Brushing Her Hair

You Must Allow Me to Tell You...

If you haven't visited Etsy and have some time to kill  devote to making all sorts of delightful discoveries, then check it out!  I love it.  Not too long ago I came across this cute thing on the site and bought it for my sister's graduation present, because she loves coffee and she loves Mr. Darcy:

I think I need one too.

The Home List: What I'm Trying Part 3

CREATIVE PLAY:

Grace is very bright, and Leah is showing signs of being a fast learner as well.  My goal is to do some pre-school activities with them to keep things interesting around here.  It's easy to let them just play on their own, but I'm trying to be intentional with some portion of our play time.

Wendy turned me on to Hubbard's Cupboard, an online resource for preschool activities, and although I can't get organized enough to do it consistently, I sometimes manage to implement some themed learning/play activities into our daily schedule.  Baby steps!

This is a fun one that was scheduled for the month of April, but we've kept it out because the girls really like it.  Every now and then I pull out the container of puffy-ball-thingies and two egg cartons.  Then the girls and I sort them by size or color in the carton compartments.  I'm lucky if they can focus on this for more than 7 minutes, but it's fun anyway!

Another thing I'd like to do with the girls is teach them some Spanish.  I have a feeling that knowing Spanish will come in handy.  Being that I took French for 5 years,  I may need a little help in this area...so of course I researched the Muzzy videos.  Pricey!!  Does anyone out there have a suggestion for a good Spanish program for little ones?  I suppose I could look around the library for something...

Recipe: White Bean Bruschetta

I made this recipe a while ago and LOVED it, so I took a picture.  After I garnished it.  (I don't usually garnish my lunch!)

I found this recipe on  Lisa's  food blog- she's super sweet and makes delicious food, so be sure to check out her blog, Lime in the Coconut.

Ingredients:

1 can of white cannelini beans, rinsed

6 oz. prosciutto, chopped (or you can use pancetta, as Lisa did)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2-3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper

goat cheese (Lisa used grated Romano cheese.  I'm going through a goat cheese phase right now)

french baguette, sliced

Brown the prosciutto in a skillet.  When it's crispy, remove to a plate.  Add one Tbsp. olive oil to the empty skillet, then add the garlic.  Saute until the garlic is soft, then add the rosemary, cooked prosciutto, and beans.  Cook until the rosemary has softened and the beans are well-coated.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, then remove from the skillet and keep warm while you toast the baguette slices.  To make the toasts, brush each side lightly with olive oil and toast right in the same skillet until golden brown.

I like to spread goat cheese on one side of each toast then pile on the white bean mixture.  Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and serve warm.  YUM!  

The Beginning of a Kitchen Makeover

We have a new kitchen countertop, sink, and faucet.  I think it makes all the difference in the world!  We still have to paint the new trim underneath, and I've decided that I'd like to repaint the walls.  There's a little too much white in the room and the red (which was here when we moved in), is a little too bold for me when I think about painting all the walls a color.

I'm thinking green?  Anyone out there have a green paint color that they love?  

The nice moldy wood beneath the old tile countertop:

My Dad and Hubby working hard:

Sometimes when you're in a renting situation it's hard to know how much work to put into your house, but I think a quick paint job would make the kitchen look like new without a lot of cosmetic surgery...