COSMOGIRL'S EMPORIUM

Framing an Artist's Work

2012-01-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

You may remember me mentioning in this post, back in October, my lucky winnings from the fantastic mixed media artist

She had a giveaway for a copy of the new publication of Mingle magazine. That was a great gift in itself, but making the giveaway even sweeter (and in my opinion maybe even better than the mag!) was Becky enclosing a piece of her gorgeous mixed media art.

I knew I was going do something special with it for sure.

I finally got around to repainting a tiny, ornate frame that I picked up at GW a few years back.

Mounted the sweet little fabric tag onto burlap and a piece of cardboard, and placed it in the frame.

That special little piece of artwork is hanging in my living room on a little bit of wall.

Perfect fit.

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Bathroom Jewelry

2012-01-25T11:43:00.002-05:00

My powder room's sporting some new jewelry.

Well, a new pendant light that is.

I'm sure you've all seen these in home improvement stores and on other blogs.

What a fabulous way to transform a boring old pot light into something special. And so reasonably priced!

The kit (which did not include a shade) I purchased at Lowe's was less then $20 and the glass shade I choose was less then $10. Lowe's had a good variety of shades ranging in price from around $5 to $30.

As you can see from the picture below, the fixture simply screws into the existing pot light receptacle. Adjust the length of the cord. Tighten a few screws, and Voila! A quick and easy new look.

Not a bad light makeover for less then thirty bucks!

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New Wheels

2012-01-16T08:23:00.000-05:00

What's usually the first big purchase of a new college graduate who's landed their first salary job?

Why, a su-weet new ride, of course!

Remember your first brand-spankin' new set of wheels?

It was time for Son No. 1 for sure. He's old car was beat up. Over 100,000 miles racked up from almost 5 years worth of trips back and forth from Delaware to North Carolina. It was used when we got for him when he was a junior in high school, so it was certainly time for something new.

Well, that, and he couldn't let his little bro, Son No. 2, get one up on him. Remember when I blogged here about Son No. 2 totaling his car ~ The Red Dragon as he fondly referred to his Monte Carlo.

Last spring he scored himself the Bumblebee Camaro. If you've seen the Transformers movies, you know what I'm talking about.

After driving Son No. 2's ride around a bit while home on Thanksgiving break this past fall, Son No. 1 fell in love with the it, and knew he had to have one of his own.

Son No. 2 even found and purchased tire valve stem covers with a Transformer Autobot face on them!

I'll admit, Camaros are fun and exciting to drive.

I've tooled around in both ;o)

Even Hubby's slightly entertaining the thought of trading in his Cadillac CTS for one.

We all know what that might be about . . . ;o) hehe

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Little Books for Big Memories

2012-01-14T09:26:00.000-05:00

I have a thing for mini photo books.

Mini scrapbooks to be exact.

Two little books created for big Christmas memories.

Shame I didn't take any pics at Christmastime this year.

Still kicking myself about that.

As a matter of fact, I have a whole bin of finished mini scrapbooks and photo albums.

And a bunch more yet to be assembled.

Some were made at classes attended at scrapbook conventions and retreats. Some where made as samples for classes I used to teach at a local scrapbook store. And some where made from kits I'd purchased here and there.

Funny, out of all the ones I have finished, only a couple have photos in them! Obviously I like making these little photo books more then I do snapping photos.

Well, I certainly have enough photos laying around that I really should start filling some of them.

Maybe that could be one of my New Year's goals. ;o)

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That's all she wrote . . .

2012-01-08T14:04:00.005-05:00

All done.

Kaput.

Christmas is officially over here at our house.

I'm sure some of you are saying "well, it's about time!".

I don't like to totally de-Christmasfy until after the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day or Twelfth Night. I subscribe to the old-fashion belief that the 12 days of Christmas start Christmas Day, and last until January 6th, signifying when the wise men finally ended their long journey to Bethlehem.

I really wish that the time in between Christmas Day and the Epiphany is when the masses actually celebrated Christmas. I feel the month of December is great for preparing for the upcoming season, but that the true celebration should happen during the real twelve days of Christmas. I think it's sad when I see and hear that people tear into and pack up Christmas the day after. To me, that's when quiet refection about the meaning of the season should occur.

Soooo . . . anyway . . . that's how I've been spending most of my weekend. Packing up. Deep cleaning. Sorting. And finally reorganizing all the bins and boxes containing Christmas.

And in the process I created a few more wintry vignettes here and there while getting used to my new camera Santa brought me. A Nikon Coolpix. It's a nice, streamline little camera that has way better features than my old camera, not to mention way more megapixels. But, like anything new, it's taking me a while to get used to it.

Over the next few days, I'll start incorporating V'day love around the house too. The Christmas tree in the living room is going to be transformed into a big bushy love tree. And I'll have a bit more mushy love stuff to place around the house.

Remember this? I shared it a few posts back.

Easy change.

Popped out the cardboard with NOEL and replaced it with a little love. I'm already planning on popping it out again in the spring and put something Eastery in there, and so on . . .

It's nice to get the house back in order and everything back in it's regular place. It is a little sad taking the trees down and packing it all away, but I'll admit it's time to move on to the next season/holiday.

I have a big celebration to work on in the next couple weeks. We're having a grad party for Son No. 1. I figure this will probably be his last young adult milestone celebration until, well, I guess he gets married. And who knows when {or if!} that'll happen!

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What are you doing New Year's . . .

2011-12-31T14:15:00.001-05:00

. . . New Year's Eve?

But before we start on New Year's, I want to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas. I hope you all had wonderful time visiting with family and friends. Our's was very nice. Each year it gets more and more quiet and less bustle y. Guess that's a result of the boys getting older.

And maybe of me and Hubby getting older too!

One of my major regrets this past Christmas was I didn't take one photo. Not a one! No snaps taken during Hubby's family gathering here for the Christmas Eve Wigilia dinner. No snaps taken Christmas morning opening gifts. No snaps taken Christams evening when my family came for desert, cocktails and gifts.

What was wrong with me????

What a bad mom . . . blogger . . . scrapbooker.

And here's the kicker ~ I got a new camera for Christmas. Maybe I was just downright tired. There was a bit of rush this season to get it all done with Son No. 1's college graduation the weekend before Christmas. But I am really seriously regretting not taking the time to grab the camera . . . any camera.

I've been in no rush this week to dismantle Christmas. I like to use the week between Christmas and New Year as a time to relax and enjoy it all without any pressures of baking, shopping, wrapping, etc. Heck, I'm still listening to Christmas music!

I did pack away my Santas and replaced them with a more wintery-type decor. Some of my snowpeople can take center stage now for a while.

On to New Years Eve . . .

We'll be spending a very quiet, very low-key New Year's Eve with my brother and his wife at their new home a couple hours away in New Jersey. They used to live right behind us. Their daughter, my newly-engaged neice ~ Congrats Rachie!!! ~ still lives there. She's pretty much taken over the house, so, although they've moved away, I'm quite sure we'll see them a lot!

My hopes for the New Year are pretty much the same as every other new year. I wouldn't call them resolutions per se, but more like goals.

Get my home more organized.
Purge more unneeded stuff.
Eat better. Don't necessarily need work on the whole diet and exercise thing since I've done well with my weightloss from the spring, and exercise is always a priority. But more of just trying to eat generally healthier.
Spend more time being creative.
Finish many of the unfinished projects looming overhead.
Be a better mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and just a better person to all the people so important in my life.

I'm wishing a fun, safe and reflective New Year's Eve to all.

Whatever your plans are for tonight, or goals for the New Year, I wish you well.

See you all in 2012!

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Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T10:22:00.001-05:00

This is it!

Ready or not, it's time for the big dance.

As usual, I'm wishing I had one more week even more this year then in year's past.

I didn't get as fully pre-prepared, if you will, for the trip down to North Carolina last weekend for Son No. 1's college graduation. Which, by the way, went very well. And the absolute bestest news is he's already landed a job!

WooHoo!

Honestly, I was a bit worried for him in this economy and so much unemployment. He started phone interviewing for this position while in NC before graduation. He had one final in-person interview once home, and a few days later he was informed he had the position.

Needless to say, we are very proud and happy for him . . . and much relieved!

Didn't quite everything done on my list for this Christmas. But it's all good. Not really going to make a huge difference in the grand scheme of it all. It does feel like I blinked and Christmas was here.

Tonight, as with every Christmas Eve, we'll be hosting Hubby's family for an almost traditional Wigilia. It's the Polish Christmas Eve vigil dinner.

No beef or chicken - fish/seafood only, a planned number of odd dishes - 7, 9, 11, breaking communion wafers with family while giving thanks. Hubby's family has always practiced this Polish tradition, and I'm happy we've been given the task of hosting the past half dozen or so years.

In the words of a Pole . . .

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

I hope you all enjoy the time spent with family and close friends over the next few days.

Hopefully I'll get some time to visit some of you by way of your blogs these next few days too. I also want to thank all of you for your readership and support. I have enjoyed getting to know quite a few of you through your blogs.

Merry Christmas to all!

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NOEL

2011-12-15T19:40:00.001-05:00

Wanted to share a cute little project I did a couple weeks ago.

I bought that chipboard NOEL a few years back. One of those projects that was supposed be a quick couple-hour deal, but for some reason for the past few years it just kept getting pushed aside by more important things needing to get done this time of year.

Well finally I finished it. I covered each letter with scrapbook paper in a coordinating line. Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding, I believe. My original plan was to somehow link the letters together in a banner/pennant fashion.

Then a little light bulb popped on in my head. Instead of yet another banner hanging somewhere in my house, I decided to frame it using a frame I remembered I had in the frame graveyard in the basement. The frame got a quick coat of paint, a little distressing ink rubbed on the frame's detail design (I was too lazy to grab my antiquing glaze, and the distressing ink was right there!), then I hot glued the letters right to the corrugated backing of the frame and slapped it on the wall.

Easy peasy.

When the Holidays are over, I can just take out the mounted word and use the frame for something else.

And, I found the perfect spot to hang it ~ right next to the hutch.

Figured I might as well share some pics of what all is going on in, and around, and on top the hutch. Frankly, I can't wait to get a new one. That piece was purchased years ago as an inexpensive, temporary fix until we could find and afford something else. Well, it's been there way longer than we planned. We were actually talking the other day about getting something new. Think I'd like to get a dresser type sideboard with a detached shelf.

I made those little primitive wool stockings hanging on the ladder up there a hundred years ago.

A few more things to get done for the BIG day. A small pile of gifts to wrap. A bit more baking. And I have to finish my Christmas cards. They should have been done weeks ago.

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting them finished tomorrow. We hit the road for an 8 hour drive to Charlotte, NC, for Son No. 1's college graduation. Honestly, I still can't believe my first baby is graduating college. How did he get so old so fast?

The bigger question, how did I get so old so fast????

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More Burlap Goodness

2011-12-10T10:32:00.000-05:00

Do ya think ya'll can stand one more blogger's burlap stocking pictorial???

I couldn't help myself.

I just had to whip up some burlap stockings to hang from the hangy hook thing in the powder room. Seems silly to have a hangy hook thing with no thingys hanging from it.

Say that ten times fast ;o)

"What to do?" I thought.

"Why, I'll sew up some burlap stockings, and use some of the same line of curtain fabric to embellish them."

Funny thing, when I purchased that hangy hook thing at Pier 1 about a year ago, I didn't even realize it coordinated perfectly with the fabric I used to make the valance in the powder room. Don't ya just love when stuff like that happens.

Serendipitous!

They look so darn cute in there, I'm thinking they may have found a permanent home.

They're not the only bit of burlap in the powder room. Back in the summer I added some burlap inside a frame and slapped a starfish in there with some hot glue.

It's staying too.

And just to stay consistent with the starfish and burlap bit, I added yet more burlap and more starfishes in among those Christmas balls and greens.

And the best part, this whole arrangement will carry through the whole winter.

One less change I'll have to make after Christmas.

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Homemade Orange Infused Vodka

2011-12-09T11:05:00.003-05:00

Vodka is so hot right now, as I'm sure you've all noticed. Just look down the shelves in the vodka section of any liquor store.

There's an absolute myriad of flavors to choose from. The flavors I've purchased from time-to-time, or on a pretty regular basis ;o), are orange, lemon, raspberry and strawberry.

This year I decided to try infusing vodka myself. Based on the research I did, it's not that hard. You pretty much pick a fruit, or even a vegetable, and let it macerate in vodka for several weeks or more. When using citrus for infusion, be sure to get just the peel with no pith. A bitter flavor will result if too much pith is left on the peel.

Some resources I found used the actual "meat" of the orange, and others did not. I decided to add the orange sections. I can only imagine it might add a bit more flavor.

Strain it through cheesecloth, and bottle it up.

That's it.

Certainly not rocket science!

I learned that expensive vodka isn't even necessary. A moderately priced one will do. Well, I'm a self-proclaimed vodka snob.

Usually, my vodka of choice is Ketel One. I think it's a smooth, light-tasting vodka that's well priced. A 750ml bottle in my area usually runs under $25 a bottle. But, a few years ago I discovered a vodka called P.I.N.K.

It's an ultra-premium vodka from the Netherlands that's distilled five times, and infused with guarna and caffeine. When choosing a good premium vodka, it's good to look for one that's distilled at least three times. It usually sells for $30 to $35. When it was first introduced, I think there were hopes of it being a hot new club vodka ~ most likely because of the additions of the guarana and caffeine. Oh, and if you happen to accidentally over-indulge just a bit, I think those additions help ward off a bit of yukiness the next morning . . . if YOU know what I mean!

As luck would have it ~ for me, anyway! ~ a nearby liquor store over purchased this vodka buying a ridiculous amount. And since their inventory was not moving as quickly as they would like, almost two years ago they started selling P.I.N.K. half price. WooHoo!!!! I've been buying bottles, usually several at a time, for $11.99. Can't beat that for premium vodka.

Annywaaay . . . when infusing my vodka, I decided to use P.I.N.K.

It's good stuff, and the price is right.

Now, once the infusion is complete {sheesh, I do sound like rocket scientist!}, and I've strained the vodka, I'll be pouring it into these recycled bottles.

Aren't they cute?!

Another yummy liquor found a few years ago. In the past, I would always a cheaper orange liqueur when making my cosmos ~ usually DeKuyper's Triple Sec. Then I discovered Patron's Citronge orange liqueur. It's comparable to Cointreau, but a few dollars less. It runs around $22 for 750ml, and it's delish in my cocktails. And look and at the super-cute bottle you're left with? And the cork . . . I love it.

It looks like a mushroom.

I have saved a few of the empty bottles thinking I could certainly use them for something.

Well, maybe more than just a few . . . ;o)

Once the infusion is complete, hehe, I'll be sure to report my findings.

I'm thinking these would make nice hostess gifts. Of course, I'll jazz up the bottles with a handmade label or tag, making sure the recipient knows this vodka was infused with fresh citrus especially for them.

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Santa's Here!

2011-12-08T08:10:00.005-05:00

My growing collection of Santas.

Santas of all shapes and sizes.

Santas made from all sorts of materials.

Wood ~ Pottery ~ Fabric
Even wax.

Some were created using a recycled two-liter bottle.

Some are folksy.

Some are primitive.

Some are fancy.

Some are small.

Some are tall.

Some sit on a shelf.

Some hang on the tree.

There's even one on a section of fencing.

Some I've made.

Some I've purchased.

From craft shows.

And from church bazars.

Some were gifted to me.

And some were vintage, passed on to me for safe keeping.

Is there a special collection you like to add to each year at Christmas?

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Been Decking the Halls

2011-12-03T13:33:00.002-05:00

That's what's kept me super-busy the past week.

Seems since the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I've been going at full speed. From preparing the Thanksgiving Day meal, to the massive clean-up the day after, getting the rest of the Christmas decorations out and up . . . phew.

To borrow a funny phrase from my blogging friend Kerin,

I've been "busier than one-legged man in a butt kickin' contest!"

That one had me cracking up, Kerin! :o)

All but two of the Christmas trees are up and decorated.

The tree in living room has been up since the weekend before Thanksgiving.

This tree was a cheap Walmart tree bought a ton of years ago. The tree itself is in pretty bad shape, actually, but once I stick it in the pretty urn planter, and cover it to death with ornaments, it looks just fine. Most of the ornaments on this tree were gift ornaments to me from girlfriends.

This is kind of my "girlie, fru-fru" tree.

The family room tree is covered with "family" ornaments. Most of the ornaments on this tree are ones purchased on vacations, or for the boys, or made by me or the boys.

I made this tree skirt years and years ago. It's tie-quilted. It was one of my first quilt projects.

Finally, the foyer tree is a'blazin'.

This is a prelit tree, and the lights on that tree are so bright.

It's almost blinding!

I haven't really decided how I'm ultimate going to decorate this tree. I do need to buy more ornaments for it. For now, I've been using what I have, but I think I'd like to make a theme tree with this one. Just have to figure out what theme I want to go with. Maybe since I'm known as the CosmoGirl, I should start buying martini glass and cocktail shaker ornaments.

Hummmm . . . I think I may be on to something!

The last two trees yet to go up are the four-foot trees in our bedroom and Son No. 3's bedroom. I plan to get to those by the end of the weekend. That, and getting the outside decorations/lights out.

Then I'll be totally done.

Yippee!!!

Now I have to get started shopping. I can't believe I haven't done any shopping at all yet. Well, yes, maybe I can, since I hate shopping.

This what I made using those items in my last post. Napkin rings!
Made from sections of the cardboard center of toilet paper roll, jute, and acorns.

I know Thanksgiving is most likely a faint memory to most, but I wanted to share a bit of my table. A few posts back I showed some table inspiration pics I had found on the web, and I did manage to incorporate a few of the ideas or variations of them for my own table.

The table "runner" is from a roll of bush burlap roll purchased from Lowes.
The roll measured 3'x24' and cost $10.

The glasses were my grandmothers and the silver flatware was Hubby's grandmothers. The tablecloth is actually 125" unbleached muslin used a lot for quilt backing, and costs as little as $4 a yard.

I was pretty happy with how the table turned out. Oh, and if I do say so myself ;o), the meal turned quite yummy too. I tried a few new side recipes, and they were darn good.

For the centerpiece, I used my PB bay leaf candle holder thingy that I'm pretty sure almost everyone on the planet owns.

I popped off the starfish I had on those pots for a summer centerpiece and hot-glued the silk fall leaves. In keeping with the spirit of thanksgiving, I made quick little framed reminders to place around the centerpiece letting everyone know what I was most thankful for.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families, and are busy making new Christmas memories.

I'm off to get the last of Christmas decorations done.

Some more one-legged butt kickin' . . . hehe

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This 'n That

2011-11-22T08:10:00.006-05:00

Been pretty busy this past week

I've been working on some things for the Thanksgiving table using the items you see below.

More on the finished product in a later post.

Also have been doing some Christmas decorating.

My house is suffering from a split personality disorder right about now. The back of the house ~ family room and kitchen ~ is showing the signs of the harvest season, Thanksgiving. While the front of the house ~ living room/dining room, foyer ~ is decked out for Christmas.

You see, I'm loosing a weekend in December to travel to North Carolina for Son No. 1's college graduation. Which is certainly exciting, but not very time-convenient being the weekend before Christmas. So I'm trying to get as much done as possible before Thanksgiving without totally transforming the house into Christmas mode.

Speaking of Son No. 1, he flies home tonight for Turkey Day. He'll be here only until Sunday, but then he'll be home for good in about three weeks. I can't believe his college days are coming to an end. Where on earth has the past four-plus years gone???

Oh, I got a new toy!!! :o)

Well, it's not really all mine, although Hubby did set it up to read "Carla's Kindle" when it's powering up. Frankly, I don't know how much I'll use it. I simply don't sit around enough to play around on a tablet-thingy like this.

I did purchase my first mag subscription, though. At a $1.65 a month, it was a pretty good deal! I'm not a very gadgety-type person, but I will admit this thing is pretty cool.

On Sunday I finally started painting the kitchen chairs. I know, I know . . . I blogged weeks, months, ago about starting this project. Needless to say I've been procrastinating. That and the original spray gun we bought wasn't working properly.

the chair before

I've got two chairs primed and painted and one primed ready to be painted. That leaves three more chairs and the table to do. I'll most likely blog more about this project when it's nearly finished. But let me tell you, using that spray gun attached to the air-compressor is the sweetest thing going for painting furniture. The spray was perfectly fine and covered so nicely. It was actually pretty fun to use!

Once painted, I really want to accent the chairs with glaze, but Hubby doesn't think so. He thinks I should leave them as is. The color is not quite white. It's really a great color, actually, called Malted Milk. Guess I'll wait about the whole glaze thing until I get them all done.

I may not (well, I know for pretty sure I will not!) get all the chairs and table painted by T'giving, but I don't think my family will mind sitting on a few white and a few stained chairs . . . as long as there's plenty of turkey and 'taters'! ;o)

The chairs you see above are a fairly new purchase. I bought four of these chairs from Walmart's online store. They're in the BH&G line (they come in black too). Partial assembly was required, which was very easy, and they're quite sturdy and well made. And the best part was the price - $38 each! And if you have them shipped to the store for pick-up, there's no shipping cost.

I bought these chairs for a table I bought a few years back from a resale shop. It's a double gate-leg table that is in need of refinishing. Of course this projects been on the to-do list for a quite a while too. My plans are to paint the legs and apron in my fave paint right now, Malted Milk, accented with glaze, and restain the top.

It's a pretty sturdy table that can sit four comfortably, or six a little snugly. It was a good price at $65. Not sure if it's an "antique". The workmanship seems good, and it doesn't really have that look of being mass produced.

I've also been playing nurse to Son No. 2 since Friday. He had surgery to shorten a ligament on the side of his knee. Apparently they go in and fold over the ligament to get it back to the proper length. He has to keep that leg immobile wearing a long leg brace for three weeks, and it's been a pretty painful recovery so far.

As for my back, it's getting better and better every week. Perhaps my disc compression wasn't as severe as I suspected. After eight weeks, I'm still getting twinges of pain and numbness down my leg, with occasional lower back pain on days when I'm on my feet a lot, but I'm slowly regaining strength and range of movement with each week. Not quite back to 100% with my workouts, but I'm getting there.

Good thing!

With the Holidays here and being extra busy, I don't know what I would have done if I was in the shape I was six weeks ago.

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Thanksgiving Tablescape Inspiration

2011-11-14T08:11:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is a little more than a week away? The Holidays are fast approaching, and I'm trying my best to get ready.

We've been hosting Turkey Day Dinner for several years now. A small gathering. Hubby and me, our three boys, my parents and an uncle. Then, later in the evening, my brothers join us with their families for dessert.

I like to set as festive a table as possible. I would just love to have beautiful, seasonally-inspired dinnerware, but I can't seem to justify spending the money on plates that I'd most likely use for only one meal. I have Christmas dinnerware, but throughout the month of December, I try to use those dishes for as many meals as possible.

My goal for the Thanksgiving table has always been to use what I have with some simple, natural details to reflect the harvest-feel of the season.

As with so many others in blogland, I've been perusing the net looking for simple, natural, easy ideas for our Thanksgiving table. I thought I'd share a few that I've found and will borrow ideas from for my own table.

Unknown Source

The table above is nice.

Neutral candles and natural elements create an easy centerpiece.

Confessions of a Plate Addict

Another easy tablesetting with a simple, natural centerpiece atop a burlap tablerunner.

Coco and Kelley

Different.

Feathers in autumnal shades as a centerpiece.

Neat!

Country Living

Domestic Adventure

Very simple, but naturally elegant.

I like this one a lot.

Good Housekeeping

Unknown Source

Love this idea! Simple.

Acorns hot-glued to grosgrain ribbon and tied around flatware.

Kitchen Daily

Can't get much simpler than this.

Not sure if those leaves are cut from paper or fabric.

Life is a Party

That tablerunner is burlap that's used to wrap around small shrubs and plants for winter protection.

So smart!

Danyelle wanted a looser-weave burlap than is purchased off the bolt,

and she said it was way cheaper. May have to check out Lowe's next time I'm there for this.

Martha Stewart

Of course, great table inspiration can always be found at Martha's site.

Pinterest - Unsure of Source

The 36th Avnue

This table setting is super-cool. Take note of the "placemats". They're book pages trimmed out with a decorative edge punch. The flatware is wrapped in simple, inexpensive paper doilies. The place cards were created by printing out the individual's name onto book pages and trimmed to fit inside another paper doily.

Very creative.

Young House Love

Very clean. Very simple.

And everyone has wine bottle corks, right?

If any of you have come across other natural, easy, "use-what-you-have" type tablescape ideas for Thanksgiving, please share. I'm still gathering ideas.

Also, if you know the sources for the few photos that were unknown, please let me know.

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Veterans Day

2011-11-11T07:53:00.001-05:00

Honoring our family's Veteran, my Dad. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

I just love this photo.

Old, vintage photographs are great, and seeing this photo of my Dad so young and so handsome . . .

I'm glad I ~~stole~~ acquired this photo from my parents a few year's ago ;o)

I'm not exactly sure of the details, but I believe his job was to intercept morse code transmissions from the Germans while he was stationed in Germany.

Over the years we've chatted about his time in the service. He didn't see any combat, thank goodness. I'll have to initiate another conversation again soon, maybe taking some notes.

Take a minute today to thank a Vet, or someone currently serving.

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Lil Punkin Found a Home

2011-11-08T08:12:00.001-05:00

I found a pretty good home for my new little pumpkin I showed you all yesterday.

It's part of a little fall vignette on the "dead zone" on the kitchen counter. This little area gets changed up a lot throughout the year.

Lil punkin is sharing a spot on a wooden fall tray with a few other goodies.

Cute gobbler candle holder.

Showed you that framed phrase a while ago. Still enjoying it.

The one thing I especially want to share with you is the book you see there. The book's author is quilt designer Lynette Jensen. I was first introduced to Lynette Jensen and her design line known as Thimbleberries, over a dozen years when I was a more avid quilter and worked at a quilt shop. She's a designer of quilt patterns and fabrics, and has authored many quilting books as well as the little gem above.

As you can see from the book's table of contents above, you're guided through the fall months at her home where she shares her autumnal decorating style using her fabulous quilts, vintage pieces and natural elements from her gardens.

It's a gorgeous book, offering tons of eye-candy for fall inspiration.

I wish I could share every page of this book with you now, but you really should see it person. Amazon has the book for $10.99 through independent sellers. It would make a fantastic gift for the person who loves to decorate for fall.

While I was at Amazon researching the availability of Autumn Accents, I saw Lynette's book, Finishing Touches for Christmas is still available. I think I may have to purchase that one.

Frankly, I'm shocked I don't already own it!

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A Little Pumpkin Facelift

2011-11-07T07:35:00.001-05:00

Picked up this cute wood-look resin pumpkin at Walgreens the other day.

Nice as is, but it was a little chipped here and there.

Instead of touching up the chips, I decided to give a little facelift by changing it's color altogether.

I really like it.

A new coat of paint topped with a coat of glaze gives it a nice, new look.

I used a thin brown Sharpie to get into the letters to make the words stand out more.

Think it might need a little raffia tie around the stem.

Today I'm going start unearthing some Christmas stored down in the basement.

That's going to be a job!

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Early Bloomer

2011-11-05T11:46:00.004-04:00

In the usual tradition of sharing Christmas Cactus, my plants were given to me by my Mother from a huge plant she's had forever. She took some divisions from that plant and potted up a couple for me.

Last year, the first year I had them, they bloomed early as well. They were in full bloom at Thanksgiving. That wasn't so bad.

This year, as you can see, they're full of buds and they're going to be popping with blooms before Thanksgiving I'm sure. In the summer months, I keep them outside on the deck where they get about 5 to 6 hours of light every day. Once the temps start to drop, I move them into my garden window in the kitchen where they receive about 3 or 4 hours of morning light.

After a little a research, it would seem all sorts of variables must be in play to get them to bloom at Christmas. Much like the poinsettia, water, light, humidity, all in the right amounts are needed at certain times of the year to ensure blooms at Christmas.

Perhaps when they're done blooming this year, I'll take the necessary steps to ensure they bloom for the time of year intended ~ Christmas. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the gorgeous blooms this plant provides.

If you'd like to learn more about Christmas Cactus, I found a website devoted to this plant.

Christmas Cactus

The Complete Guide

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A Tasty Afternoon Treat

2011-11-02T16:54:00.005-04:00

A seasonal favorite.

Fresh apple cider (of course the cider I shared yesterday) and spiced wafters.

Icey cold milk would be wonderful too.

Sweetzels Spiced Wafers to be exact.

And they're only available from August through November.

You see, there is some controversy in these parts on which company produces the best spiced wafer. Some swear by Sweetzels, self-proclaimed as Philly's original ginger snap since 1910, and is manufactured in a suburb of Philly.

While others owe allegiance to Ivins.

According to this blogger, who actually conducted his own side-by-side taste test, Ivins is produced in Minnesota, but uses Philadelphia molasses.

I've had both, and I do prefer Sweetzels. And they're quite affordable at $1.99 a box.

The only thing that could make this snack a little over the top would be a yummy, sweet, creamy pumpkin dip to dunk these cookies into. But that wouldn't be a good idea for me. Gotta watch that kind of stuff these days since having to cut back my workouts due to this blasted back injury.

I should mention I did not eat that entire plate of cookies, nor drink that tall glass of cider. I had one cookie and poured all but a gulp of the cider back into the container ;o)

In addition to dipping ginger snaps into pumpkin dip, there's a few other yumalicious things you can do to jazz them up. Like, making ice cream sandwiches with them or topping them with
melted white chocolate.

mmmmmmm . . . .

Photo from "Let the Feasty Begin"

Photo from "Let the Feasy Begin"

That's what Debra from Let The Feasty Begin did.

And this blogger also created some ice cream ginger snap cookies, below, and included his positive review of Sweetzels brand.

Photo from "Endless Summer"

Sweetzels might not be available where you live, but if you'd like to try them, you can order them online from the Pennsylvania General Store. But ya better hurry! They won't be around much longer.

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Hoot for Owl Cupcakes

2011-11-01T08:15:00.007-04:00

As mentioned a few posts back, I was making a batch of surprise cupcakes for Son No. 3's girlfriend's birthday. I had to keep it hush hush, though, so as not to spoil the surprise.

We were invited to her house this past Sunday evening for a small family gathering to celebrate her 21st. Her whole family is so nice, and always makes us feel so welcome. To include us in a small, intimate gathering really made us feel like part of the family. Quite frankly, I think we'll all be family someday. Those two are pretty committed to one another.

Anyway, she loved the cupcakes! Owls are so popular right now, and she's into them. They weren't difficult to make at all. A little time-consuming, but once I got all the components ready, I worked on them in an assembly-line fashion.

Duncan Hines' website has pretty good instructions on how to put them together. You can find them here. The best tip, I felt, was microwaving the Oreos a few seconds to soften them so they would separate easier. When I separated them, however, I wasn't entirely successful in keeping all, or even most, of the cream on one side. I used a small off-set spatula to carefully scrape the cream off one side of the cookie and put it on the other side that had the majority of the cream filling. Then, using that spatula (having the small off-set spatula ~ you know, the kind for smoothing frosting on cakes, cupcakes ~ really made this job easy) I smoothed the cream as best as possible.

Another thing I did that wasn't mentioned in the DH's instructions was when it came time to push the Junior Mints into the cream to create the center of the eye, I put the Oreos back in the micro for a few seconds again so the cream was soft and would allow the candies to be pushed down into the cream to stay put better.

I also found the above baking cup helped in building these owls. It's Wilton's ruffled baking cup. I made two batches of cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla. One batch I backed in regular, decorative cups, and the other in the ruffled. Because of the little edge all around, it held the eyes and ears up a little better. I really wished I'd used this type of baking cup for all of them.

To go along with the "owl" theme, I also created a little owl softie using a free tutorial I searched for online. You can find that tutorial here. As I mentioned, she's into owls, and had pinned the cutest owls at Pinterest. So I took that idea and went with it. She turned out so cute. I had a blast making her.

Actually, I found quite a few different and cute free patterns online for all kinds of owls.

One of the best things about getting together to celebrate Shannon's birthday with her family, besides the fun and great company, is that her Aunt's family owns an orchard in Bridgeton, New Jersey,

Sunny Slope,

and they kindly send us home with an assortment peck of their delicious, crunchy, crisp apples and a gallon of the best apple cider you've ever tasted.

To me, that's a gorgeous site. All those wonderful apples piled high in my Hubby's Grandmother's huge blue-banded yellow ware bowl we inherited. Besides just enjoying munching on those delicious apples, I'll be busy making apple crisp, apple pie, apple butter . . .

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All Hallow's Eve

2011-10-31T16:31:00.002-04:00

It's almost time.

For all the goblins, ghosts and ghouls to come a calling.

A tower of terror . . . for my waistline, that is.

The candy's ready at the door, and the weather is going to cooperate nicely.

Hope we have a few more trick-or-treaters than the last couple years.
Numbers are decreasing with each passing year.

Outside, I have a few jack-o-latern type vessels to light up with candles.
I did not purchase one pumpkin this year.
I know . . . GASP!!!
Nor did I purchase any hay bales or corn stalks. Not sure what was going on with me. I just couldn't get in the groove to decorate the outside this year. I did purchase some mums, but that's pretty much it.

This guy's actually electric. He has a little light bulb inside.

Cute little rusted metal ghost. A candle sits in a little tray behind him.

Candles go inside these metal guys too.
They're nestled in the planters by my front door,
where they can greet the trick-or-treaters.

Hope you all have a spooktacular Halloween!!!

Oh, and I want to give a quick little birthday shout out to Son No. 2's girlfriend, Shannon. As some of you read in my last post, she turns 21 today. We were invited to her house last night for a very nice little family gathering. Will share more on that in tomorrow's post. Also, I'll reveal the super-cute cuppy cakes I made for her along with a cute little something extra special I made for her.

Happy Birthday, Shannon!

XOXO

Have a fun night everyone!

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A Soggy Saturday

2011-10-29T12:10:00.007-04:00

The weather here today couldn't be yuckier ~ is that even a word? It's cold, rainy, windy. A nasty nor'easter. And . . . here's the yuckiest part . . . we're supposed to get wet snow later this evening. SNOW??!!! We don't snow around here in October. It's not going to be much. A couple inches that's probably not going to stick to the roads, and will be gone by tomorrow mid-day. But still, snow!?

I've decided to "hunker" down here in the house and get some projects done. That's the best thing about a cold, rainy Saturday, right?

I'm going to sew the binding onto another one of these:

I bought this silly, cutesy Halloween fabric a few years ago and never did anything with it. I decided the other night I'd make a couple little quilted tablerunners using it.

Silly Halloween on one side, pretty autumnal print on the other.

I may sit down and do some more stitching on this:

I started this cross stitch project . . . gosh . . . it's been so long ago, I don't even remember.

I bet it's been 14 or 15 years ago.

Think I may need to add some more floss stitches to his beard. Looks a little thin.

I'm gonna bake a batch of Halloweeny cupcakes using all this:

I'm sure I've mentioned in past posts how I like using cake mixes, and adding extra ingredients to them for my cakes and cupcakes. It's so much easier, and the cakes turn out great every time. I have a great book that gives tons of ideas and recipes for using mixes.

The Cake Doctor Returns by Ann Byrn

Using those Oreo cookies and Junior Mints candies, I'll be making a special bunch of cupcakes for a very special young lady who is celebrating her 21st birthday Sunday, although her birthday is actually Halloween. How cool is that to have a Halloween b'day?! I don't want to share too much about them, because she reads my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

So, you're just going to have to wait til tomorrow, Shannon! ;o)

Another project I plan to tackle, will need these items:

Again, I can't divulge my plain for these because they're to be made into a little special something for that Birthday Girl, Shannon. I'll be sure to share what all that up there becomes, and the cutesy cupcakes in a later post.

My favorite Halloween movies will be watched, most likely with a huge bowl of popcorn.

I'm not a gory movie person at all. I like the cutesy, kiddie Halloween movies.

Another movie I used to just love, but it's never on TV anymore, and I've yet to find it on DVD is the The Halloween Tree. It's a cartoon made from the Ray Bradbury book. I really like The Nightmare Before Christmas too, but we don't have that on DVD. We had a VHS copy, but no more VCR's in the house.

A few other movies I might try to get in this weekend:

The Others ~ ghosts. Van Helsing ~ vampires. They're appropriate for Halloween. And I can get a dose of the gorgeous Hugh Jackman. And, yeesss, I'm getting the itch to watch some Christmas flicks.

I will be perusing through this fabulous magazine.

I have to blame another blogger, Michael from Inspired by Charm, for tempting me to fall of the wagon. By "falling off the wagon" I'm referring to my constant addiction battle with magazines. Especially the SIP's ~ Special Interest Publications. I will say, though, I think it's probably one of BH&G's best Christmas Ideas edition in years. Every page is filled with the greatest show-and-tell pics, eye candy, project ideas. A couple popular and well-known home dec/design bloggers are featured as well. It was well worth me caving into temptation to grab it up.

By the way, have you all visited Michael's blog? Oh, it's fabulous! He's fabulous!
If you haven't visited him at
Inspired by Charm,
you should pop over there when you're done here.

I think another "have-to" for today will be a big pot of steaming hot soup. I'm thinking maybe a creamy, cheesy potato soup with some warm homemade cornbread.

Hope you all have a fun, and spooktacular, weekend!

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Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

2011-10-26T08:18:00.001-04:00

This recipe was one of Martha Stewart's Cookie of the Day emails. I'm always on the lookout for something a little different, and seasonal recipes are always fun to try. Brownies are always a hit here at our house, and pumpkin, well, it's that time of year!

How can you go wrong with anything pumpkin?!

So, I gathered up the ingredients, and went to work.

As you can see, all the normal ingredients for preparing a yummy pan of brownies, with the addition of the pumpkin. But look . . . up there . . . there's also a few slightly different additions then are normally found in a brownie recipe. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. I have seen spicy flavors pared with chocolate in other recipes, but I've never experienced it.

I was anxious to try!

First things first.

Melt the chocolate {I mixed semi-sweet with unsweetened} and the

butter together in a double boiler on the stove.

Now, can you think of anything more lovely?

Mmmmm . . . glossy, rich, buttery melted chocolate . . .

Combining the eggs, sugar, vanilla.

It works into quite a thick, sticky batter.

At this point, you divide that batter up there into two bowls. Add the melted chocolate to one, and the pumpkin along with remaining ingredients in another.

Then you spread half the chocolate batter in a pan, followed by half the pumpkin batter, repeating to create four layers of batter.

Well, I was lazy and only did two layers. Chocolate on the bottom, pumpkin on top. I tried to swirl it, but with only the two layers I didn't really get swirl of combined batters. Also, the recipe called for the brownies to be baked in a 9 inch square pan, but many of the comments I read about the recipe said the batter was too rich and thick for that size and the brownies weren't baking thoroughly. Several commenters suggested a larger pan. I used a 9x12 and it worked perfectly.

As you can see, I didn't quite get the swirliness like in Martha's brownies below. Oh, and I didn't add the nuts. The brownies were a success! That very faint hint of spiciness paired well with the pumpkin flavor in these brownies. I think if I would have taken the time to layer the batter as suggested, there would be a better mixture of flavors when bitting into the brownie. With just the layer of pumpkin on top, it's more divided flavor/texture when you bite into the brownie, if that makes any sense. I would definitely make these again.

If you'd like the recipe, click here to go to Martha's site to print it out.

I can't go without mentioning my super-cute witchy cake stand. Isn't it adorable! It was a hostess gift one year from my good friend and bestest next-door neighbor in the world, Mary.

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A Fall Day at the Tee

2011-10-25T08:29:00.007-04:00

Around these parts, this past weekend was just gorgeous.

Perfect fall days.

Sunday, after running a few morning errands, Hubby decided to go to the golf club we joined this year to play nine holes.

We've spent quite a bit of time there this summer with Hubby playing two, even three, times a week. Early in the summer, I was playing once a week for a while.

And, best of all, hitting the pool for some R&R in the sun.

Photo from The Club website

Photo from The Club website.

Chester River Yacht and Country Club has a beautiful course located next to the historic Maryland town of Chestertown, and sits right on the Chester River. There's a clubhouse with restaurant, banquet facility, pool, and a dock right on the river. It's an old, established country club. And as you can see from the photos below, there's lots of small ponds and wetlands with tons of wildlife.

This doe is hoping Hubby doesn't shank the shot!

All the small ponds along the course are loaded with turtles.

Not only is the club old, in that it's been established since 1929, it would seem most of the members are originally from that era! Well, just kidding . . . kinda . . . I would say that Hubby and I are part of the minority age, me at 47 and him at 51. Most of the members are well into their 60's, 70's even older. Obviously we didn't join the club for the social life, but primarily for the golf and the pool. It's a private club, so no tee times aren't needed. Hubby loves that he can go whenever he gets the itch and doesn't have to worry about scheduling a time. Best of all, they were offering a fabulous deal on new memberships.

View of The Chester River from the course.

When we went down this past Sunday, I mainly went to keep Hubby company riding along in the cart and taking some great photos. Unfortunately, my golfing for the season is pretty much done. Three weeks ago, Son No. 3 was horsing around and pushed me over while I was sitting on a counter stool. I went down hard right on my left bum check. It knocked the wind out of me and hurt like crazy. For a few days after, it just felt like maybe I had a bruised bone. A visible bruise never really showed up. So I kept on with my regular, physical routines of puttering inside and outside the house, exercising daily and work ~ cleaning houses. About the third or fourth day after the fall, I started getting really intense lower back pain that would radiate down my left leg and into my calf. It was a tingling pain that even went down into my foot causing some numbness in my toes. It became crippling at times. I will tell you this, I've given birth twice with no pain killers and the pain would sometimes equate to some of the worst labor pains, almost driving me to tears.

After a couple weeks I finally decided to see the doc. After the doctor examining me and sending me to physical therapy, and from what info I've found on the web, I'm pretty sure I have a herniated, ruptured, bulging . . . whatever you want to call it . . . disc. I haven't had an official diagnosis. That would require an MRI, but from what the physical therapist deduced, and the research I've done, I'm pretty sure that's what I'm dealing with. The worst part is, there's really nothing to do but nurse it and take it easy. Surgery seems to be a last resort in super-severe cases, and is not always recommended.

There's my handsome Hubby putting the ball.

I'll tell you it's been hard not being able to do all that I'm used to. Having to cut back on my workouts, and the intensity of them. Not being able to get out and do the necessary fall gardening clean-up, or projects around the house. It's been debilitating for me. I'm not a "sit-around-and-do-nothing" kinda gal. I'm always puttering. Some days it's painful to just walk across the room. From all that I've read, this type of injury can take weeks, months to heal, if it totally heals at all.

Oye!!!

Well, if nothing else, maybe I'll get some sewing, scrapbooking, crafting and cross stitch projects done. With the Holidays right around the corner, though, I hope I get some relief from the pain so I can get the things done I need . . . err . . . want to do.

In the meantime, guess I'll have to spend more time on the couch catching up with all the things that can be done in a seated position.

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SPOOKIFIED

2011-10-23T08:00:00.005-04:00

We're ready for fright night.

To make your own spooky concoction labels, go here.

Print 'em out and soak it in a tea bath for a old vintage look.

My favorite witch image. I've used her in a lot of projects.

Most of those books, up there, covered in brown kraft paper, wrapping paper and Chinese newspaper, is our Harry Potter book series. I bought several Chinese newspapers on a shopping trip to NYC one year to use in projects and wrapping gifts.

There she is again ;o)

I'm sure at times my kids would certainly agree with that sign!

Are you ready for the ghosts, goblins and ghouls?

I'm happy to be linking up with Liz at
Savvy Seasons Autumn Arrives Party

Those of you kindly visiting from Liz's blog, you can see more autumnal touches at this post.
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How Lucky Am I???

2011-10-22T09:39:00.000-04:00

To answer my own question,

pretty darn lucky for sure!

I was the lucky winner of Stampington's new publication

"Mingle"

Photo from "Mingle"

This absolutely fabulous magazine was courtesy of Becky Shander.

She had a giveaway for this new mag on her blog last week, and I won!

WooHoo!!!

Photo from "Mingle"

It's a wonderful publication that devotes it's pages to special, fanciful events. As in the expected Stampington and Company manner, the articles' layouts and photos are beautiful. It's loaded with great ideas and lots of yummy eye candy.

And as if winning this gorgeous publication wasn't enough, Becky enclosed a piece of her amazing art {above}. Becky is a fantastic mixed media artist who is published . . . well . . . all the time! As you can see from some examples of her art below, there's no guessing why. She's a member of the Director's Circle Artist for Stampington, and a member of the design team at Crescendoh. She also has a website where you can purchase her artfully created jewelry.

The coolest thing was that Becky created an "envelope" from recycled dryer sheets. How neat is that?! The second I opened the package, I could smell the soft, clean fragrance of the dryer sheet. Becky told me it's one of her all-time favorite materials to work with.

If you've never visited Becky's blog, you really are missing out. I love her blog. The format she's chosen for her blog . . . the way she writes . . . the photos she shares . . . it's all so inspiring and relaxing. You know how some blogs are loaded with flashing ads and lots of side bar photos, etc., that can at times be a little distracting? Not Becky's blog. Her blog has a calm and restful sense to it. You really have to hop over and check her out!

Photo from Becky Shander's Blog

Becky, again, thanks so much for this wonderful gift.

I just love the magazine, and I'll treasure the art piece you sent.

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A Kale Tale

2011-10-20T19:02:00.003-04:00

Lately, it seems for me anyway, I've been seeing lots of recipes using Kale. Oh, I know Kale's been around forever, but I guess I just never paid it much attention. Or, is it possible it's just been getting a lot of face time lately?

I decided to give it a go. I bought a ginormous bag at the market for five bucks. The first time I used it, I did a quick saute with some olive oil, garlic and red pepper flake. Once it wilted down, I added some chicken stock and a can of cannelloni beans, and some S&P. I also boiled up some Farfalle.

{I know, I know . . . bow tie noodles . . . but saying "Farfalle" in your best Giada voice sounds much fancier, dont'cha think?}

I tossed the bow ties in near the end of the sautéing, and added a bit of fresh-grated parm.

Didn't take any photos, but you get the idea :o)

I'll have to say, IMO, it was okay. They definitely have a slightly bitter taste and chewier texture then say spinach ~ which I love. Not sure what the nutritional differences are between kale and spinach, but I will have to say I prefer spinach better over the two greens.

Now, a few days ago, I decided to tackle kale chips. Easy peasy. Fill up a baking sheet with the kale, drizzle olive, sprinkle with some kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Now this I liked! The kale leaves were super crispy and crunchy, yet they almost melted in your mouth. I bet these would be on top of a pasta dish or soup. I would definitely do the kale chips again. They'd be fun at a cocktail party too, I bet.

So there.

Now I can cross off "trying kale" on my list of things to experience.

Ya never know 'bout something till ya try it, right?!

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Scripty Shades

2011-10-12T08:58:00.001-04:00

Here is just one more example of why it always pays to browse around Walmart

when I go food shopping.

I apologize in advance for the poor photo quality. It is a rainy, dark and dreary day here, and not wanting to use the flash ~ yuck ~ there wasn't enough natural light to get a good photo.

Which, for me, can be good and bad!

You know what I mean ;o)

When I do grocery run at Walmart (not all the time, mind you, but when I need to pick up some stock items), I always make sure I cruise through the seasonal, home goods/decor, craft departments on my way to the food side of the store.

My last trip netted me with this super-cute French script shade for the floor lamp in the family room. It was in the BH&G line, and IMO, a steal at just under ten bucks.

I loved it so much, I had to go back and get a matching shade for the small table lamp in the same room. Again, just under ten bucks. It's a good feeling when I find something really good like this at Walmart. It certainly pays to keep your eyes open when you're there!

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Quiet Saturday Morning

2011-10-08T09:55:00.002-04:00

It's an absolutely beautiful Saturday morning here. Sunny and crisp outside. Quiet and peaceful inside.

Hubby's gone to play a round of golf. Son No. 3 is still in bed.

And I have a new stack of reading material.

Romantic Homes. One of my favorites of all the "romantic" decor style magazines.

At first I was going to take my cup of vanilla biscotti coffee and the pile of new mags outside on the deck, but it was still just a bit too nippy. So, I decided I'd venture off to a place I rarely visit . . . well, rarely visit for the purposes of relaxing, that is.

The living room or sitting room.

Off I went.

I plopped into one of the soft, oversized chairs, threw my feet up on the ottoman, and got lost for a while within the pages of all that new inspiration.

And, yes, that's a tattoo on my ankle. That was my "turning-40-midlife-crisis-I-need-to-do-something-crazy" moment.

Joy! The new issue of Country French.

Always a great source for cute and quick paper crafting ideas.

Oh be still my heart . . . the new PB and Ballard catalogs. Well, not fresh off the presses, but they've been in my mail basket for a while and I'm just now getting to them.

What a nice way to start out the day.

Why don't I come in here more often?

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A Burlap Wreath

2011-10-04T15:43:00.002-04:00

More burlap inspiration has come my way.

I was inspired by the cutest burlap wreath that was created by Lucy from

Lucy's Lampshade,

that I had to bust out the burlap for another project.

Photo From Lucy's Lampshade

Instead of fall silks, I decided to adorn my raggy burlap wreath with handmade fabric flowers using leftover velvets and satins from my bean pumpkins.

Atop the wreath, a simple burlap bow made from a roll of burlap ribbon I bought months ago.

For now it's hanging on my chippy door that's propped up in the living room.

I love my chippy door!

This was a fun quick little project . . . well, except for all the sneezing from the burlap fibers flittering all around when I was tying all those strips to the embroidery hoop.

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Say 'Ello to My Li'l Friend

2011-09-30T08:39:00.001-04:00

Now, when you read that title up there, you have to do it in your best Al Pacino as Scarface voice.

Granted my "li'l friend" isn't as deadly as a machine gun, but it's going to be my weapon of choice in the attack against my kitchen chairs.

With all the turns and grooves in these chairs brushing would have been a nightmare. Surely I would have used at least four cans of spray paint per chair ~ and there's six of them.

My dear, sweet Hubby bought this spray gun that can be used with our air compressor a few weeks ago upon my request . . . okay pleading.

But the darn weather here, for what seems like almost two weeks, has been so lousy. Not good painting weather at all. It's been damp and rainy. And when it's not been raining, the humidity's been like 300%.

Finally a break! Today is clear, and not near as humid. This weekend, and into next week, are supposed to be much better than it's been. So now I have no excuse. I'll be spending some time this weekend deep cleaning the dirt and grime off these chairs, lightly sanding and priming in prep for the paint.

Hopefully within a couple weeks I'll have fresh, newly painted chairs.

Then I'll be tackling the table . . . hopefully . . .

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27 Years

2011-09-29T15:03:00.001-04:00

Photo from Shuttershock

Twenty-seven years ago today I married my true love.

Amazing how these twenty-seven years have flown by.

Sometimes I can't believe it's really been that many years.

We plan to go out for a quiet, and hopefully romantic, dinner Saturday night.

Happy Anniversary, Dear.

I love you more and more with each passing year.

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Fall Burlap Banner

2011-09-28T17:53:00.001-04:00

Perusing aimlessly on the computer one night . . . wasting waayyyy too much of my time . . . I stumbled upon some of the most gorgeous banners created from burlap. Most of the ones I instantly fell in love with were created by a fabulous artist named Amanda. She sells her creations out of her Etsy shop cleverly named Funkyshique. She may not be new to many of you, but I'm totally gaga over her work.

She has currently closed up shop for some "renovations", but you can subscribe to her email list to be notified of her reopening.

After drooling all over my keyboard while visiting her store and blog, I was inspired to make one for myself. Granted, it's certainly no where near the quality and craftsmanship sold at Funkyshique, but for my first try, I think it turned pretty okay!

I used a permanent ink to stamp the letters and swirly patterns, added a bit of glitter, and sealed and stiffened the pieces with Mod Podge. Then I simply folded over a bit of the top, ironed flat, and glued over a line of jute.

Below are some of Amanda's beautiful banners. Be sure to check out her Etsy shop for a sampling of the types of items she creates. She also has a blog, Funkyshique, but it appears she's been a bit absent. Her last post was in June, but it's still chock full of gorgeous eye candy.

Photo from Funkyshique

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I'm A Winner!

2011-09-24T13:24:00.002-04:00

A sweet and kind blogging friend, Kerin at Cottage On Main, held a giveaway offering some cute fallish items, and I was the winner!
WooHoo!!!!

Kerin wrapped each item carefully in yellow tissue, tying each bundle with brown ribbon.

Perfect fall colors.

Kerin attached a handmade tag to one of the bundles. Isn't it adorable?!

Just look at that great assortment of goodies!

A wonderful recipe journal book full of Paula's kitchen wisdom.

Love Paula!

A gorgeous fall plaque.

Some much needed kitchen towels.

Mine are getting ratty.

And little crocheted dish scrubbers. I love these!

I've had some in the past and just love how well they clean.

Thanks so much, Kerin, for such a nice and generous package of fall goodies! I can assure you I will make good use out of all the items you sent.

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Autumn Greetings

2011-09-23T08:03:00.002-04:00

I found this quote and liked it so much I decided to print it out and frame it.

I repainted and distressed an inexpensive frame found in my frame graveyard in the basement. Mounted the quote to a scrap of burlap, and glued a rusty tin leaf the frame.

The first dat of Autumn for us here is turning out to be a dark, damp, dreary day. As a matter of fact, this whole week's been pretty damp and rainy. It's felt more like living in the Pacific Northwest than along the Eastern Seaboard.

Guess all this wet weather will at least help contribute to some blazing fall foliage when the leaves turn.

Have a great weekend!

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Ya Snooze, Ya Looze

2011-09-21T08:23:00.006-04:00

Yep!

That's exactly what I did.

Photo from Pottery Barn

I had been eyeballing this bathroom accessory set from Pottery Barn for months and months.

Photo from Pottery Barn

The Blue Beach Glass Bath Accessories Set

This set would have worked perfectly in the little reno of our master bath . . . the one that's taking foe-evah to finish. The color palette for the room is going to be those beach glass colors of blues, greens, grays that you associate with a spa-like decor. Casual and restful.

Photo from Pottery Barn

I don't know why I kept putting off ordering. I guess seeing the set in the 2-3 monthly cattys I get in the mail had me thinking I had time to order.

Photo from Pottery Barn

Well, my time ran out. The set is no longer available. Booooooo :o(

Photo from Pottery Barn

From here on in, when I see something I want for that room, or any room for that matter, I'm grabbin' that sucker up. No more loozin' for me!

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Peppermint Crunch Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-20T08:13:00.002-04:00

Boy, that's a mouthful, huh?!

I was in the mood to bake something Sunday. And I've had a bag of Andes Peppermint Crunch chips in the pantry for a while now. I picked them up at the grocery one time thinking they were neat. Something different.

I got busy following the recipe on the back of the bag. You can find the recipe here. The only things I did differently to the recipe was omit the coconut. Not a fan of flake coconut. And added some semi-sweet chocolate chips and an extra egg.

Think peppermint patty.

Mmmmm

I will say, the cookies were met with pretty ho-hum reviews. "Why couldn't you have just made regular ole chocolate chips?" Well, cause I wanted to try something different, that's why!

I like 'em. I like the combination of the peppermint and chocolate together. I would make them again, except I'd probably eat most of them, and that would not be a good thing. So, they may not make it to the all-time-favorite cookie list for our family!

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A Little Fallishness

2011-09-19T11:01:00.007-04:00

I finally started to get my fall groove on. Let me tell ya, it was hard for me to give up summer. Although, it is still officially summer until this Friday, it's finally started feeling like fall 'round here lately with the cool temps.

Love these "frosty" acorn fillers I grabbed up at JoAnn's.

I guess I just wasn't ready to give up the lazy days of summer. Or at least the idea of the lazy days of summer. Which is odd for me, because fall is one of my favorite seasons. And with fallish accents popping up all over . . . the blogisphere, department stores, magazine covers, etc., I realized I'd better get busy, or before I knew it I'd be digging through the Christmas bins!

Last week I drug down from the attic a plethora of boxes and containers housing all the fall and Halloween decor. And they sat in the spare bedroom for days. Well, I finally dug in and drug out the fallish stuff, leaving the Halloweeny for the first of October.

What a process! It takes me days to change the seasonal decor around the house. Is it like that for you? Am I too picky on creating vignettes? Am I simply lacking a certain amount of creativity? Or do I just have too much stuff to work with? I dunno. Whatever is my problem, I did finally manage to fallify the decor a bit.

So, I started in the kitchen. In the "dead area" of the kitchen peninsula where I usually create my seasonal vignettes, I added some fall color.

A little mini log cabin quilt I made years ago is a good anchor with it's fall colors. The wood ~ I think? ~ chargers are from Walmart and the vase was clearance item from JoAnn's ~ $2.97. A little burlap, jute twine and rusty metal leaves hides an ugly candle label.

I bet some of you recognize the glass hurricane and candle inside below. Yup. They're treasures from the Dollar Tree.

The kitchen table got a new look too. It was time to change out the sand and shells centerpiece.

The tray matches those charger plates from Walmart. Another itty bitty quilt, called a "candle pad" was created a long time ago from scraps from another quilt. Those yellow, bakelight steak knives were given to me by my mother. I remember using them at dinner time when I was kid. I love having stuff like that around . . . things that were around the house when I was growing up and were used daily.

A close up of the cute little quilt. I should make a few more. It's so darn cute!

More of the frosty acorns.

Over on the hutch, I have my harvest girl. She's really the only "Thanksgivingly" accents I have. I guess that's probably because by the time Halloween's over, I'm gearing up into Christmas mode.

The serving piece below is one I just love. It was an Ebay find, and it's part of my Stangl Pottery collection {I posted more of my collection here.}. The colors are perfect for fall.

So sorry for some of the blur, my batteries were wearing down in the camera.

My Pottery Barn knockoff felt leaf garland. Mmmm, maybe I'll make another one of them too.

Some fall fell into the family room too. Say that five times fast! LOL

As you can see, I'm really getting good use out of those frosty acorns!

One of my mushy velvet pumpkins from a couple years ago.

And there's a couple more.

One of my favorite little Autumn wall quilts. I like to use quilting straight pins to hang seasonal quilts on the wall. They hold the quilts up securely, and know one ever notices those teeny, tiny holes lift by the pins when they come down.

Sadly, we don't have a fireplace, so I try to treat my fabulous, rustic bookcase in the family like a "mantel".

Inexpensive pumpkins from JoAnn's on spray painted Dollar Tree pedestal thingys. And that clock face back there? Well, somehow the hands got all bent up and the clock wouldn't work, but I couldn't bare to through it away. There was something about the face of it I just loved. It makes a nice backdrop.

Hopefully I'll get some Autumn accents in the living room before it's time for Christmas. That'll probably take me until the end of the week to accomplish! How much have y'all done to fallify your homes?

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A Sober Reminder

2011-09-16T14:04:00.004-04:00

Today is a sad day for Delaware law enforcement.

Around midnight last night, an officer was killed in the line of duty. I did not know the officer. He didn't work for the same agency as my husband. He was an 18 year veteran of our county police department. My husband is with the State Police. Nevertheless, it is a sad, sober reminder of the dangers our loved ones in law enforcement face every day on the job.

The officer was called to a disturbance in a residential neighborhood, and was fatally stabbed several times while trying to take the suspect into custody.

Many times throughout the day today as I was puttering around doing some light housework, weeding the gardens, etc., my thoughts would wander thinking about the officer's family and his colleagues.

The world seems to be a little more violent place now then it was when my husband first joined the force. He's spent most of his career as a detective in various units and in administrative positions. Not that he's not been, at times, in dangerous positions performing those duties, but a road officer almost never knows how a seemingly routine call can go down. Sometimes it makes me nervous knowing my middle son, who is 20, has high aspirations of becoming a police officer, and wants to apply to the State Police when he has met the application requirements.

Anytime I hear of an officer any where loosing their life in the line of duty it saddens me, but also makes me grateful my husband's been safe during his 31 years of service.

The SlimCado ~ Have You Tried It?

2011-09-10T11:30:00.001-04:00

While grocery shopping at Walmart the other day, I noticed this . . .

Always looking to save myself a few calories and fat grams, I thought I'd give a try. Upon doing a bit of online research on the "SlimCado", I read quite a bit of mixed reviews. A lot of people who disliked it described the flavor as being bland and not very "avocadoy" tasting, with a watery textured flesh.

The SlimCado is grown in Florida, and marketed by Brooks Tropicals of Homestead. Brooks has been growing the SlimCado since 1928, and they've been selling the fruit under the "SlimCado" name since 1987. It has not been genetically altered in any way, according to a Brooks marketing director. It is a Florida avocado. The humid Florida climate is what makes it different then a California grown Hass avocado.

Brooks claims they are not necessarily trying to compete with a Hass avocado. They admit that they're fruit is better to be sliced on salads or soups, or made into sandwich spreads. If you're wanting to make a bowl of creamy, or in my case chunky, guacamole, you would prefer a Hass avocado.

Wish I'd read that statement yesterday before I attempted to make guacamole.

After making my version of guacamole, I would have to agree with that descriptions I'd read online. Oh, it's not terrible tasting, but it certainly doesn't have that creamy almost buttery-like texture of a Hass avocado.

My review of the SlimCado . . . eh . . .

Let's put it this way, I won't be in a big rush to run out and buy another any time soon.

Now, here's the strange thing, you notice Brooks' claim on the label up there states 35% fewer calories and 50% less fact then a regular avocado. I went to Brooks' website, where they list the nutritional info as 1/2 a fruit having 145 calories and 10.5 fat grams. Then I went to the Hass Avocado Board's website called Avocado Central where they're nutritional listing has 1/5 of a medium fruit having 50 calories and 4.5 fat grams.

That would be 290 calories and 21 fat grams for a whole SlimCado, and

250 calories and 22.5 fat grams for a whole Hass.

Mmmm . . . that all just don't add up, does it?

So, if all those numbers are correct, I'm definitely sticking with the Hass!

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FREE QUILTING MAGAZINES!!

2011-09-07T13:26:00.000-04:00

In an effort to try and reduce the amount of . . . well . . . stuff I have everywhere, I've decided to part with my small library of BH&G's

American Patchwork and Quilting Magazines

I have a good number of them. And they are, for the most, part in very good condition, with each issue still containing it's bound pattern sheets.

I absolutely can not put them in the recycling. I don't want to bother with trying to sell them on Ebay. I could drop them at the Goodwill, but I want to make sure they go to a good home. I guess I could investigate someplace to donate them ~ library, senior center, etc. But with my schedule the way it is, I don't want to have to make a bunch of phone calls, or drive here and there to deliver them.

So, I'm giving them away to anyone out there in blogland who would like them. You can take the lot of 'em, or just certain years. All I'm asking is for you to pay the postage. Media Rate (formerly known as Book Rate) is usually pretty reasonable. I'll be sure to investigate the cheapest postage.

They've lived in a smoke-free home, and pretty much a pet-free home most of their lives. As I mentioned earlier, they are all in very good condition with a few issues more lovingly worn

than others ;o)

So, if you are interested in any or all, or know someone who may be interested, please shoot me an email (cosmogirlcarla@gmail.com) and we can work out the details.

Spread the word! I want to make sure these fine publications find themselves in the hands of someone who will love and treasure them as much as I have over the years.

Here's the lineup:

Full Years (6 issues per year)

1995

1996

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Partial Years

1994 - 5 issues

1997 - 2 issues

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SURVIVOR SUNFLOWERS

2011-08-31T21:30:00.006-04:00

As you all probably know, here on the east coast, Mother Nature presented us with a pretty eventful week last week.

Last Tuesday we had our first relatively strong earthquake in like a hundred years. We didn't have any damage like areas near the epicenter, but it was a little weird feeling the earth literally ripple beneath your feet. It was a gorgeous that day, and me and Son No. 3, Owen, were hanging out at the pool. The pool water was sloshing back in forth, and the umbrellas were swaying. It was pretty crazy.

Then along came Irene. Boy, talk about panicking! Watching and listening to reports on her progress throughout the week created a bit of concern for those of us here on the east coast. We actually live about 60 miles from the closest beach, but as you all know by now, the threat of Irene coming so far inland had many worried.

By the end of last week, I figured I better get a little better prepared. I made sure I had lots of bags of ice in the both freezers (we have two frigs ~ one in the kitchen, and one in the garage). I also bagged up ice from the ice maker for clean ice, and filled empty milk jugs and juice bottles with water and put them in freezer. We weren't so worried about flooding where we are, and not too many large mature trees to worry about with the high winds. Our main concern was power outages. The power company even had automated calls go out the Friday before (the storm was set to hit here late Saturday night), alerting their customers to be ready for possible long-term power outages.

I ended up at Costco that Friday, not necessarily to stock up on water like every other person in the state. Good thing, I guess, cause they ran out. Or so it seemed. On my way to the registers, they were just hauling in another pallet. It was like a free-for-all people grabbing cases. Anyway . . . it was a regular Costco day for me, and I was dreading going knowing it would be mob scene. And that it was. Funny though, I was in and out quicker that day then I ever have. Crazy, huh?!

Then I spent a good portion of the afternoon Friday bringing all the outdoor furniture, pots and planters. Basically anything that could become a projectile in the high wind. What a job!

The deck, before, with all the furniture and plants:

And after completely cleared off:

Let me tell you, THAT was a workout!

Having all my pots and planters grouped in one area really made me realize just how many flowers I have.

They all looked so pretty smooshed together on tables in the garage.

Saturday morning I started cooking - meatballs and sauce, Sante Fe chicken salad, potato salad. I chopped and minced veges for pico de gallo and bruschetta. I figured if we were going to loose power, I had lots of ice for coolers to store cold food, and the grill for cooking up all the stuff in the freezers.

Son No 2., Colin, and his GF Shannon, stayed over. We weathered the storm watching movies and munching. And just in case we lost power, we had board games ready and I put together a basket of candles, a lighter and flashlights.

Well, for us the storm brought lots of rain and some pretty gusty winds. We fared well by comparison from a lot of reports after the storm. The worst thing for us was my garden was mowed down by the winds. I have yet to get out there and clean up and start yanking stuff out, but I did find some sunflowers blooming. Little survivors they are.

The day before the storm:

The day after:

I couldn't resist cutting a little bouquet of those last surviving sunflowers, and putting them in salt glaze crock. I placed them on the table of my new bistro set on the deck.

Isn't it adorable??!!!

AWalmart deal. I couldn't resist it the other day when I was there. On clearance for $198 from $329.

The back pillows didn't come with the set. They're ones I bought earlier in the season when I was trying to match the other deck set. The back pillows for the bistro set were too big and puffy and the same color as the seat cushions. Kinda boring.

These pillows look so much better, are more comfy when sitting in the chairs. And see how nicely they coordinate with the pillows from the other lounge set?

Every time I walk by the door, I have to pause and look at my cute new furniture out there. The weather's been just fabulous here since Sunday night, which has allowed me to keep all the cushions and pillows out everyday. Before we know it, though, "deck weather" will be over and everything will be put away. But I'm going to savor enjoying my outdoor room as long as possible.

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No More Summer Slacking!

2011-08-23T08:29:00.000-04:00

Around here, you can sense summer's coming to an end. Hanging on to the last few days of sleeping in, staying up late, no real schedule, and blowing off stagnant home improvement and home dec projects.

About the only things I've kept up with this summer is the basic housework, my exercise routine, a weekly round of golf and some gardening.

Son No. 1 went back to school in North Carolina last week. Son No. 2, who lives on campus here in Delaware, and Son No. 3, who'll be starting 8th grade, start back next Monday. And with only a couple weeks left in August, and the nights getting a bit cooler, you can certainly feel the change in the air.

So, next week I'm vowing to get myself back into . . . well, everything I've been putting off this summer.

Like, straightening up and deep cleaning my craft room. It's a mess!

Making a new counter skirt and window treatment in the craft room with this new fabric. I think it's going to look great with the pink shaggy area rug and the green apple walls!

Cleaning up and sorting through all that stuff under the table in the living room. What's the deal with all that junk? Well, that's stuff I was using when creating new summertime vignettes here and there around the house, and it just got stuffed under there. Outta of site, outta of mind, right?!

Our master bathroom. UGGHHHH!!! I'm almost embarrassed to show these pics.

We started this mini-reno almost exactly a year ago. We had some drywall repair done and that begun the long needed makeover. Because we honestly can't afford to replace fixtures and completely overhaul the bathroom, we're hoping some updates will help out this tired-looking space. First of all, fresh paint on the walls. Since we have to keep the big fixtures like the tub, shower, etc., I can live with their pale grey color, so I'm working with color scheme that compliments. I tell everyone to think beach glass. Pale greens, blues, greys and whites.

A new tile floor and tile around the tub to cover the ugly cedar planking painted grey should help. And some white bead board paneling on the front. BTW, I hate that the tub is situated on an angle. I've never been able to figure out what to do with all the space back there. Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciate ;o)

I picked out glass tiles for the backsplash around the tub and behind the vanity, below, which will be getting a new coat of heirloom paint and a new vanity top and sinks, and, of course, new vanity hardware. New light fixtures and new shower doors will give this bathroom the facelift it desperately needs.

This project, primarily the tiling, is Hubby's. And it's been slow-going, mainly because he's been working tons of overtime, annnddddd playing quite a bit of golf on the weekends this summer. Which I can't complain about. He's been working so hard, and golf really relaxes him. He knows he's going to have to get busy back on the project soon, though . . . hint, hint, Hon!

Another project waiting in the wings for way too long is the painting and refinishing of the kitchen table and chairs (this table does have a leaf that's out right now and six chairs altogether). The chairs are getting a fresh new coat of glazed heirloom white paint, and the table top's getting refinished with a new coat of stain - I think.

Not sure if I should restain it or paint it. Suggestions?

And I haven't decided if I'm going to paint the base glazed heirloom white or black. Guess it would depend on what I decide to do the top. Again, suggestions?

So among so many other big projects needing to get down around here, such as; pulling up the carpet in the finished basement and putting down the wood floor we purchased over a year ago; painting and redecorating that space; repainting the third bedroom; restaining the boy's bathroom vanity; painting and organizing our master bedroom closet; etceterAH, etceterAH, etceterAH . . . (saying that in my head in my best Yul Brenner voice from the King and I).

All these projects, big and small, are gonna require a big swift kick in the butt for me. Part of the reason, besides just summer slacking for not getting a lot of them done or at least started, is I just think I've lost a bit of my mojo. I need some real motivation to get these projects going and completed, and some serious inspiration to make some much need decor changes around my home.

I'm hoping when Son No. 3 gets back into school next week, and I have a few full days at home alone, I can get going on these projects and more. How are all of you getting back on schedule now that summer's almost over? It can be a tough transition some years!

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THE Best Lasagna! ~ IMO {and my family's}

2011-08-15T10:57:00.000-04:00

My parents came to dinner yesterday for a little farewell dinner for Son No. 1. He leaves to go back to down to North Carolina Thursday for his last semester of school. Summer's almost over and Johnny's leaving. So sad. I almost hate this time of year most.

Anyway, when I called over the weekend and invited them, my plan was to serve something simple and relatively easy. A big pan of lasagna, salad and bread. Easy. Filling. Satisfying.

Yesterday, Sunday, we awoke to thunder storms that literally lasted hours. Drenching rain and dreary skies. A perfect day to spend cooking away in the kitchen.

Instead of throwing together a quick and easy pan of lasagna using a plain old jarred marina sauce ~ good quality, of course! ~ I decided to look through a few of my many recipe books for something a little special or with a twist. And because it was a stormy, dreary Sunday morning, having some yummy homemade mariana bubbling on the stove for a few hours would be perfect.

Of course, the first book I start with is Giada's book, Everyday Italian. When I turned to her recipe for Classic Lasagna, I knew right away that was recipe I'd making. Her recipe incorporates the use of a béchamel sauce. I don't think I've ever heard of, or consciously knew of eating, lasagna made with béchamel. In this recipe the béchamel sauce is mixed with the marinara sauce before the assembly process begins. It creates a rich but subtle-tasting blush-like sauce.

Photo from Food Network

So I got to work making the marina sauce first. Darn! The recipe calls for two 32 oz cans of tomatoes, I only had one. Not to worry! With my garden spitting out lots of roma, or plum, tomatoes, I starting seeding and dicing away. I didn't even peel them! Just added them to the other ingredients in the pot, and after a bit I pulled out the potato masher and gave them all a good pulverizing.

This pic was snapped when the lasagna was cold. If I'd planned better, and taken a picture of it warm, you'd be drooling at the site of the bubbly cheese and rich sauce. Just try and use your imagination! LOL

While the sauce was simmering away, I started on the other main components. Browning the ground beef. Partially boiling the noodles. Mixing the ricotta and egg and seasonings. Making the béchamel sauce. The recipe also calls for spinach, but I omitted it this time.

This was THE best lasagna I've ever had. Everyone raved about it. Well, about as much as my family "raves" about food. It was creamy, cheesy, without a strong tomatoey flavor. It certainly took quite a bit longer than the quick, lazy route I had originally planned to take, but it was sooo worth the time and effort.

In Giada's book, she gives the béchamel, marina and lasagna recipes in separate areas of the book. That would be an awful lot of typing for me here to share the entire recipe with you all. I thought it would be easier to try and find the recipes online and refer the links. However, in the few different places I found her recipe, it was not exactly the same as in her Everyday Italian book.

In her book, she instructs you to make (unless you've made ahead) the béchamel and marina sauces. Using 2-/12 cups of the béchamel and 1-1/2 cups of marina, combine them, and then use that combined sauce when assembling the lasagna. As you'll see from the link I provided at Food Network's site, that's not really specified.

I'm sure if you try this recipe, you and your family will not be disappointed. It was time consuming, but it's such a great make-ahead dish, and we have some yummy leftovers in the frig and freezer.

Click on the link below to go directly to Food Network's site to view Giada's recipe.
Classic Lasagna

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Impromptu Beach Weekend

2011-08-10T09:10:00.011-04:00

This past weekend, me and Hubby took a last-minute, impromptu trip down to the beach. That's one of the reasons I like living in this area of the country. Within a 2 to 3 hour drive, one can be at the beach; the mountains; touring, shopping, seeing shows in Philly, NYC; visiting the sites in our nation's capitol in DC; checking out the beautiful nature areas around the great Chesapeake Bay. So much to do and see.

We drove down and stayed with friends who have a place in Fenwick Island, Delaware, and met up with another couple we've known for over 20 years, but haven't seen, or socialized with in way too long a time. The couple we haven't seen in forever, graciously invited us all to spend the afternoon Saturday on their new pontoon boat tooling around some of Delaware's back bays.

This row of pastel homes on the bay are landmark of Fenwick Island, DE.

The Ocean City, MD, skyline from the bay side.

What a fun, relaxing afternoon. Sight-seeing some of the gorgeous homes situated right on the water, pulling up dockside and having lunch at a water-side restaurant, then more exploring around the bays.

Harpoon Hanna's where we had lunch.

We ended the day back in Ocean City, Maryland, dining on pizza and beer at the pontoon boat couple's beautifully decorated condo. I really wish I would have taken some snaps of their place. It was decorated just perfect for a beach place. But, as usual, I'm always finding myself having too much fun to stop and take pics.

The bay view from the OC condo balcony.

On Sunday, before heading home, we drove back down into West Ocean City, Maryland, for lunch in a fabulous restaurant called The Sunset Grille. With the bevy of palm trees, and the huge, beautiful fishing boats lined up in the marina, you could almost forgot you were in Maryland and might think you're dining somewhere in the Caribbean. The atmosphere was fun, and the food was delish.

The reason for all those ginormous fishing vessels pictured below was the gearing up for the 38th White Marlin Open, the world's largest Bullfish Tourney. The tournament lasts from August 8th through 12th, with an estimated payout of over $2 million.

What a nice, relaxing weekend. You know how sometimes the trips that go off with little or almost no planning seem to be the most fun? Ya know, ya just throw some stuff in a bag, jump in the car and go. I'm hoping we can get back down at least one more time this season. I'd like to dine again at The Sunset Grille and be able to experience the sunset in person.

Picture from The Sunset Grille website.

A very sad side note.
When we returned back to the condo in OC, in the very spot where I snapped the pic below from the balcony, a rescue search ensued. Coast guard helicopters and vessels starting frantically searching the water and surrounding land areas for four solid hours until 11 p.m. We later learned a 23 year old man fell from a pontoon boat in the bay and drowned, and was found the next morning. It was a sad and sobering experience watching the boats and helicopters with search lights combing the water, water's edge and even that dock area below. It's a reminder that water safety is no joke, even on a relatively slow-moving vessel in the calm waters of the bay.

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