Finished Checked Baby Blanket

Good Morning!

YAY! for long weekends!!!!

Just wanted to pop in and show off my finished blankie. 

Pretty basic stuff, but I like it.

Instead of doing a regular round scallop, I opted to do a

pointy edge. 

I thought it might look a little more masculine.

For some reason it reminds me of a dinosaur back. :)

The rest of the border is just double crochet into the back of the loop.

That creates the ridges that you see.

 I'm off to have lunch with some blogging friends. Always FUN! 

Then its a crafting afternoon with daughter. We have wedding stuff to 

work on. 

I hope you have a grand weekend planned!

The Grapes Of Wrath, Book Review

This month's book club read was John Steinbeck's  The Grapes of Wrath.

I will be honest with you. I was looking forward to racking up another classic on 

my "I read that" list.  I had read Of Mice and Men years ago and liked it. So I thought

this was an obvious choice. 

I finally finished it this week and it left me scratching my head, wondering who decides

which stories will be "classics" and which stories won't. 

I'm not saying that I didn't appreciate the story and the great descriptive details

that were so helpful in understanding the plight of migrant workers from our 

own mid-west.  As well, the mistakes of Big Government and Big Banking were 

not lost on me either. In some ways it reminded of our most recent housing bubble.

What I found disturbing is the fact that this book is required reading in many 

high schools and in some jr. high schools. It has a lot of adult content and 

adult situations. I would not recommend it for anyone under 30. Why, you might ask.

Most young people in our country today would have no way to relate to this level

of misery, pride, dignity or desperation and hopelessness. I think that it takes some

living and experience to be able to see beyond the pitiful and depressive subject.

I think that this important time in our history is better taught by a good history teacher.

I also HATED how it ended! What happened to young Tom Joad? Did AL and 

Agnes make it on their own? Did the family even survive the first year in California?

Really Mr. Steinbeck? How could you leave your precious reader dangling?

Does anyone else ever ask, 

"Classic? Says, who?"

Z Chips

Hey there! 

Interested in a SUPER easy and HEALTY snack? 

Ever tried Zucchini Chips? 

One of my favorite restaurants serves them and I love them!

They are such a great replacement for regular chips. 

Here's how I make them.

Slice your zucchini super thin. The thinner the better!

This is the perfect time to get out that mandalay (veggie slicer) that you never use.

Place them on a lightly sprayed piece of parchment paper.

Then lightly salt and pepper. I also sprinkled paprika on them.

Go light on the seasoning. They shrink .... A LOT! 

See what I mean?

Bake them for about an hour (or until crisp) in a 225 degree oven. 

This is about 4 zucchini. 

And, Yes! I ate the whole bowl. 

I didn't do this because I'm on a diet right now.... but these are fabulous 

dipped in ranch.

Your welcome!  :)

Julie G Haul

Hi All! :)

 If you read my blog on a regular basis, you will know that I recently got to do a swap with a new blogging friend. Anne of Grape Fizz Nails.

She shares a lot of manicures that feature the nail polish line Joe Fresh. I am loving the 

colors! Sadly you can't get Joe Fresh here in the States.

 SO! I emailed her and asked if she would like to do a swap. She said yes and that she 

would love some JulieG polish. I said DONE! 

You can get JulieG either online (their website kinda stinks) or at your local

Rite Aide. 

Well, you know what happens, right? I can't just buy for her, I have to buy for me too! 

At 3.99 a bottle, I figure I can afford the splurge. :)

So here are the colors that I got.

Let the swatching begin!

Dream in Pretty

Beautiful light orchid color. Great formula. Two easy coats.

Bikini

Surprisingly, this went matte on me after it dried. This was 3 coats with a shiny top coat. It is really

very neon. In the picture my fingers look really tan. 

Sound The Alarm

I think this is going to be my all time favorite red. It is the perfect spring red, great for golden blondes.

Two very smooth easy coats.

LOVE the polish!

Shark's Cove

A beautiful minty turquoise with lots of shimmer. You can see the silver flecks in the polish.

I'm looking forward to wearing this again.

Miami Beach

A really nice coral. I always love a pretty coral.  Again, two easy coats.

Fresh Squeezed

A shimmery butter. Kind of the color of lemonade. 

While I like the color in the picture, I was a little disappointed at how much I 

to fight with this color to get the coverage that you see. This is an incredible four coats.

So that's it!

Monday's Manicure

Hello Sunshine!

Todays mani is a combo for ya!

Zoya's Darcy, Essie's As Gold As It Gets, Milani's Sugar Rush

Yellow will usually (for me anyway) go on a little goopy. 

Not sure why that is, but it is. This Zoya formula was no exception. 

It took 3 coats to get a good solid color.

Then it was soft forever.

But once I had the top coat on and it was dry, this lasted pretty good. 

Do you wear yellow?

Monday's Manicure Featuring a Swap... Julie for Joe

One of the fun things about blogging is that you get to meet people that are 

a million miles away, that you never would never meet otherwise. 

I found Anne of Grape Fizz Nails thru pinterest. She had so many lovely mani's on pinterest 

that I looked up her blog. Turns out she is a Canadian blogger. 

Of course I scoured her blog finding all kinds of wonderful inspiration. I noticed that she used 

several brands that I had never even heard of. So I emailed and asked her if she would consider a 

swap. She jumped on it! She wanted Julie G... I wanted Joe Fresh. A line that is not

carried here stateside (other than clothing)

We had a deal!

Here's what I got for Anne

Five lovely shades of pink, purple, and burgundy. 

Sorry! I didn't make a note of the names.

Here's what Anne sent me!

Sour Citron, Heat Wave, Salmon, Blueberry and Emerald.

Love this stuff! Short, little, wide brushes make for easy one stroke application.

Fun! Right?

Have a great week!

Tea and a Chat

Hello my friends! 

We've had another quiet weekend here. 

I love it! 

If "quiet weekend" were in the dictionary, there'd be a family photo of us. 

As you can see, the first signs of fall are here. 

Oh, P.S. did I mention....it's still 109 out.

The September issue of Victoria arrived. 

I'll be sharing this with my friend Sandi when I'm done. 

It is full of fig recipes. 

And since she has fig trees... I think that will work. :)

I got a lot done on the little baby blanket I've been working on. 

Just the border is left.

I'm also trying to finish Grapes of Wrath. 

Now that I have gotten used to it.... I'm starting to like it. 

Not what I expected for a classic. 

More later. :) 

Have a great week!

Wish I'd said that!

Monday's Manicure

An apple a day keeps the Doctor away. 

I'm trying to replace one junk food snack a day for an apple.

Just trying to be a little healthier these days!

Today's manicure features two colors from Butter. This is the base coat, Trustafarian.

 Bossy Boots on top.

Both from Butter

I actually really like the formula in both of these. One coat, full coverage. 

What about you? Are you an apple a day girl?

Fresh-Cut Friday Features!

Hi you guys! 

Just wanted to show you some of the highlights from Fresh-Cut Friday. 

We had so many fun entries, it was hard to pick!

But I did finally narrow it down to three. 

Laura from Decor to Adore shared her images from Monets garden. 

So very beautiful! Thank you Laura!

Stephanie from The Enchanted Rose shared a De-Lish recipe for Rhubarb Turnovers. 

YUM! 

And finally Mary Alice from Chateau Chic shared her beautiful, home 

grown Hydrangea all over her home.

I told you it was hard to pick. :) 

Anyway, if you like Feature Buttons, and you were featured, please take 

and enjoy. :) 

Our next Fresh-Cut Friday will be September 5th. 

I hope you will be able to join in for the fun!

I know I always look forward to it.