The big 8 and a lesson

I was tagged by my dear friend JenCoen.
Here are the 8 questions I was asked to answer.

1. What is your favorite day of the year?

Christmas Eve. I love Christmas Eve.

2. If you could have dinner with 3 people, who would they be?

My husband, my daughter and my son

3. What's your favorite song right now?

Lady Gaga's Alejandro. There's just something about The Gaga.

4. Name the last 5 things you purchased.

A white metal shelf, paper plates, paper cups, toilet paper, toothpaste

5. What do you order at McDonalds?

I try to stay away from the place, but chicken strips or a Coke. Truthfully, I'm not much of a Coke drinker, but for some reason McDonald's Coke is exceptionally delicious! Weird, huh?

6. Are you a hugger?

Oh yes!

7. Would you rather get a shot from a doctor or a filling from a dentist?

I'm taking the shot! Hate the dentist, hate, hate, hate!

8. What is your favorite type of exercise?

I could walk for miles and miles.
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Now I would like to interrupt this question & answer session with a bit of sage advice.



Never wear flip flops while spray painting.

Unless, of course, you want your new pedicure (black polish in honor of Eclipse) to be speckled with heirloom white. Thank you.

It's an addiction

Today, I enjoyed a salad. A lovely salad from Panera called Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad. Oh is that the sound of angels singing that I hear? Yes, it must be. It's that heavenly!

Have you had this salad? Are you in love? Oh my heck, I'm addicted I tell you. So much so that I can't stop thinking about it and it's been some 10 hours since I ate it. Really. Thinking. About salad.

I discovered this salad a few years ago. It is a seasonal item on Panera's menu, so you can only get it in the summertime. Oh the torture! Those bright red, juicy strawberries, those gorgeous, plump blueberries, the vibrant mandarin oranges, the succulent pineapple, the crisp romaine lettuce, the crunchy pecans and that thinly sliced seasoned chicken. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

I googled this salad because I wanted to include a beautiful picture of it for all my blog friends. Let me tell you, I cannot believe the amount of posts that popped up for it. (I guess I'm not the only one addicted.) I refused to read anything that was labeled with nutritional information though. You see, I'm smart like that. Why ruin a good thing?

Anyway, since I was unable to secure a mouth-watering photo for you, I decided that I will hold this post until I go to Panera again. Then I will delay my gratification and take a picture of it before I devour it. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it? Maybe I'll get there really soon too.

Like tomorrow...

(Ok so it wasn't tomorrow. Can you believe I had to wait 2 days to enjoy the delectableness once again?)

AND....If you haven't had a chance to vote for Debbiedoos in Oprah's Talk Show contest, click here to check out her video and vote. She's a natural!

Jumping for joy

You may have to use your imagination, but picture me, oh as the girl wearing the red shirt in the photo above. (Never mind that she's young, thin & pretty. We're using our imaginations, right? RIGHT!)

See me?

I'm jumping for joy!

Why am I jumping for joy you ask?

Because SCHOOL IS OUT and I'm officially on SUMMER VACATION until September!

Hooray! Hurrah! Yippee!

It's Friday!

Happy Friday to you! We are in the downswing here, 4 days left of school/work! Yippee! Now if we could only get our nice weather back, we'll be all set.

I would like to share a little something today for Cindy's Show and Tell Friday over at My Romantic Home.

This is my grandmother's pitcher and bowl. As a child, I remember this always being on display in my parent's house. My mother told me years ago that I could have it. However, with my children being young and...um..."dangerous" around breakables, I thought it best to have this heirloom remain at her house for safekeeping.



Well now my children, at ages 12 and 8, are not really any less "dangerous" than they were as toddlers, but I decided it was time to bring this beauty home anyway.



Each piece is labeled on the bottom with Clementson Bro, England, Azalea. I have no idea how much they're worth, if anything at all. As far as I'm concerned, they're priceless based on sentimental value alone. You see, I never knew my grandmother. She passed away before I was born, so it's nice to have something that belonged to her even though I wasn't lucky enough to have known her. I cherish this piece and have placed it on my bedroom dresser. Hopefully, it will be a little safer there than in other areas of the house.

Pop on over to Cindy's and take a look at what all the others are sharing today.
Wishing you all have a very lovely weekend!

Vintage Happy

After my big garage sale excitement (and after my daughter's softball game), I ventured out to an antique mall that I had never been to before. It was wonderful and much better than the one I normally visit.

As I entered the building, I came upon the most lovely blue dresser. It literally stopped me in my tracks. I stared at it for some time...the fabulous color...the worn paint...the vintage glass handles...sigh. Then I did what any furniture lover would do, I took out my tape measure (which I always carry in my purse) and took some measurements. After that, I pulled a paint chip from my purse. The color? Sheer perfection! Sigh.

So, I walked away and spent some leisure time wandering the booths and looking at many beautiful things, all the while thinking of the blue dresser. I honestly could have bought a zillion things, but the dresser would not leave my mind.

I managed to pull myself from the place (surprisingly empty handed and not without visiting the dresser again) and I drove home.

When I got home, I was so excited and chatty, that I nearly lost my breath telling my husband of the wonders of this new-to-me antique mall. I saved the best for last and told him of the blue dresser. He waited for my incessant chatter to end, teased me a bit, and then said, "Go buy your dresser." I nearly fainted!

It was too late to go back and get it just then, so I had to wait until he could take me on Sunday. Well, of course, Sunday came and it was pouring rain off and on. Darn! My dresser would have to wait.

Monday morning arrived and my husband told me to describe where the dresser was located in the store and that he would go get it while I was at work. (Luckily, he had a few days off from work.) Then came the time when I had to fess up to him. I told him to check it out, make sure the drawers opened, and the thing wasn't falling apart because in my ga-ga state, I clearly did not take in those kind of details!

Mid-morning I get a text from my husband saying he tried asking for a better price, but they will only do that when a piece has been hanging around for a time and this piece was fairly new. I immediately thought, oh no, he's not going to buy it, he thinks it's too much money for junk.
He then texted asking me if I still wanted it. However, I did not see this message until about 10 minutes after he sent it. I replied back, "What do you think?"

His reply?

"I liked it, I bought it!" Yippee! I couldn't believe it! He liked it? I mean I know my husband loves furniture as much as I do, but a chippy old blue dresser is not exactly his idea of furniture.

When I came home from work, I entered the dining room to see this:


Oh sweet blue dresser, how I adore you!

I swear I just keep staring at her. Something about this thing puts me in a dream-like trance. Here she is, in full view, in the sitting area of my dining room.


Ahhhh perfect!

Edited to add: I didn't realize this at the time I posted it, but why not link this over at Debbiedoo's Garage Salen Party?


Thanks Debbie for hosting this party and for being a wonderful hostess to boot!

It was inevitable ( a newbie's tale)

It finally happened.

Something that I have fought against with every fiber of my being for many years...

Something that I was quite certain would never even be a faint possibility for me...

Something that I am sure has changed the very core of my being forevermore...



I WENT TO A GARAGE SALE!!!


Ha! Did I have you going?

I don't know what it is. I have always been, how shall I say it, embarrassed to go to a garage sale. Ok, I said it. Truly. I don't know why I was afflicted with this crazy disease.

My mom, sisters & I always had a garage sale every year. I would get annoyed with people buying my expensive clothes (which were practically new and many times with tags still on them) yet wanting them for a quarter. Maybe that left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't know.

So on Saturday, it all started with a brass bed. I was driving my daughter to her softball game and we passed a house in our neighborhood that was having a garage sale. I was waiting at the stoplight so of course I just had to look from afar and see what they had for sale. That's when I spotted the brass bed.

I took a detour (much to my daughter's chagrin) and drove to my mother's house, knowing my sisters were gathered there as well. I told them about the garage sale and the brass bed. I had to get my daughter to her game and pick up her teammate along the way, but I suggested that they go to the sale for me and check it out.

As soon as I entered the ball park, my cell rang. I picked it up, it was my sister and she said, "there are so many things at this sale that you would love!" And she began to describe things in detail. Of course, this piqued my curiosity beyond belief.

The dilemma? How do I leave my daughter & her friend at the game when the weather was so darn questionable? It had been raining on & off. It was cloudy. If I left them and the game got cancelled, my daughter & her friend would be stranded until I came back to get them. Yet, my sister did not cease for one second in her garage sale details to further torment me!

Then I realized, hey maybe the skies are clearing up. Or maybe it was just my imagination? I did the irresponsible thing. I left the girls, drove back to the other side of the city and met my mom & sisters at the garage sale, throwing all embarrassment to the wind, and thus ending my garage sale virginity! lol I loved the brass bed, but it was a king-sized, so that was a no go. I did pine for a lovely old sideboard for my dining room. After much deliberation and a quick side trip home to measure, it was decided it was just too large for my dining room. However, I did manage to buy several other items. Like these two kidney shaped tables:




The lady said they were custom made. They were marked $50, she gave me both for $30.

I also bought this lamp for $8.



It is so heavy! Of course, I have no idea where I'm going to put it, but that doesn't matter because my sister said she would gladly take it off my hands if I couldn't find a home for it.

Then I bought this wire basket & wire/glass bowl for $6.



So there you have it. The finds of my very first garage sale! (I'll grant you that I hadn't gotten any real steals, like so many of you seasoned garage sale veterans, but I'm all new to this.) And since this occasion is so special to me, I'm going to link it up at Debbie's fabulous Garage Salen partay!

Have you visited Debbie yet? You must! Go on over and check it out now.

I apologize for the the length of this post. I get carried away and oh so chatty when I'm excited!

Pasta Salad

With summer so close I can almost taste it, I thought I'd make a summer salad...a pasta salad to be exact.



Pasta Salad

1 pkg. (7 ounces) tricolor spiral pasta
6 oz. hard salami, julienned
6 oz. provolone cheese, cubed
1 can (2 1/4 oz.) sliced black olives, drained
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup each chopped green pepper and chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 salt
dash of pepper
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse in cold water and drain. In a large bowl add pasta and next 9 ingredients. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, basil, oregano, salt & pepper; shake well. Pour over salad; toss to coat. Cover and chill for 8 hours or overnight. Toss before serving. Garnish with tomatoes.
Makes 10-12 servings.


Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you. It's not that many ingredients and it's a snap to put together.



Pull up a chair, grab a bowl and enjoy!

Up the Wall

Oh all my dear talented friends, I must appeal to you now. Come forth from your villages and lend me your ears! (Sorry, sometimes I'm weird.)

This wall in my living room is driving me up a wall!



It's plain and uninspiring, not to mention, oh yeah, BOR-ING!

So let me have it, what kind of ideas can you come up with for this wall? If you need to see the rest of the room to help get those creative juices flowing, look here.

Also, if it helps, this wall measures almost 11 feet wide, our ceilings are 9 feet high, so it's a fairly big wall. I have assorted decorative items scattered on my dining room table, but honestly, I'm at a complete loss. HELP! Please?

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Oh yeah, one last thing...can I keep the mirror?