Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Beauty Described by CZ Rings

When you think about your ideal engagement ring, what comes to mind? Love, marriage, beauty, expensive? Men often times shy away from getting engaged because of the sole reason of having to buy an engagement ring. The price of diamond rings is something to really worry about – especially if the ring is being financed. Luckily, there's an alternative to buying your girlfriend and overpriced diamond ring – you can get her a cubic zirconia ring for just a fraction of the price you'd pay for a diamond. With the extremely low price of cubic zirconia rings, you may even get your loved one multiple rings, a few just as a gift as well as the final engagement ring! CZ rings can be credited for their low priced, but how does the quality of the stone itself stand next to a diamond ring?
Purple CZ engagement ringThe low prices of CZ rings are incredibly attractive, but what seals the deal is often times the customization and color variety these stones are available in. The rings are also available in different cuts, for example princess or round cuts, and give the rings a unique look your significant other is sure to love. The biggest challenge of your shopping experience will be selecting between the color of the stone, the cut, and the metal for the ring – otherwise, choosing between the cubic zirconia and diamond should not be an overwhelming task.

The incredibly low price and beauty reflected by the stone itself will make your next purchase of CZ rings very pleasant. Whether you're buying for yourself or someone else, there is a design of a ring that will suit any given person or outfit! With a price as low as $50, the durability of a diamond and the color combination you will never stop loving, buying cubic zirconia rings should be nothing short of a beautiful experience.

Read more article about CZ jewelry on blog Fashion Jewelry

Going to the Dogs

I've mentioned before how head over heels E and I are for our two dogs, so it might not be surprising we both desired to have them be part of our wedding celebration. While we weren't able to make it happen, I still love seeing when couples do include a furry, four-legged family member in their big day!


Elle U.S. May Rie Rasmussen

Magazine as one of the world-famous fashion and that U.S. Elle May pages, beautiful models Rie RasmussenI can see

While this study looks at me, What kind of composition but I could not figure out exactly what they want to draw attention to the following;
  • deserted motorways
  • fantastic combinations
  • short shorts









Who Makes the Best Fried Chicken?

We are on a plane flying down to my parents last August. The carry-on bags are packed full of reading material . . . okay cooking magazines to share with Mom and 1 Newsweek. Reading recipes seems Ho-hum (I know, shocking!!!!) so I open up the Newsweek and a Revelation happened. My Nemesis appeared in BOLD letters: The perfect fried chicken debate! The perfect fried chicken has eluded my kitchen and I have almost given up . . . until Newsweek . . . offering a brilliant solution for those of us still searching!
The article in question:

Heaven, Fried
Who makes the best fried chicken: a Michelin-rated chef or a Southern master?

By Julia Reed NEWSWEEK
Published Jul 9, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Jul 20, 2009

Click on the recipe title and you will be taken directly to the article that opened my eyes to a whole new definition of Southern Fried Chicken.

The debate, put in a nutshell, comes down to a battle between two cooking giants: The late Edna Lewis and the all-amazing chef Thomas Keller. Chef Thomas Keller " . . . is the only American-born chef with two restaurants (The French Laundry and Per Se) awarded Michelin's highest rating (three stars)." (Newsweek, 2009)

Edna Lewis is a well-published southern author out of Virginia who is known for her award-winning recipes.

The debate is between chef Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Kit (for the perfect fried chicken)- SOLD AT WILLIAM SONOMA STORE or ONLINE for only 14.95 (if bought online, you will pay slightly more for shipping) and has been proclaimed by "New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni . . . as nothing short of "phenomenal" (Newsweek, 2009) The kit contains:
Two packets of brine and two packets of flour coating.
Each packet brines or batters 8–10 pieces of chicken; all four packets can be used to create a party-sized batch of 16–20 pieces.
2lb. 2 oz. total.

AND Edna Lewis's true southern chicken recipe found here:

The revelation: Both chef Keller and Edna Lewis BRINE their chicken! I have never done this but what a great way to not only create tender poultry but inject layers of seasonings.
After brining overnight (using the Ad Hoc kit), the chicken is rinsed, dried, dipped in dry batter, dipped in buttermilk and re-dipped in the dry batter mix and fried at 320 degrees for 13 minutes. Creating multi-layers of season packed flavor and moisture with a crispy crust. A person could easily just nibble on the crispy crust and be happy. Edna Lewis is next on my list to try but chef Keller gave me a new way of approaching fried chicken. The seasoning mixtures in the brine opens a whole new thought process for infusing flavor and now I am obsessed with fried chicken once again. Thank you Newsweek for printing an article that helped re-direct and inspire my mind in the world of cooking.

In addition to the fried chicken, the time has come to use another baking concept. Pre-made peach pie fillings. Last summer, 30 pound boxes of peaches were purchased off farms in Eastern Washington for canning purposes. Some of the over-ripe peaches were not fit for canning. These peaches were trimmed up and mixed with ingredients for pies. I froze the peach pie fillings in pie plates and once frozen, popped them out of the plates and inserted the fillings into Ziploc bags for future use. Now, all that was needed was to make a pie crust, pop the frozen filling in the crust, add a streusel and bake. Easy!The pie was pretty juicy but the flavors were wonderful!My daughter, Ashley, was going on her first real job interview today so I decided to also bake her favorite sheet brownies with a milk chocolaty frosting. Whether the interview went good or bad, she would have brownies. Ashley was offered the job so the brownies were part of her celebration!

Nila and Eric (+Sienna) Photodate in Providence

It was a gorgeous afternoon for a portrait, we met at Prospect Park on the East Side and Sienna the dog was raring to go! Nila and Eric are getting married in June and Sienna is going to be the 'ring dog'...of course!




Normally I would feel funny about posting more photos of the dog than of the couple, but in this case I believe that the couple will be excited to see so many photos of their dog, she is fabulous after all...






What's cuter than a dog bum?






She was all crazy when they first got there, but after a few minutes off the leash fetching her ball and she chilled right out. I love her ears.






A little snuggle.












Oh look, here are the people finally!






What a classic portrait, and thank you cherry blossoms in the background!






These two are so nice! They are both ER doctors, so I knew I was in good hands in case I incurred some kind of photo injury during the shoot.






I had to resist the head scratch since I am allergic to dogs, but you can almost feel the fur in this one...






The East Side has such great little scenarios such as this garage door here. Sienna is being such a good subject!






Adorable!






...and very much in love! They were locking lips every other shot, it was crazy, but so nice to see! This is my favorite from the session...






Here's your classic newspaper 'we're engaged' shot.






All of the blossoms were awesome! Spring is so fabulous when the sun is out...

Thanks guys! See you soon for the big day!

♥ Giveaways. Win Me Plss ♥

♥ kay. more fabs giveaways to enter to.

I hope I'll win!!^^ fingers crossed~~



- Bec's Beauty Buzz Rimmel Giveaway





- Jenulence Eyeshadow Giveaway on Two Thousand Things Blog





love.love ♥♥

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Making Extra Cookies . . . Works For Me Wednesday

Well, you probably knew it was coming after last week's WFMW, but something simple that works for me is making extra cookies.

I *always* make a mistake when decorating cookies. Even if only I can see it...there's always "the ugly one." Knowing I have cushion (and not just on my hips) takes the pressure off and I actually think I make fewer mistakes because of it.


Example...I made these 40th birthday cookies a few weeks ago. Next to last cookie, I spelled "Robyn" as "Roybn." ROYbn. There is no recovery from that. I had extras, so....I ate it.

Besides eating them myself, I find my husband is more than willing to eat the evidence of ugly cookies as are my neighbors. (Good neighbors like that are hard to find.)

What is working for you this week? I'll be linking to Works For Me Wednesday!

Our Homeschool Home

PS....any grill queens out there? I'm honored to be guest judging On The Grill at Our Homeschool Home starting tomorrow (Thursday). Link up your recipes and pictures. You'll get bragging rights, a darling WINNER button for your blog and a FANTASTIC prize! Get your GRILL on!!!