Rustic Luxe Style: Before & After

New looks in the store this week--
I like taking Before's and After's
and had just about cleared this mantel
when I remembered to take a
Before of it:

AFTER:

This chest was being painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

last week,

it turned out so beautifully.

Truly changed the whole vibe of the room, don't you think?

Change is constant at Shades of Amber,

when one piece leaves,

we jump on the opportunity

to move things around

and introduce new pieces to show off!

 Rustic Luxe is really simple--
combining simple things with luxurious--
Think, "burlap meets cashmere";
anything goes really as long as it ends with comfort.

 All of the wood furniture you see,
has been refinished with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint--the side tables, nesting tables, dining tables,
even the chandeliers!

Next Week:
The Bedroom

Momza's (So Easy) Spring Rolls

You want easy, fresh and yummy?

Easy Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 head cabbage

3 stalks celery

 5 carrots

8oz. fresh mushrooms

salt

vegetable/canola oil

Rice Stix

Spring Roll Wrappers

Fresh Mint

Asian condiments

 

brown chicken breasts with a little salt

 Gather your veggies, wash them.
This is the easy part:
Get out your food processor,
use the long blade cutting edge:

 Cut cabbage in half, then in 1/4s

 Feed into food processor, along with mushrooms and celery

 Then flip the cutting edge over for the grated side:

 Shred carrots

 Finish browning the chicken:

 Remove cutting edge and put in centerblade for food processing:

 Cut chicken into chunks, and hit HI for a couple of seconds until chicken looks shredded:

 Mix veggies into large fryer or wok:

 Toss until mixed and cook until a little soft

 Add cooked chicken:

 Now get out fresh mint leaves;

 And Rice stix and Rice Spring Roll Skins:

If you want, you can soak a handful of rice stix in hot water for a few minutes until it resembles pasta:

 Get out your asian condiments: soy sauce, plum sauce, peanut sauce, red chili sauce:

 To cook Rice Stix:
Put a little canola oil into a frying pan,
heat it up, as directed,
and carefully lay the rice stix in the hot oil,
it will cook super fast...like 3 seconds!
Remove it and place on plate.

 Get out your rice wrappers:

 Lay in a pie dish filled 1/2 with water for about a minute,
until very soft and pliable:

 This one isn't ready, just about another minute:

 Spread it on a plate,
add noodles if you want:

 Add chicken-veggie mixture

 Top with mint leaves;

Roll like a burrito and enjoy!
p.s. there was too much food inside of this wrapper to roll into a small spring roll, so cut the amount to about half of what you see pictured...THEN, roll it and dip it!

My People Are Your People, Too

This has been a rough week 
for my people,
Americans.

Our hearts jumped to our throats
when we saw the Boston Marathon bombings...
how could this happen again?
we ask our selves.

How has this affected my family?
Well, we never turned on the main floor TV this week
with the news channels that are covering the events
in Boston.
I don't want my kids to deal with this terror...
it's just too much.
Kent and I watched a bit here and there this week,
but even then,
didn't want to know every minute detail of the investigation.
The images alone are too powerful to dwell on...
my people in Boston are your people too,
and when our people hurt,
we hurt.

This morning I woke to the fertilizer explosion in West, Texas.
Not only is the plant obliterated,
but the neighborhood that surrounded it.
Our people in West, Texas are hurting this morning.
So much pain.

Every morning I wake up wondering if Korea has fired a nuclear missile off yet...
I have people in Japan.
You have people there too.
We heard that Norad was a long-range goal of Korea's targets...
I can see it from where I'm sitting.

What makes our country a great one,
isn't our politicians--
it is the resolute, strong citizens--
Our People--
the ones who carry the burden of care
on their shoulders--
the medically-trained, 
the firefighters,
the ones who rush into the bomb-scene
instead of away from it,
the men and women who run into burning buildings
and believe they can make a difference.
It's our teachers who don't "clock out" 
when the school bell rings.


So many good, loving people in our country
that inspire me to be better.

Our people are hurting.
Prayers and Love for my people in Boston,
for my people in Texas...
my heart is yours today.

"There is nothing wrong with America 

that cannot be cured by 

what is right with America."

Easy Sopapillas!

 All right so who doesn't love homemade sopapillas?

This is an easy and yummy treat.

Ingredients:

Quaker Tortilla Mix

Milk

Oil 

Powdered Sugar

Follow the directions on the package of mix;

2 c mix + 1/2 c milk

Mix until it forms a ball.

 Now the secret to success is the temperature of the oil: 400o.

Use a thermometer. Don't guess.

 Put the oil in the pan of your choosing--I use my trusty wok.

 Dust the counter with flour.

 That's my dough ball.

 Cover it in the bowl for 20-30 minutes.  

(I've left it longer and even refrigerated it overnight bc I ran out of time to make them--

so just let the dough sit out until room temp. and continue on as directed.)

Take out the dough and knead it for 5 times on the floured surface.

Cut it in 1/2...makes it easier to manage.

Put the other 1/2 back in the bowl & cover to keep from drying out.

 Roll it out into a thin square, then cut the uneven edges off. I use my pizza cutter.

 These are about 1/8" thick.

 Once the oil is 400o slide one of the squares into it, gently. 

DO NOT DROP IN--AVOID SPLATTER. 

It will truly burn you. 

ALSO: Make sure children are not near you while doing this,

or any other distraction.

 Using a slotted spoon or tongs, turn each sopapilla over once...

they cook very quickly--in just seconds, really. 

So only work with a couple at a time.

How to tell when to turn: It will "puff up" when it's ready to be turned.  

Some puff up more than others, so don't cook longer than a few seconds for each one.

When finished layer on a napkin/paper towel covered plate and top with powdered sugar if desired.

Yum!

Make the 2nd batch the same way.  Check the temp of the oil to make sure it's not too hot. If it is, just turn down the heat level while you roll out the dough.  It should cool off in that time and be just right or thereabouts.

*Don't forget to put the hot pan of oil on the back burner of your stove until it cools before you dispose of it. And do not put it down your sink.

Enjoy!

What My Children Know About Faith

"Hey, Momza..." I hear on the other end of the phone.
It's my oldest son calling long distance from Boise.
"Hey Buddy! How are you?" I reply.
"You sure? You sound sick.", concern in his voice.
"Yeah; just a cold. I sound worse than I feel, really." I say through a stuffed-up nose and rattling voice.
"Oh okay, well you sound terrible." he laughs then continues...
"So, I'm calling you to tell you about something going on with Tish and me--got a minute?"

So he fills me in on an opportunity he and his wife were presented with--
it sounds like a blessing if they get it, he tells me.
I agree with him. It really does.
"So, Tish and I are really praying for this, Mom. We're fasting too. We're wondering
if you'd pray for us too?"

****

Easter Evening, sitting at the dinner table
we go around sharing our nightly answers
to the same questions:
*Best part of your day?
*Something you learned?
*Something you did for someone else?
After that, I told the children I had one more question for them:

"What have I taught you about Jesus Christ?"

Ari piped up, arm raised: "That He listens to your prayers."
"Anything else?" I asked.
Joseph added, "Jesus always answers your prayers. Like, ALWAYS." he smiles.
"That it?" I prodded.
"Hmmm, yeah that should do it for today." he said.
Ari nodding, "That's the most important thing to know, right?"
****

Hi Mom,
I figured I'd best write you a note & let you know how very grateful I am for the decisions you've made throughout your life & mine. Because of your morals, ethics & ability to love and look for truth, I get to be here. I get to walk the grounds that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Moroni, and Joseph Smith have been in. Every day I get to testify of small moments in time that changed the history of the world, that made it possible for us to live in blissful happiness with our families and Heavenly Father for eternity.  Thank you. Thank you for your testimony, thank you for holding onto me while I was pulling away.  As Joseph Smith said to his mother in returning from the grove; I too can say, "All is well, I have learned for myself."  I love you ~Nana
*****

"Mom!" Dara shouts as she runs upstairs to find me.
"Up here!" I shout from the loft office.
"Mom! I got IN! I got IN!---" she says breathless.
Waving her acceptance letter from the college she applied to--
tears just start dropping like confetti from heaven.
"I prayed SO hard. I can't believe it!!"
"Me too. Me too. Oh I am so happy for you, Day!"
*****

HI Mom, 
I finally got your cards this week. I absolutely loved the leaves from the front yard! Also the blueberry skies card, literally made me laugh out loud. Thank you for making this week less sucky. Today is the 12th and I'm still currently sick. No voice, been running a fever & finally puked my guts out last night.  I can't say I saw this trial coming.  But I've had alot of time to study and think. lately I just list things I'm grateful for. Today I am grateful for you again. I woke up missing you so I sprayed some of the Sunflower perfume on & have been thinking of you alot.  I'm not quite sure how you've made it this far in life & are as happy, loving, serving & sane as you are.  Life is hard.  I've been reading the Book of Mormon for hours upon end lately, when I got to King Benjamin this time I couldn't help but love & adore his goodness because you love & adore his goodness. Every word he speaks is filled with an immense love for his people. He just loves.  I can't wait to meet him, for now I hope to be able to emulate the love he has for his people & serve the people here as well as he served his people back then. 
I'm grateful for a mom that sees needs in others & steps up to serve them....you've raised service-oriented children & I'm grateful.  Apparently not all mom are like you, it's odd to see how many opportunities are missed by other sisters to serve merely because they don't know how. Your example has made an impression and a difference.  On another note, the leaves are changing here. There are trees that are the brightest natural red I've ever seen. Some have this firey orange with pink tints. I swear some of the trees don't even look real.  It's beautiful Mom, just beautiful. I cannot wait for you to see it. I really have no room to complain.  I'm so very blessed to have an opportunity to serve the Lord and His people, to love & be loved by those I serve with & around, and to have a mother as wonderful as you.  You are amazing.  I love you.  ~Nana

****