Zinnias!

My Zinnias, that I started from seeds, are in bloom! They are such pretty flowers and are so easy to take care of. Just plant them in a sunny spot and water regularly. In a month or so they went from this:

to this:

Here's some close-ups of the flowers:

Veggie Burgergers

I got this Veggie Burger recipe from Vegetarian Times a couple years back; they called them "Hot Tamale" Burgers. The base of this veggie burger is brown rice, so eating them on a bun is kind of overkill. I eat mine like a lettuce wrap with Bibb lettuce and avocado on top.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 cup short-grain brown rice
• 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 1 small red pepper, finely chopped (I also add 1 green pepper)
• 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels (I use frozen white corn)
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, plus 2 tsp. sauce (I just use 2 jalapenos, chopped, seeds included)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup instant masa harina or yellow cornmeal (I use cornmeal)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2 tbs. fresh lime juice
• 3/4 tsp. lime zest

1. Bring rice and three cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 40 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, peppers, corn, jalapenos, garlic, cumin and salt. Saute 2 minutes, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring once or twice. Whisk 1/2 cup of water with cornmeal in a bowl. Add to skillet mixture, cover and cook on low 10 minutes more, stirring once or twice (mixture will feel thick).
3. Remove from heat and stir in hot rice, cilantro, lime juice and zest. Cool 20 minutes. Wet hands and shape mixture into burgers. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
4. Brush burgers with olive oil and cook on the grill or in the broiler. Cook 5-7 minutes on each side or until browned.

Here are the uncooked burgers brushed with olive oil. I've also found that you can use olive oil cooking spray on each side.

Here is finished product made into a lettuce wrap with bibb letuce and topped with avocado:

Stenciled Pillows

This is a project I did in April that I'm just getting around to posting. I wanted to make another pillow after my pillow making class this past January and I had also been meaning to use the stencils Rick bought for me over a year ago. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and make a stenciled pillow.

The stenciling part was really easy. After cutting the fabric to the desired pillow size and ironing it, I used painter's tape to hold the stencil in place in the center of my fabric:

Then I used stencil sponge brushes and fabric paint (purchased at JoAnn Fabrics) and gently blotted the paint onto the fabric. I used a hair dryer to dry the paint after each of the two coats:

After the paint was completely dry, I carefully pulled the stencil off of the fabric. Then it was time to start making the pillow. Well, first I had to relearn how to use my sewing machine and then I started making the pillow :) I'm not very handy with a sewing machine, but I'm slowly learning. Making the first pillow was really frustrating however, by the time I starting making the next one, it was a piece of cake! I am proud to say that both pillows have zippers on them :) When I get around to it, I'd like to make a couple more in different sizes with different fabric.

I think the pillows turned out really cute:

Double Crunchers

 I think I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens - I tore it out of a magazine and cut around the recipe so I can't tell for sure which magazine I found this in. I've been meaning to make these cookies for over a year now and finally got around to doing it. They are slightly labor-intensive but they taste really good! Here's the finished product:

 Here's the recipe:

The recipe says it makes 3 dozen sandwich cookies, but I was only able to get 2 dozen out of the batch I made. I must have made the cookies a little larger than they're supposed to be:

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cornflakes, crushed
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 package (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon water
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the flour mixture.
4. Blend in cornflakes, oats and coconut.
5. Divide the dough into two pieces, one twice as large as the other. Shape the larger piece into balls about 3/4 inch in diameter. Shape the smaller piece into the same number of balls (they will be smaller). Place the balls on a lined baking sheet and flatten them to a 1/2 inch thickness.
6. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, until golden. Let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
7. Meanwhile, make the frosting: In a double boiler (I didn't have one of these so I boiled water in a small pot and placed a small frying pan on top of the boiling water), melt together chocolate chips, confectioners' sugar and water (I had to use more water, 3 tablespoons, maybe because I didn't use a double boiler). Off the heat, beat in the cream cheese.
8. Frost the larger cookies and top with the smaller ones.

Enjoy!

I fixed it!

I got the perfect lamp for the bedroom at the HomeGoods store for $40 which is pretty cheap for a lamp. I didn't realize until I got it home and cut the tags off that one of the birdies had a missing tail. I was able to fix it by forming a new tail out of clay. Once the clay dried, I painted and glued the tail on the lamp. It's not perfect but I'm happy with the results. Take a look:

Broken tail :(

New tail I made out of clay

Fixed Birdie on the left

Found this gem at Marshall's

On my weekly trip to Marshall's I found this cute shabby chic bird cage for $20. There were two at the store and I was very tempted to buy both of them. I thought they would look cool on each end of a credenza or buffet in the dinning room. I only ended up buying one since I don't have a buffet just yet. I'm sure I'll regret it later ;) but I think it looks good on the dinning room table. I'd like to get a little plant to put inside it. For those of you who have kitties that like to eat houseplants, this is a good way to keep your plants safe. Take a look:

Bedroom update - almost done

The bedroom is almost finished! We hung the tulip pictures this weekend and they look great. Take a look:

I'd like to get a smaller nightstand and maybe a headboard. I saw a cute wicker one at West Elm on sale. I also need to find fabric to make curtains. I'm thinking green ones to match the sheets would look cute. At any rate, the bedroom is really starting to come together :)