Weekend Shots

Just a few from a warm Sunday afternoon.  


A cat nap interrupted.

A sunny window or two.

And yummy Honey Yeast Rolls from this post and a Sunday evening game of Zonk.

My favorite thing that Shaun said to me... when I was asking about Uncle Randy's girlfriend Joanna was this... "she was like you... He could be Randy and that's who she loved."  

Image Inspiration

Image Inspiration is a series and collection of good stuff I've found and have tried or want to try.  Also, most of the items are pictures I have printed and cut out for my journal for future use.  This series will also help me remember where I saw certain creations and interiors.  It's just a whole lot of good stuff and I am really enjoying sharing what I find with you!

Cereal Box Gift Tags

Photo and creative credit: Tiffany at offbeatandinspired.com

Ok, this totally sounds like something I would have eventually come up with!  I am all about finding alternative uses for cereal boxes and you know I am seriously into mod podge!  Although I am totally jealous of her tag paper punch I had already thought of using a ruler and cutting them out before I saw it.  This is so precious and easy to do and handy to have the gift tags on hand!

Table Organizer

Photo and creation credit: thewishfultinker                              

The more I look at this the more brilliant I think it is.  It is the perfect, compact, little organizer for a desk that is easy and cheap to make... seriously!  I can see where I would over stuff this thing.  But it would be super neat for thank you cards or birthday cards or even a notepad by the phone or maybe the chair that you sit in the most cause I feel house phones are a thing of the past for some!  So cute!

Serious Image Inspiration

Photo and Inspiration credit: Eva from adventures-in-cooking.com                               

Now here's a bird of a different color... literally.  I was drawn to this blog by a recipe, because of course, it is a food blog.  While the Autumn Brittle recipe is what brought me there, as I hit the home option, the pictures are what kept me there.  Honestly, as a blogger and picture taker I get discouraged by my indoor photography.  I see all of these perfect food and preparation pictures and it leads me to not want to take pictures sometimes because mine do not look like theirs and I cannot grasp how they make it look so good.  I don't have good lighting, my hands aren't steady enough... and there I go breaking a new year goal of not comparing myself to other bloggers!  Inspiration at hand.... these pictures (while they are still much nicer than my own) aren't so light.  They have just enough light and somehow beautifully dark at the same time while you can still focus on each item.  They remind me of something vintage and UK-ish.  I love them all.  It also gives me a different point of view that doesn't need a light box or bright sunshine streaming through the window.  Thank you Eva!!

Happy Birthday Mary Evelyn!!!

Bulbous Begonias

I love to garden.  I absolutely love to start plants from seed and watch them grow.  I love to plant seeds mid season in pots on my porch just to see if they will come up and a lot of times they do … and bloom!  I adore planting bulbs in the fall and waiting all winter for them to pop their heads up, and with this spring like weather we have had this past week we may just begin to see it too soon!  I like to save seeds from garden vegetables and flowers and use them year after year.  I love teaching the kids at my day care how to garden and dig in the dirt and harvest our veggies.  Heck… right now we’ve got wheat grass growing inside and are trying to sprout an avocado in our kitchen window.  I simply cannot resist the urge to grow and nurture something. 

I have known about this addiction for quite some time.  I know that when I pass the reduced and sad looking plants at the garden center, that are begging for a drink and someone to care for them, that I am likely to be the poor sap that goes back to get at least one.  That’s how I wind up with African violets most of the time.  Every time I go to WalMart during the spring and summer I usually come home with “just one more.”  I even have a special fund called my “flower and garden” money.  I never touch it unless it involves… well… gardening and flowers.  Well guess what, it’s January and I touched it this morning. 

A year or two ago I checked out Mary Jane Butters’ book at the library, Mary Jane’s Outpost.  I loved it so much I wound up buying it after they wouldn't let me keep it after six weeks.  There was one tip in the book, among many, that spoke of bulbous begonias.   Now, I've bought begonias before but never had any from bulbs that can be used year after year.  I grow Caladiums this way.  At first, I bought the bulbs reduced at the garden center and even though it was late in the season I tried them out in pots on the porch steps.  They grew fantastic!  At the end of the season, when the leaves died back, I snipped the leaves and scooped the bulbs out of the pots.  I let them air out a day or two then put them in a paper bag, folded and tucked it in the basement for the winter.  Now all I do is get the bag back out and pop the bulbs in some dirt in pots.  The begonias will work in the very same way. 

I have searched for bulbous begonias and either I can’t find them or when I do they are pretty high priced.  Mostly I just can’t find them.  Especially not around local.  Until this morning!  As you know I am a QVC watcher.  They are always just so happy and friendly.  Beats the local news… how depressing!  I came into the day care early and switched on the t.v. and was gladly surprised to see their January garden show was on and low and behold guess what they were selling… begonias!  From bulbs!!  I was so tickled!  I thought of my flower fund and thought of the begonias…. thought of my flower fund and thought of the begonias.  I logged on to my computer and ordered them.  I am so excited and can’t wait to plant them!  They should arrive towards the end of April and you’d better bet there will be pictures of them this summer to share with you... and the next summer and the next summer and the next!!!

Here's the link to the jumbo combo box that I bought.  And if they don't sell out soon I'll probably end up with another one! 

All photos from QVC.com                                  

On The Menu

On The Menu is a series that shows what's On The Menu at our house from blog posts and cookbooks that I have come across.  I am really enjoying sharing the wonderful recipes that I have found with you and hope that you enjoy them too!

Barely-Blanched Broccoli Salad

Photo and recipe from: kalynskitchen.com                

I am a broccoli lover.  I eat steamed broccoli and brown rice for lunch several days a week.  I swear by broccoli being the culprit of my finger nails growing so good.  This recipe sounds easy and divine and will be a perfect addition to grilled chicken or fried fish.  Yum!  Truthfully... I've never bought feta cheese ( I know... nerd).  But it's true.  I hope it comes in a small quantity from the store as this recipe doesn't take very much.  Maybe we could put it on regular salads too.

Black Bean, Rice, and Cilantro Salad

Photo and Recipe from: kalynskitchen.com

Being a rice lover, a black bean lover and pretty much any vegetable that will go with... lover, this salad looks right up my alley.  I found it listed on the blog under 90 no-cook lunches.  This recipe makes 8-10 servings so I can see myself making it for supper for Shaun and I both then taking the rest for lunch at the day care.  Maybe even wrapping some up in a tortilla with cheese if I'm feeling sassy.