The Bunny-tini

Y’all know how I love my cocktails.  This one was so divine last year that it made a reappearance for Easter 2012 and was deserving enough for mention in countless other posts.  Pin this one for next year cause it’s a keeper…



The Bunny-tini
3 1/2 cups Simply Raspberry Lemonade
3/4 cup coconut rum (Malibu)
5/8 cup amaretto
Simply mix, pour and embellish with a bunny Peep (cut a slit in the bottom of the Peep and the marshmallow inside will help stick it to your glass.)


And fill up the little’s glasses with straight up raspberry lemonade.  Which is incredibly delish in it’s own right.

Sister did in fact break her foot and is now sporting an air cast on from knee to toes.  It's quite the fashion conundrum, that thing.  Some are blaming the episode on the Bunny-tinis so please consume with caution :-)

Mother, the baby and I are headed to lunch with the PCP and will be making an appearance as Mystery Reader for his class.    Since he has visitors coming, the PCP is pleased as punch to be buying his lunch.  And luckily, sassy little E in his class let him know that only the vegetarian salad is a good choice seeing as it's slime free.  A little nugget I'm glad to know as I embark on the always interesting school cafeteria adventure...
xoxo

A Dixie Delights Easter:

Spring Décor

Egg-cellent Lunch

Peeps Party - Cake, Cocktail and Favor

Treat for Our Peeps Free Printable

Lent for the Littles

Easter 2011

Peep Pops

Easter 2012
Easter Tablescape
Bunny Bottom Breakfast
Resurrection Eggs

Peep Pops {Free Printable}

I know, I know…Peeps.  AGAIN!  I just can’t get enough of their marshmallowy goodness and all around adorbleness (yes, I just invented two words there.)  We’ll be having a basket full of Peep Pops for our egg hunting extravaganza tomorrow afternoon.  And you know I’ll be bringing back the bunny-tinis.  A girl needs her cocktails, after all.


The only thing better than having our very own basket of Peep Pops is having a few to share with our besties.  Wrap them up in a cello bag, tie on my free printable tag (below) and voila…Peep Pops for your favorite peeps!  I mean, who wouldn’t love puffed sugar rolled in sugar dipped in sugar and, finally, sprinkled with sugar?!?!


To whip up your own Peep Pops in no time at all, simply melt white chocolate candy melts (Michael’s or any craft store) per the package instructions, roll your Peeps around in the chocolate and embellish with sprinkles.
Happy Easter gift tags
Happy Easter, y’all!
xoxo

A Dixie Delights Easter:

Spring Décor

Egg-cellent Lunch

Peeps Party - Cake, Cocktail and Favor

Treat for Our Peeps Free Printable

Lent for the Littles

Easter 2011
Easter Tablescape
Easter 2012
Peep Pops

Sunday Supper

I super puffy heart love some California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza.  Yummmmmy!  So, for Sunday Supper this week we went totally casual and dined on our own at home take of the pizza parlor favorite.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
pizza dough (I use whole wheat dough from Publix bakery.)
8-oz. of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 of a small red onion, diced finely
shredded chicken (I picked up a rotisserie from the Publix deli.)
fresh cilantro
bbq sauce

- spread your dough out per the package instructions
- top with cheese, chicken and onion
- drizzle with bbq sauce
- bake according to package directions (mine was 400 for about 20 minutes)
- top with cilantro
- enjoy

And the best part of all? Our no muss, no fuss supper left us with loads of time for bike riding!!  The baby got John’s old bike with the training wheels re-attached and John is the proud new owner of a larger, “cooler” Razor Kobra bike (that Honey went to the ends of Atlanta find…I kid you not.)




xoxo

Peeps Palooza

I mentioned earlier this month that I’ve had Peeps on my mind.  I figure the prevailing spring time confection is worthy of another flashback, and just might be of interest to those of you already making plans for Easter.

While the littles hunted eggs last year, the grown-ups relished in desert on the deck.  Sister embellished our favorite Fresh Market white chocolate cake with Peeps and yellow gumballs in no time at all.  *swoon*

And we whet our whistles with delicious Bunny-tinis.  Y’all know how we adore our cocktails.  Simply mix a 1.75 L bottle of Simply Raspberry Lemonade with 1 3/4 c. Malibu Rum and 1 c. amaretto.  Cut a slit in the bottom of your peep and perch on the side of your martini glass.  The littles whet their whistles on straight up raspberry lemonade.

Just in case you missed our Peeps printable, check here!

It’s a regular Peeps palooza around these parts!
xoxo

A Dixie Delights Easter:

Peep Pops Recipe + Free Printable

Spring Décor

Egg-cellent Lunch

Peeps Party - Cake, Cocktail and Favor

Treat for Our Peeps Free Printable

Lent for the Littles

Easter 2011

Flattered for the features at Shine On Fridays, Kitchen Fun, At the Picket Fence, Bacon Time and Southern Lovely!

Find me at: Dear Lillie

Lucky Leprechaun Breakfast

This morning the littles awoke to an Under the Rainbow Lucky Leprechaun Breakfast hosted by our leprechaun friend Sham!  The littles were plum giddy with excitement.  I mean, they could hardly believe that our holiday elf Scout’s best leprechaun friend Sham came all the way here from Ireland on his busiest day of the year.  (Did you follow that?)   And, just like Scout did for our Snowflake Breakfast in December, Sham worked his little fingers to the bone planning this St. Patrick’s Day surprise full of pint sized eats.



We dined on rainbow milk, mini green biscuits, teeny flapjack stacks, small cups of yogurt and granola, tiny pots of green grits and rainbow fruit kebobs.







The best part of all is that I spent a total of $5 on the table décor, using napkins left over from last year and serving pieces and decorative items left over from other parties!

• I made four tissue poms for the large rainbow and wired them to a coat hanger bent into an arc.  I used two packs of rainbow tissue paper from the Dollar Tree and the same method I used for my Champagne and Cupcakes party poms.
• The clouds at the ends of the rainbow were faux snow reused from our Snowflake Breakfast.
• Leprechaun moustache straws from Target.  Plate also from Target but purchased last year.
• I use the chalkboard all.the.time.  See how I made it here.
• Green pinwheel reused from our Lemon Aid Stand.
• Lucky to have you as my friend printable and oreo instructions here.
• Sham is really Scout dressed up in new green felt digs.  Shhh…don’t tell the littles!

And since I’ve yet to share my front door décor and it will be coming down tomorrow, here’s our festive welcome.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, y’all!
xoxo

PS. I was blown away by your response to my prayer request yesterday.  Your willingness to open your hearts and prayers to two girls you've never met really means the world to me.

Lucky to Have You Printable Tag

Shamrock Hot Chocolate

Beef and Guinness Stew
Lucky Lunch

St. Patrick’s Eve Entertaining

We wrapped up a gorgeous Southern Saturday with a super impromptu gathering of neighbors for corned beef sandwiches.  At five p.m. we had plans for one couple to come down, I ran to the grocery store at six and by seven there were seventeen of us.  It’s one of the things I love love love most about our neighborhood!!

We sipped on the delish and refreshing Southern Living cocktail of the month – The Dogwood.  For each drink, shake over ice 1/4 c. white grapefruit juice, 3 T. vodka and 1T. St. Germain.  Garnsih with a rosemary sprig and lemon wheel.



We sat out on the porch for hours catching up, listening to music and snacking.





But it was definitely the grilled corned beef bar that stole the show!  Honey grilled up corned beef and swiss, traditional reubens, and corned beef and cheddar with guinness caramelized onions. 

 
And dessert was the creme de menthe brownies that make exactly one time a year.  Find the recipe here – they are pretty much life changing.  I wasn’t expecting a crowd when I made these earlier in the day and I’m more than a little sad that I only have one left.  This might be a red letter year as I’m already considering making them again :-)


The littles wished for Liam the good leprechaun to visit again this morning and, as luck would have it, visit he did!  This time bearing green candy sticks.

  
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Eve, y’all!
xoxo

Beef and Guinness Stew

Earlier this week we dined on a delish supper of Beef and Guinness Stew and Brown Soda Bread.  Unlike last year, I got super lazy and decided to forego the browning of the beef, cooking of the onions, and hours of stirring and simmering and for just throwing it all in the crock pot and calling it a day!  And guess what?!?!  All that extra work wasn't worth a hill of beans.  It was just as fab as it ever was!


Beef and Guinness Stew
If you decide to make the crock pot version, omit the oil and flour and just put everything else in the crock pot.  I also left out the parsnip because I couldn’t find it in the grocery store.  (What does parsnip look like anyway??)

• 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
  
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  
• 5 cups chopped onion (about 3 onions)
  
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  
• 4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
  
• 1 bottle Guinness Stout
  
• 1 tablespoon raisins
  
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
  
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices carrot (about 8 ounces)
  
• 1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices parsnip (about 8 ounces)
  
• 1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled turnip (about 8 ounces)
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt; dredge beef in flour. Add half of beef to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and beef.

2. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return meat to pan. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, raisins, caraway seeds, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot, parsnip, and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.   Since I shared a pic of the baby yesterday, I thought I’d share the PCP’s Kindergarten class picture today.  He’s far left in the middle row in the blue shirt.  This is sure to be rehearsal dinner material one day… Thanks to besties C, S and F for a fantastic birthday dinner at Ceviche - complete with gossip, laughs, loads of queso and the best margaritas around!!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a Lucky Lunch!
xoxo

Lucky to Have You Printable Tag
Shamrock Hot Chocolate

Lucky Leprechaun Breakfast 

Lucky Lunch

Shamrock Hot Chocolate + Snack

This easy peasy little treat falls under the category of teaching an old dog new tricks.  Recall back at Valentine’s Day when we made a same ‘cept different variety. 

Yesterday, I served up Shamrock Hot Chocolate along side a cup of Lucky Charms (or Magic Stars as the Publix brand is called) for a sweet after school treat.  So what that it was seventy something degrees outside and our pearly whites had just been professionally cleaned at a remarkably uneventful trip to the dentist :-). 

Simply thaw a tub of Cool Whip, stir in food coloring to tint, spread in a parchment lined pan, refreeze and then use a cookie cutter to make festive shapes.  This time I used Lite Cool Whip and it just didn’t refreeze as well as the regular stuff.  Look here for all the gory details.  I rimmed the mugs with green tinted sugar left over from Mardi Gras and topped the whole thing off with a green straw (because straws make everything more fun to drink.)

I’ll leave you with a picture of the baby…lord knows where this child gets his sense of fashion.  While the skeleton pjs, batting glove and pirate patch are all quite…um…remarkable, it’s definitely brother’s undies on his head that makes the ensemble.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, y’all!
xoxo

Flattered for the feature at The 36th Avenue!

Beef and Guinness Stew

Lucky to Have You Printable Tag
Lucky Lunch
Lucky Leprechaun Breakfast  

Lucky to Have You… {Printable}

Here’s a last minute treat that you can whip up in no time at all before St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday!

We rolled Oreo Cakesters in green sprinkles, bagged them and dressed them up with “lucky to have you for a friend” toppers.  Seriously people, this is a no bake, no fail treat that’s just as cute as a button.

The littles’ teachers will be receiving a decadent crème de menthe brownie wrapped with a “lucky to have you for a teacher” tag.  This is hands down, without a doubt, absolutely positively my all time favorite dessert recipe, courtesy of bestie C’s sweet mother.  It has a gazillion ingredients and takes a couple of hours to make but trust me when I say that they are decadent.  You will swoon from deliciousness.



Creme de Menthe Brownies
Brownie layer:
½ cup butter , softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 (16 ounce) can chocolate syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
 
Mint layer:
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons creme de menthe liquor
 
Chocolate layer:
6 ounces chocolate chips
¼ cup butter
 
Directions:
1. Cream butter, add sugar; beat until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beat well after each addition.  Add remaining brownie ingredients and mix well.  Pour into greased 13x9 baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, cool completely.
2. Cream 1/4 cup butter in small bowl.  Gradually add powdered sugar and creme de menthe, mix well.  Spread over cooled brownies.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3.  Combine chocolate chips and butter in small pan.  Slowly melt on low heat, stirring until smooth.  Spread over brownies.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4.  Cut into squares and enjoy.
 
Here’s a link to the free downloadable file.  As a topper, they are sized to fit on a 3” wide bag.  Or, just cut, fold and tie on to any sized treat!
Lucky to have you...
So download the tags, print, package and prepare to make someone’s day!
xoxo

Shamrock Hot Chocolate

Beef and Guinness Stew
Lucky Lunch
Lucky Leprechaun Breakfast 

Flattered for the features at Tip Junkie and The 36th Avenue!

Spring is in the air.....at least in my house!

Last day to be eligible to win the beautiful silver tray for my one year celebration! Click here to visit that post for details...winner to be chosen tomorrow!

OK yes after a ridiculous amount of snow this season we have finally been having some milder days! At last we are hitting the 50's...and it feels positively balmy out there! No complaints form me, when I see the temps creeping up and the sun blazing, I am a really happy girl. However I am not so naive as to think its over...we have been known to get one last blast of winter when our guard is down, so I am not discounting even more snow or frigid temps.

 However just because I can't control what goes on outside doesn't mean I can't let things feel "spring-y" indoors and that is exactly what I am doing! I went to my favorite nursery and filled my cart to the brim with the prettiest array of spring flowers that I could find and came home and had fun filling all my containers with them. Then I got really ambitious and took on a little do it yourself project and from afar they look pretty darn good....blue and white Easter eggs! So here's what I have been up to.....

It all started with this  innocent darling basket of spring beauty that a friend who stopped over dropped off....

 And soon my "spring flower bug" bit and off to the nursery I went.......

And then I got busy choosing various containers for all the flowers......

 Love the way the pale pink hydrangeas look in the blue and whites...so fresh!

 Added these beautiful double ball topiaires to my black tole planters

 

And these pretty white azalea topiaries in my blue and whites

Isn't this planter a beauty? Brand new style soon to be listed in my shop...just got it in!

 More topiaries looking for a place other than my breakfast room table..I SOOO NEED a  greenhouse!

These are tall about 3 feet so need a special place.........

Gardenias  require a  lot of sun so hoping their new spot will get them blooming again!

 Beautiful pink hydrangeas fill my oversized blue and white bowl

 Love this pair near my sink....they just make me happy

 

I did not forget about my powder room, here a pretty pink hydrangea plant graces my newest silver planter

And finally I am not exactly a "do it yourselfer" but every now and then I do enjoy trying to tackle a project here and there.....so I tried my hand at making blue and white Easter eggs, they came out very pretty, as long as you don't look too close!

 I cut napkins into mini triangles, got some mod podge with a paint brush and started pasting them on, a final coating all over the egg seals the deal, let them dry for about an hour and you are set!

And then when dry I put some in my small William Yeoward dish and some in my spring flower arrangemtnets...

And when added to my flower arrangements, they were the perfect touch of spring!

And I was experimenting for a small spring lunch I might be hosting....think this is a neat idea. I put waterwith some baby spinach leaves a few fresh flowers (or whatever you have in the house) in a square container and froze it, I ended up with a "frozen plate" on which to put my salad....isn't that a neat idea? I will use a round mold for this next time, as I think it will sit better on the plate. I think it would be beautiful for shrimp cocktail or some kind of seafood appetizer.....

So....has the spring bug bit you yet? I have to say though I actually like winter, this year I have had more than my fill! I really love the idea of flowers blooming, crave the smell of fresh cut green grass and cannot wait to fling open the windows while belting out a spring-y tune (OK for my kids sake, I will not do the last thing) but you get what I am saying.....I am ready for spring to arrive! Enjoy your day.........