Square Foot Gardening

Jeff and I are venturing into the world of square foot gardening this year. I realize from this picture it looks like there's not much going on, and that's actually true.  We've only planted 3 sections of onions and the bottom four squares contain 2 sections each of spinach and lettuce seeds. We are basing our planting schedule on the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension website, so I hope they know North Texas. 

At the end of March and throughout April and June we will be adding potatoes, tomatoes, jalepenos and possibly some squash and okra. I really don't know what to expect so here's to a big harvest!

What I'm Reading

I'm always reading something, usually fiction I admit, but am never without a book near me. A couple of these books were really popular last year and I just never got around to reading them.

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

Seven by Jen Hatmaker

Sparkly Green Earrings by Melanie Shankle

Are there any good books you would recommend? Keep in mind all three of these are non-fiction and that might just be meeting my non-fiction reading limit for 2013.

As I finish reading them I'll post thoughts about them and if I would recommend them to you.

Happy Valentine's Day

I enjoy Valentine's Day. It's a great opportunity for me to dress up the table a bit for dinner and show my family how much I love them. We had a delicious steak dinner and none of the wait that people who ate at restaurants had to endure. 

I picked up these adorable cloth napkins at Tuesday Morning yesterday. They were the inspiration for my table. Love, love, love the colors!

I forgot to take any photos with people in them, but here's a great before eating shot of the table.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13: 34-35

Hope you felt loved today!  

Photos Have A Story to Tell...But What Is It?

I'm going through the photos on my phone and deleting them. Why? I don't know. Because I never do? And, at some point won't my phone rebel and say "I'm full!" Probably not, because megabytes and all that stuff. The surprising factor for me was how many pictures were on my phone that I had never seen or had not taken. Hmmm...let's look, shall we?

Gee Abigail, are you trying to scare the living daylights out of me?

This photo has a story and it says, "Squirrel!"

Which dress do you like better, Katherine, red or blue?

Phones are so handy for these shopping decisions. 

Is this the mousse you want, Abigail?

Again, what are my kids trying to say with my phone?

Which of these shoes should I get? (By the way, I bought the leopard and now wish I had gotten both!)

Strangely enough, I took this picture and have no idea why or where.

I could only afford to take a picture. I didn't dare walk in the door.

Most importantly...this is what my scrapbook glue looks like. Get me 10 of them!

What's on your phone?

Southern Cupcakes Y'all

Well, I've been fixin' ta write this blog for about two weeks now and every time I try to upload the photos my computer locks up. Hmm...not sure if this is a hardware problem or a user problem. As my girls have been fond of answering...NOT ME!!

So, I found this recipe and knew I had to give it a try -- Lemon Cupcakes with Sweet Tea Frosting, or my personal name for them, Arnold Palmer's Cupcakes. (You know what an Arnold Palmer is, right?)

I love the look of these cakes, sprinkled with coarse sugar. Overall, the agreement from everyone who tasted the cupcakes was that the sweet tea frosting was too bland. It was a delicious cupcake, but needed more zip. So, I'll be remaking the recipe and steeping that tea a little longer before I turn it into icing. Results will be posted soon if my computer cooperates.

Photo of the Day

Because everyone knows that "Biggest Loser" Celery will help you lose weight faster than "regular" celery

It's Time to Play "Why Was This Photo Taken?"

I'm going through photos on the computer since I have a big scrapbook weekend coming up. (yay!) As always, I find several photos that give me pause and cause me to ask, "Why?" Of course I immediately thought of sharing them with you. Enjoy!

Hippie Lion

I have no clue what this object is. Not a one.

Look! It's a shopping cart from our favorite store?!?

Must have been some party...

Don't know why it was taken, but now I want some Red, Hot & Blue BBQ.

Good job on eating your carbs and fats, someone.

Uh...it's green grass, with green shoes and green toes...

Not your average ketchup...it's FANCY.

And, my personal favorite, from downtown Venus, Texas...

I do remember Rebecca hiding in the bottom of the car when we pulled over to take this photo. You haven't succeeded as a parent unless you've embarrassed your kids a few times.

Homemade Pretzels

I found this recipe on one of the blogs I occasionally read and I was intrigued enough to try it. Rebecca  and I love soft pretzels. The problem with making something like this?  It's really hard to go back to eating them from everywhere else because these are definitely much tastier!

The dough was very easy to make and I was excited to use my dough hook on my KitchenAid for the first time. Yes, that's pitiful. I've had the thing over 20 years. As easy as it was to mix I might be making bread now instead of cupcakes!

A nice warm place to rise...

Ready to go...

Obviously I need to work on my shaping technique a bit.

Boiling them in soda water...

  Finished product!

I eat mine with mustard. Yummy!

Here's the link if you want to give them a try:  Brown Eyed Baker Soft Pretzels

Cotton Bowl - January 4, 2013

It's been a great year to be an Aggie fan. Johnny Manziel has brought a new level of excitement to our football team and the fans. So, with great anticipation we waited to see which bowl game the Aggies would play in. Cotton Bowl tickets for Christmas! NOT! After pricing the tickets we decided we could go to a one-time event or go on vacation next summer. Vacation won. So, we had our own party at home complete with snacks and sparkling grape juice to toast the winning Aggies, who beat OU 41-13.

Last Cupcake of 2012

This might not be the actual last cupcake in the world in 2012, but it was the last one I made. I guess if I wasn't still suffering from "holiday brain" this post should have come before Happy New Year. Oh well...moving on. This is a Mississippi Mud Cupcake taken from the pages of Southern Living Magazine. Everyone who tasted it gave it a thumbs up.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Chunks Topped With Marshmallow Buttercream and Shaved Chocolate and Sugared Pecans

That's a mouthful!

And, here's a satisfied customer...

There will be more cupcakes to come in 2013.