Sandi is blogging from the WhistleStop Cafe kitchen. It's all about good home cooking; food, family and fun. Thousands of posts . . .

~In the south and around the world.



Saturday, January 31, 2015

PhotoHunt ~Cube


The PhotoHunt for today is 'Cube'
Of course I immediately thought of Gail's packing cubes . . .
This is a method of packing where you organize things in individual little cubes.

Cubes are one way . . . I prefer the zip loc bag method.  I organize my things in jumbo bags.
Then the most important step is to sit on the bags and squish out the air. How else can I pack for a week in a 20 inch suitcase?


The most important thing is that we look good . . .

Happy hunting y'all ~
Sandi

Monday, January 26, 2015

Details~Details~Details

I love the little details that go into making a wedding unique and special.
Brooke's wedding had so many special little details . . . and so many people who made the evening a success.

Happy Bride  . . . toasting her happy groom with a chilled glass of chocolate milk and hamming it up with her niece and nephew, the flower girl and ring bearer.

Love a girl who will wear Toms on her wedding day!

This was such a special day for us . . . we were able to sit back and be proud of the woman Brooke has become. It has been a journey, and she is a blessing to everyone she meets.

Every little detail at Matthews Manor was awesome.

Just imagine this room full of 350+ laughing and dancing people. . . quite the celebration!

This is all trompe l'oeil . . . painted on the wall. Matthews Manor would be a great venue for almost any event.

What ~ What? Even a Krispy Kreme groom's cake. They provided zip-lock bags at the end of the evening if you didn't get your fill.

The Happy couple left under an exciting canopy of 3 foot long sparklers . . . Ready to start their new life in Tennessee.
They will still be wearing their Roll Tide crimson!

Blessings y'all ~
Sandi

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Wedding Bliss

Our Beautiful niece Brooke was married last week in a wonderful outdoor wedding (yes. . . in January) The weather was perfect. Every detail was just as they wanted it. The event was held at Mathews Manor in Springville  
They did a wonderful job of making sure things went smoothly. . . Down to the tiniest detail.

It was just the perfect day . . . for everyone involved. Beth bravely walked Brooke down the aisle and handed her over to Casey. Then she and Brooke entertained us all with a Mother-Daughter dance that rocked the house. The send off with 3 foot long sparklers was the perfect ending (or... is that just the beginning?)

I was in charge of the wedding cake topper ~ I tried to make it as close as I could . . . while incorporating those crimson Roll Tide shakers that Brooke wanted.


I missed on the beard! I thought for sure that Casey would be shaving that thing off. (I need to remember that for a FUTURE cake topper)

I will post more photos of the details of the wedding . . . down to the Krispy Kreme groom's cake.
In the mean time, I have to hop over to ETSY to post my newest happy couple in my ETSY shop ~ Gimme Some Sugar Y'all ~
I am linking to my friend's Costal Charm for a little Show and Share!

Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

Saturday, January 24, 2015

PhotoHunt ~ Fan

The PhotoHunt for today is 'FaN'
Beautiful ~ but
You know . . . Peacocks will fan their feathers when they get ruffled or disturbed.
It is a defensive gesture.
I guess I am sitting here with my feather's fanned over this Google thing.
Apparently you can no longer post photos on Blogger, unless you use Google Chrome as your internet access.
I am not a 'fan' of being forced to change the way I do things . . .
I guess I will have to just fan my tail feathers for a bit.

Check for all the other FaN Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Dear Blogger ~

Dear Blogger ~
Thanks for nothing.

I have figured out the problem . . . My inability to load pictures is because Blogger has decided that I am using an out-dated Internet Browser.
How can that be?? I have shoes older than this laptop.
 Once I used Google Chrome as my Browser, the photo jumped right into place.

Frankly Blogger . . .
I'll play the game and use their Google Chrome to post on my blog.

Pass the Chardonnay~
Sandi

Friday, January 16, 2015

PhotoHunt ~ Shelter

There will be no PhotoHunting this weekend.
For some reason. . . Blogger has decided that I can't load photos.
Porca Miseria!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

PhotoHunt ~Superfluous ~

This weeks PhotoHunt is Superfluous . . .
It is something that is beyond excessive.

These shoes are Superfluous (except maybe in Italy)
I almost love that you can see me in my sensible shoes and striped shirt taking the photo through the shop window in Capri.

Believe me . . . someone will wear them.

Check for all the other Superfluous Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Cooking Light ~ Late Night Tapas

We can start off the year with another Virtual Supper Club dinner. This month we are having a late night Tapas dinner ~ with cocktails.
I am in charge of bringing the dessert . . . so I searched the Cooking Light recipe box and found  THIS Recipe  for a Gingered Creme Brulee. It will be perfect in individual dessert cups.

Ginger Creme Brulee
1/3 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons sugar, divided

Preheat oven to 300°.
Combine 1/3 cup sugar and the egg yolks in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine the milk and crystallized ginger in a medium saucepan. Heat the milk mixture over medium heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around the edge (do not boil), stirring occasionally.
Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl, and discard the solids. Stir in the vanilla extract. Gradually add milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Divide the mixture evenly among 6 (4-ounce) ramekins, custard cups, or shallow baking dishes. Place ramekins in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch.
  Bake at 300° 45 minutes or until the center barely moves when ramekin is touched. Remove ramekins from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Cover ramekins and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

Carefully sift 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over each custard. Holding a kitchen blow torch about 2 inches from the top of each custard, heat the sugar, moving the torch back and forth, until the sugar is completely melted and caramelized (about 1 minute). Serve the custards immediately or within 1 hour.

I also found a 'recipe' for  Champagne With Cranberries ~ yes there is a recipe for this on the Cooking Light pages for even the most kitchen challenged. I froze my cranberries to they would keep the champagne chilled and a garnish of sugared ginger ~



 

Now . . . let's see what everyone else has brought for our Late night New Year's Supper.
Jerry has brought Ginger Shrimp Pot Stickers and a Spicy Peanut Sauce. His drink is a Satsuma-tini.
Val is making Kibbeh MeatBalls with Spiced Yogert Sauce and a Pommegranate Gin Sling
Susan is bringing Chicken, Raisin and Pinenut Salad.
Sara is making Smoked Salmon Spread and a Cucumber Saketini
Shelby is bringing Roasted Tomato Soup Shooters with Grilled Brie Cheese Bites.

Y'all enjoy ~
Sandi

Sunday, January 04, 2015

2015 ~ MyPromises

Happy New Year ~
We were lucky enough to ring in the New Year on the Gulf Coast with family.
There is something about knowing that 2014 has been washed away ~ and we have a clean slate for the New Year.

Every year I do a list of my Promises to myself . . . Here is the ongoing list Promises for the Past Six Years
I have given it some thought ~whilst my toes were in the sand. Which is the BeSt place for me to do thinking. I have decided that 2015 needs to be about BALANCE.

My Promises for 2015
* To Balance my work and my life.
* To find Balance on these wonky knees.
* To get a Zero Balance on my Capital One.
* To Balance a baby (or two) on my lap.
* To get my Wedding Cake Toppers to Balance in style.
* To try to Balance on a Kayak.

* To Balance a tray of Limoncello in Positano.
* To Balance my LuLu time ~ in and out of Charlotte's airport.

* To Balance the blog with a smattering of recipes and weekly posts.
* And to continue to Balance with my toes in the sand.


Let me know your Promises for 2015.
Happy New Year y'all ~
Sandi

Saturday, January 03, 2015

PhotoHunt ~ Present

The PhotoHunt for today is 'Present' ~
This little sign says it all "Happy you're here"
(of course it is also a little gift shop that sells presents)

The Gulf is a great place to BE Present.

This is one of my promises for the New Year . . . to Be Present. Not to be constantly thinking or planning the next day or week.

Check for all the other Present Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi
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