Inspiration

I Love This Quote

Unexpected Destination

I feel like I have a pretty good sense of direction.  Sure I get lost sometimes, but I always try to stay on the right track.  I remember where I parked my car in a parking lot.  When leaving a store in a busy mall with my friend, I'm the one who knows whether we should turn left or right to continue shopping in the correct direction.  I can even read a map.

Sometimes in our lives we wonder if God has a short circuit in His GPS.  We are going through our life and there are turns that are sharp and unexpected.  We end up going places we didn't think we'd go and can't figure out why we're there.  When we stop and look around, we realize that God was heading us in the right direction all along.  We just need to listen to and have faith in His instructions.

Sometimes instead of listening to the GPS (God's Positioning System), we decide that we don't need to pay attention to what He is saying. We turn His volume down and go in whatever direction we choose. We run into obstacles.  We ignore the road signs people are holding up to us because we don't want to hear what they say either.

                     

The signs that tell us to be careful or we because we may run off His road.

Signs that tell us to make a U turn in our lives and head back in the right direction.







   Signs to let us know that the road we're choosing is bumpy and full of potholes.





Our compass is off course and we end up at a destination we chose but when we look around, the scenery isn't very pretty.



We need to remember to share the road with people who can help us.  We need people who will encourage us to go in the right direction.  They can help us get our GPS turned back on so we're listening to God's voice and following His direction instead of our own.



The cool thing about God is that even though we have made some wrong turns, He can take what may look like mistakes and turn them into miracles.

Here is our new miracle.  Chase's baby, Liam.  He was born August 24.

                                                 

Miracles

Words of wisdom by Albert Einstein.  Photo by me.

A life truth for Monday

I Love Cupcakes

More Vintage Ads

I enjoyed updating the vintage ad so much yesterday that I decided to do another one.

For the other ads today, I decided to put up two interesting food ads. Apparently Jello wasn't just for dessert when these ads were created. 

 Here is a closer view of the Vegetable Rice Medley.  Anyone interested in giving it a try?

Bird's Eye is in on the savory Jello bandwagon.  Apparently it's recipes are "Straight From Heaven".

Here are two of the recipes.  Heaven isn't what these made me think of.

It sounds like something Aunt Bethany from Christmas Vacation would bring to dinner if she decided not to make the molded lime Jello topped with cat food.

I consider myself to be a creative cook but I can't bring myself to make any of these recipes.  If you decide to give them a try, please send a picture and a full report on everyone's reaction to these gourmet treats.

Vintage Ads

I just love the vintage ads that they put updated phrases on.  I thought I'd try my hand at one.

I don't think it turned out too bad.



Some ads don't need rewritten.  I was rather surprised when I found this.  Perhaps this is where the gay/rainbow connection started.

I'd imagine that this would help more than an a toothache.

Hmmm...how does this work.  Is is a contest or do you redeem upcs?  I can't imagine how many upcs one would have to turn in to win an actual person.

Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary

Another trip through Pinterest, another recipe.  I saw this and it was a must make.   Sparkling Ink had posted a recipe for Lemon Rosemary Chicken Bake that someone had pinned.  It is so yummy that it deserves a more exciting name than something as simple as Chicken Bake!  I made some changes but I got the basic idea from her site.  

Ingredients:

10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

 2 lemons

 2 pounds potatoes

15 cloves garlic

 6 tablespoons olive oil

 2 teaspoons dried crushed rosemary (please feel free to use fresh rosemary if you have it)

 1 cup dry white wine (Chicken Broth can be substituted)

    salt and pepper

Place thighs into a roasting dish.  

Cut potatoes and lemons into wedges and place among the chicken.

Peel garlic cloves.  It they're large, cut in half.  Add the garlic to your other ingredients in the pan.

Whisk together olive oil, rosemary and wine.  Pour evenly over the pan.  Salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 F for 50-60 minutes until chicken reaches at least 165 F and the potatoes are tender.

The fragrance while it was baking was incredible.  I'd make this again just to be able to smell it!

Since the potatoes and lemons are just cut into wedges, preparation of this dish took very little time.  I love things that are so delicious that it tastes like a complicated recipe but is simple enough to throw together on short notice.

It made a beautiful sauce which I poured over the chicken and potatoes once I plated them.  It was garlicky with a light, bright tang of lemon.  It flavored everything so well that I needed no additional condiments for my potatoes. 

Simple? Yes. Delish? Very Yes.

Slice in half your favorite crusty bread.

Spread pesto (I use a lot because I love it). 

The mozzarella is the fresh mozzarella ball from Costco that I just slice and layer on top of the pesto.

A layer of sliced, fresh tomatoes straight from my garden.

Basil from my herb pots add a bit of taste and color.

Finally, a sprinkle of parmigiano reggiano. 

We grilled it briefly to get the smokey flavor then broiled it in the oven to melt the cheese a bit more.

It's delightful with a drizzle of balsamic or dipped in balsamic and olive oil.

Enjoy with a salad and a glass of wine.  I sure did.

Too Hot to Cook

After seeing Fat Girl trapped in a Skinny Body's sandwich on Pinterest, I was inspired to make veggie sandwich for supper.
A trip to Costco and my garden plus a little time at the grill were all I needed for this sandwich. 

The ingredients are:
Provincio Artisan Roasted Garlic Bread
Pesto
Fresh Mozzarella ball, sliced 
Red peppers, halved and cleaned
Zucchini, skin removed if desired, sliced lengthwise into strips
Mushrooms
Tomatoes, sliced

Coat your beautiful vegetables with olive oil and grill.  Char then remove the skin on the peppers.

If you desire a cold sandwich, let veggies cool before assembling the sandwich.


Split lengthwise the loaf of Provincio Artisan Roasted Garlic Bread and spread pesto as liberally as you desire.  Place your bread on a cutting board.


Layer the other ingredients as follows:
Mozzarella
Zucchini
mushrooms
tomatoes
red peppers
Mozzarella again
Cover with top layer of bread


If I had spinach, I would have included a layer of that also.
Wrap your bread and board together with plastic wrap.
If you have a brick handy, wrap it in foil, put it on top of the sandwich then wrap the whole thing again in plastic wrap to hold it together.
If you don't happen to have a brick, put a heavy book or 2 on top. 
Refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Unwrap and slice the loaf into smaller sandwiches. 


The next day my leftover sandwich's bread was a bit moist but not unpleasantly so.  


It went very nicely with pasta salad.

365 Photo Project

I have been so lax in keeping up with my blog.  I thought perhaps starting the 365 photo project would inspire me to start blogging again.  Today I had to pick up a few books at the library so I decided to use it as my subject.

The Handley Library is one of the most beautiful buildings in town.  

From the architectural elements on the outside...

inside to the rotunda and

even in the hidden corners of the library.

I could lose myself in here forever.

The Bloom

Apple Blossom.  It's flower.  It's the fragrance of one of Dawn's dish detergents.   It was sung about by the Andrews Sisters and later by Barry Manilow.  Here in Winchester, VA it is much, much more.

In 1924, the first year of the Apple Blossom Festival , apples were the livlihood for many of the residents of the area.  Now, most of the orchards are gone leaving behind things named after apples; a mall, schools, numerous businesses, housing developments...

But the first full weekend in May, we still celebrate the apple with the Apple Blossom Festival.  More than a festival, it is a quest; for the best parade seat, for the perfect funnel cake, to see which vendor sells fried Oreos, to get to another party you were invited to and hate to miss, to win yet another goldfish on the mid-way that will die before the next weekend, for a parking space,to get to the circus in time to see the elephants raise the tent, for a ticket to a sold out event, to actually speak to a celebrity, to get your little darling picked to be a princess and ride one of the floats, to find time to get to see/do/enjoy as much of the carnivalparadefoodmidwayconcertsfoodluncheon

dancecircusfoodfoodfood as possible.

To others, it is a quest to just find peace and quiet in all the madness.

Just Beachy

I love flying in the morning fog.  The way the fog rolls over the mountains, looking more inlets at the beach than mountains.  It all looks different up here.

When we landed in Palm Beach, it was raining. Ironically, in my hometown it was in the high sixties and sunny.  My sister said it had only rained two evenings in the whole three months she had been there. Oh well, I only had about 24 hours here so I wanted to make the best of it.   I told my mom to put on her walking shoes and off we went.

The drive from the airport to the beach was quick and easy.  We passed everything from houses that were being protected by good old chain link to houses that had everything but a moat protecting the inhabitants from the riff raff. 

The sky was ominous, but I ventured onto the beach anyway.  There was no way I was coming this far and not getting Florida sand between my toes.  I shared the beach with a sea gull and a coconut.  I think everyone else was tired of the wind blowing sand in their eyes.

No trip to Palm Beach is complete without a trip down Worth Avenue.  I was surprised how few people were out shopping.   A quick cup of coffee from Starbucks and we were off.  The most unfortunate thing I found out was that they roll up the sidewalks of Worth Avenue between 5 and 6 o'clock and it was already 4 o'clock. Thank goodness I was able to find my way to Tiffany's before closing time.  Daughter dearest has been wanting something from there for years.  I think if I put a cough drop covered in pocket lint, a used tissue and some stale gum in a Tiffany's bag, she would have been happy. Fortunately, I found a very affordable and adorable necklace instead.  After finding out that I have very good taste in purses (the cheapest I liked was $1750), we finished out our limited time browsing.

My mother had stayed at The Breakers a few years ago and since it was just down the road, we decided to go there for supper.  Before we went to eat, we went on a self guided tour of the main floor of the hotel.  Their shops were closed (after all, it was after 5).  We went in and out of banquet rooms, talked to chefs and guest service people.  I took lots of photos.  It was so large that we were up and down the hallways and often didn't see a soul.  I think we could have brought in our sleeping bags and spent the night in a hallway and no one would have noticed.  Since we didn't bring them along, we just had supper and left.  

The next morning we went for a quick drive through the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.  It was a whirlwind tour so I don't have any great photos.  This video will give you a good idea of what it's like.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agY0aTMvEjI 

Unfortunately, all I saw was mud, golf carts and a few horses.  Maybe next winter...

After the equestrian center, it was back to pick up our luggage and off to the airport. Even though I only saw the sun for less than a minute in my 24 hours there, it was still worth the trip.  The foliage is spectacular.  The beach is beautiful.  The houses are amazing.  And I'm sure my purse is still waiting for me to come purchase it on Worth Avenue.

Blowin' in the Wind

I am officially tired of winter.  There has been almost no snow, but there has been an incredible amount of wind.  There have been mornings that I was sure I would wake up and find a witch under my house and a bunch of little people singing in my back yard.  

Living on one of the highest hills in town, it seems to be windy here at times when it is not windy anywhere else.  When it is windy everywhere else, it's positively cyclonic up here.  The mulch has blown off my flower beds and gone who knows where.  I have to wait till I see the truck coming to take out the recyclables or they will blow down hill - a blizzard of cans and bottles.  

The good new is, I  think spring is coming.  

It's good for my budget.  The flower department at Martin's keeps getting my money. I'm hoping if I buy enough flowers, it will encourage Spring to hurry up and get here. The same way that I hope if I buy enough plastic tubs and organizational items, I'll become organized.  And if I buy enough exercise videos, I'll be skinny.

Nine more days..........Spring!