CURRENT PINS

1. Love not only seeing art in progress but the same image in sequence//idea for a layout. 2. Replace draw with make//that's me. 3. Toddler advice I need to read//quiet time for toddlers who no longer nap. 4. I can't say that I'm a huge lover of pb&j's but in the form of a donut, well now that's a different story. 5. Color inspiration//pops of pink. 6. Light. Light. Shadow & light. 7. The wonton soup I made & put up on my IG this week//SO GOOD. *added less ginger to the wonton mixture and a little more cabbage. also added soy sauce + Sriracha to the broth. 8. More color inspiratoin//pastel + pop. 9. Couldn't be more perfect. (can't find the original source. pin)

Happy Weekend. xot

CURRENTS PINS//END OF JANUARY

1. Jennifer Pebbles did an amazing office makeover that I'm quite envious of. Mine is in a current state of disarray but it's coming together slowly. Loving her inexpensive curtain idea. So doing this.

5. Chicken Gyros are now on a weekly rotation in our house. Or at least until we get tired of them but it's really the perfect food for us. Jeff loves anything in the form of a sandwich. I just love gyros, especially when there's no mystery meat involved. If you have time, go the extra mile & try the homemade pocketless pitas. I could eat just these right out of the oven.

6. Do it, do it. I always hear Ben Stiller's voice in my head when I'm doubting myself.

XOT

Current Pins

What do your latest pins say about you?

3. Loving charcoal colored walls. I've been contemplating this for a wall in our living room to sort of detract from our slate fireplace. Our home is definitely a cozy one and our living space is limited. Why the builders put a huge slate fire place in the living room is beyond me but it's here to stay and I need to find a way to work around it.

5. I've been really interested in making more of my own baked goods and these crackers look simply awesome.

6. This lasagna soup recipe was really really good, especially on a chilly winter day served with good home made french bread. I halved the recipe & used a half jar of spagetti sauce instead of diced tomatoes since we were out. Love being able to improvise a recipe with good results.

7. Purging A TON OF NEEDLESS STUFF lately and loving it.

14. The combination of a tidy workspace and beautiful natural light has me redecorating my office again.

You can find the links to these pins on my Pinterest board.

XOT

5th times a charm

It took me five tries to finally get this carmel sauce right and honestly, it still wasn't perfect. The final batch still has some sugar crystals and I could have let it cook for a minute or 2 longer to get more of a rich amber color. I tried 2 separate recipes 2 times each, both MAJOR FAILS. Oy.

1st attempt with this recipe and a big lesson learned. DON'T WALK AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN AND FORGET YOU'RE MAKING CARMEL SAUCE. What a mess. 2nd attempt with this recipe. Lesson learned? DON'T STIR THE SUGAR. I ended up with rock candy. 3rd attempt, same recipe above. Apparently lesson wasn't learned because I got impatient and stirred again. Don't ask. 4th attempt, first recipe. I f!$&king burnt it again. !@($$&#($*(!!! Jeff proceeded to ask why I just didn't go out and buy a jar of carmel sauce if I was craving it that bad. That comment was followed by an evil glare. He didn't say another word. 5th attempt, this recipe but added butter and vanilla. Success! I didn't walk away. I didn't stir. But I was too afraid I would burn it again so I was premature in adding the cream and butter. Still had an excellent flavor though. Delish over my favorite vanilla ice cream. The second day I used it as an apple dip. Victory is mine!

XOT

Homemade tortillas yo.

Don't ask me what spurred the sudden interest of making my own tortillas but it seemed like a good idea since I had forgotten them from my shopping trip the day before and did not want to go back to the store. I repeat, I DID NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THE STORE. I'm wearing what could be the ugliest sweatpants I own, no make up and hair that could not be tamed. I already had chicken in the crockpot that I had planned on shredding and was craving mexican so homemade it was. I found this pin to a recipe from the Taste of Home site for tortillas that did not require lard. (didn't have any of that either) The ingredients were incredibly simple but it was more time consuming than I had planned. But now I know what I'm doing so the next round should go a little better. One issue I had was that I could not roll out my tortillas in perfect circles. Screw perfect, I just wanted a somewhat traditional shaped tortilla but kept getting misshapen ovals. I swear one looked like the profile of Shrek. They did taste good. That was the important thing.

xot

Pin to Action//Cheap Korean Beef

I tested this recipe tonight with good results. It is indeed "cheap" like the title suggests using ground beef instead of the ribs or steak I would normally use in this type of recipe.  I love that it calls for ingredients I always have on hand and I'm always on the lookout for a tasty ground beef recipe which personally are very few as I'm not a huge fan of ground beef.It came together quickly and guys devoured it. I served it with some stir-fried carrots and zucinni and added some toasted sesame seeds and of course, sriracha sauce. I held back the red pepper flakes the original recipe called for. I don't think Tyler's quite ready for that kind of spice. Definitly going in the Aszmus recipe book. xot