March Madness

I always look forward to spring time.  Winter is soooo LONG.  Thankfully the dreary winter weather usually clears up in my wonderful area and 

March heralds all the signs of springtime.  

Little by little the days start getting longer.  You notice that it's 6pm and it isn't dark yet! You become aware of birds singing, starting before dawn and continuing on throughout the day.  

And best of all, warmer weather.  

We'll start to get a few days with temps in the 70's which is always a thrill.

The grass will seem greener, less drab.

Little shoots of springtime bulbs will start popping up all around my garden.

I snapped this photo on march 1st showing the 'Ice Follies' daffodils that had popped up and started to bloom in my garden.  This is a patch that gets sun all day with a southern exposure and is surrounded by the concrete of the of the driveway and the pool area which creates a warmer little micro climate giving them a jump on the springtime show that is a welcome sight.

Thrifty Finds:

This cute Agatha Christie book appeared in one of the second hand shops I frequent on the same day I discovered a terrific new flavor of Peeps that I knew I had to try.  

How cute is that .25 cent teacup?

I like to arrange my finds and take a photo so I will be able to remember when I got them.  Sometimes, like in this instance, I like the arrangement so much I keep some of my finds together. I found that little jewelry chest for such a great price I couldn't pass it up. It had some horrible sticky packing tape wrapped around it to keep the drawers closed and intact I suppose but it left a gooey mess and stain so I supposed that's why no one wanted it.  I think it looks adorable on my kitchen counter now, especially with the darling little Watership Down book displayed on top of it and the faux jadite bowl I got from World Market, recently.  I think it will be great to keep tea bags in. 

The whole arrangement just says Springtime to me.   

The Holly Hobbie dolly was only .50 cents and she's in perfect condition.

I thought she would be happy reunited with her sisters Heather, Carrie, Amy and friend, Raggedy Ann nestled in with the other dollies in my collection that I keep in a vintage wicker baby doll buggy.

Found this practically pristine gem of a wheely suitcase for a great price that I thought would come in handy on future travels.  It's within the carry on bag criteria that states baggage must measure less than 22" in length x 14" wide x 9" high. 

And it goes great with ...  

Happy Mail:

My fantastic sister sent me the gift of this gorgeous Lo & Sons OG bag.  She had been admiring them for some time and finally felt it was time to splurge on one, to celebrate her new job, with the added bonus of a super sale price.  She had so much fun shopping online she decided to order up one for me as well!

          Photo of my sister & I on the Golden Gate Bridge, at sunset, walking across it 11/2015.
                                                                How cool is that?

She is an absolute dear!  

I feel so Lucky to have such a wonderful thoughtful darling sister.

Sister Forever!

                           
Now we are ready to jet somewhere, European Vacation here we come!!!

What's Blooming in my Garden: 

One of the most terrific plants in my garden are the Hellebores. Not only are they evergreen, but they bloom early, before anything else, and stay in bloom for many weeks.  Some of the most charming varieties have these sweet little freckles.  Later, the flowers form seed pods, adding interest well into the summer.  Then this magnificent plant self sows so you can have even more Hellebore for your garden or to share with friends.

Another early bloomer in my garden are the Camellia bushes that surround the veranda with their white, red and coral blossoms that resemble a rose.  Unfortunately, they don't have a scent.   We inherited them when we bought the house in 1994.  I added this stunning pink blossomed bush at least 5 years ago and this is the first year that it has bloomed with a remarkable amount of luscious baby pink flowers.  Looking at it makes me smile.

Once a year this magnificent giant saucer magnolia tree blooms in my yard filling the air with the sweet scent of it's big pink blossoms.

What I See When I Walk:

Daffodils everywhere!

I enjoy walking down Main street turning on Cascade and seeing this charming storybook house in Washington Park.  It looks even more positively dreamy when all the daffodils bloom along its curving front walk.

Lately, I've had the pleasure of taking a few walks with my friend, Donna.  On a cold day, we met at Reynolds House & Gardens

to take a brisk, almost 2 mile stroll around the grounds even crossing over to Graylyn.

It's a beautiful old castle like estate that is a hotel and venue now for receptions.

I like taking pictures of interesting things like this pool house.

And these magnificent gates.

Remarkable mossy stone.

I captured a few early spring shots around of the grounds.

Tree Magic.  

I like the way the bare branches look against the sky.

The peaceful woods at Reynolda house are covered with spring blooming Snowdrops & daffodils.

Anyways, that's what March Madness means to me.   

Spring time changing the landscape from dreary to lush, all in a space of a few weeks in March.

Last week of Feb

The garden is started to wake up.  There's little bits of greenery popping up all around.

In the Garden:

I started doing some gardening chores.  Winter is a good time to trim shrubs, trees and bushes while branches are bare of foliage so you can really see the shape.  I trim out any dead or crossing limbs making sure that all that's left are nice outward growing branches.

However, please note that the best time to trim flowering bushes and trees is after they bloom.  Trimming them in winter will reduce the amount of blooms.

Rudbeckia or Black eyed Susan and Lychnis or Rose Campion, the tiny pink flower dancing among the daylillies in my June 2015 sunny garden border.

This is also a good to time transplant stuff.  I get loads of volunteer Rudbeckia, Lychnis and Lunaria popping up from seed in the lawn so I scoop them out and transplant them to a better spot inside the garden borders.  I try to get them all transplanted before the first time I cut the grass.  Best time to do this is just before it rains.

Another chore that helps tremendously, but I sometimes forget to do in time, is sprinkling compost or fertilizer around the bulb foliage shoots, ornamental shrubs and perennials to give them some extra va va voom.  If I don't have enough compost I get a couple of bags of cheap plain flower fertilizer from Lowe's or Walmart.  This stuff can burn so it's best to use before the tender shoots emerge.  

What I've been Dreaming about:

During a break from Gardening, I sipped a relaxing cup of tea while I perused the Viking River Cruise brochures, relaxing, studying and dreaming on the veranda.  

My sister, Mary Ann wants to treat me to another unforgettable glorious vacation for my BiG Birthday this year.  Isn't she an angel?

Thrifty Finds:

Nabbed another SK book that was on my
dwindling list of 'SK Books I Need to Look For'.  

Gotta Love that creepy cool cover!

What I See When I Walk:

Love this striking historical home on the corner of Main Street & Cascade in Washington Park.  They've done a swell job restoring it.  It had been hidden behind overgrown bushes and trees for many years.  

Cyclamen are so pretty with their silvery heart shaped leaves and lovely blossoms in shades of pink & red.  I admired these beauties for sale but I only took a photo of  them because I seem to excel at killing them, cannot keep them alive despite my affection for them.

What I've been watching:

We decided to reserve The Martian from Redbox, finally.  

What a great movie!  

I'm crazy about space movies in general and this one was a real favorite.  I was swept away.  It was so good we watched it again before returning it the next day.  It was fascinating, loved the story line, acting and soundtrack.  I noticed how the music lyrics reflected what was going on in the movie ~ Genius!

And such clever dialog, I really appreciate the use of humor when it's done so well.

Fav Lines -
"I am the greatest botanist on this planet." ~Mark Watney
"Mars will fear my botany powers!" ~ Mark Watney
"If we are going to have a secret project called 'Elrond', then I want my code name to be 'Glorfindel'
"Rich Purnell is a steely-eyed missile man!"
"Mark Watney: Space Pirate"
"He asked us to call him Capt. Blondebeard" ~ Mindy Park

 Another one of my biggest thrills with this movie was the Great Music Soundtrack.  Yes, I'm a massive FaN of Disco!

The song, Don't rock the Boat, always reminds me of me of my grammy poppy cuz we'd sing it together back in the 1970's.

Then there's that part at the end when he's pulling 12 G's rocketing from Mars, 

just before he goes all  Iron Man, 

that reminds me of that Disney World ride, Mission to Mars, later known as Mission: Space.  

Boy, that kicked my butt!  

According to Wikipedia that ride was only 2.5 G's -

  "The attraction exposes riders to forces up to 2.5G, more than twice the force of gravity at the Earth's surface (effectively multiplying a rider's weight by 2.5)."

What I See When I Walk in Old Salem:

I took these photos during my morning constitutional, recently, in this wonderful historic area about a mile from my house.  It's really quiet and empty that early, so it feels even more like taking a walk back in time.

So many great views walking down Main street.

I like the way the bare tree branches look against the sky.

   Salem College in the town square

I always feel so inspired after a nice walk.

Hello, Spring!

I finished my Easter decorating and I'll be instagramming some photos of my vintage toy vignettes.  

These old metal Easter eggs, duck and basket sure are nifty vintage toys that make great decorations.  Wonder if folks will ever be nostalgic over the plastic stuff seen on store shelves nowadays?

   There's so much beauty in the world!

The little peach tree bloomed with it's glorious pink blossoms 

that do brighten up that corner of my garden.

Then the saucer magnolia bloomed as well.  

Such an impressive sight with a tree that is so very large.

Our St. Patrick's Day Treats:

It was a beautiful day here in NC, sunny and in the 70's.  I simmered that big hunk of corned beef on the stove for 3 hours, dropping in potatoes and carrots after 2 hours.  Once everything was cooked to perfection it was scooped out of the seasoned water and then cabbage went in for a few minutes and dinner was served.  We dined al fresco on the veranda since my dinning room table was covered with piles of paperwork I've been sorting for taxes.

When the wind got gusty we came in to make some festive dessert drinks.   I saw this one on Pinterest and thought it was so cute.  For my version I used small scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream filling up a pretty glass then poured almond milk over it, topping with whipped cream in a can and a rainbow sour candy belt.  Now how cute is that?

Sarah concocted this adult beverage using Midori, coconut vodka, clear strawberry soda from Aldi and garnished with a rainbow sour candy belt.  It was so very tasty!

Everything was going along swimmingly until I let 2 strangers into my house somehow, selling Kirby vacuum cleaners!

Here's what I'm Loving:

How cute are these Easter themed Yankee candles?!

I NEED to stop in at my local store, in the mall, and give these a sniff.  

I bet the go on clearance after the holiday.

Here's what I'm still obsessed with:

Easter themed washi from Dollar Tree.  I've been on a Washi tape hunt every time I go out to the craft stores and Love finding pretty versions of on sale or with a coupon.  But at Dollar Tree everything is a $1 and they have some holiday versions that are beyond cute.  I use washi to decorate my planner each week and I like to do themes.  

I took a photo of my planner a few weeks ago and shared it on instagram and got some good instalove.  What was cool to get that good feedback.  My theme that week was gold and green using that cute shamrock washi as the inspiration.

Thrifty Finds:

Not too many thrifty finds lately for me.  Just the nice old book of Robert Frost poetry.  I reached for it on the shelf because I was drawn to the wonderful light mint green colour of the cover.  I was pretty excited when I discovered it because he is my favorite poet.  I've loved him since the 6th grade when I was tasked to memorize 'Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening' for school and recite it to the class.  It's a beautiful poem, like all of his poems, and I loved memorizing it even though I was terrified of not doing a good enough job of it and stumbling in class.  I would kind of sing it to remember it and recite it to our two pet lambs and all the bunnies while I was feeding them and doing my farm chores.  I still remember that poem, to this day, many many many years later.

What I've been cooking:
Mushroom madness rages on

My dear reader may remember
I absolutely LOVE mushrooms!  Lately, I can't get enough of them!
So I made up another pot of my delicious homemade cream of mushroom soup while it was being cold and rainy out. That's the mushroom soup pictured above with my 'new to me' poetry book.

Here's my version of - Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
If you like mushrooms, like I like mushrooms, you'll Love it! I used the recipe from http://damndelicious.net/2014/05/10/cream-mushroom-soup/ as a guide and added my own tweeks.

My Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 cup unsalted butter or olive oil
3 -5 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 minced celery stalk, grated carrot
1 1/2 pounds of a mix of cremini, button, portabello mushrooms, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth, 1 carton
1 cup cream cheese is a whole brick, so prob half or 1/3 is sufficient
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme {Italian seasonings}
1/3 c canned pumpkin puree, good thickener, or more!
Melt butter / olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and veg saute til softened about 2-3 minutes.
Then add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 5-6 minutes; season with salt and pepper, Italian Seasonings to taste.  When veg starts to brown and stick deglaze with the wine, keep stirring and cook for 3-4 mins
Remove from heat and let cool with fan on
When veg mix is cooled, chop up hunks of cream cheese and let warm up slowly, then stir until incorporated and put back on the low heat to warm up slowly, add pumpkin.
Stir in chicken broth when the creamy veg is bubbly, season with salt, pepper and thyme, to taste.

What I've been watching:

Still binge-ing through all 61 episodes of Poirot on Netflix.  So many poisonings, jewels, railway stations and trains, all my fav Agatha Christie themes.

Dreaming of baking:

I was flipping through the current issue of Martha Stewart Living and saw this advertisement for the cutest Easter dessert, so I snapped a photo of it!  

Aren't they darling?  

I sure would love to nibble on one of those, or 2 or 3, hehe.  Or better yet, some of my grammy's coconut cream pie!  Oh, that was the best pie ever!!  I sure do miss her and her cooking.  But I'll probably just end up getting those cute mega carrot cupcakes from Costco. 

Are you ready for Easter?

Highlights of My Week

How my Garden Grows:

One of my Moonflower vines finally bloomed! 

All summer I've been watering the vines all that I've coaxed from seed.  They don't usually bloom until late summer {I wish it was earlier!} but September is rather tardy, especially when I'm so looking forward to seeing these dazzling huge beauties.  

Moonflowers are a night blooming vine 

and the flowers are always white, about 8" across and have a

 wonderful light scent of Twilight with a touch of Jasmine mixed with vanilla.  

Each flower only lasts one night and fades in the morning.

Here's what I'm Reading:

I Love a good mystery! 

And this author writes these stories set in Crozet, Virginia 

{where we visited this summer} 

and part of the mystery is told, as well as, solved by the heroine's 3 delightful pets! 

There's a Corgi named Tucker, 

Mrs. Murphy is a tiger tabby cat and Pewter is a cantankerous grey cat.  

Such a fun read!

Eating:

Lately, we've been on a roasted vegetable kick.  It's so easy!
And the taste is incredible.

Doesn't that look pretty?  

Chop up bell peppers, red onion, zucchini, portabello mushrooms, carrots, 

any veg really!

Then toss with some olive oil and spread the veg out on a parchment lined baking sheet, 

sprinkle with some garlic salt and roast them under the broiler until they start to brown.

Here's what we're OBSESSED with:

Making Roasted Veg Burritos!  

Arrange the veg on a soft tortilla and sprinkle with some Cheddar Jack shredded cheese mix. Microwave for 1 minute, then roll up and enjoy.  

Sometimes I'll smear some yogurt on the tortilla before I put the veg on.

 Cosplaying:

Here's Emily dressed up as Lightning from Final Fantasy 

for an Anime Convention she went to with her Bff.  

And the coolest thing is she made the costume!  

She found the brown skirt & turtleneck at Goodwill, chopped them up and added zippers.  Then she got the fabric for the vest, cape and gloves and sewed them, embellishing using buckles, buttons, belts and clasps.  

I think she is so clever, creative and talented.  

PS that's an Arda wig she styled.

Even though this costume turned out so cool she is thinking about dressing up as one of those 

creepy nurses from Silent Hill for Halloween!  

For me, I'd Love to dress up as a 50's era nurse 

a la "Call the Midwife" & "Breathless" from BBC / PBS - think blue shift dress and apron, cape 

and of course that darling nurses cap!  

So what are your ideas for your Halloween costume?