COSMOGIRL'S EMPORIUM

Saturday, October 22, 2011

How Lucky Am I???

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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Thursday, October 20, 2011

A Kale Tale

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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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Scripty Shades

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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Saturday, October 8, 2011

Quiet Saturday Morning

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.