Happy Anniversary!

23 years ago today, we were married!

Happy anniversary Omidjoon! I love you lots!♥

Get Crafty!

Map Art!

 I found this idea on Pinterest a few weeks ago & just loved it! I love maps of all sorts, but these are super special as they tell a story. The first is: where we met, the second: where we were married & the third: where we live. I plan to give this to Omid on Friday, as it will be our 23rd anniverary.

Thank you Washington for having an easy outline to cut out (vs. Idaho).☺

Our map story.♥

For the complete instructions, click here. I am going to make some to give away as gifts too. This has been my favorite find on Pinterest so far.♥

Get Crafty!

Easter Surprise Eggs!

I found this craft last year right before Easter from Not Martha. I started saving egg shells a few weeks ago so I could make them this year. They are SO cute!

Tap the ends out of eggs & empty the shells. Sterilize the shells in boiling water + a bit of vinegar for 10 mins. Let dry. I did this step in stages. Every time I baked or used eggs in any way, I made sure to save the shells. When I had a bunch, I sterilized them.

For the first time ever, I used regular food coloring instead of PAAS brand dye. It worked better than I thought. I dyed some brown eggs for the first time ever as well. The saffron colored eggs are the brown ones. They came out really beautiful after sitting in the red dye.

Now the fun part: fill the eggs! I added little chenille chicks along with the candy. Cost Plus has lots of different sizes & colors.

Oops! Head first.

Much better.☺

Along with the chicks, I added a Rolo candy, a Hershey's Kiss & 2 Whopper bird eggs.

Next you need to seal the open ends. You can use mini cupcake liners for this & trim them if they are too big.

I found these teeny tiny liners at IKEA.

Place glue around the liner, insert a 'crack me' message & glue the liner to the open end of the egg. 

Place in cute bags & share!

Happy Easter!!

Be advised! The empty shells are extremely fragile. I lost three eggs during the coloring process!

These chickies are headed over to Pullman in an Easter care package for my daughter.☺

Make This!

Kit Kat- M&M Cake!

Make this! It's super easy & so festive!

I made this cake for my friend Kumiko's bday yesterday. I got the recipe from Noble Pig, who got it from Recipe Girl.  I made a red velvet cake & used whipped cream topping instead of chocolate cake & buttercream frosting.

 The first thing you do after make your cake batter is fill 6 cupcake liners with batter. This is done so the cake is short enough for the Kit Kat bars to make a fence to hold the M&Ms. If all the cake batter is used, the Kit Kat bars won't be tall enough.

Absolutely positively love the contast between the blue & white.

Frost your cake.

Add the Kit Kat fence.

Pour an entire bag of M&Ms on top. Press slightly into the frosting.
Secure the fence with a ribbon & you're done!

Fun Fact: I get my whipped cream frosting from the Fred Meyer bakery. They can tint it any color you like. It costs about $1.75 for a one pound container. It also doesn't have to be refrigerated & tastes great!

Sad Loss

My sister Brenda lost her Scottie, Hammish, last night. Hammish was diagnosed with blood vessel cancer just three weeks ago. His time here was short. Such a sad situation.

B & the Ham

My favorite photo of Hammy. So distinguished!

When I'm gone, release me, let me go….
You must not tie yourself to me with tears.
You can only guess how much you gave me in happiness….
Grieve for me a while, if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust…
And then when you must come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a lick and bark "Welcome home."

     -Anonymous õ

RIP Hammy! You were a good boy & will be missed!!

Hair

Pinterest. Have you visited yet? So many great ideas/recipes to pin & then try. I created a new board for myself titled 'hair.' This is where I have pinned different cuts & hair colors I like or may want to try someday. Yesterday was that someday. I marched confidently into the salon & said, "Today, I would like to go darker. It would be nice for my hair to finally match my eyebrows." The stylist said, "Okay, but I will only go one shade darker than your haircolor is now, otherwise it will be too dark." Then I said something like, "Add lots of highlights for contrast & while you are at it, go ahead and cut an inch off the length, just to mix things up!"
I have to say, my stylist did a great job on the cut, color & highlights. Thanks Laurel for sharing your stylist information!!!  I am loving the new color!

Happy Persian New Year!

 It's Nowruz!!

Click on this link here to see when spring will officially arrive in your area. For us, spring will arrive at 10:14 p.m. tonight. I sure hope so! We woke up to snow this a.m.

Our family actually celebrated Nowruz last night, as we are busy with work, school & sports obligations today/tonight.  Omid smoked and grilled some Chinook salmon (that he caught himself) and made a delicious sabzi polo (herbed rice with saffron). Everything was delicious!

Wishing you all a happy spring!

Grrr.

From annetaintor.com

Isn't it frustrating when you ask someone for a recipe, they oblige & they leave out an ingredient on purpose? Why not just say. "I'm sorry, that's a family or secret recipe." Problem solved!

KONY 2012

Be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi

...."First to rescue our children & second to deliver the justice."

Please take the time to watch this video!!!!

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Make This!

Gingery Pork Meatballs from First Look, Then Cook

These little meatballs are super tasty! Not one was left over; which meant only one thing: Omid & Matty liked them.☺

 I was a little worried that after only baking for 20 minutes, that the meatballs wouldn't be cooked all the way.

Not to worry - they were! And YES...Remy got this tidbit. ☺

Gingery Pork Meatballs from First Look, Then Cook

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

2 Tbs soy sauce

2 tsp freshly grated ginger

3 minced garlic cloves

1 pound lean ground pork

1 large egg, beaten

Place a foil lined jelly roll pan in the oven. Preheat the oven to 450*.

Combine all ingredients & stir until blended. Cover & chill 30 minutes. Divide pork mixture into 20 equal portions, shape each into a meatball. Arrange meatballs in a single layer on the preheated pan. Bake at 450* for 20 minutes or until done.

*NOTE: Add some freshly chopped cilantro or parsley before serving to 'dress' up the meatballs. I also made a dipping sauce for the meatballs by combining a few Tbs. of orange marmalade, a few tsp. of soy sauce & 2 garlic cloves.