I took this wreath recently to Good Morning, Texas. It's currently my spring wreath, which replaced a wreath similar to this I made years ago with REAL eggs I blew out and cleaned. They were beautiful, but they broke often.
A few years ago I discovered 'fake' hard boiled egg that you can get at Walmart, most craft stores, or (in my case) the 99 Cent Store.
I spray painted 3 1/2 dozen blue and flicked them with brown paint to look like Robin Eggs.
I also grabbed some moss at the dollar store and I hot glued the moss and the eggs to a grapevine wreath and then added a bow. Easy, and very cheap!
Monday, April 09, 2018
Spring Wreath
Friday, April 06, 2018
Nest Cookies
I usually try to post crafts before the holiday, but....I still don't have my act together. I'm trying really hard to chill out on my scheduling, but it was another crazy spring. So, all this to say, I'll post this here for next year. If time is an issue this is SUCH an easy 'cookie' that I shared last week on Good Morning, Texas. You can make these a little dainty and they would be super cut cupcake toppers as well. The easiest version of this...
You take a handful of chow mein, melt some chocolate, stir the chow into the chocolate and toss until it's coated, and drop it on the wax paper. I also popped some cadberry eggs on top to look like eggs before the chocolate hardened. The chow is sold in most grocery stores near the Asian food section. It really is such a tasty cookie and so simple....and adorable!
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
Easter Bouquet
I made this bouquet last week on the cheap. Obviously, I went with the Easter theme, but this could be used for any holiday. If you are using real flowers (which I was) and you want to be able to keep them in water, the key is to get a smaller vase to go inside the first that leaves just enough room for your candy. In this case, I got both vases at the Dollar Tree. I also added some peeps on sticks.

Posted by Christy Robbins at 12:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Dollar Store, Easter, Flowers
Monday, April 02, 2018
Apple Crisp (Vegan)
Ingredients:
For Crumb Topping: 1/3 c. (dairy free) margarine (cut into small pieces), 1/2 c. oats, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/4 t. cinnamon, dash of salt, 1/2 c. flour
For Apple Filling:
3-4 large apples (I used a mix of different kinds of sweet and sours, peel them and slice them thinly), 3 T. margarine (melted), 2 T flour, 1 T lemon juice, 3 T. almond milk, 1/2 t. vanilla, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/2 t. cinnamon, dash of salt.
Ice Cream (dairy free) for topping.
Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Combine the crumb topping ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until it looks like small crumbs. Place in fridge while you make the filling.
3. Peel and slice the apples.
4. In a separate bowl mix the melted butter, flour, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla. Pour this mix over the apples and top to coat.
5. Place apples into an 8x8 pan. Top with crumb coating.
6. Bake 30-35 minutes (it should be golden brown)
7. Let it cool for 10 minutes and serve up with ice cream.


Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Greece Tips Part 4 of 4
9. When you are ready for your check at a restaurant, you have to ask for it. Greeks aren't in a rush and they are all about letting you have a leisurely dinner, so the assumption you will want it 'quickly' isn't there b/c they want you relax and not feel pressured to leave.
10. Some random things-a lot of people smoke in Greece. I guess in a world where there are few places to smoke this was weird for me. Even the airports had smoking areas. Random #2-you can't flush toilet paper down the toilet in Santorini. They have trashcans you are supposed to put your tp in...I get it, but...uhh....just thought you should know.
11. The food is amazing, but when you order a Greek salad, don't expect lettuce, it's all the good veggies. Olive Oil is my spirit food.
12. I want to go back, like, yesterday. I'm sure this list is to be continued, but above are just a few tidbits I don't want to forget.

Posted by Christy Robbins at 12:00 AM 1 comments
Monday, March 26, 2018
Corinth, Greece Part 3 of 4
When we returned to Athens from Santorini we worked with Athens Timeless Tours again (and again....I get nothing for telling you about the company, I just loved them sooooo much). We requested, Markos (above) b/c I swear we are family by this point, though I have a feeling he's this great to everyone given his reviews on tripadvisor, but.....I'll call him brother if I want to. Seriously, do yourself a favor if you go to Athens and hire this company. They go all over, and I can't imagine you won't want to fight me for family rights to my new Greek brother.
We decided we wanted to see Corinth. I had been reading about this ancient town recently in the bible, and I wanted to see the Las Vegas of history and see where the gospel took hold.
It was about an hour outside of Athens. Our first stop was the famous canal.
I loved to see the sites and scenes where the Corinthians would have lived and worked and listened as the gospel sparks began.

Friday, March 23, 2018
Santorini, Greece Part 2 of 4
Santorini hangs off the cliffs and overlooks the caldera which exploded and let the sea into the middle once upon a history. You can see the famous town of Oia from Fira, but it looks like white stone resting along the circle of the island.
There are beaches along the shores of the island as well (though most are sheer cliff drops to the sea). There is a black sand beach, a red sand beach, and a white sand beach. Our guide told us the black sand beach was hopping during the summer.
There are buses and taxis, and even a 5 mile hike you can take from Fira to Oia. We had a guide who took us to Oia and showed us the stunning views of blue domed churches and wind mills. The truth is, each town has a view that will steal your breath, but I know this is the site that tourist flock in the summer for the sunset views.
It just so happened that in early March, our hotel had that sunset view.
One famous site around Santorini are the donkeys. There is an old port with a cable car that will take you from port to the stores above if you come in via cruise ship, but there are also these donkeys that will make those 600 steps for you as you ride on top. It turns out in the winter, these guys are busy hauling cement and bricks up and down the paths in Santorini to help the workers prepping the buildings for coming tourist.
I definitely hope I get to head back here some day, along with other nearby islands. In the 'winter,' there were plenty of great restaurants to enjoy, stories to visit, and paths to travel. Each corner had a view and a secret to reveal.
I ate a lot of great meals in the town square of Fira.
The ONLY thing I did not love the entire trip was the catamaran ride we took out to the caldera. Let's be fair, it was so windy, but it was the most 'adventurous' boat ride I have ever taken on the largest swells I have ever encountered. More than half the boat spent a majority of our ride throwing up. We did find some calm in the hot springs near the bubbling volcano, and the meal was great, but I ate cautiously b/c I knew there was a ride back. I imagine it would be great if the water was calm, but.....I'm just going to let someone else tell me about that. My next visit I'll keep my land legs in place and take a few more hikes and enjoy the sea from the shore!
Santorini does NOT disappoint. I hope to head back in the summer, but I'm so glad that I went this first time in March before the crowds b/c I was going for the views, and I think I loved them most in the quiet of the morning with just me and a donkey or two.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Athens, Greece Part 1 of 4
The first full day was about touring Athens. I had read you only needed a few days, and that's probably true if you go at this time of year, but Athens is also a great spot to start from for day trips in the area. We headed up to the Acropolis first. We walked around the sites at the top. I can get OVER the fact that these buildings have been here for 2000+ years and that we get so close and get to climb all over these grounds to view this detail up close.
I also stood below the acropolis on Mars hill where Paul stood and the words from Acts 17 were said as he overlooked this site.
Next up was the Acropolis museum where a lot of the original pieces from the monuments at the acropolis now live after they were looted, taken off, and eventually returned. One neat thing about this (relatively new) museum was that as they began to build they discovered all sorts of artifacts below the museum. When this happens (which it happens often) you have to stop and call in 'people' to check out the site before you can continue to build. To get around the delays this was causing they built the museum on risers with clear floors so you can see below to the artifacts that were uncovered during the build.
We also stopped at the site of the first modern Olympic games. This is also where the 'first' marathon ended. Last detail (for now), it's the only place that the Olympic flag always flies.
Our last stop on our tour was Ancient Agora where Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato hung out....as well as Paul.
Back near our hotel we shopped the Plaka.
We also enjoyed dinner at our hotel with this view from the windows. The food was great, and you can't beat that view.
Next up, Santorini.....

Thursday, March 08, 2018
New Orleans in 48 Hours
Last weekend I went to New Orleans. It is my third time to head through the city. Several years back....when I was running, I had added the New Orleans Rock N Roll half marathon to my wish list. It was the last one left sitting on that list. Unfortunately, I haven't been running much in the last year. I kept telling myself I would start, but life has been a little hectic lately. Running takes time. And more than the time to get physically ready, I just haven't been there mentally. It was such a good thing for me for several years, but now I'm sort of floundering. I ran a race in December and I trained a LITTLE. My body mostly relied on adrenaline and muscle memory. Since that time, I have not done a single thing. I had already signed up for this race as 'motivation' to get my butt in gear, but all I wanted to do the last few months has been huddle under blankets and read. So....heading down to New Orleans with a very short time scheduled I wasn't sure if I would even do the race. I decided last minute to walk it. It took forever. Side note, if you DO like to run, this was a really easy course. I'm not sure there is a single hill. The only challenge is the significant number of pot holes in the road. It was a course filled with jazz bands and it took us through some of the French Quarter, which was fun. In the end, it's finished. I'm not signing up for any races any day soon and I'm going to go relearn what it is that gets me motivated.
As for the rest of the stay....it was all about the food. There were some not so great meals, but the highlights were....Atchafalaya. The plus is there was a great jazz band and the food was really good (chicken and biscuits for me, but apparently the shrimp and grits is what brings all the people). It was hopping with locals and we ended up waiting 2 hours for a table, but the band and the weather saved that from being a miserable wait!
After the race I grabbed these things that were very much like Beneits, but they had rice inside and this strange lemon honey water, but they were strangely good. The best part was the atmosphere at the restaurant, Cane Table. It was a quite little nook behind a thriving sidewalk along the French Quarter. It's no Café Du Monde, but it was a neat atmosphere with (well deserved) good reviews.
I also grabbed dinner with my pal Maurine's little sister, Joy who lives near by and I got to meat her baby boy. We headed to Mother's. Again, the line out this door was outrageous, but the food really was good! It's an old deli. I got the ham b/c my uber driver assured me it was the best ham around (which the sign says), but they had a ton of great looking deli sandwiches. It was a nice break from all the traditional grits/chicken/jambalaya etc. I would definitely go again.
...and as if I didn't eat enough. I also snagged a biscuit at Copeland's at the airport. Normally, I wouldn't post about a biscuit, but, by George, this was one might-tee fine biscuit.
This is a bit of a hodge podge of a post, but the truth is, I need it to live here. Should I find myself in New Orleans a 4th time, these are some of the experiences I don't want to forget!
Posted by Christy Robbins at 10:40 PM 0 comments
Monday, March 05, 2018
Croissant Boat
4 croissants, 6 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled, 5 eggs, 7 T of cheddar cheese (shredded), 3 T green onions (chopped), 2 T milk
Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Cut the tops off the croissant and hollow out the middle of the bread.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the cheese, bacon crumbles, and green onions. Pour egg and milk over the mix.
4. Spoon into the croissant and bake for 25 minutes until egg mix is set.


Posted by Christy Robbins at 12:00 AM 0 comments
Thursday, March 01, 2018
Saint Patrick's Day Wreath
I wrapped toilet paper tubes with felt and glued it down.
I pinched the top in to give it a little more shape.
I made a little cone hat with felt and glue on some fuzzy material for a beard and a little wooden button nose. I made each a little different so you could tell them apart. ;o)


Posted by Christy Robbins at 5:03 PM 0 comments
Labels: Saint Patrick's Day, Wreath