Sunshine in my pocket

The Flower Fields

By KariV on May 3, 2013 in Favorite Things, Inspiration

We just got back from a glorious vacation to Southern California and oh, how I loved the weather over there! But my absolute favorite part of our trip was the visit to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California. The Flower Fields are only in bloom in April (thru Mother’s Day) and the flowers grow in beautiful stripes of color on the side of the hill!

I probably took well over 100 pictures while we were there because I was so delighted at every angle of these fields of flowers. The ranunculas are certainly the star of the show and they cover about 55 acres of land.

These pictures don’t even do the beautiful scene justice, but I hope it gives you some of the inspiration we felt while we were there. You are not allowed to walk into the fields of flowers (don’t try it because there are guards in little golf carts watching you!), however there are some green carpets laid down so you can walk into each color stripe of flowers about 5 feet in. That is how we got to take some really fun pictures that look like we are in the middle of the field of flowers:

The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing and it was a perfect 72 degrees that day. Haven’t you always wanted to frolic in flowers?! Opa didn’t want to kneel in the flowers, so he stood there holding a yellow ranuncula…he doesn’t have the same look of wonder on his face, but believe me, he loved these flowers fields like the rest of us did!

The workers at the Flower Fields are busy picking the most beautiful ranunculas to bundle up in a set of 10 flowers. They bundle 12,000 up in a day to be delivered asap to the shops and stores that have already ordered them. 12,000 a DAY!! That’s a lot of flower bundles. And I must admit, I wanted to take a bundle home with me!

They did have other flowers there besides ranunculas. Like this Planter of Petunias. And a trellis garden filled with amazing-ness:

There was also a greenhouse filled with Orchids, a greenhouse filled with Poinsettias, and a maze made out of sweet peas. And of course a complete Nursery of flowers available for sale as you leave. And don’t forget the ROSE garden!

The flowers that grow in Southern California are just amazing! My husband and I have always loved flowers and gardens, and it is such a treat for us to notice all the color and beauty growing in California.

If you get an opportunity, go see the Flower Fields at Carlsbad…it may be the perfect Mother’s Day gift to take your mother (or grandmother)! I hope you enjoyed this tour of the Flower Fields!

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Dose of Sunshine Monday — Choose to Be Happy

By KariV on April 29, 2013 in Inspiration

Happy Monday! Today, I will leave you with one simple idea: If you have a choice, choose to be happy.

I am working on this at times there are things that bother me, but I remind myself that I do have a choice! And I can choose to continue to worry, or I can choose to be happy. It’s much more fun to be happy! Have you mastered this?

Have a super-great week filled with happy!

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How to make an Orange Slice out of Felt (and a free printable)

By KariV on April 26, 2013 in DIY, Freebies, Paper Crafting

Today I am going to show you how to make that felt orange slice that we used to adorn our Orange Blossom Cookies.

It is incredibly easy to make and looks surprisingly realistic next to real orange slices. You only need: Orange felt in 2 shades, white felt, ribbon, needle & thread, fabric glue.

Watch the quick video tutorial below: (and please leave some nice comments if you are watching on YouTube)

Voila! Nice and easy, right? And it adds a little somethin’ somethin’ to your orangey gifts! Think of using it for more than just orange cookies; Tie one around a mason jar or carafe of Orange Juice, Wrap up a bag of oranges and use it to dress them up. Actually, it doesn’t even have to be an orange gift, but it does let the recipient know what to expect.

If you are ready to try the best orange cookies ever, then click here for the recipe!

Now, as promised…here is the free printable to use with your felt orange slices. (This is for personal use only. Please do not reproduce, claim as your own or sell. Thank you!)

(The download will not have my website on it)

Like my page here:

Then download the pdf version here:

thinking of you

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Orange Blossoms (a favorite recipe)

By KariV on April 25, 2013 in Dessert, Favorite Things, Recipes

We have four beautiful orange trees and today they were calling to me. One of my favorite things is to enjoy the fruit from our CITRUS trees here in Arizona. We have a new lemon and lime tree, too, and I’m hoping soon they will produce! But now, it’s time to harvest the rest of these sweet oranges and MAKE something. I went to pick some low hanging fruit and came in with a basket just full of oranges ready to juice, zest, and slice.

Aren’t they beautiful!? Of course, we love our fresh-squeezed orange juice, but today I’m thinking my very favorite orange cookies: Orange Blossoms. My sister, who lives in Utah, made these the other day and sent me a picture…she said “These cookies always remind me of you!” So thank you, dear sister, for the inspiration!

I will warn you now: this post has a lot of pictures! I couldn’t help it…these darlings made such a photogenic subject and I got a little carried away. I even got my husband in on the picture taking (you will see his picture at the end of the post).

I love the simple ingredients: oranges, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, eggs, butter, and buttermilk. We just happened to have some buttermilk on hand that I needed to use up, but if you don’t have buttermilk you can add a little lemon juice to regular milk (see how to do this here).

{Have you used one of these microplane zesters? It’s one of my favorite tools in the kitchen, especially when I’m working with citrus!}

Mix up the ingredients and drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. Today, I made them regular sized, but if I’m having a ladies’ lunch or tea party, I will make them half this size. And they turn out so cute!

Bake them up and while they are baking, make the orange glaze. It’s a simple mixture of butter, powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice. You will want to frost these cookies while they are still warm because the frosting melts and enrobes the cookies a little bit.

I love these little cookies. They are more cake-like and when you bite into them it is just. like. heaven.

Can you see the bits of orange zest in the frosting? There is zest in both the cookie dough AND the frosting, which adds up to a great citrus-y kick of flavor!

Doesn’t this make a pretty picture? It screams luncheon (or tea party) to me! Or the next best thing: which is to wrap them up pretty and take them to some of my favorite people.

OK. That orange slice (out of felt!) and printable is so cute for this little gift! Click here to get instructions on how to make it AND get the free printable!

This is the fantastic photo my husband captured with all the prettiness and citrus colors! I love it.

So, will you go try this recipe and just see if you love these delicious Orange Blossoms as much? And then let me know what you think! Enjoy!

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Taste Test Tuesday — Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

By KariV on April 23, 2013 in Favorite Things, Taste Test Tuesday

For this very important taste test we were in search of The Perfect Reese’s Ratio! I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of these Reese’s options, but in the quest for truth and best taste to report back to you, I just knew that this taste test could not be overlooked!

We tested the original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, the Reese’s Big Cup, Reese’s Miniatures (wrapped in foil), and Reese’s Mini Peanut butter Cups (unwrapped), all pictured. EDITOR’S NOTE: It was my intention to add the Reese’s Easter Peanut Butter Egg to our taste options, however, when I went to check my stash, I discovered they had all been eaten! (Who would’ve done that?!) So we stuck with the four options.

I think it’s important to show you the difference in peanut butter and chocolate ratios for each.

You can see that the Big Cup has some serious peanut butter! With the Miniatures coming in with not quite as much peanut butter and then originals. Let’s check them out side by side:

It may look like the minis have just as much peanut butter as the originals, but they are actually covered in a thicker amount of CHOCOLATE, with just a bit of peanut butter enrobed in the center.

I do realize that taste tests are very subjective and dependent upon what each individual panelist prefers. But that is why I had a LARGER group to discover the truth for you. And the winner won by an overwhelming majority! (Care to take a guess before I reveal the winner?)

THE WINNER (drum roll, please….)

First Place: ORIGINAL PEANUT BUTTER CUPS ARE THE WINNER!!! Yes. I love that the original peanut butter cup won!

But we did have a few judges who disagreed: one voted for the Big Cup (more peanut butter), one voted for the Minis (more chocolate). There was a bit of an argument on the Big Cup…because even though it was a favorite for one judge, another said it was too rich to eat a whole cup at one sitting. I love it when our judges disagree. 😉

Have you given this taste test a try? Which one is YOUR favorite?

Really, you can’t go wrong with any of them! So, why not buy them all to shake things up a bit. (Reese’s did not pay me or compensate me in any way to do this blog post, by the way!)

Second Place: Miniatures (wrapped in foil)
Third Place: Big Cup
Final Place: Minis

I would LOVE to use the minis for baking (think cookies or cupcakes). And when I do, you’ll be the first to know. Wink.