Chez Chanel

The Cherry Blossom Girl

got a peek into

Coco Chanel's

Paris home....

I am so

jealous. 

Posted 1 Year Ago: "On my last trip"

Family Tree

This 

would be

wonderful

to have

hanging
in my
home.

I just

love

family

trees.

Found via:

Cardgirl Invitations

First for Silas

 Silas,

being a

Newfoundland...

is a

water

dog.

Which

was the

reason

we had to

get him

to the

lake

as soon as

possible.

Eventhough

it was

super cold...

we had

fun!

Emmentaler Peppered Turkey Panini

I think

I found

my new

favorite

cheese...

for hot

Panini

Sandwiches!

It is

Emmentaler

Swiss Cheese

and it is

delicious.

Emmentaler Peppered Turkey Panini

2 slices bread (I use flax bread, but any country style bread would be good too)

olive oil for brushing

mayonnaise

sliced peppered turkey breast (from your local deli)

slice of Emmentaler cheese (I found mine at the local grocery in the specialty cheese section)

leaf of Romain lettuce or Arugula

1. Brush one side of the bread slices with olive oil. Lay that side on the panini press.

2. Then layer your sandwich with mayonnaise, turkey, cheese, and lettuce. Top with other slice of oiled bread.

3. Press and then eat! 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

I just

love

looking

at old

pictures

of when

my mom

was young.

My mom

is the

girl

on the

right.

I love you

mom...

Happy Mother's Day.

Cotton Flowers

How cute!

Using

Cotton Flowers

for Party

decorations
is such a
wonderful
idea.

via: Lauryl Lane

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Remember

when I

bought

this

cookbook.

Well,

I finally

made

another

batch of

cupcakes

from it!

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Batter:

1 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp coconut extract

Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups powder sugar

2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp coconut extract

1/2 cup toasted coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

3. In a separate larger bowl, mix together the coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and coconut extracts. 

4. Melt the coconut milk in a small saucepan over very low heat. Add to the coconut milk mix.

5. Slowly add the flower mix to the coconut mix in batches.

6. Bake for 25 minutes. Then cool completely before frosting.

7. To make the frosting: beat the butter and powder sugar together until very smooth. Add the milk and extracts. Beat again until very smooth.

8. Spread (or pipe) onto cupcakes then roll in the toasted coconut.

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Red"

Cinco de Mayo

How

did you

celebrate

Cinco de Mayo?

Our day

started off

with snow...

But by

the end

of the

day

the sun

came out

and all

the snow

melted.

So...

we had a

fiesta!

I only had

about

10 minutes

to decorate

for this

party.

So my

decorations

consisted of

making 

streamers and

drink garnishes

out of

napkins!

And we

feasted on

Carna Asada Tacos

and 

Guacamole,

Pico de Gallo,

and Chips.

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Annie Leibovitz"

Kate Spade's Spring

Oh Kate....

I love

your

clothing.

Meet Silas

Here

is our

new

puppy!

His

name is

Silas.

He's not

really

posing

in any

of the

pictures...

but

it is

kinda

hard

to get

a puppy

to pose. 

I am

sure

there

will be

more

pictures

to come.

Rosemary Bread

I made

this bread

along with

dinner

last night...

and it

tasted

just like

Macaroni 

Grill's

Rosemary 

Bread.

It was

delicious!

We had

this bread

along

with

Creamy

Wild Rice

and 

Mushroom

Soup

Rosemary Bread

Adapted from The Secret Recipe Blog

9 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsifted semolina flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons quick-rising dry yeast
1 1/2 cups hot milk

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

 

1. Place all-purpose flour, semolina flour, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and all of the yeast in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix the ingredients on medium speed.
 
2. Slowly add the hot milk and remain to mix the ingredients on medium speed. 

3. Put a little olive oil on the bottom of a bowl and  removing the dough from the mixing bowl, spread out evenly in your olive oiled prepared bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. (You want it to double in size).
 
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

5. In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the chopped fresh rosemary. Let sit while the bread is rising.


6. Remove plastic and brush dough with the olive oil/rosemary mix. Dust the top with additional kosher salt.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Serves 6-8

Eruca

I wish

I could

shop

here...

Eruca

I also

wish

I spoke

Japenese

so that

I could

understand

the website.

Paper Dolls

When

I was

a child

one of

my

favorite

toys

were

paper dolls.

Sometimes

I still

think

how fun

it would be

to have

beautiful

paper dolls

like these

to cut out!

Found via: Aline Smithson Photography


By the way...

Happy May 1st!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I have tried

 to make

Lemon

Poppy Seed

Muffins

a few

times

and

unfortunately

they never

seem to

work...

until

these!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 stick butter, melted

1 tbsp poppyseeds

1 tsp lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare muffin tin.

2. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl mix together the egg, buttermilk and lemon juice.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together. Add the melted butter and mix (try not to over mix the batter).

4. Fold in the poppy seeds and lemon zest.

5. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for about 20 minutes.

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Apricot White Chocolate Cookies"

Apron

Even though

the weather

has done

a turn

for the

worse...

I have

still been

planning

what I

will plant

when the

weather

gets warmer.

And this...

 

Gardening Apron

would be

wonderful!

Created by:

Spool & Sparrow 

Caine

Have I

mentioned

how much

 I love this

website...

The Impossible Cool

(Michael Caine)

Handwriting

I wish

I had

beautiful

handwriting

like this...

Created by:

Emily Friday

Granola Bars

There are

certain days

when I have

no time

to eat

breakfast.

So I

always

try to have

something

that I grab

and go out

the door.

And

if it is

healthy

then it's

all the

better.

Granola Bars

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or any nut you choose)

1/2 cup dried fruit (I used currants but blueberries would be delicious too!)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2 cups old fashioned oats

1. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together.

2. Press into a prepared small square baking sheet.

3. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Take out and cut into squares. 

4. Lower the oven heat to 250 and bake the squares for another 15-20 minutes (even up to 30 minutes if you want them real crunchy).

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Mexico-Part Three"

Lee Mathews

I love

Lee Mathews

clothing

and

accessories.

I just wish

they had

boutiques

in the 

US.

Shrimp over Quinoa

The weather

has been

so beautiful

lately.

It makes me

so excited

for the

coming

summer!

That is

why

I have

been

cooking

so many

summer

dishes!

And this

dish

is so

light

and

summery...

it was

perfect.

Shrimp over Quinoa

1 lb. raw, de-veined shrimp

1 lb. any veggies you might like (i used mushrooms, red bell peppers, and beans because that was all I had).

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 onion, sliced

2 tbls olive oil

1 tbsp butter

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup uncooked quinoa

chicken stock

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp oregano

1. Prepare quinoa according to the package directions, except substitute the water for chicken stock and add season with salt, pepper, and oregano before bringing it to a boil. 

2. While quinoa is cooking, add olive oil and butter to a pan and heat on medium high heat. Add the onions and whatever veggies you choose and cook until almost done.

3. Add the minced garlic and shrimp. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the shrimp is fully cooked. When shrimp is cooked add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, toss, and cook for 1 more minute.

4. Serve over quinoa and enjoy!

Posted 1 Year Ago: " Mexico Part One"