Happy Birthday!

Little Miss LJ, 

Uncle Mister and I wish you a very happy birthday!  We wish that we could be with you, Mom and Dad, the gramas and grampas, and your friends at your party!  It brings us joy to see what a special little lady you are becoming, so inquisitive, happy, and full of life.  As you grow up, our wishes for you are that you always remember to dream big, remain happy and confident, and that your wishes will come true!  We love you and hope we can visit with you soon! 

XOXO

Get Carded

Recently I've realized that I have a whole bunch of gift cards (just waiting to be organized)!  I started by grouping all the cards together then organizing them in alphabetical order.  The next order of business was finding the value of each card and labeling the back with the current balance.  Some cards had never been used and have the values on them, I relied on receipts for others, and for just a few, I went online or called the 800 numbers on the back.  Finally, I put the alphabetized and labeled cards in a business card case along with frequent purchase/stamp and membership cards.  Quick and simple!

Let Them Eat Crab Cake!

To celebrate Fathers' Day we planned dinner and a movie with the Parentals.  We decided on an undoubtedly comforting comfort food menu: Paula Deen's Savannah Crab Cakes, the Mister's Fresh Corn Chowder, and a loaf of bread (I'm proud to say we baked the bread from scratch!!), and a medley of cupcakes and brownies baked by Mother.  I had such a wonderful evening enjoying delicious food and the company of the people I love.

Paula Deen's Savannah Crab Cakes 

Ingredients

1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells

1/3 cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz)

3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 egg

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

Dash cayenne pepper

Flour, for dusting

1/2 cup peanut oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and peanut oil. Shape into patties and dust with flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 

When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. 

Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve warm with preferred sauce.

first image via here

Happy Daddy's Day

Dear Daddy,
We've had our rough patches, but I am thankful that over the years we have become closer and now have such a strong relationship.  Thank you for being there for me and all of the little, and not so little things that you do.

A special thank you for:

reading me bedtime stories, especially the long ones so I could stay up a little longer 

having tea parties and dinner picnics with me 

tucking me into bed (even though you burrito'd me in so tight I couldn't move)

decorating my bedroom on birthdays with presents, posters, and balloons  

teaching me how to play softball and making me proud to throw like girl 

being a soccer coach to me and my friends

taking a Seattle to San Diego road trip with me to look at colleges

being the laundry master and helping me to remove any and all stains 

washing my car, changing the oil, and on occasion, filling up the gas

cooking Sunday night dinners with me, and teaching me the clambake & meatloaf recipe

walking me down the aisle to marry my Mister

thank you for loving me

I love you too!

Menu & Kitchen Inspiration

This weekend we plan to have a lot of family time.  In our families, family time also means a lot of time  in the kitchen and around the table.  The menu is not quite set but I have a feeling it will include some seafood, some sort of comfort food, and of course, something sweet.  To choose our special Dad's Day menu I think I will turn to Ms. Paula Deen and Neiman Marcus for inspiration.  While I'm flipping through these books looking for my cooking inspiration I thought I'd share a little bit of my future kitchen inspiration.

if anyone can help with the photo credit, please let me know...

Beauty Balm

Recently I've been hearing a lot about beauty balms, more popularly referred to as "BB creams."  The claims to "moisturize, provide sun protection, prime skin for makeup, color correct, and minimize pore size" totally got my attention.  But there seems to be so many different options on the market by different brands and offered at a wide range of price points.  I am very intrigued and would like to try a BB cream but I can't decide how to decide which brand to try; I don't want to buy one (two, or a few) only to have it join my collection of abandoned/rarely used cosmetics.  Has anyone tried a BB cream or have a brand they would recommend?

image via here

Sproutletts!

My love for fresh (and brightly colored) flowers as well as the idea of having floral cuttings around the house inspired us to plant flowers in our front yard.  Last weekend we planted Sunflowers, Zinnias, Snapdragons, and a cut flower mixture seeds.  Unfortunately, a patch of dirt was all we had to show for all of our initial hard work after weeding, digging, planting and watering.  At that moment our impatient sides kicked in and we joked that we should have also planted a few potted plants alongside the seeds, but since then our patience has paid off and we have little "sproutletts" popping up.  Now the challenge is discerning weed from sproutlett, and waiting for the blooms!