Weekend fun

We packed up some turkey sandwiches and

potato salad and headed up to Fountain Hills

to spend the day on Sunday. We played some

Frisbee golf and just enjoyed the absolutely

perfect weather!

Music and wine

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Saturday night on the patio.

I so enjoy listening to Taylor play

the guitar - he's really getting good.

Weekend flowers

Fresh flowers from Trader Joes.

The weather is supposed to be

beautiful today. We are packing up

some lunch and heading to downtown

Tempe for the afternoon.

Desert in bloom

One of the best things about living in

the desert is the spring time. Not only is

the weather gorgeous, but the desert

comes to life with beautiful wildflowers.

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Even the prickly cactus have big,

vibrant blooms.

Check out the bee in the flower - cool.

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The color is incredible!

I thoroughly enjoyed my hike at
South Mountain this morning.
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Happy Friday!

Lemony goodness

Mixed up a batch of Barefoot Contessa

Lemon Bars.

Lemon Bars

For the Crust:

1/2 lb. unsalted butter at room temp.

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

For the filling:

6 large eggs at room temp.

3 cups granulated sugar (ugh)

2 Tbl. grated lemon zest

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup all purpose flour

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until

light, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with

the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and

salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter

until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured

board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough and press

into a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish, building up about a

1/2 inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 min., until very lightly browned.

Let cool on a wire rack. Leave oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest,

lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to

35 min., until the filling is set. Let cool to room temp.

Cut into triangles or squares and dust with powdered sugar.

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Warning: Try not to eat too many,

they may be a bit fattening...!

Lemon tree

Isn't this a beautiful sight?

My lemon tree is full of big, juicy lemons

and covered with fragrant blossoms.
It smells sooo good and makes me happy.
Perhaps I should make some lemon bars..
Hmmmm..
I think Barefoot Contessa has an easy
recipe - I will take a look.

Afternoon garden project

We planted a little garden today.

Darryl built the above ground garden

box for me. Thank you honey!

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A few tomato plants, basil, strawberries,

green pepper, a few varieties of lettuce,

chives, lemon thyme & dill.

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We will give it plenty of water, love

and attention - we hope it grows well.

Even Harley seems happy about it.

Dinner last night

Grilled up some fresh asparagus and tossed

into penne pasta along with caramelized

onions, feta, parmesan cheese,

toasted pine nuts and

fresh basil.

Delicious!

Day Dreaming...

This outdoor table looks so inviting...

The weather is just beautiful here.

Today's temp. will be about 85.

Kids are heading to a spring training

game with Dad.

Think green

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

D has a very busy day today,

with 4 sales appointments.

I hope all goes well.

At the end of the day, I hope we'll not

only be drinking the green, we'll be

seeing some green too!

Scenes from the weekend

Cold beers on the patio.

Toes in the sand

Pelicans on the playa

Crazy hair after a Jetski ride.

The weather was just beautiful.

We enjoyed a little spring break

at the beach.

Shopping date

Darryl and I met for a quick lunch yesterday

at Firehouse Subs, and then we shopped

at Costco together. We never go grocery

shopping together... picked up some ripe

strawberries and a double pack of Nutella.

Gotta love that.

I wanted to pick up a little potted lime

tree - but Darryl talked me out of it.

(partly why I we don't ever go shopping together...)

I love our lemon tree and I know I would

also love having a lime tree. Key Lime pie,

fresh squeezed margaritas - oh yes.

Great Mother's Day gift (hint, hint honey..)

Cooking club

I have been thinking about it for awhile...

I would love to start a cooking club.

Just need to find a few girlfriends or

friends who enjoy cooking. We would prepare

a full meal together - appetizer, salad,

entree, sides, & dessert. We could break up

into teams and tackle ea. dish. Everyone

would be asked to bring a bottle of wine,

and then after all the dishes are prepared,

we all sit down together and enjoy the

fruits of our labor.

My kitchen is not very big,

but I am sure I could make it work.

Maybe we could take turns having it at

each others homes? (I have some friends

with nice, big kitchens...)

Sounds like fun - no?

I will have to work on the details,

and make some phone calls.

Cookies

Baked up a batch of cookies this

morning. The recipe calls to let the

dough chill for 6 hours... I could not

wait that long - put in the freezer for

about 2 hrs. and they turned out great.

They are a bit crispy on the outside and

soft and chewy like a brownie

on the inside - yummy!

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Chocolate Crinkles

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup Vegetable oil

3/4 cup cocoa

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Powder sugar

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Combine sugar & oil, add cocoa and

blend well. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine flour,

baking powder & salt. Add to cocoa

mixture. Cover and chill for 6 hrs.

Shape into 1 inch balls, roll in

powder sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 min.

New music

I am enjoying this cd today.

Recipe to try

This salad looks delish!

It's making my mouth water just looking

at it. I found the recipe here.

This would look great on my new platter!

Note to self: Must make soon.

Bliss..

I bought this beautiful platter today at the

Domestic Bliss sale - 50% off.

I just love it.

I can imagine it with a big yummy salad,

or fresh tomato mozzarella on it - yum!

It will get plenty of use as the warm

summer weather and menu approaches.

Birthday wishes

Dropped a little gift for my sister-in-law

Dawn on her front porch - a bottle of

wine and some happy daffodils.
Happy Birthday Dawn!

Pizza Pizza

A little pizza making with Logan.