Wonderful Weekend v.4.2

Grab your  Rachael Ray enamel cookware set, gather your friends and host a potluck. You can each pick a different culinary style and expand your horizons!

Locate your nearest animal shelter and volunteer! Slip into your charming little Vince Cable Crop sweater and spend the day with amazing animals. The cute little cats and dogs will immediately adore you. What's a better pick me up than that?

How could you resist a face as cute as this?

Share your passion for reading by forming a book club that explores stories about friendship about the ages. A great novel to start out with is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Keep it low-stress by asking a local bookstore or coffee house if you can meet there.

Blast some Spice Girls, Christina Aguilera, *NSYNC, Vanilla Ice and other 90s music and jump up and down on the bed, singing into your hairbrush as if no one were watching. Do the macarena. You'll get a good workout without even realizing it.

Slip on your Merona ® Blue Wool Beret and spend the weekend with nothing but a canvas and paint. Oh, how easy it is to unleash your fantastic French artiste when something so simple as a hat is placed upon your head. Then when the weekend is over reveal your creations to the world. As the award-winning novelist Jane Porter once stated:

"Happiness is not perfected unless it is shared."

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. What are your plans?

We Develop from the Negatives

My apartment is literally one of the girliest places ever. It's filled with pinks, purples and pastel colors. I've got pretty post-it notes on the wall and my room is decked out in Hello Kitty. What can you say?

I just love for my living space to be happy and inspirational, a true reflection of who I am. And for someone living on a budget creating my own decoration pieces has been a fun and unique way to spice up my home and make it stand out from anyone else I know.

Photography is one of passions in life, and I recently painted this canvas to remind me to do what I love and pursue my dreams. I hung this in my room to remind me to never forget what makes me happy.

First I started out by taking my ruler and penciling in some stripes for my canvas creation.

Next I used scrapbook paper to draw and cut out a vintage Pentax camera.



Then I used simple acrylic paint to color the stripes and glued the camera to the canvas.



Then to cap it off I added one of my favorite quotes.



What do you think? I love how it turned out! Now I've got an a pretty reminder hanging in my bedroom encouraging me to go after my goals. What's your ultimate dream, and how do you incorporate it into your everyday life?

St. James Strawberry Wine

Wine is usually made from grapes.

Key word in that sentence being usually. However, at St. James Winery in Missouri they took the notion that wine is essentially just the fermented juice of fruits and ran with it. I promise, fresh picked strawberries have never tasted this good. This award winning wine hails from one of the awarded vineyards in the Midwest.

First opened in 1970 by husband and wife duo Jim and Pat Hoffher, St. James winery has grown to become the largest winery in Missouri. In 2009 it was named Winery of the Year in the eastern United States by the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition. 

It got its humble start as a small, family-owned business run by the owners and their four children. Within the first year the Hoffher's were able to produce over 3,000 cases of wine! Drawing inspiration from the spirit of the early Italian immigrants that settled Missouri during the late 1800s and determined to resurrect the winemaking acclaim Missouri was known for before prohibition, their vineyards are composed of 300 acres of Catawba, Vignoles, Chardonel, Concord, Norton, Chambourcin, Seyval and Rougeon grapes. They also have a collection of fruit wines including cherry, peach, blackberry, blueberry and raspberry and of course amazing strawberry being featured today.

This wine is made from sweet, vine-ripened strawberries. It's delicious and sweet without having that overbearing jam-like taste. Best served chilled, St. James's strawberry wine is great with desserts including milk chocolate or even a delicious pound cake. 

Sold online and in over 10 states at only $8.99 a bottle this delicious wine is tasty, affordable and a perfect excuse to have friends over for a dessert party. So try it, I promise it's good!

Images courtesy of St. James Winery.

Spinach & Mushroom Chimichangas

In keeping with yesterday's post, I decided to stick with a Spanish theme for today's recipe. After reading this post from one of my favorite blogs I've been cutting back a little on the meat lately (although there's no way I could ever give it up entirely) and I was inspired to make one of my favorite chimichanga recipes. These crisp, deep-fried little guys are loved all over the world and are totally easy to make.

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces/225 grams small mushrooms, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5½ cups spinach leaves, torn into pieces if large
6 ounces/175 grams Cheddar cheese, grated 
6 flour tortillas, warm
vegetable oil, for deep frying

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom skillet. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for five minutes or until softened. 

2. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for five minutes, or until the mushrooms are lightly browned. Add the spinach and cook, stirring for one to two minutes or until just wilted. Add the cheese and stir until just melted.

3. Spoon an equal quantity of the mixture into the center of each tortilla. Fold in the opposite sides of each tortilla to cover the filling, then roll up to enclose it completely.

4. Heat the oil for deep frying in a deep-fryer or large, deep pan to 350°-375°F (180°-190°C). Deep fry the chimichangas two at a time, turning once, for five to six minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels before serving. 

These chimichangas are perfect served with a spoonful of Guacamole and some sour cream. Garnish with some chopped tomatoes and onion and a side of Mexican rice. Add some tequila and you're in for an amazing supper.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Welcome to the beginning of the week! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We have approached yet another Monday, and I've been in the mood for a little Spanish, so for this week's Monday movie I've chosen one of my absolute favorites.

Movie poster courtesy of imp awards.

Making its debut at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival is Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a brilliant movie written and directed by Woody Allen. The film centers around Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), a pair of friends who are opposite in personality but connect nonetheless. Both girls are going through a transitional period in their lives when they decide take a summer vacation to Spain. They meet handsome and suave artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) at an art exhibition. He is immediately enamored by both of them yet still harbors feelings for his volatile and quite unstable ex-wife María Elena. Little do any of them know that María Elena is about to turn all three of their lives upside down. 

From the first time I saw this movie I was instantly obsessed!  Woody Allen is amazing, and this film is just another example of his genius. This flick is funny, romantic, a little crazy and incredibly sexy. The Spanish backdrop is a character in itself, adding so much culture, ambiance (and at times) tension to the film. The score is eclectic and fun, featuring a soothing mix of Spanish guitar music, traditional flamenco and even newer music like the soothing voice of Giulia y Los Tellarini add to the story's lighthearted yet passionate tone. Not to mention outstanding performances by a gorgeous cast bring Allen's well though out, in-depth characters to life (and also net Cruz her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) and really catapults the film to greatness. Check out the trailer for Vicky Cristina Barcelona below: 

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is now available on blu-ray and DVD.

Thank you to YouTube for allowing me the usage of their trailer.

Lent

Thanks to The Catholic Realist for the photo.

Happy Sunday beautiful people! I hope everyone had an amazing weekend.

I've taken somewhat of a prolonged break from this blog for a few months to focus on more pressing endeavors and to observe Lent. I'm not really one to discuss religion or politics on the blog because it tends to lead to arguments and unkind words being said. Everyone has their own opinions and who am I to tell someone that their beliefs are wrong? However, I will say that I am Catholic therefore I observe Lent.

The traditional purpose of Lent is to prepare for the celebration of the death and Resurrection of Christ through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial. It is normal to "give something up" as a form of sacrifice and penitence, for which I refrained from blogging and reading blogs (and eating candy, which I LOVE) in order to do some spiritual reading and commit more to prayer instead to improve my relationship with Christ and have somewhat of a better of an understanding of the sacrifices he went through so that I may live. I learned some wonderful things during my blogging break, about both myself and about my Lord Jesus Christ while I was away, and I can honestly say that I am better person for my experience. 

So now back to the fun stuff. Check me out tomorrow for a fun a sexy movie Monday!