Author: Tammy Litke

I cannot be the only one that during the holidays has looked at what’s in the fridge and chosen to pull out a leftover piece of pie for breakfast…right?! Yummm…  The other day I used the pie for breakfast idea and took it one step further.  I deconstructed a Mrs. Smith’s Dutch Apple Pie that I purchased in the freezer section (along with some Cool Whip) at Walmart and added it to our waffle batter to make Apple Pie Waffles.

Coffee, it’s like my life blood.  I literally inhale it in the mornings, and it is my go to beverage of choice nearly 100% of the time.  So when I was offered the chance to review one of Artisans in the Andes’ Coffee Bean Beaded Bracelets with a center Tagua Nut in it, well of course I said yes!  (In case you don’t know, like I did not, a tagua nut is the seed of a tropical palm tree.)

I know a good many of you have already been hit with a deep freeze this year.  While it’s not quite so cold in North Texas, it’s still pretty nippy and what I wouldn’t do to spend a few days in the tropics.  Since that won’t be happening any time soon, I whipped up some tropical flavored floats.  Being as the holidays are just around the corner and I’d prefer to watch my calories sooner rather than later, I made these to be low calorie using Sunkist TEN and Canada Dry TEN.  All of the flavor of an ice cream float, but using fruit, yogurt and the #drinkTEN sodas, a lot lower in calories than a traditional one.

My regular readers know that my daughter is huge into art.  Right now she’s studying in the school of Arts & Technology at the University of Texas at Dallas and majoring in video game design.  But what she’s learning could take her in any number of directions once she graduates from college, including animation and illustrating.  My eyes are always on the lookout for things she would find interesting and would enjoy and I just recently became aware of the book “Vanishing Ink.”

By the time November rolls around, if you’re like me, you’re wishing time would stop for a couple of hours each day so that you can get everything done.  When my daughter was younger I had the best intentions to thank the people that were teaching her and keeping her safe with baked goodies…but usually it never happened.  Then I told myself…it’s okay to cheat!  And by cheat I mean pick up some treats at the grocery store bakery. 

I’ve been waiting a whole year for a movie that’s going to be released in one week.  It’s kind of crazy that I’m so excited, I mean, it’s just a movie.  But all of you that got immersed into the world of The Hunger Games, probably understand my feelings!

And I’m going to Mocking Jay, Part 1 nxt weekend with a manicure inspired by Katniss’ “Girl on Fire” look thanks to Mandi Welbaum and Jamberry Nails.

Chalkboard projects are all the rage right now.  From Memo Boards to Fonts, that ‘chalky’ look is what people are gravitating toward.  But chalk is messy!  The dust and smearing on a chalkboard…ick!

I’ve been trying to find a way to display my Christmas cards.  Every year I try something different.  I’ve tried taping them to our fireplace brick.  Hanging them from a stretched string.  One year I had a stand that had clips to hold them.  None of them worked out for me.

It was with great shock this past June that a good friend of mine had the news that her 7 year old son had leukemia.  I. Had. No. Words.  All I could do was cry and just imagine what the next number of years held for their family as they walked this difficult road that was placed before them.

Maintaining hope and resolve during a health journey can be a daily struggle. 

Located at the north eastern tip of the Carmel Valley Appellation, the family-owned Holman Ranch resides approximately 12 miles inland from the Pacific Coast.  Immersed in history and romance, the ranch has not only proven to be an excellent growing location for their vineyards but also for Tuscan varietal olive trees which flourish under the temperate climate.