Whimz Gem of the Week: The Most Precious Tree

Trees That Wood                           Unknown Author     Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."   Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."     Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."    After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.     At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship. When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.     When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.     Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.     Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.     The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best. Accepting the Son of God on that tree as my Savior was the best decision of my life.  What love He had for us to die in our place.  We talk about the beauties of life here at The Radiant World of Whimz, but nothing is more beautiful than the free gift God gave...his son Jesus Christ.  Do you know him as your personal savior?  I would love to chat with you if you would like to know more about Him and how to accept Him as Lord and Savior of your life. Have a great weekend whimzies!  I will talk to you Monday (Lord willing) from Panama City Beach, FL! xoxo Cassidy

Keeping Up With My Fair Fido

Since Penny is my travel size pup, she gets to go a lot of fun places while Zack and Ickers cozy up at home and guard the "home front."  This spring break trip to Panama City Beach is just one of them!  Penny has decided that she will be sharing her travels this week with the Radiant World of Whimz.  She will begin posting Monday! 

Delectable Dishes: A Peachy Keen Cool Down

When I came across this ice cream recipe on Dessert First, I immediately saved it to make on a future warm spring or summer day and I wanted to share it with you all.  What better combination could their be than Peach Brown Sugar ice cream with Hazelnut Sugar Cookies?  My mouth is watering RIGHT now!

Hazelnut Sugar Cookies

Makes 36  2 ½  inch diameter cookies  

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour 

½ tsp baking powder 

¼ tsp salt 

½ cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature 

¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar 

1 large egg, room temperature 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup ground toasted hazelnuts  

extra all purpose flour for rolling out the dough

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 

In stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. 

Scrape the bowl sides and bottom well. While mixer is on low speed, gradually add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix to combine and scrape bowl sides as needed. 

Add the dry ingredients gradually while mixer is on low speed until incorporated. Add ground hazelnuts and mix until a uniform dough is formed. 

Divide dough into 2 pieces and flatten into ½ inch thick discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up dough. At this point the dough can be double wrapped and frozen for up to 2 weeks. To defrost dough, place in refrigerator overnight. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease several cookie sheet pans or line with parchment paper. 

On a floured board, place on piece of the dough and dust with flour. Gently roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Using a cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on sheet pan, leaving 1 inch apart between cookies. 

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until edges are golden brown. 

Transfer to wire racks with a spatula to cool completely. 

Peach Brown Sugar Ice Cream

makes about 2 quarts (this may be too much for a smaller ice cream maker; you might have to do it in two batches)

4 ripe peaches (about 2 lbs)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peel and slice the peaches into small pieces.

Place in a medium saucepan and combine with the sugar and lemon juice. Cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Combine the milk and 1/2 cup light brown sugar in a medium saucepan and heat on medium over stove until bubbles form around the edges.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and remaining sugar together in a medium bowl. Place the cream in a separate large bowl.

Pour the hot milk into the eggs in a steady stream, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and place back on stove. Cook on medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens slightly and coats back of a spoon. Do not overcook (it will look curdled and you will have to start over).

Strain mixture into the cream and stir to combine. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

Chill in an ice bath until it reaches room temperature. Stir in the peaches and chill mixture in refrigerator overnight.

Freeze in ice cream maker per manufacturer's instructions.

Check out Dessert First's lovely blog for an abundance of more great recipes such as the one I just shared!

Have a great day whimzies!  See you tomorrow:)

Cassidy  

Magical Makes:A Glampsformation

GOOD MORNING WHIMZIES! :)
So glad I can say that again!  I found this great idea on Matsutake to glam up an ordinary lamp such as the one shown in the picture.  I thought I would repost it for today's Magical Make...such a creative masterpiece!                                        

 

A floor lamp. Purchased in a box of 5 lamps from Target. It's basically a black stick with a tapered shade. And now...14 bottles of Coke and some duct tape later...

Can you believe how glamorous it is now? Sparkly!

I fixed the shade first. I've been obsessing for a long time about how to turn a tapered shade into a drum shade, and I finally figured it out. For $3 plus the cost of fabric! The full tutorial for that little project is going to be posted at Apartment Therapy today. Basically you flip the old tapered shade upside down.

And now for the sparkly part.
First I spray painted the lamp silver with Valspar Brilliant Metallic silver. That stuff is awesome! I want to spray paint everything in the house with it. Wouldn't that look futuristic?

Then I polished off more coke than I did during my Studio 54 days. Kidding! I was a girl scout back then. Literally. So you need 2 liter coke bottles. Lots of them.

See how you cut one of them lower? They'll look like this:

And then the two pieces will slip together like this.

And the date stamp lifts right off with nail polish remover. You also need to make rings out of 8 inch strips of duct tape folded in half lengthwise.

 Now you can start stacking. I added a smaller piece of a water bottle at the bottom that I spray painted silver so that the spacing would work out right at the top of the lamp as I stacked.

You can use tiny blobs of clear glue or tape where you need to as you work your way up.

The top holes of the bottles can be pretty small because you can bend and stretch them over the widest parts of the lamp.

Keep stacking. I added a little piece of cardstock covered with duct tape at the top to finish it off.

And that's it! I had plans to color the pieces with a hot pink sharpie, but I love it clear, so it's staying that way. For now.

Isn't that a cute idea?  Go on over to Matsutake to view more great ideas!  

Have a great Thursday:)

Cassidy

My Fair Fido: Let's Go For a Walk!

How do you guys feel about midnight posts? LOL...Apparantly that is what my blog is turning into:)  So anyways...Who loves to take your pooch (well...poochIES in my case) for a walk?  I know I do!  What cuter way to begin a walk with your pup than by grabbing the leash off of this cutie patootie leash holder from Aplomb Designs?  I am in love with not only all the idea but the different design options and customization!



I will be adding a Magical Makes segment on tomorrow's post-after subbing and teaching elementary boys at church this gal is going to bed!  Be prepared for a later post although I hope to post in the morning:)  Good night Whimzies!
xoxo Cass:)

Another one of those days!

Ok, the Lord has really been blessing my little family.  I have been working pretty solid as a sub here lately.  Once again, here I sit subbing in the middle school unable to post my morning topic!  I will be posting My Fair Fido and Magical Makes later this evening!  Hope to see you then!
Thanks!
Cassidy :)

Fabulous Finds: To the Flower Beds!

This time of year I am sooooo very excited to begin adding to my flower beds while admiring the collection of flowers I began last year!  I am all about adding interesting decor into the mix to add character to our landscaping.  I fell in love with anthropologie's garden pots, accessories, and outdoor decor!  The price doesn't agree with my wallet so I am thinking that I may just try to be creative and come up with my own versions of some of these pieces!  Day dream about these pieces in your garden... enjoy!

My favorite: Giraffes!

<3 these whimsy chairs!

Give the birdies in your neighborhood a 

beautiful home!

You can water your flowers or use 

this little fellow to perch on the porch rail

Store your favorite flowers in this cute little guy!

Have a blessed day!

xoxo Cassidy