Texture Tuesday - Balance

The word I have chosen for 2014 is "balance".  I have given it a lot of thought and feel it is important to find balance in your life. Finding a healthy balance of work, home life, love, family, friends, health, exercise and passions is key. Time management and not becoming too obsessed with one thing is something I'm going to work on this year.  

So have you picked your word for 2014.  I'd love to hear about it.

Today I'm sharing with Kim's Texture Tuesdays.  Kim has opened up her Beyond Layers class to Test Kitchen members and I'm loving every minute. Up to Day 8 and this photo is from Day 4 Vision & Blur assignment. Used Kim's KK_simplicity texture and followed her recipe to create this image. The flowers are Ranunculus - one of my favorites.  

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Margie

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Home for the Holidays - Song-ography

This picture was taken at the train station on a snowy night in Westwood, NJ on my iPhone.  Thought it would be perfect for this week's Song-ography - "Home for the Holidays".   The town of Westwood actually has a town event in December called "Home for the Holidays" every year.

Love living by a train line, I can hear the train whistle blowing off in the distance at night as it passes through each town.  Also, its a very convenient to get to the city.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and stop by Song-ography for Home for the Holidays.

Margie



Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Friday Find - Lantern at Sunset

   

The sunset from my deck was unbelievable on this evening and both these photos were taken within a few minutes.   I'm sharing today with Kim's Friday Finds - I used KK_chill at 30% in soft light on the lantern photo and kk_2801 at 3% in multiply on the chairs.  

Hope everyone had a merry little Christmas this week and enjoyed special time with family and friends. We had snow on Christmas Eve which made the evening even more magical.

Tonight we went to the movies to see "The Wolf of Wall Street" which I thought was excellent.  It may not be for everyone because of the language, nudity, and 3 hr. length, but it will definitely win awards for acting.  

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend.

Margie

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Texture Tuesday - Christmas Eve

Sending you all peaceful holiday wishes and celebrate with gratitude and good fortune to have crossed paths with each of you throughout the year.  I thank you for sharing in my creative journey and hope you will continue to join me next year for more new discoveries in art, photography, and recipes. I appreciate every comment and word of encouragement you leave - it positively keeps me moving forward.  

I'm sharing today with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday by using KK_Chill.  Thank you Kim for your online classes that have opened the door to a whole new creative editing world for me!  Hoping the New Year will bring John back his health and you all get to go home.  

Happy holidays.  

Margie



Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Silver Bells

Today I'm playing along with Song-ography since "Silver Bells" is one of my favorites holiday songs.  This photo was snapped with my iPhone last week in Westwood, NJ.

Yes, soon it will be Christmas Day!




Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Friday Find - Gingersnap Cookies

Today's Friday Find is a lovely gift of homemade gingersnap cookies and mug from a co-worker.  I don't know if I was more excited about the mug and delicious cookies or the thought of getting home before the sun went to to photograph them in natural light.

This weekend I'll be cooking for the three holiday parties we will be attending starting Sunday.  I'm from a large family, so when we all get together food is always a group effort.  We leave the appetizers to the young adults, which always brings a little competition among the cousins.  Little do they know they are in training to someday take over the holiday cooking.

Stop by Kim Klassen's Cafe for Find Finds.

Happy Weekend.
Margie


Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Texture Tuesday - Holly Jolly Christmas

Winter has arrived and it looks like it could to be a white Christmas this year with a third snow storm arriving today.  Hoping for a snow day so I can do some baking for the holidays.   Love a snow day!   

The frozen holly picture was taken on Sunday morning after the second storm from my window.  Burrr… way to icy to venture out so early.  I used two of Kim Klassen's textures - KK_more magic and KK_chill. Stop by Kim's Cafe for Texture Tuesday.  

Saturday night we went to dinner locally and the town was all lit up for the holidays, but as you can see there wasn't a soul out that night but us.  I took this one with my iPhone.  

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Friday Find - First Snow

Tuesday was our first snow for December that began as predicted at 7 a.m. and snowed most of the day.  I hurried home from work and grabbed my camera and caught this shot as the sun came out and went down…pretty magical I think.

I'm sharing today with Kim's Friday Find - stop by you will be impressed.

This weekend I have tickets to see The Nutcracker with my daughter, finishing my wrapping, and having dinner with friends.  Do you have any good pre-holiday weekend plans, I would love to hear about them.

Wishing you a festive weekend.

Margie

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Texture Tuesday - Ornament

Every year I look forward to picking one special ornament that has a significant memory attached to it.  This year's ornament is the Pottery Barn Woody Car Glass Ornament.  It reminds me the 1991 "Woody" Jeep Grande Wagoneer we had when the kids were young.  We had purchased the Jeep used around the holidays from a lovely older couple and on the way home it broke down… one of the many hilarious memories connected to this car and now to this ornament.

I'm sharing today with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday.  I used KK_moremagic texture and the etched words are appropriate for the car and the holiday season.   

Happy Tuesday.  

Margie

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Weekend with CJ

I am fortunate to be dog sitting this week for my favorite 8 month old puppy "CJ" while her parents are on vacation.  She is a love, who patiently poses for numerous photos, watched Youtube videos of Golden Retrievers playing on line, then helped decorate the tree. Think she is enjoying her stay so far.  

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography, Simple Things Sunday

Notegraphy

Just downloaded a new app for my iPhone and Macbook Pro called Notegraphy (thanks Kim Klassen for the suggestion).  Very cool.  It's does for words what Instagram does for pictures.  Be sure to check it out…it's addictive and fun.  By the way, hibernaculum was yesterday's Word of the Day.





Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography

Friday Find - December

Oh my, the season is upon us, how did this happen - the year is slipping by so quickly.  Dr. Seuss summed this short holiday season up quite nicely with this quote.  I appropriately used Kim Klassen's hellodecember  KK_0212 texture to complete this edit.  Head over to the KK Cafe to check out all the amazing Friday Finds.  

This weekend will be busy with a holiday party, dog sitting, shopping and getting the tree decorated. Deep breaths . . . sigh.



Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography

Texture Tuesday - Create

This textured photo was taken in my studio.  This time of year it's hard to find the time to paint and get ready for the holidays.  My brushes will have to wait until January when I'll have plenty of time to hibernate and create.

I'm sharing today with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday and using her KK_mixed texture, which I love the messy feel it gives.  Stop by and check out the amazing textured photos.



Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography

Happy Thanksgiving

Winter Cosmo - 8 servings

2 cups Cranberry Volka
2 cups White Cranberry Juice
1 cup fresh Lime Juice
1 splash of Club Soda
fresh cranberries for garnish

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography

Texture Tuesdays - Gratitude

Thought this John F. Kennedy gratitude quote was appropriate for this last week in November. When President Kennedy was assassinated I was just five years old and in Kindergarten and remember most of the details and feelings of that day even at such a young age.  What I remember most was how upset my parents were over losing their first Irish Catholic President.   

I'm sharing today with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesdays.  Today I used Kim's new Benjamin Franklin texture, which could be my new favorite.  

Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography

Mashed Potatoes - Make Ahead and Refrigerate

With six days to Thanksgiving, I thought I would repost this recipe from last year.  It's truly a time saving winner.  

Mash Now, Eat Later - Makes 10 cups

The thought of peeling, cooking and cleaning up from mashed potatoes the day of a holiday is terrifying.   Therefore, my Thanksgiving dinner is all about doing as much as I can ahead of the big day. This recipe makes 12-16 servings and keeps in the refrigerator  for up to 10 days.  (Yes! 10 days!)  

As a working woman, I've learned that in order to plan a large dinner like this, organization and time management makes it all possible.  I make these mashed potatoes the Sunday before Thanksgiving, refrigerate them in baking dish, and bake them after I take the turkey out of the oven on Thanksgiving day.  The cream cheese and chives make this mashed potato version very flavorful and velvety smooth every time.  This Irish girl would not steer you wrong, you will love this mashed potato recipe!!!

5 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil in a large covered pot.   Add peeled and quartered potatoes and bring back to a boil, lower heat and cook for 20-25 minutes until tender.  Drain potatoes and return to the pot and mash the potatoes until smooth.  I prefer to use my KitchenAid mixer for this step.  Add cream cheese, butter, chives and salt & pepper and blend until incorporated.  Add the whipped potatoes to a buttered  2 qt. baking dish.  Let cool and then cover well with saran wrap and then tin foil. I then put a sticky note with cooking instructions on top and refrigerate.   On Thanksgiving day - remove from refrigerator early in the day and bring to room temperature. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until heated through.  Put in a serving dish and give a good stir.


Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography

Friday Find - Quote

Every Friday for the past 15 years I've been having lunch with my good friend Rita.  We share so many of the same interests and she is a great listener.  Today she shared one of her favorite quotes by Norman Vincent Peale with me and thought it was perfect for this picture.  Thanks Rita.

I'm sharing today with Kim Klassen's Friday Finds, take a minute to check out all the amazing finds.

This weekend before Thanksgiving you'll find me "hunting and gathering" for the holiday.  Hope you enjoy your weekend too!


Linked to:  Boogie Board Cottage, Alderberry Hill, Dwellings, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Chicken Chick, A Stroll thru Life, My uncommon Slice of Suburia, Savvy Southern Style, Gingerly Made, Live laugh Rowe, Farm House Porch, Domestic Super Hero, Jennifer Rizzo, Costal Charm, Cedar Hill Ranch, Lamberts Lately, Textured Tuesday, Friday Finds, Quotography