LaBelleMadeleine: October 2012

Thursday, October 25, 2012

yumminess for my palate :)

I wish you were all in my house to smell the delicious Pumpkin Muffins that just came out of my oven! :) The whole house {it's very tiny..but still...} is filled with pumpkin and cinnamon aroma.

The recipe was very easy, I found it a few days ago in a very nice blog. I know you want to make them and taste the sweetness of the cream-cheese filling squirting out of the pumpkin soft cake.. You can find the recipe HERE. And don't forget to thank Laurie and visit her wonderful blog!

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful Fall season and having a yummi snack as well!!

..ready to go in the oven..

a little peek..

YUM.

What is in your oven? Do you have a good recipe to share? Please do!! :)

xoxo,

Sunday, October 21, 2012

At the Pumpkin Patch.

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

My day is starting calm and peaceful.. the children {kinda} let me sleep-in a little bit and they are now watching a "Lion movie" on Netflix with Daddy. So I'm here typing and editing ALL the pictures we took yesterday at the Pumpkin Patch! Yes!! I finally got to visit one! All these years in the US and I had never visited one. I had a blast!... also the children.. running through the hay-maze and getting lost {litterally lost!} in the corn maze that was HUGE! It was so nice to see how these farmers organize such cute activities for families.. and for free!

We could see the big varieties of pumpkins.. so many different kinds.. so beautiful! Fall is really a nice season. Today it really feels like Fall, even in the hot California, it's actually cold outside.

I have more pictures to show you... here they come....

Lovely Pumpkins....

the tractor is coming!! :)

the corn-maze is like a Jungle!!

Pumpkin Hugs ♥

and just to finish, speaking about pumpkins... my Pumpkin Spice Coffe COZY

I hope you are all having a great day!!

Many blessings,

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Time for Tea ♥

Yes! it's THAT time! ...time for Tea of course. :) How I love to sip my tea every afternoon, hot Twinings tea with sugar and lemon... mmmh.. my favorite!
Speaking of tea, I decided to look up and find cute tea-time items on Etsy. They could be a nice Christmas gift for the tea lover, don't you think?
This is what I like:

Lovely hand-stamped spoon

Shabby-Chic Banner

Vintage Teapot drawstring pouch

cute magnets

Cross-stitch Basket Liner

Adorable Necklace

Lovely Tea Time postcard

I hope you enjoyed these lovely finds as much as I do ♥

ciao!!

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Hunger Games ~ Movie Review

I love watching movies, as long as they are not horror or too scary, or where there is the death of a child.. that is too much for me. I basically like romantic, drama, adventure and suspense. Sometimes my husband brings home a movie that I would never choose.. and it recently was: The Hunger Games.

Have you seen it? I remember that when I watched the preview I said "I'm not gonna watch that!", it seemed to me too full of anguish, and that's a feeling I don't like to go to sleep with. :}

So, once rented I forced myself to watch it and I have to say.. it wasn't that bad! Maybe a little too much blood and evil for my taste, but it was well acted and the special effects were pretty nice. The story is completely absurd, I read it comes from a famous Novel which I will never read. While watching it I remembered another movie, called "Battle Royale", what I thought it was the "japanese version" {it's instead a similar story taken from a similar book}.... horrible movie, much worse than the american one!

Well, my review doesn't seem to be too positive!!! sorry about that... I have to say that I liked the costumes very much and the arch & arrows of the protagonist.

Has anyone seen this movie? Did you like it? Let me hear your perspective!! :)

Oh... I almost forgot to share this! My version of the movie!! haha

{this is a picture of me, taken 5 years ago while I was trying to shoot an arrow}

xoxo,

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Russian Little Lady.

Happy Saturday everyone!!!

I hope you are having a wonderful week-end..

I always forgot to show you another little amigurumi doll that I made. It's a little Russian Doll!!

I made it as a present for my sister's birthday last month. She received it a few days ago and she liked it!! It was a hard work... it took me a whole day to make it.. I don't think you'll ever see it in my shop!! haha

But I like to see the picture, I love the details and the web-site where the pattern came from.

xoxo,

Friday, October 12, 2012

Zucchine Ripiene ~ Stuffed Zucchini

There is a lot going on in this little life of mine. But right now, what I want to share with you is a suuuuper delicious recipe! It's time to use Zucchini.. they are so cheap in every store!! And I have to say it's one of my favorite vegetables... I use them in everything: with pasta, as a side dish, in a parmigiana or.. as in this recipe... STUFFED!! You're going to love them!!

ZUCCHINE RIPIENE {or STUFFED ZUCCHINI}

What you need:

4 large zucchini
1cup of bread crumbs
1 cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 handful of minced Parsley
1 egg
salt & pepper
extra vergin olive oil
tomato sauce

Cut the zucchinis in half longways.

Let them boil in hot water and salt for 4-5 minutes, until barely tender (don't over-cook them!). Drain them, let them cool down and take the pulp out with a spoon (don't throw it away, let it drain in a colander or squeeze the water out).

Prepare the filling in a bowl. Mix together the egg, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, the zucchini pulp with a little salt and pepper.

Grease a pyrex with olive oil, fill the half zucchinis with the filling and set them in the dish. Cover each of them with a little tomato sauce (previously seasoned). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and olive oil.

Cook in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brownish. :)

Serve hot as a side dish or main dish with a nice piece of bread!

~Buon Appetito!!

Hugs to all,

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

the immensity of the ocean..

How beautiful and immense is the Ocean!

I spent this last week-end near Los Angeles. I stayed in a Hotel with my husband for a retreat.. while my children were staying at our friend's house. She spoiled them so much! in a good way... ;) they had a lot of fun going to the beach! If I lived in LA I think I would go to the beach everyday.. they took some pictures to show me what they did. I'm so happy they got to go!! And maybe next time... I'll go too...