Summer Lovin....:)

So here's where I've been, and where I'll be for the rest of this beautiful week. And yes, those are my actual feet:) with the same toe rings I've been wearing for over 15 years. Yeah I know, I don't change much:) anyway, I just thought I'd share with you a few of my fav things so far this summer:)

Hemp Hearts:) My friend Jill at Nature's Finest in Mesa told me about these. And they're fab:) It's a really good natural source of protein. Just 5 Tbsp. sprinkled on your yogurt for breakfast, or I like to make a smoothie for breaky with fruit and almond yogurt and the hemp hearts replace the oatmeal I used to throw in:) yummy and especially good for you:) since stupid blogger is once again not letting me link- here's the info old school. nahanniriverherbs.com check it out:)

The Dana Point farmer's market- when I'm here, this is where I go to get the best in fruit and veggie goodness:) this trips bounty- including mango nectarines. Yes, as yummy as they sound:)

And my new fav shirt:) so soft, so comfy. It's Roxy:)

Just finished reading this- The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. It was really good, like read it in 2 days good:)

Starting this book- A Young Wife by Pam Lewis. I bought if for the cover of course! Same way I pick my wine:) anyway I'm only on chapter 2 but it's good so far?

Oh and yes, this room. Sometimes when I'm bored I like to look at hideous real estate pictures. It's astonishing how some people let their houses be photographed! I mean, aren't they trying to sell their places. Anyway, I came across this pic and I thought- hmmm not so bad. Okay, yes it's a little Kermit, but compared to the barking coyotes, white washed oak and "southwest" crap that I usually see- it's totally workable. Take down that sin of a ceiling fan, throw out the sheers, and paint that panelling white- and voila! A space I could work with:)

Just some of what's been going on in my silly little world while enjoying a beautiful sunny 76 degrees:)

So what are your summer mindless whatnots?

The Deets... :)

So, last week sweet Julia from Hooked on Houses did a little feature about my bungalow's before and after:) I got the nicest comments! ....and a few not so nice:( Whatev. My inbox was full of questions about some of the details in my house, so here ya go!

1. Paint colors: My current fav green color is Sherwin Williams- SW 7733 Bamboo Shoot. I used this color on my kitchen cabinets and the walls in my hall bath. This sample pic makes it look brown, but as you can see in pics of my kitchen- it's a happy green:)

Martha Stewart- Mossy Rock MSL103. I used this spectacular green in my master bedroom that I posted about last week. It's both warm and cheerful at the same time:)

Benjamin Moore- AF 95 Hush. The best tanish, brownish color. This is what I used for my entire interior sans the hall bath. It's the perfect calm, beachy brown color:) and it looks fab against bright white trim:)

2. The lights- I get asked about these silly lights all.the.time!! They're from Pottery Barn, the Exeter 5 jar pendant.

And NOW they have this!! Dernit!! I hate when that happens!!

3. The master bath vanity- I purchased this piece from FOUND. My sweet friend Kristin's fab store that I ALWAYS talk about. Ok, the crappy pic doesn't show how cool this thing is. (and since blogger is being dumb and won't let me link- foundbydomesticbliss.blogspot.com is where to find her:)

Anyway, the hubby took off the top and added it to the back to make it deeper so we could put a slab of beautiful carrera marble on top for our master vanity:)

4. The $hower curtain- or curtain'$. Yeah I had to buy 2 for that $tinkin tub! Anthropologie. Ye$. Enough $aid. Lot$ of dollar$. But I only have one tub? Right??? (and there's the bamboo shoot green color)

5. My headboard- I found this at Urban Outfitters believe it or not. It's the velvet tufted headboard. You can order it online at urbanoutfitters.com. And at $349.00? I think it's a pretty good bang for your buck!

6. And those glass jars- I found them at Tuesday Morning about 3 years ago. They're so cute, but I could only find the sugar, coffee and tea. Never found the flour:( Since the words are written in French, (yet another language I took in high school and never quite paid much attention too, I can however sing frere jacques pretty good because that's how we earned extra credit and I do have the most adorable Frenchie ever...) I just choose to ignore what is written and pretend it says Flour, Sugar and Oatmeal:)

A big Thank you for spending some Tuesday time with me, your comments and emails always make me smile:)

Is that an accent...?

So this is the way the master bedroom looked up until Saturday. When we were building nearly a year ago now, we had the enormous challenge of putting air conditioning in an almost 100 year old house. This resulted in this "pop out" around the window. Hey, I didn't care. This is AZ for heaven sakes!! And the hubby LOVES him some cold air:) But that pop out business completely changed where I thought the bed should go. See, I had originally planned on the bed being on the wall to the right, but thought it might be too squished feeling. So I did what I would NEVER normally do, and put the bed under the window. Aaaaand it always bugged me!! Not to mention that the hubby was done with nightmares of that chanda crushing his scull in the middle of the night!

So Saturday morn I moved it. To the place it should have always been:) and said goodbye to the chandelier:(

Aaaaah! Soo much better!! But....blaaaah!!!! Ugh!! BORING!!!! No color. No personality. No nothing!!

So I grabbed that fab green velvet pillow from my bed, and high tailed it to Home Depot and picked me some paint. Martha Stewart's Mossy Rock to be exact:)

Now another thing I wouldn't normally do is the "accent" wall. Nope. Never.

But here I just thought it worked:)

I always say, "paint is the cheapest, easiest fix it!" Sooo glad I listen to myself:)

White trash...:)

Since moving into our home sweet home, I've hosted many a get together. I love, love, love having family and friends over:) but without fail, I always forget about one detail- the trash. The hubby always wheels out this p.o.s to my horror. EVERYTIME I say to myself, " I have got to get a better trash can!!"
And finally I did! I love the old "Oscar the grouch" look! I found mine at Home Depot for $22.98.

The hubby gave her a little sanding (while trying to ignore little bully and his relentless need to play ball) and prepped her for paint.

It took 2 cans, but maybe if you use a darker color you could get away with 1.

And here she is- all crispy white. But the black bag? HIDEOUS!! Dear garbage bag people, not all large bags have to be BLACK!! Ugh!

And it never fails that the bag ends up half in the can from the weight of the trash:(

So I got to thinkin... and I came up with this. A garbage bag scrunchie! And let me warn you, I DO NOT know how to sew. I know only the verrrry basics. I'm a figure it out kind of gal. I paid absolutely no attention in home ec:( I think I was so distracted by my teacher who wore bright red lip liner with pink frosted lipstick. NOT a good look I tell ya! Anyway... I took a scrap piece of fabric and cut it about 4-5" wide and double the length of the around of the trash can. Ugh! Sorry, I'm the worst at directions! I used a 1 1/2" piece of elastic and cut it to a little over half the around of the trash can. And then just sewed it together to make a big scrunchie:)

Then I took a large tag and sewed some ribbon around the edge for cuteness. I just scrunched it up as I went creating the ruffle:)

And here she is- with her scrunchie. It holds the bag secure and hides the ugly black edge:)

The finished product! Soooo much cuter doncha think?!

A close up of the tag:)

I made a recycle tag too, cause if your parties are at all like mine- this one will end up more full;)

One morning I was emptying my trash from the night before and cringing at the sound that all the bottles were making so early in the morning, and then I laughed remembering how my neighbor said that when she hears that sound she thinks -it must have been a good one!!

**I'm linking up to these sweet parties!

A bowl full of lemons

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Savvy Southern Style-wow us Wednesday

Crrrrazy Cucumbers!!

It's stinkin hot here in the ole AZ, and the thought of doing any cooking outside of grilling or boiling water makes me sweat:( This time of year is when I only want to eat something light, cold, and refreshing:) Weeell, my hubby's garden has been growing like crazy!! My fridge was being taken over by cucumbers!! What to do with sooo many?? Make cucumber salad of course!! Every time the hubby and I go to Kabuki for sushi, I get their cucumber salad. It's fab:) and COLD, Sooo I thought I'd try making it at home.
All it took was:
Cucumbers- peeled, seeded, and julienned
1 oz. Tobiko ( those yummy flying fish eggs)

And for the dressing: This is where I'm the worst! I don't measure anything, just do it to taste. I guess like making a vinaigrette? I used mostly Ponzu, a splash of both sesame oil and rice vinegar, a spoonful of white sugar, pepper and I sprinkled the sesame seeds.

Poured it over the cucumbers,

Then topped it with the Tobiko:) **I got my Tobiko at AJ's at the sushi bar:) and yes, a little pricey, but sooo delish!!

Yummy yummy yummy!!

Then I moved on to dinner. Where I was hoping to use the other 7000 lbs. of cucumbers:) Enter- Trader Joe's rice sticks. You can get them in the pasta section, and this yummy recipe is on the back:)

2 c. Romaine lettuce, shredded
1 1/2 c. cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned

1/2 c. mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 c. basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 c. cooked meat ( I used shrimp)

** I added bean sprouts too:)

Oh and look at this sweet little baby that was living in my mint! Now that's organic!! :)

Put all your chopped ingredients and cooked meat in a bowl, and pour hot noodles on top. The heat from the noodles wilts the greens perfectly:)

I took some soy sauce, sesame oil, red chili pepper flakes and honey (again, no measuring-all to taste) and poured the mixture over the top and tossed it all together:)

And can I just say, do NOT omit the mint or the basil! The combination of the two gives the best flavor:)

And there you have it. A yummy, refreshing and speedy dinner:) and most importantly? All done with one pot of boiling water:)