Let's go to a Masquerade

You probably know by now that I love Walt Disney World, its no secret, I have been there probably too many times but really who cares its magical and fun!  What you may not know is my favorite park is Epcot, I can spend all day in that park just walking around enjoying the countries..and Soarin' or course :) 

Last year we spent Christmas week at Walt Disney World and it was a great vacation, you know the kind where you have been saving up so you can spend whatever you want and not worry about it, yeah that kind.  So we were in Italy after a delicious dinner and a glass of great Italian wine and we see these masks.  Ok so its not really the first time we have seen them but its the first time I have wanted to own one.  I LOVED the purple one and had to get it, Joe didnt want to get just one so he picked the gold one.  We bring home our treasures and I think to myself "Wow self this was a great idea to buy masksm but where are you going to put them?"  So these beautiful masks sat in their box for a good 3 months before the idea struck me...SHADOW BOX!!  I found this great 3 inch deep shadow box at Michaels and got to work.  The back of the shadow box was an ugly burlap and I couldnt have that behind my masks so I got 2 sheets of scrapbook paper and some awesome bejewled thumbtacks to stick it in place.  I also used those thumbtacks to keep the ribbon of the gold mask in place.  I did run into a snag with these masks though, the purple one was a hair too big for the frame, so we actually punctured holes in the back of the frame where the corners of the mask goes so we could make it fit.  The back of the frame cant close all the way at the top because of that, but you cant tell by looking at it!

I love the shadow box but there is too much space at the bottom, so on this past Christmas trip to Disney we bought this awesome black and silver mask to go with it (apparently you design in odd numbers...who knew!).  I love this mask, its unique and reminds me of music...unfortunately its bigger than even the purple mask and I have to get a new shadow box only this time I have to find a 5inch think frame...let me tell you I have been searching for a month now and havent found anything.  We are probably going to have to make one so there may be a shadow box frame DIY coming you way soon.  Until then, that mask has to sit in the office until I make it's forever home :(

What have you done to display your keepsakes from trips?  I've shared my pins and now masks (Harry Potter soon to come), and clearly you can see I favor shadow boxes, but what do you do, I would love to hear from you!

Project Housewife Out

Holiday Spirit

Well we're back from our Disney Christmas vacation and missing the holiday spirit that only Disney can create.  For those of you who have never been to Walt Disney World during the holidays you are really missing out.  The main reason we got (other than the beautiful Castle decked in lights) is for the Osborne Family Spectale of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios.  These lights are truly spectacular!  The Imagineers at Hollywood Stuidos start putting these lights up in August and it is well worth all the blood, sweat and tears Im sure they put into it.  I would post a video of the show, but Im not sure I can because of the music they use and licensing and all that, but here is a link to the Wikepedia page for some info (I know Wikepedia sucks but its helpful when the family doesnt have their own website.) Click Here for the link.
The Osborne family, well Jennings really always inspires me.  He was a simple man that just had the spirit of Christmas and a love for his daughter.  What started out as a simple request for Christmas lights on their house, turned into buying the houses on either side of their house to add more Christmas lights.  Eventually complains were made to the city and Jennings had to take them down, but fortunately for the world Disney stepped in and gave them permenant residence in Hollywood Studios.  What inspires me most about Jennings is that he was so giving, not only did he had the light show, but he also helped feed the hungry with annual barbeques and generous donations.  This man inspires me to be better and do better.  Maybe one day I will have so many lights my neighbors will have a ceist and decist order aginst me.  Maybe one day my display will go down in infamy and not just because of the display but because of all the good I did in life.  That day isnt here yet, but maybe one day  :)


Here is a picture of the lights, and this is just a taste, when the show is going you dont move because you cant, the lights mezmorize you can root you to the ground.  I stood and watched these lights for an hour and still felt like it wasnt enough.  Ok so I have an obsession with Christmas and Christmas lights, but can you blame me they are awesome!

This is just one shot of the street, but I think it gives a good idea of how cool the lights are.  And because I know you need to see it, here is the beautiful castle that I just cant get enough of.

Project Housewife Out!!

Foodie Friday!

HAPPY FRIDAY!  Im especially happy about this Friday because tomorrow we leave for Walt Disney World and the Christmas madness that only Disney can do!  So next week my posts will be about the fabulous expolits of our time in Disney.  We are going to be visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter also so prepare for the amazingness of that too.  In case you didnt know, I am obsessed with Harry Potter and Disney...I wish the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would have been bigger but Universal (which I loath) wasnt as smart as Disney and doesnt have acers of land that they can expand on.  Oh well, thats why Walt Disney World will always be the best!  Ok enough of that tangent, on to bigger and better things...FOOD!!!  Today I am going to share with you a Weight Watchers recipe that I happen to love.  Actually I love all the recipes that I have made from Weight Watchers, but this one is amazing.  This recipe calls for pork, but I dont love pork so we use chicken, but thats easy enough to figure out so here is the recipe.

Sweet and Sour Pork

(A Weight Watchers Recipe)

Points: 7               Servings: 6          Prep Time: 20min             Cook Time: 45min         Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• cooking spray (1 spray)
• 1 1/2 lbs lean pork tenderloins, cut into thin strips
• 15 ounces canned unsweetened pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 2 medium green peppers, sliced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 3 cups cooked brown rice, kept warm

Instructions

Heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.

Add pork and cook until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes; remove from skillet and set aside. Drain any remaining fat from skillet.

Drain pineapple chunks, reserving juice; set aside.

Combine water, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, salt, soy sauce and reserved pineapple juice in a small bowl; add to skillet and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add pork; cook covered over low heat until meat is tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Add peppers, onion and pineapple chunks; cook 5 minutes. Serve over rice. Yields about 1 cup of pork and 1/2 cup of rice per serving.

Nutrition

Calories 343.4,Calories from Fat 44,13%,Total Fat 4.9 g,7%,Saturated Fat 1.5 g,7%,Cholesterol 73.7 mg,24%,Sodium 348.4 mg,14%,Total Carbohydrate 47.7 g,15%,Dietary Fiber 3.7 g,15%

Sugars 18.1 g72%, Protein 26.7 g 53%

I love this recipe and you can have so much fun with this.  When Im feeling lazy, I get the frozen 3 bell pepper mix from kroger and use that rather than the fresh stuff, or you can get the asian stir-fry blend and use that...with veggies you have so many options!  Like I said earlier I also sub chicken for pork, but you could also do beef if you wanted to, the basic principles of the recipe stay the same, the only big change is the nutrition/points value.

Have fun making this, and if you have some awesomely great variation share, I would love to hear what you did!

Project Housewife Out!