Friday, February 26, 2010

Watercolour Artists Glyn and Philip Martin



While on a trip to England several years ago, I meandered into a little gift store across from Windsor Castle and discovered watercolour artists Glyn and Philip Martin. Glyn and his brother Philip have done many watercolour paintings of Britain. As soon as I saw their paintings, I knew I had to have several. The problem was, picking which ones that I wanted. I settled on the two above.


The first print is titled Dales Farmhouse. To me, this is quintessential of the English countryside. The only thing that is missing in the print is the sheep that graze in the fields. There are sheep everywhere in the country!


The second print is titled St. James Park and Horseguards Parade. I spent a beautiful sunny day discovering the beauty and flowers of St. James Park.


Once I got back to the states, I discovered that the artists have done several prints of the US as well. Check out all their prints at Portraits of Britain.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Great is His faithfulness


Lately, Double D has been waking me up pretty early in the morning. So the two of us get up and I prepare for the day. I love thinking of this verse first thing in the morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Some things ARE better than a dozen roses.

I was recently teasing My Sweetie that "He doesn't send me flowers anymore" like he did in the old days...

Instead, this arrived on my doorstep this week.

An All-Clad skillet is so much better than a dozen roses! He knows me all too well.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Bay Scallops in White Wine Sauce

Tuesday: Poached Eggs with Ham Steak and Hollandaise Sauce

Wednesday: P.F Chang's Lettuce Wraps

Thursday: Spaghetti with Melt in Your Mouth Meatballs

Friday: Tomato Bisque and Toasted Cheese

Saturday: Dinner out for My Sweetie's Birthday!

Sunday: Bourbon Chicken and Rice

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Head to toe in sidewalk chalk.



Yesterday we had an unseasonably warm day and by 4:00 in the afternoon every child on our street was out and about.

Sissyboo spent quite a bit of time drawing with sidewalk chalk with our little neighbor boy. She had so much fun and was cover from head to toe in chalk by the time she was finished.

I love when we have a warm day in the middle of February and the kids can get out and play. It also gives me a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.



Friday, February 19, 2010

Going B-A-N-A-N-A-S Banana Bread



Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed very overripe bananas

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2 Lightly grease 9 x 5 loaf pan.
3 In large bowl, combine flour, soda and salt.
4 In separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.
5 Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.
6 Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.
7 Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
8 Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.
9 Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Give Your Drawers a Make Over



Are you starting to think about your Spring cleaning? Why not give your drawers a make over with pretty drawer liners.

I have found them very inexpensive at several places like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the perfume and lotion section.

They also make a wonderful hostess gift.

With their pretty patterns and colors, the drawer liners will remind you that spring is just around the corner.



Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tie One On.




I just love aprons. I started wearing an apron on a daily basis when Sissyboo was born. They help protect my clothes and the pockets provide a place to put a towel or a spot to put small toys and objects found while cleaning.

For Christmas, my 18 month old daughter got her first hand made apron from her great Aunt Susie.



I just adore how something so old fashion is so practical.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Menu Plan Monday










Monday: Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup (since we didn't have it last week)

Tuesday: New Orleans Shrimp Creole

Wednesday: Japanese Mum's Chicken

Thursday: Mongolian Beef with brown rice

Friday: Cornish Game Hens and Wild Rice

Saturday: Sloppy Joes (since we didn't have it last week

Sunday: Sushi out

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Friday, February 12, 2010

The Ice Slider from Ethiopia



Don't you just adore the Winter Olympics?

I love seeing all the girls decked out in their figure skating costumes and am amazed at those freestyle skiers. Not to mention the butterflies I get in my stomach when I watch the men on the luge!

We are so fortunate to live in a country that has so many of our own competing.

However, I would like to introduce you to Ethiopia's Robel Teklemariam from the men's cross-country ski competition. He notes that there's no word for "snow" in his native language, so Teklemariam goes by "Beredoe Shartate," which is loosely translated to mean "Ice Slider".

As the only Ethiopian in the Winter Games, he says "For me, I'm a team of one, but I'm representing 80 million people," he said. "It gives me a lot of pride and honor. It's the country that I love."


















It always touches my heart when countries around the world can only be represented by one or two athletes.

While I always will stand and cheer for Team USA, I also secretly cheer for the underdog.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Nursery Rhyme Art








I have been collecting children's book since high school. Mainly, because I love the illustrations of fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Recently while reading a nursery rhyme book to Katelyn, I fell in love with the illustrations of Frederick Richardson.

Frederick Richardson was born in Chicago in 1862 and passed on in 1937. Educated in St. Louis at the St. Louis Art Institute he was a published author and an illustrator of many children's books.

Some of the published credits of Richardson include Mother Goose: A Classic Collection of Children's Nursery Rhymes, Reading-Literature the Primer, My Animal Story Book: A Treasury of Sunshine Stories for Children, READING-LITERATURE First Reader and Third Reader.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Valentine's Week















My mother passed on when I was only 9 years old. While I was very young when she died, I still remember some of the special things she did for the holidays.

One of them was that she always filled the above pictured candy bowl with conversation hearts for Valentine's Day.

Now that I have a little family, I always make sure it is filled for Valentine's Day.

Also, because of this candy bowl, I have fallen madly in love with pink depression glass (this is the Adam pattern by Jeannette).

Menu Plan Monday


My Meal Planning Monday (Ok...it's Wednesday).

Monday: Brats and oven Baked French Fries.

Tuesday: Homage to Benihana: Salad with Ginger Dressing and Hibachi Beef and Chicken Fried Rice with Mustard Dipping Sauce.

Wednesday: Pork and Sauerkraut; riced potatoes and homemade bread.

Thursday: Chopped Salad with Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup.

Friday: Sloppy Joes and potato skins

Saturday: Panera Cream Cheese Potato Soup

Valentine's Night Sunday: Melting Pot Beer Cheese Fondue and Coq Au Vin Fondue with Filet Mignon

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Are you ready for some football?

In celebration of Super Bowl Sunday, here is one of my favorite party dips here at My Magnolia Cottage.

Jalapeno Popper Spread














Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
2 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1.Stir together cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green chilies and jalapeno peppers. Pour mixture into a microwave safe serving dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
2.Microwave on High until hot, about 3 minutes.
Serve with Triscuits or sourdough baguettes.

Baked Variation: If you would like to brown the cheese, bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes.

DELISH!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Katelyn's Room

Years ago, my sweetie got me a signed Tasha Tudor print for my birthday. As soon as I saw it, I knew that one day if we had children, I would have to base my nursery around it.

So here it is, and here is Katelyn's nursery.

Don't you just love Tasha Tudor's work?






Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Energy Saving Tip #1


Did you know that 2% of your homes energy loss is due from air escaping from your electrical outlets?

After actually feeling a draft from our electrical outlets, my sweetie installed foam gaskets inside our exterior wall electrical outlets this weekend.

Not only do these gaskets stop cold air from coming in during the winter, they also help stop the warm moist inside air from getting into the walls, causing things like wood rot and peeling paint.

During the winter, hold your hand over one of your exterior wall electrical outlet and see if you can feel cold air coming in. To fix this, all you have to do is unscrew the cover plate, put the gasket in place and screw the cover plate back on.
A pack of a dozen gaskets runs around $3.00 at your local home center.