Pink Ribbon

This month is Breast cancer awareness month.  If you have had or know someone that has breast cancer this is for you.  I currently have one dear friend and two family members fighting breast cancer at this moment.  Never has this month meant so much to me.  

Printable envelopes are in

Alice invites

Yay the printable envelopes are finally in the shop.  

I'm in the News!!!

Find the full article here at North County Times.

I would love to be all cool and calm about this but I just can't.  I've been doing a happy dance all day and I've got to let it out.  I'm in the NEWS!!!  Not just the local news but the Associated Press.  A wonderful lady named Kim Cook interviewed me a few weeks ago about my "Cat in the Hat, Thing one and Thing two" baby shower and now I'm in her article.  This article has been picked up by many different news papers and online news sources. Holy Cow!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Nothing says fall to me like pumpkin.  I love the smell of it, the taste of it and the wonderful orange, homey look of it.  I also love whoopie pies and if you've never tried one they are really a must.  I'm not talking about the ones you can buy prepackaged in the store.  I'm talking about the cake like cookies that are sandwiched together with any type of wonderful creamy filling in between.  There are so many versions of these delightful mouthfuls and I would love to try everyone.  But since fall is just around the corner, or is it here already,  I had to go with pumpkin and cream cheese.  Probably my most favorite flavor combination ever.  

Printable Envelopes

Here is a handy dandy tutorial on how to assemble my printable envelopes.  First you need to print the envelope sheet using a color printer and regular printer paper or white cardstock (110lb wieght). 

Midnight in Paris Vintage Market

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Midnight in Paris Vintage market at Vintage Inspirations Antiques and Brocante.  A beautiful and dreamy little shop in Ramstein village.  The shop is small but packed full of lovely things from floor to ceiling, literally. 

Let the Minecraft party planning begin

Myles Birthday isn't until October but he has been adamant about having a Minecraft Birthday.  So for once I'm trying not to procrastinate and I've already gotten started.  If you have never heard of Minecraft then you will have no idea what these crazy looking block characters are.  If you have heard of Minecraft then you will probably recognize them and I'll show you were to find them.  

Fun with Buttons

   When I was little my Grandmother (Grandma Dix)  had a big jar full of buttons.  There was also a needle and thread in that jar with a few buttons always on the string just inviting you to start sewing.  I think this is why buttons make me happy.  

Donut muffins of course.

I made these this weekend because my kids love donuts and they love muffins so the two together must be better.  I found this recipe on Pinterest from Somewhat Simple. 

Chocolate Caramel Brownies, Wow!

Holy cow these were good.  Caramel and chocolate and brownies are such an amazing combination.  So rich and slightly salty and very sweet and gooey and did I mention amazing. Yes they were really good.  

And the winners are...

Yes I said winners.  I really wanted to chose everyone that entered, but I decided to go with two.  One was such a lonely number.  So I am happy to announce that the winners of my very first giveaway are (drum roll please)....

Apple Bread mason jar mix

School is quickly approaching for us and I like to start off the year with a sweet greeting. Normally I give a loaf of apple bread and a recipe card.  This year I wanted to go a little bit further and include the apple bread mix.  That way our busy teacher friends can just toss it all together and have a freshly baked treat anytime.  

One Year Blogiversary and Giveaway!

In a galaxy far, far away.... I started a blog.

Shrimp and Coconut milk

Yet another lovely recipe from my lovely Mother in Law, from Guam.  This is one of my favorite summertime dishes, well anytime dish is probably more like it.    I love shrimp and so do my kids but my pocket book doesn't really like shrimp that much, so we don't eat this nearly as often as I like.  This is perfect for summer though because it requires very little cooking time and it's a one pot dish.  

Finadene, a mixture of soysauce, vinegar and yum

 Finadene is one of the most flavorful and delicious things I've ever tasted.  It's a Guam, soy sauce and vinegar mixture that is to die for.  It goes really great with barbecued meats of any kind, and rice and even vegetables.  The only thing I haven't tried it on is ice cream and I'm sure it would be good there too.  There are probably a million and one ways to make Finadene.  Every family and really every person has their own recipe for it. Some people like it more spicy, some like it with tomatoes, some like it with cucumbers(one of my favorites), some like it with lemon juice instead of vinegar.  I've had it many ways and they are all good.  So I'd like to share a kind of base recipe as a jumping off point.