Pass the Salt?

I've wanted to try this idea from Pinterest (of course) for a long time, and finally got the chance.  It was one of the first ideas I spotted and pinned on my "Crazy for Canning Jars" board.  Yes, I have one of those.

It's amazing how people are using canning jars these days.  They're not just for "canning" anymore!  They are everywhere, and for everything!

Why does salt in a canning jar make me happier than salt in a salt canister off the store shelves, you ask? Because.

There.  I said it.  *wink*

The end.

p.s.  Did you know that a Parmesan Cheese lid supposedly fits a canning jar, too?

Today, I am thankful for:
1. the morning sun that came before the rain yesterday
2. time spent on Facebook with my sister and cousin remembering our grandpa
3. LOTS of Socks for Sandy sent to Laura for Hurricane Sandy victims

Thought: He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. ~Epictetus, Greek sage and philosopher

Pinterest: Five Minute Cake

(and a great giveaway link!  Please read to the end!)

Internet connection has been slow, and unpredictable lately.  Of course --since I was just recently bragging on how few problems we seem to have with it!  OY!  Anyways, I'm happy to be able to connect and post after a couple days with not much internet success.

I've been waiting for a while now to share this Project Pinterest post with you all...

~~~~~~~

We came home one Sunday after church, and baking was on my daughter's mind. "What can I bake?" she wondered aloud. Since it was hot, and the air-conditioning was cranking away, I tried to discourage it. "Or else," I said, "Make something that doesn't need to bake long -- or that you can bake in the MICROWAVE!"

And then I remembered this pin for FIVE MINUTE CAKE IN A MUG.  She checked to make sure we had the ingredients on hand, and she was on her way.  This one was easy, successful, delicious, and RICH.  We each had a fork-full, and it was enough until later.  Well, some of us (clearing of throat) got an additional taste later.


This is just the thing for a bite of something sweet at the end of a meal.  You won't need much.  It's decadent and delicious -- and did I mention, RICH?

Here are the guidelines for Project Pinterest:

1. Decide which pin on Pinterest you'd like to recreate.

2. Create it!

3. Flop or success, create a blog post about your re-do and include the original pin's url.

4. Add the Project Pinterest button to your post so others can join in too!  (*From now on, to be considered a "Featured Pinner" you need to add the button to your blog, please.)

5. Link up and check out other bloggers' posts!

Psssssst.... just found out my friend Sasha @Lemonade Makin' Mama is hosting a great giveaway HERE.  Her friend Laura from The Ironstone Nest has put together a great collection of goodies to give away including:

• a tiny bird's nest and faux egg
• a mini preserved boxwood wreath with sheer ribbon for hanging
• an ironstone soap holder with a bar of yummy soap
• some book pages tied with twine
• a chippy-wood numbered tag
• an adorable French sign that reads: "The joy of life is in you!"
• a black wood base and petite glass cloche
• a vintage orange marmalade crock

Stop over to Sasha's blog to find out how to enter for a chance to win!!

A Spot in the Sun

...for crafting, that is.

My girl got a (Pinterest) idea in her head, and it's been stuck.  She's been itching to be creative, and she had a plan. So, we hit the craft store the other day and gathered her supplies.

Easy really.  We just needed a canvas, and crayons.  We already had a hair-dryer.  The bigger the canvas, the more crayons you need, so we decided to start small.  We can always "go big" sometime in the future after we know how this works on a small scale.

We decided to work outside where the mess wouldn't bother anything.  In fact, there wasn't much of a mess. There is the occasional spray or splash of wax, though.  Consider yourself warned if you decide to try this at home.

It started slow.  Really slow.  Like, are-these-crayons-ever-going-to-melt slow, and then...

Wow!  Look at those crayons melt!!

We got the idea HERE.  You can click that link for specific instructions.

The angle at which the hot air hits the canvas/melting wax determines how straight the lines of wax drip down the canvas.

Here's my beautiful girl.  How I love her!  She'll be starting her first year of public school after being homeschooled.  She's hoping to "get" the art class that she signed up for.

She was really happy with the result.  But -- she's got a little more planned.  BELIEVE me!

I love her twist on things!  She's not afraid to be an individual.  This girl has a really strong self-concept, and I'm praying that it will serve her well as she starts high school!  I know she's going to do great -- and will be a "bright light" wherever she goes!

Here's to summertime.  And crayons.  And loving the person God made you to BE!

Linking up here:

Pinterest: Lemon Poppy-Seed Cake

I've been waiting for just the right opportunity to make this Lemon Poppyseed Cakecake, and guess what?  An opportunity didn't come up, so my daughter and I just decided we'd go for it anyway.  It's a super-simple recipe from McCormick (you know, the spice people.)

If (like me) you wouldn't typically have lemon extract or poppy-seeds on hand, you might be surprised to see their price.  I grabbed mine at a 50% off spice sale at our local grocery store.  It pays to watch for those sales! Apparently poppy seeds are little bits of GOLD.  Who knew?  LOL

Anyways, with all of my supplies finally on hand, we were ready to go for it.

Seriously, I think I've been dreaming of this recipe for so long that I actually thought I had a bundt pan. Apparently, however, I gave that to Goodwill a long time ago because it was just taking up space.  Well, phooey.  I DO, however, have an angel food cake pan - so we made do.  Honestly, it worked just fine -- but the shape was a little wonky -- at least when you see just a slice.  No worries.  I'm pretty sure it'll taste just as good!

We decided that we didn't want an entire cake sitting on the counter-top begging to be eaten.  So, we cut the cake in quarters, cut each quarter into four slices, and put the slices into squarish plastic freezer containers. We kept out four slices so that we'd have a treat tonight.  We don't usually do dessert -- just every now and then, so thawing those pieces from the freezer here and there will be perfect!

P.S.  The verdict?  DE-LI-cious!

I'm linkin up HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posts I've recently enjoyed:

• are you a NO-REPLY blogger?
• 5 Ways to Support Your Favorite Blogs
• What Two Wild-Haired Princesses Taught Me About Parenting
• helping her find her wings (may be the cutest post EVer!)

Project Pinterest: Graduation Gift Idea

Need an idea for a graduation gift?  In thinking of our own son's graduation NEXT year, I've started pinning gift and party ideas on Pinterest.  I'm happy to say that one idea actually came in handy for this year.  Check it out!

If you go HERE, you can "purchase" a free printable that says (in various designs) "In case of emergency, break glass!"  It's a little humor for a new college student, and something they can hang on their dorm-room wall until it's needed.

All you have to do is purchase an inexpensive certificate frame at the dollar store, print the download, tape bills to the appropriate place on printed surface, place in frame, and wrap.

Bottom line is... it's a more interesting way to give money.  But, who knows?  Maybe it WILL actually get saved for an "emergency."

Thanks to Parties & Patterns for the idea!

Source: partiesandpatterns.blogspot.com via Sally on Pinterest

linking with:

Inspiration from LMM

One my of favorite blogs is Lemonade Makin' Mama.  I am a "visual" person, and this lovely blog is picture-heavy -- which is a great thing for photo lovers like myself!!!

And then there's the fact that Sasha, the lovely blogger at LMM loves the Lord -- same as me. She is sweet, thoughtful, and full of thought... if you know what I mean.  [Speaking of thoughtful: I ordered a necklace from her ETSY SHOP.  As part of the order process, I typed her a little note that said I was excited to receive my necklace -- that I had set aside some birthday money to get myself this treat.  The other day, the necklace came in the mail with a "Happy Birthday!" tag attached.  How sweet is that?]

Anyways, I love to read Sasha's heartfelt posts about her family, and about lessons in faith. She also has lots to share about her home.

A couple months ago, I was struck by THIS POST -- one of those posts about making simple things beautiful. I'm all about that these days.  And, if I can do it without spending a lot of money?  All the better.  While I enjoyed the entire post, it was this picture that caught my eye.  It's dish soap in a beautiful corked decanter.

                                                                       Source: lemonademakinmama.com via Sally on Pinterest

While I've often admired the beautiful color of dish soap sitting on my counter-top in the sunlight, I don't keep my soap on the counter because the labeled bottle isn't particularly beautiful.

But now?  Well, color me inspired!  I sent a message to Sasha asking where she had found such a pretty bottle, and she directed me to Pier 1, saying the bottles were not expensive. (She was speaking my language!  This bottle was only $6.00.)

Of course, the soap was already at home... waiting for the perfect bottle.  Here's what I came up with:

Seriously, how pretty is that soap in the sunlight?

And here's the final result on my counter-top.  (Did you notice a sneak-peek of it yesterday in my post?)

Another happy ending.

Thanks for the inspiration Sasha!

Pinterest Board: Gardening & Outdoor Living

Well, 'tis the season, as they say.  Of course, "they" are usually talking about Christmas.  But today, I thought I'd explore another Pinterest board of mine: "Gardening and Outdoor Living."  As I remind myself of some goodies I've found, maybe you'll find something helpful too.

Let's start with cilantro, shall we?  It's the latest and greatest thing around here.  Yes, I know.  We're usually late to the party.  Oh well.  I use cilantro in these three recipes lately:

* Easy Veggie Couscous
* Slow-Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken
* Black Bean Salsa

These are all relatively new recipes to me, and so I feel as if lately I am constantly buying cilantro.  Click on the photo/link below to find out about a better way to grow cilantro.  I've gotta try it this summer!

Source: sunset.com via Sally on Pinterest

I love this milk-jug bird feeder.  Seriously, how easy is this?  We may have to try this one as soon as we empty our next gallon of milk.  That shouldn't take too long.  =/

Source: a-home-for-wild-birds.com via Sally on Pinterest

And how about this for when those nasty weeds pop up?  Or for when the gardener calls off sick.  That happens all the time at our house -- how about yours?  Well, an easy solution is vinegar, lemon juice, or boiling water -- not for the sick gardener, mind you.  For the weeds! One commenter at Martha Stewart.com said she used vinegar, and her weeds were gone the next day.  I'm thinking I might need to use this on the sidewalk that leads to our front door.

Source: marthastewart.com via Sally on Pinterest

ALSO, I WANTED TO SHARE THAT I've learned a little trick about using Pinterest pins here on my blog.  Next to each pin on Pinterest, you should see (on the right) a bunch of options like: tweet, embed, report, e-mail.  If you click on the "embed" feature, you'll be given a code to embed that pin on your blog.  When you do so, you are automatically providing your readers with the proper source info -- like what you see beneath each of the pins I shared today.  Of course, you might want to take a minute yourself to verify that the source you pinned from is correct.

Of course, if we're all playing nice, then we want the proper person/site to get credit for their own ideas.  This is an easy way to make sure that happens.  Also, if you click on the photo, it will take you to Pinterest where you can click through to the original site. Capisce?

Enjoy your Monday -- and Happy Pinning!

A Weekend Review

This weekend was a whirlwind.  Saturday started with food prep and doing our first big spring clean-up in the front yard.  The backyard will come soon enough.  There was lots of errand-running, and then a family birthday party, which ended around a fire pit.  Beautiful evening!

I didn't take half the pictures I thought I would.  But I enjoyed living in the moment, and that's what counts.... so I'm good-to-go.  Here are a few shots that I did manage to capture from Sunday:

My sweet hubby surprised me with a visit to Krispy Kreme -- a good start to the day, causing me to slow down and enjoy the coffee (or the donut as the case may be).

Here in NEOhio, it was sunny and warm, although the temps did start to drop off a little Sunday afternoon.  Still, it was a beautiful day.  The cousins played outside, and there were lots of giggles heard and shouts of "run!!!" as they shared a make-shift game of baseball with four.

We enjoyed a nice meal with family.  My sister, Jill, brought this beautiful strawberry-spinach salad with parmesan cheese and sliced almonds.  Delicious!  Mom brought dessert - an angel food cake with a pumpkin filling -- so good!  With each family bringing something to share, my prep time was not overwhelming.  This is how we do most of our family get-togethers.

Source: forkinit.blogspot.com via Sally on Pinterest

My contribution was Crock Pot BBQ Chicken, shredded for sandwiches (a new recipe spotted on Pinterest.)  Nice of me to make my family guinea pigs for a new recipe, huh?  Lucky for me, everyone seemed to enjoy the chicken -- and so, another Pinterest success! [See original source listed below photo.]

{Click here to join the Project Pinterest FUN!}

I received a sweet card from my parents, and a special one made by my daughter with a precious message -- and then (from my hubby & kids) new charms for my Pandora bracelet. I love the little camera, and the sweet ring of roses!

We sat around the table for hours and enjoyed one another's company.  This year, Jill and I have been doing some genealogy research, and shared our findings.  We learned about a relative who was a tavern owner with a brother who was a minister (interesting family dynamics!) -- and about places that we hadn't known were part of our family history. Fascinating stuff.  Oh how I treasure our times together!

I hope your weekend was filled with tidbits

and treasures and lots of memory-making!!

~~~~~~~~~

How nice!

Pinterest Board: Baking

I was checking out my Pinterest boards the other day... moving some things around. Sometimes when I pin something, I totally know what board I want to pin it on, and later I wonder, "What was I thinking?  It makes more sense over here!"  And I move it.  I know. I'm weird.  Who cares.  (Confession:  I love Pinterest!)

I thought maybe I'd chat about some of the boards that don't get much attention. Because... they still have some of my favorite things on them.  Today: baking.

Do you love to bake?  Oh my gosh - I do.  I find it so relaxing.  Below are a few favorite tips and products from my "baking" board on Pinterest.

Click on the photo or the "title" to go to the site.

Source: simonesmith.hubpages.com via Sally on Pinterest

10 Tips on Baking with Silicone Molds
I love these things!  We eat a lot of muffins around here.  They are an easy breakfast on the go, but I felt like I was buying the liner-things all the time!!!  Now, I bake my muffins in these silicone molds, let the muffins cool, and then "peel" the molds before bagging the muffins for the freezer.  The muffins come out like a dream.  I soak the molds in soapy water, scrub them, and let them air-dry.


How to Replace Eggs in Your Cooking
This is a site that I just used recently when I was short one egg for a recipe.  I used suggestion #6 of water, oil, and baking powder, and my banana muffins came out just fine!


Baking Ingredients and their Function
This page takes me back to my college days and a class I took called "Food for the Family."  I remember memorizing various baking ingredients and their functions.  This is a great tool -- especially in conjunction with the (above) egg replacement suggestion -- because the first step says, "Work out what you want your egg replacement to do."  As this page will tell you... eggs serve many functions.  Lots of good information here.


And last but not least...

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Sally on Pinterest

...a tutorial from the lovely Layla at The Lettered Cottage for an adorable Cupcake Stand.  Maybe it's a s-t-r-e-t-c-h to have this on my "baking" board, but I think I was afraid this one would get lost over on my "Crafty" board.  I love this.  You could deck this out in any fashion specific to your occasion.  It's a fun piece, isn't it?

See, loads of good ideas here.  And this doesn't even include baking RECIPES.  I've got other Pinterest boards for them!!!

Not on Pinterest yet?
{You'll need an invitation.}
Leave me a note in the comments
or send me an e-mail,
and I'd be glad to invite you.

Project Pinterest: Softening Butter Fast

The other day, I was all set to bake, and realized that the margarine that I needed for the recipe was all frozen.  I had stocked up at a sale, and forgotten to get a new box out of the freezer when the last stick was gone from the refrigerator.  Rats.  Now what?

Pinterest to the rescue!  That's what!

I remembered pinning this:

Source: musingsfromasahm.com via Erika on Pinterest

This worked perfectly!  Remember that I was using margarine (in a shiny metallic paper), so I removed that wrapper and wrapped it in waxed paper.  I rotated the margarine, and set the microwave to 4 seconds SEVERAL times, as I wasn't just trying to soften, but to THAW.  This was such a helpful tip!  Thanks to Erika @Musings From a Stay at Home Mom!!

Project Pinterest: Devil's Food Cookies

So, the other day, my son had a friend over in the afternoon.  Since they are boys, and I know they are always hungry, I thought I'd make them a snack.  Trying to think of something easy that I could whip up, I remembered that I had a Devil's Food cake mix on my pantry shelf.  I went to Pinterest and did a search for "Devil's Food Cookies."

I'm pretty sure that I've seen this recipe on a cake box before, but it wasn't on the box that was sitting on my shelf, so...

Here's my PIN,

and here's the original source: Two Under the Son.

You can visit Two Under the Son for the complete recipe.

I did TWO things differently.

1.  I substituted applesauce for half of the oil.  I use applesauce in place of oil in many baking recipes, but was hesitant to do a full substitution my first time baking these.  The cookies turned out great, though, so I think next time I would use only applesauce.

2.  I used mint chocolate chips rather than M&M's.

I served them to the boys, and it was vewy, vewy quiet.  (It's possible they were "hunting wabbits.")  

But seriously.  Quiet.  That's a good thing!

Another Pinterest success.

What's Up? 4.4

First things first:
My sweet friend, Amanda, at "i am baker" wrote THIS GREAT POST on Pinterest etiquette.  If you don't know Amanda, she is the creator of some of the most amazing cakes and sweet treats. You can go HERE to see her recipe index.  In addition, Amanda is such a thoughtful individual.  I knew that when she shared her thoughts on the subject of Pinterest that it would be worth reading -- for all of us!  I hope you'll take a minute to check it out -- and perhaps even make changes to the way you "pin."

Thanks Amanda!

And now... let's see what's up!

There's lots of new life on the trees, as well as on the hydrangea bushes.  

Some of the daffodils have wilted away after those 80 degree days with no rain and constant sun, but some hardier varieties have hung on.  This is definitely not the typical spring-time weather that they expect.

Tulips are popping up here and there.  Every year I tell myself that we need to plant more.  Maybe this will be the year - in preparation for next spring?

I was happy to see that some of the Bleeding Hearts came back.  They are a sentimental childhood favorite.

I'm loving those pink apple blossom buds -- so pretty.

How about those little seeds on the "October Glory" Maple?  Aren't they sweet?

And last but not least -- another childhood favorite... LILACS.  These are usually open some time around my sister's birthday at the end of MAY, not on April Fool's Day!!!!  I was so surprised to see a few flowers (and this is no April Fools photo!!)

So, what's up at your house?

Project Pinterest: Storing Cupcake Liners

You may remember me telling about my silicone cupcake molds.  They are a new fav around here.  They are so bright and cheerful, and yet, I had them stored in the cupboard. One day on Pinterest, I happened to spot cupcake liners stacked up and stored in a spaghetti holder LIKE THIS..  I thought it was a really cute idea.

But then I saw and pinned THIS, knowing that I had a jar almost exactly like the one shown. I traced the pin back to THIS ORIGINAL SOURCE on Flickr.

So far, my silicone molds are only in Christmas colors -- but that's okay.  My little Easter Bunny (there he IS again!) doesn't seem to mind.  I love it when something useful can also be decorative, don't you?

Another successful Pinterest idea!

Cost: $0.00

Here are the rules:
1. Decide which pin on Pinterest you’d like to recreate.
2. Create it!
3. Flop or success, create a blog post about your re-do and include the original pin’s url.
4. Add the Project Pinterest button to your post so others can join in too!
5. Link up and check out other bloggers’ posts!