Ode to Red Wine

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I love cute little cocktail napkins.  Whenever I come across them I tend to buy a stash of them.  World Market has a great selection. Here are some of my favorites.

....say about 5:30 this afternoon maybe?...

Without a DOUBT!

I just don't have the heart to toss these...I'm sure I could cork an entire floor in my home.  This is only one stash.  I have a couple more. Fyi, you will see a lot of Noble Vine corks.  One of my all-time favorites is '337'.  It is rated 92 by Wine Spectator and it is generally under $10 per bottle.  Buy 6 and it is even less!  My kinda deal!

Oh,,,THOSE kind of glasses....Now I get it...

The first miracle in the Bible I must add...John 2:1-11  :)

 Need I say more??

This is one of our nightstands BEFORE I got my hands on it.  Our bed requires the aid of a footstool to hoist in to it.  The nightstand was so low, I had to find a way to get it higher to match the height of the bed.  Soo....... 

 

.....with a little help from Pinterest, a trip to Lowes, and some creative risks, I put together a plan to make this work.  

I had to figure out a way to attach the new 'legs' because the nightstand on Pinterest was not quite the challenge this one was.  They only had to screw the new legs in to the bottom of the existing legs.  Too easy~

I had to rig a way to attach some 1 x 4 boards to the bottom to have a foundation to put the brackets and the legs.

Once the foundation was in place, I screwed in the corner brackets that the legs screw in to.

Now what??  look at the ugly part where the new legs join the old part...ICK

Back to Lowes to get some decorative trim to cover up the 'ugly'.  I LOVE Gorilla Glue...If you ever use it, you better be darn sure of what you are gluing down...it will NOT come apart once it is set.

Now the fun part....If you have never used Annie Sloan chalk paint, you don't know what you are missing.  It is the most forgiving, slap-it-on paint you will ever use.  Be careful though.  Once you discover this paint you will want to paint everything in sight.

Here is the finished product.  It only took about 2 hours to do two nightstands and now it is much more functional.  Ta-daaaaa

OPEN

Where have I been for so long???  Well, life and work get in the way sometimes so while cleaning out some old folders, I ran across my blog.  It's a rainy Saturday morning and I am inspired to post some photos.  With the advancements of the Iphone, it is much easier to take random photos without having to haul my huge camera.

I found this old 'OPEN' sign at a flea market sometime ago.  It is so cool to sit out on my back patio with a glass of wine.  I feel like I am at a bar.  

Look at this gorgeous sunset!  Picture perfect!

I love the glow of my neon sign reflecting on my back patio.  So relaxing.  I have Sinatra playing through the outdoor speakers.  I'm ready for Spring weather so we can get back out there for Happy Hour.

Healthy Dinner

I found the recipe for this yummy pasta dish in the September issue of 'Cooking Light'. I had most of the ingredients on hand and it was super easy to throw together. I love the crispy vegetables and the creamy sauce. I have been substituting almond milk in all recipes that requires. Almond milk is only 35 calories per cup and provides 50% more calcium than dairy milk and there are no added hormones.

Creamy Spring Pasta

3 Quarts water

2 ounces wheat bread crumbs

1 T butter

3 cloves garlic (divided)

1 1/2 cups diagonally sliced asparagus

1 cup frozen green peas

6 oz fresh fettuccini

2 tsp olive oil

1/3 cup chopped sweet onion

1 T flour

1/4 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1 cup 1% milk (this is where I substituted Almond milk)

3 oz reduced fat cream cheese (I omitted this accidentally but it was good anyway.  What the heck?  Fewer calories!)

1/4 parmigiano cheese

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 T fresh chopped tarragon

Bring 3 qts water to boil

Meantime melt butter in skillet and brown 1 garlic clove and add bread crumbs and saute til brown.  Remove bread crumbs and wipe pan clean with paper towel.

Add asparagus and peas to boiling water for 2 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon and rince under cool water.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.

Heat olive oil in skillet and saute remaining garlic and onion.  Mix flour and chicken broth with a wisk and add to onion mixture along with milk.  Remove from heat and add cheese, salt, pepper and stir until cheese melts.  Add pasta, asparagus, peas and toss well.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and fresh tarragon and serve immediately.

For the carrots, I just peeled and sliced diagonally and spritzed olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted for about 30 minutes at 425 degrees.

 

BLING

Another one of my craft moments.  I saw some of these in an antique store in East Texas and decided to try my own version.  These are so fun to make and very easy.  It just takes a little patience stringing the beads on the wire and getting them arranged just the way you want them.

First, I purchased some salad spoons and forks from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for just under $3.

I used some beading wire and beads that I had on hand and a couple of wire cutters for trimming.

There is a hole in the top of the handle that you feed the wire through and twist over and over again to secure. 
First, start adding a couple of beads at a time, wrap the wire around a couple of times to secure, then add a couple of more beads, wrapping the wire around the utensil a couple of times every time you add beads.  Keep adding until you get within about 3" from the bottom of the handle.


I made myself this blingy cake server which was the first thing I made.  I wanted to make sure I could do this before I started making them for my friends. 

I made this salad serving set for my friend for her birthday.  It was so easy and super fun to make.  I will be making more.  There are so many beads to choose from and you can just mix and match and create your own unique set. 





By the way, I am totally addicted to Pinterest, so don't be surprised if you start seeing some of my favorite things posted.  I have a whole list of fun things to try so stay tuned.





It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere

A friend and co-worker brought me some beautiful peaches from his farm yesterday.  I suppose I should have made a jam or perhaps a peach cobbler, but considering it was 100 degrees outside, I figured a peach daiquiri was more in line.

I threw two whole peaches, (sans the seeds, but left the fuzzy peel on) in to my blender, along with a squirt of fresh lime juice, Jamaican Rum, a splash of orange juice, and some ice cubes.  The peaches were so naturally sweet, I didn't have to add any sugar.  The clock in the background still shows CST since I forgot to move it forward in the Spring, but no matter what the clock shows,  it was 5 O'Clock somewhere.  YUM! 

Naan Pizza

My best friend is an excellent gourmet cook and always comes up with the best recipes with about 5  ingredients or less.  I love it when we get invited over for dinner.  Not long ago she came up with this 'Naan Pizza' made with Stonefire whole wheat flatbread. 

You can find this flatbread at most grocery stores.

Here are the directions for this particular pizza.  You can really get creative with toppings so find what you like and use it.

This is my friend's version:

One flatbread (feeds two, or one really hungry person)

Rub EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over the bread

Sprinkle garlic salt around the rim for great garlicky crust

Top with fresh minced garlic

Two or three slices of bacon (fat removed) that has been chopped and sauteed

Very thinly sliced Roma tomatoes spread on top

Sliced green or black olives (I prefer feta stuffed green olives the best with the bacon)

Fresh basil

goat cheese sprinkled on top

Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Bake on pizza stone at 425 degrees for about 12-14 minutes.

Slice pizza in half (or not) and serve with a nice glass of Cabernet.

Check out the Stonefire website for more delicious looking recipes.  Report back if you find a really good recipe.