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This Cluttered Life

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This post almost did not happen. Why? Because I lost my camera. In the clutter. Yes, even us super organized people get a little lost at times {I bet even Martha Stewart has her days!}. I think my worst habit is that I start so many projects at a time and then I get a little sidetracked thus the clutter. What am I doing today?

  • Taking photos and listing things on Craigslist.
  • Using Stitch Witchery to hem my bedroom curtains {OK, not really but I really thought about doing it today}.
  • Obsessing Thinking about my master bedroom redo.
  • Painting a dresser for my master bedroom redo.
  • Gathering items that I no longer need for a future {no date set} yard sale.
  • Doing laundry.
  • Making lunches for my kids for tomorrow.
  • Finishing up a few wreaths.
  • Picking a new paint color for my dining room niches.
  • Starting my new part time gig {which oddly enough is organizing paperwork for a non profit}.
  • Staring at the paperwork, birthday cards, old magazines and Cub Scout awards from last night as they sit on my counter.

Yes, really. All of that is on my plate at the moment. I have not gotten anything 100% done but I have dabbled in all of this today. I also took my youngest to a birthday party and went out to dinner with my family. I am feeling a little overwhelmed but I think I will take the advice of my baby brother {that smartie pants}. He suggested to me one time to “chunk stuff out”. What a great idea. I always try and remember this phrase. So the above? Tonight I will go through the stuff piled on my counter, finish up this blog post and finish some wreaths. That will make a good dent in my projects. Oh man, I just got sucked in to Pinterest. Sorry, I’m back now :) This is what happens when I go on a random search for organized kitchens. I feel like that dog in Up!, “Squirrel!!”. My focus is sometimes lacking. Wanna see what my world looks like right now? I bet you do!!

“the counter” – yikes!

Garage sale ‘stuff’ and niche with a sample color. I think I like it but I don’t know that I can commit, yet.

My new job

Tonight’s project – yikes!

Do you struggle with a heavy to do list? Adding way too many projects to your plate? Squirrel syndrome? ;) Do you have a method to your madness? I’d love to hear it. Please do leave a comment — I love reading what you have to say.

Happy Monday friends. May it be productive and happy :)

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Bee Organized, The Hive Tagged With: ,

Gluten Free Quinoa Salad with a Maple Vinaigrette

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It seems there is a pattern lately in my posts — FOOD! Well I must confess, I eat everyday. I know, weird uh?? ;) Anyway, it is so easy to share a quick recipe  but sometimes a blog post on organizing, decor, etc takes a lot more time. I have a couple of projects in the works. One is the master closet makeover. I need just a few more things and that will be done and share worthy. I think it came out well. Not super fancy but a nice space to get pretty in. I am also redoing a dresser which will tie into a master bedroom redo. All of these plus the day to day stuff. Did I mention that I might start working part time as well? Yep, that is in the works too. But it’s all good — I love my blog and plan to keep on blogging on!!

For today, I will share this wonderful Gluten free recipe that I found. I made it last night and it made a perfect lunch for today as well. My goal is to make lunches ahead of time as that seems to be a meal that I overeat at cause I go for quick and not always healthy. As I receive 6 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. Sigh.Yum.

Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach and Chick Peas in a Maple Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1 cup organic quinoa
Sea salt
2 good handfuls of organic baby spinach leaves, washed, drained
1 large ripe pear, washed, stemmed and cored, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chilled chick peas, rinsed, drained
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
A handful of pecans, pan toasted and salted to taste

For the Maple Vinaigrette Dressing:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Instructions:

Place the quinoa in a saucepan or a rice cooker. Add 2 cups fresh water, and a pinch of sea salt. Cover and cook on a low simmer until all the water is evaporated and the quinoa is tender- roughly 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and dump it into a large salad bowl.

Add the baby spinach, pear, chick peas, and chopped parsley to the quinoa and fluff.

Whisk together the vinaigrette, pour it over the quinoa salad and toss gently to coat. Season to taste with sea salt and ground pepper.

Just before serving, add the toasted pecans and lightly combine.

Makes four main course servings, six side dish servings.

{as I post this I realize that I forgot to add the parsley even though I did buy it! Duh moment. It was still delish.}

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With:

Appetizer Potatoes

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

My sweet friend Lourdes brought these yummy apps to a small party I hosted for Buffalo Hill Designs during the holiday season. she also graciously shared the recipe and I just had to share it with you!! This simple recipe packs a flavorful punch and would be perfect for any gathering.

{I couldn’t help but share this heart shaped potato in honor of Valentine’s Day!!}

Appetizer Potatoes

 

  • 1 Pound small potatoes
  • 4 Small garlic cloves
  • 1 Cup Lime Juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Chicken Bouillon (Knorr)
  • 2 Serrano Peppers

 

Boil the potatoes until they are done and firm, drain. Pour oil and fry the potatoes. In a blender mix the lime juice, serrano pepers and garlic. Add to the potatoes then the Chicken Bouillon, and let them fry for a couple minutes. They can be served warm or at room temperature….Enjoy!

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With:

Kale and Sausage Ragu

February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I made this simple supper the other night. I loved that it has super healthy kale in it and the addition of beans was an interesting but yummy twist. It also made for great leftovers!

Source

Kale & Sausage Ragu from Rachel Ray Magazine

Ingredients

  • 1 pound rigatoni
  • 1/2 pound italian sausage
  • 1 cup sliced shallots
  • 12 cups stemmed kale ribbons
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 15 ounce can pink beans
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions

  • Cook pasta; drain, reserving 1 cup water. Brown sausage in skillet; reserve. Add shallots; cook 2 minutes. Add kale, wine and 1 cup water; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in pasta, beans, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, sausage, cheese and 3/4 cup cooking water. Top with extra cheese and lemon zest.

Serves 6

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With:

Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

February 7, 2012 By 4 Comments

Love is in the air. Can you feel it?? It is that sweet time of year when kids are picking out Valentines cards or creating something special and unique — probably with the help of mamas {hand raised over here}. It seems that there are more and more kids with food allergies. Some schools have very strict rules about what you can and can not bring to share as far as foodie treats to holiday parties. Some schools even enforce a ‘no treat’ rule. This being said, I wanted to share some fabulously creative ideas for non-edible Valentines. I am about to submerge myself into handmade Valentines with my boys. I found this super cute idea over at Whipperberry and I just HAVE TO DO IT! It’s such a sweet way to share the love on Valentines Day. I used a couple of 40% off coupons at Michaels to buy the heart molds and then I searched {and searched and searched} on-line for a rolling alphabet stamp. There are more listed today then there was when I bought mine and they are in South Korea so ship time wouldn’t work if you wanted it for this Valentines Day which is *gasp* a week from today!! I love how it is something non edible and the saying is so sweet!

Here are some more sweet and creative ideas. There are so many printables out there to help you create a lovely and custom package as well. Just do a search for “free Valentines printables”.

This idea for this little bookmark is super easy and it can be used time and time again. Plus it’s great for little readers. They will love having something special for their favorite books.

These sweet pencils are handy and have a fun message on them. She custom ordered her’s but you can find Valentines pencils at Target 20 for $2.00. I actually picked some up for my kiddos class this morning.

I do love owls so this sweet card really stood out to me. They show a pencil or a lolli but obviously, for non food Valentines I’d use a pencil.

Kids love bouncy balls {and they keep them busy for awhile too}. This cute idea says, “Valentine, you make my heart bounce”.

You’d have to move fast to get this one done in time {we are at nearly 30 kids per class so I couldn’t get this done in time!} but the friendship bracelet is a fun way to say, “thanks for being my friend”.

G*Rated featured this idea for giving play-dough as a gift. If you have younger kiddos, Play-dough is always a hit. You can buy the little ones, stick them in a bag with this cute printable or click here for directions on how to make your own.

I plan to do something similar to this for my kids teachers. I picked up some red mugs today and I want to do their teachers 1st name initial. Click here for that fun Anthropology inspired idea.

There you have it ~ some sweet and fabulous ways to share the love on Valentines Day. If you are looking for foodie options, Design Finch shared 50 ideas for creating Valentines.

Are you a store bought or handmade Valentine giver? I’d love to hear your ideas.

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Crafts, Fun finds, In the Kitchen Tagged With: ,

Sellands – The Latest Hot Spot in El Dorado Hills

February 5, 2012 By 2 Comments

For months now we have been teased with the signage of Sellands opening in Town Center. If you are not familiar, this great foodie spot is already quite popular in East Sacramento and also comes from the same owners of The Kitchen and Ella, also both a name in themselves. I was so excited when they opened earlier this week. I was able to walk through on Monday with a friend. I actually just wanted to peak in the windows because I thought the actual opening was on Tuesday. We grabbed some menus and drooled a little. Knowing of course that we’d be back. We also took in the beautiful design. With a large counter of both hot plates and deserts as well as a vast assortment of wines, there was truley something for everyone. The patio is dotted with happy yellow bistro tables. Inside you are welcomed with a fresh sprinkling of white and yellow. Selland’s is also considered a market so if you look around, you will find lots of goodies including an assortment of Stonewall Kitchen products like a dark chocolate salted caramel sauce {I can’t stop thinking about it!}  It just feels like a happy spot where you would want to sit and savor your food among friends and family.

Fast forward to today, I had a lunch date with another friend and this of course was where I wanted to go. The menu is full of sandwiches, pizzas, hot plates, soups and salads. It was so hard to choose! I went with a bowl of butternut squash soup and a lovely salad with apples and goat cheese. The soup was creamy with a little bit of sage oil on the top. The salad came with a golden balsamic vinaigrette. It was the perfect meal. My friend had a turkey and brie sandwich with caramelized onions. I was able to sample that as well and it was delish. We met at 1:30pm and the place was crowded and buzzing with happy customers. I think this was exactly the kind of spot that El Dorado Hills needed. I look forward to dining there again very soon. Actually, maybe even tonight? My son was very unhappy that I went without him. As he said, “I am dieing to try their pizzas”. So there you have it, Selland’s offers an atmosphere that makes kids and adults want to come back.

And we didn’t even have desert .. so stay tuned  for my next post on Selland’s Sweets :)

Filed Under: Bee Local Tagged With: ,

Snickerdoodles

February 1, 2012 By 2 Comments

This recipe has been a hit time and time again. At the request of a sweet friend, I am sharing it with you. I made these last week for my son’s birthday treat. He took them to school and the teacher said they are better then a bakeries. Wow, how flattering!! So here ya go — my go to recipe for Snickerdoodles!!!

Snickerdoodles – recipe from cooks.com

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix butter, sugar and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Roll into balls the size of walnuts. Roll in a mixture of 2 tbsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes in 400 degree oven.

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Uncategorized Tagged With: