The Wacky Weather Made Me Do It

So, I haven't sat down to write a post all week. I've been meaning to, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. All week, the weather has switched from torrential downpours, crackling electrical storms and bright sunny days. It was tricky planning out my projects, with the weather so out of sorts. On top of that, I somehow managed to injure my ankle and I had to take it easy and keep my ankle elevated. This left me sitting at my desk, watching endless youtube videos from SUPERFRUIT, a smattering of drag queen makeup tutorials (gives so much insight and perspective) and binging on the ABCFamily show Chasing Life on Netflix.



I had a few delightful moments when I sat in the sun with a great friend, sipping cold cider and soaking up the sun. Surrounding my neighborhood are lilacs in bloom. Whenever I step outside, I am swept up by the intoxicating perfume and it is terribly calming.

Today, was another hot day. I'd like to work on repairing a quilt, but it's too hot. I want to organize my work space, but again- too hot. I did manage to learn how to mow the lawn today. I'm on the fence on how I feel about that.

In an effort to complete some tasks, I am at my desk, listening to a bad boy band song list that I created on Spotify, with my ear bud in, and hoping to stay focused. I'm not sure if the black coffee is helping, but I like it nonetheless.

So, about this song list, some of the music is sugary sweet, while other songs are really dirty and yet the background music all sounds very similar...the 90's were amazing for that. The temperature is cooling down and with any luck I'll complete my tasks in time to steady my mind and indulge in some Orphan Black; which by the way, RIPPED OUT MY HEART last Saturday night, sigh. Thank goodness it's just a tv show, but you really do get attached to some characters. Such is life.

This coming week will be filled with a boat load of projects, rain or shine. If it gets too hot, I'll turn on a fan..... that's how I roll! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

A Relaxing Memorial Day Weekend

It is a three day weekend here. I thought that I would thoroughly enjoy the moment. On Friday, I made biscuits, using the recipe on the back of the Bakewell Creme tin. This recipe makes huge biscuits and I only need a few for dinner. The rest were dedicated to homemade strawberry shortcake. I adore strawberry shortcake, the fresh strawberries and the sweet juice that is produced when you combine strawberries and sugar is pure magic. Strawberries piled on top of a biscuit with a huge mound of whipped cream, it's simply fabulous. This delight was pure bliss. I was riding on a high, and then I watched Orphan Black and I received a swift kick in the gut. Sigh.

Fortunately, this morning was bright and sunny. It was much warmer than yesterday, but with a slight breeze to keep things comfortable. So, I took Fred to the lake to play in the grass.

Then, Fred decided to take a little dip in the water. I can't believe how clear the water is now. It was a much murkier lake when I was a little girl. Now, it is beautiful and filled with life.

Still, no sign of the loon. Since it is the start of the summer season, the lake was very active today, I'm certain the loon was hiding on the other side... avoiding the boats.

In the afternoon, I set out to work in the garden. It is tilling time, so I was clearing the excessive debris that resurfaces after a run-through. The air smelled of honeysuckle and apple blossom; the fragrance would have made "Anne Shirley" swoon.

Spread throughout the yard are wild strawberry blossoms and these little blue flowers, I positively love wildflowers!
Now, I'm home after working in the garden, running errands and doing a bit of rose rescue (the indoor miniature rose was looking unwell) I now have on my lounge pants and a there's mug of coffee at my desk. I am done for the day. I still have some writing to do. I'd like to tidy up a little corner in my room and I'd really like to enjoy a pedicure. The night is still young, so I'll see how it all works out. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the parade, then visit family and I will not do any yard work. It will be a very, very relaxing, but reflective time. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

The Evasive Loon Of The Lake and Wild Violets

Today was another fantastic day full of sunshine. Fred was eager to go for a mid-morning walk, and I was happy to oblige him. I took him the the lakefront and the loon was there, I didn't expect to see the loon, so I made the mistake of speaking to Fred. Then, I saw the loon get into the water and drift away. Before I had a chance to turn on my camera, the loon went under water. It is amazing how long they can go under and when they do come up, they are much farther away. I had the opportunity to get a great shot and missed it.

I tried to get a few more shots of the loon, but you can hardly see it in these photos. Hopefully, I can go back tomorrow, with camera ready and happen upon the loon again. Maybe, if I stay nice and quiet, I won't disturb it and then I can get some nice images. I'll try to go before breakfast, before all of the traffic and noise.

This afternoon, I was in the backyard, inspecting the garden. It appears that the irises with soon be appearing, the herbs are coming along and I have wild violets growing under my maple tree. This was totally unexpected; a first that I can recall. While I was taking photos of the flowers, I could hear a squirrel chattering away in the maple tree, above me. I guess the squirrel doesn't want me messing with "his" garden.
It is such a relief to finally be able to enjoy some nice weather. I was happy that we had a few days of rain, it was good for the garden. It gave me the chance to binge on Netflix. I wanted to watch some more episodes from season 3 of Moone Boy on hulu.com. Unfortunately, the rest of the season is only available on hulu plus. I'm pretty darn perturbed about that. All of the other seasons are available for free. I had hulu plus and I didn't like it. So, I'm going to wait for the season to be picked up by PBS. To quote Martin Moone, "BALLS!" That is all. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Taking It Easy On A Rainy Day

I took this photo when I was out on a walk with Fred, the other day, That was very warm and it was bright and sunny. I certainly could not resist a lovely stroll with my canine companion. The fresh air and sunshine was good for the soul.

As hot as it was on that day, I needed chocolate chip cookies. I just had to have them. So, I pulled out the trust Betty Crocker cookbook and baked that best cookies ever. I grew up with this cookbook and I use it for practically everything. This cookbook was my home textbook from which I studied numerous recipes , starting at the age of 8, and it never has failed me. These cookies are so delicious and comforting to eat.

Today is a different story, It is slightly cold, damp and rainy. I am sleep deprived, because I stayed up way too late listening to old Boyzone and Girls Aloud songs (it was one of those days), and my dog likes to get up at sunrise. I am at my desk with a big mug of hot cocoa with whipped cream and Steven & Chris is on in the background. I know that I should keep working on a sewing project, but I've decided to work on that a little at a time. Plus, I have a big bucket of Wet n' Wild nail polish on my desk, inches from my face and it is very distracting.

I've been working on making curtains for my Dad. He needed curtains for his "man cave" and I already had this fabric on hand. These are really simple panels that I am going to attach to a rod with ring-clips. I decided to work on it a little at a time so that I wouldn't get bored with it. Recently, I have been inspired by so many things and I have so many ideas for projects, that I have to write everything down to keep track of it all. Then, when I visit Pinterest, it is even worse, the site has so many resources for inspiration. With all of this whirling in the head, it is hard to focus. I do hope that I am able to get more of things that I want to do, soon, I have a big pile of jeans that I will be repurposing for a number of crafts, very soon. So, keep an eye out for that, there should be posts on those projects in June. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Loving The Wet n' Wild Limited Edition Coloricon Blush & Glow Trio

On occasion, I will share some of my favorite makeup, old and new. I am not sponsored to do so, in this instance, I bought these materials myself. Many of my girlfriends like makeup, but lack to time to research makeup products. This is when I come in  handy. I am always excited to share my enthusiasm and opinions on products. So, when I saw other bloggers raving about these limited edition face trios from Wet n' Wild, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. I purchased mine at Rite Aid for $3.99.

I've been using the Wet n' Wild Coloricon bronzers for a while, now. They are huge, the size of my palm. I have them in (739) Ticket to Brazil and (743A) Reserve Your Cabana. Ticket to Brazil is the perfect bronzer shade for my skin tone, it isn't too orange, nor is it shimmery. Reserve Your Cabana is hardly a bronzer, I use it as a highlight and it is beautiful. These are long lasting and blend beautifully. My favorite part about these bronzers is the smell. When you open them, they smell like suntan lotion, it is so dreamy. These are wonderful on dreary January days, the smell of these take me away to a tropical island, for a few moments. The only downside to these is the size- great when you want a lot of product, a pain when you want to travel. These take up so much space in your makeup bag. This is another reason why I wanted to try the Blush & Glow Trio; I thought that it would be handy to have blush, highlighter and bronzer all in one container. I already have the elf Contouring Blush and Bronzer, which is great for travel, but the bronzer is a better eye shadow on me, than a bronzer.

I wanted to compare the bronzer and highlighter from the Blush & Glow Trio to the bronzers that I already had. On the left is a swatch for Reserve Your Cabana. On the right is a swatch from Blush & Glow Trio in Fair Trade Coffee. Reserve Your Cabana is a more vanilla almond shade, whereas the highlighter from F.T.C. is more of a champagne pearl. The highlighter in the Trio is beautiful, very shimmery; it reminds me of a Revlon  powder highlighter that I had back in 2000. Used with a light hand, it would make a very pretty highlighter and it could also be used on the lids for a pretty shadow.

Here, I swatched the bronzers. The swatch on the left is from Ticket to Brazil, the swatch on the right is from the trio Fair Trade Coffee. They are very similar, I really have a hard time telling them apart. It is a nice, warm bronzer; perfect for a summer glow.

I also swatched the blush. This is a very bubblegum pink blush. It may seem like it is too pink for a cheek color, but used lightly, it is very pretty. These powders are very smooth and have little fall out.
The only disappointing part about this trio is that they don't smell like the Coloricon Bronzers- no dreamy suntan lotion. That is not a huge loss, these will be great for travel. I have no regrets.

The Blush & Glow Trios come in three shades- Sunset Junction, Solar Powered and Fair Trade Coffee. I chose Fair Trade Coffee, because it was cooler than the other trios. All of the trios look lovely and each are unique. You could get all three for very little money. For $3.99 these are very much worth the price. However, they are limited edition. So, if you want these, you should try to snag them before they are gone. I have found, from previous experience, that the limited edition lines are removed from the shelves at the end of the season. When the summer time approaches, these might already be gone. Then, you can't find them and it's a bummer. I've seen these at drugstores, and they are likely sold wherever you find Wet n'Wild products. I saw the limited edition eye shadows at Kmart, drugstores, and Christmas Tree Shop. So, if you can't find them in one store, there are other alternatives to seek these out. Good Luck! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Enjoying The Outdoors On a Beautiful Sunny Day

My day began bright and early, at 6:30 am, with the sun shining through my curtains. Fred was very eager to start his day. After our morning ritual, some black coffee and breakfast, I agreed to go play outside. Yesterday, I noticed the lovely dandelions spreading across the yard. Ordinarily, I am not so excited by these weeds, I'd rather have buttercups. However, after such a long winter, the sight of bright yellow dandelions is a delight, This morning, a bumble bee was hovering from weed to weed.

I took Fred for a walk, he was very keen to explore the neighborhood. We went to the boat docks at the lake and we spotted a loon swimming nearby.

Fred was very curious about the loon, and a bit nervous about it, too. I am very excited to see her back.

This is how clear the water is, now. I love taking photos of rocks underwater, it allows you to see their true colors. Being that I am a bit of a geology nerd, rocks make me happy.

Next to the lake is a dam that is between the lake and the river. If you look closely, all of those squiggles are fish. There is also a ladder which allows the fish to safely swim into the lake. There are so many fish there! Fred was not impressed, he wanted to keep walking, so I had to stop taking photos are continue on with the adventure.

Later, I went to a neighborhood yard sale. My besties sister hosts a large yard sale each Spring and I think she has a few over the summer. This is the first yard sale of the season. Between now and leaf peeping season, the area will be filled with weekend yard sales. I love going to these, because you never know what treasures you'll find. In the photo above is a tin collection. I have a thing about decorative tins. I almost went home with a Harrod's tea tin. I might have to go back for it tomorrow, if it's still there. I was searching for a container to house my NYC lipstick collection for my desktop. I keep most of my lipstick in a Godiva chocolate box. I like to keep the NYC lipstick on my desk, because that is the lipstick that I wear most often. My desk doubles as my vanity (temporarily). Alas, I failed to find what I was looking for. After the yard sale, I visited my friendly local thrift shop and found just what I needed

I finished the day with a little garden work, with Fred looking on. I planted some strawberry plants in a hanging pot and I placed the crocus along with all of the other bulbs. This garden is going to be amazing this year! Now that the day is done, I think I'll eat something chocolatey and watch izombie. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be more domestic. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

A Cozy Mug Of Hot Cocoa On A Rainy Afternoon

This past Saturday, one of the neighborhood churches was having a rummage sale. This happens twice a year, usually in April and October. This year they ran their Spring rummage sale a month later than normal. I have been going to this event every year since I was in high school. Back when I was a teenager, my dear friend and I would go in the Spring to find clothes to re-fashion into grunge gear. It was the late 1990's and that was the style. My mother was never bothered with me hacking away at second hand clothing. We had a lot of fun with the shopping, too. Sometimes, we would find some really wacky numbers and a vintage find was always a treat. We'd also go to the rummage sale in October, but our mission then was to find the perfect Halloween costume, or at least the perfect pieces to make into a costume. One year, I found an adorable 1960's (early 60's) party gown. It was lavender chiffon with layers of tulle. It might have been a bridesmaid dress or a prom gown. I used it for a corpse/ zombie beauty queen costume, pouring fake blood all over it. I felt a it guilty for destroying someones gown. However, I still have that gown in my costume chest. It did not go to waste.

This year, I went in the hope of finding materials to use for crafts. Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck. The way the clothes were set out was slightly different from other years. I felt rather cramped in there. There were a lot of people there, which is wonderful for the church, but for me that can be bothersome. So, once I got what I wanted, I didn't spend too much time digging for treasures. I did find a nice wool J. Crew sweater. The sweater will be a cozy treat in the Fall. I also found a t-shirt that I can wear with the yellow skirt that I made last month. I found a copy of "A Color Of His Own" by Leo Lionni; I like to keep children's books on hand for when my nephews visit. I read the story to Fred and we both agreed that it is a very sweet story, with a good message. I got a pocket size book about insects; which will be great for nature journaling. The illustrations inside are bright, colorful and detailed. Lastly, I find the best bit of all... a copy of "Watership Down" by Richard Adams. I was looking through the pile of books, searching for a copy of "Miss Rumphius" by Barbara Cooney. It is one of my favorite childhood picture books.Whenever I go to a thrift store, rummage sale or yard sale I always look for copies. I could buy a new copy, but it's not the same. When I glanced over the pile and spotted the bunny on the cover, I knew immediately what I saw and grabbed it. A few weeks ago, I searched for copies of this book online. I paid 25 cents for this copy.  This will be a fun summer read. My total for all purchases was $1.75.

The maple tree is starting to grow leaves!

The rest of the weekend was sunny and warm. It was lovely, especially yesterday. I don't think we could have asked for better weather for Mother's Day. My sisters and my nephews came and we celebrated mothers day with my parents. We had a barbecue, I baked oatmeal cream pies and an amazing North Carolina Lemon pie. That pie was delicious and it was so easy to make. You can find many recipes for the pie on Pinterest. If you find my board, Patisserie, under Ladytoesocks, you can find the recipe there, too.

Today it is cold and raining. I don't mind the rain. though. We really needed to get some rain for the garden. So many lupines are growing, my peony has gotten bigger this year,  The baby rhododendron has so many beautiful flowers already. I can't wait to see how it will look in a few years time. The rain appears to have helped the herb garden, too. I can see some of the oregano sprouting little leaves. I have yet to see growth from the rosemary and the thyme, but those take longer anyway. Last week, I spread all kind of wildflowers seeds in the garden. With any luck, this summer's garden will be lush with flowers. This will be good for the bees and a great source of material for my nature journal.

 Now, I am tucked snugly inside, away from the rain and the cold. I am cozying up with a large mug of hot cocoa, topped with homemade whipped cream and delicious butterscotch caramel fudge sauce. The raindrops outside my window sound soothing. Even though it is nasty outside, it is fabulous at my desk; it's a great afternoon.
Finally, I found the quilt project that I began working on last summer. I forgot all about that. I intend to finish it this week, since the weather won't be good for much else. When I finish the project up I'll post the final details of that. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Wacka Wacka Guacamole

Today is Cinco de Mayo, such a fun day! The sun is shining and after a long winter and a long cold spring, it is finally warm. This is a time for a nice festive meal! With my family, we never have authentic Mexican food for this day. I do, on occasion, make authentic Mexican food. However, some times we like things that are a bit less involving. I decided that what I could not go without is my guacamole. My sisters love it, my nephews even dig it. So, here is how I make it.....

Slice 3 avocados in half and remove the pits. I carefully slice a cross hatch cut in the fruit, avoiding the skin. This makes it really easy to scoop the fruit out and it is already cubed for the mix.

I add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice ( lime would work, too), 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, a tablespoon of dried cilantro and several shakes of cumin (to taste).

I use a pastry blender to mash the avocado and to blend all of the ingredients together. Using the pastry blender allows you to see the exact texture that you desire. I like my guacamole to be slightly chunky, almost like the texture of large curd cottage cheese.

This is how it looks when it is ready. This has such a nice, fresh flavor to it. Sometimes, I add a bit of salsa to the guacamole (1/4 cup), but I left it as is, this time. If you have any left over, be certain to squirt a bit of lemon juice on top and leave it, don't mix it. This will help prevent oxidation and keep your guacamole nice and Shreky green.

In other news, the weather has been so splendid lately, I couldn't help but do some yard work. It is so nice to finally be outside, with the fresh air and warm sunshine! Yesterday, I did some work on my herb garden. I also planted a basil plant and a cilantro plant in a pot. This will make some tasty sauces, sandwiches and salads all summer.

I love the smell of fresh herbs. When the rosemary, sage and mint grow and the wind catches them, the scent in the back yard is heavenly. I wish we still had our rose bushes, but we do still have the lilacs. I have that to look forward to. I hope to add more wildflowers to the flower garden this year, too. I want the bees to love my back yard. They do like the flowers that grow on the herbs. I hope my herbs help the bees to make some tasty honey. The goal for this summer: more flowers, wind chimes and nature journaling. I'll let you know how that works out as I go along. I hope that you re-create this guacamole and have a delicious time! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

How I Became Truly Outrageous For One Night Part 2

This day has been a very relaxed, but busy day. The sun has finally bright and the skies are blue. The air is warm and fresh; which made it the perfect day to spend out side, cleaning up the yard. Now that I've raked the leaves and cleaned up my garden, I feel super mellow. I'm glad that I happen to have a back up foundation, in a darker shade, because I forgot to put on sunblock and being outside for 45 minutes gave me a bit of color. So, I'm at my desk, listening to cheesy boy bands from the 90's- 2000's, sipping tea and enjoying some biscotti. Suddenly, I remembered that it was Friday and I was going to post about the accessories portion of my Jem costume.

I think we can all agree that the most important accessory in Jerica's/Jem's wardrobe was her star earrings. It was these earrings that allowed her to communicate with Synergy and transform from Jerica to Jem at a moments command. These are not easy to find in stores, however they are very easy to make.

I used a clean milk jug to draw stars onto with a Sharpie marker. I tried to find an exact shape of the star online. When I watched the cartoon and when I looked at images online, I found that the shape of the star varied and it was never really consistent. I settled on a shape and carefully cut out the shapes with an Exacto knife. First, I did a rough cut around the stars. Once I had the the pieces removed from the jug, I used scissors to trim the plastic to the desired shape.

Nest, I used a red nail polish to paint on top of the star. I used NYC polish in 131A Big Apple Red. The markers from the Sharpie were visible at first, but after a few more layers, they were hidden.

I let one layer of the red polish dry before adding a second layer of the polish. While the polish was still wet, I sprinkled silver craft glitter on top of the paint. This made the glitter stick to the plastic. I let the glitter settle and the polish dry over night.

The next day, I painted another layer of the red polish on top of the glitter to seal it in place and I let it dry.

After the layer of red nail polish dried, I painted a final layer of pink nail polish which had specks of colored glitter in it. It also happened to be strawberry scented polish, something I hadn't experienced since 1999...

For the final step, I needed to figure out how to turn these into earrings. Initially, I planned on gluing studs to the back of the stars. I decided to go a very less complicated route. I took some small dangle earrings with hooks and used good old fashioned duct tape to adhere the earrings to the back of the stars. I could have used hot glue, but I didn't want to bother. 

Here is the end result of all of those layers of nail polish. They were super sparkly and they looked a lot like what Jem wore on the cartoon series. They were easy to make, too.

I needed shoes for the costume. I didn't want to go all out with crazy shoes. I wanted to wear something that I could walk around in, dance in and to return home at the end of the night without aching feet. I decided to used some old booties that were cracking, to upcycle to some pink sparkle boots.

Before

After

All I did for this was paint several layers of magenta glitter acrylic craft paint. I used a 2 oz. bottle of Plaid Folkart Extreme Glitter Acrylic Paint. I almost bought two bottles, but only bought one instead. I'm glad that I did, because I only used half of the bottle. The boots were very sparkly. They reminded me of a pair of Doc Martins that I had my eye on when I was in high school. Those boots were being sold at a hippie store in the town where my sister was attending college. I went there every time I visited and I always ogled those boots. As much as I wanted them, I couldn't see myself paying $80.00 for glitter boots. It was the 90's and I was a teenager, I wasn't going to spend that much money on a pair of shoes back then. So, years later I got to have some glittery boots and they were fabulous. 

For my handbag, I found a neon green glitter plastic makeup bag at the Dollar Tree. It was the same size as a standard clutch and it had a top zipper and a zipper on the side. It made the perfect clutch to hold my lipstick and phone. When it came to my makeup, I used Wet n Wild lipstick (Hot Paris Pink) and I set it with Elf blush (Pink Passion). I used Wet n' Wild lipstick in Dollhouse pink on my lips and I contoured with Wet n Wild bronzer (Ticket To Brazil and Reserve Your Cabana). I pretty much followed the tutorial that Kandee Johnson posted a few years ago on youtube. There are a number of great makeup tutorials for Jem on youtube, but I like Kandee Johnson, so I followed her instructions.

Phew, that was a lot information! I hope that this is helpful if you find yourself needing to make a Jem costume. I had a lot of fun be truly outrageous for a night. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one at the party dressed in costume. Now, I have another costume to add to my costume chest. Now, I have some Boyzone and Take That on standby, because what 36 year old woman wouldn't? I'm off to enjoy some lovely nostalgic music and finish my tea. Until next time~ Toodaloo!