Sheer Laziness~

~Rainy days and Mondays~

***

That pretty much sums up the beginning of this week.

I woke up to serious downpours, wind and chilly temperatures on Monday morning.

There are times when few words are needed for a day of sheer laziness. I do hope that your Monday was a bit more productive than mine was.

***

But... it was decadent!

Images: Emma Bridgewater

Entering the Convent~

When I was a young girl I was fascinated with Nuns, the "Sisters", those that must be obeyed!

I entered the Academy of Saint Joseph as an eighth grader.

The school is no longer. I do think that fewer and fewer women chose this life for some obvious reasons. Still I was so taken with these women.

I naively entertained the thought {albeit very briefly} of becoming a nun while away at school

* I cannot begin to think of how many times I have seen this movie- The Nun's Story-with Audrey Hepburn.*

I have accumulated a small but interesting collection of "Nun" paraphernalia.


{oooppps! Two words that should hold space in the same sentence}

Most items have been gifts from friends that still love to hear some of the tales and troubles that I was able to get myself into...


This is where I learned the entire mass in Latin, arose each morning to prayers spoken only in Latin and attended Mass every day for the whole school year...
and went to confession every Saturday afternoon.

Still leaving time to accumulate a couple of ouchies before Mass on Sunday morning.



My daily chore was to empty the trash receptacles throughout the private residences of the nuns.

Can you even imagine where I'm headed with this?


After Vespers and we were properly tucked in, the sisters had their hour of power prayer.


That left the door wide open for me to take a few curious friends on a little tour of the Sister's bedrooms. After all, it was pretty safe. Those ladies were fully engrossed in nightly prayer.



~Nunzilla and Sister Cabrini~

We tip-toed into several bedrooms and poked around a little.


Then as the finale', I escorted my friends into the Mother Superior's bedroom.

I had to show them just how enormous her undies really were...


By the time we heard the clomp-clomp-clomp of the black oxfords-there was no place to hide!



Needless to mention Mary and Milo {my Mom and Dad} received a phone call the next morning informing them that their dear daughter would not be coming home for a scheduled weekend.

I was GROUNDED!

Some of my fondest memories of my youth are wrapped up in the year that I 'pretty-pleased' and begged my parents to let me attend a Catholic school.
~*~

No disrespect is intended in this post. I am remembering the events as they happened-through the innocent and sometimes jaded eye of an eighth grader.


Images:
The Nun's Story {the movie}
My own

Spring radishes~

~French Breakfast radishes with sea salt~

Happily my niece has inherited the love of a peppery radish dipped in sea salt.
A couple of months ago she emailed me a photo of a beautiful plate of radishes.
That wouldn't mean much to most - but for us it meant a special something that was being served with wine at a new restaurant that had just opened in San Francisco- where she lives.

So, when she was here a couple of nights ago to celebrate her up-coming birthday- she and I shared a plate of French Breakfast radishes served with smokey salt and lemon.
For some reason, radishes just mean spring to me-

Chriscarterart

How I start my day~

~Grab a favorite mug~

Most mornings call for the big guns!
~*~
But... when I am alone for a few days, this is how I like to make my coffee.

~The 1-3 cup classic hand blown Chemex~

This belonged to my Mom and Dad and I remember vividly the day that I begged them for it!

They were no longer using it regularly and I had my eye on it for months.

This little beauty seriously- makes the best cup of coffee ever.

Mine is small-it's the smallest size made~ but it is huge on performance. The coffee is amazing.

~Fresh ground coffee~

~A sprinkle of fresh ground cinnamon on the grounds before dripping commences~

...and wallah...

Tell me- how do you start your day?

Coffee, tea, brew at home, take-out?

Me
Chemex

Cuisinart

Emme Bridgewater

candlefind.com

African Vegetable Soup~

~Snow squalls~

Yesterday afternoon it started to snow... quite hard for a while. Thankfully it melted as soon as it hit the ground.

But it was very damp, windy and cold out , so it felt like a soup kind of day.

~African Vegetable Soup~

This makes a lovely and hearty autumn soup, but is equally comforting on a snowy, spring day.

Don't you love what turmeric does to a dish?

{and the added health benefits}

What do you make for comfort when the weather suddenly turns cold again?

~African Vegetable Soup~

~*~

1 Large onion~ chopped

1 Cup chopped celery

2 Medium sweet potatoes, diced

Saute' in the bottom of your soup pot in a little olive oil until just tender-crisp.

Add 4 cups of water

{I have substituted my own vegetable stock for the four cups of water-and it's delicious}

1- 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

To this add:

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. Turmeric

1 tsp. Cumin

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/8 tsp. Cinnamon

1/8 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1 Bay leaf

Bring to a boil- reduce heat, cover and simmer about 5-7 minutes.

~*~

Add:

2 Small zucchini~ cut into thin half slices

1 Can Garbanzo beans- rinsed

Cook just long enough to soften the zucchini {about 4 minutes}.

Cook Orzo pasta separately and put a couple of spoonfuls into the bottom of soup bowls, then ladle soup into the bowls.

* You can add the pasta to the soup while cooking~ but I don't as the soup becomes starchy and cloudy.

Images:

Me

The Little Red Door~

Some of you know that I have a real weakness for small buildings.

I frequently post about small outbuildings that I think would make perfect studio spaces, garden sheds or secret hide-aways.

~*~

I stumbled upon The Little Red Door a few days ago while perusing Etsy and I have spent a significant amount of time admiring these Lilliputian homes this weekend!

The Easter Bunny will certainly be making a house call in a couple of weeks.

If you can hear me Easter Bunny... I would love one or two or 10 of these darlings in my Easter basket!

~*~

{After all... no sugar in forty days should deserve this sweet treat}
But then, Mother's Day isn't far off, and there

is an upcoming birthday and Christmas is a mere 9 months away {you can never start too early...}

~The tiniest house~

Many years ago, a good friend gave me an old printer's tray for my ever-growing collection of miniatures.

Honestly, it has been such a fun collection over the years. When friends would enter my home, they would head straight for it to check out any new additions. It really is a great conversation starter.

A few years ago I took it down- just editing things and clearing the decks.
Lately I had been thinking about putting it out again.
A few of these little houses would certainly add something special to my miniatures collection.



The artist accepts custom orders too. How much fun would that be?
Tiny replicas of your own home's exterior colors or that of a good friend?


~Glaze samples~

just because...



~Housewarming gift~
~Hostess gift~
~Favors~
~Starting a miniature collection for a child~
~Creating your own 'dream village'~
~A Merry Christmas village
~Your family name on a custom set of homes.
~Small pink houses ~ spelling out a little girl's name.


~A Little Brownstone~

~The Little Red Door~

The Little Red Door is an amazing little Etsy shop that you really must visit.

~The gift is in the present~

~Here's My Heart~


"To be happy at home... is the ultimate result of all ambition the end to which all enterprise and labor tends."
~ Samuel Johnson





~Little Pink Houses for you and me~


"We travel the world in search of what we need and return home to find it."
~ unknown

"Ahhh... there is nothing like staying home for real comfort."

~unknown

~It takes a village~

~The Little Red Door~

Heat wave...

I think that spring has arrived here in Maine. This is pretty amazing~ the snow is gone, the ice is out on all of the area lakes and for three days in a row, the temps have climbed to over 60 degrees! Today it is suppose to reach well into the 70's.

It's like an early spring heat wave~ but we'll take this.

The weather-person did just report that next week we will get back to much more seasonable temperatures.

But for now~ this weekend, I'm going to make the most of it and get out on my bike and take long walks.

70 degrees??? This is crazy for Maine!

Images:

Maine sources

L.L. Bean Signature Collection~

L.L. Bean just launched its new collection~

L.L. Bean Signature.

I like it! It's clean, smart, basic and reasonably priced and we love that, right?


I live in chambray shirts during the summer and I like that this one is slightly fitted.
I like it paired with this sunshine yellow skirt.

~Love the tiny stripes~

~Twill Capris~

~Nubuck Tote~

With Whole Foods and hopefully Trader Joe's arriving in Portland sometime soon, I'll be heading south a lot more often.

L.L. Bean is conveniently on the way!!!

~*~

Check it out here.

Images:

LL Bean Signature

Haircut

No, I haven't cut my hair. But, when I see a cute cut like this one on Mia Wasikowska the star of Alice in Wonderland... hmmm.

I won't do it. I chopped off all of my hair a few years ago-short, really short!

I did like the easy carefree do-but not my best look. I think to pull this off, you have to have just the right features. I take things like that under consideration when choosing how to wear my hair. Typically I wear my hair in a longer, messy bob and have forever. But once in a while I like to mix it up.

~*~

When my hair is longer {like it is now} I think about a short, wash and go cut. When my hair is short I look forward to pulling it back and wearing it up and sometimes I think about the way it will feel when it tickles my shoulders.

I will always love change- and the good thing about changing your hair... it always grows back.
Do you like to mix it up and occasionally try new lengths?

Image:

Unable to locate my source-if anyone knows-please report back.

St. Patrick Day and a celebration~

~Happy St. Patrick's Day~

March 17, 2010

Please, do come in~ it's a special day.

{Do you like my fresh green door? I had it painted for this special celebration because I know that it's her favorite color}

I have arranged a simple bouquet of Ranunculas~ because I know that they are among her favorite flowers.

As soon as the birthday girl arrives we'll have a Kir Royale~ because you know- she loves them!
~*~

Yes~ today is a special day~it's Patricia's special day

There will be pretty cupcakes, warm and special wishes.

So grab a cupcake and raise your glass as we wish Patricia a Happy Birthday and a full and exciting year ahead for PvE.

~Happy Birthday Patricia~

May the year ahead be one of fulfillment and exciting projects.

Thank you for being such a source of encouragement and inspiration.

And Thank-You for lending a shoulder when I needed it most.
~*~



Images:

Dreamsicleday

Slashfood.com

skinnychef.com

gapphotos

google