Friday, February 18, 2011

{I Heart Faces} Fix It Friday #87

How has your week been? Sorry I didn't have much time to blog this week. This was a bit of a crazy week - will fill you in on it next week. Next week my girls are off from school so I've got to start coming up with some fun activities for them. Eeeeek!!

In the meantime, here is this week's version of Fix It Friday.

The original shot - not mine:


Fix-It Friday #87


My first edit I cropped and adjusted levels and sharpness

fif-87a


For the second edit which I like better, I did the same as the first edit and ran a Florabella action called B&W Blush. I then tweaked it by adjusting levels, color balance and sharpness.

fif-87b


Check out some others on IHeartFaces.com.




Do you have anything fun planned for the weekend?

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

vday2011


Such a busy day today but I wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!!

Do you have anything special planned for today or tonight?

I made red cake balls with my girls yesterday. They started out as cake POPS but ended up as BALLS. She wanted something fun to bring to her class today. I took a quick photo so I'll post it later on.

Have lots of projects I'm working on and the girls will be home from school soon, so...gotta run!

Friday, February 11, 2011

{I Heart Faces} Fix It Friday #86

How has your week been? Mine was spent mostly in front of the computer. I am in the process of redesigning my blog as well as switching over to WordPress. I feel like my progress is so slow but I know I'll get there eventually!

I just took a break from my computer and watched an episode of Glee that was saved on my DVR from last Sunday. That show puts me in such a good mood! The songs are always great and the dance routines are amazing! They always look like they're having so much fun. Just what I needed to get me ready to tackle my blog again. I'm ready though!!

Before I get to my blog, I thought I would do this week's Fix It Friday edit from IHeartFaces.com.

Here's the original shot (not mine - SOOC)

This little one is so cute!! Definitely made it fun to do some editing.


Fix-It Friday #86


My first edit is pretty straightforward - cropping and tackling the darkness by adjusting levels, and sharpness.


fif-86-a


For my second edit, I ran the B&W Film action from Florabella and tweaked it with some color balance and also brightened up the eyes a bit. I really like how it almost has a denim feel to it.

fif-86-b


Check out the other submissions at I Heart Faces.




We have some kid related activities this weekend and may do some baking for Valentine's Day.

What about you - anything fun planned?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

{I Heart Faces} Hearts

IHeartFaces.com does a weekly photo challenge at the beginning of every week. Because of scheduling or the particular theme, I'm not always able to participate but this week I just decided to make the time.

The theme for this week is "Hearts". Seems pretty logical since Valentine's Day is just one week away. Which reminds me - Valentine's Day is only one week away!!

So, I had an idea in mind for a photo with a Heart theme but had to get my girls involved. This isn't as easy as it sounds. I just want them to do what I ask. Why is that so difficult?

Them: "Mama, I think we should pose like this"

Me: "No, I want you to pose like that!"

Them: "I don't want to wear my hair tied back"

Me: "It will only be for a minute."

Them: "Is dinner ready? I'm staaaarving!!"

Me: "Just let me take the picture!!!"

After all of that, this is what I ended up with. Not exactly what I planned but it is what it is.

hearts-2





Do you have anything special planned for Valentine's Day?

Monday, February 7, 2011

Game Day

I know yesterday was a big game day for football fans across the country - snacking on favorite comfort foods, drinking and partying.

The girls and I went to visit my mom yesterday for a few hours before my older one's last show and we ended up having our own special game day.

There's a closet in her apartment in the room my sister and I shared growing up that still has remnants of our childhood. My girls, being the inquisitive rascals that they are, always like to investigate and sift through what must seem like junk to them, but are actually precious memories to me and my sister.

They noticed a stack of games up on one of the shelves and of course were eager to play. Like rummaging through an old attic, these games were equally as old and dusty so before anything, I got the Fantastik out with some paper towels and started cleaning away. Not really what I was expecting to do on a quiet Sunday visit at my mom's.

We started off by playing Trac 4 - a game where you compete to create patterns I used to LOVE this game! It wasn't really working so we had to improvise but still managed to have fun anyway.

I love looking at the packaging on these old games. Look at the hairstyle on the mom!

trac4


Next I found a game called Tilt but we couldn't play because we didn't have all of the marbles. Look at the packaging on this one - vintage illustration!


tilt


Ever since I was really little I was always into crafts - always wanting to make things. I remember always getting arts & crafts kits as gifts and here's one that was still around. I remember a lot of the kits were from the same company - "Arts & Crafts Today"


shirtstuffers


These next ones really cracked me up - my girls had no clue what they were.

My record player which also happened to be a radio as well.


recordplayer-1




recordplayer-2


This was the second one I had. The first one was red and short lived because it broke right away. They didn't have any red ones left so they got me this steel blue colored one. Never liked this color although my favorite color at the time was blue.

More like this blue - from our 8 track player!!


8track


My mom wasn't as nostalgic as I was. In true mom fashion...

"When are you going to get rid of these things?" (can't you just hear the tone!)

"Why don't you bring them to your apartment?"

It just wouldn't be the same. It belongs here with all the other memories of Dawn Dolls, flatsies and Chrissy & Velvet. Somehow it wouldn't fit in at our place with Spongebob and Lady Gaga.

What are your favorite childhood games and toys?

Friday, February 4, 2011

{I Heart Faces} Fix It Friday #85

Do you have anything fun planned for this weekend? Here in NYC it's supposed to snow again tomorrow. The snow hasn't bothered me so far. Not even this morning when I was trying to park my car and got stuck and had to ask my super to give me a push. I'd much rather have cold and snow than heat and humidity!!

This weekend my daughter has 2 more performances of Honk - one of them is even during the Super Bowl. No biggie for us since we're not a big sports family. If I was invited to a Super Bowl party, I would maybe go but just for the food and company - NOT to actually watch the game! Are you into the Super Bowl? What's your favorite game time snack?

My apartment is quiet now - the girls are in school and the hubbs is out and about in the city, so I have some time for a Fix It Friday. It's actually kind of relaxing when you're editing just for fun!

Here's this week's shot SOOC - and as usual NOT mine. I'm only here to edit!

Fix-It Friday #85


My first edit - crop, adjust color balance, levels and sharpening.

fif-85-a


Second edit I used B&W Beauty action from PW with some adjustments.

fif-85-b


Check out some others on the I Heart Faces site.


Have a fun weekend!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

{Recipe} Easy Lemon Chicken

When I cook dinner during the week, I go for my quick and easy recipes. I mean really, who wants to be fiddling about with complicated recipes on a school night?!? Once the kids come home from school, we've got to keep things moving if we want them down by 8:30. OK, who am I kidding - it's more like 9:00!!

We eat a lot of chicken breast over here so I've got to have a slew of recipes to keep it interesting. This Easy Lemon Chicken recipe was adapted from a similar recipe I tried from Rachel Ray years ago. It kind of reminds me of Lemon Chicken you would get at a Chinese restaurant. My girls really like this one!!

The first thing you need is the lemon part of the lemon chicken - lemon curd!!


lemonchick-2


What is that?!?

Beats me but it's usually found in the jam/jelly section of the supermarket so I guess if you're not using it for this recipe you can use it like you would jelly.

OK, here's the thing - I've tried this recipe with different brands of lemon curd but this one is the best. When I tried it with others because I couldn't find this particular brand, my girls ALWAYS know!! "Eeeeew Mama!!". So, do your best to find this one.

Put half the jar in a small pot with about a tablespoon of water.


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You want to break it down a bit with a fork so it's not in one big blob.


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Put it on very low heat and what will happen is as it's heating up, it liquefies a bit. We'll use this later for the sauce.

Now on to the chicken.

I start off with one package of skinless boneless chicken breast. I usually try and find the Thin Cut kind but anything will do - even chicken tenders if that's what you already have.

Cut the chicken up into bite sized pieces - about an inch and a half or so. Please don't go taking out your rulers!! Just eyeball it!


lemonchick-1


Sprinkle with a little salt & pepper.

Then take a large Ziploc bag and put about 3/4 cup of flour - All Purpose is good.

Now you remember that old Shake & Bake method, right?!? Place the chicken pieces in the bag and get shakin'!!

Put some Canola Oil in a pan and heat it up. Once the oil is pretty hot, start placing the pieces of chicken in the pan. Shake off any excess flour first. You'll have to do this in batches - don't overcrowd the pan.


lemonchick-5


I think I had to do about 3 or 4 batches. Let the chicken cook a few minutes and then turn it to cook on the other side. You want it to get a slightly golden brown color - but not burnt. This chicken with cook quickly because the pieces are small.

Take the cooked chicken out after each batch and put it in a bowl.


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Once all of the chicken is cooked, it's time for the sauce.

First thing we need is some Distilled White Vinegar.


lemonchick-9


This is the secret ingredient! It just makes it taste extra special. Put about 1 tablespoon in the pan but be careful - don't get too close!! The pan is hot and when the vinegar hits the hot pan, it bubbles up a bit and you'll get hit with the fumes from the vinegar - powerful stuff!! Trust me, you DO NOT want a vinegar facial!!

Stir it around to pick up any crispy bits that may end up on the bottom of the pan. The vinegar dissolves pretty quickly so work fast. Lower the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of chicken stock. I ALWAYS use Kitchen Basics!!


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Now it's time for that lemon curd we started with at the beginning - stir that in as well.


lemonchick-11


At this point if you feel the sauce is too thiick, mix in a little more chicken stock. The sauce will defiinitely thicken up once the chicken goes in. Once that's all mixed together, put the cooked chicken back in the pan to incorporate with the sauce. Mix it up.


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Cut up about 3 scallions.


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You can use as much or as little as you like. I find 3 works perfectly. Mix that into the pan and you're done!


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Put the whole thing into a serving bowl and serve with either rice or couscous and of course a veggie!!


lemonchick-14


What are your favorite easy recipes?

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Easy Lemon Chicken Recipe

1/2 jar lemon curd mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 package boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 cup flour in a Ziploc bag
2 tablespoons Canola Oil (more if you need)
1 tablespoon White Distilled Vinegar
1/2 cups chicken stock
3 sliced scallions


  • Put the lemon curd and water in a small pot on very low heat
  • In a separate pan, heat up the canola oil
  • sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper and place in the Ziploc bag with flour
  • make sure all the chicken is coated in the flour and shake off any excess.
  • Cook chicken in batches and add more oil if necessary
  • Place cooked chicken in a bowl between batches
  • Once all the chicken is cooked, put the vinegar in the pan to take up any crispy pieces at the bottom of pan
  • Stir in the chicken stock and then the lemon curd
  • Mix
  • Place the chicken back in the pan with the sauce, mix around to make sure all the chicken is coated with the sauce
  • At the very end mix in the sliced scallions and transfer to a serving bowl.
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