Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Addie at the office




Here are a few shots of my office at Stacy Claire Boyd. We are so lucky to have the very best company mascot ever! Adelaide "Addie" is our official greeter, stress-releaver, bring-a-smile-to-your-face member of our team. It is amazing what she does for all of us...she definitely makes the work day a lot sweeter. And the best part of all...you can always count on her to be here. She's never called in sick...ever!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Annie's Day

These are photos from my daughter Annie's special bat mitzvah day that we all celebrated a few weeks ago. She did a terrific job...we were all so proud of her. Here are a few photos (from Barry C. Altmark Photography and Jennifer Jones Photography) that were taken of some of the decorations and festivities at her luncheon. Her theme was "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and we decorated with polka dots, fun colors, a candy "bar" and smoothies. A great time was had by all.

The invitation was the inspiration for the entire weekend.
The bright dots & fun colors carried throughout all of the decorations.


Here is Annie and her adoring dad giving each other a tight squeeze.

The Candy "Bar" was a magnet for all who attended...young & old.

These petite cupcake pops were both decorative and delicious.
I got this idea from Bakerella and had my local bakery whip them up.


Disguised as smoothies, printed pink & green T-shirts made a fun favor for the girls.


The favors for the boys were brightly colored take-out boxes filled with candy.


Girls Just Wanna Have Fun was the theme of the party. These sassy girls appeared in lots of the little details - like on the smoothie cups and as large near-life sized cut-out decorations.

A framed silhouette of Annie was a great way for guests to send their good wishes.


The desserts were AMAZING!



Here's a picture of my sisters & myself: Allison, Lauren, Me & LeighAnn. It was great getting to see all of them at the same time!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Mom's Tostito Chicken

My family loves Mexican food and although our interpretation of "Mexican" might be laughed at by our friends down south of the border, this has become one of our family's most loved recipes over the years. I make it all the time because it's fast and easy, and just plain 'ole dee-lish. I make it with a store bought lemon-pepper rotisserie chicken, which saves loads of time (don't forget to keep the bones for soup stock).

1 diced seasoned rotisserie chicken
1 10 oz can of mild rotel (diced tomatoes & green chilies)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
1 8 oz package shredded cheddar cheese
¼ bag plain tostito corn chips
Dry taco seasoning to taste (optional)


Chop and sauté the onion with a little bit of the chicken broth and if you like, add a little dry taco seasoning as it sautés. In a separate bowl whisk together the can of rotel (include liquid from can), the can of mushroom soup and the cup of chicken broth and whisk together. Lightly butter a lasagna size casserole/Pyrex dish and add a layer of tostito chips (enough to cover the bottom). On top of the chips, layer on the diced chicken. Add sautéed onion on top of the chicken, then pour on your wet mixture of rotel, soup and broth. The chips soak up all the liquid and once baked turn into a nice soft tortilla crust. Top with the shredded cheese and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes. Once out of the oven, let it set 25-30 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

The best part of wakin' up...

I am one of the few, brave coffee drinkers that is not ashamed to say that I take mine in a glass, not a mug. That's right...I am in love with iced coffee. Not only is it like drinking dessert for breakfast, but I also can validate it's sinful sweetness by reminding myself that I'm getting in a nice glass of 1% milk, which is great because I am not the biggest fan of milk served straight up (don't tell mom). I used to brew my own every morning, but then my good friend Cathy turned me on to Coolbrew, a gourmet coffee concentrate from New Orleans Coffee Company. The bottle is great because it ingeniously measures out a perfect ounce so that you never have to guess how much to pour. I just add one ounce of coffee into a full glass of ice and milk, then stir in a Splenda...done. Yum!

I should also mention that my morning ritual includes my favorite iced coffee glass that I got from CB2. The style is from the Marta barware collection, and it fits perfectly in my car's cupholder which is a rare thing. I love it! With my beloved ice-coffee in one hand and a toasted bagel half in the other, I am ready to take on the world (right after I drop the kids off at school).

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Candy Necklace

I recently picked up this month's issue (May 2009) of Parents magazine and I was excited to see that they had a little "Let's Party" section that gives creative party ideas for children's birthdays. They have some super-cute favor ideas and one that stood out to me (because it was not only adorable, but so affordable) was titled "Candy Couture". They fill a small tin with colorful cereal O's, life savers and licorice laces so that kids can string their own neckaces and bracelets. I stopped by the drug store today on my way home from work and picked up the few ingredients necessary to make this precious edible bling. Although we are not having a party, I thought that my ten year old Claire would enjoy making this fun little craft. It was a big hit and she's planning on wearing her colorful bracelet to school tomorrow.

Getting a little greener

In honor of Earth Day yesterday, I planted some nice succulents I picked up from the local garden shop. I only spent around $20 on the plants and two different colors of moss. I already owned a clear glass container that I used...the base of the container is long and thin and I alternated the two mosses in the base and then added a little potting soil on the top. Succulents like indirect light and you don't water them often. They are a nice choice because of their low maintenance. The plants that I used were: ogon sedum, hens & chicks, blue chalk senecio and blue spruce sedum. Adding a little "green" to our home...happy Earth Day!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Free ice cream day at Ben & Jerry's



I am so excited about my very first blog entry & I can't think of a better topic than ice cream. today, Tuesday, April 21st is free cone day at Ben & Jerry's! so load up the kids and head to B & J's for free ice cream...what could be better?