Sunglass Frill

I'm not a huge fan of sunglasses. They give me headaches, along with those little red spots on my nose when I take them off. And inevitably, someone (usually my husband) says "Hey Hollywood" every time I wear them. Yuck.
But I have been changing my ways lately to accommodate our increasingly outdoorsy life style. Let's see, there's my morning dousing with SPF 50, as well as my recent chunky boyish shoedle purchase. (shoe•dle: a tennis shoe/sandal hybrid) Oh yeah, and our stylin' fanny pack. I'm not joking. It's actually John Jay's, but I get to use it when he feels like sharing.
I'm still on a hunt for some unassuming sunglasses with UV protection that aren't more than $10 dollars. That's a lot of qualifiers, I know...picky picky.
These sunglasses don't meet a single one of those descriptions. I found them in my swim bag from last summer and spruced them up a bit. No more function than before, just fancier.

Before:
















After:

Tip of the Week

Last night I decided to flip through my Modern Household Encyclopedia, 1948 Edition! I forgot all about this baby! It's just been sitting on my shelf for the last 3 or 4 years with so much to offer such as what to do with candle ends, what a "bland diet" actually consists of, and every antidote known to man for poisoning (men in 1948, mind you...so get out the emetic and coffee!) I thought it would be nice to periodically share this world of knowledge with all of my loyal followers (Hi Mom!).

I'll start with the selection simply titled "Double Chins."

"To firm one rub a lemon ice cube over it after thoroughly cleansed. Make cubes by freezing 2 parts fresh lemon juice and 1 part water. Good for the face too."

I'm assuming that the acids from the lemon will eat away at the skin until it disintegrates. Or the ice will freeze the chin, making it much less painful to cut off...the lemon is just so it smells good.

Meet Tom

I'm trying to grow tomato plants from seeds. Key word: trying. A few months back my dad helped me re-pot the seedlings. It was touch-and-go there for a while and I thought Tom was a goner. This deathbed picture was taken to show dad what he already knew: I am a murderer of anything green.



















But lo and behold, he's alive!!! The poor guy has been dehydrated (several times), knocked off the steps by my bear of a husband, and relocated twice. I know I need to plant him in the ground, but the people who cut our grass just mow down everything in sight! Maybe I'll make him a little flag or banner or something to keep the mowers away. I'm hoping he lives long enough to bear some green tomatoes for frying.




















Oh, and of course my long term goal is this:



















That's one inspiring mustache. Did you think I meant the tomato?

Cupcake Caricatures

Apparently, I can add "Desserts that Look Like Your Family Pet" to my repertoire. These Albie Cakes were to celebrate our dog Albert Einstein's fourth birthday. John Jay didn't let him eat one, although I did sneak him some icing.

Any excuse to eat cupcakes, right?

Cheap, or Clever?

This is how I paid the baby-sitter last night. When I asked Hannah Rose how much babysitters get paid these days, she replied as sweetly as possible, "Oh, you don't have to pay me...I mean...I get an allowance and everything, so I'm good." (Isn't she funny?!) So I told her I'd think of something.
I bought these beads at the same time as the bird necklace. I love this stuff. It reminds me of Mrs. Gina's dishes. Hopefully it was worth two hours of crying games...Judah was testing out the new authority and decided to give her a hard time. What can I say?...he's John Jay's kid.
Hang in there Hannah! He'll give in eventually. Until then, I'll keep the "money" flowing.

Mama's Spinach Pasta

I'm horrible at naming my dishes. When John Jay asked me what this was I said, "Um, creamy...chicken and spinach....stuff." He said I needed to work on that. So, "Mama's spinach pasta!" sounds more appetizing, I suppose. This first attempt had chicken, but we just acquired a very large bag of peeled crawfish that I'll be using next time.
I basically turned my mom's spinach dip recipe into a baked pasta dish. Here's what you need:

a large bag of fresh spinach
green onion (3-5)
minced garlic
grated Parmesan (1/4 cup?)
4 0z. cream cheese (light works fine)
approx 4-5 oz. sour cream (light works fine)
salt and pepper

10 oz. whole wheat linguine
one can of mushrooms
2 cups cooked chicken
grated Parmesan

•Cook the pasta (according to package directions).
•Chop the spinach and green onion and mix the first seven ingredients. Cook for about 2-3 minutes in microwave, stirring every 45 seconds or so.
•Drain noodles and stir in spinach mixture, mushrooms and chicken. Pour into casserole dish and top with Parmesan. Bake at 350˚ for 25-30 minutes.

I Guess We Like Birds (???)

This little love bird bead wanted to be a pendant for me to wear. But after I made it, I thought, "What's the deal with the Alvaro's and birds?" There's my husband's blog: strange bird alvaro, as well as his first tattoo (here are the only pics I could find of it. Bonus: a pregnant belly!). Then of course, my first sewing project. And now this.

Every body's got something, right?