Spring class party craft idea!

Family Fun Sock Bunnies

As the school year winds down....EEK! One more class party is in the works! I love this cute idea! 

Too Cute!

   
    Isn't this so cute! A wonderfully talented lady brought me this as a birthday treat! I gingerly lifted (and may have eaten:) a few of the mini's so you could see how clever she was to use a Styrofoam ball and straight pins to create a deliciously cute sundae!

Yet another awesome read hitting the big screen!

    After what will be a nearly five year wait the Host is finally coming to theaters! In 2008 Stephanie Meyers released the Host following the Twilight trilogy. Not sure what I was getting into I picked this book up and dove deep into its 619 pages....

    What I found was an amazing read! The earth has been taken over by the Souls and Mel Stryder is one of the last remaining rebel humans. Wanderer is the soul which is inhabiting Mel's mind and body.....

    Intrigued? You have to read this book!

Spring has Sprung!

This Winter gal is ready for Spring! Ready to chase Sweet baby K around in the grass! So we hit the craft store early this morning to see if we could coax Mother Nature along! Remember this frame? My dollar find at the DI:)

I used my fishing line trick and a few magnets to keep it from whacking our door in the infamous morning wind storms! I like it! Spring has Sprung!

Wordless Wednesday! Kinda wordless anyway...

    If I had to chose one picture to sum up my marriage it would be this picture taken at our open house...

    We are a team. Where I am too empathetic and a push over he is no nonsense. Where he is too no nonsense I am empathetic helping him see the good in bending a little....When I am down and filled with doubt he is my voice of reason. When he is down I softly whisper in his ear. He has my back and I undoubtedly have his. Pulling each other along...

  Four years ago today we set out on an extraordinary journey. Trusting in fate and believing in each other. Scared out of our wits we said "I do!"

    Happy anniversary babe! I love you to the Moon! Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for loving me without condition...

    I cannot wait for all that is in store for us. Knowing we are strong enough for battles. Yet loving enough to capture the laughter till one day we are old mountain bums reminiscing on life side by side in our rockin chairs...

Is it Saturday yet???!!!

    The tickets have been purchased! I have three antsy little girls counting down to Saturday night! The soundtrack rocks! It has been playing for three straight days!! Woo Hoo!

The great debate...

   
There is an inner debate going on in my head right now! As we work to piece our bedroom together one questions seems to loom! Keep the Chevron stripes...or not?! I love mixing vintage with modern and that is how the striped accent wall came to be. Once we mounted the headboard it took me a good week to find a bed set I liked! Do you know how hard it is to find a solid one color bed set? I love being girly....but all the comforters in the world are Fancy Nancy! I just wanted something simple!

     I finally found this solid Grey set. I had these green pillows and threw them in for contrast...but they did not look quite right! Wrong shade O Green! Enter Pinterest! I am officially addicted! There are literally hundreds of thousands of ideas for deco pillows! It of course seemed genius! I mean it is just so hard to match shades bleh! Using the same green I used on the headboard had to be the way to go to pull it together.....

 I also added a little color to the Grey throw pilows....

What do you think?

Momto8blog....

Momto8blog

  
 Congratulations to Momto8blog You had the most visited link from the Finally Friday hop! I Really enjoy checking in on this blog! I always find a humorous post like the one above:) I also really enjoy her view on life and practical matters! Laughing at life's little moments. Growing and learning through it's disappointments....I guess it is why I love this blog so much! I am happy to share a recent favorite post of mine! A Favorite because I am married to a real man who is so wonderful and together we are raising three girls whom I pray will find happiness (after they turn thirty of course:) with men just like this! Please check out this amazing blog! You will be glad you did!


Where have all the men gone?

  My Dad advised me in high school to never marry a man who refuses to change a diaper.  I know what he meant then and I know what he meant now.  I see with my own eyes what happens as we women try to be the same as a man.  Men end up with a free pass.  Women end up with free birth control.  The most we demand from men is taking out the garbage once a week.  And they live up to those expectations....if we let them.  But there are still real men and they are living in my house.  How do I know?  I'll tell you what they are like:
1. They bring in all the groceries.  And put them all away,  just like I like it.  Organized, with labels facing me.
2. They clean the snow off the car for me, warm it ahead of time, fill it with gas,  drop me off and pick me up.
3. They open doors for me and all women.  I go first.
4. They eat all their meat and potatoes, but they also eat at all the yellow, green, purple, orange, red and white foods I cook too. They rinse their plate when they are finished and put it in the dishwasher.  And say, thank you for making this for me,  it was delicious.
5. They watch musicals and chick flicks because I always get first pick.
6. They sing in church. They say their prayers. They ask God for help.
7. They push their physical bodies to the limit, but know their minds give out long before their bodies, so they train their minds too...and practice self control.
8. They notice my new ruffled pillows and fresh flowers on the table, and tell me.
9. They protect me from the bad guys.
10. They make their bed everyday and keep their room clean, because I asked them to.
11. They do their push ups.  All of their push ups.  They know slacking is just cheating themselves.
12. But most importantly, they show a concern for others, especially the less fortunate.  When I see my husband and sons freely offering their service to another human being,  that is when I know they are real men.
I think it is time to raise our expectations ...and make men be men.

Wonderful post!

Be sure to link up to Finally Friday for a chance to see your blog featured here!

                                                                                                                                Loressa

Wordless Wednesday...

Too funny...and sadly true!

 
    Sandbox Gems: You Know You're A Blogger When......: You go out to eat and you don’t think it’s strange that the couple next to you is taking pictures of their food.   You can’t make a...

Happy Birthday to Me!

     Well OK! Not for a few more days... I had been coveting this vintage screen for weeks! Nearly causing auto accidents each time I passed the antique mall....slowing to gaze upon its greatness! Finally last week after being part of a team that brought in over 100% collections! Woot Woot! If you work in any sort of billing you know this is a major accomplishment! Anywho I got an awesome bonus and decided to spend a little on myself  for my upcoming birthday! Love it! When you chose to decorate in bold colors as we have it is a little nerve wracking to bring it all together....SLOOOOWLY our home is becoming amazing as we find the perfect pieces to add!

    Then my parents gave me this amazing gem! If you are a follower you know I have been looking for the perfect vintage door to turn into a headboard! I have been looking forever! There are a zillion old fashioned doors but I just could not find the perfect one...that one that said "ME! PICK ME!" 

  
 It is perfect! The original hinge and latches still in place!

    Perfect because it is different! I got to work! My original plan was to play it safe! Paint it black then distress the frame. Saturday morning however I was feeling brave! I also got an amazing deal! Clark and Kensington were giving away free quarts of flat enamel paint! 

Click here and print a coupon for a free quart of Clark and Kensington paint this Saturday March 17th! at participating Ace Hardware stores!

    I chose to be brave! Pinbough green! Once we repaint our bedroom grey it will look amazing!

     If it looks a little tedious....trust me it was! There are a lot of squares in this frame! One hundred and one tears shed over paint bleed have taught me a few tricks! Any drywall finishing knife...(or in my case my Wilton frosting spatula;) Can be fit snugly beveled edge out to get those nooks and cranny's saving yards of tape and feelings of frustration!

    I love it! The picture does it no justice! It really is super cool! Stay tuned for future pics on our work in progress bedroom!

                                                                                                                      Loressa

Frugal in WV...

    Congratulations to Ann over at Frugal in WV! You had the most visited link at the Finally Friday hop! I really enjoy Ann's blog! Why? Well check her out and see Frugal in WV

   The lady can cook! I have followed Ann for awhile and was very pleased to feature her great blog today! Her zest for cooking and personal details leave my mouth watering! I am going to share a recent post, because I too love cheese and anything to do with it! Congratulations Ann!


Frugal in WV
Martha Stewart Three cheese Gougeres

If you've followed this blog for any amount of time you know that I love cheese. When my husband and I traveled when we were younger I was the one interested in the various local cheeses and food, not the shopping and tourist attractions. My two kids have followed in my foot steps and are often caught in front of the fridge eating large amounts of goat cheese. Since I eat cheese so frequently I am always experimenting with new recipes and cooking methods. In the past year I have tried more than a few gougeres recipes, but none have turned out as well as I hoped. Recently, Martha Stewart Living magazine had a recipe for Three-Cheese Gougeres, which looked promising and full of one of my favorite foods, cheese.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes approximately 55 minutes of prep and cooking time and makes 26 puffs. I actually had to buy new white wine since the bottle in my fridge had been in there so long that it had brown sediment when I poured it. I was able to find all the ingredients easily at my local grocery store and I didn't have to make any ingredient modifications. I weighed out my cheese on my food scale to insure proper amounts in the recipe. If you don't already utilize a food scale I highly recommend buying one, having exact amounts of an ingredient can really make or break a recipe. Watch the gougeres the last 10 minutes of cooking time. I actually rotated my pans and switched them halfway through the cooking time to prevent burning and ensure even browning. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was impressed by how well these gougeres turned out. In many of the previous recipes that I have tried the puffs never actually puffed up and stayed flat. These gougeres turned out beautifully. I like that they use three different cheeses and would be perfect for a party or brunch. I served my gougeres as a side with red meat and the combination was perfect. They would also work well with a variety of other meats or soups. Overall, a better recipe for gougeres than the previous ones that I have tried and great for a party.

For the recipe go to Three Cheese Gougeres


Want to be featured by Curious Wisdom? Make sure you link up to the next Finally Friday Hop!

Customized! Boo Yah!

  I am in the process of switching to a custom domain! Very exciting! If you are having trouble viewing Curious Wisdom or any of it's applications (GFC!) please visit the new URL  lifescuriouswisdom.com 

Thanks to all my fabulous friends! You are all awesome!

                                                                          Loressa



    

In the mood for something new...

 
   Do not say Yuck! Yet! I love Lidia Bastianich! Of course you may know this from my post about Boston Cream Cupcakes! The lady amazes me! A few weeks ago my kids and I happened upon an episode where she made these lovelies! My daughter and I were salivating! I could not wait to try this recipe! Enjoy!

Lidia's Italy: Home

serves: 6 to 8

"You might be used to breaded and fried zucchini cut in French- fry fashion, but when my mother fried zucchini, she would always cut them in rounds or slices. I liked them that way: they made great sandwich stuffers, especially when the flavors and moistness of the zucchini seeped into the bread. For over-the top flavor, add a few slices of Swiss cheese and melt under the broiler or in a sandwich press. The perfect Italian lunch."
 

vegetable oil, for frying
4 large eggs
kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups fine dry bread crumbs
1 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 pounds medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch-thick rounds on the bias*

Heat 1 inch of the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Beat the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt, and stir in the mint. Put the flour in one shallow bowl, and mix the bread crumbs and grated cheese in another. Dredge the zucchini, in batches, in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs, shaking off the excess. Let the rounds rest on sheet trays while you finish all of the zucchini. When the oil reaches about 365 degrees (or when a piece of zucchini sizzles on contact), slip a batch of zucchini into the oil. Fry, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden all over, about 2 minutes. Drain the zucchini on paper towels, and season with salt. Let the oil return to temperature between batches, and repeat with the remaining zucchini, seasoning with salt as soon as they come out of the oil.



*Note: Cut slices 1/4 inch thick if you like crispier

slices, or ½ inch thick if you like meatier slices.

Wordless Wednesday...

ShoeScandal Deal!

The bestest firstest birthday...

I love Duff! I am coveting every cake supply he sells! 

I used cake tattoos for the first time! So fun!

So as I said it would Saturday has come and gone...

But what a fantastic day it was!

New Mommy Confessions...

  
 Congratulations to New Mommy Confessions You had the most visited link from Finally Friday! I am admittedly one of the newest followers of this blog but I love to check in on her! Her husband is serving in the U.S. Navy while she survives at home with a darling little baby girl! I love her vintage artwork and always find a great post that makes me giggle! Check out the tutorial for men and toilet paper! Thanks for linking up!

Want to be featured by Curious Wisdom? Make sure you link up to Finally Friday!