Sewing room beadboard shelf

Last summer a neighbor had a bunch of stuff on her curb that she was leaving out for all us local scroungers to take away for her. Well I've never been one to pass up freebies!





I grabbed this then hutch because of the style and quality of the piece (this thing is freaking HEAVY!). It was a dark 70's brown, with no bottom shelf. For awhile it sat on top of my then dresser/now sideboard in my bedroom and held books. But once I got my cool new armoire's for the bedroom, this got moved to my basement hallway (at the bottom of the stairs, totally in the way for months), and finally was moved out under the carport.





Finally, I realized I needed even MORE storage in my now crammed full sewing room (stuff literally starting to stack up on the floor.. amazing how fast that happens!)



I've tried to give it away to numerous neighbors, many who considered it, but passed it over as "too much work".



So inspiration struck, measurements were taken, and this is the end result! I put it in the corner once occupied by the red dresser, which is now housed next to the hutch.


Yes, those two pieces are a little tight, but the functionality is there, and that's what matters most right?




I also had help from my Monkey. He's such a good resource when mommy is trying to do something!




Anywho.. it's barely 10am and lookee what I've managed to do already! Let's see what other projects I can tackle today!

Grilled Chicken with Tomato Tarragon Sauce

I made this tonight for dinner...(found the recipe here) must say, it's the best dinner I've made for awhile! Very Very good! You should try! I served it with wild rice and steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots. Num num num num...

Grilled Chicken with Tomato Tarragon Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (or 1 Tbsp dried tarragon)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 boneless chicken breast halves, skin on (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 cups chopped fresh tomato (1-2 tomatoes, depending on their size)
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1 Get the grill started on medium high heat. While the grill is heating up, whisk together half of the tarragon, half of the oil, and all but 1/4 teaspoon of the minced garlic in a shallow dish. Lightly pound chicken between sheets of waxed paper to uniform 1/2-inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to tarragon mixture and turn to coat. Let stand 10 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, blend the tomato and remaining olive oil until smooth. Add the vinegar and remaining tarragon and garlic and pulse until well mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3 Grill chicken until brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon sauce around chicken.

Serves 4.

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit

Lacrosse Tournament Booth

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of our booth last Saturday.

The lighting isn't the best, but our booth was by far the cutest one there!

Wild Thyme Back

Oh yeah, here's the back...

Wild Thyme Done!

A Ha Ha Ha! (D'Artagnon style)

I finished it!

In less than a year too!

Waaa Hooo!

Compliments can begin now... thank you very much....






Oh, and this is Drew holding his eyes open for the camera... apparently the mouth has to stay open also, to ensure the eyes don't close with the flash... too cute!

Key Lime Pie with Gingersnap Pecan Crust

I'm finding WAYYYY too much good stuff in blog world today. This was found here. Wow.. can just imagine how GOOD this is.. may have to try it soon... good for the diet and all.

Key Lime Pie with Pecan Gingersnap Crust
adapted from Food Finery and Gourmet.com

INGREDIENTS
for the lime curd:
1/2 Cup sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
the juice from 10 key limes
the zest from 4 key limes
6 Tablespoons butter

for the pie filling:
2 Cups key lime curd (recipe above makes about 2 cups)
2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons sugar

gingersnap pecan pie crust (from Gourmet.com):

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for buttering pie plate
Flour for dusting
1 cup finely crushed gingersnap cookies (5 oz; 20 2-inch cookies)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (2 oz)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

lime curd: Place the sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, juice and zest in a medium pan on low and continually whisk to combine (keep at low heat so you will not scramble the eggs). After 5 minutes on low, increase the temperature to medium low and constantly whisk until the mixture turns pale and thickens (about 8-10 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Store in jars or an airtight container for up to one month.

pie filling: Whip the cream until it thickens quite a lot (about 5 minutes) then add the vanilla and sugar. Fold the lime curd in with a rubber spatula and fill desired pie/tart crusts. Chill 2 hours then top with additional whipped cream if desired. Allow to come to room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

gingersnap pecan pie crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour pie or tart dish, knocking out excess flour. Toss together all crust ingredients in a bowl with a fork until crumbs are moistened, then press evenly over bottom and up side of pie plate. Bake crust 6 minutes, then cool on a rack.