Bad Movies, Good Songs, and Mintiness

 

Here we are again--my favorite day calls for favorite things!

1) So, if you've never seen the movie Dear John, don't. You'll just end up mad. And if you have, I'm sorry. ;) Dear Pandora introduced me to "Little House" by Amanda Seyfried, which I didn't even realize was from the movie. But this song is one of those that needs put on repeat and left there for a while....

2) This may seem rather random, but I can't live without it, so I think it deserves its time here in my Friday Favorites! I know the strawberry flavor tastes good (wait, what?), but nothing compares to the soothing mintiness of ... mint. Right?

 

3) And I found this necklace in one of my favorite shops on Etsy (which has since moved to here). Plus, she was having a sale, so it is now mine. :) Take a look around and see what treasures you can find!

Happy Friday!

Surprise Sale!

Short and very sweet! Applies to anything in my Etsy shop, and ends March 6! Don't miss out!

Autumn in Winter

So if you've read my About Me page (which if you haven't, I totally invite you to do ;) or if you know me at all, you know I love to be dressed up. Meaning, presentable to the outside world: something that doesn't happen a lot thanks to this body of mine and all its problems.

I've been going to a new doctor for treatment 2-3 times a week for four months now, so when most people would be in sweat pants and a hoodie, I take it as my time to get all dressed up... So it just occurred to me the other day, Why am I not taking pictures at these times? Why?? I don't know, but I am now!

 

Tank top: Old Navy

Sweater: Cato

Jeans: Walmart

Boots: Cato (which my husband picked out for me :)

Necklace: JCPenney

Bracelets: No idea ;) but probably Goodys way back when

[Yes, once in a blue moon I find jewelry in a regular store that I have to have. This necklace is one of those occurrences...]

So I have to take off my giant boots for the doctor to do acupuncture--so what? It's worth the trouble! ;)

And the whole 3/4-sleeves thing? Yeah, this is crazy. We just had a blizzard last week, literally. Though technically it is a sweater, but still. Crazy. Crazy awesomeness! So here I am in my fall colors in the dead of springy winter. But ah, put-together-ness. :)

P.S. Linking up here:

Gluten-free, Dairy Free Strawberry Coconut Smoothee

When I was searching Pinterest a while back for smoothee recipes, I found this one from Eat Drink Paleo, and it has become a regular for me.

I do make it a bit differently than the original recipe though, so I wanted to share it with you all!

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Strawberry Coconut Smoothee

You'll need:

18 frozen strawberries

8 fresh strawberries

2 1/2 cups of coconut milk (I use this)

2 tsp melted coconut butter (I use this, or you could also use melted coconut oil)

2 tsp honey

2 Tbsp coconut crystals (sugar substitute--I use this amazing stuff)

Steps:

1) Place all the ingredients in a blender until as smooth as you want. 

That's it! This amount makes about 4 servings; I have doubled the original recipe so I'm good for a couple of days instead of having to make more every time I want some. So feel free to cut the recipe in half or even less.

You can also vary the amount of milk depending on how watery you want it. I like my smoothees very smooth, I've discovered.

This would be great with some coconut whipped cream on top! (Never heard of that? Hm, recipe coming soon then maybe? ;)

The Package Deal

It's time for a deal! Today and tomorrow only, if you buy this necklace:

I will send you these matching earrings for free!

The necklace features an assortment of bold black beads, green beads, and silver beads, among the black ones being two chunky vintage beads. All are hand-wired onto thin silver tone chain that closes with a lobster clasp. The earrings use very similar beads and hang from silver tone fishhooks, ready to be worn with the necklace or other pieces.

Here's the catch: there's only one of these necklaces, and only one pair of the earrings! So when they're gone, they're gone. The necklace is for sale here in my Etsy shop.

At checkout, just let me know that you saw this deal on my blog, and I'll send the earrings with it. Only good today, 2-22-14, through tomorrow, 2-23-14--or until someone else gets to it first! Now ready, set, go!

Gorgeous Jewelry + Russian = One Happy Friday

 

It's Friday, and time for some happiness, aka, some of my favorite things right now! (Do the forgeign words above confuse you? Stay with me and all will be revealed. ;)

1) This shop I found on Etsy the other day:

Just look at this stuff. Look at it. And just try to pick a favorite. I don't think it's possible. Her four featured items at the top alone are gorgeous enough to drool over. But of course I have to show you more...

At Flowerleaf Handmade Jewelry & Fine Art Jocelyn Pryor sells an eclectic collection of her handmade treasures, which she describes as "Vintage Inspired/Modern Jewelry & Art for Women & Men." Not only is there beautiful bohemian, vintage-style jewelry, there are also full paintings, often Regency style. And then, for people like me who couldn't choose if they had to, there's a combination of both! Behold: handpainted rings (and there are also necklaces, of course)!

I am amazed at how there is such a variety of items and yet they all complement each other incredibly gorgeously! So go show this fellow creative redhead some love!

2) As we all know, the Olympics are nearing their close. I was so excited that they were going to be in Russia this year, as, if you've read any info about me on here or my Etsy shop, you'll know I love Russian. And I am getting to hear so much of it! No, I don't know it well enough to have much of a clue what they're saying (though I took two wonderful years of it in college), but I do catch a word here and there and get appropriately excited. :) We'll hear someone speaking it briefly and I just have to say, "Man, I love Russian." It just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, and who knows why. No one in my family knows Russian, and I don't have a drop of Russian in me, but my heart sure does! (Maybe it has something to do with my red hair? See #7. ;)

from nbcolympics.com

That said, of course my favorite part of the opening ceremonies was probably this, which video I am thrilled to have finally tracked down. (I'm sorry blogger won't let me embed it here like a youtube video, but you can click on the picture to get to it.) The alphabet! I just wish they'd have put each word on the screen in Russian in addition to the other languages. But it's still awesome!

3) And speaking of the Olympics, I know all of America's focus for Ice Dancing was on Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and I am thrilled for them that they got their much-deserved gold! But I loved the free dance by Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who finished in eighth place. Did anyone else notice how amazing this was? (I'm sorry this is the best video of them I could find, and it is from when they performed it at the US Nationals, not the Olympics.)

I'm not at all a huge Les Mis fan (didn't even see the movie), but I do agree that the music is incredible, and they performed to "One Day More." Now this is how you do it--they are just exploding with the passion of the music and clearly feel it. I don't get all the technical aspects of ice dancing by any means, but I do know that this is pretty incredible regardless of rules and points.

I do wish they had gotten a little more attention. Were there any less popular athletes that were your favorites? And were you as thrilled by Chock and Bates as I was? Do chime in!

All About Vintage!

I just love giving new life to vintage pieces!  I always have pieces sitting around waiting to be used, vintage ones being among them, and lately I've finally gotten the chance to use them.

This piece's pendant is accented with a vintage orange bead. Available here.

Sometimes a vintage component is just incorporated and isn't the focus of the piece.

The bright red-orange cluster beads are from a vintage necklace. Available here.

A lot of times a piece uses vintage beads that I have acquired as they are.

I love these beads and knew right away they were destined for a dainty bib necklace. Available here.

These beads are so unique and differ from each other just slightly. Available here.

And sometimes--my favorite scenario--I upcycle a vintage piece myself!

In this case, the focal point is a dainty, ornate bead from a vintage necklace. Available here.

I absolutely love this necklace, which features as its pendant an earring from the 70's. I think it was meant to be a pendant. ;) Available here.

This necklace owes its existence to two different vintage necklaces. Now that took a while to make... Available here.

Another earring from the 70's just makes this oh-so-bohemian necklace. Available here.

There are so many pieces where new meets vintage in my shop. And there will be more to come! Do you have a favorite of these?

Easy Turkey and Veggie Fry

I'm so excited to share this new meal with you all--it's so easy and so healthy (gluten and dairy free). And so good. I'm also super proud of it because I dreamed it up myself. My husband suggested frying up the meat, and I came up with the rest, so that makes it my idea, right? ;)

I'm currently on a special diet that doesn't allow certain foods for the purpose of healing my stomach, a diet I've been on for three months now. Its restrictions do limit your variety, so this new dish is particularly exciting for me!

Easy Turkey and Veggie Fry

You'll need (for one serving):
2 carrots
A fist-size chunk of broccoli (how's that for specific? ;)
About 1/4 of an onion
Several slices of turkey lunchmeat (I use 4 Hormel Natural Choice Oven Roasted Deli Turkey)
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil (regular or extra virgin)
Salt (I use sea salt)
Basil
Garlic

1) Slice up the carrots, broccoli, onion, and turkey however you like. You can see from the pictures how I prefer mine.
2) Place the carrots, broccoli, onion, and meat in a skillet on medium-high heat and drizzle them with the oil, then sprinkle salt, basil, and garlic to taste--amount is totally up to you; I lean toward less salt and plenty of basil and garlic. Stir occasionally to get all the pieces coated.

3) After about 3 minutes, reduce the heat and then stir it a couple more times over about 7 more minutes. The goal is to let it get rather crispy on the edges, especially the turkey.

Now it's all done!

I recommend having it with bananas, strawberries, and grapes, though grapes alone go wonderfully with it.

Some side notes: I like to chop up a whole bunch of the vegetables ahead of time so when I'm hungry, I can just put them in the pan instead of having to get the vegetables ready all over again every time. (Because I may be eating this every day lately...) Also, you could totally use any other lunchmeat with this, or freshly cooked meat. But my goal is convenience. Oh, and also, I am sure mushrooms would be incredible in this, but I can't have them right now...

So give it a try and please let me know how you like it!






P.S. Linking up with Throwback Thursday.