Thursday, February 26, 2009

How to make hard-boiled eggs...



I love hard-boiled eggs. Especially when they are cold and sprinkled with just a smidge of salt. Mmmmmmm. Reminds me of picnics with my sister and our next door neighbor, Cathy, when we were little girls. We would picnic in either our backyard or Cathy's and my mom would send us out with hard-boiled eggs and bologna and lettuce sandwiches. A true feast for a small child!!!

In the not too distant past, I've had issues making hard-boiled eggs. They may taste fine, but they would always end up with that weird greenish looking ring around the yolk. Ick. It was NOT appetizing looking in the least!! So, I discovered the boil-and-walk-away method...


The boil-and-walk-away method

For another way to hard-boil eggs, begin as directed at left with the eggs in cold water, but once the water reaches a brisk simmer, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit uncovered in the hot water for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes— the water cools gradually, preventing the eggs from overcooking. This is a great method when you’re multitasking and can’t pay careful attention to the eggs.



This works perfectly for me everytime!!

Now... to find a spot to picnic....

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Has it already been 2 years??

"Gotcha" Day, Guangdong, Guangzhou, China, 2-25-2007... a tiny, scared little girl...



These days... what a happy and silly 2 1/2 year old!!!

Monday, February 23, 2009

A lovely blogging find!!



Not too long ago, I discovered a WONDERFUL blog called Blessed Femina. Miss Jenn is a sweet lady that loves the Lord, loves caring for her home and is an incredible cook!! Her blog is beautiful, her choice of music is lovely and calming and her words are always encouraging and challenging!

I am confident that if I am ever blessed to meet Miss Jenn and her mother, Mrs. L, in person I will LOVE them immediately!!

Thank you, Miss Jenn, for such a wonderful, feminine blog!! Yours is a place that causes me to be so much more thankful for being a lady!

Y'all be sure and visit Blessed Femina!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Cupcake love...


We going to a Valentine's party today with some friends of Elizabeth's. I am taking these super yummy cupcakes. Oh boy. They are TO DIE FOR!!

I first made this recipe for my birthday. I made the "Messy" cake (as Bakerella calls it) and we all immediately fell in LOVE!! The recipe for the cake is super easy and the icing is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now some of y'all might not have discovered Bakerella yet. Let me tell you, before you even THINK about looking at her website, make SURE that you have all things baking related nearby! You will SERIOUSLY want to bake something after drooling over her creations!!!! I mean, check out the cute Cake Pops!!! OH MY!!!!

Happy Monday, y'all!!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Making a house a BEAUTIFUL home??

Sure, I can cook and I can keep our home clean, but decorating? I will be the first to admit that I can NOT decorate. I have no idea where to start. Even when it comes to painting the walls someone might tell me "Oh, just pick your favorite color" but I have about 10,000 favorite colors!!

My sister, now SHE can decorate, let me tell ya!! Her house is GORGEOUS and I am pretty sure that Better Homes & Gardens would have NO problem sharing photos of HER house in their magazine!!

It's not like I have dreams of a palace like this one...



No... I like a smaller home. It's easier to clean and SHOULD be easier to decorate. Except, well, like I said, I am clueless about home decorating.

I recently have decided that I NEED to do something to make our home look a little more up-to-date (instead of 1998's finest curtains complete with balloon valance... Yes, I still have that old balloon valance... I told y'all I can't decorate!!!). And to help me, I have found some GREAT blogs with ideas!!! I've been reading, getting ideas, talking to my sister (thank you, Leslie!!!) and I'm going to slowly start making changes. Of course, I'd RATHER have Candice Olsen decorate, but on a pastor's salary, I'm pretty sure we couldn't afford her.

These are the blogs that have encouraged me to do something to make this home a beautiful home:

- Nesting Place (I am LOVING her mistreatments!!!!)

- The Inspired Room

- My Romantic Home (Mr. U would SO not go for this, but it sure is pretty!!!)


Now I would LOVE to hear of more inspiring decorating blogs!!! PLEASE share them! I need all the ideas I can get!! We have a clean home, we have a well fed home, but I would LOVE to have a charming home, too.

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