Whooo! Yeah so much fun! I should have had more bottles.
Bonus footage of me being bossy at my husband and him getting me back by adding to my anxiety.
How you do it is find the seam on the bottle then with a firm grip on everything follow the seam with your saber and whack the top of the bottle right off!
Then drink up!
P.S. I found the cork on the other side of the yard
Glamping or Glamour Camping is the latest rage. With heads full of Kathrine Hepburn and Meryl Streep’s glamorous African adventures, ladies are getting together in style!
Check out these links and get going this summer!
Steeping Beauty- Glamping essentials
Safari West
Sinya on Lone Man Creek
Glamping tips and tricks from 52 Perfect Days
Costanoa
Continuing the “Art Is Everywhere” series; extraordinary art using ordinary objects.
Baptiste Debombourg has used 35,000 staples to create Air Force One and Two. A depiction of Icarus’ Fall
I have a whole new respect for my stapler now.
Get over your fear of the machine with these really great tutorials from Chica and Jo
This is also a really great brunch recipe!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the pastry: (makes 2 tarts)
2 9inch prepared pie crusts (1 box Pillsbury)
1 egg white
Spray the pie plate or tart pans with cooking spray. Unroll the pie crust and gently arrange into the tart pans leaving a small overlap on the top. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and brush the crust all over with the egg white.
Put the unfilled crusts in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and allow them to cool while you make the filling.
For the filling:
10 extra large eggs (room temperature)
12 rashers of bacon
3 tablespoons jared caramelized onion
2 cups shredded Gruyere or Fontina cheese
1 teaspoon fresh or dried herbs (parsley, basil, oregano)
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Snip the bacon into roughly 1 inch pieces using your kitchen shears. Saute the bacon on medium heat until crispy. Drain the bacon on paper toweling and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl combine the eggs, cheese, bacon, onion, herbs and salt and pepper. Stir to distribute the ingredients equally throughout the mixture. Pour or ladle the mixture dividing it between the two tart shells.
Bake on the middle oven rack for about 15-18 minutes, or until just set in the middle and golden brown on top.
Cool the tarts for about 15 minutes before serving. You can also serve them at room temperature.
For this recipe I used prepared caramelized onion from Williams-Sonoma. But if you can’t find that you can do it yourself.
Caramelized Onions
1 large onion chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
a pinch of salt and pepper
Heat oil over medium heat. Add the onions, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper. Saute stirring occasionally for 20 to 30 minutes or until they are very soft and very dark in color.
Got one of these?
Let me see, moldy play-dough, dried up paint tubes, really dirty paint brushes, leftovers from about ten different projects. I’m sad to say this, my friends, is my cupboard. So it’s all me.
No getting out of it by blaming the kids.
So, first things first.
Get everything out of the cupboard. Everything.
Evaluate what stays and what goes. Soul searching might be required if you are getting worked up about whether or not to toss that picture frame that you bought but then decided you hate. But you can’t just toss it out! It’s perfectly good!
Ok Ok, breathe.
You’ll make three piles.
Keep: the things you know you will use
Donate: The things you don’t use but are still in good shape.
Trash: The things that are used up or beyond repair.
See easy right?
Ok, pack up the donation pile and go put in the trunk of your car right now or it will sit in the corner of the garage until your husband yells at you about it.
Then go throw out the trash.
Ahhhh. So nice!
Next you’ll group like things together.
So, that’s where all the putty knives were?
Oh, and perhaps a fourth pile might be necessary: Stuff that needs to go back to the supply closet at work.
Uh huh, busted.
Now that you have all you things in piles you’ll put them in organizers then put them in your cupboard. Done!
Well for you maybe. But if you’re like me you’ll need to go one further and create sub-categories!
Yeah woowhooo!
Let me elaborate:
You’ll note long handled brushes in one section, short handled brushes in the other.
Hot, yes!?
My paint was the same story. More sub-categories!
Sort by color…
then I arranged them into bins.
You guys, look at all the room I have for more paint!
Wow! What a difference an hour makes.
Next up the sewing drawer! Dundunduhhhhhhh
Once when I was shopping with my son Gavin, I asked him what vegetable he’d like to have for dinner that night.
“Broccoli!” he cheered.
The stares I received from the other shoppers ran from amazed to annoyed. And, I must admit to a tiny amount of smug. The kid loves his veggies! His favorite is this recipe.
For the dressing:
4 tablespoons of lime juice (go ahead and use the lime in the plastic bottle, it’s no problem!)
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
A pinch of salt and pepper.
Whisk the ingredients together or shake in a small jar and store in the fridge for later.
For the Broccoli:
You’ll need 4 large bunches of broccoli.
Cut the florets off the stems and place into a large pot. Cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often.
While you are waiting for your broccoli to boil prepare a large bowl of very cold iced water.
Once the water comes to a boil shut off the heat and let the broccoli sit for about 3-5 minutes or until the broccoli are tender crisp. You don’t want them to be soft at all. Just a little cooked and bright green.
Scoop the broccoli out of the pot and put them into the ice bath. This stops the cooking and set that bright green color.
Top off the cold water with more ice. You can store them in the fridge or just on the counter top this way for a couple of hours.
To prepare the dish:
Drain the broccoli and pat them dry.
In a large saute’ pan heat over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter.
Saute’ the broccoli until warmed thorough.
Remove the broccoli to a serving dish and toss with the sesame-lime dressing.
I hope your family loves this as much as mine does!
I needed new containers for the morning beverage(s) of choice around our house. I’ve always wanted to try etching and I found this super simple how to at Create Studio
Materials: Clear contact paper, exacto knife, printed pattern, glass ware, Armor Etch brand etching cream, rubber gloves, newspaper or old towels, plastic spoon.
I chose a square container that way I could learn on a fairly level surface.
Step #1 Clean your container.
Step #2 Cut out and apply the contact paper onto the glass, making sure to leave about an inch extra all around your pattern.
Step #3 Print out your pattern and tape it over the contact paper.
Step #4 Using an Exacto knife cut out the pattern, making sure you cut though the paper pattern and the contact paper. When finished, it will look something like this.
The exposed glass is the area meant to be etched.
Step #5 Tape off the jar if your nervous about spillage. Lay the jar on its side. If you are working on a round object you can use old towels or newspaper to prop it so it won’t roll.
Shake the etching cream well and then carefully spoon (plastic spoon) or brush the cream only on the area meant to be etched. It’s super thick so you won’t have a runny mess on your hands.
Oh speaking of hands, wear rubber gloves! This stuff you don’t want anywhere near your skin. Or your kids or pets…and I’d crack a window too.
I globbed on enough to cover the design plus just a little more.
Step #5 Wait. After about 15 minutes rinse under warm water and pat dry. Examine the amount of etch you’ve accomplished and see if you’d like more. If you would like it to be more opaque, dry the jar thoroughly and put more etching cream on. Check after 5-10 minutes.
Step #6 Rinse and wash your containers, then put coffee and cocoa in them. Stand back and smile smugly at them.
Our 7 1/2 year old bearded dragon, Jim, passed away this past week. A few years ago I created a set on flickr featuring him as a wise old guru dispensing wisdom every Friday. Here is that collection as tribute to a very special friend.
Kathleen Rear 