Sweet Petite Lighting

I fell in love with this sweet petite, romantic and whimsical chandelier! I found this in an antique store this summer. It was just a plain vintage chandelier, missing it's prisms. I knew I wanted to leave it in the original brass vintage patina state that I found it. No white paint for this one! I had to do a lot of hunting to find the cute petite rose chintz tea cups and saucers to add. Because the chandelier is so petite, normal size tea cups would have been way out of scale. I added some drippy crystals and prisms. I love how it turned out!


The picture below shows how the chandelier looks when you are sitting under it. The pretty cups and saucers are covered in a rose chintz pattern

A close up below of the cup.

Look how pretty the embossed pattern is on the chandelier.

I had a hard time putting this one up for sale. But I finally listed on my website today.....

Messages of the Season

All of you who read my blog, know I love Dove Dark Chocolate. I did a post in the summer you can see here. Sometime the little messages inside the wrapper are so appropriate.

Tonight we had homemade pizza and a red wine for dinner. Well of course, the red wine just called for a dark chocolate Dove candy. Here is the little message from tonights Dove...

Perfect for this time of year.....or really anytime. I have a friend who always leaves one small Christmas decoration out year round. When I asked her about it she said, "I believe you should have a little bit of the Christmas spirit every day of your life." I agree.

Remember The Mosaic Heart Giveaway?

Remember this heart? It was my give away for my 100th post. Manuela from The Feathered Nest won. I emailed her and asked what style or color she wanted. She said French Country, but the color was up to me....

I went to Manuela's blog and clicked on her "Nesting" catagory. Girls, if you want some inspiration for decorating your home, you need to visit Manuela! Check out her previous posts. She is a wonderful decorator! I just love everything she does. So anyway, I found this picture of one of her favorite plates and drew my inspiration from that. It was a red transferware plate with an embossed border.....Here is the plate from her blog.

Now, I forgot to take a picture of the heart after I finished (what was I thinking? could it be that it was Thanksgiving and my birthday? and that two of my sons were visiting?) Any who....So, I "borrowed" the picture Manuela posted on her blog tonight to show you the finished product.

Manuela, it was a joy making this for you! I am so glad we got to know each other through our blogs.

Mosaic Art

I was fortunate to be included with a group of mosaic artsist on an International Portfolio of Contempory Mosaic Art From 2007. Now, I didn't have to go thru any judging....They just asked for submissions and included EVERYONE who submitted a piece. So it is not like my mosaics just "wowed" someone-lol.

But I feel fortunate because I am shown with some AMAZING mosaic artists. Below is the DVD cover and just a couple of the 1,111 Original Mosaics, by a few of the 615 artists included on the DVD. It is amazing to me how many different styles of mosaics there are. This is just the tip of the iceberg! You can click on the pictures to enlarge them for more detail.


This piece above is by Margo Anton.


This piece is by Jennifer Bakker

The orchid above is by Carole Choucair Oueujan

The cowboy boot is by artist, Grace Blowers

And the tree trunk is by Theophraste Beguim. If you are interested in more pictures and info on the DVD you can click on this link: http://www.mosaicyearbook.com/

Hot Chili! Cold Night! Brrrrrrrr!

There is nothing better than Chili on a cold night! This is one of my all time favorite quick Chili recipes. It is Black Bean Chili with Green Onion Corn Bread. The recipe will follow at the end of the pictures....

First, gather all of your ingredients (I forgot the Worcestershire Sauce in the picture).

Chop onion and garlic.....

Brown ground beef sirloin, onions and garlic in olive oil, until beef is brown and crumbly and onions and garlic are tender....

Add Worcestershire, chili powder and ground cumin to meat mixture...stir and cook together for 1 minute.

Add diced tomatoes, black beans, beef broth and tomato sauce.

Stir together and simmer for about 20-25 minutes... in the meantime.......

Gather ingredients for Green Onion Corn Bread.

Mix all ingredients together....

Pour into greased 8 inch baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes....

Serve, sprinkled with cheddar cheese, or chopped fresh onion....

Recipe:

2 Pounds ground sirloin

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 medium onion chopped

3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped

3 tablespoons dark chili powder

2 tablespoons ground cumin (or less to taste)

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (or less to taste)

2 cups beef stock

1, 14-1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes

1, 15 ounce can of tomato sauce

2, 15 ounce cans of black beans, drained and rinsed.

Green Onion Corn Bread

1 box of your favorite corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon of canola oil or light olive oil

2 chopped green onions

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 8 inch greased pan. Bake 15-20 minutes in 400 degree oven.

Deck the Halls!

Deck the Halls (and bath, kitchen, living room) with boughs of holly, fa la la la la...... I am going to start my Christmas decorating this next week. Hopefully by next weekend I will have the tree up and the outside decorated. I am looking forward to this holiday season.

Here are some picture from BH&G.com website. I love this first one with the vintage ice skates at the end of the banister and of course the red toile wrapping paper!

This one below is perfect for the all white home...

The picture below is wonderful! I love the white pitchers, yellow and red toile chair, the rooster and of course the cute white dog :-)

I have not been visiting all of my blogging friends this past week, and will try to catch up tonight and tomorrow. I did want to thank Alexandra from Silver Bell Cottage for the Rockin' Girl Blogger award! How fun!

I am passing it on to a few of the many bloggers who rock! Polly at Counting Your Blessings, Sue at Rabbit Run Cottage and Manuela at The Feathered Nest. Of course all of my Blogging Friends Rock!!

Cottages and Bungalows

I know, I know, I wasn't suppose to be blogging, with my family here and Thanksgiving just two
days away....but I just had to tell you guys!

The new Cottages and Bungalows Winter issue is out on news stands (they are the same publishers of Romantic Homes Magazine), and they featured two of my mosaic pieces! A mirror and coordinating table. I took the pictures of the mirror and table in my master bedroom.....


Thank you all for your wonderful Thanksgiving Wishes! I will talk to you the day after Thanksgiving...Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

With family arriving tonight and staying through Thanksgiving, I will probably not have time to post or visit all of you. I wanted to take this time to wish Everyone One Of You a very Happy Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone gets to eat lots of turkey, tell old family stories, laugh and be Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving~

Soups On!

I have been looking for a great Broccoli Cheese soup recipe for some time. You know, like the type you get in a restaurant. Every time I try to make one at home it is too watery or bland.

The picture above is from Epicurious. It is a broccoli cheese soup with red peppers and potatoes. I haven't tried it yet, because I am really looking for one without potatoes..I suppose I could omit them.

Does anyone have a great broccoli cheese soup recipe they want to share? If so, please post it in the comments...Thanks!!

Warning, Not A Pretty Picture :-)

Let's be honest. Sometimes life is messy. Even though we would all love to have the perfectly decorated home, life gets in the way. I wish I could work on mosaics (and blog) all day. But, there are bills to pay, groceries to buy, allergy shots to go get twice a week, laundry to do, leaves to rake, turkeys to buy, etc.

In the meantime, I am working on three projects at the same time. So this is what my studio looks like.....it is a total mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!









And those pictures are the neatest part of my studio! I don't dare give you a full shot!!

I have two sons showing up Saturday and 3 projects to try to get done. Still have to buy that Turkey. Make the beds in the guest rooms. Waiting on some materials that have not arrived yet...Stress? What stress? How is your day going? :-)

Love is in the Air

The song I have been playing on my blog is called, Love Is In The Air. It was popular in 1978 - disco era. That is when my husband and I started dating. It actually became our song. He was divorced, raising 3 boys on his own ages 5, 7 and 9. I was divorced and raising a 3 year old boy of my own. Sounds like the Brady bunch doesn't it? We got married in 1979. At 25 years old I became the mother of 4 wild and wonderful boys. This picture is on our wedding day.
(edited - today is not our anniversary - it was in June.....but I am grateful everyday for my life with my husband and sons...)


Though ups and downs, a million trips to the emergency room with the boys, good days, bad days, camping trips, boy scouts, romantic dinners for SIX, making 20 grilled cheese sandwiches at a time, little league games (buying athletic supporters/jock straps for all of them), soccer matches, track meets, movies out with my honey, renting tuxedos for the proms, then the weddings. We are all still loving each other. Our family of 6 has grown to include daughter-in-laws and grandchildren.

I am so glad that "Love Is In The Air", still.

100th Post Giveaway Winner!

I am totally overwhelmed at the number of posts to my 100th post giveaway! There were 106 posts (107, but one was from the same blogger). Thank you all for visiting me everyday. Thank you for saying such sweet things about my mosaics and my blog. All the visits and comments are greatly appreciated.



Ok, I used my fav Random Generator to come up with the winner! I numbered each post (eliminating the one duplicate blogger) and the winning number is...............23.

The number 23 belongs to Manuela from The Feathered Nest . Congratulations Manuela! I need you to email me you style and color choices for your Custom Mosaic Heart!

Thank you all again for posting. I hope post 200 has over 200 entries!! :-)

Ravioli Caprese

This is another of my favorite recipes....It is called Ravioli Caprese and is from Giada De Laurentiss. Recipe will follow at the end of the pictures..

For sauce, gather together salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil and lemon. Zest lemon and finely chop basil.

Mix lemon zest, salt, pepper, basil and olive oil and set aside.

For filling, shred store bought rotisserie chicken, chop fresh basil, grate Parmesan cheese.

Mix together chicken, Parmesan, egg, ricotta cheese, basil, salt, pepper and set aside.

Mix with wooden spoon, flour and very hot water, until ball forms. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes.

To form the ravioli, cut the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. The dough should be slightly sticky. Add extra flour as necessary for rolling, but use only a little as necessary. Form each piece into a 2 by 6-inch rectangle. Recover the dough with the plastic wrap.

Lightly dust the work surface and a rolling pin. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 4 by 19-inch rectangle. Place 9 rounded teaspoons of filling about 1-inch apart down the center of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling. Press down around the edges of each of the ravioli with your fingertips. Cut the ravioli into small squares and press down around the edges again with your fingertips to seal. Place the finished ravioli on a baking tray and continue forming the remaining ravioli.


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add half the ravioli and cook until the ravioli float stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain into a large bowl and cook the remaining ravioli.

Pour the olive oil over the cooked ravioli. Add the basil, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Gently toss to coat and serve immediately.

Tonight, I served this with roasted tomatoes, but it is great with a crisp salad. (On a side note - this was harder to do, taking pictures every step, when my hands were covered with flour and dough - lol) Here is the total recipe:

Ravioli Caprese
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Dough: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1 cup very hot water

Filling: 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta 1 egg 1/2 cup finely shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken 1/4 cup grated Parmesan 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the dough: In a large bowl combine the flour and the water. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine into a large ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

For the filling: Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
To form the ravioli, cut the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. The dough should be slightly sticky. Add extra flour as necessary for rolling, but use only a little as necessary. Form each piece into a 2 by 6-inch rectangle. Recover the dough with the plastic wrap.

Lightly dust the work surface and a rolling pin. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 4 by 19-inch rectangle. Place 9 rounded teaspoons of filling about 1-inch apart down the center of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling. Press down around the edges of each of the ravioli with your fingertips. Cut the ravioli into small squares and press down around the edges again with your fingertips to seal. Place the finished ravioli on a baking tray and continue forming the remaining ravioli.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add half the ravioli and cook until the ravioli float stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain into a large bowl and cook the remaining ravioli.

Pour the olive oil over the cooked ravioli. Add the basil, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Gently toss to coat and serve immediately.