Frozen Sweet Treat

It's been in the 90's here for the past several weeks and it definitely feels like summer.  Not unusual for south Texas, but it puts you in the mood for cold drinks and anything frozen. I like to make this pie when it's hot because it's such a nice change from ice cream or Popsicles.  This is really easy to make and tastes very refreshing.  I originally got this recipe from an issue of Southern Living Magazine but I wrote it on a index card so I'm not sure what issue it was.  Anyway, it tastes great and is so easy, you can make one for yourself and one to take to a neighbor or to your next summer party.  I'd love to know what you think if you make it.  Enjoy. 

Frozen Raspberry-Lemonade Pie

1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 6oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate, partially thawed
3 TBSP. seedless raspberry preserves ( I have also substituted this with Marionberry Preserves and it's what I used in the pie pictured)
1 8oz. container frozen whipped topping
1 6oz. ready made graham cracker crust ( I've also used the Heartland Granola crust which is the one I used in the pie pictured)
Garnish: Fresh Berries and Mint.

Directions:.
Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.  Fold in whipped topping.  Pour into crust.  Freeze 4 hours.  Garnish with fresh berries and a sprig of mint (optional).  Enjoy.

Shell Love.......

It's so amazing to me that the ocean provides so much beauty that we never see. I grew up close to the beach and I live close to the beach now and whenever I go, I look for shells.  I also look for anything interesting that has been shaped and softened by the ocean.  Driftwood, sea glass, and even coins.  I like to disaplay the shells that my family and I collect when we go and I also have some shells that I've picked up at thrift stores.  In addition, I have quite a few large shells given to me by my 95 year old grandma who used to throw some crazy good theme parties back in the day, one of which was the "Luau" party.  My love for shell decor doesn't just stop at shells from the beach.  Chandeliers, sconces and of course the shell motif (cocquillage) on Baroque furniture are all favorites of mine.    Since the weather is warming up and summer is around the corner, I thought I would display my shells in a different way.  My mantle has a very limited area to decorate due to the fact that we have our TV mounted on the wall above.  Although I would love to have a giant mirror in place of the TV and be able to stack candles and art on my mantle, it's just not possible.  Believe me, I've tried.  I've compromised on this because it really is the best place for the TV and so I work around it.  Here are some pictures of my shell display and some shell inspired pieces to bring a touch of natures' decor into your space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now, some shell inspiration......

 

Simple and beautiful seashell sconce from Oly Studio.

 

 

Love the glow this capiz chandelier from Oly Studio has. Wouldn't this be pretty hanging outside over a long table with lots of candles?

 

This is my favorite.  A definite statement piece. From Oly Studio.

 

 

Sea Fan Bottles from Williams Sonoma Home. 

 

 

I love this room and the modern stripes on the baroque headboard.  (photo credit: unknown)

This is a faux clamshell made from a mold of a real clam shell at a very affordable price at $69.99 from Treasure Gurus.

 

 

Showing some Etsy love.  Great vintage Victorian Seashell tin for $28 at GoodNorth.

Monday Motivation.....

May you start your week with the optimism that you can accomplish great things.  May you learn something new and share a smile with a stranger.  May you find peace with the beauty that surrounds you.  May you have the courage to do what you love.  Be bold and begin it.  May you always remember to give thanks and help others when you can.  May your week be full of laughter, love and peace.

Menu: Mushroom and Spinach Ravioli with Bacon

I'm not a big fan of spinach but ever since I had spinach with bacon, I converted.   This is realtively quick to make because there's not a lot of prep involved.  Even my kids (okay, just one of them) like this.  If you decide to try it, let me know what you think.  Buon Appetito!

Here's what you'll need:
2lb. bag of frozen large or jumbo cheese ravioli
1 10z. package baby bella mushrooms (the ones I buy are pre-cleaned and sliced)
4 cups fresh spinach leaves
1shallot (I used half of the one in the picture)
1 1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 TBSP Butter
4 slices crumbled cooked bacon 
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
4tsp. Salt Free Italian Seasoning (I use Penzeys Spices Tuscan Sunset)
Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley for garnish

 

Mince the shallot. Cut the stems off the spinach, rinse and set aside. Start to boil the water for the ravioli.
In a large pan, heat the olive oil.  Put the minced shallots in the pan and heat until tender.  Add the mushrooms and 2TBSP butter , 2tsp. Italian Seasoning (Salt Free) and  cook until mushrooms are starting to get tender (about 2-3 minutes).   Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and let simmer for 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup white wine and let reduce for 1-2 minutes. When the water is ready for the ravioli, add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and cook ravioli according to directions.  While raviloi is cooking, add the spinach to the pan and let it shrink down.  Add the remaining 2tsp . Italian seasoning and the remaining chicken broth.  Let this simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Add half of the crumbled bacon, remaining 2TBSP butter and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream.  Stir until the butter is melted and the heavy cream is incorporated.  Drain the ravioli and put in serving bowl.  Pour the sauce over the ravioli and stir.  Add remaining crumbled bacon, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (to taste), fresh chopped parsley and serve.  Enjoy.

Chic Sheds.......

I decided last weekend not to work on any projects around the house but instead take myself to several home and garden tours.  I love these for the simlpe fact of seeing where other people live.  Even if it's not my particular aesthetic, I can appreciate all of the hard work and passion that goes into it.  The first tour was close and included homes in my area.  This tour was gardens only and did not include the inside of the homes. One of the homes on the tour was modest in nature but the backyard was particularly unique.  The man that lived there had built a tree house (respecting the tree of course) and also built this great greenhouse that really surprised me.  There was a lot of detail and charm put into this space and although the couple that lives here uses it primarily for plants, I thought it would make a perfect little quiet space for reading or relaxing.  It's the smallness of this little house that I like.  With the glass roof panels, I can imagine myself in there on a rainy day listening to the rain on the glass ceiling and catching up on my reading.  I guess it would be my grown up version of a playhouse.  Here are some pictures of the greenhouse that inspired me. 

 

The entrance.  Welcome to the greenhouse.

 

 

Love this chandelier in here.  I'll bet this looks so pretty at night.

 

Even though this is space is small, the height of the ceiling and the glass panels makes this space feel larger.  The light in here is so wonderful.

 

 

Here's a side view of the greenhouse.  The treehouse is just above it.  Two totally different architectural styles but it works.  It's a his and hers playhouse. 

 

Here's a look at the inside of the treehouse.  The door leads out to a little balcony.

 

The view from the treehouse balcony.  The bottle tree was made by the homeowners too. 

Below is another beautiful greenhouse turned glam getaway.  This is actually from my personal inspiration files.  This came out of Country Living Magazine from 2009.

 

It is very modest looking and blends in nicely with the garden.  Wait until you see the inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, are you inspired? These little houses are so charming and intimate. I'm definitely keeping this on my want list.  Here are some books worth checking out if you want to see more. 

 

Available from Amazon.

 

Available from Amazon.

The Evening Walk.....

Of the cutest childrens book to me is called "The Evening Walk" by Joanne Ryder.  It's a story about a Mama Skunk that takes her babies out for an evening walk and shows them the stars, the moon, fireflies and other things that are out at night.  My family and I try to take walks every night and I'm always reminded of that story when we walk because we always get to see the night time critters starting to come out for the evening.  It's also a really beautiful time to be outside.  We are fortunate enough to live in an area that has a lot of greenspace.  We have nature paths and creeks that we walk along and it gives us a chance to enjoy the nature and scenery.  However, the greenspace didn't come easily.  Since we live in south Texas, when it rains it really rains. The creeks that look calm and still rise very quickly and it's amazing to see how fast this beautiful landscape can be totally submerged.  As a result of constant and severe flooding in the past mostly due to tropical storms ( 38" of rain from one storm) the homes that lined these creeks have been removed and all that remains are the remnants of circular drives and what used to be landscaped yards.  At first it's kind of creepy to be walking along a path that was once someones beautiful backyard, but after a while you really enjoy it for what it has become and the value it provides to the local wildlife.  With camera in hand, I photographed our evening walk to share with you. 

 

Here's one of the paths that we take along the creek.  What used to be someones private backyard is now a nature trail.

 

 

This tree is amazingly still alive however there is this section that is totally hollowed out and ravaged by woodpeckers.  I took these pictures to show you the amazing will this tree has to live. 

 

 

I wonder what calls this little pocket home?

 

As you come around a bend in the creek, you co

me across this huge lot of Giant Timber Bamboo. It makes the prettiest sound when the wind blows and the poles rub together.  The tops are easily 75 feet high and you feel so small walking past them.  The fallen pieces make great garden stakes.

 

 

Another bend in the creek.  

 

 

As you come around the previous bend, this is what you see.  More greenspace and hills.  

 

 

As we head up the hill to street level, Spanish Moss covers most of the trees here and I think it's beautiful.  We walk a big circle around  the street and return home. 

 

Back at home I check our garden to see how the newly planted veggies and herbs are doing before it gets dark.

 

 

Tomatoes are growing nicely.  I can't get enough of the smell of tomato leaves.   Indescribable.

 

 

Well, maybe I'll sit out here for a little longer before it gets dark.

 

Thanks for going on the evening walk with me.  I enjoyed sharing a little piece of our world with you.

A place for fun..... (Part Two)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday.  Our house was full of fun, laughter, good food and good company.  In the midst of all that fun, I was able to sneak away for a bit and finish the space that I was working on last week for my daughters.  There might be a few little changes here and there but the finished space is soooooo much better than it was and I'm excited to share it with you and hear what you think about it. Here are some pictures of the space before:



 

The best part of this space has to be the great light that comes from the windows.  We have a lot of big trees on our property so when you look out the windows, you feel like you're in a treehouse. 

 

Not a fabulous picture I know.  I just wanted to give you an idea of the size of the room.  

Now, let's move on to the fun stuff.

 

Just to recap, here's the $45 Ikea Dining Table I found at the thrift store. 

And here's the space now.....

This little nook has now been transformed into a budding artists space complete with paints, glitter, pencils, pens and more paper than you can imagine.  Let me show you around. 

 

The stools are from Ikea and have a plastic seat that I recovered with oilcloth and vintage pom pom trim.  All from remnants that I had so these didn't cost anything. I'm so glad I was able to re-use these stools because they are perfect under this table.  I also like the playfulness of the patterns and the pop of color it provides against all of the white. 

The bookcase was originally in this space but I moved it under the windows and attached a rod to it and used some old white linen curtains to cover all of the paper and other supplies that budding artists need to create masterpieces.  In other words, stickers, staples, tape, paper, more paper, a little more paper, water colors, tempera paints etc.  I went back and forth on the window treatments because I really like the light that comes through here.  I did a window treatment (actually I tried several different options) but decided on hanging a fun garland instead.  This might change down the road but for now it feels right.   The sparkle FUN letters represent what the room is for.  Fun and creativity.   I have always dedicated a space for art and getting messy since my girls were babies.  It's very important to me that they enjoy expressing themselves through art and using different media to be creative and imaginative.  As they've gotten older, I've noticed that art has become an outlet for them and it makes me happy to see them enjoy art and all that encompases.  Okay, enough talking.  Let's see more....

 

I wish you could see the colors of this vintage globe better.  The globe is navy blue and the rest of the colors are pink, yellow, green, purple and orange.  They remind me of candy.  Pretty and educational. That's what I'm talking about.

 

I picked up this old metal tray last week at a thrift store and decided to put it to use here.  This fits perfect and it's on wheels which makes it even neater.  It says Atlas Products on the front and since it's two tiered, the glitter and flocking powder have a place too. 

 

I like to re-use cool containers for other stuff.  I bought these candies at World Market and decided to keep the container for pencils.  I hot glued the can to the base of a pedestal soap dish that I had laying around.  The dish part broke but I kept the base so I could re-use it. 

 

 

  We clearly haven't put all of the stamps in here but you get the idea.  This works well because the stamps dry fast after they are cleaned.

 

 

Lastly, this is where they display their work.  There are two of these on each wall.  I call these trays but I have no idea what they were originally used for.  They are very versatile and they have a great patina to them. I'm glad that I can put all of them together in here.

 

Well, that's what I've been working on the last week or so.  The desk and bookcase combo is coming along and I got the rug delivered yesterday for her room and it's going to be fabulous.  I can't wait until it's done.  I'll keep you posted on the progress.