Cowboy Cookie Mix Gift

Last week I had lunch with some friends that I couldn't see during the Christmas holidays.  We had lots of fun, and got caught up on each other's lives.  I don't get to see them very often and I miss them a lot. My friend Gayle gave me this Cowboy Cookie Mix in a Jar with the recipe written out in a cute card.

Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart jar in the order given.  

Press each layer firmly in place before adding the next layer.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Gayle included a card that said:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or spray cookie sheet.

2. In medium bowl mix together 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Stir in entire contents of jar.  You may need to use your hands to finish mixing.

3. Shape into walnut-sized balls.  Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.

(In the background you can see the red tea kettle my daughter got me for Christmas.  She decided I needed a red one!)

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes.

4. Transfer from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool.

Makes 15 big ol' cookies or 2 dozen cow-girl sized cookies. 

Enjoy!

Never On A Sunday Album

My brother has been on a mission for the last year to clean out his storage and get rid of everything.  He's been housing all of my parent's stuff. There are a couple of items that I want, so I keep asking for them every time I visit.  One of these things is the original soundtrack from the 1960 Greek film Never On A Sunday.  I finally found it on one of his book shelves the other day.

My mom use to play this album all the time and I would sit near the Hi Fi and listen to it while looking at this album cover.  I just loved this simple yet elegant drawing.  I think it had a big impact on my wanting to become an illustrator.  It also heavily influenced my style.

This movie is about Ilya, a freelance prostitute that lives life on her own terms, in the port of Piraeus in Greece.  Homer, an American tourist and a scholar, has come to Greece to experience what he has been studying all his life.  Homer sees Ilya's lifestyle as a symbol of the degradation of classical Greek culture.  He tries to steer her onto the path of morality.  But there is no holding down Ilya's free spirit!

The film is really funny and has beautiful music.  Ilya's wardrobe  is wonderful too!  Melina Mercouri, the actress who plays Ilya is beautiful and talented. She won Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival for this role.

 Now all I need is a record player so I can listen to the album again!

Crossley Cruiser Briefcase Portable Record Player - $98

Crosley Cruiser Printed Briefcase Record Player - $98

Crosley AV Room Portable USB Record Player - $160

Draper Media Console - $249

All record players are from Urban Outfitters.

Enter To Win A Fashion Illustration!

The lovely Jessica from the Chronically Vintage blog is running a contest where you can win one of the items from my etsy shop!  Head on over to her blog and check it out.  The contest runs from Jan. 14, 2014 through Tues. Jan. 21, 2014.

Breakfast at Tiffany's print

Daisy gift tags - set of 6

Ladies in Red Series - Lola

Chanel No 5 flat notecard set of 10

Good Luck!

The Classic Wrap Dress - DVF

I've always wanted a classic wrap dress from Diane Von Furstenberg, and this python print one is amazing.  She is such a stylish lady with an enduring brand and look.

Untitled #43 by debralynn5 featuring a trench coat

Breakfast for Kids

I'm always looking for ways to get my 7 year old to try new foods.  She doesn't like eggs, but does like dinosaurs.  So I renamed the classic Egg in a Nest, to Dinosaur Egg in a Nest and that worked wonders!

What you'll need

1 egg

1 slice of bread

butter or margarine

jam or fruit spread

round cookie cutter

(I use whole wheat or oat-nut bread, margarine, and fruit spread that is all fruit without added sugar)

How to make it

1.  I butter both sides of the bread.

2. Cut a whole in the center of the bread with your cookie cutter.

3. Either spray your frying pan with Pam cooking spray or melt butter in the pan.  Place the bread and the round cut out piece in the pan.  Crack the egg into the hole.  Cook over medium heat until the egg has set, then flip the egg, bread and round cut-out bread over.  Cook until egg is done to your satisfaction and transfer to plate.  Salt the egg to taste.  Put some jam on the cut-out round and serve to a happy child!

* I usually have to cut out extra rounds and cook them up.  My daughter loves them.

Enjoy!

Visiting the Ice Kingdom, Chill, at the Queen Mary

I was determined this year to visit Chill at the Queen Mary during winter break from school.  Last year we went to see the Princess Diana exhibit there and I saw all these people headed for the dome in winter gear and vowed to go when I could.

The giant dome that once housed the legendary Spruce Goose was transformed into an igloo - The Ice Kingdom.  You get to follow Clara from The Nutcracker story through her adventures on a cold Christmas Eve Night as she and the Nutcracker battle the Mouse King and his army.

We had to bundle up because it is only 9 degrees in the igloo!  They provide parkas for everyone, because we just don't have warm clothes in Southern California.  In fact it was about 80 degrees outside that day.  So we were freezing in that igloo!!  I know, we are wimps when it comes to weather.

The sugar plum fairy.

Going through the ice tunnel.

The Mouse King guarding the ice slide.

Sandra, sliding down the ice slide.

A miniature version of the Queen Mary in the igloo.

When our noses and fingers felt frozen we went over to visit the Queen Mary and thaw out in the sun.

It's amazing to see and walk around on a floating part of history.

One of the ballrooms was all set up for a wedding.  There's even a wedding chapel on board.

Can't you just picture when from the 1940's in their ball gowns here?

Well, I feel better now that I got that out of my system.  On to our next adventure!

Black-eyed Peas for Good Luck this New Year!

It's a tradition in my family to eat black-eyed peas with white rice on New Year's Day so you will have good luck all year long.  So here's the recipe :

Black-eyed Peas

1 1/2 cups dried black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 smoked meaty ham hock (I used the left over bone from the Christmas ham)

1 small onion

1 small carrot, peeled

1 leafy celery top

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic, peeled

6 cups water

Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, covered, until the peas are tender, about 45 minutes.  Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Discard the bay leaf and celery.  Return the peas to the pot along with the reserved cooking liquid.  Shred the meat from the ham hock and add the meat to the peas.  Cut the carrot into 1/2 inch chunks and add to the peas.  Stir in 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over  white rice.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!