Archive for February, 2009

Rununculus

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Besides just being a fun word to say, Ranunculus is one of my favorite flowers. The name comes from the Latin for “little frog” probably because many varieties were found growing in wet, marshy areas just like frogs.

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Now that I live on the west coast I was able to plant these already in my windowboxes to enjoy all spring.  As a fresh cut flower, I tend to keep them simple, arranging them alone, in a short tight bouquet. If the environment is cool they last quite a while.

If you were to give them as a gift, you would be saying “I am dazzled by your charm!”

Their many layers of tissue like petals remind me of the flowers we used to make when we were younger! (If you don’t remember how to make them click on the above picture!)

Top five baby names?

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

At our 9am ultrasound appointment yesterday we had the doctor put the sex of our baby in a sealed envelope that we would open later that night over dinner. It seemed like a romantic idea until I had eight hours to wait to see what was inside. I kept myself very busy. We knew better than to let me be the keeper of the envelope because we both knew I would steam it open.

After ordering dinner, we opened it up to find…

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A Girl. Woo Hoo! The Chinese Lunar Calendar was right! My husband held back his tears and started panicking about the teenage years and mumbled something about having to get a shotgun.

So, we have a few name ideas but we would love to hear yours! Leave suggestions in the comment box!

Pregnant Paper Dolls!

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

 

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This will be me this morning. Well, with different hair and a different outfit! Today’s doctor’s appointment should let us know if we have a little boy or girl in there. Very exciting!

As for these paper dolls, how funny are they?!

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This is one of my favorites from the second trimester!

sc0004ce741dsc008092A funny one from the third trimester!

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‘It’s wickedly funny and brutally honest which is what every pregnant woman wants as she loses control of her waistline and pretty much everything else.’

 A great gift!!

Go to The Imagineering Company to order yours for only $10.

How to glam up your moon cacti

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

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Someone asked me about the plant I used in an earlier post called the ‘moon cactus’ which is just a commercial name given to the Gmnocalycium mihanovichii. 

Back when I had a flower shop I would get these in just for conversation pieces. The students really seemed to like them. I always thought they were a little cheesy. They are bright and quirky, so I decided to give them a chance.

I did a little research and found out that they were created in nurseries in Japan. They start as mutant seedlings lacking chlorophyll, which is why they are bright red, pink, or orange instead of green. They can’t survive on their own without the chlorophyll for photosynthesis so they are grafted onto green stocks,many times the hylocereus trigonus. 

You can find them at florists or even Home Depot or Lowes. You just have to overlook the foil and shiny packaging and see that they can be made into something better.

Click through the pictures below to see how to give your moon cacti a makeover.

The moon cacti prefer light shade. Bright sunshine will fade their color. Water sparingly.

Smile, it’s Monday.

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

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Googly ‘graffiti’? I like it.

Came across these in Italy. It just makes me smile and always want to have a bag of google eyes on hand. 

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The best blueberry muffins

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

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This is it. The best blueberry muffin I’ve made to date and I’ve made many! A good blueberry muffin should be part of your recipe repertoire, ready to whip up on a Sunday morning or to bring a basket to your new neighbor. Ha! Does anyone still do that? I hope so. We should. This particular recipe came from The Modern Baker. Have you bought this book yet?  I’ve only tried three things from it but I’ve enjoyed them all!

These Blueberry Crumb Muffins are sweet, but not too sweet, moist and packed with blueberries!

Here’s the recipe. If you make them and you think you have a better recipe please send it to me!

Set rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.  Get one 12-cavity muffin pan ready with paper liners.

Crumb Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, 1/2 cup light brown sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and stir well to mix.  Melt the butter in a small pan.  Remove from heat, then add the brown sugar to the pan of melted butter and use a small heatproof spatula to stir them together. Scrape the butter and sugar mixture into the flour mixture, stirring it in until the flour is evenly moistened.  Set aside while preparing the muffin mixture.

Muffin Batter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg, 8 tbsp. (1 stick) softened unsalted butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1 pint of blueberries that have been rinsed, drained, and picked over.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and stir well to mix.

Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for about 1 minute, or until well mixed and a little lightened in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating smooth after each.

Decrease the mixer speed to low and beat in 1/2 the flour mixture.  Stop the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and beater.

On low speed, beat in the milk.  After the batter has absorbed the milk, beat in the remaining flour mixture. Stop and scrape down the bowl and beater again.

Add the blueberries to the bowl and beat them into the batter on the lowest speed for no more than 2-3 seconds, to crush some of the berries slightly.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to give a final mixing to the batter.

Divide batter equally among the cavities in the muffin pan. Break the crumb topping into small crumbs with your fingertips and scatter over the top of each muffin. (At this point, I personally mounded the crumb topping on because there was so much of it! If you don’t like a sweet topping, stick to the scatter) Bake the muffins until they are well risen, feel firm to the touch, and the topping is golden, about 30 minutes.  Cool the muffins in the pan on a rack.

if a hipster was a plant…

Friday, February 20th, 2009

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This is Kisses…

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

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She used to be one of my favorites. Her afro-pom needs a little fixing.  Oh, the things you find when you’re sorting through your stuff making room for baby.

ranunculus and a dotted dress

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

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Fried pickle chips. Am I a pregnant cliche?

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

No, I did not have ice cream with that.

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I did drizzle some of my new favorite hot sauce on each one. It doesn’t have that much heat but it is really vinegary and tangy. A great combo with the pickles!

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Where did I find such a tasty fun snack? At EaT: An Oyster Bar, located at 3808 N.Williams Avenue. Since I can’t partake in the eating of raw oysters, (my husband had 1/2 dozen assorted and he said they were very good) I was delighted to find the fried pickle chips on their menu. Other fried snacks included okra and frog legs. Creole is the name of the game at Eat. A couple next to us at the bar had the jambalaya and the gumbo and they were very pleased with their meals.  The atmosphere is casual and the eats are cheap!