Update to the yard

So here is the new front yard. I really like the twin centinal boxwood planters, they add a lot of elegance to the front walkway. Before the box woods there was only one pot on the right hand side and while it didn't look bad, this looks way better. Plus it was all super cheap. The boxwoods were on sale for $15 each, the pots were free from another job, and the soil was from last year. So really, this only cost me $30 total. Woot woot

DIY Day

Tea boxes. Do you ever get annoyed with how they just clutter up your cupboards with random half filled boxes and the occasional loose tea bag that wanders around? You can never seem to find the teas you want because they are never where you put them last. Well leave it to me to attempt and fix this problem. We are a huge Tazo Tea drinking family. So we have lots of the Tazo Tea tins that end up just being thrown away once we are done with them. Not any more.

I recently have been seeing a lot of people doing stuff with the chalkboard paint. If you haven't heard about it its very cool. You can write on it with chalk and it rubs write off. *light bulb* Why not use the chalk board paint to re-purpose my Tazo tins into Tea tins!

Valspar makes a chalkboard paint and I found it to be AMAZING!!!!

Materials Required

The tin painted and waiting to dry off.

Steps:

1. Prepare your work area. Lay some newspaper down so as not to get the paint anywhere.
2. With your masking tape, tape around the edges of the label. This will ensure that you don't get any paint the spots you don't want it.
3. grab your brush and start painting it.

4. 

   The Finished Project.

Mine took about 15mins to dry completely. Now you can either use chalk or paint pens on the new tin. I am using the paint pens because they look a little better and are a tad more permanent. To remove the paint pens from your tin, get an alcohol wipe and wipe the paint pens off. Its perfect!

Side Note:
Thanks Aunt K for sending the delicious cookies!!!! They tasted so yummy, and looked so good in the pictures! :)

Aunt K's Cookies

Vegan Yum Yum! Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Collards and Quinoa

Have you ever been in the mood for a random food, and just like that you have to have it. Well the food that I was in the mood for was VERY random. Tofu. Yes tofu was my randomness. I stumbled upon Lauren Ulm's blog named Vegan Yum Yum. Check it out, its AMAZING!!!! My mom has been following her forever, but I just now "discovered" her... She has a recipe for a Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Wok Steamed Collards and Quinoa. Just the description makes my mouth water!

So I made it and it was the most tasty, delicious tofu I have ever had! Go to her blog to get the list of ingredients and directions on how to make this, because it was AMAZING!!!!

Another reason I wanted to make this dish was because my friend Danielle just got back from a visit in Florida where she brought me back some delicious citrus! Fresh Florida oranges, tangerines, lemons, and limes!

Ingredients for tofu glaze. The limes are from Florida, the garlic is from my garlic, and are the pepper flakes!

Some of the Herbs for the Quinoa and the sweet and spicy cause.

A helpful tip for this recipe. Vegan Yum Yum says to bruise the Cardamom pods (Bottom Left). I had no Idea what this meant. So like any respectable person from the 21st century...I Googled it. What it means to bruise a Cardamom Pod is to crush like you would garlic. Lay the pod on a cutting board, then place the flat surface of the knife on top of the pod. With you bottom of your palm hit the knife hard enough  to split the pod open but not hard enough to crush it.

Collards from the Garden.

So I am still harvesting the collards that I planted this spring. Talk about being productive! We have had such a warm December that the collards were beautiful and I got quite a lot of collards!

This is the Finished Product.

A huge thanks to my friend Cherry who made the serving plate that the food is on. I love the huge crack running through the middle.