Trying something new…

Hit up the grocery store this weekend on a kick to try something new. Well, we’ve never had one of these in our house before. Meet the dragon fruit. Pretty right?

Our first idea was to use this beautiful dragon fruit for margarita madness at our house Sunday evening…but I didn’t know how to cut it and had to find a YouTube tutorial before attempting to butcher the lovely fruit. Instead we just stuck to a strawberry and mango combo (frozen-style to beat the heat) for our impromptu margarita party. Still very tasty!

I’ll be cutting into the dragon fruit soon (now that I know how) and can’t wait to taste what I’ve been missing my whole life. Since I’m new to this fruit, do any of you out there have any recipe suggestions? Any kind of recipe, from food to drink, will do. Or am I better off enjoying the goodness just cut into pieces and eating it alone?

Wish me luck!

Credit: Photo taken by me.

Crushin’ On Color: Pink

Lovely shades of pink make for a beautifully romantic tablescape.

Credit: Style Me Pretty

Just listed in my Etsy shop!

I just listed some stuffed felt barrettes in my Etsy shop. Here are some photos and links to the listings. Hope you like them!

Listing for Sweet & Adorable Stuffed Felt CUPCAKE Barrette on Etsy found here.

Listing for Bright & Sparkly Stuffed Felt GOLDFISH Barrette on Etsy found here.

Listing for Charming & Cute Stuffed LOVE Heart Barrette on Etsy found here.

Credit: Photos taken by me. All barrettes hand made by me as well.

Completed Stuffed “Love” Heart Barrette

Today I made a Stuffed “Love” Heart Barrette.  It’s stuffed with fiberfill, stitched with the word “love,” and decorated with white iridescent bugle beads to for a little added sparkle.

I hope you guys like it!

I’m thinking about making a variation of this in a ornament (a similar heart in a larger size).  What do you think?

Once I get this Stuffed “Love” Heart Barrette packaged nicely, I’ll be adding it to my Etsy shop.  I’ll let you know with another post when that happens.

You can see more photos on my Facebook page if you are interested.

Credit: Photo taken by me.  Photo editing by me using Photoshop.  Felt heart sewn by me as well.

Pink Meringue Cookies

This little recipe is for some adorable Pink Meringue Cookies.  It’s my aunt’s recipe and makes for some delicious and pretty pastel cookies.

Pink Meringue Cookies

• 3 Egg Whites
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons Raspberry Gelatin
• 1 cup Mini Chocolate Chips
• 1 teaspoon Vinegar
• a Brown Paper Bag

BEAT egg whites and salt until foamy.

Slowly ADD sugar and  gelatin (you can use another flavor is you have a preference other than raspberry).  BEAT until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved.

ADD chocolate chips and vinegar.  FOLD with a rubber spatula until vinegar is thoroughly mixed in and chocolate chips are evenly dispersed.

DROP by the teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet covered with a brown paper bag.  I just cut up a paper grocery bag, or you could also use a silicone baking mat.

BAKE for 25 minutes at 250 degrees.

Then turn OFF oven and leave cookies in for another 20 minutes.

I had a one leftover egg white from another recipe, so I decided to make a tiny batch of these meringues.  But because I had only one egg white I wanted to use, that meant modifying the recipe and only making a small batch of 8 cookies.

The original recipe (using quantities above) makes 3 dozen meringue cookies.

Enjoy!  And please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe.

Credit: This is my aunt’s delicious Pink Meringue Cookies recipe.  All photos taken by me.  The pictured Pink Meringue Cookies were baked by me as well.

Crushin’ On Color: Pink

Gorgeous layers upon layers of ruffled and fluffy light pink crinoline. Soft, sweet, pretty, and oh-so girly.

Credit: Once Wed via Classic Bride

Crushin’ On Color: Hot Pink

I’m normally not a ‘pink’ person, but this shade of pink made me go, “wowza!”  And it’s found in nature nonetheless!

Credit: Dragon fruit via oh joy! eats