A Living Doll Making Dolls–Overcoming Adversity w/Dignity

I saw Ariel’s story on the news Saturday morning – Teen Uses Talent to Try to Overcome Obstacles – and that young lady’s resilience in such a tough situation (she has an inoperable cancerous brain tumor, her dad has prostate & bladder cancer, her mom has lupus & diabetes, her brother has autism) struck a nerve.

iCANT not help some way. I can get me one of those dolls.

 

Ariel started making custom dolls to help support her family. I went to the Women’s Industrial Exchange to see her dolls Saturday afternoon and they are more than dolls, they are works of art, just like they said in the news report. I decided I had to have one to help support her.

 

Ariel had sold out of the 50 dolls she had already made! She had made $3000 in a day and was now taking orders. Custom orders. Give her a theme and she will make something for you. I, of course, requested a TriGirl/Fitness Guru theme. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

 

Just loved it…and The Women’s Industrial Exchange…what a wonderful place. Since the late 1800’s, the exchange has been helping women in need earn a living discretely. Today, The Exchange continues to serve its non-profit mission as an outlet of hand-crafted goods made by women and men intent on supporting themselves with dignity.

 

If you are looking for quality handcrafted gifts  - Shop Local – Shop Green – then you might just want to check out The Exchange. You will have to call the shop if you want to order a doll as Ariel’s website and links in the online store are not up yet. They were not prepared for the wonderful response, but are diligently working to get it up and running.  Don’t want a doll? She is also accepting material/fabric, old clothing, props- large doll furniture, buttons, hair (put that bad weave hair and raggedy wig to good use) to keep the cost of making the dolls down yet able to use most of the profit to help her family. Box it up and send it to the shop c/o Ariel – The Living Doll or drop it off.

 

My prayers are with Ariel and her entire family.

Princess Cara’s Garden 2012

…and so it begins.

Cooking With Love–Deviled Easter Chicks

I saw a picture earlier this week that originally came from Pintrest and then circulated on FB of these deviled eggs that looked like chicks hatching. KEEEUUUTE! I just had to make them. There were no instructions that I could find, but if I can make deviled eggs on the fly, I should be able to handle copying some deviled egg looking chicks just from the picture.

 

Start with some boiled eggs – like DUH. Oh, and (at least for me) let them cool completely and use a spoon to remove shell so that the egg remains smooth & unbroken. Then I cut them on an angle & used a small spoon to help get the yolk out without damaging the egg.

            

Put top & bottoms aside and make your filling. I have my favorite recipe…make your filling anyway you want. Once I had my filling ready, I put it in a quart size bag, cut out a corner and filled my eggs just as you would if you were working with frosting. Easiest way to fill an egg anytime.

            

                               

Once you have all your eggs filled (and over fill them as shown), put the caps on, add a sliver of carrot for the beak and whatever you want for the eyes. I hate olives so I used pieces of pickles…and WHA LA!

 

Deviled Easter Chicks

 

It looks labor intensive, but not really any more than making regular deviled eggs. This was fun and a huge hit!

 

Hope you had a Blessed Easter!

Cooking with Love–Taco Bowls

The other day I read an interesting article on LifeHacker about making your own Taco Bowls by pulling out your muffin pans, turning them upside down, heating up the oven and forming bowls with some tortilla’s. Well, we gave them a whirl tonight and they were a BIG HIT!

 

 

Take your tortilla, brush it with a little olive oil, sprinkle some kosher salt on them OR whatever seasoning you want for your shells, heat oven to 375-400 and bake for about 15 min.

One tip…make sure that you create a good flat base in the pans so the bowls will stand up when done. Just down right tasty. Fill with whatever you’d like for taco night and you have a quick, easy, family favorite. Princess Cara was the biggest fan with 3 fills of her bowl (they are small so calm your nerves) AND ate the shell afterwards. GO CARA.

              

What you got good cookin’?

The Great Pumpkin

This past weekend, the Royal Court took Princess Cara out in search of The Great Pumpkin. We went off to Sharps Farm, petting some animals, looked at the corn maze from the outside (I wasn’t walking out there in that mess…it was HUGE), went on a hayride out to the acres of pumpkins and then searched for the perfect one(s).

                     

After selecting our pumpkins, we had to load them back onto the hay ride tractor and then load them into a cart for weighing. Yeah those suckers were .49/lb. The 3 I paid for were each $13+. Heavy suckers.

 

After the farm, we rode over the river & through the woods back to civilization and went to a “Fall Festival” where we promptly got Princess Cara & her friend Lady Nichcelle zooted on sugary sweets and whatnot. Yeah, so. We brushed our teeth later.

              

Tonight, we commenced on The Great Pumpkin Carving Project which required two sets of pumpkin cutting tools – one that was like a mini motorized saw – a butcher knife, a couple of serrated blades and big scooping spoons.

               

…AND this was the final results of tonight’s efforts….

 

THE GREAT PUMPKIN LIVES!

Do you carve up your pumpkins all elaborate like?

Easter Dinner Menu Plans

It’s that time of year again for the gathering of friends & family to enjoy another magnificent feast. EASTER SUNDAY! WOO HOO!

 

I haven’t had the time to plan a totally new tablescape so I’m running with what I did last year but I will prolly go back to a napkin fold I did 2 years ago – loved those bunny ears:

Bunny Ears

So far we are up to 10/11…how about making it an even 12. Why not use the entire setting of dishes? Here is the menu so far…have to add 1-2 more items that my mother is whipping up.

 

The Kingdom of True Blessings Easter Dinner Menu

Leg of Lamb w/Arugula Cashew Pesto

Honey Glazed Pork Roast

Spiced Mashed Butternut Squash w/Marshmallow Meringue

Scalloped Corn

Veggie Dish – A La Queen Mum

Queen Mum Easter Cake (OMG! If last year was any indication – OFF THE CHAIN)

 

 

May you have a Blessed and Joyous Resurrection Day

Fun Shaped Panny-Cakes

We are serious about BIG BREAKFAST over here at True Blessings. SERIOUS BUSINESS. We don't play. The Queen Mum and I find different recipes to try and even introduce a "breakfast" cocktail from time to time.

Well, last year around Halloween I found some Halloween shaped (pumpkin, bat, ghost) Pancake Forms at Williams-Sonoma. They look like giant cookie cutters except you can use them on a skillet to make different shapes. Here's the difficult part - using a spoon or ladle to get just the right amount of batter in the form can be dicey. You will probably ruin just as many panny-cakes as you get right.

Enter this years outing to Williams-Sonoma to pick up my Turkey Brine & Roasting Glaze. Did you think I was going to escape there with just those two items. NOT. The Queen Mum pssst me from across the store to check out her find...A Pancake Pen. WHAT! STOP! NO! PUT IT IN MY BASKET! It specifically says on the tube that you can make precise pancake shapes with or without a form. I was all in.

But that's not all. The Williams-Sonoma lady saw my find and said "You know we have 3 new bags of pancake form shapes. They would go great with your Pancake Pen." Ya Think. I only bought one bag - this time round - and today was BIG BREAKFAST time with The Prince, Heir to the Empire.

And I made panny-cake shapes.

WHAT A HIT!

If you make panny-cakes, You HAVE to have a Pancake Pen.

Best Pancakes - EVER!!!!

Thanksgiving Preparation Have Begun

Thanksgiving Preparations have begun here at True Blessings. It is going to be very busy leading up to T-Day..

• Princess Cara has her Orange Belt Test Firday
• I'm hosting the NSN Holiday Networking Event Firday
• The Prince, Heir to the Empire comes home on Saturday for Thanksgiving
• The Army-Notre Dame Game is Saturday Night - Watch Party
• Big Breakfast with the family on Sunday
• Meetings & School Conference Monday
• The Queen Mum's 66th Birthday is Tuesday - party down
• Start cooking Wednesday

I still have to grocery shop & clean. Lawd hab murcey. I've made out my list for shopping - going through my pantry, fridge, freezer and Lazy Susan to check to see if I already have the ingredients needed. I HATE buying the stuff I already have on hand. HUMPH. I then rewrote the list in the order of how things are laid out in my grocery store - minimize going back & forth. I know - a little obsessive compulsive, but I only want to make one loop round.

I then worked a little on my table setting. I was going to go out and try and put something new together. Scrapped that. I decided to use whatever I had already here and make it work. I went over to the Queen Mum's crib and pulled out her Avon Red dinnerware and some gold chargers. I'll use the napkin rings (maybe - if I don't find a smancy napkin folding idea) I found in Curacao years ago and what you see above is what you get. I'll set it up Monday or Tuesday and it will sit that way until Thursday. I also have to decorate our buffet table. I'll get there. I'll get there.

So, how are you coming along? Are you going a-visiting or are you cooking?

Princess Cara's Garden

My girlfriend Terri has been on me for years to start a garden. The FireMarshall's father tells us every time he see us that we should start a garden with Princess Cara. HUMPH. I've always said to both of them..."Come build it yourself."

Terri was gracious enough to send me a book on container & box gardening and I've been leafing through it. Not as much fun to read as, say, Goat Husbandry - you had to have been there for my reading of this riveting tome - but my interest was peaked.

Finally, after Princess Cara brought home a bean that she had started sprouting at school and just went on and on about her plant, I broke down and decided to start a container garden. Momz and I trekked out to Bi.gL.ots and got a bunch of large planters and some top soil and then we stumbled on Bi.g.Joh.n's Farm and picked us up some plants. I spent a total of $13 dollars at this place and got 2 tomato plants, 1 market pack of watermelons, 2 market packs of green beans, 2 of yellow squash, 1 broccoli and 1 of peppers.

I had NO IDEA how much hard work it was to plant some damn containers. Four hours of work and I was absolutely exhausted. Princess Cara supervised and watered after every container was done. It is done.

Now, I need to get Terri on the phone and coach me through this "growing stuff" thing. Ummm, how do I keep the deer out my plants? Miracle Grow? What else should I know to get this stuff to grow and actually have something to eat? ...and if it all does grow...who da hell is gonna eat all of this stuff or did I plant just the right amount for us? HELP, TERRI, HELP! What da heck did I get myself into. Sigh.

Still, there is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in "building" this...and right now, all Princess Cara can talk about is her "garden". It makes the exhaustion all that more exhilarating.

Easter Tablescaping & Dinner Menu

Well, it is that time of year again. EASTER!!! I am currently working on my tablescape for Easter Dinner. What you see above is the basis of what I am going to work with. I added the flower plates this year (actually bought them over Christmas on sale for $1 on recommendation from MsPattey) and plan on going over to Pier1 and Michaels to see what I might want to add. I don't buy "china" every year...I got a set and work around that. Period.

We are not coloring eggs this year. The past two years, we made real eggs; colored and decorated; and then NEVER ate them. A waste. This year I decided that Princess Cara and I (and I'm sure that the older Princesses will be involved) would make Easter Cookies. I bought a kit from William&Sonoma, I have decorations, frosting and we are off. Those will DEFINITLY get ate. TRUST.

We are not doing traditional Easter menu either. Momz and I have put together the following menu:

Warm Salad of Seared Sacallops, Green beans & Bell Peppers in Walnut Vinegrette

Roast Prime Ribs of Beef w/Pink & Greeen Peppercorn Crust & Red Wine Pan Sauce

Potato & Porcini Gratin

Broccoli & Cauliflower w/Horseradish Bread Crumbs

Rosemary rolls

GMa Sandy's Easter Basket Cake

Wine (of course)

Reservations are open. If you would like to join us for dinner, drop me a line. No need to do a holiday alone - EVER.

On the 6th Day of Christmas....

...A Blizzard a Ragin.

I was supposed to go to Erin's SnowBunny Birthday Bash tonight. Had the tight red dress & spanx all ready to go, but alas, we got about 20 sumptin inches of snow instead. In the spirit of staying flexible and letting nothing or nobody steal my holiday joy, we decided to work on the Gingerbread House project from my Christmas Magic list. Talk about glee. Princess Cara had a wonderful time..."Look at it, don't touch it!" I guess we have been told.

The attention span of a 5 year old is about 5 min (if that) because as soon as they were done & instructions were giving to not touch her houses, she wanted to put on all her snow gear and go outside to play. Go for it. Stay out there with your PopPop while he shovels the snow cause I'm staying up in da house.

Okay, maybe I'll go out and take some pictures...Maybe.

Enjoy the video.

Are you getting hit with the Blizzard of December 09? What ya doing with yourself?

This Is How We Do It - Christmas Decorating

This is how we do it here at True Blessings with the Christmas Decorating. For the last 15 years+ we spend the Friday (weekend) after Thanksgiving putting up our Christmas Decorations. The rule is...if you can't land aircraft by my lights, then you don't have enough. PERIOD. We have to get all the decorations up by the 1st weekend in December. WHY? Because the Army-Navy Football game is usually played the 1st Saturday in December and if the game is not played in Baltimore/DC then we host a HUGE football party. If it is local then we even host an afterparty...it's tradition.

Thus, decorating frenzy.

Here are some pics from our decorating madness this weekend. My mother hasn't even started on the Fontanini Holiday Display; however, this year she has until the 12th to get it all done. We got a little breathing room as the A-N game is not till the 2nd Saturday.

Thanksgiving Table

The table is set and now everybody is hovering around (damn people, it is only 10am) asking is it done yet? While I use the same "formal" china (if you can call it that) that I have collected over the years and added to in the same family. I do change up my centerpieces or do a table scape (ahem...Pattie) different for the occassion but I am especially fond of decorative napkin folding to jazz it up.

I put this little video together for you on how to do the napkin pictured above called The Cats Paw. Enjoy and I pray you are having a Blessed Thanksgiving.

Handy HotNESS - The Tile Backsplash Video

On The Ponderosa

Today was a busy day. We did a fundraiser for the Lacrosse Team where we paid a couple of c-notes to have about 10 Lax players come over and do all of your yard work for their service project. We powerwashed the deck, got all the furniture ready for spring/summer, the boys weeded, planted, mulched, cleared and pruned their little hearts away. They did a great job.

I was talking to CreoleInDC this afternoon and she had me hollerin as usual. She said, "Giiiiirllll, you be doing big things out there on the ponderosa."...and I could not help myself, but break out in the theme song. Didn't know that I was a big fan of Bonanza, didja?

I've been humming the theme song since I got off the phone with her. I think we are going to have to change the estate sign to read "Ponderosa" instead of "True Blessings Estate" LOL.

Here are some pictures of the handiwork these young men did: