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.

Highlights of my Week

There has been a lot of cold, gray rainy days.  
Then we had the time change. 
All of a sudden it is Spring Time!

The first sign of spring to me is 

when I see the bright, pretty colors of the crocus blooming in my garden.

This stripey one is extra pretty!  

This past week you can find me in the garden cleaning up the winter blanket of leaves and uncovering the green shoots.

A couple of warm sunny days and the daffodils pop open.  

I like how they dance in the spring breeze.

Here's what I'm Loving:

This is my favorite daffodil.  

Although it is much smaller than some varieties it has a wonderful honeysuckle type scent.  I like to think of it as an old fashioned kind because it came with our house that is over 100 years old.  I especially love this colour combination of yellows with the blue of the hyacinth.  

Enjoying and Listening to:

One rainy evening we traveled Downtown with friends for dinner at Mellow Mushroom.  I took this photo of my view looking out of the restaurant while waiting for the yummy pizza.

After dinner we walked across the street to the Stevens Center to see 

the opera, The Magic Flute by Mozart 

on 'Student Night' which is the final dress rehearsal of the Piedmont Opera and the Winston-Salem Symphony.  So my daughter got to see it for free and my ticket was only $15 for an evening of entertainment and culture.  What a bargain!  

I Loved the music, the costumes and Papageno!  

My favorite part was the Queen of the Night's aria.   So sublime!

I like old buildings so I took a few photos of the restored neoclassical theater while waiting for the the show to begin.  Lots of beautiful details in the architecture I wanted to remember.

This chandelier must be 8-9 ft across and it sure does sparkle.

These impressive structures are on either side of the stage that look to have something to do with sound perhaps when it was a silent movie theater.

I don't know how many times I've been to this theater, over a dozen for sure but I don't think I ever noticed this cool massive light that is above the seats.  The quality of this picture is terrible but at least I'll remember just how beautiful it is.

What I've been watching:

I've caught this series on and off airing on PBS over the years and always Love watching it.  

I just started binge watching it on Netflix this month and I'm thrilled there are so many episodes I haven't seen.  

Hercule Poirot is my favorite Agatha Christi character maybe it is because of the actor's fantastic portrayal as the somewhat fussy, particular, dandy persona with super intellect which

he refers to as his little gray cells.  Set in the mid 1930's with wonderful art deco design details, sets and costumes, the show revolves around mystery, murder and intrigue which Monsieur Poirot always figures out with charm and panache.  

What I've been cooking:

Buddha's Delight soup or just Buddha soup

I came across the original recipe in a book about soups I got from a second hand book store and I've put my own spin and adaptations on it over the years.

It is hardy, delicious and good for you with all those tasty wonderful vegetables.  

Fav veg: 

pea pods 

tiny broccoli florets 

thinly sliced carrots

bell peppers

green onion 

mushrooms 

celery 

baby bok choy 

 

In a large pot, put in the whole leftover rotisserie chicken, bones and all and heat the broth to boiling.  We want to get the flavor from the bones into the broth even though the meat is already cooked and doesn't need additional cooking. Reduce heat to low and simmer for up to an hour or so.  While the broth is simmering I do the cutting up and preparing of all the different veg.  

I go to Trader Joe's to get the most gorgeous organic vegetables that are the best prices.  I get out my mandolin slicer and use it to make perfect sized carrot coins.

The rest of the veg I chop by hand refining my knife skills, practice, practice!  I love how the stem end of the baby bok choy looks like a pretty rose when sliced.  It's my fav part to eat!

Do you see my friendly kitty, Ms. Zoe Pudding Pop watching over my work?  

It makes me giggle when my pets do cute silly things.

She just sat there watching, probably wondering why she smelled chicken but did not see ANY.

Assembling the soup

Remove the carcass from the pot and let it cool.  Sometimes I pop it in the fridge or freezer until it cools enough to touch so I can remove all the bits of meat, chopping into bite sized pieces.  

When all the veg and meat is chopped and ready it's time to assemble the soup, cooking each part in stages.

Optional: frozen Costco dumplings and/ or cellophane noodles.  These yummies add calories and I leave them out when I want to cut back and eat super healthy.  I used them as enticements to lure fussy eaters into consuming my good for you veg.  Cellophane noodles are clear noodles found in any grocery store's Asian food section.

First drop in dumplings minding the time they need to cook thoroughly, 

drop in cellophane noodles that need 2-4 mins to cook.

Next drop in pea pods, tiny broccoli florets and sliced carrot that need 3 mins to cook. 

Lastly drop in green onion, mushrooms, celery, baby bok choy & cooked cut up chicken that needs only 1 min to cook. 

~enjoy

Buddha soup

Ingredients:

leftover Costco rotisserie chicken with cooked, cut up chicken & carcass to flavor the broth. 

2-4 cups of broth, 1 carton + water and 1 knorrs boullion cube 

Your Fav veg - this is my list of favs: 

pea pods 

tiny broccoli florets 

thinly sliced carrots

bell peppers

green onion 

mushrooms 

celery 

baby bok choy 

optional: frozen Costco dumplings & cellophane noodles.  These yummies add calories and I leave them out when I want to cut back and eat super healthy.  I used them as enticements to lure fussy eaters into consuming my good for you veg.

In a large pot, put in the whole leftover chicken, bones and all and heat the broth to boiling.  We want to get the flavor from the bones into the broth even though the meat is already cooked and doesn't need additional cooking. Reduce heat to low and simmer for up to an hour or so.  While the broth is simmering I do the cutting up and preparing of all the different veg.

Remove the carcass from the pot and let it cool.  Sometimes I pop it in the fridge or freezer until it cools enough to touch so I can remove all the bits of meat, chopping into bite sized pieces.  

When all the veg and meat is chopped and ready it's time to assemble the soup, cooking each part in stages.

First drop in dumplings minding the time they need to cook thoroughly, 

drop in cellophane noodles that need 2-4 mins to cook.

Next drop in pea pods, tiny broccoli florets and sliced carrot that need 3 mins to cook. 

Lastly drop in green onion, mushrooms, celery, baby bok choy & cooked cut up chicken that needs only 1 min to cook 

~enjoy

My Thrifty Finds:

One morning I found this lovely orange juice carafe at my Favorite Goodwill for $2. 

The next day I spied a matching juice glass priced $1 at another Goodwill in the next town over.  

Both perfectly match the one I already had.

The bright colors remind me of warmer weather so I decided to display them on my kitchen window shelves with some of my other glassware.

I'm always on the lookout for old and beautiful books.

There are certain favorite authors that I will always want to buy, classic writers like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, etc that I will snatch up, as well as contemporary popular writers like Agatha Christie, Stephen King, David Sedaris & Dean Koontz to name a few.

What a find these gems were!  

Isn't the Jane Austen a beautiful book?  All were less than $2 found at Goodwill.

I should've snapped a photo of the H.G.Wells book with the tattered cover off.  It was published in the 1950's. I've displayed all of them prominently on my hall bookshelves.  Seeing them when I pass by makes me smile, especially the Jane Austen and H. G. Wells which are particularly noticeable.

What we've been drinking:

Did you get a Shamrock shake from McDonald's, yet?  We like to have one in the spring time with a couple of those grilled onion cheeseburgers from the Dollar Menu.  Ideally, it makes for a fun picnic to nibble and sip among the daffodils celebrating spring.  We like to get the traditional vanilla mint shake that tastes like  mint chocolate chip ice cream with out the chocolate chips.  You can ask for chocolate sauce or drizzle when you order your shamrock shake but I like the tradition plain.

Another yummy treat we had was Starbuck's new Tiramisu flavored drinks. I had earned another free reward. {I'm a gold card member!}  So we ordered a massive venti sized Tiramisu frappuccino for FREE and a chocolate caramel muffin to go with it, then had a nice chat about the upcoming Anime conventions and costumes Emily is dreaming about creating.

Want to learn more about Starbuck's Free Rewards?

Hope you had a fun week, too!
Happy Spring!

What's Blooming in My Garden

Now that the weather has warmed up and my garden has begun to grow it is a busy time transplanting and taking care of it.  It's satisfying work and flowers make me happy!

After the daffodils are finished the azaleas and dogwood take center stage

Roses and Irises are have been in bloom for the last few weeks

Emily attended the homeschool prom and we took a few photos in our garden before she was off to dance the night away.  She looked so pretty and my garden did too!

This pretty pink azalea is almost as tall as Emily

Here's a close up of her prom hairstyle. She did the braids and pinning all by herself!  Isn't she clever? 

 I spied this sweet clever dove in her nest which she has made in the branches of the climbing rose

This photo shows how massive that climbing rose is.  It's scent is quite wonderful!

Another pretty heirloom climbing rose that grows in my garden is the Zephirine Drouhin pictured here.  It's very fragrant,  thornless and can handle some shade.  I grow a few different types of clematis on this trellis as well as morning glory and moonflowers which will bloom later.  That's a Nelly Moser Clematis with a few blooms nestled in the rose. 

Peonies and daylilies are the next lovely flowers that will be blooming in my garden.  

So watch out for my next garden post soon.

xo,

Michelle