This is our sweet family cat, Mia.
Mia has been limping a lot more lately. First it was just in the morning, but now it seems that she is pretty much limping all the time. We have been giving her a homeopathic medicine, but it doesn't seem to be helping a whole lot.
Anyone have any suggestions or experience with this?
This has to be one of the coolest websites I've been to a quite a while! The concept is quite clever and visually amazing.
Tonight, I found a little piece of Jackson Pollock in myself.
You should channel your own inner Jackson Pollock too. Try it - you'll love it!
I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to have a Trader Joe's within a couple miles of my home. For those of you who already shop at TJ's, you know that it is so much more than a grocery store.
I do about 75% of my shopping at TJ's and they offer more and more organic fruits and vegetables as well as really interesting specialty and vegetarian foods. My only complaint is that occasionally, a product I love will just disappear off the shelf - never to be seen again.
My new favorite find at TJ's is their selection of fresh pizza doughs. They have a few different flavors (plain, whole wheat and herb whole wheat) and I went with the whole wheat with herbs and it was GREAT! My BF and I made a simple Margherita pizza and used tomatoes and basil from my dad's garden (sadly, you can't see the basil in the picture).
We had a tough time rolling and stretching out a perfect circle with the dough, but it was tasty all the same.
This isn't the exact recipe I used, (I didn't actually use a recipe at all) but it's pretty darn close.
Pizza Margherita
* 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1/2 lb. plum Roma tomatoes, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 12" uncooked dough crust
* 6 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 6 fresh basil leaves cut into julienne strips
* extra virgin olive oil
* 1/4 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
1. Combine 2 Tbls. olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and salt in bowl.
2. Allow to marinate while making dough.
3. Brush dough crust lightly with olive oil.
4. Top with cheese, then tomatoes.
5. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Bake in preheated 500F oven on pizza stone for 8−10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.
7. Remove from oven and top with parmesan cheese, then basil.
8. Cool on a wire rack for 2−3 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.
The stars were in alignment for me today in Etsy wonderland. I popped into the treasury today coincidentally right as they opened up - what luck!
I am on a serious jewelry making roll and loving every minute of it. It feels fantabulous to be creating new pieces that I know you will love as much as I do.
This newest necklace is inspired by vintage/Old Hollywood glamor with a contemporary asymmetrical twist.
Using a sharp knife, cut the avocados in half. Remove the pits. Scoop the flesh into a medium-sized bowl and roughly crush with a potato masher or fork. Stir in the lime juice.
Shake all ingredients together and strain into a sugar rimmed martini glass and garnish with a lime wedge.
I have two new necklaces in my jewelry shop available for purchase. I was is a creative rut for a bit, but it appears that is long behind me now.
Wahoo!!
The Wizard of Oz is my favorite childhood film. I don't remember when I first watched the movie, but I do know that it was my first huge obsession. My parents video taped it for me and I watched that VHS out. I memorized every commercial played during the commercial breaks. I literally watched it so much and for so long that the tape finally went kaput and stopped working. (That was a rough day).
I loved Dorothy so much because of Judy Garland's heavenly voice and of course the ruby slippers. Even though the Wicked Witch was scary, I loved her too. Really, each of the characters in the film held a special meaning for me.
The movie tells a touching story that can be appreciated by children and adults alike. If you have never seen The Wizard of Oz, you should rent it today - you won't be disappointed.
My jewelry shop has been sorely neglected and I am repenting.
I have some new designs to list in my shop and greatly improved photographs too. My newest necklace to be listed today is vintage/heirloom inspired and I must say that I love it!
I found a really interesting hexagon shaped locket made from super thick glass and sterling silver. I felt the locket would be perfect paired with a heavy gauged wire wrapped chain and the smokiness of the dark gray Swarovski pearls.
I hope you like it!
In my earlier post, From Cab to Slab I wrote about cutting, grinding and polishing my very own cabochon. It was an extremely rewarding experience and I have made a few more since then.
I have been focusing most of my time recently learning how to fabricate sterling silver bezel settings for cabochons. So, here is my first handmade cabochon set in my first handmade bezel pendant. Hooray!!
Later this month I will be learning how to fabricate a sterling silver chain to accompany my new pendant.
Stay tuned!
I just got a monster shipment of my most favorite things in the world - luscious sparkling gemstone beads!
I have some serious prettiness to share with you that will all be available to purchase in my bead shop, but of course, you are getting a sneak preview here first.
Let me know if you see anything you want and I can make a special reserved listing, just for you.
Faceted Chalcedony Heart Briolettes
Faceted Carnelian Heart Briolettes
Faceted Citrine Briolette Drops
Faceted Garnet Oval Beads
Faceted Garnet Marquis Briolettes
Faceted Green Onyx Heart Briolettes
Hessonite Garnet Onion Briolettes
Petro-Green Tourmaline Briolette Pears
Rutilated Quartz Heart Briolettes
I am stoked to have my very own website that my fantabulous BF made for me (yes, he is available to make you a super awesome website too).
It is still a work in progress, but I felt that it was ready for consumption.
Hooray!!
Hello world - this is Kiwi, the cutest puppy ever.
My mom and dad had her for a weekend in the hopes to adopt her, which sadly didn't work out (due to their slightly senior cat Mia who would have spent the rest of her days attempting to murder or consume Kiwi).
Happily, Kiwi is with a new family and very possibly a new name as well. I was sad to see her go and tried diligently to validate keeping her myself, but I knew I could keep her either.
Sleepy time
Huge yawn!
To fully enjoy our weekend getaway, I planned ahead and stocked up at BevMo! (which is short for Beverages and More) on some yummy bottles of wine and one special bottle of champagne. And believe you me, we drank to out hearts content!
I have been waiting with anticipation for the new BevMo! to have it's grand opening near my house and luckily it did right before we left for the weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with Bevmo! - it is the alcohol equivalent of Costco. They have rows and rows of wine, champagne, beer, liquor and anything else adult beverage related.
Of the bottles of wine we brought with us was Renwood Zinfandel Lodi '05 and it was probably my favorite. 
According to Wilfred Wong, this zinfandel was rated an 88 points out of 100. I loved it and thought it was a fantastic wine at a great price. It was very fruit forward and jammy, but not too bold.
Anyway, I realize that I have written an entire blog post about alcohol, but what the hey, I'm not ashamed of loving wine - and I swear that I'm not an alcoholic, just a wine enthusiast.
...and it's called the Desert Springs JW Marriott in Palm Desert.
This place is super sweet and beyond beautiful! We stayed here a few years ago for Thanksgiving weekend. The amazing part of this resort is the lake that surrounds it and the dock inside the main lobby where you can board a gondola that takes you on a tour.The last time we stayed here, the entire resort was under construction the entire lobby including the gondola dock was all torn up.
Now we are here again to celebrate my BF's birthday and it is even better because we get to experience it in all of it's renovated glory.
We got an amazing deal on the room because it is the off season in Palm Desert. Today was around 120 degrees - so it is pretty hot to say the least.
I appropriated some photographs from the resort website so you can enjoy our mini vacation with us.
Bird's eye view of the JW Palm Desert
At night
The room
Gondola dock INSIDE the lobby (so cool!)
The main lobby and lounge
The main pool
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