Spray Paint Cans

Last summer I painted some soup cans and planted wildflowers in them to add some color to our backyard. All I had at the time was regular craft paint so as time pasted the color began to fade. They looked nice and lasted most of the summer but this year I wanted to make more using different colors.

Last year's pained flower cans

This year I used spray paint on the same cans and they turned out great. 

I can move them around to chase the sun or use them as a centerpiece.

Finished Cans With Flowers On Fence

Easter Eggs

Garden DIY

 This last few days I've been spray painting cans to use as planters. Green and Blue are going to be the main outdoor colors with a little orange as well. I can't wait to hang them in the back yard with spring flowers!

Mozzarella and Pesto Strata

We have been talking about eating less meat. We already try to do our Meatless Mondays but lately I have been looking for more tasty veggie recipes. This was my first Strata but it came out great. I added green onions and roasted my own green pepper. We had Basil Pesto leftover from Trader Joe's but as soon as my garden is going then I'd like to try to make that from scratch as well. You can really change the ingredients in this recipe to your tastes. I think I'll use sourdough bread next time and I'm thinking some grilled portobello mushrooms might be good.

Mozzarella and Pesto Strata

French Bread (sliced into ¾ inch slices)

Basil Pesto (about ½ cup)

Sliced Ripe Olives (1/2 cup, I used black)

Roasted Bell Peppers (12 oz. jar drained and sliced or one pepper oven roasted)

Mozzarella Cheese (2 cups)

Large Eggs (about 8)

Milk (about 2 cups)

Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.                  Spray 9x13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread one side of each bread slice with Basil Pesto.  Arrange bread, pesto sides up, in bottom of baking dish, cutting slices to fit if necessary.  Sprinkle with olives, bell peppers and mozzarella cheese.

2.                  In medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper with a fork or wire whisk until well blinded. Pour evenly over cheese in dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but not longer than 24 hours.

3.                  Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake uncovered 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes clean and top is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.  

Back Yard (in progress)

Last summer we build raised garden beds in our small backyard. In them we grew strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and lettuce. 

 We are always looking for ways to use what we have and we have a lot of glass bottles, so we put them upside down between the beds. They act as a decorative trim and add different texture. These pictures were taken to be some of the before shots because of all the things we have planed for the yard this summer.

Indian Food

My Honey made me Indian food for dinner. It was Naan bread, Couscous, and Masala Chicken. So Good!

Happy Valentine's Day

Planter From Trash

I'm always looking for ways to not throw anything away. I also love to have things growing in my window year round but that means smaller planters that will fit on the narrow ledge. I was going to use this covered shampoo bottle as a vase but decided on a planter instead.

After cutting off the top I gave it a good wash. I covered it in contact paper and poked drainage holes in the bottom. After planting I'm glad I left the bottle tall so it gets more sun in the window.

It looks cute in the window with a little dinosaur for charm.

Eggs

Why wait for Easter when you can color eggs all year round? When we have hard boiled eggs we usually turn them into eatable arts and craft treats with vinegar and food coloring.
I made this one in honor of Valentine's Day.

Then snack on Deviled Eggs with Homemade Pickles... 

To end this very egg-filled week I made my very first Quiche Lorraine!

On The Menu

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers and Homemade Fries - Yum. . . .

Before and After

I found these shorts in my fabric pile. They had stains so I cut them up and made a decoration for an upcoming  birthday.

Don't Open / Dead Inside

This was my Halloween pumpkin for this year. In honor of The Walking Dead.

Walking Dead - Say The Word 3:05

Say the Word

After the last episode I was hoping for a pallet cleanser to get Lori’s death speech out of my mind. We open this one with Woodbury and people enjoying festivities. Cold drinks are just another thing we take for granted in out pre-apocalyptic world. It brings me back to the hot shower scenes that book ended the first season. (Episode one with Rick and Morgan in the police station and Episode six at the CDC) Milton says to Andrea that “Mere word can not antiquely describe the festivities ahead”. This I find interesting that he clearly does not approve, nor does he think it’s a good use of the generators for ice and he voices his feelings to Andrea. He is really a complex character that we are clearly not supposed to like very much. His experiment is something of great curiosity and I think it has something to do with his tea that they mention several times just in case we the audience didn't pick up on it as important.  Something that keeps nagging my brain is when the Gov and his crew were bringing Andrea and Michone back to Woodbury he radioed ahead to Milton telling him that he’s bringing him “homework” that turned out to be the pet walkers. When the Gov says he’s also bringing back women Milton’s voice was just a little too excited to me. At first I thought that the Gov just wanted women to repopulate then it occurred to me that it’s possible that he thinks they are less of a threat and that’s why he killed all the army dudes without even giving them a chance to become part of his little town. It’s Milton’s excitement that makes me think that possibly he’s using women in his experiment. Maybe using stem cells to search for a cure?

I had a very strong feeling that we were going to run into the Governors’ undead daughter some time this season based on the picture we've seen and his wall of creepy heads in tanks. He seems like the kind of guy to have many more secretes for us to discover.

It’s no surprise that Daryl became the group’s leader when Rick takes his little trip to crazy town. He’s been Rick’s second in command now that Shane is out of the picture and you can really tell that he’s invested in these people. His friendship with Carol wasn't the only thing keeping him with the group. The way he holds the baby and feeds her showed a softer side to him and he’s definitely in the lead as far as my favorite character award. He’s able to be a bad ass without looking like a dumb hick (yes, I’m talking about you Meryl) and his character is by far the most interesting.  When he and Maggie go to the daycare center I had to watch between my fingers with my hands over my eyes. I didn't really want to see any walker kids or babies. Other than Sophia, Penny and the little girl in the opening shot of the series we haven’t had to see much of that. Daryl isn't the only one that was happy to see that possum in the cupboard.

When the Gov tells Andrea that Michone killed captive biters and she asks why he has them in the first place, he says that he’s not going to get into it but really all he had to say was, “ Didn't you guys have two on a leash when we found you?” That probably would have shut her up. When Michone and Andrea have their brake up scene the best part is when she stated that Andrea was only slowing her down. This hurts the most because it’s so true.

Walking Dead - The Killer Within 3:04

The Killer Within

This was a really powerful episode. I still haven’t been able to watch it twice. I like to review each episode before watching the next but this one was just too emotional. I knew we were going to loose people when the episode started with joy. Maggie and Glenn being together in the watch tower, Hershel walking around… it was too good to be true and this is a group that doesn't get happy, peaceful moments unless there is something horrible right around the corner. When Glenn says “Aww man, can’t we have just one good day?”  I just knew… then during Lori’s goodbye to Carl I just cried. I have a ten year old son and it just hit too close to home. What would I say if I were in her shoes?  I know a lot of the fans of the show didn't like Lori and so there wasn't much of a connection with her character but at that moment when she looks up and says “Goodnight Love” it was just so hard not to forgive her for the last two seasons.

Now that we know that Andrew wasn't eaten by walkers, it makes me think that Carol is still alive. It sets up the premise that if we don’t see you get bit and turn then you’re probably alive somewhere. Plus what a waste of a main character to take her out now and not show it. I was sad to see T-Dog leave the group but he didn't have much of a story line so I’m not surprised. So now we've lost two and gained two in Axle and Oscar. Axle wants to prove himself by using his mechanical skills but I have a feeling that Oscar is going to be the one the group values. The way he didn't beg for his life shows that the writers can give him a back story and hopefully more of a character arc than T-Dog got.

At the end when you see Rick break down it was so emotional and powerful and raw. The performances in this show are amazing. The kid playing Carl (Chandler I think his name is) has had some scenes that really show that he is just as good of an actor as the adults around him. I hope to see more of what he can do. 

Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Pepers