JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

Good morning ladies and gents! I’m so excited that Spring has sprung! The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, the wind is warm, the air is sweet, and the cherry blossoms are showing off their beauty! Of course a sweet spring morning deserves a sweet breakfast to go along with it right!

With that said, I wanted to share a super easy breakfast idea for French toast, as seen below. I simply placed pats of cream cheese(cold, not softened) in between two pieces of bread. I sprinkled a little sugar on top of the cream cheese , placed some sliced strawberries on top, and drizzled a bit of syrup in between the two pieces of bread. This will help keep the two pieces of bread together. I then proceeded to batter them up with my custard mixture (egg, milk, vanilla). I prefer to use a pastry brush to brush my custard on, as I used regular honey wheat bread, which is quite thin in comparison to french bread or challah. This way you can keep your hands clean and avoid the risk of oversaturating or having your filling coming apart in your custard mixture. You can sprinkle a little cinnamon on the bread before brushing your batter on. Garnish with berries and powdered sugar!

This breakfast is sweet, creamy, and super comforting; and goes great with a glass of orange juice! Enjoy!
Psst: if you really want to make it decadent, try adding some thinly sliced bananas to this or substituting the berries for baked cinnamon apples! You can also cut sown on the fat by using greek yogurt…toast your bread first and then dallop yogurt in between the bread along with your fruit!

Good Morning creative people! You know, I love me some pancakes! Oh, especially really dainty ones that’s adorned with colorful sprinkles, decorative candles, pats of butter, and drizzles of flavored syrup to tickle your taste buds. Remember on Friday when I said I had some wonderful party pics to share. Well, here they are. The first set is from Ashley Meaders. She creates pretty nifty things for weddings and parties and such and here she styled some great things to make for a great spread! I think what makes these pancakes so special and worth posting are all of the wonderful accessories around them: gorgeous flowers, pretty china, handmade name tags, vintage dishes, iced beverages in pretty jars! All intricately placed to be celebrated! Be sure to check out Ashleys website. She creates so many great items to make a party feel extra special!

Ok, now, I totally fell in love with not only the photos from creative mom extraordinaire Rubyellen Bratchers blog called “Cakies” but I just adore the fact that she takes so much pride and puts in so much creativity with her 3 daughters! I am always inspired by creative people but creative mothers..oh they make me so happy. Imagine if most moms were willing to tap into their creative energy to fill their children’s lives with handmade joy! How awesome would the world be? Pretty awesome in my opinion. I tell everyone: “Creativity can embellish the world, and a creative mom can save it”. LOL. Anyhow, back to the photos shall we.

Ruby celebrated her daughters first (she has 3 daughters named Brave, True, and Soul…how insanely sweet is that!) birthday by throwing one lavish breakfast party for her. I love the vintage feel and simplicity of this. My favorites are the vintage syrup containers, the yellow balloons, and the pretty pancake batter. This totally makes me want to make a ton of pancakes and invite people over to eat them ,yet I fear my accessories would not be as grand and vintage as Rubys…lol. Anyhow, even if you have no party to celebrate, you can still celebrate the mornings (especially the weekend mornings) by taking a little extra time to make your breakfast something special with color, thrifted dishes/fabric, and lots of creative love!

Oh, and for a triple bonus, enjoy this video Rubyellen made with her daughters…it’s so cute! Ok, hope you all are having a great Monday morning!

Good morning everybody. Hope you all had a sunny filled weekend!

Here is a sweet idea that would surprise any kid on any given morning. Colorful pancakes! I fixed these this past Sunday and our son was so thrilled at the sight of them. These are perfect for sunny spring and summer mornings. Just separate your pancake batter into bowls and stir in any color you like. I used a neon green, pink, and blue! I don’t like to use food coloring often, but when I do, I must say that it’s tons of fun! Yay for pretty colors!

Good Morning Everybody! So, I totally could not resist posting this video, as he makes me more than excited to cook up some pancakes…he is quite enthused indeed! Nevertheless, this is a recipe for Spanish pancakes made with chocolate and olive oil(two of my favorite ingredients)!

I hope your weekend went well? Mine was pretty good. It was quite rainy and gloomy for the entire weekend, but I didn’t mind as I love to open up the window to enjoy the cool breeze and the sound of raindrops hitting the window and ground. Ok, enough of my ramble…Enjoy!

image by norjam8

Good Morning Everybody! Hoping all is beautiful in your part of the world? It has been a while since I have done a true “Good Morning Monday” post, so, this morning for breakfast we are having Tartelettes Lavender Oatmeal Squares! I am a huge fan of Tartelette as her recipes as well as her photos are so decadent and inspiring & I really love how she presented/packaged these little oat squares! Click Here For The Recipe!

Also, I wanted to let you all know that I have started two new blogs to further help categorize the many facets of my life! One focuses on the many faces of fashion which is called Style Gypsy, and the other is a motherhood blog called Inspiring Mama. So, for all of you who love fashion and/or motherhood then do feel free to stop by and visit! I have found some fantastic eye candy to post this week, so stay tuned and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Happy Monday Everybody! I sure do hope that everyone had a wonderful valentines, love, friendship day weekend? My weekend went pretty well, and I think I got a lot of goals accomplished…aaw goal accomplishments..makes ya feel good! Nevertheless, I wanted to address a topic that I have been thinking about as each one of my favorite magazines fold under. One magazine that I really do miss is Adorn. Do you guys remember that mag. I loved it because it was filled with creative people and photography and the small size made it easy to carry around. Nevertheless I was heartbroken to see it go so early, then came Blueprint, and now Domino! Ugh!

I hear a lot of people asking and saying…”well, what will we read now?”. I think as a design blogger myself that blogs and the web in general is going to be the next form of our beloved “magazines”. With the economy dropping beneath the waistline and the advertisers following closely behind them, I think that it is important for traditional news and media genres to rethink their strategy and to look towards the web for growth. Yet, I do feel at a loss with being able to flip through creative pages. I always think that maybe it would be more feasible for mags to just done some sort of annual/collectors issue. Wouldn’t that be great to have a mega Domino collectors edition that’s only printed once a year!

Anyhow, I myself am looking forward to the transitions that will be made within the design media, as I know it will happen & to all my fellow design blogger, I think you are all wonderful. The beauty of blogging is that we all have our own voice and style, even when we post about the same topic. Kudos to all of us!

What magazines have folded that you were heartbroken over?

Good morning everybody! Oh, I am feeling so much better in the past few days! I have not been bothered with morning sickness, but the fatigue and lack of energy is something to deal with, especially when you have a running list of things you have to/would like to do! Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful Monday morning and I hope your week is off to a creative one! I wanted to share this recipe that I found via Cream Puffs In Venice. It’s called Lemony Bread Pudding French Toast(does that nor make your mouth water as you read it?). I must try this, even if it is just as a dessert or a guilty pleasure snack! Just click on the link above for the full interview, and while you are there you will definitely want to bookmark the following that really caught my appetite:

Jam Crostada

Strawberry Lemonade

Three Cheese & Mushroom Pizza

Stuffed Eggplant

Chocolate Toffee Biscotti

Okay everybody, i hope you enjoy these tasty finds and I have some inspiring posts for this week! Have a wonderful Monday to you all!

Hi there everybody! How was your weekend? Our weekend went pretty well. I was hoping for rain, yet not a drop was in sight. There is nothing better on a fall Sunday than napping with the rain, snacking on yummy food, and an entertaining stack of old and new movies!

So, I ran across this scrumptious recipe for cranberry pancakes! Oh my, they look so enticing, and this recipe is pretty healthy, especially healthier than the boxed mixes you may pick up at the market. Serve alongside some fresh oranges or orange juice or even some hot orange spice tea, and you have yourself a comforting treat for a fall morning!

Cranberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons nonfat milk
2 tablespoons pasteurized egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters
1 1/2 teaspoons walnut or canola oil

Directions:
1. Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add cranberries; boil for 2 minutes. Drain and cool for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg (if using) in a large bowl.

3. Whisk milk, egg substitute, oil and vanilla (if using) in a small bowl until combined.

4. Coarsely chop the cranberries; stir into the milk mixture. Stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined.

5. Coat a griddle or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Using 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake, cook 2 pancakes at a time until bubbles dot the surface, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until browned, 1 to 2 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining batter.

recipe & image from eatingwell.com

Good Morning Everybody! Wondering where I have been? Well, you will have to wait for Friday to find that out! Nevertheless, I had a great weekend. I have been doing very well at keeping my to-do lists handy and near by, and I must say that keeping them daily makes my life a lot easier. How do you all plan your days? Do you jot down everything that you have to do in a planner or list or do you just float with the wind?

So, Saturday the little one and I decided to make some homemade granola bars. If you check the ingredients and nutrients in the granola/cereal aisle, you will find all sorts of unknown items or the really healthy ones(especially the protein bars and energy bars taste really bad, although I love the Luna Bars & Clif Bars)! So we used the recipe below to make our own and I must say that it was super easy and very yummy! I actually used a pretty small pan and may have used a bit less marshmallows. You can add so many wonderful things to this recipe like: whole chocolate chips, dried cranberries, raisins, dried blueberries, a yogurt based icing, dried strawberries/apples, and the list goes on and on! I added chocolate chips to this recipe but you can leave them out for a lighter granola bar! These bars are a great alternative to oatmeal cookies or chocolate chip cookies or even candy bars! My family loved them! You could also add all sorts of energy boosters like ginko & protein to make some yummy energy bars.

Home Made Granola Bars

Granola Mixture
4 C. Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 C. Chopped Pecans or Almonds
1 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds
1/2 tsp.Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Freshly Ground Nutmeg
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Honey
4-8 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, Melted
1 C. Chocolate Chips

Directions: Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In a large bowl, toss together oats, sunflower seeds, pecans/almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together honey and butter; pour over oat mixture. Stir well. Spread onto sheets. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool and break up granola.

Making The Bars
4 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
10 oz. Marshmallows
Granola Mixture Above

Directions: LIGHTLY Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan; set aside. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows; stir until melted. Remove from heat & let cool a bit. Stir in granola mixture until well combined. Transfer your mixture to your pan. Dampen your hands, and press mixture into pan evenly. Let Cool in fridge. Invert pan, releasing bars. Cut into bars or squares. Wrap your bars with wide strips of decorative gift wrap. I used some strips from an old magazine to wrap mine(hey it’s all I had). Keep in a cool area or in your fridge & enjoy!

So, off to a new week of creative doses! I have lots of great finds in store and I promise to have a few peeks into our apartment soon, there is still a lot of loose ends to pull together. Ok, happy creating everybody!

Good morning everybody! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good, rather relaxing, although I could have used a couple of naps in between running all of our weekend errands!

When I am in need of a boost of energy as well as a boost in vitamins to my system, I love to start off the mornings with fresh fruit juice. My absolute favorite blend is: spinach, sweet mangoes, and apples as seen above. It’s super delicious and has a great texture. I use a Champion juicer along with fresh spinach and fresh fruit. Serve with some sliced and chilled mangoes or a cool fruit salad, and you have got yourself a delightful start to a fresh morning! You really cannot go wrong with your fruit blends(you can use grapes, oranges, sweet peaches…whatever you like). As long as you have at least one sweet fruit, then the flavor should come out just fine. I always use a huge handful of fresh spinach, and I usually get plenty of juice from it. Do any of you juice? If so, share your favorite blends by leaving a comment!

So, how are you all feeling creatively? Do you have any special projects that you are working on or that you would like to start? The holidays are quickly approaching and if you are like me then you have a running list of crafty projects that you are dying to finish or at least get started on. In due time I suppose, but to get some creative juices flowing I will be posting a simple little DIY project tomorrow! Ok, that’s all for now, I will be back soon with your creative dose!

Good morning everybody! Trusting that everyone had a creative weekend? It’s a holiday(labor day) here in the Sates so I get an extra day to spend with the family. Last weekend I finally got around to fixing some homemade jam! I will probably never by store bought jams & preserves again…because this homemade jam in which I combined fresh strawberries with fresh blueberries was pure delight! It’s fresh, not too sweet, natural, and you know exactly what is going into it. My favorite part about “jamming” is that the combinations are endless when it comes to getting creative with your fruit blends and spices! I really want to make peach-apricot next, and then pear(my grandmother use to make pear preserves and it is so good). Anyhow, I made this jam in a matter of minutes and then we all enjoyed it on non other than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! If you really want to make some quick jam, then you might want to try buying the Freezer Jam/fruit pectin in your canning section of your market.

A few days after the little one wanted to make some ice cream, so we added in a bit of the strawberry jam into the ice cream before freezing to make strawberry ice cream and it was fantastic! Usually homemade ice cream calls for heavy cream, but I opted to use a non-fat yogurt(you could use soy if you like) and rice milk and the flavor was perfect and the texture was very much like yogurt/sorbet…see…

Homemade Strawberry Jam
Makes 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients
4 C. Whole Strawberries (if you want to make the one pictured, use 2 C. blueberries & 2 C. Strawberries)
1 C. Natural Cane Sugar
1-2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice(optional)

Directions:

Chill a small plate or bowl in the freezer or over ice water.

In a 10 or 12-inch wide skillet, bring fruit, sugar, and lemon juice to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly and skimming foam as necessary. Cook about 8-10 minutes, until mixture begins to look syrupy and thickens slightly.

Spoon ½ teaspoon of the hot fruit onto the cold plate and let it rest for 30 seconds. Tip plate to one side; jam should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is thin and runs down side of plate, the gel is too soft. Return skillet to heat and cook jam 1 to 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and repeat test.

Cool jam to room temperature before serving. Because a minimum amount of sugar is used, the jam needs to be refrigerated to prevent mold from forming. Refrigerate 2-3 weeks.

For longer storage, freeze or process hot jam in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.**

Option: If jars are sterilized (heated in boiling water for 10 minutes) it’s possible to use the inverted method to preserve jam: Pour hot jam into hot sterile jar leaving 1/8 inch head space. Wipe rim and apply prepared lid and ring. Screw ring on firmly. Invert jar and leave for 5 minutes. Turn jar right side up and let cool 12-24 hours. The heat from the jam will destroy mold spores. This method is not foolproof, so if you are preparing a lot of jam, process the jam in a boiling water canner. ~Recipe by Marjorie Braker

Looking forward to a week of creative bliss!

Good morning everybody! Oh my, I got a lot done over these past few days and I want to thank you all for checking in on me and for visiting JuBella while I was on my little hiatus! My mission for organization was quite successful and eye opening. I managed to clean every single inch of our little apt…from top to bottom, I now know where everything is and exactly what we have in our home and it feels great! I also finalized my daily schedule for home tasks, homeschooling the little one, blogging, creating, me time, etc. After I got everything cleared out I did manage to get in a bit of mini decorating(because that’s the real reward of cleaning up)! YAY…I still have a lot of loose ends to pull together(don’t you hate when you are cleaning and re-decorating and it seems once you get one thing done you notice something else that just does not quite fit in with your decor? This happened to me a lot) but I will be sure to share a few corners of our playful little home in a few weeks or so!

So I trust everyone had a wonderful weekend? I recently fixed this Banana Nut Bread which makes a sweet little treat for welcoming in the morning sunshine every now and then and goes great with some warm chai tea. The little bundt cake in the photo above is the banana nut muffin mix only it has chocolate chips in it(per my little ones request…and I must say that it was VERY good!) OK, Here’s the recipe:

Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients
1 3/4 C. Unbleached Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/3 C. Butter or Margarine
2/3 C. Natural Turbinado(cane) Sugar
2 Eggs
2. C Ripe Bananas, mashed (about 4-5)
1/2 C. Chopped Walnuts
Chocolate Chips(optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the first 4 ingredients(flour, baking powder, salt, & baking soda). Cream margarine. Then add sugar and continue to cream. Add eggs one at a time making sure to beat well after each egg. Now gradually mix in your sifted dry ingredients alternating between the flour mixture and your mashed bananas. Stir in your walnuts and chocolate chips if you are using them. Pour batter into a greased(non-stick spray) loaf pan or mini bundt cake pans. Bake until golden brown and center comes out clean. Enjoy! I am back to posting regularly now, so keep an eye out for your daily creative dosage!

Good Morning Everybody! Oh…I am a bit late waking up this morning. I couldn’t seem to find much rest this weekend, but at least I got some slumber sleep last night!

This past Friday the little one wanted me to fix pancakes for his breakfast, so I fixed these pictured above(I bought that fabric recently from a field trip to the thrift store..it’s so pretty) and topped it off with some freshly baked peaches that I baked as if they were apples(cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and a tiny pinch of salt). These were so delicious & super fluffy, but I think the reason why they came out so fluffy and light was by mere accident. The recipe called for 1/4 C. vegetable oil, but all I had was vegetable spray. So I sprayed the spray oil into a 1/4 measuring Cup, and I think the lightness of the oil really makes a difference, because I tried the exact same recipe Saturday with regular vegetable oil, and they came out a bit heavier. Okay, so I say all of that to say, if you can try using the vegetable spray, then that would make them extra fluffy, or you can try beating your egg whites first. Anyhow, however you fix them they turn out quite delicious! Enjoy & have a happy Monday. I have 2 interviews from two awesome ladies, a ‘Let’s Go Visit” post, and of course some creative posts coming up this week! YAY! Happy Monday Creative People!!!

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients
1 1/4 C. flour
1 Egg, Separated
1 1/4 C. Buttermilk
1/4 C. Raw Sugar
1 heaping tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 C. Vegetable Spray(recommended) or Vegetable Oil

Peaches
1 Fresh Peach, cut into wedges and skin peeled
1 tbsp. Cinnamon
2 tbsp. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Pure Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Salt

Directions for Peaches: Bake peaches in your microwave using your ‘baked potato” setting or you can cook them on your stove top, whichever you prefer.

Pancake Directions: Separate your egg and place the yolk in your mixing bowl and the egg whites in another. beat the egg whites until they are firm and light.

Mix all of the remaining ingredients together in your mixing bowl and then gently fold in your egg whites. Ladle about 1/4 C. of batter into a non-stick pan or onto a pancake griddle. Turn after the bottom is a light golden brown. Serve with warm syrup and freshly baked peaches. Sprinkle with a little bit of powdered sugar!

Good Morning Everybody! I sure hope that you all had a delightful weekend! I am geared up for a week of creative endeavors…how about you? So this “Monday Morning” breakfast is quite simple yet comforting. I especially love a warm bowl of fresh rolled oats during the fall & winter time, especially when it is garnished with sweet brown sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon & salt, a dash of vanilla, and warm and tender baked apples resting on top…Mmmm. Our little one loves it this way and he actually likes it along with some plump raisins. Anyhow, this would work great with some freshly sliced peaches or apricots as well, or do a fruit medley of fresh fruits like plums, apricots, and peaches together…oh my…Yum! So, off to another week we go…I hope it’s a good one for us all! Happy Monday!

Good Morning Everybody! Wow, I am barely getting this “Good Morning Monday” post up (well, at least for those of us on the East Coast that is). I have been MIA for a while, as we traveled to Atlanta to visit my parents for a few days. I couldn’t believe that we had not seen them since Christmas of last year, especially since we are only about 3 hours away! Anyhow, it was a great time, good food, and great desserts! Nevertheless, I am pretty much rested up for a week of posting!

This “Good Morning Monday” post really isn’t a recipe because it is pretty easy just to do on your own, One of my favorite things to have for breakfast on a Saturday morning is French Toast! YUM! I like to prepare mine with large loaves of Italian bread cut into pretty thick slices, and I simply place each slice in a batter of egg, almond milk(but you can use regular if that’s what you like), pure vanilla, a small pinch of salt, and a small pinch of pepper. Many times I leave off the cinnamon. Then I dip each side of the bread into the batter and toast each side to a golden brown in a non-stick skillet. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint, blueberries, fresh strawberries, and just a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and there you have a sweet and comforting morning!

Okay off to start a week of creative inspiration! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day so far!