Cinderella and Her Fairy Godmother

Our Cinderellas and their Fairy Godmother

gathered Saturday for the Summerfest Parade.

Miss Greater Salt Lake, Hannah Harkness, and her Little Miss,

Kylie McCann are off to Miss Utah this week and their

final activity was the big Summerfest Parade.

All of the other little Cinderellas wanted to join

the parade, so they were dressed in her ballgown and

her wedding dress (ordered online).

 We had these three dresses custom made and they turned out 

so beautifully and so close to the dresses in the movie.

Wings had to be added to the Fairy Godmother's costume,

but other than that, it was fabulously like the movie.

Horses and a Cinderella carriage were rented for

the parade from Burch and Sons.

Our little Cinderellas were so excited to be part of

the parade.  

The blue ballgown was just stunning, and went so well

with the white carriage.

We even had pages to throw out candy to the 

kids on the parade route.

This is one of the biggest local parades.

The Fairy Godmother rode on the back waving her magic wand,

and occasionally getting off and throwing Summerfest hats.

It was so much fun, and now Hannah is off to

compete in Miss Utah.  What a fun year it has been and

as her Fairy Godmother, I have been so lucky to have

been taken along for the glorious ride!  Thanks Hannah

for a very, very fun year.

Carne Asada Fries

You know how it is when you think one of

your favorite little dives has the corner

on something unique, and then you find out

this yummy dish is famous elsewhere?

That's how I felt about my new favorite

craving - 

CARNE ASADA FRIES!

Our little local dive, Betos Burritos, which is famous

for its breakfast burritos, featured a foodie picture

in it's window, and being a fry lover, I had to go 

over and give it a try.  Now I am hooked!  Juicy

carne asada steak, atop crispy fries smothered

in melted cheese

 and finished off with pico de gallo, guacamole,

and sour cream!  What's not to love right?

Well, wasn't I surprised when I looked up 

Carne Asada Fries and found they were a very

popular dish all over San Diego.  Who knew?  I

just thought someone at Betos was being creative!!!

Well, you know me, I had to give it a try at home.

Now we can have them anytime!  (And the family loves

them just as much as I do!)

Beware - these are highly addictive!

Start with a layer of french fries.  I like to use

frozen fries cooked at 375 degrees until crispy.  Drain.

 After the fries have been cooked until crispy and drained,

sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top and

place in a 300 degree oven until the cheese melts.

Meanwhile, cook up some marinated carne asada.  You 

can make your own marinade and place some flank

steak in it, or we found this at Costco, already marinated

and ready to grill.  It is yummy, if you store has it,

or HEB in Texas has it too (I even brought some

home from Texas.)

Remove it from the grill and chop it up.

This is all a bit tricky to have going on at the same

time, so if you can get someone to help with the fries

while you do the carne asada, that helps a lot.  You want both

of them hot and ready at the same time.

Now smother those cheese topped fries with juicy, warm,

carne asada.  And I mean really cover them!  People

will be fighting over the carne asada.

Garnish with homemade pico de gallo,

homemade guacamole,

and fresh sour cream.  Finish

 with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

Carne Asada Fries Recipe

1 package frozen french fries 

Oil for frying

2-3 C. shredded cheddar cheese or cheddar blend

Pre-marinated Carne Asada meat

(you can make your own, but there is

just something about the pre-marinated

that permeates the beef - it is amazing!)

Pico de Gallo

Fresh Guacamole

Sour Cream

Cilantro

Fry and drain the french fries.  Cover with

cheese and melt in a 300 degree oven.  Grill

and chop the carne asada.  Pile the chopped

beef on the cheese covered fries.  Garnish with

pico, guacamole, sour cream and cilantro.

Pico de Gallo Recipe

6 Roma tomatoes, chopped finely

1/2 large sweet onion, chopped finely

1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, chopped super finely

1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped finely

Juice of 2 limes

1 tsp. garlic salt

Mix everything together in a non-metal bowl.

Let sit for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors

blend.  Refrigerate any unused pico.

Purist Guacamole Recipe

4 ripe avocados

Juice of 1 1/2 - 2 limes 

3/4 - 1 tsp. garlic salt

Peel and mash the avocados in a bowl.

Stir in the lime juice and garlic salt.

Taste to adjust seasoning, depending upon

the size of the avocados.  We don't like anything

additional in our guacamole.  This way you

taste the pure avocado.

 Have everyone gather around and dig in!

Spoon a generous portion out on your plate,

and you will be in love with Carne Asada Fries, just like

we, and all of San Diego are.

Hurry up, because this yummy dish goes quickly!

I will be posting with 

Foodie Friday

Summer Swing Photoshoot

The romance of a swing covered in fresh flowers

just can't be equaled.  It conjures up lazy days

filled with laughter and fun.

Add a darling little girl, whose eyes just sparkle

with the joy of life, and nothing could be sweeter.

This photoshoot was to celebrate Gracie's second birthday.

Her mother had decided she wanted to take photos with

a flower covered swing and behind my sister's property

in Texas there is a gorgeous wooded area with

several wooden swings hanging.

You can see how pretty the setting is with a pond

in the background.

The task at hand was to cover the chain sides

of the swing without spending a fortune in 

real flowers.  

We started with some fake greenery and silk

forsythia that my sister, Jean, had in a vase.

We wired those on, only going up as far as

we thought the camera would need to go for

photos.

Then using $30 worth of fresh flowers, I wired the

fresh ones onto the chain in small clusters.

For the project, we had purchased one bunch of 

cream colored roses, two - three bunches of baby's

breath and two bunches of blush colored carnations.

In addition, I wired together some of the baby's breath 

for a hair wreath, and put together a small bouquet.

I think we used everything except one bunch of baby's

breath, but you can see it was really full and beautiful.

Gracie was the perfect participant.  She even had a change

of clothes, this white one, 

and a blush pink with gold lace that her Grandma Jeannie

bought for her.

You can see how much fun she is having.

Her eyes just sparkle!

It was so fun to create such a magical

photo shoot.  We even had joggers pass by

who asked to have their photo taken in the

swing.

After I saw how beautiful the swing turned

out, I headed back into the house to find an

outfit that I could have my photo taken in!

Everybody ended up having their photos taken

in the gorgeous flower covered swing.

Thanks Heather for letting me help in such a fun photo shoot.

Heather took the real photos.  I took the "how to" photos.

I will be sharing this with

Metamorphosis Monday

We All Scream for Ice Cream Cookies

All I have to do is feel like it is going to

start getting warm and I am ready to make

home made ice cream!

Alas, it has been wet and rainy and so we are going 

to have to settle for these cookies that look like

ice cream sundaes.  

My daughter in law that taught me how to

decorate these kinds of cookies bought me

this fun ice cream sundae cookie cutter.

I love this pink and white one with a cherry on top!

This one is a little fancier with silver sprinkles

and pink polka dots.

Now even I agree, that these are too cute to eat!

I just need a little vanilla ice cream to go with them!

I will be posting these with 

Foodie Friday

Feather Your Nest

It is time to Feather Our Nests and I am talking about

real nests, feathered just how you would like them.

Of course, mine is going to be feathered with creams 

and golds and sparkly bits and pieces.

Can you see the gold and silver metallics, and the gold

wire.  This bird loves sparkle and shine.

We have started a monthly craft group and this time we were

feathering nests, each crafted to match the home of its owner.

 We started with pre-maid nests for about $4.99. 

 Our host, Laura,  purchased all of the supplies.  Ribbons, yarns,

fabrics, laces, wires, grasses and eggs were all provided to

choose from.

These were really simple and fun.  We just gathered small bundles

of ribbons, yards, fabrics, etc., (just like the birds would)

 and then we wired them together and

glued them on.  You can see my little bundles were tucked up

and over the edge, going under the twigs that encircled the nest.

Then the underside of each bundle was glued to the nest.

Yes, you are right, that is where I got that nasty blister that

I mentioned that I put milk on.  

This was continued until the whole rim of the nest

was covered.  You could also add a second layer

underneath if you wanted more fulness.

After that, little bits and pieces of flowers, glass,

trinkets, wires and ribbons were added on.

You can see from this one that a fun mix of 

yarns were used, mimicking the items a bird might pick

up to feather his nest.

This nest was finished off with a little green moss and

beautiful blue eggs.  A purple silk flower was

added.

Your imagination is the limit, and you can use bits and

pieces around the house.  This one has some pinks and greens

and even a touch of lace.  Laura had purchased some lace 

and eyelet clothing at a thrift store and just cut them up.

This nest is finished off with a soothing swirl of vibrant

green grass and pretty green eggs.

I love how each one turned out differently, depending on

what that little birdie loved and wove into their nest.

This one has such a natural feel.

This birdie has soft, fluffy yarn inside of its nest

with touches of bright green moss.  It even found

a darling pendant to hand from its nest.

How about this glitzy one with ribbons and laces and metallics.

The eggs were painted metallic and a fancy brooch was added.

The extra fullness on this one was achieved by

adding a second layer under the first.

Isn't this one just adorable?  I love the little tiny nest

tucked into the bigger nest.  Any bird would love

to lay their eggs in this nest.

Oh, just beautiful!  No two are alike.

This is the 

Purple Chocolat Nest

and this little bird just loves it!

Thanks Laura for a wonderful craft night.

Give this fun and easy craft a try.  No 

matter how you Feather Your Nest

it turns out beautifully.

I will be posting this with

Metamorphosis Monday