Sledding

We got more snow this week!  That's our car covered in it...

There is Olivia in the midst of shoveling Peepaw and Grammie's driveway.

Afterwards, we went to pick a friend up and go sledding...

We packed 2 stainless steel flasks with hot chamomile lavender tea...and some dark chocolate from Trader Joe's for a mid-sledding snack.

I blanched my own almonds (4 cups of them, I got a 16 oz. bag of them at Trader Joe's for $4.99), by letting them sit in a bowl of boiling water for a minute and then pouring the water out and removing the skins.  It took me a full hour!

My old Hamilton Beach food processor (which was given to us USED by an elderly man from church, after his wife passed away), which was probably 15-20 years old, stopped working a couple of months ago.  Finally, this past Saturday, we got a NEW Hamilton Beach one for $49.99 at Target...it shreds, slices and purees.  I use it to shred cheese & carrots often and also want to use it like a blender to make smoothies. 

The snowballs were good, but still too wet and squishy, didn't set up nicely.  I just used vanilla extract instead of amaretto, maybe that's why they didn't seem great.

I made a second batch and used "Just Cashew Meal" ($5.99/16 oz. bag of simply ground raw cashews) from Trader Joe's in place of the coconut in this recipe (I like that it called for maple syrup instead of icing, and I think the coconut oil helped it firm up a bit better)...I rolled those in confectioner's sugar, instead of shredded coconut so they looked the same. 
 
Cute new flannel bedsheets with Russian matroshka dolls on them, from Target!

Pura botanicals...

I recently won a giveaway from Pura Botanicals through The Beetle Shack!  I just got it in the mail and it is wonderful...

The "Sunday Love" natural perfume oil is just what I wanted, a citrusy scent mixed with lavender for a beautiful blend!  The owner, Lane, is a mom of 2 and wanted to be able to spend more time with her husband and children, so she started this business.  All products are made in Canada.  I just ordered the "New Mama" blend of rose geranium, bergamot, and lavender oils for my sister who just had a baby, Elizabeth.  ♥ 

Green

Lush and growing well...

I highly recommend the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith.  This is his 13th in this series.  There is also a BBC production of the first couple of books...that are very well done.  We got it on DVD at our library.

I got more herbs to add to my little area where the sage and mint abound...purple basil, dill and lavender!

  I crocheted this green trim for this apron for a little girl.  Join in the "Yarn Along" here. ♥