Open for Business on Etsy!

I opened shop on Etsy just a few weeks ago! It's a humble shop, but I am enjoying the work already.

I am so amazed and inspired by the incredibly talented people who sell through Etsy. I could spend hours passing through pages of items. Inspiring!

Stop by my shop, and peruse others too if you need an artistic boost but can't make it to a local art gallery for inspiration (because your two-year-old will destroy everything in sight...)!

Four Sisters Wine Design

I have three incredible sisters. And two pretty amazing parents. And of course, three fantastic married-to-us-men (including my husband!). We are equally divided between Wisconsin and Florida and when we get together, we make it a good time!

We had so much fun during our last visit. Two parties in one day. We had a girls' night painting class (more on that to come! I can't stop raving about it!). We took cousin photos. And just hung out. All in four short days. Go big and then get back to reality, right?

One of the two parties was just to get together. My mom had this vision to have a wine bottle with "Four Sisters" on it. I took her idea and ran. With a little help from my very creative niece we came up with this invite (personal info removed...sorry for the dull space!).

After we created the funky invite. We realized that the party wouldn't be complete with our own bottles of wine to serve. So I went back and created wine labels! What fun! I don't think I could ever have so much fun with anyone else. Who would have thought that 20 years ago when we were all under the same roof fighting over bathroom space and clothes?! 

Maybe it's because we all drink wine now.

Cheers!

Luke & Jess Wedding Invitation

I can't believe that summer is here and gone already! I took a break from blogging to enjoy the fabulous, if too short, summer that we get here in Wisconsin. I also watched my niece and nephew two or three times a week this summer and we were too busy having fun to bum around on the computer.

The fun is all over and it's back to school. And back to blogging for me!

I have been waiting to post a wedding invite I created months ago...they have finally tied the knot and I feel like I can show off their invite finally!

The Bride and I had so much fun creating them. She had such a vision and we made it come to life! We went with a pocket-layering style so each of the cards were tucked over one another and just the top tab appeared. Lovely!

Congrats Luke & Jess!

  

Wives of Faith - Military Spouse Appreciation Week Day 1!

Twice each year one of my all-time favorite sites hosts a "Blog Carnival". I missed the Christmas one this year simply because I was swamped. But I'm gunning for it this week! I love the collective writing and reading all of the other posts!

Today's topic: 

Which scripture has been a life verse for you on your journey as a military spouse, or what scripture has God used to comfort you on this journey in military life?

The Bible has so many verses that I have relied on but one set I always come back to is Jeremiah 29:11-13.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,'" declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'"

Wow. I sometimes get caught up in my daily life to remember that God has good plans for me. I sometimes feel so alone in this military wife journey. Living far from a military installation in Anytown USA, I forge my own way most of the time living my double life as military wife and common civilian. A stranger I pass in the grocery store doesn't know me. But God does. He knows each situation. He knows each day I wake up feeling alone. And He knows that this is all part of his grand plan. I can't help but smile to think that I have a place in God's plan. Most days I feel like a walking disaster. But God doesn't see us that way. If we're willing and open, we call out to Him and we seek Him with our whole hearts - boy, we won't know what hit us!

Things may not always be easy or good in life, but the more challenging situations I've lived through, the more I can see how God is using the tough stuff to help me fit right into His grand plan!

{Mini} Puff Pancakes - Gluten, Soy, Dairy Free

I love a good puff pancake. My go-to recipe uses a 9-inch pie pan. And a host of non-The Boy-Friendly ingredients.

With my niece and nephew around during Spring Break, I wanted to make mini-versions. Kids always seem to eat better if their food is miniature. I hopped over to one of my favorite blogs to see what they had. Sure enough, I found a Mini Puff Pancake recipe. 

I have adapted the recipe below to be gluten free, dairy free (and soy free). Give them a try!

Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes with Berry Sauce
recipe by ourbestbites.com - adapted by Tree of Life Creative

Ingredients
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 tapioca starch
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
powdered sugar

Berry Sauce
6 large frozen or fresh strawberries or mixed berries
3 tablespoons berry jam

InstructionsPlace mini muffin pan in oven and heat to 400 degrees.  While oven is heating, place flour, milk, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.  

Carefully remove the pan from the oven (don’t forget it’s hot!) and brush with melted butter. 

Fill muffin wells 3/4 full with batter.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top.  

Remove puffs and place on plate or platter.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  

Drizzle with berry sauce and top with cool whip or whipped cream, or serve with sauce and/or maple syrup for dipping.

Quick and Easy Berry Sauce

Place berries and into small saucepan. Heat on medium until mixture is bubbly. Mash large pieces if needed. Drizzle over puff pancakes!

Yields about 24 mini muffin pancake puffs

Easter Egg Lunches

Three dozen...Easter Egg Lunches!

I celebrated Good Friday with my niece (9) and nephew (4) and The Boy (can you believe he's almost 2?!). I surprised them with an Easter Egg Lunch. An idea inspired by Pinterest. Of course. Pretty much all of my ideas from from Pinterest these day. 

I spent a few weeks purchasing eggs in these cool plastic containers. We go through a ridiculous amount of eggs each week so it didn't take long. The kids went crazy over the lunch. Next time I'll look for slightly larger eggs. I filled the eggs with strawberries, carrots, grapes, cheese (for the dairy eaters!), turkey, jelly beans, hard boiled eggs, and a tiny cookie. I did double up on a few. I would have loved to fit their sandwiches inside - cut into cute shapes - but the plastic eggs weren't remotely close enough to fit sandwich pieces. Maybe I'll try wraps next time!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free Cornbread

• 
  
• The Boy loves to eat. At his last check up he was in the 85 percentile for his weight and height. Not too shabby for a strapping Midwestern boy. I have an inclining that he might be a chef, or at least enjoy cooking when he's older. He plays in his toy kitchen every day. Plus since he has been able to stand on his own he has helped me out in the kitchen. 
• 
  
• We do a lot of cooking around here because The Boy has allergies to dairy, soy and lately some sort of wheat or gluten intolerance that we are doing food trials on right now. 
• 
  
• The dairy wasn't much of a challenge for me - I often substitute dairy alternatives. Soy was challenging. Turns out soy appears in many forms in the majority of store bought products. Over the last year and a half I have gotten my cooking down pat. Then the gluten issue came into play and I've had to reinvent my recipes and get a even more creative and bold in the kitchen. 
• 
  
• And even more so when I start a recipe thinking that I have the key ingredients on hand...like in this recipe! It's very forgiving when you realize that you're out of cornmeal. Oops. Feel free to substitute cornmeal for the grits and polenta if you happen to have them on hand!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free Homestyle Cornbread

• (heavily adapted from MyRecipes.com)

Ingredients

1/3 cup tapioca starch

2/3 cup rice flour

1/2 cup grits

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 cup prepared polenta (I used Trader Joe's fully cooked brand) OR Cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 large eggs

1 cup (just under) coconut milk (or milk of your choice)

1 tablespoon vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup corn kernels (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 8x8 inch square pan.
2. In a bowl, mix tapioca starch, rice flour, grits, corn starch, polenta (or cornmeal), sugar, salt, and baking powder. If using polenta be sure to mix very well - mixture will be very crumbly. 
3. In a measuring cup mix coconut milk and vinegar to form "buttermilk". Let rest until slightly thickened.
4. Once milk has thickened, add eggs and oil and mix until blended. In another bowl, beat eggs to blend with buttermilk and 1/4 cup butter; pour into flour mixture. Add corn (or green chilies, or bacon pieces...) if using. Stir batter until evenly moistened.
5. Pour into a well-greased 8x8 inch square pan. 
6. Bake until bread is browned and springs back when gently pressed in the center about 20-25 minutes.

Happy Easter

I jumped on the ombre wagon.

But not with my hair. I'm too particular about keeping my hair healthy and strong to dye it.

We had so much fun coloring eggs that The Man wants to do it again this weekend. We didn't end up with many because The Boy kept cracking them to eat before they were colored! Way too crazy for me!

Happy Easter!

Reflections on the Cross

This morning I received this in my email from Women Living Well. 

I'd like to share it with you!

Today we remember. 

(Taken from Matthew 27)

 We remember…

 the betrayal for 30 pieces of silver

the flogging

the crown of thorns

the purple robe

the sign “Hail, King of the Jews!”

the strike on Jesus’ face

the crowd shouting “Crucify Him!”

the long walk to Golgotha carrying the cross

the nails in his hands

the nails in his feet

DARKNESS

the words “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

the temple curtain torn in two from top to bottom

the earth trembling

the guards exclaiming “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Life is in the blood –the precious blood of Jesus.

To read the rest of the post - click here!

Homemade Lemon Peppermint Tea

Don't tell The Man...I'm using his Kuwait mug!

I've been struggling to make it through this never-ending winter. This tea is helping me get through it. It's mild and mellow and easily adjusted. Heat up your tea pot - it's tea time!

Lemon Peppermint Tea
1-2 slices of lemon
8-12 fresh mint leaves
1-2 thin shavings fresh ginger (optional)
1/8-inch piece vanilla bean (optional)
1 tsp honey (or to taste)

Heat water in your preferred method. I love my tea pot. Toss ingredients into favorite mug (or stolen mug). Pour very hot water over. Let steep. Enjoy!

Brain Brigade Store

I have been blessed the past few months to have a full to do list, especially when looking at my design projects. I am thrilled that one of my projects is working with my dad to help share his teaching knowledge acquired over 35 years with other teachers.

We are slowly getting his "store"off the ground at TeachersPayTeachers. It is so exciting too see this dynamic resource where teachers can support one another while also gathering innovative ideas.

Extra Green Guacamole

I used to be known for spending hours in the kitchen. If you had a time-consuming, pain-in-the-neck-inducing recipe - I was the girl for the job! Complicated instructions. Detail oriented. Particular.

But it was worth every overly nerotic nuance almost every time!

Then, along came The Boy. Now, I spend countless hours each week cooking for him. He is allergic to dairy and soy and we suspect something is going on with wheat and his digestive system. My cooking has gone from dream hobby to complete necessity. My child wouldn't eat much if I didn't spend time in the kitchen.

I also watch my nephew after school for a few hours and he likes to eat. So when you add it all up, I'm generally in the kitchen for about half of the day either cooking or cleaning up (which has been dramatically reduced since my awesome husband jumped on my bandwagon to install a dishwasher in our very old pre-dishwasher home just a few short weeks ago! Maybe I'll write a post on that one too one of these days. Dishwasher: Best. Invention. EVER.).

Back to the story. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

I haven't been particularly creative with my own food much in part to the fact that I have to be creative with The Boy's food. Today, however, I wanted something fresh and spring-like for lunch even if the weather outside wasn't exactly screaming "SPRING IS HERE!" (unless 15 degrees is spring-like for you - then you should probably go. I whine a lot about the cold.). As I was dishing up plates of food for the boys, I was trying to figure out what I could make for lunch that wasn't a straight-up salad but was still healthy and incorporated some green.

As I plated my not-so-fancy child lunch of their but favorite scrambled eggs, carrots and dip, and sliced avocado I realized that I wanted an avocado too. I noticed a few cherry tomatoes withering away on my counter. I was thrilled! I could make guacamole! Yes! Noooo. Noooooooo. No. I can't eat straight up guac for lunch. Yes it's green, but I needed more. Plus I'm out of tortilla chips.

I had a vague memory of a kale-guac recipe my family made a year or two ago and decided to replicate it. I was out of kale, but did have spinach.

The results were pretty awesome. Filling. And not too guilt-inducing. Considering that I'd rather eat a bag of jelly beans this time of year to try and keep up my winter layers (pudge) to stay warm during our incredible "spring". Did I mention that I dislike the cold? Whatever. This was better than jelly beans.


Give it a try. Simple. Green. Hurry-Up-Spring in a bowl.

Here is the recipe for my Extra Green Guacamole:

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach - chopped well
1/2 avocado
1/4-1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (to taste)
Up to 1 TB lime juice (I like lime)
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Garlic - to taste
Fresh jalapeno - to taste (if not allergic like me)

Using a fork or potato masher combine ingredients. Add lime, salt, pepper, garlic and jalapeno to suit your taste preferences. Eat straight up using a fork like a salad or more sophisticated scooping with broken pieces of tostada. Like me. Or wrap in white corn tortillas.

Enjoy!

Better than a McDonald's Shamrock Shake

Shamrock Martini

Out of desperation we concocted an incredible martini. I'm not even wasting time with a fun story.

Just follow this incredible recipe right now:

Shamrock Martini
1 oz Creme de Menthe
1 oz Whipped Cream Vodka
2.5 oz Half and Half

Fill shaker with ice. Add all three ingredients. Shake it up. Strain it out. If you feel like it, top with a little cocoa or chocolate shavings. Sip slowly!

KMKool

K visiting her aunts in the south!

My niece inspired me to get back on the blogtrack. Wow how time has managed to get away from me!

Stop by her blog - she just got it up and running. I hope to help her with some graphics when she needs something. That's what aunties do, right?

She's an adorable nine-year-old busy with school and gymnastics. She has a knack for fashion and a great sense of humor. She probably takes after me. Ha! I only wish!

Here's to you, K! Best of luck on your first blog!