roasted broccoli

I love broccoli any way I can get it but this version is our new favorite.  Dump 2C broccoli onto a sprayed baking sheet, toss with 2-3T olive oil, 2 crushed cloves of garlic and salt and pepper.  Roast at 425 about 20-25 minutes until it's turning brown and crispy around the edges turning a couple of times. YUM!!  You could do this with cauliflower or brussel sprouts also.

sugar scrub cubes

I love the idea of sugar scrub in cube form.  One use and you don't have to keep putting your hands into a jar to scoop it out.  I've experimented with several different variations but most of them have turned out fragile and crumbly.  They just did not withstand handling.  That's not a good idea if you are going to pack a product and move it around.  This time I used VCB's newly formulated sugar scrub with coconut oil and glycerin along with glycerin soap.  I will pass these around to all our guinea pigs(friends and family) and see if it will be a viable product.  I'll let you know.

Not picture perfect yet, but I'm working on it. The scent is lemon sage one of our most popular, I love the color. Here I used an individual silicone brownie mold, I also tried ice cube trays and a shallow heart mold.  As my mama always says "if at first you don't succeed, try try again".

oven baked pork chops

Easy and quick is the way I like cooking when I'm really busy.  These chops fit the bill, add a salad and fresh bread or a small baked potato and dinner is ready in less than a half hour.
4 boneless 1/2" thick pork chops
1C panko bread crumbs
1/4C Parmesan cheese
herbs and spices you like, I used garlic and onion powder,salt, pepper, parsley and thyme
1 egg plus 2T water mixed together
Mix the crumbs, cheese and spices together and put in a flat dish
Dip the chops in the egg wash then in the crumb mix on both sides
place on a sprayed baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes turning after 10 minutes
If they aren't golden brown but are cooked through just pop them under the broiler for a couple of minutes just to brown them.

Easter decorating

After redoing the living room and  kitchen for spring I brought out all the Easter decorations and sprinkled them through out the rooms.  I don't do a lot, but just a few touches bring the holiday to mind.  Dusty the very ornery kitten is planning her own Easter egg hunt by knocking all the eggs around the rooms.  I usually find 8-10 every morning  Hard telling how many I'd find if I moved furniture.

Iron basket filled with eggs, dressed stones at the bottom.

The whole cabinet vignette. 

Aqua glass and spring birds.

Table centerpiece, two weeks later more than half the eggs are gone.  I'll be finding them all year.

Decorative basket I found when I cleaned out the closet,  It had never been used.

I  found these fancy bunnies packed in a box, they are brand new and probably have been in the closet for 7-8 years

Spring decorating

It's past the first of March so it's time to put away the reds, browns and dark accessories of winter and bring out the greens and aquas.  Different window coverings, washing windows, moving furniture all make me feel like a new season is here.  I haven't added much that is new this year, I just use what I have and move it around.  It makes for good mental therapy and lifts my spirits.

When you have multiples of something like these mirrors, group them together for more impact.

New wall grouping mirrors and signs.  The small signs are new I already had everything else.

These shelves are gigantic, almost 11' high and 16' wide, they are only 11" deep.  It takes a lot of accessories to fill them up.  Just one item per shelf, nope, not me.  I like lots of stuff.

succulent favor

I recently attended a Master gardeners class and they used grouping of these succulents as table decorations.  They gave them to everyone as a favors at the end of the day.  Simple as can be the tin cans are wrapped in brown paper, a strip of burlap, tied with raffia and a tag of hand made paper with seeds embedded in it.  The plant is in a paper cup and the can has gravel in the bottom for stability.

The closet of shame

We have this closet in our house that is an absolute disgrace.  It holds our water heater and vacuum and is a long triangle shape that make it difficult to get into regularly.  I must confess it has not been cleaned out in years.  Last time we were snowed in on a weekend AH moved everything out and I went through every bag, box and container in there.  After purging and and looking at all of it, it's back together and looks much better.  I can find what I want and know what is in each box.  I can get to what I need without fear of an avalanche of papers, boxes and pictures.  AH is mortified that I'm sharing the before picture but I'm willing to bet that plenty of you have a place in your home just like it, except my mother who is such a neat freak she puts Mr Clean to shame.  I unfortunately did not inherit those genes.

disaster before

after shelf space for more stuff

after

check out the retro wall paper

a place to hang purse on the back of the door