Bento Box and Pink Toes

Lunch with my 3 favorite people in the universe and freshly painted pink toes (attached to big feet) to bring in the new year makes for a nice afternoon.

Vintage Finds And Crispy Roast Chicken

I scored this funky vintage shirt by Lady Arrow, in mint condition! Not really my style so up for sale it shall go. I also found an adorable carpet bag clutch purse (photos coming soon), two Bon Appetit cookbooks from the early 90's, an old hardcover issue of "From Here To Eternity", a small book of poems and an old thermometer/ owl thingy. It's broke and serves no purpose other that it's vintage and I think owls are cool.

On a different note, I made the crispy roast chicken that's featured in January's MSL- Delicious! I added a few onions chopped in quarters and several whole cloves of garlic in to roast with the potato's. If by chance you have any drippings left in the pan after the chicken is done, try adding a little cooking sherry to taste and a few dashes of "Wondra", maybe a little salt, too. Makes for some tasty gravy. This meal got rave reviews from my family and smelled incredible while cooking.

That's about it, life is slow and I like it that way. Happy Monday. :)

PS- Don't forget to check out the eclipse tonight!

Vallerie Galloway

I was selfish again... But a 2 for 1 sale on Vallerie Galloways signed and dated prints at a very affordable price could not be passed up. They will be placed in simple black frames surrounded by simple white matting and placed like a square over my desk. Four wish list items down. Tra la la la laaa la la la laaa.

Besides, my Christmas shopping for everyones gifts is done. :P

Happy Birthday, John

I love you.

Warming Up On A Cold Day DIY (Green Style)

In the January issue of Martha Stewart Living I found an article on how to make fire starters out of newspaper and twine. So simple it was hard to resist! Tightly roll a sheet of the paper length wise, fold in half and then braid. use a piece of rope twine to tie it at the bottom. Easy and a very pretty addition to the bundle of wood I have resting in the big basket by my fireplace. This project prompted me to look for similar ideas and here is what I found- Herbal fire starters as seen above: Dry out a few of your favorite herbs and spices (mint, rosemary, cinnamon, etc), twist them up, add to fire. Makes the house smell incredible.

Next: I've always liked the Java Logs and have been curious to try and make my own seeing as we drink a ton of coffee in my house and always have grinds to throw away. The recipe for this sounds extremely easy and can be found here- http://www.ehow.com/how_4866384_make-log-using-coffee-grounds.html I will let you know how mine turn out.

Last, I stumbled on to this idea by accident and cannot wait to try it out... Dried orange peels for kindling the fire. I can only imagine how amazing this must make ones home smell. You can save the peels and dry them in a paper bag or you can set them on a roasting pan in a warm oven set to a very low temp. From what I've read, they get very hot and in the old days were used as a substitue for coal to heat stoves. How cool is that?!

Incredible scents to fill your home on a cold day, good for the planet and good for your pocket. :)

Merry Christmas To Me

I was horribly selfish last night (yet smiling as I type). After buying my youngest some adorable handmade toys on Etsy, I went over to Valerie Galloways page to drool. I wasn't going to... I didn't mean to (ok, maybe I did). But I ended up buying myself this print that I've wanted for a while now. It wasn't very expensive and I still have money tucked away to get everyone their gifts. Guilt level - low. Excitement level in anticipation of hanging this on my wall - very high.

You can find more of Valerie's work here http://www.etsy.com/shop/ValerieGalloway