Back to My Roots...

....for this blog anyway!

Well if you've read "about me," my original plan for a blog was to put out recipes from family and friends so my kids (and I use that term loosely) would be able to have these recipes so they can cook themselves. 

 

 Of course, I've strayed away from my original plan, but recently I saw a few "foodie" movies and have been re inspired to chit-chat about cooking.  Gosh there are so many movies that involve food as a character...it's my kinda porn if you get my drift.  I think I really enjoy activity around, or involving, food (and drink too) because it is so basic to our survival as humans.  We need nourishment to live, plain and simple.

So I decided to just put up a list of my favorite food-related movies that you might want to check out if you have the time.  Here's my list....in no particular order:
1. Big Night

2. Ratatouille
3. Sideways
4. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
5a. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
5b. Tortilla Soup (the newer version of E,D,M,W)
7. Ramen Girl
8. Babette's Feast
9. Julie and Julia
10. Chef (in theaters now...great movie)
11. Chocolat
12. No Reservations (chemistry off with the stars, but I like the kitchen scenes)

There is another "foodie" movie that will soon be in the theaters, The Hundred-Foot Journey.  I like the trailers so hopefully the movie holds up.  I hate to plunk down our hard-earned $$$$ and then have a movie just be a disappointment.

Just fire up the air-popper, get comfy and cozy on the couch, and settle in with one of these movies...I think yer gonna have a good time!

à bientôt!!!

Goodnight Moon

Tonight is supposed to be the first of three "supetmoons" visible in 2014, but in typical summer fashion for our part of the California coastline, we have overcast skies so no bright, clear weather for moon gazing.  Sometimes I do get tired of the gloomy summer weather (when the central valley is HOT we are cool and foggy)

but I drive by the beautiful ocean watching the waves crash on the rocky shores and I *heart* this little bit of Cali I call home....



But I would love to have a few more warm summer days for sure.





Hope you were able to check out the supermoon .... The next one is in August.

Ben...You DO NOT have a friend in me!

For Michael, Version 1.1

So recently we have had to deal with rats in our garage.  All I can say is ugh. No. Wait...UGH!  In all of our years as homeowners, we have not ever had to deal with these awful, hideous, filthy creatures.

How did we know we had rats???  (OMG...I hate to even say the word...it sounds like we live in a tenement).  Well about a month ago we noticed some scratching noises in the attic (we thought "damn squirrels again").  Then we noticed that our cat's food dishes were COMPLETELY clean.  We just thought his appetite was back again (he's been sick off and on) and he must really be hungry so we gave him MORE food.  Then there was "the encounter," but more on that later.

We now know the "rat-tas" were eating the food out of his dish and being well fed by us.

And my cat is no help either.  Oreo is the epitome of a "fraidy cat".  He probably just sat himself on top of the water heater and watched the icky varmits run around everywhere.  He didn't want to go out to the garage at night and didn't want to be near his food...what's up we thought?  But we'd kick him out to the garage for the night like we have done every night for the last 15 years.  We now know why.

Of course, in the past we have had to deal with a few mice here and there, but our previous cats, Figaro, Coco and Oliver, were all good hunters.  They would get those little devil-mice in a couple of days and TA-DA no more rodent problem.  But Oreo has always been different. He has never brought us any "presents" like the other cats.  Oreo never hunts.  He doesn't like to eat any kind of meat, no matter if it is living (like a mouse or bird) or our "people" meat whether raw or cooked, like our other cats used to do.  He is perfectly fine with his Fancy Feast, Friskies and...wait....frosting.  He loves to eat frosting.  And butter, too.  He's a wuss.  But back to rat murdering....

So recently I was heading out to the garage to get Oreo settled in for the night and one of those ugly, gray, humongous rats ran across the floor right in front of me!  Oreo leaps up on to the work bench, I slam the door screaming like I'm being devoured by zombies, and the hubby comes running expecting to see some horrific something-or-other happening.

"Oh...it's just a rat?" hubby says.

I narrow my eyes a bit and, for a moment, I think about putting some grilled ribeye on one of those huge traps and snapping HIS skull, but I keep my cool.  Besides, death by rat trap could be construed as manslaughter or something, but I digress.

 "Um, yeah" I say, "a dirty filthy rat about ten feet long with big teeth, a long tail and rubbing his grubby paws together like he's expecting a five course meal...duh."

"You are being a baby" he mutters as he heads out to Ace Hardware to buy the rat killing machines aka rat traps.  When he gets home and puts fraidy cat in the house (Oreo not me though I am a "fraidy cat") while he sets his rat murder spree in motion....

Excuse me Mr. Jackson, but I do not think rats are lonely or misunderstood... anyone remember the 70s movie "Ben"???? I do, however, think they are pretty smart because at first they seem to be able to steal away the bait, pieces of my Tillamook cheddar thank-you-very-much, without snapping THEIR little skulls to a pulp.  So he switches to the yummier and stickier, Skippy chunky peanut butter, hoping for more success.  And these traps...they are huge suckers (or rather snappers).  Of course, you know when you see one rat there are others lurking in the shadows waiting to crap all over my garage floor and belongings.  I cannot wait until rat armageddon begins.

Okay. This is where I am glad I am the "girl" and he is the "boy" cause I don't want to have anything to do with these varmits...it's a man's job to rescue me.  After a couple of days of setting rat-annihilation traps (with the peanut butter appetizers) hubby gets about seven of those rat-monsters!  I don't know how he disposed of them...don't want to know how he disposed of them...don't care how he disposed of them...as long as "them" is gone.  He assures me there is no evidence of anymore rat-monsters in the garage, but I'm making HIM do the laundry, feed the cat, and take care of anything involving going in to the garage, for at least another couple of weeks.

Did I mention it gives me the hee-bee jee-bees to know there are/once were rats in our garage???

So one day I will venture back in to the garage, yoga pants tucked into my Uggs, wearing a thick long sleeve sweater and latex gloves on my hands....just in case I see a a rat-villan waiting to pounce on me...um...yeah one day....

Au revoir mes amis.

Post script:
I am occasionally peeking out the garage door and checking Oreo's food dish.  I am happy to report there are leftover bits and pieces in his dishes so I'm pretty sure the rat-creatures are gone for now....but I won't let on to hubby.  I mean he is doing the laundry and other chores right now so why mess up a good thing for me???? LOL!

Blushing Pink

I am loving the color of blush pink I am seeing everywhere, especially paired with my favorite "non" color...black.

This scarf from Anthropologie is so yummy in this pretty color.  It would look lovely in the spring or summer with a cute maxi dress and in the fall or winter with gray or black cashmere.  I saw this one from Tory Burch when I was recently at the store in San Francisco:

I fell in love with the print and color combination.  It is cotton voile and is really beautiful.  

Heath and Home

Been on a "vacation" of sorts lately...hence the lack of posts, but I recently came across another blog that had some pretty pictures of an old home that had been redone on the cheap.  The pictures are from 'goodbye house! Hello home" (google y'all if interested in checking out her blog); this gal is so creative with repurposing things and thrift store finds.  Anyway...she and her hubby downsized from a large track home to a small bungalow and the old house is coming along.  These are pictures of her recently redone livingroom hearth and sofa

I really like the soft, simple decor and I want to back to this comfortable style.  I have been trying to do the "transitional" look but it's not me.  I'm the cottage type and it's time to stop fighting it and just embrace the cushy comfort.  So time to re-evaluate my accessories and furniture and go the the drawing board to decide what makes the cut and what doesn't .  

Can't wait to see what happens next!!!  Toodles!

My-O-My I Love Pie!

My-O-My to say the least...right???  I didn't realize that it has been almost two months since I last posted!  Yikes!  Just like me to celebrate a "birthday," wolf down the cake, and disappear until the next sweet comes my way....

Hubby and I were on our way to Pismo Beach to get him a HARLEY...yeah...insert a joke on midlife crisis here .... and we decided to stop at the Madonna Inn for a little treat.  Lemon meringue pie and a cup o' coffee in the afternoon was a bit of bliss after the loooonnnngg car ride.  (By the way, we didn't buy the motorcycle because it was nothing like the photo on Craigslist...poor baby boohooed all the way home).  If you ever get a chance to stop at this place, I would recommend it...a bit "kitchy" and girlie with all of the bling bling and bright pink (fake) flowers, but it brings a smile to your face so to h*ll with the calories!

TTFN!

p.s. More to come soon....I promise!

It's My Birthday!

Okay...well not MY birthday but it's the blog's birthday.  One year already.

So I've been working and refining and trying different things while I learn how to navigate and post.  I think it's time to refresh and change things up so I'm going to try to find, or photograph, and use more pictures to illustrate my points.  I think this will be more interesting.

                                                              ---------* ----------

I recently found a blogger who is as enamored with California, specifically NorCal, as I am!!!  The first page

i stumbled upon was her suggestions for dressing while visiting Carmel and Monterey.  I liked the looks she chose:

Ugh...My Achin' Back

When did I get old? Ever wonder about that?  One day you bend over to pick something up, or try to reach for anything, or get up from a chair and it's a real effort!?!  

There are new aches and pains every day it seems. Creaks and cracks...burps and "toots"....shuffling and scooting....all coming from your body.  Your mind thinks you are still vital and full of verve, but one day you realize it takes you longer and longer to get going each day.  Simple tasks can feel overwhelming sometimes, and there is this face staring back at me in the mirror...yikes she looks like my mother....but it's me!

I am getting tired of "coloring out the age" from my hair and have even considered just wearing a wig, but I'm afraid I might turn into one of THOSE old ladies. You know the ones...they wear a wig on their little noggins, and it just sits there, slightly askew, like a bad hair-hat.  I don't think I'm there yet.

As for any surgery or injections, I'm too cheap and too skittish to go for it.  The thought of cutting around my forehead, ears or chin and pullllliiinnngg the skin taught is so scary.  Plus what do you end up with???  Eyes, nose, cheeks, etc. that look so distorted, like the scene in the movie Brazil.

Did you ever see this film???  It is a commentary on society and has a surrealistic vibe to it, but one of the characters (actress Kathrine Helmond) is obsessed with youth and has so much surgery done to her face and body she eventually just melts, literally melts, away.  Now "the internet" is a-buzz about the recent appearance of Goldie Hawn and Kim Novak.  They were presenters at the Oscars last weekend.  All I can say is they should've left well enough alone, or they should sue their surgeons for advising and performing such botched procedures on their faces.  It was painful to see because these women were/are beautiful...they should have just let nature take its course and continuing to try and recapture their youth....it doesn't work.

Okay...so what's the point of all of this???

Well, I guess we should all just try and take good care of ourselves.  Eat well, exercise the body and mind, and for heaven sakes use moisturizer and sunscreen throughout our lives.  Accepting aging as

a normal and natural process is good.  Acceptance does not mean giving up and sitting around waiting for the grim reaper.  It means knowing that we are ALL going to get older, old, and we shouldn't be so worried about holding on to something we cannot have anymore.  Once we embrace aging we feel free to focus on living life; I mean we only get one go-around on this planet (unless you believe in reincarnation, but that's a whole 'nother story) so make it a good one.

So when your back is aching, your feet are sore, your fingers are stiff, or your vision is blurry, just take a break and catch your breath.  Eventually even Jennifer Lawrence and Justin Bieber

will be creaking along, with wrinkles and age spots...I prefer a few aches and wrinkles to the alternative after all...laying in my final resting place, if you know what I mean!

Totally Brill' Breakfast Idea!

So I'm catching up on all of my DVR'd shows the other day, y'know, mostly cooking shows that I don't get to see cause I'm at work...and a reality Housewives episode or two (this is garbage I know, I know, but don't judge).  Anyway one of my favs is Pati's Mexican Table on PBS.

The host is Pati Jinich and she is charming.

 Her food is easy to prepare and looks delicious and comforting.  Let me say that she is not a classically trained chef, but a self-taught cook.  Professionally she was a political analyst from D.C., but she always had a passion for food and cooking.  She left the "professional" world a few years ago to host a PBS show and the rest is history...for her at least.  For us it means easy to follow recipes that we can put together for our own broods.

Did I mention she also has a heavy accent?

Sometimes you have to rewind and listen again because she mispronounces things, but that is her charm.  The other day, when I was watching the latest show, she had her older sister on and they were making breakfast dishes together.  It felt like you were sitting in her kitchen, across the counter from them, as they were putting together family favorites.  Anyway one recipe that really resonated for me was their take on french toast...I had never seen anything like this before.

So they mix an egg and some milk (just like you would for any FT recipe), but here is where it went off the rails.  They flatten each piece of bread with a rolling pin (not too flat...just flattened) and spread jam or dulce de leche and roll up like a jelly roll.  Then they dipped each roll in the egg mixture, coating the whole thing.  They melted some butter in a saute pan and started to brown each roll (all sides) like FT.  When it is evenly browned they remove from pan and roll in cinnamon sugar. It looked so delicious and it got me thinking about what other ingredients you could use for this type of roll.  Maybe cream cheese and ham, shredded pepper jack and tomato, NUTELLA, peanut butter and banana or choc chips...whatever you like.  It just needs to be a thin layer; not fat or thick layers.  Dip in egg mixture and brown in butter.

Nom Nom Nom. Bon Appetit!

Postscript: She also has a cookbook...it looks great. 

A Path I Didn't Know I Wanted to Take

We frequently use the word "path" to describe a figurative journey.  Follow your path...take the path to....it's your/my/our path...

                             

About six months ago I started a new "path" after being offered a job at a furniture store. I wasn't completely sold on the idea of working in sales, but I was just sitting at home not really doing much so, I thought, why not? Especially since I really enjoy "home" decor stuff...color, pattern, fabrics, furniture, decor, etc., and watch HGTV et al incessantly.  This might be THE opportunity to combine an an interest and make a little moo-lah. Isn't that what successful "people"  are always saying??? Do what you love and you'll be successful?  I like people, I'm outgoing, I enjoy home fashion, yada-yada, so it seemed like a no-brainer..... plus with just hubby and I in the house, there really wasn't enough going on to fill each day so I took the plunge.

But I was unsure and uncomfortable at first. I have always done "admin work" for a variety of companies; always working in an office atmosphere. It had been, for the most part, enjoyable and rewarding work, and tasks became easy for me; it was a comfortable place. Now I was't completely comfortable. In fact I was really uncomfortable. Fear of rejection mostly, but also fear that I wouldn't feel successful as I had felt with my previous jobs.

It took a couple of weeks to feel comfortable enough and start to develop the confidence to start "designing" for customers/clients rather than just write up an order for things they selected. The confidence came from feeling like the customers needed my help because I knew, in my heart of hearts, what they were buying wouldn't coordinate or look right.  I felt like it was my "duty" to advise them so their room would look its best. I truly wanted the customer to feel they had a special experience, was happy with their purchase, and enjoyed the whole process of furnishing their room.

In the last three months I began working on whole room design with a few clients. It has been fun and exciting to visit their homes and help them put together a space that they love. Most important to me is that I feel I have earned their respect and trust a a true professional.

I like this path...and I can see it expanding and evolving. I think I am intuitive with this work. You are part artist and part therapist for each client. Its all good for me. I'm planning and learning all the time and I think I know where I want it to go....but mum's the word right now.

Mon Coeur...Mes Amours

Here's to the three loves of my life...

To RL and SC
     You are (in no particular order but all equal) amazing, wonderful, intelligent, charming, kind, humorous, inquisitive, beautiful/handsome, sweet, caring, supportive, and loving, and I couldn't be more proud of two people than I am of you.  Lucky...that's the way I feel that I get to be your mama. 

To BLT
     I'll make this short and sweet...I will love you for always.

Happy Valentine's Day to all... Now go and plant a big ol' smooch on your loved ones lips!!!

Yes, Pleassseee!

Heavenly treats...

On our recent trip to SF, we stopped at the Ferry Building (where the iconic clock tower is down by the piers) for look-see and to pick up some fav treats. Miette bakery is one place where we put the brakes on and stop in.  I bought these cookies (graham cracker for me, chocolate wafers for hubby) to enjoy with our cafe/coffee/java/joe. Any-hoo...they didn't last long once we got home!  OMG...they were so delish we proceeded to gobble them up in a couple of days. Any excuse to walk to the kitchen to get something required a stop-and-grab-a-cookie.... you know for the energy need to walk the 10-20 steps from any room in the house to the kitchen...medicinal purposes right?

Okay girlfriend, go ahead and order these yummies if you are intrigued by the idea of enjoying treats that made me and hubby act like we were starving and shoving cookies down our throats (ok no one "forced" them in our mouths...I know) .  I will be placing MY order.....in fact no time like the present.  Now where did I put that credit card....

Enjoy!

P.S. visit their website at https://www.miette.com.

I Love Me Some Sparkle!

Recently the hubby, RL, and my sis, CB went to see the Bulgari jewlery exhibit in SF.  It. Was. Amazing.  There were 150 pieces in total, but what we especially wanted to see was the eight pieces that belonged to Elizabeth Taylor.  But let me veer off course for a bit so I can explain how/why I REALLY wanted to see her jewelry....besides the fact that I love lots and lots of sparkle.

Background:  Elizabeth Taylor, love her or leave her, lead a life befitting an acclaimed actress and (certainly) one of the most beautiful women ever to take a breath.  I have always like her movies, well, most of them anyway, since I saw her in National Velvet when I was a teenager.  

Up to that time I was aware of who she was and had only known her as an "older" actress....wrinkly (according to my 15 year old or so eyes), bloated, suffering from substance abuse, and considered past her prime.  Then I saw NV and, even as a teenager, I couldn't believe how beautiful she was as a child.  So that's when I became a fan, and I would watch her movies whenever they came on television (pre-VHS rental, DVD players, and waaaaayyy before streaming and Netflix and all the other ways we view movies today).  My most favorite of her movies is Butterfield 8, for which she won an academy award...and she deserved.

 She played a fiesty call girl who was involved with a married man played by Laurence Harvey.  She becomes disillusioned with him, her life, everything, and in the  end, she dies in a car wreck; if you haven't seen this movie, I recommend it.  But I digress.  

Back to my story: So we all know ET amassed quite a jewelry collection from her husbands and beaus and admirers throughout the years.  A book was published showing all of her collection and when it came out I really wanted it, but it was pricey and all of my hints to hubby went unnoticed.  One day I was in the, now defunct, Borders and lo and behold, my ET book is on clearance!!!  I snatch that tome and take it home to ooh and ahh over.  I love all of the stories that were written about the pieces, the beautiful pictures, and everything, not ever thinking I'd ever have the opportunity to ACTUALLY see her jewelry.  

Fast forward to 2013 and I find out that there will be a jewelry exhibit at the deYoung Museum and some of her jewelry will be on display.  Oh joy. Oh rapture.  I need to see this.

I finally manage to talk hubby in to going up there with just a couple of weeks left before the exhibit leaves the bay area.  And I'm glad I did.  Talk him in to it I mean.  We wandered through the exhibit and had a wonderful time...he even enjoyed it despite his reservations at first.  Afterward, we meandered through several galleries before our stomachs were growling and we needed lunch for sure.  The place were going to go to (Izzy's Steakhouse) wasn't open for lunch so we headed over to another meat palace, Hillstone's, for some grub.  Let me say, we really wanted beef, pork, or any other delicious barnyard buddy because we were really hungry.  I saw this place reviewed on a bay area PBS show and the reviews were good so I thought we could give it a try.  All I can say is YUM! One of the best meals we ever ate in SF...and that is saying a lot for the place.  The wine flowed and the eats were so amazing; it was a wonderful time.  Most of the convo centered around the sparkly sparkle of the exhibit.  We were reliving seeing all of the spectacular jewelry, especially the ones owned by ET.

Oh Beautiful...For Spacious Skies

So last week, as I was driving home from work, I see one of the most beautiful sunsets ever.  Ever.  The sky looked like it was a bright, bold painting of orange, pink, purple, gray, and blue.  It was stunning.  In fact, so stunning I just had to snap a picture.  At first I did speed up thinking I could get to the coast to take some pictures, but the Earth is spinning about a million miles an hour (actually I think it's more like 1,000 miles per hour, but I am trying to illustrate the fact that it was starting to get dark real fast...so sue me) so I knew I wouldn't have time to catch the beauty above me.

I pull over to the side of the road, whip out my trusty iPhone and make a feeble attempt at being an amateur Ansel Adams and snap-snap-snap away.  OK. So only one picture was decent.  The other three were "wonky" and I trashed them.  So here is my photo:

This picture does not do justice to the gorgeousness (must be a word cause no auto-correct HeeHee) of the sunset, but I was overwhelmed at how pretty it all was.

Last night I start home and AGAIN there is another amazing sunset.  Is it always like this and I just never noticed???? I mean unless I was on a vacay and forced to admire the scenery around me ("cause we paid good money to come here" according to the hubby)????  I left late yesterday so the sun was almost down, but I managed to snap a couple of photos, and break the law in the process by using my phone while driving distracted...oy vey.  Anyway it was worth it I think, though I might think differently if the CHP had pulled me over and given me a great big ol' ticket.

I hope I see more of this beauty. I think we all should just step outside, even for a moment, look up at the sky, or stand at the top of a hill, or wherever you are, and take in all that nature has for us. It was so emotional for me to see such sights...as I said before it was simply overwhelming. Any problems or issues of the day seemed unimportant compared to what was before and above me. Wonderful. Wonderful.

Adieu mes amis. 

Tips, Tricks, and a Bunch-a Whatever

Last year a friend passed on a list of tips and tricks to me and here are some of my favs.  I have actually used some of them and they work!  I hope you find some useful ones as well...so here goes:

*Store sheet sets in pillow case in your linen closet; it keeps closet neat and tidy and easy to get when you need a clean set
*Clean your chopping board (wood) with coarse salt and a sponge
*Use nice, thick washcloths instead of hand towels in the bathroom; they are cheaper to buy, easier to handle (especially for children) and are much nicer to use than those small, thin guest hand towels
*Microfiber cloths are great to use to dust windows in between window cleanings; use them inside and out then just toss in the wash
*Use a belt or tie holder for necklaces and other jewelry
*Make breakfast for dinner once a week. Serve omelets with a salad or serve pancakes or waffles with turkey sausage and a fruit/veggie smoothie
*Microfiber cloths work well for dusting without using a spray cleaner; you don't get any build up on the furniture and you can use the same cloth to wipe off wood, ceramic, glass, and other surfaces
*Use dryer sheets in drawers or closets to freshen air
*Put extra (unused) ice cubes in plants; waters the plant as the ice melts
*Organize food in your fridge with plastic bins or small desk organizers from a discount or dollar store; it is a good way to keep everything corralled and looks super-neat
*Color code sheets, towels, etc., by room; makes it easy for sorting when doing laundry
*Avoid buying food items in bulk if you do not use quickly...really a waste of money, and if you are like me, I forget what I have and end up tossing anyway...better to buy small quantities for freshness
*Purge your closets twice a year...if you haven't worn it donate or toss out
*Add beans or tofu to a dish, as a protein supplement, instead of meat, fish or poultry; stretches your dollars and is a healthy alternative to animal proteins
*Sandwiches are good alternative to traditional breakfast foods; try mixing pureed carrots with peanut butter for a delicious sandwich spread, or try candying mild tasting veggies like carrots zucchini or even kale in the oven  (spray veggies with cooking spray then sprinkle with sugar and bake on a parchment covered cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 15-20 min turning once)

And one of my favorite tips....

Create a secret hiding place using the spines from old book covers and glue to a box...cleav-ah!

I'm sure you all have your own tried-and-true tips and tricks.  I hope you can share them with us on the blogosphere...

Holiday Magic

I "heart" Christmas.

Plain and simple.

Love it.

The tree, Santa, cookies, the hustle and bustle, and all the music.  Ahh, the music maybe most.  All those familiar carols, the silly, campy jingles, and the sentimental songs.... they are all wonderful.  And I cry every year.  Whilst decorating the tree (fancy right) I turn on my favorite music, which these days are from my Mariah Carey holiday playlist on Pandora.

Inevitably "I'll be Home for Christmas" or "White Christmas" or some other really sentimental song will start playing and there goes the water works.  It happens every year, but it's all good.  Everyone could use a good cry once in a while...it clears out the pent-up emotions and always feels cathartic (SAT word) for me.

So this year, of course, is more sad in some ways because of my mom's recent passing.  Holiday traditions will have to be re-worked to fit our new "normal" but that's okay.  It is life going forward, as it should.  This year hubby and I will be hosting the Christmas Eve family get together that had always been at my mother's house.  She loved all of the pomp and circumstance of the holidays.  Especially having the family all together at her home...our childhood home.

I am actually looking forward to having a house full of family, squeezing our aging buns into our smaller abode...we'll manage because being together is so much more important than resting our aching backs on all of the sofas and many chairs in my mother's living room.

Epilogue:
Okay everyone...I have been quite remiss to post on my blog for the last few weeks.  Here I am actually posting my holiday entry and Christmas was over a month ago.....Yikes!  So sorry dear friends.  I promise to be do better for the rest of the year (and my fingers are not crossed so I really mean it!)

Both hubby and I are SO glad to have 2013 behind us and we are definitely looking forward to a great 2014.....I hope you are too.

So here's a belated champagne Happy New Year toast to you and your loved ones.