getting some love from traci66

traci66 just gave me the versatile blooger award!

i love awards-they are almost like birthday presents.

and i love birthday presents!

thanks traci66! i love it and it fits prefectly!

here are the rules for this award:

1. thank the person who gave you this award
2. share 7 things about yourself
3. pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
4. contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

ok-seven things you dont already know about me...
1. the first 'real' play i was in was a musical. i actually had a solo. im not afraid to sing in public, but lets just say dogs cry when i sing. sad. the director forgot to audition my voice (i assume because she was blown away with my acting ability). they cut my solo but i kept the part as 'the weeble who wobbled and fell down'.
2. my first concert was olivia newton john in the lets get physical tour. yup-im that old. i went with my best friend nicole and her parents.
3. the first concert i took my niece britney to was the monkees. i love the monkees and when she was 3 i started her liking them. when she was 7 i took her to a concert that i scored free tickets for and we had a BLAST!
4. the first time i went to the race track in new jersey was with my nana. she told me to lie and say i was 14. i was only 12. either way, why? it is the most boring thing ever.
5. the first car i had was a 1980 amc eagle station wagon. it was an amazingly strong car.
6. the first movie i saw in a theatre (that i remember) was a herbie movie.
7. the first credit card i had was from the bon ton in york pa. it isnt around anymore. quite possibility because i wasnt there to spend money at their store.

15 blogs that i adore...
1. the answer is chocolate
2. sweep tight
3. savings obsession
4. creatins by la dee da
5. kreative knack
6. gluesticks 
7. frugal follies
8. crazy domestic
9. consider my monkeys
10. adventures in dress making
11. a pretty cool life
12. holiday haven
13. thrifted treasure
14.thrifty and chic decor
15.under the table and dreaming

how gorilla glue ruined my 4th of july

i had all these paint stick from left over painting projects and thought i could make something really cool and red white and blue.
i was wrong.
but only once.
well, maybe twice.
i had all these sticks, thinking they would be the same size. nope-the home depot ones are much thicker than the walmart ones.

i can work with that.
i masked off the bottom 1/3 of all the sticks, painting half red and half white. after they were dry, i remasked and painted the balance blue.
so far so good.

untill...

i lined them all up and the didnt match up.

i can still work with this people!


then i gorilla glued them and placed my sewing machine on top while it dried.

well it seems that gorilla glue SWELLS when it drys. and it made a swell mess all over.

even after scraping it looked like poo-

thankfully i have more sticks because until the gorilla glue expanded, this was looking like a cute little holiday project!

when i redo this project, i will post photos.

 im linking to women who do it all

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guess who thinks i have cute legs?

well, they probaby like the tunic too.
brambleberry cottage  featured me in my sweet little tunic (which now i cant wear because it has been unbareable HOT).
thanks

guess who likes pasta salad?

janie j. and co that is who!

today she featured this amazing artichoke pasta salad on her blog!

thanks lanie!

A trip to the moon on gossamer wings...

(i love cole porter)

ok, so these wings might not be as delicate as gossamer wings, but this was one sweet deal! when i found her at d.i. (a chain of local thrift stores here in utah), she still had the original tags on-$30!

h-no is what i say!

i paid $4.

i tried to get a good photo, but couldnt. the bottom comes off and you can stick a candle in there! wont that be cool?

and she is actually heaver than she looks.

thankfully, i work out (kissing my bicepts now).

of course that green would NEVER do, so i took a can of spray paint to it and...

i dont think she wil stay here on the back porch, but i wanted to get her out somewhere!

i have substance? really?

first i want to say that i love going jane. we are WORLDS apart on so many things...

she loves the rodeo, ive never been.

she pretty much lives on a farm, my house just smells like one.

she has a beautiful garden, im slowly killing all plants. even ones not in my yard.

BUT...

here is where we are bonding...

her kids are jedis. she has even had repair a lightsaber. which should give her some kind of rank in the jedi academy, dont you think?

jane gave me the blogger with substance award!

now that is somthing my high school english teacher never would have expected!

(well, al gore hadnt invented the internet back then)

so part of accepting this award, other than THANKING GOING JANE is to answer this deep question...

my blogging philosophy, motivation, & experience in 5 words:

nap, eat, craft, spend, eat

now i get to hand this off to 10 of my blogging friends...

life in the pitts

the country chic cottage

30 days

shorties funny farm

redberry barn

33 shades of green

aly&ash

be thou a knight

brown paper packages

a little junk in my trunk

so a big thanks to jane, and a huge thanks to all the above blogs who inspire me to try harder.

oh-and thank YOU who read my blog. it really makes my day better knowing you are there.

xoxoxba

i got crabs!

well,  maybe not those kind of crabs!

and, actually here in utah, i dont even know if there are crabs...(although, i have met quite a few crabby people)

but here is my familys way of making them fresh from the ocean.

1 dozen fresh crabs (we always used blue crabs)

3 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup salt

gravy

wash the crabs, being careful not to let them grab you! place half of them in a pot WITH A VERY TIGHT FITTING LID. pour water,  white vinegar and salt over the top. fit as many crabs as you can. steam them (and no, they dont scream) for about 20-30 minutes. throw the cooked crabs into the gravy for about 15 minutes (it will flavor the gravy). and eat!

we always had these with pasta.
and lots of napkins.

image from press of atlantic city

i might need to get a fancy dress...

in the past week i have been honored by 2 fantastic bloggers with awards!

one was from keen inspirations

i have to say i LOVE sharon and think it is so awesome that she gave me this !

then from good on summer, i received this

like i said-im gonna need a fancy dress to accept all these awards!

and maybe a maid, a gardener, a chef...

now for both awards, i need to pass this onto other blogs that i love. and with beautiful blogger, i need to tell 7 things about me.

so my double award goes to...

sumos sweet stuff

women who do it all

popping out one letter at a time

view from the shoe

traci66

motherlode

priesters piece

sugar bee

the how to gal

tinas place

now for 7 things about me...

1.im going to our churches girls camp in a few weeks. im not happy about not showering for 5 days.

2.i love love love reading and can read super fast AND remember what i read. it drives my husband nuts.

3. i have 2 boys and i like it that way. no-we arent going to keep trying until we have a girl.

4. i brought up to believe that if you werent italian, that was sad. i kninda still believe that.

5. im the oldest child, but the shortest at 5'6". my one brother is 6'6" and the other 6'.

6. im not an animal lover. not a HATER, i just dont want pets. we do go to the zoo, so i hope that counts for something.

7. im going toa church girls camp in a few weeks and im still not happy about not showering for 5 days.

rapunzel rapunzel let down your golden hair...

and watch out for the y wing fighter coming in to distroy your castle!

yup, that is how we roll at this house.
by nathan, age 6

so many issues, so little money...

back when i first moved to utah, i sold shoes at now defunct zcmi. i was an awesome sales person-ranking in the top 10 for the nation. (the shoes department was leased out, kinda like the makeup departments. so there were alot of people i was up against)

i got an addiction to shoes.

huge addiction.

like over 100 pairs of shoes.

none of the cheap payless ones.

now that im married with kids and living in the real world, i cant feed my addiction as much as id like.

but when i find a shoe at savers with the sole that looks like this...

and the vamp that looks like this...

how can you seriously not expect me to walk away from them when they fit?

and at $6.99 (minus the 30% donation discount), they did.

(and yes, i know what  you are saying...'ba, you missed  your calling! you should have been a foot model!'. i agree! i think that all the time)

easy peasey summer dish!

we had a beachouse on 40th south st on brigantine island growing up. well, not 'we' as in my family. 'we' as in my grandparents. it was built in 1958, small, had no ac or washing machine. but it is where we spent the summer every year.

a few years back i found this old postcard from 'the sandpiper motel' on ebay and snagged it up (it was right down on 51st). i love the the lady in the blue bikini on the left hand photo has a scarf or plastic hat tied around her head!

our food at the beachouse was  always simple, but delicious! and if possible, made earlier in the day before the heat creeped up. here is a receipe that i love to make in the morning, let cool and eat cold for dinner.

ricotta pie

(aka torta rustica)

pie crust (you can make your own, but getting one from smiths in the cold section will work. trust me) top and bottom layers.

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup grated pecorino

1 lb ricotta, drained (never get anything but full fat. the skim isnt ever as good!)

1 cup salami (or ham if your kids complain that it is too spicey. im raising wussies), cut into 1/2" cubes

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 t ground pepper

2 T chopped parsley

preheat your oven to 400.

in large bowl, mix all the filling ingredients EXCEPT 1T of the egg and 1T of the pecorino cheese.  line a large pie plate with the crust, allowing for a 1" overhang. put filling in and put the 'lid' on the pie. seal top and bottom layers and cut slits for venting. brush the egg on the top and sprinkle the cheese evenly.

bake for 10 minutes, then REDUCE THE HEAT TO 350 (leave the pie in) and bake for another hour.

serve hot or cold (i perfer cold inthe summer) with some gravy on the side.

oh-a little ps for all of you! bradley cooper's grandparents lived on the island! sad-i cant say that i knew him way back then.

party party party!

so there is this cute blog called...

brambleberry cottage

and right now, it is my new favorite. why? because they featured my baseball treat bags!

finally-yard sales!

i dont think we have good yard sales in my neighborhood. maybe because we are a new-ish neighborhood. maybe it is because we have had crap for weather for most of this spring and summer. but this saturday changed my attitude.

***************************************

i dropped my kids off at a church activity and was planning on going to smiths for a few things then head home and wait for them to finish.

and then i saw them...

yard sale signs.

the arrows made finding them so easy (im TERRIBLE at directions!).

the tables were in the front yards (i hate doing too much exercising).

and i had some cash on me. (dont tell the husband!)

the first place had these beauties just sitting there without tags. when i asked the lady, she said 'oh, those are just my mom's. how about 50 cents each?'

they didnt leave my arms.

the next one i found (on the same street, making it very easy for me not to get lost!), had these blocks just sitting out, again without a tag-but still in the store plastic. a cute little 10 year old girl saw me and said 'i will ask my mom how much that is if you want it.'

again 50 cents.

i should have played the lottery today.the last, but not least garage sale had a million dollars worth of stampin up and other craft stuff. i ended up spending $2.40 cents on all this! the lady said she never used the tag maker, so she couldnt even show me what it does (oh, dont worry-I KNOW!) and all the metal brackets for tags were brand spankin new! i dont scrapbook much anymore, but i do paper craft. and i love love love tags. the washer things i might make into necklaces. i dont know, but for 10 cents, i dont care.

so there you have it, $4.40 cents made me the happiest mom ever!

(well, that and when i picked up my kids they had some swedish fish for me!)

should i red, white and blue the stars?
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