Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Healthy Eating While On The Go: Indulging Your Sweet Tooth With Newtons

June 17, 2013 at 8:00 am by Claudia

What is a girl to do when she has a sweet tooth, is constantly on the go, but is striving to eat in a healthy manner? My friends, this is something that I struggle with on a daily basis. I’m a vegetarian. I try my best to eat foods that are good for me. But, gosh darn it, I love sweets. And I love to bake. Here’s the problem: I am, like all of you, very busy most of the time. At times, I’ll have a pocket of time free to do some baking, but most of the time I don’t. So I find myself indulging in store bought cookies and cakes. As my husband is also a certified sweet lover, you can see the trouble we’re headed for here. Wait a minute! There just might be a solution to this problem. Enter two new products from Newtons. (Yes, the Newtons as in Fig Newtons, a long-time favorite of mine.)

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Please say hello to Fruit Thins Banana Drizzled with Dark Fudge and Fruit Thins Coconut Drizzled with Dark Fudge. Newtons calls them a truly unique cookie and I have to agree. They are made with whole grains, dark fudge and real fruit.  Already, we are ahead of most cookies in the cookie aisle of your neighborhood supermarket. I really try to use whole grains when I cook (or more accurately, when my husband cooks.) Real fruit instead of something fruit flavored? Yes. And do I have to say anything about Dark Fudge? I didn’t think so. As soon as I opened the cookies, my husband magically appeared (how did he know?) and we sampled some. I’m being totally honest with you here. We loved them. We ate quite a few in that first session and we’ve eaten even more since. We will definitely be buying these in the future.

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There. You needed to see a close up. Oh, so good. So good that, even though I’m not a big fan of coconut, I loved the Fruit Thins Coconut Drizzled with Dark Fudge. I’m a certified banana lover and the Fruit Thins Banana Drizzled with Dark Fudge did not disappoint. Did you know that there are 8g of whole grains per 31g serving? That matters to me. I suspect it matters to you, too. Listen. If I had the time, I would be making my own healthy cookies because I do love to bake. But I am on the go most of the time. I’ve been very busy lately. I work in the theater and sometimes have to work out of town for 5 to 10 weeks at a time. I just got back from 5 weeks away from home. It’s far too easy for me to eat the wrong foods, especially when I’m far away from my family and need ‘comfort’ foods. I just grab something sweet without thinking. When I’m home, especially at this time of the year, I’m out in the garden or working around the property. I barely stop to eat. I want to have a balanced, healthy diet in spite of being so busy. These cookies will be perfect for us because they’re made of whole grains, real fruit and dark fudge – a combination that says to me, it’s okay to indulge in a little sweetness. Yummy!

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I really love the graphics on the packaging, complete with a ‘Newtonism.’ Please visit newtonscookies.com to read more about all the new fruit flavors and get access to some great tips. Now I’m hungry. I’m off to eat another cookie.

 

Be sure to check out the Newtons brand page on BlogHer.com to read other bloggers’ posts!

Filed Under: life 9 Comments

Roses in Training

June 16, 2013 at 9:43 am by Claudia

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All roses report for duty!

New Dawn rose: Thank you for finally blooming. You are a climber and I was tired of your long limbs falling into the garden instead of growing upward. I think we’ve finally come to an agreement. With the addition of some fabric strips, I have tied your lovely branches to the downspout and to the porch railings.

I must mention here, New Dawn, that I did not appreciate your thorns and their intrusion into my skin.

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But, once again, your beauty has saved you. I would be tougher on a wild rose. But your pale pink perfection gives me pause. Just try to be less painful in the future.

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You’re looking good. I like the way your tendrils are oh-so-gracefully trailing downward. You might want to clean that railing, however.

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I’m impressed with the way you are peeking through the railing just behind the rusty glider. I can catch your scent on the breeze. Well done.

And now for Lady Elsie May.

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Lady Elsie May: After several years of growth and expansion, you have managed to do what I wanted you to do. But you’ve done it naturally. Big points for artfully poking your way through the porch railing. I like the contrast between your green leaves and rosebuds with the porch railing and rusty glider. Excellent work.

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Yes, well done, indeed. You’ve earned a commendation.

And now for you, little bumblebee that I spent long periods of time trying to capture with my camera. You could have stayed still a bit longer than you did. The constant flitting between flowers is enough to drive a girl crazy. But then again, who stands in one place for half an hour, camera in hand, trying to capture your elusive beauty? (I suspect there are a lot of us.)

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bumblebeespirea

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You are invaluable, bumble bee. You pollinate. Your presence in the spirea, catmint and anything else that is blooming is appreciated. And you don’t get angry with me and attack me, though you could – unlike your friend the New Dawn rose.

Happy Father’s Day to my dad, who is just 3 months short of his 90th birthday. And Happy Father’s Day to the father of Winston, Scout and Riley, my sweet husband.

Happy Sunday.

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Filed Under: Dad, Don, flowers, garden, life, porch, roses 24 Comments

A Favorite Thing #41

June 14, 2013 at 8:00 pm by Claudia

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Welcome to A Favorite Thing #41! Off we go on another adventure, visiting our blogging friends and sharing our favorite things.

Let’s look at some highlights from last week:

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Lady Hawthorne, of Canterbury Cottage, shared her framed St. Nicholas with us. St. Nicholas was a cross stitch design and when it was finally finished, Lady Hawthorne found the perfect frame. Didn’t she do beautiful work?

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Karen, of Karen’s Cottage and Castle, shared some lovely things, among them these beautiful pink roses from her garden. So pretty!

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Sally Annie Magundy shared her beloved Georgie with us. Sally adopted him when he was 12 years old. Two months after adopting him, she found out he had inoperable cancer. He was supposed to live 3 – 4 more days. Six months later, he’s hanging in there. He’s happy. I love this story. Consider adopting an older dog. We all need to be loved.

This week I am sharing something simple. It’s been lacking a bit around here lately but boy, when it’s here, I revel in it.

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Sunlight and a beautiful blue sky with fluffy clouds. Ah…..this makes me happy. After a week of endless, heavy rain, this particular photo brings a smile to my face.

Now it’s your turn!

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Have fun!



Filed Under: A favorite thing 20 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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