Tasty Tuesday: BBQ Noodles

This past weekend, Jacqueline & I visited my mom for lunch and she made one of my favorite foods: BBQ Noodles. The recipe is super easy & versatile and so tasty!

BBQ Noodles

• 1 small pkg. elbow macaroni, boiled in salted water
• 1-1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (12-oz) bottle chili sauce (If you live near a Wegman's get a bottle of theirs)
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sugar (we have found this can be omitted)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown beef with onion.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Stir well and simmer about 20 minutes.

Mosaic Monday Bunday

Last week's winner was marilavado who correctly guessed the theme was the THE SUN. So how about this week, my friends, do you know the secondary theme?

Guess today's theme and win a Mosaic Monday Bunday prize!

Click any pic to see its Etsy listing!

Leave a comment with your guess, and I will be pooling the names of those who guess correctly from both my LiveJournal and BlogSpot and drawing one winner per week. Good luck!

For other Mosaic Monday posts, click here!

The Mad Tea Party!

We were so busy having fun at the party yesterday that we forgot to post the pictures after we cleaned up, and we slept so late today! So without further ado, here is how our Mad Hatter Tea Party went:

Our be-hatted hosts and hostess were from the far reaches of the globe (as were many of the guests who dropped by!): Lapaki Maka Hiamoe (Paki too those who know and love him) flew in from Hawaii, Orson came south on a cruise from the North Pole, and April hails from our very own Central NY, just north of our secret party location.


Left to Right: Paki, Orson, and April
Naturally we started with tea in the garden. A delightful blend of imagination and sparkles... "Would you like a cup?" April asked everyone with a twinkle in her eye.


"The tea is dazzling!"
For Paki, who was still on Hawaiian time (five hours earlier), it was still very early and he kept falling asleep in his tea... Just like the dormouse, only everyone was kind enough to *not* dunk him in the teapot!


"Don't fall asleep yet Paki!"
After tea, the three wandered about the garden, mingling with the guests who joined us, and searching for things of beauty and magic. Orson and April found some beautiful flowers who shimmered and giggled when Orson told them how pretty they were.


Orson flirts with the flowers
But poor sleepy Paki strayed amongst the singing roses and was soon fast asleep, carried off to Wonderland by their sweet melodies.


Paki sleeps
The rest of the afternoon was spent in quiet (to not disturb Paki) and joyful conversation and consideration of the wondrous place they were, and naturally some art was made special for giving away! (I can't believe we forgot to get pictures of it!)

We had so many guests drop by that Orson, April, and Paki decided to give away TWO door prizes (dor-prizes?) instead of just the one! So they had me go to Random.org to find out who the winners are, and indeed it is a mad and magical world because the numbers chosen are the 2 in my birth date!


Screen Capture

So, my dears, Amy and Junie, please drop me an email so I know where to send your Mad Tea Party *dor-prizes*! ^-^

P.S. If you haven't already, don't forget to stop by A Fanciful Twist to see who else was having a party!



P.P.S. Because I have been surfing the parties all day, and can see there are many more to go, I have decided to draw ANOTHER winner, so more people have a chance! On Wednesday evening, July 1st Friday afternoon, July 3rd, I will choose a winner from the comments on this post to receive another door prize from our party! So be sure to leave a comment and let me know you were here! ^-^

It's a Tea Party!

"Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!"

My goodness! We've been so busy over here with preparations; it's almost time you know... I do hope you'll join us!



Check back later for pictures, and don't forget to leave a comment; so I know you've visited and can add you to the drawing for the door prize! ^-^

Illustration Friday: Worn

My very first time...



Yes this is supposed to be slightly humorous.

TiLT: It's Been a Great Week

♥ My Daddy♥


♥ Zen Picnics by the Lake with Cheeky Chipmunks♥


♥ Radiant Girls and Trees (and in them!) ♥


♥ Rocks and Roots and Sandy Glades ♥


♥ Forest Understories and Rocky Beaches ♥


♥ Esme's Drawings ♥


♥ Dressing up and Special Rocks ♥


♥ Hanging out at Flat Rock ♥


♥ Candy Colored Sailboats on the Lake ♥


♥ Hanging out with these Beach Bums ♥


♥ Home and All Its Surprizes ♥


♥ Honorable Mentions: Hug Your Fat, the new Foamy: Fat Idols, Darwin's Survival Game, Which Scientist Should You Date? (Galileo for me, if you were wondering...), Caramelldansen! And now I can go to bed.... Zzzzzzzzz......

Things I Love Thursday is brought to you by Gala Darling...

Faeries in Our Midst!

While walking in the woods, I managed to capture a photo of the elusive Becca Fae and her friend! She fluttered off before we got a chance to chat, but perhaps next month she'll come for a longer visit...

This is a Good Meme

When you see this, take a minute and share five good things of your day with the world, uncut.

1. I am about to have a BLT with BACON, and LETTUCE, and TOMATO!
2. I have some purple in my hair! YAY!
3. Today is Fairy Day and I have many ideas in my head to celebrate!
4. I have the very best family!
5. The sun is shining and there is a lovely breeze!

Fairy Day

June 24th is Fairy Day every one! I hope some of you will be celebrating with me! We may head up to the lake with a fairy picnic and go swimming, or we may stay home and celebrate by making lots of fairy art... who knows! ^-^

Tasty Tuesday: Homespun Clementine Cake

Yesterday we celebrated the Summer Solstice. Yes, it was on Sunday, but Father's Day took precedence... And this is the cake that I *so* wish we could have had, but sadly, clementines were no where to be found... Perhaps we can figure out a way to substitute canned mandarin oranges or something else... It is a totally yummeh cake! Golden yellow and firm, almost caramelly, with sweet & juicy chunks of real Clementines, topped with the yummiest fluffy frosting...

Homespun Clementine Cake

• 3 seedless clementines, peels and pith removed, cubed
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2 and 1/2 cups whipped cream or whipped topping

1. Peel clementines and remove skins. Cut into small pieces. Add orange juice, egg, sugar, flour and baking soda; mix. Pour into a lightly greased 8- or 9-inch pan. Bake in preheated oven at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
2. Stir together confectioners sugar, vanilla and salt. Fold in whipped cream or topping. Frost cake. Makes 1 (8 or 9-inch) cake.

P.S. I may have shared this recipe before, but I couldn't seem to find it in my archives, so maybe I didn't...

Mosaic Monday Bunday

Last week's winner was Michele of Butterfly Whispers who correctly guessed the theme was the OCEAN or SEA. So how about this week, my friends, can you guess the secondary theme?

Guess today's theme and win a Mosaic Monday Bunday prize!

Click any pic to see its Etsy listing!

I am going to do things a little bit different, as sending out 2 prizes per week is a little more costly than I expected. I will be pooling the names of those who guess correctly from both my LiveJournal and BlogSpot and drawing one winner per week starting this week. Good luck!

For other Mosaic Monday posts, click here!

Happy Pink Saturday!

1. lovebunnycloseup2, 2. Bunny Love 8, 3. Bunny Love 6, 4. Jam Marshmallow Heart Bunny

Don't forget to check out Beverly's How Sweet the Sound for even more pink goodness!

TiLT: KISS Episode

Keep It Simple, Sleepyhead! LOL!

♥ Portulaca

♥ sushi

♥ macarons

♥ The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audry Niffenegger

♥ Hugs from Kindergarteners

♥ Free samples

Things I Love Thursday is brought to you by Gala Darling...

BlogCarnival: Summer Edition!

The school year here is winding down. Yesterday I subbed a half a day for a 6th grade teacher who sadly missed out on half a day of the 6th Grade Kickball Tournament. Apparently it's going all week long! The temperature is consistently in the high 60s if not 10-20 degrees higher now, and the weather is mostly sunny. These are the days we live for: grilling everything, having the windows and doors open, heading up to Flat Rock to swim (if the water's warm enough!) or just hang out on the rocks, watching the birds and bugs, dressing in hardly a thing...

For me the very best days are the ones when we all pile in the car and head to the lake, swimsuits on, picnic lunch packed: sketch book, colored pencils, and reading book included! When we get there, we choose a spot and spread out a big blanket. The kids run off to swim & explore (they're old enough now to do that without direct supervision!) and Jacqueline and I lie down and read or sketch or take pictures, just enjoying the sun and lake and the grass and birds... *le sigh*

How about you?

Tasty Tuesday

One of my favorite things to eat is guacamole; avocados are so yummy! Yesterday, after attempting (and failing) to take some leftover slices out of a bag to top my salad with, I discovered the easiest way to make it...


Fresh Guacamole (© Photographer: Graça Victoria | Agency: Dreamstime.com)

First of all you have to make sure your avocado is ripe; it should give a little when you gently squeeze it. Here's a great video on how to cut it: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/60547_chopping-fruit-avacado.htm I've never tried the *bath of water* thing, but I do know that the lime or lemon will help keep it from turning brown (which BTW, has no affect on the taste, only the appearance).

After you scoop it out and maybe slice or dice it a little smaller, stick it in a zip-lock bag with some garlic powder and lime juice; the measurements on this are to your liking. I also like to add some fresh ground pepper. Then zip up the bag and just mush the avocado up with your hands! The ingredients get mixed, the avocado gets mushed, and when you're done, you can snip the tip off a corner of the bag and squirt it on sammiches, individual chips or crackers, into hollowed out cherry tomatoes... whatever!

Obviously if your avocado isn't ripe enough, this won't work so well, and your best bet is to dice it for salads or slice it for your sammich... Also if you want to add other ingredients, like diced tomatoes & onions (traditional guac ingredients), you can squish your avocado out of the bag, into a bowl and add it then. Oh, here's another cute video and recipe! ^-^

Check out Jennifer's Balancing Beauty & Bedlam for more Tasty Tuesday tales!

Mosaic Monday Bunday

Last week's theme was guessed by Heather: the MOON! I've sent you an email requesting your address and as soon as I have that I'll ship out your prize package.

So how about this week? Any ideas on the secondary theme here?

Guess today's theme and win a Mosaic Monday Bunday prize package!

Click any pic to see its Etsy listing!

As always, the main theme is rabbits, but what else? Leave a comment and make sure I can get a hold of you if you win!

For other Mosaic Monday posts, click here!