dinner party & healthy snack

this weekend involved many things.
some really sad, that i don’t want to go into right now.
and some happy.

it was our turn to host our dinner group.
there are 4 of us couples and we rotate houses.
we try for once a month but realistically it ends up being quarterly by the time our schedules all line up.

and let me just say… all the other ladies are AMAZING cooks.
that’s how i choose my friends! shhhh. 

that being said, when it comes to our turn i always majorly stress out.
i want to bless them the way that they’ve blessed me.

hence the perfect reminder in the curly girl design card!
and it did hold true. of course.

one of the things i made where these made by girl inspired healthy coconut date truffles.
probably not very lo cal. but healthy & yummy nonetheless.

the table setting i kept simple as to not overwhelm myself.
flowers & candles that was it.

i have a habit of wanting to shoot for the moon and then being disappointed in myself when things don’t end up perfect.
any of you do that?

in the end, it’s really about the conversation & the people.
which both, as always, were wonderful!

are you in a dinner group?
do you do themes? games? conversation starters?
if you’re not in one, maybe it’s time to start one…

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the theme is green

it’s late and i’m tired.
besides a few short breaks, i’ve been sitting at this computer all day long.
but i’m on a roll and figure i might as well finish it off with a blog post!

be your own light inspired self portrait

i’m currently in the middle of a 4 week ecourse, Be Your Own Light,
created by the talented and inspirational Vivienne McMaster.
and i am loving it!
the daily prompts, the creative play, the treasure like hunt for light.
i’m taking pictures that i would have never considered taking before.
this is the kind of thing that makes me HAPPY, HAPPY!

picked up this old aluminum locker for the Allen Designs/Close2myArt studio last week.
okay, junk makes me happy too!

crocheted earrings by moss handmade, a gift from my husband.
we’re preparing to celebrate our 20th year of marriage in the next few weeks.
wow, how time flies.
perhaps there are many things that make me happy…

lastly, i’ve finally jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon.
thanks to the dear Lacy Like.
it’s been 2 weeks of eating healthy (no sugar, bread, pasta, preservatives) & daily green smoothies.
i was feeling really great until yesterday, where the wheels felt like they were falling off the bus!
since then i’ve been having the overwhelming urge to go out and get myself some spicy cheetos & a milkshake.
i have barely, BARELY i tell you, kept my self control.
i’m trying to last 30 days.
we’ll see.

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Pinterest fun…

from decorating inspiration to yummy healthy eating ideas, pinterest seems to have it all!
the challenge is- not just spending all that time perusing the beautiful pics, but actually putting ideas into ACTION.
this week, i’m promising myself to either make this beet sandwich or delicious looking salad.

Bright Bedding  |  Beautiful Beet Sandwich  |  Vintage Mint Bathroom

Colorful Crocheting  |  Luscious Green Salad  |  Turquoise T

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christmas snowman cupcakes

hello december!!! are you feeling it yet?
since i really haven’t done much in the holiday way yet,
i thought i’d show you these snowman cupcakes i made for my youngest daughter’s class a few years ago.
at that time we lived in an area that you could still take homemade goodies to school.

obviously they were a big hit.
what kid doesn’t see tons of sugar and color and get excited?

i used twizzlers for the nose and the scarf.
a little tube of gel frosting from the store for the eyes and buttons.
bell shaped chocolates for the hats.
marshmallows for the body.
pretzels for the arms, support up the middle of the body and for attaching the body to the cupcake.

make sure to give yourself plenty of time for assembly.
as i remember it, approx. 34 of them took me a few good hours.

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hello from china

i made it here to shenzhen, china safe & sound.
i’m looking forward to a productive week in the factory developing our 2013 allen designs winter line.

as usual the travel time was long and tedious.
about 16 hours total flight time + a little over an hour by bus.

penguin heads for soap spitters

coming here a few times a year gives me the opportunity-
not only to be hands on in the sculpting & painting process of the newest lines-
as well as the chance to check quality & go over any issues that may have come up.
i also think it’s been really important for the factory to know that they will be seeing me face to face a few times a year.

my first meal here included this delicious dish made up of beans, eggplant… and bitter melon.
did you know bitter melon is actually a fruit and is highly nutritious?
unfortunately i haven’t developed much of a taste for it yet.

my second meal was probably not the healthiest but oh-so-yummers.
these sticky rice dumplings with sweet sesame seed filling are one of my favorite treats here.
i just found this recipe and can’t wait to attempt making them for my family.
or probably… just save myself a lot of frustration and work and buy them from a local asian market.
ya, that sounds like the better plan.

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the best pumpkin pancakes ev-eh!

until a few days ago i had never made nor had pumpkin pancakes.
i didn’t realize what i was missing!

i found this recipe from annie’s eats -and it is delish.
(her recipe didn’t call for allspice but i didn’t have the ground ginger or cloves. not really sure if allspice covers those but it sounded good.)

i doubled the recipe and it made enough to feed 5 big eaters with a few left over.
and i did end up having to add some water just cause the batter was so thick.

my kids said they were the best pancakes they’ve ever had.
crazy huh.

have you had them?
am i the last to know about these things?

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