Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Bridal shower

Our neice Allyson's Shower was beautiful! She has some talented women in her life who took a empty shop room and turned it into a burlap draped, vintagey, garden themed, party room, perfect to host her bridal shower in. I wish I had taken before shots and I wish I had taken the correct lens to capture the whole room.Shoulda coulda woulda hey? These are the few photos I got to share the cuteness with you.
 I love how they used the photos from her engagement shoot. It's neat to see photos I took actually being used. There's nothing worse than beautiful photos sitting on a computer not getting printed!

 The walls were completely bare so they hung up shelves and other decor. They decorated mainly with items from my Mother in-laws shop Kurea in Brush Prarie.


 Not only pretty to look at but yummy food to!

 Donna's famous white chocolate raspberry cake. As soon as this cake gets cut at any event there are people flocking around it waiting for their slice!
The beautiful bride to be cutting her cake. Congratulations Ally we are all so excited for you and cannot wait to see what is in store for us at the wedding!
With love,
Sharla

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Parade house

This is one of the Parade of homes my mom, my Aunt Annie, and I decorated this summer. Because it was a presold, we couldn't get too crazy with paint colors or window treatments but we had fun doing it anyway.
 Dining Room
Office
  Great Room
  Nook
One of the bedrooms

TV Room Downstairs


Exercise Room
 
Master Bedroom
 
Master Bath

Hope you Enjoyed Looking,
Love, Bonnie





Monday, July 25, 2011

Taco Soup


I was asked to make a soup for a class at our church one evening and was excited to try this Taco Soup I had seen over at Stonegable. It was delicious and filling! It reminds me of a chili, feel free to substitute any kind of beans or tomatoes you like.

Taco Soup:

2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onion
2 (15-1/2 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15-1/2 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 (14-1/2 ounce) can mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 (14-1/2 ounce) can rotel tomatoes or a jar of mild salsa
3 to 4 cups beef broth (or Better than Bouillon, mixed with water)
2 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Crispy tortilla strips, recipe follows
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish
Sliced black olives, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions:
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, beef stock, taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour on the stove. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with cheese, sour cream, crispy tortilla strips, green onions and olives.

Tortilla Strips:
3 to 4 large flour tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch by about 2 inch strips
vegetable oil
salt

Directions:
In a medium pot, heat 1 inch of oil to 350 degrees. Have ready a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Add a handful of tortilla strips to the oil and cook until light golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to drain on the paper towel. Salt immediately. Continue with remaining strips. Cool and keep in airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve.


Slightly adapted from Stonegabe, originally from Paula Deen.

Hope you enjoy, Donna

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

4th of July Celebration

Every year we celebrate 4th of July at our parents house at the pond. We invite all of our friends and everyone takes there own meat and a side dish. Here in Washington our summer doesn't usually start until literally the day after the 4th, but this year we got lucky and it was a gorgeous hot day. So everyone took there bathing suits and towels and we all had a blast at the pond (or anyone that dares to swim in ponds, you don't usually find me swimming in that thing.)
Great Company!
Gator rides for the kids enjoyment.
This is the newest addition to the Stenersen family (isn't he just adorable!)
  lighting off some of the extra fireworks before the big show (where is the girls in this picture?)
View of the guy's setting up from across the pond.
Daddy & son bonding time.
Getting comfy before the show begins!


So this is just a quick look at how we celebrate 4th of July. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the awesome food, but I didn't remember to take pictures until we were already done eating and then I had to go on a hunt to locate a camera. We all have an awesome time and look forward to next years celebration.  


Love,
Sharlene

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Home Made Granola

The first time I made homeade granola was while working at a bakery in south carolina and since then I have always liked to have some on hand. Mixed with raisin bran, blueberries and over milk, granola is my usual breakfast in the mornings.


Two ways I like to make granola are honey almond and maple pecan. This also makes great gifts for the holidays or bazaars when packaged in cellophane bags and tied with ribbon. 

Honey Almond Granola:
4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup almonds (sliced, slivered or whole)
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground plus 2 T. whole flax seeds
5 tablespoons brown sugar
5 tablespoons honey, warmed if needed or part maple syrup
4 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional ingredients: raisins, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, or any dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix lightly the oats, almonds, coconut, flax seeds, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl mix together the honey, oil, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and mix gently, with spatula and eventually with your hands. Spread out onto a sheet pan and bake for 40 minutes (stir after the first 20). Cool, and add dried fruit, or white chocolate if desired. Store in airtight container.

Maple Pecan Granola:
Prepare Honey Almond Granola, above, substituting pure maple syrup for the honey and pecans for the almonds. If desired, add extra maple syrup to sweeten. I like to add dried cranberries and white chocolate to this kind for gifts.

Hope you enjoy, Donna



Thursday, June 2, 2011

Key Holder

  I painted a frame I bought  from my new favorite store, goodwill!
After painting it I cut a piece of mdf to fit into the frame. I used my new silhouette vinyl cutter  and found a key online that I liked and cut it out, I'm having so much fun with that thing! I had a few cup hooks left over from my Jewelery frame to use for the keys.
Frame $ 3.99
Vinyl Key $ .99
Scrap lumber from my husbands job sight $ 0.00
total cost for project $ 4.98
Love,
Bonnie

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Farmers Market

 I had an engagement shoot in downtown Vancouver on Saturday and afterwards got a chance to check out the Vancouver Farmers Market. My first time going (actually my first time going to any Farmers Market) and it did not disappoint! I am such a visual person ( I suppose that could be why I am a photographer) and nothing entices me to buy like a table full of gorgeous,green asparagus tied with bright blue bands, or bins of potatoes, lined up in patterns, begging to have their photo taken, and of course all the flower stands were a sight to behold to. I don't usually get this excited about veggies I promise ;). I bought some asparagus (picked yesterday) and stir fried it up for dinner. Let me tell you you could definitely taste the difference from the not so fresh grocery store bought kind.

Yum! The best gyro I've ever had! I'm not sure what the name of the stand was but it was the only one serving gyros so if you go next Saturday be sure to stop by....



My little sister Melea .

So if your looking for something to do on a Saturday head down to Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver. There's live music, tons of good food,  lots of fun stalls to browse and of course fresh, local veggies to buy.