things

how's that for a post title?

I have a new page on my blog! 

The boy was looking through the photos on my phone and said "mommy! why do you always take pictures of your food??", to which I had no answer. Because I like it....is that so bad? So I thought I'd put them to use and post them all in once place.....kind of a phone photo'd restaurant guide. 

take a look HERE. 

also be sure to check out our new sponsors (to the left!)

I found a hidden jar of peach jam  from the summer. Hidden GEM!! Hiding in the bottom of the freezer-- it made my day. We ate half a jar on toast, and closed our eyes and tasted summer.

I've been reading The Book Thief.....I may have mentioned that before? I have been slowly savoring every word, rather than rushing through like I do most books. I love everything about how it's written--it's like poetry, and I'm not ready for it to end. I'm not sure how to top it.

I saw Water for Elephants over the weekend 

(no I didn't and won't read the book....I hear it's a little to risque for me...) 

What can I say....I loved it. LOVED it! I am still thinking about it and would love to see it again, Edward and all (I was shocked at that too)

My early cool veggies are coming in!! 

YAY!!!! 

We've got worms. 

For our compost. 

They are giant.

I have been asked a lot about compost.....and I don't know what to say. 

Kind of like everything else, I make it up as I go:

Last year I kept it in a bin, but this year I'm just trying it in a big pile in the corner of the garden.

add:

soil

fruit/veggie scraps

leaves

grass clippings

worms

It's a pile in the sun. 

I keep it damp

And turn it from time to time. 

Last year it worked great for us.

Hayley is really good at this kind of stuff.....check it out here.

I am obsessed with vintage cookbooks. 

I can't resist when I see a good one in the thrift store. I found this gem over the weekend--not only are the  photos absolutely fabulous and mouthwatering (?), but the recipes! oh! a ham glaze with lemon jello and mayo. You just can't beat the 1950s.

Robby is thrilled to have a recipe on the blog.....yes, 

this is his recipe for pickled eggs! 

He's been making them since he was 18. They were perfect to make after we had so many eggs at Easter. They are beautiful and a bit spicy--great for a salad or sandwich.

Robby's Pickled Eggs

1-2 16oz jars hot chili peppers+liquid (depending now spicy you like it, he does 2)

1 can whole beets + liquid

12 hard boiled eggs, peeled

place all ingredients in jar and cover with vinegar--the more vinegar you add, the more diluted (and less spicy) they will be. Let them sit for about a week and you are ready to go!

enjoy!

over the weekend.....

We Robby watched the Super Bowl. I attempted pre-game and half time and just ended up feeling embarrassed for Christina Aguilera and the Black Eyed Peas. yikes.

But I did eat my fair share of guacamole.

I made more granola.....we cannot get enough. 

We fished the BFG, which is even more fun to read when you are an adult. Brilliant.

We made this soup which is insaaaaaaaanely delicious. I thought there'd be leftovers and we ate every last drop.

I went thrifting, on a Saturday afternoon, which I rarely do because that's when all the crazy stinky people are out. Crazy. Stinky. It's gross.....but worth it when I scored all these awesome gadgets!

happy monday.

headlines

A few things going on around here:

Don't forget the MadeOn giveaway ends tonight!! Enter HERE

The first official cookbook shoot was as success!! We've planned out our next few weeks, and I've been having the best time digging through thrift stores for awesome props.

I'm now taking new sponsors for the month of February! 
(look to your left) 
If you have a product/blog/service/awesome-thing that you think would mesh well with my little ol' blog, let's talk!

Email me sheenajibson at gmail for info!

I'm now on Pinterest. 

I won't lie.....I'm not super active on there.....but when I come across images I love while surfing the seas of the www, I add them, so they can be neatly tucked away in one place.
It's pretty handy, I must say.
If that's your thing, you can follow me here

I made more "snack bars" 

(I am afraid to use the real name because I don't want them to come shoot my windows out at night. I'm sure that's the kind of thing those vegan hippies do.)

see the peanut butter version here

Mexican Chocolate Snack Bars

1 1/4 c chopped dates

1 c toasted almonds

1/2 c toasted walnuts (toast nuts in a pan on medium high heat for a few minutes)

3 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

Throw all ingredients into the food processor and run until a paste forms. See method for shaping bars HERE.

these are goooooood. I had one pre-gym today and it was the perfect snack.

consider yourself officially updated.

Happy Weekend!

random thoughts on thrifting

Scenes like this make my heart pitter patter.

Garage sales and outdoor markets are starting up for the year and I am soooooooooo...

...ooooooo excited.

(your welcome coca cola for the free ad)

I seriously think I have issues. There are a few things that I cannot pass up buying, and old books is one of them. Do I need them?? no. Do I HAVE to have them because they are 50¢....YES!

-The Running of the Tide: I bought it because it was in good shape, a good color, and I am still obsessing over that font!

-The Yellow Boat. It is adorable. They boy loved reading it, and I loved the cute illustrations.

-Cowboy Tommy. (1933!!) It is so cute. And so politically incorrect it's hilarious (right now we're at the part where Tommy meets the Indian family:)

-What Will We Eat Today? I collect old cookbooks. And I loved the lady on the front.

Roy Rogers. uhhh....ok I bought it for the sole purpose that is was cute.

You guys. What if I become a hoarder??

Someone call Oprah.

But I have no regrets after buying this little red chair to go with the boy's (previously thrifted) little blue desk. (although I do regret not making his bed before I took this photo, whoops, and 3 years later I am still terribly regretting that sickening paint color....)

So, in conclusion:

1. I get really excited when I see junk out in peoples yards.

2. I may or may not become a hoarder someday, because I can't say no to cheap adorable books (really though, when do I stop....I will not just pass them up...do I sell them?? my mom just laughed at that)

3. The boy's room. Cute chair, vomit inducing walls.

the end.

friday love

Friday is here!! What a week!!

This week......

I had really planned on writing a post on how much I loved Girl Scout Cookies.

but....

turns out, they are not as I remember.... Cara asked the question, " Have my standards gotten higher, or are Girl Scout cookies really not as good as they used to be?"

The Samoa was not even worth my time.....what IS that thing?

And while I loved the flavor of the Thin Mint, I felt like I was eating something dipped in fake chocolate and coated in wax. Oh wait, I was.

So I had to make up for it. I found this recipe by Heidi (love her blog) and got to work.

mix. roll. cut.

(i don't have a small round cookie cutter, so I used a baby bottle lid that I found in my drawer....perfect!)

bake. cool. dip.

Recipe by Heidi on 101 Cookbooks.

Chocolate Wafers:
8 ounces butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar,
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Chocolate Peppermint Coating:
1 pound good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
natural peppermint oil to taste

Preheat your oven to 350. Racks in the middle zone.

Make the cookie dough: In a mixer cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and cream some more, scraping the sides of the bowl a couple times if necessary. Stir in the vanilla extract and then the salt and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter is smooth and creamy, sort of like a thick frosting. Add the whole wheat pastry flour and mix just until the batter is no longer dusty looking, it might still be a bit crumbly, and that's o.k. You don't want to over mix and end up with tough cookies.

Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and kneed it just once or twice to bring it together into once nice, smooth mass. Place the ball of dough into a large plastic bag and flatten it into a disk roughly 3/4-inch thick. Place the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill. (don't over chill--I left mine in for about an hour and it was hard as a rock!)

Rollout and bake: Remove the dough from the freezer and roll it out really thin, remember how thin Thin Mints are? That's how thin you need your dough, about 1/8-inch. You can either roll it out between two sheets of plastic, or dust your counter and rolling pin with a bit of flour and do it that way. Stamp out cookies using a 1 1/2-inch cutter. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a baking rack if you've got one.

Make the peppermint coating:
While the cookies are in the oven you can get the coating ready. Slowly melt the chocolate (double boiler if you are fancy, I do it slowly and carefully in the microwave), stirring occasionally until it is glossy and smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract. If you think the chocolate needs a bit more peppermint kick, add more extract a drop or two at a time - but don't go overboard.

Finishing the cookies: You are going to coat the cookies one at a time and then gently set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set. Drop one cookie into the chocolate and (using a fork) carefully make sure it gets fully coated. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate with the fork and bang the fork on the side of the pan to drain any extra chocolate off the cookie. You are after a thin, even coating of chocolate. Place on the aforementioned prepared baking sheet, and repeat for the rest of the cookies. Place the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer to set. They will set at room temperature, it just takes much longer, and I prefer them straight out of the freezer anyways ;)

Make 3 or 4 dozen cookies. (1/2 batch was plenty for us!)

The verdict: Good. Really good. Not quite a thin mint. Thin mints have a definite "crisp" to them. These didn't. But the chocolate on the outside was REAL chocolate, and I made mine thicker than a real thin mint....mmm...and perfect out of the freezer.

Would I make them again? If I want a cookie, I'm going to make a real cookie. I think these would be really good mixed with a plate of assorted treats (like at Christmas.)

I could tell you every week how much I love my little adventures in thrifting.....

I really do.

All this for $5something.

I have fallen in love with this house (found here) and determined to live there some day.

Please check out my new friend Coco and her pretty little blog Roost.

Her photos are so pretty and simple, and her recipes are mouthwatering....you will love it over there!

making a whole wheat buttermilk tarragon loaf.

What is not to love about this video? It's silly, cute, makes me think that maybe I really could dance in a music video someday, and totally reconfirms that I would really like to be Zooey Deschanel for a day.

Happy Weekend!! I LOVE that we get one extra hour of daylight this weekend....HOORAY!!!

What did you love about this week???

found today

-two dainty little flowery shaped bowls

-one little spice-ish looking jar

-"all about birds"

-a very cute children's book, with equally cute illustrations

-a HILARIOUS book on housekeeping (published in 1947)....boy am I feeling behind in my housekeeping skills. or lack there of. I will be sharing a few pages out of this one soon!

-one chair for our chairless table. I plan to paint it....someday.

the end.

get your thrift on....

......at Abode!

It is by far my favorite little thrift store in the area......overflowing with goodness! You will find yourself wanting everything, and there is no way you're leaving this place empty handed!

( I picked up a few books (sister you will laugh so hard when you see!) and old blue jars:)

There is a new sale every week--stop by this week for 20% off anything "flowered". Follow their blog and get an extra 10% off!

Abode

1720 S 900 E

Salt Lake City

See you there!!