finders keepers

 

victorian turquoise ring 

aqua scale 

plate 

elephant 

scallion people 

pillow 

Good Morning Blueberry Citrus Bread Pudding

Ok, so this seems to be sort of a trend these days, but hey, it's summer and we seem to always have supply of fresh blueberries on hand.  Not to be braggin' or anything but I have several versions of bread pudding under my belt at this point in my life; like the cinnamon bread and the chocolate variety, pumkin, you name it.  Basically you can make it with any sort of day old bread and any sort of mix ins joux want.  Scarfed by man, woman, and child in record time.  This is actually a hearty breakfast if you think of it as bread, eggs, milk, and fruit.  Its all in the puddin'.

 

 

whipped cream pleez.

1 baguette of french bread, cut into cubes
1 pint of fresh blueberries 

1 cup of orange juice
8 large eggs
4 cups whole milk
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter, for parchment paper.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place bread cubes in a large baking dish; set aside.

Place eggs in a large bowl. In another large bowl, combine milk, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour the milk concoction into eggs and whisk till frothy. Add the blueberries and the o.j., stir to combine. Pour over bread, and be sure to press all of the bread into the dish so that it really soaks it all up.  Sprinkle with the rest of the sugar.
grab a stick of butter and smear it on a piece of parchment paper approximately the same size as the baking dish. Press it buttered-side down, over the bread. Place baking dish in a larger roasting pan. Place in oven, and add enough water to the larger pan to come halfway up sides of baking dish. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes before serving. so gud.

bidding Borders merci et adieu

Thank you Borders for all the years...but I may have just put you back in business with the amount of loot I made off with (although it was at quite the discounted rate.)  It was a pre shower, 9 am, bedheaded trip with everyone over to the Borders for their closing sale.  Finally I have Martha's Sewing Encyclopedia plus a bevy of magazines and little golden books that should keep me inspired for a while.  I guess it's back to Barnes and Noble for perusing new books and mags.  humph.

week recap

 Another semi good week....only mild malaise was endured throughout.  Rearranged Elliott's room, was able to go out for drinks with Cindy, re-cocked the kitchen sink (which looks so shiny and new now), bathed all creatures of the house (who also look shiny and new), and framed much of my old 2010 Edward Lear calendar which I plan to scatter around the house on any wall begging for a bird.  And I can't even begin to say how fabulous it was to go see a movie with the mister,  Harry Potter in 3D, I highly recommend it, truly the end of an era :( but at least now i can begin my journey into the books :).  I plan on taking E to go see his first movie pretty soon here,  I think he will be pretty excited to see his dear Mcqueen on the big screen.  Ooh, and I treated maself to a real splurge here...a pair of shoes....from Target.  I like to buy my shoes where I can also purchase plungers.

shooz

whipped up blueberry pie

This morning while trying to get a few more minutes of sleep, with the sound of Geoff griping at me for never making breakfast, I realized that there was a mega Costco sized container of fresh organic blueberries in the fridge that were unfortunately never going to be consumed before they get all shriveled up and neglected like they so often do.  I always forget just how easy it is to make a fruit pie.  Cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, fruit of choice, and of course the ever present frozen pie crust. so simple.  and of course, don't forget the whipped cream and that cuppa joe.

> whipped up blueberry pie <

3/4 cup white sugar

  1/4 cup cornstarch

1 pinch salt

2 tbsp lemon juice

  5 cups fresh blueberries

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Stir in lemon juice and 1 cup of blueberries.  Cook and stir over medium heat, until thick and bubbly, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Let cool for a little bit and stir in remaining blueberries.  Pour into baked pie shell and cool in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours (I never wait this long).                 

Scattered

disaster area

So, my days have been all encompassed by needy babies coupled with the hunt for a nice dslr camera, tripled by the fact that housework also needs to be taken care of....ooh, I made a pillowcase in the midst of it all from an old cloth napkin and managed to gather and drop a bag of toys to the neighbors, took the children to ride the zoo train this morning before the temps got sweltering, and managed to make yet another batch of chili and mashed taters.  I shouldn't feel too ragged.... hehhehheh.  Also we went to a lovely July 4th/Birthday gathering for one of Geoff's friends from class where Elliott got to chase a chicken around, rolled a couple of times when he got his feet taken out by the dog and had a pretty successful water gun fight....which brings me back to my camera hunt...I feel like my ole point and shooter is just not enough for the speed, clarity and lighting flexibility that I want.  also, I am in the formative phases of setting up an etsy shop for all things vintage and would like to have something that will really show off the goods.  I'm thinking Canon Rebel, and I'm thinking used, it's just maddening how many different models there are, when the time comes to make a purchase, I'm sure I will have narrowed it down some.  July has been good with G's schedule being a little more laxed, being able to have him around is so so nice (also a reason I haven't been posting) even though I know the summer will fly by:( bad in the way that G will have to resume regular grueling work/study hours, yet :) good that it won't be summer anymore and I will be a little bit closer to being comfortable going outside with the kiddles. 

On another note, I did get a few worthy snippets of my week captured.........and last but not least I found UTZ potato chips at Central Market!!! My Mad Men watching enjoyment level has just been elevated.

hoofin' it

slurpin' coconut water at the new whole foods.

"utz is better than nuts, take it from me...I'm a nut"

happy