Shine Your Light

Mangia Mondays:: Linzer Cookies

2012-02-13T09:51:00.000-05:00

Hi there and welcome to Mangia Mondays,

the bloggy hop I co-host with the amazing and talented chef Kristin of Delightfully Dowling!

You know you're getting old (or have been blogging for a while) when you take pictures of a recipe, go to write a post about it and realize you already posted about it last year. Ahhh well, so my memory is shot - this recipe is worth revisiting.

As I mentioned last year, I have tried a bunch of Linzer cookie recipes over the years and even the Barefoot Contessa's did not hold up to this tried-and-true Family Circle magazine version from 1979!

So delicious and fun, they've become a tradition in my house each Valentine's season. Without further ado, I present to you a repost of Linzer cookies, with a few new pics thrown in here for fun.

According to Wikipedia, the Linzer Torte (or Linzertorte) is an Austrian and Hungarian torte with a lattice design on top of the pastry. Linzer Torte is a very short, crumbly pastry made of flour, unsalted butter, egg yolks, lemon zest, cinnamon and lemon juice, and ground nuts, usually hazelnuts, (but even walnuts or almonds are used), covered with a filling of red currant jamor, alternatively, plum butter, thick raspberry or apricot jam. It is covered by a lattice of dough strips.

Linzer Sablés are a cookie-sized version, made by cutting a circle of a similar dough, covering it with jam, placing a donut-like circle with a hole in the center piece of dough on top, and dusting with confectioner's sugar.

Linzer Cookies (Nut-Free)
original recipe from Family Circle Magazine, 1979 (vintage!)
(Print Recipe)

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 12 oz. jar jam (raspberry, strawberry, apricot all work well); we use Nutella also
confectioner's sugar

Heat oven to 350.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, egg yolk, lemon rind and vanilla extract.

Mix flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir into egg mixture, blending well to make a stiff dough; use hands if necessary to mix ingredients together. Divide dough evenly onto two sheets of wax paper. Use paper to make a ball with the dough, then wrap tightly and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Remove one dough disk from refrigerater. Roll dough between sheets of wax paper to about 1/4" thickness. With 2" round cookie cutter, cut as many circles from dough as possible. Carefully remove circles from wax paper and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Chill scraps before re-rolling and cutting out circles.

With second disk of dough, repeat process of rolling and cutting out circles. Using a smaller cookie cutter or knife, cut shapes in this batch of circles. Again, chill scraps before re-rolling.

You can use a round cookie cutter, or even a drinking glass and knife to cut out the inside shape. I use my handy dandy Wilton Linzer cookie cutter set - you can find these at AC Moore, Michael's or Amazon for around $10. The kids love all the different cut outs they can make.

Bake cookies 8-9 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn golden. Remove from oven and cool cookies on stovetop for 1 minute, then carefully transfer from cookie sheets to wire cooling racks and cool completely. (I have found if you let them rest on the cookie sheet longer than a minute or so, they tend to stick to the pan and break when removed.)

Spread a layer of jam on each of the solid (bottom) cookies. For this batch we also used Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread) on some of our cookies - yummmmmmm!

Dust the cookies with cut-outs (tops) with confectionary sugar. Top each bottom cookie with a top to form a sandwich.

If your Valentine is a chocoholic (like all four of mine!), one of these desserts might strike your fancy:

Chocolate Cheesecake

Individual Chocolate Molten Cakes

Decadent Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Casserole

If you'd like to join Mangia Mondays, link up a blog post or write a comment about a recipe, a restaurant you've enjoyed, or any kitchen tips you want to share!

Thanks for visiting today! Wishing you a happy, love-filled week ahead, my friends!

Sunday Morning Pinfest:: Coastal

2012-02-12T10:49:00.000-05:00

Is there anything like a leisurely Sunday morning, a good cup of coffee, and Pinterest? I think not.

This is what is striking my fancy this sunshiny February Sunday: neutral interiors with a bit of a coastal flair. I'm in love with white and sandy colors paired with green and blue, with a bit of black and wood tones to ground the space.

{Pottery Barn}

{pottery barn}

{via}

{house beautiful}

{mark williams via a thoughtful place}

{coastal living}

Oh that view - heavenly!

Check out my Pinterest boards for more.
I'm joining my friend Natasha at 5 Minutes Just For Me for her weekly Pinterest party!

I hope you enjoy your Sunday. See you tomorrow for Mangia Monday - Valentines Episode!

Before and After Friday Features!

2012-02-10T09:16:00.001-05:00

We had our first round of Before and After parties in January and WOW! Did these projects knock my socks off!!

In the weeks between the link up of your project idea at the beginning of the month and how it all came out at the end, I'll share some of your fabulous projects. Don't forget, Before & After projects over here don't have to be home projects - they can be a goal to get in shape, start a business, practice random acts of kindness - whatever you want to accomplish. Visit here for more deets on these linky parties.

Shall we take a look at a few of January's awesomeness?

Pam from Simple Details created a design using nailheads on the ceiling of her dining room! Isn't it amazing??

What a transformation Jennifer's kitchen has undergone over at Dimples and Tangles! Jennifer's latest addition to her kitchen eating area are these gorgeous drapes. So pretty!

Laurie from Little Blue Chairs had the creative solution of painting the subfloor in her Master Bath this fun color until she can install hardwood flooring in the future. The "before" flooring consisted of peel-and-stick tiles that Laurie didn't care for - what a difference this pop of coral and the freshly painted white vanity make to the room!

Martina from Northern Nesting has lots of great furniture makeovers on her blog, including this little footstool! So cute and the perfect size to tuck under a coffee table.

Thanks for sharing these inspiring projects! If you've been featured you're welcome to grab a button.

I'll share some more fabulous January Afters next Friday! If you don't have a blog but want to submit before and after photos from a project you've accomplished, email them to me at lscibilia@verizon.net.

How are your February projects coming along? My master bedroom is, um, exactly where it was when I showed you my February "before". UGH! There's been whole lot of real life standing in the way of home projects. Time to motivate and get something accomplished around here!
The February After party is only two weeks away - Friday 2/24! I'm already looking forward to seeing what you've accomplished.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Haven Bound! and a Giveaway Winner

2012-02-08T09:26:00.001-05:00

I can hardly believe it, but a few weeks back I won a ticket to the Haven Conference from Home Stories A2Z! Have you heard about Haven? It's all about "blogging, DIY projects, and creating beauty in the home for less". I could barely contain myself when I read about the various sessions, including carpentry and woodworking with Ana White, painting and staining furniture, and photography workshops. The conference takes place in Atlanta, June 21-22, and I am so excited to go and learn and hang out with peeps who love all this crazy DIY stuff as much as I do. I know, I'm a total dork.

So are you going? Please say yes!! Let me know so I can look for you!

One more fun item for today: the winner of the New Boston Globe Cookbook, chosen by

Number Eleven happens to be none other than.....

Lisa

from

who said

I love cooking ...I am a ram/sheep/goat (yikes!). Thx, Lisa! And I am a follower.

Congrats Lisa!!!

I'll be in touch.

Happy day to all!

Mangia Mondays:: Strawberry Napoleons

2012-02-06T09:40:00.004-05:00

Good Monday morning, friends! As you know, Mondays over here are all about the foodie blog hop I co-host with the lovely Kristin of Delightfully Dowling!

My giveaway of a copy of the New Boston Globe Cookbook ends tomorrow - have you entered? Head over here to leave a comment for your chance to win.

Well, we didn't take the Superbowl last night. My cocky kids texted their uncle in New York about how there's always next year for the Giants, to which he responded don't count your chickens before they hatch! Okay Mike, you get this one. I had to remind the disgruntled thirteen year old boys and grown men at my house last night that we live in the land of plenty, with Boston teams giving us three Superbowls, two World Series, the Stanley Cup and an NBA title in the last ten years alone! Alas, these words fell on deaf ears and they had to drown their sorrows in dessert at the end of the night.
{This one just added insult to injury!}

This dessert was a little dressed up for a Superbowl party, but since I was making Napoleons for my mom to take to a dinner on Saturday night, I figured I'd whip some up for the 'bowl too and share them with you!

Napoleons make such a pretty dessert, and they are fairly light to serve after a heavy meal.
This recipe hails right from the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry box, and if you haven't heard me wax poetic about frozen puff pastry, then let it be known that this is one of my fave food products in.the.world.

So versatile - from appetizers, to the crust on chicken pot pie, to lovely desserts!! It's a staple, peeps. I added blueberries to my Napoleons because I had them on hand to use up, but you could substitute whatever fruit you'd like. I bet this would be delish with fresh peaches in season.

Ingredients
1 sheet of puff pastry (half of a Pepperidge Farm box) - makes two Napoleons
3.5 oz. box vanilla instant pudding
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen sliced strawberries or other fruit
1 square (1 oz.) semi sweet chocolate, melted

Directions
Thaw puff pastry sheet on counter for 40 minutes or until easy to unfold.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Unfold puff pastry and cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Place on baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until golden.
Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire rack.
Combine pudding mix and milk, whisk and allow to thicken (about 5 minutes).
Fold in whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate.
Combine confectioner's sugar and 2 t. milk in small bowl to make a glaze.
Split each pastry rectangle into 2 layers, forming a total of six layers.

To build the Napoleon:
Spread glaze on two top layers and set aside.

Spread 3/4 cup pudding mixture on a pastry layer.

Top with strawberries and repeat layers....

....ending with a glazed top.

Repeat the process to make a second Napoleon.

Drizzle tops with melted chocolate. (I scoop the melted chocolate into a baggie, snip the corner, and then decorate.) Pop into the fridge until the chocolate hardens, then cover and return to fridge to chill for at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours (I refrigerated mine for 24 hours and it was still delicious, but the strawberry color ran into the pudding mixture a bit.) For easier slicing, use a wet serrated knife.

Mmmmmm good.

What's tickling your fancy in the kitchen these days?? Link up a recipe, restaurant review, or kitchen tip - that's what Mangia Mondays is all about!

Before you go: who needs Madonna when you've got this halftime show??

Welcome to the February BEFORE Party!

2012-02-02T22:37:00.001-05:00

Are you ready to get something crossed off your to-do list?? I know I am!

Welcome to February's Before Party!

On the first Friday of every month, join me to link up a new project idea. This can be a piece of furniture you want to rehab, a craft you want to try, or if you're really ambitious, a business plan. Commit to walking every day, or to practice random acts of kindness, reorganize your pantry, or make your garage more functional.

On the last Friday of each month I'll host the "after" party where you can show off how your project came out. If it's not totally complete - that's okay too - you can share how it's going so far!

February's After Party will be on Friday, 2/24 - mark your calendar!

The Fridays in between the Before and After Parties will be reserved for sharing YOUR inspiring projects over here! I hope you will join me to get some things accomplished in 2012 - and the best part - inspire and encourage each other.

My project for February is a daunting one. If I don't write about it I may never tend to it, even though I have a deep desire to make this room a peaceful haven. So here goes.....

What's my problem?
Why can't I pull this room together after 18 months in this house?

Here's where the room started, before we bought the house - pretty much a blank canvas.

The biggest problem with this room was the vile carpeting - stained by the previous owners' pets (it was epidemic in this house! Their pets made a MESS of all the floors and stairs.) I seriously couldn't breathe properly until that moldy and disgusting carpet was pulled out - a good three months of sneezing and being stuffed up every single day - and I am SO grateful for that necessary improvement!!!

I was inspired by beautiful lumbar pillows that I won in a giveaway from Isabella & Max to paint the walls BM Clarksville Gray, a perfect match to the pillows and a color I had seen and liked in the Pottery Barn catalog. I recovered the headboard with a dropcloth and nailheads - but then hated how the headboard came out so I tore the fabric off with the intention of doing it over - 6 months ago. I bought curtains and rods but have yet to hang them.

I stalled out on this project, and now it's time to get it together!

If I could just keep my eyes in this direction, all would be well. Not so bad besides bland and boring.

Here's where the issues abound. Please, take a deep breath before looking at this picture.

Oh dear, could it be? Yes, it is, it's the big old TV and black laminate TV stand that Mark bought circa 1995. They didn't used to live in our bedroom but the little TV that was in there died, and this one happened to be available, so here she is. You want to check her out up close? She's pretty. Even covered in dust, she's a beaut, isn't she?

I know a television in the bedroom is not a popular choice for decorators, but we love to watch the news before bed, and when Mark is traveling, after the kiddos are in bed I get under my covers and zone out to HGTV. I LOVE having a TV in the bedroom - just not necessarily this eyesore and stand.

The other elephant in the room is this little corner.

Our master bedroom does double duty as Mark's office when he's not traveling. In our last couple of houses we had a designated office where that chair looked completely appropriate behind a great big desk. In the corner of our bedroom, not so much. The papers everywhere, the cheesy framed certificate - these things do not say "peaceful haven" to me. You?

We're still trying to figure out how to make our furniture from our last house fit in here, and nothing feels right. I can't stand this half-done room any longer! It's important to me for Mark and I to have a place to read, relax, and rejuvenate. Here's my punch list:

Hang curtains

Install new shades

Figure out the TV situation

New bedside tables

Find storage for Mark's work stuff (possibly bedside tables with better storage?)

New desk chair with better scale for the room

Pull together bedding

Ummm, dust?

Hide framed certificate
Do all of this on a teeny tiny (read: nonexistent) budget

All the problems of this room may not be done by February's After Party, but today I commit to making this room a more peaceful haven, one baby step at a time.

What about you? What are you hoping to accomplish this month? Set a goal for yourself and share it with us. You'll feel motivated to start and work towards completion! I can't wait to read about your projects!

To join the Before Party:

.Add the Before & After button or a link to Shine Your Light to your blog post.

.Add the permalink to your Before blog post to the linky below OR

.Send me your before and after photos and I'll share them at the After party!

.Visit some links and show some love - it makes a blog party so much more fun!

This party will be open until Thursday, February 23.

Good luck with your projects this month - go get'm Tiger!

A Fun Gift Idea for Kids (or Teens or Adults!)

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year my wonderful parents-in-law gave the grandchildren such a great present: fleecy photo blankets. I happened to have taken this photo of the three granddaughters in the fall, and it was perfect for all of them.

And might I say the colors work perfectly in Hannah's room?? Thanks for wearing that pink and white top, Kate!

The boys each got a blanket with a football action photo on it; it's fun to see these photos larger than life!

The images aren't exactly sharp, but the colors are really saturated.

This one is my baby....there's something so stinkin cute about that face inside a football helmet, I can't even stand it! {Okay he's 9....but he's still my baby.}

I'm sure the blankets will migrate down to the finished basement (which is getting carpeted this week!!)...they're perfect for snuggling up on the couch to watch a movie. Bonus: no one is fighting over which blanket is theirs.

Aren't they a fun gift??

I already know what the kids are giving my mother for her birthday!

{Photo blankets can be found on all the online photo sites like Snapfish. My kids' blankets are from this site; make sure to search for discounts online before ordering.}

Are you ready to link up a Before project tomorrow??

I'm blown away by January's accomplishments and am looking forward to being inspired by you once again! In the weeks between the Before and After link parties I will be featuring some of your fabulous projects.

See you tomorrow!

Board and Batten Resources and Tips

2012-02-01T10:23:00.002-05:00

Okay long time readers (all three of you!) I know this topic is going to make you dry heave, but I must bring up the foyer board and batten project one last time. I promise, after this I will ZIP IT about this project! You will never hear me say FOYER BOARD AND BATTEN again! Foyer board and batten foyer board and batten foyer board and batten foyer board and batten okay it's out of my system.

{Wait, before we proceed, do you need a laugh? Take a moment to appreciate the historic scene that quite possibly made ZIP IT the most popular phrase of American culture. (it's a bit inappropriate and I have a juvenile sense of humor, I know. But man it's funny! And you've got to get a good laugh in every day, my friend.}

I promised a tutorial of sorts to interested parties two or three months ago, but the truth of the matter is that I learned as I went and flubbed my way through, so I'll leave the tutorials to more experienced carpenters, and will offer you some helpful hints.

Installing B&B in the foyer, where there were no angled cuts, was SO easy, I felt like Wonder Woman after Day 1! Day 1 was the best day ever!!

{via}

On Day 2 I decided to install B&B on the stairs, where my confidence evaporated about one hour, lots of wrong cuts and some angry berating of my saw later (it was the saw's fault). Day 2 was easily the most frustrating day in existence!!

Moral: with very little carpentry experience, you can install board and batten to a room without any angled cuts. However, installing any kind of wainscoting on the walls of a stairwell is more complicated and if you don't have a lot of carpentry experience, ask someone who does to help you.

Here are some resources to get you started, along with a few tricks I learned in the process.

First of all, READ. Read every tutorial you can and bookmark them! I highly recommend these tutorials.

BASIC BOARD AND BATTEN INSTALLATION

Pretty Handy Girl's Board and Batten Tutorial

Centsational Girl's Basic Board and Batten Tutorial

INSTALLING BOARD AND BATTEN TO A STAIRCASE

Thrifty Decor Chick's Staircase Board and Batten Tutorial

This Old House's Wainscoting on Stairs Article

Ask the Builder Stair Trim Molding Article

Next up, get the right tools. You can use a saw and miter box if you don't have an electric saw, but you may want to consider buying, renting or borrowing the real deal.

{Sears}

If you are installing on stairs, PLEASE, I beg of you, get yourself a sliding T-bevel square to figure the degrees of your cuts (see This Old House link above for more details).

{Sears}

This $6 tool will save you tons of aggravation from cutting a piece, nailing it up and then finding yourself ripping it off the wall when you realize the angle is off. Uh, hello, inexperience??

Check for level!! The last thing you want to do is nail a board into place only to find out it's crooked. I was a total dork with the level; I checked every piece before I nailed it.

Refresh yourself on the rules of geometry. If two pieces of the same width trim piece are cut at different angles, the angled cuts will be different lengths. {Mr. Walsh, I'm sorry I didn't pay more attention in ninth grade math class!}

I recommend making templates of tricky angles with scraps before cutting your actual boards.

Cut each board as you go. This is my husband's rule of thumb; I did it my way and had to admit he was right! {I am lazy and the saw was all the way through the kitchen, down the stairs and in the garage. Makes for a lot of trips back and forth.} Turns out the wall is off just a bit so when I cut all the vertical boards to the same length, I ended up with a couple that were off up to 1/4". I had to reuse those boards elsewhere and cut new boards for this wall.
Honey, you were right and I was wrong!

Take your time. I was so excited to be done with the B&B on the stairs that I excitedly nailed up the last board and then discovered....

....seriously, Lisa? I shot a nail through the trim at an angle and it came through the wall. *huge sigh*

{To pull this nail out would have damaged the trim, so I put the tip of a flathead screwdriver across the nail and then hit the top of the screwdriver with a hammer to bend the nail into the wall. After caulking you can't even tell it's there.}

Caulk and wood filler are your best friends! For those little tiny cracks between pieces of moulding, use a paintbrush to push the caulk in there nice and smooth. It's truly amazing the difference caulking makes to the end result. Don't skip it.

Dress appropriately. Pajamas are required for board and batten projects. Also, beg, borrow or plead to get your hands on a compressor & nail gun - it will make the job go so much quicker!

There are so many different ways you can trim out board and batten. In a model home we had seen beautiful board and batten with a little piece of trim just on the top of the baseboard, in between the battens. The effect was simple but custom, and I copied the look in our own home. You can cap off the top with a ledge, or not, trim out inside the batten boxes, or not, it's up to you. Check out my Wainscoting and Molding Pinterest board for style inspirations and ideas. I really like having a ledge to lean artwork on, plus I think a little trim really finished off the look.

I studied lots of trim and angled cuts of photos on the internet, and this helped tremendously. If you have any questions or want to see how I made certain cuts, email me and I'll try to help! Good luck!

Mark your calendars to link up a project Before this Friday, February 3! To read all about the Before and After Link Parties, go here :)

Room Evolutions

2012-01-31T11:01:00.002-05:00

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
-William Morris

Today marks the first Room Evolutions party at Jenny's fabulous blog, Evolution of Style!

We have been working on this house non-stop since we moved here eighteen months ago so it would stand to reason that even one room might be completed, right? Especially since we've owned three other houses before, and came into this one with lots of furniture and belongings! Well, I've come to the conclusion that evolution doesn't happen overnight.

Mark and I took our most recent move as an opportunity to make our home feel more like US. Our previous homes had somehow come together as traditional spaces; perhaps the result of young parents feeling the need to be "grown ups"? But as we aged along with our kids, we realized that while we like traditional style, our house didn't feel like it represented the family that lived there. So we sold our formal dining room set. Our heavy drapes stayed with the last house. Instead of going for "traditional" or "contemporary" or "country" we instead purposefully decided that we'd take our time creating a vibe that felt good to us.

About a year into trying to pull together what works for us and feels good for our family, I read this post by Darlene at Fieldstone Hill and it nailed exactly what we'd been trying to accomplish in this house! Darlene encourages you to identify your personal style with adjectives and descriptive words about how you want your home to feel, how you want your home to look and the purpose(s) you want your home to serve. These are some of the words that we want our house to reflect:

Casual

Comfortable

Pulled together

Meaningful
Pretty

Organized

Welcoming

Character

Homey

The idea to is to identify what you want out of your home, and then use this as a springboard for pulling it all together. Every design choice or purchase that we make should reflect something on our list. And the key to all of this, I've come to find, is something I don't possess a lot of: patience. Making this home cozy and meaningful and organized is a process. But if the end result is a home that we love, that we created with intention and thought, then it'll be worth it.

For Jenny's first Room Evolution party, I thought I'd share the evolution of our foyer - before, now and someday. Like all the other rooms, it is slowly but surely evolving into our vision!

Here's the foyer at our home inspection, July 2010.

Fall 2011: the treads and rails went dark and all the trim white, and board and batten was added to the stairwell and foyer walls.

{The board and batten project deets.}

Why the dark stain on the stairs?

Eventually we will replace the ugly 80s tile with medium-toned hardwood floors to match the rest of the house. After stripping the treads I discovered that they were badly stained from the previous owner's pets. Our options were to either replace them or stain them dark, like this gorgeous photo that shows dark treads and rails contrasted by medium wood tone floors.

{We also love all the molding and woodwork in this inspiration photo!}

{Boston Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors}

Someday....
Way off in the distant future we'll replace the foyer and kitchen floors with hardwood to match the other rooms on this floor. This year we'd like to install a natural runner on the stairs.

{Southern Living}

{Atlanta Architect Castro Design Studio}

I love how a natural runner adds some warm tones to balance all the black and white.

{Landry & Arcari)

This year I am also planning to move the doorbell box or replace it with a wireless system, and add crown molding. I absolutely love this ledge for leaning artwork but I think we need something a little more interesting than the haphazardly placed S. I see a lot of Pinterest in my future!

Thanks for checking out my foyer and be sure to visit Evolution of Style's Room Evolutions Party today!

Also, this Friday, February 3 is the BEFORE LINK UP for February's Before & After Parties! I can't wait to see what projects or goals you have for yourself this month!

**Edited to add:
After publishing this post, I came across a wonderful party at Pancakes and French Fries that coincidentally is an ode to the quote above by William Morris, and invites you to link up a post of how you are decorating your home with intention. A perfect fit for my philosophy for our new home! I am delighted to find this lovely blog. Be sure to check it out.

Mangia Mondays:: January Features

2012-01-30T10:59:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Mangia Mondays, the weekly blog hop that I humbly co-host with the absolutely radiant Kristin of Delightfully Dowling!

A couple of fun announcements before we get rocking:
I'm currently giving away a copy of The New Boston Globe Cookbook - pop over here to enter! The giveaway ends Tuesday, February 7.

Second, I love to highlight all the culinary talent out there, and have featured some of your Mangia Mondays recipes in fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants fashion for the past 9 months. With a new year I'd say a little organization is in order around here, don't you? From now on the last Monday of each month I'll highlight some of some great posts that caught my eye at Mangia Mondays that month, starting with today! {Be sure to grab a button if you've been featured!}

January Features

There's nothing like a good bowl of soup on a cold winter's day, is there?

Wellness Hammock shared a recipe for Hearty Hamburger Soup that sounds SO satisfying.

I'm sweet on Sweet Morning's Sweet Potato Soup recipe. Don't even get me started on how much I love my beta-carotene spuds!

My friend Sandy at c'est Moi linked up her French Onion Soup. This is one soup I love but have never made - I can't wait to try it. Thanks Sandy!

If you're looking for some Valentine's recipes, how cute would Mrs. Happy Homemaker's Heart-Shaped Pepperoni Pizza be for your lovies? So clever and fun!

Are you craving summertime? Check out this beautiful and tasty Spinach Salad with Fresh Berries, Candied Almonds and Raspberry Vinaigrette from The Blest Nest. The next time I see berries on sale at my grocery store I'm all over this!

Imagine...It's Easy If You Try shared her Homemade Applesauce, both cinnamon and cranberry. Have you ever looked at how much sugar is in jarred applesauce, a staple of my children's diet?? I've got to try this homemade version!

I thought I didn't like cauliflower until I tried a roasted version recently, and mmmmmm, was it good! Check out the recipe shared by Meg's Everyday Indulgence for Roasted Cauliflower......go on, give it a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you've never had cauliflower this way!

My mouth was watering just looking at this picture of Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto and Lemon Pepper Pasta (try saying that three times fast!!) from Cook Lisa Cook. Don't you love when you use what you have in the house and it comes together as a fantastic meal?

Just Call Me Maria linked up her Rainbow Swirl Sugar Cookies - I've already bookmarked this recipe to make with my kids over February Vacation. How fun!

Last but not least - how about some sweets for your sweeties? Life Is Sweets shared these adorable Hershey Kiss Cutie Pies that I am definitely going to make for a Valentine's surprise for my kiddos - wait until you see how easy they are!

WOW - there are some chef extraordinaires out there! You never cease to amaze me with your creative and delicious recipes. Thank you to everyone who has linked up to Mangia Mondays this month!

Please be sure to link back to Mangia Mondays either at Delightfully Dowling or here to be featured in the future. There were a few recipes that I would have liked to feature but didn't link back to the party.

Link on up your recipes, kitchen tips and tricks, restaurant reviews - anything food related will do!

Happy day, all!

January AFTER Linky Party!

2012-01-27T09:18:00.000-05:00

Hello my friends and welcome to the first After Party in the monthly Before-and-After series!

I can't wait to see what you've accomplished this month! Even if your current project isn't quite complete, feel free to link up how your project has progressed.

With a stomach bug taking up residence in my house this month, I finished up my goal just in the nick of time: making over my daughter Hannah's closet. After the bi-fold doors broke off their runners, we took them off and decided to try an open closet concept. The previous owners had already installed a great built-in shelving unit - I just needed to make it functional for an 11 year old who is caught in the middle of being a little girl who plays with dolls and a tweenager who plays with makeup :)

This is the color scheme we went with when we moved here last year.....a cheerful blue {Ben Moore Splash 2059-60} that I tried to temper with lots of white, and just a pop of lime green and hot pink.

Enter the closet project.

When my Hannie Pannie asked for hot pink in her closet, how could I say no, when I see my baby girl growing up before my very eyes? There's plenty of time for sophisticated in the years to come....right now I'm all about embracing this age of silliness and fun.

And oh, how painting this closet brought me back to my childhood room, coming home from school to find my mother and aunt transforming it for me - for me! I had shared a room with my brother but when mom decided it was time for us to have separate rooms - ages 4 & 5? 5 & 6? - he joined my other two brothers and I got a room all to myself. I'm sure mom thought I'd be delighted, and the boys thought I was so lucky - there I was with a whole room to myself while the three boys were all smooshed in another - but I could hear them laughing at night through the wall and I was oh so lonely. So on a tiny little budget my sweet mom made that room of mine into a little girl's dream and I learned to love it and enjoy having my own space. Now I see my daughter read, do homework and write stories in solitude, and play, dance and laugh with her friends in this room like I did once upon a time in mine, and I want this to be a happy place for her, in this beautifully uncomplicated and simple time of her life called eleven.

If a color palette will elicit a little joy, then why not? So my kids' bedrooms look like Candyland!! The closet had to be painted anyway. So here we are - and I have to say - I love it, and so does Hannah!

We found a place for arts and crafts (storage made out of wine boxes....more on that later!).

A spot for the week's outfits, to make getting ready for school just a bit quicker.

{The clean laundry is woefully low since Mom has been busy doing projects. Will there be clean laundry in Hannah's future? The Eight Ball predicts, It Is Decidedly So}

A little nook for the thousands of lotions, nailpolishes, and hair bands my girl has accumulated, with a couple of paper lanterns for light.

We purged this closet, and I hope having an open closet will help us to do it more frequently. Those grey Fuggs have seen better days but she won't part with them!

Now how could a girl that lives in this room possibly have a moody adolescence? Right??? I'm all about a little color therapy to battle the impending hormones.

Hannah loves her closet makeover and I hope having it look so nice and tidy will encourage her to take of her things and stay organized, but more than anything, I hope that when she grows up she fondly remembers this room and her crazy hot pink closet.

Now what about YOU?? Do share! I'm dying to see your projects!

If you're linking up a blog post, please add the Before & After button or a link to Shine Your Light so your readers can find the party.

The next BEFORE party is next Friday, February 3 and I'm looking forward to see what you have in mind for your next project. Before you leave, don't forget to enter the giveaway!

And thank you for joining me for the first Before & After here - I'm so happy to have you over!

After Party Reminder!

2012-01-26T21:54:00.000-05:00

One last reminder that tomorrow, Friday the 27th, is the After Party over here!

SO many great Befores were linked up this month - I honestly can't wait to see how your projects have progressed!!!

If you didn't link up a "before", you are still more than welcome to share your before & afters at tomorrow's linky party! It's always fun to see where you began so be sure to share a before photo or idea if you can. If you're not finished with your project, give us an update! Some projects certainly take more than a few short weeks! I'm finishing up by the skin of my teeth - remember where I started?

The before and afters linked up each month can be DIY projects, home organization, a personal goal you are aiming for - just about anything! The whole idea is to share a project that you want to accomplish, and then go after it! Befores are linked up the first Friday of each month and the Afters on the last Friday.

Keep in mind that the next Before Linky Party will take place next Friday, February 3, and you can either link up a blog post or share an idea in comments, then return at the end of the month to show how your project progressed.

Tomorrow's party will be up and running by 9am EST, if my kids get on the bus as planned :) See you then!

A Thank You and a Giveaway

2012-01-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hi friends, how about a fun little giveaway?

Let's say it's in honor of the Patriots making it into the Superbowl and Chinese New Year, but it's really because I feel so grateful for all of you wonderful readers that make this blog such a fun place for me. From the friends and acquaintances in my community who heard about Shine Your Light from a friend, to best friends who comment anonymously or send me messages on facebook, to all of you that I've never met in real life but weigh in on and support all my crazy notions, I so appreciate connecting with all of you via blogging. Writing this blog and you have made moving and fixing up the Peach Pit oh so much fun! So, thank you, my friends.

The giveaway:
The New Boston Globe Cookbook
It has lots of great recipes (especially the clam chowda!) and a glimpse into life in my fair city.

via

To enter, how about we mix things up a bit?

A post written by my lovely friend Suzanne of Privet and Holly reminded me of a Chinese New Year dinner party I went to once where the hosts handed out the meaning of Chinese Zodiac Signs {isn't that a fun idea for a party?} I thought you might enjoy reading them today. I'm a Pig/Boar and had to laugh at "doesn't handle money well" - yep, that hits the mark!

So what sign are you? Enter the giveaway by

telling me what your Chinese sign is!

{Be sure to leave your email address if your comment is not linked to one!}

For a second entry,
subscribe to emails or follow Shine Your Light {see boxes in sidebar}
(Google Friend Connect is going away - we'll have to figure that one out together.)

Chinese Zodiac Signs

Dragon

1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012

Powerful and aristocratic, you expect to be adored and you expect the very best. You are passionate, proud and complex.

Snake

1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001

A mystic and philosopher, the snake is born with intuitive wisdom. You are strong willed and intense, and known for your sense of style.

Horse

1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002

Cheerful, popular and quick witted, the horse is known for an adventurous spirit. You enjoy the company of others and are a hard worker.

Ram/Sheep/Goat

1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003

You are compassionate, kind and forgiving, though you may be sensitive to criticism. The Ram (or Goat or Sheep) is likely to be artistic and talented, as well as a private person.

Monkey

1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004

Clever, playful and resourceful, monkeys can solve problems with compromise and negotiation. You strive to excel and are very persuasive.

Rooster

1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005

Roosters love the lime light but are also tidy, well organized and direct. While you may like to be right, you are usually not quick to anger.

Dog

1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006

Animated dogs draw people to them easily and are generous, loyal friends. The dog works well with others.

Pig/Boar

1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

The Pig or Boar is honest, courageous and proud, has a love of learning and detests fighting. Though you have a taste for indulgence and luxury, you don't always handle money well.

Mouse/Rat

1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008

Rats are known to be hardworking and ambitious. The recipients of your generosity know your secret - you give to those you truly love.

1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009

The Ox is strong and determined, a natural leader. A tireless worker, you are admired for your fair mind and ability to listen.

Tiger

1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010

Dynamic and dramatic, tigers are filled with passion, daring and courage. Your spontaneity and liveliness stimulate others.

Rabbit/Hare

1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011

You personify grace and elegance, with gentle speech and natural diplomacy. The Rabbit or Hare is intelligent, calm, affectionate and a seeker of tranquility.

The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, February 7.
Good luck and thanks for following along on this ride!

***Don't forget to link up your AFTERS this Friday, January 27th! I can't wait to see how your projects are coming along or your big reveal!***
For more information on the monthly Before & After parties, click here.

xo

Mangia Mondays:: Happy Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T11:16:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Mangia Mondays, the foodie blog hop I co-host with the glowing
Kristin of Delightfully Dowling!

First up, the Pats are Superbowl-bound!
Woohoo! While I'm the kind of football fan that likes to pop in and out to catch highlights of a game whilst doing things around the house, I happen to live with three crazy football-obsessed males who scream and yell and pace and eat and yell some more while the Patriots are playing (the very reason I can't stay in the room and watch the game!) Needless to say, yesterday was a happy day at my house! Since I'm all about the food, I'm fired up to start thinking about Superbowl Sunday delights.

In other fun news, today marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year.
2012 is The Year of the Dragon!

Okay, so we happen to be Irish and Italian in this house, but don't think that's going to stop me from making something marginally Chinese for dinner tonight and setting the table with these:

Mark brought these chopsticks home from a business trip to China. I'm sure they are a dime a dozen there, but they are too pretty and fun to not use once in a while!

For dinner tonight, we'll have marinated, grilled pork tenderloin along with a batch of homemade vegetable fried rice. Our favorite store-bought marinade is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki.

I first read about Soy Vay on a blog a year or two ago and now it's a staple in our house as a pork tenderloin marinade. I am not being paid to tell you about this - we just really enjoy Soy Vay products (a bonus: they're all natural); you can find them in the International section of your grocery store. The teriyaki sauce is also delish on steak tips.

Have you ever made Chinese fried rice at home? Oh so easy and fun to eat with chop sticks! The best part of homemade is that you can control not only the seasonings (as in, no MSG) but also the veggies that go into it. Throw in whatever veggies you have leftover from last night!

The trick is to make the rice ahead of time and allow to cool before adding to other ingredients.
I am sorry I don't have pictures today, but trust me, this is yummy!

Vegetable Fried Rice
4 cups water
2 cup white rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper

1 medium-sized onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced
6 oz. frozen vegetable medley (corn, peas, carrots)
2 green onions, diced (optional)
Soy Sauce

Bring water to a boil. Add rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and olive oil and return to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil again, stir, turn the heat down to low, cover pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Transfer to bowl and allow to cool.

Combine eggs with salt and pepper to taste. Place saute pan over medium heat and lightly swirl with olive oil. When oil shimmers, add eggs and cook through. Transfer to cutting board and chop.

In same saute pan, lightly swirl olive oil again and add diced onion. Cook 2 minutes over medium heat; add minced garlice and saute one minute. Add corn, peas, carrots and green onion, if using. Stir to combine and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and eggs and serve.

Are you making anything fun for the Chinese New Year? If you have a recipe or anything else cooking-or-eating related to share, you are welcome to link up below or share in comments!

Visit tomorrow for a fun cookbook giveaway (at long last!)

Before & After Friday Feature:: Jane's New Kitchen

2012-01-20T08:56:00.001-05:00

I thought it would fun to feature before and after stories on the Fridays between the Before Party (first Friday of every month) and the After Party (last Friday of every month). I can't wait to highlight some of your awesome projects - I noticed that a few of you have already accomplished your missions!
The January After Party will be held next Friday the 27th so mark your calendars.

Also, did you hear about the new monthly series hosted by Jenny at Evolution of Style? The first one will be January 31 and you're invited to link up how any of your rooms have evolved!

For those of you who desire an enormous renovation in your home but feel like the day will never come, take heart. Today I have an inspiring kitchen reno to share with you from my friend Jane. After dreaming and planning about it for years, Jane and her husband finally saw the vision for their kitchen come to life. Jane was the general contractor for this project which in and of itself is huge. I especially love this project because Jane had a similar kitchen/dining room layout to what I have now, and knocked down the wall between the two rooms like we would like to do someday.

Here is Jane's kitchen before:

during...

and after!

One of Jane's favorite new features is the bumped out window over the sink. I love the wood floors, the backsplash and the mantle on the hood over the stove! Great job making this all come together after lots of planning, Jane. Your new kitchen is beautiful.

Seeing this before and after makes me so excited for the day when we can bring the vision for our own kitchen to reality. Half the fun is the dreaming, right??

Unsticking Photos From Glass

2012-01-19T10:51:00.001-05:00

First up, thanks so much for all your enthusiastic comments about Hannah's cRaZy closet color yesterday! It's certainly a fun project to work on in the middle of winter, that's for sure!

You may know that I once had a little picture framing business, and since I get asked how-to questions by friends in real life, I thought I'd share some tips of the trade with you as well. This one is an issue I have tackled in my own house: unsticking photos from the glass inside a frame.

Photos stick to glass when moisture pokes it's nasty little head into the frame, causing the print emulsion to adhere to the glass. This is common in areas of high humidity, like bathrooms, but it can happen anywhere in your house due to temperature changes throughout the year or even from cleaning the glass.
To avoid photos from sticking to the glass in the first place:
do not spray cleaning solution directly onto a framed picture; instead, spray your rag and then wipe,
and if possible,
mat photos when framing so the photo doesn't come in direct contact with the glass.

Before taking any action to remove the picture, consider how old the photo is.
If it is one of a kind and precious, bring the into a photo lab and have it professionally removed.
Labs sometimes use a product called Photoflo that helps loosen the photo from the glass, and the technicians are trained to handle your photo safely.

If you want to try to remove the photo yourself, make sure you have a backup copy.
If I don't have a digitial file, I use the Kodak Picture Maker at Target and find it makes a great copy. This is cheaper than going to a photo shop and I have been very happy with the quality; in fact I have an entire wall of old black and white photos in my living room that were all copied at Target (more on framing copies versus originals in a later post!)

Please note that I have used the following method on photos produced in the 1960s to today, but I can't guarantee that it will won't damage your photos, so don't hold me liable if this doesn't work for you. That being said, I have never ruined a photo using this method. :)

Can you see the white spots on the bottom of the picture? That's where it's stuck to the glass and if I pull it, the photo will rip, and the glass with still have the emulsion stuck to it.
(never mind how dirty that glass is! This picture was on the counter in our bathroom and apparently some product came it's way!)

In a pan of lukewarm water, place the photo and glass, making sure the photo is completely immersed. Placing the photo facing up would be fine too. Check the photo in an hour. Some photos may soak off quickly, but if you get any resistance to the photo coming off the glass, put it back into the water. The shorter you keep the photo in water the better; some photos may break down over an extended period.

That being said, this photo is about 8 years old and I ended up soaking it for 5 days! I checked it a couple times a day and it just wasn't budging, but on the last day it just came right off the glass and there was no damage to the photo.

After removing the photo from the glass, prop it up on your counter and let dry for an hour or so.

Don't rub or pat the water off of it or you'll damage the finish of the photo.

After the water has evaporated from the surface of the photo, it will still be damp. Place it in between the pages of a heavy book for a day to make sure it doesn't curl.

Now the photo is free and the glass in the frame is usable again!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful if you have this sticky problem too!

I'm linking up this tutorial to these great parties - come join!

Just A Girl

Come On Let's All Get Happy

2012-01-18T14:57:00.000-05:00

How to chase away the winter doldrums.......

paint something Springtime Bloom!

Who would have ever guessed I'd have a color like this in my house? Not me, but holymackalandy it's happy, and I'm not sure my girl-who-hates-to-get-out-of-bed-for-school is going to be able to be cranky in this room ever again!

The shock of all the hot-pinkness will probably wear off when we fill those shelves, but in the meantime Hannah and I are enjoying a bit of Springtime Bloom to brighten up our gray January days! (Mark, on the other hand, asked me if I bumped my head on the way to the paint store.)

Although I was skeptical on Hannah's closet color choice, I have to admit I'm loving it next to the blue of her walls!

Only nine days to wrap this project up for the After party on the 27th. Can't wait to see what you've all been up to! I hope whatever it is makes you happy, even if it doesn't involve hot pink :)

Basement Progress

2012-01-17T10:18:00.001-05:00

Our basement is moving right along and I don't know if I've ever been more excited about a house project!

We love our new house, especially the yard and the neighborhood, and feel blessed to call this place home, but we have missed having a big space to entertain in.

On Sunday night we had our family over for dinner and it really hit home how tight our cozy family room is when there are more than five people in it.

We are really looking forward to the open space in our basement not only for the kids and their friends to hang out, but also for movie night for our family and Patriots and Red Sox games with a crowd!

{Speaking of movies and baseball, has anyone seen the baseball movie Moneyball? We watched it last night. Beware of some profanity with younger viewers, but otherwise a really good movie about the statistics of baseball.....with the bonus eyecandy of Brad Pitt!}

Back to the basement reno.....I traded the solid door that leads into the basement with an extra French door that came with the house, and I love it there! The basement already feels more like a part of the house. A new chunkier railing will be installed. (See the deadbolts on both doors? They are everywhere in this house - including all the bedroom doors. So strange!)

The walls are all primed and about to get painted, and then the doors and trim will be hung and painted. Those lally columns you see in the middle of the room will be boxed out and painted white. They will divide the room up into a TV area and a play area.

I was going to paint the stairs like I did in the garage, but we decided it would be quieter to have them carpeted, along with the rest of the basement.

The basement doesn't look so pretty quite yet, but it really has come so far, and in just a few weeks' time it will all be done!

How are your January projects all coming along? I'm about halfway through Hannah's closet makeover!
Don't forget to link up your project afters on Friday, January 27th - I can't wait to see them!

Happy Tuesday my friends.

Mangia Mondays:: Five Minute Crazy Fun Shaken Ice Cream!

2012-01-16T10:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day my friends,
and welcome to Mangia Mondays, the foodie blog hop I co host each week with the lovely mama-to-be, Kristin of Delightfully Dowling!

After posting a recipe for homemade ice cream using an ice cream maker last week (along with a very naughty but deeelish hot fudge sauce!) it was brought to my attention by some younguns in my house that I never shared with you a very fun ice cream method my kiddos tried this fall.

It's a science experiment and snack all in one and it's perfect for a day off from school or a playdate.

If you have littles in your house you MUST try this - it's just so stinkin' funny!!!

First of all gather your ice cream making volunteers. For this adventure we have Sean, Hannah and our friend Emma who lives down the road. Emma is such a cutie and doesn't even think it's weird that Mrs. Scibilia takes pictures of food all the time.

Now gather your ingredients - these quantities are per person:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
various toppings/mix-ins as desired

For each person, you will also need:
1/2 cup salt (kosher or rock salt work best, but table salt will work too)
1 gallon ziplock baggie
1 sandwich-sized ziplock baggie
a whole lot of ice cubes
a pillow case

Fill each gallon sized baggie halfway with ice. Add salt.
In the sandwich sized baggie, place the ice cream ingredients: sugar, half-and-half and vanilla (I placed the little bags in a bowl and let the kids pour in their own ingredients).

Press out any air in the baggie, seal tightly and place into the bigger bag. Seal that baggie up nice and tight as well and place the whole thing into a pillow case.

Put some crazy music on (this is required!)

Set a timer for 5 minutes.....

...then jump around and shake like crazy!! Show us your moves!

When the timer goes off, take the smaller baggie out and rinse the salt off the outside
(if you don't do this, some salt inevitably ends up on your ice cream - blech.)

Scoop out into a dish and add toppings if desired. The ice cream will be soft and we recommend that you eat it quickly because it melts really fast

(but tastes yummy nonetheless - with cream, sugar and vanilla how could it not??)

Why does this method work? Check out this well-said explanation from Steve Spangler Science.

Isn't that fun?? AND your kids think that you're the best mom ever - bonus!!

Now what do you have for us today? Share any recipes, kitchen tips and tricks, or great restaurants by linking up below or commenting. Thanks so much for visiting today!

Guest Posting at Saved By Suzy

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday friends!

Today I'm over at Saved By Suzy chatting about my mudroom makeover - come on by!

I'm so glad to have become friends with Suzy through blogging - she's so sweet and encouraging in addition to being a constant source of inspiration for creative projects around the house. Be sure to check out her furniture makeovers - this girl breathes new life into old pieces! This little table is one of my favorites - look at the color on those gorgeous legs. Oh so pretty!

Suzy also hosts a weekly linky party on Thursdays - be sure to visit for tons of home project ideas!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. weekend everyone! Hope it's filled with relaxation and laughter.

Hannah's Crazy Closet Color

2012-01-12T11:23:00.000-05:00

I just picked up the paint for our basement {so exciting!}
and also for the makeover I am giving to Hannah's closet {what did I do??}

You may think I've fallen off my rocker when you see this one.

Remember what my little lovebug's room looks like?
A cheerful turquoise blue with lots of white, accented with little touches of hot pink and lime green.

We took off the closet doors because they broke off their runner, and since the previous owners had installed really nice shelving inside, I decided to paint and organize it so it could be a pretty and functional part of her room. I'm hoping to accomplish this by the end of January and share it with you at the After party on the 27th! {How are your January projects coming along by the way?}

While I was cleaning this closet out, I decided to tackle all my kids' closets and made a trip to Goodwill yesterday with lots of plastic bags in tow. Does anyone else love purging?

Now I'm ready to prime and paint this closet and organize all of Hannah's arts and crafts, hair and beauty supplies (the girl loves nailpolish and lotions!)

I made the mortal mistake of consulting her on the color choice for the closet, and now I am freaking out a bit about the can of paint sitting in front of me.

I'm all about letting my kids have a say about their rooms.

I am glad to give them a space that they love, a retreat from the rest of the world in which to sleep, play with friends, do homework, and dream.

And I have the rest of the house to play with my neutral color scheme,

so bold colors in their rooms are okay with me.

But,

....

this?

Oh, dear.

2012 House Goals

2012-01-11T00:28:00.008-05:00

Goals. They're good. They help us get from A to B, focus on what we want, and give us a great big feeling of accomplishment when we get there.

My big problem is that I always have too many goals, especially when it comes to our humble abode and my eager-beaverness to tackle any DIY project. This year's big project at our newish-to-us fixer-upper house is already underway - having our basement finished into a brand new family-friendly space. While we are SO excited to see this plan come to fruition, it does eat up a huge part of our 2012 home-improvement budget - along with the un-fun money sucking necessity of replacing our drafty windows this year.

Despite the fact that we have these big-ticket items on our home improvement list this year, I have a few DIY fun projects that I am looking forward to accomplishing. A quick list of projects big and small that I'd like to pull off around our house resulted in 36 items - how many do you think will be crossed off the to-do list come next January 1? :)

Installing a sisal or jute runner on our foyer stairs is high on my list of 2012 goals.

The stairs are LOUD without a runner, and we both love the look of the dark-stained treads contrasted with a warm toned, natural material like these:

Source: Landry & Arcari

Since I got my feet wet with the foyer board & batten, I'm fired up to install it in both my boys' bedrooms.

It's a classic look we think adds a lot of character to a house and I especially love millwork in bedrooms. Yummy.

I also fancy myself building an entire wall of bookcases in our living room. A big, big item on my dream house list has always been a library, so why not????

{This item might be a bit ambitious considering that so far I've accomplished ONE carpentry project all by myself, but we'll see! I may "let" Mark help me with this one. Or maybe Mandi will miraculously appear and bust out a bookcase for me? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?}

Lets stop chitchatting about and do something about the fireplace surround this year also! I mean seriously, how many pictures of fireplaces can I possibly pin??

We don't love the surround right now and have been hemming and hawing about how to proceed for the past 16 months. We both like painted wooden paneling above a mantle, but our TV may or may not find a home there. Hmmmmm. This one is perplexing.

I think I might actually accomplish this one: I made a really easy DIY roman shade that I have yet to share with you, and I'm hoping to make a few more for the kitchen and the basement. Here's a sneak peek at the one for my kids' bathroom, in progress.

Aaaaand last, but not least, I must pull together our master bedroom. This is about all I can show you of it, because our bedroom is also my husband's office and the room is jam-packed with furniture and laundry baskets and books and stuff, and would seriously disturb your delicate sensibilities.

I picked the wallcolor from those pretty pink pillows I won from Isabella & Max (thanks Janell!), but after that I stalled out with this room. Since this picture was taken last summer, I did manage to recover that headboard, but that's about it.

{How lonely does that one big pillow look in the middle??}

So what do you think of my goals - am I nuts?

I think they are all relatively attainable with the exception of the built-in bookcase - but you always have to have a goal to stretch for!

You'll be seeing some of these projects at the Before & After Parties this year {join me one the first Friday of the month to link up your Befores, and the last Friday of the month to link up your project After!} Let's hope at least a couple of my goal projects make it to an After Party this year!

Are you a goal-maker? Do you write them down and ceremoniously cross them off when they are complete?? I LOVE that part!

I'm linking up my 2012 House Goals to Nesting Place today, and hope you'll join me there to motivate for the year ahead!

Mangia Mondays:: Homemade Ice Cream and Fudge Sauce

2012-01-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning and welcome to Mangia Mondays, the blog-hop I co-host with the lovely Kristin of Delightfully Dowling fame! Each week you are invited to share in comments or link up a recipe, a favorite restaurant in your area, kitchen tips, or anything else food related! I am constantly inspired by what is linked up each week - in fact, most of the foods I made over Christmas and New Year's were recipes found on blogs.

Speaking of Christmas, Santa brought my 11 year old daughter, Hannah, an ice cream maker this year!
{This one actually attaches to our KitchenAid stand mixer.}

We are a huge ice cream-eating family and couldn't wait to try this out. It's so fun for the kids, and they don't need to know that my ulterior motive is to learn to make some lower-fat versions of a treat we all love in this house.

We are all about the big Sunday dinner, since we don't always get to sit down as a family during the week.
What to have for Sunday dinner is discussed over the course of the week and everyone looks forward to a good hearty meal and some kind of yummy dessert. For yesterday's dessert, Hannah whipped up her first batch of chocolate ice cream, along with homemade fudge sauce (sundaes for Sunday!!)

Okay, I know it's the beginning of a new year and we are all trying to cut down on the sugar and be more healthy....but every once in a while it's just necessary to indulge. And if you're going to enjoy a decadent treat, you might as well make those calories worth it!

{You don't have an ice cream maker to make this recipe at home.}

Adapted from allrecipes
Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine sugar, milk, salt, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer.
Place the egg yolks into a small bowl. Gradually stir in about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid and return to the saucepan. Heat until thickened, but do not boil. Remove from the heat, and stir in the chopped chocolate until chocolate is melted.
Pour into container with tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until cold.
Stir in the cream and vanilla. Place in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight, until firm.

{A note about our new KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment:
What this attachment does is make soft-serve ice cream. The bowl is placed in the freezer for at least 15 hours. To make the ice cream, you mix up your batter (all the ingredients) and then pour it into the chilled bowl and set the mixer on "stir" for 20-30 minutes. The cold bowl turns the batter into iced cream. Ah-ha! For hard ice cream, this step can be skipped and the batter placed right into the freezer in a airtight container until hardened.}

While you're at it, you might as well whip up a batch of this......

From The New Boston Globe Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used semi-sweet chips)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the cocoa and mix until smooth. Stir in the chocolate, sugar and evaporated milk.
Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.
Use hot or transfer to a plastic container and refrigerate. Reheat over medium-low heat until liquid and
hot again. (I microwave a couple tablespoons of fudge sauce for 20 seconds.)
Makes 2 cups.

This week I'll be giving away a copy of the cookbook this Hot Fudge Sauce came from -
The New Boston Globe Cookbook!
Keep your eye out for details.

Now show us what you've got! Link up below or share in comments!
Have a wonderful day everyone and thanks for visiting!

A Song For Your Saturday

2012-01-07T11:41:00.001-05:00

Hello lovelies!
I am SO thrilled to the response of my new Before & After parties yesterday! So many of you linked up and I can't wait to see the afters of all these great projects. If you would still like to link up to the Before party it will be open all week.

If you didn't post a "Before" of a project you are working on, please feel free to link up to the After party on Friday, January 27!

I was cleaning up my blog this morning and added the Van Morrison song that inspired my blog title almost two years ago to my Welcome page. It's one of my faves and I thought you might enjoy it while cleaning your house or relaxing this Saturday morning!

Enjoy!

January BEFORE Linky Party!

2012-01-06T00:00:00.002-05:00

I am so happy to welcome you to the first "Before" party, part of a new series I am hosting on the first and last Fridays of each month!

The first Friday is for sharing your newest project, and the last Friday will be your chance to show it off! If you aren't complete by the end of the month, no worries, update us on your progress this month and share your big reveal at next month's "After" party. Any and all before-and-afters are welcome - home improvement, a craft you've been wanting to try, or maybe a weight loss goal you're working toward.

Let's accomplish some of our 2012 goals and inspire each other along the way!

Are you ready to see what I want to conquer this month? I have a LOT of projects in mind for the year ahead, but first I need to finish what I started in 2011!!

January's project:

It is not pretty, people!! Despite the fact that I added some coveted Anthropologie knobs to these doors during Hannah's bedroom makeover last year, a game of hide-and-go-seek by some wild and crazy children resulted in doors that are permanently broken off their runners. {My kids are excellent at doing this!}

Inside: a catastrophe, seriously lacking any organization.

You may want to avert your eyes.

I truly did not stage the closet to look this bad!

On the plus side, it's got good bones, thanks to the shelving the previous owners had installed in all the bedroom closets.

I think with a little glamification (yep, I made that one up!) this could be a dreamy closet for an 11 year old girl, don't you? Something along the lines of this, perhaps??

Source: google.com via Lisa on Pinterest

I have a feeling I'm going to be a little jealous of my girl when this one is done.

So what are you up to? Do share - I'd love to hear about it! Be sure to come on back on Friday, January 27 to link up your afters!!

To join the Before & After Parties:

.Add the Before & After button or a link to Shine Your Light to your blog post.

.Add your Before blog post to the linky below OR

.Send me your before and after photos by Monday, 1/23 and I'll share them at the After party!

.Visit some links and show some love - it makes a blog party so much more fun!

I look forward to seeing what you're working on! xo
Lisa

Photography Tutorials For You and Me!

2012-01-05T11:28:00.001-05:00

I have always been the picture girl, for as long as I can remember. When I was fifteen or so, I got a camera called the Snappy Q for all those big-haired days of high school, on into college. Someone would always say "where's the Snappy Q???" and I'd whip it out to capture the moment. Twenty years later my girlfriends and I look at those funny pictures and I am so glad for that little camera.

While I don't think my skills as a photographer have improved much since those days, I am still the one with the camera in tow wherever I go. I suspect that if you are a blogger and/or a mother the same is true of you.

My first beloved 9 year old Digital Rebel bit the dust last spring, "not worth the cost of repairing" according to the nice camera fix-it guy, so to get me through until I could replace my Rebel, I bought what turned out to be the worst point and shoot on the market (which I should have known just from it's pretty plum "I'm not a serious camera" exterior.)

{It's cute, but it has trouble focusing on people!}

I know, cry me a river. But listen: I can live without expensive bags and shoes, my Kitchenaid Mixer, nice jewelry, fancy cars, a cell phone. If I could only choose one material possession in the world, it would be a camera that can actually take a clear picture. {Okay, and maybe one cute outfit. I mean I couldn't run around taking pictures all nekkid, right?}

After a looong seven months of listening to me suffer through the purple camera era, Mark couldn't take the pain any longer and thus I am the ecstatic new owner of a Canon T3i. Hooray and thank you honey!!!! After almost ten years with a Digital SLR, I am determined to learn to shoot better off auto, which brings me to the point of this post {YES! There is a point!!}

If, like me, you are seeking to enhance your photography skills, here are some resources that I have found to be really helpful out here in the blog world.

Centsational Girl

Source: centsationalgirl.com via domesti on Pinterest

Kevin and Amanda

Source: kevinandamanda.com via Lisa on Pinterest

The Pioneer Woman

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via AC on Pinterest

Once you learn how to adjust your aperature and shutter speed, try a challenge to exercise your new skills! I'm doing this one for January:
FatMumSlim Photo Challenge

I hope this little roundup of tutorials helps all you budding photographers!

Don't forget the link up of your project "before" is tomorrow, 1/6! Your project can be anything - I'm open!

If you aren't a blogger, be sure to take before and after photos, email them to me and I'll post them at the January "after" party on Friday the 27th! For more information about these monthly Before and After Parties check out this post.

Have a great day!

Finishing the Basement

2012-01-04T10:16:00.000-05:00

Do you recall this gorgeous little space in my house?

It's the peach-clad basement where my kitchen cabinet doors got their makeover, and now it's getting it's own facelift!

I think the term "finished basement" is out of vogue, so let's call the the underground level of my house the more posh-sounding Lower Level or even Media Room (hahahaha). Whatever it is, I am over the moon excited that this space is being finished, with real walls and heat!!!

This is the third basement we have had finished in our various homes over the years, and the third one we have handed over to professionals. Once again Mark & I plan to do some finish work to the space such as installing beadboard, but despite the fact that I'm currently in love with my compound miter saw and Mark & I are both pretty handy, we would rather leave projects that involve terms like "fire hazard" and "load bearing" to the professionals!

I am SO excited for my kiddos to have space to play indoors during our long, cold winter
{although they have had fun ripsticking down there with their friends!}

If we're friends on Pinterest you may have noticed that I've been obsessing over ideas for a family-friendly Lower Level. (That has a much nicer ring to it than basement, doesn't it???? I'm all fancy like that.)

I want this to be a space that my 9, 11 and 13 year old kids and their friends can play in and hang out in as they get older, and that we can also use as a family.
{You know I love a chalkboard wall! How many is too many in one house??}

Source: pbteen.com via Lisa on Pinterest

We'll be moving our leather couches down there, mostly because they can stand up to a lot of abuse. I was thinking of accenting with tangerine and hot pink, but paired with the brown leather I wasn't loving it so much anymore. Now I'm considering bringing in some orange and navy (keeping in mind this is a kid-friendly space, so nothing too precious!)

I am really drawn to these colors together.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: designspongeonline.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Here's how the color combination would look with our brown leather couches and a light wall color (considering there is not a lot of natural light down there.)

orange ikat pillow via/brown leather couch via/navy chevron pillow via

What do you think????

Now, onto the kickoff of my Before & After Parties!

The first "Before" party is this Friday, January 6 - are you coming??? Link up whatever project you've got in the works, and then come back at the end of the month to show us your big reveal!

Check out this post for more information.
I hope you can make it!!

Mangia Mondays:: Favorites of 2011

2012-01-02T10:44:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first Mangia Monday of Twenty-Twelve!

If you're new to Mangia Mondays, it's a blog hop that I humbly co-host with the extraordinary chef Kristin of Delightfully Dowling. {If you haven't seen them before, be sure to check out her amazing tie-dye cupcakes!}

2011 was the dawn of Mangia Mondays and wow - did all of you amaze us with your delicious recipes! I tried many of them and learned some new kitchen tricks along the way. If you've linked up a recipe along the way, thank you for participating and making this blog-hop so much fun!

To say goodbye to 2011 I thought I'd share with you some of the more popular recipes I posted this year.

Fish Tacos with Homemade Tortillas
I was inspired to make these after Mark took me to California for my 40th. {Oh to be in Laguna Niguel again - you Californians are so lucky with that weather!}

A Grandmother's Apple Pie
While I'm kind of spazzy with making the top crust look pretty, this was one deeelicious tasting pie.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Casserole
I wish I could show you what this looks like, but my family inhales it as soon as it comes out of the oven!!! This is a great dessert if you have a hankering for dessert but no eggs in the house!

White Bean Dip

My friend B showed us how to make this addictive dip that is made with cannelini beans - high in fiber, low in fat, and double the iron of beef. A yummy snack despite the fact that it has nutritional value!

Do you have any amazing recipes to share from 2011? I'd love to try them!

Link up below or share in comments.

Hope you're new year is off to a great start. Thanks for visiting today!

Kicking Off The New Year With A Party!

2012-01-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Happy 2012 everyone!

I hope you had a great New Year's Eve, whether you celebrated into the wee hours of the morning or went to bed way before the ball dropped!

The new year brings a fresh start and I am truly excited for all that it holds. I have a lot of goals for myself, my family, my home, and my blog. How about you? Do you put pen to paper January First and write down goals for yourself, or have you found that new years resolutions just don't work to motivate you?

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

I know that I get a lot accomplished when I have a deadline, like finishing my foyer board and batten and stair projects before Christmas since we had guests coming to stay with us. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to host before and after link parties each month to introduce whatever our next projects might be - and then, as my 9 year old likes to say, get 'er done!

Source: releasemecreate.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

On the first Friday of the month you can link up a new project "before" to tease us with (and get yourself motivated to start!) This can be a piece of furniture you want to rehab, a craft you want to try, or if you're really ambitious, maybe a whole room you want to revamp! Make a plan to get healthy, practice random acts of kindness, reorganize your pantry, or make your garage more functional.

On the last Friday of each month I'll host the "after" party where you can show off how your project came out. If it's not totally complete - that's okay too - you can share how it's going so far!

What do you think - will you join me??

Source: leahremilletblog.com via Lisa on Pinterest

I know sometimes I need a kick in the patooty to get me to finish up projects around my house (or workout on a regular basis!), and also I just love seeing other's before-and-afters, so I hope we can motivate each other and share some great projects in the process!

If you don't have a blog, you can email me your before and afters and I'll post them at the end of the month!

The first link up of befores will be this Friday, January 6
and the after reveal party will be Friday, January 27.

Let's kick off 2012 with a bang!

Source: thebedlamofbeefy.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

I am so excited to see what you've got up your sleeve for the month of January!

Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy and productive year ahead!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T16:32:00.000-05:00

Source: dearmusketeer.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Wishing all of you wonderful readers, friends and family who read my little blog
the happiest of years ahead, filled with good health and love!

Thank you for making 2011 so much fun here!
I appreciate you so very much!

xox,

Best of 2011

2011-12-29T16:26:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that another year is coming to an end, isn't it??

We might not have crossed all our 2011 goals off the never-ending list, but looking back, we definitely made some big changes around our new(est) home
{dubbed the Peach Pit when we first moved in because every surface was in that color family - including the painted brick in the fireplace and even the bologna-colored kitchen countertops!}

If 2010 was the Year of Painting,

2011 around here was definitely the Year of Settling In!

Here's a little roundup of some of our favorite DIY projects from the past twelve months.

Kitchen Refresh

Painting our kitchen cabinets made a world of difference in the Peach Pit, and even made the countertops more palatable.

The "Treehouse"

aka our mudroom, is a little utility room in the garage that keeps my sanity with three kids, a very large dog, recycling, and all the gear that comes with a snowy New England winter.

The Garage Stairs

As part of the mudroom project, I painted the stairs that lead from the garage up to the mudroom and into the house. So much better to come home to these cheerful steps instead of the grubby unfinished version!

The Foyer

Between refinishing of the stairs in our foyer and and adding board and batten, we pulled this room right out of 1985. Next up: adding a sisal or jute runner, and eventually installing a hardwood floor.

This and That
In between some of the big projects I also had a little fun in my lady cave (also known as my kitchen table). Here's a sampling of some popular crafty posts from this past year.

Destinations Sign

Shell Mirror

Jewelry Board

Postcard Display Board

Wine Cork Herb Markers

Wine Cork Tray

All this recapping has me thinking about goals for 2012 - what about you? Any big projects on the horizon?

Thanks for being a part of the adventures over here this year - sharing projects with you has made them so much more fun!

I'm linking up to these great blogs - check them out!

Wishing you a happy and healthy year ahead!!

Mangia.....Tuesday??.......Pre-New Year Resolution Desserts!

2011-12-27T11:04:00.002-05:00

Hello there - how was your Christmas?? I hope you had a great time with family and friends.

Welcome to Mangia Mondays, or in this case, Mangia Tuesday!

Mangia Mondays is a weekly blog hop I co-host with sweet and sassy Kristin of Delightfully Dowling - a place to link up recipes, restaurant reviews, fun kitchen gadget discoveries, yada yada yada! Please join the fun!

Before you start 2012 with healthy resolutions, here are a couple more sweets for end-of-the-year revelry! These rich and satisfying chocolate desserts would be fabulous for New Year's Eve - and then you can wake up and have a healthy vegetable smoothie on January One.

First up......Ice Box Cake!

Note: this cake needs to be refrigerated for about 12 hours.

I discovered this recipe on the first food blog I started reading on a regular basis, Smitten Kitchen. The recipe is so simple, really - all you need is TIME as the cake needs to be chilled overnight or from morning until night. It almost feels like cheating - the recipe calls for making whipped cream and then layering it with store-bought chocolate wafers. The whipped cream magically turns those wafers into soft layers of whispy chocolate cake overnight. You can customize it with candy toppings if you'd like to jazz it up for a special occasion, but I think the beauty of this dessert is it's simplicity. This is the basic recipe and you can do what you wish with toppings {chocolate shavings? a dusting of cocoa? chopped candy bars?? a few Lipitor perhaps?? :)

3 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectionary (powdered) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 9-oz. packages chocolate wafers (I like Famous Chocolate Wafers in the yellow box)

forgive me for the lack of photos, they are lost on my computer somewhere.

Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.

Lay seven chocolate wafers on a flat cake plate (six side-by-side in a cirle and one in the center. The center wafer will not be touching the others but that's okay.)

Spread about half a cup of whipped cream on and between the wafers. This is a messy and cumbersome process but oh so worth the whipped cream all over you! Continue in this manner with layers of wafers and whipped cream, ending with whipped cream.

{The Smitten Kitchen recipe calls for 11 layers but I always seem to have broken wafers that my husband and children use to "test" the whipped cream with. This time around we only made it to seven layers and it was just fine!}

Cover and refrigerate for as long as possible, preferably overnight.

..............................................................

If that's not enough chocolate for you, how about this one?
{Please note, my lame purple point-and-shoot photos do NOT do this dessert justice. Trust me, it's good stuff!}

This is a recipe that I've adapted from Bon Appetit - an oldie but goody in my recipe files. It's a crowd pleaser for sure!

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups half and half
1/3 cup brandy (can be omitted)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 loaf country white bread
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Grease 8x8" baking dish with butter and set aside.

Simmer half & half and brandy in heavy saucepan for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 cup chocolate chips.

Let stand one minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Whisk in brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Let stand until cool, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice crust off loaf of bread and cut into 1" cubes to yield about 6 cups.

Whisk in eggs, vanilla and salt. Stir in bread and let stand for a half hour.

Spread half of bread and chocolate mixture in prepared dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips.

Cover with remaining bread/chocolate mixture. {Can be made 1 day ahead - cover and chill.}

Preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered until puffed and firm in center, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and cinnamon until soft peaks form. Spoon pudding into bowls and top with whipped cream.

...................................................................

Alright my friends, do you have any recipes to share or are you too wiped out from holiday festivies?? If you're so inclined, link up below or share in comments!!

Wishing you a wonderful last week of 2011!

A Better Late Than Never Christmas House Tour

2011-12-21T12:43:00.001-05:00

Hey there - how are you surviving this crazy week before Christmas??
I hope you are finding time to be merry amidst shopping, wrapping, baking, and cooking!

Take a break from your running around and come on in for a little Christmas cheer!
I didn't get around to decorating every last nook and cranny, but I don't think you'll mind, right?

Bruschi just got a Christmas grooming and is so nice and clean. Come on pup, you can come in too!

We hung our wreath right on our whale's tail door knocker.

Our Christmas tree is in the living room this year. I love to see it's twinkling lights from the street through the big picture window, and also from the foyer, the den, and the kitchen.

I used all our white, silver and gold decorations this year......

.....along with lots of glittery pinecones and coffee filter "snowballs".

All the munchkins in the family get colorfully wrapped presents though!

Is there anything so beautiful as a Christmas tree at night, bouncing light off everything around it?

Here's the mantle in our family room that I shared a couple of weeks ago...I ran a string of lights under the fresh greens so it feels Christmasy in there, too. The snowflakes are cotton balls threaded and hung from the ceiling.

I think receiving Christmas cards might be one of my favorite parts of the season...reconnecting with friends and family, and seeing kids grow year to year.

How cute are these two monkeys, my little niece and nephew??

I always find a spot to hang cards our own Christmas cards that we have sent through the years.

Could someone please tell me how these babies......

...grew overnight?!?

This year each of my kids has a little tree in their room too, where all our colorful ornaments found homes. We all love this new tradition!

Seanie's "tree skirt" is a pile of books because there are so many ornaments on the tree that it kept toppling over. He loves to put the lights on when he reads at night before bed!

One last room to share.

A room for our guests on Christmas Eve.

We've really decked this one out!

Wait 'til you see it.

It's a beauty!

........

....

.........

Really special!.....

..........

Are you ready?

NICE!

Yep, that's my 13 year old's room.

He's a good boy and works hard in school, and I have learned to pick my battles,

so normally I deal with his propensity towards messiness by closing the door :)

However, when our guests stay in here in just a few short days it will hopefully have gone through quite the transformation!!

Just wanted to share a little shot of real life with you, in case you are a feeling a bit overwhelmed.

See? You're not alone!

The older I get, the better I am at letting go of "perfect" and embracing where we are in our life.

Someday I'll have a guest room that is neat and tidy all the time because no one will live in there, and I'll be wishing my kids were 13, 11 and 9 again!!! So for today I'm going to remind myself to live in and LOVE the present - the pretty and the messy parts of it - because they are all signs of the full and blessed life we have in this house.

I hope you are able to live in and love these moments of Christmastime too, even if they are chaotic, disorderly, and not always color-coordinated and picture-perfect!

Wishing you and yours

a merry merry merry

joyful and blessed

Christmas

filled with love and laughter!

I'm joining, better late than never, Rene at Cottage & Vine!

Mangia Mondays:: Christmas Breakfast Ideas!

2011-12-18T19:25:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Mangia Mondays, the foodie blog hop that I co-host with Kristin of Delightfully Dowling....
who just announced she is baking a little bun in the oven!!
Congrats Kristin and Mr. Delightfully Dowling!! I am so excited for you on your little "cupcake"!

We are thrilled to bits that so many of you participate each week. If you are planning what to make for breakfast on Christmas morning, look no further than these recipes that were linked up last week!

Country Ham Stuffed Biscuits from Crystal, aka Mrs. Happy Homemaker - how good do these look???

This Potato Tart with Bacon, Gruyere and Rosemary from Heather from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks would make a delicious and impressive Christmas morning breakfast, wouldn't it? Did I mention all that goodness is baked in a pie crust???

How about homemade donuts for your kiddos (or kids-at-heart?!) Thank you to Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes for sharing these Funfetti Cake Donuts that are glazed, frosted and sprinkled! My kids would be in heaven if I made these for Christmas morning!

If you are looking for a healthy choice to offer Christmas morning, how about yogurt, fruit and this delicious homemade Soaked Granola Cereal from Paula and Travis at Whole Intentions? I eat granola over yogurt almost every morning and have always wanted to make my own! This would also make a lovely Christmas gift.

Last Christmas morning I made these Gentlemen's Casseroles from Southern Living and everyone enjoyed them. My kids are big fans of puff pastry and the cheese sauce (that you can make ahead - and you can also substitute shredded cheddar for the gruyere) made my hubby, Mark, swoon. I highly recommend them for a Christmas-morning-worthy breakfast!

One more thing, not breakfast-related - did you happen to see my Pretzel Fudge recipe I posted last week?

It didn't last long in my house, but Mark wants you all to know that you should eat it up right quick because, although I told you that fudge stays fresh for 2-3 weeks if refrigerated, the pretzels do soften up and you lose that wonderful crunch that makes the sweet fudge and the salty pretzels so tantalizing!

If you've been featured this week you're welcome to grab a "featured" button!

Link up or post in comments a recipe, restaurant recommendation, or kitchen advice!

Happy Christmas week my lovelies!

The Signs of the Season

2011-12-17T12:39:00.000-05:00

Remembering the Reason for the Season

This year I have really enjoyed learning with my kids about why we decorate and celebrate Christmas in the way we do, and thought I'd share some of our discoveries with you!

The Evergreen Wreath

A circle with no beginning or end: a sign of God's everlasting love. An evergreen's fresh branches represent life.

Source: realmountainvalues.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Candles and the Twinkling Lights on Trees

are reminders of the Light of the World who was born on Christmas day.

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Terri on Pinterest

Source: mvweddings.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

John 8:12

Source: potterybarn.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Star Ornaments and Tree Toppers

are reminiscent of the Star of Bethlehem that led the Three Wise Men to Baby Jesus in a stable.

Source: potterybarn.com via Sarah on Pinterest

O star of wonder, star of light, Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light.

-We Three Kings hymn

An Angel

adorning our tree brings to mind the angel that appeared to the shepherd tending his flock.

Pottery Barn Angel Ornament

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:8-20

Source: auntielolocrafts.blogspot.com via Annette on Pinterest

The Christmas Tree

Source: potterybarn.com via Lyndy on Pinterest

While the tradition of cutting down an evergreen tree and bringing it into the home to decorate is not necessarily a practice rooted in Christianity, the evergreens are a symbol of life, and adorning the tree with lights is, as mentioned, a symbolic of the Light of the World. The Christmas tree is also likened to the Tree of Life and the belief that we are all one in humankind and as God's children.

Santa Claus

Yep, Old St. Nick is part of the reason for the season:
spreading goodwill.

Saint Nicholas is the figure that eventually morphed into our current day Santa Claus. He was born in Greece in the third century to a wealthy family, and earned the reputation for his generosity by throwing bags of gold out his window to the poor, among many other charitable deeds over his life. His feast day is December 6 and while there are many accounts of how he came to represent gift-giving at Christmas, it's easy to see how he could become a central figure during the season of goodwill to others.

Traditionally Santa Claus was a mysterious but kind figure who would leave treats for the children in their socks (stockings) that had been washed and were drying by the fireplace (way back before a magical thing called a thermostat graced the homes of children.) These "treats" consisted of fresh fruit (a lovely surprise in the midst of winter) and candies. Santa Claus might also leave something special for children that behaved: a small toy or new article of clothing.

The popularization of Santa Claus in the United States can be attributed to the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas, also known as Twas The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822.

Santa Claus has many variations around the world. Similar figures are Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Babbo Natale, La Befana (a female gift-giver) and Christkindl, among others.

To read some accounts of the how the tradition of Santa Claus came to be, check out these sites (*I don't claim that they are accurate, just interesting reading!*): St. Nicholas Center and Lone Star.

And speaking of Santa Claus:

The Custom of Gift Giving

Source: southernliving.com via Nicole on Pinterest

This tradition started, of course, in the manger with the Wise Men bringing gifts to Baby Jesus. They are said to have brought gold - a gift for an earthly king, frankincense - an incense burned in worship of God, acknowledging Jesus' divinity, and myrrh - an oil used for anointing the dead, acknowledging that Jesus was also human and would eventually die.

Check this link out if you want to read more about what frankincense and myrrh actually are.

In Western culture circa 2011, and the gift-giving practice has become a way to bring cheer to those we love and show appreciation for people in our lives. It is also a time of charitable giving, a custom that is rooted in the practice of generous farmers sharing their abundance after harvest time in days of old, in the spirit of goodwill and in the name of God.

Source: goodhousekeeping.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Candy Canes

Depending on which way you hold it, a candy cane looks like a "J" (Jesus) or a shepherd's crook.
Oh I know there is such controversy about the candy cane and whether or not it has religious origins! Whatever. I like that it's fun and it can remind children of Baby Jesus, the nativity scene, and the fact that Christmas is about more than just receiving gifts!

I think we could all agree that Christmas in the Western world today is highly commercialized, and the true meaning of the holiday is lost on many. However, it's also a time of reaching out to those less fortunate, making time for friends and family, delighting those we love with thoughtful gifts, and spreading joy. A time to celebrate the Light of the World, and give thanks for our blessings.

I hope in the busy-ness of this Christmas season, you find a few moments to take pleasure in all the signs of the real reason of Christmas, to share goodwill and to be joyful!

Thanks for visiting and merry, merry, merry Christmas wishes to you!

Christmas Treats:: Pretzel Fudge

2011-12-14T10:28:00.001-05:00

Hello hello hello friends! Can you believe Christmas is just eleven days away???
If you are short on time and long on things to do, look no further for a quick and fun Christmas treat to share.

One of our favorite Christmas traditions in my house is making goodies to share with our wonderful neighbors and friends. I was inspired by Nettie's yummy-looking fudge at Moore or Less Cooking along with the addition of pretzels by Tracey from The Kitchen Is My Playground. Since I had the ingredients on hand, I used my tried-and-true easy microwave recipe with pretzels for the most divine little number that's
a lil sweet, a lil salty, and a whole lotta irresistible.

It's the perfect treat to wish our friends and neighbors a Merry Christmas with, and I bet your neighbors would love some too!

Ingredients:
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (milk chocolate or dark chocolate would be delish too!)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups twist pretzels

Directions:
Prepare a square baking dish (8x8 or 9x9 will do) by spraying with baking spray, then fitting it with a long piece of wax paper that overhangs on two ends (so you can lift the fudge up and out of the pan later for easy cutting.)

Place about 2 cups of the pretzels in a large plastic bag, seal and whack away with a rolling pin or bottom of a pan to break up the pretzels. This is a great job for a feisty child or stressed out mama!

Place sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter (cut into little pieces) and vanilla extract in a microwave-safe dish and cook in 30-second increments, mixing between, until consistency is smooth (about 1.5-2 minutes).

Mix pretzel pieces into chocolate mixture and pour into prepared baking dish. Lay a piece of wax paper on top and using your hands, compress the mixture until flat and evenly distributed.

Top with remaining pretzels. I anticipated cutting the fudge into squares, each with a whole pretzel on top, so I placed the pretzels in neat little rows, but you can use broken up pieces or cut them any which way that floats your boat.

Chill for at least an hour. Using the wax paper overhang, remove from pan and peel away the paper. Slice into squares or bite-size pieces. Fudge will remain fresh for 2-3 weeks if stored in an airtight container and refrigerated.

Of course if you're going to be sharing your pretzel fudge you should absolutely have a piece or two, just to make sure it's okay, right???

I'm sharing this pretzel fudge recipe at Schue Love - come on over to check out tons of culinary delights for the holidays (and wish Natasha congratulations while you're at it - so much happy baby news this week!)

I hope you are finding some moments of joy in the Christmas season despite the busyness of this crazy month. Take a few moments to relax, savor a sweet and coffee with a friend, enjoy the twinkling lights of your tree, reach out to those you are grateful to have in your life, and share a laugh with those you love!

Mangia Mondays:: Features From The Blogosphere

2011-12-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

Welcome to a feature edition of Mangia Mondays! If you are new to MM, it's a weekly blog hop I co-host with chef Kristin, who never ceases to amaze us with her fabulous recipes on Delightfully Dowling (and has some very exciting news to share today so be sure to drop by and say hi!) This blog hop is a place to link up a blog post or share a comment about a recipe that you've had success with, a local restaurant you enjoyed, or just about anything else food-related that floats your boat!

Wowzers - there were so many goodies in last week's link ups, its hard to choose just a few to feature today!

If you are on appetizer duty for the holidays, you MUST check out this recipe for Prosciutto Wrapped Pears With Balsamic Glaze from Lou Lou Sucre - the addition of carmelized onions sounds amazing!

How fun would Crock Pot Pizza from 3 Boys & A Dog be for a dinner with a bunch of kiddos? I'm definitely going to try this over Christmas vacation. It reminds me of one of my kids' favorite dinners, Pizza Fondue, which I'll have to share with you soon.

Permanent Posies offered Scalloped Potatoes With Creamy Bechamel Sauce.....a lovely dish to serve to guests or bring to Christmas dinner. If you have a Cuisinart you can slice the potatoes in minutes, but a hand-held mandolin would work just fine too. An impressive and delicious dish!

And what about this Greek dish Shrimp Santorini from Tools For Kitchens? Feta in the sauce???? Ummmm, yes please! I've been looking for something new to try with shrimp and this is it!

This round-up of great recipes would not be complete without featuring a sweet, now would it? And heavens to Betsy, there were so many yummy sweets linked up last week. Thank you Karyn of Things That Make You Say: "Mmmmm!" for offering a bunch of Christmas cookie recipes for our perusal, including these Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies - how cute are they???

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up last week! Kristin and I would love for you to join us every week and feel so fortunate to get to know all of you and try your great recipes! Link on up below and share what struck your fancy this week!

If you've been featured, feel free to grab a button!

Our Christmas Mantle

2011-12-06T22:27:00.001-05:00

Like a ginormous rolling snowball,
the Christmas spirit has hit the blogosphere!!!

This week and next you'll be seeing snippets of our Christmasy home.
Won't you please come on in for a cup of cheer at our humble abode?

In our newish home I've really embraced the notion of creating a neutral backdrop and changing it up throughout the year with pops of color in accessories. I'm trying out the same concept with decorating for Christmas.

This year I decided to use a lot of natural elements and with some of our colorful decorations sprinkled throughout, starting with the mantle in our family room. I love fresh greens everywhere, especially layered on top of a strand of twinkling white lights!

My 9 year-old, Seanie, & I strung cotton ball snowflakes that reflect in the mirror. With the lights off and the candles and little lights sparkling, our snowflakes are just magical!

My kids' pewter baby cups are one of my favorite decorations all throughout the year!

Simple and festive. It's our own little winter wonderland!

For view more Christmas mantles, visit a few of my favorite blogs!

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Michelle @ Ten June

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality

Beth @ Home Stories A2Z

Wishing you a happy Christmas season!

Lisa

Mangia Mondays:: Italian Meatballs

2011-12-05T09:15:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Mangia Mondays! I hope you had a magical weekend.
If not magical, then at least relaxing? Fun? Productive?

THANK YOU to everyone who took a moment to comment on my board & batten project - I can't tell you how much that means to me. The fact that a few of you feel inspired to try something like this for the first time is what makes blogging so worth the time and effort and I love all the sharing, support and encouragement in the DIY blogging community. You rock!

As you know, when I'm not obsessing over my latest house project, I'm thinking of what to eat next!
If you're new to Mangia Mondays, it's a blog hop I co-host each week with the dynamic Kristin of Delightfully Dowling! Have you seen her Christmas gift list for the cooks in your life? So much fun {I'm dying for an ice cream maker}!! We'd love for you to link up or share in comments any recipes, kitchen tips and tricks, restaurant reviews - just about anything food-related!

I was thinking about posting Christmas recipes for MM the whole month of December, but the reality is that in between going to holiday parties and having your family visit, there's a whole lot of real life that you still have to live in the month of December, including eating dinner on a nightly basis after work and school and sports. The last thing you need on a busy Tuesday night is to cook a dinner that requires a lot of effort, right?

What's easier and more tasty than spaghetti and meatballs when you're in the mood for a comfort food-carbfest?? We kicked this standard fare up a notch for our Sunday night dinner by making our own sauce and adding steak, sweet Italian sausages and of course, homemade meatballs. Now, if you've been around here for a while you may know that my husband's Sicilian family recipes are top secret and I am forbidden to share them. However - I can give you a big tip for making a red sauce even more delicious:
add meat to it.

Here's a peek.....that's liquid gold right there!

Before Mark made the secret sauce, he parcooked a sirloin steak and sweet Italian sausages in the sauce pot until they rendered some fat, and then left them in there when he added the sauce ingredients. The steak and sausage slowcooked with the sauce and were deliciously tender and flavorful come dinnertime, and the sauce of course had the juices from the meat incorporated into it. If you don't make your own red sauce, you can use this trick to jazz up jarred sauce. I do it all the time when we are busy. What a difference the juices of the meat make!! {We like Classico Four Cheese or Classico Tomato and Basil as a basic jarred sauce.} We also make large batches of homemade sauce and freeze it. I strongly recommend making your own sauce - so easy and economical!

Of course, a sauce meal in my house requires meatballs! Everyone in my house loves them, they can me made into sandwiches the next day, and along with the sauce, meatballs freeze well.

Italian Meatballs
2 eggs
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 green pepper, finely chopped (optional - I omit because me kids don't like it)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. ground beef (85/15)

1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

{Do you see a theme with "finely chopped?" That's because I find kids are less likely to object to a food if they can't pick it apart, and the meatballs wouldn't be the same without these ingredients.}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the eggs with, garlic, parsley, celery, pepper, Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Add beef and use your hands to combine.

Add breadcrumbs.

Roll into 2" balls and place on baking sheet.

Parcook in your oven* for about 10-15 minutes until browned. Don't overbake them or they'll be hockey pucks!! They do not need to be cooked all the way through as they'll be added to your sauce later.
*You can also use the traditional method of pan frying the meatballs but they spatter, make a huge mess on the stovetop, take forever to cook, and we find that they taste just as good baked.

Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Once cooled, add to red sauce and simmer for 30 minutes before serving over pasta.

Add a green salad and of course a big loaf of freshly baked Italian bread to mop up your sauce with, and you've got a satisfying meal made in heaven! Oh that white bread is so naughty and good!

Of course the making of meatballs would not be complete without singing {or teaching your kids} the
meatball song!

On top of spaghetti,

All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.

It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.

The mush was as tasty
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree.

The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce.

So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,

Whenever you sneeze.

Go on and sing it out loud - really loud! - it just brings on the happiness!

What culinary delights do you have to share? We'd love for you to play along in this week's Mangia Mondays. Now off with you and have a good day!

Foyer Board & Batten

2011-12-02T10:24:00.005-05:00

Hello there lovelies in blogland!
Are you ready for a Little Engine That Could story?

Believe it or not I am actually done with phase two of my foyer makeover! Phase one happened last year when I painted the walls, pulled the nasty carpet off the stairs, and painted the risers and spindles. What a difference that made. You may also recall that ages ago I showed you the treads and rails that I finally got around to refinishing with a dark brownish black stain. And now -- my most recent project, and biggest undertaking as a DIYer to date -- installing board and batten!

Now I know many, many people have gone before me in installing board and batten - it's nothing new. But this was a big, huge deal for me because it's truly the first carpentry project I did almost entirely by myself. You know, despite my lack of experience and the This Old House rating of the installing board & batten on stairs:

Yeah.....me and my big ol' stubborn Irish genes!!! My husband Mark is quite handy, but he travels for work, spends weekends coaching and running around with our kiddos, and just doesn't have the time or energy to do projects like this that we really feel add character to a home. So instead of pining away for board and batten for another five years, I took the bull by the horns and did it myself. Mark showed me how to make different kinds of cuts on our compound miter saw, and I consulted him about issues that arose, but I installed the whole thing myself!

So do you want to see how it came out? I'm excited to show you!

Oh wait - this wouldn't be any fun without seeing before pics!

And now - here she is - my ~~fourth child~~ board & batten!

{Not quite decorated yet - that's a whole other project!}

{See the mantle in the family room below?

I thought making the board & batten the same height would be visually appealing.}

{Oh angled cuts, how I love thee! NOT. You are the bane of my existence!}

To the ladies with no carpentry experience but a big desire to change your house

this post is for you.

The moral of the story:

If I can do something like this without much experience, SO CAN YOU! Have someone show you how to safely use a saw (you can rent one if you don't own one already.) Home Depot and Lowes offer free classes on various DIY topics all the time.

Yes, a saw is dangerous but you can operate a stove, right? A mixer? You know how to use sharp knives without impaling yourself??? Okay then, you can learn to use a saw. Some of you are mothers - if you can raise a child, well then - using a saw is a no-brainer!!

Installing in the foyer was easy peasy - all straight cuts that go up very quickly. However, I'm not going to tell you making angled cuts for the stairs was a piece of cake. Even though I read many a tutorial beforehand, the learning curve was ginormous for installing on the stairs. I labored over making it look professional, which meant ripping more than one board off the wall after nailing it up and discovering that it wasn't right, making 10+ trips to Lowes and Hope Depot thanks to mismeasuring and/or changing my mind about trim, spending hours, hours!, caulking, painting, touching up, spending way too much money on wood, and generally obsessing over what has turned into my baby.

But - I did it!
And I'm really happy with how it came out. I feel blessed that I found the courage to try this.
Yep - I am woman, hear me roar!

And I learned a lot along the way that has me all fired up to take on another project involving my saw and nail gun. Crown molding perhaps? I know a few of you were waiting on the deets about how I refinished the treads & rail, so in the very near future I'll post about that as well as the ins-and-outs of installing the board & batten.

I feel so lucky to have met through blogging women who share my love of power tools and DIY projects. Lisa of A Vintage Vine and Mandi of Tidbits From the Tremaynes have both tackled their stairs lately too and if you haven't seen their amazing "afters" yet you must check them out!!!

Thanks for sharing in the insanity with me girls!

I'm linking up to these great blog parties - please stop by and visit them for tons of inspiration!

Just A Girl