How Serene

I have always wanted an asian inspired cottage garden. (If you can picture that). There's just something about English Ivy and the scattered chaos of color like the piercing red of a Japanese Maple tree or the bridges & pagodas - that takes me to a compfy place.

Here's some inspiration I found online. Don't you  just love??

(click on the images for source credit)

And this inspires some great ideas for back yard entertaining.....

The following you can find in my store. :)

I am not a gardener (usually), I mean, I buy geraniums every year from the Auxillary, but that's about as good as I get...Oh, and I pull weeds. But as far as growing anything, I'v never had much luck. So, pray for me that I have success with this.  LOL

Does anyone have a good recipe for moulton lava cake?

I've been dying for one of these and Chili's is too far away ;P

Disney on a Dime

So, I've been planning a trip to Disney for us for years...Or at least in my heart, that is where I have always wanted to take the kiddos. But...it's an insanely expensive trip, especially for a family of 6. I have convinced myself that the only way to make that dream come true is have a "Disney Dish" (special savings, that is) I just started adding to the Dish last month, we had a few huge payments that were ending, so we figured it was the best time of any to start really saving. I opened the Dish with $100 and since 2/1 our total is up to $509.37. I had a half.com (from book sales) deposit and we got an escrow refund (I didn't even know you could get those :P) So, with the plan of:

6 Day Resort Reservation & Park tickets :       $2488

Estimated gas - (we are driving)                         $500
New tires ( to get us there & back safe)             $328
Food (pit stops) ($1 menu, baby)                      $100
Meals while @ resort (estimated)                      $600
Spending @ Resort (also plan on hitting up        $600

Disney Outlet)                                                  $4616
Misc. emergency or spending                              $384

Total cost to Disney                                          $5000

So....Just $4490.63 to go!

We are planning to go August 12-17, 2012. Its the end of the summer season (and pricing). (travel, discount or any advice would be mucho appreciated! :)

 I've added my little countain widget  :) so you can count down with us.

Fabulous Find

I've been wanting to find a vintage butterfly picture (kinda like the one below) for my bathroom...I've browsed everywhere and within my price range, i just couldn't find what i wanted or was willing to settle for, until.....

I walked into Family Dollar and found this really great butterfly picture.  I think I like even better than what I wanted. My hanging pendant looks so great with it, too. Don't you think?

Tip: small spaces can be dramitically impacted and your space can seem twice as large when you decorate with mirrors. They give the illusion of the space going on forever.

Pretty Pictures

Yay! I got a new camera! I finally upgraded from a 5mp to a 14mp. What a huge difference in picture quality! So, you know, like a little kid I went around taking pictures of everything ;P. Hope you have as much fun seeing them as I did taking them :)

The is a corner of the dining room

 View from the front door

Living room side table

 Jazz - those are her real lips, too :P

Chef 1 in dining room

 view into dining room

 Chef 2 in dining room

Apothecary jars <3

 Tip: For making a smaller room appear larger - use larger furniture. Yes, larger furniture, like you can see I've done.  Sometimes, lots of smaller furniture can make the room seem cluttered with no real flow. But, try not to cover your windows with the large furniture. Light is also, a factor in making a room feel more open and spacious.

Thank You for Today

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
Mother Teresa

Life is not guaranteed for tomorrow...Love everyone and live everyday as if it were your last  and be sure to surround yourself with beauty<3

Be Mine, Valentine.

Happy Valentine's day! Hope today is a special day for you all! Not only is it Valentine's Day,  but it's my wedding anniversary, too. Woot Woot! So, I'm sure hubby will have a surprise for me and a yummy dinner in store. (I'm crossing my fingers for steak - he makes them so good)

In honor of the holiday, I decorated with this simple centerpiece made with a candy filled hurricane.  ( hawthorne hurricane can be found here) The possibilities are endless.

Tip: For making your small dining room appear larger, use a glass top table. I have a small dining room myself and I believe that if you use a glass top table, it opens up the space and makes it appear larger.If your vision is allowed to go through, it has an allusion that the space goes further than it would with a wood top table.

Happy Valentine's Day!

ps.  Tell me your most memorable Valentine's Day.

Italian Cheesecake

I have to first tell you the story of what possesed me to make this at 7:00 this morning...So, we just bought our new house in August. We have some really great neighbors. Karen, one of our neighbors, brought us over some super yummy brownies for Halloween. I had been over at their house and mentioned Jon being such a great cook and that he makes killer pumpkin pie. So, I figured for Thanksgiving, we'd be making them anyway, that we would make them one, too. Well, four burnt pies later, it didn't work out for Thanksgiving. We tried again for Christmas...No luck. I will blame it on Jon, though. He asked me to watch them. No way! I tend to multitask and if its not my project its liable to get ruined. (wait, what am I talking about. It'd probably happen if it was my project) I just need to get out of the habit of trying to do too many things at once. But, hey! In my defense, there are not enough hours in a day. So,here it is Valentine's Day on Monday and my cheesecakes turned out perfect!! Smooth and no cracks!

Here's the recipe for ya if you want to try it out. Let me know how it comes out!

1 lb. ricotta cheese,( room temperature)
2 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz. each) (room temp)
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 tsp. lemon juice & a couple shreds of lemon zest ( 3-4)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. flour
1 pt. sour cream

 

Blend ricotta and cream cheese well. Blend in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, lemon juice, cornstarch, flour and butter. Fold in sour cream and blend well.

Pour into a 10 inch buttered springform pan. (For the ones pictures – I just purchased 2 large premade graham cracker crusts from the grocery store) Pre heat to 325 degrees. Bake 1 hour. Do not open oven door. Turn off oven and leave in for another 2 hours without opening oven (no peeking). Take out and cool in refrigerator. You can leave it plain or add your favorite cheesecake toppings.

(click on the images to bring up the larger image - see how smooth? ok, I don't do this very often, that's why I'm so excited it turned out)