Tonight's Dinner - Pork Tenderloin & Spicy Asian Cauliflower

Meatless Monday - Pasta Salad & Green Beans

Fresh green beans from the market, saute along side an elbow pasta salad and fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. Hearty, satisfying and good for you!  #MeatlessMonday fave!

'Jackson Pollock' Nails - Black Tie Optional by Hard Candy from Nadine!

 The effect is really cool and simple and easy in one pass.  I will also try it with a base coat of 'flesh' color polish to reproduce the look of Jackson Pollock's Autumn Rhythm painting which is at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art in NYC)

Black Tie Optional from Hard Candy - sent to me by Nadine (nadinetx on YouTube)

Operation Write Home Blog Hop - May 25-27, 2013

YouTube Subscriber Collections

To create a collection of like channels, once logged into your YouTube account click on My Subscriptions and then Manage Subscriptions.  Click on Create new Collection button

Name the collection and click once on the channels you'd like to add to that collection.  Once done adding channels, click Save.

As you can see, each added channel will display a check mark and a comment that it was Added

Now you can organize your subscriptions into collections with a similar interest - I have Crafts, Just for Fun, Music, Randomness and in the video show the Family Collection

Spice Cabinet Reorganized!

Before

After

 Organizing Packets - every open one was tossed

 Baking extras in one backet

 While I was at it, I mixed up some 'House' mix - Salt, Black Pepper and Garlic Powder

This will go into a shaker to sit by the stove because it's the most often used in daily cooking.  Extra is kept in a tight screw lid Ball jar in the cabinet.

Transferred Herbes de Provence from a too tall a bottle into one of the upcycled bottles I saved.

'Candid' Self-Portrait

You can't exactly take a candid photo of yourself but I made an attempt while Paulie was getting ice cream.  Don't judge me on the t-shirt, it's a Saturday and I had to work so I'm in complete 'relax' mode.

Tonight's Dinner - Tomato Frittata with Home Fries and Avocado Cucumber Dressing

 Tomato, yellow & red pepper Frittata with dill and cheese

 Japanese sweet potato and Yukon Gold home fries

Fluffy eggs baked in the oven, crispy home fries and an avocado-cucumber salad with ginger dressing

Tonight's Dinner - Halibut with Spring Veggies

We picked up the two pieces of Halibut from our Farmer's Market.

I seared the fish, skin side down in a screaming hot stainless pan till it moved on it's own.

The veggies is a mix of Japanese eggplant, yellow squash, 1/2 yellow and 1/2 red pepper, ear of corn (taken off the cob), green beans, parsley, dill, salt, black pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Leftover rice from Chinese take out was re-purposed with some parsley and dill heated slowly in the pan I seared the fish in. Hearty and flavorful meal!

Lunch - Morning Star Mushroom Sliders

Meatless Monday Lunch - Morning Star Mushroom Sliders and an ear of corn!

Lilies of the Valley

 Paulie picked this for me this morning and I made a little bouquet for my office but could not resist taking some photos.

 All of these were shot with Nikon D3200 and a 10X Polaroid filer.  Have I mentioned that I am in love with this camera?

 I wish these were available year around.  Their scent reminds me of the perfume my grandmother wore.

Such delicate flowers not only remind me of my grandmother but for some reason of the Roaring 1920s as well.  No logical reason for them to but there you have it.

Mother's Day Cards

Recipe:

• Bases are standard A2 size cut from Staples White Card stock
• First Pattern layer cut to 4.125 x 5.35 inches - DCWV Essentials Paper collections in 6x6 (180 sheets)
• Two more patterns chosen from the paper collection in coordinating color but different patterns cut and layered on white card stock
• Doily Die cut from LifeStyle crafts, cut using Recollections Precious Metals paper in Silver, it's a nice matte finish that is very elegant without being gaudy 
• Cut doily was run through the Cuttlebug Script embossing folder to add some texture
• Wild Orchid Crafts - Plum Devine Twine - WT-0001
• Wild Orchid Crafts - Butterflies - EM-00058
• Wild Orchid Crafts - Carnations - FS-00005 & FS-00007
• Martha Stewart Branch Punch, using Recollections Precious Metals Silver paper
• McGill Scalloped Tag punch for the bottom layer below the MOM image
• MOM image created using Studio G tiny letters that look like typewriter keys and punched with McGill 1/4 inch punch and adhered with 1/4 dimensional dots

Mom opening her card, it was kismet that I used lilacs - she didn't know it but dressed perfectly in coordinating colors!

Spring Calf Barn

Black Ink Comparison

I received a new stamp set from Stephanie Bernard Stamps of Life and it contains a couple of full coverage stamps which, in my opinion require best coverage ink possible, so I tested the following:

StayzOn - Jet Black

Memento - Tuxedo Black

Versafine - Onyx Black

As you can see the StayzOn, quick drying alcohol ink, stamps OK but the ink pad itself has a texture that is picked up on this solid stamp.

Memento has pretty good coverage but the slight blotchiness might be because my ink pad could use a re-inking.

The best result of the three is the Versafine - even coverage, deep color, crisp borders - everything you could ask for in an ink.

I am eager to try Stephanie Bernard's inks which are made by Clearsnap - first one will be the basic black.  Once I get it, I'll add a stamped image to this post for comparison.

Lunch - Wild Mushroom Rotini

Our trip to the Ellington Farmer's Market on Saturday yielded a pack of wild mushrooms that were just the right thing for Meatless Monday.  Paulie made so much that I had plenty left over for lunch today.