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I’m taking a little different approach with this week’s hack challenge … instead of one more-involved project, I wanted to give several different upcycling decor ideas that are so simple, there’s no assembly required! 1 – Repurpose clear glass vases to store layers of colorful scarves: 2 – Use vintage insulators as unique book ends: 3 – Use a whisk to hold recipe cards: 4 – Repurpose an old tv stand as a book shelf: 5 – Use a vintage skirt hanger as a unique method of “framing”: Do you have any no-assembly-required upcycling ideas to share? Post them in … Read more

I’ll be upfront – I’m not a vegetarian. But once spring and summer come around, I am craving fresh fruits and veggies, and frankly, meat can take a back seat then sometimes! Not to mention the fact that meat is more expensive and often more time consuming to cook. So sometimes I feel like making a meatless meal, and I wanted to share an easy vegetarian recipe I came up with recently: cilantro and lime black bean tacos. Nothing ground breaking, but it is easy, healthy and delicious! Vegetarian Tacos: For the filling (instead of meat): – About 3 cups … Read more

Time for week six of the adventure-a-week challenge! This time was a little different because there wasn’t just one set aside time for the adventure, but instead it was spread out over several days. The goal? Find and photograph all the colors of the rainbow in springtime plants for this Spring photography challenge! Right now is a perfect time around here for this – all the flowers are blooming and the weather is just lovely. I actually had been planning on something different for this week, but when I saw all the colors popping up and blooming, I knew we … Read more

These are a simple little roll-up I came up with – they’re not overly sweet. They would make a nice mini-pastry for a special breakfast. Or serve with coffee for a subtly sweet dessert. Take care not to burn the walnuts – they don’t need very long in the pan at all. 1 Pie Crust 1 Tablespoon Butter 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar Scant 1/8 cup very finely chopped walnuts ¼ cup Raspberry Jam or Preserves (not jelly) ¼ cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips 1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2- Roll out pie crust on a cutting board. Spread jam evenly … Read more

I just love chocolate and bananas – it is such a great combination! This is something I came up with this summer – a quick and easy treat using (what else?) chocolate and bananas.  Just make sure you use the shell hardening chocolate syrup … that kind that hardens when you pour it over ice cream.  It wouldn’t work with just regular chocolate syrup. Hope you enjoy! My little girl loved these – its a great kitchen project to do with little ones because it is so easy. 🙂 What are some of your favorite quick and easy snacks? Let … Read more

Small plates and unusual flavors of soda I don’t make appetizers very often.  I don’t know, it just seems like a lot of work for something “extra” before a meal.  Sure, I love to eat them, but in cooking, I’d rather make a big pot of curry, or a wok full of stir fry.  I like my food big and bold! But sometimes for a more formal dinner, or if you’re serving a lot of people, small bites can be a good way to go. Its easier to be able to serve a lot of different dishes and have enough … Read more

I just love to experiment in the kitchen, try new foods, and explore different flavors! I’m planning once a week to share a food tip here on my blog from my culinary adventures. 🙂 Today’s ideas are simple to prepare, elegant and delicious! The key is excellent quality ingredients. And in particular, Westphalian Ham. This photo is from a special tapas meal I made for my family. It is so simple to prepare and yet SO delicious! I was going to use Serrano ham until I found out how expensive it was (To give you an idea, a whole ham … Read more

Well, it’s time for the final post of the Adventure-a-Week Challenge! It’s been such a fun project over the last several weeks. You can see a list of all the Adventure-a-Week posts here. (If you’re reading this in an email or reader and can’t see the video above, just click here .. the video is where the substance of this week’s challenge is! Plus there’s some new stop motion video, as well as the announcement for what the next challenge will be, now that the adventure challenge is over!) Below, is the set of Bingo printables – I’ve created 6 … Read more

Personally I love to wear vintage clothing. I like the classic meets whimsical aspect of it. But if you love vintage like I do, then you’re probably been here before: you discover a fabulous vintage clothing find that seems to be in your size, only to realize that you would need to remove some major body organs and perhaps some limbs in order to be able to fit into it. Sizing: it was the single biggest problem that people voted for in a poll I did on why people don’t wear vintage. Not surprising, since no matter how much you … Read more

I love to cook, and I feel that almost everything is better homemade – except Chinese take-out. For all my efforts and trials, I just cannot make General Tso’s like take-out. Or hot and sour soup. When I was pregnant with my little one, I craaaved hot and sour soup like nobody’s business. I even wrote an ode to hot and sour soup. (Yeah, I’ll throw it in at the end of the post, just so you can laugh at me, so be sure not to miss it.) But then when I tried to make it, it literally smelled like … Read more