Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Perfect Berry-Almond Smoothie for One

I make the best berry almond smoothie.


It's very tasty, perfectly frosty, and it's full of protein and nutrients. 

In other words: 

{ It'll get you through a good chunk of your day. }

You'll need:
  • 1 individual serving of yogurt (I get the Activia because Josh says it has good stomach bugs.)
  • 1 generous spoonful of almond butter
  • milk
  • a generous amount of frozen mixed berries (I like strawberries + blueberries + raspberries.)
  • sugar


You want the yogurt to be partially frozen.
To achieve the desired effect, set the yogurt cup in the freezer overnight. The next morning, set the yogurt out on the counter while you're exercising. (Or chasing your kids around or putting on your make-up or whatever.) 30 minutes to an hour.

*** Note: Josh says that I might be killing the good bugs by freezing the yogurt. 


When you set out the yogurt, you also want to set out the strawberries (but not the other berries), so that they aren't just giant chunks of frozen-solidness. 


When you're ready to make the smoothie, plop the frosty yogurt into the blender first. Then add the almond butter. 

You want the almond butter to land on top of the yogurt. You don't want it to fall down underneath the blades, or you won't get all of it in your smoothie.

Splash in some milk and blend until incorporated.

Then grab your berries (frozen solid little berries + slightly thawed big berries) and throw them in, along with 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar. Blend that, add more milk if necessary, and you're done

You want the consistency to be just thin enough to pour into a glass and drink through a straw. No thinner.


This baby will give you the good energy you need to get your day up and moving. You'll be satiated for hours.

Hope you enjoy!

~

Recipe inspired by this.
Restaurant ware berry bowl available here.
Similar amber glass tumblers (only taller) available here.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Pining for Vintage

Lately, the universe has been showering me with all kinds of piney vintage goodness.


Head on over to the shop to see more glamour shots of the pine cone tray, the ceramic pine cone dish, and the pine cone bar glasses.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Betsey on Etsy

It's no secret. I love Etsy.

I bought my wedding veil on Etsy...
I bought a crawfish stamp on Etsy...
Among other things.
I just love it!
I love the creativity, the commerce, and the supportive community.

Which brings me to my exciting announcement:
I just opened my very own Etsy shop!


It's called "Stay@Home Vintage" and it's all about vintage housewares.


So, setting up a vintage Etsy shop is 
way harder than it looks.
I basically had to give up reality television 
to even get it done.

Anyway...
You should check it out!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Pics of the Day


New restaurant ware for me! {Thanks Mom.}

I love the scallop edges on the Buffalo plates.

So cute in front of my pretty new plate. 

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Pic of the Day


3 macadamia cookies and a diet coke.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Vintage Color Splash

I bought this necklace at Cheap Thrills (a vintage/thrift clothing store in Fayetteville) for $10 like a year ago.



It's one of those 60's necklaces like they wore in "The Help."


I have another one that belonged to my Grandma Forga. It's pale pink and a bit more subtle. I wear it quite a bit. But I never wore the sherbert-tastic Cheap Thrills necklace because I couldn't figure out what to put it with. Yesterday evening, while getting dressed to go see a play, I was inspired to pair it with this black sweatshirt-dress.



Perfect!

I was going to make this my profile picture on Facebook, until Josh pointed out that I was making the dreaded "duck face." So I went with this instead.


Anyway, this outfit was totally cute and I was totally proud of it. You can't see, but I did black tights and brown cowboy boots.

{ quote of the day }

Josh on Valentine's Day: 
"Man, there were like six redheads in Walmart today!
Not that I went to Walmart to buy your flowers.
I was just there to look at the redheads."

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Nativities and Creamy Pasta Bliss

I had fun taking down my Christmas decorations today. 

 I love this little nativity. Grandma Forga had one just like it when I was growing up, and I believe she had it when my mom was growing up as well. I was excited to find one for 25¢ at a thrift shop down the road.

Grandma Forga did this Christmas painting for me. Grandma has been quite a prolific painter since her move to the assisted living; but I am proud to have her one and only sparkly painting. Mom brought me the colorful tin nativity from her last trip to Santa Fe. 


It came with a pretty tin box.


Then I made one of my favorite recipes: creamy tomato-basil pasta with shrimp.

 

{ Those are stuffed mushrooms. }

This was the richest meal ever!!! It didn't hit me that this meal was going to be totally inappropriately rich until it was like almost done and there was no time to fool with making a salad to go with it. I told Josh to just pretend like he was a medieval king. 

Here's the recipe for the pasta (it is killer):

Creamy Tomato-Basil Pasta with Shrimp
adapted from kraftrecipes.com

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
10 ounces uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup Kraft sun dried tomato vinaigrette
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons garlic salt
4 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, dry
1 cup (100 grams) freshly grated parmesan
cracked pepper to taste
8 fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
Additional basil leaves for garnish, if desired


  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and sautee until browned, 5 to 10 mintues. Add red onions; cook and stir for about a minute. Add shrimp; cook and stir until done, about 4 minutes. Remove vegetables and shrimp from skillet. 
  • Add vinaigrette, broth, and garlic salt to skillet; cook 2 minutes or until heated through. Add cream cheese; cook and stir 2 or 3 min or until melted. Add cooked pasta to skillet along with shrimp & vegetables, parmesan, and cracked pepper. 
  • Turn heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has reached desired thickness, 10 minutes or less. Remove from heat and stir in basil strips. Garnish with additional basil if desired.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Calorie content: 1 cup (165 grams) = 300 calories
Note: On the page I've linked to for the original recipe, there's a great explanation of how to slice basil into lovely chiffonade strips. 

Monday, January 16, 2012

Flea Market Haul

What can $4 buy you at a small-town Arkansas flea market? Beauty and functionality, with 50¢ left over for awesomeness. Here is my Friday haul:



 I got this beautiful plate with handles for $1.



I'm very into old plates with gold detailing.  

 
And this beautifully functional spatula for $2.50. 

 
I've been wanting something like this for a long time. A metal spatula made from a very thin piece of metal. It's great for sliding under and lifting with ease. And also scraping. So handy, but not so easy to find in today's stores.

 
It's Ekco, just like my beloved pastry blender.

 
And finally, I got these awesome vintage Christmas cards for 50¢.

 


Roscoe got a sweet box out of the deal.

 
But then he lost it.


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Christmas Leftovers

Here are some of my Christmas decorations.

I did a lovey Christmas card display on the "mantle". 


 Lovey Christmas cards.


Candy-cane heart.


I made a candy tree that was sorta cute.



Gumball garland. Spice drops actually. Spice drops are not as easy to string together as popcorn, I learned. I used fishing line for that.



I used white yarn to tie the mini-canes on, and that worked really well. You can barely see the yarn, it just blends in with the white tree.

 
Josh won't let me have a live tree. :(
He bought me this candle last year as a consolation. It doesn't compare to the smell of a cedar tree harvested from family land. But I do enjoy burning it. Marriage is comprise. (Totally worth it BTW.)

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas!

OMG I had the best Christmas ever. It was like old times, only better because my husband showed up for lunch. I am so full of the Christmas spirit, and so ready to go out in search of heavily discounted wrapping paper come morning.


If you look very closely you can see me in the blue Christmas ball. I'm wearing the boots of my dreams.

Christmas lunch was so good this year. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, homegrown salad, and rolls. It was perfection.

The garnish, as promised. Rosemary sprigs from Mom's backyard + cranberries from Thanksgiving.

Let me just say, Grandma Forga knows a Southern Living cake when she sees one. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. :)

Saturday, December 24, 2011

White Christmas Eve

Today I've been enjoying Christmas Eve by making a Southern Living cake for our dessert tomorrow. I'm home alone today. Josh is spending Christmas Eve in Fordyce with his dad & brother. I didn't go with him this year because I've been missing spending Christmas morning at my mom's house. We'll be reunited tomorrow at lunchtime. For now I've been enjoying the solitude and the all-day cooking project. And the leftover shrimp.
 
Roscoe and the cardinal.



Hello!

Our outside friend Ineko. AKA "Sneaky Ineaky."

I like to juice my lemons with this old-timey thing.

Love me some cake batter.

Lemon filling.

Fluffy white frosting.

Pre-frosting.

Pre-coconut.

And done.

Stay tuned for the garnish!