Well, Well, Well

Hey y'all,

It has been a long time since I have posted anything, in fact over a year!  This blog is not about followers or readers or getting a product out there, it is my escape from loneliness.  Having a computer screen that is always bright and white, willing to listen to me say whatever I want about any topic is comforting to me.  Sometimes I need it and sometimes I don't.  For a little over a year I didn't need it apparently, or I found solace in something else, but now I turn to Felicity for an open ear.

I spend a lot of time sick.  I am not ill I am not dying I just have a crummy immune system and seem to end up in bed with a cold or a flu bug every other weekend.  If its not one thing it's something else.  The weather will warm up and I will twist my ankle the first nice weekend and end up back in bed, stuck, alone, cooped up, bored, yearning to be moving, talking, laughing, yet idle and downtrodden.  I get stuck in my conceited cycle of  self-loathing and personal pity party.

Over the past four weeks the seemingly bed-ridden state of my life has really gotten me down.  I have been glued to Pinterest, livign vicariously through everyone who can go outside and run, who can go in their garden and plant, who can grace their garage and DIY with pleasure.  I have used the inspirations of the pins to promote me to work toward a better lifestyle.  To strive for a healthy weight, a healthy plate, and a strong immune system to fight of illness and grant me a true 'life'. 

My sewing machine is sitting idle as I focus to regain health.  The focus of this blog will shift for a bit.  My dreams and goals for the future will dominate while successful completed projects will take a back-burner for a while.  Previous projects that i have done will pop-up in retrospective posts of course but new material from my hands is few and far between.

I know my life is no more busy or difficult or challenging than any of yours.  In fact it may often be less so, but to each his own struggles and right now, this is mine.

Felicity

 

Stuff on a Stick

Tonight I was granted a lovely break.  I had a smoothie and shared scones with a close friend!  It was so great to have two hours of uninterrupted time to chat and giggle and sigh about life.

Next, I had dinner with five other great ladies who I cooked and laughed with all evening!  I stuck an avocado pit in my mouth to suck off the bits of avocado and almost choked I was laughing so hard at the wonderful humor of the other girls!  I almost spewed lettuce out of my nose I was laughing so hard during the meal, and practically cackled afterward.  These girls are incredible.  They are role models, they are loving life, they seem so worry free, and are the most supportive caring bunch I have ever had the pleasure to laugh with.

Love the giggling gal,

Felicity

Disney Cooks?

I found a recipe for lemon chicken that sounded really good at http://family.go.com/food/recipe-ak-829160-lemon-chicken-t/ so I went and bought all of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

• 2 large chicken breast fillets - cut into chunks
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 egg yoke
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
• 4 scallions to serve

For the Sauce:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

Easy enough, so I cut up the chicken and let it soak in the soy sauce for half an hour or so.  I mix together the sauce and put it on the stove over medium high heat until it thickens.  I turn to the computer to determine my next step and see that the recipe is from Disney family!  I had no idea Disney had their own recipes!  I didn't know Disney cooked, I just thought they entertained!  How strange is that?!

Moving on, I mixed the egg yoke and cornstarch together, rolled the chicken chunks in it, frid the chicken in some hot vegetable oil, mixed the sauce and chicken together, added scallions and put it over rice!

Not bad Disney, not bad!

Enjoy,

Felicity

Capers?

I had capers.  What does a college kid do with capers?  They were not the cheapest thing in the world so I went on an internet search to find an easy recipe with capers and boy did I ever!  It is called Tilapia with Caper-Parsley Sauce and it was scrumptious.  I love fish plain so I figured I couldn't go wrong with the tilapia but the sauce had a tangy taste with a good color, much better than just squeezing lemon juice over the fish!

The recipe from realsimple.com included potatoes in the recipe but yesterday was a very busy day for me so I skipped the potatoes and steamed green beans instead.

This is how easy this recipe is:

Ingredients:

• Tilapia
• salt
• pepper
• 4 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup white cooking wine
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley

Directions:

• Season with salt and pepper. 
• Cut the tilapia in half lengthwise.
• Cook the tilapia in batches in a skillet with 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat (it takes about 2-3 minutes per side).
• Pour 1 cup of white cooking wine in the skillet and wait until it is reduced by half.
• Whisk in 3 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons capers, and 1/4 cup fresh parsley.
• Spoon it over your tilapia and enjoy!

Well, gotta run,

Felicity

Friday Funday

It's Friday!  The good news is that I don't have class today.  However I do have homework.  But in my spare time I have been dreaming of knitting, quilting, and baking.  Here is a preview of some of the projects I would love to conquer in the future:

Pi Cloth {source}

Sockhead Hat {source}

Chocolate-Blueberry Cake {source}

Scrap Map {source}

Have a wonderful weekend,

Felicity

Put a Neck Scarf On

It's winter and it's not that chilly here in the great Southwest.  I have been knitting up a storm and have four scarfs ready to go, but it has not been cold enough to wear them!  It has however been cold enough to make some warm comfort food!

Wanting to try something new I went on foodnetwork.com and they offered to plan healthy weeknight dinners.  I let them plan away and they suggested Pasta Puttanesca.  It took 17 minutes to make, it smelled great, and it was really tasty.  The only downfall in my opinion is the lack of protein.  To make this a well rounded meal some protein and a side of veggies would make it perfecto!  In terms of looks I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

8 ounces whole wheat thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup pitted chopped Spanish or Greek olives
2 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves of 1 teaspoon dried
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chopped fresh arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

I substituted spinach for arugula and left out the olives.

Mmm . . . Pasta.

Parmesan cheese; I could eat it straight.

Mama Mia Pasta Puttanesca, Magnifico.
{source}

Truly Scrumptious,

Felicity

Last Semester

Today is the very first day of my last semester of school!  I went on a super shopping spree to stock up on backpack friendly snacks that meet my dietary needs.  I have a lot of allergies and am very aware of the need to eat properly which is difficult on the go.

One of my dietary restrictions is no chocolate due to migraines.  I was also told to limit my sugar intake and focus on proteins, fruits, and veggies.  This is more difficult than I thought due to my love of baked goods.  I just love oatmeal cookies!

Sooooooo, in my desperation I found a sugar free oatmeal cookie recipe at cooks.com!

The recipe is pretty much the same as regular oatmeal raisin cookies.  Oatmeal, raisins, (I put in Craisins too), flour, the usual; but the twist is applesauce.

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients and bake cookies 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Being the classy blogger that I am I took the picture of the cookies when they were in some Tupperware.  Thus the picture is super close and does not capture the deliciousness of these sugar free cookies but I was lazy and didn't want to wash any more dishes.

{source}

These oatmeal cookies are not textured like the traditional cookies.  They are soft, not crunchy, but they are hardy cookies, definitely not a fluff dessert.

Eating right and loving cookies,

Felicity

A Love Like No Other

As Christmas draws near Kirsten and I had some friends over for a festive celebration.

The table was set in true Christmas spirit.

The snowball candle was surrounded by fresh cranberries and ready to glow.

The silverware was polished to perfection.

My precious moments nativity was displayed in all of its glory.

Baby Jesus was sleeping peacefully.

The animals observed their Maker.

The sun rained down onto the scene.  Lighting up the faces of the wisemen and the shepherds.

The star shone brightly as the angels declared His majesty.

The dog sniffed it all in great excitement (silly Belly)!

The tree was aglow with Christmas lights and an angel on top.
The food was good, the friends were fabulous, and the festivities have begun!

Felicity

C is for Cookie

In the spirit of Christmas I want cookies. All the time. So I made some.

While listening to the 'Footloose' station on Pandora, I got creative with some Hershey's Kisses.

Then, I had cookies for dinner!

Eat up - it's Christmas,

Felicity