Daily Buzz Moms Feature!

Just got a word from a lovely friend Estelle. Our pajama party is a top 9 feature today on Daily Buzz Moms! You can check it out here and here! Thank you to Estelle and Daily buzz moms for the feature!

 

xoxo

d

Come to the party ~ A virtual progressive dinner



Image Via


Hey friends. Join me over at Danielle's for a virtual progressive dinner. I'm bringing the appetizer...... click here for the recipe.


Here is the entire party plan in case you missed it:

Monday Dec 12^th – Michelle of Pinque will dress us for our party.

Tuesday Dec 13th – Danielle of Domestic Dish will tempt us with an appetizer.

Wednesday Dec 14th – AK of Tipsy Society will provide us with a cocktail.

Thursday Dec 15^th -  Katie of Salt and Pine will help us buy our hostess gifts.

Monday Dec 19^th – Estelle of Under A Pink Moon will provide our soup course. 

Tuesday Dec 20^th – Emily of Notorious MLE will entice us with a main course.

Wednesday Dec 21st - Melissa of Pineapple Lily will share with us her wish list of Holiday Decor

Thursday Dec 22^nd – Carrie of This Free Bird will give us a yummy end to our party. 

fa la la la la la la la la...

d

Merry making ~ a virtual progressive dinner

Here is a little peek of the holiday photos I snapped of the girlies yesterday. We had a a lot of fun, some attitude, and some tears....what else can you expect from a photo session with your children? We followed up with some hot cocoa and all tears were forgotten :) Make sure to check out the lineup for a virtual progressive holiday party I am participating in over at elleinadspir tomorrow. Someone pass me a cocktail...

Monday Dec 12^th – Michelle of Pinque will dress us for our party.

Tuesday Dec 13th – Danielle of Domestic Dish will tempt us with an appetizer.

Wednesday Dec 14th – AK of Tipsy Society will provide us with a cocktail.

Thursday Dec 15^th -  Katie of Salt and Pine will help us buy our hostess gifts.

Monday Dec 19^th – Estelle of Under A Pink Moon will provide our soup course. 

Tuesday Dec 20^th – Emily of Notorious MLE will entice us with a main course.

Wednesday Dec 21st - Melissa of Pineapple Lily will share with us her wish list of Holiday Decor

Thursday Dec 22^nd – Carrie of This Free Bird will give us a yummy end to our party. 

 

xoxo

d

Staying healthy for the holiday and a GIVEAWAY

Hello! Well October certainly flew by, and it feels like the rest of the year will too(don't blink!). Now is the perfect time for a helping hand to provide some reminders and a way to stay healthy over the holiday season. It can be tough with all of the cheese balls, carbs, and hot toddy's floating around. No? Well I have two solutions for you and me (besides getting in an amazing workout here). 

A while back I was contacted by Rodale about reviewing books written by the New York Times best selling author and the Nutrition Expert for the Today Show Joy Bauer . Yes please! First of all I covet the opportunity to cook my way through new cook books, and secondly I love watching Joy!





The first book Joy Bauer’s “Slim & Scrumptious" is just the kind of book you realize will be a winner after cooking only a few recipes. Joy talks about how cooking for your family at home is much healthier and can save you money. This is such a great reminder with the holidays around the corner.

For a girl who doesn't hesitate on adding a little extra butter of fat to her recipes, I didn't feel like the food was missing anything. Seriously. What a pleasant surprise! Healthy and delicious book. Want a peek: Pumpkin Pancakes with maple creme, apricot almond oats, mac n cheese, buffalo chicken chili with whipped blue cheese ...... I had you at maple creme didn't I?

The most genus idea for a party: bacon wrapped brussel sprouts on a toothpick! So cute, healthy, and a tasty bite .... I went ahead and served them with my accidental apricot sauce. My girls devoured them. Total win, and I have a healthy holiday appetizer idea under my belt. How about sprinkling cinnamon and brown sugar on your oven roasted sweet potato fries?! It was so good! This book has so much to offer in the way of health and taste.

The second book "Food Cures" talks about how eating the right foods can make a major impact on your health. Want to drop pounds? Boost memory and mood? Glowing skin? Joy explains how and then gives you steps in order to achieve your desired result. Who knew that what you eat can change the health of your hair! I certainly did not.

Want to know the best part? Rodale has given me two extra copies to share with YOU! I think you will love her books, I do. If you want to enter: leave a comment below and tell me how you plan on staying healthy this holiday season (I can use the extra tips!). A winner will be announced on Friday, November 11, 2011. it you want an extra entry head on over to twitter here and tweet about this giveaway!

**These books were provided for me, all opinions are my very own**

For more information on Joy and Food Cures visit JoyBauer.com

xoxoxo
d

Going on a canning adventure.

Photo from Headspace. Another great canning blog.

Today I will be spending the day canning with my MIL. Were making apricot preserves and maybe some brandied apricots (for goat cheese bruschetta). Yum. I am SO excited and hope that one day I have a cupboard that looks like this. I am not even sure if I would eat any of it, just so pretty to look at! Also do you follow Food in Jars ? If you want to can, you should. I love food in jars. Hope you have a great day friends.

xoxo
d

A guest post at elleinad spir.

Hi friends! I am over at elleinad spir here today making a guest appearance answering some Q&A about myself.  So come over, get to know me a litter better and visit one of my favorite places to get a good daily read!


xoxo
d

a weekend in pictures.

there were beach picnics.

sand between our toes.

a car show.

a new rose scented candle that I love.

a visit to a lovely pop-up shop. and my first fellow blogger meeting. with her and her. exciting in my own dorky kind of way :)

and popsicles. lots of them.

hope your weekend was wonderful too!

xoxo

d

I'll drink to that...

Even though it is Friday the 13th, things are looking up. It is world cocktail day. My kind of day for sure! In light of today, I think that you should drink this, this, and this.....Well maybe not in that order..... Oh and this too....

Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail

Champagne flute + sugar cube + few teaspoons of bitters + top off with your favorite bubbly


If you are around this weekend, make sure to stop by Bixby and Ball for Bianca of Bink and Boo is hosting a pop-up-shop. She is seriously talented, I have bought friends some of the sweet little bibs from her collection and love it all! I am sure the work she will showcase this weekend will be no exception. Wish I was going, but a little boy I love is turning 3! Happy Birthday Superman!! TT loves you <3

xoxo,
d

Simple food is healthy.



Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm



When I diet, I seriouslt over think my food. This leads me to blowing it and falling off the wagon. I know, whaaa whaa...... I have gotten serious and In the past few months I have really made a commitment to myself to exercise daily and just be healthy. I not only want these habits for myself, but with two young girls I also want to be an example for them. The past few months I have had a lot of support and recently joined and awesome group called the shredcrew. The support has been amazing and now for an even bigger help Danielle from Elleinadspir is hosting a healthy recipe exchange. Now we/I have no reason to fall off the wagon! Right?

For Christmas Royce got me a really great book called Earth To Table. It is a cookbook that has all seasonal recipes from an organic farm. I love it so much I have made a mental bookmark of all of the recipes I still need to try.  On Friday I discovered a bag of English peas at Costco and I knew I had the perfect recipe at home. A healthy and fresh recipe.

Salad of Peas, Feta and Mint

Serves 6

(adapted from original)

2 cups shucked fresh peas (you could use frozen here)

2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 shallot finely sliced

1/4 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 cup crumbled feta

salt and freshly cracked pepper

In a medium pot of boiling salted water, blanch peas until just tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Shock them with cold water. In a large serving bowl, whisk together olive, vinegar, honey and mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add peas and shallot. Toss lightly, add mint and toss lightly again. Sprinkle with feta and serve.

Enjoy a healthy day

xoxo

d

Check out these for another healthy treat!

Inspiration with a side of coffee cake please.

 

 Yesterday was national coffee cake day. I missed it. I thought about it, but I missed it. To celebrate a little late, I wanted to share how I changed up my favorite coffee cake recipe and some quotes that have really resonated with me over the past week. Heather from  La Feem was so sweet to tweet me a link to these. And they have really made me think and want to do a little mental spring cleaning. In with the good and out with the bad. With a side of coffee cake of course. Will you join me?

 

Bannana chocolate chip coffee cake

Adapted from this Ina recipe

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 bananna, mashed
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
• cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, bannana and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed. Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips or more :). Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake to a serving plate and dust lightly with cocoa powder.

This is just a sampling of the quotes, you can find the rest here.

• Your thoughts cause your feelings
• We don't need to complicate all the "reasons" behind our emotions. It's much simpler than that. Two categories .. good feelings, bad feelings.
• Thoughts that bring about good feelings mean you are on the right track. Thoughts that bring about bad feelings means you are not on the right track.
• Whatever it is you are feeling is a perfect reflection of what is in the process of becoming
• You get exactly what you are FEELING
• Happy feelings will attract more happy circumstances
• Choose your thoughts carefully .. you are a masterpiece of your lifeSince it's friday, let's go think happy thougts of the weekend, make coffee cake, and enjoy a cocktail.

Thanks to Heather and Ina for the inspiration

xoxo

d

Ps. and thanks to Torrie for your sweet post today. You can see it here

Walking on sunshine

 This weekend was Perfect! Glorious weather, wonderful company and family time. The best! We started off an early weekend on Friday at the beach and ended up in our pool til the sun went down. And on Saturday I spent some time around town with my girlies to pick up some supplies for some spring crafts. When I say some, I mean A LOT. I should know better that unplanned trips to Michael's without something in mind ends with me buying bags of pom poms, more gold spray paint and chalk spray paint. I have a supreme weakness for pom poms and spray paint. Next I will probably start spray painting the pom poms!

I caught wind via twitter that Bianca from Bink & Boo had dropped off a new collection at a local store. We quickly headed over to Ollie&Me to check out her new stuff in person. If you think it looks good on her site, you have no idea! The sweet bibs and booties are so well made, soft, and perfect for a baby gift. I had to pick up one of the blue and creme bandanna bibs for my sweet and stylish neighbor. She just had the most gorgeous baby! I should have taken a picture of it but I gave it to her right away :) I was too excited. Go to Ollie & Me to check it out asap, they were selling out quickly!

All weekend I shredded (ripped in 30 DVD) with the awesome shredcrew and I took up another class Dailey Method Carlsbad. Boy am I feeling it today! Or perhaps I am feeling the wine and beer mac n' cheese we had a Stone Brewery yesterday? Either way I need to pick up the pieces from this sunshiny weekend, caffeinate, and start over again.....

xoxo

d

PS. I have a great Pottery Barn DIY for all you wine lovers tomorrow!

Fruit nut balls.

A couple of months ago I was browsing the cookbooks at a local bookstore and was taken by the title and cover of a book. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. I picked it up and started reading, bought the book, took it home, and realized it was written by a well known blogger. I was new to the blog world and had no idea who Molly Wizenberg was. I love her lovingly written stories about her family and food. And of course as an added bonus I love her recipes at the end of each story.

This book is so wonderful because as many of us know, many of our fondest memories are in some way tied to food. Like how every year when I was a young girl, my mom, sister and I would don homemade aprons to make fudge and divinity with my grandma. And how I distinctly remember coming home from elementary school and having my older sister fry potatoes with lemon pepper and ketchup for snack. Weird huh? But so good. Especially when you are 8. Food is what brings us around a table, together so that we can make moments and memories last. So I urge you this holiday season to sit around the table and make memories. And make these too, they are simple, delcious, and no need to turn your oven on.

Fruit Nut Balls

Molly Wizenberg of Orangette

45-50 balls

1C walnuts

1/2 pound pitted dried cherries

1/2 pound dried figs

1/2 pound pitted dried apricots (I used 1/2 apricots and 1/2 dried cranberries here)

1/2 pound pitted prunes

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, apple cider may be used here

1/2C powdered sugar

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Put walnuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steele blade and pule to chop finely. Transfer to a large bowl. Return bowl to base without washing. Add half the dried fruit and pulse to chop finely. You want the fruit pieces to be no larger than a pea, but be careful not to turn it into a paste. Add to the bowl with walnuts. Repeat with the remaining dried fruit. Stir all the chopped fruit and walnuts well. Add the Grand Marnier. Pinch off a small ball, does it hold it's shape? If not add a bit more Grand Marnier.

Put the powdered sugar in a small wide bowl. pinch off bits of the mixture (i used a coffee scoop here) and gently roll into balls. Roll each ball into powdered sugar, shake off excess, and place on a lined baking sheet. Set aside, uncovered, for 24 hours at room temperature.

To finish line a second sheet with parchment. Melt chocolate either over double boiler, or in the microwave like I did (15 seconds at a time, stirring between until just melted).  Dollop the top of each ball with chocolate and shake to coax the chocolate down the sides. It will look like a "chocolate hat" as Molly describes it. Slide the sheet, uncovered in the refrigerator and chill until hardened, about 2 hours. Tuck them into small paper candy cups and enjoy. Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

xoxoxo
d

my mom.

 Today is a day to celebrate. Celebrate a beautiful, and intelligent woman I am lucky to call my mom and a best friend. Mom, I just don't know what I would do without you.

Thank you for being you. Thank you for being my mom. Thank you for being such a wonderful grandma. I have learned so much from you and know I still have much more to. You have so much patience, compassion, grace, and love in everything that you do. I hope that someday I can too have those same qualities. I love and admire you so much. So today we celebrate you.

I love you.

d

Ps. We are having Smitten Kitchen's Pink lady cake with chocolate fudge frosting , topped with chocolate dipped strawberries and Ina Garten's homemade chicken and biscuits to celebrate. Yum.

Chocolate cranberry-pecan tart.



{me all week, photo}



I think I fell of the face of blogger earth for a while. Jeez I missed you all dearly! I think the holidays gave me a bit of a scare, as I am unprepared thus far, and I fell into a holiday induced coma. I GOT NOTHING DONE. Yikes. I have now "slapped" myself out of it (anyone watch cougar town this week? You will get it.) and hope to be back on holiday track beginning with this wonderful holiday recipe exchange. Hosted by the even more wonderful pretty mommy. Thanks again Michele for setting this up. If you would like to sign up, there is still room to do so here.

Since I've got it together (fingers crossed) I am now able to share the delicious cranberry-pecan tart that we had for thanksgiving. Did I mention it has a chocolate crust? Need I say more? It delivers a delicious carmely, cranberry bliss in every bite. Pretty delicious if you ask me. This would make a super holiday dessert and can be made ahead of time since it takes a bit of time. This recipe is from the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. Which I seriously love and would like a subscription to (hint hint).

Cranberry-pecan tart

Tart dough

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, chilled and cubed

**Make the dough up to a month ahead and freeze or 2 days in the refrigerator

Filling

1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups pecans, toasted and chopped
1 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or thawed frozen (make sure to freeze your leftover fresh cranberries for a cranberry cake)

1. For the dough: Whisk yolk, cream, and vanilla together in a small bowl. Process flower, cocoa, confectioners sugar in food processor until combined. Scatter butter pieces over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses.
2. With machine running, add egg mixture through feed tube and continue to process until dough just comes together around blade, about 12 seconds.
3. Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into 6-inch disk. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Let sit on counter for ten minutes to soften prior to rolling out.
4. Roll out to an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured counter. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan (Tip: I like to sprinkle cocoa powder in the bottom of the pan instead of flower for an extra chocolate kick). Freeze tart for 30 minutes.
5. Heat oven to 375 and position rack to the middle. Fill tart with pie weights (I skipped this and was fine) and bake until set, about 30 minutes.
6. For the filling: Reduce oven temp to 325. Measure water into a medium sauce-pan, then pour sugar into the center of the pan (don't let reach sides). Gently stir sugar with clean spatula to wet it thoroughly. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook without stirring until sugar has dissolved and has become a faint golden color. About 6-10 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until caramel has a dark amber color, stirring occasionally (1-3 minutes). Off heat, slowly whisk in cream until combined. Stir in butter, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt until combined. Stir in pecans and cranberries and mix gently to coat. Pour caramel mixture into cooled tart shell. Bake 25-30 minutes until set (will still be slightly jiggly).
8.) Cool tart. Serve with fresh whipped cream. I think a bourbon spiked whipped cream would be perfect. I will have to try this next time.

I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did! You can now print my recipes thanks to Torrie at a place to share. Thanks Torrie! If you want this feature, find it here. Since the only kind of planning I seem to be good at is meal-planning, menu planning, and party planning; i thought I would share with you on Monday
my "party ready" pantry for the holidays. Stay tuned and have a lovely weekend. And if you want the tips e-mailed directly to you, submit your e-mail address in the subscribe box up top. I'd love to send you the info!

xoxoxo
d

Fall recipe exchange.

Here

Since fall is finally here, well as much as it will get here for southern California, It is time for some scrumptious fall recipes. So in order to give us all some great ideas I am lucky enough to swap recipes with some lovely ladies. Lets find out what they will dish out... here is the lineup:

Oct 4th -   Pretty Mommy
Oct 5th - Torrie  a place to share...
Oct 6th - Katie  the30girl.com
Oct 7th - Karen  http://itallstartedatmothers.blogspot.com
Oct 8th - Estelle  www.underapinkmoon.com
Oct 11th - Yours Truly  domestic dish
Oct 12th - Chassity  Look Linger Love
Oct 13th - Rebecca  Reluctant Floridian
Oct 14th - Elisabeth  You Plus Me Equals
Oct 15th - Jora  Domestic Reflections

Oct 18th - Catherine  Rikshaw Design
Oct 19th - Abby  5th Joy
Oct 20th - Stephanie  Scrumptious
Oct 21st - Jennifer  whiskitgood.com
Oct 22nd - Kate  butthesqueal.blogspot.com

Oct 25th - Tina  Bull In A China Shop
Oct 26th - Kim  Lighter and Local 
Oct 27th - Elaine  Mama Seasonings
Oct 28th - Jess Shades of Sunshine
Oct 29th - Michelle  Studio Surface, The Blog

Nov 4th- Miya  You Plus Me Equals 

Make sure to check them out! You will have all your October meals and some planned! How great is that? And on a side note did you hear Jimmy Choo is doing a collaboration with Ugg Australia?? Comfy yet high fashion...I might love this. My inner beach bum and fashionista are both delighted. I thought you should know. Goodnight!

xoxoxoxo

d