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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Thrifty Threads: A step in time


This lovely antique dress is sure to get you questioning, "Where did you get it?".  It is very light, and I love the fact that it has little embroidered paisley decorations on it!



Dress: $5 from and estate sale
Shoes: $20 from Target

 
What is Thrifty Threads?
Examples of Modest and Feminine outfits that express an assortment of styles.
Do you have an outfit that you want to share? Email us a picture and we will post it!
Requirements: please send photos directly in the email, attachments cannot be opened. Thank you!
 
 
Thank you for your contribution Eliana!


Friday, June 22, 2012

On the map~ Fun facts about: New Zealand

Did you know? Some interesting facts about New Zealand!






  • -languages are English and Maori
  • -New Zealand means, "Land of the long white cloud"
  • -30 percent of the land are forests
  • -90 mile beach is only miles long
  • -first country to see the sunrise
  • -"kiwi" is either a bird or a native
  • -ostrich steak and black swan carppacio do not taste like chicken!
  • -new Zealand has two national anthems- God Save The Queen and God Defend New Zealand
  • -there are nine sheep to every human in New Zealand
  • -there are 9 billion beef and dairy cattle
  • -Sir Edmund Hilary was the first man to reach the peak of Mt. Everest- his face now adorns New Zealand's $5 bill.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Exotic Ingrediants~ What is Passion Fruit?

So, what is Passion fruit?



Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina. Its common names include passion fruit (UK and US), and passionfruit (Australia and New Zealand), purple granadilla and maracuja. In Colombia, the purple passion fruit is referred to as "gulupa", to distinguish it from the yellow maracuyá.
It is cultivated commercially in warmer, frost-free areas for its fruit and is widely grown in India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, California, Florida, Haiti, Hawaii, Argentina, Australia, East Africa, Mexico, Israel, Costa Rica, Venezuela, South Africa and Portugal.
The passion fruit is round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit is both eaten and juiced; passion fruit juice is often added to other fruit juices to enhance the aroma.
The two types of passion fruit have clearly differing exterior appearances. The bright yellow variety of passion fruit, which is also known as the Golden Passion Fruit, can grow up to the size of a grapefruit, has a smooth, glossy, light and airy rind, and has been used as a rootstock for the Purple Passion Fruit in Australia. The dark purple passion fruit is smaller than a lemon, though it is less acidic than the yellow passion fruit, and has a richer aroma and flavour. It tastes like lemons, guava and pineapple combined.


And how do you use it?

Yogurt Pannacota with Passionfruit Syrup



Panna cotta, an Italian favorite, is a gorgeous dessert to eat and easy to make at home.
While "panna cotta" translates to "cooked cream", this particular yogurt panna cotta recipe requires no cooking. The panna cotta will take about 4 to 5 hours to set in the fridge. Trust me, it's worth the wait.
The creamy dessert is infused with vanilla and honey and then enjoyed with a tropical passionfruit syrup.
Ingredients:
  • 300 ml pouring cream
  • 260 gm (270ml) natural yogurt
  • 4 Tbsp honey
  • 2 3/4 titanium strength gelatine leaves (approx. 3 3/4 tsp of powdered gelatine) softened in cold water
  • Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
  • PASSIONFRUIT SYRUP
  • 4 passionfruit, pulp only (or canned)
  • 50 gm castor (berry) sugar
  • Juice from 1/2 lime
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Special equipment: 150-200 ml Dariole or panna cotta moulds
Preparation:
  1. Very lighlty grease the dariole moulds with a little vegetable oil on a paper towel.
  2. Whisk the cream and yogurt together in a large bowl until smooth. Set aside.
  3. Bring honey and vanilla seeds to a simmer in a small saucepan. Squeeze excess water from gelatine and add it to the honey -- stir to dissolve.
  4. Stir honey mixture through the yogurt mixture, then divide among four lightly greased dariole moulds. Refrigerate until set (4-5 hours - or even overnight).
  5. Make the passionfruit syrup. Combine ingredients together in a small saucepan. Simmer over a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the liquid becomes syrupy. Set aside to cool.
  6. Just before serving, dip bases of panna cotta moulds in warm water for a few seconds, turn out onto serving plates and spoon on the passionfruit syrup. Serve immediately.




Sources:
wikipedia.com
about.com



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Spin with me

Last week we started babysitting twin four year old girls.
They will be with us for most of the summer, and we have had so much fun already!
Here are some pictures of a game of frisby.
Tessa throwing the frisby
Some of there tecniques are......interesting.

Georgia and the neighbor boy Jackson.....


Just thought this was funny........where Georgia decided to lay her binkie.






Thrifty Threads: High Tea

Delany's loves this shirt because of the open neck, breathable fabric, and of course.....the frills.



Shirt: $2.00 at Thrift Store
Skirt: $3.50 at Thrift Store



What is Thrifty Threads?
Examples of Modest and Feminine outfits that express an assortment of styles.
Do you have an outfit that you want to share? Email us a picture and we will post it!
Requirements: please send photos directly in the email, attachments cannot be opened. Thank you!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Blog Giveaway!

My friend Lauren over at Green Tea is doing a blog giveaway! The prize? You will have to head over and check it out.......Green Tea

Friday, June 15, 2012

On the map~ Fun facts about: Holland

Did you know?


Madurodam is one of the famous tourist sites located in the Hague. It is basically a miniature Holland. If the tourists missed anything while sightseeing, they can make up for it by going to Madurodam and seeing all the places they missed. It is a great place for kids and adults, because it is very entertaining. It does not take more than 2 and half hours to go around Madurodam. 

 


Thursday, June 14, 2012

Exotic Ingredeints~What are Air Potatoes?

Some of you may have seen air potatoes before, but you did not know what they were! Some of you know them as a pesky weed that invades your lawns and growns inches a day, but they are actually edible.

    Native to Asia, tropical Africa and northern Australia, the air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera)---also known as air yam, bitter yam and cheeky yam---was first seen in the U.S. in 1777 in Alabama. It is now found in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. While considered an invasive plant, the air potato can be cultivated for different uses.             
The air potato is a twining vine that can grow to be more than 70 feet in length. It tends to overtake native plants that lie near the ground and often climbs to the tops of trees. They can grow up to 8 inches in a single day. The green, heart-shaped leaves grow on alternating sides of the stem. The air potato produces panicles that bloom with small white flowers. Tubers and bulbils (bulb-like growths at the leaf axils or stem base) develop both above and below ground. These two part of the air potatoes are the most utilized.

Uses:
Prepare the edible parts of the air potato by cleaning and peeling them. Boil, steam or bake the potatoes over coals. This process not only cooks the plant, but lessens the bitter taste.


Sources:
ehow.com




Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A little bit 'a Florida

Its summer in Florida! Everything is green and lovely, the weather is warm and humid, and the days are full......Here are some pictures of the things going on around us.


There is an abundance of moss laden trees on the golf course.


The scenery here is really beautiful...


A pesky raccoon that has been hanging around, I managed to get some pictures while he was climbing a tree.


We recently started growing and juicing sunflower sprouts, they are excelent for you!


I have been enjoying all of the wonderful fresh fruits that summer brings.


My kitty Duke is so much fun to watch, he loves playing with leaves and grass :-)


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Go here!

My dear friend Lauren just started a blog titled "green tea". It a super cool sewing blog packed full of tutorials and sewing projects to come! Be sure to check it out: http://green-sew-tea.blogspot.com/

One Year Adventure Novel


Last fall Delany and I started a new curriculum called The One Year Adventure Novel. It has been one of the best things that has ever happened! When I first heard of OYAN (as we call it) I was excited, but sceptical. I had always enjoyed a good book and the thought of writing a novel certainly appealed to me, but I truly didn't think I had the creativity do to it. Despite all off that, I set of determined to get through it no matter how things turned out. What I in for a surprise! One year adventure novel helps you to take names on paper and transform them into people with real life feelings and challenges. Facts, places, and events become a thrilling story! If you enjoy writing, or perhaps have a story like mine, you need to get this curriculum. Just go here: http://www.oneyearnovel.com/index.html



5 days of epicness!

Last week our best friends the Ross girls came over and stayed with us for five days!


Tammy, Eliana, and Delany playing Horseopoly!


Delanly, Eliana, and Atalya doing sparklers :-)

Tammy, Atalya, and Eliana with more sparklers......

Momma and Atalya watching TV

Daddy and Atalya watching TV


Delany and Eliana on the computer..


The night before they left we drove over to Disney to walk the Boardwalk and see the fireworks from Epcot....

Their stay here was one of the most fun things that I have ever done. We stayed up late watching old musicals like "The sound of music" and "Seven brides for seven brothers", we all slept in sleeping bags on the living room floor, we took long bikerides through the development singing songs from Sound of Music, and we made a movie. Again, one of the best times I have ever had. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Thrifty Threads: Gypsy Rose

Typically I am a long-skirt kind of girl, but this outfit is perfect if I am doing something a little more athletic!




Black Shirt: $1.50 at Thrift store
Linen Skirt: $1.00 at Thrift store
Capris: $2.50 at Thrift store
Scarf: $1.50 at thrift store

What is Thrifty Threads?
Examples of Modest and Feminine outfits that express an assortment of styles.
Do you have an outfit that you want to share? Email us a picture and we will post it!
Requirements: please send photos directly in the email, attachments cannot be opened. Thank you!

Friday, June 8, 2012

On the map~ Fun facts about: Nepal and China

Did you know?

 Mount Everest, everyone knows that it’s the tallest mountain in the world, but what a lot of people don’t know is that the border of Nepal and China goes right through the middle of the mountain, including the peak itself — making it not just the highest mountain, but also the highest border area.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Exotic Ingredients~What are truffles?

No, its not what you think. I am not talking about the candy truffles! This is a different kind of truffle, one that most of us have not heard about....


Black Perigord Truffle
A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean mushroom; spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. Almost all truffles are ectomycorrhizal and are therefore usually found in close association with trees.
There are hundreds of species of truffles, but the fruiting body of some (mostly in the genus Tuber) are highly prized as a food: Brillat-Savarin called them "the diamond of the kitchen". Edible truffles are held in high esteem in French, Spanish, northern Italian and Greek cooking, as well as in international haute cuisine. Truffles are among the most expensive and prized delicacies on earth. They are incredibly expensive because of their scarcity. In fact, it is not unheard of for large ones, which are extremely rare, to command six figure prices. Typically roundish but lumpy in appearance, they have an intense flavor. They are typically used sparingly, due to their strong earthy flavor, but also because of their expense. In Europe, specially-trained truffle dogs and pigs, both of which have a keen sense of smell, are used to locate mature truffles buried underground. The fungus that makes truffles can only survive and thrive in certain soil conditions and have symbiotic relationships with the roots of specific species of trees. The fungus attaches itself to a tree root, typically oak, beech, hazel or birch, and produce one truffle per year. The aroma and flavor of truffles differ, depending on the type of tree where they grew.
Prized truffles include the French black truffle, which is found in the Périgord region of southwest France. Italy is known for its white truffles, many of which are from the Piedmonte and Umbria regions.

Sources:
luxist.com
wikipedia.org

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Thrifty Threads: Pretty in Pink

Hannah is wearing a lovely pink and white outfit that is perfect for summer!


Shirt: $4 from Goodwill
Dress: $6 from Goodwill
Previously owned skirt


What is Thrifty Threads?
Examples of Modest and Feminine outfits that express an assortment of styles.
Do you have an outfit that you want to share? Email us a picture and we will post it!
Requirements: please send photos directly in the email, attachments cannot be opened. Thank you!
Thank you Hannah for your contribution!

Friday, June 1, 2012

On the map~ Fun facts about: Israel

Yea! Another topic added to my weekly blog posts. This one is titled "On the map", and each week I will post a/some fun fact/s about a random country. Enjoy!


Did you know?


On November 17, 1952 Albert Einstein, a Jew but not an Israeli citizen, was offered the presidency of Israel but turned it down, stating "I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it."



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Sing to יהוה a new song, sing to יהוה, all the earth! Sing to יהוה, bless His Name, Proclaim His deliverance from day to day. Declare His esteem among the nations.







Psalms 96:1-3