Easter Eggs

My mother came over Monday morning to play with Layla while I decorated Easter eggs. We love to decorate eggs each year. Somehow we always seem to run out of eggs before we run out of design ideas.
My mother makes her perfect hard boiled eggs by placing her eggs In a large pot, covering them with water and bringing them to a boil. Once the water boils, she sets a timer for six minutes. When the six minutes are up mom turns the stove off and lets the eggs rest in the hot water for an additional six minutes.  After that, she immediately rinses them with cold water. Then they are ready to decorate.
We kept our decorating pretty simple this year compared to other years. What did you do? Are you easter eggs works of art? Masterpieces worthy of the Sistine Chapel? Or did you keep things simple using farm fresh eggs and natural vegetable dyes? Either way I'd love to hear it and see your egg decorating pictures!

The Easter Bunny

Not so early last Sunday morning the whole family set out to visit Mike's Grandma who has been in the hospital for nearly two weeks. Along the way we made two pit stops. First at a bait shop then at a bakery.
Mike needed to stop at Musky Mike's bait shop in Okauchee to pick up a special lure that the walleyes think is irresistible lately and I needed to stop at a bakery because,  frankly,  this momma isn't happy until she eats breakfast (I can't be the only one, right?).
For one reason or another mike was pretty adamant that I needed to accompany him into the baitshop. And no, it's not because I like to help him pick out the prettiest lures. Apparently, fish don't care about pretty. I can't remember the exact reason he wanted me to come in but have since determined that it was fate.
Anyway, it didn't take long for us to locate the specific lure and we were just about to check out when mike asked me "did you see what's in the box?"
"What box?" I replied.
"The one down there. " he said while gesturing toward my feet.
I hadn't noticed the small box before then. As I knelt down to peer into the crate I felt unsure of what type of critter I would find I would find in a bait shop. I braced myself for a surprise, half expecting to find some sort of wild animal. Instead all I saw was a furry black butt.
"What is it?" I asked the store clerk.
"A rabbit." he replied, continuing to explain that a friend of his had dropped it off a few days prior. Someone else was supposed to come pick it up, but they has never shown up. So the rabbit needed a new home before the clerk decided to turn it into dinner.
The instant I heard the word "rabbit" I was excited. By the time the clerk finished explaining how he had acquired the animal, I was already cuddling the bunny in my lap.
"I'll take it!" I told him, ignoring mike who was in the backround, adamantly shaking his head "no!"
Pretty soon we had loaded the rabbit into the trunk, whom I'd already dubbed "Musky Mike" after the name of the bait shop, and continued on our way to get breakfast and visit Grandma (who is doing better, by the way).
  That's how the easter bunny arrived at our house. Since then, "Musky Mike" turned out to be a "Musky Michelle". She is a beautiful black Dutch rabbit who was on blue eye and one brown. She has settled in well at home. Layla fell in love with her new "Easter Bunny" immediately. She tries to pet and pick up Michelle or "Mischa" so much that we  have to put the rabbit back into her cage just so she can relax sometimes.
Overall our family feels a little more complete now that there's a bunny among us. She is the perfect pet for our family right now.

Chocolate Bird Nests

Chocolate Bird nests are one of my favorite springtime treats from my childhood.  I can remember making them with my mother around Easter. I would always make giant ones with peanut butter M&Ms for my dad. He is the peanut butter lover in the family. Lately, I've been craving the chocolatey crunch of birds nests. So yesterday my sister, Rachelle, stopped over to chat and help me make some.
They are pretty simple to make. The process is very similar to making rice crispy bars. We made about two dozen and used; one Large bag of Lachoy chow mein noodles, one bag of Hershey's milk chocolate chips, one bag of Hershey's special dark chocolate chips, one bag Cadbury milk chocolate mini eggs and/or one bag of M&Ms peanut butter eggs. We used half a bag of each kind of candy. If you don't like either of those options you can use any egg shaped candy instead like malted milk ball eggs or giant jelly beans.
First we emptied both bags of chocolate chips into a large pot set on low heat. I stirred until all the chips were melted together smoothly. Next Rachelle slowly poured all the chow mein noodles into the pot. I kept mixing until all of the noodles were coated evenly with chocolate.  Then I used two tablespoons to scoop small amounts of the mixture into cute little "bird nest" shapes which i set on wax paper covered cookie sheets. After that, my sister finished each nest by placing two or three of the brightly colored candy eggs into the center of each nest. The eggs have to go on before the chocolate cools otherwise they may fall off. Then we let the chocolate cool.
It was tough to wait until the bird nests were cool enough to sample but they were a hit! I took some to work with me and my coworkers all seemed to be very surprised that the nests were made of chow mein noodles. The noodles, combined with the chocolate give the nests the perfect balance of salty sweet, much like chocolate covered pretzels.
Make these spring deserts for your own family this Easter. I am sure they will love making them and eating them as much as I do!

Amazing Rueben Rolls

Another St. Patrick's Day has came and gone but there was no corned beef to be found at my house. Sure, I went out for plenty of corned beef sandwiches and Mike picked up corned beef and cabbage for our St. Patrick's day dinner, but it wasn't the same as home made. So last weekend I went grocery shopping and picked up some ingredients to make us some semi-homemade corned beef for dinner. I opted for the non-traditional route. Instead of a classic Rueben sandwich or slow cooker corned beef and cabbage,  I surprised Mike with some amazing rueben rolls. They're a classic rueben sandwich wrapped up and deep fried in an egg roll wrapper instead of bread. Rueben rolls are surprisingly simple to make and they definitely cook much faster than an all day crock pot roast. It probably only took me a half hour to fourth five minutes to make them, from start to finish. It makes about 21 wraps. They're pretty rich so two or three are plenty per person. Which means this makes 8-10 servings.
All I used was one package Nasoya egg roll wraps, one bag Kraft shredded swiss cheese, six small packages of Buddig corned beef, one can of sauerkraut,  and some Wishbone thousand island dressing for dipping.
First lay one egg roll wrap out on a plate. Then add two or three slices of the Buddig corned beef, followed by a sprinkle of the shredded swiss cheese.  After that add a pinch of Sauerkraut. Make sure to drain the can of kraut first!  Otherwise your rolls may get soggy. Finally, lightly dampen two corner edges of your egg roll wrapper. I forgot to mention you should have a small bowl of water nearby for this. Fold the two opposite corners of the wrapper that you didn't wet, in and roll it up tightly,  like a burrito. I placed two or three rueben rolls in the deep fryer, at a time while I made the next couple.
After the surface of the rolls turned turned a nice shade of crispy,  golden brown, I carefully removed them from the deep fryer and placed them all on a paper towel covered plate to rest until I finish cooking.
They weren't safe there,  however.  It wasn't long until I spied a tiny hand reaching out to steal one of the fresh Rueben rolls. Layla has just recently learned how to climb and pull herself up on things lately and seems to be using her skills mostly to snatch yummy snacks off of the tables and counters. After watching all her efforts to get a rueben roll, I gave her some thousand island dressing to dip it in and she loved it. That's it. They officially have the Layla seal of approval. They are so delicious that I'm sure your loved ones will love them just as much as mine did!

A Wasted Weekend

Am I the only one that thought today was Monday until a moment ago? Mike worked Saturday,  which made it feel like a Friday. Then I was miserably sick Sunday and Monday. So, instead of spending outdoors with the family, I spent lots of time in bed watching the History channel because I couldn't reach the remote. And by the way, the History channel should probably be renamed the "Paranoia" channel. It is definitely not the warm and fuzzy, pick me up that I needed while I was sick. Why wasn't Animal planet's "Too Cute" on when I needed it!? "Too Cute" has to be the most Therapeutic show on television. Wouldn't you agree?
So that was just the start of my sub-par weekend. To top all the sucky-ness off, one of my sugar gliders died. A sugar glider looks like a cute little flying squirrel except they are nocturnal marsupials. They're super sweet. Last week I rescued one named Stitch (like Lilo and Stitch) from a friend and had hoped I could rehabilitate it enough that it would be a good buddy for Shugs, the one Mike and I have had for a couple years. In the end it was sicker than anyone had imagined because it passed away last night. I cried despite only having it a week. Mike and Layla buried it in a pretty spot down by the river.
The only thing good about my weekend is I received my first Ipsy Glam bag in the mail yesterday. I actually thought I had canceled my subscription last month because I signed up at the end of December and never ever received a bag. Luckily I didn't because I was pleasantly surprised with what was in my bag. Sure alot of my bag was similar to items I already had like the shimmery neutral eye shadow and  versatile pink lipstick but overall it seemed alot more colorful than birchbox. The sizes were bigger however, Plus I love the bag itself. I'm picky about floral prints but this blue floral bag was perfect. Not sure how I'm gonna use it yet though.
So that sums up my weekend. Was yours better than mine was?

All Rabbit Everything

I love rabbits
I'd probably have a half dozen of them if I had a yard to Keep them in.
I love them their cute wiggly noses, whiskers, and fluffy tails. They are so sweet. 
It's hard for me to resist buying any kind of shirts or sweaters with rabbits printed on them. Or to resist buying anything bunny shaped or printed in general. (Shh! Don't tell mike but some day I'm probably going to turn into the crazy bunny lady.) So when I saw this wall in a magazine It sent me down a rabbit hole of not so crazy, actually kind of cute, grown up rabbit home decorating possibilities. Not that I'm a fan of this yellow,  but it turns out I'm not the only bunny lover out there so it's easy to find chic rabbit inspiration.

My Dream House

Even though we are still technically newly weds, some days it feels like Mike and I are an old couple. Especially when we take Sunday drives. Driving through the countryside just to see the scenery is something that I always used to do as a child with my paternal grandparents. So whenever mike and I take scenic tours it's easy for me to picture us doing the same thing when we are old. Except, instead of a Ford, we'll be driving a Cadillac. Because in my head that's what cute elderly couples, like my grandparents, drive.
It was on a sunny Sunday drive just like that, last weekend, that I spotted a "house for sale" sign. The road isn't far away from our workplace at all but Mike and I had never noticed it before. Quickly, my husband turned the truck around.
After a short trip down a country road, just past a gaggle of puddle-hopping ducks we sat at the end of a long driveway looking at a piece of paper because we couldn't see the house from the road.
That might seem like the middle of nowhere to some but to me it's a good thing.
Can't see the house from the road? Great! Surrounded by trees? Perfect!  According to the sales flyer that I grabbed from a box at the end  of the driveway the amazing features don't stop there; Four bedrooms, Four bathrooms, Open floor plan, Wood burning fireplace, and even a pond! (In the picture)
Mike's exact words were "this is my dream house." And it was for me too.
It has an open floor plan with lots of light, just what I need to Instagram my creative culinary "masterpieces". Plus four bedrooms and 17 acres for kids to roam. Plenty of room for a small farm, Mike's beekeeping, and sugar maple trees.
Honestly,  I can already picture myself during a peaceful morning,  drinking coffee while overlooking the pond. Or all the summer evenings grilling with friends on the patio while the kids catch fish.
  I love it. It's perfect. It's nothing fancy, no game rooms or backyard pools, but it does have plenty of space and that's all that I need. Even the price is reasonable.  And that's where it became too good to be true.
Sure Mike and I could afford the payments. But I don't have the balls to ask after our financial rough patch last year. All I can do is hope and pray that that house is still there a year from now once our credit has recovered. For now I'll just be keeping that sales flyer in a safe place to remind me what my goals are.

Chronic Spring fever

Spring always brings a fresh perspective to every thing.
Maybe it was the time change, or maybe it's the air. But I woke up yesterday feeling with a chronic case of spring fever and ever worsing cravings for all sorts of fresh spring vegetables, like asparagus.
After Mike and I took a morning drive through the nearby town of Sugar Island to see if the Maple sap was running (It is, and we  are eagerly anticipating syrup), I began planning a couple apartment friendly container gardens.
I decided what to plant based on space, what freezes the easiest, and what my family would use the most of. As always, it was extremely hard for me to stick with only a handful of plants. Eventually, I settled for chives, tomatoes, string beans, and herbs like cilantro and basil with, possibly,  some marigolds and sunflowers mixed in. All arranged in a few large planters with their companion plants (A good list of companion plants can be found at  http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html. )
Have any of you ever tried container gardening before? Any advice? This will be my first year, and I can't wait to get started.  Stay tuned for updates!