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!  :)

Winner of the Digital Scrapbooking Software

The winner of the Digital Scrapbooking Software is Sarah. Pretty much a bust as far as turn out went for this game, but I know Sarah will enjoy the software.

The best thing about the My Memories software is that it is so easy to use.  I'll ask Sarah to post some of her projects here too, or on her blog, Everyday Keepsakes.

Have a good week!

Check my post about my new digital scrap-booking software adventure HERE.  Then read below about my give-away this week...

To enter, you'll need to visit the My Memories website and take a look through their products. Then come back here and leave a comment below telling me what interests you the most along with your email address so that I can contact you if you win. 

You can earn additional entries by doing the following and leaving a separate comment for each:

• Follow the My Memories blog
• Like My Memories on Facebook  
• Follow My Memories on Twitter
• Follow Kitchenfunk on Pinterest
• Add Kitchenfunk to your blog list
• Put a Kitchenfunk button on your blog
• Subscribe to Kitchenfunk in a reader or by email 
• Follow MyEvidentFaith.com
• Add MyEvidentFaith to your blog list
• Subscribe to MyEvidentFaith in a reader or by email
• Follow MyEvidentFaith on Twitter

That's a LOT of ways to win!  Be sure your post either includes your email or attaches to your email, so I can let you know when you win. 

Winner will be chosen on Friday, December 16th at 5pm!!   If I email YOU as the winner, and you don't get back to me within 48 hours, then I will choose another winner.  So check your email...

Party Food for Holiday Visits

With family visiting for the holidays, we have lots of food planned for the next few weeks. 

This weekend is no exception, we are finally decorating our tree.  Finally!  

So I am planning a menu.  I'm thinking maybe hot roast beef sandwiches and some brie and crackers, and something with fruit...  I know, this sounds  like a lot of trouble for just decorating the tree, but I have found that making an EVENT (key the music) out of something that really doesn't take a lot of time, keeps my teen and young adult children IN THE MOMENT for just a little longer.

One of the dips I am thinking of making is Hot Spinach and Artichoke: 

It is delicious, but it is a little overload on the Spinach is you aren't already a big fan.

For this you need:

1/2 pound of cooked bacon, crumbled

8 oz cream cheese

1 package frozen chopped Spinach (thawed/drained)

1 can marinated Artichoke hearts (drained)

1 cup Parmesan cheese

8 oz sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

Mix the cream cheese, beating until creamy.  Add all other ingredients and mix until smooth.

Bake at 400 degrees (preheated) for about 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. 

I am definitely going to have veggies, too.  

 I love to play with veggies. ALL of my kids love them like this (NOT the hubby)... I made this last week and they ate almost all of it before the family came over.  I am going to put it out again this week long before I put out the roast beef. That way they will be sure to eat their vegetables!

Finally, I think the best thing I'm going to enjoy when we're decorating the tree will be 

Double Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies!

These photos were taken by my daughter, Sarah, who will be making these cookies for me again this weekend, when she is home from college.  YUM, can't wait!  

To see Sarah, I mean.  

:)

She makes THIS recipe using Dana's recipe from MADE (Dana-Made-It.com).  

What are YOU making (or eating) for the holidays?? 

Sharing here...
at Catch My Party and
Cook Bake Nibble, and also: