Always in Transition

Doesn't it always seem that life is just one transition after another? I'd have sworn that we just had Halloween because life has just gone by that quickly!

I just had to put this out there to show you that, at least in my world, things get done when they can and never all at once. So, here is the current state of my mantle. Much better than it has been the last week and a half when the "Lucky" was on one side while everything else was still Valentine's Day. It was so mismatched that Don even noticed and commented! At least I took the Valentine's Day decor down (though they have yet to wander into the attic by themselves.... stupid decorations).

I'll be back later this week with my banner and pillows. Until then, I hope you enjoy my transition...

~ Janice

* In real life my walls are a tea brown, not this crazy pink that keeps showing up. Also, sorry the pics are the greatest. We are under a Tornado Warning and the skies look like they are about to fall, leaving my only source of light the flash. ugh.....

Elegant & Easy White Chocolate Fruit Tarts

One of my favorite desserts is the fruit tart~ creamy custard with glazed fruit on a sweet dough... Heavenly! The only problem is they are super expensive at the bakery, not much less at the grocery store, and a pain to make at home (that is, if you can get the custard and/or glaze to set and be pretty, which I have never. ever. done. Mine don't even look edible. UGH!)
So I went on with my life, unable to make pretty pastries and unwilling to shell out some major dough for such a little indulgence until one day....

Enter in a Pampered Chef Party. I won't go into the details, but I left with a killer recipe for quick and easy, not to mention insanely yummy, fruit tarts. The recipe was meant to be for some sort of dessert cups, but I've tweaked it just a little to make fruit tarts instead. Did I mention they are no bake and only take about 20-25 minutes?

Now are you ready to whip up some tarts?

Here's what you'll need:

Small box Instant Jello Pudding- White Chocolate Flavor

1 Cup Milk

1 cup chocolate chips (I like minis because they melt better)

1 cup White Chocolate Chips

8 oz Cool Whip

2 boxes Mini Fillo Cups

Fresh Fruit (my family like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries or pineapple)

Sliced Almonds

First, you are going to melt the chocolate chips. To do that, you take about a cup of chocolate chips and dump them into a Ziploc bag and place them in the microwave unsealed for 1 min on 50% power. After they are warm, pick up the bag and mash them around to mix up the chocolate. If they are not smooth and melted, continue melting in increments of 20 seconds on 50% power until the chocolate in the baggie is smooth.

Next, take the Fillo Cups out of the box but leaving them in the tray, making sure none are broken or have little pieces inside them. Now you are going to pipe the chocolate into the Fillo Cups. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just seal the bag, making sure there is no air in it, then snip off the tiny corner of the baggie and hold tightly. When you squeeze, the chocolate will go out the hole and into the pastry. Easy-peasy. Do all 30 tarts.

Now for the filling. In a small mixing bowl, pour in a cup of white chocolate chips. You are going to melt these the same way as the other chips, but instead of squishing them around, your are going to stir them (probably because you can't squish glass). Get them all smooth and yummy. Put aside for just a second.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup cold milk and the package of instant jello pudding for about a minute until the pudding sets. Then mix in the melted white chocolate chips and try not to eat it (because at this stage, it's really concentrated white chocolate... sooooo yummy). Once they are well mixed, you are going to add the 8 oz tub of Cool Whip. Fold in until well mixed.

Now we have to pipe the filling into the cups. This is where I like to pretend I'm a pastry chef at a 5 star restaurant, making decadent desserts for fancy people. Hey- we all have our dreams! Anyway, to pipe the filling, you need to transfer the mixture into a large Ziploc bag, pressing all of the air out and sealing closed. Snip off one corner to make a medium sized hole (I usually start small and test the size of the piping on a plate. If it's too small, cut off a little more until it seems right). Now it's time to pipe! I like the look of swirls, so I make circle around the bottom of the cup and continue in a circular direction until it forms a peak. To make the cute mountain tops, you stop squeezing, and gently push down into the mountain and pull up quickly. It will form the stiffened peak this way. If you're not comfortable doing this, just practice in a mini-muffin cup until you feel comfortable. And remember, if it doesn't look right, just scoop it up with a spoon and put it back in the piping bag and reuse!

Now that all of the tarts are filled, lets decorate! Using strawberries or pineapples, place them the back. Then place the other berries lower in the front so you can see all the prettiness there is. Doesn't it look delicious?!?

But we're not done yet. Just one more step and you'll have the most desired dessert at the party. All that's left is to toast the sliced almonds. To do this, just heat up a frying pan, dump in about 1/3 cup sliced almonds and continually stir until they start to turn a golden brown, between 2-4 minutes. Once the majority get the golden color, transfer to a small bowl and crush them.

Then sprinkle on top of the tarts and bask in their glory because you are DONE!

Now go make some!

Hope you enjoy them, because I LOVE them!

~ Janice

* Just an FYI: It took longer to type this tutorial up then it did to make the tarts, darn it!!

Just a Little Love for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!I don't know about you, but I have just a little obsession with the day of love.... I think it goes back to when I was in Kindergarten and received my first Valentine from Zack. He was my first crush, and it made me feel like the most special girl in the class because HE gave ME a box of lifesavers that said "Be Mine". ~Swoon~ Yes, I realized he gave every other kid in my class the exact same thing, but it started my obsession with letting people know exactly how I feel about them.

Now that I have kids of my own, I try to make Valentine's Day about the love that their father and I have for them. They are my little Valentines (and much, much cuter than Zack might I add). So when it comes time to put away the Christmas decorations, I go right for the mushy-lovey decorations. It about kills Don. every. time. (He's kind of a sporty man- and he doesn't think that Ranger's Hockey and pink hearts mix). Soooo, I really try to make it cozy, but not go overboard on the romantic look.

So, without further ramblings, here's what my living room currently looks like:

A little specimen art (every one's doing it) and an embroidered love note (great tutorial from Smashed Peas & Carrots)

Just a little LOVE- made with paper mache letters and left over Christmas wrapping paper

My entire mantle: The Be Mine Banner is inspired my so many I've seen linked to nearly every Valentine's Post (mine is a little incomplete. I've still got the stitching to do around the letters but I needed it up for a party and just haven't gotten around to fixing it yet).

Lastly, my favorite: I LOVE Pillows! All of the pillows were super simple to make, and since they are made with an opening in the back, they are even easier to change out for the next holiday. Watch for a tutorial coming soon!
May your day be filled with the love of family and friends!

~ Janice

The Beginning of Something Exciting

Really?! Did I really just start a blog?!?!

(insert squeals of joy and screams of terror here)


Seeing as I'm new to this block of the blogosphere, let me introduce myself:


The name is Janice. My loveys call me Jan-Michael, Pookie, or Jan-nie. Those loveys consist of my wonderful husband Don, my four crazy boys Bubba (9), Big D (7), N-dog (3), Mr. E (2), and such a large extended family that it would take me an extremely long paragraph and at least a month to come up with cleaver nicknames for them all. In the BC (before children), I was a mad-scientist, a.k.a. middle school science teacher, but left the wonderful world of teaching to stay at home. And where is home you may ask? I'll be blogging from the hills of Tennessee.


Now you may be wondering why I started this little blog... it's really a long, drawn out story, but I'll give you the sweetened, condensed version: I love to make things. Lots of things. Crazy things. It's gotten to the point that my friends and family have told me that I need to start a blog to teach them how to do what I'm doing. So even if no one other than my family and friends check out this little blog, I'll still feel success at being able to teach something to someone.

Despite my immense fear of failure and feeling like I'm going to be the laughing stock of blogland, I'm determined to make my way in this little bit of the blogosphere.

So while my first post may not be about my great new idea or that awesome new must do sewing project, I hope you'll stick around to see what I have planned for my fun new endeavor, Tiddly Winks and Moon Pies.

~ Janice

Wow! Glad that post is out of the way! Now we can get to the fun stuff!!