the glittered nest

Steiner Ranch for Haiti II

The Bake sale to raise money for Haiti was a huge hit.  This sweet little boy, Austin, was the reason it all started at 10:00 on a cold Saturday in Steiner Ranch.  His mom told me this was his idea!  That makes it so much more special doesn't it...when our youth feels compelled to help people in need.   

Here is the family behind this great little boy: The Spieles

A happy customer shopping the goods...

Thank you Andrea for putting on such a wonderful bake sale and braving the cold for Steiner Ranch.  Thank you to Cups and Cones for providing the coffee and hot chocolate...it was definitely appreciated.

Steiner Ranch for Haiti

My heart breaks every time I see the devastation that has happened in Haiti.  Our family has donated money through Dell but here is another great way to donate:

This Saturday at 10:00 at Town Square a bake sale will be going on to raise funds for Haiti.  Please stop by and buy some goodies to help contribute to the Red Cross's efforts in Haiti.  My best friend and I got our kids together to bake up some chocolate chip cookies for the sale. What a great way to have your kids contribute and help out!

We had a little assembly line going...bake, unfold,stuff and tie.  We added little tags to the bags that said either Love, Faith or Hope.

 
I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful neighbors who organized this so our family could help out.   Let us pray and do whatever we can for Haiti. 

Chalkboard Paint

Ok...I am going nuts over chalkboard paint.  If you have small children, you must try this project.  You will love how they can change out the art and you can put inspirational quotes for them to read everyday.

I purchased this 48x48 canvas at Michaels.  Remember to bring your 40% off coupon b/c these can get pricey!  I purchased the chalkboard paint at Walmart.

I couldn't just stop there....I found an old bowl that I never use and painted it.  You can paint virtually anything with this magic paint!

 
Next I will paint a cutting board to put cheeses on.  Just remember if you are going to put food on it, paint a non-toxic food safe clear coat or use parchment paper.

Happy Day

Here's my happy guy.  He was all smiles before sugery and he is all smiles after.  We told him that after the surgery he would become a super hero!  He is very much into dress up right now so you kind of have to go with it, Right!  The doctor said he would be wearing a mask that they call Buzz LIghtyear's mask.  Well, that did it!  He was ready to go and try that on.  When the girls got home after school they gave him a super hero costume that they bought him.  

So as you can see Superhero Brock is feeling fine...thank you for all of your prayers out there!  We are very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.  We love you all.

  

Little Prayers

It's ten thirty on Tuesday and I cannot sleep...my family are all safely tucked in their beds and I cannot stop thinking about how....On Thursday my little boy is having surgery.  I just wanted to throw out into cyberspace my request for prayers.  It is a little surgery but he is 3 and anytime you give a three year old anesthesia...you feel concerned as a parent.  Those minutes you are not with them...not like when they are at school, but knowing he is alone on a cold table with people he doesn't know.  I know it will go great and we will be home that day...but I just wanted to have some of my fellow bloggers...who I have gained great insight and inspiration from and have become a better mother and woman for...send out some prayers for Brock. Here's my little guy:

He will always be my baby.  Thank you for your prayers.  I'll let you know how it goes on Thursday. Love, Terri

Tiny Treats

 
Have you ever made teeny tiny treats for a little doll party?  I bought my daughters the American Girl Tiny Treats .  With all of the tea parties I have had my little girls, I have never thought to make little desserts for their dolls. This is a little strawberry shake with fresh whipping cream.

Mix vanilla yogurt with a spoonful of strawberry jam.

To make the whipped cream, pour some cold heavy whipping cream in a deep bowl and add a tablespoon of sugar.  Use your hand beaters until it forms soft peaks.  Pour the yogurt mixture in the tiny cup, add a dollip of whipped cream and a little bit of sprinkles.

Let your kids do all of the prep for this activity.  They will feel like they created something wonderful for their dolls.  Madi made the whipped cream, yogurt mixture and spooned into the cups.

Here are tiny little heart shaped ham sandwiches.  Just make a ham sandwich and use a tiny cookie cutter:

Have a wonderful little Monday! Check out the book...you will love making these with your little girls!

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Funny story about this little muffin....

Every now and then I like to have a little tea party set up for my girls when they come home from school on Fridays.  Today I thought I would make some muffins from scratch which I have never done before!  I went to the Ghiradelli website...grabbed a double chocolate chip muffin recipe and away I went.  I have always been told to check to make sure you have all the ingredients before you start baking...Well, I'm too impatient for that so I realized I didn't have one important ingredient: sour cream.  I decided to substitute vanilla yogurt instead.  The recipe called for one stick of butter room temperature, so I nuked my butter and threw it in the mixing bowl.  I turned the mixer on medium and added the sugar.  It never looked smooth and frothy...just lumpy...oh well.  I added the eggs and yogurt and mixed...it looked like scrambled eggs b/c of the lumpy butter.  Forged on...Spooned them into the baking cups and it looked like this:

Do you see the little white lumps?  Yuk...even my son said yuk:

You can't see his expression...but believe me he said: "You are making yucky stuff mom!"

Well then I tasted it.....BIG YUK!  Not very sweet at all...so I doubled the vanilla and topped the muffin off with some coarse vanilla sugar.  At this point I decided I might as well bake them just to see how bad they are.

Low and Behold...they were amazing!!!! It didn't matter that the butter looked lumpy or the batter was not as sweet as I thought it should be...it magically came together in the oven and became something wonderful.  This is what draws me to baking...the trials and errors but the end result  can actually be something amazing....and of course it makes these three smile!

Here are my little tea party goers....

They said mom...you are the best baker in the world...I chuckled thinking...should I tell them this was purely an accident....NAAAAAAAH!

Here's the recipe from Ghiradelli.com with my adaptations....(I'm sure this recipe is out there...but I felt I made up my own)...We'll call it Accidentally Really Good Chocolate Chip Muffins!

1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip Muffins

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla extract ( I doubled this and used 1 tsp madagascar vanilla)

1 cup sour cream( I substituted fat free vanilla yogurt)

1/2 cup of butter, at room temperature

I added vanilla sugar on top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Stir in the sour cream(or yogurt) and 3/4 of the chocolate chips.  Add the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.  Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups, filling each cup about three quarters full.  Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. I  topped off with vanilla sugar.  bake for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

   

Lavender Sea Salt Macarons

My girlfriend bought me some lavender sea salt from France and I have had it for a year not knowing what to use it with!  Why not pair it with a sweet macaron?  I love the combination of sweet and salty.  You can find lavender sea salt on amazon.com.  I always use lavender in January and February.  It gives me a sense of refreshing and starting the new year healthy.

The salt has little bits of dried lavender. You could use it to top baked potatoes too! You can find the macaron recipe here.  Just add a little lavender sea salt to the top of the unbaked macaron before it dries and a tsp of lavender extract to your buttercream.  I added a violet food color to the egg white batter too. 

Other lavender recipes:

Lavender  sugar cookies.  Add a tablespoon of dried lavender to your store bought sugar cookie mix and you will love it!

Lavender lemonade:

1/4 cup dried lavender

2 cups boiling water

3/4 cup white sugar

8 lemons

5 cups cold

1. Place the lavender into a bowl, and pour boiling water over it. Allow to steep for about 10 minutes, then strain out the lavender and discard. Mix the sugar into the hot lavender water, then pour into the pitcher with  ice.
2. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into the pitcher, getting as much juice as you can. Top off the pitcher with cold water, and stir. Taste, and adjust lemon juice or sugar if desired. Pour into tall glasses, invite your girlfriends over and relax!

You can buy lavender online at http://www.texaslavenderhills.com/

I can't wait to visit them in the spring!

Valentine Swap

I am entering this fun Valentine swap from treasured-heirlooms.blogspot.com   You must stop by Cathy's blog and look at the details.  It sounds like a lot of fun!  Here are the details:

***Sign up starts today and ends
Friday, January 8th at 12 midnight***

Here's how the swap will work. Easy, Peezy, Fun

1. Grab the "Amour Valentine Swap" image and place it on your blog sidebar linking it back to my blog (treasured-heirlooms.blogspot.com).

2. Post on your blog about the swap and encourage friends to join in.

3. If you would like to participate, email me at this email address: [email protected] ~
Subject line: Valentine Swap ~ with the following information.

a. Your name and home address
b. Your Email address (where I can contact you with your swap partner)
c. Your blog URL
d. Your choice of what color you would like your "Amour" swap box.
e. Choose one of the following:
*Shades of Pink
*Shades of Red
*Pastels
*Shades of White
*Any color is fine

4. Would you mind shipping outside of U.S. if necessary?

HERE ARE THE SWAP RULES:

1. You will need to purchase a LARGE (appx. 8"wx6"h±), heart-shaped, cardboard box from your local craft store (Michaels, A.C. Moore, Hobby Lobby.)

2. Be sure your box has plenty of room to fill up with "Love Treasures".

3. Email and introduce yourself to your blog partner.

4. Create your "Amour box" with your imagination and your own particular style. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Valentine theme, but it has to be pretty and it has to be made with the color choice of your partner.

5. GENEROUSLY fill your "Amour Box" with lots of treasures from your heart. Most of you have participated in many swaps over the years so you already know what to put in the box. If this is your first time, email me for suggestions on filling up your "Amour Box". If you have something that doesn't fit in the box, wrap it pretty and send it along with your package.

6. Beautifully wrap your creation before packing so your Partner will be able to take lots of pretty photos once she opens the outside box.

7. Take lots and lots of photos for our reveal day, Sunday, February 14th.

8. You have three weeks to create and mail your "Amour" box. Make sure your package arrives to your swap partner NO LATER THAN, February 5th so she can enjoy it for awhile before Valentine's Day arrives.

On Sunday, February 14th, Valentine's Day, post all your photos and the name of your swap partner.

I will have a list here of all the participating blogs.

ARE YOU IN?
GREAT...
SPREAD THE WORD
AND LET'S GET SWAPPING KIDS!

Hello New Year!

Goodbye old friends...see you next year.  Time to go in the attic until Dec 2010.  It so sad to put away your beautiful decorations and turn off the twinkly lights....but at the same time refreshing and exciting. 

Hello to our new little friends in the house.  I find myself moving things around and adding new things to feel like this new year will be a fresh start!  Fresh Start to eat healthier, organize better, post more blogs that are soulful and lovely.

yes...adding more little friends around the house...for me or for my kids?  Who can tell...but hey it's fun and my kids enjoy it.

Here's our new little addition: Bear the cat!

This cat gets more kisses from my kiddos than I do!

New addition to my decor..for once it doesn't have blue in it!  I love it.  Next decor change will be new couch pillows, add a wall of chalkboard paint and change my lavender chairs in the dining room. 

 

Thank you to my fellow bloggers for reading me and inspiring me.  I treasure your comments and advice!  I hope I bring a little fun and inspiration into your life as you do mine.  Terri