Cypress Chique

2011-06-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Eli's Treats

I just wanted to share my son's graduation cake with all of you. It came out very cool and masculine just as I had hoped. Go to Facebook and like Eli's Treats. He has so many incredible works of art/cakes on his page under photos. You would not believe that he is a young college student who has been blessed with an incredible gift!

The top layer of the cake was a white cake, filled with cream filling and the bottom layer was chocolate, with chocolate cream filling and the whole cake was covered in fondant. The black fondant was chocolate and decorated with Tyler's favorite colors and represented his love for four wheeler racing! Delicious!

Thanks again Eli!

2011-06-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Stuffed Artichokes

I bet you thought I was never coming back!?!! Well here I am and I have lots of things to blog about!! Thanks for checking in on my blog and know that it is appreciated! Enjoy!!

Tracy Porter's stuffed artichoke recipe

Wall of mirrors/family tree

2011-05-26T06:06:00.001-07:00

I will be back to blogging in a couple of weeks! I will share all that I have been busy doing!! Thanks

Recipe

2011-04-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Fresh Green Bean Side Dish

Salsbury steak and green beans.

Recipe

1 lb. Fresh Green beans - ends snapped off

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1/4 of a large yellow onion

6 slices of pre-cooked bacon, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Kosher salt and Pepper

Rinse green beans, pat dry with paper towel and snap off ends. In a large pot preheat olive oil. When oil is hot, cook onions until soft and add the diced bacon. Cook together until onions are translucent. Meanwhile, add the minced garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and add the green beans. Stir again and cover for 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally and cook to your liking. Enjoy!

The Last of the Sedums

2011-04-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I probably went a little crazy with the sedums. However, in saying that I feel that I spread them out far enough that nobody would really notice. I have a few indoors, some on the porch and these by the pool. Hope you enjoy these plants as much as I do! I will be doing some more planting of different plants and flowers in the next couple of weeks and will defintely be sharing. Thanks for stopping by!

A Sedum by Many other Names....

2011-04-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

I have labeled all the sedums that I bought this year so that you can go to Lowes or your local Garden Center and find the exact plant you are looking for. It is amazing that sedums come in so many varieties.

This is my plant pot after the winter. I did not take it inside but I did cover it and assumed that since it was on the porch it would be okay. Well, you know what they say happens when you assume! Take them inside when the winter months have freezing temps. I lost several sedums.

Plant sedums in your pots or garden. You will not be disappointed. Enjoy!

Sedum Week

2011-04-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

They are known by several names.....sedums, cactus, succulents etc. The best name is hardy!! Sedums work great for me. For one thing, I live in the south, where we have scorching hot summers. Two, I am really bad about remembering to water. Three, they are super hardy. Just remember one thing and that is to take them inside in the cold winters.

These are my pitch pots. I purchased these at Marburger in Round Top.

I had some moss left over from another arrangement so I am going to use that too. I think moss is great if you are going to be putting your pots inside.

This is what I used to plant my sedums...and a watering can.

I made a hole in the center, deep enough for the sedum to sit in.

I Spread the roots out a little.

I added more soil on top and watered.

Take your moss and spread around the sedum.

Sedums do need lots of light, whether you are indoors or out. So find a happy home for them in your happy home and enjoy!

Over the next few days I will be showing lots of different kinds of sedums. They come in all shapes and colors and some even flower! I hope you can get lots of planting ideas for these magnificent, hardy plants! Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Side Dish

2011-04-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

The Pioneer Woman's Fancy Macaroni and cheese

This is such a delicious dish! Why wouldn't it be with 10 strips of bacon, a stick of butter and 4 different cheeses! I used bow tie pasta instead of macaroni pasta. It is what I had in my pantry. I try and avoid the grocery store on the weekend! Absolute chaos!!

Enjoy!!

Round Top Finds

2011-04-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is my collection of Hungarian pottery, circa 1890. I purchased this pottery from Singleton Antique Imports in Round Top/Warrenton.

This Italian Gold Leaf mirror is from Marburger.

The mirrors will be hung together, a long with others. The small mirror is not from Round Top. It is from the Funky Onion Gift Shop in Houston, Texas.

This is an old Italian wine jug.

picture before....

picture after.

These pillows are made from homespun linen, circa late 1800's-early 1900's, with zippers and feather down inserts added for easy cleaning. My plan is to have the pillow with the blank canvas monogrammed. The seat cushion is a cushion from Pier One that I inserted into this blue striped grain sack. All of this material is machine washable. Thanks for stopping by!

Star Sighting at Marburger!!!!

2011-04-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

While we were shopping at Marburger, we saw Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott. A camera crew was following them around taping for their reality show, "Tori and Dean".

Here are some of the items they purchased...

The gentleman in the background is part of their entourage, maybe a producer, part of the camera crew etc. You never know who you will see or what you might find during antique weekend in Round Top. Thanks for stopping by!

Round Top Antique Weekend

2011-04-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that Round Top Antique Weekend is a huge deal for Cypress, Texas and surrounding areas!!! Thousands of Vendors/Dealers from across the country gather in the middle of Round Top, Texas for some of the best shopping around. It's not all about antiques, crafts and art. It's about the experience.

First stop....Marburger Farms. In my opinion, this is one of the best shopping areas in all of Round Top.

Next stop, over by Zapp Hall is Singleton's and Junk Gypsy, among other vendors.

Every year, Junk Gypsy throws a Prom one night before the ending of Antique Weekend. Yes, I said, "Prom". Really it is a huge party. If you need a reason to get dressed up in dresses and cowboy boots, you found it!

This is a stop we make every trip to Round Top. Anna Bugardi's shop. She has the best grain sacks, for the best prices in a variety of colors.

This is a great idea, Valerie and I are going to take this idea and run with it!

What a beautiful drive, passing all the blue bonnets on the way to and from Round Top.

Hope you enjoyed this post! Stay tuned for the next post, star sighting at Marburger!!!

Playa Blanca House

2011-03-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

The houes we rented was in Playa Blanca, Panama. When you come down this path you cross a single car dirt road over to the rest of the property, which is beach front property.

This is the resident/owner quarters.

Right across the road is the basketball hoop and ping pong table.

Plenty of room for lawn games.

A pool with beach/island view.

This is the view of the pool and patio from the beach.

This is the beach in front of the property, which behind me further down was the beach we shared with a hotel where we rented water sports activities. Hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!

El Valle, Panama

2011-03-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Panama is the new up and coming vacation spot. I want to show you a little bit of Panama over the next few days. We went zip lining down in the Valley (El Valle) in Spanish. The scenery was beautiful but the winding roads were nauseating...for me anyway.

After a long and winding drive from Playa Blanca we stopped at a local market to shop and then headed to the zip lining place. we are all geared up and ready to zip!

It was mine and my families first time to zip line. There couldn't have been a more beautiful place to do it. Notice the water fall in the back ground?

We are not fond of heights so needless to say we conquered our fear!

We were all having so much fun and were so excited and anxious, we didn't care that we looked like buffoons in these lovely helmets and work gloves!

To reward ourselves we decided to have a nice lunch in El Valle. This was, I think my favorite part of the trip...

The Lourdes House Restaurant was absolutely gorgeous.

We ate outside. This was the view from our table.

We were a group of 15 people plus our tour guide/vacation house owner and 2 vans.

Fresh flowers on every table, beautiful chargers and dishes.

This restaurant plays host to many weddings.

The signature dessert, "El Heart Attack".

Brownies, ice cream, chocolate sauce and nuts, yummy!

Next to the restaurant on acres of property, surrounded by mountains, sits beautiful hotel rooms, and a pub.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed it!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.casaguardiapanama.com/en/home.php

We had a great time on our vacation! Check this website out for all the photos and information on Playa Blanca, Panama and the fabulous house we stayed at!

Rodeo (cont.)

2011-03-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at the Rodeo. My only wish is that we went earlier so we could spend more time shopping.

If you cant see the picture, that is Carrie Underwood and Brett Michaels wearing their hats from the Rhinestone Cowgirls. There was so much to see and I had such little time.

Janet Jackson put on an incredible show! She was awesome! The Rodeo was great too! Thanks for stopping by!

Let's Rodeo

2011-03-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.rodeohouston.com/concerts/index.aspx

Well, if you haven't guessed by now, I am headed to the Rodeo with my dear friend, Lisa. Can't wait to show you all the pictures next week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Italian Sausage Rigatoni

2011-03-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

This dish was a huge hit with my family! I have seen this recipe in magazines, newspaper advertisements etc. I have the full recipe at the end of this post. I have attached the link for this recipe and other delicious looking recipes to try. http://www.johnsonville.com

Here is what you need.

I have a gas grill. I set the temperature for about 350 degrees. I cooked the sausage about 20 minutes, turning often.

Chop 1 large red pepper into chunks.

Mince 2 cloves of garlic.

Don't forget to check on your sausage. I flipped it about every 5 minutes.

Boil pasta.

Slice sausage into coin size slices.

Saute garlic for 30 seconds in olive oil.

Add red peppers and cook until crisp-tender.

Combine cooked sausage and pasta sauce with peppers and heat until warm.

Mix with the pasta. Top with fresh parsley.

Feeds 4-6 people.

Serve warm. Enjoy!

Recipe:

1 pkg. Johnsonville Italian Mild Sausage Links, grilled and coin-sliced

1 pkg. rigatoni pasta

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large red pepper, chunked and sauted

1 jar (26 oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce

2 tbsp. parsley, chopped

Cook sausage according to package directions. Keep warm. Cook the rigatoni according to directions, keep warm. In a large pan, place olive oil and garlic, saute lightly for 30 seconds. Add peppers and cook until crisp-tender. Combine cooked sausage and pasta sauce with peppers and heat until warm. Mix with the pasta or serve separately, Top with fresh parsley. Serve warm.

Red, White and Blueberry

2011-02-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

I realized a couple of weeks ago that swimsuit season was just around the corner. However, my scale was not very empathetic to that so, I figured it was time to loose a couple...few...several pounds before that time comes.

My family loves dessert but they are not crazy about fruit. I had this fat-free, calorie-free, cool whip at my mother-in-laws house over the weekend. We had it over strawberries and my husband actually liked it! Her secret is to shake a little sugar (or sugar substitute) over the strawberries.

First, rinse and pat dry all the fruit. Hull your strawberries and slice them in half. Sprinkle sugar over strawberries and let them sit for a few minutes. Add your blueberries and strawberries to a dessert cup.

Add 1 scoop of whip topping. Next, add more fruit on top of the whip topping, in layers.

Finish by adding 1 last scoop of Cool Whip to your fruit.

This is a delicious low calorie dessert! Can't ask for much more than that! Mix it up and throw in some kiwi or bananas. Enjoy!

Girls Night Out

2011-02-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

It was my friend Gigi's birthday so me and a few of my girlfriends decided to take her out for a drink to celebrate. We decided on D'Vine Wine Bar right here in Cypress. The ambiance was fabulous.

The food is really good! I have had the cheese fondue before and it is delicious.

If you decide to try D'Vine wine, here is a tip. Select a bottle of wine over the flight. You do get to try a few wines but I would just find one you like and share with your friends. The Wine bar is great for a special occasion or just catching up with friends. Enjoy!

It's a Southern Thing

2011-02-24T06:53:00.000-08:00

Fried pickles...my son has been begging for fried pickles. My deep fryer broke a while back and I decided it was probably a good thing. A good thing for our physical health but certainly not for our mental health. Home fries just didnt taste the same.

So, I decided on this Presto Kettle Cooker. It has multiple uses other than frying. It is small, which makes it easier to clean and less oil to use.

This was a little after school treat for him. Boy, was he happy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Biloxi, Mississippi

2011-02-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

My husband and I were invited for a weekend away to the beau rivage Resort and Casino.

We had a really fun weekend with our friends. Thanks for stopping by!

A Love Affair

2011-02-22T07:19:00.000-08:00

I am having a love affair with these Gucci sandals! Actually, the magazine page that the sandals are on. If only, if only, I had a place to where them!!!

These magnificent specimens are from the Gucci Spring Fashion Line. They would certainly put a spring in my step.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Recipe for Tortellini Amatriciana/ 30 Minute Meal

2011-02-18T05:39:00.000-08:00

This dish was so delicious!! I did not take a picture of the meal in a dish like I usually do, but I served it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a side salad and garlic bread. The next day I had it leftover by itself and it was great just like that! Pasta always is! Click on the link for the full recipe at: tortellini-amatriciana-recipe-rbk1010

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion finely chopped.

4 oz. of diced pancetta (or substitute with thick-cut bacon).

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, pancetta and red pepper flakes.

Saute 2 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes with juices and some kosher salt to taste, breaking up tomatoes with the back of a spoon.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 13 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a saucepan of salted water to boiling. Add fresh or frozen tortellini and cook according to package directions and drain. Add tortellini to sauce, tossing to coat.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Makes 6 servings (or 4 servings with leftovers). Taste even better leftover! Enjoy!!

2011-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I love it!!! Thank you T you did a great job!!

2011-02-17T05:59:00.001-08:00

My son made this fabulous cutting board for me at school!!