Beignets - Cafe Du Monde

All that Nawlins reflection made me hungry for beignets!

I snagged this mix at World Market. You can also order it straight from Cafe Du Monde (http://www.cafedumonde.com/). They sell the sugar shakers, napkin holders and mugs just like they use at the coffee stand! Too cute!

I don't think you could ever have too much powdered sugar!

I know where I've been...New Orleans

When my husband and I got married we lived in the suburbs of New Orleans. We thought we'd only be there about six months but stayed for about 4 years. Great people, great food, lots to see. We loved it. It's such a unique place. Ironically enough, my parents started out their marriage in New Orleans too.

Lilacs

Shabbona Lake - Illinois

This past Saturday, we hung out at Shabbona Lake.

We fished.

We hiked.

We saw lots of geese.

We found a frog.

And we watched this dig our trash out of the trash bin.

The End.

Thank You

Earlier in the year, GA's second grade class made "thank you" cards to send to the troops.

Turned out so cute - thought I'd share...

This was GA's card...

killdeer eggs

One day when the hubby and I were walking on this path, we saw this little bird hop out and start running in front of us. It would run, flap it's wings, flop around a little and keep running. Apparently this is characteristic of a killdeer bird. It does this to distract possible predators that are near it's eggs. It acts injured. - The funniest thing!!! (I've tried to get pics of the bird but have been unsuccessful so far -I'll keep trying! - or you can just google it :-) ).

A few days later, Sam, actually saw the bird "nesting" and discovered...

Eek!

I'm sure you can imagine the joy I felt when GA brought this home from school. It's a mealworm. We are anxiously awaiting it's transformation into a beetle. - That is unless temptation gets the best of us. GA is convinced that she'd have better luck with catching a bird if we used this as bait instead of bird seed.

Mary the Princess - continued

Meet the Author...

GA's an eight year old just finishing up her second grade year. She enjoys soccer, riding her bike, playing with her friends and collecting rocks. She dreams of going to Disney World some day - because she's the ONLY one in her class that's never been!

My Favorite Things - Catstudio dish towels

This is a dish towel that I had framed and matted to hang on the wall. I collect one for every state that we've lived in. The image is screen printed and the cross stitched trim is done with real embroidery thread. Originally, the towel was longer and had some trim work on each end. You can see more at http://www.catstudio.com/.

I discovered their pillows first. I had wanted to collect them but they are so pricey and what would I do with that many?!? So that's how I got creative with the dish towel ($20)!

Framed and Mounted

Aboretum

GA's class went on a field trip to the Aboretum today. I lost out on the luck of the draw and did not get to chaperone. - Then again, maybe that makes me a winner! Anywho, in honor of the occasion, I pulled some "nature" pics from last year's aboretum trip.

(Someone squatted a little too much scooping up frogs and tadpoles.)

So little bitty!

Mary the Princess

To be continued...

Rice Krispy Treat Flip Flop

Just another thing I found at the store...

(I just had to share because it cracked me up.)

Sorry - My photography isn't that great (I was under duress - about to get pounced on by two grade schoolers that were salivating to eat this thing up!). I'm not a fan of Rice Krispy treats but the white chocolate coating did make it extra yummy!

I found it at Target made by a company named Selma's.

My Mother's Day stuff

I got a flower in a "CR Original" decorative pot.

AND my very own water bottle huggie with a special bottle of "Turn You Younger" water. There's a "before and after" picture on the label. The "before" is a little old lady with grey hair and a walker.

Happy Mother's Day

CR's 6 year old response...

Fried Pickles

I've been on a mission lately to figure out how to cook some of our favorite restaurant appetizers. I think I finally have the "fried pickle" figured out. The real secret is the temperature of the oil. But for those of you that need "exact" instructions, this is what I did...

I soaked the dill pickle chips in buttermilk for an hour.

Tossed them in a mixture of two cups of flour and a tablespoon of seasoning (I used Tony's).

Then fried them at 375 degrees in peanut oil (just because we had some - I'm sure any oil would work fine) until they were golden brown.

Served with ranch dressing.

I fried them in a cast iron dutch oven and used a candy thermometer to measure the temp. A 16oz. jar of pickles was the perfect "appetizer amount" for six adults and a few kids.

All Creatures Big and Small

I'm not too sure what to think about the latest developments around here.

The "critter keeper" has been dusted off.

Apparently we're starting a worm farm.

We've set a rabbit trap.

This contraption is a "bird catcher". Sam swears that he's caught birds this way. The bird follows the seed trail into the trap (clothes basket) then is too full or stupid to lower it's head to get back out. I told him that Illinois birds might be a little smarter than Louisiana birds. I was quickly informed that the birds he caught were from Arkansas. - Ha, ha.

Hopefully, this little experiment won't last too long. I need my basket back.