Friday, October 30, 2009

Is It Wrong For Food to Make you Giddy?

Korean Bul Go Gi Beef




Indian Tandoori Chicken






Thai Yellow Curry

Well, if being giddy from food is wrong, I don't want to be right!
Tonight my husband and I went to dinner at a new Sushi house that opened about five miles from here. I had ordered takeout California rolls the other day, because my daughter Jenny and friend Rachel had been ordering sushi for lunch all week from work. The sushi was great and it came with salad with yummy ginger dressing and Miso soup, also yummy. But...tonight when me and Ray went there we ordered something called Korean Style "Bul Go Gi" served on a sizzling cast iron plate. Well, it smelled fantastic and looked delightful, and after my first bite I looked up at Ray and said, "I feel giddy!" The taste of my chicken Bul Go Gi was a party on my tongue! Garlic, pepper, onions, carrots, all stir fried to perfection! Ray's was beef and was also soooo good, a little more of a sweet taste and just as great as mine!
You see the amazing thing about this was that we didn't have to travel an hour away to get it! It was only about five miles away from my house! And it wasn't "meat and three" ( if you live in the south you know what that means!) It was light and tasty and very satisfying. It wasn't Chilis or Applebees or Macdonalds! Korean style food in our small city!
After this one meal the Asahi Sushi House is ranked right up there with our other favorite restaurants like Taj India in Birmingham! I do think that Indian food is my very favorite, it is something that I crave when I haven't had it for a while. Thank you son in law Suj for introducing us to this aromatic and diverse cuisine! Another favorite is Thai House restaurant in Spring Hill Florida where the variety and tastiness is another craving we have, but alas we live nine hours away from you old friend!
I encourage you to try new ethnic specialties. If you tell your server that you are new to this style of food ask them to make recommendations for you! And you might become giddy from food too!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Eggplant Harvest Time!


These colors are so rich and warm at the same time. Another color of fall! Enjoy looking at these things that I have posted, all under twenty dollars! I had to sneak in one of my cowls from my etsy shop! Just click on a picture to go directly to the etsy shop for that item!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Something to Crow About!


These etsy items are part of the many images of fall that I love! Click on the individual picture to go to that item! Happy Fall!! Caw! Caw!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Fall Festivites with Family







Last weekend my daughter from Florida and her sweet baby boy came for a long weekend visit that went by entirely too fast! I was looking forward to having them experience some brisk fall weather since it had still been so hot l in Florida. And brisk weather they got!
Saturday we went to Attala for their annual Heritage Day Festival. Last year they had free hay rides and train rides for the little kids, but not this year! Last year they had the most fun sounding Zydeco Band, not this year! Last year was cool and sunny, not this year! Cloudy, windy and soooo cold! You would think I had a lousy time, but I didn't! Watching my grandson Kavi have so much fun just walking around, squealing with delight at the window display of model cars, dancing to the live music, eating chocolate covered bananas and pretzels in the Wedding Chapel, and basically just walking around made for a fun filled day!
The next day we were hoping for even more fun as we were going to a Pumpkin Patch Farm about an hour away, with hay rides, live music, petting zoo and more. The weather was gorgeous that day, sunny and brisk and Kavi had even more fun that day! He just loves walking around! He is only 20 months old and his favorite things are cars (he's pretty much obsessed),dogs, birds, horses and walking around outside! He showed no fear at all at the petting zoo, willingly touching goats, pigs and wanting to touch the big turkeys. His energy never seemed to fail all day and his delight with simple things never failed that day either! If you live somewhere where they have some fun fall activities, go to them and if you have any little kids with you, the very best time will be had! Happy Fall!!!!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Pardon Me Boy...Is That The Chattanooga Choo Choo?






Last Sunday , me ,my husband Ray, Jenny and Rachel took a day trip to Chattanooga Tennessee, about an hour and a half away. We left early enough to make it to El Meson's Mexican Brunch Buffet, located outside of the Hamilton Place Mall and it was delicious! I highly recommend it if you are there on a Sunday between 10AM and 3PM!
We then headed to the downtown area where there are cute shops, good coffee and beautiful views. The North Shore area (River Street) has some great places like Whipped Cup Cakes, where the desserts are scrumptious and the decor looks like something out of etsy!

In that same part of town there are interesting shops like LEO which also sells unique handcrafted items, and an old timey bookstore that seems more like an old school library but with funky art hung all over the place. And the best ice cream I ever had was at CLUMPIES, well worth the long line!
Coolige Park is something like a scene from a movie where they want to portray an idyllic small town park setting with people picnicking, playing catch, all with a gorgeous view of the Tennessee River and the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge . It also has an amazing indoor carousel to add to the fun!
The Bluff View Arts District has restaurants, Rembrandts Coffee , (the best tasting stuff I've had in years)and an Art Museum.
And this is only part of what they have to offer and it is all set in a picturesque setting with the mountains all around! (Look Out Mountain is a big tourist attraction)
The ride from here is so refreshing and especially with the trees already beginning to turn! If you have a chance, visit Chattanooga, especially in Autumn!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

New Things In My Etsy Shop...






These are a few new things that I have been working on for Fall and Winter! I will be making more things each day , especially now that the cool air is bringing inspiration to crochet!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Apples to Apples


I love these apple themed items! The fabrics are unique, and I just love apple scented candles and such!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Mold, Bleach and a Trip to The ER!


I have been a little bit out of commission lately due to a mishap with cleaning products! I am not one of those people who LOVE cleaning, I do it, but don't really enjoy it one bit!
Rewind to this past Tuesday morning....I thought that this would be a great day! Drop off a package at the post office, go back home and work on some special order kids hats for my shop...Hmmm that mold on the ceiling of the girl's bathroom should really be cleaned today...I know my husband Ray said that he would do it when he had a chance, wearing a gas mask and goggles...but, I am home all day, maybe I should just knock it out. Well, I'm sure I won't really need the goggles or gas mask! Why? Just cause I was pouring straight bleach on a sponge mop, then after a quick wring out I was plopping it onto the ceiling above my head? It was all going without trouble until I was trying to reach the furthest part of the ceiling, when my not careful plop resulted in my yelling in pain and fall/jumping off the step stool to furiously splash water from the sink into my eye. I splashed several times then ran to my computer to see what google said I should do. They said to rinse for 15 minutes straight, but after that , my eye was still stinging very bad and my vision was very blurry, so I called poison control's emergency # and the kind lady told me to get into the shower to let water run continuously on my eye for 15 minutes then call her back. After that impromptu shower, my eye was still stinging so bad, I couldn't keep it open and my friend Rachel took me to the Emergency Room.
Everyone at the hospital was extremely nice, but I learned that possible blindness is not a priority in the ER! It was over two hours before a doctor saw me, and another half hour or so more before irrigating my eye with a saline solution gadget!
I left with a prescription for antibiotic eye drops and my daughter Jenny left with the saline gadget hidden in her purse! ( the nurses told her to sneak it out, since they couldn't use it on another patient, and I could use another irrigation later on!)
So, now three days later, my eye is less blurry, and less uncomfortable. It has been hard to stay long at the computer because it hurts my eyes, and I haven't been able to crochet, drive or be in direct sunlight! But I am sure I will recover fully and be able to get back to my daily stuff!
By the way, it was a King Of Queens episode that got me paranoid about the mold, when Arthur discovers mold in the basement and gets an estimate of $7000.00 to rid the house of it! And, thankfully, the mold in the bathroom did go away, though not worth risking an eyeball for it!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Oh My Deer...


There are some things that ALWAYS release endorphins in my brain...ah, those feel good hormones, I love them! My husband and my family, chocolate, good coffee, window shopping in Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters, Indian Food, Thai food, Cool weather, cold weather, fall leaves, mountains, lakes,the smell of wood burning, a fireplace, brown bunnies and DEER!
When I was a little girl, we spent summers at my grandpa's farm in Little Meadows, Pennsylvania which was very beautiful, peaceful and rural. The closest neighbor in one direction was a half mile away, and the closest in the other direction was 2 miles away. I recently searched on Google Maps for the town and found that their was actual satellite pictures! I found my Grandpa's old property and was surprised to see that it was just as desolate as when I was young, the town's current population is less than 300!
When staying there we had a daily ritual of sitting on the front porch after supper and just before dusk, waiting for the deer to come and graze at the end of Grandpa's driveway (about the equivalent of a city block away). And...we were never disappointed, like clockwork they were there each day! It was so serene to watch these beautiful creatures graze sometimes with their fawns, sometimes the Buck was there too. Their running was so powerful yet graceful, and they had such a lovely calm about them. I lived there year round for 3 years and especially enjoyed the view in the fall with vivid reds and yellows as the backdrop! Even now when I happen to see deer in a zoo or petting farm, I feel chills just looking at them. So, that is why I made this post with some feel good etsy stuff! Hope you enjoy them too!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Confessions of a Yarnaholic...


My name is Darlene and I have a problem! I have enough yarn in my back room to crochet a hat or scarf for my entire town! (no not really the whole town, maybe just a 10 block radius!)
I have lots of it leftover from last year's projects, the ones I picked up on clearance throughout summer, the cotton ones I got for summertime stuff, ones recently purchased on clearance on my last trip to Florida to visit my family, chunky ones, wool ones, alpaca and one bamboo! I can't seem to resist when these lovely fibers go on clearance. Yes, I have a problem! I must use whatever I have before getting more unless a special order is involved for my etsy business.
Today, when I pulled out all my yarns I realized that I had bought colors I thought that I didn't have, when in fact they were just buried beneath my sight.
If anyone has ideas on how to store AND see the yarns stored, I would greatly appreciate it!
By the way, I wish I had the shelves in the picture, I think they would solve my problem.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Front Porch Time Again!!







Ah...the weather has made a turn for the better! We already have temperatures in the 70's with nice cool evenings! Time to dust off the porch furniture and get to drinking cozy warm beverages while watching the world go by!
I am one of the first people in our neighborhood to whip out the scarecrows, hay bales and fall mums! I am a little over anxious to welcome fall because of all the years in hot hot Florida! I have posted some pictures of lovely fall decorated porches along with my porch and I hope you feel warm and fuzzy inside just from looking at them!
(you probably already figured mine was the one with scarecrows!)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Thanksgiving is Coming!



I just love Thanksgiving, Pumpkin Pie, Turkey, Autumn Leaves... but we can't forget that the Native American Indians were a huge part of this celebration! They sure showed the Pilgrims greater hospitality than the Europeans that came here showed them! Let's give thanks for the culture and contribution that the indigenous tribes of this land have given to us. We should be saddened by the real history of the treatment of the Native Americans. Not many of us could relate to being forced from our homes and land to be relocated in a strange faraway place.