Won't You Rate My Space???

On a whim ~ I uploaded these and other photo's last week on HGTV's Rate My Space.
I was absolutely beside myself the next night when my kitchen was the # 1 viewed Space.
In the grand scheme of things ~ it's not such a big deal but for me ~ it was huge!
Me and decorating have been pals since I can remember............

The very first play activity I remember doing ~ next to digging in the garden and swinging on my swing ~
was rearranging and decorating my basement at age 4 or 5.
I once bite the boy next door on the ankle as he ran up the basement stairs because he didn't want to decorate with me anymore. ( we were both age 5 ~ sorry Gary Lear wherever you are!)
I swear this is true ~ when my Mom found out ~ she gave me a well deserved spanking and gently "placed" me on her bed.
As I fell onto her bed ~ I remember thinking how much I loved the white chenille bedspread!

When I was about 10 ~ a new boy moved in across the street. He LOVED decorating !!!
We spent an entire summer in my basement ~ making rooms out of all Grama's old curtains.
We nailed them to the beams on the ceiling and tucked them into wires.
We created entire "apartments" and then redid the whole thing ~ over and over.

Almost every Fri. night until I was a pre-teen and started going out with friends ~
I shut myself in my bedroom with the radio blasting ~
so Grama wouldn't hear me moving the furniture and see the scratches I occasionally made on the new hardwood floors.
I cleaned, organized and changed my room around a million different ways.
I would then put on my best jammies, climb into bed with a book and fold the top sheet perfectly down ~
I felt like a princess!
The whole room smelled like Pledge ~ which as the years passed ~
also hide the smell of the cigg I would sneak!


My Classic Kitchen With Vintage Touches

Here is the link to my "SPACE" ~

http://www.roomzaar.com:80/rate-my-space/Kitchens/A-Classic-Kitchen-With-Vintage-Touch/detail.esi?oid=6989925

Grama's Recipe For Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

I have always held on tight to this recipe ~ like one hangs on to a special childhood treasure or maybe an old love letter.
I never thought I would share it with anyone but perhaps my own daughters for their wedding shower.
I changed my mind when I read an exert from Molly Wizenbergs book ~
" A Homemade Life."
She spoke about releasing special recipes so that they can be enjoyed by many others ~ I knew she was right.
Grama seemed to pull this out of her arsenal of recipes when I was in my teens.
I couldn't believe she had held out that long ~ all those earlier years we were denied of this yummy treat!
This is the food version of a big hug ~ one of the ways I say "I Love You" to my family.
It is also on the menu when the cupboards get bare ~ I am never without cheese,
pasta and onions!

Grama's Creamy Mac and Cheese



1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
a shake of Kosher salt
lot's of pepper or to taste
1/2 stick of butter
about 2 1/2 to 3 cups milk
small onion ~ chopped in tiny pieces
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 8oz box elbows or other noodles ~ cooked

Melt butter in pan and saute onion until it becomes transparent.
Working quickly ~ add flour to a 1/4 cup of milk ~ mix well and add to onions.
As it thickens over medium heat ~ keep adding milk and 2 1/2 cups cheese until mixture is thick and creamy.
TIP ~ Whenever I make gravy, a white sauce or any sauce thickened with flour ~ I add the flour with a small amount of the liquid called for and mix to the consistansy of sour cream before adding to the heated mixture. Then you will never have lumps! This works for soup as well.

Add dry mustard, salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce to mixture.
Add noodles and mix well. (sometimes I don't add all the noodles ~ for a creamier mixture)

Put in a buttered dish and cover with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, bread crumbs and a confetti of tomatoes if you like.

Bake uncovered at 350' until golden brown.

And by the way ~

A Passion for Sea Glass, A Homemade Life And Other Great Products To Share.....

My Dear Friends......I have been thinking of you!
I won't get to all I want to share ~ it's almost dinner time ~ but let me at least share a few books
and products that have made my life awfully nice lately.
A Passion For Sea Glass
The book " A Passion For Sea Glass" was given to me from Mom a few weeks ago.
Oh WOW ~ do I love this book. There are SO many great projects to try ~

......this is one of them. Sea glass wind chimes ~ mm mm ~ I wonder what they sound like?
This made me really want to organize my sea glass better.
I have some in glass jars in my windows but the rest is hidden away in plastic buckets.
The author speaks about sea glass history, wearable art, locations, projects and sea glass artists.
(by the way "sea" the large shells pictured with the book? I found those at Milford Beach here in Ct.)



"A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg

I am reading this book as we speak.
'A Homemade Life" is written in a delightful way ~much like "The Sweet Life in Paris."
Each chapter is a story with a recipe at the end relating to the story.
You stroll with the author through her childhood memories, loosing her Dad, and finding the love of her life
and how food helped her on her journeys in a delightful way.
This is the kind of book you can step away from for a week or so and pick up where you left off ~ no problem.
I have turned down the corner of every page that holds a recipe I must try ~ almost every one!
Visit Molly's well loved blog at http://www.orangette.blogspot.com/

"The LightWedge Book Light"

I like to read before I go to bed ~ Frank likes the lights OUT!
I have tryed all those cheesy book lights ~ they last about a week if it's my lucky week.
I toyed with the idea of a Hannah Montana book light that was 90% off at Borders ~ he he
and then I saw this.
"The Light Wedge" at Borders. It was $10.00 at 75% off. It comes with a nifty case that I never use.
You hold it right over the page you are reading and can see perfectly!
It is a little awkward to hold at first but you get used to it.
I have had it for a month now ~ use it every night ~ and it's still burnin' bright!

"ChiroFlow Waterbase Pillow"

Franks chiropractor recommended this pillow for him to help his back pain at night.
You fill the base with water ~ it's really like a water bed for your head!
The top however ~ is fluffy like a regular pillow.
He has been using this for over 2 months now and no more back pain in the morning!
It was $44.00 from his Doctor but I bet if you shop on line ~ you may be able to find it cheaper.

Celsius Energy Drink

The self proclaimed Red Bull addict has officially changed energy drinks!
Hello CELSIUS! I LOVE this stuff!
You get double the drink, it taste a whole heck of a lot better ~
it is actually GOOD and doesnt have any nasty chemicals in it.
I buy it by the case from Amazon and NEVER exceed one per day.
This is my coffee replacement since coffee has lots of carbs and add's to my pre ~ menopausal waistline.
If I do have coffee ~ I will skip this for the day.
Organic Smooth Move Tea

Okay now we are all buddies so I am going to share this last one with you.
We don't use any over the counter medicine in our home.
If it can't be cured with something natural ~ I live with it.
My daughter happen to be drinking a cup of this tea the other day and I tryed it.
It was so YUMMY! It had a sweetness to it that made it feel like maybe I was eating a
big chocolate brownie if I closed my eyes.
(okay ~ I'm exaggerating but you know what I mean)
So the other day ~ it was rainy and cold for July. I thought hhmmm~ I think
I'll make a pot of that yummy tea while I'm working on the computer.
I made it extra strong ~ 2 teabags in a tiny tea pot.
I let it steep and slowly enjoyed my treat. I had a fleeting thought later in the day about the purpose of that particular tea but ~ I was fine so forgot about it.
That was until my 2AM wake up call ~ when my stomach let out a gurgle so load it woke the neighbors ~
let's just say mission accomplished.
When it seemed safe to returned to bed 20 minutes later ~ still sweaty and now weak ,
I took a sip of water and immediately high tailed it (he he) back to the throne for another round.
Moral of the story ~ this stuff works! Treat it with respect ~ 1 teabag only when needed.
As yummy as it is ~ it is medicinal ~ not a treat ;)

New Toys At Micky McD's

And since I was all cleaned out ~
I will admit that YES ~ I DID buy AND eat a Cheeseburger Happy Meal just so I could have the Teeny Beany Baby Toy!

What I've Been Working On

This is a tiny 5' by 5 1/2" pillow is for my friend Nancy ~ a thank you for a wonderful lunch we shared together.

I finished this pouch and sent it to my Aunt Pat in memory of my cousin Kris who passed away 1 year ago.

Kris always wore the smile you see on her beautiful face.

This was an order from my pal Jayne for her ADORABLE Yorkie Zoe.

I also wanted to THANK Jayne for the special award and sweet comments she expressed on her blog which touched me so.

http://www.bunnychicboutique.blogspot.com/

This is Zoe wearing a collar I sent her last year ~ she is so tiny and petite compared to my Teddi.

Teddi told me Angell needed one too!

Mommie ~ when do I get mine??

My Michael Jackson Memories

My Micheal Jackson memories ~

I had just moved to Conn from Maryland. It was the early 1970's and I was 11 or 12.
Where I had grown up, everything was segregated. Whites and blacks lived in different areas, shopped in different stores. I always hated prejudice but it was intertwined in the very fabric of life there at the time.

When we moved to Ct, I went to an inner city Parochial school.
For the first time in my life,I had African Americans not only in my school but in my class.
I remember one by one, the silly things I had been told to believe fell away.
However, I still felt shy around my black classmates.
Then ~ the last day of school before Christmas break came.
It was a half day so the teacher let us have a party and play records.
We started playing Jackson 5 albums and my black classmates and I each pretended we were each one of the Jackson 5, singing our hearts out ~ "ABC... it's easy as 123."
I remember looking in their eyes, laughing hysterical as my heart lite up knowing we were all the same.

Micheal Jackson and The Jackson 5 were the bridge that I walked over to find my way to truth about prejudice.

Happy 4th of July!!!

A few images I was able to capture the last 2 days ~


Rt 63 in Naugatuck, Ct.

Milford, Ct

On the Port Jefferson Ferry headed to Ct.

Port Jefferson, New York

Port Jefferson Ferry while crossing the sound.

Wall Street, New York City.

God Bless America!!!

How to fold an American Flag

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/flag-folding-good-thing?xsc=eml_org_2009_07_04