Foodie Friday!!!

I have patiently waited all week for this day to come. I have been dying to tell you about the cupcakes my niece made last weekend. Sadly, no I did not take a picture, but trust me on this one they were as good looking as they were tasty! It was a spin off of this recipe. The original recipe of Dorie Greenspan's from her cookbook "Baking: From My Home to Yours".

OK, now that I got your attention, Miss M's were even better looking because they were cupcakes, like I said, so they had PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING! Speaking of which cupcakes might be the way to go, because once that cake is sliced the incredible topping slides into the newly made opening, and well you can just imagine how embarrassing it would be to be caught licking a plate while there's cake still on it!!! Someone on the blog the recipe is on, mentioned it might be a good idea to spread marshmallow fluff on the cake first to keep the topping on.
OMG! JW would just die! Too bad she lives so far away or I would make that for her birthday next week (and secure my standing as her favorite sister)!
In other related recipe news, I made these tasty treats for the boys this past week.


Click on the picture for the recipe. They are yummy and pretty easy to make, two things I must say is I used sea salt instead of smoked salt and you should keep them in the fridge because the middle kind of oozes out when sitting out in room temperature. Though it could of been that it was the hottest day of the year.
Ah! Genius that I am, me thinks if you would switch out the topping recipe from Dorie instead of the caramel for this recipe, it could very well be the ultimate tasty treat!

Traveling through the mountains

Ok, grab a cup of joe and sit a spell cause this is going to be a long one.

Thank goodness the driving part of our trip to Colorado was uneventful! We had fun laughing and singing along to the ipod, and listening to "A prayer for Owen Meaning" by John Irving on it too.

Got to JW's earlier than expected, sat and chatted for a bit, then Big Al took us for a drive in the new mustang JW bought him for his b-day last year. It sure is a pretty thing, sounds good too, but two boys in a mustang driving up a mountain road, a bit on the fast side, just to see how she "responds", well let me just say she "responded" better than I did!

Got back and ordered a potato pizza for supper and was it good! Note to self: look for recipes for potato pizza!

The next day Big Al, DH and I went back up the mountain to go hiking. JW stayed home to sneak off to the thrift store, I mean cause she gets car sick.

DH drove his car this time and again boy's like to see how their cars "respond" on steep mountain roads! Boys found out all the cuss words girl knows!

Here's a nice picture from the top before we started our hike.

Here's a picture of the path we took down. (click on pictures to enlarge)

It was nice to be in the desert again with the sun beating down on you. That did little to tan my hide though, I think my legs will stay white till the day I die, unfortunately!
Next day we all drove out to Telluride which is a bustling little ski town about 2 hours away. We checked out a few shops then ate lunch at a local eatery.
Way up on one of the closer mountain ranges is a beautiful waterfall with a house they call the "Wedding House" (look between the 2 waterfalls).

Here's one closer to the "Wedding House" and waterfalls.

I'm guess'n they call it the "Wedding House" cause if you make it up there together and still want to get hitched, conveniently there's a house there for it. Which would not of been the case for JW and Big Al. (Good thing they already are!)
It was pee your pants scary driving up, but once it was over and done I must say I'm glad we did it cause the waterfalls and the views are spectacular!! Thanks Big Al for a day we'll not soon forget!!!
To add a little something, something to the long trip back, we decided to stop at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. After seeing mostly flat lands on the drive there it was great to see some stalactites and stalagmites! Not to mention the Fairy caves! Be still my heart!

They also have this giant swing that whips you out over the mountains, just incase you don't have any boys in cars around ;-D

What is it with the French and Costumes!

We are back safe and sound! We had a fantastic time in Colorado as you will see once I remember to bring the photo to work so I can add them to this blog. Until then enjoy this little vacation in Paris, courtesy of "The Curious Little Place" blogspot.


Oh how cute this would look in my backyard!

Vacation!!!

Yeah, the DH and I are on vacation after work today. Early, early, early tomorrow morning we'll leave to drive to Colorado to visit JW and her DH. I can't wait. The DH and I love taking road trips together. We sing, and talk with southern accents and make each other laugh. I've copied recipes I want to make with JW cause that's the kind of vaca it's going to be. Just chilln' with good food and good company. And maybe a specialty martini or two!
Here's a picture of the Colorado Rockies. And if we get to their cabin in the mountains I'll be sure to post picture of their spectacular view!

Until then enjoy your summer!

I Heart Color!!!!!!

This is just beautiful!!!

Here and Gone!

I know June just started, but for me it's already over. I have so much going on! But I do apologize for not blogging regularly!
Bead and Button was amazing as always! I always bring cash les I forget what I charge like the first year!!! Thanks to a wonderful DH who bailed my ass out!
This year my plan was to stash half my cash in a money belt that you wear under your clothing, so as not to spend it all at once. Well it almost worked too well, with an hour left to shop I still had half my cash! In my mad dash to the bathroom I forgot to jot down the places I found with the best prices! Which also meant the last hour was then wasted trying to FIND these places once again! Alas I still had $38 when they closed! I'll just have to keep going back until I perfect my strategy ;-)
This past weekend was my first Art Fair of the year. All in all I did pretty well. Unfortunately there was a huge storm coming our way with 70 mph. winds, so we all shut 'er down an hour early and headed for the buses to take us to where our cars were parked. After dropping off a friend I was 4 blocks from home when mother nature slapped us in the face with a wet dish rag! Pulling up to our house in time to see the garbage can lids fly up in the air. (FYI it always rain on garbage day!) I got out of the car and through them into the culver before I would have to hunt them down in the neighborhood! In the 20 seconds I was out I got drenched!!!
Arriving at the show the next morning and finding out one out of the two tents, MINE, had blown up and over a foot! I was lucky nothing broke and after straightening out everything it looked good to go. The day was sunny with a nice breeze. Though I hoped to do a little better, you can't complain working outside on a day like that in a summer dress and barefoot! Plus I had a blast chatting with my neighbor Michelle.
Friday we leave for a road trip to Colorado to visit my sis and her husband, we can't wait. All I can say is there is never a dull moment with JW!
I was trying to find some little excursions to go to on the way, really hoping Curious Sofa would be close enough to stop in and shop for an hour or three! Turns out it's more like and all day adventure than an excursion so guess not. So if you know of any great place to see between Chicago and Colorado please leave a comment and let me know!
I spent the morning catching up on all the blogs I read. Check out this incredible artist who paints with staples! That's right people this picture is made up of all staples!



Click on the picture to see more.

New 4 Sale!

I added two new pieces of jewelry to my shop this morning, go check it out!

I'm on my way to Bead and Button! Yeah! The DH gave me a fist full of cash to add to my stash so I'm going to have a hell of a good time spending it! Thanks DH you are the bestises!
I'll blog about the weekend (who thought I'd ever say that) on Monday, stay tuned!

It's a steal!!!

Some people think the prices on my jewelry are a little high. I just spent the last 4 hours putting 3 new pieces on etsy. The hours I spend doing this alone could equal the price, forget how long it takes to sew one little bead at a time!
That said, click on the picture to go to my esty shop. I'm uploading all (12) new pieces through the next week. Just a few everyday so my shop is at the top of searches.


Don't you just love this color combination? Very summer picnic in the park! I must admit if this one doesn't sell, I'm going to keep it.

Foodie Friday!

Back when I planted my garden I didn't really know what I was doing. A lot of what I planted were plants that spread. Some I knew would do that, and was OK with because I thought, good less plants to buy! WRONG! Don't make that mistake, because the fact is they will take over your garden! And they won't stop EVER! I'm the kind of girl who likes to turn lemons into lemon drops! So with the mint that I can not get rid of to save my soul, I plan on making this

Minus the chips because I like smooth creamy ice cream!!!
It will taste soooo good after throwing all that mulch that's in our driveway!
And so would this if I had it of course!

Don't you just love the colors!

Festive Foodie Friday!

Happy, happy, joy, joy! It's a 3 day weekend! (4 if you count my boss is off today :-)

1 day of work, 2 days of play!!!

Tomorrow I'll slow-cook this while we work in the yard.

To go with maybe this nice potato salad.

Of course you have to grill for Memorial Day! So I thought I'd grill up some shrimp and mango! Yum!

With some cilantro rice! Maybe a mango margarita to wash it all down with!!!
We're going to have fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun!!! Click on the photo's to get the recipes!
Have a fun filled weekend everybody!!!

I'm a lucky girl

I sit here at work and get paid to see all these pretty things.


Like these awesome flowers from Flora Grubb Gardens. Scroll down to see photo's of a beautiful wedding. OK my wedding was the most wonderful, but this one looks like a lot of fun was had by all!


This is from Poppytalk. One of the best things about summer is I get to decorate an outdoor room!


And one of my all time favorite beadweaving teachers Marcia DeCoster made and posted this stunning necklace!

I love my summer dresses, this ones "On Sale" here!

So I'm lucky I can find beautiful things to look at on the world wide web, instead of looking at this...

my boss! Better yet, it's now warm out so the jacket is off and you get to see his big mid section cause he cut the sleeves out of his t-shirt half way down the sides!
Sorry to do that to you, but you know I love to share!!

Honored once again!

I was fortunate to have one of my pieces featured in this nice blog by Marianna. Go check it out. She has lots of lovely things to show you.

And I just have to mention, if you like to bake, make either/both recipes from last friday, you will not be disappointed!

Fruity Friday...

The raspberries at one of my favorite grocery stores are on sale, and they taste like I picked them off the vines myself! So I think I'll make these from Smitten Kitchen one of my favorite foodie blogs.


I also saw this recipe on TasteSpotting, and I just happen to have a bunch of banana's on the counter as I type :-)

Truth be told I'm making this beacause earlier this week it was actually SUNNY out, and I was at fore mentioned grocery and bought a pint of "dolce de leche" ice cream. Come on when it's sunny what do you think of ??? Say no more we all know it's ICE CREAM!

Say what you want, but chocolate, caramel, and banana's you know you wish you were at my house, with a big spoon in your hand!

Brilliant!!!

How incredibly imaginative are these?!

And who doesn't have empty bottles laying around? Yes JW vodka bottles will work too! Ha

I'm quirky like that!

I'm not sure why this is but, my favorite songs are in a language I don't speak or understand.
And now it seems the same is true for movies. (remember "Hedgehog in the Fog")
This looks just magical, I don't need to know what they're saying, just see what there doing! Though the dialog is adorable too!
Double click to see the whole screen.

Foodie Friday

I'm as giddy as a school girl because it's going to be warm and SUNNY outside today!
That makes me want summer food, like something GRILLED, and Margaritas!
This morning while putting my lunch together I notice the DH brought home some rhubarb for me. Maybe that's why I'm so happy! I loves me some rhubarb! Seriously a dozen roses or a dozen stalks of rhubarb, I'd pick the rhubarb everytime! He knows that, and that's one of the reasons why I'm crazy about him!
What he doesn't know is lately I've been seeing a bunch of rhubarb recipe that I really want to make. Problem is was I can't buy rhubarb in the store just yet! Problem solved! Thanks DH! And to show my love I think I'll make this with them!



Or how about margarita's made with this!

Now that's LOVE!

You know me, I'm all about green!

On Poppytalks blog today they have links to online magazine site's.



All though I'd rather be sitting in the "queenie chair", (or this adorable love seat!) actually holding one to read, I must admit sitting here at work it's nice to browse through a few.
They also give you a link to cloverleaf. It's a site that has a bunch of digital magazines that you can subscribe to for 99 cents each or yearly for $4.99. Not the best selection, (they only have 1 fashion magazine (More). But for 99 cent and and no carbon foot print it's worth doing!

The Wonderful World of Beatrix (no last name needed)

Going thru my Monday morning blog roll, I came upon this illustration of Beatrix Potter's. Brings back old memories of my Mom reading her books to us. Because I most likely couldn't read at the time, I remember the drawings. How talented of a lady to be able to write such imaginative stories and then back them up with such amazing illustrations! Not to mention she made rodents seem so darn cute!




So here's to you Mom, another little gift. Click on the image to go to the site.
On the bead front, one of my necklace's was selected for a treasury! Yeah!!!



No new sales but it's so nice to be included in a treasury. Click the image to see the entire treasury and leave a comment if you chose to.

Fudgy Foodie Friday

Sunday we'll be heading up north to spend time with my family for Mother's Day.
Since my Mom is all about dessert, that's what we're having for supper. Hey what can I say it's her day she can do what every she wants. I promise not to even mention protein or vegetables :-) I'm planning on making this chocolate cake.  I have made it a few times in the past, and it is to DIE for! Really, really chocolatey.  Just the way my Mom likes it. And, AND it's REALLY easy to make. Trust me on this one this cake will not disappoint!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you like chocolate!

One more off the to do list!

Well the closet is finally finished! Yeah! I looks fabulous! And can I just say, if you ever think you need more clothes, clean your closet! I never realized how many dressed I have, but what can I say I'm a girlie-girl, I love wearing dress, especially summer ones! So there might be a few more in my future!

Here's the before...






And here's the after...

I'd like to thank the DH for doing an amazing job, it's beautiful, just like you. XO