Plate-d

I love a good plate. 

I've used them before in my home as you can see here and here. And anytime I see some pretty plates I have a difficult time turning them down. So when I saw this beautiful arrangement from my favorite store, Anthropologie, I immediately wanted to share. 

Dish of the Week

Lime Meltaways

These are super yummy!!!

The perfect cookie for a bridal shower or a cute little tea party. You will look so dainty eating them. 

But my kids just eat them by the hand-full. 

For the recipe, visit THIS site.

Dish of the Week

Lemon Loaf 

 Since it's Spring I was in the mood for something lemony. This "Lemon Loaf" is perfect for your lemon craving. The lemon extract gives it the flavor that most lemon recipes lack. I found the recipe on Pinterest. 

 List of Ingredients
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1 c granulated sugar
2 T butter, softened
1 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon extract
1/3 c lemon juice
1/2 c vegetable oil

Lemon Icing
1 c plus 1 T powdered sugar
2 T whole milk
1/2 t lemon extract

Recipe
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt in a large bowl.

Use an electric mixer to blend together eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract & lemon juice in a medium bowl. Pour wet ingredient into dry ingredients & blend until smooth.

Add oil & mix well. Pour ingredients into a well-greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean. Make the lemon icing by combining ingredients in a small bowl with electric mixer on low speed.

When the lemon loaf is cool, remove it from the pan & frost the top with the lemon icing. When the icing has set up, slice the loaf into eight 1-inch-thick slices.

We Are Awesome, Don't You Think?

I've taken a little blogging break for the past few months. It has been kinda nice but I've missed it and I've missed all of you. I wanted to blog but everytime I would try to think of a good blog post I would get really over-whelmed with all the many creative things on the internet. With Pinterest and all the amazing blogs out there I felt like I was redundant. I may have had a creative block. Or maybe it was because I got hooked on "The Walking Dead". But I'm feeling the juices flowing again! (And it's not just because the season is over:)

Here is a project I just finished for a friend...

I found a dictionary at a thrift store and used the page that had her soon-to-be last name on it.

 I love the way it turned out.

You'll Thank Me Later

If you live in the Boise area you need to get over to Janjou Patisserie. Today.


This little tart....AMAZING!!!
I don't care about your resolutions. Sometimes they need a little breaking.
 And you need to support local business.



James Month-by-Month

 

12 Months

Here's the Birthday Boy!!!

It's been a great year that has sped by.

We've had so much fun with our sweet little boy. He's amazing in so many ways.

So happy he's ours!!!

 And he's outta here....



How to Update a 70's Picture

I found this old oil painting a few years ago at a thrift store...

It was painted by Virginia Roeh in 1973. Thank you, Virginia!

 

It is a pretty picture but it needed a little improvement.

Here is the before, on my wall...

Here it is with my improvements...

I love it! It's my daily reminder.  

 

My sister, Amy, helped me out with the vinyl. She does such a great job! Let her know if you need some vinyl too.

 

 



Christmas Decor with a Twist

I haven't done a "pretty interiors" post lately so here you go...

Photos from here

And can I tell you how much I love this mirror gallery wall?! I really want to replicate this. I think I have about 3 mirrors so I better start building the collection. 

Dish of the Week

Chocolate Truffles
This holiday season I'm having a huge little fascination with chocolate truffles.

These little balls of deliciousness are so simple to make. And only a few ingredients for each flavor. I'm always looking for food that tastes as good as it looks. Now I hope they last long enough to share with friends and family.  

 

The truffle on the left is Oreo, the chocolate sprinkle truffle is Nutter Butter and the white chocolate is lemon-lime.

 

For Oreo and Nutter Butter truffles:

Crush approximately 36 Oreo cookies and approximately 20 Nutter Butter cookies. Mix with one 8oz pkg of softened cream cheese. Roll into balls. Freeze for 30 min. Melt one pkg semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips and then dip balls in chocolate to coat. Add sprinkles or Oreo crumbs before the chocolate sets up.

 

For the lemon-lime:

Crush approximately 36 vanilla sandwich cookies (I used the cheapest store brand). Mix in one 8 oz pkg of softened cream cheese. Add zest and juice and from one lemon and one lime. Roll into balls. Freeze for 30 min.  Melt one pkg white chocolate chips and then dip balls in chocolate to coat. Add sprinkles before the chocolate sets up.