Origami Hearts from KSL Studio 5 - these easy to make origami hearts with lollipop centers are perfect for tucking into a napkin at dinner-time or for a children’s Valentine Day school party.

Valentine’s Day Coupon from The Twinery Blog - the secret to a really good coupon is 1) it has to be cute and 2) it has to be specific. I love these designs made by Sugarsticks Parties and found on thetwineryblog.com because they can be used for kids, spouses, partners or friends. All you need is a colour printer and card stock – couldn’t be easier!

Chocolate is on nearly everyone’s mind today. If your sweetie loves chocolate, try these simple to make but oh so delicious chocolate covered strawberries from The Food Network’s website. This yummy looking photo on the left was taken by beautifulcataya on Flickr.

For more ideas check-out One Charming Party - this website is the genius of Utah woman Brittany Egbert, mother of four gorgeous children and a party-planning diva. On onecharming party.com, Egbert offers up some great tips from her “lovely sponsors” which are sure to delight one and all. The heart votives were particularly sweet and, if you don’t have all the equipment required to make the votives, perhaps you could use stickers instead.

ABC News’ Christina Ng and Lauren Effron reported on ABC’s website this morning that “Mere hours after Target released designer Jason Wu’s collection in-store and online Sunday, the fashion line was sold out.” In my case, our local Target (one of only two in the state carrying the collection) sold out of nearly everything in less than 30 minutes.

Across the country shoppers waited in line for hours before stores opened with the hope of getting a dress, scarf or handbag. I met and spoke with a few shoppers who were deeply frustrated by 9am. ”How can everything be gone already”, one woman asked angrily. Another felt the store didn’t have enough stock. “There was more available at the Missoni launch”, exclaimed a woman named Maggie who had come to shop with her husband, daughter and granddaughter in tow. Employees, when asked, confirmed Maggie’s suspicion. Despite the fact that there were several pretty Jason Wu posters about the place, they had only received three racks of clothes - hardly enough to satisfy the desires of the whipped-up Wu crowd.

As I stood before the near-empty racks, having also combed the fitting area for cast-offs, I wondered how many purchases were destined for Ebay. As it turns out – quite a few. At last check there were 10,671 results for “Jason Wu for Target” on Ebay. And, if you didn’t hear, there was a couple from Miami who practically bought out the entire Wu collection at their midtown store with plans to sell everything on Ebay at a higher price (click here to see the YouTube video).  Dubbed “The Vultures Who Ruined Jason Wu for Target“, the pair were vindicated in their actions when a call to Target corporate headquarters confirmed stores were not allowed to stop people from what basically amounted to “shopping for Ebay”.

Those who didn’t drive to their nearest Target may have gone online to shop and been equally disappointed. I went online at midnight (New York time) and could not get past the Jason Wu masthead. I went to bed and tried again at 9am (again, New York time) and discovered that the blue dress I wanted for my daughter was only “available in-store”. Ughh! Even now, a full 24 hours later, it’s still impossible to figure out what’s going on…the “available in-store” and the “on-line price” (with “free shipping when you spend $50) followed by the “find in store” is confusing to say the least. It shouldn’t be this difficult.

Hello Target…are you listening? Please, make it simple. Is it available online or in-store? And, could you please let us know in advance next time?

Oh, silly me. Next time Target collaborates with another hot designer, they will surely tease/frustrate us all by 1) not supplying enough information, 2) allowing their website to be flawed, and 3) not filling their shops with a “suitable” amount of product to make a large percentage of the shopping public happy. While we cry “Boo hoo, Jason Wu at Target”…Target is sublimely happy. In-store, online or via Ebay…whatever the way, Target wins in both financial terms and public relations.

I’m not much of a football fan any more. Living in Ireland for 20+ years can knock a hardcore sports gal from her perch on the 50 (yard line that is). Nope, these days I’m interested in the Super Bowl purely for the advertisements and the half-time show (FYI Madonna is the main act). As for Target…I’m absolutely a fan and Jason Wu has been on my radar ever since Michelle Obama stepped on the Inaugural Ball stage in his dreamy white gown back in 2009 (click here for images).

Missoni for Target was only a passing interest for me but Jason Wu is different. I’ve got my eye on a few dresses for one of my daughters. She’ll look only too cute in this one:

or this one:

Target and Wu have been criticized for not unveiling the full collection to the public but you can see it at The Huffington Post website (click here). Wu says the theme for the dresses, scarves and handbags, ranging in price from $19.99-$59.99, is ”French New Wave film star” but it has all the appearance of nonchalant chic.

There will be lots of competition for this new designer collaboration…don’t drop the ball. Start tonight by checking out what’s available online so you can be ready to charge ahead of the competition tomorrow morning for your favourite items.  Also find out which of your local Target stores will be carrying the collection as it will only be available in certain shops around the country. And finally, if you can’t get to a Target, go online and shop till you drop. Can I get a Wu-hu?!

When Amy Ziering, the producer of The Invisible War, kindly offered up a ticket I was delighted. Then I went home and Googled the movie…90 minutes about rape? To say I was concerned about attending the film is a huge understatement. I quite literally didn’t want to go. Thankfully, however, I did. This is an amazing, shocking, sad, powerful and hopeful film. Please click here to see the preview.

It opens with a few light-hearted vintage military recruitment ads aimed at women. These are followed by clips of women talking about why they chose to enlist. Quickly, the interviews turn serious, and within minutes of starting we learn that each woman (and one man) in the film is a survivor of rape at the hands of a comrade.

Shockingly the following stats unfold: the U.S. Department of Defense estimates that as many as 16,150 service members were sexually assaulted in 2009; at least 20 percent of service-women and 1 percent of men have experienced sexual trauma while serving (which is twice the rate for the civilian population); that only 8 percent of sexual assault cases in the U.S. military are prosecuted and 2% result in convictions. The final shock is the extremely disturbing statement from the Dept. of Defense that rape is considered “an incident to military service”.

Really…”an incident”?! Since when is rape an incident to any career choice? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said recently ”one sexual assault is one to many”. Here. Here. Now, what’s being done about it?!

For The Invisible War’s main subject Kori Cioca, not enough. The class-action law suit she and her fellow survivors took against Donald Rumsfeld, the former Secretary of Defense, was dismissed in 2011. She has been denied necessary medical attention from the Veterans Administration for the surgical treatment of her jaw which was dislocated by her rapist. She and her family have had to suffer the public airing of a very private trauma in order to receive any justice…and that justice is coming too slowly. If there is a silver lining to Kori going public it is that, as a direct result of The Invisible War being screened this week during the Sundance Film Festival, someone has come forward and offered to pay for her much needed surgery. The estimated cost is upwards of $50,000.

The generosity of the anonymous couple is wonderful but it is not enough – Kori is only one victum. To help the others, and the ones yet to come, we must help bring about a change by taking action. Please, get involved in one of the following ways:

1. Sign and share a petition supporting the STOP Act and the Holley Lynn James Act 2012. It takes less than two minutes to do.

2. See The Invisible War, tell your friends about it or host a screening party.

3. Text NOTINVISIBLE to 313131 to stay informed as to how to bring this issue to Washington.

4. Watch your local PBS listing for The Invisible War which will be showing in 2012/2013 on Independent Lens.

There’s one last thing we can do but it’s a long shot…Amy Ziering jokingly asked if anyone in our audience knew of a way to get this film to President Obama. If you believe in six degrees of separation then this should be possible. Today, I asked a designer friend of mine, who knows someone close to Michelle Obama, if she could help get this film before the First Lady. We’ll see what happens. If everyone tries, maybe together we can be successful! Please help.

Most people start their New Year by giving something up or promising to do something differently. Well, I’m starting 2012 by counting my blessings. So here are the top 10 things I’m thankful for:

1. My lovely Irish husband

2. Our two sweet girls

3. Our good health

4. The roof over our head

5. Not going hungry

6. Having (lots of) friends

7. Knowing how blessed we are

8. Believing in God, faith, miracles, love

9. Having hope

10. Being part of a large family (origin and marriage)

As you can see, my list is quite simple. Sometimes simple is best. If you made a list of the things you were thankful for, what would be on it? Keep in mind, the point of the exercise is not to be creative and puff yourself up but to stop, take stock and appreciate what you’ve really got right now. Have you got a list?  If so, write it down or recite it in your head. You can even buy a Gratitude App and keep track for the entire year. In fact, that’s what I’m going to do…I’m going to use the journal my daughters bought me for Christmas and write down at least five things each day I am thankful for. Supposedly, people who regularly keep a Gratitude Journal increase their happiness by up to 25% over those who do not.

Imagine…25% more happiness just for making a daily list. Care to join me? In fact, how about this…be the first to join me and I’ll send you a Gratitude Journal of your very own. How’s that for a New Year challenge? Think about it. Send me a list of the five things your thankful for today. The first person to write-in will win the giveaway. Good luck and athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh (Irish for “happy new year”).

With this in mind, I baked the best blueberry muffins this morning. The recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated, May & June 2009. It takes about a half-hour to make but it’s so worth every minute of preparation. The recipe makes twelve. When our morning breakfast was through, we had only one left! Enjoy.

Lemon-Sugar Topping

1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins

2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over

1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus one teaspoon sugar

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. For the Topping: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

2. For the Muffins: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup, almost 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour, do not over mix.)

4. Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cook 5 minutes before serving. (Hint, I found the muffins to be top-heavy, so for the final five minutes of cooling I flipped the muffins over so they were resting bottom-side up).

Today I wanted to write a quick blog of thanks to you.  I appreciate your friendship, no matter whether you are thousands of miles away, across the Atlantic ocean, or living locally around the corner.  These past few months have been trying.  As most of you now know my dear, beloved, grandmother passed away in November. Her struggle with cancer was brief.  She was graceful at every stage.  And in the end, when her time to leave was near, she told me “I’m not afraid to die”. Such a simple sentence but how meaningful it was for our family as she got ever closer to moving on. My father and I were fortunate to be with my grandmother as she took her final breath and left this world.

I feel no need for deep grieving.  Grandma lived life to the fullest: from riding motorcycles and surfing as a teenager to living in Vietnam during war-time to settling into being called “Grandma” and finally “the Grandma who is great” (only because being called “great-grandma” made her feel old!).  Now she is in a better place.  I feel her near me all the time and that is comforting.

Your friendship has also been comforting these past few months.  I thank you for calling, writing, emailing, sending flowers, offering to help with the children, going to church to have prayers said on Grandma’s and our behalf, and so much more.

You know that saying “life is short”? Well, it’s true.  Life is short but while we’re here we should make the most of the time we’ve got.  Kick up your heels.  Run out into the rain today without an umbrella.  Throw a snowball.  Kiss someone.  Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a long while.  Put down your anger and forgive.  Help a stranger. Listen. Learn.  Love.

I thank you.  I thank you for reading In An Irish Home and for supporting my efforts to get this fledgling idea off the ground. I thank you for your support in helping our family through these past few months and always being available for a chat, cuppa or a hug.  Most especially on this early morning in the Rockies…I thank you for your friendship and offer you this simple Irish blessing…”May you alway walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door”.

God Bless You.

* Photos are from the Celebration of Life we held in my grandmother’s honour last month.

My grandmother, however, was not angry.  She was her usual happy self.  She didn’t seem scared either. I told her one evening after her treatment that she was an incredible role model and in this time of her life, especially, she continued to be a person who showed others how to accept and graciously work through whatever they had been dealt.  Grandma was a little surprised by my declaration and said she didn’t know what she was doing that seemed so “special”.

Isn’t that something? She didn’t even see how “special” she is…perhaps that’s part of what makes her so wonderful.

When she walks into her oncologist’s office for treatment every single nurse says “hello”, which sometimes means a nurse has to go out of her way to find Grandma. They call her by name. They share a quip or funny story (most recently about the handsome paramedics who took Grandma to hospital by ambulance the last time she was in for treatment). Nurse Amy, in particular, likes to remind her, “there’s no chest compressions until the second date”. Grandma just laughs.

To be sure, she’s no saint and she wouldn’t want you to see her as one either. She complained once that her bottom hurt from sitting in the blue pleather chair she has had to be in for eight hours solid.  I did hear her pass a comment about the bruises developing on her left hand from the needles.  And, oh, yes, there was something about not being able to drive just yet. To be sure, she’s no saint.

Sometimes I think she likes us to think she’s a bit of a “dragon lady”, the nickname she was given when she worked many years ago for the government.  Truthfully, I have never seen that side of her and given how she charms the pants off every Tom, Dick and Harriet, I seriously wonder about the moniker.  She is serious, however, when it comes to tasks: never messing around when there’s something that needs to be done. I think that’s how she sees her treatment.  It’s just something that needs to be done.

And so she goes, day to day, with an attitude so positive, a smile on her face, a flower tucked behind one ear (her trademark style). She’s thankful for her life, her family and her friends. She doesn’t see herself as brave (that’s reserved for people who risk their lives to help others or protect their country). She’s just getting on with whatever is ahead of her.  True to form, she continues to show all of us how to walk through this terrifying experience with grace.

Do you have a “Grandma” in your life?  I don’t mean a grandparent, per se, but someone who, like my grandmother, is a role model without realising it. If so, maybe you’ll do as I’m doing now, count your blessings, learn the lessons they have to teach, and let him or her know just how much they mean to you. Go on.  Don’t wait. And, if you’re up to it, feel free to share your story.  I’d love to hear it.

Back in Ireland, ripe apples and pears are hanging from the trees in our organic kitchen garden just waiting to be picked.  Here in the Rockies, our newly planted espalier apple trees are, sadly, bare. Thankfully the local farmers market provides plenty of bounty to enjoy and, this year, preserve.

Preserving, also called “canning”, is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  My mother preserved her own strawberry jam and tomato sauce when I was growing up and the romance of “making my own” has always stayed with me. With that in mind, last week I bought a 32-pound box of Autumn Rose peaches at our local market for the crazy-good price of $20.00. With the help of my new friend, Akemi, we made fourteen jars of sliced peaches and twenty jars of peach butter, a yummy peach spread that despite its name is not made with butter.

We started our project at about 10am and by time we picked up our children at the bus stop at 3.45pm we were finished. It was so easy! I’d be leading you on if I didn’t mention we scanned blogs and websites to make sure we were on the right path…no botulism for us, please.  Our favourites turned out to be: smittenkitchen.com, foodinjars.com and simplycanning.com.

The recipe for our peach butter came from smittenkitchen.com and follows below.  We didn’t change a thing and I doubt you will either.  Its delicious spread on toasted Irish soda bread but its uses don’t stop there.  It would be equally good on your morning yogurt, it could be used as a glaze for chicken or pork, it would make a lovely filling for crepes and a sweet dollop on ice cream or plain cheese cake would be nice too. As for me, I’ll keep a few jars for the family and the share the bounty of 2011′s autumn harvest with friends and neighbours in the weeks to come.

Peach Butter

(Yield: 4 cups)

4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) peaches

1 cup (237 ml) water

2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar

Juice of one lemon

Directions

1. Cut a small “x” in the bottom of each peach. Dip each into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, and then into a bowl of cold water for a minute. The peels should slide right off.

2. Halve your peaches and remove the pits, then cut each half into quarters. Place peach pieces and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. Puree in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender until smooth (though any texture you prefer is fine).

3. Return the peaches to the large pot, add the sugar and lemon juice and bring the mixture to a good strong simmer/gentle boil, cooking for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally in the beginning and more often near the end, as it thickens up and the fruit risks scorching on the bottom of the pot.

4. To test for doneness:  drizzle a ribbon of sauce across the surface of the fruit in the pot; when the ribbon holds its shape before dissolving into the pot, it is done.

5. To can your peach butter: First, sterilize your jars, either by boiling them in a large, deep pot of water (which should cover the jars completely) for 10 minutes or wash them in hot soapy water, rinsing and drying the parts well and then place the jars only in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes. Then, divide your hot piping hot peach butter between your jars, leaving a little room at the top. Wipe the rims clean with a dry towel and cover the jars with their lids. Submerge the jars in a large, deep pot of boiling water for 10 minutes (if you are canning at high altitude you need to extend that time of cooking to suit your area), either in a removable basket or using tongs to dip and remove them. Let cool completely on towels, a process that can take overnight. If canned properly, the peach butter should last indefinitely at room temperature.