The Dainty Squid

The Dainty Squid

Yolanda can utilize these recommended iPhone apps while I look on longingly

Florida sun

On terra firma in Florida and the weather is heavenly. Spent yesterday walking the beach and reading savannah breeze by Mary Kay Andrews. The ice cream truck stopped by, i guess they saw us waning away in the sun. That evening the lighthouse, one of our oldest favorite restaurants in the area, served up a delicious dinner along the docks. I guess Ill add photos later since blogger won't play friendly with my iPad.
Yesterday, early, we found a real farmers market and little donut shop. Dad and I took a long walk along the beach. It's not very crowded this year, just right.
Today we went to the daytona beach farmers market - flea market more like it- got some loose leaf tea that was nice then left there to find some little consigns and boutiques. Beached for a long time reading savannah breeze and abandoning my chair when I saw a little Asian girl liked sitting in it every time I left it down by the ocean. I texted hubs asking if I could bring her home... No answer. Actually even when I finally brought it back up by our tent she came up and sat in it, cutie.
I wandered into a pizza place while we were out and bought a slice, and everyone else followed suit so we ateva late dinner. My research on trip advisor recommended hulls seafood so we scoped it out and had the best crab cakes and fish dip ever. Then we found a little inlet park and walked a while, saw a horseshoe crab that was something's dinner, and then went in search of gelato. Found gelatino a custard, Italian ice mix that was mango goodness.

Easter already?

 It's Easter? Already? Well not quite but when you have a one and only he makes his own 'traditions' of getting multiple chocolate bunnies, eggs and whatever else he can find the whole month of April.

I found this flower jacket at St. Vincent's not long ago. Too matronly?

 I spent most of the day like this anyway but I always like layers.

 We have new tenents again this year but I'm afraid they've made a poor choice of locations- above the garage door.

 Today was my dad's birthday so the parents came up for dinner, bub's turkey from last weekend, and we made decorated eggs while the boys fished in the Tuesday night tourney. We made the eggs using silk ties and boiling them like usual. I am now on the lookout for cool silk ties at the thrift.

I'll be headed to Florida for the long weekend in a few days but until then some random inspiration....

a tutorial from Craftberrybush...

I think this is from Rachel

 I love the ladder shelf and other inspirations shown here by Farmgirl Paints...

 I think this is Ciao Bella's pin bouquets...

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My love for this dress springs from my adoration of project runway... It doesn't have to be normal make it fabulous!

I have a pair of shoes I have tried to paint twice. Maybe I should move to glitter.

  

It's all about perspective folks.

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Confession

 More lovelies today. I just can not believe how blessed we are to have found these so close to home. We have a wood pile from last year and the spores must have come from that. Bub did set me straight though and let me know he is the one who found them not Hubs. Ok good to know. 

I had forgotten to add a few books I finished lately:
Reading Ladders- Lesesne
Making Toast- Rosenblatt - I added it as a favorite on Shelfari. This dad speaks so honestly about the death of daughter, a mother of three young children he and his wife then move in to help raise.
The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker- Smedley, Garvey- I'm pretty organized scrapbook wise to begin with. I just have an abundance of stuff.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice- Hoose. It's amazing how we create history for ourselves. Colvin refused to move seats before Rosa but Colvin was a teenager from a not so stable family and ended up pregnant so she wasn't the face we wanted to use. 
The Ultimate Guide to Chick Flicks. Like I don't have enough lists to make my obsessive way through.
The City of Bones- Clare- A twilightish YA book that starts a long drawn out series. It was alright but not a favorite.
Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual- Pollan. Pollan is on my imaginary friend list. He would like me.
The Lover’s Dictionary- Levithan. Also added to my favs on Shelfari. Levithan is amazing. He writes a story of a relationship around dictionary entries that relate to the story moving along. I find interesting that Levithan refers to the narrator as he but doesn't give a gender to the partner yet three reviewers refer to the partner as she. Have we made no progress?
and a few of my favorite lines from The Lover's Dictionary...

P 21 arrears, n. It was a mistake you said. But the cruel thing was, it felt like the mistake was mine, for trusting you. 

P 30 belittle, v. No, I don’t listen to the weather in the morning. No, I don’t keep track of what I spend. No, it hadn’t occurred to me that the Q train would have been much faster. But every time you give me that look, it doesn’t make me want to live up to your standards.

P 41 broker, n. and v. You wanted to be the finder, so I became the second opinion.

P 135 livid, v. You killed something. And you killed it when its back was turned. 

It's Sunday so I thought I'd do some confessing.
I rotate my clothing every year trying to wear everything I own. It inspires me to try and build an outfit around one item. However, for the past few years there is a stack of clothing that no longer fits and I am convinced I will be able to wear it by the end of the year. My faith is waning.
I am working on a Read the Bible Through in 3 Years. I'm now on the 4th year. Shoot. 
I can't seem to keep my desk clean no matter how organized I am. Apparently I like to piddle. 
If I had to kill and clean my meat, like the boys did yesterday, I would be a vegetarian. But I'll eat almost anything someone else fixes. 


I love the idea of a half umbrella on the wall. In college our English professor would invite students over for movies- sounds kind of creepy now that I mention it- and her bathroom was painted all different colors with a paint brush glued to the wall as if it was in the middle of the job...

 I still need to make 2 headboards for the beds upstairs.

Marriage could be saved if we all had these in our backyards...

 images via sfgirlbybay...

listening to Wizard of Oz on the tele while cleaning off my desk...

sipping a Sonic sparkling strawberry lemonade with vanilla...

Turkey!

What a wonderful Saturday... I slept in, well until 8:30... then finalized my spring break suitcase, sorted laundry, sat out my outfits for next week (only 4 workdays!) then the boys came home with a TURKEY! Somehow after trying so hard to become a locavore I have achieved status. A cow in the freezer from students, a chicken in freezer from a different student, eggs from down the street, fish from our lake, deer from last season and now a turkey Bub got today. Next step is putting up more veggies and fruit this summer.

Yesterday while putting up laundry I looked out the window and saw more buds. A nice reminder that spring has arrived and is fighting to stay.

Although that birthday cake was beautifully decorated it failed to show the wondrous layers in the last set of pics. I had this for breakfast and no I feel no guilt when consuming birthday cake.

 I soaked the morels the boys found on our property this week and then had them for dinner this evening. The boys waiting patiently to see if I was going to keel over. Alas I did not. Although they might be a good last meal.

 Not a great week for blogworthy outfits but I did like this one. The necklace I made about ten years ago at an artist's retreat where we fired our own pottery outside in a Raiki kiln.

"It was like it gave me this enhanced awareness of life... I'm obsessed with memory, of being remembered... life is a creation- a story you are writing"

This guy took a picture a day for a year. Obvious talent.

TODAY from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo. I found via books, paper, scissors my fav blog for loveliness. I could so repost every image they have on their blog. But I stop myself. You should just add it to your blog roll.

This is a great idea from Elements of Style Blog... a pic on a dictionary page. I have a dictionary on my desk at work that fell apart this week. New life!

I'm a scientist. It's what I do. Says the young one today as he has me working a pulley at the bottom of our 2 story stairs. No more complaining here the truth has been spoken.

I mentioned the L.L. Bean Signature catalog that came in the mail this week. Here's a nice example...

Listen

How about those morels? I'm so excited I can't believe they are right here! Here's the masterful raspberry layered delight Hub's made for my birthday. Very few things did I really, really want for my birthday. A donut, a sparkling strawberry vanilla Sonic lemonade and cake. I had a cupcake on my actual birthday and I've continued the celebration this week with this...

 The boys think it is so funny to use my first name on my birthday cakes each year. I think it is charming :)

  

Monday's new Anthropologie dress... Tuesday was nothing exciting. 

 On the way to meet the boys Sunday I stopped to pick out some magazines to flip through not knowing what kind of a day I was in for. I picked up 3 magazines: People Style issue, Runway and Better homes and garden makeover. $17 later I went to meet and greet. It was interesting how readers and dog people gravitate toward each other. I think maybe this summer is going to whiz by and I may get some time to flip through magazines and read some books by a lake somewhere. It is still so up in the air. How the heck is this supposed to work. 


The new L.L. Bean Signature catalog came in the mail today and normally I flip through but it's not exciting. Today however. Stunning. The layouts are flipped, the models styled in a relaxed inspiring fashion, the clothes I want to sport. Nice job. Stepping it up. 


When Hubs, Bubs and I are in the care we love to play Who sings it... you know when a song comes on and you immediately know the artist you want to see how fast someone else can name them. Of course these days with the song title and artist scrolling across the screen it cuts down on the disagreements and keeps everyone honest DON'T LOOK!

I am loving Skinny b... she's blunt and more than a little foul mouthed but man she tells it like it is. I will still eat my local beef, chicken and eggs but I will be laying off the large farmed more.

I like to move it move it... getting back into the work out mode. I lost 5 lbs. gained 4 back. Birthdays are tough on a girl, and all the free food people give me. Shoot. The girls at work made me a chocolaty, peanut butter goodness then another bday on Tuesday brought a lemon cheesecake that made me lick my fingers.

And then yesterday at work things have been moving along swimmingly and then 2 not 1 but 2 people came along and started talking. Sometimes the only thing you can do is stop and listen... and pray the Lord tells me what to say if anything at all. goodness.