Medium Monday - Acrylic only

Aside from watching a lot of Olympics, I was able to break away from the living room and started painting the wine bottles that I have been saving.  Before the weekend I painted the base coat for my bottles using the left over house paint that we found in our garage.  The previous owner left them so we can use them for touching up some of the areas of the house.  But lately I have been using them for painting bottles or canvas for my so called art work.  Please don't think that I have consumed all these wine. They are from the several parties we have had at home and of course empty bottles are left with us.  So I have saved only the ones that I like the shape.  I decided to do the before and after so you can see how I transpire them to what I call my decorative bottles.  Not really sure what I will do with them, for now it will be on display above our kitchen cabinets, just for show.  I started painting each one on Saturday and ended up finishing all the four bottles by Sunday afternoon. An to think that my brushes and acrylic paint are from the Dollar Store.  Can you imagine if I was using the more real acrylic and exceptional brush.  But then again, I don't it's the medium, I believe it's the artist. Medium materials for medium artist with medium creative mind. LOL

A little bit of a mixture of shapes and colors, just an interesting piece.

This one is more of a happy one as you think of Spring.

My least favorite as it is a bit scary. LOL

This is my favorite because I put so much work into it.

Simplest Saturday - Easy snacks

After the terrible loss of the Patriots last Sunday, I tried so hard to get over it and the only way I know how to get my mind off the topic is to get busy.  Each and every day I got busy with anything and everything.  First I did some baking and cooking and then I stayed in my room doing some creative projects.  I guess this is a better way to get over the loss of my team instead of drinking (LOL) and maybe eating and/or sleeping.  Anyway, enough talking and let me show you what I accomplished while mourning for the loss of my New England Patriots.

#6 Artisan Bread - it is our now go to bread with only 4 ingredients.

Bacon flavored roasted almond with sugar, salt and pepper.

Banana oatmeal muffins with walnuts and yogurt.

Samosas (potato, peas and seasonings)

Brownies - made by Jeff even the icing on top.

Just realized I do not have a garden flag for March - now I have one for St. Patrick's.

Trustworthy Thursday - A true friend

Today's post is all about my BFF, a true friend and someone you would want to have as your brother.  You know that expression "I got your back", well here's the meaning:

A person saying they have your back means they are there to help you out, they will watch out and take care of the things you're likely to miss, that they are a second set of eyes and hands for you.

This is the perfect description of Percy.  I am sure that I can speak on behalf of my former co-workers and the rest of all our friends .  He is not just a great friend, he is also an amazing father and a good husband.  If I am not mistaken, he has been married for at least 25 years - and yes, to the same woman.  So on this special day, I wish you a day that is as special in every ways as you are. May every moment of life be as wonderful and lasting as our friendship. Now let me take you back to some of the good times with some of our great friends.

Happy birthday to my BFF, aka Brother, favorite X-coworker, X-travelling buddy, 

X-designated driver, Spanish coach, etc.  

As the saying goes, "you will always be my friend, you know too much".

CHEERS !

Worthwhile Wednesday - Just need to be creative

As you know I love to keep busy and when I am in my Yellowknife Yardage aka my craft room, my mind is going faster than my hands when it comes to being creative.  While working on one project  it seems like my brain is already creating the next project.  So what have I done lately.  It will be an assortment of fabric being sewing into something.  Sometimes I need to use my glue gun and some other time I need to hand sew some items.  Since I have a few to show today I will go ahead and just post the pictures with an explanation how it came about. 

This is the garden flag for Wendy, our neighborhood party/event planner.

Just a mini scarf that was a left over fabric for someone with an A first name.

This fabric was the last bit of the garden flag roll - I made a mini cosmetic bag.

The fabric is from the hem of the pants I trimmed (too long).  A catch all kinda purse.

Meager Monday - Fend for yourself

Not even sure if I picked the right word for today's post.  But I don't think I have use this one so I will go with it.  The topic of today is really about food and our simple retired life.  Every now and then, after we have used up all our leftovers, I would say to my hubby "o.k. for lunch today, you will have to fend for yourself".  It makes it fun because we try to look for items we can make for lunch without having a big fuss.  At times will be as simple as my grilled cheese sandwich while he would have crackers with peanut butter sprinkled with sugar (Whaaat!!!).  Some days we have our home made soup that actually begins with some Ramen noodles aka cup-a-noodle.  What we add to it is completely up to us or depending on what is available.  And the results are shown below.

My soup with shrimp and baby bok choy.

Jeff's soup with ham, peas and corn.

Superbowl Sunday - Go PATRIOTS Go

Just a little upset because I prepared a truly nice post today and I was going to make a simple change and it all got corrupted somehow.  The only way I could work on the post was to delete the initial one and start over again.  So here am I trying to remember all the stuff that I had written down.  All I wanted to cover today is about cheering for the Patriots.  If your team is not in it, then the Patriots are in it to WIN it. We are hosting a small party with some simple dishes and yummy desserts.  Only 12 guest in total which is the number of Tom Brady.  Not superstitious but it makes sense.  So whether you are watching from the comfort of your home or at some bar somewhere or attending a party at your friend's place, cheer for my team, unless of course you are truly an Eagles fan.  Have fun today but be safe.  Let's get the party started. 

Flakey Friday - Napoleon vs Tiramisu

During the weekend we were invited to one of neighbors for dinner.  I offered to bring desserts since I love trying out new recipe.  At first I was going to try and make Napoleon.  I have never made it before and it didn't seem to be that complicated.  But after reviewing the recipe and looking at what I have in our fridge, I ended up making Tiramisu instead.  I was not comfortable bringing a dessert that is my first time trying the recipe.  Instead I made another dessert - Creme Caramel using the Martha Stewart version.  A few days before I was going to make all these desserts, I was watching her show and she was featuring custards.  Anyway, both my Tiramisu and Creme caramel turned out just perfect.  In addition to the two desserts, I also baked my #5 artisan bread.  I cannot stop but admire this bread as the recipe is very easy and it always comes out exactly the same as long as you follow every step of the recipe.  The main thing about this recipe is trying your patience.  You have to be able to just let it sit overnight and let it rise between 12 to 15 hours and I believe that is the key.  I have to thank the person who shared that recipe on Pinterest.  If not for that recipe, I would have never tried making my own bread because for many years I was afraid of the YEAST.  Now I have tried to make french bread as well and it also turned out just fine.  Almost forgot to tell you that my taste tester is my hubby.  I figured if he gives it a two thumbs up, then my job is done.  Since Tiramisu is his favorite dessert, I am hoping he might like the Napoleon too.  Until the next baking day, enjoy reading my post and maybe someday you will get a chance to try all of these treats.

#3 Tiramisu

#5 Artisan Bread

#1 Creme Caramel