And the winner(s) are...

Happy Sunday all! We were blessed to wake up to the birds chirping this morning. What a welcome sound after many months of silence. The sun even decided to grace us with its presence, even if it was just for a short while. I'll take what I can get! March is a particularly iffy month in Indiana. However, I am looking forward to even more pleasantries in the weather department in the months ahead.

Thank you all from the bottom of my pea pickin' heart for your lovely comments! I adored reading your thankful lists and dreams. It was a lovely mix of old friends, new friends and first visitors which was a real treat! I appreciate each and every visit and especially love to hear from you. Also, I will not be trying tofu hot dogs for the time being. Becky and Jeanne's comments cracked me up. Their sheer honesty has convinced me there are other foods that may be more worthwhile tries than tofu hot dogs. :)

I wish I could send you ALL special treats, but alas a winner must be chosen. Bonnie was not being a decent sidekick so I had to bring in Mr. Schalk for the picking. I decided to get all technical and put names in a cup. It was much more fun than the random thingie.

Congrats Mimi from Mimi's Babies - you're the winner!

Mimi and her daughter-in-law, Charissa, have an adorable blog and etsy store. You should pop on over and check out their sweet handmade clothes, hats and more! The crochet cupcake purses are quite sweet. I would get one for my little girl, but she is furry and has no boundaries.

Oh, I'm sure you would love to read what Mimi is thankful for! Bonnie, can you help us out?

Mimi, you are a real doll! I hope you feel better soon and enjoy all those amazing blessings!

Finally, because it's been a nice weekend and I'm feeling grateful I have one more prize to give away. This little treat goes to the one and only....

Abigail is a dear friend, and her post about starting a bake shop spreading sprinkles and Jesus' love has warmed my heart all week. Abigail, this is a random little prize, but I have a hunch you will enjoy it.

A whisk ornament for those bake dreams we share and a pin that says I heart Seniors. Because who doesn't heart Seniors with their beautiful wrinkles, quick wit and unending wisdom?! Yes, that's what I thought! I'm also throwing in a sample of Tide TotalCare because it smells lovely and I think you'll like it. Random but full of love! Hmm, that defines the prize and me, doesn't it?!

Winners contact me at rachel at schalkboardstudio dot com with your address and I will send your little packages right out.

Thanks again for everyone who entered and stopped by to say hi!

Have a lovely evening!

xoxo,
Rachel

Giveaways are better than tofu hot dogs!

The super sweet Grateful Giveaway is still going on until Saturday. Just click here to leave a comment and be entered for a chance to win all sorts of lovelies! See post below for pics!

This picture has no correlation to the following post.
Except that Bonnie may or may not have dictated it for me.
Pup girl has skills!

I’m feeling sassy today. Maybe it’s because the last 2 weeks have been going on for sooo long, and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. A.K.A. Friday party people!

Did you know God likes to party? I’m convinced especially after reading this found in the rad book of Psalms. Psalm 47 goes something (or exactly) like this:

Psalm 47:1-2, 5-6 (NLT)

Come, everyone! Clap your hands!
Shout to God with joyful praise!
For the Lord Most High is awesome…

…He is the great King of all the earth.
God has ascended with a mighty shout.
The Lord has ascended with trumpets blaring.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises!

Isn’t that great?! God enjoys our praising and singing and partying in His name! So bring on the weekend and let’s party with the Great One!

In other news, it is still winter. Just in case you forgot. Do you have lots of snow where you’re at? We do and it is real pretty and real cold and really starting to feel like that sweater you fall in love with and go back and buy 5 more, each in a different color. Same snow, different day. Can we all say over…kill?

I miss sunshine and t-shirts. It’s on its way, though. A little birdie told me.

Yesterday, on The Rusted Chain, Beki was being really funny and random. She encouraged her readers to leave a random comment to compliment the fun. I wondered aloud (in my head, but aloud in blogland, you know what I mean) if tofu hot dogs were any good? I can’t stop thinking about them. I have such high hopes. But what if they are pure nast? I would be severely disappointed. Can anyone shed some light on my quandary? Are they good if you close your eyes and load with relish and ketchup? Should I be prepared for a texture oddity? Or should I just avoid at all costs?

Thank you for your help in this matter. Now enter to win win win!

I'm off to return 4 sweaters...

xoxo, Rachel

A Grateful Giveaway!

Another cozy day in the Schalk household. I woke up early to feed the cows and pet pig, then set out on a 12 mile hike with Bonnie, collecting sticks and mossy wonders for the hand made bird feeder I made this afternoon. I came back, made a cup of tea and took some photos of my artwork to post on Etsy. I sold 15 prints, 42 sets of cards and 8 sets of earrings today, which I got packed up to drop off at the Post. Then, I headed over to my church small group where we baked cookies for the sweeties at the nursing home and read through Beth Moore's new book, So Long Insecurity. Around 3 I headed home to tidy up the cottage and whip Mr. Schalk up a wintery meal of sweet potatoes and pork medallions. For dessert we lightened things up with hand churned lemon sorbet. It was delightful!

*Ding Dang Dong* Then my alarm went off. And I realized it's still winter and God has not opened those doors for me...yet. So off to work I went. Daydreaming and pondering as only mornings allow. I am SUCH a morning person! It's when I feel I may conquer the world and prayer is abundant and pure. I adore mornings. I'm glad they come around each day.

So, because today is a good day to be alive.

And because I really want to change my blog name.
Seeing the word cupcake every day is so tempting.

And because I should be giving Bonnie a bath instead of blogging.
Yes, she still smells like Doritos and liver. Gross!

Most of all, because I think you are all very lovely indeed...I'm hosting a giveaway!

Several sweet items that I'm sure will charm your socks off!


First off, we have these lovely divine Gloveables from Feather Your Nest. Because if you're going to clean you might as well feel gorgeous! These will do just the trick!



Next up a package of sweetheart Swankies. Just in case cleaning makes you emotional and you get all choked up. I'm here for you!



Because I love you all I am also including a divine ring by the wonderful Kristin Friesen at Sweeter Than Me. She has gorgeous jewelry and I always feel so pretty wearing her items. If you were daring you could even wear it over your Gloveables while dabbing your mascara with a Swankie because of the hormones that arise from dusting. Oh, don't even get me started! (hehe)


Finally, I am including 6 embellished Thank You cards by yours truly. Not 100% homemade because I bought the cards, but the flowers (half paper, half fabric) and scallops were my doing. A set of 6 cards with envelopes, each slightly unique. They say Thank You because I am thankful for YOU all. Sweet readers with sweet comments and funny quips. Lovely indeed!



So, here you go!

To Enter:

Leave a comment about either something you are grateful for or a daydream on your mind these days. Because spring is just around the corner and we all need things to dream about and pray for.

Contest ends this Saturday at 10pm. The winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday, February 28th. What a fun way to end (in my opinion) what ironically seems like the longest month of the year!

Have a wonderful week my friends!

xoxo, Rachel

a is for apple...chutney

What a strange weekend. It went by super fast, but feels like it lasted about 14 years. How does that happen? I honestly feel like I ate the food of my (made up) heritage about 2 weeks ago, when it was in reality it has just been a couple days. Huh. Odd.

On a completely unrelated note our house is smelling delish! Mr. Schalk is whipping up a Schalk family classic...pork tenderloin with apple chutney. I may be drooling right now. He even wrapped it in BACON before putting it in the oven. Do you know how long it's been since I've had bacon? I'll give you a hint. Way.....too....long!

I headed over to the post office on Friday and asked Mr. Schalk if he wanted anything from V&T. A fun little shop that is half wine/beer/booze-of-all-sorts and half cheese/chocolate/all-things-wonderful. It is seriously cut in half. Two separate doors and everything. I can't figure out what you do if you want to shop both. It's too much for me to comprehend. So, Mr. Schalk gave me a few things to buy while I was there. Not being too versed in adult beverages I did not buy the right items. In short, I spent about 3 x's as much moolah as he intended. He was cool with my purchases, but it was pretty funny. He said, "such and such" wine. So, I bought "such and such" wine. Not realizing there were different varieties and I had just purchased the fancier version than we usually buy. Who knew? Obviously, not me!

So, tonight we are having the fancier-than-we-usually-buy wine with our pork and apple chutney! If only the patent was released on scratch & sniff blogging. That would either be very cool or very, very scary.

Louis Armstrong on the stereo and Bonnie chillin' beside me. What could be better?! Pork and apple chutney, oven potatoes and cabbage wedges with blue cheese, that's what! It's just a matter of time, my friends. Come on over and join in. We have plenty!

I hope you all are having lovely weekends!

*update*

Oh yum! Mr. Schalk has skills!

xoxo, Rachel

Free & Easy Friday Musings

I've decided Friday nights are good nights to post about nonsense. The long week is over, most people are out, or in, with their families (yay families!) and the last place a person is going to stop by this evening is here. Phew...I'm in the clear!

Free and Easy Friday Musings brought to you by Rachel

Every few months I crave mexican food. As in, I was sitting at my desk this afternoon wanting a chicken chimi soooo bad I would have traded my right pinky finger. Almost. So, Mr. Schalk obliged and we went over to Cancun... the "new" one. New to us. Except the thing is, it never changes. A chicken chimi is a chicken chimi at the old Cancun or the new Cancun. If it weren't for the adorable 12 year old hispanic boy delivering chips, or the hope that someone would mistake me for being hispanic I might get bored with the monotony of Mexican restaurants.

Don't get me wrong, it was really good. But it's the same thing every time.

Crave refried beans and guacamole really bad.

Indulge in said cravings.

Feel like Large Marge afterward.

Do it all over again in 2-3 months.

Will I ever learn that double chins don't go away if you fuel the fire with cheese and sour cream and tortilla chips?

No, probably not.

And for the record, the gentleman who took our moolah tonight thought I was hispanic. I'm sure of it. And Mr. Schalk supported my theory.

The end.


p.s.

Fact: I always wanted to resemble America Ferrara. Sometimes I pretend I do.

Fact: No one thinks I look like her.

Fact: I live in my head on Friday nights.

And Tuesday afternoons.

Fact: I need some Scope.

The Sky is Falling Soup & A Big Thank You

Bonnie was so excited yesterday to receive a special package in the mail! It even had her name (with mom and dad's) on the address label! Oh goodness, what a delighted little pup we had on our hands when she caught a whiff of the peanut buttery goodness Grandma Rosemary had baked up.

Please, please may I have a treat?!

Oh, the agony!

Yahooey! These things are GOOD!!!! Thank you Grandma Rosemary!
xoxo and lots of licks, BonBon

Not wanting to play favorites mom and dad may have received a special treat, too. I don't know what these are "technically" called, but I call them "Pecan This and That's." Yes, I made that up. Yes, these cookies have a little of this and a little of that so it wasn't that hard to make up. Yes, I ate five. Or maybe twelve. It was Fat Tuesday, I lost count.

Thank you Rosemary for all of our treats! We loved our surprises and so did our waist lines. No regrets!

Since today is Ash Wednesday, may I say to you all, "Happy Lent!" To celebrate the start of the Lenten season we had none other than Lentil soup for dinner. It just felt right. Here is my version if you feel so inclined. It was very tasty and is going to make for a even tastier lunch tomorrow. Soup is cool that way. I'm not sure if you've caught on, but I enjoy making soups. I adore baking, but if I have to cook something I would choose soups any day of the year. So here goes...

The Sky is Falling Chicken Lentil Soup

The Cast:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound lentils (1 small bag is usually 1 lb.), rinsed and picked of the icky ones
• 2 quarts veggie broth
• 2/3 cup mini farfalle (bowtie) pasta
• 1 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise (or pepper)

The How To's:
1. Cooking the chicken can certainly be done ahead of time. However, with my easy poaching method it is a cinch to cook while you get the soup started. My easy poaching method (courtesy of the Marshall Fields cookbook) is as follows: Oven to 375 degrees. Spray pan with non stick spray or oil. Place chicken in pan, salt and pepper the chicken and fill pan with ~ 1/4 inch water. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. When done let cool for a few minutes before cubing. This helps keep the yummy juices in and saves your fingers from burning. Yikes!

Onto the soup, which as mentioned can be started while the chicken is in the oven:

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and saute until tender - 6 or 7 minutes.

2. Add tomatoes with juices. After a few minutes add the lentils, chicken, veg broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise (or pepper if you are going down that road).

3. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover for about 30 minutes. If you're in a hurry because church starts in less than 45 minutes, keep it on medium heat. After about 20 minutes, convince yourself the lentils are "done enough" and add the pasta. Cook for another 6-7 minutes and call it done.

4. Ladle into bowls and top with freshly shredded Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy with all your favorite loved ones.

Happy Lentil...I mean Lenten Season!

xoxo, Rachel

Fat Tuesday: A Really Healthy Recipe (or not)

Happy Fat Tuesday my friends! Or as it is more commonly known, Mardi Gras! We don't really celebrate Mardi Gras much up here, but how can you keep from smiling at a holiday called Fat Tuesday?! I love it!

Mr. Schalk and I do celebrate Lent each year, which begins this Wednesday, the day after Fat Tuesday. Lent is a period between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness when he was tempted by Satan and remained faithful to God. People celebrate, or don't celebrate, Lent differently. That is what makes us unique! We celebrate Lent by giving up or adding something to our daily routines that makes us think about Jesus and his Supreme Coolness. Mr. Schalk usually goes all out and gives up junk food. He is a stronger man than me. I gave up chocolate one year and had to pray really hard not to give in to the sweetness. It was tough. The point is to spend the time of "sacrifice" remembering Christ's amazing sacrifice of his life for us. It also personally provides me with a swift kick in the booty to just how easy my life is. It is very humbling.

This post is about something deep, as well.

Deep fried, that is!

Hello oil, I love you. You are bad, so very bad, but also good, so very good.

In honor of FAT TUESDAY here is a recipe the Mister and I made a couple weeks ago. The recipe is courtesy of the always lovely, always unique Giada de Laurentiis. I love Food Network and you know how I especially enjoy Giada at Home. I've made several of her recipes lately and have yet to be anything but yumified. Yes, I made that word up. It's my blog and I have free reign. Try and stop me!

Deep Fried Bocconcini with Spicey Tomato and Garlic Chutney
(Click title for recipe)
(a.k.a. the stinkin' best mozzy balls with spicy tomato chutney I ever indulged in)

Tomato Chutney - A must in my world.

Ketchup or hot sauce also work, but this chutney is super fantastic. Tomatoes dance with garlic, cumin, cayenne and ginger making my tongue happy. P.S. It took maybe five minutes to mix and the rest was spent watching it do its reduction magic on the stove. Also, I forgot to buy red wine vinegar so I mixed what I had in the pantry - white wine vinegar and sherry. Worked for me. Point of the day: Use what ya got!

Frying is fun!

All you need is a heavy bottom pot, a spider and veg oil. A fry thermometer is also helpful, but not necessary. Let's all say it together - frying is fun!

Double dipping the Mozzy balls is the secret to creating an amazing crust with a lovely amount of cheesy gooey insides.

Bocconcini means "little mouthful" in Italian. Yes, please!

Enjoy Fat Tuesday!

xoxo, Rachel

Doing my part to break every New Year's Resolution known to man. Thank you for your patronage.

Confessions and Sweetness

Keepin' it real at A Cupcake for Moose

Disclaimer: The following post contains photos solely from my phone (except for the above). Better than nothing in a pinch, but certainly lacking in the quality department. Thanks for reading...hope your eyes don't go cross. :)


This weekend will go down in the books as quite delightful! Friday night we were blessed to go out to dinner with some good friends. We had not seen them in oh-so-long, which made even more fun to catch up. I won't even tell you the caloric intake of my spinach and chicken manicotti. Anything that tastes that good (and creamy) cannot be healthy in any way, shape or form. But oh, it was very good to indulge. Unfortunately for my hips I must confess the manicotti was only the beginning of the end.

Splurge weekend galore! I am definitely going to have to go on sugar detox after this...

Freshly made heaven by the dears at The Illinois Street Emporium...

...and this...best sugar cookies in town...

...and finally these sugar honeys that Mr. Schalk surprised me with this morning!

What a sweet treat to wake up to coffee and cinnamon rolls (my fave!). Mr. Schalk was very sneaky and pulled off the surprise without even a hint of me knowing. Impressive!

In fact, the hubs pulled out all the stops this weekend with surprises and sweetness.

Yesterday, I came home from the Emporium to these beauties! Aren't they lovely? Usually Vday is pretty relaxed around our house, but this year I got spoiled!

With the roses also came a weekend filled with Jane! Oh yes, it's true. Mr. Darcy...uh I mean Mr. Schalk had a Pride & Prejudice movie party with me and even bought me her whole collection to devour. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr. Schalk, you dreamboat!


To top it off, Saturday we had a ball with my mama and daddy! Bonnie chilled with my dad and Breezy while my Mama, Mr. Schalk and I went to a fun little restaurant for lunch and then antique shopping. We bought a variety of items, most small and some...well, not so small.

Yes, we even bought the sink (but not the Moose head). It's on my lap because of the church pew in the back seat.

No,

I'm not kidding.

Although, the pew is not for us. It's for Mr. Schalk's parents who have been looking high and low for a small pew for some time now. It's very nice, and I hope they like it.

We, on the other hand, have been looking a white pedestal sink for our small guest bathroom. This one was just the style we wanted and a very good price. You never know what you'll find. We did not expect to buy a sink, but we are very pleased! The Victory Bond button was one my mama bought me a while back. I wore it to work this past week, and thought it was fun. It really has nothing to do with this weekend's antique shopping, except that it reminds me of my sweet mama and it is an antique of sorts.

I hope you all had wonderful weekends, as well! God loves you soooo much! Take heart and have a splendid week!

xoxo, Rachel

Sweet Love

My lovely bloggie friend Marie over at A Year from Oak Cottage (and English Kitchen) had a giveaway a couple weeks back. A Valentine's giveaway to be more specific. Wouldn't you know I was the blessed winner! Yahooey! Everyone loves winning a sweet treat, and who doesn't love receiving packages in the mail?! Or should I say, "parcels in the post?" hehe, no I probably shouldn't say that. It doesn't sound very "Rachel-y." Packages in the mail for me, what fun!

I was so excited to win Marie's lovely Valentine's package. I always say God has a sense of humor and perfect timing. The gift came last week when we had our icky yucky too-much-snow snowstorm! As in, the first time I shoveled a driveway. (Blessings to you up north in Minnesota, Canada and anywhere else that snow shoveling is a regular winter occurrence. Geez, I can't imagine how strong your arms must be!)

So, after I got warm and settled inside for the weekend, I quickly opened my lovely surprise package. I then devoured a few of these.

Oh my! We do not have these in the States. Or, at least in the Midwest. Oh yes, we have chocolate caramels, but not STICKY TOFFEE chocolate caramels. Heavenly bit of England's finest!


Then there were these. Sweet heart shaped cookie cutters! I did not have any heart shaped cutters for my collection, so you can imagine how excited I was! I plan on baking as soon as I get a free moment, hopefully this weekend. Marie was kind enough to include a darling cookie book that has more than sparked my brain for cookie making and decorating.


I love the owls and little daisies best!! Gorgeous! I must get these made before Liz kicks my butt on our sugar free life for a month. Appropriate that Lent begins next week. Perhaps its a sign that I should give up my sugar habits for a bit and focus on what is important, right Jesus? *wink, wink* Thank you for loving me despite the joy I get each and every time I eat a cookie, or brownie, or cupcake, or pie, or...


Finally, to top of the box o' loveliness came this little friend.

Ever seen a cuter monkey mugshot? I thought not!

The Bons was enamored, as well. In fact, it was all I could do to keep her from kissing and licking monkey face all night. She even sat on my lap to try and retrieve him from behind my back (where I had to hide him from her paws). The little punk! I let her sniff, but this cutie is mine!

Thank you Marie! You are so sweet and thoughtful! I hope you and your family have a perfectly wonderful Valentine's Day!!!

xoxo, Rachel

Grounded

We are getting another snowstorm over the next couple days. I felt that this photo would be appropriate for the occasion. Yep, I'm grounded in reality. That's me!

Does anyone know about Theodore Roosevelt? I have a growing desire to read more about him. Even though, my list of books to read is growing exponentially I am adding this to the list.



Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

Coming up soon on ACFM:

A sweet lovely gift from my English friend, Marie. (Really a bright spot to the snowstorm we got on Friday. Thanks Marie...can't wait to show the rest of my bloggie friends!)

Amazing recipes courtesy of the gorgeous and downright amazing Giada.

And how to lose 10 lbs from eating too many of Giada's creations.
A little joke there. I'm keeping the love...handles. They add "character." Yeah that's it...character!

xoxo, Rachel forever

Growing Up

La de da and good morning lovelies! I trust you slept well. If you didn't I can highly recommend humidifiers! Everyone that I recommend this to ALREADY has one and is not to impressed with my insight. Whatevs. Humidifiers for everyone!

Did I tell you that we got a snow storm yesterday? Yep! Over half a foot of the sprinkly little flakes fell on our Midwestern oasis. Not as much as poor Virginia, but pretty good for these parts. In fact, the place where I earn my keep let us off early. Woo woo! The big wigs sent out an email saying, "Get outta here," and we were gone. We don't mess around. I came home and just about got stuck in the driveway. Then, I cried.

Nah, I actually moseyed around the block and tried again. The driveway won.

So, I parked on the street and hiked up the hill...I mean driveway....inside. Then, I did something I have NEVER done in my whole life!

I shoveled the driveway!

Bonnie supervised and waited for daddy to get home. I should have taken a picture of Bonnie spazzing out when Mr. Schalk came home. She loves that man and is not afraid to show it! She's impersonating Waldo in this pic.

Excuse me while I go try to find my gold star for being a full fledged adult.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

xoxo, Rachel

Pioneer Night!

Oh friends, the Schalk household is bustling these days. Our beloved Colts are playing this weekend! Woo hoo! We are so proud of you!

What's up Peyton?!

Nice catch Austin!

Dallas is the MAN!

Hi Pierre! We like you!

Go Colts! I can hardly wait until Superbowl Sunday! (Photos from colts.com).

In honor of our Colts making it to the Superbowl we decided to declare last night Pioneer Night. That could have been why, or it could have been a fun idea from Mr. Schalk. I'll let you decide. It also could have been called Colonial Night. Basically, a night of getting back to the basics.

Mr. Schalk and I often talk about what life was like without heating systems or...running water. Yikes! We both admire the simplicity and the seeming alignment of priorities back then. Every time period has it's ups and downs, but it is fun to daydream sometimes. What was life like?

So, just for kicks we turned out all the lights, started a fire and lit the candles. We did not turn them on again until this morning.


We put away the computers, the cell phones and the noise. We were going to read, but it was dark. Really dark! We were going to play games, but didn't know what to play. So we sat and enjoyed the peace. We chatted and laughed and rested. It was extremely calming and fun to do something different (and free!).


While Mr. Schalk stoked the fire, Bonnie and I sat and kept warm. We didn't go to the extremes and turn off the heat or roast a turkey on a spit (although we talked about it). We just slowed down and enjoyed the evening.

Then I whipped out my camera and took pictures of the fire.

That is what Pioneer Night is all about, right?

What kinds of fun and goofy things do you and your family do on a weeknight? Nacho night? Wear your clothes backwards night? I'd love to hear your fun stories!

xoxo, Rachel