My first post

New Haircut

I've been wanting a short 'do for a long time

awhile back I finally took the plunge & cut off all my hair!

I've learned how to style it too so my new haircut has made my daily life easier.

Let's face it, I'm up at 4:20 AM and must leave by 5:20 AM

so easier is mandatory *smiles*

No more french braiding!

No more ponytails!

No more worries about putting my hair up for work!

Best of all - No more NON style!

I have a style now *smiles*

So what do you think? Do you like it?

Birthday Cake!

Do you bake your own birthday cakes?

I do!

Or sometimes the Hubs will buy a ice cream cake cause they love those

but I love white cake with white buttercream - always have!

So this year Hubs said "I want to help!"

So we baked my birthday cake together *smiles*

I've been wanting to try a ruffled cake!

It was easy peasy!

Use your rose tip & go back & forth all the way up in a narrow swatch then do that over and over and over again till you're all the way around your cake. Pipe a border on top to cover the edge and you've got a pretty, sweet, feminine, girly cake!

$10 Pedestal

You know how Hobby Lobby sells those faux wood pedestals for about $100? I've always wanted one but there was no way I'd ever spend that much on one, not even with a coupon or sale price so I waited patiently... Remember I worked for Hobby Lobby while waiting for my dream job to be built. My patience was rewarded after 2 1/2 years!

All the furniture items that Hobby Lobby sells comes in boxes which the employees put together. Now some people just naturally have skills at putting together things whereas others do not and whomever had attempted to put together this particular pedestal ending up stripping out the screw parts in the particle board type stuff it was made out of so no amount twisting it was going to hold it together. At this point most store managers would say toss it down the dumpster but fortune smiled on me as I had a repuation for wanting anything broken beyond repair and it was offered to me for $10!!! Naturally I knew my ober skilled hubs could fix it *smiles*

Both ends of this pedestal needed repair and hubs used lots of wood glue and clamps to hold it together while it dried and set up. I waiting patiently...

Here it is looking all pretty and sturdy!

Not bad for $10 huh?

Gosh I miss Hobby Lobby!

Now if only I could get a new Ikea couch for $10...

a quick Charleston lunch

Much earlier this year I had the chance to go to another food show in Charleston SC. Now I've mentioned several times before how much my husband and I love Charleston, it's simply our favorite place ever so a quick mid-week expenses paid trip to our favorite place is a no-brainer, absolutely ! We are there! So this is us on our way.
After lots of food show stuff on the first day and a huge customer appreciation party that evening we decided to spend our second day going downtown and having a quick bite of lunch before making the return trip home. The day was sunny and clear with a cool breeze, perfect weather! I wish we could have explored more but since we both had to work the next day we enjoyed this little slice of Charleston till our next visit.

If you've been to Charleston then you can imagine how rare it would be to have a picture of this particular location without another person or vehicle in sight! Charleston mid-week is a slightly different city from Charleston weekends.
One of our favorite local casual places to eat is the Noisy Oyster. Their food is always yummy, excellent service and reasonably priced menu.




Forgive my awful photo! But this is one of my absolute Charleston favorites, She-crab soup! See the melting butter pool? Yum!

And another Charleston lunch favorite of mine is the Shrimp Po'boy sandwich with cheesey grits and red rice!

I have to visit Charleston several times a year or else I feel displaced and disquieted. Charleston calls to me, I can't explain it but I just know I have to be there. I feel a harmony within when I visit and wish I could live there all year round never leaving.

A Summer Evening Party!

Recently I prepared a little selection of nibbles for an investors meeting.

I had a great time coming up with my menu!

Menu

Mini Blue Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce

Black Bean Hummus with Whole Wheat Pita Chips

Antipasto Skewers with Pickled Okra

Firefly Sweet Tea Peach Soup Shooters

Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Lightly Sweetened Iced Tea

Coffee

The strawberries were the favorite of the evening, everyone commented on how huge they were!

The anipasto skewers were drizzled with a Balsamic Vinegrette and had mushroom caps, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella, dried apricot, kalamata olive and sundried tomato with basil - YUM

I used the Magnolia Bakery in NYC recipe for the Red Velvet Cupcakes - they were oh so easy to pop into your mouth!

I also put out a bottle of Toscani Caramel Syrup for those who enjoy flavored coffee

Sorry I didn't get a picture of the Chilled Peach Soup Shooters, I just put the shooter glasses into a large rectangle dish with crushed iced water and drizzled each shooter with a honey yogurt swirl, they truly were unique, pretty and oh so trendy!

a photo-less post and a lot of anxiety

After sharing in my so very long ago last post about the loss of a special friendship I've had some anxiety about continuing blogging. I don't know why... I think in my case the reasons for anxiety doesn't make sense after all I've been shown nothing but kindness and loving support from blogging friends and their comments but yet it's there physically manifesting as weird expectant feelings of impending doom in the pit of my stomach along with a racing heart as I comtemplate posting an update... *smiles*

So what have I been doing?

A whole lot of work for one thing, my job has taken off and grown steadily but just last week it's exploded as a local competitor sold out and all their little friends were frantically searching for a new place *smiles* We bought a car just after the first of the year so I'm no longer sharing my 3 hour round trip commute with my dear hubs in his vintage '86 Ford Ranger pickup but I now have bi-weekly car payments which drastically cut into my discretionary spending money. Our son is about to graduate college and is looking for employment while I daydream about having an empty nest *smiles* My dear husband and I are in the early months of a major life style change as we reject the word diet because diets have never gotten us anywhere and we are losing weight and feeling great eating cleaner, healthier and more wholesome foods. I've suffered from some unbearable foot pain and will start seeing a massage therapist soon for treatment. Hmmm, what else? Went to Charleston SC to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary in March only to come down with a wicked case of Noro-virus which pretty much ruined our visit. I managed to walk around the city I adore for a bit on our last day, otherwise I was too weak to get out of the car for the other days. That's about it friends, nothing major, just regular day to day living going on with a grateful heart for the blessings we enjoy in our lives.

I've been keeping with you guys on google reader though even if I don't comment. I've turned into a major lurker *smiles* I've been watching... lol I'm so proud of you guys for all your creative endeavors! Miz Darlene I'd love to know if your chicken spaghetti is a hit because I have an even simpler version of this dish that I serve at school which everyone loves and I'd be happy to share it with you. And Miz Susie I'd love to know how your daughter's allergies are coming along... what on earth do you feed that child since she is so limited? I have little friends with allergies too and I'm very curious how you and your sweet girl handle it.

OK anxiety is slipping away and I'm starting to feel better...

maybe I'll even get around to posting a little more often with some photos... I'm working on a Jane Austen inspired altered canvas tote bag that has cost me ZERO dollars in the making *smiles*

And Thank you friends for your sweet comments while I've fallen off the face of blogland!