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Foodie Love

March 20, 2012 By 2 Comments

I {heart} food. Yep, I sure do. I have 3 large binders stuffed with recipes. Those tried and true as well as a zillion I’d like to make. Now thanks to Pinterest I also have a board of foodie love. I wanted to share some of my favorite pinned recipes with you. Some I have tried and others I am eager to try.

Tried and true

I have a friend that loves peanut butter. For his 40th birthday I was tasked with making cupcakes and of course, he wanted peanut butter. So I searched Pinterest and came up with these although I cheated a bit {using store bought devils food cake with a heaping spoon of pb thrown in the mix}. I did however make this amazing peanut butter frosting. Then I dipped the Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patties in it. Oh. My. Yum. My sweet friend Stacie came over as I was frosting and decided to just grab a spoon. Yes, it was that good. Oh, the birthday boy? He also loved them. Yeah success!

pb frosting Foodie Love Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Grin and Bake It.

I recently needed a dish to take to a family we know going through some hard times. I was trying to be unique as they have received a lot of meals as of late. I also had company coming over so I whipped up a double batch. It was a hit. It is a very rich meal but the flavors were delish together.

Creamy White Chicken Artichoke Lasagna Foodie Love Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna by Tasty Tidbits

Who hasn’t heard of The Pioneer Woman?? Well she has this yummy recipe for Crash Hot Potatoes. Tried em, loved em!! I will be making these again. They make a great side to a tri-tip.

potato 300x199 Foodie Love Crash Hot Potatoe from The Pioneer Woman 

I was searching for an easy cinnamon roll to make and take to my sister in law’s baby shower. I typically try and stay away from cooking with yeast. It feels like an extra step that I just don’t want to deal with {silly maybe?}. I came across this recipe and I have made it a couple times since. They are amazing and easy too. The perfect combo of a recipe if you ask me icon wink Foodie Love

Easy Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls1 199x300 Foodie Love Easy Maple Pecan Cinnamon Roll by Bakingdom

I have a friend who {hearts} Blue Moon Beer. So of course I had to make some of these Blue Moon Cupcakes for her. The first time was because she had us over for dinner and I offered to bring desert and the second time was for her birthday. Now, both times they were all gone. None came home with me. The orange is subtle and the overall flavor is not too sweet. The frosting almost has a meringue quality to it. Will I make them again? Yes!!!

simoneanne bluemoncupcakes 1 300x222 Foodie Love

Blue Moon Cupcakes by Simone Anne

Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach oh how I love thee! This has become one of my favorite meals and it makes great leftovers as well. The only thing I do different is add a huge scoop of premade pesto. Just for a little added somethin’ somethin’.

Baked Shells with Sausage Recipe 2 300x200 Foodie Love Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach by Inspired Taste

Another tried and true recipe. I actually found this one prior to seeing it on Pinterest but once I saw it here, I had to repin. This was actually requested for desert at Christmas by my father in law. I have made it a handful of times. I love apples and the caramel glaze is to die for. Ask my youngest son, he would eat it by the spoonful.

apple cream cheese bundt cake sl l Foodie Love Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake by My Recipes

On my cooking ‘to do list’. Also recipes from Pinterest that I have yet to make – but want too!

cake bark 214x300 Foodie Love

Cake Bark from Sweetapolita
BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad 200x300 Foodie Love

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad from What’s Gaby Cooking?

chicken and spinach flautas 195x300 Foodie Love

Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas from  Healthy.Delicious

IMG 1078 2post 202x300 Foodie Love

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken by Pip & Ebby

feta and spinach muffins 300x225 Foodie Love

Spinach and Feta Muffins by I like Ginger Bisquits 

butternut squash 300x240 Foodie Love

Butternut Squash Ziti by Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice 

mudslide cookies 300x199 Foodie Love

Salted Mudslide Cookies by How Sweet It Is 

6307724669 2e021cd16e 200x300 Foodie Love

 Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe by Cookin’ Canuk

cilantro lime shrimp final 450 199x300 Foodie Love

Cilantro Lime Shrimp by Never Enough Thyme {how cute is that name?}

IMG 3388 300x200 Foodie Love

Cream of Spinach and Asparagus Soup by Everyday Occasions 

sp caramel budino with salted caramel sauce 326 213x300 Foodie Love

Caramel Budino with Salted Caramel Sauce by Bon Appetit

So there you have it, a little journey of what’s cooking in my kitchen and also some future eats and treats here in my house. Where do you pull recipes from? Magazines? Blogs? Do tell icon wink Foodie Love

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

Mission Accomplished — kinda

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I was just looking at a post from a few weeks back and I realized that I actually accomplished ‘something’. Woo hoo! Love when I can do this to my To Do List …

This was a list of my ongoing projects from February 27th.

  • 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.

Wow, I actually feel like I got some stuff done. Since then I have also almost finished my 6 year old’s bedroom redo complete with repainting his walls. I hung new curtains.  I even painted the niches {see above on choosing a paint color}. Now the laundry and lunches are an on-going chore so I  would be crossing them off and adding them again daily. Still, I feel pretty good about things!

The master bedroom is a work in progress. I decided to refinish my nightstands and bed. Soon enough they will be complete and with a few minor accessories, the whole room will be complete. Then I can say, “Ta da!!!”.

Oh, something else REALLY cool happened to me since my last post — I became an Auntie!! I officially became an Auntie when I got married but they were all half grown {and are now adults going to college, having their own babies, etc}. I have two sisters and a brother. Both sisters are saying, “No way, uh uh” to babies but my brother and my adorable sister in law just had their first. Eeeek! I am so excited but … they live in So Ca and due to my life here {hubby out of town for work and having my own kiddos to tend too}, I have yet to meet him. For now I stare at the pics that come my way and think, “I can hardly wait to love on this little guy”.  So aside from tackling my to do list, I became an Auntie. Yeah me!! Hee hee.

Oh, and the blog redo — That is also coming along. It’s actually harder then I thought to come up with my own design .. well kinda my own, I really owe the design and graphics kudos to Kendra over at Key Lime Digital Designs. It’s more the layout, fonts, sidebar, etc that I am trying to make my own.

Up next? Some of my favorite Pinterest recipes as well as a post for my friend Kim over at This and That with Kim Funk. We are going to discuss office clutter and how to get rid of it. Or at least how to ‘try’ and contain it icon wink Mission Accomplished kinda

I hope you are staying dry and if not, I hope you are dancing in the rain!

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Bee Organized, Bee Thankful Tagged With: ,

Lovely Yellow

March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Oh hello bloggy world ~ I have missed you! Due to ‘technical difficulties’ I have been unable to blog or get much else done via the computer. {Insert explicits here}. I have not been a happy camper and let’s just say that having to contact the help desk in India 3 times in two weeks has not been super productive due to the language barrier. Ugh. I was so close to throwing my computer out the second floor window. Yes, really.

Anywho, on to some blogging!! I love Jones Design Co. and her fab monthly giveaways. This month she is doing a yellow giveaway with a handful of yellow goodies. For details and to enter, click here to be redirected to her site. Now aside from her fun yellow inspirations, I have a little yellow happening in my own home right now. I put away the red from Christmas and Valentine’s and pulled out some fun yellow throw pillows and ‘yellowed’ up my mantel. It’s springy without the pinks and greens which I am just not as drawn too. I know, Easter is so close but I just don’t have a lot of bunny decor but I will gladly eat some candy coated chocolate eggs. Yum! The weather here in No Ca has been a little um, moody? I don’t really know how else to put it. Monday was in the 70′s and beautiful. Then it rained that night and got cold. Very cold. The past two days have been sunny and windy. And cold. Very cold. Still, spring is in the air. Trees are blooming {cough cough – hello allergies} and people like me are getting pedis and wearing flip flops. In honor of this, I wanted to share some of my favorite things in hues of yellow.

These fabulous yellow earrings.

yellow earrings 300x220 Lovely Yellow

As featured on the above giveaway, these happy Chevron pillows. I {heart} chevron.

chevron pillow 300x200 Lovely Yellow

Oh I do love this sweet lil’ owl planter.

owl 300x300 Lovely Yellow

I just bought my 1st pair {yes, 1st – I am already planning to buy a second pair cause they are soooo comfy!} of TOMS. How cute are these yellow ones?

yellow toms 195x300 Lovely YellowBunting is such a fun way to accessorize.

bunting 300x224 Lovely Yellow

Notecards are always good to have on hand and these happen to have my last initial on them. Perfect!! icon smile Lovely Yellow

m stationary 300x300 Lovely Yellow

Bakers Twine is a happy way to embellish gifts tags, gift wrap, notecards — it’s a pretty universal ribbon and comes in an array of colors.

bakerstwine 300x275 Lovely Yellow

I am a sucker for words that inspire. This would be fabulous in a little girls room.

etsyyellow 213x300 Lovely Yellow

I think yellow is such a happy color. Do you have a happy color?

 

 

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Fun finds

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 icon smile This Cluttered Life 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!!

020 300x200 This Cluttered Life

“the counter” – yikes!

019 300x194 This Cluttered Life

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

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My new job

0221 300x171 This Cluttered Life

Tonight’s project – yikes!

Do you struggle with a heavy to do list? Adding way too many projects to your plate? Squirrel syndrome? icon wink This Cluttered Life 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 icon smile This Cluttered Life

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Bee Organized, The Hive 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!

crayonheart 200x300 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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.

heart bookmarks5 300x200 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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.

valentinescard12 300x225 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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.

owl love pic 260x300 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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

Bouncy Ball1 200x300 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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”.

IMG 0997 200x300 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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.

playdough 300x198 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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.

chalkbaord mug 6coverwm thumb 203x300 Creative Valentines {non foodie creations}

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: ,

Valentine’s Day Mantel

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ah yes, another holiday is another reason for my to switch up my mantel. As I may have mentioned, I am not typically drawn to pink. Sometimes I adore pink like on babies or my sweet friend Kelly who adores pink and wears it so well but mostly I like earthy colors. Except that one blue. You know, the one that seems to be everywhere as of late. A bit of a light turquoise/robins egg/grayish blue. It’s somewhere in that color pallet and I <3 that color. My obsession with blue is not what this post is about though so let me move on …

Home Stories of A to Z is doing a fun lil’ Valentine’s linky party. I love linky parties! My color pallets was cream, red and black. I saw this fun art piece at Homegoods and just had to have it. The best part? My friends come over and act like they are taking an eye test. It’s quite comical watching them cover an eye and read the letters. They think they are pretty funny icon wink Valentines Day Mantel

047 300x200 Valentines Day Mantel

I also added a fun chalkboard {thanks to a thrift store frame that I turned into a chalkboard for under $2}

049 200x300 Valentines Day Mantel

And one of my favorite parts? The pennants I added using some jute, burlap ribbon and then I cut out some black hearts to tie it all together.

050 300x200 Valentines Day Mantel

So there you have it ~ My Valentine’s mantel.

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Crafts, Fun finds, Holidays Tagged With: , ,

Master Bedroom Closet

January 25, 2012 By 2 Comments

I am in this mode of organizing, purging and with that goes a little redecorating. I had to share my latest “project”. First off let me just say that I am very lucky to have a giant master bedroom closet. It is mine all mine as we have a more average size one across from it that my hubby uses. When we first moved in, we made this space my craft space but with wee ones needing me so often, it barely got used. I also did not like that it did not have any natural light. That being said, I have since transitioned my craft space to another room and more often then not, I am at my kitchen island cause it just works as far as being central to the kids, hubby and dogs!

Originally we painted this space a pale pink cause in a house of boys, I wanted something more girly. Funny thing is, I am not really a pink kinda girl. So I spent the morning at Sherwin Williams looking at paint swatches. I am in love with the blueish green colors as of late. Subtle, relaxing and happy. I want this color in my space. I will also be incorporating this color into my upcoming master bedroom redo {yes, really .. I just can’t seem to stop the madness!!} I came home with a sample color {It’s called Kensington Green} which I be trying today. I plan to add brown baskets of various types and I will also be making a jewelry holder using an old frame and some funky radiator metal. Seriously, I am so excited about this project!! I have been feeling a little blah lately. Maybe this space will make me want to get pretty. Or I might need some new clothes to add to my new closet ;)

Here are some before pics, warning – It’s pretty scary in there!! I am usually pretty neat and organized but I have been over this space which caused me to give up on it a bit. Notice the framed Star Wars picture, old frames, etc. Lots of things get stuck in my closet when I am in limbo as to what I really want to do with them.

115 200x300 Master Bedroom Closet

118 200x300 Master Bedroom Closet

I am actually quite embarrassed by this mess. Yikes!! Wish me luck! My plan is to have this space all done by Friday. Fingers crossed {and a lot of hard work}. I will of course be doing a reveal when it is all done icon smile Master Bedroom Closet I will also be having a glass bottle of wine. Do you have a space in your home that is screaming for some attention? I’d love to hear about it, I might even have a suggestion or two on how to tackle your space.

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Bee Organized Tagged With:

Valentine’s Day Fun

January 23, 2012 By 2 Comments

Hello there, I am suffering from a ’9 year old party of 6 sleep over hangover’. Was that run on or what? What it means is that I am a little loopy and tired today. I did get a little cat nap in and now my boys — hubby included — are at the neighbors watching the Niner game. I don’t do sports so it was the perfect excuse to get a break. So here I sit, listening to the rain outside, enjoying a crackling fire and eating some clam chowder and crusty bread {thanks to my hubs for the store run}. Since I have Valentine’s on the mind, I thought I’d share some fun finds with you.

I love this cheery mantel over at Landee See Landee Do.

valentines mantel 1 300x200 Valentines Day Fun

I do love me some burlap and this ‘love’ pillow over on Etsy is just so fun! I might have to try this whole stencil on a pillow thing. It seems to be quite the trend.

lovepillow 229x300 Valentines Day Fun

Another sweet Etsy find. I love burlap and pennants so how perfect!! The background is also quite perfectly romantic don’t you think?

burlapheart 300x215 Valentines Day Fun

This cute little combo is popping up all over Pinterest. I sign everything with xo so I love it extra icon smile Valentines Day Fun

xo 225x300 Valentines Day Fun

So Craftalicious did a fun wreath using strips of fabric. I did something similiar for Christmas. It’s such a great way to use scraps of fabric.

vdayragwreath2 300x225 Valentines Day Fun

This fabulous idea came from Whipperberry. I love it so much that I already plan to do it for my boys classmates for Valentine’s Day gifts. I picked up the heart baking cups at Michaels {using a 40% off coupon of course!} and I found the stamper on-line. It’s such a sweet and crafty idea.

crayonheart1 200x300 Valentines Day Fun

This sweet little necklace that I saw on Pinterest is so simple yet sweet.

hugskisses 300x300 Valentines Day Fun

Of course the options for Valentine’s Day crafts, decor and goodies is endless. I could sit and share all night but I will leave you with just a little bit of sweetness for now. I am still working on my Valentine’s Day mantel. I will be sharing that with all of you soon. Until then, Be Love.

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Fun finds, Holidays Tagged With: ,

Shine

January 16, 2012 By 2 Comments

My previous post on the  New Year shared the idea of picking a word to focus on for 2012. I had heard this idea from a friend and also some savvy blogger peeps. Well The Lettered Cottage is hosting a linky party discussing just that — the word!! I have actually been thinking on this for a couple of weeks now and I think it is actually a pretty hard choice! There are so many words that I love and that I could truly apply to my everyday life but I finally settled on one. My word of the year is SHINE. I chose this word because I am trying to create a couple of at home businesses. One being my blog and the other is my crafting business. I love the idea of shine because it is exactly what I am hoping to do this year both personally and professionally.

 shine ii1 225x300 Shine“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

Do you have a word that you can apply to your goals this year? I’d love to hear it.

Filed Under: Bee Inspired Tagged With: ,

Organizing Your Spaces

January 13, 2012 By 1 Comment

With a New Year comes a couple of things. Purging {oh it feels soooo good!!} and trying to organize the leftover chaos of the past holiday season. I have successfully purged about two carloads of ‘stuff’. I get a little to excited about that kind of thing. Organizing makes me happy. So does redecorating but I am all about doing this on a dime. I am in the middle of a bedroom redo for my almost 9 year old. I say this as my hubby is watching video of our home being built back in 2004. Seeing my big boy as a baby? Sigh. Where did that time go?? Any-who .. that is a whole other post icon wink Organizing Your Spaces

Here are a few of my favorite storage ideas and spaces of late.

I wish I had a space for a table with built in benches that allowed for storage. What a great idea! Plus you feel like you are at a restaurant even though you aren’t.

bench storage 256x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

This closet is organized perfectly. I love the use of canvas bins.

Space Saving Ideas storage 237x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

I recently copied this idea for all of my cupcake holders. It is a cute and easy storage idea.

cupcake liner storage 224x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

What a great way to save space and organize your wrapping paper.

550 1016540441 225x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

I love this idea for under the kitchen sink. Especially the hanging bottles of cleaning solvents.

undersink03 199x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

 I have complete closet envy over this one. It makes me think that I might need to rethink my last purge cause my closet still runneth over. Plus I now feel the need for pretty new bath linens. These are so fresh and bright. Mine have been around for some time and don’t have the brightness that these do.

linencloset 225x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

Oh wow — do people really organize their freezers this way? It’s amazing and oh so inspiring.

freezer 225x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

Baskets are one of my favorite ways to organize. It keeps things in one place and also a little hidden ;)

baskets 225x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource 

How about this pretty lil’ garage? OK – maybe a dude would not like the green and white checkered peg boards but the organization of it all? Pretty great.

garage 300x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

House of Smiths is one of my most favorite blogs and I love this idea. As a matter of fact, I am working on my own version for my house.

Organizational Magnet board thehouseofsmiths com 200x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

Here is a lovely organized laundry room.

laundry 225x300 Organizing Your SpacesSource

The resources for inspiration are never ending. I think the key is to remember that less is more. At least once a year, go through your home and get rid of what you do not need. Can you donate it? Have a swap with a friend or group of friends? Recycle? Try and be resourceful. Also try to follow a rule when you make a purchase — do you love it? Will it be in your home for a long time to come? We have landfills filled with things that are tossed out. If you think a purchase through instead of being impulsive, you are more likely to own the item for many years to come.

How do you stay organized?

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Bee Organized, Fun finds Tagged With: ,
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