I started making changes tonight and the site was down for a while, and hope you stick with me while I go through this!
Many thanks,
SoxyLady
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| Photo Source |
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Updating Soxy's Diamond
Please bear with me as I start migrating my Blogspot blog to Wordpress.
I started making changes tonight and the site was down for a while, and hope you stick with me while I go through this!
Many thanks,
SoxyLady
I started making changes tonight and the site was down for a while, and hope you stick with me while I go through this!
Many thanks,
SoxyLady
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Top Ten Quotes from Pinterest This Week
Here are ten quotes from Pinterest that really resonated with me this week. It's amazing how so few words can help comfort you during a difficult time - or help you realize how truly lucky you are.
Over the past week I've dealt with a lot of internal struggles and sadness, but from that came reassurance that I 100% am the luckiest woman in the world to be married to SH. It's not that I didn't know it already, just sometimes it's easy to take for granted how good things in your life really are and how strong a bond you share with the one you love.
I linked up to the following parties today:
Over the past week I've dealt with a lot of internal struggles and sadness, but from that came reassurance that I 100% am the luckiest woman in the world to be married to SH. It's not that I didn't know it already, just sometimes it's easy to take for granted how good things in your life really are and how strong a bond you share with the one you love.
I linked up to the following parties today:
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
What I Want Wednesday
The last time I did a "What I Want" was in January and just days later I ended up buying one of my wishes, a Vitamix Blender.
I decided I shouldn't do those posts because my "wants" become more like "obsessions" and I'm just not strong enough.
But thanks to Pinterest (and of course, Etsy) my wants/obsessions have multiplied by 100.
I think it will be interesting to track patters of the things I want at certain periods of time to reflect on who I am at that moment.
Or I just want someone to tell me to go ahead and get all of the lovely things I want (and then if you want to buy them for me too, that would be great).
I want a bird necklace from Tyra Hand Made Jewelry
The first time I saw the necklace on the left I knew I wanted it. I sent it to SH and he was all for me placing the order. But before placing the order, I ventured through Tyra's Etsy shop and absolutely fell in love with the necklace on the right.
What to do?! They are both so adorable. I think I'm leaning towards the one on the right but haven't fully decided. I do need to figure it out quick before one (or both) disappears!
I want another necklace but this one is coral and turquoise.
I found the necklace on the left on Pinterest.
I.Want.It.
It is from an old Etsy listing and is no longer available. I did some searching and found a similar necklace (the one on the right) but it's not exactly the same and I don't love it nearly as much. I really like the silver and the double chain.
My hope is to find all the pieces and re-create the original on my own.
I want to redecorate a room in my house with one of my favorite color combinations.
Before you ask. Yes, that is a picture of a nursery. No, there is no reason I have to decorate a nursery I'm purely looking at the color combination. Good, now that we've gotten that out of the way.
I'm not afraid of color or using it in our house. We have a purple bathroom, a cranberry red dining room and a slate blue bathroom with lime green accents. The walls in my kitchen are yellow with a purple accent wall.
When we bought our house every.single.room was seafoam green. We needed to quickly decide on new paint colors so we could have everything repainted before we moved in. I love every single color we chose and am still happy with them all.
The thing I am not happy with is pulling together these rooms and having them decorated in manner that makes my house feel like a home.
In that aspect I sometimes wish I could repaint some rooms...and maybe at some point I will. But for now I need to scratch this color itch. I think I'm going to start with our 1/2 bath. Since the walls are already purple I could add some lime accents in there and make a change.
I feel a project coming up......
If your project was featured here, please grab the button below!
I linked up to the following parties today:
I decided I shouldn't do those posts because my "wants" become more like "obsessions" and I'm just not strong enough.
But thanks to Pinterest (and of course, Etsy) my wants/obsessions have multiplied by 100.
I think it will be interesting to track patters of the things I want at certain periods of time to reflect on who I am at that moment.
Or I just want someone to tell me to go ahead and get all of the lovely things I want (and then if you want to buy them for me too, that would be great).
I want a bird necklace from Tyra Hand Made Jewelry
The first time I saw the necklace on the left I knew I wanted it. I sent it to SH and he was all for me placing the order. But before placing the order, I ventured through Tyra's Etsy shop and absolutely fell in love with the necklace on the right.
What to do?! They are both so adorable. I think I'm leaning towards the one on the right but haven't fully decided. I do need to figure it out quick before one (or both) disappears!
I want another necklace but this one is coral and turquoise.
I found the necklace on the left on Pinterest.
I.Want.It.
It is from an old Etsy listing and is no longer available. I did some searching and found a similar necklace (the one on the right) but it's not exactly the same and I don't love it nearly as much. I really like the silver and the double chain.
My hope is to find all the pieces and re-create the original on my own.
I want to redecorate a room in my house with one of my favorite color combinations.
Before you ask. Yes, that is a picture of a nursery. No, there is no reason I have to decorate a nursery I'm purely looking at the color combination. Good, now that we've gotten that out of the way.
I'm not afraid of color or using it in our house. We have a purple bathroom, a cranberry red dining room and a slate blue bathroom with lime green accents. The walls in my kitchen are yellow with a purple accent wall.
When we bought our house every.single.room was seafoam green. We needed to quickly decide on new paint colors so we could have everything repainted before we moved in. I love every single color we chose and am still happy with them all.
The thing I am not happy with is pulling together these rooms and having them decorated in manner that makes my house feel like a home.
In that aspect I sometimes wish I could repaint some rooms...and maybe at some point I will. But for now I need to scratch this color itch. I think I'm going to start with our 1/2 bath. Since the walls are already purple I could add some lime accents in there and make a change.
I feel a project coming up......
If your project was featured here, please grab the button below!
I linked up to the following parties today:
Monday, July 11, 2011
Balsamic Bottom Roast
We had a bottom roast in our freezer from a recent shopping trip and since I was home today and the weather was rainy I thought it would be a good night for a roast.
I'll warn you - my technique is sloppy. I've said it before, and will say it again, I'm not a cook I just {sometimes} play one on my blog.
What You Need
What You Do
This was not one of my better meals. The flavor of the roast was actually pretty darn good. The texture/dryness/toughness of the meat is what ruined it.
So master chefs out there...what did I do wrong so I can try it over again?
I ended up making a simple balsamic reduction to pour over the dry/tough meat so we were at least able to eat it for dinner. Sorry SH, hopefully next time I'll have better luck in the kitchen!
*I got my Sauerbraten Spice from the Spice House. In place of this particular spice a mix of spices such as mustard seed, juniper berries, allspice, dill seed, bay leaves, cloves, ginger, and peppercorns will work well. And really....just use whatever favorite spices you have on hand to make a flavor that works for you!
I'll warn you - my technique is sloppy. I've said it before, and will say it again, I'm not a cook I just {sometimes} play one on my blog.
What You Need
- 2lb Bottom Roast
- 5 Cloves Garlic
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sauerbraten Spices*
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Rub the roast with some olive oil
- Crust in salt and pepper
- In a dutch oven combine balsamic vinegar, minced garlic cloves, sauerbraten spices and heat on a medium-high setting
- add roast and brown 1-2 minutes on all sides
- Move browned meat into a crock pot (fat side down), preheated on low heat
Remember when I said my technique is sloppy? Well it's at this point I realize I should be sticking my covered dutch oven in the oven instead of using the crock pot. The thing is I have no idea at what temperature, or for how long so I just stuck with what I know. The other thing is I can't really remember if the fat side is supposed to be up or down...if you have any suggestions, please let me know! - Pour the remaining balsamic reduction over the roast and make sure to scrape out all of the tasty bits
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours (this may have been a mistake)
This was not one of my better meals. The flavor of the roast was actually pretty darn good. The texture/dryness/toughness of the meat is what ruined it.
So master chefs out there...what did I do wrong so I can try it over again?
I ended up making a simple balsamic reduction to pour over the dry/tough meat so we were at least able to eat it for dinner. Sorry SH, hopefully next time I'll have better luck in the kitchen!
*I got my Sauerbraten Spice from the Spice House. In place of this particular spice a mix of spices such as mustard seed, juniper berries, allspice, dill seed, bay leaves, cloves, ginger, and peppercorns will work well. And really....just use whatever favorite spices you have on hand to make a flavor that works for you!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Spike on iBostonTerrier.com
Spike was featured on a new website devoted to Boston terriers, iBostonTerrier.com.
Head on over and check out the site and give it a +1 or share while you're there :)
If you have your own Boston head on over and submit a picture to have your own little terror Terrier featured!
Head on over and check out the site and give it a +1 or share while you're there :)
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| http://ibostonterrier.com/photo/spike-pouting-because-of-the-rain/ |
Friday, July 8, 2011
A Night In The Life of Spike The Boston Terrier
Last week while SH was working in California Spike spent much of our time alone at home
1) barking at any little noise hoping his dad was home
2) pouting
My usual over-cuddly and loving dog wanted nothing to do with me the first two nights SH was gone. It was so sad because I was counting on him to keep me company.
He did, however, provide me with some entertainment during one of his pouting episodes. Every time I looked over he was in another position on the couch, each more pathetic than the last.
I really wish I could have gotten up to get my camera but any move on my part and he surely would have run barking to the door thinking his dad was home. Thankfully I had my craptastic phone to share the pout-fest with SH and, well, you!
I'm linking up to the following parties:
1) barking at any little noise hoping his dad was home
2) pouting
My usual over-cuddly and loving dog wanted nothing to do with me the first two nights SH was gone. It was so sad because I was counting on him to keep me company.
He did, however, provide me with some entertainment during one of his pouting episodes. Every time I looked over he was in another position on the couch, each more pathetic than the last.
I really wish I could have gotten up to get my camera but any move on my part and he surely would have run barking to the door thinking his dad was home. Thankfully I had my craptastic phone to share the pout-fest with SH and, well, you!
I'm linking up to the following parties:
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Best Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Over the weekend we went to a friends house for a little 4th of July celebration and I brought a Caprese salad (one of my favorites!). When trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight, I realized I had a lot of left over ingredients from the salad. I didn't want them to go bad, so I had to do something with them. Make another Caprese salad? No way, too simple.
I thought back to one of my favorite recipes, the Chicken Rolled with Prosciutto and Provolone and decided to try Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breasts. Some reason watching all of the cooking shows I do has inspired me to think I can cook. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.
Let me tell you -- the pictures may not be nearly as good* but the recipe is just as, if not more, amazing! This is my new favorite chicken recipe. Ever.
What You Need
The only thing left to do is ENJOY and let me know your thoughts (especially if you try it!)
I linked up to the following parties:
*Seriously I only had my point and shoot and really bad lightening. But I wanted to post some pictures so there you have it! At least people will be less inclined to steal these ;)
I thought back to one of my favorite recipes, the Chicken Rolled with Prosciutto and Provolone and decided to try Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breasts. Some reason watching all of the cooking shows I do has inspired me to think I can cook. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.
Let me tell you -- the pictures may not be nearly as good* but the recipe is just as, if not more, amazing! This is my new favorite chicken recipe. Ever.
What You Need
- 6 Thin-Sliced Chicken Breasts (or 4 regular chicken breasts pounded until thin)
- Large Handful of Fresh Basil
- About 1/4 cup Fresh Mozzarella
- About 1/2 cup Fresh Tomato
- 1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar + 3-4 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Honey or Agave Nectar
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Toothpicks
- Grill Pan (or Glass Baking Dish)
- Chop up the tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese and gently mix in a bowl. Add a pinch or two of coarse sea salt and 4T of balsamic vinegar (make this to your taste preference). Mix up and set mixture aside to marinate
- To make the balsamic reduction boil 1/3 cup balsamic and 2T honey or agave nectar over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove and cool to thicken (you may want to increase this depending on how much balsamic flavor you like -- again just increase to your taste preference)
- Clean chicken breasts (pound if necessary) and pat dry
- Brush chicken with olive oil, season with coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, then add a spoonful of the caprese salad mixture
- Roll one end of the chicken over the mixture and continue rolling until you reach the end. Secure with a couple of toothpicks
- Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and then added to a heated grill pan over medium heat and grill 3-5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Note: When I got to the side where the toothpicks were sticking out, I actually removed the rolls, added toothpicks to the cooked side and removed the original toothpicks. There is probably an easier way to do this, but I'm no cook, I just sometimes pretend to play one on my blog. (alternatively I'm sure you can add them to a glass baking dish and bake probably at 350 for 20 min or until cooked through)
- Remove from heat, drizzle with the balsamic reduction and add your favorite side. We ate ours with rice (SH white, me brown) and scooped some of the leftover balsamic mixture on top of it.
The only thing left to do is ENJOY and let me know your thoughts (especially if you try it!)
I linked up to the following parties:
*Seriously I only had my point and shoot and really bad lightening. But I wanted to post some pictures so there you have it! At least people will be less inclined to steal these ;)
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