Painting Project

Can you guess what I'm working on?

Well, that's not much of a clue, so I'll have to tell you...

I'm painting the bathroom vanity and cupboard shelf in our main bathroom!

Now, here's the thing...

Despite my love of abstract or modern painting styles, I tend to keep things safe.  And I've stated here on this blog before that I am NOT good at decorating, so everything I've done over the past year has been inspired by the wonderful craft and decorating blogs here in blogland.

But this project is going to be wild.  

First my 17 year old chose coral, but I didn't like that idea so I suggested orange:

 

Of course, it is just the vanity we're painting.

Then pink was suggested - both the 15 yr and 17 yr liked that (me too):

Photo from HouseBeautiful.com

 

The pink we liked was a lot darker.  But again was voted down unanimously.

So I started musing about being "safe" and I came up with something...  and I bought the paint today and will start the project when I get home from work. But in the meantime, here is a taste of a crazy artsy vanity. 

Enjoy!

You can purchase this furniture by going to Mad Tea Party Furniture's Etsy shop HERE

 

Forty Cloves of Garlic

This post was prompted by Sara over at Your Thriving Family and her GARLIC link up!!

I haven't been crafting a lot lately - I've got a LOT of home projects going on and I also have my wonderful blog My Evident Faith (I haven't figured out how to combine the two blogs, yet) - but of course I have been cooking.

So, one of my favorite recipes is Forty Cloves of Garlic.

Forty Cloves?  Yes, 40. People hear this and they freeze, thinking it will be so strong - but honestly, over the cooking time the cloves turn soft and sweet, and not overpowering at all.

I highly recommend giving this a try if you like chicken AND garlic :)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in the center. 


Step 1:
1/3 c. flour 
2 T paprika 
1 T kosher salt 


Combine flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large plastic bag. Coat chicken in seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour.  



Step 2: 
1 T black pepper 
3 T olive oil 
3 pounds of chicken, cut into 6 or 8 pieces (or your preference) 
40 cloves garlic, peeled (about 3 heads)
3 stalks celery, diced 
1 med. yellow onion, sliced 


Heat oil in a large ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides; remove from pan. Add garlic, celery and onion; saute until lightly browned.  



Step 3:
1 cup white wine
1 c. chicken broth 
2 sprigs fresh rosemary 
2 sprigs fresh thyme 
2 bay leaves 

Add wine, broth, and herbs, then arrange browned chicken on top, skin side up; bring to a simmer. Cover the pan; transfer to the oven and braise 45 minutes. 


Pour the sauce with the cloves over the chicken in a serving dish and serve.

Enjoy!

The top and bottom photos in this post were free from Microsoft.

Sharing here (won't you come over, too?)

Believe...

Lel4nd

2 Corinthians 5:7

New Living Translation (NLT)

For we live by believing and not by seeing.

Layered Fruit and Cake

I call this Diana's Dessert.  

Last night I brought home a bunch of groceries. We had company coming for dinner in less than an hour, and I had worked late. I told my daughter what we had and I asked her to make dessert. 

This is what she created.

It is AMAZING!

One - Bakery-Made Orange-Cranberry Cake ($4.99 from the grocery bakery)

One container of whipped topping

Two Kiwi Fruit, peeled and sliced

One cup of Blueberries

One and a half cups of Grapes

One Whole Banana, sliced

She sliced the cake into thin pieces, and layed them in a 9 X 13 inch glass baking pan, then she covered that with a layer of whipped cream, added another layer of cake and whipped cream, then topped it all with the fruit.  Couldn't have been much more simple, and could NOT have been more delicious! 

What is everyone else making when you are not in holiday mode?  

BTW, yes, I'm also eating this for breakfast this morning!  :)