The Little Seamstress: A Tale of Two Cities...

A Tale of Two Cities is my favorite book. I have other favorites, but I've read this book over and over. It is dear to my heart. The other day, a friend recommended a book to me and I asked her if it was good. "It's pretty good, It's not A Tale of Two Cities." That right there is one reason we are kindred spirits :)
A Tale of Two Cities was made into musical theater and played on Broadway for a very short while. The show had the misfortune of opening in August just three days before the stock market crashed. How I would have loved to see it in New York. But, like everyone else, I wasn't thinking of Broadway at the time. The show closed after only 60 performances. You can see highlights from the show HERE.

In Utah, A Tale of Two Cities is now playing at Hale Centre Theater
in West Valley City and I have been excited about it for months. We have some amazing talent in Utah and I know the show will be incredible.

If you have a minute... Take a listen...
HERE...
We will meet where the weary find peace...
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Beatrix & William...

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Resolution Update: The Shopping

I have to say this is one of the resolutions that has made the biggest difference in my life. It's given me more time and relieved daily stress. I don't know why it takes me until I'm 40 to learn simple things, but it does. Here's my new system:

1. Sunday evening I plan a menu for the week. I admit that I don't necessarily follow. Sometimes pasta just doesn't sound good or whatever. But, I know that I have 6 or 7 meal plans w/ the ingredients in the house. No more 4:30 PM panic. Also because I plan Sunday evening, the family is around and I can take suggestions.

2. I have appreciated the tips on orgjunkie.com
and I like her printables
because of their simplicity.
I print her Menu Planner Template on the front page and her grocery list template on the back using a single sheet of paper.
There is a grocery list on the Menu Planner, but I use that for my other stops. My family really likes the wheat sandwich bread at Bun Basket so I had that on my list.
I like the Grocery List because it makes it fast! I go isle by isle instead of wandering around the store forever like I used to.
3. I am able to save quite a lot of money. C is now taking lunch from home everyday which he told me will save us $1,200 this year! That's big! In addition to that, he says he's too old for even Subway and the idea of the other fast food places around his work is very unappealing. We are too old for fast food on any kind of regular basis.
4. My shopping list doesn't look very large. There's a reason. I try to use and rotate my food storage and so a lot of the ingred. for my chosen recipes are in the storage. But, I spend about $40 replacing and adding to my storage by looking for good deals on items we need and use. This week I bought 2 cases of diced tomatoes and a case of beans at Bowman's case lot sale along with a few other random items equaling about $40. This is helping the build up the storage quickly and giving me added peace of mind.
I know I should have learned this 20 years ago, but I didn't. Still, I'm glad I've learned it now.

Chinese Takeout Lemon Chicken (easy) ...

I found this recipe HERE where I've found many good crockpot recipes. However, this one was the biggest hit. There were almost no leftovers :(

The Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces or equivalent
1/2 cup flour
1 T kosher salt
6 oz (1/2 can) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 T brown sugar
1 t balsamic vinegar
3 T ketchup
olive oil for browning chicken
Tiffany’s additions: 1 tsp. lemon zest, 1 large fresh lemon squeeze & a few red pepper flakes

The Directions:
cut chicken into strips or largish chunks
dredge in flour and salt, shake off excess
brown chicken in a skillet with a bit of olive oil (you are not trying to cook the chicken--just give it some color and get the flour mixture to stick a bit)

place into crockpot
mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl and pour over the top of chicken pieces
cover and cook on high for 4 hours, low for 6-8
　
Note:1 tablespoon of salt may be too much. If you are using iodized or table salt, this will be the case. Kosher salt doesn't taste as "salty" as regular salt, and since the granules are larger, you don't get as much in the tablespoon as you would with regular salt.

However, with a little more effort you can make the recipe Jenni uses and my whole family adores here using Lindsey's Lemon Curd recipe here

Rampaging...

Rampage: verb Rush around in a violent and uncontrollable manner...
I made baby l a lovely breakfast. But, I guess it wasn't very satisfying.

Because in the few minutes I was working to get read for the Sabbath Day this morning.. She was on a rampage.

Defined above. She stole two chubby handfuls of chocolate eggs from the drawer and enjoyed spreading bits of foil around the house as much as she enjoyed the chocolate.

She got the pilates mat out so that she could host a jam picnic.... but, in the end decided to have a Kool-Aid lip smacker for breakfast. These are great because you can wear, eat and PAINT with them. The window sill is a lovely pink. She also hauled out a bunch of toys, chewed on someone's favorite ear buds (mine) and dumped out the Tupperware drawer.

Which is why I am going to say what parents are not supposed to say...

I love computers, music players, and TV... because they give me (literally) 5 minutes peace. Isn't this a beautiful picture?

To Have & Have Not 1944

Slim: You know you don't have to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow.

C got this film for us for the weekend. I'd heard the famous line above (a favorite) and many others (It's your funeral!) most of my life.

I knew that it was on the set of this film that the famous love story of the actors Bogart & Bacall began...

What I didn't know... This film is FANTASTIC! I absolutely loved it! It's an instant favorite!

"Have you ever been bit by a dead bee?"

Once Upon a Starlight Wedding...

Kelsie & Adam...
who was quite small...
and had to look way up... because he was very tall!

They took some wonderful pictures and then decided on a summer wedding...

When they were married...

TRULY...

THE END...

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Vincent van Gogh... Lust for Life..

Kirk Douglas does an amazing job of looking like Vincent van Gogh and Anthony Quinn is also amazing as Paul Gauguin, but I didn't love this film. I far prefer the book by Irving Stone. In fact, I love the book and I love van Gogh and I thought his treatment in this film was a little harsh.

I know that he was a passionate man and that he could fly off the handle, but I think that his worst qualities were a fault of the lead paint that he used to create his timeless masterpieces.

He was tactile. I know that he used his fingers and hands to mix his colors. I know that he's had paint on his face, in his mouth, I know I have and I'm not a van Gogh. I believe that his exposure to lead and some of the other environmental conditions that he either couldn't help, or didn't know about affected his health in many ways.

He had an irrepressible drive to create and yet could not see clearly why. He only sold a single painting in his lifetime. And, yet, it makes me cry to think of the beauty he left us. His tortured heart was wrung out in paint on canvas. He helped us to see those who lived in poverty, the holiness of work, the yearnings of his heart, the brilliance of God's creations.

The only real comfort that Vincent ever had was his brother Theo who loved him and believed totally in his gift and in his brilliance. Without Theo, we wouldn't have Vincent's paintings.

In the year 1889, while van Gogh was trying to recover at at the asylum at Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, he painted these beautiful Irises. There is no sketch for them, they were meant to be a study. But, Theo loved them and took them to an exhibition.

Vincent van Gogh died the following year. He died unrecognized for a lifetime of beautiful work. In 1987, this painting sold for $53.9 million dollars. Adjusted for inflation, it is still one of the top 10 most expensive paintings ever sold... but to me, it is priceless.

He was the white Iris in this painting. He was always apart and never understood and all of that complicated by his terrible illness. But he was a beautiful man and I am forever grateful for the talents that he worked so very hard to earn and for the riches he left to inspire us.

I love THIS tribute to Vincent set to the beautiful song Starry, Starry Night... Enjoy...

Queen of the Big Time...

I really enjoy Adriana Trigiani's books. Lucia, Lucia is my favorite, but I love this one too. It's about an Italian immigrant family and their hard life becoming established in this country. It's really an American Dream story and I love those. It's also about un-requited love, faith and what love really means.
I listened to this book on tape while I painted brides and grooms which was really fun. I loved listening to the reader pronounce all the richly beautiful Italian names.
This is a great escape book.

Dave & Erin...

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Little Leprechaun...

In the...

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Shop Update...

There are seven new bears & and a Leprechaun Hat in the...

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Black Beans...

My dilemma is this: I store a lot of dried black beans in my storage. I love black beans, but my thought was that I hoped to never have to use them. I was going to buy cans at Costco instead because that's easier.
Then, came the very popular Black Bean Soup Recipe. What I thought was a six month supply of black beans disappeared in a big hurry.

Revelation: Stephanie over at A Year of Slow Cooking has written careful answers to all my bean questions including careful measurements like, "1 2/3 cups of crock pot beans = 1 can store bought." And, the helpful information that I can store my beans in the freezer (in the same amount as the cans) for 6 months. Cooking Dried Beans in a Slow Cooker is an amazing post. I learned so much. I can do this. Thank you Stephanie!

Gone All Day Beef Casserole...

You know this is going to be good because all the ingredients are yummy. It took me 10 minutes to prepare! Love this one!

1 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots (I like carrots, so I added 2 cups)
2 cans (4 ounces each) mushroom stems and pieces, drained (I used fresh)
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 beef bouillon cubes
2-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
2 pounds boneless round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups water
Place ingredients in order listed in a slow cooker; do not stir. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until rice is tender. Stir before serving.

More easy crockpot recipes here..

Spring Bears...

Sing an Irish Song...

Liberty Forever...

Boxes and more photos are in the...

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Liberty Bears...

Right bear is spoken for... But left and middle will be in the

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Tomorrow...

Lavender Bear...

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Ike: Countdown to D-Day

For some reason, I didn't expect too much from this movie, but it was brilliant. Tom Selleck's portrayal of "Ike" as Supreme Allied Commander was truly inspiring. I'm afraid I don't know enough about Eisenhower to know if the film is historically accurate, but the way he deals with the politics and the egos and thinks all the time of the fighting men seemed to me a study in great leadership.

So, it wasn't a romance for Valentine's Day, it was a war movie... But, I had a very solid cry in the end. Kudos to Tom Selleck who has long been one of my favorite cowboys and is now one of my favorite generals too. Great film!