The Making of the Man With the Yellow Hat

First off - let me say that I thought I had an ingenious idea this Halloween.  I had found a monkey costume for Drake at Gap for .99 CENTS.  So - I thought about making a banana costume for Cole since I waited a tad too long to order one for him.  Oh yah and even if I had ordered it in March...seriously...who pays $30 DOLLARS for a 3 year old's costume?  Not this momma.
A banana also seemed like a bunch of work to create.  More sewing than I wanted to do.

Then I thought of THIS ↓ -

Aren't they just too cute for talk?

I had NEVER seen this done before.  Obviously, I thought I was brilliant.  :)

Then, we went to the trunk-or-treat tonight at our church, and there was another Man in the Yellow Hat with a Curious George.  Not so original after all.  Haha!  But still, he was a lot of fun to create.  Several had asked how I did it.  So here's the How To.  And what NOT to do on some things.

Main goal for costume - look cute and make it as cheap as possible.  This is how I managed that.  

Since spray paint and me are like Frank and Joe, it just naturally was the first thing I needed to get this party started.  No, I don't normally paint our clothes.  But, it worked for this.  That is, after 3 failed attempts on 3 different articles of clothing...good thing they were all from the goodwill.  I used a white cotton button-up oxford for the MWTYH's top and some gray play pants which happened to have blue stripes going down the sides.  These blue stripes were not going to be covered by the spray paint, so they had to come off.

*Suggestion: IF you are going to spray paint clothing yellow, find white or light colored clothing.  Also, don't use polyester fabric.  Cotton works the best. ;)

*Suggestion #2: IF you have time, use Rit dye and just change the color that way.  Probably healthier for all of those affected with the presence of the MWTYH.

I spray painted EVERYTHING.  If anyone just happened to breathe when our family walked by, I'm sure they would have had the pleasant aroma of Krylon wafting in their nostrils.

For shoes, I had picked up some goodwill rain boots that I -- wait for it -- spraypainted brown. :) 

For the belt, again goodwill.  And painted it yellow.

For the tie, I bought 6" of fabric from JoAnn's.  I used one of my dad's old ties as the pattern.  Traced out front and backing, and my mom stitched it for me while I was spraypainting some rain boots.
I used a marker to color in the polk-a-dots so it looked like it was supposed to.

*Suggestion: Do not use a water-based marker to color in tie.  With the rainy weather, those polk-a-dots smeared.  You couldn't tell from a distance, but up close, it showed slightly.

For the hat, I bought 2 pieces of yellow poster board.  I wanted it big - exaggerated BIG.  The yellow hat is the BIG DEAL.  I rolled poster board up to make a cone shape and super glued it so it wouldn't unroll.  I trimmed the large end of the cone straight, so it would lay flat on the table.  I cut the top off, so it didn't look like a witch's hat.  Glued a circle piece to fill in the top to complete that part.
On the other poster board, I took my 10" kitchen skillet and traced a circle.  :)  Cut that out.  Placed the trimmed cone shape on my 10" cut out circle.  Traced that out.  After all of the cutting was done, for clarification, I had one piece of poster board cut down to a 10" donut.
Took my cone-ish part and slid the donut piece over it.  It was snug, but I superglued it in place.  (Or so I thought.  See Suggestion #2.) 

It sure sounds like that hat took awhile to make - but it didn't.  Easy as pie.

*Suggestion: Make hat while your child is awake.  I attempted to size Cole's head while he was sleeping.  Obviously, I failed.  I ended up having to make 3 hats.  The last, once he got up from naptime. ;)

*Suggestion #2: If the MWTYH happens to destroy his hat on the way to the annual trunk-or-treat, do not attempt to superglue it back on while he is wearing it.  Superglue does NOT come out of hair.  Upping Cole's dosage of Vitamin B tomorrow and praying that clumped chunk grows rapidly.

Cole was SOO excited to dress up as one of his favorite characters.  He kept asking me about it, like every hour for the past 2 days. :)  So, when I was dressing him this evening, we were in the bathroom.  He was standing on the closed toilet, and was admiring his get-up in the mirror.  He kept giving himself two thumbs up, and raising one hand (like the president does when he comes out on stage).  And phrases like, "Wow, would you yook at dat!"  It was HILARIOUS.

I definitely feel I got the job done cute and cheap.  Here's the cost run-down.
   • Krylon - Indoor/Outdoor Paint ~ Wal-Mart $3.67

  • Rain boots ~ Goodwill $2.00 
• Belt ~ Goodwill $1.00 
• Botched clothes from paint ~ Goodwill $2.90

 • Two pieces of poster board ~ Dollar Tree $1.38 
• Piece of yellow polk-a-dot fabric ~ JoAnn's $.80

 • Clothes I ended up painting ~ Free, given to me.

Total Cost of Success: $11.75
Compared to $30 - savings of 61%. ;)

Curious George finally lost his pacifier and the MWTYH was caught mid-sentence asking for some more of his candy.

Happy Halloween! :)

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Cole's Birthday Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake 

with Chocolate Ganache

This was a yummy cake that I made for Cole's 3rd Safari-themed Birthday party.

It was a hit.  For more pictures and ideas from the party, click here.

If you're counting calories - don't eat for 2 days. :)  this pretty boy is loaded.

ingredients - chocolate cake

• 2 boxes chocolate cake mix (and required ingredients)
• Buttermilk
• Peanut butter mousse (recipe below)
• Whipped chocolate ganache (recipe below)
• Chopped unsalted peanuts

preparation

• Prepare three 8" or 9" round cake pans by coating them lightly with oil and then flour. Preheat the oven to the temperature recommended for your cake mix.
• Follow cake mix directions, substituting buttermilk for the water. Divide batter evenly in the prepared cake pans, filling each two-thirds full (there may be extra batter, which can be used for cupcakes). Bake as directed.
• Allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes before removing cakes from pans; set layers on racks and allow to cool completely. Trim off the rounded tops of each cake layer with a serrated knife to enable even stacking.
• Place one cake layer top down on a serving plate and spread with peanut butter mousse. Repeat with the second layer, then top with the third layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the whipped chocolate ganache. Add chopped peanuts to the sides of the cake.
• Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

ingredients - peanut butter mousse

• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tb. vanilla extract
• 2 cups whipping cream

preparation

• Beat peanut butter, cream cheese and cinnamon in a bowl until blended. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. In another bowl, beat whipping cream until it reaches the stiff peak stage. Gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture a little bit at a time.

ingredients - whipped chocolate ganache

• 1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream

preparation

• Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour over chocolate and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir until smooth. Cool the ganache to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Whip on medium speed until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

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Safari Time ~ Cole's 3rd Birthday Party

Cole is THREE!

Words cannot describe my love for this delight in my life.

God has truly blessed me.

He makes me laugh every day.

He tells me he loves me "berry much" every day.

He gives me the biggest 'Berenstain' hugs every day.

Because of Cole, my world is much brighter and sweeter.

v

For his birthday, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday celebration decorations.
"Elepants, ELEPANTS."
I showed him Thomas the Train.  I showed him airplanes.  I showed him trucks.  I showed him a bunch of other things.  Things MUCH easier to decorate a party for...
Nope, "Elepants."  He was stuck on it.  

Next question I had for myself this time - HOW do I come up with a CUTE party theme with elephants?  Not the prettiest animal out there.
Then, I thought of doing a Safari party with some exploration ideas for the kids to enjoy.
Kids, especially boys, love to explore.  It was perfect.  I had asked Jodi to snap pictures for me because I knew I would have absolutely no time to do so.  Grateful for the pictures.

LOVED how everything turned out.
Saturday morning was a bit chilly, but with the sunshine - it turned into a beautiful day.
My prayers were answered with no rain.  Just forgot to pray about the blustery weather which kept blowing most of my hanging paper pinwheels and globes down.

Things that make a party.

Since I didn't have my sewing machine set up, I wanted to make banners that didn't include any needles and thread. I wanted to do something different too - something I'd never seen before.   With some cardstock, handmade stencils, burlap, jute rope and some hot glue, this was the result.  Turned out to be one of my favorites.  I had everything on hand, minus the cardstock.  So super easy and convenient, too.

What cute explorers.


These animals were quite the hit.



Each child received a set of binoculars along with their animals.  Betcha never guess what I made them out of...
:)

The sweets.  YUM.

The Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake with Chocolate Ganache icing.  What a mouthful, eh?  And yes, IT was a mouthful.  For those of you who asked for the recipe, click here.

Orea Pops + Cupcakes + Cake
=
Extreme thankfulness that all of these kids with all of this sugar weren't all mine.


The party animals. :)


Brown food to match the decor.  Oh yah - just happens that Cole's favorite food right now is SKYLINE!  And that's what he wanted on the menu.  Smart boy.
Birthday boy digging in.



Right across the way was a playground for the sugar-fueled kids to run about and have a fun time.  There was also a pond nearby where the kids loved feeding the ducks.  And playing in the water.
And get a little too close to the water.  Cole lost one of his new birthday toys - a prized wooden train.  But it was rescued before it sunk to its death.


A VERY sweet moment caught ~ One of Cole's friends had come to him and wished him Happy Birthday.  Cole said, "Tank you berry much," and gave him this adorable hug.

He received many presents which he has enjoyed playing with immensely.

We ended the party with a scavenger hunt - four very easy items for these 2-3 year old explorers to find.  They loved it.


Cole had such a fun morning with all of his friends.  Thanks again to everyone who came out and made his party a grand time.

Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet babe of mine!

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Pressing On

It all started when I saw this last night on Facebook before retiring for the night.  Slam door in my face - bam.  Wake up, Ashley.  You've had a bad day - but you'd definitely be one to grab your own problems back.  They're nothing compared to some.  I "liked" it, because the truth had struck me.  Emotions started to change course within me some.

THEN...

I decided to get caught up on Lane Goodwin.  For those of you don't know or haven't followed this angel's story, stop.  A couple of things you must wait upon before you do so.  1. Please wait until your least favorite Aunt comes to visit and has jacked up your hormones.  2. Please wait until you've had one of those bad days where motivation is nowhere to be found, slight despondency has sunk in, your attitude has downright wreaked throughout the day, not much accomplished and just feel the shade of a deep midnight blue.  NOW, you will feel like I did and can start to read up on Lane.  

Honestly, I'd rather you do this when you can control your tears.  In my womanly state of madness, I couldn't.

Meet Lane.

Only a child.

With cancer.  No cure.  Several relapses.

Over a quarter of a million caring people were following Lane's journey by his mother's postings on a fan page created near 3 years ago.  She was faithful to post pictures and updates on Lane's condition - good or bad.  Last night, going through her pictures, my heart broke.  Completely.

To see an innocent child have to suffer through bouts of chemo and all of its nightmarish side effects. To see the pain of a mother have to watch her baby boy suffering and not being able to cure the illness.
To see the once active, mobile, energetic boy become weak, wheel-chair bound, and monsterous cancer eating away at him.
To see a younger brother's tears and pleading for his best friend to never leave him.
To see Lane's favorite place to fall asleep, snuggled up against his daddy's chest.
To see this big, beautiful smile coming from this victim of cancer - a fighter who didn't deserve any of the deep, dark valleys he was forced to take at such a young age.

It ALL made me sob.  I felt sincere anguish for everything that this dear family had to go through.

Lane's battle with cancer ended this past week.  He has now received a full healing from His Heavenly Father, a new body, no more nausea, no more tears, happy and FULL of life fishing on the banks of some glorious river.

But, with the reality that comes when a loved one, a CHILD, is taken pre-maturely, Lane's family is devastated with the loss of their hero.  His mom posted yesterday, "I miss my sweet Lane so badly," with a picture of Lane, head on her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her neck.  Those arms never to embrace her again.  They're wishing they could have spent more time with him.  Here on earth.  Questioning why God couldn't have intervened and caused the cancer to flee their child's body.  So much pain and heartache for them right now.

Back to my life - my 'bad' day.  JOLTED to the realization that I have nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, in comparison to the problems that this one family faced for the past couple of years and is now coping with the finality of the passing of their son.  This along with the story of the millions of others who have monumental problems weighing them down.  Nearly suffocating them.

Not me.  I am beyond blessed.  My list of blessings far exceed my few and minuscule problems that I face some days.

So last night/early morning, before I was even able to crawl into bed, Drake did his nightly wake up routine around 3:30.  Instead of letting him cry it out, I gave in.  Without a fight.  It wasn't a normal night.  I went and picked him up, thankful that I could.  I listened to him giggle and talk.  In the middle of the night...definitely not my child.  He'd hug me real tight.  I relished it.  After I laid him back down minutes later, he was fast asleep.  I laid on the couch to be near him.  I didn't mind this slight interruption one bit.  I mean, I still HAVE him HERE with me.  Alive. Healthy.

After I'd been sleeping for 20 or so minutes, Cole woke up and came out of his room.  Very abnormal.  "Mommy, dan I have a popsicle?"  Seriously?  Uh no.  But at least he's more like a child of mine.  Thinking of food at 4:15 in the morning.  I put him back into his crib, popicleless.  AND...I climbed into Cole's crib with him.  Not wise, considering I had a neck injury yesterday and could've been paralyzed by morning due to heavily cramped conditions.  (Then I actually might have something to be down in the dumps about.) But, it was the night for unusualness.  I  didn't mind getting woken up after not having hardly any sleep.  To me, it was a reminder that my problems were skimming the surface.  I am very, very blessed to have my two special children to share life with...no matter what hour of the day or night it is.

Down life's bumpy road, these memories made tonight will sustain me.   Memories like these will bring me back to the crossroads where someone I've never met and has already lived and passed away has changed my outlook on life.  Who helped me lose focus of my own selfish, minute problems and regained sight of the bigger picture of life once again.

Reading Lane's story caused so many unexpected thoughts to run through my head.  I had stayed up for hours into the morning.  Praying.  Seeking God.  I truly want to be made into EVERYTHING He has for me.  I want to fulfill His purpose for my life.  I don't want to get caught up with the petty messes of my life - the issues that the enemy tries to magnify and defeat me with - so I'm unable to be aware and have compassion for those hurting far worse than I am.

Prayers, thoughts, and love are with you, dear Goodwin family. ❤

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Spared A Tragedy

We just got back from a lovely family night of Dewey's, some traintime at Barnes & Noble, and delicious Germanchokolatekake ice cream from Coldstone Creamery.

It all could have ended in a horrific tragedy though.

We were walking back to our car.  Cole was walking with me, and we would stop here and there, he'd open his mouth, and I'd give him a big spoonful of ice cream.  He had his coat hood on.  He looked adorable - only his face peeking out, mouth covered in chocolate.

Newport on the Levee is a busy, busy place - the traffic heavy, cars not heeding the speed limit.  With the Red's loss, there were a lot of extra mourners drinking their misery away tonight.  And there's this one rounded corner where the sidewalk stops abruptly and the road is RIGHT there...no extra brim or no room for any carelessness.  Cars whipping right past those who are waiting to cross the street - less than 2 feet from pedestrians.

There was a cop at this corner attempting to direct valet traffic from a parking garage.  But the light was green, and cars were zooming around the corner.  Scott had Drake and was waiting at the edge of the sidewalk. Cole had managed to get ahead of me and was walking innocently, looking at the ground, his hood blinding his vision.  Probably munching on his ice cream.

I thought he'd stop at the edge of the sidewalk.  Normally, he does.  He didn't.  And Scott didn't see him come up to the intersection.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw white and headlights.  A white car.  Going way too fast.  The cop saw what was happening about the same time I did.  He yelled, "Sttooooppp, and I screamed, "Coleee," and reached out and snatched his head back.

One more step, just ONE more step - and I know that we would've lost our Cole tonight.

Cole stopped in his tracks, and jumped into my arms.  Scared to death.  My feelings exactly.  I cannot imagine losing one of my children - let alone, watching them die right in front of me.

I was holding back tears, unsucessfully.  Squeezing him so tight.  In disbelief that something so tragic could have happened to US, to ME.  After asking what was wrong with me and seeing me cry, Cole kept asking, "Was dat boy trying to help me?  He saved me?"  I told him yes.

I'd like to think "that boy" was an angel sent to save my little guy.  The walk sign saved that cop from lots of unexpected kisses from an indebted mommy.

My insides are still shaking.  Hugging his small frame tighter than ever.  Giving him extra kisses.

And so incredibly thankful that God was watching out for him tonight in Newport.

SO, so, so incredibly thankful.  

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The First of a Couple of Things

I simply can not believe how my little sons are growing up.  It seems that each day brings on new advancement in some area of their lives.

Completely fascinating to watch their personalities, speech and humor develop.

My love for them increases to new levels that I never thought imaginable.

I was worried when I was pregnant with Drake.  I didn't know how it would be possible to love my second boy as much as I did Cole.  And I didn't think that fair.

Oh for the words to describe the love for your first child - the introduction of a brand new love that a woman has never known until she holds that firstborn in her arms seconds after his birth.  A soul that she brought into this world through God's design.  A baby that was known by God before He even formed him in her womb.  A baby that was created specifically for her and she for him.  A baby that is her very own.  To provide, to cherish, to protect....and to LOVE.

That last part was the easiest.  And I did it well.

How could this be matched when I had another son?  No probable way.

BUT...

Somehow, some way, God rendered me an abundance of love to lavish on my second-born, chunky, adorable little boy.  Thankfully.

Drake is 10 months old now.  He started waving bye-bye this last weekend.  To a stranger in McDonald's.  Lovely.  Not to his mommy or daddy, but some crazy lady got him to wave at her.

He just flaps his hands and gives that contagious smile.  He's quite proud of his accomplishments.

Cole is 2 years and 11 months old.   This week, a definite first.  He has always been a good "talker."  At 10 months old, he was already saying lots of words.  And these past 6 months, he has just floored me with the way that he's been putting (LONG) sentences together.  Several sentences together - short paragraphs.  I could listen to him talk all day.  Which I do.  He never stops.  Good thing I like it.

Wow.  Kinda resembles his mom and her blog.  

I was putting him to bed Sunday night - going through the normal routine.  Which is...he gets in bed.  (He used to play with his cars for a bit, and then fall asleep without me doing any of the following.)  I sometimes give him a snack in bed and brush his teeth in there as well.  Not always.  But after I have taken care of all that...the following occurs.  I ask, "Do you wanna play a bit or do you want me to cover you up?"  He says (as of recently), "I want you do cubber me up," with an excitement like it's the coolest thing ever.  I cover him up, and go to the armouire because I know what he's going to say next..."I need dox (socks).  My feet dold, and you put dox on and dey won't be." Usually something along those lines.  :)  I turn the sound machine on in the closet if I haven't already.  Go back to his crib and we talk and pray.  I savor these times.

I am the one that normally starts the conversation though.  Not on Sunday night.  I had gone to the closet to turn on the sound machine, and Cole had stopped talking for a few seconds.  Pure miracle right there.  Obviously, something was running through his little brain.

First time that he has ever started a topic of conversation TOTALLY UNRELATED to something that we had been conversing about previously.

Cole: "Mommy, you yike yemonade?
Me, taken back: "Oh yes, I love lemonade.  Do you?"
Cole: "Yah. I weally yike milk.  And orange duice."
Me: "Me too.
Cole: "And I yike yemonade."

So, our first conversation that Cole initiated, was about our favorite drinks.  How cute!  Now, I'll remember it forever.

Anxious to see what other memories will be had when my blessings wake in about 30 minutes.  Love them so much.

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We'll Miss You, Boy.

The hardest thing I've ever, ever done.

Today, we said our final goodbye's to Tucker, our faithful Golden Retriever of 12 years.   

My dad wanted me to help take Tucker in today, because my mom couldn't bring herself to be there.

I don't blame her.  At all.

I loved this dog.  Even though I didn't reside in the same house as he did for the past 6 years since getting married, I still had many years with him.  Many memories.  He was the best dog.

THE best.

I once followed a news story where after some terrible aftermath of a natural disaster, golden retrievers were brought in to help these people cope and place them back on the road to recovery.

I remember in one of my own trivial "disasters" - back in my dating years.

My first heartbreak.

I had always been the bearer of bad news.  But...not that March afternoon in the commons.  Out of nowhere.  He thought we should take spend some time apart.  I was devastated.  I was 18, and I thought my life was over.

I went home...crying.  Sobbing.  Life wasn't fair.

I was in the living room - no one was home yet.  Tucker nudged the french doors open enough to squeeze through.  And he came over to me, sensing something was wrong.  Then when nothing else could have possibly picked up my spirits - that silly dog started playing tug-o-war with my scrunchi.  And he wouldn't stop.  Until he had me laughing.  He helped me realize that things were going to be okay...that I could laugh again.

He helped our family through many hard times.

What a good pet.

I had to drive today with Tucker in the back seat.  His window rolled down.  Every turn, every lane change, took me closer to the inevitable.  Made me so sad.  Lots of tears.

I didn't want to have to be involved in this.  But, I did it.  For my parents.  I did it for them.  Imagining their pain with the way I felt.  I knew I had to do it.

I petted him until he was gone.

Cole will miss his "Tuck-tuck."  We will miss our almost daily visits to see him.  But, we know we did what we needed to do.

I'll miss you, boy.  Thanks for the wonderful memories.

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Front Porch Facelift

Sitting outside.  On my porch.  Writing about my porch makeover.   

My legs dangling.  Swing rocking back and forth.  Slight breeze blowing through the porch openings.

Life is SO wonderfully good.  I am incredibly blessed.

Before of porch.  Not so pretty.

After. Truly, my oasis.

I spend much of my alone time here.  Probably too much.  

Also, I have Cole (& Drake) playing out front in the bigger part of our yard.  Most of the time.

Where I can keep my eyes on the porch children.        

       Some of the things that I just love.      

Ideally, I would like to stain the deck and add a cheaper copycat of this rug.  I just don't know how much longer we'll be here.  So we shall see if I dish more money out on the project.
(Which as you know, wasn't much...beautiful, thrifty pretties excite me.)

And yes, I had to add a picture of the seat cushion and four pillows that I, yes I, sewed.  I'm quite proud of the way they turned out.  Bet you can't tell at all.

My first sewing project = pure giddiness of success.

Love the way the porch looks and how it makes me feel.

Thought I should give you an idea of what I've been enjoying these past several weeks.
Fall is just around the corner.
Soon, these flowers will be replaced with other beauties such as mums and calendulas.
Will enjoy this as long as I can.

Hope you have enjoyed the tour.

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My Ever So Special Firstborn

This stage of Cole's life has trumped all others that I thought were "the best yet." Having an absolute blast with that child o' mine. 

The BEST WELL-SPENT money EVER couponing = several 8-pack packages of paper towels for $2.25. Today, they've provided lots and lots of comical playtime for Mommy & Cole. They've been made into towers and beds, been beaten to death by ball bats, and smashed to smithereens by Cole (& Mommy - apologies for the disturbing mental picture) running, jumping and diving on them.  Poor things...they'll never stand upright in their packages again.  But hey, they're still usable and definitely considered a multi-purpose towel now in my book.  

While waiting for some "action to happen" during a break to take Cole to the potty, I was reading to him.  A favorite book of mine (thanks to a dear friend, Shana Smith).  But today, I could hardly get through it.  My animated voices did aid in stifling tears.  Some.

"I fell in love with you the day you were born.
You made my heart smile.
You'll always be a part of me, and I'll be a part of you.
So who do I love the best?
That's easy.
I love all my cubs.
But there's no one like you, my special firstborn."
                                                                       - Dr. Kevin Leman

And you, dear Cole, are one SPECIAL firstborn.

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Raspberry Pie Bars

Dessert.  Raspberries.  Butter.  More butter.

Words that make me smile.  Yah, this recipe is a keeper.  :)

The ingredients that have caused me to be loopy with butter and giddiness.  You're not seeing things.  That is three sticks of butter.  If you're trying to lose any amount of weight, you probably just need to click outta this recipe right now and head back to Pinterest in search of some lower fat recipes.

Mix the all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Then go and take a blurry picture of it for your blog.  Combine well.

This is the crazy part.  The recipe called for you to get your food processor out and cut the butter into it that way.  I was too lazy to retrieve my processor out of the lower cupboards, so I used my pastry cutter.  To cut in THREE STICKS OF BUTTER.  Um, not so lazy after all.  I got a good workout in.  Something's not right in my head.  But if you do really wanna talk about lazy, I abhor washing those pastry cutters after they're all filled up with greasy butter.  

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumbled up goods for the topping.  Grease a 9x13 pan.  Take the flour/butter mixture and press into the bottom of the pan.  Make a nice thick crust.  

Those fingerprints kinda freak me out a bit.  

Whisk 4 eggs together.  Action shot.

Add your sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest and almond extract and stir until combined.

Fold in raspberries.

Remember the goods?  Well, now just take what you have left and sprinkle all over the top of the berry mixture.  Go heavy.  :)

Yum.  Yum.  Yum.

Hot from the oven.  You notice the recipe calls for bars.  I just couldn't wait that long.  So, I had some scoops with some more scoops of vanilla bean ice cream.  

I'm fat and happy.  It's been a long day though so I deserve a second helping.

You'll want one too.

Star Rating: ★★★★★

Raspberry Pie Bars

Thanks, Josie.

Crust and Topping

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

Fruit Filling

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup flour
• pinch salt
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 (16-oz) packages fresh raspberries, thawed and drained

To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. 

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to mix.  Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture.  Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly, 30-60 seconds.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to use as the topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes.  Cool for at least 10 minutes.

To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest, and almond extract.  Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust.  Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 45 to 55 minutes.

Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars, or scoop out of the pan to serve cobbler-style.

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Glorious Chicken ~ With FOUR Main Ingredients

I don't know about you, but I love changing things up when it comes to the menu.  I am the queen at trying new things.  And most of the time, I'm not disappointed.  For the first year or two of our marriage, I cooked something new almost every night.  I can think of 2 things I've made since that time that we didn't couldn't eat.  That bad.  One was a turkey meatloaf (just threw up a little in my throat) that never set up.  And the other was a Thai Peanut Chicken dish (oohh, shiver).  I steer clear of Thai now - people or food.

Totally kidding.

This chicken got R.A.V.I.N.G reviews online, and hellllo - it only required four main ingredients.  FOUR.  4.  Quatro.  Ya better believe it's one I would try.  Super easy, few ingredients and tastaaayyy.  Not many recipes fall under those categories.  Oh man, am I glad I tried it!!

Here's the small ensemble.  Small ensembles are overrated, everywhere.  From recipes to just singing in a group.  I love 'em.

Lay chicken in a 9x13 dish.  Ground some fresh peppercorn pepper and sea salt over the chicken to your liking.  

Mix 1/2 cup of Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar together.  The pure syrup is like $8 bucks a bottle.  I'm not sure how the cheaper stuff would work out.

To do list: stop biting nails and get a manicure.  Nasties.

Pour mixture over prepared chicken.

Isn't this incredibly hard work?

If you'd like a torching of your eyebrows, open oven and take a picture of your chicken baking.  Wow, 450 degrees is hot stuff.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Once done, sprinkle rosemary on top.  Or don't.  It's good either way.  It's so tender, you can cut it with a spoon.  Which yes, I did.  My fork was overtaken by my toddler.

Put on a plate with green beans from your garden and buttery, red potatoes and chow down.

Star Rating: ★★★★★★★★★ (sighhh, got carried away.)
Thanks, Rachel and whoever you got it from. You have changed my life.

RECIPE: Glorious Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 C. Dijon mustard
1/4 C. pure maple syrup
1 T. red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary

Instructions:
Lay trimmed chicken breasts in baking dish.  Salt and pepper to your liking.  Mix the Dijon mustard, maple syrup and red wine vinegar together.  Poor over chicken.  Bake at 450 for 40 minutes.  Sprinkle rosemary on chicken before serving.

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Soup & Salad Night ~ Zuppa Toscana, Baby!

Presentation of food is a big thing to me.  It obviously isn't everything, but apparently, it really helps with ignorant eaters.  If it looks fantabulous, then it's the best they've ever experienced.  Which I can handle.

I love making my food look pretty.  Satisfies something way down deep in me.  I promise I'm not that much of a freak.  Just sounds like it.  A lot.

A tidbit for those that would like to impress for less - find a dish that looks like you've already knocked it outta the park.  Good chance, when your peeps bite into it, you'll already have them hooked by the way of them just admiring your beautifully prepared food.

Tonight was a simple soup & salad night.  Who doesn't love that combo?  My suggestion for your next soup/salad menu - go with the following and you will not be disappointed.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana and a Cobb Salad.

For the salad, grab what you love and assemble it like so on a bed of leaf lettuce and romaine hearts.  I had chicken, boiled eggs, grape tomatoes, avocado, shredded mozzarella and bacon.  You can do a tasty balsamic vinaigrette (which takes just a couple more minutes to whip up) or you can stick with Peppercorn Ranch like we did tonight.  Actually that soup was just begging to be eaten, and I didn't want to spend a mere second longer in the kitchen.

The Zuppa Toscana was AHHHH (singing a high C kinda ahhhhh)!  I adapted the recipe slightly.  Definitely could have eaten a couple more bowls.  Even my 2-year old was slurping the last bits of his second bowl out like he hadn't eaten in several days...which in reality, he had just consumed three waffles with preserves moments before dinner.  More waffles than any one person should probably consume in a week.  Let alone, one afternoon.

Let me say this to protect myself.  If you are looking for the exact recipe for Olive Garden's soup, this will not be the exact depending on the type of Italian sausage you buy.  The exactness is probably determined by the spiceyness, but I loved this.  Enough of the exact-ic-ities. ;)

Recipe for the soup.  Here you go.

Star Rating: ★★★★★

RECIPE: Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

Adapted from Pastry Affair

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 tea. paprika

1 white onion, chopped

2 tea. garlic, minced

8-10 C. chicken broth

Red pepper flakes, optional (I only put a dash or two to spice things up a bit.) 

4-5 Russet potatoes, sliced 1/4" thin

1 C. heavy whipping cream

2-3 C. kale

Salt and pepper to taste

Freshly grated parmesan for topping

Instructions:

Brown sausage with paprika.  Once cooked, move sausage to another bowl and drain excess fat.  Set aside.  

Use the same pan.  Add onions and garlic and cook to soften, about 10 minutes.  Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add sliced potatoes and simmer until they are softened, about 25-30 minutes.  Add heavy whipping cream, kale and sausage.  Cook until thoroughly heated.  Garnish with parmesan.

Indulge.  In at least 4 bowls.  It's almost fat-free.

UPDATE: Those of you who don't get me - that last line was a total falsehood.  TOTAL.  

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