Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Wine & Dine Wednesday

Today I was thinking that I would share a few random wine related items with you. Since stocking up on wine, I have not really been drinking it. I finished up the Bitch wine and I have not yet opened another bottle. But I have my eye on one bottle I know I will be testing out first!

These items I came across a while ago and thought they were worth sharing. Anyway, on to wine related items:

bicycle wine rack
Bicycle Wine Rack
This is so cute and if you live in the city and a bicycle is your form of transportation, I would say this is a must. This assures safe arrival of your gift to the party or hostess.

 HOOTCH-OWL™ corkscrew
Hootch-Owl Corkscrew
Owls are all the rage these days, plus I think this is so cute! I added this to my "want" list.

personalized wine cellar sign
Personalized Wine Cellar Sign
I love this! I know exactly where this would go in my kitchen! It is pricey,  maybe this will go on my "one day" purchase list...

This cute bicycle wine bottle holder was given to us years ago by my in-laws. I love this, seeing it out on the counter just makes me smile, I love having little things like that around our home.

Hope you guys have a wonderful Wednesday!
I will leave with this....

"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." -Ben Franklin

So true Ben Franklin, so true!




Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Cherry Salad




I am not sure why this is called a "salad"...there is nothing really healthy about it, but let me tell you  it is yummy and we love it!!

I got this recipe from my Mother In Law, who makes this every Christmas and I just had to have the recipe so I could enjoy this whenever I  we wanted.

Like I stated, we have this at Christmas as part of our meal, but this week we have been having it for dessert.

It is so simple!

Cherry Salad

1 (6oz) box of cherry jello
1 can cherry pie filling
1 cup boiling water
1 large can of crushed pineapple (dodrained)

Dissolve the jello in water in a bowl. Add in pie filling, and undrained pineapple. Stir to combine. Pour in dish. (I use a size 8 X 11 casserole dish). Put in refrigerator to congeal.

Topping:
1 (8oz) sour cream
1 (8oz) cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

It is best to let the cream cheese come to room temp. or close to it. Blend all ingredients together and spread on top of congealed jello. Sprinkle with nuts. (Optional, I use pecans).

This time when I made it, I only sprinkled pecans on one half of the dish as one child likes pecans the other doesn't.

Enjoy!

Linking up with Lets Get Bananas & Blissfully Miller.



Monday, July 22, 2013

The Impact of Photography

I recently subscribed to a new magazine, The Atlantic. Usually I choose magazines that focus on fashion, home design/decor or celebrity gossip. I thought that it was time I expanded my horizons a little. So far I have only received 2 months worth and I must say it has done just that, expanded my thoughts and made me curious about a a few things.

One article this month was about photography, the article was more about how the media handles photographs and how graphic the photos can sometimes be in the media and how that differs across the world.

That got me thinking about how photography plays a roll in our everyday lives.  How weird it would be if we never got to have a single photo on our walls in our homes, never a way to look back on a memory except for what moment in time we have locked in our minds. I cannot imagine a world like that and I am so glad that I don't have to.

In my life, photography is a priority. I do take 99% of the photos in our home and  at family events. I want our children to remember their lives as children when they are older. But not just happy moments, sad moments and everyday moments. Moments that involve their Mom and Dad too. I enjoy taking pictures and hope one day our children will be glad that I did take them. I know that some of the pictures that I take and some documentation that I make, I would have loved it my parents did that for me. I know for sure that our children's lives will change so much when they have children and I want them to have scrapbooks to look back on and be able to show their children someday.

No, I am not a professional photographer, in fact some of my photos are blurry, and not worthy of even putting in a scrapbook and that is ok with me. Some are great photos but they all tell a great story!

Sometimes when I look at photos, there is so much more when you look closely. Every photo has a story behind it. A story waiting to be told or one that has already been told.

 

This one reminds me of a little one learning to help others, doing his part and learning that in this family we all pitch in to help. No matter how small the task.


This says, little boys on the go, eager and always ahead of the game, ready for the next adventure. Happy days with no worries.

This is one that did not turn out as planned, it was a very humid morning and when your camera has been in the cool AC of your home this is what happens. But I still added it to our albums, this is a very important day!  No to mention the big deal about his new shoes, he had to have green on them! Another thing that I won't forget about that day.

Moments are important but also are the everyday...It has become a joke between my husband and myself, my husband makes the bed then arranges the pillows however he pleases, obviously not the "correct" way, so I always have to go behind him and fix it. *He knows the correct way now, but still likes to mess around!

Yes, I photograph the TV sometimes. we don't subscribe to any form of newspaper so besides the Internet and news I have no way to document the happenings of the world unless I go out a purchase a magazine or newspaper, so I sometimes take photos of our TV or print articles off the Internet and add to the scrapbooks. This is a photo of Hurricane Sandy.

Little ones in their boots, they love camo and our youngest wears these boots all. year. long. When he outgrows them, he gets a new pair. In the summer, he is in shorts with these boots on!

This proves that I try to run and keep on track, a reminder to keep going and even if I cannot do it everyday, running is still something I enjoy and I gotta keep it up. It is sometimes tough to fit exercise in everyday, but looking at this photo even now makes me wanna run!

This tells the story of a little man who is always up to something and you better watch what you leave lying around because you never know where you might find it!

What types of photos to do you take? Do you keep a family scrapbook?

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Wine & Dine Wednesday


We picked this bottle of wine up in Asheville, you can read more about that trip here. We had to purchase this bottle based strictly on the label, I mean come on wouldn't you? You normally never see a pink label much less one that is named Bitch on a wine bottle. I have searched the website on the bottle only to not really get anywhere so I am not sure where to tell you to purchase this or  to even provide you guys more info. So I photographed the labels and if you are really interested I guess you could call the number on the bottle. Clearly when you see an interesting label on wine buy it and enjoy it, at least that is my plan!

 
 
 
When I opened the bottle and went for a glass I thought the only glass appropriate to drink from would be the high heel glass, it just seemed fitting.



The wine has a robust flavor yet very smooth, not to dry. A very pleasant taste actually. I was surprised just how good it is. On our next trip I plan on stopping by and grabbing another bottle!








Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Summer Fruit Cobbler



Every  year when summer rolls around I can't wait to get my hands on fresh fruit, blueberries, blackberries and peaches are my favorites oh and of course watermelon!

Well, this year our little peach tree has put out alot of little peaches. Of course the first thing out of our little guys' mouth was "Can you make us a peach cobbler?" Me: "Of course!" Hoping there is enough peach on those tiny peaches to actually make a cobbler.

I began to wash and cut the peaches only to realize there is more bad than good on the peach, it was either not ripe or some little critter got to it before we did. But I did manage to get  some good chunks of peach to add to my cobbler.

In order to fill the amount of fruit I needed I added some frozen blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. The boys loved it, so I would say it came out great!

Anyway, I used a cobbler recipe that I have been using for as long as I can remember, it is so easy and you really don't need to write it down, it is that simple.



Summer Fruit Cobbler

1 stick of butter
3 cups of fruit of your choice (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup of water
1 cup milk
1 cup of sugar
1 cup self rising flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put butter in casserole dish and melt in the oven. Meanwhile, put the fruit and water in a pot and simmer on the stove for approx 15 minutes. In a separate bowl mix together the milk, sugar and flour and vanilla, set aside. Once the butter has melted bring it out of the oven, carefully pour the flour, milk mixture on top of the butter, DO NOT STIR. Then spoon out the fruit from the stove onto the top of the flour mixture evenly, then carefully pour the juice from the fruit over top. DO NOT STIR and put dish back in the oven and bake for approx. 20-30 minutes.



Top with your favorite vanilla ice cream and ENJOY!!

Linking up with Let's Get Bananas & Blissfully Miller.