Strikes my fancy

I've been struggling with how to store/display my jewlery since I lived in NYC. When you have very little space you have to determine the best way to do everything! Not long ago I saw a framed jewlery option on a blog and I thought "I can do that!". So last weekend I gathered all the necessary things and put it all together: I haven't quite figured out what color I want my room to be....but it will include soft colors, so I snagged this material from my mama. I like having all my jewlery somewhere I can grab it or easily see something that matches what I'm throwing on in the morning. Not sure I like the overall look. For me it seems a bit cluttered. And yes, I do wear most of what you see...at some point.

Or rip-off.... I really wanted to see this http://www.dianaexhibition.com/home.htm while it was in Atlanta. So Sunday morning off I went! I thought I'd save money by buying my ticket there (as opposed to online from Ticketmaster). Imagine my surprise when there was a $1 surcharge added to all tickets bought at the ticket window.....? The Exhibit is 4 large rooms and 4 little (ie. 1-2 cases on display). I read everything (except 1 case of childhood "stuffs" that was causing a bottleneck)...it took me 45 minutes to get through. I'll save you $20 and tell you to read all the tabs on the above web-site. Some highlights (cause I HAVE to find something good in it!): Wedding dress - it was pretty cool to see in person. I overheard one couple discussing in the room prior to the dress. Woman: "Did you see the dress" Man: "yes" Woman: "How did it look?" Man: "old" That made me chuckle! It did look old (lets face it, 1981 style i...

Loved this article! People on the streets of Manhattan can be easily divided into two groups: New Yorkers who want to get from point A to point B as fast as possible, and tourists taking a leisurely stroll through the city. New York is overrun with out-of-towners year-round, of course, but it gets worse every spring and summer with throngs of people coming to check out the big buildings and go to M&M World. And while we want visitors to NYC to have a wonderful and comfortable time here, spend lots of money, and tell their friends to come too, we also want them to get out of our way and not make our lives a living hell. If you're planning to visit New York over the next few months, here are a few simple lessons you should keep in mind so you don't run the risk of accidentally pissing off a New Yorker. A Few Rules for Tourists Visiting New York City This Summer It's Called a Sidewalk That's right, not a side-"stand there and look at a map" or a side-"s...

I'm getting into the groove of cooking during the week and then eating the leftovers for work lunches and to get through the weekend. Tonight I'm eating this: Chicken with Israeli Couscous, Spinach, and Feta Ingredients: 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 (6 to 8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts salt and pepper 3 Tbs. olive oil 3/4 cup Israeli couscous (or orzo) 1 shallot, minced (about 3 Tbs.) 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 3 Tbs.) 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest plus 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 1 3/4 cups chicken broth 6 oz baby spinach (about 6 cups) 2 oz feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup) Directions: 1. Season chicken with salt and pepper; dredge with flour, shaking off the excess. 2. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until well-browned on the first side, about 6 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the thickest part of the breast registe...

This was so yummy that I have to share even if I have no pictures (sigh). The camera is charging for the trip home to visit my 1 month old niece! Mom’s Baked Chicken & Spinach Pasta 1 lb. pasta (I used whole wheat shells) 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.), diced 1/4 cup olive oil 8 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. salt 5 cups fresh spinach, chopped 1/4 cup white wine 2 cups mozzarella cheese Preheat the oven to 350°. Set a large pot of water to boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, salt it and cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain. While the pasta is cooking, set a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, heat the olive oil then add the chicken. Brown the chicken on all sides – about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and simmer with the chicken until it’s fragrant and begins to turn golden – about 3 minutes. Add the salt. spinach and white wine to the skillet and cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, or until the spinach begins to wilt. Toss the contents of the s...

About a week ago I got honked at and almost chased down by a Canadian goose. I was just walking to my car at work...the bird started after me at FULL SPEED. I jumped in the car and waited for it to calm down. On Monday I knew why: Can you see the little babies on this side of the fence?

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo - I made a crock pot recipe of tamale pie. Unfortunately I was so hungry that you only get to see a picture of the leftovers (it doesn't look as pretty as it actually did when I made it!). Tamale Pie Cornbread topping: -3/4 cup cornmeal -1 1/4 cup flour -1 cup milk -1/4 cup sugar -1 egg -1 t baking powder -1 chopped jalapeno pepper (optional) The Filling. -1 lbs ground & browned meat (optional) -2 can drained and rinsed black beans -1 can fire roasted tomatoes -1 can drained corn -1 T chili powder -1 t cumin -1/2 t paprika -1/4 cup diced onion -1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese The Directions. Spray your crockpot with cooking spray. Dump in the filling ingredients--cheese, too!-- and stir well to distribute the spices. You will not be able to stir this again, so please check to see that the spices aren't in a clump anywhere. In a separate bowl, mix together the cornbread topping. When finished, pour evenly over the filling, spreading with a sp...

I ran across this article in the Cincinnati paper last week: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100506/COL01/5070374/Keeping+faith+with+the+children. I don't know if I feel stronger about the article or the comments that follow. But given that I feel like I "know" the kind of folks that leave comments on sites like that, I'll focus on the article. 1st - the writer notes that out of the 130 letters that were sent out, 30 people showed up to listen to what was said. That's 23%. I know that's not great in the business world, but have to tried to start anything in a church/non-profit setting with just volunteers responding to a form letter? Not too shabby in my opinion. 2nd - "There are few formulas for helping the youth of this or any other city that do not rely on churches, temples and mosques to be part of the solution." I find this to be an interesting observation/statement. Maybe I'm just jadded from my recent city dwelling, but I rare...

Saw this video today: "Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo . Which if you haven't seen this: - it's what they copied. This is interesting to me - because who is the target audience? Do you show this in a service (and then match what you've just made fun of?) Do you show it and hope that visitors find it funny and not just downright confusing? Nice production - but this gets a "boo" and "why?" from me. (I might change those things if I find out who the audience is and that the church didn't waste budget money on making it.....)

G and I are both moved into our respective "new" houses and both have our bathrooms on a separate floor than our bedrooms (hey, that's how it was on Lockwood Hill for most of my life - we're used to that!) I'm swimming with ideas on how to decorate, what to paint, where to hang which piece of art, etc. And it doesn't help that now with the blogging world everyone can put their cute projects up for me to see! I got a sewing machine from E-bay this week, so I'm sure that will play a part in the decorating (as soon as I'm done with H's baby gift!). Struggling with "need" to fill the house and make it homey and trying not to "fill" the house...I miss the Borrow Group from Church! Need to get my driver's license (which appears to be nice and consumer friendly) and new tags (which does not...open 7:30am - 4:30pm week days). Also traveling the next 2 out of 3 weekends (so watch out NKY, Philly & NYC!) Gotta get back to actua...