A mother's heartache. Out with the old and in with the new.

As the year draws to a close

 and we move into a new decade,

there has been a move in our home as well.

My little girl spent last night packing.

 She carefully boxed up all the small traces of the little princess that once resided in her room.

Gone are the ribbons that gracefully hung from the ringlets of the little girl that once twirled across the hardwood floor.

Small piles of scarves and cardigans are all you will see now.

Gone are the two baby dolls that were carefully stashed in the bottom of the closet so no one could see.

Designer boots and high end flip flops now occupy this niche.

The top shelf of the bookcase is no longer home to the teddy bears to whom she always told her secrets. Now pictures of her and her friends, snapshots of the memories they are making,  fill Ted E. Bear's cozy spot.

How wonderful and exciting these times are,

 but how excruciatingly painful for a mother as well. Is it truly possible to hurt so much and yet still be so excited?

 These precious conflicts of emotion have been reserved for mothers I think.

 One of the many blessings of motherhood.

I believe their purpose is to force us to our knees.

That we will cry out to Father God for only He really understands the torment and elation of seeing your children grow into adults.

Imagine what it must have been like for him with Christ.

 What was it like for him with you?

Well, no matter how grown she becomes, for our purposes here at the Blog Plantation, she will now and forever be referred to as

 The Princess.

 After all, I still have hope.

 I did find a box of tiaras in her bottom drawer.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Well, Christmas is almost here

(Picture taken at Bellingrath Gardens the Magic of Christmas Tour)

Highly recommended by the Blog Plantation!

Things are quite hectic around the blog plantation as I am certain they are at all of your homes as well.

 I am making the resolution to blog on a regular basis after the first of the year.

 I hope  all of you will bare with me until then.

Much love to all!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Martha's Vineyard the ultimate preppy style

A precious friend of mine turned me onto this clothing line several months ago

 and I am TOTALLY addicted!

The ultimate clothing for those who enjoy the "preppy" style.

Vineyard Vines

 has quickly become the clothing we live in!

Be sure to check them out!

I just know you are going to think they are precious!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Foodie Friday Witch Puddles

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

This edition of Foodie Friday

(hosted by Gollum)

 will include some of my favorite foods

we have made for Halloween over the years.

It will also include the most requested "witch puddles" or "melted witches"

So let's start there!

Careful the goblins are out tonight!

These puddles are easily made with your favorite foods!

1 bag chocolate chips

1 bag white chocolate chips

bag of stick pretzels

1 fruit roll up

1 package of Oreo cookies

1 small bag of Bugles

4 TB Crisco

Melt bag of chocolate chips and 2 TB of Crisco in a microwave safe bowl  until smooth. Then dip bugles until covered in chocolate. Place on a sheet wax paper. Set aside. Cut fruit Roll Ups into strips fraying the edges on one side. Then dip tip of pretzel into remaining chocolate and wrap strips around the ends. Set aside. Next melt white chocolate and 2TB of Crisco in Microwave until smooth. Spread "puddle" shapes onto wax paper and QUICKLY place an Oreo cookie and "broomstick into the puddle. Now you will need to dip the open end of the bugle into remaining chocolate and set on top of the Oreo.

VOILA

You have melted witches!

Next we are "spooking up" chili by cutting out shapes from sliced cheese

Now breakfast is THE most important part of a little goblins day.

How about Pumpkin Spice "spider web " pancakes?

Follow your favorite recipe and pipe onto the griddle in a spider web pattern

Frankenstein must have escaped the lab and landed in the kitchen!

Here a little food coloring, icing, and imagination turn a round cake into a

 FRIGHT!

Mummy Dogs have been around for thousands of years!

Cut strips of linen (crescent rolls) and wrap

 around a hot dog to really give your

creatures of the night something to chow down on.

Well that is it for Halloween 2010!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

BOO!



Foodie Friday Champagne/ mimosa cupcakes

It is Foodie Friday!

Unfortunately with so much going on it will be a quick one!

I have to get in there and bake cookies for the fire department field trip in the morning!

 

Mimosa Cupcake Recipe

•3 cups cake flour

•1/2 tsp salt

•1 tsp baking powder

•1/2 tsp baking soda

•1 cup (2 sticks) butter

•1 cup sugar

•1/2 cup + 2 tbsp frozen orange concentrate

•3 eggs

•3/4 cup plain yogurt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and powder and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter until smooth then add the sugar and cream together. Once the butter and sugar are creamed add in the orange juice concentrate. Mix in one egg at a time. Add in flour mixture 1/3 at a time. When flour is thoroughly mixed, mix in the yogurt. Batter will be slightly lumpy, but should be smooth kind of like pancake batter. Divide the batter evenly into lined cupcake tins and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool

 

 

Champagne Syrup

•2 cups champagne

•1 cup powdered sugar

Bring the champagne and powdered sugar to a boil and let them reduce about half way. Don't expect it to get thick. It will be liquidity. Poke holes in the cupcakes and drizzle in the syrup. Let it absorb into the cupcake and add more. Keep adding to taste

*To make champagne cupcakes just use a white cupcake recipe and add the champagne syrup step!

Be sure to stop by and see Gollum for more Foodie Fridays!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Saints, Bless You Boys!!!

You don't have to be around here very long to know that we are Saints fans.

We were supposed to attend the game on Oct 3

 but due to some conflicts we have had to reschedule.

HOWEVER, the sweet folks over at the Saints organization

 shipped the children their Saints kids membership packets.

 I knew they were a classy group!

The children were super excited and truly racked up!

Backpacks, stickers, pencils you name it.

They will be so ready for the game in a couple of weeks!

The Prince can often be heard running around the house saying

GEAUX SAINTS or BLESS YOU BOYS,

 but the other night while saying prayers,

 just before he said Amen he let out a HUGE

WHO DAT?

Let's hope God is a Saints fan!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Something so charming has to be TOTALLY southern

If you are like me you grew up with a Mother that was always eager to get the latest publication of

 Southern Living.

 Yes, it was truly a staple in every southern woman's home.

As a southern woman with my own home to run, I too have always enjoyed Southern Living.

 However I have discovered a new passion.

 One that will in fact make you retire that subscription.

Garden and Gun

It is indeed the epitome of southern grace and style.

The name is just what you will find inside.

Gorgeous homes with elaborate decor.

Cooking and wine.

The best of southern society.

Hunting and elegant country living.

I think you will be forever devoted to the absolutely stunning publication.

As you hold it in your hand images of dove hunts and southern gentlemen sipping bourbon, debutantes making their way onto the national social register, and children running barefoot through fields of green will fill your thoughts!

Enjoy my precious readers and as always

Thanks for dropping by!

It is almost time for The Boys of Fall

Football speaks to my very soul. I was raised on it. As were most of us here in the south. When I wasn't on the Dallas Cowboy sidelines cheering for my Daddy, I was cheering for the Saints on TV. Years later I was in the stands cheering on my little brother. As I watch this video, my heart is stirred and tears stream down my face. I look forward to watching my own son strap on the pads and take his place among this legacy that is The Boys of Fall

Foodie Friday! Baby Doe's has a secret!

One of the most beloved of restaurants in Birmingham, AL

closed it's doors several years ago

Baby Doe's

One of our favorite dishes was their

FAMOUS BEER CHEESE SOUP!

The recipe was very secret.

Many, many years later

 my  Mother has agreed to allow me to share.

6 cups milk

2 (12 ounce) cans of beer, divided

2 (16 ounce) jars plus 1 (8 ounce) jar of cheese whiz

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can of chicken broth, undiluted

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 dashes of hot sauce

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Combine milk and 2 1/2 cups beer in a large Dutch Oven. Cook over low heat until thouroughly heated, stirring constantly. Add cheese spread, broth, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Coook over low heat until thouroughly heated stirring constantly.

Combine cornstarch and remaining beer, mixing well. Add to cheese mixture; simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. ( DO NOT BOIL).

Yeilds 4 quarts

Hope you enjoy!

 Be sure to stop by Gollum and see more Foodi Fridays!

THANKS FOR DROPPING BY Y'ALL!

Wasting away in Margaritaville!!

I know that I am not blogging as normal, life for me has not returned to normal.

Think it might be time to redefine normal?

 Anyway, I so appreciate all of you reading and checking in on me.

I promise I will be back on a normal blogging schedule soon.

I appreciate all the prayers for my grandmother.

We are prayerful for the best, and God's will.

Cancer is certainly a terrible thing in itself, add Alzheimer's well you can imagine.

As most of you know my family relocated to Gulf Shores in April.

 So we are living the oil spill first hand.

I wanted to THANK Jimmy Buffett for his amazing concert to help all of us down here!

Here is the Princess at the concert with a very cool VIP

We had a great time!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Foodie Friday!

WOW I am so excited to share with you the pictures this week!

We celebrated the 3rd birthday of the Prince.

It was Golf themed and here it is

The cake

The cupcakes

Traditional Arnold Palmer Iced Tea

All the food

Traditional food from the Master's calls for chicken fingers

Hand painted cups for the children

More party details to come.

Hope you enjoyed Foodie Friday this week!

Be sure to stop by and see Gollum for more

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

The Prince turns 3

The Prince is celebrating his Birthday today as we speak!

(He actually turns 3 tomorrow)

We are having his party right now

Here was how the invite read

Birdie, Bogey, Hole in one...

It is our little Pro's birthday,

so please "swing " by for the fun!

Saturday June 19, 2010
*Can't Par-Tee?

at 2:00 PM

Contact his caddy

xxx-xxxx

I will have pictures after the party!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Opening of Toy Story 3!

As part of the birthday celebration for the Prince, we are going to see Toy Story 3!

It opens in theaters today.

I just adore going to the picture show!

He is so excited as well!

For breakfast before we go

To take to the picture show

to eat his popcorn out of

To occupy him at home

A Toy Story slip and slide!

His party will be on Saturday.

It is a golf theme.

Cannot wait  to share it with all of you!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Foodie Friday!

I am still somewhat on auto pilot.

I hope to spend some time over the next week reading blogs and catching up!

It is the Prince's third birthday this weekend so, you can imagine the chaos added there!

So here is a quick Foodie Friday!

This is a cake I baked for my Mother and her sweet friends.

They had a girl's weekend at the beach!

I used organic sugar around it as sand

It is kind of like a poundcake but not as dense.

GREAT glaze

Here is the pan

It is Nordicware and although I got this one at William Sonoma

 (almost 4 years ago)

You can purchase at Amazon

The recipe is included and is specifically for this pan.

Hope you enjoy!

Be sure to stop by and see Gollum for more Foodie Fridays!

Thanks for dropping by Ya'll!

WELCOME to our new home!

Well, it seems as though I have FINALLY found my way out of most of the boxes!

To celebrate that I am going to share with all of you pictures of our new home.

Here the Princess and Prince

 are having homemade butterfinger ice cream

on the front porch

 There are several exciting things coming up on the blog and I hope that all of you precious readers have not given up on me.

So here are a few to enjoy~

This is the view as you enter the front door

This is part of the Living room.

 We still need to paint those new French Doors!

The kitchen area

The kitchen

The other side of the kitchen

Well, there is MUCH more to share and I will soon!

Hope that we are ALMOST back to normal!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

I am still here!!

DEAR SWEET FRIENDS,
I will be back very soon. Please do not give up on me. Several things have had my attention the past two weeks, but blogging will be back full time VERY soon. I have much to share and MANY, MANY pictures! These are exciting times! God is so good.
Love to all,
Jess

Well Y'all, we finally have a winner!

Well, Y'all I had to go and injure myself and delay our drawing.

 But CONGRATS are finally in order for Karen @ Ladybug Creek! 

Y'all please forgive me for the unforseen setback.

We are going to have another giveaway VERY soon, so stay tuned.

Alright, time for Night Y'all  and a cup of tea!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Foodie Friday!

This week we are making

Lettuce Wraps

About three years ago, I finally got my college friend Shana to eat with me at a "Chinese" place.

 It was P F Chang's and she was expecting, but hey after trying for 12 years it was a start.

 She fell in love with the lettuce wraps.

Of course that is one of the top sellers!

 I vividly remember her calling her husband and saying, "I found chinese food I like"

Since that time the mission has been to find a version made at home to rival it.

 I think that mission has been acomplished!

Great job Shana!!

So let me share with you, I made this for my parents and they just ADORED them!

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

3 tablespoons oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup water chestnut

2/3 cup mushroom

3 tablespoons chopped onions

1 teaspoon minced garlic

4-5 leaves leafy lettuce

Special Sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon hot mustard

2 teaspoons water

1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions

1 Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.

2 Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.

3 Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.

4 Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.

5 Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

6 Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.

7 Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.

8 Remove chicken from the pan and cool.

9 Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.

10 As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.

11 Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

12 When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.

13 With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.

14 Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.

15 Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups".

16 Top with"Special Sauce".

 

 

( I poured the sauce over all of the filling in a large bowl and let everyone serve their own)

 

Be sure to stop by Gollum's for more Foodie Fridays!

 

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

Home Sweet Home (still under renovations)

Well, we had another VERY productive day at the house.

The children's rooms are now functioning, the living room, the kitchen, the children's bath. The wet bar is not finished and the dining room isn't complete either. The master suite will most likely be the last of ALL the projects. The house is coming together and I am VERY excited about the colors we used and the fabrics. Remember, once complete I will saturate you with photos! I know, I know, I am such a tease!

Seriously, I could not do any of this without my Mother!

She is truly amazing and works so hard to help me get everything picture perfect!

Thank you Mother I love you!!

Thank all of you so much for checking on us and being patient. Maybe soon we will be done and I will be back to blogging full time. Just think, I am going to have a TON of Met Monday posts!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!

CONTEST TIME!

OK FANS.. here is the prize...

a body buddy: which can be warmed for heat therapy or frozen for cold compress. It is filled with cherry pits, so you can imagine how luxurious these are. The heat and cold are so much more soothing than any other compress! You are going to love this.(pattern to be chosen by sponsor)sponsored by Fresh Eye

ALSO some wonderful AVON products sponsored by Misty Ehart

You win BOTH!

So here is how to win... simply leave a comment under this post saying what you love about our page/ blog. You can do this once everyday for more chances to win. AND if you are a fan of both the blog AND the facebook page you will automatically get 5 more chances for each one!

So let your friends know!

Drawing will be Next Friday!

Foodie Friday! West Indies Salad

Welcome to Foodie Friday!

For supper tonight, we had West Indies Salad,

smoked tuna dip,

baked striped pang with bernaise sauce

and asparagus

It was delicious. So I thought I would share a WONDERFUL

West Indies Salad recipe

(ONE OF MY FAVORITE DISHES EVER)

Ingredients

1 pound lump crabmeat, picked

1 medium-size sweet onion, diced

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup cider vinegar

4 oz of ice water

 salt

pepper

 

In bottom of the bowl pour about 1/2 of your chopped onion. Then add the crab. Remaining onion. Salt and Pepper to taste. Then pour oil, vinegar and then the ice water ( in that order) on top of mixture. Cover and marinate from about 4 - 48 hours. To serve toss lightly. Enjoy!

 

 

Be sure to stop by Gollum's for more Foodie Fridays!

Thanks for dropping by y'all!

Outdoor Wednesday

Things are still crazy busy here.

We have been painting and renovating.

I cannot wait to show y'all the finished product.

Shouldn't be long now!

We are watching the oil leak carefully.

So far so good.

Keeping prayer in our heart and joy in our step!

Here are some pics for outdoor Wednesday!

This is the view from The Princess's room

She has a wonderful view of the lake to wake up to each day

The Prince wakes up to the golf course

Which is perfect because he is OBSESSED with golf!

golf and football!

Check out this form!

not bad for two.

The golf pros were VERY impressed!

We are enrolling him in golf camp

Be sure to see Susan for more outdoor Wednesdays!

Thanks for dropping by Y'all!