Scottish Toile

French Breakfast Muffins in the NuWave Oven

2012-02-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

After searching around on Pinterest I found this great recipe. Sometimes the most basic and simplistic recipes are really good. Nothing difficult here. I made a few changes and adapted it to use in my NuWave Oven. Excellent with coffee. It is adapted from a recipe on the Velvet Lava Cafe.


About 2/3 of a large ice cream scoop in each muffin cup.


Into the NuWave on the 1" rack.


Set the timer for 17 minutes.

Before the topping.

After topping.

Yummy!

Ingredients:
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk
Mix wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another. Then stir together until just mixed, do not over mix. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full w/batter.

Topping (after muffins are baked):
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
Brush the butter on the top of the muffins and sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon on top and shake off the excess.

Makes approximately 10 muffins.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Muffins in the NuWave Oven

2012-01-22T21:38:00.001-08:00

These are very chocolatey.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients (eggs, oil, milk and vanilla) mix well.

Ina larger bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips).

        Combine wet and dry mixtures and fold togethergently until just mixed.
        Place paper liners in muffin pan and fill 2/3 full with batter.
        Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of each muffin before baking.

Place in NuWave oven on 1" rack for 15 min.


Cool 10 min. on cooling rack.

These were very good when they were warm, however, the next day they seemed a little dryer than what I like. My husband prefers muffins a little dryer so he thought they were great.

Makes about 16-18 muffins.

Cheescake & Pumpkin Muffins in the NuWave Oven

2012-01-11T16:37:00.000-08:00


These muffins were surprisingly easy to make.

Drop about 2/3 full into each muffin cup.

Add about a tablespoon of the cheesecake mixture and swirl slightly with a chopstick. Do not mix completely.

15 min. in the NuWave oven.


Done.

Yum! You actually get a bite of cheesecake or muffin, instead of a pumpkin cheesecake mixture.

MUFFINS:
One 15 oz can pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teas. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

By hand, mix dry ingredients, mix wetingredients, then mix them together.

FILLING:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat w/mixer until mixed.

Baked in NuWave on 1” rack for 15min.

(my variation of original recipe from Scoochmaroo, Intructables)

DIY Benetint lip/cheek stain recipe

2011-10-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here's my easy, quick, and inexpensive version of Benetint. I like knowing what the ingredients are as well as saving money so I make my own.

Here's what you need:


distilled water & vegetable glycerine (from the health food store)

food coloring

small dish, measuring spoon, dropper for dispensing into the container, & 1 empty lip gloss tube

Mix 1 teaspoon of distilled water, 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin, 8 drops of food coloring in the dish and use the dropper to fill the lip gloss tube. This amount filled this lip gloss tube completely.

Use on your lips or as a blush. I apply a few strokes on my cheeks and blend with a blush brush one cheek at a time. It lasts all day with a soft pink tone.

Yay, Trader Joe's on Vacation!

2011-08-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

I guess it doesn't take much to excite me, Trader Joe's is my favorite grocery store and to just happen to find one on one of our shopping trips on vacation was neat. "Two Buck Chucks" was $3.79 each in this upscale neighborhood in Beechwood, Ohio. Still a bargain though.

We sat along the sidewalk enjoying the weather and flowers.
I loved the giant chess set.

DIY Clear Faux Hermes Purse

2010-09-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

I follow The Blond Salad blog and when I saw this clear Hermes bag I wanted one right away.

I have always had a thing for clear things like accessories. I found other Hermes bags going on eBay for around $255, not an option for me so I made my own.

What you'll need:

1/2 yd. clear vinyl

Gold paint pen from the office supply store.

Gold thread.

Turnkey purse closure and purse feet (for handles) hardware.

Make pattern pieces from tissue paper.

(I just looked at the photo of my inspiration and judged the size and pattern pieces I needed)

Cut out pattern pieces.

Next, I decided on painting a fleur-de-lis on the front of the bag with the French phrase "un voyage au pays des merveilles" (a trip to wonderland).

The inspiration bag had white stitching and white lettering but I changed it to gold stitching and gold lettering.
1. stitched the "belt" strip to the flap front of the purse.
2. stitched the front and the back/front flap pieces to the bottom piece.
3. stitched the sides to the above
4. stitched the handle (which is two layers for added structure)

The most difficult part of the sewing was around the curvy areas, just go slow and it should be fine.
That's it for the sewing.

Installed purse hardware. Make a hole to fit hardware through, instructions are on the hardware package.Added the handle. Just make small holes and push hardware through and bend back the prongs through both the handle and the purse as per the instructions on the hardware package.

Finished faux Hermes purse! I like the results and I've had a lot of fun with it at a fraction of the cost of the inspiration.Total cost approximately $18.25 (vinyl $2.49, hardware 2 @ $3.99 each, thread $1.79, paint pen $5.99).

DIY Acrylic necklace

2010-06-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

What you need:
One pack small clear faceted beads, approximately 1/4" in diameter.
Two packs of larger clear faceted sort of flat beads.
Stretchy cord.
Super glue.
Directions:
Thread the beads directly onto the stretchy cord. Alternating the smaller round beads between the larger ones. After they are strung and tie off the stretchy cord. Stretch it out to isolate the knot otherwise the beads will glue to the knot. Add a couple of drops of super glue to the knot or it will un-knot itself. After it's dried, trim the ends of the stretchy cord.
The finished necklace modeled by my daughter.
It's lightweight and fun. Love!

Garage door revamp

2010-06-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with this black painted garage door at Thrifty Decor Chick
and knew I wanted to do this to our boring garage door. My problem was our garage door is not a paneled door like hers.

So I decided to paint the door to look like it. First, I painted the door with Behr paint in bitter chocolate, eggshell finish. Next, marked and taped off the panels. Then I accentuated the light areas and shadows with acrylic craft paint that I custom blended with light gray, brown, and black. I stenciled the "welcome" in the center of the door and used a stamp for the fleur de lis in copper craft paint as well. I finished the entire door with Valspar Antiquing Glaze in Asphaltium, wiping it on and off to give just a hint of a darker color which added depth and took the brassiness off the copper paint making the whole door appear more realistic look.

I think it worked and I'm happy with my "faux" paneled door.

Full length mirror refurbish

2010-05-10T09:56:00.001-07:00

I saw this trumeau mirror DIY on Susie Harris' blog and just loved it. I was at a local thrift shop and saw this ugly brown mirror but fell in love with it's detail and thought it had the same trumeau look and all I'd have to do is paint it, yay!
I taped off part of the mirror and started painting:

And morphed into this! I am very happy with the results and it looks great in my bedroom with the rest of the white painted furniture.

Target practice in the desert

2010-04-07T21:54:00.001-07:00

Beautiful green desert from our recent rains.

Sunday we went target shooting in the desert not far from our house. I won't show you my target since I didn't do very well, hence, target practice! lol
My husband's turn.
The largest ant hill I've ever seen!

Arizona Quail

2010-01-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Ever since we moved to the house we live in now we have seen different wildlife. Maybe because it's a little closer to the desert areas here. We've seen coyotes, roadrunners, and quail occasionally. Yesterday my husband put some bread on the top of our fence and we caught these cute little quail having lunch.

I love the little tuft of feathers on top of their heads.

There were about 7 quail scattered around.

Sarah Palin in Arizona

2009-12-07T21:04:00.001-08:00

Last week I drove to a Costco in Tempe, AZ to see Sarah Palin. The line for getting an autograph formed more than 24 hrs. before her arrival. There were so many people there.Stacks and stacks of her books and nearly everyone that passed by had one in their hand.
There was a double line for autographs and it wrapped around the back of the building!
Finally I was able to get few pics between the people passing by and squeezing around other people with their cameras.
I really admire her. Exciting day.

Thanksgiving trip to Colorado, cont.

2009-12-07T20:00:00.001-08:00

Snow capped moutains as we were leaving Cortez.
We stopped to take some pictures (hideously bad hair day) and met a nice lady who told us she was "Tina without Ike." She was funny. She was waiting for her family and friends who were on a guided snowmobile tour which explained the tracks in the snow behind us.

Tina (w/o Ike) took a pic of my husband and myself. I don't think I'll ever forget her name.We stopped at Wolf Creek Pass ski area (10,857 feet elevation) to watch them ski. We heard turkeys gobbling but we didn't see them.It was a beautiful day to ski, clear blue skies, crisp air, not too cold. Check out the parking lot! I don't know how they can get out of there, they were packed in.There were a few of these snow sheds or avalanche sheds, designed to keep the snow off the road as it slides down the mountain otherwise the road would be impassable during the winter.
The weather was just beautiful, skies so blue, air cool and crisp, gorgeous mountains. We saw herds of Elk, deer, and antelope so pretty.Another 7 or 8 hour day and we were at Colorado Springs and it was dark so no pics.

Thanksgiving trip to Colorado

2009-12-06T16:32:00.001-08:00

We recently spent Thanksgiving in Colorado Springs, CO with family. We decided to make a side trip to visit other family along the way.Part of the Painted Desert north of Flagstaff, AZ.
Flat, flat, same landscape for hours, occasionally a cow or horse.
Until finally something different! Part of Monument Valley. The sky was so pretty.
Here we are 8 hours later at Cortez, CO to visit family. It's a cute town.

Sleeveless jacket DIY

2009-11-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

This sleeveless jacket is perfect to wear here in Arizona where we really don't get to wear much of the wool/wintery kind of clothes that I love. Here's my version of "...love Maegan's" sleeveless jacket. She does some of the most amazing DIY's and I love her style. She also does an excellent job showing the step by step that I thought I'd just show you the finished product.

Hmmm, I'll just wait for you here in the rickshaw.

2009-11-07T14:12:00.001-08:00

There's always entertainment at the truck stop and we were not let down today. This woman was reading something while waiting in the "rickshaw." Isn't that thing for kids anyway? Walmart's entertainment has nothing over the truck stop.

Weed clearing, emu, and bird tracks

2009-10-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today my husband and I went out to our piece of land to clear weeds. I took some pics of our neighbor's beautiful emu. He/she kept fluffing his feathers at me when I was next to the fence weeding. Not sure if that means the emu was flirting with me or bullying me away. It's kind of sad because they only have one emu and no other animals so the bird has no companions at all. I mean it has plenty of land to roam but what kind of life is that? Lonely.

He/she is fluffing up here.

Roadrunner tracks?

Yeowie!

2009-07-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

Well, this is summer in the Southwest. Yea, scorcher!

Two Buck Chucks

2009-07-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

I had a glass of my fav cab, Charles Shaw, better known as "Two Buck Chucks" from Trader Joe's while I was making the fish.

But, it's a dry heat...

2009-07-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, 10:00PM and it's still 101 degrees? It was 116 today so I guess it's going to take a while to cool down. Oddly, I still would rather live here than anywhere else. A/C don't die on me now.

Marcy's fun birthday bash!

2009-07-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Downunder Wines for a friend's 40th birthday party. We had a great time, the owners partied along with us, a really fun night.How about a little Crocodile Potstickers and dipping sauce? Most everyone said they were delicious. I didn't try since I am a vegetarian.One of the owners brought out a tasting of kangaroo for my husband which he said was absolutely delicious, like the most delectable steak you could have.Some chicken skewers. I loved the edamame and peanuty sauce.Birthday girl and her husband karoke! The wine was delish of course.A pic of my wine with the turquoise bracelet I got with a Mother's Day gift card from my daughter.

Easy Gazpacho

2009-07-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

We love eating gazpacho in the summer, so cool, refreshing, and low calorie. This is an easy way to make it.

1 small English cucumber (approx. 5" long), chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans (12 oz. each) V-8 juice

Stir all ingredients together and refrigerate for at least an hour.

I added a few foccacia croutons on top. Yum!

New Car! (well, nearly new)

2009-05-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

We kept our last car for nearly 10 years and recently went car shopping. Nothing seemed to be the right thing either by cost or feel (kind of makes you feel a little like Goldilocks - this one is just right) until we sat in thisIt's fun to drive around and we are enjoying it.
I have had a small car for so long that anything bigger just doesn't feel right. I realize that not everyone likes a small car but it's fun for me. Now on to selling the other car so my husband can park his truck in the garage again :)
I feel a little sad to say goodbye to my other car after 10 years of fun.

Pantry clean-up!

2009-05-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Risa came to visit and she took one look at my pantry and said she would get to that before she left. I forgot to take a pic before but it was a wreck. In less than 2 hours she had it whipped into shape. She's much better at getting rid of things than me since I tend to be a packrat. She did an excellent job. She has it orgainzed from top to bottom by snacks, bake goods, canned good, coffees, teas, etc. She has also put me on a tea buying freeze since I have so many teas (more than anything else in the pantry!). It's such a pleasure to look for something now and hopefully, I can keep it as neat as it is today. I love it!

She also cleared my counters of clutter. She's the greatest! A million thanks, baby.

Wordle cloud

2009-04-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

I found something fun on one of my favorite blogs Finding La Dolce Vita, it's called Wordle. This is what came up when I put in my blog url and I worked with the colors and shape.

Lost in Lost

2009-02-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of Lost which has gotten better and better as the show has progressed. This season is full of twists and turns and I'm finding myself "lost" at times but still hungering for more. What? Why? I can't hardly wait for the next episode.

Purse Tag

2009-02-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

My daughter, Risa, knows my love of handbags and tagged me for this game.

1) Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!

2) I want to know how much it cost:) And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it.

3) Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your bag.

So here's the purse I'm carrying right now...

It is a Kate Spade 10 year anniversary bag which explains the red 10's in amongst the KS logos. It is made of a woven canvas fabric. It holds a lot and is easy to see into and most importantly, like all Kate Spade bags I have, the zipper is the best. Seems like a small thing but it irritates the heck out of me when the zipper doesn't work smoothly. I got it at a local resale boutique, My Sister's Closet, for - yes, sit down $12.95. It was one of their fantastic end of season clearance sales. The sale starts off at 30% off and as the days get closer to the end of the sale it reaches 70% off and that was the day I was there! Kate Spade bags are my favorite.

I tag:
Beautiful Orchids

I also tag anyone who wants to join in!

Toasted Granola

2009-02-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

I have been making this very easy recipe for granola for a very long time. Some granola recipes use butter but this one is butter/oil free.

Toasted Granola
1 small container (18 oz.) of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Everything goes into a baking dish, mix thoroughly, and bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, stirring after 15 minutes. Allow to cool before placing in storage container. Serve with milk.

My New Terrific Blog Look!

2009-01-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

My sweet daughter made me a new header and background for my blog which more closely represents it's title. She used our family's tartan which really personalizes it. I just love it! It has all the elements I love. She is quite talented with computers and just amazes me with all the things she can do. I am rather computer challenged so I would not know where to start with something like this. Thank you, Risa, you know I love it!

Two Lone Roses

2009-01-18T15:37:00.000-08:00

My roses are coming back! Here in the Phoenix area it's been in the 70's lately so my roses are coming out. I love the color and the smell. Roses do very well here and seem to love the heat even in the hot, hot summer.

Yummy Hot Sweet Onion Dip

2009-01-18T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today the Cardinals are in the playoffs so I decide to make a warm dip to snack on during the game. I found this recipe at one of my favorite blogs closetcooking.blogspot.com he has beautiful photos of some really fantastic recipes. I served it with corn tortilla chips and some Melba toasts. It was very tasty, especially if you like onions and super easy to make as well.

More furniture painting.

2009-01-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

Well, after painting the tv armoire I kept on painting. I decided to paint the French provincial desk with the leftover brown paint. Then I moved on to paint the other desk. Moving from one thing to another happens a lot when I start doing something around the house. When I am in the mood I keep going. I forget to take a photo of the other desk before I started. I used the same paint and antiquing glaze as I used for the tv armoire. I used the old hardware but I am on the search for something new.
This is the finished desk.

This is the desk before.

Here is the other desk.

An inexpensive way to freshen up.

Painted armoire

2008-12-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

We have a tv armoire that we were tired of the look of the whitewashed wood so I decided to paint it. I chose Bitter Chocolate by Behr paint in an eggshell finish from Home Depot. I used a foam roller recommended for very smooth finishes so it does not give an orange peel look consistent with other types of rollers. It took 3 coats of paint to achieve the depth of color I wanted. I used approximately 1 1/2 quarts of paint for the entire armoire. Next, I applied Valspar Antiquing Glaze in Asphaltum, a blackish colored glaze from Lowes. I applied it with a rag blotting and gently rubbing off the excess glaze. The glaze allows the brown paint to show through somewhat while it tends to settle into corners and molding of the wood giving it an aged look. Then I painted the hardware with silver spray paint using the same black antiquing glaze to knock off the shiny look of the silver paint making the handles look like forged iron.

This is the armoire before in the whitewashed look.

Inside of the armoire after the brown paint.

I applied one coat of the antiquing glaze which gave it the aged look I wanted.

The finished armoire now seems like a new piece of furniture for less than $40!

Best thrift store find ever!

2008-12-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Recently, I went to a nearby thrift store and I noticed a pan that I thought was a faux Le Creuset. Nevertheless, I was still interested. I pulled it down from the shelf and to my surprise it was indeed Le Creuset! I was carefully examining it and found it to be in nearly new, if not in brand new condition. My next surprise was to turn it over for the price. Yea! $5.99! I could not believe my eyes! On the Williams Sonoma website it sells for $175.00.

Wow, why on Earth would someone not want it? No scratches, chips, or wear of any kind.

That's ok, it has found a very appreciative home with me.

Of course, if my daughter wants it I will gladly pass it on to her because I know she will love it too.

Beautiful Fall in Pennsylvania

2008-11-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend from Pennsylvania recently sent me this photo of a covered bridge a few miles away from where we were raised. Since there are so few covered bridges left it's nice to see that it is being maintained so nicely. This picture perfect bridge is in Mingo Park, PA.

A few more pics from Ohiopyle, PA and the colorful changing of the leaves. I think fall is the most beautiful time of year and living in the desert as I do we just don't see it here. These pics bring back wonderful memories.

Palm trees?

2008-10-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here in Arizona we have plenty of palm trees but are these actually palm trees? Driving by they can fool you easily but upon closer examination they are actually cell phone towers disguised as palm trees. They are popping up all over the valley and I thought I'd take a few pics and share them with you. Not a big deal but I just thought they were interesting.

Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.

2008-09-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

I love the movie "Everything is Illuminated" because of it's story and also because of the little dog in the movie. It's about a young American man's journey to the Ukraine to thank the woman who saved his grandfather from Nazis during the World War II. There is an elderly man who plays a key role in the movie who names his female dog Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. (pic) after his favorite singer Sammy Davis Jr. The dog looks and acts like our beloved Juicetee who died several years ago. It's hard to watch at times because of the resemblance but yet heart warming. It's a movie you must watch closely to understand it all but well worth the time.

Paul Newman

2008-09-28T21:19:00.001-07:00

It was so sad to hear the news about Paul Newman. Many years ago I saw him at a race track in Ohio. My girlfriend's brother was a race car driver and we went to see him race. He told us he heard that Paul Newman was going to be there racing that day too. We were watching the racers coming into the track area and a red Datsun (before Nissan) with the letters PLN on the side came by very slowly and the driver waving to us was Paul Newman! So exciting. Such a great man. I always admired him for his marriage and family commitment in the Hollywood world of ever changing spouses.