Five Favorites, May 14th Edition

1. My new irrigation boots. Because if I must tromp around in the mud moving sprinkler lines, I may as well be wearing cute boots.

2. This new "Hepburn" dress at Lady V London. Just lovely!

Image from Cooks Country

3. Key Lime* Icebox Pie. Graham cracker crust, 2 cans sweetened condensed milk, 3 egg yolks, 3/4 cup key lime juice. Mix the three filling ingredients until smooth, pour into prepared crust. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, cool 1 hour on the counter and 3 hours-overnight in fridge. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

*You can substitute lemon juice.

4. Strawberries. Our local grocery store had 2 POUNDS FOR $1.48!! And they're SWEET! I bought... um... a lot.

Image from L'Osservatore Romano

5. The pope preaching about Christians with "pickled pepper" faces, not being a "part time Christian," and the fact that the devil "always rips us off." This guy is good.

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Five Favorites, 3rd Edition

~ Number One ~ 

On Tuesday, both the Solemnity of St. Joseph and the Installation of Pope Francis, we celebrated with great fanfare. As a nod to our Argentinian pontiff, we feasted on dulce de leche cheesecake bars.

Do you see that drippy shiny sweet stuff on the bottom? Pure heaven.

I think these will have to make a repeat appearance on Easter. And Pentecost. And my birthday. And National Tap Dance Day.

~ Number Two ~ 

Remember my Easter dress last week? Not able to bear bare arms, I've been searching for a shrug.

Yay for this little number, on sale, at Target!

I'll sew some little pearl buttons on it and deem it "perfect."

~ Number Three ~

Total Language Plus. I really^10,000 like this series. It is a comprehensive literature-based spelling, vocabulary, comprehension and writing program all in neat little copy-able books.

I've been using the program all year with my nieces and I am super impressed.  The "grammar" section is weak, at best, but that's easily replaced.

It's humiliating, but I'm learning vocabulary words from middle school books. Portmanteau, lanneret, lavabo, demesne... mind blown.

~ Number Four ~

Oh, how much I want our new house to have character, charm and beauty! Old five paneled doors will aid that goal. Now if only I could score 'em dirt cheap on Craigslist or the Habitat ReStore.

~ Number Five ~

There's some heroic virtue going on right now, as my husband and I are both saving the last piece of homemade beef jerky for each other.

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Five More Favorites

 ~Number One~ 
Lady Vintage London

Finding modest, lovely Easter dresses gets harder every year. Actually, I haven't gotten a new Easter dress since middle school... but I really really wanted one this year. Lady V to the rescue!

With a white shrug and some pearls, I can't wait to debut this dress. Be aware that their sizes run a little large (even after you've converted the European sizing to American sizes).

~Number Two
Lego Rosaries

I was going to buy one as a gift, but I kind of want one myself...

~Number Three
Handwritten Letters

What a boost to the spirit these thoughtful deliveries bring! It doesn't really take that long to write a handwritten letter, but what a gift they are, especially on beautiful stationery.

~Number Four
St. Patrick's Day Recipes

I can't wait to try my hand at corned beef this Sunday! I've never actually made one before, though I've eaten plenty of the boiled kind. Boiled is good for the meat (I'll make a boiled one just for the leftover Reubens and hash), but I've always thought the boiled cabbage and potatoes left something to be desired.

Since I have hardly any Irish blood in me, I don't mind straying from tradition and experimenting with either Whiskey Glazed Corned Beef or Guinness Glazed Slow Cooker Corned Beef.

I'm fairly decided upon Parslied Potatoes and Roasted Cabbage Wedges for the sides, and Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.

~Number Five~ 
The New Calf

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