Substance of Living

Sweet and Spicy Nuts I love it when a recipe actually works.  Not only that it works but EVERYONE loves it.  That's the case with these sweet and spicy nuts.  Chris Nease of Celebrations at Home shared an incredible recipe for Sweet and Spicy Pecans that I've made several times over now. I tend to use whatever nuts that are in the house and each batch has turned out perfectly.  I follow the recipe verbatim except for the nut selection.  I'm not going to take credit for the recipe so you'll need to be sure to visit Ms. Nease's blog.  While you're there, check out all the other great things she has to offer. These nuts start out with a slight sweetness to them and finish with some heat.  Neither overly sweet nor too hot.  Of course, you could always alter the recipe one way or the other. Whip egg whites until peaks form. Add nuts to the egg whites. Spices and Sugars Combine the sugar and spice mixture with the nuts Bake on a cooki

Our very first Giveaway here on Substance of Living ! We're so excited that we made a Celebration Cake in honor of You, Betty Crocker , and Publix .  We spent the first part of this year looking for the right fit to kick off our giveaways.  (DH thinks we've found the perfect fit.  Maybe that's because he gets to eat the celebration cake and banana bread.  Hmmmm.) The first time Marie had the chance to taste a Celebration Cake or otherwise known as Tres Leche Cake was about 10 years ago in Arizona.  It was heaven without the chocolate.  I know, that is really hard to believe that anything without chocolate could be included in the same sentence as heaven. It really is hard to decide which mix is our favorite.  Seriously!  We've enjoyed all but the rice flour blend only because we didn't know it was out there.  Everything else has been wonderful, so we have to guess it will be and look forward to trying it out in the near future. What is fun, is when we s

"Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" Your wedding day is a reflection of you and the life you live.  You are intelligent and savvy.  You could take the easy road and buy everything but you want your day to be personal and one that you along with everyone else will remember. While you are creating a day that will be forever memorable, how about taking a trip down a local thrift store aisle.  Put on your DIY hat and see all the possibilities.  Thinking about things that will work during and after the wedding will save time, money, and waste.  What wedding decorations will also work in your home?  What wedding favors can also handle double duty as table decoration? Speaking of double duty and personalization, why not have your wedding party visit the thrift store with you and choose their own dress while helping you find a gown of your own.  Each dress will be unique and showcase personality as well as accentuate the positives.  These will

Do you LOVE chocolate?  (I do! I do!)  How about Dark Chocolate?  (Absolutely, without a question!!!)  Now, if you combine your love of chocolate with the deliciousness of Sea Salt along with the all-time favorite movie watching snack - Popcorn, then you have a snack that everyone will LOVE. The first time I made this, it was meant to be as a hostess gift.  Guess what?!  My lovely and oh so sexy Husband and I ate the entire first batch!  Can you say "Oink!"?  But we only tasted it one kernel at a time.  We rationed that we had to make sure it tasted good enough to give away.  Oops. The recipe is over on Adrianna's website A Cozy Kitchen and she attributes her good friend Johnna Lynn of Copper Peace for the actual creation. Chocolate Popcorn with Sea Salt Make sure you visit A Cozy Kitchen for the recipe because I followed it exactly with a few minor changes.  I used flavored chocolates. Start with fresh popcorn kernels. Popcorn Kernels Add some oi