Project 365

I started January all motivated, but I've been in a funk for the last week or so. Nothing major is wrong, just little things. I haven't been feeling great, so I've just been tired. And I'm having software issues, which has been time consuming and frustrating. And the weather has been awful, cold, windy, and rainy, keeping me cooped up indoors.
Here are some photos from the last week, even though I didn't take one everyday. I guess looking at these should remind me that even when I'm feeling down there are moments of beauty.

6/365: Heart plant pot cozy

8/365: Heart pillow. Ok so I'm going a little crazy with the Valentines decorations. I think I'm overcompensating for not decorating much for Christmas this year. Some of the buttons are vintage, from my grandmother's button jar.

9/365: View of the marsh at Back Bay NWR

12/365: Linzer Tarts. I was pretty sure these cookies would be a disaster. My blender died in the middle of making them, I didn't use enough butter and had to add another half cup at the end of mixing the dough, I didn't have cinnamon so instead used apple pie spice, and the dough was very crumbly and hard to work with. But they taste great, so it was worth it.


And here is a great post I found this week
Be thankful: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/26/132263637/perfect-thank-you-notes-heartfelt-and-handwritten?sc=tw&cc=share

365

25/365: Another attempt at latte art, an improvement from my first attempt

26/365: Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies, the recipe is here.

27/365: A beautiful sky we saw while walking on the beach

28/365: Red winterberies against a blue sky in the Norfolk Botanical Garden

29/365: I can't show you my photos from this day quite yet, but I have a great project to share soon.
30/365: No photo for today. We got a real snow storm (the first since I've lived here) and I spent the day hibernating)
31/365: Snow on the dunes. I was all excited to take pictures of the snowy beach, but it had all melted by the time we went for our walk.

Super Easy, 1 pot Rice and Beans

Lately I've seen many recipes for dinners that cost $10 and under, so I thought I would share one of my favorites, Rice and Beans. Its cheap, easy, and yummy, with very little clean up.

1 box Zatarin's Jambalya
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
crushed garlic
olive oil
1/2 small red onion
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 red pepper, diced
salsa
Sour Cream
Grated Cheddar Cheese

Cook rice according to instructions on box. Put aside in a serving bowl.
Saute garlic in olive oil, adding onion, carrot, celery, and red pepper. Saute until everything is just cooked. Add salsa, black beans, and rice to pan, as well as a little bit of water and cook until everything is hot.
Serve in bowls with sour cream and shredded cheddar on top.

This will serve 3 people, and has at least a full serving of vegetables and protein.
To make it cheaper you could cook brown rice bought in bulk and add your own seasonings, or substitute a can of diced tomatoes flavored with chilies for the salsa. To make it healthier use light cheese and sour cream, and add more veggies, like whatever is in your refrigerator.
Also, if you live with someone (like my boyfriend) who believes dinner should have meat you can use a spicy sausage instead of beans, just make sure its cooked.

My Weekend

Yesterday was my boyfriend's birthday, so I made him cupcakes. Normally I make cupcakes from scratch, but I decided to splurge on some Sprinkles cupcake mix from Williams Sonoma. It was delicious.

We also went for a very nice walk with our dogs at Kiptopeke State Park. It was a beautiful day, 80 degrees, and the park was surprisingly empty. We did have some excitement though; we briefly lost Chewie when he went off chasing something. But I got him back in only about 5 minutes. Then we had our picnic lunch. It was a wonderful afternoon. I didn't take any photos yesterday, sometimes I just enjoy walking and being in the moment, but if you're interested you can check out this set from past trips on my flickr.

These are just some little flowers on our lawn right now. They are only about a 1/2" across and grow in patches all over the yard. Seeing them makes me happy.
We are in a very nice patch of weather right now, so I've made jar of sun tea, one of my favorite warm weather drinks. Now I just need to wait a few more hours to drink it. To make your own put one large, or several small teabags in a jar, add a few scoops of sugar, some mint leaves, and fill with water. Cover securely (or the smell of sugar will attract ants) and place in a sunny spot for at least 3 hours.

I've updated my list of favorite blogs, so be sure and check them out!

BUGS!!

We already have flowers coming out here in Virginia, so in celebration of spring I made these cookies, with store bought cookie mix and lemon frosting. They make me happy.

Halloween Treat

A few mornings ago I was having a really bad day, and I was lucky enough to recieve a package in the mail from my parents which contained a few issues of National Geographic (my favorite magazine) and a halloween treat: ORANGE BROWNIES!!

And as you can see they really are orange. I wonder how brownies can be any color other than brown? Although I must admit, I don't understand how red velvet cake is red, but still chocolate either. Now I just have to wait until tonight to eat them.