Monthly Archives: August 2008

Aug 8

Little Birds

Last night the sky was absolutely beautiful, and we are finally enjoying some cooler weather too. This week in the garden there are also baby birds everywhere, and lots of Momma birds squawking if you get too close to the little ones. The babies are so cute, and I hope that they are enjoying all of the mosquitoes.

There are also tiny Cucumbers and another Yellow Squash that is ready to be picked. I might have to batter and fry it up with tonight’s Salmon Cakes.

I think the teeny tiny melons are so cute. I hope that they continue to grow, so the boy’s will have some tasty treats from our garden.

Aug 7

New Recipes with Nico: Coconut-Orange Candies

My Mom and I were on the phone and we were talking about cookies. I was getting ready to bake cookies for VBS. We were discussing a few of our favorites, and we both mentioned these amazing Orange cookie-candies that her Mom (my Na-na) made. I really wanted to make the Orange Cookies for my family, and my mom found a recipe that she thought would be pretty close to her Mom’s recipe.

The Coconut-Orange candies are light, cool, and delicate. Perfect for a simple Summer dessert or Tea.

The recipe is simple and calls for: Vanilla Wafer Cookie Crumbs, Butter, Powdered Sugar, Orange Juice Concentrate, Vanilla Extract, and Coconut or Powdered Sugar to coat. I’ve omitted the Pecans and added in a bit more Vanilla Extract.

I thought it would be fun to get the kids involved in the prep work. Thade had fun smashing and crunching the cookies, but Dylan was a little concerned that all of the cookies were going to be crumbs, so he had a few to munch on. Once Thade was finished with the smashing, I finished up the cookie crunching job with the pastry blender.

Blend in the softened butter and add in the Orange Juice Concentrate and Vanilla. I set up a little assembly line for the candies, so I could Roll, Coat in the Coconut, place in Gladware, and then off to the fridge to chill for at least 24 hours…

I tried to resist, but I had to sample a few, just to make sure that the candies would be super tasty!

The candies were delicious, and were almost as good as my Na-na’s cookies. I hope that you give the recipe a try, and let me know if you liked it.

Aug 6

My Messy Dylan

Dylan + Lasagna= The need for a much stronger Stain Fighter

Dylan + Cherry Pop Tarts = Awesome Rocker Hair!

How I love my messy Dylan! Even when anything that you put on his plate ends up smashed in his hair…

Aug 5

Dreaming of Crafting Spaces

My sewing machine is living on the kitchen table, my rubber stamps are residing in the utility room, and my Nicostuff jewelry supplies are hanging out in the buffet in the dining room. I am longing for a crafting room.

I would love to have a nice quiet room where I could paint the walls petal-pink and leave all of my projects out without little boys getting into them. I could set up my computer on a small desk, and in the evenings when the boys are asleep I could sew, make bracelets, and possibly learn to knit. Maybe one day…

Do you have an ideal room for your projects, or are you day-dreaming of that perfect space like me?

Aug 4

July Coupon Savings

I’m still keeping track of my monthly coupon savings, but the month of July brought a tiny bit of savings. I saved $2.75 in the month of July, it brings my year to date savings up to $139.77! I hope to do a little better in August, and see some great savings.

What about you… Are you using coupons to save on your groceries?