Rosemerta's Butterbeer (a delicious Hogsmeade favorite)

Believe it or not, I made Butterbeer tonight. I really have no idea what possessed me to think of making it or even wanting to drink it! Siriusly. It was fun and yummy- although perhaps a bit too sweet for my tastes. (i'm more of an olive and cheese girl) If you've read Harry Potter or seen the movies, you know that Butterbeer sounds and looks so good! The recipe is easy and I found it online. Apparently there's actually a Harry Potter cookbook with a bunch of recipes in it and the website I found has some of them online for free. Pretty cool if you're a fan...if you're not, it's a bit cheesy....

To make Butterbeer you will need:

1/2 cup caramel syrup (like the kind you put on ice cream)
1/2 TBS butter
2 cups of cream or club soda (if you want it pretty sweet use cream)

Directions:

Melt the butter into the caramel syrup in the microwave until completely melted. (about 1 min on high)
Take out and stir to cool for about 30 seconds.
Pour in soda and mix (it will fizz ALOT)
Serve in two small cups and enjoy!

Monday's: I'm Blessed

This monday (well, really sunday evening) I'm going to take you on a little trip through our weekend and   perhaps through pictures you can see some of the things I'm thankful for!  I'm linking up with Gretchen from "He Sows, She Sews" for a great weekly boost of refocusing on the many things I have to be thankful for- whether big or small. 

one of my terrarium succulents (in fact the only one remaining) has sprouted a new flower! see the little one on the bottom? I thought this little plant would be the first to die (all its roots fell of during transplant) but now it's flourishing! (and I'm really happy cuz I'm terrible with plants)

we had a little autumn-soup-potluck dinner at our apartment this weekend. I made two fresh loaves of bread using THIS recipe. Turned out yummy and pretty :)

we went to drop off overdue library materials after church and saw that pinkberry had opened! it's a frozen yogurt shop with a lot, lot, lot of topping options. We shared an original with brownie bites, cookies and creme, strawberries, organic gummy bears, and caramel sauce. How fun is spontaneous fro-yo? 

Also this weekend, we went upstate to visit my uncle (who is an optometrist) and get our eyes checked. After, I made Karl try on all sorts of AWESOME glasses like these sweet babies. 

While walking TO the library (to return materials and etc) I found this branch of pretty leaves and brought them home to decorate with. (even though everybody I passed looked and me like I was a bag lady for carrying around a stick with dried leaves on it)

I set them here for now. I know, I know, not super creative, but I'll figure something else for them later.  But for now, I still enjoy having a little bit of the autumn outside inside. 

What are you thankful for today?

Boring Stuff and Beef Stew

Thanks to normalcy, this week has gone by so fast. (and I'm glad!) Autumn is starting to set in with temps in the 40's and 50's, bringing a crisp, cool inhale. Our old radiators are starting to turn on and the clinking and clanging are rather comforting. This is the weather where a hot steamy cup of apple cider, tea, or coffee is most appreciated. I love waking up with a cold nose and warm body. (i know that's weird, but whatevs, we all have are "things") Here's what we've been up to lately:

-switching out all my summer/ spring clothes with my autumn/winter clothes. (we share one VERY small closet, so things we aren't currently wearing gets stored in suitcases) I love pulling out big chunky sweaters, scarves and boots. it's like saying hello to some old buddies.

- making lots of different soups and stews. this is soooo the perfect weather for that. so far the crock pot beef stew has been the best.

- worrying constantly about my outside herbs. I check on them every day and worry about them surviving the night since it gets to about freezing. I brought them inside one day to see if they liked the inside temp better, but the basil-diva shriveled right away.

-oh, an update on my terrariums (while we're on the subject of plants) 2 dead. 1 flourishing.

-remember that black coffee table I bought for $10 at Goodwill? Well, after a trip to home depot to pick out paint and buy supplies, we're in the process of sanding it down. (i'm so excited to paint it!)

- modern family. how funny is that show? it makes me laugh constantly.

- sewing projects! i've been going through my closet and finding the things I bought on a whim for a good price and have started altering them so I can actually wear them. it's amazing how fast you can get things done when you don't have to sew by hand!

Here's a recipe I have to share with you. My husband went bonkers over it and kept saying how delicious it was. (and I kept thinking, "how easy was that!!") Seriously, the recipe took like 15 minutes of hands-on time. That's my kind of meal.

Crock Pot Beef Stew








To make this stew you will need:


1 1/2- 2 lbs of beef cut into 1/2 inch chunks (I actually only had 1.32 lbs and it worked fine)
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 TB balsamic vinegar
2 TB all purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 pound (about 4-6 medium sized) of white or red potatoes, well scrubbed and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 pound (about 2) of medium onions  cut into 1 inch chunks
about 10 baby carrots
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 beef bullion
1 1/2 cup water
2 bay leaves


Place beef in slow cooker and spread tomato paste on top. Pour vinegar on top and sprinkle with the flour. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic and bay leaves other on top. Pour water over everything and place bullion cube on top. If you can, stir an hour or so before it's ready. Cook on high for 5 hours (or low for 8)


You can have it plain or with rice, or like we had it, with some egg noodles. Hope you try it- it's delicious!






Happy Weekend All!

Random Thursday and an Awesome Giveaway

Contrary to all that autumn should be, this week has been hot, humid, rainy and cloudy. The past couple days have felt like it's 4 o'clock all day. (y'know, darkish, quiet, and boring) I made a trip to Trader Joe's yesterday after Bible Study (since I was already like 1/2 way to the store) and bought...........(drumroll) AN OREGANO PLANT!!! Yay, one more herb to add to my 'garden' (haha, pots on my porch). So far I have basil, chives, and oregano. What other herbs should I add? Mint? Lavender? Give me some ideas, folks!

Ok, so enough about that for now. (i'll include pictures of 2 awesome new items i bought at TJ's at the end of this post) 

What about that giveaway? Long story short: it's time to do something fun and get more feedback from you!  :)  One of these awesome totes will be given away to you! I'm trying to build up my etsy shop and reopen it with some exciting and new items. These totes will be available once I reopen my shop, but for a special preview, I'll be giving one away! The winner will be randomly selected using an online number generator and will get to choose one of the 4 totes below. (you can specify if you would like black or flamingo for the words)

also available with flamingo lettering (as are all totes)

doesn't he? 

perfect for toting around the necessities, y'know, like music.... ;)

So are you ready to enter the giveaway? Here's how to enter:

:: you must be a follower of fifteenevergreen (it's super-super simple if you have a gmail account) and leave me a comment telling who your favorite composer is right now.

:: for additional entries you can post a link to this post on your blog or facebook account

be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do!

The winner will be announced on Monday, September 8th!

Now for my 2 happy purchases at Trader Joes: 

These things are seriously good. like your eye brows go up and your eyeballs pop out when you taste them.

way better than I expected.  what's a day without coffee? oh yeah, one where your eyes are closed the entire day. 

Happy Friday folks, and dont' forget to enter the giveaway!

WIWW (What I Wore Wednesday)

This week I'm linking up (once again) with Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy. I haven't done my best taking pictures every day, but just so you know, my yoga pants were in the laundry for  the better part of this week. This week is a little bit crazy and busy, and I will be glad once it is over! And because my brain is currently fried, dipped in batter and then fried again, that's all for now.

you can't see it by the top has gathered sleeves and a lace back. it's one of my favorites! (its also a cream and beige stripe, but you can't see that either. here's to taking better pictures!)

Sunday- lace top H&M via goodwill $3, tank f21, skirt f21, shoes nine west via shoe carnival

can't get enough of this top! looking forward to pairing it with lots of lovelies!

tank: DD

white top: f21

jeans: loft

cardi: old navy via plato's closet

shoes: gift

necklace: gift

Yummy Orzo Salad

Do you ever just wish you could take something out of the fridge and eat it for lunch instead of having to cook? or even make a sandwich? The middle of my days usually get really busy so making a big salad that I can just pull out of the fridge and into a bowl really works for me. I also try not to eat meat more than once a day. The flavors in this salad don't even make me miss my meat! (which i love)

to make this salad you will need:

:: 1/2 lb of orzo cooked according to package 

::handful of crasins

:: 1/2 a green or red bell pepper (really any you have on hand will do)

:: feta cheese, crumbled

:: 1/2 chopped onion

:: 1 clove minced garlic

::1 tbs. chopped chives

:: 4 chopped mushrooms (i used mini portabellas) 

:: salad dressing (i use my own homemade, but you could also just to olive oil and balsamic)

:: salt & pepper to taste

this recipe is really easy to double (which i will next time since i only got 2 lunches out of this). if your pasta is still hot, run some cold water through it in a sieve until it's not steaming.

in a large bowl, combine crasins, pepper, feta, onion, garlic, chives, mushrooms and about 1/4 cup of dressing. add orzo and toss to coat. add salt and pepper to taste, and add more dressing as needed.

enjoy!

Monday: I'm Blessed

I am blessed in so many ways I fail to truly and sincerely thank God for. You know, big things like good health and having all my needs met, as well as a lot of my wants.(and who doesn't like a couple of 'extras' thrown in?)
This week I am thankful for some little 'extras' God threw in to my already blessed life.

- pumpkin spice creamer.
- the $8 fossil watch I found at goodwill in new condition (I have been looking for a watch for about a month now)
- playing with the symphony this week. Even though it's a long drive, I enjoy playing great music with a good conductor and friendly musicians. (oh as well as the stellar snacks and goodies they give us during our breaks)
- also music related, I'm so thankful we're doing an all- Beethoven program this week.(last time it was all French music. Don't even ask me to list all the reasons why I hate playing french orchestra music)
- waking up earlier in the mornings. We used to be able to sleep in till 9 some weekdays, but this year 7:30 mornings are the norm. I used to hate it, but now I can get a lot more accomplished in a day.


What are you thankful for?