Monthly Archives: August 2011

Back To School: Lunch on a Stick

Color Me Mine Today’s lunchtime theme is Lunch On A Stick… though I realized later that I’d also done a lunch theme to match Sawyer’s lunch bag, so there’s another idea you can try too. For this I layered cheese, sliced turkey, and tomatoes on a wooden skewer. I trimmed off the sharp ends so  Read More...
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Back To School: Super Star Lunch

  Tomorrow my toddlers head back to school… well, they head back to pre-school but it’s still quite monumental in our world. My boys don’t always stay for lunch at school. They both still take a nap and lunchtime at school usually interferes. Every Friday though, it’s our special treat that they get to stay  Read More...
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Cooking Lessons: Magnolia Blueberry Pie

  I learned to make this gorgeous recipe on a recent trip to Magnolia Bakery in Los Angeles, the sister to the famed sweets-haven in New York. After years of seeing it in TV shows and movies I finally got behind the scenes and learned from the best. Believe it or not, this isn’t a prop  Read More...
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The Friendship Tree

California Born My grandma used to love to work in her garden. She was constantly rescuing plants from people that almost killed them, and planted them in every container she could find. When she visited California to see my uncle she brought back a piece of a jade plant. Forty years later the plant was divided and grown  Read More...
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Tapenade Crostini

I’ve Got an App For That! Today I’m brining you another one of those appetizers that are so simple you can make them in the five minutes prior to guests arrival and still have time to reapply your lip gloss before you greet your guests at the door! You’ll Need A Small Loaf of Olive  Read More...
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Cooking Lesson: Meringue Bellini by Joe’s Restaurant

Peachy Keen Doesn’t this look divine? I learned to make it last week with my new friend Jennifer at Joe’s Restaurant on Abbot Kinney in Venice. It’s a meringue bellini so think sweet peaches, the essence of basil, a frothy top and the all over fizzy goodness of the champagne. Yum! If ONLY I’d had a  Read More...
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Flower Power

This craft is so simple, I did it while I was on VACATION! That’s right, I’m writing this on location in beautiful Lakeside, Michigan.  Thanks to my sister Jessie–a super crafter in her own right–who provided the raw materials, the inspiration, and the adorable vases, being thousands of miles away from my own craft closet  Read More...
Posted in Be Merry, Chic Crafty, Chic Decor, Chic DIY, DIY Not?, Featured | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I’m at it again! Trying to alter recipes can sometimes be a trial and error. So, I was skeptical about making a muffin with no sugar…but these muffins turned out amazing! So amazing I ate about 15 of them. Thankfully they were mini.  I bet that no one will be able to tell you made  Read More...
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Cooking Lessons: The Amigo Room Peeping Tom

The good folk at The Amigo room in The Ace Palm Springs refer to this as “The Peeping Tom” I might be more inclined to call it a Tomato Mojito (because of the lime and mint) but if we’re be honest with ourselves, it’s probably closer to a margarita because of the tequila. Regardless, it’s  Read More...
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Companion Planting

  Companion planting is a genius idea! Unfortunately I didn’t come up with it myself, but whoever did really knows how to make use of space and resources. The idea is to use one plant to help the growth of another. For example, I am growing green beans around spinach. The bean plant will grow  Read More...
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