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Monday, April 26, 2010

A Winner & the Desert. . .

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Congratulations to 'At One With Him' who won my Amy Butler apron giveaway!
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Comment #26 was the winner as selected by random.org.  Thank you everone for all of your comments.  My fist giveaway was fun and I hope to do more!
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me, World's Cutest Brother, Baby Sister.
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I'm out in Arizona this week.  My brother made his First Holy Communion and Confirmation yesterday.  He looks super excited in the picture above, doesn't he? 
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I hope everyone has a great week. . .See you in May!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Weekend Kitchen: Caesar Potato Salad with Sugar Snap Peas

*If you would like to enter my Amy Butler apron giveaway please click here!
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I've had this recipe ripped out from Bon Appetit magazine for a while now and finally made it last weekend.  I'm glad I did. . .I really like it!
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Ingredients:
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- 1 1/2 pounds unpeeled assorted fingerling potatoes or baby potatoes (such as white-skinned, red-skinned, and purple), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices

- 8 ounces trimmed sugar snap peas
- 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
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First, start by prepping the veggies.
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Boil potatoes until almost finished (about 10 minutes).  Add sugar snap peas and boil for about a minute longer.
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Drain and let veggies cool.  Add radishes and onions.
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Next, prepare dressing.
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In small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and garlic clove.  Whisk in Parmesan.
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I thought this potato salad was delicious.  I definitely will be bringing this on picnic lunches to the beach this summer!
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Original recipe is from Bon Appetit.
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- I've linked this up to Tuesday Tastes @ Crazy Daisy.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

1st Giveaway - Amy Butler Apron!

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I'm having a giveaway!
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I decided to make an Amy Butler Domestic Goddess Half Apron to give away.  I am having such a great time with my blog and have met so many great people through this blog.  I had no idea that blogging would be so much fun!  I really appreciate all of you followers out there.  I thought if I was lucky, maybe 20 people or so would read my blog.  It really makes my day anytime someone new becomes a follower.
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*Giveaway is open to anyone in the United States (including territories) and Canada.
*I'll select a random winner sometime on Monday, April 26, 2010.
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1. To enter leave a comment below.  Please include your email address if it is not in your profile.
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2.  For an additional entry become a follower.  If you are already a follower just leave another comment letting me know.
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3.  For an additional entry, post a link to this giveaway on your blog and let me know.
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Thursday, April 15, 2010

Vintage Metal Table

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A few months ago I found this old metal table in my Grandparents basement.  I loved it and knew it would be perfect for my craft room.
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Other than desperately needing a new coat of paint, the table was in pretty good shape.
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I sanded the table a bit and then applied two coats of primer.
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For the finish coats I used Krylon spray paint in Dover White with a gloss finish.
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Now the table is finished and in my craft room.
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My Keep Calm print was already hanging in the room.  Unfortunately, with the table placed underneath it, it looked way too high on the wall.  I considered moving it down but really didn't want to deal with a nail hole.  I decided to hang the "D" (for my last name) up.  I still wish the print was lower but the D does a pretty good job of taking up some visual space.
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I'm enjoying the extra storage space - you can never have too much storage in a craft room, right?
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If you are stopping over from Remodelaholic today, thanks so much for visiting!  And a big thank you to Cassity for posting this project on her site today!
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I'm linking up to SNS @ Funky Junk Interiors

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Weekend Kitchen: Asparagus & Mushroom Pizza with Gorgonzola

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I had a pizza like this recently at a restaurant and tried to recreate it at home.  The asparagus makes it a great pizza for Spring.
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Ingredients:
- pizza dough.  The recipe I used can be found here.
- 10 oz. mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini, but I'm sure any mushroom would work)
- 1/2 c. onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1/4 c. gorgonzola or blue cheese
- 3/4 c. shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 c. shredded parmesan
- 1/4 c. pine nuts
- olive oil
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Prepare pizza dough.
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When dough is almost finished rising, preheat oven to 500 degrees.  If you use a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven too.
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Next, prepare toppings.
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Slice mushrooms.
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The santoku in the photo comes courtesy of Baby Sister.  It was one of many great birthday gifts I received this year from her.  I don't know what I did before I had this knife.  It makes food prep so much easier!
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Break asparagus into 2 - 3 inch pieces.
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Sauté garlic & onions in a generous dash of olive oil for a few minutes and then add the mushrooms.  Sauté a few minutes longer until mushrooms are soft.
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When mushrooms are finished, set aside.
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Roll out dough.  I use a pizza stone and when making pizza I like to use a little cornmeal to dust the stone before I put on the dough.  I think it helps to keep the dough form sticking.
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I also like to prebake the crust before adding the toppings.  So, once your dough is rolled out and is on the pizza stone, bake in oven for 3 -5 minutes.
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Next, top the pizza.  I started with a drizzle of olive oil all around the dough.  Next comes the mozzarella.  Then added the asparagus, mushroom & onion mixture (make sure to drain any liquid that is in the pan with the mushrooms from cooking), gorgonzola, pine nuts, and finish with the parmesan.  I topped of the pizza with a little drizzle of olive oil.
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Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
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Fresh out of the oven:
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Enjoy!
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I've linked this recipe up to:
- Tasty Tuesdays @ Crazy Daisy..
- SNS @ Funky Junk Interiors

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Guest Posting Today @ Remodelaholics!

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Today I am guest posting over at Remodelaholic.  Hop on over there and take a look! 
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Remodelaholic is one of my daily reads - Cassity's projects are all beautiful and budget conscious.  Cassity also hosts a weekly link up party every Friday called Remodelaholics Anonymous.  It's a great party to link up to!  And on Wednesdays, you can link up to her Recipe Swap Party.
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I was honored when Cassity asked me to be one of her new monthly contributors.  Today's project is one of the first posts on my blog, but from here on out, I will be posting new projects once a month on her site. 
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Thank you Cassity for having me over today!
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Monday, April 5, 2010

Baby Surprise Jacket II

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A few weeks ago I finished my second Baby Surprise Jacket.  I actually started this one first but set is aside so I could make this one as a baby gift for a friend.
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Knitting this was really fun.  I'm not a very experienced knitter, and there are definitely a few mistakes, but not too bad for my second sweater!
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I used a US size 4 circular needle.
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I sort of fell in love with this little sweater while I was making it.  I don't think I'll be able to part with it!
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If you are interested in the pattern it can be purchased from the School House Press here.
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In other news, I started training for a 5k four weeks ago and last week developed 'runners knee'.  I have been hobbling around for the last week.  I went to the doctor today and they gave me prescription strength Motrin.  Has this ever happened to anyone?  Any tips?  It is hard to walk and so painful!  Just when I thought I might actually become a runner. . .
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Even though our Spartans didn't win this weekend, we still had a great time in Indy. 
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I have a feeling that my Spartans will be back next year!