pinterest in action: scones and pie and an observation.

 

a few weeks ago, i actually rescued the ingredients that had been sitting in the freezer FOREVER to make this bomb pie by Something Swanky. sugar overkill, maybe , but SO good with a milky iced coffee sans sweetener.

time for baking

and last week, i made these blueberry buttermilk scones by Mango and Tomato. they baked up quite nicely and were packed with flavor even though i left out the coconut. the mister, sister a-go-go and mama a-go-go loved them!

 ***i know that there are oodles of folk out there who are not exactly fans of Pinterest. i kinda understand but at the same time, i don't think Pinterest made it any easier to "steal" ideas. they just created a platform to share your favorite ideas. before Pinterest, i had a folder on the desktop full of links and people's projects. in a nutshell, my folder was full of "stolen" property. i had and still have no intention of monetary gain from all the goodness, i am just so wholly inspired by all the creativity out there just as i hope you are inspired by what i share.

that said, i see a new trend in how people respond to blogs and with Pinterest people are forgetting to leave comments and offer up thanks and encouragement to the author. instead, photos and diys are pinned as a salute but if you don't see it, you don't know how much you inspire. case in point...i average maybe 1 comment a post. yeesh. not so good for my ego . yet i know people are clicking and reading as evidenced by my stats. a LOT of people. and if i hop on over to Pinterest, i will see my projects pinned and repinned to high heaven and yet not a single person has shown up here to say "Hey, this is cool, thank you for sharing"!  (oh, i don't mean you or you or you, you know who you are) and to me...that is just bad manners. it's not Pinterest's fault, it is the poor behavour of the masses. now, i pin like a mad woman myself and if i pin something from a blog i have never visited, i leave a comment and i thank that person for sharing (if it is a blog i subscribe to i have already and continue to say thanks). sometimes i find a new blog to read in the process and sometimes i make a new friend. i'm a bit behind on my repins however, i need to finish up and go through to the original source to say thanks and yes, i totally mean it. absolutely!

enough of my mini rant but i encourage you to think about it and if yer new to my blog and actually reading not just pinning put yourself into my shoes or think about yer own blog. wouldn't a little howdy and thank you make your heart sing and connect?

cake mix peanut butter cookies

on thursday, it was weirdly overcast and cool. i say weirdly because we've had a mini heat wave going on and the forecast was for 82. when i stepped out to put a donation bag of clothes into Eleanore aka Henrietta Hippo, i felt quite chilled.

baking was in order. cookie baking. peanut butter cookie baking...with a cake mix as i was feeling too lazy to pull out measuring cups and such. 

*1 box white or yellow cake mix

*1 cup peanut butter

*2 eggs

*1/4 c milk

*chocolate chips (optional)

preheat oven to 350 F. mix up ingredients and add yer chips.

drop by the spoonful onto your cookie sheet (the dough will be super sticky). sprinkle with a smidge of sugar and press the tines of a fork into the tops to create that peanut butter cookie look. you do not have to flatten or smoosh, they bake just fine as a puff ball and do not spread much at all.

bake 10-12 minutes, wait a smidge to cool and enjoy with a cold glass of your favorite milk beverage.

**i think next time i will add more peanut butter, salted peanuts and milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet  and less of them at that.

i went walking

 

 on wednesday, i walked to work. it wasn't far, less than two miles and i was equipped with new happy walking shoes. 

 

 

i gave myself extra time to stop and take pictures. the marine layer was still lingering over the mountain and the birdies were chirp, chirp, chirping. 

it was a lovely warm morning and even though i woke up with sad and tired feet, a knot in my back and a soreness in my calves that i haven't felt in too long, i'm going to do it again. i think all those knots and tired bits need it. 

have you taken a stroll lately?

of shoes, t-shirts and plastic hangers...

 in a mad fit of procrastination i tore apart my closet and bureau for clothing purge. i'm a bit lackadaisical that way. when one thing really needs to get done, i do something else that could be dealt with but isn't necessary. it's like cleaning out the fridge when you should be doing taxes.

i'm on a wardrobe revamp kick and have already been through a few purges but another one couldn't hurt, right? this time i tried almost everything on and to my delight found previously-too-tight digs to fit save for a pair of breezy crops that may never fit but i love too much to part with. never mind that i picked them up at a thrift store and have yet to wear them. if by next year i cannot squeeze my gifted behind into them they will become quilt fodder and yes, you can quote me on that.

i'm amused by it all because yesterday i felt full of steroidal poofiness and ick, darn that prednisone, and while today hasn't really taken away from the bloat, my brain was okay with it and the mirror had a good carnival lilt to it. so on came the iTunes playing a combo of french soundtrack and then skiffle, i created my own chick flick fashion montage complete with different hair styles and a change of shoes or two.

i discovered that i look pretty good in white shirts of which i have quite a few and that too many of them are quite similar. two have been destined for a dye pile. i also found that i seem to have a thing for Threadless Tees and have forbidden myself from looking at any new designs (oh crap, but this one is quite nice). i would rather spend any extra cash on a soft tissue t or bloomers or maybe even a pair of ballet flats anyway. gotta pick my fashion priorities, right?

i also dug up a pile of things that need altering or fixing or something and with any luck i'll get to them soonish otherwise they will disappear again and who knows when i will rediscover them...or where.
what i really want is to get the darn pantaloons made already...here's to procrastination!

scent with lurve

through the marvels of modern medicine i have my nose back. i am sure it is but temporary but i'll take what i can get. there is a heavy silence that prevails when one's nose is out of whack. in my case, there is a serious disconnect from comfort and soul. it sounds awfully dramatic and i'm going to put myself out there and say it is.

stepping out the back door with orange laundry bucket in hand i was greeted by a blast of the summer-like sun. the traffic on Highway 1 speeding by in a rush played a background song as i was suddenly greeted by the sweet warm scent of sidewalk and grass. i simply stopped in my movement, put the bucket down, clasped my hands together, closed my eyes and inhaled a mighty breath. never knowing how long it will last, i danced into action. orange bucket discarded on the back sidewalk by the new makeshift birdbath, i abandoned it all and ran back into the tiny casa. another deep inhale gave me the sweet scent of vanilla and sliced apples with a dash of the pikaki i wear on the inside of my wrists. i could detect the steamy scent of the hot iron as it waited patiently for me to get back to work and the sweet cent of the dish soap on the sponge i had just used to wash the morning dishes.

i quickly stuck my head in the pantry and was surprised that instead of onions and stale pantry scents, i was tickled by the spicy sweet calling of star anise. room to tiny room (not that there are many) i skipped and clapped and sniffed and laughed. the bathroom was full of shampoo smells and honey. the bedroom like green tea and vanilla while the living room managed to contain the least happy yet still welcome of scents...cardboard and spackle (we've been hammering things into the walls and those darn boxes may never get cleared away).

out the front door i went, sticking my nose into the thyme, mint  and basil that sit in anticipation of new garden digs. the front sidewalk greeted me with that summery spice and i am certain i looked like a mad women as i brought my new to the carob tree for a sniff.

with a satisfied smile on my face, i walked back into the tiny casa full of the scent of apples and vanilla and finally, for the first time, felt like i was home.

just an average tuesday

 

 the noggin is far too full of projects and ideas for me to form a coherent post or sentence for that matter. today i snipped and stitched and swept and oh so slowly eked out a smidge of that confounding pile that has been haunting me since we moved into the new tiny casa almost one year ago.

i also baked some scones from scratch (which the mister promptly gobbled up, both before and after i sent some with him for the mama a-go-go when he left for the homestead to work on a project).

and hung things on the wall. it's the wee accomplishments that make our moments. or maybe it's just the scones....