Inspiration

I Love This Quote

Unexpected Destination

I feel like I have a pretty good sense of direction.  Sure I get lost sometimes, but I always try to stay on the right track.  I remember where I parked my car in a parking lot.  When leaving a store in a busy mall with my friend, I'm the one who knows whether we should turn left or right to continue shopping in the correct direction.  I can even read a map.

Sometimes in our lives we wonder if God has a short circuit in His GPS.  We are going through our life and there are turns that are sharp and unexpected.  We end up going places we didn't think we'd go and can't figure out why we're there.  When we stop and look around, we realize that God was heading us in the right direction all along.  We just need to listen to and have faith in His instructions.

Sometimes instead of listening to the GPS (God's Positioning System), we decide that we don't need to pay attention to what He is saying. We turn His volume down and go in whatever direction we choose. We run into obstacles.  We ignore the road signs people are holding up to us because we don't want to hear what they say either.

                     

The signs that tell us to be careful or we because we may run off His road.

Signs that tell us to make a U turn in our lives and head back in the right direction.







   Signs to let us know that the road we're choosing is bumpy and full of potholes.





Our compass is off course and we end up at a destination we chose but when we look around, the scenery isn't very pretty.



We need to remember to share the road with people who can help us.  We need people who will encourage us to go in the right direction.  They can help us get our GPS turned back on so we're listening to God's voice and following His direction instead of our own.



The cool thing about God is that even though we have made some wrong turns, He can take what may look like mistakes and turn them into miracles.

Here is our new miracle.  Chase's baby, Liam.  He was born August 24.

                                                 

Miracles

Words of wisdom by Albert Einstein.  Photo by me.

A life truth for Monday

I Love Cupcakes

More Vintage Ads

I enjoyed updating the vintage ad so much yesterday that I decided to do another one.

For the other ads today, I decided to put up two interesting food ads. Apparently Jello wasn't just for dessert when these ads were created. 

 Here is a closer view of the Vegetable Rice Medley.  Anyone interested in giving it a try?

Bird's Eye is in on the savory Jello bandwagon.  Apparently it's recipes are "Straight From Heaven".

Here are two of the recipes.  Heaven isn't what these made me think of.

It sounds like something Aunt Bethany from Christmas Vacation would bring to dinner if she decided not to make the molded lime Jello topped with cat food.

I consider myself to be a creative cook but I can't bring myself to make any of these recipes.  If you decide to give them a try, please send a picture and a full report on everyone's reaction to these gourmet treats.

Vintage Ads

I just love the vintage ads that they put updated phrases on.  I thought I'd try my hand at one.

I don't think it turned out too bad.



Some ads don't need rewritten.  I was rather surprised when I found this.  Perhaps this is where the gay/rainbow connection started.

I'd imagine that this would help more than an a toothache.

Hmmm...how does this work.  Is is a contest or do you redeem upcs?  I can't imagine how many upcs one would have to turn in to win an actual person.

Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary

Another trip through Pinterest, another recipe.  I saw this and it was a must make.   Sparkling Ink had posted a recipe for Lemon Rosemary Chicken Bake that someone had pinned.  It is so yummy that it deserves a more exciting name than something as simple as Chicken Bake!  I made some changes but I got the basic idea from her site.  

Ingredients:

10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

 2 lemons

 2 pounds potatoes

15 cloves garlic

 6 tablespoons olive oil

 2 teaspoons dried crushed rosemary (please feel free to use fresh rosemary if you have it)

 1 cup dry white wine (Chicken Broth can be substituted)

    salt and pepper

Place thighs into a roasting dish.  

Cut potatoes and lemons into wedges and place among the chicken.

Peel garlic cloves.  It they're large, cut in half.  Add the garlic to your other ingredients in the pan.

Whisk together olive oil, rosemary and wine.  Pour evenly over the pan.  Salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 F for 50-60 minutes until chicken reaches at least 165 F and the potatoes are tender.

The fragrance while it was baking was incredible.  I'd make this again just to be able to smell it!

Since the potatoes and lemons are just cut into wedges, preparation of this dish took very little time.  I love things that are so delicious that it tastes like a complicated recipe but is simple enough to throw together on short notice.

It made a beautiful sauce which I poured over the chicken and potatoes once I plated them.  It was garlicky with a light, bright tang of lemon.  It flavored everything so well that I needed no additional condiments for my potatoes. 

Simple? Yes. Delish? Very Yes.

Slice in half your favorite crusty bread.

Spread pesto (I use a lot because I love it). 

The mozzarella is the fresh mozzarella ball from Costco that I just slice and layer on top of the pesto.

A layer of sliced, fresh tomatoes straight from my garden.

Basil from my herb pots add a bit of taste and color.

Finally, a sprinkle of parmigiano reggiano. 

We grilled it briefly to get the smokey flavor then broiled it in the oven to melt the cheese a bit more.

It's delightful with a drizzle of balsamic or dipped in balsamic and olive oil.

Enjoy with a salad and a glass of wine.  I sure did.

Too Hot to Cook

After seeing Fat Girl trapped in a Skinny Body's sandwich on Pinterest, I was inspired to make veggie sandwich for supper.
A trip to Costco and my garden plus a little time at the grill were all I needed for this sandwich. 

The ingredients are:
Provincio Artisan Roasted Garlic Bread
Pesto
Fresh Mozzarella ball, sliced 
Red peppers, halved and cleaned
Zucchini, skin removed if desired, sliced lengthwise into strips
Mushrooms
Tomatoes, sliced

Coat your beautiful vegetables with olive oil and grill.  Char then remove the skin on the peppers.

If you desire a cold sandwich, let veggies cool before assembling the sandwich.


Split lengthwise the loaf of Provincio Artisan Roasted Garlic Bread and spread pesto as liberally as you desire.  Place your bread on a cutting board.


Layer the other ingredients as follows:
Mozzarella
Zucchini
mushrooms
tomatoes
red peppers
Mozzarella again
Cover with top layer of bread


If I had spinach, I would have included a layer of that also.
Wrap your bread and board together with plastic wrap.
If you have a brick handy, wrap it in foil, put it on top of the sandwich then wrap the whole thing again in plastic wrap to hold it together.
If you don't happen to have a brick, put a heavy book or 2 on top. 
Refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Unwrap and slice the loaf into smaller sandwiches. 


The next day my leftover sandwich's bread was a bit moist but not unpleasantly so.  


It went very nicely with pasta salad.

365 Photo Project

I have been so lax in keeping up with my blog.  I thought perhaps starting the 365 photo project would inspire me to start blogging again.  Today I had to pick up a few books at the library so I decided to use it as my subject.

The Handley Library is one of the most beautiful buildings in town.  

From the architectural elements on the outside...

inside to the rotunda and

even in the hidden corners of the library.

I could lose myself in here forever.