A Winter Place of Fun

I got to go to West Virginia this past weekend and go snow tubing!

That's me going down the slope!

It was beautiful weather, too. 

There's an escalator you ride to get to the top so you don't have to keep walking all the way back up the hill.

You know how I always say I love the warm weather and give me the beach because I'm such a Florida girl? Well, I think I could really live farther north where snow stayed on the ground all winter long! Where I'm at in NC, we only get snow a few days out of the whole winter. So we don't have any sort of winter sports like skiing or anything you can do here. Which leaves you with just freezing cold weather and no outdoorsy stuff  to do.  I seriously liked playing in the snow this weekend as much as I love the beach! That is crazy talk coming from me! Something about the snow that makes me feel exhilarated, I love being outdoors and with things to do in the snow like, sledding, tubing, skiing, snowboarding, etc. I wouldn't have to deal with the cabin fever like I get here. Next I would love to learn to ski, next time we go, we may try the skiing instead.  I watched the skiers and they looked like they were having a ball.

The place we went is Winter Place Ski Resort. They have something for everyone here. It's only an hour and 50 minutes from where I live.  The video below shows more of the ski resort from their website if you'd like to watch.

Winter Place Ski Resort

Mexican - Chicken Posole Soup

Ingredients
1  tablespoon  olive oil
1  teaspoon  dried oregano
3/4  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/2  teaspoon  chili powder
2  garlic cloves, minced
1  (8-ounce) package prechopped onion and celery mix ( or 2 stalks celery, chopped, 1 large onion, chopped )
4  canned tomatillos, drained and coarsely chopped
2  (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium organic / natural chicken broth
1  (15-ounce) can white hominy, rinsed and drained
2  cups  chopped skinless, boneless cooked chicken breast
1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
1/2  ripe peeled avocado, diced
4  radishes, thinly sliced
Cilantro leaves (optional)

Preparation
1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oregano and next 4 ingredients (through onion and celery mix); sauté 2 minutes. Stir in tomatillos; cook 1 minute. Add broth and hominy; cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook 8 minutes. Stir in chicken; cook 1 minute or until heated. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper. Divide evenly among 4 bowls. Top with avocado and radish. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

(This is a clean eating recipe from evewaspartiallyright.blogspot.com)

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This soup was really easy to make, all you do is chop a few things up and throw them in a pot and cook them! Here are the ingredients I used. The recipe called for canned tomatillos, but none of the grocery stores I went to had them, so I bought the fresh ones instead.

Throw in the first 6 ingredients and cook 2 minutes.  Then throw in the tomatillos and cook for a minute.

[Skip this step if  you buy the canned tomatillos]

I simply blanched them. 

Put them in boiling water for up to 5 minutes.

Then put them in ice cold water quickly to stop the cooking process.

If the skins are easy to remove you can take those off, if not, don't worry about it. 

Just cut the middle hard top part out like you would a regular tomato.

After blanching the tomatillos, then...

...add the broth and hominy and cook 8 minutes. Put in the chicken and cook another min.

Add lime, salt and pepper.

Top with the garnishes and you're done!

Muy delicioso!

You can make this as a side dish or as the main course. 

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I was making a recipe every Tuesday night last year with my friend Lou that lives down in Florida. When I lived in FL near her, we always use to make dinner on Tuesday nights together, but now since I moved to NC, we have decided to continue doing it. We're starting it up again now that the holidays season's over and I can't wait to see all the yummy recipes we end up with this year.  You can go to the recipe section of my blog to see some of the ones from last year.

Here's how Lous soup turned out, she said it was really delicious, too.  She couldn't find tomatillos, so she just substituted canned tomatoes instead (I sent her a can of my canned tomatoes I canned myself last year).  Go see Lou's post here.

365 Day Project
Info on the project

Day 54

This is the clock on Main St. downtown.  When ever I walk by this, I always think how neat it looks so I finally snapped a photo of it while I was out the other evening.

Day 55

This is the playhouse in the yard next door to me. 

You know how I love little sheds. 

Day 56

This is a beautiful church I pass by all the time, it sort of reminds me of a castle.

It's made out of granite.

There are so many beautiful churches all around this town, 

we're definitely in the Bible Belt! (Mostly Baptist)

Day 57

I found a wonderful place to take Little Foot out on the outskirts of Mt. Airy so he can run leash free as much as his little heart desires.  There are trails to go romping through and creeks to jump in and swim and splash, his little piece of heaven.

Pancakes with Fresh Raspberry Sauce

1 cup raspberries
1/4 cup sugar + 2 Tbs  (I substitued with Agave)
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I substituted w/ half whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 (8oz) container plain fat-free yogurt
1/2 cup milk (I substituted with coconut milk)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon canola oil


Step One:  to make the raspberry sauce, combine the raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice in small saucepan and set over med. heat. Cook. stirring occasionally, until a chunky sauce forms about 6 min.

Step Two: to make the pancakes, combine the flour, 2 Tbs sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the yogurt, milk, egg and oil in  a small bowl. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until combined.


Step Three: spray a nonstick griddle with nonstick spray and set over med heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles appear and edges look dry.  Turn and cook until golden brown. Transfer the pancakes to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter to make a total of 12 pancakes. Serve with the sauce.

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The fresh raspberry sauce was the star of the show!  It was so delish!! I was so proud of myself for making  my own raspberry syrup for my pancakes.  This was the first time I've made pancakes from scratch, so I didn't know what I was doing and wasn't sure if my substitutions would ruin it or not. Next time I make it, I may look for a recipe that actually calls for whole wheat pancakes, so I can get the mixture of the right amount of baking powder and such.  One mistake I made was I made the pancakes too big, I should have made them a little smaller because they were still a little dough-ey inside the middle part.  Just make sure you get them cooked really good all the way to the inside! They should be fairly thin for that.

They look real yummy in the photo I took of them, I wish I had made even more of the raspberry sauce though.  I did the raspberry sauce MUCH different than how the recipe says to do it.  I can't stand to eat anything with seeds in them, that's one of the reasons I hardly ever eat blackberries, raspberries, etc.
In a pot I took just a couple of Tbs of water and put the raspberries in with it. I cooked it on medium, just a slight boil and mashed them with a mashed potato masher as they cooked. Then after it got more liquified, I poured the mixture into a different pot using a strainer to strain all those seeds out.  I added 2 Tbsp of the Agave and the lemon juice and then cooked on medium (slight boil) until it turned thicker, like a syrup.  That was it, I threw a few whole raspberries back in it just to warm them up with the sauce then quickly poured the raspberry sauce all over the pancakes.  Delish!

This was one of the Tuesday night dinners I was suppose to do with my friend Lou. I'm just now making it for breakfast this morning! We're going to start our Tuesday night dinner recipes back up starting this coming Tuesday, now that the holiday season is over.

To see how Lous pancakes turned out, you can go to her blog, Lou Girl Plus Tea.  She followed the original recipe correctly with no substitutions and made her pancakes much smaller than mine.  She said they turned out really great.

Blue Like Jazz - Book Review

Blue Like Jazz is a really great read. The author is very creative with his writing. I think he has a very unique style, a very artsy and poetic way to his writing. This book is Christian based. (Nonreligious Thoughts On Christian Spirituality) After reading the book I couldn't believe how much we think alike, especially concerning God.

This book seems to be geared toward a younger crowd, mostly for people under 30. That's not to say that people over 30 won't enjoy it. I really enjoyed reading this and God did speak to me in many ways as I read it. I'd also like to say that this book seems geared more toward someone who has never found God before, not for someone who already has found that close relationship with him.

I thought the book was going to be about someone who found God, then fell away from God, then came back to him again, which was what I was wanting to read about.  It was more about the author giving the testimonies of his friends and his friends experiences with God. He does talk about his own journey, too.

His message in this book is more about a down to earth relationship with God,  not all the fancy church talk and Christianese that you would expect from a spiritual book. It focuses on how real God is in our day to day lives in the least little details of what we do. It goes in a different direction from the feel good books that try to teach you a bunch of ways to be holy in order to get a move or experience from God.

He gets to the raw and simple truth which sometimes people can lose sight of that and try too hard. Even turn others away from Christianity because standards can sometimes seem set too high for others to live up to.

All in all, I liked his message. I would recommend this book for someone who is searching for God, but is turned off by the hypocrisy that can be in the church today.

Featured Armoire

I just wanted to make a little post to thank WhisperWood Cottage for featuring me over on her site.

My armoire was one of the ones picked for the Fabulous Furniture Makeover.

Thank you!

A Fresh New Look for the Kitchen

I'm in the process of making over my kitchen a little because it's not exactly how I want it. I spend a lot of time in my kitchen because I love to cook. I make most of my meals from scratch... breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts... so I need it to be more functional than what it is.  The best thing I could do is add an island to the kitchen.  I had decided against the island for a while because with the kitchen table in there, too, it would be too crowded for an island. Since I've decided to turn my laundry room into a dining room, I will be taking the kitchen table out of the kitchen, hence, enough room for a nice little island! :)

Of course I need something rustic! Like the old table above used as an island. I think I may just scout some used furniture stores around here and find a table and rough it up. I've always got the wood from the farm I could use on it.  I like that black kettle in the background of the photo above, too.  The photo is from apartmenttherapy.com.

More inspiration photos of islands

Photo from Coastal Living

Photo from Country Living

Photo from Country Living

Photo from myhomeideas.com

The island above is interesting. Is that cast iron? I wonder what that base is from? I will have to do some research.

Once I move the table I will have room to put a storage cabinet along that wall.  I want something pretty big that can store all of my kitchen stuff ...   because I have lots of stuff. I'm usually pretty minimal in all of my other rooms, but my love of cooking turns me into a maniac for cookware.  

Right  now I'm working on a new paint color for the kitchen, too.  I know, I know, I really loved the yellow color when I first painted it.  Just recently I decided I want something more neutral for the kitchen.  I found a paint color I think I like, but am not 100% sure yet.

It's called Coconut Milk by Valspar.

I know it's hard to actually tell what a color is going to look like on the computer screen, I don't think this swatch does the color any justice. I was thinking it may not be as light as I wanted, I was hoping for just a nice pale cream color.  Then I remembered I had some leftover Bone White by Benjamin Moore.

This is the Benjamin Moore Bone White 

color sample.

 Yes, that's right, they are almost identical in color.

I had no idea. The color looks so different in my library closet.

It's so funny how a color can look so different in different rooms.

Here is a little sample area I painted of the Coconut Milk.  I know it's hard to tell from a photo, plus I have a hard time trying to get the colors to turn out on my camera how they look in real life.  I have had this paint on my wall for a few days now just staring at it and trying to decide if I can live with it for longer than a year or two.

My kitchen now, with Sugar Cookie by Valspar

What do you think of the cream color instead of this pastel yellow on the walls now?  Is there another color you would recommend for my kitchen?

Cold Weather Relief

I am loving all this snow!  I know people who live farther north have probably had enough and would be happy if they never saw snow again, but me being a Florida girl, I still get so excited when there's snow all over the ground.  I admit I could live without all this cold and I wouldn't mind being on a tropical beach somewhere, but I am making the best of what I've got.  I had to go out and get me some cold weather arsenal to prepare for this winter battle! That means lots of scarves, hats, gloves, and look at my new snow boots! They are so warm and they have grips on the bottoms to keep me from slipping all over the place.

I thought I would do something a little different with this post instead of my typical home decor stuff.  I am seeing a lot of fun snow pics and snow talk on other peoples blogs and thought I would make a special snow post, and the things I use for winter, with all this snow we're having.

Here are a few things I get to help me through winter.

Marisa Tomei Workout DVD

I purchased the Marisa Tomei workout DVD.  I usually walk a lot and get a lot of exercise outdoors during the summer, but since I have a tendency to hibernate in winter, I figured working out indoors in my home would be my best option.

 If exercising isn't fun, then I don't want to do it!  So, I found a DVD that I like better than any others that I've tried. I really like Marisa's personality (she's not real serious and sort of giggly like me), and I like the calmness of the workout. It's not a lot of loud music or crazy moves that are hard to do.  I  just recently started this DVD last week and I was so sore the next day I could hardly walk.  It barely felt like I worked out, so that is why I was so shocked at how sore I was.  You get a REAL good workout and you don't feel like you did anything.  That's my kind of workout!

It comes with this toning band, so you don't need weights to work your muscles. You're using your own weight against yourself to work your muscles, which is another reason why it feels like you're not working out real hard.

Another thing to help me get through winter is keeping my skin really moisturized.

My skin is starting to feel parched already this winter, so I'm trying a new shower wash and moisturizer.  It's by 100% Pure.  Their name says it all, there are no synthetic ingredients, but has a lot of antioxidants to keep your skin nourished and youthful.

I got the blueberry shower gel.

And the Pomegranate Body Cream.

So far I like them and the scents are absolutely delectable.  My skin feels quenched.

I have this huge addiction to lip balms and lip glosses. I have to have balm on my lips at all times, there is just no way around it. I usually use Badger Cocoa Balm and I highly recommend it. I also just recently received this tinted lip gloss from 100% Pure and love it. It's the Pomegranate Wine color.

Since it's winter, I'm not getting my Vitamin D from the sun like I do in the summer.

So I'm taking a Vit D3 supplement this winter.

It's also suppose to help your mood against the winter time blahs.

So there are some of my little secrets that help keep me going in the winter.  I'm new to this living in the snow stuff, so I would love to hear any of your tips that help you press on through these freezing cold temperatures.

Snow boots are North Face Abby III from Endless.com
Marisa Tomei DVD and workout band, Badger balm, Vit D3 from Luckyvitamin.com
Shower gel, moisturizer and gloss from 100percentpure.com

Armoire Re-Makeover

Have you ever made something over and you didn't love love it?  That is what happened with this armoire.  After I finished it, I just couldn't make myself love it.
So I pouted for a while and tried to figure out what I could do to fix it.  One day while blog surfing, I found an armoire at The Painted Hive that gave me the inspiration to take on the project again. You can go HERE to see her armoire makeover. She actually did the same thing I did, she painted it first and didn't like it, so she made it over again.
I thought the white curtains in the doors would look nice, but I think it gave the armoire more of a feminine look than I had hoped for.  I also didn't like the new hardware I had gone out and bought for it, it just wasn't solid/rustic enough.  You can go HERE to see my original post of when I made over the armoire the first time.  You can tell by what I wrote when I posted it that I wasn't loving it.

Here's an up close look.  It's hard to tell in the main photo above how the distressing turned out. It does look much better in person than I can get the photos to turn out.  I have a hard time with lighting on my camera.

I used Valspar Antiquing Glaze.

I added this wood panel to the doors. 

I borrowed my dads jigsaw to cut it.

Here are all the stages this armoire has been through from start to finish.

Do you like the topper on or off in the photos below?

I'm very pleased with how it turned out this time.  When I first started rubbing the glaze all over it, it wasn't looking that great and my first thought was... Oh no, I'm going to have to paint this thing back white!  lol
I'm glad that I didn't have to paint it again, I love the new hardware, color, glazing, door covers, everything.

Here are the steps I took to get the final look.

• Prime with Olympic white primer
• Paint the armoire Valspar Seaside Villa
• Cut pieces of wood to fit into the windows of the armoire doors.
• Rub antiquing glaze all over with a cotton rag.  I used a paintbrush to get the glaze on in a lot of places, then used a rag to rub it all in. Just up and down motions or side to side. 
• Replace hardware- Black Iron Pull from Lowes

Not a lot of steps, but it took a few days to do over. Mostly because I didn't have all the things I needed and had to keep running back to the store.  I had wanted to put glass in the doors, but since I put a tv inside the armoire I decided not to. In the future if I ever decide to move it to a different room or fill it with linens I could still replace the wood panels with glass.

I'm glad I took the extra steps to make it over again, I'm happy now.  :)

Linked to bluecricketdesign.net

Mini Cocoa Cakes

Mini Cocoa Cakes (Clean eating recipe)

• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 Tbs safflower oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 cup sucanat (or packed brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flower
• 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 egg whites
• pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 400F. In bowl, combine first 4 ingredients and 3/4 cup sucanat until blended.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and baking soda; stir into applesauce mixture.
3. Using electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites, salt and remaining sucanat 4 min., or until stiff peaks form; gently fold into flour mixture. Divide batter evenly among eight 4 oz greased ramekins; place on baking sheet. Bake 15 min., or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 1 min. Remove cakes from pan. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.

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I made some of these mini cocoa cakes this weekend and wanted to share the recipe because of how delicious they turned out.  I even had to go out and purchase a hand mixer to make them.  Make sure you read the recipe completely before diving in. I didn't realize it called for melted chocolate to put over them, because that wasn't in the ingredients list. None of the grocery stores here had sucanat so I used Sugar In The Raw instead.  I also didn't realize I needed little ramekins to cook them in until after I started making them. I only had one, so I made the rest in a muffin pan.  They turned out great even with all my mess ups! 

I was at the parents house over the holidays and my dad was telling me about some green smoothies and drinks that were in this First magazine and as I thumbed through it I found a big clean eating recipe section in it.  That's where I found the recipe for the Mini Cocoa Cakes.  I love that the ingredients are pure and not white processed sugars or anything. So you can still eat the chocolate and things you love (cocoa is very high in antioxidants) and still feel good about what you're putting in your body at the same time. So go and have your cake and eat it, too!

Here are what the cakes were suppose to look like if you baked them in the ramekins and drizzled chocolate over them.  They taste good either way.

This magazine is still on the racks in stores, it has a ton of healthy recipes and green drinks in it! I had to go out and purchase the magazine, too, since it has such great recipes in it.