FFF - Spring Fun!

Yes, I know it's Saturday, but yesterday was one of those days.

Spring has finally arrived in Connecticut!!  Hip Hip Hooray! What a joy to swing the door open wide and let the fresh air in.

While turning and watering my pansies I notice a little insect on the stoop.  I almost stepped on it.

What a miracle of nature.  It is a baby praying mantis.  Soooo tiny!

I used a leaf to pick him up and put him in my flower pot so coco wouldn't step or lay on him.  It was near the stoop that I found an adult one last fall.

I changed my funky paint-by-number art in my powder room from the winter "buck" scene -

 to my spring swan scene.

Mr. Fun thinks these are trashy, but I love them.  Look at this funny painting mistake under the swans neck.  Surely it was supposed to be blue.

I bought a great batch of fun stamps on line from USPS.  No extra charge and no shipping.

A friend asked me to share her Granddaughter's Theme Park Teen blog.  This young lady is an excellent writer and offers a lot of great information to anyone visiting a theme Park.

She has also opened her own Etsy shop.   Good Luck Megan!

Oh, how will ever live without my Mad Men!?!  Only 4 episodes left.  Last Sunday I spied this 1950s, polyester, yarn tied patchwork quilt.

Fabric APB Alert!!!  Please check your fabric stash for my friend, Barbara.  this is what she is looking for.  You can see her post with details here.

I've started quilting on the Boy Quilt and it is going really well.  I'll make a full report soon.  I'm off to the "big show" in Paducah next week.

Have a Fun Weekend!

FFF - March - Supporting the Arts

Happy Friday!  Here's my Fun For Friday For March.

In Key West, FL I saw:

A painters stand on the beach

A street artist.  He made everything out of paper.  For $1.00 I got to see him turn the TV on and move his slice of paper pizza.

Chewbacca - just chillin' (ha ha in a fur costume) and having a drink from a sippy cup.

   

A fun bar where patrons sign dollar bills and tack them up.  How cool that no one takes them - hooray for fun people in Key West.  Nearly every bar has live music doing covers of Jimmy Buffet and Beach Boys :)

We visited Ernest's Home and the 6 toed Cats. Where I got this awesome pressed penny.  Is this art?  I think so.

Art I bought to take home:  A Christmas Ornament with real shells.

A sweet wren house I bought from the artist on the street.  I plan to hang this soon, maybe after the snow storm expected for today -

While missing coco on the cruise, I got this cute towel of a dog :)

My son, Andrew gave my husband (the coffee king) a Dunkin' gift card.  Can you believe his generosity!?!

Happy Spring - if you are lucky enough to be having one already!

FFF - Get Lucky and Feel Great!

Fun For Friday -

Blue Jeans are not just for cowboys and farmers anymore.  I bet I wear them 5-6 days a week.  You can wear them anywhere now; nice restaurants, the theater, even church.

This is an unsolicited endorsement of Lucky Brand Jeans.  I was lucky enough to get 2 new pairs this week.  They are well made and fit great.

 Now women will say "$100 is too much to spend on jeans!"  or "I buy mine at Walmart and they're fine".    Okay.  They are expensive, but I've had a pair last nearly 10 years.  So that is $10.00 a year.  If worn twice a week, that's only 9 cents per wearing.  A solid investment in my book.

Here is my Jean Theory:
You should spend twice your age, and hope to look half as good as you used to.

Lucky has many different styles, shapes and lengths.  They also have stretch now (thank goodness).  They offer free shipping, even on returns.  The first 2 pair I ordered didn't fit - no problem - free shipping both ways.

I like to try things on at home, especially something as important as jeans.  I will, after all, be entering into a long term relationship with them.

Speaking of denim...Rachael made this fabulous quilt with old jeans.  Isn't it terrific?  Her blog, Blue Mountain Daisy, is always a great source of fun and inspiration.

By the way, being a thrifty shopper, I have found Lucky Jeans at TJMaxx and Marshalls....

Splurge on your jeans - you're worth it!

FFF - It's the Bat Phone!

I have a new phone and it actually rings.  Like with a bell and everything!

I can't remember the last time I heard a phone that rang.  Hey look, Ma, it has a cord too!  Since I split my time between the kitchen and everywhere else I decided to get a real wall phone.

We live in a time when we can send a robot to Mars and decode the Human Genome.  Why then can't we make a cosmetic case that doesn't break in the first few weeks of use ???

Have a fun weekend

See you next week, same bat time, same bat station.......

Fun For Friday - Food Fun!!

Hooray!  Today I'm making a total mess of the kitchen and is it fun!

Our house went on the market on Tuesday and we've been super blessed to have received 3 offers in the first 2/3 days.  We accepted one and the family is thrilled to buy our home - whew!

So after keeping the kitchen clean, clean, clean I'm having a great time messing it up.


My son ordered "Bubble Room Orange Crunch Cake" for his Birthday celebration this weekend - great choice, I love it!

Here is the Bubble Room restaurant in Captiva, FL that invented this fabulous cake.

And here is their Orange Crunch cake -

Click HERE for the recipe.   I'll photograph my finished cake this weekend.

The secret to this cake is a layer of walnuts, brown sugar, butter and graham cracker crumbs.   No, I'm not gorging on candy, lol, it is for another project.

 

The cake batter has 1/2 cup orange juice and 2 TBs of orange zest.  It's fragrant and delicious.

 

I got a really fun and funny give away prize in the mail.  I won the Downton Abbey T-shirt from my blog buddy and recent AQS Lancaster Winner, Teresa of Fabric Therapy .

Check out this address - what a hoot she is!  Thanks Teresa!

Thank you to all who have asked about our moving process.   We are house hunting this weekend and hopeful to move in early June.   Now that the house is sold, maybe I'll get a little sewing done.

Have a fun weekend!

 

Fun For Friday - Morning!!

Morning is my favorite time of day!  I'm an early riser and I love having a quiet house to myself for awhile.  I'm one of those super obnoxious people who go around humming and singing in the morning.  My poor family....

I have a morning routine that very rarely alters and here it is:

I make a cup of coffee (thank you Kurig for being so fast) and step into my office.

That is what Rich calls my table and my spot on the green couch in the Gold Living Room.  I took over the living room 3 houses ago for morning time.  It is a pretty room and often under used - so I use it for me time.

I take my coffee (and usually coco) and sit.  My first task is to make an entry in my Five Year Journal.  It is awesome.  There are only a few lines to fill in and now that I'm on Year 3, it is fun to read back.

The second thing I do is a little spiritual reading of some sort.  I've read the Bible 3 times by doing it one day at a time.  This year I'm working on "The Wisdom of the Tao" and a book my friend Mary B gave me; "Help, Thanks, Wow - The Three Essential Prayers".

Then I either do a little more reading, or I write a note to someone.  I often listen to my book and a do a little applique' and have a second cup of coffee.  Sometimes I work on my laptop, but I'm trying not to get into that habit.

Here are two more new books that I got from Mary for Christmas this year: "Making Time", and "How to Live on 24 Hours a Day".   I'm sensing a theme here.

At 7 am I can almost always be found watching Good Morning America.  They don't know it, but there is a suburban NJ woman helping them co-anchor the show.  I weigh in on nearly every topic, especially the legal issues.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly fun, but it wasn't quilting related either.  You know what is fun?  PUPPIES!

Not into the Super Bowl?  Animal Planet hosts the Puppy Bowl click here to see some footage.  It is so cute!  I can't stand it.

http://youtu.be/EjpM-m20pIg

Have a Fun Weekend!

Fun For Friday - Reading as a Sport, Chowder, and a Cheap Trick

When I'm not reading, I read books and lists about Reading.....Huh?

I almost exclusively listen to books on my ipod.  The sources I use are my local library, itunes and audio.com.  I try not listen to my book when I go to bed because I loose my place.

So, instead I read about reading.

Here are my favorite books on the subject:

The books above and below were gifts from my dear friend, Mary B.  We've had many great book talks over the years.

This is a card game that I've never played, but I love reading the cards.

If you google "book lists" or "reading lists" there is a plethera of them on the web.   Also on the web, I'm a member of Library Thing.  Here is my page if you want to see it.



Last weekend my son requested Corn Chowder.  I got this great recipe from Susan McD.  It goes well with a good book on a cold day.

Maize Chowder  - (at our house corn is always referred to as "maize" in November.)

1/2 lb bacon 2" pieces (more if you like more)
4 or 5 red potatoes cut into 1" cubes
1 onion chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (use more for a thinner soup)
3 cups creamed corn
1 cup whole corn
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Crushed red pepper to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cups half & half  (I use fat free and it works just fine)
Optional:  last time I added cubed cooked chicken

Cook bacon in stock pot
Add onion and potatoes cook 5 mins.
Add broth, creamed corn, corn, and spices
Bring to boil then let simmer stirring often about 30 mins.

Heat half & half in separate pan until it bubbles on sides but not boiling.  Add to soup and serve.

Here is a cheap trick that I love.   I buy cute seasonal 8" paper plates at the party stores, dollar stores and recently the Christmas Tree Shop.  Aren't they cute?
We use them for dessert around here and they are great for entertaining too.

To get the biggest bang out of my cheap plates, I stack them up alternating the designs.

Fun, right?

So grab a book, a bowl of chowder, and a cute plated treat and enjoy!