happy valentine's day!

i love...

the first sip of hot coffee, snuggling under a blanket on the couch and drifting off to sleep, mr. magoriums wonder emporium, my collection of vintage hats, little debbie snack cakes... all of them, louis armstrong, modern family, the middle, hard-boiled eggs cut up on toast, the color turquoise, braids in my hair, polka-dotted socks and footless tights.  i love black eye-liner and cat-eye glasses, i love wearing tank tops over thermals, and the smell of musk perfume.  i love backgammon and chess and scrabble.   

thursday afternoon, cold, freezing afternoon... found me, my tommie and my mom, playing an intense game of scrabble.  my mom can really knock your socks off, with this game.  obviously.  she came up with the word, "brewings," it is a legitimate word.  and it was worth a whopping 148 points!  i probably don't need to tell you who won that game!?  way to go, mom!

thursday found us doing a "what's inside the snowball you're eating?" experiment. this is just a little section of what was left after the snowball melted.  to add to the drama, we made slides of some of the debris and found a whole other world exists inside these little flakes!  we examined at 40x power.  i swear, i will never look at a clump of snow, the same way again.

me.... sharing an insanely cheap tip.

above.... do you know what this is? 

if you've guessed the wax bag that cereal comes in, inside the box, you're right! 

since going gluten-free... we've been flying through boxes of gluten-free cereal (you can make so much with it). 

realizing all of the packaging waste we were throwing away, i figured out how to save money and help out the environment....

i simply trim off the bottom and top of the bag.. and cut along the seam.  viola'  you have a nice sheet of wax paper... ready to use!

(i use wax paper for carmel corn and puppy chow!)

smile, wink, nod.

this week at kroger's i paid $1.15 for 3 tubes of colgate-cavity fighter and 3 softsoap pumps!  and just today... i received a nice envelope full of high-volume, amy's organic coupons.  how did i get them?  by hand-writing them a snail mail letter, thanking them for gluten free products... which i do buy each week at kroger's!
thanks amy's and thanks kroger's!

************
my nose is cold.

i'm in the middle of writing a murder-mystery script for 20 players at the mansion, where i work...it's about saudi arabia and egypt. deadline is friday. i did not know coriander came from india. but, i'm thinking my main character will over-dose on coriander or cumin?  

the babe john goodman

sunday found us watching the movie, the babe (babe ruth) with john goodman.
very excellent. he sure had a twisted personal life, but such an awesome baseball player!
rent if you can. and don't forget the popcorn. heavy butter and salt! smile, wink, nod.

today,

i stayed in all day.  much like this caged bird!  it was a day of virtually pushing myself to tie up some dangling-loose ends around the house.  i fought the big urge to go thrift shopping. i fought the urge to flop on the couch and read.  this here february, is making me lazy.

my major achievements today?

organizing all of the recipes i've printed off in the last year.  i put them in an ugly binder.  didn't get the chance to pretty-it-up... but will.

cleaned the basement. filled two large trash bags, one junk box and many bags for goodwill.

HOW DO I ACCUMULATE SO MUCH?

oh. and i made oven-roasted chicken.  a whole chicken.  from an organic chicken farmer-friend.  it still had the neck attached!  okay... this was a bit weird.  i called my friend rhonda, who is a fabulous cook... she said it was mighty fine to leave the neck on.  also, telling me people in china find the chicken necks a  delicacy (she lived in china for 2 years)!  we didn't actually eat the neck.. but, i did save it to make homemade chicken broth.

so how about you?  have you ever ate the meat off a chicken neck?

smile, wink, nod.

hey friends...

i recently discovered a few

really nice coupon, freebie and

mega-money saving sites!

plug your printer in and check these three out:

http://www.couponmountain.com/

http://www.survivingthestores.com/

http://www.afrugalchick.com/

well, here i sit... not on my computer, but my son's.  waiting for my beloved toshiba computer to be released from the hospital. i can't wait to get that baby home, i have so many cool pictures to download and share. 
so about the snow.  we did get around 10 inches.  but, for some reason, it seemed uneventful.  if i've said it once, i'll say it again.... i wish it was snowman building snow.
my boys spent the good part of the day digging us, our neighbors and our tenants out.  i had high hopes of doing this, that and the other.  i ended up taking a good long nap...only to wake up and feel even groggier. i should of never taken a nap in the first place!
i'm noticing i'm complaining a lot here, today.  bare with me.
my boy just challenged me to a game of scrabble... i must say good-bye for now and play.

my life line, my friend, my everything is in the hospital.  the computer shop.  de -bugging a bug.  i should be picking it up wednesday.  exhale.  oh how i didn't realize how dependent i am on that old friend! currently, i'm using my son tommie's laptop...  but it's just not the same.  

i'm hoping for the big, big snowstorm tomorrow night!  cozy couch, a good movie and comfort food!

i did it.

i made a pair of recycled wool leg warmers.

love, love, love making them.

seriously, took me under 10 minutes from start to finish.

***************

thursday thirteen:

made the BEST gluten-free banana bread!  yipeee... finally something GF made from scratch and yummy, too!

tommie's at future farmer's of america, practicing for parlment procedures... he's treasurer.

enjoyed watching a documentary via netflix, abigale adams.

can't believe charlie sheen is in the hospital again.  okay, i guess i'm not surprised.

can't belive kate hudson is pregnant.  okay, i guess i can.

homeschooling centered around mark zuckerman, man of the year, according to time magazine... facebook founder.

took lucy the dog to the vet.  she has a bladder infection.

finished making our "family page" for homeschool co-op yearbook.

listed bunches on ebay, tonight.  free listing fees, gotta take advantage of that!

declined lunch out today, with farmer's market manager... had way too much homeschooling to catch up on.

filled out class proposal for homeschool co-op, today.  i'm submitting a class called, "junkyard art."  should be an utter blast!

have two flea markets, back to back this weekend.  i'll be living out of the car.  sure wish i had the vintage trailer on my sidebar!

thinking about decorating for valentine's day, tomorrow.  valentine's day is such a cheerful holiday!

happy, happy thursday night.

i'm head over heels, in love with the blog resweater.  you'll find it to the right on my sidebar.  i'm loving it because, you don't have to be a whiz at sewing.  love that! tonight,  i've decided to make recycled sweater legwarmers, with one of my old favorites.  (it's in her may archive). 

dinner's in the oven.  i popped open a jar of my homemade bbq sauce and we'll be having bbq chicken, gluten-free mac and cheese and salad.

click here...
resweater
and
tutorial on making wool leg warmers

since having my kitchen painted, i decided it was a good time to give my windows a new shabby treatment.  i didn't want to spend any money.  none. so, i scrummaged through my collections of odd linens and pulled out these!  with patsy cline music playing in the background... i let my creative juices roll and came up with this!  odd, i know.  2011 for me is about stepping out of my comfort zone.
smile, wink, nod.

Waylon Jennings - A Couple More Years

i love this. waylon jennings is one of my favorite all time musicians... well, besides willie.

a homemade memememememememe

thursday:

to my left i see: my dog laying on the couch next to me and a tube of clinique dry skin creme.

to my right i see: a vase with fake lavender sprigs and a lamp that is much too small for the end table.

in front of me i see:  the sony tuned into man vs. wild, a backgammon board set up on the table and a video box about the bible on the floor.

behind me:  darkness.

thinking about:  sleeping... since i awoke at 5 am and stayed up.  dark and cold in the house.

learning:  how to whip stitch, sir conan doyle and different camels in asia and africa.  all for classes i'm teaching tomorrow. 

last place i searched on the internet:

maryjane's farm forums.  i could get lost for weeks at that site!

what i'm wearing:  yellow polka dot fleece pajamas, mis-matched polar fleece jacket, with red nike hoodie underneath.  wet hair.  just colored it... those roots sure do sneak out!

outside:  during the day... tons of purple finches and bluejays.  and... the blue birds decided to stay!

wishing:  for more snow... actually a snowstorm would be ideal! 

making:  chicken broth for the freezer.

money saving tip:  using coffee filters for quick clean-ups.  found clearasil on sale for a dollar a tube.  we'll soon be needing it.

what my oven would say:  get these dirty cookie sheets out of me and put in a raspberry gluten-free pie!

time to close the lid on the laptop, use the dry skin cream that my face soaks up... almost immediately  and work through the bible.  i signed up to "read the bible in a year."  i'm behind.. but, better then not at all.  wink.

see you tomorrow!

jumping up and down because i'm

so proud of my friend kelly.

she just had her first children's book published... it's called, "belly-button love."

it's about the bond that links a mother to her child.  the book is unbelievable!

makes a really excellent gift for anyone... especially a new mom (shower gift).

you can view the phenomenal reviews here... and here is where you will find the phone number to place an order.

support michigan authors!

support michigan businesses,

period.

hat tip, to you kelly!~

smile, wink, nod.

while visiting my cousin robin the other afternoon, i couldn't help but snap this picture of her office renovation.  (that's a blurry shot of her on the left side of the screen.)  her color palette is positively twisted.  what you can't see is, the other three walls are painted turquoise.  here's how she decorated virtually on a dime:

-her desk top is a painted white door that she was no longer using.

-the two bases for holding the door, are banged up (think america pickers) dressers, she found in a garage. 

-her crates, new from home depot, make for extra storage and hold  used and bruised bi-fold doors, which were taken apart to use as shelves.  also, painted white. 

-not pictured:  gift wrap, which she'll cut up and use as accent pieces and colors.  the gift wrap cost maybe $1.49? 

i'm guessing this whole home-office re-decorating project, cost her well under a hundred dollars.....

-oh, and the best part?  those dresser bases will be having THE COOLEST green glass doorknobs inserted into them!  and that's not all........ she's on he look-out for a prissy, little, shabby chic chandelier.  which i'm sure i'll drool over!  smile, wink, nod!

i took this delicious
picture of my cousin
robin's christmas tree ornament.
she did her tree in turquoise and white.
it was smashing!
tonight, i've been sitting
indian-style on my green and white
striped chair listing vintage
valentine's on etsy.

click right here and i'll take you there!

winter white thursday
and other idle chat....

popcorn the kitchen is officially re-painted and ready to be re-decorated in the middle of writing a murder mystery about 19th century high society ladies of london...love researching quirky facts and making them come alive will be grooving at the mansion with the mystery tomorrow night wore footless tights with thick lace and homemade legwarmers today...yes, i think it's back to dresses and skirts for me... i am much more productive, for some odd reason  suffered painfully through a documentary movie, we rented it through netfix, i thought it would be good... you know cultural studies (or insert some other spiffy adjective) the movie was called, "in this tea."  what a sleeper went to a future farmer's of america ceremony, tonight for tommie. okay... not as exciting as it sounds. 
smile, wink, nod.

winter white and lily white

one of my 2011 goals for myself and my boy, has been to dabble in mixed media art. i bought the corel paintshop 3x pro, and wowzaa! is it ever difficult for me to navigate (hence the flaky snap above). without prompting, my son has taken it over and teaching me different effects, layers and textures.  i'm counting this as homeschool art!  smile, wink, nod!

 another 2011 goal, i have is to keep my paperwork more organized. coupons, calendars, recipes, receipts, etc.  all in one place.  all in a handy folder. 

 since i've suddenly fallen in love with winter white mixed with lily white, i decided to decorate a boring white folder... with mixed media artwork.  the picture above is a cut-out of wallpaper border sticks, i found at the dollar tree.  i'd never put them on my walls, but they are fun for crafts! cheap, too!

the picture above was my blank canvas! the pictures came from a free magazine i found at the thrift shop. 



wearing these slippers while i mix art... makes me happy!

smile, wink, nod.

winter white
friday night!

about friday:

homeschool co-op

taught two classes

on neveda nuclear test sight

on pasha in egypt who befriends king charles x

plenty of good conversations

my kitchen is being painted.

color?  winter white

love the rachel ashwell look.

that's what i'm after!

homemade gluten-free pizza for dinner

(see snap above)

salad from yesterday's sales at meijer's.

will finish, the secret life josephine boneparte tonight.  six pages left.

i would like to watch this dvd: 

brothers grimm

think i might be out voted on this movie though...

my men would rather watch logging trucker, hunting or gold rush... or other "man shows."

happy friday... to all of you!  smile, wink, nod!

winter gardening and fresh produce deals!

winter white thursday:

just because it's cold and snowy and we're months away from digging into the good earth to grow our own food... doesn't mean we can't dabble in window sill gardening.  growing mung bean sprouts.  this is day two... look close and you can see the starts of the white sprout.  in about four days... we'll be smothering our salads with them and adding them to stir-fry's!

other food for thought:
do you have a meijer's by you?  if so, you'll want to take advantage of their buy 10 get the 11th free promotion.  today, i sauntered through the grocery store, flinging the following dollar items into my cart:

-blackberries 2 cartons
-organic 3 bags of carrots
-cherry tomatoes 2-bags
-2 bunches of celery
-4 bags of lettuce
-4 greenhouse cucumbers (the big ones)
-dole pineapple (4 cans) sliced in their own juice
-1 can of corn (for cowboy caviar)  would of tossed more in the cart, but they only had one can left.

i'll be making one more run there, before the sale ends saturday.... too many fresh good things to pass up.  especially this time of year.  in michigan... fresh is hard to come by--well, unless you're talking about mung bean sprouts.  and let's face it... there's just so much you can do with them!  smile, wink, nod

winter white wednesday!

late afternoon yesterday, we had a breathtaking snowfall! while i was driving in this mini-blizzard and gripping my steering wheel with winter-white knuckles, my son tommie snapped this picture of our snowy patio!  can you spot the woodpecker?  (on the hanging suet feeder!)



foot and toe update:  still black and blue on one foot and very light sprained feeling on the other.  but, i'm not walking around like i'm starving for attention and i should be good as new very, very soon!

something new i wearing.... johnson's baby lotion. my mom gave me a pump-bottle, as an extra gift at christmas!  it's such a comforting smell! reminds me of when my baby was a baby!

smile, wink, nod!




winter white day three!

i breathed new life into the window above my kitchen sink. i took a tree branch (free), covered it with cheap toiling and hung bunches of dried roses and babies breath.  the roses were graciously given to me, from the flower vendor i'm set up next to, at sunday's market. love decorating cheaply and love how cozy my kitchen feels! now i'm thinking i need to string up some white twinkle lights!  smile, wink, nod.

 

MONDAY NIGHT MENU and what-a trip!

winter white
day two!

how cute is this little shabby chic roaster?  a gift from my dad no. 2.  i've used it to make a pot roast in... and as we speak, pork chops.  it's marked "california pottery," on the bottom of it, and i'm quite sure it's on the current side of vintage. 

breaking news:
saturday evening, not thinking what i was doing, i scampered down the carpeted basement stairs and slipped and tripped and landed upside down at the bottom of the steps.  i have scraped up hands, what feels like a light sprained wrist, a bruised and or broken big toe, an opposite side, sprained ankle and a banged up knee cap.  (which by the way, i fell off the curb, while out walking the day before.)  some may think this is a wild way to start the new year.. but, looking for the silver-lining, i'm happy to be on the mend and thankful i wasn't hurt worse:  head, hip or leg injury. 

dinner tonight?
pork chops
squash (from our garden- yes it's still good!)
homemade apple sauce
and
roasted green beans with slivered almonds (pressure canned the beans in september.)

what's on your monday night menu?

 winter-white

day one!

new year's day... found me creating a lambswool purse, from a recycled sweater and my kitchen curtains.  it started like this....

my curtain's were ivory colored, tattered and shear... i decided to accent the gypsy bag and infant hat, with strips of the material.

both hat and purse were no-sew. and i didn't use a pattern.

there was just a lot of tying involved and thoughtful planning for the layout.


to add a little class to the purse, i embellished it using vintage buttons, i found at the flea market.
as much as i adore the purse and hat... i must try to sell them at the market or mansion. hence, the black and white photo, attached to the purse... it's my price tag.

i think i need to make myself a pair of these felted maryjane slippers, too.  what do you think?  click here and now!

merry christmas!

thank-you friends and family

for following my blog!

december was a whirlwind of

hustle and bustle... i look

forward to blogging more in

2011!  in the meantime....

don't eat too many christmas

cookies!

smile, wink, nod!

look what netflix delivered today!

my own homemade daybook for monday 12.20

what i ate for dinner:  homemade black bean-veg soup, baked corn tortilla's, finished it off with two three no-bake cookies.

what i'm wearing:  nick and nora  vintage snow globe print pajama bottoms, brad's t-shirt, wet hair (shower) and bare feet.

what my man is doing:  brad is watching antique roadshow and looking like he'd like to go to sleep.  

what book i'm reading:  tonight, i start... "the help."  found it at goodwill.  hardcover. $1.  

what is that i hear?  tommie in the shower.

what is to my left?  a really ugly john deere blanket.  so un-shabby chic.

what is to my right?  netflix dvd on top of a christmas pillow.

what i am hoping?  that the rest of the week goes smoothly and stress-free.  and quickly.

  

Snuggie Huggy Christmas

my blue eyes scanned the thrift shop toy shelf!  blinking with disbelief, heart beating rapidly... i quickly lifted this gem from my childhood, off the shelf.  i peeked inside.. yes! looked like all the pieces were there.  sauntering, with a cocky spring in my sciatic-pain step, i pulled out three single dollar bills and bought it!  we played this art auction game the other night- had a blast, too!  then.... i checked it out on amazon and ebay.  it's selling for $37.  i'm not about to sell mine.. just saying... if you keep your eyes peeled, you could easily flip this on ebay.  $$$  smile, wink, nod.

pink giant shasta daisy's...

line my back porch windows.

each week, when the day is over and done at the market i set up at, i am given bunches and bunches of fresh, leftover flowers that didn't sell at the vendor's booth next to me.  i've been blessed with dozens and dozens of pink or white roses, french yellow tulips, fuchsia carnations and orange shasta daisies. talk about kindness....  thanks kathy!  smile, wink, nod. 

always a hit!  instead of giving plates of homemade cookies or cookie mixes in a jar.... i love making and giving these homemade cookie rolls. this year, for friends and family, i whipped up homemade gingerbread cookie dough, wrapped and rolled them in wax paper, then foil... and then covered a section of the cookie dough with a fun-designed wrapping paper!  i chose fushia and orange.. non-traditional christmas colors... so that, my recipents use them in january... the colors will perk them up!  i'll attach a note with baking directions and a note, to stick the roll in the freezer and not use until 2011!

smile, wink, nod!

years and years ago, my cousin lori gave me this addicting recipe for homemade carmel corn!  it's pretty quick and easy to make... plus, your kitchen will smell very cozy! and, the best part for us... it's gluten-free!  here's the easy-peasy recipe:

2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup

2 sticks butter or marg.

boil the above for 5 min.

remove from heat and add:

pinch of salt, pinch of cream of tarter and 1/2  t. soda

in a lightly sprayed roaster:

Pour over 8 quarts of lightly salted popcorn.

Toss gently

(i use a wooden spoon)

Bake at 200* for an hour.

Dump on waxed paper.

Let cool.

Break apart and store in an airtight container.



just went with my boys to see, the heart-warming christmas play, "the homecoming." the theatre is intimate and cozy. the actors did a stellar job.  and the story certainly succeeded in putting us all in the christmas spirit! and, to top it off... it had a definite christian flavor. want to read more?  click here!

a flop!

i decided i had enough of just "looking" at my candy thermometer, sitting on the pantry shelf, and decided to use it.  i found a 2-ingredient recipe for carmel cream candy and directions, just three sentences long!  how hard could it be?!

what grand, cozy memories i thought my boy and i would be making. my thimble-sized kitchen quickly filled up with a marvelous maple-vanilla smell.  heavenly.  then, it came time to, "mix until fluffy"...  listening to the mixer struggle, grunt and groan, and finally releasing a toxic, plastic-burnt smell... we came to the sad realization that..........

this idea was a complete flop! my mixer went to heaven that day.  cleaning the pot, wasn't as joyous as one would expect either, and our cozy smell, quickly fled.  looks like it's back to wurther's originals, for us.  smile, wink, nod!

i'm thoroughly enjoying my work at

the mansion....i've been blessed

by the owner, to display and sell

some of my goodies!

i decorated my room with twinkle lights.. and a pink neon christmas tree!

 saturday night, found me hosting a birthday party-murder mystery, for 25 people, at the mansion!  i don't need to do any of the cooking, serving or clean-up... just greet and make the guests comfortable, and get the group into the murder mystery adventure! however, i do enjoy the owner, her family and family friends, sheryl... so, i just sort of lend a hand in the kitchen, when i can!



i'm looking forward to tomorrow. the mansion is having a christmas tea and i'm invited to work!  there is no better place to catch the christmas spirit, then in this breath-taking atmosphere!  plus, i enjoy dressing up for the events... a welcome change from my jeans.

look to the right...

i've added some exciting new

blogs to my sidebar!

paris montana

rhinestone armadillo

a fanciful twist

check them out... i think you'll enjoy them!

i recently treated myself to this fantastic new bible resource book!  very user-friendly!and, i'm learning bunches!

smile, wink, nod.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS.... LOOK AT THE PEOPLE SMILING.
ESPECIALLY LOVE THE MOTHER WHO HOLDS HER SON'S HAND!
JUST BEAUTIFUL!
HOW I WISH I COULD'VE BEEN A PART OF IT.