No Graze Days of Summer

I have got to get my eating under control! Between the wedding festivities and *stress-related emotional eating, the weight has climbed back up to my all-time high. Instead of being disgusted with myself and do all of that typical non-productive self-flagellation, I'm simply going to join Heather over at Simple-Green-Frugal in her "No Graze Days Summer" challenge.

Basically, her "rules" are as follows:

1. Meditate
2. Enjoy one meal in the company of someone else
3. Slow down while eating
4. No multi-tasking while eating
5. Sit down while eating

It's not going to be easy, I have fallen into some bad habits but it's never to late to get back on track.

Now, in order to do this I need to go back to my "old ways" of menu planning/freezer cooking from back when I was home full time. There's really no reason I can't do this, I'm only working part time for goodness' sake! With Mom being ill I'm going to be helping Dad with the cooking as well as spending more time with her so I really need to get organized here.

So, I am going to try Home Ec 101's Monday Menu idea, will see how that goes. My problem is that I'll plan a meal only to find out that either no one's at home to eat it or, in Beren's case, "Oh,I just had that for lunch today, honey, I'll just fix myself something else." At which point he heats up the deep fryer or tosses a frozen pizza in the oven. Sigh. I'm not sure how to fix that problem, any thoughts?

So, here goes...because I am buying myself a new Crock Pot today (my old one is burning the heck out of things!), I'm going to focus on some slow cooking recipes found in a recent issue of Woman's Day. I loooove their Slow Cook Once, Eat Twice feature! There are some delicious dessert recipes in the June 17 issue as well, they'll be perfect for our July 4th BBQ.

I'll provide the menu here now but will post the recipes as I go along unless you all want all the recipes up front? Let me know, am wide open to suggestions/advice!

*Monday: Spinach and Bean Casserole

*Tuesday: Ratatouille with Pasta

*Wednesday: Pan Bagna

*Thursday: Cuban Chicken

*Friday: Independence Day BBQ - the typical grillin' fare along with Tropical Chicken Salad, Key Lime Bars and Caribbean Ice Cream Pie

On My Hearth: Spinach and Bean Casserole

Today is Meatless Monday; I have exactly 1 cup of black-eyed peas languishing in my pantry, and have been itching to use my neglected pressure cooker so this recipe is just perfect! I'll have to stop at the market for fresh spinach but otherwise I have everything else on hand.

Spinach and Bean Casserole

Submitted by: Venia
Rated: 4 out of 5 by 15 members Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

"Try this recipe for a change of pace. Black-eyed peas are cooked in a pressure cooker then combined with onion, spinach, tomatoes and fennel."

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dry black-eyed peas
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cups fresh spinach
1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fennel seed, ground

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Cook black-eye peas in a pressure cooker for 12 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Saute onion with spinach, tomatoes, salt and fennel for 15 minutes.

4. Combine beans with spinach mixture in a 2 quart casserole dish.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Kitten Love

Last night Beren and I headed out to a much-anticipated event, one I'd had on my calendar for quite some time - a Bombshell Revival Party at a little "vintage" shop called Two of Hearts. In light of this, and inspired by The Vintage Housewife, I informed Beren that for the rest of the evening he was to call me Kitten, and I would refer to him as Daddy-O. He laughed his ass off but he always indulges my whims, part of the reason I adore my fun-loving man. Well, we got there a bit early, they were just tapping the keg and setting up, so we had time to wander into a cute little thrift shop next door. It was there that I found this adorable cigar box purse!


In case you can't tell, it is a NYC-inspired purse, isn't that just the best?! Since Beren is taking me to the Big Apple for my birthday next month, I just had to have it! I walked out of there $11.00 poorer with a big ol' smile on my face!

So, we had a beer and watched a few local pin-ups arrive, ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the shop's fabulous selection of Sailor Jerry items, then headed home to find...


a new baby! This precious little feline was bouncing all over Lily's bed, zipping around her room the way only 8-week old kittens can do. Now, this is not, I repeat NOT, our kitten, is in no way going to stay at the Castle! We have enough critters to care for, this one is just visiting until Lily's boyfriend can get a place set up for him at his house. Really. So with my sternest face I reached out and petted the little cutie pie, reminding Lily once again that this was only a temporary arrangement...and then...you know, I had to lie down on the bed next to him, just to get a closer look of course..at which point he came over to me, put his tiny kitten paws on my face, started purring...leaned down and kissed my mouth repeatedly. Awww.....I am such a sucker for kitten kisses! But still, he is absolutely not staying here! No way, no how. I am putting my foot down I tell you!



(What do you all think we should name him?)

Dirty Girl

Remember a few months ago when I bought new fresh herbs for my garden? Well, I planted them yet due to the horrible drought and water restrictions here, it was really tough to care for my little herbs and they were sorely neglected. Some died, some were overcome with weeds, it was a mess. I was so busy with the wedding, etc. that I would occasionally glance over there, feeling guilty, and promised that I would rectify the situation...soon. Well, my lawn service took care of that for me. Apparently they got a bit carried away with the herbicide and I came home to find my entire herb garden dead along with..gulp...the gardenia bush that my Mom bought me last Mother's Day! I was heartsick and angry but realized that they truly don't know the difference between weeds and herbs, they just spray anything in sight that doesn't look like grass! I called the owner of the company and politely asked him to NEVER spray my back yard again, that Beren would tend to the weeds there when necessary.

(Hmm...I think Beren had way too much fun photographing me on my knees in the dirt!)


So, I bought new herbs and this morning before the sweltering heat set in I got to working on my little patch. I plated jalapeno peppers, red bell peppers, parsley, oregano, basil and rosemary. It's got a long way to go but looks so much better than a few days ago! I can't wait to go out there and pluck some fresh tasty seasonings for my summertime meals!


(notice my creative use of an empty beer case? Makes a great weed-holder!)



While I worked on that, my Sweetie put together my new red tables which match my Adirondack chairs purchased last year. Then we jumped into the pool to cool off...whew!!! A productive and relaxing Saturday so far here at the Castle.

Happiness Is...

A Friday afternoon of necessary errands, peppered with enough fun to keep running around in the Florida heat bearable..



First a stop at a new-to-me vintage shop which, although I adore the name, the door sign and the premise, I couldn't find a single truly vintage thing in my price range. (I don't want to spend $10.00 and up for 1980's sunglasses..and hey, since when are the 80's vintage??)





Cocktail hour w/some wildlife at one of our favorite dining spots. If you hang here long enough you forget that this fabulous restaurant is actually attached to a glorified fishing store! (My Dad's company did the steelwork for it, so that makes me especially proud to sit in the bar and gaze up at the exposed beams!)



Pumping up on the way home..gulp...despite the exorbitant price of gas, the promise of some wet ski weekend fun is well worth it!



Saturday morning on the patio sipping screwdrivers made of fresh-squeezed orange juice, courtesy of Kali's unique Florida-ish wedding centerpieces. Ahh...the weekend is off to a fan-tabulous start!

Rapunzel Shops for a Wig

My Mom starts chemo on Monday. Needless to say we're anxious, not knowing how she'll respond to the treatment but the doctors assure us that nowadays the side affects are minimal and can be controlled with meds. So, we're hopeful that it'll go smoothly and with minimal distress to her.

With that in mind, we have started preparing for the inevitable hair loss that will result. Now, let me say that in the vanity department my Mom ranks pretty high up there - she is never seen without her nails & toes perfectly manicured, hair just so, make-up on, and we won't even talk about her wardrobe! So, like most women, I imagine she's probably going to take this balding thing pretty hard. And, honestly, it's going to be pretty rough on me as well. I mean, you all know how attached I am to hair!

Anyway, we are determined to make the best of it so we started joking about what color Mom would like to be - has she always fantasized about being big & blonde like Dolly? (we're just talking about her hair here)



Or perhaps Lucy's siren red?



Or, ooh, my favorite, dark & sexy Cher-like locks?



Alas, Mom would like to stick with her own style, at least for now. *wink* Perhaps Dad will convince her otherwise?

That decision made, I then thought Mom might also like some other headcoverings for when she is relaxing at home and doesn't feel like dealing with an actual wig. A quick google search led me to this fabulous site which appears to cater to cancer patients. I went ahead and ordered her two turbans and a sleep cap, hopefully they'll work out well.

My question to you all is: If you've had experience with cancer/chemo, what can we expect? The unknown is simply terrifying...is there a website or support group you'd recommend? I know that I'm going to need some help getting through this and don't even know where to start.

Thanks so much.

On My Hearth: "Canned" Soup

I am scouring the pantry for dinner ingredients, want to see if I can go another week without major grocery shopping. I found this recipe and it sounds delicious and just what I'm looking for. Even though it's hot outside, I never mind a nice warm bowl of soup, especially paired with a cool crispy salad as the recipe author suggests. Since we have a busy day ahead and I don't want to give into the not-so-frugal temptation of dining out, I'll be putting this into the crockpot so it'll be ready and waiting this evening!

Canned Soup
Submitted by: Karen-Jean Coxe
Rated: 4 out of 5 by 20 members Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Yields: 7 servings

"I made up this recipe when I had no idea what to make for dinner, I had a lot of canned foods so I decided to use them. I hope this works for you as good as it works for me. Serve hot with homemade cornbread and green salad."

INGREDIENTS:

1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can vegetarian refried beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernelcorn, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can green beans
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons dried minced onion

DIRECTIONS:

1. Puree stewed tomatoes in an electric blender or mixer. Place tomatoes, refried beans, corn, green beans, and vegetable broth in a large pot. Cook over a medium heat. Refried beans and tomatoes will cook down to create a base for the soup. Stir occasionally to prevent stickiness.
2. Add water as needed to prevent over-thickening. Add oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper, basil, parsley, and minced onion. Cover and cook until mixture is heated through. Add the onions, and continue cooking until the soup is just boiling.

Tidying Up

In case you haven't noticed, I've been sprucing things up a bit here at the cyber-Castle; I added a couple of nifty little widgets to the sidebar over there, a fun reader's poll, and a link to my e-mail addy so you can "talk to me!" Please check 'em out and let me know what you think about the new additions.

On My Hearth: Chinese Eat-In

I'm trying to cut down on processed foods, but this new dinner kit by Wanchai Ferry happened to be on sale ($4.79 each and BOGO) at my local grocery store and the price was too good to resist. My Mom adores cashew chicken so I scooped up one of that flavor thinking it would be easy enough for Dad to prepare since he's doing all of the cooking at this point.

Since Beren loves sweet & sour chicken, I figured it would make a quick weekday meal for him. I'm going to save the Jasmine rice that's included and instead use up the leftover wedding rice, figure that after today it's going to get tossed. I also have just-cut pineapple that will add a nice fresh flavor to the meal. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Update: Both Beren and I thought this was very tasty, well worth the few bucks it cost us. Just as good as our favorite take-out, the only thing missing was the fortune cookie!

What Would Mr. Rogers Do?

Yesterday as I was driving around My Town I was thinking about how often people "behave badly," whether it be the driver who cuts you off in traffic, the rude cashier at Target, the waitress who is less-than-attentive, the receptionist who snaps at you..etc..etc..etc..the list goes on & on. Once upon a time these things would frustrate me, annoy me, sometimes even incite anger. Usually I let it go but now & then, when the stresses of life got me down and I was on my last nerve, I would respond in kind - snap, complain, or at the very least an ugly look directed at the idiot driver.

Now, though, I am trying a different approach, one inspired by Ivy over at Home Ec 101. It's called the Mr. Rogers and it consists of plain & simple kindness. What a novel idea, right? From now on I'm going to try my best to live each day thinking, "What would Mr. Rogers do?" Silly, maybe, but can you think of a better example of plain old fashioned kindness? I was a huge fan of his as a child and still today when I think of him my heart warms just a bit, my voice softens, my smile widens..he truly was the epitome of gentleman, a gracious & loving soul, a perfect role model for how to be a better, nicer, more loving person.

What if instead of honking at the driver, for example, I was simply kind. What if I took a deep breath and just gave her a break. Because, you know, if might be that she's not driving like a jerk on purpose. Maybe that cell phone call she's taking isn't unnecessary after all, maybe instead of chatting with her girlfriend as I imagine she's actually on the phone with her mother's oncologist, talking about her upcoming cancer treatment. Maybe she took off of work that day, drove a few extra miles to a French bakery to buy her mother's favorite cheese croissant, stopped by the green market and filled a bag of fresh peaches which her mother adores, then she drove to her parent's house and spread out the goodies, hoping to entice her to eat. Because she's lost too much weight, she is not strong enough to undergo the chemo which starts next week, and the daughter is feeling so helpless and the least she can do is what she's good at: nurture with food. Maybe she spent the morning there, chatting and trying to appear "normal" while dispensing medications and discussing an afternoon of testing. Maybe she sat there on the chair in the family room, flipping through a book about cancer diet, scheduling Reiki sessions to coincide with chemo, planning a wig shopping excursion and trying to make that sound like fun. Maybe then the daughter watched her mother, who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, rise from the couch and slowly make her way outside so that she could smoke a cigarette.

Maybe, at that point, the daughter choked up, kissed her mother goodbye and got back on the road. Maybe she drove with tears in her eyes, heartbroken and terrified, and she just wasn't paying attention at the very moment when she cut you off...she didn't mean to, truly. She was just distracted by something so much bigger, so much more important. She's sorry, really she is. So how about when she turns around and waves her apology, you don't shout and flip her off..how about you smile and simply try a little kindness. I'm just saying. It's what Mr. Rogers would do.

On My Hearth: Marble Cake

Still in my vintage mood and inspired by a recipe on the fabulous Kitchen Retro blog but lacking the necessary ingredients, I am making another version using a box cake mix which looks almost as tasty:

Marble Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Cake:
1 package plain yellow cake mix — (18.25 ounces)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons butter — ( stick) melted
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 squares semisweet chocolate — (1 ounce each)
coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon water
Chocolate glaze (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly mist a 10-inch tube pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour.

Place cake mix, sour cream, oil, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute and medium speed 2 minutes more.

Melt chocolate with milk and water. Cool slightly.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Drop chocolate mixture by spoonfuls over batter. Marble batter by swirling chocolate lightly through it with a knife. Bake in preheated oven 40 to 45 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and let cool in pan 20 minutes.

While cake is cooling, prepare glaze. Run sharp knife around edge of cake and invert onto serving platter. While cake is still slightly warm, pour glaze over top of cake and let it drizzle down the sides. Cool cake another 30 minutes before serving. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Chocolate glaze:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In small heavy saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add cocoa powder and cream and stir until mixture thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil. Remove pan from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Spoon over partially cooled cake. Reserve any leftover glaze for another use.

The Big Day Part 4

Because you guys have asked...grin...here are a couple of shots of me taken at the wedding. Can you tell how proud and happy I was? And looking at the last pic of my gorgeous children, can you blame me? *swoon* I am one proud mama, that is for sure!





The bride and groom weren't the only ones smoochin' at the wedding!



One Happy Mommy



All of my children, isn't my new "son" so handsome?!


Thanks so much to my dear friend Jersey who took these pictures, she is so talented! I daresay that hers will rival the "professional" photographers!

Tropical Cuteness

I've decided to take another day off from work, am going to putter around the castle for a bit but when my fabulous cleaning lady Josee arrives I'll have to hightail it outta here lest she invite me to scrub the floors with her. *shudder* At that point I will probably run some errands including another trip to Target (do you all pronounce that store's name with a French accent like I do? I thought so, makes it much more elegant and fun, don't you think?) to return the closet organizing items I didn't need.

After that I was going to take my Mom "junkin'"as was our Wednesday morning habit years ago when I was married and worked from home. You see, Wednesdays was 50% off Senior Citizen Day at our favorite thrift store so Mom would meet me there, we'd wander around the store searching for treasures, load up our cars and then celebrate our good fortune and good buys with breakfast at Denny's next door.

Well, Mom has some extensive testing this afternoon and wants to conserve her energy so she declined my offer for a morning of junkin'. That's ok, she promised me a rain check once she starts feeling better and I fully intend to hold her to that. In the meantime, I'll share my slightly-less-thrifty but still fun finds from yesterday:



If you have been reading my blog for a bit, you'll know that Kali's wedding theme was "vintage Florida." She and Kevin looooove all things tropical and her favorite flower is the hibiscus. So, yesterday when I saw these adorable melamie dinner plates and accessories on clearance at Target I had to scoop them up! I purchased the large serving bowl, some plates and some glasses (not shown), two hand towels, 6 wash cloths and two kitchen towels, all with hibiscus flowers on them! Aren't they precious?! I just love that happy little monkey! I plan to wrap them up and have them waiting when they return from their honeymoon, a nice little "welcome home" gift for the bride and groom.

The cost: $2.08 each for the kitchen & hand towels, $1.04 for each salad plate, $5.58 for the washcloths and $5.58 for the serving bowl. While not thrift store prices that's still not a big expenditure for something that I know will put a big ol' smile on her face as it did on mine!

P.S. I took this pic with my new herbs as a background, promise I'll post more on that later..

Lovely Linen Closet

With the wedding festivities complete and the happy couple off on their honeymoon, I've had a bit of time to catch up on things around the Castle which has been sorely neglected for a few weeks (months?).


Monday evening I was perusing a magazine and came upon this article from Family Circle magazine. The above picture so struck me that I decided to tear apart my girls' linen closet which was an absolute mess!

Bright and early yesterday morning I trekked over to Target, loaded up my cart with some pretty storage containers and was on my way. (I also made a quick stop at the garden department but more about that another time).

A few hours (and 6 loads of laundry) later my linen closet went from this:



to this:





While it's not exactly like the magazine pic (I really don't like my towels rolled), I think it's darned close and soooo much better than before! What a pleasure to open the door and not be greeted with clutter and empty shelves. As you can see, Jezebel has been enjoying it as well! You know, I am loving this closet so much, I'm tempted to just leave the door open so that everyone can walk by and see it's cuteness!

Now I'm all excited and motivated to spruce up some more..hmm...which area should be next?!

Cooking Withdrawal!

Ok, this eating leftovers is lovely but I can't stand being out of my kitchen any longer, I have to cook something!

Since I have some fresh broccoli that is threatening to brown, and a box of sea shell pasta in the pantry, I'm going to throw this little dish together tonight. I love that I have everything but the sun dried tomatoes in the house, will just use some fresh tomatoes as a substitution.

The recipe came from my box of Muellers Sea Shell pasta but is not available on the website:

Sea Shells Con Broccoli

* 16 ounces muellers sea pasta shells (or other brand, or your favorite noodle)
* 4 cups fresh broccoli florets, uncooked
* 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 4 garlic cloves, mince or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
* 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, chopped fine
* 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
* 1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
* 1 cup parmesan cheese
* salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook sea shells to package directions, adding broccoli the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time.

2. Drain, cover, and set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in a larg skillet; add garlic, basil rosemary, and sun dried tomatoes.

4. Cook 1 minute.

5. Add wine and reduce by 1/2. Add broth.

6. Toss broccoli and shells with broth mixture and stir until heated through.

7. Add cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.

The Big Day - Part 3

Just a few more wedding pics, they are slowly trickling in from friends & family - I can't wait til the professional shots are ready but these will tide me over until then.


The ceremony - if you look closely you can see me over to the far right, had a perfect view and never took my eyes off Kali..sigh...

The Father-Daughter Dance - I held my emotions quite nicely until this moment, then the tears were just streaming down my face

The Bride Cuts the Cake

The Getaway Car - a 1936 Ford that we were fortunate enough to borrow from my Dad's boss! Isn't it amazing?!

On My Hearth: Wedding Leftovers!

I had teasingly told the kids that thanks to an overextended budget we'd be eating beanie weanies for the next week..grin...but we were spared! We had sooooo much food left over from the wedding and our fabulous caterer was kind enough to box it all up so that we could take it home. So far we've had it for lunch and dinner two days, put a couple bags of it in the big freezer and there's still enough to feed all of us for several more days. I'm sure I'll have to supplement with other items because we'll get bored with this menu but ooh, it is so good I'm going to have to beg the caterer for some recipes!

In addition to the below, we also have tons of homemade Italian cookies which were baked by Kali's Grandma & Aunt. They were heavenly and certainly helped contribute to the 4 pounds I gained this past weekend. *groan*

ELEGANT WEDDING PACKAGE

CONCH FRITTERS, BLINTZ, BLACK BEAN SPRING ROLLS,
CHICKEN FILLET, SPINACH FILOo

KEY LIME CHICKEN BREAST PLANTAIN GARNISH W/ MANGO SALSA
SHRIMP A LA DOMINION W/SPICY SAUCE
TROPICAL SALAD: TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS, MANDARIN ORANGES & CRAISINS
CAESAR SALAD
YELLOW RICE WTH CONFETTI OF BLACK BEANS
HERB RUBBED POTATOES
KEY LARGO VEGETABLES W/ GARLIC BUTTER
CORN MUFFINS, ROLLS, BUTTER

Farewell, Tasha Tudor

Involved as I was with wedding festivities, I just heard the news. Rest in peace, dear Ms. Tudor, you were adored by and inspired so many.

The Big Day - Part 2

Well, we did it, we pulled it off! The wedding was absolutely gorgeous, a complete success if I do say so myself. Guests continue to rave about the hair & make-up done for the wedding party which helped to transform us all into pin-up material, the FABULOUS food, the memorable first dance of the bride & groom, etc. etc. The pictures are trickling in, don't have any from the actual ceremony but here are a few more from the pre-wedding beauty session and one of the first dance.

The bride and groom are off on their honeymoon, the rest of us are exhausted but happy, am looking forward to a couple of days to rest, regroup and relive the magical evening!


Chatting with the Groom and sippin' on some pre-wedding bubbly


My dear friend Jersey who I met "in person" for the first time after 7 years of e-mail friendship!


getting dressed at Grandma's House

The First Dance - inspired by John & Uma in Pulp Fiction

The Big Day - Part 1

Today is THE DAY! We have all been up for hours, sipping coffee and orange juice, chatting and relaxing in between last minute wedding chores. I will share some pics as we go along, from an impromptu "girls only" lunch on Wednesday to the rehearsal dinner last night:


Kali's NJ cousin Jackie, Bambi & Kali


The Pampered Bride....wonder what she's thinking?


Wearing the hat we made at the bridal shower, isn't it adorable?


The proud Mama of the Bride and her handsome honey

Counting Down

In less than 36 hours my little girl will become a married woman, the bride-to-be a real bride. It still boggles my mind, especially when I look back on pictures of her as a little girl such as this one. Kali was a bit of a tomboy when she was young, hated dresses and frou-frou girly things. (I clearly remember the "black basketball jersey" years..shudder...) This was one of the rare occasions when I got her in a dress, but only because it was Halloween (her favorite holiday) and she could enter a costume contest (she was rather competitive) and carry my silk wedding flowers. Sigh..she was so beautiful, and even then I had tears in my eyes as I imagined her real wedding day sometime in the distant future.

Well, that day is here, and amidst all the hustle and bustle of planning and tending to last minute details, I'm taking some time to reflect on the bride herself..the beautiful, wonderful human being that she is.



I am so proud of her for many things - her obvious beauty only a small part of it. I am in constant awe of her courage, her strength, her poise and charm, her loyalty and commitment. She is a true friend, a devoted daughter and sister, she values family above all else to the point of having the Hawaiian word for it tattooed on her body! It is these qualities that she will bring to her marriage, these qualities that will persevere and hold her marriage together during even the tough times. Kali has seen divorce up close and personal and though I'm sad for that, I also believe it gives her an honest view of marriage, the trials and tribulations as well as the comforts and joy. She is going into this union with open eyes and an open heart, and I truly believe that she and Kevin will be one of the couples who make it.



Congratulations, Kevin, I know that you realize how fortunate you are to have this amazing woman by your side tomorrow as you say those oh-so-important vows, and forevermore as your wife. I couldn't have chosen a better mate for her than you, and though tomorrow solidifies the union you are already a part of my family. I adore you both and look forward to watching you grow together in strength and love.

On My Hearth: Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

I bought a bag of bell peppers at Costco last week and don't want them to go to waste, thinking that something in the crockpot would be a good idea since we will be running around all day with last-minute wedding errands.

Doing a Google search lead me to this awesome new-to-me blog, A Year of Crockpotting. So cool! I love to use my slowcooker but often lack the inspiration, think I'll be visiting Stephanie quite often in the near future!

I'm copying her recipe here exactly as she wrote it, but note that I'll be substituting veggie crumbles for the ground beef to make this vegetarian-friendly.

CrockPot Stuffed Peppers Recipe

The Ingredients.

--enough peppers to fit your crockpot. I have a 6qt oval Smart Pot, and six nestled perfectly in the stoneware

--1 lb lean ground beef

--1 cup cooked rice

--1 can flavored tomatoes (I used fire roasted, Italian would work. If you don't have flavored, add 1/2 t italian seasoning)

--1 t gluten free worcestershire sauce

--2 T ketchup

--1 t black pepper

--1/3 cup water


The Directions.

in a bowl, mix the ground beef and rice with all the stuff (except for the water and the peppers)

wash and clean out the peppers. Save the tops.

Stuff each pepper with a good amount of the ground beef and rice mixture

Nestle the peppers into your crock and put the little pepper tops back on.

Pour in 1/3 cup of water around the bases of the peppers

cook on low for 6-8 hours. I cooked these for exactly 8.