Ever tried "Wickles"?

Good morning, Friends!

Seriously, have you ever had them?  Know what they are?  Seen them at the grocery store?

No?  LOOK FOR THEM!!!

Hubby and I were out grocery shopping (AKA - "Empty Nest Bonding Time") and Mr Whitt (who usually grabs the Oreos, Moxie & Cheese-Its) found these gems while in search of garlic dill stackers.

The name alone was intriguing: Wickles.  According to the label they are "a wickedly delicious pickle."  Where else, but in New Hampshire would something be "wickedly good"?  (I was completely bummed when oldest DD came back from college in PA only to have lost "wicked good" from her vocabulary!  A sad day...) 

Back to the pickles... we snagged a jar with a shrug of our shoulders, popped it in the cart and went about the business of procuring sustenance for the next two weeks.  When we got home, I tucked them on the shelf and there they sat for a week or so.  The other night I was toasting up some yummy grilled cheese and decided to bring out the jar of Wickles.

These are not for the faint of heart or anyone with an aversion to spicy/tangy food.  They are sweet pickles with a bit more than a hint of chili pepper! Needless to say, in my book, in tiny little nibbles (1/4 of a pickle slice at a time...) they were AMAZING!!  I am a bit of a wimp where spicy goes, so those of you who slather on hot sauce might not blink an eye, but we found them pretty darn tasty!  I decided to add a few to my tuna sandwich yesterday and they were delish!  Then I realized - I NEED to tell you about them!  :o)  Gotta take care of my blog-world friends!

If you decide to give them a try, let me know what you think!  If you have any tasty goodies you think the rest of us ought to know about, do tell!

Enjoy your day and I hope it is WICKED GOOD!
Carrie

Repurposing/refashioning/having a bit of fun

Good morning and Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

To anyone that needs it, BIG HUGS to you!!  Then again, don't we all?  

So I had this idea (perhaps it comes from being cooped up over the winter?) of getting together with friends and having a Pinterest Pinning Party (say that 3 times fast!!)  I posted to friends on Facebook, to see what sort of response I'd get and it was GREAT!  

So... I made up a survey at SurveyMonkey.com to get ideas for what everyone was interested in.  If you are reading this and want to get in on the fun but didn't do the survey, here it is:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P6VK7XV  You can click on the link, head over and answer a few questions.  

I am creating the first party based on the answers people are giving me, and what I can do. For example, several folks have asked for the theme "repurposing/recycling".  I've been collecting ideas that zip off that concept ... though I am hoping the munchies folks bring are NOT repurposed!  HAHAHA!

To help me get "in the mode" I decided to take a look-see at what I had that would get my repurposing juices flowing.  I found a bag of sweaters I had attempted tried done my best at felting at some point last year:

Quite a colorful lot, don't you say?

The next question I asked myself was which would be my victim I start with?  Hmmm ... I decided on the most colorful one!  Yippee!  So... over the next few days you can watch the fun as this little beauty becomes, well, I don't know...whatever she becomes!

Any ideas?  I have a few....so come on back later and see what I come up with!

Quilty Hugs!
Carrie   

Wordless Wednesday: Living in NH, was there another picture?

Good morning, everyone!

So glad you stopped by!  Today is Wordless Wednesday.  That means today is a feast for the eyes.  Living here in NH, there were some obvious choices...

 

Feel free to post links to your own wonderful pictures in the comments below.  I'd love to stop by and take a look. :o)

Quilty Hugs,
Carrie

LOVE Banner... just had to share!

Double bonus for today, folks!

Do you need a quick decoration for Thursday?  You totally should try this one!  I got the idea from creativegreenliving.com .  Here is a link to her creation.  She used book pages, thereby making it more repurposed.  I would definitely try that another time...or with another project...yup, you'll be seeing THIS again!

 First, you'll need the following materials:

• paper or book pages for the banner
• red or pink paper for the hearts
• decorations - I happened to have a couple of Valentine die cuts for my Sizzix
• yarn, jute, string, etc to hang the banner

To make the banner, I took a piece of 8 1/2" x 11", fold it it the "hot dog way" (I taught 2nd grade for quite a while....) and cut out a triangle.  The first one was too deep.  This cut seemed to create what I wanted.

I laid the sample on another piece and cut out the triangle.  This kept there from being a line in all my pieces.  (I used the pink just to show contrast...though you could use any color you want!!)
 

Time to make the hearts!  I created them the same way - folding a piece of paper in half and then cutting the shape out till I got one I liked.
Next, grab a sharpie and write your letters.  I liked the ones Carissa used on her blog, so I copied them.

Next, I added a few cut outs.  If you use book pages, you might not need/want to do that.  Or you might have some stickers....like doodling...you name it!  It's YOUR banner!

 Time to attach them to the yarn.  I flipped them over and folded an edge to create a sleeve.

Then I drew on a bead of glue and pressed it down.

At this point, I need to inject some humor.  Kind of an "oopsie" moment here.  When I flipped it over look what I spelled?!?!?!  "E V O L"  yup... a bit of dyslexia here!

As you can see from the finished banner at the top, I was able to correct my mistake.  Should you make the same one, un-thread the banner, tie a safety pin on the end and poke it through with a kabob stick!  Yup... works just fine!

I will have to try other ones as this was fun and easy.  Off to make some lunch!
Have a great day, all and quilty hugs!
Carrie

With 2 days to go...hopping hubby doesn't catch wind!!

Good morning, All!

I thought if anyone else was down to the wire for the big day, you might want an idea or two that might fit your time available!  Thought I might share what's in the works for the hubster for V-Day...  I have a card idea, a framed subway art I downloaded, some sweet goodies.

Feel free to borrow any of the ideas! 

Here's the card.... a bit of handmade mushy-ness!  

 First, cut out a heart from fabric.  I decided to layer it and cut one out of felt, just a bit bigger to "mount" the first heart on.

 I sewed them together and then sewed them both on with a zigzag stitch to the  cardstock.

 Next, time to pull out some scrapbooking goodies - it's a bit hard to see, but the lettering is white.  It shows up better below:

Viola!  What's inside?  Well (**blushing**) that's between the hubby and I!  Tee hee!


Now... I also downloaded and printed some perfect Subway Art from thecreativegirl.com.  She created a perfect Valentine's Day piece of art! Here's a link and here's a look!  (I had a little trouble with the lighting here...sorry!)

Lastly, something sweet!  Whitt is a lover of all things Reese.  That being said, I found a GREAT recipe for Peanut Butter cups here.  I made a batch and they are pretty tasty.  The recipe came from over at Blue Eyed Bakers.com .  A bit of peanut butter, some butter and graham crackers make up the base while yummy chocolate chips and milk form the chocolate layer.  The sea salt sprinkled on top finishes it off.  Stop by their site for further directions.  Here's my result:

They are YUMMY!  I did find them a bit softer than I anticipated, but the peanutty-chocolatey-salty goodness you produce?  Yah... soft is NO biggie!

Now, to the girls he works with... DON'T tell!  I am thinking he might even share some of the treats with you!!  He won't be getting them till Thursday morning....so keep quiet!  Hehehe!

Quilty hugs!
Carrie

Mining Mondays: New Stove = What to make???

Good morning, all!
Some of you may have heard, our oven has been a wee bit finicky for the past 3 months or so. Actually, "finicky" is a nice way of saying down right ornery!!  "Light it and hope" has been my mantra since somewhere around Thanksgiving!  I have been pinning and trying crockpot meals for a while (you may notice that if you are following me on Pinterest....), but thanks to the good people at Sears and the fact buying appliances in January is a good thing, a new gas stove is heading to the Whitt household this Friday!  SO excited!  Granted, it may take a bit to have hubby install it (his wrestling state meet is this weekend...) knowing we have it on the way is very exciting!

That being said, I thought for "Mining Monday" I would see what recipes catch my eye for breaking in a new oven!!  Something sweet , something healthy (yup, gotta do it) and something for dinner (okay...definitely a couple there!)  To access the recipes, just click on the links with each one.

So let's start looking!

For some reason, I have a hankering for honey roasted carrots!  These could certainly be done in a pot, on the stove, but there is something about the little bit of crispiness you get when baking them in the oven.  Click here for a recipe from one of my favorite places to turn to, Allrecipe.com.  All you need are carrots, olive oil, honey and a bit of pepper. 

Something we have definitely missed are potato skins!  While out mining the morning, I found a GREAT recipe I can't wait to try at Whatsgabycooking.com!!  Nacho Loaded Potato Skins!  OMG.. what's not to love about these!  Chipotle guacamole?  Oh yah, Whitt will love these!  (Might leave out the refried beans...)

Here's one I'm dying to try: Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread.  The name ALONE makes you want to check it out, right?  Emily has a great recipe on her blog that I can't wait to try!!  All you need is some chicken, bread dough, hot sauce and cheese!  YUMMY!!  Stop by her website for the directions.

My next thought is pizza... any pizza would do... but you will NEVER believe the one I found!!  Many of you know we are sugaring "folks" - and it's just about time to start tapping!  That being said, I just came across a recipe I HAVE to try, for breakfast, mind you.  Maple Bacon Pizza!  "NO WAY, you say?!?!"  YES, I say!  Zip over to the the Utah Local News website for the recipe!  How can a pizza with both bacon AND maple syrup not be to die for, eh?  The pictures say they came from Concord, NH - if you have more info, let me know and I'll add it!!

Now, about the sweets...  how about Apple Cinnamon Chai Bread Pudding?  Perhaps it's the beautiful dish she cooked it in, not sure, but this looks incredibly yummy! Hope over to Ann's website, Sumptuous Spoonfuls for wonderful recipes, especially how to make THIS!!  This is HER picture - I highly doubt mine will look as good - for starters, I don't have that lovely dish, or an oven yet to try it... but I will and when I do...  :o)

Okay... have I made you hungry?  Thank goodness I had breakfast first!  To check out any of the recipes, just click on the link and visit the websites of the talented folks listed.  I can't WAIT for my oven to try these myself!  I will let you know how it goes... maybe even next week?  We shall see!

Quilty hugs,
Carrie

I'm b..aaa..c...k!!

Good afternoon from snowburied NH!

I've been away from the blogging world for a bit...okay...fell off the face of the blogging earth, but hey, it was field hockey season...now it's basketball season...what can I say?  Terribly sorry...but I'm back with things in the wings to share!  Yay!

First, I have to show a picture taken out the front door ... Here in NH we "found Nemo" - he/she/it came with a vengeance overnight after lulling us into a false sense of "darn weather people...wrong again!!"security and dumped up to 3 feet (yes, that's 36 inches) of the fluffy white stuff across the region.  2-3' was what they said.... they were right!  That path is what's shoveled.. that lump on the right?  That's my car!!  I've got till tomorrow to uncover it and find my way down the drive to return DD to college!

So, with a bit of time on my hands today and a couple of adorable grandchildren to visit I thought I'd peruse Pinterest and find something fun to do with them.  I decided to try my hand at a bit of play dough.  Haven't made any in YEARS and have NO cream of tarter on hand... soooo... cruised Google for "play dough without cream of tarter" and low and behold, Natural Parenting Tips had a perfect recipe! I was able to whip up a couple batches (have to have 2 colors and enough for 2 boys...) and here it is:

Just stop by their website here and you can find a GREAT recipe for play dough if you, like me, have no cream of tarter!!

Hope you are safe and warm where ever you are!  Quilty hugs from here in New Hampshire!!
Carrie