JUst to see you smile...

Hope this brings a smile to your face today. How could it not?

He is amazing.

Halloween and Prom

The annual Halloween party at the Rikard/Buckalew house was last night. Justin and I went after "Prom." It was a blast! Enjoy some pics:

Traditional 1970's Prom pictures with the fake plant and everything!

Sarah (I mean, Wilma) and I

Justin and I with our cousin Erin aka Princess Fiona

With Zach and Sarah - I made their costumes!

No picture is complete without a member of Motley Crue (Michael)!

Justin, Jesse (Beetle Juice), Wes (Milk Carton with a missing child on it - his face was the missing child picture before he took it off), and James (oh James...there is NO ONE like him!!!)

New Orleans Shrimp and Grits

So I felt froggy tonight and decided to make something new for dinner (we didn't have small group tonight - normally there is no time to cook on Sunday evenings). I got the recipe from my MIL's Women's Day magazine (October issue). It was FANTASTIC!

The weather was AMAZING this evening (it actually felt like fall) so we ate out on the balcony. We had candles and everything! Ok - everyone together now -- Awww. Thank you.

Here's a close up:

And here's the recipe:

New Orleans Shrimp 'n' Grits (modified)

CREAMY GRITS:

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups water

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup grits

SHRIMP:

1 Tbsp oil

1 red pepper, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion (I used vidalia), chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 lb peeled large shrimp

3/4 tsp each Old Bay seasoning and Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning

1 can sliced tomatoes, drained (or fresh plum tomatoes)

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

1) GRITS: Bring milk, water, garlic and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Whisk in grits, cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until smooth and thickened.

2) SHRIMP: Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute red and green peppers, onion, and garlic. Add shrimp and Old Bay and cajun seasonings; cook two minutes. Add tomatoes; cook until shrimp are just cooked through, about 1 minute.

3) Remove grits from heat; sprinkle cheese on grits. Serve shrimp and veggies over grits.

*I mis-read the recipe (it's amazing that I even looked at the recipe - - I have a bad habit of straying) and added a whole TABLESPOON each of Old Bay and Cajun seasonings. I was terrified that it was going to be too salty, but it was still wonderful! In the future I will cut back on the seasonings a bit (to be able to taste individual flavors a little better) but I don't know that I would cut back to 3/4 a TEASPOON - in my opinion you wouldn't even taste it with that little seasoning. Also - I completely forgot about the tomatoes and left them out . It tasted great anyway - but next time I'll be sure to remember those.=)

** I bought pre-cooked shrimp with the tails still attached. Pre-cooked was the way to go, but next time I will remove the tails before cooking and serving them. It would have been nice to just eat without worrying about biting off the tails!

In the words of Sid the sloth - "BON APPETIT!"

Where to find Moonpie Designs stuff

Several people have left comments and/or emailed me asking where they can buy Moonpie Designs stuff - that makes me giddy!=) Right now all production is for a show I am having here in Conyers in November. After the show I will post what is left on Etsy which is like ebay but for handmade crafts (and WAY better than ebay!). Once the Etsy shop is open I will constantly be putting new things in the shop so be sure to check it out often (in fact, just go ahead and make it your homepage!!=P). I'll give the link to my Etsy shop after The Show.

Please be praying for me the next couple of weeks as The Show draws closer -- there is much to do and only me to do it!

Thanks for the interest! You guys ROCK my socks!

Rare, but beautiful, moments

Both kids that I nanny were out of school last Friday for Fall Break and I busted out the ol' camera to entertain myself while they were playing in the backyard. Because they are 6 and 3 they fuss with each other (okay - maybe it's because they are SIBLINGS!) a lot but in a rare moment of tenderness I captured this pic:

Please ignore the stupid timestamp - I forgot to turn it off (Thanks Zach for teaching me how!) before I took them.

Moments earlier this is what I was photographing:

Gracie walked away during his "magic trick" (hiding one pipe inside the other). In her defense, we had both already watched him do it AT LEAST 10 times so I can't really blame her! It cracks me up that literally moments after this I was able to capture their little hug from the top picture. Kids!

Blankets!

I made these little quilted blankets last week and they are quickly becoming my favorite things! The pattern came from Bend the Rules Sewing (very helpful and full of wonderful ideas for both beginners and pros!) and you can find it here.

Do you recognize the Dick and Jane fabric from a previous post? I finally decided what to do with it! I think it was a good choice.

Part Tres...

I also made this bib. I found this fabric at JoAnn's the other day and had to have it! I think it is adorable and perfect for a bib and burp cloth (burp cloth is coming soon).

Accomplishments Part Dos...

I made six Christmas potholders this morning. 3 pairs. I like them. What do you think?

I think this one is my favorite.=)

The accomplishments of a day off...

Today has been wonderful. No 20 minute drive to my nanny job at 6:40 in the morning, no kids (though I love them, a break is often necessary), and tons of sewing made it wonderful. I even got to take a bath and I might just take another one before I have to go to bed (around 9:30pm - I know. I'm old now.).=) Oh yeah - and I watched three of my favorite movies while sewing.

1) Under The Tuscan Sun
2) Return To Me
3) The Family Stone

All three make me happy. There are many more movies that make me happy too - those three just seem to be consistently in the Top 10-20.

Hoping for a response...

Does anyone know how to make a Kodak EasyShare C875 camera NOT put the date at the bottom of every picture? It kinda ruins a great shot.

Ramblings

There's Ritzy Chicken cooking in my oven and this makes me miss my brother. He is wonderful and I hate that we are so far away from each other. I took this while we were all fishin' on Labor Day. That, my friends, is a bait snatcher. Too bad I don't have a picture of the 35 white perch they caught that morning!

Notice the reflection in his glasses - that's Justin on the other end of the boat. I think it is cool.