Elderberry Syrup Workshop

On Sunday, I was invited to an Elderberry Syrup Workshop.  I had heard about it but I wanted to know more.  Elderberries are a natural immune booster and this time of year with colds and the flu going you need something a little extra to help you.

It was a small group of women.  Some couldn’t make it because of the snow we had.  I learned a lot, met some nice ladies and had some fun.

I also tried a brownie that was made with beans.  What?  And it did indeed taste like a brownie.    (Recipe for the brownies:  Puree a can of black beans, and add it to any boxed/ or homemade brownie mix.  You can add two drops of peppermint essential oil if you’d like.  If you want you could use a gluten free box or the immaculate brand of brownie mix because it has less sugar, etc.  Or in your homemade brownie mix you can use Gluten Free flour instead of regular flour.  The black beans take place of the liquids and egg used).

Here’s Rachel telling us where to purchase the Elderberries and Echinacea.  (I’ve linked it for you if you’re interested).

We watched Rachel and Cat (the hosts) make the syrup.  It’s only 6 ingredients and you know what exactly is in it.

The 6 ingredients:

• Elderberries
• Echincacea
• Ginger root
• Cinnamon sticks
• Distilled Water
• Raw Honey

After the syrup was made and cooled the honey was then added.  The syrup was put into jars.  We all got to take a jar home.

Here’s my jar.

I tried it yesterday morning with my husband.  I will be honest and say that I had water ready to go just in case.  haha  It was so good.  All I tasted was honey.  I’m going to be sure to take a spoonful every day and see how I do.

Here’s the link to the blog where the Elderberry Syrup recipe was taken from.

During the workshop we also talked about different teas, and other concoctions you can make with apple cider vinegar.  We even learned about activated charcoal.  Who knew all this existed?  Natural remedies are the way to go.

Chickens First Snow 2017

The chickens went out to explore in the snow.  They did some sunbathing on the deck in the sunshine.  

They had some conversations with the kitten, Tyrion.  haha  I think they were wondering why he was inside and they were not.

Molly following me to get treats and food.  You can see Grace on top of the coop.

Here’s Grace up close.  She’s wondering if all this snow is my doing.

I had to pick up Buttercup and Grace and carry them to the coop one night because they refused to walk in the snow.  haha  They are so silly.  They did not like it one bit and I don't blame them.

Tyrion Is Spoiled

It’s okay to spoil your pets right?  Of course it is.  Who doesn’t spoil their fur babies?

I found some awesome toys at Five Below and a few things for him at the Dollar Tree.

The above picture is of a cat tunnel.  It’s got cute paw prints on it.  It was only $4 at Five Below and they had several designs you could choose from.

Below is a mouse chaser with a scratch pad I also found at Five Below for $5.  Yes, Tyrion is wearing a little shirt I found at the Dollar tree for just $1.  It says “Heart Breaker” on it.    I also found an adorable plush cheeseburger toy for $1.  He carries it around the house.  It’s so funny.

And because kittens are curious and want to play with everything…he managed to find my nieces ‘basket of fun’ the other night.  Here he is playing with Curious George.

He also found another toy.  This is an Alvin and the Chipmunks plush ball.  I hope my niece doesn’t mind him playing with these.  haha

Christmas 2016

I hope you had a wonderful and happy Christmas.

The above picture is of Molly on Christmas morning.  She was following me around singing and I picked her up and put a Christmas bow on her so of course I had to take her picture.

The girls had their stockings ready for Santa.  All they wanted was meal worms, sunflower seeds, and un-salted peanuts.    Of course, they got what they wanted.  They always do.

And that's okay that they get what they want because they lay me eggs.

Presents, Hutch and Smallcakes

My BFF and I took my little sister out for her birthday on December 19th.

We went to lunch at Hutch.  AMAZING food.  I highly recommend the Hutch Burger.

I brought Christmas gifts for my niece.  Yes they were wrapped in Chicken paper.

She loved everything.

For a birthday treat we stopped at a place called Smallcakes.  I’d never even heard of this place but apparently it’s really popular.  They’ve been on 3 seasons of Cupcake Wars, The View, USA Today, MTV and others.  I will tell you this cupcakery is awesome!  The cupcakes are perfect and the homemade ice cream is delicious.  Next time, you’re in Richmond (RVA) then you have to stop in here.  You will not be disappointed.

We each got a smash cake.  You pick a cupcake which they cut it in half for you and then you pick homemade ice cream to go in the middle of the cupcake.  Here’s my niece picking out ice cream.

This is my smash cake.  I got the “CHOCO-HOLIC”- chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream topped with valrhona chocolate sprinkles.  For the ice cream in the middle I chose chocolate and vanilla.  You get 2 scoops of your choice.  OMG it’s sooooo good.

This was my dinner that night.  I ate the entire thing.  My sister had to take hers home because she couldn’t finish it.

A smash cake is way too much for a little girl so we just got my niece a little bowl of ice cream.

2016 Christmas Card

How cute is our picture?  We took it Thanksgiving morning.  My husband has some mad photo-shopping skills.  :)

6th Work Food Swap

Some co-workers and I had a food swap on November 28th.  It’s where you make a dish and bring some to do an even trade.  This was our 6th food swap.  It’s a lot of fun.

Here’s the spread we had.  Lots of goodies.

Gayle made biscotti.  It was delicious and she packaged them in ball jars with some fabric and ribbon.

Sharon made homemade apple butter.  This was yummy by the spoonful.  So tasty.

Jane made a meat rub which she cooked with some chicken.  We put the chicken in some tortillas and had a little taco.  We each got a little baggy of the seasoning.  I can’t wait to use the rub on pork or steak.  It was awesome.

Paula made sausage balls.  She packaged them in little boxes that looked like elves pants.  MMMM!!!!

Sam made mini pineapple upside down cakes.  So flavorful.  My husband really enjoyed one I brought him home.  He loves pineapple upside down cake.

Sue made a ham salad which we all got a container of.  She also made some little wraps that had cream cheese and cranberries.  So good!

Judy (her first food swap) made mini cheese balls for us to take home and a big cheese ball for us to try.  It was delicious!!!

And lastly, I made chicken salad.  I put the chicken salad in little containers and everyone got a container with a bag of croissants.  I served the sample with croissants and chips.

We enjoy baking or cooking and seeing what each person comes up with.  We also like being able to catch up with one another.  

Kitty in the Window

It’s so hard to leave for work in the morning.  Everyday our little kitten, Tyrion sits in the window and watches us as we leave.  He's there waiting for us when we get home too.

How cute is he?