Mardi Gras

I was just reflecting on how much I love February. This month features my birthday, Valentines Day and how can I forget... Mardi Gras! S and I spent a fabulous weekend in New Orleans with our dear friends in 2004. We went to all the family friendly sites and collected boatloads of beads. After the photo above, I almost strangled myself trying to get them all off. We still have a huge duffel bag full of beads, so if you ever need any just let me know!

12 Socks of Valentine's Day

The socks featured are two of the 12 that delighted me in secret hiding places on Valentine's Day. While changing W's diaper I found a sock on top of his wipes with lip gloss inside. While putting a plate in the microwave, I found a sock with a box of chocolates stuffed deep down. Best of all, while doing laundry (which I don't like to do) I found a sock with lotion inside! My sweet Valentine left little surprises all over the house for me to find as I went about my daily tasks. What a sweetheart! 

Valentine's Dinner

I am making pan seared tilapia tonight for our Valentine Dinner. This recipe is so light and delicious! I wanted to pass it along for a great staple for cooking with any light, mild fish. I think I will add some capers this time too.  Mary Ann originally tipped me off to this recipe and as usual, her recipes are a hit. 

As a side note, this recipe is really easy to play around with. If you don't have white wine, you can add chicken broth and if you don't have sherry vinegar just use another vinegar. Likewise with the shallots. I love shallots, but if you don't have any on hand you could just add a little garlic and minced onion.

A Present!!

I found this beautiful box on my car with a great birthday present inside! (Thanks Vanessa and Chelsea!) I was so excited to find little ramekin dishes inside! Also in the box was a recipe for the most delicious little molten chocolate cakes with mint fudge sauce. These would make a most delectable Valentine's Treat don't you think? Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Don't feel bad if you don't get one in the mail. They are from another year!

Ice Storm

This morning we awoke to some beautiful ice sculptures outside our front door. I took this one without even leaving the front porch.

Perfect Play Clay

This is not the most beautiful picture in the world, but it is the best play clay I have ever played with. O & W both play for it completely content for over an hour. That is saying a lot for a 3  year old and 16 month old! It stays soft for months and is so much fun to shape and mold. O on this day was making the sun out of this big orange blob. We also had planets surrounding it out of many other colors. I am posting the recipe below. One word of caution: Follow the recipe precisely. I tried to improvise a little once and got a sticky, gooey mess! It calls for a lot of salt and cream of tartar too, so you might want to check your stock before you get started to make sure that you have enough!

Combine in saucepan:

5 cups water

2 1/2 cups salt

3 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar

and food coloring (1 tsp for pastel color and 3 Tablespoons for vivid color)

Warm over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon. As the mixture heats up, stir in: 

10 Tablespoons oil and then

5 cups flour slowly

Keep stirring until the mixture starts to look dry and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat at this point. Pinch a piece between two fingers, If it is not sticky, it is done. Otherwise, continue stirring over heat.

Place the dough on the counter and knead until smooth. Store in a plastic bag and enjoy!