It's the Little Things

When I think about my life, I have so much for which to be grateful.  Of course, there are always the big things that come to mind, a home to live in, two wonderful children, the health of my family...the list is endless.

But, there are so many little things too...special moments that capture my heart throughout the day.  Just this afternoon, I was watching my son as he was eating an apple, enjoying every bite, the way his cute little mouth was chewing in a circle, briefly pausing to fill me in a snippet from his day.  The whole thing made me want to hug and squeeze him.

Then I think of my daughter and the way she is always singing and dancing around the house with such joy...how she mothers her babies or comes out of her bedroom wearing an interesting assortment of clothes.  Sometimes I just laugh and laugh.

There's phone calls from friends, reading a good book or watching the dog as he snores softly on his bed.  Sometimes though, I'm grateful for simple, nondescript little things.  Things someone else might discard as meaningless...a pretty piece of material, a little button or a wooden spool of vintage thread.  Put them all together and I'm even happier, especially with my camera in my hand :)

all rosy earrings by Kristi Roshau Jewelry

Of course, I'm grateful for all of you too.  Thankful that you come and share your time, your thoughts and your friendship with me .  By the way, now that I'm thinking about you, I want to say thank you to everyone who blogged, posted about and entered my recent giveway for the pretty necklace from Kristi Roshau Jewelry.  The winner, which was selected by Random.org, is Linda at Itsy Bits and Pieces.  Yay for you Linda!

Just as an aside, I used Kim Klassen's Luminous texture for these photos.  The theme for Texture Tuesday this week is gratitude.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

Tricia ♥

This and That

Hello!  Happy Sunday to you.  I have a mish-mash of things included in today's post.  First up, I wanted to remind you that today is the last day to enter my giveaway, if you haven't already done so.  The prize is a beautiful necklace made by my sweet sis, Kristi.

So, anyway, this past week was been so busy for me, as I'm sure it was for many of you.   Of course there were all the holiday preparations but, my week also included a broken washing machine...when it was completely full of water, naturally.  We bought a new washer and dryer and got it delivered on Wednesday.  Yay!  Then, guess what happened?  Something not so good.  The pair was on sale for Black Friday for $600.00 less!  The Mister got up at four in morning to try and get a price adjustment, but no luck because the appliances had already been delivered. Boo hoo. Can you see my sad face as I'm telling you this?

Addendum ~ The salesperson had indicated that they might be part of the sale, but since we didn't know if they would be for sure and we really needed a washing machine and lots of the appliances were already out of stock and we didn't realize the price would be soooo much less...we got them.  Sigh.
 

Well, I'm moving on from my appliance drama to talk food now, okay?  You're probably wondering if these photos have to do with anything anyway.  Ohhh my heavens, I have eaten so much lately!  The scale is not my friend. Not only was there Thanksgiving, but yesterday, I made my favorite cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut and then, the day before Thanksgiving I made these yummy pumpkin donut muffins.  Really, the horror of what I've been eating just goes on and on.  

I found the muffin recipe at Martha Stewart and made some adjustments based on the reviews. I don't feel like typing the whole thing out right here, but in case you're wondering, I took out the nutmeg and allspice and substituted two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead. I also used one can of pumpkin puree and one cup of brown sugar. I made one bunch in a muffin tin and one bunch that I just scooped onto a pan like cookies...the muffin kind turned out better. They might not be the prettiest thing around, but I must say, they were super delicious and I will definitely make them again.

Well, now that Thanksgiving is over, I've moved full swing into Christmas.  We put up our tree Thursday night and have been decorating it over the last few days.  My daughter insists that it's not colorful enough.  She had a little tree that she was decorating while I was busy looking through all the Christmas things.  She put a string of lights on it and some small little ornaments, as well as some deflated balloons...yep, it's quite the sight.  Maybe I'll take a photo and include it in one of my Christmas decorating posts :)

Hope you have a good week! 

xo  Tricia

It's GIVEAWAY time!

Lately as I've been thinking about the holidays, I've also thought about all of you and how you make me feel ohhh so happy!  With that thought circling around in my head, I figured that this would be the perfect time of year to give out a little bit of love.

I've never really told you very much about my wonderful BFF, Kristi, who also happens to be my sister, but today's the day. Kristi is such an amazingly sweet and kind person, and she's also very talented too. She makes the most beautiful fine silver jewelry and recently created this pretty Love in My Heart necklace which she has generously offered to give to one of you.

In the past, Kristi's jewelry designs were sold only in boutiques and specialty stores across the country, but just recently she also started offering her jewelry for purchase through her own website.  She has so many pretty things, here's a little sample...

Some of her best sellers are necklace and bracelet charms, as well as items that can be personalized with a saying or quote of your choice...or even a name or initial.  Wouldn't that make a nice Christmas gift?  Yep, it would.

Ohhh, I just love that love charm!  So anyway, there are four ways that you can be the lucky winner of the Love in My Heart necklace pictured at the top of the page.

For one entry...

• Leave a comment below.

For additional entries...

• Blog about or post this giveaway on your sidebar
• Visit Kristi's website and leave me a comment telling me your favorite item
• Like Kristi Roshau Jewelry on Facebook

Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry and if you comment anonymously, be sure to leave your email address.  If I can't find your email address I will chose another winner.  The giveaway ends November 27th.

Also, if you find anything on Kristi's site that you'd love to order, perhaps as a Christmas gift for someone special or for yourself, she's offering free standard shipping within the US for orders over $25.00 placed through November 30, 2011.

By the way, I plan on having another giveaway in the next few weeks with a few pretty things I've found recently, so be sure to look for that too :)

Hope you have a great week!

xo Tricia

: The giveaway is now closed  :

Cookies and a Cup of Cocoa

Hello.  Happy Tuesday to you!  Hope you had a good weekend.  Did you do anything fun and exciting?  I'm not really expecting you to say, "Yes," since judging from the all the comments on my last post, we all seem to be a bunch of homebodies.

I didn't do much.  Shocking, isn't it?!   Really though, it wasn't because I didn't want to, I just wasn't feeling too well.  I mostly stayed in, cleaned a little and managed to eat lots and lots of cookies...the holiday baking has begun.

The kids and I enjoyed our cookies with some nice warm mugs of hot chocolate, a drink which is always a big hit at our house.  Luckily we didn't have any marshmallows or whipping cream to top it off, I can barely imagine all the calories I consumed as it was.

The sun was setting as I was taking these photos and I think the golden light lends such a nice, cozy feeling...perfect for when there's a chill in the air and a toasty cup of cocoa will warm you up.

I thought I'd join in with Texture Tuesday again today.  The assignment was to use Kim's Phoebe texture.  I was in a bit of a quandary what to do with these shots since I don't really care for textures on food photos.   Everything worked out well though, since it was a rather light texture, I used it to lighten parts of my photos that I felt were too dark.

Well, that's all for today.  Chat later.

xo Tricia

I Need to Get Out More

Apparently, I need to get out more.  That's according to a cute little old lady at Costco anyway.  Yesterday I stopped off at the store to pick up a bit of this and a bit of that, including these apple pears and pretty green carnations.  Don't you just love the color of those flowers?  They kind of make me think of lettuce.

Anyway, back to Costco...I was browsing through the magazines, just minding my own business, when the aforementioned little old lady comes up beside me.  As I reach for a decorating magazine, she picks up one about fashion and flips to a perfume ad showing a woman draped in a gold gown, laden with jewelry.  Showing it to me, she says with a thick European accent, "Why you look at dat?  Zis is the one for you.  You young...you have good figure. " 

For a moment, my brain was a little uncertain as to what was going on, so after a pause I say something on the order of, "Well, ummm...I don't really know where I'd wear something that.  I pretty much only go places like this and Target."  Kind of sad...I know.  A thought which was confirmed by the woman when she replied, "Vhat?  Dat is vhat old people do!"  and flicks her hand up in the air, as if she was waving me away.

So, I mosey along with my purchases, come home, and take some photos of my chosen items, all the while thinking about what she said...knowing she's right and wondering to myself if this is a message from God or something.  It's not like she didn't say something I haven't already thought myself...I was just surprised to hear it coming from a complete stranger.

See, the thing is, I'm a bit of a homebody and not what anyone would call adventurous, but, I don't want to live the life of an old woman before my time either.  So, thanks to an encounter with a lovely little elderly lady, I'm reminded that maybe I needed to mix things up and live a little more.

Hope you all get out and have some fun this weekend...I'll do my best :)

By the way, thank you soooo much for all your nice words about my Artful Blogging feature...you're all so sweet and made me feel so super, duper good!

xo Tricia

I'm in Artful Blogging!

Even before I started my blog, one of my favorite publications was Artful Blogging.  With each new issue, I found endless inspiration and secretly thought about how wonderful and amazing it would be to someday see myself in its pages.  I'm beyond thrilled to say that my wish has came true and that that day has arrived.

This past July, I was contacted by the editor of Artful Blogging asking if I would like to be a part of an upcoming issue, to which I wholeheartedly said, "Yes!"  Well, the Winter 2012 magazine has just been published and in it you'll find eight pages of my photographs along with my article.

I wrote about all the time I've spent wondering where I'm supposed to be headed in my life...what I'm meant to be doing.  I talked about how for a long time, I thought I'd never find the answer, but slowly, bit by bit, a little thought started to seep into my head and then...I knew.

So, anyway, thank you Artful Blogging for letting me share a little bit of myself in your pretty publication.  I feel so honored...and happy.

Now, I may be a wee bit biased, but I think this issue is truly one of the most beautiful that I've ever seen them put together.  This is partly thanks to a variety of lovely ladies, including Anne at Fiona and Twig, Tracey from French Larkspur and Lynda at Lynda Naranjo Photography, who provided pages and pages of beauty and inspiration.  Ohhh my, it's just so much gorgeousness all rolled together, I know you'd all love it too. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you all have a spectacular weekend.

xo Tricia

Bruschetta... Tomatoes, Basil and Baguettes

Hello to you!  How was your Halloween?  Did you partake in some good old, scary fun and lots of yummy treats?  I was the candy hander outer at my house.  Not a fun job considering the many, many, many children in my neighborhood.  I do really enjoy seeing all the costumes though, especially on the little kids, they're always so cute.

Anyway, in addition to handing out the candy, I've been doing more than my fair share of being the candy eater too.  That's the bad thing about Halloween, there's easy access to all the things I don't normally buy.  It's a weakness, I tell you. 

I don't know what the deal is, but I've also had another craving lately...bruschetta.  Each time I make it, I gobble nearly the whole thing down along with an entire baguette...that gives you an idea of how super delicious it is.  I thought I'd share the recipe with today so that you can revel in all the yumminess too.

Bruschetta

• 3 or 4 Roma Tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup snipped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 baguette
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Garlic Butter

• 1/4 cup of butter, softened
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• a little salt
• a little pepper

To make the bruschetta topping, mix together the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Set aside.  Just a little FYI, to peel a tomato, place the tomato in very hot water for a few minutes.  When you remove it the skin will peel off easily.

To make the garlic butter, mix together, in a separate bowl, the butter, garlic, salt and pepper.  Slice the bread and top with a little bit of the garlic butter.  Broil the bread for a few minutes until it is lightly browned.  Put tomato topping on bread, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and put back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese just slightly starts to melt.

If you're like me, you'll eat some right away, and then...you'll eat some more :)

  

By the way, thank you so much to everyone who left me a kind, congratulatory comment on my magazine post.  It makes me feel so good that you share in my joy along with me.

Hope you have a good day!

xo Tricia