Silly cat!!

Shortly after Ron and my dad did the finished top of the gate on my parents last visit, Kitty Cat decided she had to check it out.  Now I know why they say "curiosity killed the cat"!  They do some dangerous stuff just because they are curious!

Speaking of that, our other cat Pearl, who just turned one, did something really stupid last year.  She used to climb up into the engine or undercarriage of the car or van.  One day we left to go somewhere and as we were going down our street, we heard a weird noise and a "thump" sound.  I quickly turned to look out the window only to see Pearl running out from UNDER the van and into someone's yard.  She had been under the van while we were driving!!!!!  She is SO lucky that she did not fall in front of the wheel or she we would've run over our own cat.  Good grief!!!

My new favorite ring!

My latest creation, Jade-ite Delight.

Sleeping baby

I just LOVE to watch my baby's sleep, no matter how old they are. :)

The new curtains and throw pillows

Wow, all these posts in one day!  :)  I thought I'd better share photos of the curtains and pillows my neighbor made for me since I have been posting all our home improvements.  I love how they turned out!!!

Maple cinnamon almond butter

I have one word to describe this nut butter, AMAZING!!!!  It is SO easy to make.  You just have to have patience when using the food processor to get it to a butter consistency.  I got the recipe from the edible perspective.  I just started following her blog and I love it!

First you roast the almonds in the oven with some maple syrup on top.  I used some awesome grade B maple syrup that Ron brought home from Vermont.  It is SO yummy!

Then you grind the almonds up in the food processor with some more maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and coconut oil.

This is what it looks like when you first start grinding.

Starting to look like butter now.  Just be patient, it takes a lot of stopping and scraping the sides to get to this point.  But I promise is does happen!

And the end result!!  An amazing tasting almond butter that is out of this world! It will not last long, trust me!  I made a double batch and it made enough to fill an 8 ounce jar.  Enjoy!

Here is Ashley's recipe:

Roasted Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter

• 1c Almonds

• 2.5T maple syrup

• 1/4t salt

• 1/2t cinnamon

• 1/2T oil [I used grapeseed – any light oil would work ie: safflower, sunflower, etc]

1. Preheat your oven to 325*

2. Line a pan with parchment if you don’t want to clean a sticky mess!  Pour the almonds on the pan with 1.5T of the maple syrup.

3. Roast for ~15min, stirring 3 times.  Watch so they don’t burn. 

4. Let them cool for 10+min.

5. Put in the food processor, with the salt, cinnamon and 1T maple syrup.

6. Turn the processor on.  Scrape down the bowl as needed. 

7. Stream in ~1/2T oil.  It took about 10min of scraping and processing before it was the consistency I wanted.  If you get to 15min and it’s still not as smooth as you want it, you can add 1/2T more oil, but that shouldn’t be necessary.  Just be patient 

**Notes**  Next time I will definitely make a double batch.  1- because it was THAT good 2- If you have a larger food processor [I think mine is 11c] it seems to do cream a little easier when you have more volume in the machine.  However, 1c did work and it was great if you just want a small amount.

Recipes for strawberry cream pie and coconut milk ice cream

Per request, here are the recipes! :)

Homemade coconut milk ice cream

blend 2 cans coconut milk, 2/3 cup cocoa powder, 5 TBSP (more or less, according to taste) honey or maple syrup (or sugar of your choice), 1 tsp vanilla extract, tiny pinch salt. when blended, pour into ice cream maker as directed. mmmmmm!!! (it freezes harder than dairy and soy cream, so i let it sit out for a while before eating it)
(This recipe came from a friend.)

Strawberry cream pie (gluten and dairy free)

Crust:

• 3/4 cup crushed pecans or walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut

Filling:

• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted

Grind crust ingredients in food processor and press into bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, building up the sides slightly.

Place all filling ingredients into blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Carefully pour on top of crust and refrigerate for 3 hours.  

I think I will add more strawberries next time I make it, I want more strawberry flavor.  But it was awesome!  For more recipes like this one visit Tropical Traditions website: http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.htm

My baby boy turns 3!!

Ronnie got a Thomas toothbrush. He thinks it is the coolest thing!

He also got Mr. Potato Head from the Toy Story movie. We have borrowed Toy Story 2 from the church nursery and he has really enjoyed it.  I didn't even know the third one was coming out until about 2 months ago.  I ended up getting Mr. Potato Head for $2.07 at Kohl's!!  It was awesome!!  I had a $10 coupon off any purchase, and the Toy Story toys were 30% off, so all I ended up paying was $2.07.  Love bargains like that!!

Buzz Lightyear of course!  He talks about him all the time, so we had to get him one.  Sister liked it too. :)

He ended up playing with the toys the rest of the day.

I made a gluten free, dairy free strawberry cream pie.  It was awesome!  Ronnie didn't care for it, but Ron and I did.

Now, Ronnie did enjoy our homemade coconut milk ice cream though!

Wordless Wednesday

Little buddies

It is SO much fun to watch my babies become little buddies!  They make each other laugh and really just entertain each other.  It is an absolute blessing to see their relationship develop and grow!

And the home improvements continue!

I painted the trim and our front door this past week.  The door was black like the shutters, but I was kind of tired of it.  So we did a fun green color, and the more I look at it the more I love it!

Papa and Nana (my parents) visit

Ronnie and Papa watching the Nascar race.  Lightning McQueen watched too. :)

Elise loved climbing onto their bed!

Hanging out with Nana :)

My mom painted my kitchen for me!!  She is awesome!!

My new butter yellow kitchen.  I just LOVE it!!

I was able to paint most of the dining room myself, she only had to finish one wall for me.  The green is NOT mint green, but it matches my jade-ite dishes.  My neighbor is sewing curtains for me right now, I am very excited!

Wagon ride with Nana.