Today's Thought

"God cannot give us a happiness

 and peace apart from Himself,

because it is not there.

There is no such thing."

-- C.S. Lewis

Randoms from my Week

Pringles chips now come in Multi-Grain and I think I might be starting to like them better than the Original.

I’ll be glad when this season of American Idol is over so I can hear something on the radio besides all the commentators talking about how lame it was.

My new shoes for work still haven’t arrived. The “economy” shipping was free but apparently that means it takes about ten days for your purchase to arrive. But hey, at least it was free.

Last night I ate Fish & Chips for only the second time in my life and now I think I’m completely hooked. Bring on the Malt Vinegar.

Iron Man 2 was really good but I thought Robin Hood was rather boring. *yawn* And I’m still not a fan of Cate Blanchett

The weather lately has been absolutely gorgeous, making me crave more beach time. That being said, swimsuit shopping is evil. Just so wrong.

My stack of books to read is literally exploding off the shelf. It would be so lovely simply to have time to sit around and read all of them, more than one chapter a day. Plus I have to throw in a random magazine here & there to break up the monotony. ;)

That’s all I have for today folks – a stream of random nothingness.

Hope it’s a beautiful day in your neighborhood!

Wall Art

I stumbled across these prints today and thought they were adorable. 

See these, and the rest of DazeyChic's other adorable designs here!

Anybody who knows me well, knows I have an insatiable love for French Fries.
That being said, this print is absolutely perfect for me:

I loved the simplicity of this one:

I love quirky and unusual art. 

Do you have any in your house?

A Girl Can Never Have Too Many...

Doesn't every girl love an excuse to get a new pair of shoes?

Due to a policy change at work, I had to purchase a couple new pairs of shoes.

What a shame.

Right.

These lovelies are on their way to my doorstep, hopefully to arrive before the end of next week so I can walk about the office in style.  (At least as far as my feet are concerned.)

Coming a few weeks later will probably be these:

I like to have the option of flats in case I have to go dashing through the rain, run after a mailman, or just don't feel like being three inches taller than normal.

Can you believe these shoes were made by Crocs -- the company that started out with garden-shoes that should never have been seen in public?  (and yes, I have a pair, much to my husband's chagrin.) 

 I never cease to be amazed at how sturdy and comfortable their footwear is, and now they're even stylish!  They went from play-in-puddles clogs to wear-at-work fabulous! 

Who would have thought?

Do you wear Crocs?

images from: crocs.com

I Smell Something. . . different.

Am I the only one that didn’t know that Victoria’s Secret scent “Very Sexy Now” changed every year? I fell in love with the Brazilian tones of the scent last year, went to buy more last month and it smelled completely different! That’s when the sales associate informed me that it’s all about what’s sexy now, not what was sexy last year.

Humph.

It was my beach scent, Hawaiian scent,
my happy scent and not-too-heavy-scent.

A luscious combination of:

 Papaya zest, exotic Orchid and creamy Coconut milk. 
How could it not smell amazing?

Which leads me to my dilemma:

What do I get to replace it?

Suggestions?

images from: fragrantica.com

Jam

***EDIT***

I just wanted to mention that I was very intimidated when I decided to try making jam for the first time.  But you know what?  It was SO easy!  Maybe some recipes are a bit harder, but this one was extremely simple and it's a freezer jam so you don't have to mess with the canning process.

***end edit***

We are currently in the middle of Rhubarb season (or at least those in the Midwest are) so I decided to throw on my apron and be adventurous!  This weekend I had my first experience with making jam and I have to admit, I was pretty happy with the results!  So happy in fact, it was all documented and is now ready to be shared with the world!
 (Or at least with the 25 people that actually ready my blog.) 

So without further adieu, I present you with. . .

** drumroll please**

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam 
so that you may make this sweet goodness for yourselves!

Hawaii - Part 2

Yes, I've been back on mainland soil for 3.5 months already, but a piece of my heart stayed firmly planted in Maui.  Here are more glimpses of the loveliness of the Island.

Beautiful flowers and Hawaiian blessings were left on my pillow each day.

This lovely waterfall was on the grounds of our Resort.

We passed this gorgeous Hibiscus bush on our way to breakfast each morning.

Longhi's was our favorite restaurant and you could find us

there most mornings before starting our daily adventures.

This particular morning we lingered over French Press coffee

and a warm-from-the-oven blueberry scone. 

What they failed to mention when we ordered

our coffee that it was $15.  Yes, a Bodum of coffee,

holding appox 3 cups worth was $15. 

Have I been living under a rock?

In the town of Lahaina we went on a 2 hour whale-watch and afterwards our guide

said we saw a weeks-worth of humpback whales in that single outing!

Also in Lahaina we stumbled across the Banyan Tree -- so cool!

The perfect ending to any warm day in Hawaii is Shaved Ice.

Soooo delicious!

On this trip I became an Island Girl 

 

and forever fell in Love with the beautiful Island of Maui.

Aloha,