Friday, January 27, 2012

Sleeping Dogs

     I read recently that dogs sleep up to 16 hours a day.  I believe it!









Hee-hee.


Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I'm off for a week of fun and laughs with my girl cousins again. This time we are heading to south Texas to visit our aunt. Temps will be in the 70's, so I'm taking short sleeve shirts and sandals. Oh yea.


Christine

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Two Friends

Two Friends is a cute little gift shop full of antiques and new chic merchandise that I love to go to to find just the right gift.  Two friends got together and decided to open up this little shop and came up with the only name that seem to fit the both of them.  They rent out space for those that want to sell their wares and also sell things on consignment. They have ask me to make scarves for next winter to sell on consignment. I just might do that if I have the time.

Baby items.


                                   Watches, bracelets, necklaces, rings, clothes, etc.

Three rooms downstairs and an upstairs room full of more goodies.

This little shop is just too cute and fun to shop in. If you are ever in the Muskogee area, you have to stop by and see for yourself.

These two gals enjoy what they do and are so helpful when it comes to showing you what's new. Can you tell I love this little store? My pocketbook likes it too.

Christine

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Pioneer Woman Move Over

Last Saturday I watched an episode of "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" on Food Network staring Ree Drumond.  I have her cookbook and I love watching her new show.  On her show Saturday she made cinnamon sweet rolls and they looked easy to make and they looked delicious.  I've never tried making any kind of rolls so yesterday afternoon I decided to try this easy recipe. 


For the dough, heat one quart whole milk, one cup veg. oil, and one cup sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium heat; do not allow to boil. Set aside and cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle two pkgs. of active dry yeast and let sit on the milk for one minute. Add eight cups of flour. Stir until just combined, cover with clean kitchen towel and set aside in a relatively warm place for one hour. Remove the towel and add one heaping teaspoon of baking powder, one scant teaspoon of baking soda, one tblp. of salt, and one cup of flour.  Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to three days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl.



To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan.  On a floured baking surface, roll te dough into a large rectangle, about 30X10 inches.



To make the filling, pour one cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly.



Generously sprinkle ground cinnamon and one cup of sugar over the butter. Don't be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar. 



Now beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly toward you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don't worry if the filling oozes out as you work. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together. When you are finished you'll end up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log.



With a sharp knife make one and a half, or if you want larger rolls cut two inch slices. One log will produce 15 to 20 rolls. Pour a couple of tablespoons of melted butter (I used cooking spray) into the desired pie pans or baking dishes and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. Repeat this process with the other roll of dough.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking.  Remove the towel and bake for 13 to 17 minutes, until golden brown. Don't allow the rolls to become overly brown.



While the rolls are baking, make the icing.  In a large bowl, whisk together 2 lbs. of powdered sugar, one half cup whole milk, 3/4's melted butter, 1/4 cup strong coffee, and dash o salt.  Splash in one tblp. maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add more maple flavoring, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. (I didn't add any more of anything and it was just right.) The icing should be thick but still pourable. 



When the rolls come out of the oven and are still warm, generously drizzle icing over the top of the rolls. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top.  This recipe made about four and a half pans of rolls. What you don't eat right away you can freeze.

If I had known that making cinnamon rolls would be so easy I would have tried them years ago. My family loved them and they are so impressed with my baking skills. If you haven't purchased this cookbook, you've got to buy it. All the recipes are delicious and easy as pie.  I understand she is coming out with another cookbook . I can't wait.

My first experience with making cinnamon rolls was a good one and I've been asked to make them more often.  Who knows, I might become as good a cook as the Pioneer Woman and get my own tv show.

Christine


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Friday, January 13, 2012

Rocky's Antics






I've heard some say that reading enlightens the mind. Hopefully, my eyes will light up when that happens.

Rocky

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Read My Lips

Day before yesterday I recieved my new Woman's Day magazine for February in the mail.  One of the first articles was entitled, "Read My Lips".  This caught my attention, so I read on. It's about a new book out called, "Lipsology: The Art and Science of Reading Lip Prints" by Jilly Eddy.  In the book she shares what she's learned about people's personalities from their lip prints. In her research she has correlated over 10.000 of them with their owner's traits. Here are a few that was listed.




The top lip print has a wavy upper lip which is a sign of creativity and imagination. The V-shape "gourmet lip" split means you're romantic, a foodie with champagne tastes, and a potentially great cook.

The lip print on the bottom shows a slight protrusion (known as a "hug pucker" which means you're not openly demonstrative, though you're affectionate in private.  Also, very little space between the lips indicates stubbornness: You know what you want to do and how you want to do it.



The lip print on the top of these three is a diamond shaped print that shows that you are accomplished and give generously to your community.  The fullness on the bottom of this print indicates that you're an excellent communicator and children adore you.

The second lip print in the picture above has a small "Cupid bow" on the upper lip which means you excell at mediating and negotiating.  A lot of space between the lips says you're open-minded, with no preconceived ideas about people and situations.

The bottom lip print is an overall rounded shape and says you dislike conflict, look out for others and are happiest when those around you are happy, too.
Corners that point up, with an open space between the edges, indicate a multitalented person who hates boredom.

The article suggest that you make your own lip print and use these guides to see what it says about you.  Curiosity got the best of me. So I made my own lip print. (see below)



I definitely have a diamond shape lip print with corners that point up with a   small cupid bow.  Translated this means I'm accomplished and give generously to my community, a multitalented person who hates boredom, and I excel at mediating and negotiating.  Can you read anything else in my lip print that I might have missed? If I believed in any of this I would probably buy the book, but I'm sure my lip print shows what a tight wad I am. 

Maybe I should enter for a chance for a free lip print reading (valued at $40)  to get the true reading of my lips.  Or maybe not. I think I'll just kiss my hubby and see how he reads my lips!

Christine






Friday, January 6, 2012

Wonder Product

In my last post I mentioned some projects I was planning on getting accomplished and I've already finished one.  Our kitchen and bathroom cabinets needed refinishing and I really dreaded starting that project. I even thought about hiring a company that will come in and do it for you. The cost deterred that idea however.   A few weeks before Christmas my sister and I were shopping and I came upon a product that said it would refinish woodwork without sanding. Yea, right, I thought. I debated whether to purchase this so called wonder refinisher.  But, for seven dollars I thought I could give it a try.

                                                    Howard's Restor A Finish

This product comes in many colors and I chose one that was closest to the color of our woodwork.  Let me show you the before and after. 



As you can see the finish has worn off from years of use.  Most of the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms looked like this.  After using Howard's Restore and Finish this is how the cabinets look now.  By the way, I used a soft cloth to rub the product on the cabinets. It doesn't take much.


After

I am so pleased with the results.  I've done all the woodwork in the kitchen and bathrooms and plan to use it on the moldings around the floor in all the house. Quite a project I know, but I can take my time.  Thought I'd share this product with all my blogging friends in case you need to do the same.  It has done wonders with the look and I didn't have to sand.  Saved me a lot of time and money.

Christine 


Monday, January 2, 2012

New Year Resolutions

I don't do "New Year" resolutions. Mainly, because I never could keep them. Then I'd feel guilty. I hate the feeling of guilt. BUT, if I still made them I would have one for this coming year of 2012.  Blog less and try other things to fill my time.

There is nothing wrong with blogging, but I found myself spending a lot of my time on the computer. BLOGGING. I was so busy the month of December that I didn't have much time to blog. I read blogs when I could but didn't have time to post. You know what? I didn't miss it all that much and I actually didn't have withdrawl symtoms.  Not like I thought I would.

I love keeping up with all the friends I've made blogging and I can't give that up but I just won't write as much on mine.  I have signed up for a Yoga class and a knitting class. I already volunteer when needed at our local food pantry and at a local school our church helps with. I also meet with a group of ladies once a week in Bible study.

I have some plans to do some remodeling around our home starting with the kitchen walls. I plan to remove the wall paper and paint the walls. That might take a while. So, if I were making a new year resolution, I would spend less time blogging and more time being creative with my time doing other things. IF, I made new year resolutions....

Christine