November 26, 2011

BigSis arrived here in San Diego yesterday just in time for us to celebrate her birthday today!

It's gorgeous here this weekend so we're heading down to the beach for some much needed R&R and are planning on taking some time to unwind. Hopefully we'll be back in a few days with some fun photos to share! 🙂

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST SISTER, EVER!!!

~LilSis

November 20, 2011

How often do you shop online and find great selection, speedy shipping and excellent value?  Not often enough, if you ask me!  I have a site to tell you about that has all three of those boxes checked, and what's even better; they'll help you get ready for Christmas!

Thanks to Anna's recommendation on CookieMadness, I found out about PaperMart a few years back and have been using them ever since.  PaperMart  says they are the largest and most complete packaging store, and I'm here to tell you their claim is justified.

What can you find at PaperMart?  What can't you find might be a better question!  Here are a few of the items we ordered this year for our Charity Bake Sale for Animals (benefiting In-Sync Exotics, by the way).

Paw Print Organza Bags (5″ x 7″ $0.60 each)

Paw Print Wire Handle Boxes (4″ x 3.5″ $0.88 each)

Candy Cane Satin Ribbon (5/8″ 25 yds $3.94 per roll)

We got the red/pink variety and the red/green one.  Both are gorgeous! These ribbons have the design woven into them, not just printed on like you'll find with cheap ribbon.

Narrow Christmas Satin Printed Ribbon (5/8″ 25 yds $5.96 roll)

We got the pink Christmas print and the white Christmas ornament prints, and loved both of them.

We loaded up on red and green solid color 5/8″ ribbon too, which was a steal at 100 yds for $3.52.  We were completely impressed by the high quality of all these ribbons.  They are shiny on one side, and matte on the back, but you can upgrade to a variety that is shiny on both sides if you're even more obsessive than we are and don't mind paying a bit more.

We also buy the hard-to-find cello bags that we use for breads and cakes at PaperMart.  I daresay that PaperMart carries pretty much anything and everything you might need for packaging gifts and food this Christmas and year-round.  Check them out and let us know how your shopping experience goes!

~BigSis

November 15, 2011

When we opened our doors for business at 4:30 this morning where I work, Christmas trees and beautiful decorations were revealed, Christmas Blend was brewing, our holiday packaging filled the shelves, red aprons were donned, and, yes; the Christmas music began.

BUT, am I ready? No.

Is it time to start getting ready? Yes!

After Halloween, it seems like the days fly by, even faster than normal. I'm never quite ready to think about Christmas when the retailers fill their shelves with Christmas items, which seems to get earlier and earlier every year. With so many other things on our minds; Christmas, which is supposed to be a joyous time of year, just seems to add more stress to our lives. My goal is to not allow that to happen this year.

For a lot of us, myself included, there's going to be a tighter budget for Christmas this year. So, what that means for me is better planning and getting my list ready earlier. My intention is to try to make a lot of my family's Christmas gifts this year, which means that I need to get started now!

Over the next few weeks, we'll be talking a lot about the big Charity Bake Sale benefiting In-Sync Exotics, but we'll also be sharing some tips to hopefully help make your Christmas planning and shopping go a little smoother.

To get you started, this 4 Top Tips to Get your Christmas Planning Started that was posted by BigSis last year is worth taking a peek at again in case you want to get started early. And this one on how to Make a Christmas Game Plan has links to sites where you can download free printable planning pages.

It may seem too early to start talking about all this Christmas planning, but the best way to avoid stress and last minute chaos is to be organized and plan ahead. So, I'm getting started; how about you?

~LilSis

November 14, 2011

Who knew? To be honest, I didn't know there was such a thing until I found it browsing the Internet. Hay walked in from school as I was finishing up this post and I jokingly asked him if he knew that it was National Spicy Guacamole Day and he said “yeah, we were talking about it in Econ today.” 🙂

And, just in case you didn't already know it, both us sistas LOVE us some guacamole! That's no exaggeration, either; when we visit each other, we eat it every single day, without fail. One of these days, I'm gonna have a nice big avocado tree out in my backyard!

When you buy good ripe avocados, there's really no reason to have to doctor them up much.  To this day, the best guacamole either of us has ever had was when we were in Cancun and it was just perfect ripe mashed avocados with lemon juice and a little Anejo sprinkled on top.

Here's our version of Super Simple Guacamole.

Super Simple Guacamole

If you like your guacamole with a little more spice to it, try Tyler's Chunky Guacamole.

Tyler's Chunky Guacamole (photo credit: Food Network)

And, here's a Classic Guacamole recipe from the California Avocado Commission.

For a little snack, I love to just eat a sliced avocado with some lemon juice and a little salt and lemon pepper sprinkled on top. It doesn't get much better than that!

So, in honor of  National Spicy Guacamole Day, go out and get yourself some avocados so you can whip up some guacamole tonight!

~LilSis

November 11, 2011

Happy Veterans Day and THANK YOU to all those who served our Country!

~LilSis

November 6, 2011

It's official, we've chosen our charity for this year's Bake Sale. Drumroll please…it's In-Sync Exotics in Wylie, Texas!

In-Sync Exotics may be new to many folks.  It was to me and my fellow bakers until a year or so ago.  In-Sync is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the rescue of unwanted, neglected and abused felines.

And by “felines” we aren't talking about little housecats. We mean BIG cats; much much bigger than my 16 pound Gaby whom LilSis calls the fat cat with the little head.

In-Sync was founded in 2000 and is currently home to 59 tigers, lions, leopards, bobcats, cougars, cheetahs, lynx, servals and one honorary cat named Nugget who is a Coatimundi.

This is the fifth year for our Charity Bake Sale, which has been held to benefit the SPCA of Texas for the last three years.  We decided to select a smaller charity this year – a bit below the radar – who might benefit from our little fundraiser and the attention it could bring to a group in need.  We still support the SPCA of Texas personally, and continue to appreciate the crucial work they do every day in North Texas.

Back to In-Sync now.  I had the chance to visit their big kitties last weekend, along with a couple of my fellow bakers.  We spent a few hours enjoying the annual Pumpkin Bash, where the cats all get a pumpkin to play with/eat/destroy/ignore.  We absolutely fell in love with the cats and the place, and the work that's being done here.

In a perfect world, these cats would be running free in their native habitat but this world isn't perfect.  Not even close.  These guys have suffered at the hands of humans, and needed a safe place to recover from the physical and emotional damage inflicted on them.

In-Sync is that safe place.  Big wild cats can't be placed in furever homes like cats and dogs can, and they can't be released into the wild.  Big cats need a place to live out the rest of their days, where they can receive medical care, a clean environment, nourishing food, enriching playtime, and love.

Since these cats will stay at In-Sync forever, and more cats continue to unfortunately come in, In-Sync's need for funding will only grow as time goes on.  They are currently trying to raise $30,000 to build a home for the two cheetahs who recently joined them.

The four of us girls are going to bake our little hearts out to try to help in our small way.  Stay tuned for more details as we approach this year's Bake Sale on December 12th.  Meanwhile enjoy a few photos of Jett the spotted leopard enjoying the Pumpkin Bash!

For the record, the final score was Jett 1, Pumpkin 0.  ^..^

Note: All photos were taken by BigSis and published with the permission of In-Sync Exotics.

~BigSis

October 31, 2011

Like sweet drinks?

If you do, then I think you'll really enjoy this drink, but, if you also love candy corn like I do, then you're going to love this drink! But, beware! It's super sweet!  🙂

We're celebrating Halloween here at Lil Sis' house with a festive Candy Corn Martini. There are several different recipes floating around for this martini, but I started with Food Network's Candy Corn Cordial Recipe and adapted it a little. Almost all of the recipes for this drink call for an egg white to create some froth on top, but I chose to leave that out.

I decided that the martini would look even more festive with some orange sugar around the rim, so I just made my own by mixing a few drops of red and yellow food color with several tablespoons of sugar.

Let me start by saying that I don't have a sweet tooth and normally don't eat candy or drink sweet drinks, but due to my obsession with candy corn, I had to try this one. I started out this Halloween season only buying one bag of candy corn to make these martinis, but on my last couple of trips to the store, I couldn't resist when I saw the Indian Corn and the Autumn Mix.

I'm going to have to take all of this to work just to get it out of my pantry or I'll be eating candy corn for months.

Now, let's get to the Candy Corn Martini. This is a very simple cocktail to make; you just have to allow a few hours to infuse the vodka with the candy corn. Here's all you need:

Candy Corn Martini
(adapted from Food Network)

1/2 c. candy corn
1 c. vodka
2 oz. orange liqueur (I used Triple Sec)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Candy corn for garnish
Sugar
Red and yellow food coloring

Infuse the vodka: Combine the candy corn and vodka in an airtight container; set aside for at least 3 hours, then strain.

Make the martinis: Rub some lemon juice on the rim of the glass and turn the glass upside down into a plate of the orange colored sugar. Add 4 ounces of the candy corn vodka, the orange liqueur, and the lemon juice to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Strain into 2 chilled martini glasses and garnish with candy corn.

Enjoy!

HAPPY, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

~LilSis

October 26, 2011

Pumpkin Tower (from Country Living Pumpkin Decorating Ideas)

Even if you don't have the time to carve a pumpkin this year or just want to try something different, there are lots of different ways you can decorate your pumpkins without carving them. I found these unique ideas in Country Living's Pumpkin Decorating Ideas.

Graphic Black and White Painted Pumpkins (photo credit: Country Living)

Gold and Silver Gilded Pumpkins (photo credit: Country Living)

Last year, I talked about how I ran out of time to plan our pumpkin carving night at our house and now that our youngest is 18, he's not as interested in carving pumpkins as he was when he was younger. When we had all the kids at home, years ago, we always had a blast on pumpkin carving nights and at the end of the night we ended up with seven uniquely carved “Jack-o'-Lanterns” lined down the front walk.

Even though things aren't the same these days, I do still love to decorate the front porch with different sizes and shapes of pumpkins and hopefully this year, I'll have some time to decorate a couple of them.

Last year, I posted some Quick and Easy Pumpkin Decorating Ideas for those of you who still want to decorate pumpkins but don't have the time to carve them.

A couple of my favorite ideas from that post are these miniature pumpkin winged bats

and these adorable, painted kitten pumpkins.

Here are a few more fun ideas from Martha Stewart's Halloween Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Ideas.

Zombie Pumpkins (photo credit: Martha Stewart)

Fanged Pumpkins (photo credit: Martha Stewart)

Glittered Pumpkins (photo credit: Martha Stewart)

And, no, we aren't getting paid by Martha Stewart, but if you do have the time to carve pumpkins this year, you've got to check out her Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas! She has some of the cutest carved pumpkins! Here are a few that I love.

Pumpkin Raccoon (photo credit: Martha Stewart)

Cat Pumpkins (photo credit: Martha Stewart)

Black Magic Carved Pumpkins (photo credit: Martha Stewart)

And, I love this Pumpkin Party Cooler so much that I think I'm going to have to make one of these!

Pumpkin Party Cooler (photo credit: Martha Stewart)

Isn't that cute and festive? And, since I love making festive cocktails, I decided to experiment with a new one for Halloween this year! Be sure to come back in a few days to see whether or not my Candy Corn Martini was a success. 🙂

~LilSis

October 24, 2011

(Once again, I didn't have time to ladle any of my soup into a pretty bowl to photograph it because I had two hungry guys hovering over me with bowls and spoons in hand. One of these days, I'll plan better so I can take photos without my guys around.)

For any of you working women or busy moms driving kids to and from activities all afternoon, here's a super easy and healthy soup that I think your families will love.

I first got the idea for this sausage soup from a recipe I saw on the side of a Premium cracker box but I altered it so much, it doesn't even slightly resemble the original recipe. Here's my version.

Hearty Chicken Italian Sausage Soup

1 lb. chicken Italian sausage (I use Trader Joe's.)
1 shallot
3 or 4 cloves of garlic (I love a lot of garlic, you can use less.)
1 tsp olive oil
32 oz. low sodium chicken broth
1 – 2 cups water (Increase amount of water if you want to increase quantity of pasta.)
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
2 c. fusilli pasta (I prefer this pasta over rotini.)
1 bag baby spinach leaves, washed

Cook sausage, shallot and garlic in olive oil in large saucepan for about 10 minutes, or until no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add the broth, the water, and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and cook 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in the beans and the spinach and cover. Let stand 5 or 10 minutes and serve with crackers or toasted baguette bread.

(Note: one thing that HayHay mentioned is that he would like this better if it had less beans. He didn't like the texture of too many beans with the pasta and I did agree. The original recipe called for one can of beans for 1 c. of pasta but I since I used 2 c. of pasta, I used 2 cans of beans; but it wasn't necessary. Next time, I'll use two pounds of sausage to make it a little heartier and only one can of beans.)

Like I said, this is a super quick and easy soup, perfect for a busy week night, and my family loved it! 🙂

~LilSis

October 10, 2011

I've mentioned several times that the Komen Race for the Cure is one of my favorite charity 5K races and it's one that I try to participate in every year. Three years ago we formed a team of about 25 friends and neighbors and in addition to having a great time walking together, we were able to raise over $3000.00.

Since it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, now is the perfect time to get a few friends together to walk or run in your local Komen Race for the Cure.

For our Dallas readers, I thought I'd post this reminder that the Dallas Komen Race for the Cure is this Saturday, October 15th. For our San Diego friends, the San Diego Komen Race for the Cure is Sunday, November 6th. And for anyone interested in participating in the Global Race for the Cure, that race is scheduled for June 2, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

There are still races scheduled all over the country this month and in November, so if you've decided to participate this year, just go to the Komen site to find the local race near you. Every dollar you raise can make a difference.

~LilSis