Happy Long Weekend

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I'm so excited,

I could just scream!

We don't have anything super planned,

just lots of relaxation.

Do you have any great plans for this Labor Day Weekend?

Let's Talk Toilet

Or more to the point, toilet paper.

It is not an uncommon occurrence in our family to walk in to the
 bathroom and find the toilet paper gone.

 

It makes me want to do something like this....

 

On a good day I get this...

 

 

Well, I think I found a solution to the problem.

 

 

BRILLIANT!

A vertical toilet paper holder.

I can't believe I didn't invent this.

I have just remained in a constant state of

annoyance for the past 20 years.

 

What do they say, invention is the mother of necessity.

Apparently, our household is not the only one with this issue.

 

So, what do you think?

Will it work?

 

 

 

Looks Like a Disaster Zone

I'm about at wits end.

We have ripped most of the carpet out of the hallway and rooms, 

but still have one bedroom and two closets to finish.

This week Todd and I are going to try to finish painting the old bedroom 

so that we can move Lexx in to it.

After we accomplish that, we can tear out the carpet in her room and closet,

and then get started truly remodeling our "master" bedroom.

We haven't decided on any flooring yet, so it's going to remain sub-floor until that happens.

I'll keep you updated as we progress through the project.

I can't believe I'm posting these pictures of my nasty looking house,

but here goes nothing.

This is part of the hallway with crap piled everywhere.

You can't hardly walk through the hallway without tripping over something.

The floors look super bad because they are sub-flooring, not real flooring.

Makes it easy to clean the floors though!

Our project this weekend.

We didn't realize it, but we burn candles in this room, and when we pulled up

 the baseboard and removed the curtains,

 you can totally see where the smoke discolored the walls.

GROSS!

We will be painting this room, replacing windowsills, and putting in new baseboard 

(and eventually new flooring and a light fixture, just not at this moment).

Do you have any big projects that seem never ending?

Please tell me I'm not the only one walking around on sub floor.

(I have a feeling I probably am the only one -boo).

Some BA Street Art

Check out these photos of street art from around the world.

All pictures from www.streetartutopia.com

 

 

 

 

Some pretty amazing art, right!

A couple of these make me laugh out loud.

 

Which one is your favorite?

Writers Block

My mind is going a million miles a second, and yet I can't think of anything to blog about today.

I didn't have the weekend to unwind, but instead was out with Todd while he put out fires at his job (literally not figuratively).

Here's hoping I'm a little more inspired tomorrow.

 

 

I can't seem to keep my head above water.

 

By Golly Good Sir

It's almost the weekend!

Have a fabulous Saturday and Sunday.

See you back Monday.

The Plentiful Bounty

Todd and I decided to try our hand at a garden, again.

We had tried a couple years ago, but placed the garden in some crummy soil, 

as well as an indiscreet area.

The poor little garden failed and Todd and I moved on about our merry little lives.

This year we decided that we would try again because we had made a resolution to try and eat healthier,

 and what better way than to eat your very own home grown veggies.

We went out and bought the fruits and veggie plants, and Todd promptly planted them.

Fast forward about 5-6 months.

We HAVE veggies.

It's a bumper crop for us.

The cucumber thingy.

Yep, there was one more.

A cute little squash.

After spending approx. $30-$50 dollars on the plants,

our investment yielded us 2 lemon cucumbers, 1 squash and a tomato that is half rotted on the ground...

le sigh!

I noticed that there might have been more tomaters, 

but it looks like maybe a deer or two might have eaten some of the tomato plant.

Also, we are not very good about putting compost or any of that stuff in the soil 

AND

 it is in a semi-shaded area.  

I'm pretty sure we need both of those things to have some sort of successful garden.

After a short discussion with Todd, we think next year we are just going to try the hanging tomato baskets and a couple other things that we can grow close to the house and give a little more attention.

Any thoughts?  Are any of you gardeners?  We are in some desperate need of guidance!

In My Life

I was just thinking about how amazing it is that in a couple weeks
 Todd and I are going to be married 23 years.

In my life, I LOVE HIM MORE!

A Small Mishap

I know everyone is aware that it has been hotter than H***

in this part of the country for the past few weeks.

Well....I went out to my car after work on Monday, sat in my driver's seat and looked at my mirror.

I noticed something brown on the glass, then the plastic, then the headliner, and when I turned around I saw something silver sitting on my back seat with a brown liquid all around it.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was until I started nosing around in the back of the car.

Guess what I found, actually why don't you take a look for yourself instead of guessing.

Yep, that's an empty soda can with the lid blown off of it.

Someone left a coke in the back of my car and I was unaware of it.

The heat was too much and made it explode...

ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF MY CAR!

I spent a good hour trying to clean it all up,

but it looks like I'm going to have to get it cleaned professionally.

I'll tell you what.

Whoever left the soda in my car, you better hope that I don't find out who you are!

GRRRRRRRR

MMMmmmm Brownies

I took the time Sunday to make the German Chocolate Brownies recipe that I had found on Pinterest.

Let me tell you...boy was it worth the time.

I think I may like the brownies more than the actual cake.

Although, I am more of a brownie girl than a cake girl (not that I would turn either down).

Take a look and see the gooey goodness.

The brownie ingredients along with the German chocolate ingredients.

There were a ton of ingredients.

The brownie mix.

The brownie mix completely mixed together.

Isn't that a beautiful brown color.

The cooked brownies after I pulled them out of the oven.

I drizzled a little chocolate and caramel on the brownies before putting on the frosting.

Todd doing quality control.

He did so much quality control that he was so sick to his stomach that he couldn't eat a brownie.

Shame, shame, shame.

I guess that leaves more for me!

(My evil plan worked...BWAHAHAHA)

The completed product.

I took a picture of them after I pulled them out of the fridge.

It firmed them up.

I did eat one straight out of the oven and it was gooey heaven.

So what do you think?

Would you try this recipe (I highly recommend you do if you like coconut)?

Do you think it looks similar to the post from last week?

Friday Happy Dance

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I'm doing my happy little Friday dance just like the frog above.

It looks like it's going to be another pretty awesome weekend.

I've got a little picture taking, a little shopping, a little painting,

a little eating and a lot of cleaning planned.

What you got planned?

Enjoy your weekend my lovelies!

Fire!

Photo by Nick Janes

@nick_janes #SalmonFire-our first look #CBS13 #Breaking http://twitpic.com/ajvv4o

Apparently there was a pretty bad fire pretty close to my house.

I was sitting at home watching movies, doing housework and had no idea.

Check out this footage, it made the news.

It burned 108 acres.

Helicopters were dropping water...I had no idea, I didn't hear a thing.

I did notice that it was smoky, but it had been smoky for the past week.

Ya, you could say I'm clueless.

Did You Know ...

That if Julia Child were still alive she would 100 years old.

So, in honor of the famous chef I decided to post

a recipe I found that I'm thinking I might try this weekend.

I know I'm no Julia Child, but I do know what I like to eat, and this looks delicious.

Behold this awesomeness (recipe from here)

Be sure to visit the blog.  It looks like it has some pretty great recipes.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Picture not taken by me, but was taken by them .

This is what the brownies are supposed to look like, let's see if mine turn out anything like this.

Brownie

• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 cups sugar 
• 4  eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 cup chocolate chips 
• 1 cup caramel bits

Frosting

• 3  egg yolks 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk 
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups fresh flaked coconut 
• 1 cup pecans chopped

Instructions

1. For the Brownies: Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and blend well. Add vanilla, salt, cocoa and flour. Don’t overbeat. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan.Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool.
2. Melt chocolate chips in microwave for 1 minute and drizzle with a spoon over brownies.
3. Melt caramel bits in microwave for 1 minute and drizzle over chocolate.
4. For the Frosting: Combine egg yolks, sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla in a large saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes ( Make sure to stir consistently for at least 10 min). Add coconut and pecans. Beat until thick enough to spread. Pour over top of brownies. You may want to place in the refrigerator to harden.
5. Optional:  Drizzle some melted chocolate over the brownies and topped with pecans.

A Gift From Aunt Cheryl

My Auntie passed away about 4 years ago.

She was an avid doll collector, but once she passed,

 her husband put all of her doll's in storage as he planned to move.

This weekend I got a sweet little surprise in the mail.

Cheryl's husband, David, mailed us three of her dolls from her collection.

I absolutely adore them and every time I look at them

 it reminds me of my beautiful Aunt Cheryl.

The doll that was sent to me.

She is pretty large, about like a real life baby.

Look at that sweet little face.

This is Alexxa's doll

She is about 18 inches tall and has a beautiful outfit on.

She is also made of porcelain.

And this is Todd's doll.

I know...normally guys don't get dolls, but it was a running joke between Cheryl and Todd.

She had Socko sitting on her couch one time when we went to visit. 

Todd mentioned how sock monkeys scare him, so my auntie ran with it, and in true Cheryl form, stuck Socko's tail between his legs and threw it at him every time Todd would walk by.

So knowing the history, look where this guy ended up...

sitting on our mantel!

Close up of Socko.

What a wonderful surprise.

Now I need to find a home for all the little treasures so that they don't get ruined.

Any suggestions?

Busy and Fun Weekend

I accomplished everything I said I was going to do from the post on Friday, and more!

We ended up pretty much just running errands both Saturday and Sunday.

I documented our Sunday with my cute little camera.

On our way to Auburn (Foresthill Bridge under construction).

Dump run...again.

No owls this time...boo!

Remember, safety first!

After we went to the dump, we headed to Home Depot.

That's right, be jealous, we do all the fun stuff (*cough, cough)

Heading back home in the 105 degree heat in an unairconditioned Jeep...

Great planning!

After we came home, cooled down and did some chores, we headed to 

The Decades Party 

at Bret and Amy's house.

These are all the people who had birthdays (20 years-70 years)

Austin and his little fan club swimming in the awesome pool.

Barb, Cindy and Susan enjoying something

(It might have to do with something in that red wine glass, but I don't know for sure).

Some of the party animals.

I have several more pictures, but dumb blogger is loading them sideways, so I gave up.

We were at the party a couple hours and  had to leave because we had more chores to finish up at home.

One of the best chores was cooking hamburgers, and they were delicious.

It was a great way to end a busy weekend.

What did you end up doing this weekend?

Happy, Happy, Happy Weekend

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Boy am I glad it's the weekend.

This work week has been exhausting.

I think I will sleep in, take a walk, go shopping and maybe go to a party.

Also, I just got my baby back from the camera hospital.

Maybe I'll go take some pretty pictures this weekend and share the results next week.

So do you have any awesome plans or are you just going to lay around the house this weekend?

Local Vineyards

One thing that has been on my to do list is visiting local wineries.

If you can believe it, I have never been to one.

I did a little research, and the following are wineries I think would be nice to visit.

And to be totally upfront, I took the pictures

and information directly from the winery/vineyard websites (they are not my pics).

Boeger Wineries
located in Placerville, CA

Boeger is committed to making the high quality wines, and to pushing the boundaries of winemaking.  Boeger is a pioneer of innovative blends, drawing from over twenty-nine varieties of grapes grown at the estate, and is quickly becoming known for bringing new and uncommon varietals to the market place.

David Girard Vineyards
located in Placerville, CA

David Girard Vineyards is located in the Sierra Foothills near the south fork of the American River.  The vineyard is known for its Rhone style wines and has a reputation for quality and excellence.

Gold Hill Vineyard
Placerville, CA

Gold Hill Vineyard is located near Coloma, CA and is 50 acres.  Gold Hill produces medal winning bordeauxs and chardonnays. 

Lava Cap Winery
located in Camino, CA

Lava Cap is a family-owned winery in Placerville, California.  The family of geologists specifically selected this location for its prime volcanic soil that is particularly well suited to growing fine wine grapes, and named their business after this unique "lava cap," where their grapes flourish in the volcanic soil.  Lava Cap continues to win a steady stream of medals and awards from across the country each year.

Madrona Vineyards
located in Camino, CA

Located in the high sierra foothills, Madrona is situated at 3,000 feet. and is located in Apple Hill.  Madrona serves a wide range of bordeaux and rhone.

So have you ever visited any of these wineries?  Have you ever been to a winery?  Any suggestions?