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Vanilla extract. You’ll never buy it from the spice aisle again.

I have wanted to make vanilla extract ever since my Grandma told me about how she used to get the “real deal” from Mexico, as opposed to the imitation extract which I don’t think I have ever used knowingly in my own home. Call me a vanilla snob…I can take it! . It even would come in a coke bottle, she said, which I think is awesome. I figured it was easy as far as projects go and would only require time and patience, instead of just plain skill. I had my game plan made until I found this amazing site called Vanilla Review, which does THE BEST job of explaining the process of creating this wonderful substance. I decided to accept the advice of this wise vanilla extract maker and do his 8 beans to 1 cup vodka ratio. I have complete confidence it will work out because Ian seems thorough and everything makes complete sense the way he explains it on his site.

Cute, right? The bottles should be brown, but I could only find these ones while I was shopping.

Owl cupcakes to celebrate 1 year!

Craziness! It’s already been a year!

The official time I started my blog was actually back in August of 2010, but I wanted to get things just right on the design end before posting. It’s kind-of a joke when I think of it now because it was FAR from nice and my posts were pretty sad-looking. I knew they were not awesome, but you have to start somewhere, right? I did like my first real banner above, though. I kind-of miss it.

It’s been a great year for this little space. I started my first month of viewers with just a few of my closest buddies and some obliging family members. Now, I am astonished at grateful at having over 15,000 people visiting in just a single month!! Wow, people! There must be something just a teeny tiny bit likeable goin’ on here.

*blush*

In honor of this special day, I am sharing a cupcake with you all. Yeah, I kinda thought you would like it too. My sister actually made these back in April for my Miss F’s birthday I just totally forgot to post them. I guess it was meant to be. I saw them on Pinterest and asked my sister to make them and since she’s awesome, she said yes.

Cuties.

I used my neighbor’s freshly cut olive wood firewood for their little perching area.

Thanks for your support and for hanging out with me in this little space.

The community here means a LOT to me.

Thank You, friends!

All I need are some McVities…

“A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.” A.A. Milne

Sometimes it takes the flu to make me stop and just…do nothing. Arg. Do nothing? Those are two words which just looks lonesome and rather boring to me. So, with sickness in our house this week and no time for much, I gave it a try. At the very least tea needed to be involved and it was actually QUITE lovely. From now on I will try to do nothing more often…with tea…and next time McVities biscuits (which I got hooked on in England).

Try it! You might enjoy doing nothing too.

My Grandma’s little “sugar bug” I got from my mom.

Pickle this

“Pickles are cucumbers that sold out” Mitch Hedberg

I’m pretty sure that I’ve spent the last 7.5 years of my marriage trying to figure out how to feed my husband amazing, eye-popping baked goods. These very same baked goods I had pictured myself making to hand to him after a hard days work, with a nice refreshing glass of milk, and maybe a cute little 1950s apron. Well, that never happened and I just gave up and focused my efforts on making ~~less exciting~~ awesome dinners. This bring us to the spring of 2010. I canned my first jar of pickles and changed my husband’s life forever. I gave him a pickle (a month after canning, naturally) and in return I got the same look I had dreamed about. Who cares if it was a pickle and not a cookie? Plus, I can make 25 jars at a time and sit back for a few months…good deal.

The recipe I used is adapted from a fabulous book called Canning for a New Generation, which I could not say enough good things about. You can find Liana Krissoff’s cute blog here and the actual recipe here. I changed up the pickling spices according my husbands taste (less sweet spice more mustard seeds and peppercorns) and switched to regular vinegar the 3rd go-around. The overnight soak she uses is VITAL for crispy pickles and I love the use of a grape leaf.

Meet Bon

Hi, friends!

I’m so happy you are here!

Me…

I live with Purpose. That is me. I have bad days just like everyone else, but I can’t help but to feel great comfort in the blessings of every day life. I love the way light shines through the curtains and reflects on the wall. I love laughter and friends being around. I love the simple flavors of fresh food. I love how pieces of cloth can be made into a dress that the wind blows through to show its presence. I love how God gave us so many things around us to remind us of Him.

About my life…

I’ve been married for almost 10 years to such a great man. It takes tremendous patience and love for someone to be with me and love my quirky ways. I stay up very late to work on projects, take pictures of EVERYTHING (well, almost), choose tables in restaurants based on their photography lighting, try new recipes all the time without really making too many over, have little project “messes” tucked into every corner of the house, want to constantly learn new things, and make constantly changing plans and dreams. It takes a special person to want to share a life with this crazy woman! Thank you to the Man of my dreams, Eddie.

My little ones are Faith (7), Jack (5), and Dean (4). I home school these kiddos and love it! It for sure has its challenges but I’m so thankful to spend less time driving too and from school and more time with friends and helping others around us. It really works so well and I’m thankful my friend, Julie, convinced me to do it. The extra snuggles and hilarious moments make up for alone time I miss out on.

We live a full and blessed life.