Things I'm Lovin' This Rainy Saturday

1. Some fantastically wonderful muffins.


Oh.My.Soul these are so good for a special treat.



All Recipes from Colleen

To Die For Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar (I use Rapadura)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

2. Moss from Home Depot


OK, so this was new to me. I whipped out my phone to take a picture and my brain immediately started coming up with plans for this lush green goodness. I think it was $1.97.

A terrarium. We have only ever used the short moss dug from the woods, but this is a fun difference.

Planted in a little white bowl or a creamer. I don't know how it will do indoors, but if and when it starts to die I will move it outside or Chloe can make a terrarium.



A ground cover for a very shady corner of the back yard.

To cover the dirt of a pot planted with something taller.

3. Rainy Day Listening So Far:

Gotta have something to listen to while editing pictures.

Snow Patrol-Chasing Cars

Ben Lee-Rise Up

Jack Johnson-His new single

Donavon Frankenreiter-hear him here

Sam Bradley-Sea Blue

Seabird-Don't You Know You're Beautiful and the Rocks to Rivers album.

Brandon Heath-What If We

All For Love from The Three Musketeers soundtrack-you can find a great video from the recording here.

Danny Gokey-I Will Not Say Goodbye

4. Advil


For headaches from looking at the screen too long while editing lots of pictures and various other computer tasks.

5. Watching Everest Beyond the Limit with my son


5. Oh, and Blogging

Victoria has e-mailed me to say that she is handing me the blog baton and that I need to post something. I haven't been pulling my load, so I have to change that. Hi everyone!! : )


What are you enjoying this weekend? Have a great one!

Christina

Spring time cake

Since my life has been busy with getting our old house on the market, moving final items and digging up plants I can't bear to leave behind I thought I'd share a repeat of a yummy recipe for a spring time cake today. This cake is sooo easy and delish!



My sister Beth always has dessert, whether it's cookies, cake or something else, under her pretty glass cake dome at her house and she is the one that shared this recipe with me. I LOVE cakes that use a cake mix and additional ingredients. They seem so much easier than scratch and taste so yummy.

Lemon Poppyseed Cake

1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 cup plain or vanilla nonfat yogurt
3 eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Combine cake mix and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add vegetable oil and next four ingredients and beat on medium speed for six minutes. Stir in poppyseeds. Pour into well greased bundt pan and bake for 40 min at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 min. Remove from pan and drizzle with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Lemon juice

Sift powdered sugar into bowl. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice and stir. Add enough lemon juice until glaze if of drizzling consistency.



Look at the longing in my Sweet Girl's face! :)

(Picture from 2009)

Hope you are having beautiful Spring weather wherever you are today!

~Victoria~

Hippity Hop Easter "Wear"

Yesterday I went to a blog called Dana-made-it.com. Oh my goodness, I saw THIS and wanted to start sewing! Last night late I visited the site again, just to see her Peeps bunting again and was inspired to make something "peepish" for Sweet Girl to wear to her Easter party and Easter egg hunt at school.

I downloaded Dana's template (found here) for the peep bunny then had to size it down. I cut it out, grabbed a plain white shirt from Sweet Girl's room and a pink and white polka dot sheet I bought at Goodwill (I had already washed it) and made a peep reverse applique like I did for Thanksgiving with the turkey handprint.
I cut and ironed the fabric and pinned it right side up to the inside of the shirt.
I then pinned the paper peep on the front of her shirt...

and sewed around the paper peep
Can you see the stitch outline?
Then I pulled the shirt up and cut a slit and then carefully, making sure I wasn't cutting the fabric underneath, I cut out the peep.

I thought it looked a little plain though...
so I dug around in my fabric box and came across this trim (I always pick up bits of stuff like this at yard sales and thrift stores for pennies to add to my box of scrap fabric...you'll never know when you can use it!)...

The Bunny looked a little plain so I cut a small piece of sheet and sewed a green button on. Remember I did all this between 9 and 10 so I didn't finish the edges of the strip I used or anything like that.



the finished product!



I cut another strip to use as a bow for Sweet Girl's hair...



I was so excited to wake Sweet Girl up for school and when I did I said "boy I wish you had a bunny shirt to wear to your Easter party today" and would you believe she said "well you could make me one". I squealed and said as I held up her shirt "I did!". :) I'll be filing that one away as a good Mommy moment!

Edited to add: I am linking up to V&Co. I LOVE her blog and strongly suggest you visit if you haven't already.

~Victoria~

Mosely Drive House Tour continues

I know I showed this picture a couple of weeks ago but am showing it again as part of my house tour. This is our dining room/breakfast area. Originally the house had a deck off this room but it had been torn off and the door opening closed up into a window when we bought it. After a few years in the house we added a deck and put the french doors in. It made a HUGE difference in this room giving more light and making the room feel much larger!



In case you are wondering how my dining area ties in with the rest of the house here it is from the kitchen.



(every time I look at these pictures I see all the things I had planned to do, like hang a chandelier,
change out the counter tops and flooring and it pains me that we didn't do it.
I'm telling you people...do these projects NOW. Don't wait! :)

Moseley Drive Tour: Kitchen

Head over to the Just A Girl blog for a Show and Share party today. There are some great things over there. We are linking up Victoria's Moseley Drive kitchen redo. I believe she told me that she has one more post to do on the tour of her old house. I can't wait for you to see the fabulous things that she and her hubby have done to their new house. Those before and afters will come slowly as she is still unpacking and getting her house on the market.-Christina



Original kitchen picture