What’s up Wednesday
Happy Hump Day! I always love Wednesdays. It’s the height of the work week and we can coast downhill to the weekend. Today I’m linking up with Shay & Sheaffer to share a little bit of what’s going on between our four walls.
1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK:
Tonight we’re going to have something with pork tenderloin. My Marley Spoon box this week included some sad looking broccolini that I may end up feeding to our new Holland Lop bunnies. I think instead I’ll do some crispy ranch cutlets with green beans and some sort of starch – maybe buttery egg noodles?
Tuesday Fred and I bought have group Zooms, so we try to do something simple.
Wednesday our club does take out, so we’ll take that easy route! They always have fried chicken on the menu, and this week I have orders from the hubby to specify
Thursday we’ll have our new box. So we’ll do one of these delicous sounding options. I’ve really enjoyed doing the Marley Spoon boxes. There’s always a super variety of meals to enjoy choose from, and then there’s no need to do any shopping for the week! Especially during these Corona times, it’s nice not worrying about where to source all the ingredients. And the mental freedom to not worry about the meal planning is a tremendous time saver for me. If you’re interested in a code to try a free meal, let me know! I’ve got referrals I can give out.
2. WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:
We had a lot of fun visiting my grandfather, seeing my brother and his girlfriend and mom in Wilmington, NC recently. We stayed at a hotel and enjoyed the mini-vacation, even though we didn’t make it to the beach, we had a delightful time walking on the boardwalk and exploring the Battleship.
3: WHAT I’M LOVING:
I received in the mail all the stuff I ordered from Nordstrom and I am ready for Fall! I’m super excited about my new wedge Uggs, and sneakers along with some cute Hunter leopard print wellies.
4: WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO:
We got our bunnies this weekend. Georgina and Louisa were very excited. They’ve named them Fluffy Fluff & Puff. Georgina worked so hard proving herself capable of “self care” in order to get the bunnies. We even babysat a bunnie (“Chum Chum”) for a week to practice caring for the animals. So far it’s just been one day, but I’m hoping the little ladies bunnies provide endless entertainment for the girls.
5: WHAT I’M DREADING:
A lot has gone on personally for me that’s had me feeling poorly. Some relationships, once changed, can’t be changed back. It’s hard processing that disappointment, but these quotes have been motivational for me:
6: WHAT I’M WORKING ON:
Working is one thing I’m doing solely about the house these days! I’m leaning into this new reality where I’m not driven by work obligations. I’m able to tinker about the house with my Tinkerbells and that’s been a relief after almost constant work demands.
7: WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT:
We go to Disney in less than 40 days! I can’t wait to enjoy the Fall Mickey decor, the lesser lines and some quality vacation time with my Favorite Four.
8: WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING:
I just finished reading Elin Hilderbrand’s second book in a trilogy ; Happiness in Paradise. It was so cute! I love reading Elin’s books. They always have well developed characters that are easy to relate to.
9: WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:
I’m loving some Ty Dolla $ign, The Weeknd, Chainsmokers and Post Malone. A new beat in my head a lot is “Bang” by AJR and I’m also digging Mike Posner’s Evil Woman and Ludacris’ “Rollout / my business” 😀
10: WHAT I’M WEARING:
I’ve been wearing tons of shorts! I absolutely love these Ava Shorts by Lucky. I’ve bought two pair and have felt great wearing them along with my summer & Disney shirts.
11: WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND:
We had fun plans to head to Charlotte to visit our cousin, Nora & her family, but we’ve had a recent Corona virus scare and will be hanging out close to home. We did get tested though, so perhaps we’ll still go if they come back negative (God Willing!)
12: WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH
See #7 – DISNEY!
I got the cutest shirts for my crew. Check them out!
I am a little worried that Disney may object to this one, but I thought it was so funny! This one though really makes me laugh.
And here’s another classic for Dad’s:
Then for me I got the following. I really loved the ones from this shop.
And here we go with some Halloween Spirit:
13: WHAT ELSE IS NEW:
That’s about all I’ve got ! I’m excited for some Amazon packages to arrive with some Halloween decor soon! Stay tuned
Lots of Love and Light
Lizounette
Monstera Monday
Good morning, lovies! Today is Monday, and therein Monstera Monday! I thought I’d take you on a tour of my darling Monsteras.
Here is my next darling; my Monstera Delicioso. Now this one I bought in a big 10” pot about 6 months ago. She’s put out lots of new heads, which look like heron beaks as they emerge and unfurl, but you can see some of a more recent crop have “burnt.” I’m not sure what to do about that!
My next friends are some of my new favorites. She’s a hearty grower and I’ve already rooted a whole new potted plant from cuttings. Here is my Monstera Adansonii:
Here is the biggest of the three I’ve got growing on, bought as a 10” pot. I also bought a smaller 6” plant here:
And from them both have taken enough clippings to propagate this baby below!
Here’s a shot of the baby Adansonii at our kitchen nook Plant Shelf.
This next little girl is my Monstera Ginny. She is in the middle to the right of the birdcage. I got her in a 4” pot at the start of summer. I look forward to seeing how she grows. Here’s a close up of her;
She hasn’t grown much but does exhibit this beautiful like green color. Her root stem is thick, I’m wondering if maybe I add a support to have it grow around and up.
My Monstera Delicioso is a favorite too. I’ve been watching her unfurl continuously since u bought her in the Spring. Some of her leaves got “crispy” halfway through unfurling and I’m not sure what to do about those burnt leaves.
I love this grouping I’ve got her in behind the couch
I made a trade for this rooted cutting at the beginning of spring. It’s really done nothing so I’m not sure why I keep it about. I don’t think it shows any promise of growth.
Here is my most recent addition, a Monstera Xanadu. I yearned for this guy and he is impressive! His roots were insane when I reported him. I think he’ll be happy here on my upper landing grouping.
Here’s another snap showing the whole plant grouping.
And this final Monstera gracing my home is this Monstera Hope. I’ve had this lady for about a year, but she hasn’t grown a lot, mainly putting out small “lily pad” leaves at the bottom like this one to the left. I moved here from the moderate light dining room to the new real plant shed in the playroom though and the other morning I noticed she’s unfurling a new leaf above an existing one. So exciting ! Check it out:
That’s all my Monstera, friends ! Do you dig Monsteras ? If so, what types are your favorite(s)?
Lots of light and love to you & yours,
Lizounette
Friday Favorites!
What a week! Major drama in my life in the past two months that I’ve been steadily processing and trying to move through. I’m so thankful for another weekend up ahead for some fun times!
So here’s a little bit of what I’m loving right now:
1.) Smocked Blouses from Walmart
Here I am in it, sporting a necklace I got through a Stitch Fix.
This is so light and summery! I absolutely love how it accentuates my upper curves and has some shoulder coverage still. The lawn cotton fabric is so lightweight but not too see through with the white (no issue with black). I plan to order some colored options too in addition to my existing White & Black ones.
I’ve also so enjoyed during this
2. My Trader Joe’s Vinho Verde. This stuff I’vbe been drinking for years now and is less than $5/bottle. I get it by the case and try to escape without getting too many more plants or freezer food.
3. Speaking of Plants – Halloween is upcoming and we are getting excited over here already. I’ll be on the lookout at my next wine run to Trader Joe’s for these beauties they’ve had out around Halloween each season of late.
And finally, #4: I’m loving these cute little cards I made to include in New Mother’s baskets for the Durham Mother’s Club. Our budget is little, so trying to stretch it with still useful things for a mom-to-be, I made these!
That’s all my Favs for this Friday !
Joy to your World,
Liz
Friday Favorites
Hi Everyone! It’s been a while, but I thought with the state of the world with everyone quarantining, it seemed like a good idea to reopen this outlet. So thus, I rejoin the blogging world and look forward to sharing more into my life. Today, I’m linking up with Andrea, Erika and Narci for their Friday Favorites linkup!
This week has been a whirlwind of getting going with Homeschooling for our first time. March 13 was our first day of quarantine after the girls’ got out of school that day at noon. Since then, for two weeks we were on our scheduled Spring Break. However, we were NOT on our scheduled Disney Cruise, which was canceled.
Thus, my Favorite #1 goes to … DISNEY BRAND of travel & our travel agent, Jo!
You can check out her facebook here, too. She’s been such a rockstar with being available for us to reschedule our cruise. I wasn’t on hold for a minute. When requested, she planned an impromptu replacement trip to the Disney parks for us like magic. But then, that became an apparent bad idea and even the parks closed anyway, and she was again an ace at getting us canceled. I’ve made up my mind about rescheduling our park vacation for Georgina’s Fall Break, and she’s been super setting that up for us. She’s just amazing. I’ll never not use a travel agent again, even though I love geeking out on the details myself. It’s just easier as they are the true professionals and have access us end consumers just don’t have access to. Plus, don’t even get me started on how wonderful Disney+ is! #TheBest
My Favorite # 2 has been nightly family walks.
It’s been nice, although varied, weather here in Durham, and we’ve had a renewed use for our sturdy old double stroller. The girls, even at 6 & 4, have been loving being chariot’d about. Fred pops up the stroller on the set of back wheels and they shriek and giggle in delight. Going down hills, Weaza yells “Run fasta, Momma, Fasta!” and wants me to shove the stroller as fast as it’ll safely go downhill for them.
Favorite #3 definitely goes to my new obsession with Chik-Fil-A and their incomparable Lemonade.
I’ve been buying size Large, no ice, and enjoying them over the course of a whole day or two. I went in for a full gallon this last trip. Jury is out on whether it’s as good as the
Favorite #4 goes to House Plants!
With being in quarantine, one of the local nurseries was running a “quick pickup” special and posting their plants out on a list. For locals – that’s Gunter’s Greenhouse near Hwy 70 and Miami Blvd in Durham. I picked up loads of annuals and some more houseplants. Then, I was at Harris Teeter (!) and saw the biggest most amazing palm trees on special for $21.99. I had to buy one, even thought I felt there was a chance it was covered in COVID19, it still seemed like a great steal. I brought it home and now am even more astonished at how much space it takes up.
And finally, Favorite #5 goes to New Growth. We’ve all been tested and in some unusual ways lately. It’s brought the world together in myriad ways. It’s been so fascinating seeing the way people around the globe have been connecting with each other by sharing their own talents, activities or antics during this “Corona Season.” But here’s some other new growth that’s been fun to watch:
The ZZ Plant on the left is in our bedroom and it’s just been overtaken with these massively tall fresh green shoots that have been unfurling. Then, on the left is a Croton that I was absolutely was dead. I was talking to my brother’s girlfriend, Kristen, about it dying and she told me that Crotons are known as being fickle and that they come back. Sure enough, check out that new growth. Amazing. I’m so thankful I didn’t throw it away.
Well that’s it, folks! Girls will be coming out of nap time soon and hopefully we can all enjoy a fun & family-filled weekend #4 in confinement!
Joy to your World
Xoxox,
Lizounette
Re-Direction
A Tale of Loss & Growth
This past Wednesday was the Jewish holiday of Tu B’shevat. This day is a celebrate for the “Birthday of the Trees,” and is the specific day of the year that Jews celebrate and ideally plant trees. This year it occurred in February, but the date varies depending upon the Jewish Calendar. It so happened that in the same week of the celebration, Fred and I planted 4 new trees of our own in our yard.
I had a conversation with my friend Paige, a garden professional, about my pitiful fruit trees from last year. The fig, blueberry, raspberry plants that I had mail-ordered last year are the saddest examples I’ve ever seen. I asked her where I should get nice blueberries bushes and a good hardy fig tree to transplant into my yard, and she assured me that she could get me good plants and that now was the time to put them in the ground. P:aige brought me the trees on Friday, and this Saturday, Fred and I toiled in the yard, planting 4 beautiful new plants: 2 blueberry bushes, 1 fig tree, and 1 “Snowball” Viburnum bush.
I think my new Brown Turkey Fig Tree is the most lovely specimen ever. Compared with the twig of a fig I had before (thusly named “FigTwig,”) my new tree is magnificent. While planting my new tree, I actually accidentally stepped on the original “FigTwig” that I planted one year ago. It snapped to the ground, and when I pulled up little FigTwig’s broken single branch and compared it with the new plant, he was a pathetic thing not 1/10 the size of the new fig. I love the moss that covered him and how his arms seem to try to wrap up the sun in a loving embrace. He spindly nature offers an air of mystery and seem exotic to me.
The Snowball Viburnum was the largest plant we put it. It’s a lovely big bushy plant with large white “snowball” flowers, which look like the puffy flowers of a hydrangea. This bush is an excellent bush for chickens, as they adore to roost inside the bush on its their long horizontal branches.
The blueberries far exceed the plants I received through the mail-order catalogue. Currently, my blueberries from last year are probably about a8” high at this point. The plants Paige brought me were about 3 ft. and 4 ft. plants. One variety is “Premium,” the other wasn’t labeled. They need to be different types so they will cross pollinate and produce the fruit. We put them on the edge of an existing “natural area” in the yard. It’s my hope we can add bulbs and other shrubs to beautify these leaf ridden messes natural areas.
And all of these plantings were done amide the sad reality that it appears I have forever lost my engagement ring. I realized I couldn’t find it on Wednesday morning, and we’ve searched everywhere. It’s the most painful loss I think I’ve experienced – and that both humbles and shames me. I can’t really describe how it feels to lose such a sentimental treasure. Fred gave me the diamond ring when he asked me to be his wife, and he tried to wrap up his love for me in it’s token form, and to lose that token and physical reminder hurts the most. Also, realizing we’ve lost it’s tangible worth is difficult. It is humbling and wonderful though to realize that such materialistic things are fleeting; and these are not the things that life is about; we are safe, and well and surrounded by amazing and loving family and friends; a ring is nothing compared to these things. God Willing, we will it, and if not, it’s perfectly okay.
La Chandeleur: un histoire
La Chandeleur was yesterday. It’s a French holiday which translates to Candlemas. La Chandeleur has a few names, actually. This day is also known as “Groundhog’s Day” in American & Canada and also marked as both la Fête de la Lumière/Feast of Lights, and La jour des crêpes/Day of Crêpes. It is widely celebrated throughout la francophonie as THE day to eat crêpes. Once, it even marked the official start of the “crêpe season.”
This year, we fêted La Chandeleur at our house and my cousin taught me the tricks. And really, they truly aren’t difficult to make. I had tried when I lived in France, and even at home after, but I never had much success until my cousin showed me how. Turns out, it is very simple. Using stuff you probably already have, you can make fantastic crêpes at home. And one recipe will make about 20, so, like the French, you can keep a stash of crêpe in your house for a day, or two after this fun holiday.
Even without making crêpes, the history behind La Chandeleur is fascinating. It is always fêted on Feb. 2, a feast day in the Catholic calendar which commemorates the jewish ritual cleansing and purification of the Virgin Mary after having given birth and more importantly also marks the presentation of baby Jesus at the temple/to the world officially. So, this day also is celebrated as the “Fête de la Lumière” or The Feast of Lights, as Chris is the Light of the World. And that is where the crêpe comes in. The humble crêpe. The crêpe is yellow, hot and golden, like the sun, which therein reminds us of how Christ is the Light of the World. So, as this message is very important, it’s important to remember it. And thus the fun thing about the day is it is believed to ensure a lucky year, il faut manger des crêpes / one must eat crêpes!
Really? Truth be told, a lot of French folks don’t recall why they eat crêpe on Feb. 2 each year. Because not only do you eat crêpes (and therefore drink low-alcohol, very drinkable cidre) but it’s also a day of predictions (and sometimes games). La Chandeleur is also in fact the basis for the secular American “Groundhog’s day” which is also a day to make predictions about the coming year.
Historically though, the crêpe season season (as all food was seasonal during these times) would go on until Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday, when just before lent everyone would gobble up their remaining crêpe before fasting. Therein, the source of the tradition of eating pancakes on Fat Tuesday, as crêpes are often referred to as “French pancakes.”)
So, to make the crêpes you just have to call out the big guns: patience and those fingertips. The crêpe batter is the easiest thing in the world (thanks, Alton). The trick is to quickly rotate the pan to cover it evenly (a hole or two will not ruin it), ideally a full shot glass used on a ~10” nonstick surface. Then, wait. Once it begins to curl (you can aid it by nudging the edges with a spatula), slide your spatula under to loosen it and then get in there and just flip it over by holding on with your fingertips.
In France, they also have cute sayings for La Chandeleur that rhyme. These rhymes draw a clear reference to the secular American holiday of Groundhog’s day.
They are also fun to say. Try them out:
Rosée à la Chandeleur, hiver à sa dernière heure / Dew on Candlemas, winter at its final hour
À la Chandeleur, l’hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur / On Candlemas, winter ends or strengthens
À la Chandeleur, le jour croît de deux heures / On Candlemas, the day grows by two hours
Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte / Candlemas covered (in snow), forty days lost
We are in the Mulch
I’m in love with my mulch. F. and I harvested our compost recently, and I was astonished at how well it turned out. From the outside of the bin, it seemed to be stratified and not decomposing into a happy wormy compost-dreamland. But, as the Lord does amaze, my mulch astonished me.
North Carolina has been enjoying a very temperate fall. These past few December days have seen highs into the 70s. We benefited by the nice temperatures and pulled out all the contents of the compost bin on to large tarp, tossed it around, and covered it up with the sides of the tarp and let it cure for two weeks. Finally, we brought the finished product out to mulch our front garden bed.
So dark. So moist. So dreamy. It’s amazing that 6 months of coffee grounds, paper towels, chicken shavings and miscellaneous vegetables peels would result in a finely aerated topsoil. I am already looking forward to Spring.
Go Green with your Chicken Stock
Buying chicken stock at the grocery store can be expensive. Sold in many forms, as a concentrated paste or in cubes or cans. It’s an oft called for ingredient that both takes a chunk out of your dollar and causes a lot of waste in the environment if you prefer liquid broth which comes with wasteful cans or cartons. My method is an environmentally friendly way of creating your own chicken stock from items you obtain naturally in your kitchen.
If you cook, you may frequently have left over bones from roasting meats. I suggest that you look upon these bones with purpose. They can help form the basis for many future meals! They will provide great flavor and save you money, too. If you roast a chicken every month and use the carcass for making stock, you will always have free stock (unless you make soup everyday). It also makes the house smell lovely.
Just add your bones in your biggest pot and add some halved onions (even leave the peels on them!) maybe throw in a carrot or some celery and toss it all in the pot, and fill the pot up with water. Add 1 tsp per quart of salt, a couple bay leaves, and about 8 peppercorns. Let the pot simmer for a few hours. Drain, and allow to cool for a couple hours before transferring into Tupperware and into the freezer.
You’ll be set with free chicken broth in your freezer ready to defrost in the microwave and add to your dish. You can even freeze the broth in muffin tins or ice cube trays for miniature portions when you just need so much. Do you make your chicken stock at home, yet?
North Carolina Asian Peanut Noodles
I grew up in North Carolina and feel blessed to call it my home now. The land is forested and beautiful. Our year is marked by four distinct seasons. And our summers are hot and humid with a great growing season. Tobacco, soy beans, squash, tomatoes, and peanuts all thrive. And the humble peanut is one of my favorite fresh ingredients.
In North Carolina, and other places through the south raw green peanuts are harvested and oiled by the bushel in salted water for hours. Their skins get soft and brown, and your fingers slip easy into them to uncase the soft nuts. I have always been given my boiled peanuts, by my grandmother who would always freeze them in Ziploc bags after their initial boiling. To reheat, you just boil the frozen peanuts for 1o minutes.
The recipe I was following for Chicken Peanut Chow Mein called for dry roasted peanuts. I didn’t have any in my pantry. Nor did I have (a preference to use) the oyster sauce and sesame oils listed. In both cases I substituted what I had in my pantry and prefered, and I rather liked my version very much. I daresay it’s even better with it’s North Carolina peanuts. They were like soft salty gems among the hardy chicken, slick noodles and crunchy vegetables. Best of all, it’s thrown together in 30 minutes if you have everything on hand.
North Carolina Asian Peanut Noodles
- 1 frozen bag of boiled North Carolina peanuts
- 1 cup carrots, matchsticks
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 6 oz chow mein noodles
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp anchovies paste
- 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 can mushrooms sliced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 cup green onion chopped
- Boil frozen boiled peanuts in water for 10 minutes.Then, shell the peanuts and set aside.
- Meanwhile, slice the chicken thighs thinly. Then, sauté them with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce until the meat is nicely colored and completely cooked.
- Remove the chicken, and to the drippings add the ginger and mushrooms and sauté them. In a cup, add the vinegar, anchovy paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and broth. Add the sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Add the peanuts and cooked chicken and keep on low while the noodles boil.
- In boiling water, add the noodles, carrots and snow peas. Bring back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Drain.
- Put the noodles back in the pot and add the sauce. Toss to coat. Add the scallions on top and serve.
Lizounette 