Chocolate from Spain

My friend Theresa is in Spain today.
Without me. (Boo-hoo-hoo.)
But she just sent me this little yummy....


Apparently Spanish hot chocolate is thick like pudding.
And it comes with a side of little churros.
Oh yum!!

Girls and Squirrels

My apricot crop was looking mighty good.
To me and to the birds.
So, it was time to pull out my fool-proof bird deterrent.
It looks a whole lot like Christmas tinsel.
And it works like magic!


Becca was home that morning, so she helped me out.
This is some of her handy work. She was a little tinsel-crazy.

When I asked her why she used so much tinsel for just one apricot she said...
"This one was all alone and I thought it might get singled out".
Spoken like an adorable little pipsqueak!!

Anyway, that was on July 3rd.
We picked the ripest ones and took them camping with us.
But when we got home, almost all of the rest were gone!! Over 100 apricots gone in 2 days!!
I was so..... mad.
There wasn't a single pit on the ground. And the tinsel has never failed me before. So...what happened...to my apricots???


Well, there was nothing to do about it. And my second tree was close to ripening so I just let it slide. Until yesterday, when I saw a squirrel in my tree.
I went out to check on the situation and ALL OF THE FRUIT WAS GONE!! Over 100 apricots again!!

Oooooooohhhhh.... this means war.

And let me tell you something else.
My guy made us a miniature version of the game corn-hole to take on our camping trip.
Actually, he made the wooden part and Becca and I made the bean bags. Cute red, white and blue ones. Cute ones!!

Well, we left them on the game board one day after we had played. Later that afternoon we wanted to play again, but we couldn't find the bean bags anywhere. We asked the neighbors and the said that they thought that had seen the squirrels dragging them around. Well, we went looking around and sure enough....

This is the only one we could find.



But it tells the whole story.



So for the record, it's Squirrels 2.....Mama 0.

But, I have this beautiful crop of Green Gage plums about to come in (and a testy new attitude)...


So I am thinking that something is about to change.

Silver Anniversary

Twenty-five years of wedded bliss and never had a fight!

Wait!

Maybe we should just stick to twenty-five years of wedded bliss...

Wait!!

Just kidding.

Yep, me and my guy have been dancing the dance for twenty-five years. It seems so crazy to think that it has been that long, and yet it also seems like just yesterday.
We were so darn young....

Anyway, let's don't get teary-eyed. Ok, maybe it was just me....

I know that all of you think that my guy is the sweet and patient one,
and that I am the mischievous handful. And mostly that would be right.

BUT...

Let the record reflect....

That the fun and mischief in a new bride's smile

can also be filled with gentle and sweet love.

But the groom, you know...the sweet and patient one...

Uh-huh!

I'm just sayin'....

I LOVE YOU BABE!

Vintage Quilt Inspiration

My friend Suzi recently bought this quilt top.
All the piecing and applique were done by hand.

Inspiring isn't it!

Langer's

Are you familiar with Langer's Delicatessen, in Los Angeles,
home of THE World Famous Langer's Pastrami sandwich?

I had not heard of it before my friend Theresa told me about.
She and her hubby went there recently and they loved it.

Now, I love a good pastrami sandwich! So I knew that we would be
finding our way to Langer's the very next time went headed down to SoCal.

And we did!
We sat at table #2....

And I ordered THE sandwich.

Oh Yum!!

But my guy....he wasn't eatin' no rye bread. Or coleslaw.
So he ordered a plain pastrami on a roll with mustard and pickles.

And a side of chili cheese fries...
Which I helped him eat.

Did I mention....Oh yum!

You can check out them out here.

And if you are on the east coast and you are looking for an amazing pastrami
sandwich, Katz Delicatessen in New York City will make you little heart sing!
You can check them out here.

Happy Dining.

Union Jack

Happy Belated 4th of July!!

We spent the week over at our favorite camping spot celebrating my favorite holiday: Independence Day.
Friends, food, fun, fireworks. And freedom! It was a great time.

But now we are home and it is time for me to share a new pattern with you. A free one!!
It's the Union Jack.

I know, I know. It's totally British. Not American at all. And there was a time in our country's history when England was the enemy. But seriously, we are allies now. And the palette is appropriate. And it is a quick and easy, no paper piecing, no set-in seams kind of block. And it looks GREAT made in Kaffe fabrics, too. And brights. And did I mention it is "free". So see, it counts!

You can access the pattern here. And, let me know what you think!!

Happy Stitching.

Inspired by...

Lindsay's Parmesan Zucchini Fries as seen on Pinterest!

Don't those look yummy!?

I have been harvesting lots of zucchini lately. Actually, it is about the only thing we are getting from the garden right now. There have been a few stray cucumbers and tomatoes, but the zucchini is booming.

Now, as you probably remember, my guy is a veggie hater. Well...he is more of a meat lover veggie no thank-er, so I have to be a little creative sometimes. Usually, with zucchini, I just hide it. Like last week, I grated a big one into a pot of chile verde. He loved it. And double chocolate zucchini cake... he loves it. And meat loaf...he never sees it coming. But sometimes I just want to make zucchini, not hide it. So I have been looking for some good recipes. Recipes that would even make a veggie hater re-think his ways.

So when I came across this recipe on Pinterest, I thought I would give it a try. I made it for dinner last night, and even my guy liked it and said that it was good enough to make again!

Houston, we have a winner!!

You can get Lindsay's recipe (which is actually Georgia's recipe :)) here. And serve them with a side a marinara. They will definitely disappear!!

Oh yeah, did I mention that they are totally healthy!? Baked, not fried. No added fat. And crunchy. Very crunchy. Oh yum.