Lasagna and a New Lampshade

This is a story about lasagna. Yes, lasagna. Bear with me on this one, chicks.

Now, since I hate cooking and want to eat out every single chance I get except on Sundays when we do easy peasy meals at home, I've let Mrs. Stouffer's do it for me when it comes to lasagna. Well, actually her meat sauce lasagna because we tried the 5 cheese lasagna with sundried tomatoes and neither of us liked that one so we won’t buy that one again. Otherwise, she does it pretty dang good in my book. Even my son thinks so and to him Mom’s cooking is fantastic—right after his wife’s, of course. ;-) I’m not stupid when it comes to my daughter-in-law. She’ll never read this but I ain’t takin’ th’ chance. Understand?

Anyway, we recently ate some lasagna at a party that just about set me retching. Actually, I pretty much stuck to the French bread and dessert that night. It had pepper jack and cheddar cheese only in it. Love Bunny said it wasn’t too bad, but we’re talking about a man who loves scrapple and if you don’t know what it is, google it. It’s a meat they eat in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania and it’s gross and I mean gross!) Plus, my hubby will eat anything and I mean anything! He is not finicky in any way. I have never in my life eaten a lasagna with those 2 cheeses in it. Lasagna is an Italian dish and only Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan should be the cheeses in it.

Okay, competition reared its ugly head here as I had not made lasagna in years and I mean years. I was determined to find my old lasagna recipe. I couldn’t. I had no idea where it was.

When we were down visiting our daughter the middle of May, she said lasagna was the dish for dinner on Sunday night. Hubs and I agreed and when I went into the kitchen to see how it was coming, she showed me my old recipe card! I almost fell on the floor. This was after I’d already fallen twice before in her house the previous 2 days. Anyway, it had tomato soup as the tomato part of the dish. I cannot ever remember making that dish with tomato soup, but it was in my handwriting and looked 50+ years old with all the food stains on the card so I acquiesced to reality. Love Bunny and I didn’t particularly care for it that night and we talked about it later and neither one of us could remember making it that way. Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Anyway, after the pepper jack/cheddar lasagna, I got out my recipe cards and the one my sister-in-law gave me with her version of lasagna she got when they lived in Italy. I loved that version. Hubs? He thought it was wonderful, but he wanted a little more sauce. So, I decided to alter her recipe with a bit more sauce for hubs. Personally, I thought it was the best lasagna ever, but next time I’ll add a bit more tomato paste to it. So that episode got me to making lasagna again. Nothing like a little competition to make me start cooking, right? ;-)
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I recently bought a cheap lampshade at Wal-Mart. I had an idea for it but it wasn’t turning out like I envisioned. Luckily, I knew that early on so I didn't waste too much time on it. This is the shade.

Another blogger did this with a lampshade but she took the entire fabric off and just used the wire frame. I tried it with just Mod Podge glue and covered it with lace as there wasn’t the glorious frame this woman had. My lamp had a beautiful shade on it but it was beige and I wanted white. You can see the shade that was on the lamp in the box with the arrow pointing to it.

Using clothespins to hold it on, I went around it with 3 pieces of lace. I think the lace was a tad to thick for this kind of project though.

Seams hide pretty well though or at least blend in well enough to not be noticeable.

I even made a mistake and added a small piece to the top just to the right of the middle of those clothespins. It doesn't show much, but afterwards I wasn't too thrilled with the way it looked. I had plans to do a bit more to it but I stopped right then to think about getting another lampshade to do what I had in mind. Just not sure if I like that lace on this one.

This is what I intend to do. I’ll put ribbons around the bottom—pinned on here— and add something to the top. I wanted to do a French type decal on the base of the lamp but it would have to be a small one considering the contours of the lamp base. We’ll see. I’ve only got ribbons half way around the bottom part so far.

My next door neighbors, a young couple—he’s a teacher and she’s a psychologist—and their 2 little girls brought me over a Mother’s Day gift. That was so sweet of them. A basket full of soaps, fizzes and bath salts, made in a small town near us. My guest bathroom smells so wonderful now with all those soaps fragrancing it. The girls are Ella and Hadley. Hadley had open heart surgery just after she was born but is a typical active 5 year old now. Ella, the 7 year old? Well, she will someday run this country! ;-) Hubs calls them "his girls" since Caroline and her mummy and my daughter don't live near enough to see frequently.

Okay, continuing on with the lampshade redo. I had to take a break from the redo overnight because I was becoming frustrated. But I got to thinking. I’m dedicated to thrift for a while and will not spend more money when that lampshade will do perfectly with a little bit of fixing on my part. The vision continues. I photographed it in the early morning in the back yard. It’s so dewy, quiet and green out there with shadows dancing across the grass and I just couldn’t let the extra photos not be shown. It took about 16 photos to get the ones I wanted. I love this one of the bird bath and aspen tree shadowing it and the lamp.

Here also. Did you notice our glorious blue desert sky this morning?

Close up of the bottom. I tied on a red check ribbon around its neck just for the fun of it and have decided it’ll stay.

I have a plethora of pink roses so I didn’t have to buy much at all for this lamp.

Ta Da!! And here it is in our living room. I’m now in love with it and didn’t have to buy anything but a cheap lampshade and a few ribbons.

Just a bit of eye candy for you from here on out.
 Beautiful cabinet.

A tiny very efficient office.

What a beautiful shower curtain and shower!

Where can I find a pink polka dot spatula? Isn't this cute!

I saw those curtains in the mirror and just about lost it. I love this color combination—yellowish green.

Okay, just because I cooked lasagna doesn't mean I'm going to cook much more so this wonderful, beautiful kitchen would be lost on this old lady. ;-)

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A Few Thoughts on Women

A few weeks ago, we had a lesson in our Relief Society, which is the 3rd hour of our Sunday meetings. I call it The Women's Hour as it's for women.

This particular day the lesson was given by a young mother, probably in her very early thirties. She did a fantastic job, absolutely fantastic. She shook the whole time and would never think it was a good lesson. In other words, she beats herself up. About 20 minutes into the lesson, I leaned over to my friend, Patrice, and said, "I live a charmed life." She nodded agreement. I feel so blessed and grateful for what I do have in this life. I don't grieve at all for what I don't have.

It was about how women beat up on themselves, especially the mothers and, in particular, the mothers who stay home to rear their children. I knew it struck tender feelings because of the tears and tissues and there were probably some abused women in the room also. I grieved for those women because I can't ever remember feeling that way—unappreciated. But then I worked.

I went to work when my kids were 5 and 6 years old. Remember, my hubby was a Marine and we didn't make a lot of money; although, I must say we could have gotten by. We just wanted more things like a stereo, which is the first thing I bought with my first paycheck. (And I had every record Dionne Warwick and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap recorded and listened to them over and over and over!) I can't remember the cost, but I remember $55, which was either the cost of the stereo or my very first paycheck. But the figure $55 sticks in my mind. Probably my first paycheck because I only made $1.75 an hour working at the base PX. We were thrilled to get that, trust me. (But going from that $1.75 an hour to being the highest paid woman in a very large top Fortune 500 company was monumental to me. I worked hard to get there.) I can't say it was worth the sacrifice to my children though. I really can't.

Anyway, back to the story.

I went to college when my children were in school and didn't work for several years. I stayed home for a while with them. When hubby retired from the Marines, we did a whole lot better in life.

I belonged to 4 or 5 women's groups during the 1980s and loved the groups. I learned a lot about myself. However, I can never, ever remember putting down women who stayed home with their children. We were all professionals in the groups: a pediatrician, a nurse, an engineer, several of us businesswomen, etc. But not once did we denigrate women for staying home. I don't do it to this day. Why?

Well, I was reared (as I now realize) by parents and grandparents who always made me feel special. I just knew I was special! I also have a very loving hubby who never made decisions for me; they were mine alone to make. He stood behind me and encouraged whatever I did. Did I make mistakes? You betcha! But I learned much from those mistakes. I grew from those mistakes.

Rearing children is hard enough without women denigrating stay-at-home-moms. It's especially tough raising good kids today with the worldly influences and temptations that are thrown at them from all sides. They don't need to hear other women putting them down for the most important job they'll ever have. I know this because I didn't stay home with my kids when they needed me. Would I change all that now? I truly don't know. I can't answer "what if" questions. I just don't know.

I believe as women we need to help each other, not spew vitriol at SAHMs. They do a thankless job, believe me. The ones I know beat up on themselves far more than any woman could, but the ones I know also know they're doing it for the good of mankind. And that's what makes them so special in my book. We all need to pump up each other, be kind to someone who is struggling, whether it's the mom who stays home or the mom who is working. They all need positive feelings from us.
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A favorite living room I saw. Yes, you can decorate with pretty dresses if you'd like.

Stunning color on this house. I'm pretty sure it's in some tropical place.

What a joy this pleasant entry is to someone who comes knocking on your door.

We all love to view beautiful windows and old buildings that have a lot of character to them.

A tea party or lunch in the woods or an orchard.

Froufrou will always catch my eye!

A beautiful antique French chair with pink cushions on it. Yummmm!

Balloons, a banner and cupcakes displayed on a beautiful plate or platter will assure a pleasant event for anyone.

Another interesting entrance to an older home.

Beautiful patios such as this one draw lots of attention.

Beautiful setting...and it just this moment gave me a great idea. I have two urns on my front porch. I think I'll cover them with glass and use them as tables for out there instead of the faux geraniums in them now. Why haven't I thought of that earlier?!

A cute red plate rack.

A delightful bedroom for little boys or girls who like exploring places. How many munchkins get to climb up into their beds? ;-) This one looks like a little girls room.

And this one looks like a BIG girl's bedroom! Yep, my kind of glamour.

This is an example of how to picnic in style!

A flower shop. From the language on the sign it looks like a far eastern country, which just goes to show you that no matter where we live we all love to have beauty in our lives.

Just beautiful eye candy for you.

One of the most darling footstools I've ever seen.

An example of what you can do with scraps of fabric or netting. Make a beautiful lamp. You'll see some examples of lamps I've decorated on my sidebar if you look. I love to froufrou up lamps. I don't want my house to look like everyone else's house and it sure doesn't!

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Photos courtesy of pinterest and tumblr.

Our Exchange Student Experiences and a Giveaway

A couple of weeks ago, I had a giveaway. The prize was never claimed, or in other words, they never answered me as to where to send it to them. Therefore, I'm again giving away this little ribbon tree and a dozen paper roses in the next week or two. I'd stay tuned and visit here often to see when I'm giving it away. Leaving a comment, become a follower, and give me a way to get in contact with you and you're in for the drawing! That'll do it. Easy Peasy, gals!

Not these; they're for my home, but I'll make some just like them.

Many years ago we hosted some exchange students. Our first was Rafael from Spain.

He was the perfect student and house guest. We loved having him for the school year he was here. His father, a lawyer, and mother came over with his younger brother to visit and go skiing in the Idaho ski country and they were delightful.

Then we had a girl from Spain. She came over for a summer tour and was also a very good house guest. She came back for a month or so to visit but she never went to school over here. She loved the USA though.

Then we had David from the Republic of Georgia. That didn't go well at all. He was a charmer but definitely a communist. He stole checks from me and forged my name. Luckily, the bank became suspicious and called me. I got the police involved and would have sent him packing but another family took pity on him and took him in. I doubt they regretted it but they probably wouldn't do it again. That was when I told hubs I'd never ever host another person. Just too much responsibility.
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Sometimes you just fall in love with everything on the post you are creating. That is the situation here.

While I like blue, it's not a color I use a lot. But this small area of a kitchen made me smile. I think it's quite cute.

While this style of beach chair is making a comeback, I remember the original ones back in the 40s. They can now be made with any color or pattern of duck or canvas fabric so they are friendly to adding style instead of just plain ol' beige duck fabric.

Blue again! Another fabulous dining room.

Okay, I'm seeing a trend in this post: blue. This is a stunning kitchen, dining, whatever room.

I'm really not into little girls' rooms but I couldn't pass this one up. I would like to see this in Miss Caroline's room, but her room is definitely cute in pink and purple.

Again, blue and with Cath Kidston elements thrown in also.

This lids and bins underneath the shelf are cleverly done with style.

I thought you'd like to see these darling jewelry holders.

Okay, orange is my least favorite color as I've said several times before. This, however, is gorgeous with the pink, red and purple to offset the orange.

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Photos courtesy of google images, pinterest and tumblr.

Perplexed Sometimes

I really need to comment on this as it has me bewildered.


Have any of you, when you're viewing your own blog, look to the "next" blog as it says up in the extreme left hand corner of the browser? It's just on the opposite side of where you see your name, new post, design and sign out on the right side. I did just recently, having been inquisitive for a while about it but never cared enough to click to the "next" blog.


Now, mine is a chick blog, but the several ones next came up as scent or various other things, but not anything near to what I blog about. Some of them hadn't been updated for a couple of years. Some even said they gave up blogging. I don't know if they just happened to forget to delete the blog or not but they still showed up. Lots of them. Some even had absolutely nothing to do with my blog. I thought perhaps they might be similar blogs but nope, nothing at all I'd be interested in. Very perplexing. Give it a try sometime and see what you come up with.
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I really like the look in this room. Very elegant, vintage and rustic.

Polka dots are also a favorite of mine. I don't have much around the house in dots but I could if I found the right stuff.

A French flour container with gorgeous flowers.

Another French looking dining room.

A tiny writing area.

A beautiful old lamp to a beautiful entry.

You know by now how I feel about decorated bottles, right? You should!

Aaaaaah, to have that much fabric that neatly organized would be a blessing.

A quiet lunch with a friend.

Exquisitely saved for her posterity.

Love these colors.

Beautifully elegant chandelier with rusty elements along with silver and rose make a lovely vignette.

Nice spot for a glass of lemonade to relax.

Pink Sofa I lust over.

I have several of these hanging on my doors in my home. I stuff them with sawdust, which is light, and fragrance them with fragrant oils I buy online.

I have so wanted to paint our pine dresser but it just isn’t getting done in the near future. I like this one though.

A vintage cabinet we’d all like to have.

A very unusual bathroom.

Pretty window.

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Photos courtesy of pinterest and tumblr.