on the move

It's been a while.  But I have a good excuse.  Really, I do.  You see all those boxes. 
That's my old living room.  

We've moved.  I've come to the conclusion that packing is so much easier than unpacking. 

There is a table somewhere in there, under my collection of plastic containers.   

And that's my momma taking a much needed lunch break after helping me unpack what seemed like 1000 boxes for the kitchen alone.  It seems like one never has enough cupboards.  And now to live the next year without a pantry.  

 Jewel found her spot. Such a sweet girl.


This is my living room in it's current unfinished state. 

I would love for it to look like this. A girl can dream, can't she?

That 'bout sums it up for now.  Promise I'll be back soon with a recipe to boot. :) 
Hope you've had a good Monday.

key lime pie

When I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago, I tried key lime pie for the first time.  I enjoyed it so much that I decided to make it as one of my Easter desserts, twice. For my family on Good Friday and Michael's family on Easter Sunday.  It turned out better the second time around, after I was able to tweak the recipe a bit.  I loved the creamy texture and combination of sweet and tart in this pie. I did not blind bake the crust the second time and it came out perfect, finally. 

This is Megan, my lovely niece. Can't believe she will be 18 this year.  She was not a fan of the key lime pie.  Said it was too sour, or something like that.  I did reduce the amount of lime juice in the second pie, which made it less tart, but just as tasty. 

Who can resist this sweet face?  Meet the newest member of our extended family.  My sister's adorable little puggle, Glimmer.  She's so freakin cute!  Love, love, love her ears!!

And just in case you want to make the pie for yourself, here's the recipe. 

key lime pie
inspired by sweet peas kitchen

graham cracker crust
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 tbsp melted butter

lime filling
1/2 cup strained lime juice (from four limes)
4 teaspoons lime zest
4 large egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk

whipped topping
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup icing sugar (confectioners)

1/2 lime sliced paper thin, dipped in sugar

directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Crust: In a medium bowl, combine butter and crumbs.  Press crust into the bottom of a tart pan or pie plate. 

3. Filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the zest and yolks until tinted a light green.  Beat in milk.  Mix in milk.
Set aside at room temperture to thicken, about 30 minutes.

4. Pour filling into the crust and bake for 15 minutes.  Refridgerate pie for several hours (overnight) before serving. 

5. Garnish with whipped cream and lime slices.

he chose the cross

Thank you Jesus.

Mark 10:34 - "And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

florida getaway

After a relaxing week in Florida where the sun never stopped shining, I am back home in Ontario, where the temperatures have done a nose dive from where they were when I left a week ago. I left Mike back in Tampa for a few more days for his "annual boys only sports trip."  I know...not fair, at all.

But really, I'm just grateful to have had the chance to get away and spend some time relaxing in the sunshine before the move, which is a mere 26 days a way. But I don't want to think of the fact that I haven't started packing yet. I'd much rather reminisce about my vacation.


The first night, after exploring Clearwater and lying in the sun by the ocean, we headed to a restaurant called, "Cristino's Coal Oven Pizza."  The ambience and staff were great, but most of all, the pizza was spectacular.  Thin, crispy crust with fresh toppings and fresh storemade gelato for dessert, which they bring around in little tester spoons after your meal.  Truly tempting, so how could I resist and not order a delicious combination of hazelnut and roasted almond? 

sooooo good.....

After dinner it was time to visit the ocean again before retiring for the night, after all we'd been up since 3:00 a.m. to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight. 

While in Clearwater, we pretty much relaxed by the pool or at the beach.  However, we did go on a couple of excursions, one to Tarpon Springs where we visited the sponge docks and had lunch at a greek restaurant.

  

I had no idea that sponges were harvested from the ocean.  Who knew?

Another day a trolley took us to a historic community in Tampa called Ybor. The aroma of Cuban coffee filled the air and there was no shortage of shops selling hand-rolled cigars. 

hanging with the mayor :)

enjoying espresso in ybor

It was a wonderful relaxing vacation and now it's time to switch into get ready for Easter mode and get packing mode. 

Have a great Monday!