More Soup

Asian Vegetable Soup

I'm on a soup kick lately. It's seems to be the quickest and easiest way to really pack a punch with super healthy ingredients. This soup is from RecipeZaar, one of the many great recipe websites out there. It is filling and has a very nice consistency (not too thin and loaded with chunks of goodness). The flavor is fairly mild, with just a hint of ginger. Since I'm the only one in my house who doesn't have a tofu phobia, I'll be eating this for days. Yum!

Color

Color blindness runs in our family. My brother is color blind, but as a young girl I didn't really give it much thought. Our son was probably two years old when I knew for sure that he had inherited the trait. He doesn't like red peppers in his meals :: to him they look black. Geography class always posed a problem :: he had difficulty distinguishing the color key. And Lite Brite? We had our own little system of labeled ziploc baggies so he could determine which peg to insert. It's a safety issue as well. When driving, it's the position of the green light that he sees not the green light itself. I've always wondered how the world looks through his eyes.

If I had to choose one thing in life that inspires me most I would, without a doubt, choose color. Color catches my attention and and makes me smile. Bright white fluffy clouds against a deep blue sky can take my breath away. A room painted in a warm tone makes me feel as though I'm wrapped in a cozy blanket or snuggling with someone special. Seeing the flowers in springtime can change the tone of any day to absolute perfection. A new line of fabric - well, we won't even go there. But the colors of a crisp fall day :: there's nothing in the world that compares.

These photos were taken last October at this fabulous retreat center.

Thrift Thursday

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a thrift find scenario that goes something like this:

:: see the set of cannisters sitting on the shelf ::

:: inhale quickly and hold breath ::

:: feel heart rate rapidly increase ::

:: nonchalantly scan the area to see if anyone else is nearby ::

:: reach for the items as if they need to be inspected ::

:: scoop directly into basket ::

Unfortunately, hubby didn't have the same physical reaction when I brought them home to show him. Can you believe it? I know, neither could I. Thankfully, he's a good man and he likes to see me get excited about the little things. The tea cannister is my favorite. I love the whimsical little drawing.

These two trays were calling my name as well:

The flower pin was another thrift find from months ago, and the black pin belonged to my dad's mom who we called Mumom. I thought they looked pretty sitting on the tray.

And the backdrop???? Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party in olive. Isn't is gorgeous?

Dreaming of Spring

There's a beautiful nursery right around the corner from us that is owned by a local family. They bought the property years ago and little by little have turned it into a gardener's paradise. In the spring and summer they offer tea parties in the garden as well as workshops and tours. It was definitiely an inspiration to us when we decided to put in a garden of our own.

Our garden was brand new last year and before we even planted the first seed this is what we grew:

It was a pretty smart nesting place I must say :: completely surrounded by a fence that only the smallest of creatures could fit through. We ended up sharing our garden with those little bunnies and it worked out just fine for all involved. We would see the occassional evidence of munching or spot something scurrying out of the basil as we passed by, but all in all there was no harm done.

It's time to start thinking about what we'll grow this year. Definitely lots of herbs and cutting flowers and probably a plot or two of veggies that we can bring into the kitchen for dinner. The seed catalogs have arrived and the garden planning books have been dusted off. We have until May before we can safely plant, but isn't it fun to dream?

Both Ends of the Spectrum

February is a big birthday month in our family, so yesterday we all gathered at Mom and Dad's house to celebrate. One of the birthday boys requested a cake with caramel icing :: it's a frosting recipe that's been handed down in our family for generations. Mom makes this with a butter or yellow cake. Let me warn you that it is SUPER sweet, so if you don't have a serious sweet tooth you may want to scroll down to the next recipe on this post.

Caramel Icing

1/2 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

3 cups confectioner's sugar

Melt butter over low heat. Stir in brown sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in milk. Return to heat and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm. Stir in confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth.

**This icing sets with a bit of a crust, so you don't want to let it stand too long before frosting the cake. You can add more confectioner's sugar if too thin or more milk if too thick**

Garden Vegetable Soup

This is what I filled up on before going to the birthday celebration since I am desperately trying to trick my body into thinking it doesn't like sugar. There is nothing unhealthy about this soup and it really is quite good and easy to throw together. I used store-bought chicken broth as the base. And by the way, who knew that most pre-packaged broths (including organic) have sugar in them? After much scrutiny I finally found one that didn't. You can find the recipe here.

Utility Quilt

This quilt was made for utility purposes :: for picnics or for keeping warm while watching kid's sports games. The center piece was so bright and cheerful I decided to use it in it's entirety instead of cutting it up. It was quilted by machine using some grid quilting and some free motion.

And here's Butterscotch enjoying my thrifted afghan:

Happy Weekend!

Fat Quarter Swap

I received the sweetest package in the mail yesterday!! It was from my "Fat Quarter Swap" partner, Annette. From the flowers she drew on the envelope, to every little thing she included in the package :: it was perfectly thoughtful. Do you want to see? Of course you do!

:: Homemade vegan lemon cutout cookies that taste and smell divine ::

:: Two gorgeous pieces of fabric to add to my stash ::

:: And a very hip and cheerful handmade apron (I know, I can hardly believe it myself)! ::

Thank you Annette from the bottom of my heart. You made my day extra special. And thank you Darci for taking the time to organize the swap. It's been loads of fun.

Random

:: Valentine flowers from my guys ::

:: Finished pillows for the basement sofa ::

:: Trying to like steamed broccoli ::

Sunlight

Although it's only 29 degrees outside this morning, the back of our home is toasty warm due to the gorgeous sunlight that's shining in. I noticed the kitties moving about from sunlit place to sunlit place, so I thought I'd do the same.

:: Wishing you a day filled with sunshine ::

Flowers & Polka Dots

Darci sent out the swap partner information last week, and off I went to my favorite quilt shop to pick out a couple of cheerful fat quarters. I can't show them here yet, but I'm very excited to gather up a little package of goodies to send to my partner. While I was shopping for fat quarters, I spotted (a little humor here) this red polka dot oilcloth. It's made by Moda and is called "Dottie". I can hardly wait to use it on our patio table this summer. The other piece is from Heather Bailey's new line. It's so crisp and fresh and just says summer garden to me.

I'll be sitting at my sewing machine today with a hot cup of tea (in a thrifted pyrex mug, of course) and some music playing in the background. It's going to be a good day.

And The Winners Are.............

Hubby did the honors this morning, picking three winners for the February Love Giveaway (from one of my newly thrifted West Bend canisters :: more on that later). You can be sure he doesn't play favorites and he didn't peek!

:: First Winner ::

Sally wrote the cutest email saying..........

"I would feel like royalty if I were a winner and received the purple bag! In pretending to be "royal" I would carry grandmotherly things to my kids homes for my little people. I am always armed with play dough,reading books and crayons. Tiny boxes of raisons and mini pretzels are also a hit. The role of grandmother does put me on top of the world (does that constitute royalty?). My second choice would be the orange zany print which matches my personality and would look especially appropriate when shopping at my local farmers market. The brown looks totally sophisticated which I guess I could pull off for a day or I could look at it as earthy and take it along to my garden shop! Any one of the three would eliminate one dastardly plastic bag that find their way into our environment using resources that don't need to be spent leaving birds and wildlife & all a threat.. that could so easily be remedied."

Congratulations Sally!

:: Second Winner ::

Dawn also sent an email with a cute little flair.......

"Well I have given alot of thought as to which bag that I like the best! ...... The number one spot has to go to the Bountiful Brown Bag, followed by Purple Passion, and last but certainly not least, Orange-You Adorable! " Congratulations Dawn!

And last but not least:

:: Third Winner ::

Annasoc1 left a lovely comment on the giveaway post saying......

"This is a great giveaway and so good for the environment......"

Congratulations Anna!

Thank you to everyone who visited. It brings me great joy to share with you.

Lots of Love

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing you a day filled with joy and love.

Thank you for visiting.

"Today is a day for being. Be with those you love, be kind to yourself"

:: Sarah Ban Breathnach ::

Simple Abundance

It might be a stretch, but I think Molly's little nose resembles a heart. No matter how you look at it though, it's absolutely sweet.

Have a Beautiful Day

:: February Love Giveaway Reminder ::

The February Love Giveaway ends tomorrow. I hope each and every one of you enters a chance to win. Please don't be shy. I'd love to share one of my favorite things with you!!

Nightstands

Here's what's on my nightstand at the moment.

Books

At any given time, I'm pouring over a handful of books :: all different kinds of books. I love books. These happen to be the ones that are on top of my nightstand right now.

Flowers

O.K. :: Flowers were on my nightstand for the photo because I love to see a beautiful photo, don't you? The reality is that my cats eat flowers so I can't really keep flowers on my nightstand. I have one place that I can keep flowers and that's about six feet up on top of my great room cabinet. But - I still have them because I love flowers.

Reading Glasses

Do you have reading glasses on your nightstand? I never used to have reading glasses on my nightstand, but now I do. I also have them in my sewing room, in my purse, in the library and scattered elsewhere through the house. It happened overnight.

What's on Your Nightstand??

Thrift Thursday :: Quilt Kit

I stumbled upon this quilt kit while thrifting a while back. It contains all of the fabric necessary to complete a Dresden Plate quilt. Inside of the box, the packaging was still intact. As far as I can tell, it dates back to the 1960's.

There are 240 die-cut pieces for making the Dresden appliques, three different prints for the borders, and muslin for the foundation.

Here's the beginning of one block, laid out and waiting to be hand sewn.

And the best part :: I have a set of thrifted napkins that are made out of one of the prints. It doesn't take much to make me smile. I think this is going to be a fun little project.

More Quilt Talk

This quilt was made using the Quick N Cozy pattern by Black Cat Creations. It was a charity quilt, given to our local police department. As you can see, it was made from scraps of fabric that were on hand at the time. The pattern was intended for flannels and chenille which I think would make a fabulously cozy quilt. I think I'll put that on my quilting "to do" list.

Quilt Talk

It's a crazy busy week here at Lulabelle's View, so there's not a lot of creativity happening. I thought I'd do a couple of quick posts about quilts that I've made in the last couple of years.

This one hangs over the fireplace in our great room and is made from some civil war reproduction fabric. It's just some simple nine-patch blocks that were made using the strip-piecing method. It was machine pieced and machine quilted. Here's a close-up of some of the fabric:

It's hard to tell from the photo, but this quilt has some straight-line quilting that was done with the walking foot and some stippling in the plain blocks that was done with free motion quilting. It's a nice easy pattern to try if you're a new quilter.

Oh, and don't forget to sign up for my February Love Giveaway!!

February Love Giveaway

Guess what?? I'm having a giveaway!!

Since February is all about love, and I love to share, I thought I'd introduce you to these reuseable bags that I'm in love with.

They fold up nicely......

and they fit right into your purse so they're always with you when you need them.

They are super lightweight, machine washable, and they even fit over your shoulder. I like mine so much that I just ordered some more to share with you.

So, leave a comment on this post or send an email telling me the order in which you would choose (brown, orange, or purple with 1 being your favorite and 3 being your least favorite) and I'll announce three winners on Sunday the 15th (each winner will receive one bag). If you feel like telling me a little bit about yourself, I'd like that too.

Good Luck!