A Recipe Revamp

Today was the day. The day I finally pulled out my baskets and boxes of quickly perused cooking magazines and tightly folded recipes, and organized my collection. There are so many recipes I find while going through magazines and online that I collect and set aside, only to lose or forget in the growing pile next to my bed. I have been trying to get back to better strategizing meals for the week, it's just been difficult with varying schedules. However, I really think my new organizational strategy will help. Here's how I did it:

My sweet Mother-in-law purchased me a pink (perfect)binder, and compiled some family recipes to store inside. I have used several of the recipes, but have yet to add to the binder..until now. I went through my pile of cooking magazines, found dog-eared pages of previous interest, and started making piles. A pile of dinner recipes, dessert recipes, and misc. recipes like fondue or side dishes. After organizing them into piles, I 3-hole punched them, and organized them into those sections in the binder. After organizing the binder with printed out internet recipes (thank you, Allrecipes.com), magazine recipes, and family recipes (some sent almost weekly by my wonderful mom :), I disposed of the leftover magazines. What a space saver! I also took this time to go through the recipe box given to me by my beautiful Nanny, and reorganize those on recipe cards, as well.

After organizing the binder and box and disposing of leftover magazines, I decided to use a pull-out folder in the back of the binder to store recipes for the week. I placed three recipes I wanted to try this week in one side of the folder, and my grocery list and coupons for the week on the other side (also thanks to my mother). This way, I can just grab and go. Looking forward to keeping this up. It seems sooo much more convenient.

Have a restful Sunday!

xoxo,
Emily

P.S. Please ignore or at least pretend to ignore the spread of puppy and kitty toys on the carpet in the background. Let's just say the animals enjoyed having us home to play with today.

Two Sweet Finds

Hi all :) For my female friends and family, I just had to show you my two great finds from this past weekend. I have been searching for two pair of shoes for months now. 1. Dressy black flip flops, to replace a pair I had for years and just recently bit the dust AND 2. A great pair of nude pumps. Well, after scanning stores for months, I finally came upon these two beauties, both at Marshall's.

The black pair, I just love. They are shiny but not overdone, and who could help but love those little bows?! I'm a sucker for bows...and 16 bucks?!...I can handle that.

The nude pumps were a STEAL. They are Tahari, which is one of my favorite brands of dress pants. Originally priced at around $100, marked down to $75, then $35, then...get this...$20. Twenty dollars for these babies.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited about these finds, and have worn both already. Here are a few quick pictures of them. Happy Spring/Summer Shoe Shopping, ladies (and..men?)!

xoxo,
Emily

A Cooking Calm

What is it about cooking that soothes the soul? I'm not exactly sure what the scientific explanation is, but here are a few things that I know contribute to my love of cooking.

~ The aroma of spices and mingling scents
~ The therapy of chopping and dicing
~ The ability to create something predictable, after an unpredictable day
~ A creative outlet
~ The joy on the faces of those for whom you cook/bake
~ The anticipation building as the "time cook" button counts down while a new recipe cooks in the oven
~ Setting the table for a special dinner
~ The entertaining that goes along with it
~ Using a tried and true family recipe, measurements worn by the fingers of beloved relatives

xoxo,
Emily

Spring Craft Idea

Hi all :) With this time on my hands, I decided to channel a little creativity and make a Spring wreath. I have made one for all other seasons, but did not have one bright and cheery for this season. I looked online for some inspiration, and decided on yarn for wrapping my wreath form. I chose blue, as it reminded me of bird's eggs, and found these flowers in the wedding aisle of Michael's. Here are some pictures of the process, and the finished product. I enjoyed myself!




I secured the beginning and the end of the yarn with a little hot glue, and wrapped the rest. It probably took about an hour and a half to wrap that sucker, but it's easy work..and kind of relaxing. Enjoy!

xoxo,
Emily

Spring Fever

I have really been feeling under the weather lately, so I decided maybe a Spring themed post would brighten my day, and hopefully yours. Since I haven't been feeling well, any spare time that I have has been spent resting. During these rest periods, I've had some time to look through magazines and websites, curious to find out what this Spring's trends will be. After doing some research, there are definitely some trends I will absolutely be taking part in, and some...not so much. Here are my finds for Spring 2011.

Looks I will definitely be trying:



Electric Pink Lips



Pastel Polishes



"Arm Candy" - brightly colored purses



Cobalt Blue everything



High-Waist Trousers



Colored Denim



Anything Honeysuckle colored

Looks I'm Not Loving



Jumpsuits



Neon Make-up

Breakfast for Dinner

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Just a quick recipe I felt was definitely worth sharing. I am a big "Breakfast for Dinner" lover. Sometimes, when you're just too tired to cook something involved but don't feel like eating out, breakfast food is the perfect alternative. Something about eating eggs and bread for dinner screams "ultimate comfort food" to me.

My mom sent me this recipe, which she pulled out of Rachel Ray Magazine. It's more of a gourmet breakfast for dinner than my usual Chocolate Chip Pancakes, but just go with it. ;)

Apple, Cheddar and Bacon Monte Cristos
Serves 4

12 slices good-quality bacon
8 slices french bread
1/2 to 3/4 pound extra-sharp white cheddar cheese (I used Swiss)
2 golden delicious or gala apples, cored and very thinly sliced
3 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk or half-and-half
A little freshly grated nutmeg (I just used a bit of pumpkin pie spice and it worked fine)
Butter or Pam for greasing
Warm maple syrup for drizzling if desired

Cook the bacon, arrange 4 slices of bread with some cheese and the apples on the top. Beat the eggs with the milk or half-and-half and the nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spice). Heat a large griddle pan over medium heat. When ready, arrange 3 slices of bacon on each sandwich and top with a litle more cheese and 4 more slices of bread. Coat each sandwich in the egg batter. Grease the griddle and griddle the sandwiches until deep golden on each side and the cheese has melted. Halve the sandwiches and drizzle with a little warm syrup. Enjoy!

xoxo,
Emily

A Bittersweet Tribute

Hello friends and family,

I come to you from a bittersweet place today. As many of you know, my grandmother "Nanny", Joyce McNally passed away on Sunday morning. I'd like to start with the best part of Nanny's death; she now lives! I am sure for those family and friends living closer to her, the blessing of her passing rings even louder, as you have seen her suffering first hand. I know, without a doubt, that Nanny is in heaven, probably talking everyone's ears off and correcting them on how to cook a turkey so that it's REALLY done. Our family rejoices in knowing that Nanny's new heavenly body now matches the beautiful spirit that has been trapped in a pained, scarred, bruised, and disfigured body for so many years.

However, even with all of the joy that I feel in my heart for HER, we, those left behind, will never be the same. We mourn OUR loss, but celebrate her gain. I've been trying to think of a way to explain my grandmother to those who didn't know her. The best description is actually an illustration of the loving, selfless person that she was up to the last day she spent on this earth. Around Thanksgiving, Nanny went into cardiac arrest and "coded". When she was brought back, she was unable to breathe on her own for several days. Once she woke up and was able to identify some of what was going on around her, it was a blessing for us because we realized she recognized us, but horribly painful for her as she was awake and intubated for quite some time.

Every few hours, someone from the Respiratory Department would come in and clean out Nanny's lungs. Needless to say, it was not a very pleasant experience for her. On one particular occasion, a young Respiratory Therapist came in the room to begin the procedure, and it was obvious Nanny was in serious discomfort throughout. The young therapist continually apologized to Nanny for her suffering, and looked deeply distrought at the thought of hurting her. With all of the strength Nanny had left in her frail body, she, noticing the guilt and burden the girl was feeling, lifted her hand off the bed, clasped the therapist's hand, and pulled it to her own lips for a kiss as an offering of love and understanding of the situation. As if to say, "It's not your fault, I understand."

There are so many things I could say about my grandmother, but I feel that the above story describes the way Nanny lived her life; totally and completely for others. And so Nanny, this is for you. A public testiment to how much you have been, and always will be loved. I found the recipe for your famous Linzer Tart cookies today. You hand wrote it for me a few years back. I decided the best way for me to honor you was to bake them. This was my first time, they always looked so hard...and they really kind of were complicated. They're a little lopsided, and I wasted more dough than you would have accepted, but I made them for you nonetheless.

Thank you Nanny for giving me my love of animals, my love of helping others, my sense of humor, my brown eyes, my love of baking, my singing voice, and for leaving me with the best family I could imagine. I love you always.

Love,
Your Girl