{Sew} Surprised!

Last week, when I relinquished my Grown Up Card and visited my sweet friend Jenn, she loaned me a quilted bag that she'd sewn to carry home the first three Harry Potter books that she was loaning my son to read.  She loaned it to me.

Fast forward to this last Saturday when three fabby friends who are also Aunties & Uncle to my kidlets came up for a BBQ....Jenn being one of those Aunties.

We had a great time!  Hubby Q'd up some ribs (after they slow roasted in the oven) using our favorite organic GF/CF no sugar added BBQ sauce, I made a delish GF/CF macaroni salad* that I found thanks to a gluten free blogger on Twitter (that little birdie of a site is growing on me!), Jenn made a yummy green salad (with romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, beets, avocado, green onion, and olives), and Monique & Matt brought some garlic bread and a special margarita recipe for the adults. 

We finished off the night with the exhausted kidlets finally in bed, the men, boys, goodness!, men chuckling like they were years younger (that's a nice way to say it, right?! :>) at some YouTube videos and us girls, okay women (somehow that always sounds weird to me when I'm with my friends from my teen years....probably because we've been known to regress when we're together! :>) chatting it up in the living room and checking out Monique's recent scrapbook (she's the one who started me scrapping all those years ago!).

When we were walking our three friends out to their car, apparently, Jenn turned to my Hubby and said, "Shhhhhh!!!!", pointing to her fabby quilted bag that she loaned me last week.  Seriously......loaned it!!

Look at that sweet little pocket on the front!!

Here it is!!  Isn't it cute?!  I think so.

Just as cute from the back.

Oh my goodness!!  That turquoise stitching tickles...such a happy detail!

It gets better.  On the inside there are pockets.  And polkas.

On one side its a full pocket.  And on the other side, she split it vertically.  Not only did she split the whole pocket vertically for divided storage, but she also sewed a higher bottom on one side that is just perfect to slip a cell phone into....now, how genius is that?! :>

And then, THEN, I try to give her this sweetly sewn bag she's made and loaned me to take back home with her.  She just smiles, gives me a hug and says, "You're welcome."

"What?!"  And thinking, no way, I try to give it back to her again.  She's not having any of it.  Jenn tells me that she's been looking for a good home for it.  Apparently, she thinks its happy here in my home.  I know I'm happy to see it smiling at me.  But, I'm even happier to know that it was stitched and sewn by my friend.

Am I a lucky gal, or what?!

What has made you feel lucky lately?

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*  Only adjustments made to make the gluten free recipe casein free as well were to use salami that is not only gluten free, but casein, nitrites, msg, antibiotic, and preservative free (Applegate Farms) and to omit the optional Parmesan cheese.  We also used fresh minced garlic & shallots instead of dried for the dressing.  The whole thing is delish and since we doubled the recipe, we're still enjoying it!

It's Time.

I've said it before, little things often make me smile even brighter than the big things, and again, it is oh so true! And you know what?!  I just realized that it has been Quite awhile since I have shared a few of those little things!! 

Sometimes, when life's actions, reactions, movement, tragedies, triumphs, challenges, and often fast pace are swelling up our world, it helps to recognize and remember all those wonderful little bits and pieces in a single day that can add up to a great day.  And what never ceases to amaze me is that if I stop (halt, cease, pause, wait, close my eyes & breathe), even if I feel like I am having a lousy day, those little things can often add up to a larger sum than those un-fun incidences in the day.  With that said.................

(Oh yea....before ya get y'er panties in a bunch about a non-uber neat boy begging to clean, read to the end....I promise he had good motivation...........but, the action, nonetheless, made me smile! :>)

*  My son waking me early to ask what he could clean..........made me smile!

*  My boy telling me I was ruining his cleaning time when I told him that we needed to take his sister out to Grammie's for dance class today........................made me smile!

*  My Grande Light Mocha Frappuccino to battle the Benadryl today.......................made me smile!

*  Watching the beautiful butterfly flit across Mom's driveway and into the trees...............................made me smile!

*  Wee girl giving me a kiss on the nose when I left her with Mom for dance class.......................made me smile!

*  Looking through the peephole when our doorbell rang and at first not seeing anything, then seeing a speck of my wee girl's head, waaaaaaaaay below, returning from dance class.....................made me smile!

*  Hearing the surprised smile on Hubby's face when I called from Costco to ask what size the golf shirt that I bought him a couple of months ago was...because I was there to get him another one.......................made me smile!

*  My boy jumping up and practically tackling me when I said that the salami that I had in the fridge for a macaroni salad that I'm making for the BBQ we're having Saturday is safe for him to eat (gluten, casein, nitrite, msg, preservative free!) and telling me, "I love you!  You're the best Mom ever!!".................made me smile!

*  Hubby exhaling first and then smiling when he saw that I brought home something as simple, yet 'necessary' as coffee, while on my mega grocery store run this evening (to Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Safeway)...................made me smile!

*  Wee girl running, charging, out of her room when she heard me come home from insane grocery run, jump up and hang from my neck...........................made me smile!

*  Eating a Cold salad at home (courtesy of Safeway) while watching the So You Think You Can Dance results show after sweating like a bucket of ice in a sweltering sauna in a Hot car for the grocery race..................made me smile!

*  And yes, I confess, watching "Bethenny Getting Married?" ....................made me smile!

Little things!!  Little things, from the trivial to the pivotal moments, make me Smile!!! 

Now, for reality's sake, I should say that my boy is not usually that excited about cleaning.  In fact, its more than not his favorite thing to do.  The night before his Excited Day to Clean Day, his Dad offered him up a big carrot, a Really Big Carrot.  Both he and his Dad like their computer games and his Dad offered him up his own player on his Dad's game............if, IF, he helped Mama out with the house (aka more than the usual chores) as we have company coming on Saturday (can't wait to see you, Auntie Jenn, Auntie Monique & Uncle Matt!!!). 

I would have settled for much less than him waking me early to ask what he could start cleaning or when he could use a Swiffer to dust (quite honestly my favorite cleaning tool....ever!...no sneezing!!).  As it turns out, that carrot that Hubby held out for him was sooooo BiG, that I heard More phrases out of my boy that I Never Ever thought I would Ever hear!!  Not too shabby, Hubby!  And, most definitely, Smile Worthy!

I would Love to hear from You!!  What little things have made you smile today?  Can't wait to hear! :>

Worth the Click: {COLOR}

The wonders of the web, the beauty of the blogosphere have struck again.  I've come across another super source of inspiration and of course, I just had to share with you!  Whether you are painting, card making, designing, sewing, sketching, quilting, scrapbooking, knitting, stamping, writing, decorating, crafting, creating, or whipping up a fabulous event, you must check out this blog and be ready to get your {COLOR} inspiration on!  Another, Oh So Worth the Click!!

The Perfect Palette   

Have a fantastic day, full of imagination, color & inspiration!!  :>

Worth the Click: {Fabby New Site}

Do you want to be inspired?  Do you want inspiration to look you in the eye in your own home, studio, or favorite creative space?  Lucky for you, there's a fantastic new site from which you can take some of that yummy inspiration home with you! 

Traveling Mama has been a source of inspiration, serenity, adventure, and delight for me for awhile now.  She also co-authors Traveling Tribe, documenting her family and their adventures & lives in foreign lands (to me!).  Currently, she is living in a land where I am rumored to have some ancestors from (among many other lands):  Denmark. 

Here is the latest place where you can find Traveling Mama & her Tribe and bring some of their travels home with you!

Check out Flying House Studios, be inspired, bring something home, say 'hello', and then come back here tomorrow for another great Worth the Click! :>

{Smile} Worthy Garden Delights, Movie Madness & Friends!

My Grown Up Card is back in my possession again!  It had been a very long time since I have had the opportunity to get away, overnight, without any responsibilities or worry.  It felt like I was taking a deep cleansing breath.  And now, I'm happily home with hugs for my Hubby & kidlets!

Would you like to hear a few highlights from the weekend??

Just before I was ready to leave, Hubby mentioned that there were two huge zucchinis that he was going to harvest & cook with dinner from  himself & the kidlets that night.

Since I wasn't going to be home for dinner, I wanted to take a pic of our first zucchini harvest. I grabbed an 8" pretty yellow plate from Sur La Table that I was sure would be the perfect piece to hold them for the photo.  My mouth dropped open when each kidlet came running up to the backdoor with a huge zucchini....both longer than 8"!  Oh well....the plate was pretty & it definitely demonstrates how big those zucchinis were. 

Hubby cubed them up & cooked them with our favorite gluten/casein/soy/nitrite/nitrate/msg/preservative/antibiotic free Polska Kielbasa and added them both to Tinkyada brown rice pasta spirals for a delish meal that he & both kidlets gobbled up!

Let's zip to off to my playdate, so to speak, shall we?

Jenn & I met up with three other women for dinner (Fuzio...new to me) & drinks (I had the Watermelon Itch).  After lots of chatting and laughter, we walked to the theater to see Eclipse and yes, I enjoyed it.  Though, I don't think it had the same effect on me as it did the group of teenage girls that were gushing, "Oh My God!!  That was the best movie EVER!!!"  {Insert chuckle here.}

After the movie, Jenn & I headed back to her place for what else?!  More chatter, of course! :>  And then, we took the concept of a movie night quite literally.  While talking, I mentioned that I still had not seen Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.  So, guess what Jenn pulls out?!  Yup!  We then proceeded to watch the Alice Blue-Ray on her 52" TV (my tv has TV envy, for sure!)...it was gorgeous....like watching it in the theater, up close & personal.  All those vibrant saturated colors.....SWOON!!!

Speaking of colors, the next morning Jenn made a veggie pasta salad for a BBQ she was going to that evening and I loved the bright vibrant colors so much, I just had to take its picture!!  (I think I still had those great green zucchs on my mind!)  It had tri-color pasta, zucchini, crooked neck squash, mini bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and fresh spinach in it.  Doesn't that look delish?!

Whenever I am out driving, I am always amazed at how quickly I move from small town, to big city, to gorgeous country.  While I was driving out on Saturday, the tractors were out cutting this field of hay and on the way back the hay bales made me smile.

What has made You smile today?