21st Birthday Present

My Best Friends daughter turned 21!  I have known Melissa since she was about 4 years old.  Melissa and my 2 boys grew up together. We've done holidays together, vacations together, acted like crazy people together and my fondest memory, the kids in the back seat of the Toyota 4 runner singing (SCREAMING)  "Feliz Navidad" in the most awful pitch.  Julie ( my BFF) and I looked at each other and knew that we should appreciate it while it happened.  Even though, I could feel the headache coming on.    We just laughed about it.    They treat each other just like brothers and sister and they protect each other the same way.  So when Melissa turned 21, of course I wanted to do something special for her.

WIth that said, I LOVE Pinterest!  How did I get along without it?  I find the *best* ideas.  Just put something like "21st Birthday present" in the search field and "presto" you get pictures of 21st Birthday present ideas. So of course I took one of the ideas and made it my own.  :) 

So here goes: 

Select and decorate the Container.  I found this white "box" like basket at Michaels

 

Go to the liquor store and find a nice selection of mini bottles. I bought vodka's, tequilas, schnapps in many flavors, and loads more!  In total about 25 bottles.

 

Hot glue gun is your BEST friend!  Kabob sticks hot glued to the back of the bottles



Next, begins the FUN!  Underneath that pink fluffy little girls boa that I found at Michaels is a Big White Syrofoam ball.....Start inserting the liquor 'sticks' into the ball to creat a "bouquet"

 

The finished product is a Bouquet of Liquor.  And the result??   - you take it down to the restaurant for the Birthday Party, you get lots of folks complimenting you and coming over to take pictures of your genius "idea" 

   Enjoy making your own basket.....take it and make it your own!  :) 

Strawberry kabobs

It's BBQ time as it's so close to 4th of July. SUMMER food!  Yay! One of my girlfriends picked up a bunch of strawberries and told me to make dessert.  Okay!  They are super easy to make.  Cream Puff on top, cut up Angel food cake in-between, brownie on the bottom, then drizzle all over with chocolate.  Doesn't get much better then that! 

Best Salad EVER

I've made this salad for myself, for girlfriends and for dinner parties and I never have leftovers. Who wants leftover salad? It gets all soggy and icky anyway. I haven't named the salad, other then Best Salad EVER, so if you have a better name, let me know. :-)

Recipe:
1 Head of iceberg lettuce
chopped up Grape tomatoes
sliced in half Bacon Prepared, made into BIG bits (don't use bacon bits, just isn't the same)
Feta cheese Balsamic Vinegar Ranch Dressing

Toss the 1st four ingredients together. Drizzle Balsamic Vinegar over the salad. Then toss the salad with Ranch dressing. Sit down and enjoy.
So YUMMY!

Chocolate Covered cream cheese filled Strawberries

I recently came across this recipe via Pinterest. I decided to make a large batch for our Easter Potluck that we had out in the desert. I made two platters full of these and they didn't even make it to dessert time. In fact, they were pretty much an appetizer before dinner. They are easy to make and oh, so good! I'll definitely be making these over and over again!

I had posted an image of these on facebook and received requests for the recipe, so here goes:

Ingredients:
a package of your favorite candied dipping chocolate
8 ounces room-temperature cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 TB tablespoons confectioners' sugar
12 strawberries

1. Trim tops and bottoms of 12 strawberries to level. Use a small melon ball er or paring knife to scoop out tops. I used a paring knife.



2. This next part is a bit tricky as it depends on the size of the strawberry you have. Melt the candied chocolate according to package directions. Take a "trimmed" strawberry and dip the top end of the strawberry into the chocolate just enough so that it covers the bottom of the strawberry. Place dipped strawberry on a piece of wax paper to dry.




3. Whip room-temperature cream cheese on medium speed until slightly fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and 2- 4 TB confectioners' sugar.(this is all based on your preference) Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip with cream cheese mixture; pipe into berries until it brims over tops.

Try not to eat these as you go along. Shear will power is needed, as I had one and put these away in the refrigerator until serving time.

Egg with the hole in the middle

Egg with the hole in the middle has been a favorite at our house for many years. I was first introduced to it by my husband 20 years ago. It is super simple to make.

1. Create a hole in the bread by taking a glass and using as a cutter
2. Butter both sides of the bread and of course the hole that was cut out of the bread
3. Place bread in the pan at a medium heat, put another pat of butter in the open hole
4. Crack egg into open hole. We like to bread the yolk as we like our hard cooked, you may prefer otherwise.
5. I flip over the bread and egg after a few minutes to get a nice golden brown color on both sides of the bread.

EAT and ENJOY!

Carrots for Easter

I was surfing around and found the idea that inspired the picture below. We are hosting Easter brunch at our house on the Riviera aka our Desert house. I presented the basket to my husband and asked, "Do they look like carrots?" Well, he gave me the face, you know crinkled up forehead with silly grin. So I told him to use his imagination. This was a super cheap project thanks to the 99 cent store. All of the items were there. Total project cost $10. Yes, we are hosting a large brunch!

Here it comes...FALL!

The last month has been an emotional roller coaster for us. The biggest hill and drop of that roller coaster was dropping off our youngest at college and coming home to an empty house. (well, not so empty with Roxy and Dude aka deet da dee) John and I are enjoying it, but we do miss both of our kids. Michael stops by from time to time. When he does stop, he crashes on the couch and sleeps. Kevin, will be coming home in a week for the weekend, but those plans may change. In the meantime, John and I have kept ourselves pretty darn busy!

Here are some images from the last month or so:

Kevin packing up to go to college. Notice Roxy there on the side? She was very concerned.


Kevin's new home at the University of La Verne. Move in Day



The weekend after we left Kevin at College, I flew out to Arizona to celebrate my friend Janel's 40th Birthday. All day Saturday we prepped, cooked and baked for her party. I baked and decorated the cupcakes. I LOVE baking and decorating cupcakes!


I came home from Arizona and two hours later John and I were headed out to our desert house for an overnight with our friends. We brought our friend Flat Mary Beth aka Flat MB. We had a blast taking pictures of her with all sorts of folks and things. I had also taken her to Arizona and a previous trip to Las Vegas with the girls. The whole thing started because Mary Beth couldn't make it to Las Vegas with us. So of course we found the most hideous picture we could find and made her flat so she could come with us!



So we came home early (really early) on Monday morning so that we could get going with our jobs/work/coaching/whatever it is we had to do....I had to get down to San Diego for a COE conference and John had to get to work. COE is the Council for Opportunity in Education. The highlight of the conference for me was having the opportunity to help out with setting up the 21st Century Classroom and taking pictures of Congressman Louis Stokes.

There were 4 sections of our 21st Century Classroom. A lecture hall, Brainstorming Area, Collaberative area and a workgroup area. Below is the Brainstorming area.



Here is one of my "official" photographer pictures of Congressman Louis Stokes greeting folks.



After the COE conference (a whole weeks worth),I came home and guess what? I was home for a couple of hours and we headed back out to the desert house. The next morning, John and I left from there to head to the University of La Verne to watch Kevin's Scrimmage Football game.

Here is Kevin during "pre" game drills



The next day, John and I went out with Justin and Paige to go visit the newly renovated North Shores Yacht Club on the Salton Sea. We packed a lunch and visite with the Museum folks. What a great time!



Here is a view of the sea from one of the portholes of the Clubhouse



On Labor day we went back to Escondido and enjoyed a BBQ at the Hurkman's house. I didn't take any pictures there. I wish I had now. The food was yummy and the company was even better!

This upcomming weekend promises to be busy. It's the 1st home game for Orange Glen High School and John is one of the coaches for the football team. In addition to it being the first home game, they are playing on a brand spanking new field! Then Saturday we are off to Citrus College to go watch Kevin in his first official College football game. Go LEOPARDS!!!!!