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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Alice in Wonderland

I have finally come up with a theme for Princess's room... Alice in Wonderland. I was going to go the fairies route, but the Alice idea is sticking to me better. Not exactly sure how it will all come together yet, but I'm working on something fun for her. Previously there wasn't really a theme theme, just a color/fabric theme (sage toile with accents of blue & pink). I'm so excited about this project.

Monday, January 21, 2008

My dream vanity


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It needs a little work & doesn't look like much now, but, yes, this is what I have been wanting. I was browsing craigslist to see what if anyone was getting rid of any type of vanity. The Pilot turned out double closets into a walk in & half of one of them into an area for me to sit & do my make-up (now maybe I will wear it more often, lol). Well to my surprise I stumbled across an ad for the above vanity. I was even more surprised at the price... $15!!! Can't beat that. :) I saw that the ad was placed well over a month ago. I crossed my fingers & e-mailed the person asking if they still had it. They did!! I've already sanded the multiple coats of paint off. I'm on the hunt for the perfect fabric for the skirt. I think I might paint it Sherwin Williams "Reflecting Pool" which is the same color as our bedroom (think Tiffany box blue). It's very sturdy, just needs a new knob (which I went & got before I even took it home), a skirt, & a coat of paint. I'll post pictures when I am done.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

I bought...

My first sewing machine yesterday! It's a Singer. Now I need to bust a move on all my sewing projects I have lined up for myself.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

So excited!!!!

I counted up all my online photo printing credits & I have close to 30o. That a whole lotta pictures I need to find before I lose out on the chance to print them for free! 200 them I got for collecting Pampers points. I made it to 150 points and plan on cashing them in for the 200 photos. I need to sit down and load pictures. I have several different sites I use. I discovered a new one last week that has 99 cent flat shipping rate (www.winkflash.com). They give you 50 free prints for signing up. I sent my grandparents a bunch of pictures of the kids for 99 cents!! So with 300 credits I guess that means I must get my rear in gear and catch up on my scrapbooking.

Spiced bunt cake

I made the pilot a spiced bunt cake with cream cheese frosting drizzled on it. It was really yummy. I did a bunt cake just for something different. It turned out rather pretty, too. I forgot to take a picture before we cut into it, but I do have an after picture. This is what happens when you have a 2 year old who is an expert counter climber and he is insistent on having cake for breakfast.


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Monday, January 7, 2008

Seasame Peanut Noodles

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INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 pound linguine
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (should be brown in color)
1 1/2 cup snow peas, thinly sliced at a slant (on a bias)
1 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 cup scallion greens, thinly sliced at a slant (on a bias)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 lime, cut into wedges for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the chili garlic paste—it should sizzle when it is added—and cook for 30 seconds.
  2. Whisk in the peanut butter and Hoisin sauce, allowing to heat through.
  3. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and water until smooth, reserve.
  4. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and place in a large bowl.
  5. Combine Peanut Dipping Sauce with sesame oil and stir well. Add sauce to warm pasta; toss to combine. Let noodles cool slightly.
  6. Add snow peas, cilantro, scallion greens, and sesame seeds to pasta. Toss to incorporate. Serve room temperature or chilled with a lime wedge.
Tip: If you don’t have access to fresh Chinese-style noodles at your local grocery store just use a good-quality linguine. Rice noodles are too fine to handle the intense sauce, so stick with a wheat flour noodle or try a buckwheat noodle. Adjust (increase) the chili garlic paste to make it spicier.