yogurt pie

sorry that im doing two food posts in a row.  food is heavily on the brain lately, being that i'm working out like a maniac and really watching what i'm eating. 

nonetheless....i'm not afraid to share a favorite dessert recipe with you.  it warms my soul.  my stomach's soul.

this is a yogurt pie recipe that my mom used to make all the time growing up.  i don't know where she got it from, but i thank whoever/whatever gave it to her.  

we start with these ingredients.  (i'm going to be very vague with this recipe, because it's pretty straight-forward.  the pictures will tell most the story)

then you mix all the yogurt and all the cool whip (ps...in the nutritional facts at the end of the post, that is for lite cool whip and light yogurt....i used the naughty stuff).

place beautifully washed yogurt and cool whip containers and place in recycle bin.  check!

pour (or i consider it "glopping") into graham cracker pie crust (you can make your own, but i was lazy this time) and level it off nicely.

voila!  cover and refrigerate for a few hours.  then diiiiig in!  it's delicious and not too bad calorie-wise!

(nutritional info here)

gruyere cheese

this is going to truly expose me for who i am...one who hasn't tried many cheeses.  it's sad and true.  (i'm working on it, alright?)  so when i made these mini quiche the other day, i had to buy gruyere cheese.  the thought of using a weirdly named cheese kind of (in a brooke kind of way) grossed me out.  but i pressed on.  i bought it.  yes.

the next step was cutting it up into very fine pieces.  i was nervous that the cheese would smell horrific.  i have issues with strong cheese smells.  let's blame it on uruguay, where i walked into a cheese corner store, and about passed out from the strong olor of cheese.  it even drifted out to the streets.  i couldn't even walk by the place without wanting to upheave my stomach.  (okay, so maybe i'm being a little melodramatic.  who me?)  anyway, i got to cutting my cheese.  i opened the bag to the 3 ounces of cheese i'd bought and was very pleasantly surprised with my new discovery!  not only did i love the way the aroma filled my senses, but i adored it!  i also realized that i'd eaten and smelled this very same cheese several times before in other dishes i'd eaten (but not made myself).  had i only known it's name was gruyere.  i need to stop judging things by what they look like.
 

another example of my food snob-idity (yes, it's a new word)...me being afraid of eggplant.  number one?  the name of it.  goodness, it sounds disgusting, doesn't it?  number two?  the color.  althought it's a beautiful hue of purple/violet, to eat it is a whole other thing.  but recently, a good friend urged me to try some.  and i'm happy to report that it was good!  slimy, but good.  once you get over the way it was prepared (pf changs version) which caused it to be slimy, it was really quite delicious!  like they said on the lion king, "slimy, yet satisfying".  if you too are afraid to try it, i now ask you to be brave.  make it a grand new year and try something that you don't want to.  give it a chance!  you might just be (pleasantly) surprised!

look, it's a photo!

i know, this is amazing.  i'm finally posting my own photos again.  i was having trouble getting my computer to read my memory card.  that is partially why i've not been posting.

but this is what i whipped up the other night.  it's going to be a small doll blanket for chloe's many "babies".  the number grows daily.  she loves wrapping them up in her many blankets, but they're all so big.  so i thought it was about time that i make some doll blankets.  so this is the beginning of the first one. 

thrifting

i've had the biggest hankering for going thrift store shopping lately.  it's just about killing me that i haven't gone yet.  at first, one thing that was holding me back, was that i didn't know the area very well.  i mean, i know road names and where i am, but i've no idea where the good stores are down here. 

so i'm changing that!  this saturday i'm going!  anyone want to come?  please do...it's always more merrier with others by my side.  i'm thinking i'll go around lunch time, mid-day.

i found this great website with a list of a bunch of thrift stores in all areas of san diego county.  check it out!

who knows what we'll find?  there are all kinds of treasures to be found!

happy new year!

sorry about my long absence.  i was gone to a wedding for a little while and then had a lazy start getting back into things.  you're all there too, i'm sure.

despite my serious craftiness lately, i haven't shown much, have i?  i vow to do better.  that is my blog resolution.  to share with you all more what i've really been making and thinking about.

so since i'm at work and unable to show pictures of my handiwork, i thought i'd share some of my "to be" projects for this month.  i'm very excited to get started on these.  some are simple, some are harder.  some are birthday-oriented. 

first off, we have these completely adorable pj's from oliver + s.  they have loads of beautiful garments to make for your little ones.  i've made a few and am now moving on to these.  i'll try my best!  my kids are constantly growing out of their pajamas...sometimes even a week after i've bought them new ones.  chloe, in particular, grew an inch or two (i'm totally serious) within a few days...leaving her brand new jammies lifeless in the pj basket.  twas a sad moment.  at least if i make them, i can make them fit her exactly or just a tad bigger for more growing.  and i can make them as cute as i'd like, the biggest plus.

then, on the purlbee, i found someone's cute idea of making these alphabet magnets.  sienna knows a lot of her letters.  i would love her to be able to start spelling things with these.  that is, assuming that chloe won't carry them off somewhere to be her "baby".  everything is her baby these days.  too cute.

one more thing i have on my list this month to make.  so needed!