Wednesday, June 24, 2009

And The Celebrations Just Keep Coming

This past weekend we took a road trip to celebrate AGS #2’s birthday.  It was destined to be the best birthday party ever because water balloons were involved…

Happy birthday to my favorite-ist 6-year old in the whole wide world!  I love you, Sam!! 102_2701

And a very happy birthday on Saturday to My Favorite Guy/Landshark.  Te amo, Baby!!

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All you quilters will now want to go over and wish Jackie a happy birthday, too.  She is holding a generous giveaway to celebrate her day.

Alrighty then… I’ve got to go pack now and head south where it’s probably even hotter than it is here in Doo-dah… UGH

Have a great rest of the week.

Iva

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Yummy Goodness From Your Staples

No, not the ones found in your desk drawer… the ones in your pantry.

When cinnamon blondies at A Southern Grace appeared on my computer screen and I read how simple the recipe, I just had to make them myself. 

After all, who doesn’t love the aroma and taste of cinnamon.  It is just one of those spices that provides such a pleasant sensory experience and feeling of hominess.  Not only that, but these blondies can be whipped up any time since they consist of the basic staples that stock our pantries at all times – well maybe except for the cinnamon chips; but those are optional anyway.  (Come to think of it though, why would you even consider leaving out the chips?!)

After making one batch and they almost completely disappeared as soon as my guy walked in the door, I decided to check out a couple of other sources for another batch.

In addition to Grace’s Cinnamon Lover’s Snickerdoodle Blondies recipe, Maria's and Julia's recipes also provided inspiration for my own. 

Serve these up Plain, with a cold glass of milk; or Fancy with a dollop of whipped cream, or (even better) a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream… MMMM. 

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Cinnamon Chip Snickerdoodle Blondies

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/3 cups cinnamon chips
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar; beat in the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla until smooth.

Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until well-blended. Stir in the cinnamon chips. Spread the batter evenly onto the prepared pan.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and evenly sprinkle the mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake 25 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly. While still warm, cut into bars with a sharp knife. Makes about 30, depending on how cut.

 

Happy eating!

Iva

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Celebrations

The first celebration is NEW BATTERIES… which are absolutely essential.  Without them my pictures had been held captive for weeks.  Not that they are artistic wonders.  Just that I promised you guys there would pictures (and even a video if I can figure out how to load it) of your, and my, favorite little people having fun with Papa and Mimi, and Papa and Mimi having fun with them.

Really though, the real, official, first celebration is actually Sam’s (little cutie in center) kindergarten graduation.  Congratulations, Sam; and thank you for inviting me to your very special event!

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Just look at those CUTE dimples!  I could just eat you up, little man!!  And doesn’t this just look like a fun bunch of rugrats?

After graduation, Mimi loaded up all three of her adorable munchkins and we headed to Oz for a week of celebrating the beginning of summer vacation.

There was lots of fun and chaos and very little structure because, after all, one is supposed to have tons of fun when visiting the grandparents!  We will leave structure and discipline to the parents.

So…

There were green slides and red slides to delight in:

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Mama was missing her girl, so some phone time was in order!

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And lots of sand to bury ourselves in:

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Then we had to touch the clouds with our toes:

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The usual pestering:

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Fish and frogs to be caught:

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Lots of climbing:

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Getting dizzy:

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Of course, fun in the water (had to wrap the cast in plastic bags because we just couldn’t let Hunter miss out on the fun):

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Papa you are so awesome! Just the best papa ever!!!

Plus lots of fun and popsicles with the neighborhood children,  picnics, playing catch with Papa, looking for awesome rocks with Mimi, late-night movies and popcorn, and hours of searching for “rolly pollies” and snails.

And of course what trip to Papa and Mimi’s would be complete without a visit from “Wedgy Man.”

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To think they actually look forward to this and, from the moment they walk in the door, practically beg their Uncle Adam for the experience.  Of course he makes them wait… until the very last evening of their visit.  But I think it was the highlight of their whole stay; not to mention it has pretty much become a tradition.  Go figure.  Will they still be begging for wedgies from the Wedgy Man when they are teenagers?

Another celebration:  the dining room chairs are now complete.  YAY!!  Pretty decent if I do say so myself.

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And one final celebration:  Mary of Little Red House is celebrating her 500th post with a spectacular giveaway.  If you haven’t seen her blog yet, you certainly owe it to yourself to get over there now.  Her decorating style is impeccable.  Her photography, breathtaking.  I’m so envious.

All in all, life is good!

Iva

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Another First

I couldn’t stand that you all were having so much without me.  So I’m jumping on the bandwagon and participating my first quilt-along being held over at Old Red Barn Co.

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Whether you’re a seasoned quilter or a beginner, you’re sure to want to participate in this project.  Go check it out and see why.

(If you are a beginning quilter, you are going to LOVE Dana’s oh-so-easy to follow directions.)

Happy quilting!

Iva