Our Award Winning Lemon Marble Cream Pie!

We did it again! After our success with last year’s Pie Bake-off Competition at the Nolensville, TN 4th of July Celebration, we decided to enter again. And this year with two pies! While we were baking, we thought, “wouldn’t it be funny if both of them placed?” Well, they did: 1st and 2nd. And I saw a few of the other pies, and I must say I wasn’t confident afterwards! But, apparently the pies that we entered ranked high on taste (50%), appearance (25%), and creativity (25%).

This year, we decided to enter a Lemon Marble Cream pie, which tasted much like a zesty cheesecake. It featured lemon curd swirled onto the top, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. The crust was a delicious vanilla wafer crust with a lemon zest kick. The other pie was a variation of our Red, White, and Blueberry Cream Pie that placed 2nd last year.

I think my favorite part is the decorative lemon slice in the middle. Delicious food that's also pretty? Bonus!

At the request of many, I’m posting our recipe for this year’s 1st Place winner.  Enjoy!

Lemon Marble Cream Pie Recipe

Lemon Curd
-1 t finely grated lemon zest
-1/2 c fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
-1/2 c sugar
-3 eggs, beaten
-1/4 c butter, cubed

Note: We ended up having leftover lemon curd, so you can enjoy the remaining portion over some vanilla ice cream or on your favorite scone!

Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust
-1 1/2 c vanilla wafer crumbs
-3/4 c almonds, toasted and finely crushed
-2 t lemon zest
-pinch of salt
-7 T melted butter

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling
-2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
-2/3 c sugar
-2 eggs
-1/2 c sour cream
-1/2 t vanilla
-1/2 t lemon extract
-Reserved Lemon Curd

Ways to Save Money on Practically Everything

How would you like to have an extra $100 in your pocket this week? Would you like me to show you how to save money on practically everything so that you could could save even more?  Keep reading.

My husband and I are on a mission. We’re even more intent on becoming financially free now that we are parents, and our mortgage is the last item on our list!  We’ve decided to buckle down and start saving money in every way that we can, and use the savings to dump into extra house payments.

After paying off  $15,000 extra on our mortgage in the past 4 months, I’ve have friends ask “Can you help me save money, too?” I know that I can, so I’m going to disclose all of my best tips here!

The first thing I’ll stress is that little savings add up.  Never think that a savings method isn’t worth doing just because it’s a small idea.

Wouldn't you rather save money than eat it?

How to save money dining out

1. It’s so easy to not pay full price on restaurants these days! Groupon started the craze of half-off dining, but a lot of sites are riding the wave and doing an excellent job at cutting our dining out budget. My other favorites: SharingSpree (they donate part of each sale to a local charity), LivingSocial (they’ll give you $5 to spend on their site just for signing up today), and DoubleTakeDeals. Double Take Deals is a little different, in that deals are available for about a month instead of just a day, which is nice.  It’s largely unpublicized, so you’re welcome. Another perk about these sites is that they have great referral systems where you can get credit on future deals just for sharing them with your friends! I’ve gotten free massages, meals out, and shopping trips this way.

Sweet CeCe’s Goes International!

It’s a day I’ve waited for . . . a company that I branded now has international presence!  Better yet, it’s international because of a friendship I have with a former logo client. Twitter and Facebook have made the world so very, very small. Read on to hear how this all came about!

Almost three years ago, I was approached by the nicest lady who was opening a self-serve frozen yogurt shop here in Nashville, TN called Sweet CeCe’s.  Though many “competitors” have sprung up since then, Sweet CeCe’s was the first of its kind in our area, and remains the best in my opinion. I created her logo, which led to promotional material, which led to me becoming their “official” graphic designer, handling all things aesthetic up until corporate took over late in 2010.  I also had the opportunity to set them up with a Twitter and Facebook presence and manage it, which which they have agreed has fueled (along with the amazing froyo experience, of course) their rapid success.

A year or two into my working with the company, a former logo client of mine who follows me on Twitter, asked me what I thought about him opening up a Sweet CeCe’s… in Kuwait!  He had seen my constant tweets about the delicious yogurt and success of the store here.  I was thrilled with his idea, and I put him in contact with the people in charge.  After a few months of negotiation, he ended up buying the rights to open 10 stores in the next 5 years in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and United Arab Emirates.

I’m writing this today to show off his STUNNING store that opened last week. Check out these photos to see how the middle east does frozen yogurt!

Our Own Secret Millionaire Experience!

I cry when I see an episode of Secret Millionaire. Maybe you do, too.  Something about selfless generosity for worthy causes is inspiring and beautiful. That is why I’m so excited to write about something that happened this past week!

Jesse Hayes, Business Owner!

Meet Jesse. For the past year, my sister Shannon has seen him on the corner of the street near her office at Vanderbilt, and she’s built a friendship with him.  He’s kind and polite, well-spoken, and always has a smile for her.  Apparently, he used to work for Vanderbilt, and then again as a phlebotomist for the Red Cross. He ultimately wants to be a missionary. We don’t know why he has been out of work for some time, but we are sure it’s not for lack of desire! He currently sells copies of The Contributor for a small profit. The Contributor is a local newspaper written by homeless or formerly homeless people.

Jesse is out EVERY morning, rain, sleet, snow or hail.  During the crazy storms we had this past month, my sister asked if he could take a day off because it was lightening and there were tornado sirens blaring.  He said, “I will as soon as I earn $18 to rent my room tonight.”  (He and a friend rent a room in a small home in East Nashville as often as they can afford it).  Shannon, feeling compassion for him, pulled out a $20 and told him to have a great day. He was floored by her generosity and care for him, and it turns out, he would have had a really rough night if he hadn’t had shelter.

The EASIEST homemade laundry detergent recipe!

Want to save a ton of money on laundry detergent? My husband and I were buying Dreft at $22/container regularly to wash our baby daughter’s clothes (and our own), and got tired of the high cost. I had been thinking of making my own detergent for years, and I finally just did it! It was so easy, I wish I hadn’t waited so long! Here’s how to start saving money (and the environment, your health, your sanity):

Ingredients:

1 cup Borax (Find it in grocery stores and retailers like Wal-Mart and Target) – $4.09
1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (In the south, Kroger and Harris Teeter sell it. Wal-Mart and Target do not) – $2.79
1 bar of Soap – I used Ivory because I couldn’t easily find Fels Naptha, which appears to be a popular choice.  Other people like Dr.Bronners as well. – 3 bars for $.99

Directions:

1. Grate the soap. This is just like grating cheese. Let’s not make this seem harder than it is, people. It took about 30 seconds.

2. Pour all ingredients into an airtight container and add 3 drops of essential oil if you’d like (lavender, lemon, or tea tree oil are favorites) and shake to mix. Easy cheesy! This makes about 3.5 cups of detergent, but you don’t need to use as much as you would if you were using conventional detergent.

How to use:

Small loads – use 1 tablespoon
Normal loads – use 2 tablespoons
Heavy loads – use 3 tablespoons

This soap powder does not get very sudsy because there are no sulfates in it. (That’s a good thing!) Don’t worry, your clothes are getting clean. I have been using our new, cheap detergent for two weeks and our clothes look and smell great! I even use this on my daughter’s cloth diapers and I love knowing I’m not subjecting her to unknown chemicals all day.

Remembering Indonesia in the wake of Japan’s Tsunami

We all woke up Friday morning to devastating news that an 8.9 earthquake and massive tsunami in Japan had caused massive destruction.  My thoughts instantly went back to the tsunami of 2004 that affected Indonesia and surrounding countries and how long it’s taken that area to heal. Below is a summary from my relief trip to Banda Aceh, Indonesia 6 years ago. I hope that it will help those of you reading it to realize the extent to which the events in Japan will affect the country and the lives of those who were spared. My prayer is that we’ll all pitch in however we can to help them heal.  Warning: what I’ve written is shocking, heartbreaking, and not for the faint of heart.

Banda Aceh, Indonesia – February, 2005

I am finally at the point where I can somewhat formulate my thoughts and feelings about my recent trip to Indonesia.  It was one of the most trying emotional times of my life.

I will try to paint a little picture, however blurry, of what we initially saw and experienced in Sumatra:

This coastal area lost 95% of its inhabitants.

“The Rest of the Story…” My Project for Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Wow!  A whirlwind of a few months it has been.  Last September, I was writing about my amazing experience designing for Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  If you missed that post, you may read it here!  Then, I had a baby girl in December, and now I’m able to post photos of the completed EMHE project since it’s aired and we’re past all of that legal secrecy mumbo jumbo. I know that many of you watched the episode, but if you missed it, the following photos will give you a pretty good idea of how me and my team spent our time and talent working on “Trike Town” with an incredible show that changes lives forever.

Day 1 - My blank "canvas" - The carpenter extraordinaire is to my right.

Talking with Paul DiMeo after the set was primed. He was a trip!

No getting to bed early tonight! Thankful for my tireless team.

Me trying to play it cool while Ty Pennington admires our work. "Just keep painting... just keep painting..."

The finished piece, Trike Town, installed and ready for the kiddos!

The Call That Reminded Me Of My Call

I never know how God is going to use a painting that He’s called me to create. I may think I’m making it for one reason, but He uses it in a completely different way in someone’s life.

This truth presented itself in a powerful way last week!

A woman (we’ll call her Kay) called me on Thursday morning and said she didn’t really know how to tell me what she was about to say, but that one of my paintings had touched her deeply.  She proceeded to tell me that she had an abortion 30 years ago. She had dealt with a lot of pain and guilt since then, and had gotten involved with an organization called Rachel’s Vineyard.  This organization is dedicated to helping post-abortive women (and men) come to a place of healing and forgiveness for decisions they made in the past. Kay told me that she had attended one of their retreats and on it, they asked the women to visualize a beautiful field with children laughing and playing with Jesus. The sun was shining, and everyone was joyful. Kay took great comfort knowing that her unborn child was with Jesus and that some day she would get to meet her.

I say “her” because Kay is certain that her baby would have been a little girl… with brown hair and brown eyes.  She’s always felt it, and she even knew that her name would have been Rachel.

Fast forward to just a few weeks ago: Kay went to her dear friend’s home and saw a large package sitting out for her. It was a gift, and in it was a lithograph of my painting “Mine For a Moment.” She took it out and was moved to tears. For her, it was a depiction of her own daughter, grown up and playing in a field with Jesus.