Better Late than Never, Right?

I meant to share this photo with you guys during the holidays but obviously didn't  but......I must have the tiniest main floor bathroom on the planet (circa 1954) so it's always a challenge to decorate for the seasons since I have NO room for accessories except the back of the commode or the walls...I had purchased this snowman several years back at Marshalls and recently put the toile shower curtain in the tiny bath...and then I had the vinyl words that I decided to put on the mirror in the bathroom...you can see the edges of a red glass candle holder (near the snowman's scarf) and that was my decor...looked kinda striking with the candle lit at night though...and I had a red rug as well. so if anyone else is struggling with a tiny bathroom, don't dismiss the idea of decorating your tiny space...just think a bit outside the box as they say; and you'll be amazed at what you might come up with in those spaces.

It sure is hot here, 'down under'!!!

We are in the middle of summer here in Australia.

And it is hot.

And humid.

Thank heavens for air conditioning.

And salads.

Because cooking is the LAST thing I want to do at the end of a muggy day.

I made a DELICIOUS prawn dish the other night.

I will call it........

Coconut prawn salad.

Use whatever salad greens you like and lay them on a serving dish.

I used a mixture of rocket, spinach and mixed salad leaves.

Layer freshly steamed (but cold) asparagus over this.

You can also add spanish onions, finely chopped.

And baby tomatoes

And lebanese cucumbers.

And corriander!!!

LOVE corriander

Then, layer over your prawns....shelled, of course :)

Then, in a small saucepan, pour in I cup of coconut milk.

Get one tablespoon of rice flour and mix with a little of the milk.

Add this to the saucepan.

Heat gently until thickened, slightly. Like thickened cream

Add a tablespoon of fish sauce

A tablespoon of lime juice (or lemon juice)

A teaspoon of sugar.

And one or two finely chopped chillis.

I then pour this sauce into a plastic bottle with a nozzle.

Like a tomato sauce bottle.

When this sauce is cool, and just before serving, drizzle this sauce over your prawn salad.

This is also perfect with cooked chicken!!!

Curbside Find...Transformation

Do you ever see trash  items curbside that people have abandoned and it makes your heart jump with anticipation knowing you could bring it back to life and keep it from the landfill with a little elbow grease and creativity? Well I gotta admit when my husband dragged this back to our house I was thinking how ugly this piece of furniture was but could see potential among all the ugliness. I needed something to house some of my candles and linens for the guest room and I thought the piece had good lines and lots of storage potential with those drawers...instead of keeping the closet part for hanging clothing I got Jim to remove the bar and install sturdy shelving instead...a few coats of primer and white paint and I was ready to embellish the piece a bit with some decorative painting. I use this piece in my guest room and it's perfect to hold linens, candles and even fluffy white towels for my guests...costs for the transformation was approximately $50 and that includes paint and lumber for shelving!

Gayle!!!

LOVE all the gorgeous winter photos.....

but one of us here is sweltering in the most horrid, muggy summer EVER!!!!!

When painting is NOT an option .............

New approach for 2010. Do you have a table - one that you truly love, but the stain on it is not exactly one that will gain an award from HGTV, BUT, you do like the legs on it and you need the piece where its being used. Try sewing a fitted piece of garment - sort of like a slip cover, but much easier. This particular piece had  nice splayed legs, but I never liked the strange shape of the skirt on the table, so yesterday while temperatures were way too...........low to get out of the house, I began a search for a piece of fabric in my stash, of course. I found a couple of slip covers for a sofa I used almost twenty years ago and when they were washed for the first time, they SHRUNK about 30 percent and could not be used again, so a new sofa was purchased, I kept the covers since the fabric was great for pillows and trim and making covered cords, etc. - The cover has a tailored look and I did a lot of top stitching which makes them extra strong. Carl keeps this little table near his recliner and eats most of his meals on it, while viewing old westerns - I do have to reward him once in a while for assisting in so.......many of my projects. The thing I love, love, love about this is I recycled the piece and no money spent. How divine is that? Happy Sewing in 2010.

Losing my Head....

Do any of you collect spreaders? I simply adore spreaders and have a variety of them. One thing I do each season is to place a seasonal mug on my island and fill with spreaders...makes it easy to butter a hot steaming roll or make a quick sandwich without scrambling through the drawers to find an appropriate gadget to use. Several years ago I ran across this spreader set and this trio never fail to gain some comments at a table setting when they lose their heads!

New Year. New beginning. Same old, same old :)

Isn't it funny what 'tickles your funny bone'???

Three of my kids (Erin, Patrick and Andrew) went to a mutual friend's home for New Years Eve.

This friend has an AMAZING home.

Well, the grandparents do.

But he has his own cottage on their property.

As I said, amazing!!!

Anyway, back to my story.

New Year's Eve started for them at around 4pm

And finished, for the boys, on January 2 at around 11am.

Gosh, those boys have a good life!

But, back to what made me smile......

Got a message from their friend on Facebook telling me how great Andrew (my youngest) was at cleaning up!!!!

My son!!!!

My baby!!!!!

Cleaning up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a proud moment.

See, the glass CAN be half full.

Obviously, during those almost 48 hours of partying, some glasses were quite empty/full.

And then empty/full again.

Hence, that is why my son needed to mop/scrub/declutter.

But he did it!!

Does that mean he will do that HERE?????

I can only dream.