wouldn't blow around. Here is a picture of adding the balls to the wheel barrow.

 

I added fake snow and sparkles as a finishing touch.



 

 

I loved the look of sprinkled snow. It added a really nice touch for the Christmas season.

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
Esther

Christmas Cards

What a busy December! Between work, shopping and getting ready for the Holiday. December passed by very quickly. One thing I promised myself last year was to take is easier this year and not try to do it all and be everywhere. Would you believe it I actually did. I spent a few quite evenings at home enjoying the Christmas movies that were on. I just love watching all those Christmas movies from the classical It's a wonderful life (my personal favorite) to the sappy love ones like Matchmaker Santa. I really do try to watch as many as I can every December. Corny I know... but it's my thing... can't help myself. One other thing I did was create my Christmas Cards.

Here is one that I created

 I got this idea from a shadow box I saw with all the days of the month and little nick knacks from Christmas. I originally wanted to put all the days of the month on the card like I saw in the inspiration piece, but quickly realized there just wasn't going to be enough room.

Then I though I would just mixed up the number from 1 through 10 using different kinds of mediums. Playing cards, stamps, etc. Talk about happy accidents. With out any planning I picked the #2 from the miniature playing cards and the number 5 from my stamps and accidentally put them together.

 

 

 

The card came together rather quickly after that. I stamped out all the pieces I needed.

 

 

 

 

Cut them out and colored them in.

 

 

 

Put it all together.

 

 

 

Love the way it came out. I might not have gotten all the numbers on the card like I saw in the inspiration piece but I did get the feel of it. 12 for the twelve days of Christmas. The clock to represent the counting down. A calender like item for the year we wait until christmas comes. A star for the christmas star and a Christmas ornament. And of course the big day itself the number 25.

 

Thanks for stopping by

XOXO

Esther