Till Then Smile Often

Random Acts of Kindness + Asking for Advice

When I went to Christmas By The Sea in December I asked my best friends and Mom advice on my blog. What I should continue to do, what I should change, any suggestions for new posts and my friend/sister Lynn suggested a Random Acts of Kindness series. She felt it would fit in with the positivity of my blog and who I am as a person. I loved this idea and I want to bring it into the new year and not just during Christmas. So I am planning on starting a series. I am not sure if I will do this weekly or monthly but I will be sharing different Random Acts of Kindness either done by me or by others. I might even turn it into a link-up, we will see.

Here are some of the Acts I will be completing in the coming weeks and months:

1. Bring Coffee to a local Hospitals Nursing Station

2. Knit hats for Cancer Patients and Preemies

Angel Babies Blog: Knit Hat Patterns (and a BIG link to other great stuff)

SOURCE

3. Pass Out bags to the Homeless or Drop Off at a shelter (bags will include toiletry items)

4. Make fleece jackets and donate to the Animal Shelter

SmartPak Fleece Dog Coat - thinking of getting this as a liner for under Finn's waterproof jacket.

SOURCE

5. Tape a few bucks to the outside of a Redbox  so they can enjoy a free movie or two

6. Place rolls of quarters on top of washing machines in a laundromat

So here is where you all come in….

What Random Acts of Kindness would you perform? 

I am still working on a title for the series but I came up with these 2 designs for a possible button. What do you think, prefer one over the other? Have another name you would use?change

Option One

Change-1

 Option Two

I would love your feedback and opinion.

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Hump Day Blog Hop

Happy Hump Day!! Since this is the first full week of the New Year I am sure everyone is glad for it to be mid-week. The temps here have been in the single digits with wind chill making it in the negatives all I have wanted to do is hibernate. The good thing about that is that last night I wrote down about 15-20 recipes I want to do in the coming weeks and months.

Today is the last day to enter the 1 Year Blogiversary Giveaway!
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To make this day hopefully go a little faster I am co-hosting the Hump Day Blog Hop! The Rules of the Hop: 1) “The Hump Day” blog hop button be displayed anywhere on your blog page or a specific entry with a link back to the host and/or the weekly co-host. 2) You don’t have to follow me, but in the words of Blake Shelton: it’d sure be cool if ya did. 3) But please follow the co-host. I love helping and promoting these amazing women in the blog world! 4) Mingle with your fellow Bloggers.

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The Hump Day Blog Hop

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Rustic Tart – Spinach Pear and Brie

I talked a little bit yesterday about how I come up with the recipes I put together and now you get to enjoy the fruits of that labor. Not only that but since one of my childhood friends isn’t a fan of Spinach I tested out a version with Broccoli so you get two recipes in one! Enjoy!

Rustic Tart - Spinach Pear and Brie

INGREDIENTS: 8 oz chopped spinach , thawed and squeezed dried  (or 1-1/2 cups of pre-cooked broccoli cuts) ~ 6 oz Brie (3 oz cubed – 3 oz chopped fine) ~ 1/4 cup sunflower seeds ~ 1/4 cup vegetable broth ~ Salt and Pepper ~ 1 cup pears, cubed (canned) ~ 1 refrigerated Pie Crust ~ tomato slices (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Bring your pie crust to room temperature. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place spinach (or Broccoli), finely chopped brie, sunflower seeds, vegetable broth, 1/4 Tsp salt, 1/8 Tsp pepper and pears in a microwaveable glass bowl, stir to combine.

Adapted from a Recipe found in America’s Test Kitchen Quick Cookbook

Rustic Tart - Spinach Pear and Brie

Rustic Tart - Spinach Pear and Brie

Heat for approximately 1 minute to heat throughout, stir to combine and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and place pie crust on top. Spread spinach mixture on top of the pie crust leaving about a 1 inch border all the way around.

Rustic Tart - Spinach Pear and Brie

Place the tomato slices on top of the spinach mixture.

Rustic Tart - Spinach Pear and Brie

Fold edges of the dough toward the center, for a decorative touch pleat every 3 inches.

Rustic Tart - Spinach Pear and Brie

Place the 3 oz of cubed brie on top of the tomato slices with the rind facing up.

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Bake for 20-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and brown in spots. Rotate the sheet halfway through baking. Let cool slightly and serve in slices.

Rustic Tart - Spinach Pear and Brie

NOTE: I purposefully made this a meatless tart but it would be great with any meat mixed into the spinach mixture. Any meat used should be pre-cooked.

Rustic Tart – Broccoli Pear and Brie:

Rustic Tart - Broccoli Pear and Brie

Rustic Tart - Broccoli Pear and Brie

 Hope you enjoy!

Linking up with Jessica and Ashley.

and with Nikki from Chef in Training for Tuesday Talent Show .
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Snow Advisory

I was lucky enough to have Friday off due to the impending snow storm we were expecting. Does this make anyone else but me feel like a kid waiting to find out if school was closed?? I want to say dreams of playing in the snow danced in my head but really it was dreams of not leaving my PJ’s and lots of hot cocoa. The one downside meant lots of shoveling (I even helped my neighbor shovel her side of the driveway) and a sore back i.e I am old and I was out of commission the rest of Friday and Saturday.

weekendFriday: Included lots of shoveling, and hot cocoa. I got in a lot of reading and started watching White Collar on Netflix. Why have I not watched this show before now? It is so good. Seamus was staring out the window at the snow falling. He has a love hate relationship with snow, being so short he can’t get on it but when he does he loves flipping it in the air.

Saturday: I am not really sure how I come up with recipes to make, sometimes it is just an ingredient and a meal time (breakfast, lunch, dinner)  and I build from that idea. Sometimes I build from pulling elements from three different sources. Funny thing this week, one of the ingredients came from the index when I searched for pie crust and saw the word pear. In that sucker goes into the recipe. Welcome to my brain.

I headed out to do some shopping (I needed a new Winter coat and it was in my clothing budget – no spend January is still in effect) and then to the grocery store and the library. Emily from Beauty and the Greek recommended this Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer in her favorite things post on Friday and I just had to give it a try. It did not disappoint. It is more mocha than Peppermint but still so yummy! I finished off the night watching more White Collar and knitting.

Sunday: I finally finished the cowl/neck warmer I was working on. It was a tough one, I prefer to mindlessly knit but this one has a lot of pattern changes so it made it hard for me to get into this one. I really just wanted to finish it. I like how it came out though. Seamus was pouting a little from being inside all day so I took him for a walk but then I had to carry him home for a bit because his feet got too cold and he started to whimper! #littledogproblems #thatswhatyougetforjumpinginthesnow

I also put together this rustic tart that I am going to share tomorrow.

tart

How was your weekend?

Did you get snow where you live?

Linking up with Leeann from Join the Gossip

and

still being [molly]

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Favorite Things – Health and Beauty Edition

Happy Friday!! It is extra happy since our office is closed due to snow. This means I get to lounge around in my PJ’s all day and have a 3 day weekend. What’s not to to be happy about? Hope the day goes quick for everyone so you can go enjoy the weekend!

Favorite Things - Health and Beauty

 

1. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation – I originally learned of this product from Aubrey of The Kinch Life when she did a tutorial on contouring and highlighting. It is a really creamy texture and blends to a smooth finish!

2. It’s a 10 miracle leave in treatment – This is a little on the pricey side as the smaller 4 oz bottle is $20 but it lasts longer that I would have thought. It works great as a leave in and also a heat protector.

3. NYC Trio Eye Shadow in Long Beach Sands – I receive this from Influenster in the Jolly VoxBox and I have worn it everyday since. I love the colors as it is pretty neutral so I can wear it to work. I can add a smoky gray or black to it to transition it to a night look easily. * I received this product complimentary from Influenster for review, but all opinions are my own and I am using daily.

4. Fitbit One – I got this for Christmas as a replacement for my Fitbit Ultra I bought last year. I was a little disappointed my Ultra only lasted a year after the case cracked but the One has a rubber case to protect it from sweat so I am hoping it lasts longer. I love that it syncs through Bluetooth/Wifi where my Ultra had to be plugged into my PC which meant I almost never sync’d it. I love being able to track my steps and set a daily goal so I know when I am slacking.

5. Mac Fix+ – This really is used as a finishing spray. I really like it in the winter because it gives my face a smooth finish and helps to hydrate my skin. I spray it onto a foundation brush and then apply to my face. It really smooths out your foundation in places where it may not have blended all the way and sets it in place so your foundation lasts longer.

What are some of your favorite things?

 

Beauty and the Greek
 
THE GOOD LIFE BLOG
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