Antiquing we will go.....

I spent the most perfect morning with my family, in downtown Historic Glendale, in some gorgeous Antique stores.

One, I could have lived in.  I found myself completely overwhelmed by the beautiful items around me, even my husband and children were heard ooohing and aaahing through the store.  It was the best hour I have spent in a long time.

One of my favorite decorating styles is primitive and I'm always looking to add pieces to my house, but they can be quite expensive so I don't buy many. But goodness, how can a girl resist all of this?

Much as I love color, and you KNOW I love color, I also love the darker reds, blacks and browns of primitive decor.  They're very earthy tones in my opinion, and go perfectly in any home.

*sigh*   I would love a cabinet like this in my home, a place I could stash quilts and fabrics.

The store I was in was huge, and every single wall, every nook and every cranny had a treasure.  I actually saw a pie cupboard that I fell in love with, it was SO expensive, that I wanted to cry.  And I found an old Singer Sewing Machine with the case, for $150 which is actually not bad at all.

It was almost too much at times.  Hubby told me to pick a few things and I kept saying "but I don't know what I want....how can I pick from all of these?". 

Quilts, candles, tins, beautiful chairs, paintings, country sayings, dishes, dolls, fabric, antique wooden chests, writing desks...soaps and lotions and anything you could think of for your home.

It took me a while.  I looked and looked some more, and my family looked along with me and they all decided that for my birthday they will be shopping there.

I ended up picking a few things and am so thrilled with them.

HAD to have this one. I just had to, there is something so wonderful about this old tin plate with the hard tack, I couldn't leave it behind.

Also bought myself an old cutting board which I've wanted for quite a long time.

Two small candle holders and two small candles which smell amazing

They all look just right on my wood stove cover.

I would have bought many many more things, but like I said, some were quite expensive and it's so hard to pick just a few items when you want to buy that 4 post bed, and that gorgeous $200 quilt, and then add in the pie cupboard for another $300 plus the gorgeous huge wood chest for $395.

I am SO glad my husband can do woodworking, I have some projects lined up for him. He may not be too thrilled with the long list, but I am LOL

We walked around a little, looked at a few more stores, my husband found a comic book store that he fell in love with. He collects comic books and has a gazillion boxes. He picked up 2 comic books and plans on returning for a few others that caught his eye.

It's fun to just go walking through the streets of Downton Historic Glendale. It has a very European feel to it.

You could spend a morning shopping, having tea, or eating a lunch outside in the warm sunlight. Great place for a family outing.

We stopped at another antique store. I kept telling the family to stop taking me into these, but they find it hilarious because I get so happy inside.

Oh if I could have shown you all the old cookbooks I found, even came across a Mrs Beeton's Everyday Cookery published over 100 years ago. But it was a little out of my price range. I did show it to hubby for my birthday LOL

This particular store even had a second floor filled with gorgeous antiques, so I grabbed these for $4.00.

Have wanted wooden pegs like these for a long time too.

And also grabbed the vintage embroidered cloth beneath it for $2.00.

Gorgeous!

All in all, managed to come home with some good finds which make me extremely happy.

I think I'll spend the rest of the day working on my crochet and then taking the pugs for a walk.

Hope you're all having a fantastic Saturday :)

Burst of color

Color, color everywhere around me today.

I literally was surrounded by bursts of beautiful bright colors.  They are in my living room and in my kitchen and in baskets, and on crochet hooks.

I took the day off to crochet, I finished my project and I started another one which I am just adoring.

Super quick to make and there's not one thing I don't like about it. Yes, it's a simple circle but the color combination is lovely

the edging is just right, and my tulip looks smashing against it

I often get worried about the color choices when I start something, I've had it happen before where I pick out the colors, start the project and then realize that the colors are just not working for me anymore, only to pull it all apart.

That didn't happen with this one, it just seemed to flow and I'm thrilled with it.

Loved this one so much that I made another exactly the same.

Beautifully compliments my Daffodils, doesn't it?

Just gorgeous bright pops of color. I love seeing these around my home.

And now to show you my newest project which I should finish tonight.

Spiral bobbles. Oh my!

Not as bright as the other two projects, but equally beautiful....and what fun to make.

I stopped in at Michael's tonight and picked up 3 more cotton yarns, going to make one in cotton, and also have a new dishcloth pattern I want to try out.

Do you love color as much as I do? Do you include it around your house or do you shy away from bright vivid colors?

Home, Crocheting and Weird weather!

Yesterday afternoon, we had the weirdest weather for our area.  A mixture of rain and snow, also known as Gropple.  Have any of you ever seen it?

It's the weirdest thing, but even more so for where we live, because aside from the uncommon rain shower, we NEVER see any kind of snow or ice.

Of course we ran outside, everyone around here was standing outside in disbelief. Definitely not something we had ever seen in the last almost 6 years we've been stationed here.

Today we just had some cloudy skies and then moments of blue skies, and then back to dark fluffy clouds. I don't know, but the weather has been so strange lately, I shudder to think about what is going on.

Anyway, puttered around and did some housework, and took some pictures here and there, also finished the granny stripe blanket which needs to be blocked now, and started and ALMOST finished my next project, it will be done by tonight and then I have something else in mind.

New soaps I picked up at the Renaissance Festival.  Top one is called Sleeping Angels, the middle one is Sandalwood and Vanilla and the bottom green is called Woodland Elves.  They smell amazing.

My tulips are all opening, this one is just a stunning color.



It sits on my dining table, at least for now, since I can't decide if I want the Tulip or my Daffodils there.  Hmmmmm

Either one makes me happy.  There's nothing like some fresh flowers to make everything look brighter and happier.

Look at all those buds about to open, my word I can't wait to see a field of yellow in that pot.

And look at the Daffodils, they love my kitchen window, which I think is where I'll leave them, much as I would like to see them on my dining table.

Even though it's filled with Works in Progress, this basket is one of my favorite things in my living room.

Working on a crochet piece for my tray, it's going to take me quite a long time and it's one of those projects that I need to count every stitch and really pay attention to the pattern, so I try to only work on it when I really have the time.

My beautiful granny stripe lap blanket is finished.  I love it, so very much.  I'm beyond happy that I decided to go with all these colors but separate them with the white stripes, it just makes the blanket for me.

Just because I like this corner :)

Started this one this afternoon, almost done with it, it's just a plain circle, I may do some edging on it. Oh and speaking of circles, I've been meaning to share this image with you ladies, I thought that the crocheters out there may enjoy it, and if you're just starting out and delving into the world of circles, it will be very helpful.

So there you have it, a few snapshots of my home and some pretty crochet :)

Are you crocheting anything at the moment?  Or knitting?

I'll show you my finished circle tomorrow and also my new project, whatever that may be, still haven't decided between 3 different ones.

I think I'm going to go enjoy a cup of tea, and watch something on BBC.  It even rhymes Hahaha

God Bless,
Sandra

Cooking Thursday - Lighter Eggplant Parmesan

This is going up really late today, and the reason is that I couldn't get blogger to open for me this morning. I've been trying all day and finally it worked. Whew!

Today's recipe is not only delicious but low calorie too and healthy. Enjoy :)

Lighter Eggplant Parmesan

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 8 servings • Time: 60 minutes • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts

Calories: 265.3 • Fat: 12.4 g • Protein: 14.1 g • Carb: 35.4 g • Fiber: 4.4 g

1 large eggplant (2 lbs)
1 tbsp olive oil
12 oz fat free ricotta
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 medium egg
2 cups reduced fat mozzarella (I used Sargento)
3 cups homemade tomato sauce
salt


Start by making the sauce if you don't have any already made. While the sauce simmers, slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lightly salt the slices and put in a colander to release excess moisture for about 1/2 hour. Lay on paper towels to soak up any extra moisture.

Preheat oven to 450°. Brush eggplant lightly with olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through until eggplant is golden brown.

In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, parsley and 1/4 cup of grated cheese.

In a 9x12 baking dish, put a little sauce on the bottom of the dish and put a layer of eggplant to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese and sauce. Add another layer of eggplant and repeat the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce until everything is used up. Top with sauce and the mozzarella cheese and the remaining grated cheese.

Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and everything is bubbling, about 30 minutes at 400°. Remove foil and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

And the wind howled....

As I sit here on the couch, the wind is howling outside and making my window decoration, and the door wreath slam repeatedly.  It's almost a soothing sound, the constant tap tap tap emanating through the house.

It's raining, everything is wet, the skies are a dark grey and I could find it all gloomy and depressing, but I find it wonderful.  I don't think I have to tell you all how much I love rainy days.

I'm on my second cup of hot coffee.  Mmmm, perfect way to start the morning, I think.

It's going to be a very laid back, relaxed day.  I'm not exercising today, so after I get my housework all taken care of, I'll be sitting down to start my new doily....and perhaps to finish my granny stripe blanket.

I really should get that one knocked out, but I don't know, it seems that sometimes when I get to the end of a project, I tend to hold off on just finishing it, maybe because I want to keep it on the hook a little longer?  Or maybe I just need a different project to concentrate on.  But, I will finish it this week.

My initial plans were to do some gardening today, and that is not going to happen with this rain, but that's ok because I did get most of it done on Monday.

Before I show you those photos, won't you go over to Tammy's home for a Sunporch Chat?  I'm featured today and really enjoyed visiting with Tammy and answering her questions. :)

One of my favorite areas in my house, is my kitchen window.  I love plants and for the longest time, years in fact, I just could not grow any.  I used to say that I had "the thumb of death".  Honestly!

I would either over water, or forget to water, or put them in the wrong place, deprive them of sun, or gave them too much.  It was a mess, and then one day it just seemed to click, I did research, I went out of my way to see what grew where in the house and what needed water daily and what didn't etc.

I think I can finally say that I'm successfully growing plants.

I've been regrowing green onions, lettuce and celery (as you may recall from a few months back, when I showed you how I'm doing it). These are my green onions...

and here is my Basil plant, it's done very well on the window sill

My tulips are doing beautifully, and I should plant them outside, but I don't want to mess with them for fear I will kill them when I transplant them LOL

So they're staying in the pot where they seem to be very happy.

I bought a pack of these guys so I could plant some herbs. I've been successful at growing them in these containers, so why mess with it right?

In went Lavender, Basil, thyme, parsley, garlic chives and rosemary.

Then I stepped out into the backyard, to my vegetable patch, and I was shocked at how horrid it looked, weeds, grass, dead plants and broken netting. Looked so pathetic, that I got straight to work

and was quite surprised to see my onions growing

my parsley is growing too, quite honestly I thought everything was dead

and I still have a broccoli plant and some thyme growing as well, what a pleasant surprise to find those pops of green in my garden.

When the work was done, I turned on the sprinkler and then the family and I took a drive around base and stopped at the playground so the kids could run around for a while.

In case you've never seen what our base looks like, I took a few shots just so you see where we are stationed for the moment.

So much brown isn't there? It's the joy of desert living, I sure can't wait to get back to greenery and lots of trees and fresh air.

Burning off some energy

Lots of pine cones laying around

and these few pops of green here and there make me smile, I guess it takes away the dreariness of the brown desert surroundings

Hope I haven't lost you all along the way, I didn't realize this post would be so photo heavy, but what can I say, I like my camera and I like nothing more than to document everything around me.

But, my coffee has now gone cold and I have some dishes in the sink needing my attention.

Thank you for visiting me today, hope your Wednesday is filled with love and happiness!