WPP#3

I took this picture a few days ago and I did not notice that my rosary was there. Not that I am very religious, but this rosary was given to me by a coworker years ago. His wife and daughter had gone to the Vatican, bought some rosaries and had Pope John Paul II blessed them. So, now that he is gone I consider this a little piece of history. (Besides Ari loves the colors ;) )

WPP 2

Crayons make me remember when I was young and loved to color, and the fact that I see that in my daughter as well. Can you relate to crayons?

Gift, tree and bow ties

We received a gift through the mail and did not know who it was from? Then, we found out that it was from Margarita (Mike's friend in CA). Thank you!! She really likes it. Puts the letter and sings. Repeat. (Her hair was a mess because she had just waken up from her nap).
We bought this beautiful copper tree about 2 years ago when we went to TN and Mike finally put it up. Isn't it wonderful? Now, when we paint the walls eventually is going to look even better :)

We also brought down Ari's desk from her room. We bought this an antique store that was going out of business because the owner was retiring and had everything 50-60% off. So, we got a super deal on it. We loved it right away too.

This is a new recipe that I got from Fine cooking magazine. They are soooooooooo good! And they are not hard to make:

Bow Ties ( or Kolackies )

It says it yields about 70 cookies, but I got about 50ish (the 2 times I made them). Maybe I am making them bigger?

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter, softened

21/2 cups unbleached all -purpose flour, sifted; more for rolling (I did not sifted)

1 12 oz jar good quality apricot preserve (about 3/4 cup). Tried normal preserves and they worked - I used pineapple, strawberry-rhubarb, apricot, and a mixed mango - peach preserve.

1 large egg, beaten

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Mix cream cheese and butter on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 mins. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. With the mixer on low gradually mix in the flour until a smooth dough forms.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough gently to form a ball. Divide the ball in thirds. Wrap each in plastic or waxed paper and flatten into squares. Refrigerate at least 4 hrs. or overnight ( I tried after 4 hrs and it worked, but it was better overnight)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat at 400 F Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment. Remove one piece of dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 1/8 in thick rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or something similar to trim the rough edges of the dough so the sides are straight and then cut into 2 in squares. Spoon about 1/2 tsp. of preserve onto the center of the square. Fold one corner into the center, dab with the beaten egg, and then bring the other side into the center and pinch firmly together to seal the corners. Transfer the cookies to the sheet. Repeat with the other dough.

Bake one sheet at a time until golden and very lightly browned and puffed - 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely and then dust with confectioner's sugar.

(You can freeze these cookies in freezer bags for up to 3 months)
Done :)

Ann's Birthday

Come on Aunt Ann I want to eat "that cake"!
ok... It is my turn now? Oh, yes yummy chocolate cake (my favorite).
I hope your 30 year old birthday party was awesome :)
Yes, it was for me :)

New Year's Eve and Cleaning (WPP 1)

This was the last day of 2009. January 31st and we were waiting for the last hour. Gosh, we were not sure if we were going to make it. When did we become so old or so tired to stay past 11 pm? We were not going to do anything for this day. But, we have our lovely Papa and Mama coming by and I went to buy some KFC, but they were closed... it was about 9 pm then I went to the other only place that I saw open Little Cesar. Can you believe that I was one to last person to get pizzas? They run out of everything!!! I waited for an hour I guess for delicious pizza (well, mediocre, but consistant) that Mike was worried and he went driving to check on me (forgot my cell phone). But made it back with one hour to spare.

This is my first picture for my Weekend Picture Project (WPP) for this year. So, it is a bit late since the picture was taken the first weekend of the year, but I am trying to catch up now. :0 See how long I can go... By the way, the picture will be of anything and everything. Whatever catches my eye ;)

Grapes.... what grapes will bring this year?

First cleaning of the year. Took the Christmas tree outside. It was a good tree and Arianna helped us by playing music and sweeping. How nice of her.

Where is Misty? Where could she be?!

Too tired after a long day of cleaning and adventure!