I love...

My coin purse.   

A gift from my parents, who searched high and low for the perfect one. At long last they found this one - at Tiffany & Co. no less, and it is one of my very favorite things.

It isn't so much because it is from Tiffany & Co. (although that in itself does take the fun value up just a notch!)   It is because a coin purse, to me, is one of a handful of things that every girl should have in her repertoire.  A coin purse, a nice handkerchief, pearls for her ears and neck, and a pair of cowboy boots. (Now, I realize your list might not be the same as mine, but to each her own.)

  

When I was little, I remember having a "kiss lock" coin purse.  I supposed I lost it, or maybe it mysteriously disappeared in one of those garage sales.  Years later, as a teenager, I watched my Aunt Nelda playing Gin with her friends - each of the ladies having her very own coin purse bulging with quarters.  (I think my Aunt Nelda's was shimmery gold, covered in little seed beads.)  Those old gals would laugh and cackle and to me, that looked like good fun.  It was then that I knew I wanted two things - a worthy coin purse - and a group of girlfriends to play Gin with one day. 

I'll be the one wearing pearls and this will be my coin purse.  It's a classic and I love it.  

Boys Toys Garage Sale...

Recently, I threatened to have a garage sale.  I went through drawers and closets, gathering and fussing, fussing and gathering, getting overwhelmed and excited and distraught.  I piled all of these things into the dining room.  The dining room at our house is quite lovely, but it moonlights as a "holding station" for all things needing to be put away or given out.  This is a room of things undone.  I hate that last part. 

A few days into the hunting and gathering, the inevitable happened and I got overwhelmed and couldn't stand the mess piling up anymore.  In a fit of rage, and with a sweaty upper lip, I piled all of it into the back of my car and hauled it off to Goodwill.  All except for Owen and Miles' stuff.  After promising them that they'd make money if they got rid of some of their toys - money is what they wanted to make. 

So ... here we go.  Owen & Miles' Mini-Garage Toy Sale...

We invited their friends and promised an afternoon of swimming after the sale.  Boys and more boys came, saw & bought.  Owen negotiated. 

It was all just a fabulous thing - and I even got to throw in some "free to a good home" lotions & potions that have been sitting under my sink unloved. 

Later, the kids compared deals on the front porch...

And then were off to the pool for some fun in the sun. 

All on a Wednesday afternoon even. Life is very good!

Ode to Guacamole!

I think this will be the third post I've written about my love for the green stuff.  It is divine.  I think I go through 4-6 avocados a week to keep up with my habit.  It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it. 

In order to make the guacamole making more speedy, I finally decided to cave and bought one of those avocado slice thingies.  Don't do it. 

Now instead of washing just one knife, I wash the knife to cut the avocados, this slicer/masher contraption and then my hands over and over because this job is made much more messy since making this purchase.  The slices don't always slip out nicely and you will wind up digging the avocado goodness from between the little tines and how bothersome is that?!  Save your $5 on this and go out and buy a cherry limeade and shove the rest of the money in your pocket.

You can thank me later.

Pioneer Woman Iced Coffee - need I say more?

So, I decided to have a go at the 2 gallon cold-steeped iced coffee on The Pioneer Woman's blog. 

Here we go.

You will need:
1 lb. (16 oz..) ground coffee
(I used a 12oz. bag Seattles Best  + 4 extra oz. from Jim's Folgers Columbia to get the full 16 oz.)
2 gallons cold water
Half & half, coffee creamer plus sugar or splenda

First, search your kitchen for a lidded container that will hold 2 gallons of water plus the coffee.  I had to be really creative here - the only thing that would work was my mother's cupcake transporter. 

My boys loved this little experiment - let them pour the coffee into the bottom of your container, then add the 2 gallons of water slowly. 

Next, stir to make sure every single coffee ground makes contact with the water. 

Let your helper stir some too (after you've done the real work.)

Notice Miles eyeing the concoction - his little brain is just a' churning and he is thinking that this just might be tasty. 

As a rule, my boys never, ever believe me and have to test everything out for themselves.

Live and learn.  Now you saw the face the youngest child made right? So how come this oldest child has to taste it to be certain?



Told ya!

Now, cover it with a lid and leave it for 8 hours.  Give stern warnings of "do not touch that container or it will spill!" anytime you see anyone even looking like they are going near the kitchen. 

Next, strain your steeped coffee into a separate container.  (Do not use the method in this next photo.  It takes too long and you might poke your own eyeballs out waiting.)  

Instead of straining through a fine mesh collander lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth like she said to do, use the copper strainer that comes right in your coffee pot!  I am so clever!

 and now this process begins moving at break-neck speed and we are on our way!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funnel your yummy coffee goodness into one or two large containers (which will keep, according to Pioneer Woman, for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.)

Once refrigerated, fill half a glass with coffee and then mix in half & half or coffee creamer plus vanilla syrup - whatever makes you happy and some sugar too if it will make you smile. 

My fave - pour half a glass of coffee, about 1/4 cup of half & half and 3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk and a teaspoon of sugar.  This is called a Vietnamese Iced Coffee and it is the only way to go.

Fill with ice, stir & walk around sashaying like you are the smartest barista on the planet and brag to anyone who will listen!  It is that good.

Small fry in the kitchen ...

One day his wife will thank me...

Owen decided last night that he would get up early and make pancakes for his dad.  Owen is so thoughtful and he wanted to do this without any help.  (I did have to show him that he must use force when cracking an egg.  His little tap tap tap on the bowl wasn't going to do the job.)

Because making pancakes is a tough job, he made sure he had plenty of sustenance (chocolate chips) to get him through till the end...  he keeps them next to his spatula.  Smart boy.

Yep, I am raising this boy to be a wife magnet!

But until then, I will be his guinea pig...

Wait - did I say pig?  (Don't laugh!)

Unfortunately, he leaves the mess for me to clean up - gotta work on that one. 

Kids hate sunscreen...

My kids hate sunscreen.  God bless the parent (because surely it was a parent) that invented the spray-on mist sunscreen.  God bless 'em! 

Owen has super sensitive skin - especially on his face.  So we still have to do the rub-in kind and it usually goes pretty bad ...

Sort of like this...

Yep - that is a face only a mother could love.  Lord, give me strength!

Water!

It's just who I am...

What's your thing?  Something that defines you completely or maybe just a little part of you that will never change.  Maybe its your faded dark green nightgown - the one that hangs on your door knob and always seems to be the one you grab, holes and all.  Maybe it's a t-shirt from high school that you've carried around with you over the years - you don't even wear it, but you've kept it just because your best friend designed the graphic on it.  Maybe you only wear Chuck Taylors - and you have every color of the rainbow, but your five pairs of classic whites are your favorite.  Old and dingy, but those are the ones you go for every time.  Maybe your "thing" changes - it could, but maybe it hasn't.  Maybe it is just who you are. 

That is me, but it isn't a shirt, a nightgown, or an awesome collection of Chuck Taylors.  My thing is that I always wear my hair up.  I like it - a little bit classy, a little bit naughty-teacher, a little bit Audrey Hepburn.  It makes me happy.   It's just who I am. 

Mama's Summer School...

My Miles.  My littlest blessing.  That boy is going to break my heart.  Even as precious-pea as he can be - even though he can make his mama swoon with his squinty lil' greenish eyes, we must still practice our letters and sight words. 

If you have a sweetly stubborn child - run out and buy a set of these tiles.  They are more fun than work and pretty soon you can hand your child his list of sight words and hop into the shower while he matches up the letters to make words.  Hurry!  Even though they might be stubborn - these letters are fun and suddenly your smart lil' child is making words fast and you haven't even shampoo'd your hair! 

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Just finished Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  It was a pleasure to read, but the ending - well, it just wasn't the ending anyone would hope for, but what a great read!  Sadly, I couldn't get it in paper form, so I had to listen to the audio version.  Acclimating to the narrator's thick accent took awhile, but soon I settled right in and was immensely disappointed every time I had to turn it off.  (That's downside of audio books - once you arrive at your destination, the fun is always postponed.)  

The book is a dual narrative by the main characters, Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee and Sarah, a British magazine ediror, who met on a beach in the midst of a Nigerian oil crisis.  The events that took place on the beach that day forever severed and yet sealed the characters in the book together.  You, the reader, become quite impatient to learn exactly what happened on the beach and so begins heady love affair with Little Bee. 

For me, the book is finished, but for you it has just begun - I hope you RUN out and get yourself a copy!  Enjoy!

  

Wrestling Ring Trampoline...

Ah, the wide, wide world of wrestling.  Come one, come all to our backyard wrestling ring trampoline!  Tickets are $5 each at the gate.  

Tonight's Main Event...

The reigning Heavy-Weight Champion of the Yard..... Ooooooooooooowen Murphyyyyyyyyyyyy...

Against...

The illusive and scrappy contender.... Miiiiiiiiiles Murphyyyyyyyyyy......

Who will win the belt? 

Will it be the veteran defender, Owen or will it be the scrappy little dare-devil, Miles?  Place your bets now!

Lucky Me!

I order Mary Kay from my friend, Angela, at work.  I love that I can email her what I need - and she brings it to work and delivers it right to me in a bag with tissue paper and usually a free gift!  I love the latest little freebie - this adorable makeup brush case and brushes.  I love how I don't have to fight the traffic and the crowds at the mall!  Easy peasy! 

By the way, let me know if you need some Mary Kay - I will get you into contact with Angela!  Another little perk - after she gets a feel for what you like, she keeps a stock of those items on hand, so she is ready in a pinch!  Love that!

Love my ....

New (to me) metal bins that I found under the sink at my Great Grandma's house.  They remind me of something right out of a sports-themed room in Pottery Barn Teen magazine.  I imagine them full of baseballs and other sports gear.  Can't wait to put them to good use!

The best days...

Summer brings with it some of the best days ...

We are going to take each one very slow ... and keep everything up in the air...

Laugh as much as we can and make each second last ...

Barefoot Boys...