eye candy...

definition:   something that is INCREDIBLY pleasing to the eye.

something you just can't stop staring at.

now, i THINK the term "eye candy" came about to describe a VERY

attractive person...girl OR guy.

so for those of you who want THAT kind of eye candy,

i give you Mr. Phantom of the Opera himself...

Gerard Butler.

i know...SERIOUS eye candy:)

actually, i have a board on pinterest that is just for eye candy...

STUFF that is so amazing, so beautiful, I don't know where else to file it.

my vintage glam, shabby chic, dreamy creams and whites and stuff i love boards have 

lots of eye candy too:)

so i thought i'd share some of my favorite eye candy with you.

ENJOY:)

(all photos with links can be found on my pinterest boards)

shades of sea glass eye candy

for the bride...LOTS of eye candy:)

vintage "brooch bouquet

shabby chic wedding...sigh:)

oh yes...definitely eye candy!

cinderella shoes

cake plus cake pops...sweet eye candy!

no way...we EAT these gorgeous things? 

BEAUTIFUL!!!

 true eye candy;)

 feathers never looked so lovely! (feather tutu)

 i might seriously think about another baby after seeing this...

shhh...don't tell my husband!

hahaha

 okay, okay...i'll settle for another puppy:)

talk about adorable eye candy!

shades of shabby chic...perfectly shabby eye candy:)

holy guacamole...cool cake pops!

okay...look closely at these.

can you BELIEVE they are made from watercolor paint and coffee filters?????

EYE CANDY!

STUNNING!

 vintage jewelry

pretty and pastel...for spring!

LOVE the pillows!

more cake...

can you call this cake?  or are these works of art?

one thing for sure...they are EYE CANDY!!

and one of my favorite eye candy photos...of course...

those cheeks!:)

personally, i think even food is eye candy sometimes.

TOO MANY times:)

white chocolate lemon truffles.

(from kitchensimplicity)

White Chocolate Lemon Truffles

• 1 cup white chocolate
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp. heavy cream
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp. lemon extract
• icing sugar, for dusting

1. Melt chocolate, butter and cream over a double boiler or in a microwave. Stir until smooth.
2. Stir in salt and extract. Allow to cool slightly before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.
3. With a melon baller or small spoon scoop out mixture and form into 1 inch balls. Toss with icing sugar to coat.
4. Store covered in the fridge for up to one week. Freeze for longer storage.

Makes: 24

* Using unsalted butter allows you to control the salty flavour of these truffles. The pinch of salt helps to cut through the sweetness of the white chocolate. If you decide to use salted butter make sure to omit the pinch of salt called for in the recipe or they will be far too salty.

* If you want to amp up the yellow color, stir in some yellow food coloring along with the extract and salt.

lastly, if you notice, i have a new "print this" button at the bottom of my posts.  

just trying to make life easy for ya:)

CIAO...

Suzanne

the dangers of living in the tropics...

actually, i believe south florida is the sub-tropics...

 but close enough:)

okay...but what's so dangerous,

other than tourists?  

heeheehee (couldn't resist)

 

well...you could come across one of these while you're out

walking the dog.

yes, i took that photo and yes...they do pop up every now and then

and get a bit too friendly.

 

then you have to worry about hurricanes, sunburns, SHARKS, jellyfish.

and flying beach umbrellas that hit you in the face and

require you to get stitches the day you have to go to a BALL!

 no CINDERELLA here!!

FUN stuff like that.

 

but today, i was thinking, there are a few OTHER dangers of living down here.

i was sitting out by the pool, 

 

playing fetch with Maui, my dog.

 

when i heard a noise and a suddenly BIG coconut

fell from a palm tree.

so what, right?

except it was BIG, solid and hard.

 okay, so it didn't hit me.

but look at the chair i was sitting in and how CLOSE it came.

 imagine telling them that in ER.

uhhh...my head busted open when a coconut fell on it.

the coconut didn't bust open...but my head did.

hahahaha...oh well. it didn't hit me.

but as you can see by where it landed,

it came pretty dang close!

WHEW!

and the last danger i want to share with you is this...

you've heard of key lime pie, right?

good...but it can actually be a bit TOO tangy and TOO sweet for me.

but still pretty darn good...if it's made right.

well, the new danger is THIS...

MANGO KEY LIME PIE.

 OH. YUMMMMM!

it is so good, CREAMY & mellow

with a hint of tang and plenty of mild sweet MANGO flavor.

a touch of CINNAMON in the graham cracker crust and HOLY COW!

delicious AND dangerous...

because you want to eat the WHOLE pie...

and gain 15 pounds instantly:)

it's been around awhile...

and i admit, folks in other states, like my Georgia friends,

enjoy this too.

but we're talking TROPICAL:)

here are a few recipes...

one using fresh mango puree and the other using 

Nellie and Joe's mango key lime juice.

 

Nellie and Jo's is sold at grocery stores and is the REAL deal...

they have some of the BEST pies in the keys!

so if you need to break up winter a bit, make one of these.

you'll feel just like you're in the tropics.

and you won't have to watch for falling coconuts!

 

 Nellie & Joe's Recipes from the Keys
Nellie's Favorite Mango Key Lime Pie
 One - 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
    3 - egg yolks (whites not used)
    One - 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese
    1/2 cup - Nellie & Joe's Mango Key Lime Juice
    One - 9" chocolate pie shell

Combine milk, eggs and softened cream cheese. Add mango key lime juice and blend until smooth. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with fresh whipped cream and slivers of fresh mango if desired.

 and one more...

 MANGO KEY LIME PIE   
1/4 c. lime juice
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 c. mango puree
2 egg whites
1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust

Thoroughly mix lime juice, condensed milk, egg yolks and mango puree. Beat egg whites with dash of salt to stiff peaks. Fold in mango mixture. Add to crust and chill until firm. 

 

 ENJOY!!!

modeling,concerts,dolphins,twinkies,dogs,dandelions,tebow,quilts, and simplifying.

i know you're thinking "SIMPLIFYING???"

sure doesn't sound like that!

well...read on.

you'll get to the simple part eventually...PROMISE;)

i thought maybe i'd play catch up and write about the things i've been meaning

to write about but haven't gotten around to.

first up...

Jordan and I went to a COUNTRY concert this weekend...

Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean!!!

our favorites:)

so you know we had a BLAST!!!

cowboy boots, hats, plaid shirts and bling all over the place.

but it sure beats 10 year old girls dressed like Lady Gaga.

uggghhh...but that's another post:)

anyway, it was good ol' FUN!!!

Taylor is doing a bit of modeling this week and next.
the local performing arts center called and needed a
BALLERINA
to pose for painting classes.

and get this...she will be paid:)
it's kinda COOL, ya know?
nothing she loves more than putting on a tutu and doing a few
 pirouettes!

DOLPHINS...
you know, my girls are 17 and almost 15...
and i am STILL on the lookout for nice family movies.
we love good movies with good stories.
so when we watched Dolphin Tale recently
i knew i had to tell you about it.
we LOVED this movie.

what's not to love about the TRUE story of a smiling,
bottlenose dolphin fitted with a prosthetic tail
after losing hers in a crab trap at the age of 3 months.
(PLUS, Harry Connick Jr. is in it:)
very SWEET movie...we give it FIVE *****

TWINKIES???
well, they're actually called BINGLES...
but they are basically the same thing.
EXCEPT...these are RED VELVET TWINKIE/BINGLES!

help me now...

DOGS...
okay, this might be the SWEETEST dog poster i've seen yet.
the quote is familiar...
but look at how the dog is gazing LOVINGLY at the girl.

DANDELIONS...
i saw this idea on pinterest and thought...
how super simple and CUTE are these?
dandlion twigs...

made by creating pompoms and attaching them to the end of twigs.
definitely on my TO-DO list:)

TIM TEBOW...

i'm constantly AMAZED by his convictions...

and willingness to share.

QUILTS...
this would be SOOOOOO cute for a picnic or even better...
a beach blanket!

a BANDANA quilt!
i'm thinking that even though i don't really sew...
i could figure out how to make one for us to take to the beach.
i would need to use more bandanas...
but i think MAYBE i could handle this.
MAYBE:)

lastly...we all want to SIMPLIFY, right?
i came across this ebook from simple mom.

it's really the "simple" and practical stuff that we all know...
but broken down into easy to follow and motivating steps.
check it out HERE...for kindle or nook.
this is also a good one for simplifying...

well...i better get moving.
need to tackle my To-Do list!
Ciao, Suzanne

i LOVE being a GAWKER...

and more STUFF i love!

okay...like we NEED another site to waste hours on...

but just like Pinterest, which i LOVE...

this site is very cool.

it's called GAWKERVERSE...

and one visit tells you why.
no, no no...i'm NOT talking about Facebook!
although, you have to admit, GAWKERVERSE is a MUCH more appropriate name for Facebook!
OR...maybe STALKERVERSE!!!
hahahahahahahahahah...
(yes, i am cracking myself up right now:)
oh, admit it...you've done some Facebook gawking and stalking before.
we all have...
but this is NOT about Facebook, so get back on subject suzanne:)

okay, here is the official  description of the gawker verse...

"a network of inspirational, user-submitted photo gallery sites"

including:

 FOODGAWKER

CRAFTGAWKER

WEDDINGGAWKER

DWELLINGGAWKER

i haven't spent much time on the other sites but i can say that 

foodgawker is pretty amazing.

each photo sends you to the link that has the recipe.

and if you join, you can create recipe files with your own notes, comments...

TONS of dinner recipes, which i need:)

and YUMMY dessert recipes, like

ORANGE CREAMSICLE COOKIES

Mmmmmm....

LASAGNA SOUP...
(which i can say is DELICIOUS and hubby approved:)

and of course...plenty of APPS for your phone.

so...when you've done everything on your to do list...
head over to the gawkerverse...
and whip up one of these BEAUTIES...

PINK VELVET CAKE...HELLOOOOOO!

actually, i'm fighting a cold these days, so the stuff i'm REALLY loving is
plenty of tissues, nyquil, chicken soup, vicks and SLEEP!
before i go, a few thoughts for your day.

and you KNOW i love this next one:)

CIAO!