Saturday, May 26, 2018

I am getting out of Dodge.....

I am heading over this bridge....


...to get my toes in the sand...


...and smell the fresh ocean air...


...and catch a few "rays"...



...with a few friends from the 'ol college days...


I have scheduled my "Tales of the Traveling Tote" post to publish on June 1st....I'll be back in 2 weeks!


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Saturday, May 19, 2018

Little Britto.....

Romero Britto (born October 6, 1963) is a Brazilian artist, painter, serigrapher and sculptor. He combines elements of cubism, pop art and graffiti painting in his work, using vibrant colors and bold patterns as a visual expression of hope and happiness.




My grandson learned about Romero Britto's art in his 3rd grade art class.  I was fortunate while visiting that I got to attend his art show.  

Carter created a self-portrait in Britto-style:




I absolutely love his interpretation and creativity!


I was introduced to Britto's art work while on a cruise years ago.  His use of vivid color and bold lines caught my eye as I strolled into gallery in awe of the designs!


If you would like to learn more about Britto, go HERE



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Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Butter.....

I have had a few requests for a recipe of an herbal butter I posted on Facebook this week. 

 

First a little info on Butter:

Butter is the dairy product made from churning milk or cream. The churning process separates the butterfat (the solids) from the buttermilk (the liquid). The butter we most often buy is made from cow's milk




Butter is actually a very beneficial part of our diet that can improve our immune system, regulate hormones, protect vision, boost metabolism, increase brain function, reduce chances of heart  disease and blood pressure, is a good source of Vitamin A and protects us from cancer . Furthermore, it can protect against gastrointestinal conditions, while ensuring proper development of the brain and nervous system development.

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I think I have a "thing" for butter dishes....I didn't realize that until I began to take photos of them!

This little girl is from Anthropologie:


I have a few of these "individual" butter dishes and I added some paint to them to coordinate with my Courtly Check dishes:


This is another cute one from Anthropologie....


..and I have it in white, too.  This one is my "everyday" butter dish:


I have used this one with my CC enamel dishes, too.  It's an old silver plated dish that I painted:


This one I painted for a friend:


Here is one I use with my M-C dishes - I am on the hunt for the matching plate:


This one is the CC butter house, but it is large.  I use this more for cheeses and spreads than butter:



And I enjoy making flavored butters for vegetables.  These were made in candy molds, frozen and then popped onto a plate:



You can also roll the butter into a tube and then slice it or serve it in a butter dish.

Here are some quick and tasty flavors to blend together.  I use unsalted butter at room temperature, and then refrigerate it before slicing.  If using a candy mold, it is easier to freeze the butter and then they will pop right out of the mold.

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Garlic Basil Butter

1/2 stick of butter, 1 minced garlic clove and 3-4 basil leaves, minced
  • Chive Butter
  • 1/2 stick of butter and 2-3 T of chopped chives, dash of salt and pepper
  • Sun-dried Tomato Herbal Butter
  • 1/2 stick butter, 1 clove garlic minced, 2 T sundried tomatoes, drained, minced.
  • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  • The Chive Butter is delish on baked potatoes, the Garlic-Basil is great on corn and the Sun dried Tomato Herbal Butter is so good on veggies.  The leftover butter can be frozen for the summer, but it usually goes quickly around here!
  • ENJOY!


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Sunday, May 13, 2018

Mother's Day....

I am the Mom of these two crazy girls - they surely know how to have fun....


...and I am the daughter of this Mom:

For a short time we had 5 generations, however we now have 4 generations in our family!  We are certainly lucky!!  

Enjoy Mother's Day!

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Thursday, May 10, 2018

Ten on the 10th ~ Fashion/Accessories Storage



It's time for Ten on the Tenth....


Fashion is the focus this month and this was an easy challenge for me!


I am sharing how I store all of my accessories....and yes, I probably have way too many "accoutrements", but they make wearing jeans and t-shirts look a bit more fashionable!

When I retired a few years ago, I eliminated a lot of jewelry, but needed a place to hang my favorite necklaces.  
On the corner wall, between the closet door and the door to our bedroom I hung 4 wooden racks that I bought at the Regional Market for $2 each....


....so for $8, I have the perfect spot to "hide" all my necklaces.  I try to keep similar colors together, but it doesn't always look this neat!



I also love wearing scarves and am not a fan of folding anything!  
I bought a curtain rod at Ikea and scrounged up "sock" hangers from Old Navy.....


...they were being thrown away and they are perfect for hanging scarves.  The curtain rod cost under $5 and is just sitting across the back wall, hanging on the clothes racks on each side of the closet.


All of my earring are stored in ice cube trays which I purchased at the dollar store - I also try to keep matching colors close to each other.




And when I travel I store my earrings in this large pill container, $1 from the Dollar Store!


My bracelets are stored in cardboard boxes and tins in a plastic drawer - freebies!!


My watches are in dollar store plastic bins (2/$1)


I bought this tie rack at the Thrift Store for $2.  It holds the bracelets I wear most often and hangs in the closet:


Some of my rings sit on the bureau on a ceramic hand I also picked up at the thrift shop for $1:


My MacKenzie-Childs bags should really be hanging on this peg rack, however my husband had a better idea - you can read about it HERE.  This rack cost under $10 for him to build!




Organization is the key to efficiency - all of my accessories are easy to find!

NOW, if I could only apply this concept to the rest of my life!





Please visit these clever bloggers to see how they spent $10: