Fantastic Facebook Photography Contest

Sorry...I just fizzled out on the alliteration for the title.  This is why I'm not good at writing picture books.  My lame post title aside, this really is a great contest.

It's hosted by the company PhotoBarn.  They specialize in touching up your pictures and then printing them on wood boards and blocks.  I've been working there for about six months now, and it's a cool product so I thought I'd share this chance to win one for free!

Working at PhotoBarn is one of the reasons I disappeared from the blogosphere for awhile (as in the better part of a year).  We moved!  Moving from England to the US was a huge job and has been a big transition, and it has brought about a lot of work changes.  I simply haven't had time to post lately.  However, I miss it and promise not to disappear for so long again.

In the meantime, you're all lovely and good luck winning a PhotoBoard!

Catching Up & Moving On

First of all, Happy 100!  This is my 100th post on Hidden Domestic!  I started blogging two years ago (give or take a few weeks).  A lot of recipes, craft projects, and rambling later, here we are.  Post #100.  Thanks to everybody for your visits to the site, feedback & comments, etc.

In 100 posts, the one thing that I've never had very good luck with is holding a contest.  This last contest was no exception.  I'm really excited about our new Etsy shop, and the prize was any of the baby items in the shop.  Unfortunately nobody entered the competition, so there's no prize to announce.

Looking ahead to the future, that's one thing that I really want to accomplish: a popular contest on Hidden Domestic.  I also look forward to trying out a lot more delicious recipes, making more crafts/art projects/sewing, more field trips, etc.  Maybe I'll even try having a few guest bloggers...what do y'all think?  I really am excited about the possibilities of Etsy, so more of the things we make and blog about might end up on there.

Even though I've made it up to 100 posts now (wow!), there are so many things that I mean to blog about and forget to photograph or just don't get around to actually posting.  One of the things I've been meaning to blog about all month is the 4th of July.  So here are a few thoughts on our 4th.

To me, the 4th of July calls for a picnic or --even better--a barbecue.  There's nothing like a nice sunny Independence Day with spicy bbq smoke in the air, kids running around with watermelon slices and the red juice running down their arms, and sparklers.  No matter where you live, you can find a great picnic or bbq spot.  We bbq'd in the back yard and had all the great picnic food standards: cole-slaw, potato salad, green salad, watermelon, burgers & veggie burgers, hot dogs (Quorn), etc.  The weather was perfect for it and the girls kept jumping in the paddling pool and then running back to the table for more food.

For dessert we made smores.  We make smores every summer, and try out variations from the very simple to sophisticated desserts based on smores.  This year we bought the cookies/crackers (we tried out a few different types) and chocolate, but used homemade marshmallow.  In honor of the 4th of July, we made red, white, and blue marshmallow cream.  We "browned" it with the kitchen blow torch (fabulous gadget similar to this one BonJour Creme Brulee Chef's Culinary Torch with Fuel Gauge, Brushed Aluminum).

The marshmallow cream is actually pretty easy to make and tastes way better than the store bought stuff. We used the recipe from Wren's Cottage and it turned out beautifully.  I really love what a glossy finish the marshmallow cream gets.  We just made plain vanilla marshmallows and then added food coloring for the patriotic effect, but you could experiment with different flavors too.  Just don't add too much extra liquid as it will change the consistency.

I have to admit that the smores were pretty addictive.  For several days after the 4th I didn't seem to make it through the kitchen without stopping for a little smore (or maybe just a spoonful of the marshmallow cream).

Contest for Beautiful Artwork

First of all, I should make clear that this is not my competition. This is a photo giveaway by Christine Armbruster. I've never actually met her or anything, but my sister (thanks Tonts) sent me the link to her blog and I LOVE her photography. So check her out. If you check her out soon-ish, you can enter this competition too. If you don't enter, cross your fingers for me that I'll win. Thanks.