Strawberries in milk

My mom used to make this delicious dessert for us when I was little. Now I make it for my own kids and they love it!

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh strawberries

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup sugar

Preparation:

Wash strawberries and cut in small pieces. Add milk and sugar. Refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight to blend flavors.

Dinner is ready!

It's nice to have teenage daughters....

...Sometimes they make dinner!

I heart faces-pets

This week at Iheart faces is all about the pets. Here is a picture of my cute cat Rocky.

Be sure to check out the other entries at I Heart Faces.

I did it!

So, I guess I have this sewing thing all figure it out! When Issi asked me to make her a dress, I wasn't sure I could do it, but I decided to at least give it a try. I made a few mistakes, but overall it turned out better than I expected!

Meatballs with Spaghetti sauce

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar


DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl, mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, onion, and eggs. Shape the mixture into meatballs.
In a slow cooker, mix the spaghetti sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, parmesan cheese and sugar. Place the meatballs into the sauce mixture. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

bookcase makeover

I purchased this bookcase many years ago, and it has been unfinished in the kids room for the last ten years. Lately the girls asked me to get it out of their room and I found a great space for it in the living room, so I finally decided to painted in black to match the rest of the furniture, and I am very happy with the results. Now, I just need to find the right accessories, and I hope it doesn't take me another 10 years!

can I do it?

I'm not very good at sewing, I've done some blankets in the past and they weren't too bad, but I haven't done the "real thing", with patterns and everything... I hope I can do it!

Summer of Love Nail Kit from Urban Decay

I am so happy about this...Urban Decay Summer of Love Nail Kit $28.00
The kit includes seven miniature shades:
-Woodstock (radioactive pink)
-Love Light (baby pink sparkle)
-Hashbury (bright orchid)
-Magic Bus (emergency orange)
-Aquarius (electric teal)
-Psychedelic Sister (bright coral)
(Each bottle contains 5ml/0.17 fl. oz. of product in it): Shine On (beige sparkle)

Temper Control

Before I Was A Mom .....

Before I was a Mom;
I made and ate hot meals,
I had unstained clothing,
I brushed my hair every day,
I had quiet conversations on the phone,
I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.

Before I was a Mom;
I cleaned my house each day,
I never tripped over toys or forgot lullabies,
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous,
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, or
pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom;
I never thought about immunizations,
I never held a screaming child so the doctors could give shots,
I never looked into teary eyes and cried,
I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt,
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

Before I was a Mom;
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down,
I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep,
I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay,
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

Before I was a Mom;
I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body,
I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so
important,
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.

Before I was a Mom;
I never knew that something so small could effect my life so much,
I never knew that I could love someone so much,
I never knew I would love being a Mom,
I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child,
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much.

-Author Unknown

Happy Mothers Day!

It's all about the color

A few months ago, my mom told me I should put more colors in my house, more bright, happy colors. My house is full of neutral colors such as burgundies, browns, beige's...very safe colors and according to my mom boring, and I think she is right. So I have been thinking and I have been looking a different color palettes, but nothing seems right. Today I found an article in Martha Stewart's blog about their magazine's new May issue and it looks like it is all about the color, just what I was looking for!
You can see more about it at The Martha Blog.






The magazine will be on newsstands Monday, May 12th

Indian Food

I've been craving Indian food for quite some time, and unfortunately for me, I don't know of many Indian restaurants around here. So today I decided to make my own, and it turned out better than I thought. I've got a great recipe for Chana Masala here and a recipe for Naan Bread here and it is delicious!

Chana Masala is basically a stew of garbanzo beans with tomatoes and lots of spices. I was gonna make some white rice to go with it but I forgot.


The Naan bread

My Cat....

I wish I could just relax, even just for a day, the way you do.

I wish I could just sit by the window, under the sun and just relax!

New trees

I went to Costco yesterday just to get olive oil and peanut butter and came home with two new trees for my patio. I am very excited because they are ultra-dwarf, witch I guess it means they won't grow too much but they will still produce lots of fruits just like a normal size tree. I was very surprise at the big selection they had, and it took me a good 20 minutes to decide which two I will take home. They had cherries, a few different kinds of apples, nectarines, peaches, a few different kinds of pears and apricots.

At the end I got the Nectarines and the Bartlett Pear.

iHearFaces “Dramatic B&W”

The challenge this week on i heart faces it’s “Dramatic” Black and White photos! I took this picture of my daughter last weekend. I really like the way the sun is reflecting in her hair, and also this picture makes me realize how fast she is growing up...she looks like such a big girl!



Go check all the other cool entries at iheartfaces!

First Rose

Spring is finally here!....I got my first rose from the rose bush I planted back in January. I'm looking forward to many more!

Even Sami is affected by the recession

A few days ago, I had Sami in my lap and as I was petting him I noticed a big lump of hair right behind his ear. I took a closer look and realized it was his hair all matted, I felt so bad for the little guy! I used to take him to the groomers at least every other month and they would wash, brush, trim his hair, brush his teeth, clean his ears and clip his nails. I don't remember the last time he was there, but I'm guessing it's been more than five months. I try to give him baths every other week and try to brush him often, but with so much long white hair, it's not the same as when I take him to the groomers. Sorry boy!

If you could go back in time....

....would you still have this many kids?
-This is a question my daughter Sara ask me frequently, and my answer is always :"I don't know". I never consider three being a lot of kids, but it seems like for her it is an outrageous amount of kids. My parents had three kids and it was a number I was comfortable with. Now, three girls, that is a lot of girls. Living in a house with a Teen, soon to be Teen and a soon to be Tween, it can get very crazy at times. The fights, the crying, the whining...the drama!, it's all so familiar to me. It is crazy, but it's my life, and for now, I just treasure every little moment of it!.

Strawberries and Cream Mousse

INGREDIENTS:
•1 cup Heavy Cream
•1 Tablespoon Sugar
•1 cup Frozen Strawberries
•2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
•⅔ cups Condensed Milk
•Whipped Cream For Topping

PREPARATION:
.In a bowl, mix the heavy cream and sugar until whipping cream is formed. Set aside.
.In a blender, mix the strawberries, lemon juice and condensed milk. Add strawberry mixture to the whipping cream and pour in small glasses. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
.Serve topped with whipped cream.

iHeartFaces: "Jump for Joy"

This week’s photo challenge theme at www.iheartfaces.com is "jump for joy". This picture of my daughter came to my mind right away.

Spanish Style Arroz con Pollo

There are many ways to cook this dish, but this is the way we make it in Spain. Serve it with French bread and a green salad to make it a complete meal.




Ingredients:
•2 pieces Chicken Breast, Cut In Cubes
•1 whole Small Carrot, Chopped
•1 whole Onion, Chopped
•2 cloves Galic, Chopped
•2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
•2 cups Medium Grain Rice
•4 cups Chicken Broth
•½ cups Corn
•½ cups Peas
•Salt And Pepper, to taste


Preparation:
Cook the onion, carrot and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is transparent. Remove from the pan and set aside. Cook the chicken in the same pan until browned (you may need to add a little more oil). Add the rice and onion mixture and mix all together.

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Let cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the corn and peas and cook for another 5 minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste. Serve warm.

Spring is in the air...

...I was surfing through PIPERLIME and found lots of beautiful things for this spring. Here are some of my favorite ones:


Betsey Johnson
Antoinette
Regular Price $165.00




Big Buddha Hibiscus Tote
color: Natural
$90.00




Betsey Johnson
Enamel Flower Ring
Regular Price $45.00



Betsey Johnson
Pearl Bracelet
Regular Price $85.00

Family Sushi

I have no words for this.

iHeartFaces- “Hilarious Outtakes”

This week's theme at iheartfaces is Hillarious Outakes and we can put up to five pictures. The first thing that goes to my mind right away is my daughter Sara...She is Hillarious, and it shows in her pictures.


Nice teeth!...I guess the braces paid off!





The multi-purpose hat....It's a hat and a mustache!




yo, peace!




So excited to start school!....(and no, it wasn't Halloween!)



And my favorite one..... jumping for joy!

How in the world....

...Did my kitchen got so dirty?

with three kids, a husband, two cats, one dog, baseball practice, soccer practice, school events, cheer practice, etc,etc....wow! who has time to clean the kitchen?

But I did it! two hours latter.....this is the way it is suppose to look:

iHeartFaces- "Hands On" Fun

I♥LA