French Pie Pride

I entered my Peach Almond Pie 'tarte' in our Church Fall Fair.

Mike told me it would not win because it's probably too different from your typical 'Ameican Pie'

Well, it won second place!!!

I think it should have won first because the rule was that it had to 

be totally made from scratch and I think that the first place pie had a mix.

I've asked, in a round about way, what was inside the 1dst place pie 

and the family will not disclose the info... 

Seams fishy to me!

This one was the Apple tarte I also made - which I did not enter in the contest.

The Winner 

-The recipe-

Boy, was it 

Y U M M Y !

Aunt Aude Visits

This past week my sister came for a couple of days to visit.

We went through clothes we no longueur need or want. 

She took some of my winter stuff I haven't been using here in Texas.
The winters have been so mild.

We have had such beautiful spring weather too!

Still cool and awesome!

I'm bracing myself for the return of the very hot Summer months!

We went and picked more blackberries and I froze another full gallon size bag!

I also got her hooked on quinoa!
We love the stuff!

Tis

Yeah! A favorite Visitor is Here!

I can't tell you how good it was to have my friend Sarah walking with me this morning in the forest!

To have her in person and not on the phone... 

She arrived during the night at 2 am. 

Poor thing was stuck in Charlotte because of very bad weather, like tornado-warnings-bad-weather!

Anyhow she made it to our house and we are thrilled!

Of course our back yard was delighted too!
This is her first day and what does she do?
Get to work!
Have I mentioned how much I like my friends! :)

Under her care and Emric's help, it is starting to look very nice, 

We were neglecting it a bit these past few weeks...

(It's her in red weeding)

This is moi, putting my feet up.

 After making a delicious salad. 

Lots of yummy stuff  and love were put in it!

Homemade dressing, tomatoes, tuna, (Choruzo sausage for mike) pine nuts, cubed cheese, blue,

 broccoli, red cabbage, cucumber, 

small crispy pan fried potatoes cooked in coconut oil, 

We ate it with a side of toasted Cibratta bread and a 

Champagne infused olive oil with Balsamic Pear vinegar!!!! 

A nectar from strait from Heaven!

Girl Friends & Eagle Project Part 3

When we moved to Texas
I left a couple of realy good girl friends in Ohio.
 I miss them terribly.

We would cook together and make yummy meals.

Mostly savory stuff, and some sweet.

We would have Jungle Jim/Costco trips.

We ate lunch together often, 

We would have ironing/movie parties.

 We would share and try new recipies from French, English, Italian, Indian, and all sorts of cuisines.

So far I haven't really reached out looking for deeper friendships.
I've been telling myself I have enough with my family, my routines, my Chloe...
But after last week I was reminded of how good it is to have a few good closer friends.

Girls just need girlfriends.

This past week, I invited a couple of girl friends here to do the same.
I demonstrated how to make one of my very favorite dishes:

Hearty Fisherman Stew.

I added some live mussels
Heavenly!

I'm hoping we will keep doing this often.
We also went to the temple and to Costco together.
We had such a wonderful time!

Thanks Sandra and Jamie for coming and for your friendship!

We also worked a little on Emric's Eagle Project Part 3
making cat toys.
Yep, we are still working on that!

Gambling for food, what's up with that?

Mike is obsessed with this new hamburger joint: Jersey something.
He discovered it a few weeks ago.

After 8pm 

You order what you want. 

You roll a dice. 

The employee rolls a dice.

You win, you get your meal for free.

The employee wins, you pay for your meal.

He has been there 6 times and won 3 times.

Unfortunately, he wants to go there now every-single-time we have a date!

My meal

Houston (southwestern stlye) salad with no antibiotic chicken breast.

Mike's meal

Greasy Bacon Burger with drizzled Truffle oil and Parmesan/garlic coated Fries.

Which one would you rather have?

I did eat a few of his fries, they were kinda... Addictive & Delicious?!

New Barbecue & Awesome Beef Fajitas!

After more than 2 years without one, I finally found and got a small Barbecue! 

I found it on Amazon. 

I really did not want some big monster on our porch.

This one is the perfect size for our family.

It's also a table top one.

Mike had gotten an electric grill that I used once.

I did not like it.

(That reminds me, I need to sell it!)

Since Justine is not around to assemble everything I need her too, 

she has been replaced by Emric.

He did a great Job! 

(There was not much to assemble on this project!)

Anyhow, I would like to come up with something to cover the gas tank, it's an eye sore.

After Emric assembled it, 

I made the most delisious Beef Fajita Sunday dinner from 

The pioneer Woman's blog.

I put 1/2 the brown sugar, 1/2 the red pepper flakes, 

I used corn tortillas, and a blend of Mexican cheeses 

instead of queso cheese. (I forgot to buy some)

Anything with Cumin is delicious!

Cumin has to be one of my favorite spices...

Sunday Afternoon & My Handy Dandy Manly Man

Yesterday, Mike tried to fix the Family room Ceiling fan lights.

He spent like ALL eavening on it.

Called Electrician buddy for 3 hours. Researched online. 

Spent $150 in those manly stores he went to twice. 

And fixed... hummm... Nothing.

Today, after a delicious Sunday dinner:

Oven Roasted lemon and french herb Chicken

Green beans and garlic/parsley/butter sauteed  mushrooms.

Baked yams. Rice and corn.

Mike got back on the Internet to try to figure it out, and is now sleeping loudly next to me.

Amelie is playing some girly dress-up games on my computer.

Emric is asking me for some french homework help.

And being your typical hide-my-face-teen when I take a picture.

Chloe is zonked out at our feet...

And I am blogging like I did almost all day yesterday on my bed!

My tooshie is getting sore...

I think I have done too much blogging this week-end.

When the sun is not out I tend to stay in more...

We really should have cleaned up our very neglected back yard yesterday!

(It's a good thing it's sunny most of the time here, less winter blues...)

Emric before a Church Valentine Dance Last night.

One of my Favorite Dinners

Had this for Dinner.

LOVE

Pan fried Talipa with quinoa

Taste Buds and Picky Eaters!

We got a little snack to validate our Parking Ticket.

Amelie devoured those spicy wings! 

She has always been able to eat spicy stuff since she was a baby!

She would eat lemons without making faces!

I even thought she had no tasted buds cause she ate almost everything!

With the other 3 kids, I was not used to that! Especially with Emric the most picky of them all!

So, when she was around 2 or 3, I gave her a spoonful of salt telling her it was sugar.

Boy did she pull a face!!!! 

Kinda like the face she is pulling in the middle picture of the first collage below!

The test was conclusive: She had taste buds. And I, a happy Mom!

What a pleasure it was for one of my kids to eat such an abundant variety of foods!

It was a mother's dream...

"I have some very bad news"

Tonight, as my Man walked through our bedroom door after 

Chloe greeted him with her usual exited yelps and wines, 

and a few lickings on his face, 

Mike announced:

"I have some very bad news"

I brace myself for:

'I lost my job' kinda bad news.

But no, thankgoodness, this is what he said:

"I talked to a lot of people tonight, 

and those Marrons glaces were donated a few days ago to a church.

They were a Christmas special, were discounted and then donated!"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! 

I'm a few days too late! 

He would have bought them all too, that's Mike, you know!

Zut alors!
Darn it!

Rewind about an hour before

I had texted him

"I'm really craving those Chestnuts Glaces from H&H" 

Mike is too sweet, he went out of his way tonight to stop by H&H to try and get them for me...

Now, that is a good caring Hubby for you, well for me, really!

Thank you lover... You still get the credit! :)

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I posted my friends recipie for these cookies on my cooking blog here.

These are so yummy!

They literally vanish as soon as they come out the oven!

Jamie made some for us on Sunday night for Family home eavening with them...

They literaly vanished within a few minutes!

Two days of Darkness

These past 2 days have been dark so dark with rain and more rain.
Don't get me wrong, I love rain, but
I had to do something to keep the darkness outside from seeping into my soul.
So here are a few things I did to keep the darkness and gloom out.

* 'Downton Abbey' Season 3 Episode 1 & 2 (Awesome!)

* Yoga
* At least 3 episodes of 'Parenthood'
* Walking the dogs in the drizzling rain and foggy woods with a friend
* 'Doc Martin'

* Eat all the yummy gooey oatmeal cookies a friend made for me.
* Zumba (To burn off the cookies)

* Blogging & Picture editing
* Sprouting class at Church
*Power naps
* Spiritual soul-searching time alone in the Word (scripture that is)
* I didn't do the dishes for 2 days, but finally did them last night.
* I didn't sort and put away all my winter clothes I dumped in my bathtub,
before I left for Ohio. I might not need them this year again...

And Today the Sun is Shinning bright!
My awesome man, who I haven't seen during those dark days, (he is overly busy at work)
 cleaned the garage this morning before I was out of bed!

Windows are opened to let the fresh air and the sunlight shine in!

Flooding of Memories in One Unexpected Bite of French Goodness

(Well, these were actually from Italy)

Tonight for our date, my Man and I went to see the movie the Hobbit.

After the movie we had to go validate our parking ticket at Hubble & Hudson!

So we got a couple of my favorite drinks:

 Izzi and Orangina

I happened to look up on a random shelf, and what did I see?

Some boxes of Marrons Glaces!

(Glazed Candied Chestnut)

OH MY HEART!

3 min later, I was savoring this french delicatessen at 11pm at an outside table in front of H&H, 

under a lit up tree, in 70+ degree weather!

(I did share one with my man, just one and forbade him to eat anymore...)

I almost cried at the first bite!

Memories of my dear grandma Henrillette and past Christmases 

in my home land enveloped me!

 I miss my Grandma so much!

She was so lovely and kind, I've always felt a strong bond for her and still do.

She knew her grandchildren and loved us by always having little goodies for us when we visited.

Some of my favorite childhood memories were sleep overs at her tinny one bedroom appartement.

Going to the market and grocery shopping, 

Waiting for the Bread Van that would honk in front of her apartment building everyday. 

I would run down the 6 or 7 flights of stairs so fast to get her her daily fresh bread 

and little yummy buttery croissants, a treat for me!

During my high school years, I would visit her and my beloved grandpa Gaston, 

 every week during my 2h lunch hour or after school.

I ALWAYS felt welcomed, loved and special in thier home and heart.

I want to be a grandma just like her someday...

So, why so emotional, as I savor this marron glaces?

For Christmas, she would get me a box of these Marrons, 

because I was the weird one that did not like chocolate!

Here are photos of her, goodbyes, and a poem I wrote to honor her.

I love her so much and can't wait to see her again in the next life!

I know she will be there to greet me.
She will be one of the first persons I will look for.

I can't think of heaven without memere Henrillette or pepere Gaston!

I feel so privileged to be part of thier family.

I love family ties, because they never die or leave us.

Late Night Chocolate Squeeze

Every day, as we walked by this little Frozen Yogurt Bar,

Mike had to stop and sample or buy the chocolate delicateness...

No matter how full he was!

Isn't yogurt good for the belly anyway?

Looks like a chocolate turd to me!

I've died and gone to France!

I opened and cooked one of my Trader's Joe finds!
I'm loving that store more and more!
And these Almond Croissants!
I ate 2 and there were 2 for Mike.
Unfortunately for him, Mike forgot to eat his second one for breakfast...
He thought it was going to be there when he got home?!
Not really.
I told him:
"I don't have that much self-control!!!!"

A Taste of France in all it's goodness and glory!
Oh... How I adore/miss French food!!!

By the way it's not just the food I miss, I miss my Family...
I'm long due for a trip to my home land...

2 Photos for the 2 croissants I ate today! 

Since France is not in the books right now.  
My Man is taking me to Aruba!
For our Anniversary. 
Just the 2 of us... 

We leave tomorrow at 4:30 am for 9 days!
It's good cause my toes are getting cold, 
I'm not ready to wear socks and closed shoes all day yet...
And YES! 
It does get a little chilly in Texas...

*******

Sunday Joys

Waking up next to my man - one good man.

Joy in marriage.

The wonderful smells of Preparing Dinner.
Beef braising, onions, garlic, shallots, fresh herbs from my garden; rosemary, thyme, oregano...
Joy in smells.

Recalling childhood memories of early witnesses of a loving God on my drive to Church.

Joy in life lived.

 Amelie entering church with a bandaged one bare foot and one foot with a shoe.
She took off the one. Was Bare feet the whole 3 hours of church!
Me not noticing when she got in the car.
Totally faked injury!
Joy of childhood games.

Testimonies born:
A grateful wife.
An 18 year old Girl, rejoicing in serving a mission in 6 months
versus the 2 years she was willing to wait.
Witnesses of Divine grace and love.
Joy in the soul.

Laughing so hard after the telling of  Mike's trunk incident!
A son innocently admitting he heard "put it all in my Trunk!"
Joy in laughter...

Braking our Fast with Delicious Beef Strogonoff,
mashed potatoes, garlic green beans and mushrooms
Joy in the belly!

Skyping family
Talking about nothing and everything
Beautiful Justine in Hawaii, family in France, the Browns in Utah.
Joy in togetherness.

Sharing crepes and nutella with another family.
Lot's of noises, hugs, dogs running around.
Teaching them our family song
All bearing testimonies one by one...
Kneeling in payers
Joy in sharing

Bed time rest after a full day next to my man - one good man.
Joy in the body

I am blessed.
Joy in the heart & life

******

Fall Festivities

Tonight we had our yearly fall Festival at our church.

This year we had a Truck-O-Treet

Emric was a modern Harry Potter

Amelie; Cat from the show 'Victorious'

She can speek just like her and kinda looks like her too!

My Rat Car

We also had a Chili Cook-off

I made a White Chichen Chili 

The kids had a few games stations put on by the youth.

I was wearing boots and gloves!

It was the first day of real cold, barely in 60's!

Not to worry though, we will be back in the 80's by next Wed.

For now I will enjoy wearing my warmer clothes hats and scarves...

My Chili was gone very fast! It is an awesome recipie!

Today. I Vote. I Cook. I Blog. And more...

Walking my precious!

With Tammey and her 3 dogs.

Going to a Bread/Yogurt making class with women from my church.

I am definitely going to make the yogurt.
It was delicious!
And so easy.
I'm going to try it with greek yogurt.
It should work the same...

The bread was awesome too!

I took some home and ate it all day!

I got a hair cut!

I love the salon's bathroom sink.

They had the place all Halloweeny...

After trying different places for the past 2 years,

I finally found the one!

Skyrock Salon it is!

And Sam is my girl!

I did my civic duty.

I went to early voting.

Took a few pictures before I had to turn off my phone...

The line was short.

Mitt Romney is my man of choice!

Picked up Emric from diving.
Made spaghetti and salad for dinner.

Took Amelie to piano.

Came home and ate dinner.

Blogged

Watch Lie to Me with Mike...

Thankful to live in a free country!

Loved the weather today!

A Good Day

Shopping & Red Mango & Trader's Joe

Audie, Clara, Amelie and I went to the mall for a little shopping.
Aude wanted to bye a Grace hat like mine.

Audie took me to the Red Mango!

Oh Boy! 

I think I am going to visit that place from now on!
Yes, a perfect Date Night!!!!

The White Peach frozen yogurt is to die for!

We went back the next day to the grand opening of a new restaurant in the Woodlands.

They had free cups all day!!!

They are right next to Traders Joe.

We discovered that place too!!!

Tons of good stuff in there at reasonable prices!

I got some cute flowers...

.

Conference Cookies

During the afternoon session of Conference,

Amelie and I made some Peanut Butter cookies -

some with Heath Bits,

some with mini-chocolate chips

and some with both.

She has a little swim-team girlfriend who moved-in on our street.

We took her family a dozen cookies to welcome them to the neighborhood.

Needless to say I will have to re-listen to that session!
Thats ok, cause I will be listening to all of Conference
on my phone during my walks with Chloe within the next 6 months...

But boy! Was that cookie dough YUMMY!

The Heath/Peanut cookies were delicious too!

I'm not a huge fan of Peanut Butter Cookies but these;
I really like!

Robin's Peanut Butter Cookies Recipie

(we made a double batch to share)