Oranges and Yellows…
Citrusy shades of tangerine and lemon,
Sunrises and sunsets,
Joy and warmth.
The colors of summer…
Sweet summertime.
Happy Summer Sunday!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Year: 2016
Rustic Barn Weddings
Gable Farm in Watercolor – 10×14
It’s June, and wedding season is in full swing!
Rustic barn weddings have become very popular in our area. As a matter of fact, our son and daughter-in-law had a barn wedding three years ago next month. I had fun creating this watercolor version of Gable Farm, which was their wedding site and a place they have now turned into a venue for others to hold their weddings and receptions.
Colleen has been busy stocking our McKinneyx2Designs Etsy Shop with fun rustic wedding signs made from reclaimed pallet wood. They are super reasonably priced from $10-14.
Wouldn’t these be great little accents for a rustic barn wedding?
If you or someone you know is looking for rustic wedding signs, hope you will check out our ETSY shop.
We have lots of other great rustic home and nursery decor, as well as some of my watercolor art, prints and greeting cards.
Happy Wedding Season and Happy Weekend!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Best Ever Meatballs
Who doesn’t love a great meatball?! Perfect little rounded balls of meat and cheese and bread and seasonings can be simmered in a rich tomato or marinara sauce served over a heaping plate of pasta.
They can be served on a soft Italian roll smothered in melted mozzarella or provolone cheese.
They can be made into great party appetizers when simmered in a sauce of grape jelly or cranberries and chili sauce and eaten from tasseled toothpicks.
They can even be simmered in a cream and beef Swedish Meatball broth served over buttery egg noodles or eaten just as is from a fork for a tiny delectable delight.
Sometimes I just crave a nice plateful of spaghetti and meatballs. When I do, this is my go-to best-ever perfect meatball recipe. I’ve been known to substitute veal for the turkey or simply divide the recipe’s meats half and half with beef and pork. It just depends on what I have on hand.
This week’s had turkey, beef, and sausage simmered in a spicy Puttanesca Sauce filled with chunky tomatoes, black and kalamata olives, capers, onions and garlic. (Trader Joes’s makes a great base sauce that I “doctor up.”) I served it atop whole wheat thin spaghetti, and we sprinkled with fresh, salty shaved Parmesan cheese.
If you are looking for the best-ever, perfect meatball recipe (that is baked, not fried) – look no further. Here it is!
Mangia! Mangia!
Best Ever Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 lb ground Italian pork sausage
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp dried parsley
- 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 1/2 cups tap water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine ground turkey, ground beef and sausage in a large bowl. Add minced garlic, eggs, salt, pepper, cheese, and parsley. Combine thoroughly. Add bread crumbs and water, and combine well using your hands.
Shape into meatballs. You can make whatever size you like, but I make mine about 1 inch in diameter.
Line meatballs in a single layer on a baking stone (I love to use my Pampered Chef Stoneware Bar Pan) or any other shallow baking pan with sides.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes until browned and cooked through.
If you are making with sauce for spaghetti and meatballs, add fully cooked meatballs to sauce and simmer for several hours.
Leftovers make great meatball hoagies when served on fresh Italian rolls and topped with mozzarella or provolone cheese.
You can also use as cocktail meatballs by simmering in a sauce made from 1 32-oz jar of grape jelly or 2 cans of Jellied Cranberry Sauce and 2 12-oz jars of Chili Sauce.
No matter what sauce you like (or don’t) with your meatballs, this recipe will provide you with the best-ever perfect meatball.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Journey
“The Journey” Abstract Acrylic
The Journey
Difficult roads
might lead to
beautiful destinations.
Cherish the moments.
Enjoy the journey.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
A Charlie Guest Post: Malaphors
Charlie Stopping to Smell the Daisies
On a little walk the other day,
Mom made me pose for a
“Stop and Smell the Daisies” photo.
Now, I know I am only a dog,
but isn’t the saying supposed to be
“Stop and Smell the Roses?”
Daisies don’t even really smell that good.
I guess they are kinda pretty if you’re into flowers
and that kind of stuff….
But when on walks,
I’m a sniffin’ for rabbits and chipmunks
and squirrels and deer.
I’d rather smell what another dog
left behind for me to find.
Now THAT is a smell worth stopping for!
Daisies are for “pushing up,”
and that is NOT
a place I want to go.
I think Mom better
“Wake up and smell the Bacon!”
(which I think smells much better than COFFEE!)
Hey – Did you ever imagine a handsome dog like me
was smart enough to understand malaphors too – eh?!
Heck – Mom just learned that word herself!
Woofs & Wags,
Charlie
Charlie is an adopted dog with brown eyes and a white-tipped tail who brings joy and laughter to his family and friends. Charlie is a gifted writer, raving food critic, cat, chipmunk, and donut lover, and exceptionally photogenic model. Some of his best friends are Mike the UPS Man, Cliff the Mailman, and ANYONE who delivers pizza to the house. If you would like to read more guest posts by Charlie, simply type “Charlie” into the Search box at the top right hand corner of this link: https://lifeinbetween.me/. If you would enjoy a companion like Charlie, please consider pet adoption.
Celebrating Summer Solstice
Mixed Media watercolor and acrylic magenta and gold – “Summer Solstice” – 9×12 300lb Arches Cold Press
I was splashing around with my paints this past weekend and decided to try mixing it up a bit by starting with watercolor and throwing on some acrylic to create some mixed media.
I really had no idea where I was going with this when I started… it simply evolved.
And then I realized maybe Mother Nature was speaking to me preparing me for the beginning of Summer Solstice which arrived in the Northern Hemisphere yesterday, June 20, 2016 at 6:34 pm EDT.
I think it started as a flower and ended up looking a bit like the sun – so I decided it is my Mixed Media Summer Solstice!
With summer beginning here, that means our friends in the Southern Hemisphere have just begun Winter Solstice, so may this piece be a reminder of warmth and flowers and sunshine to those entering or ending the season.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Getting Geared up for World Watercolor Month in July
I’m very excited to partner with my buddy, Charlie @ Doodlewash to announce July 2016 will be the first-ever annual World Watercolor Month!
I’m so proud of Charlie for making this happen! Over 18,000 applications are submitted each year for “official days” to celebrate, and only 30 are added to the calendar. Despite the odds, Charlie’s idea made the cut, and it is official! July is now and forever World Watercolor Month!
So what does it mean? July will be a month to inspire people to paint with watercolor (watercolour, aquarelle) while raising awareness for the importance of art and creativity in the world. Anyone can join in on the celebration – from master watercolorists to artists just starting out with watercolor! You can play along via WordPress or on Facebook. If you create a watercolor painting you’d like to share, simply tag your art with #WorldWatercolorMonth during the month of July!
And, best of all, in this first year of the celebration, you’ll be part of raising awareness for children in need of art supplies and art education around the globe!
MAKE A CHILD’S DREAM COME TRUE!
Research has shown that art education has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the learning field across socioeconomic boundaries. Unfortunately, arts education programs are too often the first to be cut when cuts are necessary, so more and more children each year are missing out on the important benefits of art classes.
With your help, we can reverse this trend. To make this first ever month-long global celebration of watercolor affect real change, we’ve teamed up with The Dreaming Zebra Foundation, a charity providing support so that children and young adults are given an equal opportunity to explore and develop their creativity in the arts. Click here to shop the World Watercolor Month wish list of art supplies for kids! (hosted by Dick Blick)
The Dreaming Zebra Foundation is unique in that they provide an art recycling program that is free to the public. Reusable art & music supplies that would otherwise be discarded, along with new or unsold materials, are donated by individuals and businesses and matched to recipients who have requested those materials for arts education purposes in communities around the world.
Have some beginner watercolor sets you no longer use, but still have some life in them? You can also support the cause, by simply sending your reusable art supplies to:
THE DREAMING ZEBRA FOUNDATION
5331 SW MACADAM AVE., STE. 258-522
PORTLAND, OR 97239
With your help, we can raise awareness for art education worldwide and provide much needed support for kids in need. Art is an important aspect of child development and paves the way for a successful future. What would the world be without art? Together, let’s make sure we never find out!
I am personally excited to delve a little deeper with a bit more discipline into this art form that captured my heart and soul about a year ago and that I still consider myself a very new student of. It has brought such great joy to my life – not only in the activity of creating, sharing, expressing (and even selling!), but also in the wonderful friends (like Charlie) who I have made along the way in this wonderful art journey.
I hope you will join in on the fun in any way you like – whether it be by painting and sharing, contributing, or simply by enjoying viewing what we all share at #WorldWatercolorMonth.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Life’s Curve Balls
Life’s Curve Balls
They often sneak up or crash in on us,
and they can try to trick us up.
but if we know how to respond,
and if we ready ourselves for them…
they can result in home runs!
Embrace life’s curve balls.
Father’s Day makes me think of the curve balls life can throw us,
but it also reminds me of how special life can be
if we take that swing – in a leap of faith – and give it our all.
Happy Father’s Day Dad – What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life! ❤
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Fresh Peach & Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Do you know a muffin man? One that might live on your lane?
If so, you might want to make him this yummy Fresh Peach and Blueberry Streusel Muffin recipe this weekend for Father’s Day brunch.
After all, we would be muffin without our dads – right?
Silly nursery rhymes and puns aside…. I was excited to try out some new silicone muffin “pans” I got on clearance at Tuesday Morning a while back, and they did not disappoint.
No need for liners, the muffins popped right out, and clean up was SUPER easy!
The pair of baking pans I bought were slightly odd-shaped I came to find out when I tried to stand the finished little buggers up. They are wider at the top and quite narrow at the bottom. (They are likely shaped for some other baking delicacy, but the muffins still tasted AMAZING even though they could stand up straight on their own! Hence my inspiration for the picture to the left.)
These muffins are bursting with fresh fruit flavor and moist from the addition of creamy vanilla yogurt and milk.
And who can pass up a crumbly topping swirled with icing?!
Peaches are just coming in season around our neck of the woods. Mixing the tart burst of blueberries with the sweetness of ripe peaches is a muffin combination that is sure to make for happy tummies when you bake these for your family or friends or even just for you!
Fresh Peach and Blueberry Streusel Muffins*
Ingredients:
Muffin Batter:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup half and half or milk
- 1 cup peaches, peeled chopped
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
Crumb Topping:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) softened butter
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons half and half or milk or Italian Sweet Creamer*
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray muffin pan with nonstick spray.
For muffin batter, beat butter on high speed in electric mixer until smooth, about 1 minute. Add sugars and beat on high until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, yogurt, and vanilla, scrapping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat until mixture is combined. Add, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and beat 30 seconds or so to combine. Add flour and mix until well combined. Add milk and mix until no lumps remain.
Add a teaspoon of flour to the blueberries to coat and do the same to the peaches. This helps them to no all sink to the bottom of the batter when baking.
Fold fruit gently into batter.
For the crumb topping, combine sugars, cinnamon, and flour. Mix in softened butter until thick and crumbly. You can use a spoon or fork or even your fingers.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top or even a little over. Divide the crumb topping among each of the muffin cups, crumbling with your hands to make some big chunks.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425, then lower temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.
Make glaze by mixing the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla together. Drizzle over muffins when most of the way cool.
*slightly adapted from SpoonfulofNature
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Fun Flowers
I recently made this “fun flower” watercolor painting inspired by a stamp I had seen for my BFF Jill’s birthday.
Jill loves bright colors, but is not a fan of cut flowers, because when you cut them, they die.
I thought a painting of brightly colored flowers that can’t die would be a fitting gift.
I am also thinking of another BFF today – my friend Bubby, whose father recently passed away and whose funeral we attended this week. And then I learned of another BFF – my longest time, dearest friend, Janet, whose Dad was hospitalized yesterday.
I hope these flowers will cheer them for even a moment in their time of grief and worry.
May these flowers brighten your day in some small way.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 